Farm Life | Winter 2008
Where best meets best.
By Sherry Butt
With a mission to recognize and promote excellence in agriculture, the Outstanding Young Farmers' Program honours progressive and innovative crop and livestock producers under the age of 40. "It was created as a way to celebrate young farmers," says president Sylvain Gascon.
The program is now in its 28th year. Nominees may be individuals, couples or managing partners/shareholders responsible for the majority of a farm's management decisions.
Each year, one regional winner is chosen from each of seven regions: B.C./Yukon, Alberta/NWT, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. These seven then go on to compete in the National Event where one winner is chosen. "The National Event is a place to make new contacts and network across Canada," says Gascon.
The not-for-profit program is sponsored by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Bayer CropScience, CIBC, John Deere and AdFarm.
Nominees are judged in a number of areas including their agricultural career progress, environmental steward- ship, production history, financial and management practices, contribution to community, financial progress, oral interviews and a PowerPoint presentation.
Although it's great to be recognized as a winner, the real value of the program is the opportunity for nominees to interact with other outstanding farmers and share their successes and failures. For more information visit www.oyfcanada.com.
