Nearly 160 people attended the Brant County Federation of Agriculture (BCFA) Banquet on Saturday, March 1, 2025.
The event, which hasn’t been put on since just before the pandemic, was held as a way to celebrate local agriculture and agribusiness in the County of Brant.
“Agriculture and agribusiness is the number one driver in the County of Brant and we want to protect that. We want to make sure that we protect the family farm and our number one mandate is to preserve farmland, so we’re passionate about that,” said Mark Eddy, past President of the BCFA. “The Ontario Federation of Agriculture [OFA] says, and this stat was from a few years ago, that we’re losing 319 acres a day in Ontario. We don’t know what those numbers are today, but we know that it’s a large number and the problem is that some of the best farmland in Ontario gets used up for development. We want to protect farmland moving forward and we want to make places grow up instead of out.”
Following dinner, which was provided by the Paris Agricultural Society Homecraft Committee, Larry Brock, MP for Brantford-Brant, took the stage to speak to attendees and recognize this year’s BCFA scholarship winners, Cailyn Charlton and Kristen Leach.
Brock’s newly re-elected provincial counterpart, Will Bouma, spoke to the group next. He said that while he hasn’t been sworn in as MPP just yet, he was happy that the Banquet was his first event since being re-elected.
“I’m so glad this is the first thing I get to do after the election because it’s just so great to be among friends, and it’s a pleasure being here. …We are facing an existential threat, and the Premier made the decision to go to the polls because we wanted permission to do what we have to do, in order to survive the threat of Trump’s tariffs. It’s really good to see the election results come in on Thursday night, and have been given that mandate by the people of Ontario to do what we have to do,” said Bouma. “ … Thank you for being who you are, for being friends and supporters, whether you voted for me or not, it doesn’t matter. We’re here for you and we’re going to do what it takes and we’re going to get through this together.”
Later, David Bailey, Mayor for the County of Brant, also said a few words.
“As farmers, you know what you mean to the County of Brant. …I understand all the lost acres that you’re having every day and every month, and it’s hard to watch the developers do what they’re doing,” he said. “ …Understand that the County of Brant knows what Brant is all about, and we have your back. When we make decisions, we make decisions with all of you in mind.”
Chris Stuart, President of the BCFA, then provided attendees with an update about the federation and what it’s achieved the past year.
“We gave out five high school scholarships, and we also put up the signs for corn, wheat and soybeans that you’ll see driving around the County. We’re also working on projects within the County to increase safety regarding farm equipment on roadways and there’ll be more information to come in regards to that,” said Stuart. “In 2024, we held a politician’s breakfast in Paris and it was a good round table with many commodities present. Throughout the year, we gave to the food banks. We held our annual meeting in Flamborough and in the absence of the banquet, for the past couple years we’ve held summer socials. We’ve also given the Brant 4-H Club $10 towards membership over the past few years to help reduce the cost of registration and support our youth.”
Before guest speaker, Dan Needles, took the stage, attendees had one last opportunity to submit their names for a chance to win one or more of the 30 plus silent auction prizes. Proceeds from the auction went back to support Canadian Foodgrains Bank and local food banks in the County.
From Creek View Acres scented candles to a Brantview Apples and Cider giftbox, a BBQ tool set, a culinary olive oil basket, fresh honey from Stuart Farm Apiary, and more, there were plenty of items up for grab.
As the event neared the end, Needles had many guests chuckling away as he told stories about the charms of rural living, life on the farm, the ups and downs that came with establishing Collingwood, and what it means to wake up with the roosters.
“‘Go to bed early and rise with the rooster,’ …it almost gives you a wonderful reputation in the community when you can say that you rise with a rooster,” he said. “I’ve found that if you get the right kind of Rooster and if you work at them, you can easily train them to get up at half past nine…it’s no trick at all.”
Lauren Miller, co-chair of the banquet committee, later said that it was nice to finally get everyone together again.
“It felt really good to have the community come together and hear all the liveliness of the farmers being in one room again,” she said. “It was a lot of work to plan but we had a great committee that met regularly to make sure we were on the ball and I think it went really smoothly. I’m very happy with the way it all played out, we had a really fun night and I’m just proud of what we were able to do.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
