‘History and tradition are certainly instilled deep in us,’ says dad

Volunteer beef farmers win Peterborough farm family of the year award

By Tom Collins

ENNISMORE — The farm family that volunteers together, wins awards together.

The Cavanagh family of Homestead Herefords at Ennismore is Peterborough County’s 2014 Farm Family of the Year, an award given annually by the Peterborough County Federation of Agriculture and the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce.

The beef farmers, who own 30 purebred Hereford females at their Homestead Herefords farm, are heavily involved in their community. Dave Cavanagh said it’s key to instill the need and importance of volunteering in his children.

“History and tradition are certainly instilled deep in us,” said the sixth-generation farmer. “I guess it’s just for the ability for our kids to be raised in that type of environment, to protect the family farm and the agricultural way of life going forward. We like to be involved because we like to help in the process of protecting that type of history.”

Forty-eight-year old Cavanagh is a director with the Ontario Hereford Association, a 4-H Beef Leader for the Ennismore Beef Club and a director of the Peterborough County Cattlemen’s Association. His wife Fran, also 48, has been a director on the Peterborough County 4-H Association for the past nine years, a 4-H Beef Leader for the Ennismore Beef Club, and secretary of the East Central Ontario Hereford Zone.

Their kids, 21-year-old Danielle and 19-year-old Jordan, have both been 4-H Beef club members for the past 10 years and have been directors on the Ontario Junior Hereford Association since 2006.