GUELPH — Simcoe County cash crop farmer Keith Currie has been acclaimed for his second year of OFA presidency.
Only OFA directors are allowed to run for the highest positions and no non-incumbent board member put their names forward. Currie, an eighth-generation farmer, was acclaimed at the OFA’s annual general meeting on Nov. 20. The two returning vice-presidents — Thunder Bay dairy farmer Peggy Brekveld and Waterloo County chicken and cash crop farmer Mark Reusser — were also acclaimed. With a membership of 37,000 farm families, the OFA is Ontario’s largest farm organization.
Currie said the biggest issues for the OFA heading into 2018 are: Making sure rural Ontario voices are heard during the provincial election and ensuring there will be long-term investment back into rural Ontario (this includes schools, retirement homes and hospitals); dealing with the fallout from Bill 148, which will increase minimum wages to $15 an hour by Jan. 1, 2019; and dealing with environmental issues, such as working to reduce phosphorus levels in Lake Erie.
