2022 FFCO Champion Award winner with his nominators (left to right): George McNaughton, Floradale feeds; Crispin Colvin, FFCO Vice-Chair; Champion Award Winner John Drummond; Anne and Kevin Snyder, Snyder Heritage Farms; Christine Oldfield, Executive Director, 4-H Ontario.
ELORA — Farm & Food Care Ontario (FFCO) presented the Food & Farming Champion Award April 13 to long-time 4-H volunteer and agricultural advocate John Drummond at the organization’s annual conference in Elora.
With decades in the agricultural sector, the Waterloo Region resident is a dairy feed specialist for Floradale Feed Mill Ltd. and a renowned 37-year 4-H leader.
Drummond was nominated by Anne and Kevin Snyder of Snyder Heritage Farms with letters of support from colleague Angela Fairfield and Christine Oldfield, Executive Director of 4-H Ontario. Oldfield described the recipient as “Mr. 4-H.”
Senator Rob Black and FFCO Vice-Chair Crispin Colvin presented the award.
“Recognizing leaders in championing agriculture in Ontario is an important way for the community to say thank you for all the work these leaders do,” Colvin said. “Each year we honour someone who has taken an active role in getting the message out about agriculture, and John fits that description exactly. We want to commend him for using his skills to help inform consumers and correct misinformation about production practices; he has done a commendable job of promoting our industry.”
“John Drummond is a legend within the 4-H community, both locally and across the province. His commitment to young people and volunteers in the 4-H program is extraordinary,” Black said. “He goes out of his way to ensure a positive experience for all involved and has been recognized at the national level for his significant contributions to 4-H. He is a wonderful ambassador for 4-H and our agricultural sector here in Ontario.”
Since the spring of 2020, Drummond has been a driving force keeping the 4-H program running and helping clubs adapt to running online. Drummond, working alongside other 4-H leaders, opened up meetings to members across Ontario, with some clubs having over 100 members participating. They made recipes from around the world, comfort foods, Disney foods, and more. Some meetings included guests from different countries to give a personal perspective on what it is like to live there and help with preparing food tips.
Farm & Food Care Ontario is a coalition of farmers, agriculture and food partners proactively working together to ensure public trust and confidence in food and farming. The organization has presented the Champion Award annually since 1999, in recognition of an individual or group’s significant commitment to public outreach and support for Ontario’s farming community.
