The Rural Voice, 1985-01, Page 10Preparing to -morrow's
rural leaders
The latest project of The Foundation
for Rural Living is a program designed
to give the future leaders in Ontario's
farming community a push in the right direction.
While the good works of the
well -endowed Ford and
Rockefeller Foundations
attract international attention, rural
Ontario is much more likely to
benefit from an ambitious new pro-
ject sponsored by a humbler founda-
tion. The intensive, two-year Advanc-
ed Agricultural Leadership Program,
designed to give the future leaders in
Ontario's farming community a push
in the right direction, is the latest pro-
ject of The Foundation for Rural Liv-
ing, launched in 1979.
Peter Hannam of Guelph, founda-
tion president and one of its
founders, says the organization's
mandate is "to undertake projects of
a research or educational nature for
the benefit of the agricultural com-
munity." It's hoped that an offshoot
of the foundation's educational work
will be improving the reputation of
agriculture in Ontario's urban com-
munity.
The inspiration for the foundation,
which numbers farmers, academics,
and agribusiness executives among its
membership, came when Hannam
was still president of the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture. Because
agribusiness and the OFA were at
odds on certain issues, and because
the farm organization didn't want
"to be seen to be in bed with"
business firms, Hannam says, "we
searched for a way, a vehicle by
which we could co-operate and bring
a lot of resources together to benefit
new projects which would benefit
agriculture." The Foundation for
Rural Living was the result.
The foundation's membership is
drawn from three areas. The Ontario
Federation of Agriculture, as "an ac-
tive sponsor," pays a $1,000 annual
membership fee and elects three
directors to the foundation's board.
8 THE RURAL VOICE
Foundation patrons, who come from
the agribusiness community, pay a
$200 to $1,000 membership, depend-
ing on their company's size, and elect
three board members. Businesses
belonging to the foundation include
The Royal Bank, Dow Chemical,
Maple Leaf Mills, Ontario
Harvestore and Bell Canada.
The third group of members is
made up of research and rural
organization experts, such as
academics, rural planners, or good
farmers, who are invited to join the
foundation. The invited members in-
clude Dr. Tony Fuller of the Universi-
ty of Guelph's School of Rural
Planning and Development, and
Lambton County farmer (and OFA
director) Jack Wilkinson. These
foundation members pay a $20 an-
nual fee and they must be nominated
by another foundation member.
Funds for the foundation's opera-
tion are modest, coming from
membership fees and donations by
farmers, farm organizations, and
agribusiness. In the long term, Han-
nam says, members hope that the
foundation will also be assisted by be-
quests. No government money funds
the foundation proper, but the On-
tario Ministry of Agriculture and
Food is providing some financial aid
for the first advanced leadership pro-
ject.
In 1981, the foundation tackled its
first ambitious project, funding the
Ontario Federation of Agriculture's
Emergency Task Force on Agri-
culture. The resulting report led in-
directly to the Ontario government's
redirecting of $60 million from pro-
vincial coffers to the short-term On-
tario Farm Adjustment Assistance
Program. Last February, still con-
cerned with the financial problems
facing the farming community, the
foundation sponsored a three-day
"think tank" conference called
"Agriculture: Financing Our Future
Opportunities."
Now the foundation has launched
two more projects which should have
wide -reaching effects on both the
rural and urban communities.
The first project is the publication
of a comprehensive textbook titled
"Farming and The Rural Community
in Ontario: An Introduction," which
should be available later this winter.
Edited by Dr. Tony Fuller of the
School of Rural Planning and
Development, Hannam says that the
book is intended "as a reference
manual for agriculture." Written by
20 invited authors including pro-
fessors, farm leaders, and agro-
logists, it can be used in high schools
and universities, or by any farm
leaders who want an overview of the
history of Ontario agriculture.
Because much of the book deals with
issues facing the farming community
today, Hannam says that it should
also be helpful to urban residents
"who want to learn more about agri-
culture but don't have an opportuni-
ty.
,"
Chapters include "Rural Farm
Community Participation in Rural
Planning," which is about outreach
work in Huron County, "Women
Strengthening The Farm Community:
The Case of the Concerned Farm
Women in Ontario," and a chapter
on "Absentee Ownership of
Ontario's Farmland."
To prevent the possibility of one
membership group, such as agri-
business for example, controlling the
selection of the foundation's pro-
jects, at least one director from each
membership group must approve pro-