The Rural Voice, 2003-10, Page 70People in Agriculture
Bruce family in BIC booklet
Bruce County beef producers
Bruce and Heather Ribey are
featured in a new booklet put out by
the Beef Information Centre to help
explain to Canadian consumers why
their beef is safe to eat.
Corinne Dawley, home economist
with BIC, was instrumental in
producing the new consumer
resource that focuses on Canadian
cattle producers and the role they
play in producing a wholesome and
safe product.
The booklet, Canadian Beef —
Quality That Inspires Confidence,
profiles producers from each region
of the country with the Ribeys
representing Ontario. The booklet
highlights issues such as
environmental stewardship, animal
health, quality and food safety, as
well as the unique lifestyles of the
producers. The booklet also features
recipes inspired by producers'
favourite beef meals.
The Ribeys' farm, Iris Creek, has
been in their family for 150 years.
Their three young children are the
sixth generation of Ribeys to live in
their farmhouse. They share day-to-
day running of the farm operation
with Bruce's parents, and his brother
and sister-in-law who live nearby.
Bruce relies heavily on the expertise
of Heather, who is a veterinarian.
The couple runs a cow -calf
operation and have both purebred
Herefords and a commercial herd.
They background the calves until
they reach 900 pounds. A few head
of cattle, about 20-25, are also
finished for a small freezer beef
clientele. In total, the farm has about
120 cows.
Bruce began farming as a career
in 1990 and then started running the
farm on his own in 1993, the year he
and Heather were married. It's a
partnership that works well for the
couple with Heather primarily
responsible for herd health.
"I have to admit it's great having a
veterinarian right on the farm," said
Bruce. "The first thing that Heather
and I do daily is to check the animals
and make sure they're healthy. Our
strategy is to deal with any illness
right away. One of the biggest
changes we've seen in the last 20
years or so is that there is so much
more available in terms of
preventative health for animals. I
think that we're very well educated
about the medications that are
available, and with any medication
we use, we carefully follow the
guidelines."
Bruce said his operation is low
impact in terms of environment.
"We're living on the same land on
which we are producing cattle. We
want to ensure it's sustainable and
safe. We care as much about the
quality of beef we are producing for
other people as we do about the beef
we are producing for ourselves."0
Mildmay man a 'Face of the Future'
A Mildmay -area young man was
featured in a recent Maclean's
magazine article as one of the "Faces
of the Future" as one of Canada's
leaders in waiting.
Greg Dietrich, 18, a Millennium
Scholar who chose to attend
University of Guelph is featured in a
large photograph in the issue which
appeared September 8. The son of
Ralph and Jayne Dietrich, he credits
his interest in genetics to his father
giving him Who's Who In Dairy
Cattle when he was 10. He also has
been involved in his community,
spearheading a 4-H project on water
management following the
Walkerton water tragedy.°
Smelski now GM of OSI
Richard Smelski, a well-known
part of the Ontario swine industry for
many years, took over as general
manager of Ontario Swine
Improvement in June.
A graduate of University of
Manitoba with a BSc and Masters
degrees, Smelski previously worked
to OMAF and for Agribrands Purina.
He has won numerous awards and
recognitions for his involvement in
the swine industry over the years.
He and his wife Jean reside on a
farm in the Shakespeare area. He will
report to the chairman of the board of
directors of OSLO
Students spend
summer working
for 4-H Ontario
Western Ontario students were
well represented among the summer
staff working for 4-H Ontario this
summer.
Brendan Zettler and Vanessa
Klages of Bruce County worked as
youth conference co-ordinator and
assistant opportunities co-ordinator
respectively.
Brendan worked with Jaclyn
Brand and Matt Zwambag, both of
Middlesex County, to plan and
deliver five 4-H members'
conferences across Ontario.
Vanessa was involved in co-
ordinating numerous 4-H Ontario
summer opportunities, most notably
the popular Careermania
Conference.
Brendan is very active with the
Bruce County 4-H program where
he has completed 24 4-H projects
and has attended many 4-H
opportunities both provincial and
national. He has been very involved
at the local and regional 4-H level
and has participated in the
AgVision Generation Next filming.
During his OAC year at high
school last year, he was very active
in the drama program. He has
managed, produced, directed and
written high school theatre
productions. He was also active in
other school activities including
peer tutoring as well as many other
community events.
Vanessa, who also recently
competed in the Bruce County
Queen of the Furrow competition,
has been involved with 4-H in
Bruce County for six years, taking
part in Careermania, Leadership
Camp, Future Leaders in Action
and the National 4-H Citizenship
Seminar.
She has been involved in writing
the Bruce County 4-H Newsletter
and working as a junior
representative for the Western
Ontario Hereford Association.
There were more than 7,000
young people between the ages of
10 and 21 involved in 4-H in
Ontario in 2002, helped out by
1,500 volunteers.°