The Rural Voice, 2004-10, Page 62People in Agriculture
Perth County Federation of Agriculture President Tim Shute stands next to
his wife Ellen while chatting with Laurel Broten (left) and Kathleen Wynne
(far right) outside the Best Little Pork Shoppe at Shakespeare during a tour of
Ontario MPPs and other government officials to Perth County farms and agri-
businesses to help them learn more of the reality of agriculture.
MPPs get ag. crash course
Perth County Federation of
Agriculture and Perth -Middlesex
MPP John Wilkinson hosted a farm
tour for 20 Ontario MPPs called Ag.
101, on August 20.
The tour started at the farm of
Gerry and Linda Knechtel in
Shakespeare, where the couple also
operate their retail business The Best
Little Pork Shoppe. Each MPP was
paired up with a Perth County farmer
for the tour, giving them an
opportunity to ask questions and
learn more about agriculture.
The tour featured stops at Brian
and Wendy Anderson and family's
dairy operation, Gary, Brenda,
Adam and Danielle West's egg -layer
facility, and Fred and Shelley
Groenestege's hog farm and
construction business.
Several McGuinty Government
cabinet ministers took part in the
tour, including Finance Minister
Greg Sorbara, Minister of Labour
Chris Bentley, Health Minister
George Smitherman, Minister of
Natural Resources David Ramsay;
and Minister of Agriculture and Food
Steve Peters. Others taking the tour
included Laurel Broten, Etobicoke-
Lakeshore (Parliamentary Assistant
to the Premier); Donna Cansfield,
Etobicoke Centre (Parliamentary
Assistant to the Minister of Energy);
Bob Delaney, Mississauga West;
Kevin Flynn, Oakville (Parl-
iamentary Assistant to the Minister
of Labour); Deb Matthews, London;
Shafiq Qaadri, Etobicoke North
(Parliamentary Assistant to the
Minister of Children and Youth
Services); Maria VanBommel,
Lambton-Kent-Middlesex
(Parliamentary Assistant to the
Minister of Municipal Affairs);
Kathleen Wynne, Don Valley West
(Parliamentary Assistant to the
Minister of Training, Colleges and
Universities); David Pryce, Office of
the Premier; Peter Wilkinson, Chief
of Staff to Minister of Finance;
Siloni Waraich, Senior Advisor,
Operations, OMAF; and Kristan
Koehle, Executive Assistant to the
Minister of Environment.0
Ralph Ferguson
Outstanding
farmer in
Lambton County
Ralph Ferguson, creator of
"Compare the Share" and former
federal agriculture minister, was
named winner of the fourth annual
Outstanding Farmer award in
Lambton County in an August
ceremony.
Ferguson and his wife Delores
were presented with a portrait, a
copy of which will be hung in the
county building in Wyoming.
In his early years Ferguson took
part in 4-H and Junior Farmers.
learning skills that would be
important to his later life,
including debating. On the
couple's farm near Alvinston, he
adopted stewardship practices. He
also became involved in numerous
agricultural groups and served on
the National Farm Products
Marketing Agency.
He was first elected as a Liberal
MP in 1980 and served briefly as
federal agriculture minister in
1984. In 1988 he was re-elected as
an opposition member opposite the
government of Brian Mulroney.
In 1992 he created the
influential "Compare The Share"
document showing how little
farmers got from the consumers'
food dollar. A new version of the
study is currently under
consideration.
Since leaving politics he has
remained active in the community
and is currently working on his
memoirs.
Delores too has been active,
first as a school teacher, then as a
mother (they raised four children
and have seven grandchildren) and
farmer after her marriage and later
as a volunteer for Liberal party
campaigns in the Lambton-
Middlesex riding. Throughout it all
she has also been an influential
support for her husband in his
career.0