The Rural Voice, 1989-05, Page 28FIRST PRINCIPLES
N FARMING An Interview with
Elbert van Donkersgoed
26 THE RURAL VOICE
W
hen Elbert van Donkers-
goed at the age of 19 left
Howick Township in Huron County
for Calvin College in Grand Rapids,
Michigan, his intention was eventually
to enter the ministry.
As a student majoring in
philosophy, he used his spare time to
improve his chess game. He even
took a shot at the Michigan State title
in chess, missing the championship by
one move.
Today, as research and policy
director for the Christian Farmers
Federation of Ontario (CFFO), that
background — except for the one
flawed move — tells. Described as
"the main architect" of the CFFO, he
is widely respected for his consistent
and intense analysis of agriculture,
with the stress on "culture."
He's a man who analyzes data like
a chess player, and he's a man who
sounds suspiciously like a preacher,
or a poet, when he speaks of "God's
creation" and the glory of a spring
day. He's a man who remembers —
often — when neighbourliness
reflected the richness of a rural ethos
and threshing teams came down the
sideroad, and he's a man who is quick
to introduce new computer technology
into the CFFO office. Agriculture is
his ministry, and ministration means
creative change.
As an analyst of agricultural policy
and issues, he has an almost ferocious
grasp on details; he also has the cur-
ious gravity and gentleness of some-
one who thinks hard and long — all
the way back to first principles and
forward again. Take as an example
his response to "The People and the
Land," a pastoral statement released
by the Ontario Conference of Catholic
Bishops in March. It's a statement so
sympathetic to the farm community