The Rural Voice, 2006-08, Page 70People in Agriculture
Selling Canadian agriculture in China
Canada's profile in China will
receive a boost this summer from
Junior Team Canada, a group of 32
students which included Chad
Swance, a Huron County farm boy
from Elimville, near Exeter.
The group of 16-25 year olds are
part of what is essentially a trade
mission, set up under the auspices of
Global Vision by former Middlesex
MP Terry Clifford.
Swance and the others were
selected based on a day -long working
session, a creative presentation about
themselves and an essay proposing
what they would promote it they
were chosen for the program.
Swance chose to champion
agriculture and will be telling the
Chinese about Canadian "quality and
excellence".
Swance is a third year
international business student at the
University of Ottawa and has used
his internships to specialize in
agriculture with his goal to become a
trade negotiator.
He served in the Ottawa office of
Huron -Bruce MP Paul Steckle then
the chair of the standing committee
on agriculture. He has also worked
for an international trade firm on the
com countervail case.
"It really opened my eyes to how
massive and complex agriculture is."
Even the seemingly simple term
"corn" includes such variations as
wet corn, dry corn and pop -corn.
This summer Swance has been
working for the Municipality of
South Huron.
Half the $9,000 cost of the trip is
covered by Global Vision and team
members are responsible for finding
sponsors for the rest. Sponsors
contributing more than $2,500 get a
report answering their questions and
identifying contacts. Swance says he
has told potential sponsors they can't
send a staff member to do the
research he can provide.
What's more, "With the Canadian
dollar appreciating against the
American dollar, we have to start
looking for new places to sell our
products," Swance says. "That's the
purpose of this mission: to open
doors and diversify agricultural trade
in China."
Junior Team Canada leaves
August 3 for a three-week trip to
China. The schedule includes stops
in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai
and Zhengzhou.
Last year's mission to Brazil
gained more attention m three weeks
than the Canadian embassy got in a
year, Swance said.0
Underwood wins science award
A 14 -year-old Wingham-area
student is among seven winners at
the Canada -Wide Science Fair.
Matthew Underwood had one of
six winning projects that shared
$5,000 in prize money.
"The exciting ideas presented by
these young scientists promise a
bright and dynamic future for the
agriculture sector," said Chuck
Strahl, Minister of Agriculture and
Agri -Food. "It is talented young
Canadians like these who will one
day lead the way in new agriculture
markets and technologies."
Others accepting the awards were
Sage Birley (12, British Columbia),
Josh Segeren (14, Ontario), Ronan
Lefol (14, Saskatchewan), Kara
Nadeau (17, Manitoba), and
Catherine Bergeron-Legros (16,
Quebec) and Gabrielle Delisle (16,
Quebec), who shared the award for
their project.
The theme for this year's fair was
"A Green Science Fair" with a focus
on bioproducts and biofuels. The
winning projects included
experiments in engineering,
biotechnology and pharmaceutical
sciences, and earth and
environmental sciences. They
included studies on, among other
things, acid rain's effects on seed
germination and ethanol as an
alternative solvent for soybean oil
extraction, a more environmentally
friendly option than the currently
used hexane.0
Schlegel re-elected
Pork Council
president
Perth County's Clare Schlegel
was re-elected to lead the national
hog producers' federation for a
third term at the annual general
meeting of the Canadian Pork
Council, July 6-7 in Winnipeg.
"I am honoured to take on this
role once again," Schlegel said
following his election. "I'm
looking forward to a good year for
our industry."
A Tavistock hog producer,
Schlegel is joined by a newly
elected Executive Committee
consisting of First Vice -President
Florian Possberg, (Sask Pork),
Second Vice -President Jean -Guy
Vincent, (Federation des
producteurs de pores du Quebec),
Stephen Moffett, (Porc NB Pork),
Bryan Ferris (Manitoba Pork
Council), Jurgen Preugschas
(Alberta Pork), and Jerry
Gelderman (BC Pork).
The gathering provided a venue
for pork producer associations from
across Canada to discuss current
industry issues including inter-
national trade, food safety, animal
care, and the environment. The
meeting included a visit from Joy
Philippi, President, and Neil
Dierks, CEO, of the U.S. National
Pork Producers Council, who spoke
of the synergies that exist between
the Canadian and American hog
industries, and the importance of
working together for the betterment
of the integrated North American
hog market.
Overall, Schlegel felt positive
about the meeting, adding, "We've
had many challenges for our
industry over the past year, but
there was a lot of goodwill and an
atmosphere of co-operation around
the table in Winnipeg. We are all
interested in working together, and
moving forward with positive
changes for our sector over the next
12 months."0