The Citizen, 2019-08-15, Page 2PAGE 2. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 2019.
Mitchell seeks to encourage fair participation
Continued from page 1
Brussels Fall Fair is a major
responsibility for Mitchell, but it’s
far from the only one, he said.
“The ambassador role encom-
passes a lot of things,” he said. “It’s
more than going to the fair and going
to a parade. I’m looking forward to
those other responsibilities.”
He said his primary goal is to have
more people involved in the fair,
something he has been involved with
since childhood. To that end, he is
encouraging everyone to submit
two items to the fair. The deadline,
he wanted to remind everyone, is
Sept. 17 at noon, making now a great
time to start planning for the
competition.
“I’ve entered submissions into the
fair my entire life, but I’ve never had
a direct role in it,” he said.
Aside from that, Mitchell will also
be representing the Agricultural
Society and the Brussels Fall Fair
with other organizations. His first
official appearance after being
named Ambassador, for example,
will be to represent and publicize the
fair during the Huron County
Plowing Match’s awards banquet.
“They do some awesome things
there, so I’ll be happy to represent
the Agricultural Society and
promote the fair there,” he said.
The fair’s theme, which was
reflected heavily in his speech, is
“Back to Our Roots” and he said that
valuing the roots of agriculture is
important, but not at the cost of
losing sight of the future.
“While we honour our roots in
agriculture, we are not going to get
bogged down in them either,” he said
in his speech. “Farming is always a
balance between learning from our
past and embracing the future, but as
our industry prepares to feed an
additional two billion people by
2050, we need to increasingly look
to new branches of technology and
innovation to sustainably increase
the efficiency and productivity of
our farms.”
Mitchell is living that message,
having recently started a company
with several University of Guelph
classmates to make a soybean-based
liqueur called 5th Bean.
A Walton-area native, Mitchell is
now pursuing a degree in
Environmental Science with a major
in Environmental Economics at the
University of Guelph. He is a past-
president of the Brussels Leo Club,
the current Youth Chair for the
Huron-Bruce Federal Liberals and a
member of the Ontario Agricultural
College Student Federation’s
executive.
MITCHELL’S SPEECH
Honourable judges, Legion
members, distinguished contestants,
ladies and gentlemen, the theme of
our fair this year is “Back to Our
Roots” and I would like to talk to
you about the value of having roots
in agriculture.
Our community is the root system
from which we can grow and
flourish. From the agricultural roots
in our community, we grow caring
people, and nurture the success of
the next generation. Organizations
like the Brussels Agricultural
Society, and service clubs like the
Lions, Leos and the Optimists, all
take a leading role in supporting the
growth and development of our
youth while making our community
a better place to live.
Each child who has displayed their
grandma’s flowers in a rubber boot
or won a ribbon for their 12-foot-tall
corn stalk has learned the value of
growing food. Every cotton ball
sheep or 4-H calf recognized gives
the message that taking care of your
livestock is important.
As a child, I fondly recall
decorating a tractor using seeds
grown on our farm. This project and
my family taught me early on to
value the technology and hard work
that goes into producing our crops.
In all these ways, the fair teaches us
to value our roots in agriculture!
We are particularly blessed that
our area of midwestern Ontario has
allowed agriculture to take root,
thrive and grow. Worth noting is that
Huron County is Ontario’s top corn-
producing county and a close third
when it comes to soybeans.
Agriculture hasn’t taken root here
just because we have fertile land, it
is the culmination of the knowledge
and skills of all the individuals in our
community who work in the agri-
food industry.
But while we honour our roots in
agriculture, we are not going to get
bogged down in them either.
Farming is always a balance
between learning from our past and
embracing the future, but as our
industry prepares to feed an
additional two billion people by
2050, we’ll need to increasingly
look to new branches of technology
and innovation to sustainably
increase the efficiency and
productivity of our farms.
My roots in agriculture have
provided me with meaningful
research and learning opportunities
at the University of Guelph. I’m now
executing a national survey of how
precision agriculture impacts field
level decision-making. My study on
precision agriculture in Ontario has
actually been published in the
Canadian Journal of Plant Science.
Beyond this, roots in agriculture
have helped me in my summer jobs
where I’m often the only one who
has worked on a farm.
Being from a farm also comes
with the responsibility to educate
others about agriculture. To this end,
I’ve helped with farm tours for
master’s students from Guelph who
have never been on a Canadian farm.
Of course, this meant coming to
Brussels to see the best farms our
province has to offer.
My roots in agriculture have also
resulted in interesting business
opportunities. I got involved with
the Project Soy innovation
competition at the University of
Guelph for which my team created
a delicious prize-winning creme
liqueur using Ontario soybeans. I
have also been working with the
business incubator at the university
to try and get our business, 5th Bean,
off the ground. Who knew my soy
creations would evolve from a
tractor decorated with soybeans to
soybean liqueur!
The strength, growth and success
of our agricultural community all
depend on healthy roots. Each year
for the last 158 years, the Brussels
Agricultural Society has hosted a
fair that showcases the products of
our community’s talents, industry
and imagination. Please continue to
nurture the creation of strong
agricultural roots in your own way.
That might be in your everyday
work, growing, producing, baking,
crafting or creating. Maybe you can
nurture the growth of a young
person’s connection to our agri-
cultural roots by encouraging them
to get involved with the fair. You
never know what that might inspire!
Thank you so much for coming
tonight to support the contestants
and the Brussels Agricultural
Society. Like this fair, a plant needs
healthy roots to grow. Your
participation helps the Brussels Fall
Fair community to grow and thrive!
Please continue to cultivate and
support our agricultural roots!New Ambassador
After impressing judges with his speech Sean Mitchell was named the Brussels Fall Fair
Ambassador. Above, his predecssor Amanda Morrison passes on the title. (Hannah Dickie photo)
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