The 2010 FCC Rosemary Davis Award Winners
Bette Jean Crews – crops and horticulture producer, industry leader, teacher and volunteer – Trenton, Ontario
Bette Jean Crews is co-owner of an 800-acre family farm that produces apples, grains, corn and strawberries and markets roadside fresh farm products. She has been involved with hands-on responsibility in every aspect of daily operations and long-range planning for the family farm business. Bette Jean also commits to community and farm issues, which has led to her involvement in the politics of Ontario and Canadian agriculture.
Serving in her second term as President of Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) offers one of her greatest sources of pride, as does being a founding director of OnTrace Agri-Food Traceability, which was established in 2006 by the Provincial government. OnTrace exists to deliver integrated, flexible and affordable traceability systems for the agriculture and food industry.
Bette Jean also serves on the Executive Committee of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, is co-chair of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture Food Safety Committee and serves on the Canadian Supply Chain Food Safety Coalition and the Co-operators Insurance Group. Bette Jean has also been a member of several other boards and committees, such as the Agriculture Adaptation Council, Ontario Rural Child Care Task Force, inaugural Chair Ontario Agricultural Management Institute, and the Ontario Farm Women’s Network.
Bette Jean has been instrumental in bringing together a coalition of commodity organizations to address the crises faced by their Ontario agricultural sectors. The need to stabilize and sustain Ontario agriculture is the driving force. The concept of a National Food Strategy originated from her direct involvement with a myriad of important agricultural issues. The National Food Strategy has been adopted by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture to now drive its development and adoption by governments.
“A void exists in our direction for agriculture policy in this country. The time is right for a national food strategy to identify and guide our agriculture and food objectives for the future.” she says.
Bette Jean still manages to find time in her busy schedule to share her experiences with students by presenting at the high school level and to students at the universities of Guelph and Toronto.
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Gay Hahn – dairy producer, industry leader, educator and volunteer – Burnaby, British Columbia
Gay has been running Avalon Dairy for 29 years. In 1999, she helped to take the BC dairy industry to an entirely different level when she began selling organic products, making Avalon Dairy BC’s first Certified Organic Dairy.
Over the years, Gay has been very involved in the BC agriculture industry. She has served as chair of several local, provincial and national associations, including Avalon Dairy Heritage Society, Food Processing Human Resource Council of Canada, BC Dairy Foundation, BC Dairy Council and BC Food Processors Association. She also has served on several boards and committees, such as the BC Milk Marketing Board, Transportation Advisory Committee, Butterfat Working Committee, Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC, Pacific Agriculture Certification Society and the Certified Organic Associations of BC, to name a few.
This isn’t the first time Gay has been recognized for her efforts. She is also the proud recipient of the Ralph J. Barichello Award, the Queen’s Jubilee Award and the City of Vancouver Heritage Award.
“I would love to see agriculture become a household word, and see all Canadians choose locally grown fresh fruits, vegetables and meat products. This would ensure that farmers receive greater benefit from their endeavors”, she says.
Gay also finds time to share her knowledge with children. She presents to students through Agriculture in the Classroom and organizes tours of the Avalon Farms, educating kids on how milk is produced.
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Jeannie van Dyk – dairy and crops producer, volunteer, mentor and teacher – Noel Shore, Nova Scotia
Jeannie is the co-owner with her husband John McLellan of a dairy operation with 90 cows and 415 acres of pasture forage and corn. She’s also a partner with her brothers Peter and Charles in van Dyk Blueberry Enterprises, a low bush blueberry operation, which consists of 600 acres of blueberry land and 400 acres of forest.
Jeannie spent five years as a Provincial Swine Specialist with the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture. She was the first female to work with the livestock branch, conducting extension work.
In 2007, she became the first female chair of the Farmers Cooperative Dairy, an organization of which she is very proud of.
“I believe that success doesn’t magically appear. You have to look for it and work towards it. I consider myself fortunate to be involved in agriculture today. It’s a complex industry and I wouldn’t want to do anything else. As people’s ideas about the food they eat and how it’s produced continue to evolve, we are faced with new challenges”, she says.
Jeannie also believes in lifetime learning and enjoys working with youth and learning from them, as well as sharing her knowledge in various roles as a 4-H leader, teacher of Agriculture Exploratory to middle school students, teacher of a Swine Production Course at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College and guest lecturer at the same college on topics such as rural communities, local agricultural processing and success in agriculture. Jeannie loves working with young people and encouraging them to pursue their dreams in agriculture.
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Margaret Rempel – hog and crops producer, volunteer, industry and community leader – Ste. Anne, Manitoba
Margaret has been farming for 32 years. Today, she manages and operates Rempelco Acres, a mixed farm made up of a 500-sow farrow-to-finish hog enterprise and 1,600 acres of cropland. She grows wheat, barley, corn, soybeans, canola, oats and alfalfa.
Margaret is very involved in Manitoba’s agriculture community. She has chaired the Canadian Food grains Bank and the Manitoba Biodiesel Council.
She has also served on several boards and committees, including the Sectoral Advisory Group on International Trade, Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, Keystone Agricultural Producers, Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council Inc., Manitoba Pork Council and Bethesda Hospital Foundation in Steinbach. Throughout the years, Margaret has also been a 4-H leader at the local club, district council and regional association level.
Margaret is the proud recipient of half a dozen Top Ten Producer awards in Manitoba, as well as the Swine Stewardship Award for innovative farming practices and dedicated community services. In 2009, she was also recognized with the Philanthropist of the Year Award from the Loewen and the Steinbach Community Foundations.
“I’m just one more voice trying to remind society of the importance of primary food producers and safe and reliable food production”, she says.
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Marie Gosselin – greenhouse operator, business woman, professional agrologist, visionary – Portneuf, Quebec
Marie started working at Les Serres du Saint-Laurent 20 years ago and became its president and CEO in 2008. At the helm of the largest greenhouse operation in Quebec, Marie has made tremendous contributions to the company’s growth. The company specializes in greenhouse tomatoes, in particular the Savoura brand tomato, which currently accounts for over 55 per cent of Quebec’s annual tomato sales. The company’s five locations employ a total of 250 people and generate $30 million in sales. The greenhouses cover 18 acres or the equivalent of 35 football fields! In 2007, Marie was the driving force behind a new greenhouse complex – the first of its kind in Quebec – heated with biogas from a landfill site. The operation has developed its own unique expertise using artificial lighting. “Producers come from all over the world to see how it works,” she adds.
Marie serves on several boards and is very active in the greenhouse industry as vice-president of the Syndicat des producteurs en serres du Québec (UPA) and director of the Quebec Produce Marketing Association. She is also involved in the Dispute Resolution Commission, an international organization that ensures smooth trading of produce between Canada, Mexico and the United States.
In 1994, she won the Quebec Métro young entrepreneur award and, in 2005, the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association and the Salon de l’Agriculture presented her with the Cérès award for agri-marketing person of the year.
“My vision has always been to build a name and a brand synonymous with quality and reliability of our agricultural products,” Marie says. “For this to happen, you need teamwork. It’s essential. Teamwork is what makes us strong and people really value it.”
