National News Congratulations! A special congratulations to Marlene Burns of the Sawyerville 4-H Club who was chosen as the Quebec 4-H recipient of “Leader of the year”! Thank you to 4-H Canada and the Co-operators for making this award possible. In 2014, Marlene also celebrated 10 years as a 4-H volunteer. \Thank you Marlene for your commitment and great work with 4-H!
Congratulations also to these 4-H’ers and Alumni: Congratulations to Rachel MacFarlane 4-H Alumna from Howick Québec. She will be representing Canada at the Ayrshire international youth activity in Finland from January 25 to February 1 2015.
Congratulations to Shinae Hartley from the MAC/JAC 4-H club who was chosen to attend a Going Global Exchange to Finland this summer through 4-H Canada.
Congratulations to Amanda Bushey, a Richmond 4-H Alumni who was selected as to be one of the artists in the YES Art Expo.
Awed by Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers By Lorelei Muller Thanks to the generousity of CIBC, national sponsor of both Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers and 4-H Canada, Quebec 4-H received invitations to attend the COYF gala on November 28. Unfortunately, none of our provincial directors were able to attend due to school and other commitments but staff member Chelsea Daniel and I made the trip out to Quebec City to learn more about the program. Celebrating 34 years of identifying great agricultural successes, Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers’ program is an annual co mpetition to recognize farmers that exemplify excellence in their profession and promote the tremendous contribution of agriculture. Open to participants 18 to 39 years of age, making the majority of income from on-farm sources, participants are selected from seven regions across Canada, with two national winners chosen each year. The program is sponsored nationally by CIBC, John Deere, Bayer CropScience, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and by national media sponsor Annex Publishing. OYF is supported nationally by AdFarm, BDO, and Farm Management Canada. Thanks to COYF for covering our registration fees for the day, we were able to get a true appreciation for their amazing organization. The morning started with an entertaining presentation by motivational speaker Carol Alain who provided insight into “The Clash of the Generations”, amusing and informative food for thought for farming families working on succession planning. The highlight of the day was the OYF presentations. Honorees from each of the 7 regions (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and NWT, BC and Yukon) had a strictly timed 15 minutes for those presentations followed by a five minute period for questions from the audience. For the most part, couples presented together. Their passion for agriculture was clear as they demonsrated the growth of their enterprises, innovation, and commitment to community. Several honourees acknowledged involvement in 4-H including AJRQ alumni Bruno Soucy who operates a dairy, pork, and cash crop farm at Saint-Édouard-deLotbinière with his wife Hélène St-Pierre. It was a pleasure to run into Lynn Bryson who was national winner with husband William in 1987 as well as Sylvain Gascon and Frances Brunet, 1997 regional winners. These COYF alumni gushed about the organization, refering to the bond amongst alumni, learning and networking opportunities. We were warmly welcomed by CIBC Executive Director of Group Enterprises, Jean-Hughes Latreille, a native of Huntingdon, QC, who sat at a neighbouring table along with four members of the AJRQ. We enjoyed an incredible meal of home grown produce alongside producers from Quebec, CIBC Director of Specialized Segments Darryl Worsley, 4-H Canada President Valerie Pearson and her husband Jamie. Finally, the 2014 national winners were announced. Congratulations to Myron and Jill Krahn of Manitoba and Andrew and Heidi Lawless of PEI. To learn more: www.oyfcanada.com
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Quebec 4-H News Spreader
February 2015