Drew Spoelstra remains the OFA president. Photo courtesy of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
Drew Spoelstra has been re-elected to a second one-year term as president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA).
Spoelstra is a dairy and crop farmer from Binbrook in the southeast corner of the city of Hamilton, Ontario. He has been on the OFA board as the director, representing farmers from Halton, Hamilton/Wentworth and Niagara since 2013. After serving as OFA Vice President, he was first elected to lead the organization last year.
Spoelstra farms with his family, milking cows, growing corn, soybeans, wheat, and hay, and raising beef cattle and horses. He also has a dealership for Pride Seeds, is an active volunteer on behalf of agriculture, and is a graduate of the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program.
“I appreciate the trust and confidence that my fellow board members have placed in me to lead this organization for another year,” stated Spoelstra. “Food and farming touch all Ontarians in many different ways. It’s a major pillar of the provincial economy, so it’s important for Ontario agriculture’s voice to be heard by decision-makers, and we will continue to make that a priority in the year to come.”
Sara Wood was re-elected by the membership to a second three-year term as a Director-at-Large on the board. She joins Spoelstra on the OFA Executive Committee, where she will serve a second year as Vice President.
Wood is a fourth-generation farmer from Perth County, where she and her family raise broiler chickens and grow crops, and Wallace is a dairy farmer from near Seaforth, who represents farmers in Huron and Perth counties.
Ethan Wallace, who previously held the Executive Member position, was elected as Vice President.
Paul Maurice joins the Executive Committee as an Executive Member this year. Maurice has been an OFA director since 2021, representing farmers in Peel, Simcoe and York. He and his wife Louise farm with their son Alex in the small bilingual community of Lafontaine just west of Penetanguishene, where they raise broiler chickens and grow crops.
Paul Vickers, who served one year as Vice President and one year as the Executive Member, opted not to run again this year for a position on the Executive Committee.
“We appreciate Paul’s contributions to the Executive over the past two years and wish him well with his future endeavours,” added Spoelstra.
The OFA is the largest general farm organization in Ontario, representing 38,000 farm families across the province and serving as the leading advocate and strongest voice of Ontario’s farmers. As a dynamic farmer-led organization based in Guelph, the OFA represents and champions the interests of Ontario farmers through government relations, farm policy recommendations, research, lobby efforts, community representation, media relations, and more. For more information, visit www.ofa.on.ca.