Bruce Mines beef farmer gets provincial accolade

A Bruce Mines beef farmer has been inducted into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame.

Ron Bonnett, a long-time industry advocate, was entered into the Hall on June 9, during an afternoon ceremony in Elora, north of Guelph, along with five other inductees. Bonnett was nominated by the Algoma Federation of Agriculture.

The Hall of Fame annually selects leaders from the sector based on their lifelong commitments to Ontario agriculture. Since 1980, 262 worthy members have been recognized with the honour.

“To qualify for this prestigious recognition, inductees must have shown visionary leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship and have demonstrated a lasting legacy to Ontario agriculture through their careers,” according to the Hall of Fame website.

Bonnett, who moved to the Algoma District in 1975, operates an 800-acre farm with 200 Angus beef cattle alongside his wife, Cathy. But he’s also worked at the municipal, provincial, federal and global levels for the industry.

He was the founding president of the Algoma Federation of Agriculture, going on to serve in leadership roles with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) and, most recently, as founding president and North American board member for the World Farmers’ Organization.

Bonnett’s leadership is described as “integral” during two major crises in the province: the Walkerton water crisis in 2000, and the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis in 2003.