Farm organizations benefit from diverse perspectives

By Clint Cameron, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

I’ve been involved in the agriculture community in various ways throughout my entire life, and this past fall, I stepped into a new role as a director on the provincial board of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA).

It’s an exciting challenge and I’m keen to put my skills and experiences to work for Ontario’s farming sector. My background is a little different than that of most of my fellow board members, but that’s precisely where I believe I can help make a difference and bring some new perspectives to the OFA’s advocacy efforts and collaborative partnership building.

Let me tell you how I got there.

I was raised on a farm near Cardinal, a small Eastern Ontario community on the shores of the St Lawrence between Brockville and Cornwall. I grew up haying and working as a relief milker on the many dairy farms in our area, as well as riding, showing and judging Quarter Horses on the U.S and Eastern Canadian show circuit until I was in my 20s.

After graduating from the University of Ottawa with a degree in criminology and administration, I worked at Newell, maker of popular brands like Rubbermaid and Coleman, for a few years before joining Ottawa-based Nortel as part of their global program management team, where I had responsibilities for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Pacific Rim. It was during this time I also completed a postgraduate program in finance at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University.

My next career move brought me back to my roots with a senior position at Casco – now Ingredion – a corn, starch, sugar and animal feed processor in my hometown of Cardinal, where I was responsible for procurement, operations and inbound logistics.