“Our board of
directors had an incredibly difficult selection process this year,” said John
Kikkert, president of the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame Association.
They have chosen
three inductees for this year – William Harvey Beaty, Harvey John Graham and
Barry Hill.
• William Harvey
Beaty – Founder and chair of Cold Springs Farm Ltd., the Halton born farmer
turned 100 acres of farmland in Thamesford into a massive operation that
included 60 farms and 9,000 acres. The company expanded to raise hogs, turkeys,
chickens and beef cattle. It also included crops, a feed mill, grain elevators,
and processing and fertilizer plants. Beaty, who worked from a wheelchair, is credited
with creating thousands of jobs in the province, being an innovator in product
development, swine and poultry genetics and production quality. During his life
Beaty was involved with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Ontario Poultry
Council, Poultry Industry Conference and Exhibition, Ontario Egg Producers’
Marketing Board and Ontario Turkey Producers’ Marketing Board. Beaty died in
1994.
• Harvey John
Graham – A key advocate for Ontario’s and Canada’s beef industry, the Durham
Region man has spent his career working to ensure a sustainable future for beef
farmers. He’s been a director and president of the Ontario Cattlemen’s
Association (now Beef Farmers of Ontario), a director of the Canadian
Cattlemen’s Association, helped establish the Ontario feeder Cattle Loan
Guarantee Program, was instrumental in establishing the Environmental
Stewardship Award and worked to encourage farmers to use best practices for
herd health, marketing, accounting and the environment. He also helped
implement the national beef check-off program.
• Barry Hill –
Hill has been a leader for a community of farmers that doesn’t often see the
spotlight, working to develop new initiatives for agriculture and economic
sustainability within Ontario’s indigenous community. He helped form the First
Nations Agri Group Co-operative, designed to provide purchasing power for crops
and livestock inputs. That model has since proved useful for other indigenous
communities in Canada. Hill was also a board member and president of the Ontario
Soil and Crop Improvement Association, a founding board member of the
Integrated Grain Processors Co-operative for the production of ethanol and has
provided business expertise to more than 400 business through the Two Rivers
Community Development Centre.
