Reapers of Hope - Volunteering

On Wednesday, December 19, the LEAF program went to the Reapers of Hope organization in Moorefield. When the class arrived and we created by the manager Don. We were treated to many baked goods and sat with those who also worked at this operation. While we were eating, a young man came into the room with a bible and shared a story. The story was about a boy who had five loaves of bread and two fish. The boy was expected to feed a crowd of 5,000 but couldn’t. The main message was that even small acts of kindness can have a large impact on others. After reading the story Don started talking to us about how they wanted to give food to people across the world who were less fortunate. After eating, Don took us on a tour of the facility showing us the process of cutting, dicing, drying, and storing the ingredients used to make the packages of soup that they export around the world. The organization specializes in 15 vegetables in their soup mixes including carrot, potato, onion, rutabaga, and celery. The ingredients come in fresh and are stored for later use. The day we came in, they were dealing with potatoes.. For the remainder of the visit, the LEAF group helped out in cutting the potatoes and removing any undesirable features that were on them. Their soup mixes reach places like Africa and the Middle East. Packages of the soup vary in size and how many people can eat, the biggest one being 90-100 servings. The environment was very inviting and relaxed. Thank you Don for being a very kind and informative host.   

University of Guelph

On Wednesday, December 5th, the Norwell LEAF program had the privilege to visit the University of Guelph Research barns. We first visited the chicken and horse barn where Dave Vandenburg gave a tour. It then followed up with lunch at the university and a powerpoint presentation of all the different agricultural programs that the University of Guelph and Ridgetown offered. Soon after, our last stop was a tour around the dairy research barns.

The Arkell Research (poultry barn) is a facility that supports the universities research projects. This is done by replicating different systems used throughout the industry. They have about 12,000 poultry. On this tour we first visited the hatchery, which has two 14,000 sized chicken egg incubators. This machine has slight movements to keep the eggs in motion as if it were still with the hen. This helps with keeping the yolk moving and not resting at the bottom of the egg. The eggs will then move to one of the two 5,000 egg hatchers. Next we moved to see the broilers and layers where we saw many different systems that are used (cage system, pullet rearing aviary, adult egg layer aviary etc.) and being able to see the pros and cons of each system. After walking through the poultry barns we then visited the equine sector. The university had about 30 horses and were researching about colic. Soon after, our class went to the University where we were kindly given pizza for lunch and listened to a presentation about courses given related to agriculture either through the University of Guelph or Ridgetown. This was beneficial for all students as we seen what we could get involved in after schooling, seeing many different job opportunities, and being able to talk to people that are very familiar with the schooling process.

Finally, we had the opportunity to visit the new dairy research barn that was built in 2015. This barn was a $25 million project, and is currently milking over 200 cows. For research purposes this barn has many different milking systems like one robot, rotary parlor, and tie stall, where cows are being switched throughout each system bi-weekly. Each cow has a different colour band on their leg to show which research project they are currently in. In the calf barn, there is currently a research trial in the process about the pain and discomfort calves experience throughout the dehorning process, and different medications that benefits the calves more.

All in all, this tour was a very unique experience for all of the students in the LEAF program. We can all benefit from this tour by first of all seeing all different systems used in each industry in just one day. It was a great way to be able to see how each system works and the pros and cons, not only from the farmers perspective but also in a research perspective. As well, this tour has shown us students about future job opportunities not only at the University, but also post-education from the presentation. Each person we met on the trip were very informational and were willing/able to answer all of our questions. We would like to give a special thanks to everyone involved for making this trip possible from sponsors, to bus drivers, teachers that joined, and especially anyone involved at the University of Guelph. It was a great experience and we are very thankful that you took time out of your day to educate us students on the research process in the poultry, equine, and dairy sectors.

Conlee Dairy Farm

On November 27, the Norwell LEAF class went to Conlee Farms outside of Listowel. Here we met Ralph and Alanna Coneybeare. Conlee Farms have 700 acres and have been farming five years with their new barn. We went to their dairy barn, saw their milking cows, and their milking robot. Some key points about the trip was how there is a lot of variety in agriculture. They had an electrical fire in their barn in 2013. They have had to recover from this loss and come back from it and not give up. One thing the LEAF class can take from this trip is that even a major set back like a barn fire you can still come back from it and be successful. My favorite thing about the trip was seeing how four people can run a big farm with cows and broilers. The LEAF class would like to thank Ralph and Alanna for taking time out of their busy schedule to show us your farm. Thanks for teaching us how you run your farm and I’m sure all students have all taken something valuable away from this trip.

Outback Tree Farm

The Norwell LEAF program went on a trip to Outback Tree farm outside of Listowel. Here we helped Tim and Christine Diebel prepare a load of Christmas trees for the Palmerston Lions Club. We took the trees down to the end of the property to roll and load. Tim and Christine have owned the farm for 24 years and have over 100 acres -80 workable and 22 in Christmas trees. They rent 58 acres to a cash cropper. They showed the class that a good tree has full branches, is green, and has a straight top. They have over 22000 trees on the farm and are harvesting and planting more each year. They have lots of equipment and the farm requires lots of hands on labour. They have a roller and a shaker to shake the snow off the trees and an atv so they don't have to walk back and forth across the farm. For Christmas trees they get $3000 dollars per acre (gross) and they donate $3 dollars from every tree to the Listowel library - $1500 dollars last year. Thank you Outback Tree Farm for your time. We learned a lot about Christmas trees and we were very happy to help.

Mapleview Agri

On November 14 the Norwell LEAF class visited Mapleview Agri. This family business is a veal farm located outside of Palmerston. They also manufacture their own milk replacer and sell across Canada. Mapleview Agri is run by the Keunen family. Brian and Joanne are joined by their son Aaron in the business. Brian runs the milk replacer side of the business and Aaron runs the research barns. We learned many facts and interesting information about veal calves, including the differences between milk fed veal and grain fed veal. For example, milk fed veal is 500lbs when sent to market and grain fed veal goes at 700lbs. A veal calf finishes on 1 ton of grain and 35kg of milk replacer. I actually took a lot away from this trip. Entering this trip I thought veal was little baby cows and that they got slaughtered at a young age. But I learned that they are not that small after all, they actually grow to be quite large and are treated well throughout their lifespan. I found this trip to be very interesting and educational.

Ontowa Dairy Farm

On Friday November 2nd the LEAF class went to Ontowa Farms in Elmira. Ryan & Lori Martin run this farm with Ryan’s brother and father. They have 105 milking cows and 120 young stock. They also have 100 steers and sell them at 1500lbs to the market. Thanks to biotechnology Ryan can use sexed semen to get only female calves. Ontowa Farm has an 8 year old barn and a parlor milking system. Ryan watches his cows so he knows when they are sick or in heat before the activity tracker system does. There is a huge difference from his new barn and his old barn. He talked a lot about making wise financial decisions on the farm. They could not build a barn and buy quota at the same time. The calf barn is facing south so it gets winter sun but not high summer sun providing a comfortable year round housing and better health results for the calves. Ryan saves money by doing many jobs himself such as welding, cement work and lumber. With their 285 acres of corn, alfalfa, wheat, and oats they produce 85% of their own feed. The cows lay on sawdust because it helps provide comfort and keeps them healthy. I enjoyed how nice the main barn looked and how clean it looked. It's clear that they care about their cows. LEAF would like to thank Ontowa Farms for letting us tour their farm and learning how they do their job.

Clovermead Dairy Farm

On October 31, the LEAF class of Norwell went to Clovermead dairy outside of Drayton. Korb Whale runs the family farm and is the 7th generation to do so. The class learned a lot about Korb’s freestall barn and how he uses the manure from the cows to run his anaerobic digester. His digester creates electricity out of cow manure and food waste. He uses the electricity to power his farm and sell access to the grid. We would just like to thank Korb for his time and the amazing tour of his farm. It was a great example of sustainable agriculture.

Royal Winter Fair

The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair takes place every November in Toronto. The Royal offers everything from agriculture, local foods, and equestrian competitions from across the country. Whether you’re a guest or exhibitor you’ll never get bored as there is so much to do and see. Every year, 300 000 people come to the Fair to celebrate the best of the best foods, livestock, and horsemanship. It sure is an eye opener into the world of agriculture.

As a student from the LEAF program I really got a wide look at some parts of agriculture. The most interesting thing about the Royal is that everyone has a different background in agriculture. It is really unique to take a look at what different parts of Canada have to offer. Something that stood out to me was the cooking class that we did with chef Anna Chen. Our goal for the class was to make cabbage dumplings with plum sauce. It was very interesting and unique to learn how to properly cook cabbage and how to properly make a good dumpling. I enjoyed learning about Anna’s background and why she cooks the way she does. She told us what her schooling was like. It really goes to show how someone can still work in agriculture but be in a more food based job.


What I have taken away from my day at The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair is what my meaning and view of agriculture truly is. To me, agriculture is the study and life of animals, crops, and people. Agriculture takes hard work, passion, and responsibility. Everyone has to learn how to work hard and efficiently with others to get the job done on time. It’s not just farmers who are a part of the agriculture industry. There are so many jobs that surround the industry which really opened my thoughts too. At the Royal I talked with a few people from Quebec who were there for 4H competitions. I asked what agriculture means to them. What I liked most of what they said was that it’s not just the money and jobs that are interesting. It is also the families, the history, and the legacies of agriculture. The passion that people have for their jobs and way of life is truly something amazing. I will always remember my time at The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair as it has opened my eyes and thoughts to what agriculture is all about.

Timberline Farm

On October 24th the Norwell LEAF program went to Jared James’ Timberline farm near Harriston. Timberline Farm is 150 acres (120 workable) and Jared has been on the farm for 5 years. Jared raises cattle and grows hay. He runs an intensive rotational grazing system on his pasture. Jared sells 90% of his meat in Toronto to a high end market. Jared has Speckle Park and Wagyu breeds of cattle. He has experimented with pigs, maple syrup, chickens, gardening and ducks. He did not like the noise or labour with those farming practices. He uses “grass fed” as his selling point. Jared has no machinery because he does not need it for rotation grazing and it also costs a lot of money. He is also helping the environment to save the bobolink bird population by cutting his hay later in the year to save their nesting spots from getting destroyed. Jared is not planning to expand because it is a lot of money but is going to get his neighbours to raise cattle his way. In conclusion, the trip was a lot of fun and we got to learn Jared’s way of farming.

Maitland Valley Conservation Tree Planting

On Friday October 26 Norwell’s LEAF program teamed up with the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) to plant some coniferous and deciduous trees. Our goal was to create a buffer zone between a waterway and some farmland. We did this because the land was cropped too close to the waterway which was causing the soil to erode into the water. Potentially cropping a field this close to a stream could lead to water pollution, soil erosion, and sedimentation. Something that we learned is that even simple things like planting trees can have a big environmental impact (stopping soil/water erosion) and can protect waterways.Thank you MVCA for giving us the chance to help impact our local environment in a positive way.