The P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture has a new Executive Director.
John Jamieson assumed the post in June taking over for Mike Nabuurs, who has accepted a position as vice-president of Atlantic Beef Products Inc. A Professional Agrologist and Certified Nutrient Management Planner, Mr. Jamieson has worked in the agriculture industry for a number of years and has a wide variety of experience.
He has worked with the Federation of Agriculture since 2004 with the Environmental Farm Plan program. Prior to that Mr. Jamieson worked with the PEI Hog Marketing Board as a food safety consultant and with the Atlantic Swine Research Partnership as a communications officer.
Mr. Jamieson is also very involved in community activities. He is the current chair of the Bonshaw Community Council, Co-Chair of the West River Watershed Enhancement Committee, Past-President of the Central Queens Wildlife Federation and President-Elect of the PEI Institute of Agrologists.
AGRImag sat down with John after he had been on the job for just over a month.
AGRImag: What has the job been like so far?
John: I have been quite busy bringing myself up to date on a number of issues and there have been some staffing changes in our office. The fact that I am familiar with the way the office works should lead to a smoother transition. I know all the board and the executive and who to call in the federal and provincial governments so that should shorten the learning curve.
AGRImag: What made you decide to apply for the position?
John: To tell you the truth, I had some mixed feelings about it. I really liked what I was doing with the Environmental Farm Plan program. There are a lot of producers in the province doing some really neat and innovative things and I hope to be able to keep my hand in that a little bit. I would like to thank Ray Arsenault, who chairs the Environmental Farm Plan committee. He has been great to work with and he really encouraged me to apply for this job.
AGRImag: How will your management style differ from that of Mike Nabuurs?
John: Mike did a great job, no question and I wish him well in his new position. He has left me with big shoes to fill, no question. One thing I would like to do is make a practice of calling up members and asking them what they think of a particular issue. Don’t be surprised if you get a call from me. My job is to provide input to the board and executive and to do that I want to talk to as many members as possible. Hopefully that will make the members feel more involved. To be a successful organization, your membership has to be engaged. Obviously all of the input is not going to be positive, but as far as I am concerned, a mistake is only a mistake if you don’t learn from it. Whether the feedback is positive or negative, I want to maintain the connection. We have over 600 members and collectively they have a lot of very positive ideas.
AGRImag: Are you optimistic about the future of the industry?
John: I honestly believe things will turn around. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have taken the job. Things may not be the same as they have been, but every industry is changing and agriculture is no different. There are a lot of producers doing some very innovative things. Many producers are now willing to try new crops for non-food uses like pharmaceuticals and energy. However, we have to be careful—not everything you try is going to work out. We also can’t stop growing crops for food—people still have to eat.
AGRImag: What are some of the issues the industry will be facing in the next 10-15 years?
John: We have to do a better job of telling the non-farming community about the importance of what we do. Already, the population in rural areas is declining, not just in P.E.I. but right across Canada; due in a large part to the financial challenges facing both farming and fishing. That has real social cost in the closure of everything from schools to churches. We have to make the non-farming community see the decreasing number of farmers as a real cost to society as a whole. We also need a national food policy and we are working on that through the Canadian Federation. We have to find a way to encourage more young people to enter the industry. The new farming generation has incredible skills and education and they have so many career options available to them. I think it is very exciting that they have chosen agriculture and we have to make sure that they are treated with the dignity they deserve.
