When I asked Middlesex County what they did with the delegates Amy Oliver gave me great feedback, including a detailed report of the day to day activities! I’m not going to play with it much but I will share with you what the delegates thought of zone 5!
Saturday/Sunday July 11th and 12th: On Saturday evening we greeted the first delegate, Gillian, at the airport with a “Welcome Gillian” sign. The others arrived on Sunday and enjoyed their first meal in Middlesex County.
Monday July 13th: We began Monday with a couple of farm tours. First was a tour of a rabbit farm, where they raise rabbits for meat. Next came Tree Lane Farms, which is a Christmas tree farm. The delegates enjoyed a potluck dinner at the Crump’s, where they got to meet several of our other members.
Tuesday July 14th: Tuesday was a busy but fulfilling day. The delegates started by touring Stanton’s Dairy which milks 750 cows three times a day. Next, they were welcomed to the Denfield Livestock Exchange, where they had the opportunity to speak with many local farmers. Then the delegates headed to the Ailsa Craig Museum to learn about the history of Middlesex and see the Middlesex Junior Farmer’s display. To finish the day the delegates had the opportunity to go milking at the O’Neil’s dairy farm.
Wednesday July 15th: On Wednesday the delegates travelled to London, Ontario to run some errands and go shopping. Carolin finally found a pair of overalls! On the way home we stopped by many signs for them to get pictures, including a London sign, a Middlesex Junior Farmers’ Tractor sign, and the Lucan sign. We took a quick little tour of Lucan, where the girls were able to stop by the post office. Then we toured Sam Taylor’s harness racing horse farm where we learned how he brings in horses from New Zealand and trains them. After a delicious supper at Amy’s the group enjoyed a movie and a campfire.
Thursday July 16th: Thursday morning started by Gillian and Beatrice helping Amy chop onions for the Glencoe Truck and Tractor Pull. In the afternoon they headed to the Fanshawe Pioneer Village in London to learn about the first settlers in Ontario. They enjoyed some yummy ice cream at Merla Mae’s Ice Cream Parlour and headed back for a girl’s night at Andrea’s house.
Friday July 17th: On Friday morning, they toured a wind farm and were able to go up inside a wind turbine. The delegates even got to meet and tour the office of the Mayor of Adelaide Metcalfe, Kurtis Smith. To end the evening, they enjoyed a night out at the Glencoe Truck and Tractor Pull.
Saturday July 18th: On Saturday, some enjoyed a lazy day, while others went on a farm tour. A couple delegates headed to the Home County Folk Festival in Victoria Park to enjoy nice walk around looking at local artisans’ work. We all gathered at Boston Pizza where we met members from the Perth County Junior Farmers and swapped luggage. The Middlesex and Perth Junior Farmers headed to Cowboys with the delegates to enjoy one last evening together.
The Middlesex Junior Farmers truly enjoyed every minute they spent with this group of lovely and talented young ladies.
The delegates would have to agree that their favourite tour in zone 5 was Stanton’s the massive 750 cow dairy they saw! They thought the facility was amazing and that their tour was amazing too! Saying their host was even so thoughtful as to serve them lunch after the tour!
Other highlights for the delegates included the tractor pull, the wind farm and meeting the mayor Kurtis Smith!
I would like to thank Amy Oliver and Andrea Crump for hosting in Zone 5, and any other Middlesex members who toured or picked up the girls after break week! If you haven’t had a chance to meet these lovely ladies yet there is still time to get tickets to this year Ambassadors Banquet being held in Milverton (Perth County) this year! You can find the form on the website at www.jfao.on.ca under Resources, Annual Provincial Events and Ambassadors Banquet.
You can learn so much from hosting a delegate! There is still plenty of opportunity to host this year by hosting one of the Welsh or Belgium delegates in November!! Contact me at cip@jfao.on.ca for hosting opportunities or to discover how you can have a unique travel experience through JFAO.
Jen van der Meulen (CIP) and Amy Oliver (Middlesex)
