APRIL 2023 THE RIDER /53 OFA Viewpoint Role of women in farming and food production is changing


that has been increasingly changing – and the latest Census of Agriculture num- bers back that up. For the first time since


By Tracey Arts, Director, Ontario Federation of Agri- culture


Women have long


played a very pivotal al- though often unseen role in Canadian agriculture. Tradi- tionally, that role has been one of support, from doing the farm books and helping with chores, to raising the


family, managing the house- hold and whatever else was needed behind the scenes to keep things running. It was less common to


see women actively running or managing farm busi- nesses or participating in leadership roles with farm and agricultural organiza- tions, but that’s something


1991, when the Census of Agriculture first started col- lecting data on this topic, the number of female farmers in Canada has increased, rising to 30.4% of the farm popu- lation. And interestingly, that growth is attributed en- tirely to an increase in what Statistics Canada calls “one- operator farms” – that is, women who farm by them- selves. The data also shows that more women are now running large farm busi- nesses than ever before too. As we mark Interna-


tional Women’s Day this week, it’s interesting for me to reflect on this evolution in our industry. I farm to-


gether with my husband and our children in Oxford County and I’m also a direc- tor on the board of the On- tario


Federation Agriculture (OFA), of the


largest farm organization in the province. I grew up on farm and


completed schooling as a veterinary technician, so agriculture has always been a part of my life. When you’re in a life like farming, which is a 365-day a year job, it’s important to love what you do and I’ve always enjoyed being around ani- mals and working outside. And it’s rewarding when you can raise healthy live- stock, grow a good crop or have a high yielding har- vest.


When I was growing up, sales and service people coming to our farm


wouldn’t be interested in speaking to my mother about issues related to the farm even though she did the books, paid the bills and spent her fair share of time on a tractor cropping or bal- ing hay. On our farm today,


our suppliers and service providers understand that I’m an involved partner in our family business and speak to both of us equally. I know that is not yet every woman in agriculture’s ex- perience, but the industry has definitely come a long way in accepting women in leadership and management roles.


Things have also been


evolving at the farm organi- zation level. The OFA, for example, currently has both


a female president and a fe- male general manager, and I share the board table with both female and male direc- tors.


There is still room for


more change, though, when it comes to women being ac- cepted as equals across many different aspects of life. Society in general views men who stand up for their opinions as strong leaders, whereas women in a similar capacity are some- times called difficult – a sce- nario that is experienced by women in many sectors, not just agriculture, and still needs to change. That being said, my


advice to girls and women considering a career in agri- culture or taking on a lead- ership role in a farm business or agricultural or-


ganization is to just go for it if that’s something you’re interested in. It’s not always an easy


road, so finding a mentor, a good group of friends or other supports is helpful. Taking leadership training is also valuable as it helps you learn new skills, build a pro- fessional network and give you the confidence to speak up with conviction. I’m just completing the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program and have found it to be extremely useful to help me further my skills, grow my network, and build my confidence. Women have always


been in the background of agriculture, but we’ve proven that we’re very capa- ble to be at the forefront of farming too.


Equine Guelph: An Online Portal to Unlimited Possibilities


Guelph, ON March, 15 - Students and faculty from more than 40 countries around the world form the foundation of Equine Guelph’s online community. Regardless of their aca- demic backgrounds, their goals or their reasons for en- rolling, students from differ- ent walks of life can adapt the courses to their specific needs and interests. What happens after completing the courses, well…. read for yourself.


Start here anywhere Six years ago, ecolo-


gist and primatologist Cyn- thia Naydani was searching for a way to reintroduce horses back into her every- day life. A lifelong eques- trian, in her youth she planned to become an equine veterinarian, but as an undergraduate at the Uni- versity of Calgary she dis- covered that she didn’t love anatomy and changed her career path. After complet- ing two honours degrees, in ecology and primatology,


she spent over a decade travelling the world, study- ing primates in Belize and later owning a scuba diving school and yoga studio on a tiny island in the Gulf of Thailand. Passionate about pre-


serving the environment and advocating for the welfare of animals, Naydani wanted to continue her studies and make an even bigger im- pact. At the same time, she pined for the beloved horses she grew up with in Calgary. “I wanted to learn


more, in an academic con- text, from a reputable insti- tution of higher learning,” shares Naydani. “I just thought that would be the perfect way to keep horses with me no matter where in the world I was and regard- less of the fact that I couldn’t physically ride or have horses where I lived, though I was fortunately able to travel frequently to ride in different parts of the world.” Building a solid founda- tion


Online courses from


Cynthia Naydani found her connection back to horses and a future in animal welfare with Equine Guelph


Equine Guelph proved to be the solution she was search- ing for. “It’s not just an on- line classroom, it’s really an online community, which gave me a way to connect with people like me, who loved horses,” says Nay- dani. “Connecting with peo- ple from all over the world and having that foundation allowed me to amalgamate my love of learning with my love of horses in a way that


was very accessible.”


Connecting animal wel- fare,


preservation and horses Throughout


environmental her


courses at Equine Guelph, Naydani found connections between equine welfare and what she was already prac- ticing in Belize and Thai- land.


“The courses really


emphasize welfare through- out. It’s always been my motivation when I work with animals to drive to- wards improving their wel- fare. All of the courses, from Equine


Functional


Anatomy, to Equine Nutri- tion, to the Equine Welfare course, had underpinnings of welfare throughout, which has made them all very impactful to me,” she says.


The Stewardship of


the Equine Environment course, which Naydani took and now co-facilitates at Equine Guelph, introduces students to the One Health approach. “In the Stewardship of


the Equine Environment course that I work on with Susan Raymond, we teach a lot about the One Health concept, which is that the health of people, the planet and animals are all very in- extricably linked. In order to take good care of the planet, we need to take good care of our animals and that in turn means that we will be well taken care of,” Naydani ex- plains.


Equine Guelph Alumni Cynthia Naydani shares her journey - https://youtu.be/ozbCa_sj7os


Spreading the knowledge After earning her


Equine Science Certificate and a Diploma in Equine Studies, Naydani went on to complete postgraduate stud- ies at the University of Ed- inburgh and Scotland’s Rural College, where she is currently conducting re- search on welfare impacts of alternative equine manage- ment systems. At UoE’s Global Academy of Agricul- ture and Food Systems, she is also developing a course that will empower individu- als working with livestock to employ data science to improve the health and wel- fare of their animals. “Sometimes change


can feel quite overwhelm- ing. Equestrianism and farming are both quite tradi- tional sectors, where the way things have been done is often the way things con- tinue to be done, and it can be difficult to find the op- portunity to embrace new ways of thinking, which is


horse people just like you! Wherever you live and however you ride


The video and social community for www.barnmice.com


http://www.facebook.com/Barnmice https://twitter.com/Barnmice


not to say that the older ways shouldn’t continue. It’s simply to amalgamate new and old ways together. You know, to evolve,” says Naydani. Evolving is exactly


what Naydani herself had to do in order to navigate a winding career path, reaping the rewards and having horses back in her daily life once again. Naydani says, “Life is


not a linear path for a lot of people; myself included.


Sometimes we fall away from things that we love, whether that’s academia, whether that’s horses - sometimes life takes us in different directions. But it’s genuinely never too late to make a change, and some- times it’s quite scary. Some- times it involves taking a big risk, but that opportunity is always there at the end of the day.”


About Equine Guelph: Equine Guelph is the


horse owners’ and care givers’ Centre at the Univer- sity of Guelph in Canada. It is a unique partnership ded- icated to the health and well-being of horses, sup- ported and overseen by equine industry groups. Equine Guelph is the epi- centre for academia, indus- try and government - for the good of the equine industry as a whole. For further in- formation,


visit


www.equineguelph.ca. Story by: Anya Barradas


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