When Maggie Van Camp of Blackstock, Ont., and Angie Fox of Eddystone, Man., met in the summer of 2015, they had an instant connection.
Both their husbands were killed in farming accidents just shy of Christmas, leaving them with young families and busy farm operations.
“I decided I wasn’t going to let the moment my husband died define me,” Van Camp told the Outstanding Young Farmer national conference in Niagara Falls, Ont., this month.
“Because of his good planning, I was given time.”
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Added Fox: “A family farm business is super complicated and, when a person is lost on a farm, everyone is grieving. You have to plan forward.”
To read the entire “Because I Love You” article, please click: here
The women offered the presentation and handouts entitled Because I Love You as a comprehensive guide to what is needed in the aftermath of unexpected death.
They hoped their stories could help others prepare for the worst and deal with it if it happens.
The list includes who to call for long and short-term help on the farm, the names of professionals who will play a role in any transition from child-care providers to accountants and where all the paperwork is filed on business agreements and wills.
It also documents investment and financial advisers who help with the farm operations from employees to veterinarians and repair shops that are needed.
“When Angie and I met, we talked a lot about all the paperwork and fallout from dealing with our husbands’ deaths and how much worse it could have been if we weren’t organized,” Van Camp said.
“We realized how lucky we were that our husbands had left our farms in good order and we were very involved with the daily operation of our farms. Good planning gave us time and choices, and it was a road map to follow after the tragedy.”
The women admitted they were shaken when their husbands talked about burial sites and organ donations, but those conversations helped them navigate the quick decisions that have to be made with unexpected death.
“Tragic death reminds us we also have to live,” Fox said.
“Absolutely everyone has to have a plan. It’s not only responsible, but a gift to those we leave behind.”
This year’s national OYF award winners are dairy and field crop farmers Dominic Drapeau and Celia Neault of Ste-Françoise-de-Lotbiniere, Que., and Andrew and Jennifer Lovell of Keswick Ridge, N.B.
The Lovells operate a diversified U-pick farm market, fence and trellis construction services and farm attractions.
The two couples were chosen from seven regional finalists that included Brian and Jewel Pauls of Chilliwack, B.C., Shane and Kristin Schooten of Diamond City, Alta., Dan and Chelsea Erlandson of Outlook Sask., Jason and Laura Kehler of Carman, Man., and Adrian and Jodi Roelands of Lambton Shores, Ont.
