Two western farm leaders are challenging the Ontario incumbent for the presidency of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.
Humphrey Banack from Round Hill, Alta., and Norm Hall of Wynyard, Sask., are running against Ron Bonnett, who has been unopposed as president since 2010.
But both say their decision to run has nothing to do with a west-versus-east split.
Hall, who recently did not seek re-election as president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan but stayed as vice-president, said he decided two years ago to run when Bonnett had said it was his last term.
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“When he changed his mind, I just felt that I had the abilities and the experience to take CFA to the next step, no matter who was running,” Hall said.
He said APAS made great strides with a strong executive team and he would like to see the same thing at CFA.
“I would make sure there’s a very co-operative atmosphere, build coalitions,” he said.
Hall operates a 4,600-acre grain farm, plus additional acres in hay and pasture, agroforestry and environmental set-aside, with his brother. He has been involved in numerous organizations, including the Canadian Young Farmers’ Forum beginning in 1998. Five years later he joined APAS as a director and became president in 2011.
Banack, who also said he has been thinking of running for the past two years, initially joined his local pork association and then the former Wild Rose Agricultural Producers, which became the Alberta Federation of Agriculture.
He was president of the latter from 2008 to 2012 and has served as CFA first vice-president for the last six years.
He said his 7,000-acre grain farm is in good hands as his son enters the family business.
“That gives me more time to focus on CFA than even five years ago,” Banack said. “I’ve been the apprentice and now it’s time to get my ticket.”
Bonnett, who first had a dairy farm, operates a 200-head beef operation at Bruce Mines, Ont. He rose through his local federation of agriculture to the Ontario Federation of Agriculture where he was vice-president and then president for four years.
He became second vice-president of CFA in 2007 and president three years later.
He said there are some things CFA has been working on that he’d like to see through to completion.
“We’ve done a lot of work on public trust and social licence,” he said. “We also see all of the stuff going on on the trade agenda right now.”
He listed Brexit (Great Britain exiting the European Union), the trade agreement between Canada and Europe, the loss of the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal and U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“I believe I can help play a role in making sure that Canada is defended as much as possible in some of that trade turmoil that’s taking place,” he said, referring to contacts he has made over the years.
He said the turmoil is more intense than before mainly due to social media and the ability to easily spread misinformation.
He also noted the continued growth in the western general farm organizations that belong to CFA and CFA’s leadership on the grain transportation file in the West.
“I don’t think there’s any west-east thing that could be blended into any of this. I just think it’s an organization making sure that they have a discussion at election time about what are the priorities going forward,” Bonnett said.
One of the main domestic issues this year will be the signing this summer of the next federal-provincial-territorial agriculture policy framework, which all three candidates identify as a priority.
The election is planned for Feb. 22 at the organization’s annual general meeting in Ottawa.
