EVANSVILLE—An idea being brought forward for a Manitoulin Youth Agricultural Club is designed to unite young people from across Manitoulin who see agriculture as an interest or career option.
“The goal is to find all young adults between the age of 16 and 35 who are interested or already in the agriculture industry and who see this as an interest or career option and to unite them through this club,” said Andrew Vokes of Evansville, this past Monday.
Mr. Vokes, who is a farmer and currently works at Northland Agromart in Gordon, recently attended Ridgetown Campus of the University of Guelph for agriculture, “and one of the best learning experiences were the clubs that revolved around certain industries such as the dairy club or the crop and soils club. The hands-on education involved in these groups provided a great chance to learn new things and meet new people who share similar interests as you.”
“After talking about this idea with a few other young farmers, we decided that it would be a good idea to try out a group dedicated to young farmers on the Island,” said Mr. Vokes. “We plan to do farm tours in the area and day trips to large operations in southern Ontario and on the North Shore. We also talked about hosting fundraisers in the community such as a dance or supper.”
“We are talking about having an annual membership fee, of say $40, for things like food for barbecues to be held and hall rentals for meetings,” said Mr. Vokes.
“We plan to host a barbecue meeting in Gordon at a member’s house on July 15 at 7:30 pm,” said Mr. Vokes. “We want to take about membership, potential activities for the club for the year, relax and talk to others about agriculture. The meeting is open to anyone and everyone who is interested in agriculture.”
He added “we would like to have an idea as to how many people will be attending, and those interested are free to contact us by phone or text at (705)-348-1415 or email at manitoulinagclub@gmail.com for more information or questions.
“I’ve talked to 10-12 other guys on the Island and they feel this agricultural club is a great idea,” said Mr. Vokes.
