Scottish Association Young Famers Club International Exchange Canada 2016 Sarah Ferguson (Machars YFC Dumfries & Galloway)
On the 20 th May 2016 I set off for Glasgow International Airport to embark on the experience of a lifetime a Young Farmers Exchange trip to Canada. After a 7 hour flight I arrived in an area I didn t know to meet people I had never met before and I was to be there for 3 months. I was a nervous wreck and at points during the flight I wondered to myself why am I putting myself through this. But now I can honestly say it has been the best decision I have made (so far!) and I had the best summer ever. I spent my 3 months in Canada with another 6 delegates from 6 different countries, Hannah ( Northern Ireland), Lea ( Switzerland), Alistair (England), Johanna(Germany), Phillipa ( Tasmania) and Doris (Austria). The language barrier proved challenging at times but it added to all the fun. We turned out to become one big delegate family looking out for one another. WEEK 1 Haldiman & Norfolk County Our first week was full on visiting various farms and day trips away. Fruit growing was very popular in this county and we visited a strawberry farm as well as a lavender farm, winery and a ginseng farm. The ginseng tour was extremely interesting as it was unique to the area and something I knew nothing about. Day trips proved to be a highlight of the whole experience and our first one was no exception. We visited a Safari Park and went on an African Lion Safari where some of us got to ride on an elephant. Much to the surprise of my family and friends back home who thought they had put me on a plane to Canada! This was also the week we visited Niagara Falls Wow!! My parents have visited there twice and have never stopped going on about it but now I can understand why. It was an amazing day so good that I had to make a second visit during my break week. We had a sail on the Hornblower' as well as walking behind the falls utterly amazing- an experience that will last with me for ever.
WEEK 2 Waterloo Before we knew it week 1 was over and we were packing up and heading to our new host family. They welcomed us to Waterloo with a BBQ where we were introduced to our new hosts for the week. This county has a very large Mennonite community and the highlight of this week was spending some time with a family and hearing all about their lifestyle. We visited a few farms and some greenhouses growing mostly tomatoes and peppers. After 5 days we all packed up and headed for a Leadership camp outside Brantford. This was a weekend full of new experiences, getting pushed to new limits, meeting loads of new people and lots and lots of laughs. This was also an opportunity to meet up with a lot of the clubs who would be hosting us for the rest of our stay. WEEK 3 Huron County The weather up to now had been very warm so it was a bit of a relief when it cooled down a bit in Huron County. This did not dampen our spirits and we had a really busy week touring around this lovely county. A few highlights of the week was heading to Goderich to the beach yes they do have beaches in Ontario but without the salt water! We also got to see a salt mine. They no longer did tours of the mine but we got to see the vast size of the area and were able to see the ships being loaded ready to be sent all around the world. The jail and museum in Goderich was fascinating and it was really good to be told the history of the county and about the Great Lakes.
I tried kayaking for the first time on the lake wasn t sure if I would have been any good at it but by the end of the 3 months after canoeing and kayaking I feel as though I have mastered it. We had some very interesting farm tours as well as a tour around one of the largest tractor dealer ships in the area - Huron Tractors and a very interesting and informative tour around the Hensell Co-op. We even visited a Banana Farm yes we are still in Ontario. This was a farm which grew lots of different tropical plants. This tour was good from a YFC point of view because he told us all about how he plans to expand his business in the future. On a lighter less educational note we also got to experience a Stag & Doe our equivalent in Scotland would be separate stag and hen parties before embarking on marriage great to see the traditions of other countries. Quite similar in the fact that quite a lot of alcohol is consumed and a good time is had by all. WEEK 4 Perth County Yet again we are welcomed to a new area by a fantastic communal BBQ, this one included a pool party and dance lessons. We were all taught how to do a square dance and unknown to us at the time we would have to remember these skills at our Farewell Banquet at the end of our exchange. This week was jam packed with activities. We visited Stratford where we were given a tour of a theatre warehouse where they stored props and costumes. We were allowed to dress up in some amazing costumes. We also visited a wild boar farm and a water buffalo farm a definite first for me maybe take home some ideas to Dad! We ended our week at the Dungannon Tractor Pull dance which was great fun. Some members from Huron County came along so it was a great night socialising with club members we had stayed with a few weeks ago.
WEEK 5 Kent-Essex County The highlights of this week was being an active part of their town parade. We all felt very important and special and really honoured to be a part of such a great occasion. Another farm tour this time a farm growing peppers- Zings, This was a modernised Greenhouse and completely different to others we had toured before. Another first for me was touring around an ethanol plant it was very interesting to hear how they change bi-products from one company and what products they produce from it. We also visited Point Peele which is the most southerly part of Canada. WEEK 6 Middlesex County Can t quite believe we are almost half way through our visit to Canada, seen and done so much already. This week in Middlesex County was certainly a great way to finish the first half of our visit. Our host this week has a large beef and pig farm. We got to spend a lot of time with the family which meant for the first time we actually did a bit of farm work. We helped organise and choose cows to be judged at a 4H meeting (mock cattle sale) which they were hosting at a local Sales Barn. It was also very interesting to see how a pig farm was run as coming from an area which concentrates on dairy, beef and sheep this was totally different for me. We met their prize winning pig unfortunately it came straight out their freezer - they were saving it for a special family occasion. Another skill learned how to butcher a pig you never know when that skill may come in useful in the future. This week also included a tour of London s County Building which used to be their Court House. It was extremely interesting and we were able to go inside some of the old cells and were told a lot about the history of the town and building.
Another farm tour a different vegetable- this time organic asparagus. We also visited a goat farm and Coldstream Concrete Plant. This week would include the 1 st July which is Canada Day. The Canadians certainly know how to celebrate this special day. We went to Grand Bend spending the day on the beach. We all certainly had a Canada Day to remember. What a fantastic end to Part 1 of our exchange visit. WEEK 7 Break Week This week we all went our separate ways. I was lucky enough to have family in Oakville just outside Toronto so I stayed with my Dads cousin Craig and his family for the week. They had also just got a wee puppy so I felt right at home. My brother Steven and one of my best friends Kathleen came out to see me so I had a fantastic time. The highlights of this week was a visit to Toronto with Craig and family which included a trip up the CN tower. Uncle Tom and Aunt Chrissie then took us all for a day out to Niagara. I was able to show Steven and Kathleen the sights I had seen on my first week. We hired a car and I was the designated driver with Steven and Kathleen as my able co-pilots. We had a couple of road trips. I took then to see Port Dover beach, the Albion Falls and the Devils Punch Bowl. The family also laid on a couple of great BBQ s which they certainly do in style in Canada. Another couple of relatives were visiting as well so we had a 'wee' Scottish family party. We finished off the break week with a trip to Toronto to see the Blue Jays in action.
WEEK 8 & 9 Renfrew County Break week over so we all had a lot to catch up on. Hannah & Alistair had headed to Calgary, Johanna and Lea headed back to stay with past host families and I had been in the Oakville are so we had lots of stories to tell over a few drinks. We were all now ready for part 2 of our adventure starting off in Renfrew County which made me feel at home! We would be staying her for 2 weeks. The 2 weeks were well planned out for us and we knew exactly what we would be doing on each day. Some highlights of this county were quite a few visits to various dairy farms. We got to see different milking systems including a rotary parlour and robotic milking. We were given some fantastic tours around the Ottawa area and we also travelled to Quebec which was quite different. We also became radio stars for a few minutes, we were interviewed on the local radio station, Heritage. This was great fun and something none of us had done before. The most adventurous thing I probably did on the entire visit happened in this county. We zip-lined and went white water rafting, and also did rock jumping. None of these things I would have even thought about doing if I hadn t accepted the challenge to go on this trip. It was great fun, totally frightening but so glad I pushed myself and made myself do them.
WEEK 10 Kawartha County For this week we split up into 2 groups, one group went to Peterborough County and my group came here. Although we were in different counties we still all met up to do various organised activities. My host family had a beef farm as well as owning a Grain Pit which meant we had to help out feeding the cows. We got a fantastic in depth tour of the Grain Pit and how it worked which was really interesting. While here we visited the amazing Trent Severn Waterway which is a series of locks which allows massive ships to travel from one lake to another. They allow the ships to rise to different levels and make their way across Canada. We were also given a tour of one of the largest beef feed lots in the area At the time we were there they had over 3000 cows housed. In this county we were also introduced to the best ice cream I think any of us had every tasted Kawartha Dairy. Every day we had to make sure we got an ice cream stop. WEEK 11 Durham West It was a short drive to our next host family, we were welcomed to the area with a friendly game of baseball which was great fun and a great way of getting to meet some of our new hosts for the week. This week was a mixture of adventures and tours. The week started off with a 3 hour canoe trip down the Brant River. It was a gorgeous day and it was full of laughter and adventures. Mind you it did have some scarier moments with a few minor injuries along the way. To help relax us all we had a lovely aromatic visit to a lavender farm.
WEEK 12 Wellington County From Durham to Wellington fun filled tours and adventures. One of my favourite tours was to the Semex Complex, I had never seen anything like this before and the information we were given on the tour was excellent. We had a walk through the new dairy research centre at Guelph University and the Beef research centre both of which were fantastic. In the new dairy unit they have 4 different style parlours, a rotary, a robot, parallel and tie stall. This was giving them the opportunity to see which system works best. They all had their advantages and disadvantages. To complete this week we were invited to attend the Junior Farmers of Ontario Annual Golf Tournament yet another first for me! We had a fun day, a few laughs and near misses with a golf buggy and some of us even won some prizes. This was another great opportunity to have another meet up with folk we had stayed with previously.
WEEK 13 Bradford County After the golf tournament we moved on to our next host family, they lived just 30 miles from Toronto but they also had a dairy farm in Waterloo County. They took us down to that farm when they were having some of their dairy cows classified. The man who was showing us round gave a very informative talk on what they look for in a good dairy cow and how dairy classification works in Canada. A fun day was spent at Canada s Wonderland which is a theme and Water Park, a good chance to all have great fun and a lot of laughs before we all headed home. We also got to spend a day in Toronto where we were honoured to be invited to visit Ontario s Parliament in Toronto. What a fantastic experience that was. So we were coming to the end of what I can only describe as the most brilliant adventure so far in my life. Over the last few weeks some of the delegates had been leaving to either go home or set of on further adventures so we had quite a few farewell parties with lots of laughter and tears. My Facebook friends list has almost doubled with all those fantastic people I have met and I am sure some of them will be friends for life.
To end the trip we made our way down to Prince Edward County where the Junior Farmers of Ontario held their Ambassadors Banquet. This was an opportunity for us as a group of delegates to share our experiences and say a massive thank you to the people of Ontario for allowing us into their homes and showing us so many things that none of us would have seen on a normal holiday. It was a fantastic night but very emotional. I will take this opportunity to apologise to the poor people in Toronto Pearson Airport on the Sunday as we all said our goodbyes in various terminals. It was tears all round, although we were all on different flights we just had to say goodbye to everyone. I was leaving from a different terminal and I just allowed enough time to get boarded on my plane back to Glasgow didn t even have time to do some airport shopping! What an experience, I have loads and loads of people to thank for allowing me to go on this trip but first of all I must thank the Scottish Association of Young Farmers for selecting me in the first place. At the start of 2016 I had no idea that by the end of it I would have spent 3 months away from home visiting such a lovely area in Canada and also doing things out with my comfort zone. I would also like to thank all the organisers in Canada, especially Kristy-Anne Wytenburg who before I left Scotland answered numerous e-mails which helped put my mind at rest. All the hosts were amazing and hopefully I can repay some of their kind hospitality if they ever come over to Scotland. I would also like to say a big thank you to my employers Tarff Valley who allowed me to take the time off my work and keep my job open. Hopefully I have come back with ideas which may come in useful in my job. This trip would not have been possible without the sponsorship received from:- The Cameron Travel Scholarship Trust The SAYFC International Trust Ellen Kerr Trust Young Farmers Ambassadors Dumfries & Galloway Young Farmers Club Machars YFC Lastly to all the local businesses, friends and family who made this trip possible for me. Without them I wouldn t have been able to experience all this and have such a wonderful summer.
THANK YOU ONTARIO, CANADA