Teresa Van Raay begins third term with Ontario Federation of Agriculture

Teresa Van Raay was re-elected as an Ontario Federation of Agriculture director-at-large in November 2025, starting another three-year term of advocating for Ontario’s farmers

By Dan Rolph

Teresa Van Raay is looking ahead to three more years of advocacy on behalf of the province’s farmers.

Van Raay, a Dashwood native, was re-elected as an Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) director-

at-large in November 2025, beginning her third three-year term with the organization. Before she was first elected to serve in the OFA, Van Raay was a director with Ontario Pork for 14 years—

an experience she described as eye-opening as she got to hear about the issues that farmers in the industry were facing.

“I realized how many more issues there are,” she said. “When you look at taking on the diversity of concerns in all Ontario, it’s daunting.”

Van Raay said some of the most prominent issues facing farmers in Ontario include trade and land use, which she noted is vital to the future of growing food in Canada.

“Once land is asphalted or cemented over, you’re not going to grow too much,” she said.

“Getting the word out about how important it is for Canadians to grow our own food, that’s one of my biggest goals.

“The decisions made today affect our futures, and our next generation of farmers,” she added.

When asked why she decided to seek a third term with the federation, Van Raay was clear that there’s still work to do when it comes to advocating on behalf of Ontario’s farmers.

“We’re not done yet,” she said. “It’s a big portfolio, but the people in our industry who are elected to do this, all the ones who I’ve met, are in the positions for the right reasons. They want to make it better for their industry and for the next generations, all because we understand the importance of growing food.”

Van Raay said she’s taking many lessons from her time as director-at-large so far as she looks ahead to at least three more years of representing farmers. She said networking remains one of the most vital parts of the work.

“One of the things that I love to do is put the right people together,” she said. “That can make a difference.”

Stepping outside the “agricultural bubble” is also important when speaking about issues facing farmers throughout Ontario, according to Van Raay, particularly with those not in the industry who live busy lives and may not be aware of those issues until they start seeing empty grocery store shelves.

“We are such a small population that we’re not getting

the news out there,” she said. “If there comes a time that there’s a shortage, then people are going to stand up and be aware. But it might be too late if we haven’t realized the importance of food security in Canada.”

Van Raay said the upcoming municipal elections scheduled for later this year are an important issue that has her attention. With OFA regularly organizing all-candidates meetings for elections, she said it’s important to present the correct questions to those who could be making decisions in council chambers in the future, ensuring they understand their communities, particularly when it comes to land use.

“We don’t want to be collateral damage because no one’s thought about how a decision might affect the farmer,” she said.

Ontario’s recent announcement about the amalgamation of conservation authorities also has Van Raay’s attention. Under the government’s plan, the province’s 36 authorities will be consolidated into nine, removing representation from lower-tier municipalities.

“That’s a big deal,” she said. “One of the things we were really pushing with OFA is to have agricultural representatives.

“From what we did see, that’s not there. That’s very important to our communities.”

A topic that has been getting more attention, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, has been mental health in the agricultural community—an issue that Van Raay said is close to her heart.

“It’s just become okay in the last seven or eight years to talk about it at the farm level,” she said. “When a farmer’s having a bad day, you just can’t take a week off. The pigs still have to be fed, or the crops still have to get planted.”

Speaking to farmers who may be struggling with mental health, Van Raay said Ontario’s Farmer Wellness Initiative and the Guardian Network are programs worth highlighting. The Farmer Wellness Initiative provides mental health counselling to Ontario’s farmers, farm families and employees at no cost.

The Guardian Network is a program driven by volunteers who are trained to identify those struggling with their mental health in the agricultural community, and Van Raay said she’d personally completed the training to become a guardian in the network. “It’s a really good program,” Van Raay said. “The more we talk about it, the more it’s okay to talk about it.” With such a wide range of issues needing attention, Van Raay said OFA’s supporting staff have made the

expansive task manageable.

“It’s a great team, and a really diversified team,” she said.

With at least another three years ahead of her where she’ll be advocating for Ontario’s farmers, Van Raay said it’s her love for her home that will keep her going. “It’s so important to have strong rural communities,” she said.

“I love where I live. I love my Ontario. But we can’t keep coasting and think that somebody else is

going to take up the baton.”