Dick Straathof brings strong Ag background to the Board

April 16, 2010

Gay Lea Foods Co-operative’s newest Director, Dick Straathof, brings a wealth of knowledge and experience with him to the Board. His election in December 2009 as Zone 4 Director for a three-year term was a natural transition for Dick. He has served as a Delegate and Zone 4 Chair since 2006, and has sat on the Delegate Governance Advisory Committee (DGAC) for the past three years. Dick and his family have been members of Gay Lea Foods Co-operative since 2001.

Dick’s agricultural background doesn’t begin with Gay Lea Foods Co-op. He graduated from Kemptville College in 1980 and returned home to farm with his parents, Case and Catharina Straathof. For eight years, Dick served on the Renfrew County Milk Committee in various capacities. For three years, he was the Arnprior Region OFA Director, and also served as a member of the Environmental Farm Plan Peer Review Committee. He is a past-president of the Arnprior Agricultural Society, spent some time as 4-H leader, and is also a past-president of the Lanark County Junior Farmers.

Dick is a partner of Straathof Farms Ltd., located near Arnprior in Renfrew County, along with his parents and his brother, John. Straathof Farms Ltd. consists of a 120-cow herd. They are on a twice per-day milking schedule. The cows are milked in a double-eight parallel Westfalia/Surge milking parlour. In 1997, a new freestall barn was built to house the milking herd. The total 260 head includes heifers, which are housed in an open front bedding pack that was built in 1980.

The feedstuffs for the herd are grown on 400 acres that are owned and 250 acres that are rented. Most of this forage and grain is stored in bunker silos and in one glass-lined steel sealed silo. Only in surplus years are the grain crops sold on the cash market.

Mr. and Mrs. C. Straathof emigrated from Holland in 1959. It was in 1962 that they were able to buy and start building Straathof Farms Ltd. to what it has grown to be today. Case and Catharina Straathof have always been community-minded people. Both of them are actively involved in the local and agricultural communities. In 2006, their local municipality of McNab/Braeside presented them with the “Agriculture Appreciation Award.” This recognition is multi-faceted and ranges from “Leadership” to “Environmental Awareness” attributes.

John Straathof also attended Kemptville College, and upon graduation in 1990, joined his parents and Dick in the farming operation. Presently, he is an Eastern Breeders Director for Lanark and Renfrew counties. In his younger days he was a Provincial Director for the Junior Farmers Association of Ontario (JFAO).

In addition to his farming activities, Dick is also a husband and father of three. His wife of over 25 years, Debra Pretty-Straathof, has been actively involved in the agricultural sector for the past 20 years. Currently, Debra is an OFA Director for Zone 8, representing Arnprior, Renfrew, Ottawa and Lanark. She is also a Ontario Agri-Food Technology Director, and President of the Farm Line Support Service. During the 1990s, she was the Renfrew County Dairy Educator in addition to other county ag-organization activities.

Daughter Angela is a graduate of Waterloo University in Environmental Studies at the Bachelor level. She is currently working on her Masters degree in Soil Science at the University of Guelph.  

Daughter Katie recently graduated with honours from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Food Science. She is currently exploring the job market to gain employment in her field of study.  

Their son, Martin, also studies at the University of Guelph. He is working towards his Honours Bachelor Degree in International Development (Rural and Ag). Martin is the President of the College of Social and Applied Human Science Student Alliance at U of G.

Democracy is alive and well at Gay Lea Foods Co-operative. It is reassuring to know that Directors like Dick Straathof are consistently chosen to govern our dairy co-operative at the Board level. Dick’s business background, community involvement and upbringing are great indicators of his commitment and dedication to do the best job possible for his dairy co-operative. Seeing the Straathof Family modus operandi at work, we can certainly say that Dick is and will stay, focused and co-operative minded.

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