Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week has been a main stay for the agricultural industry in Grey and Bruce Counties since 1966. The featured commodities have evolved as the area’s agricultural focus has changed, but the mandate to provide information to producers and agribusiness has remained firm. Producers have supported our programming for 53 years, so the committee would like to give back to the community. With that mandate in mind, the Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week Committee has established an annual $1000 Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week Prize in conjunction with the University of Guelph, Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), to recognize new veterinarians entering food animal practices serving producers in Grey and Bruce Counties. This award recognizes the individual’s past accomplishments, but also encourages their future contributions, and commitment to our rural communities.
On June 13, 2019, at the Convocation Awards ceremony at OVC, Dr. Elri Oosthuizen was the recipient of the GBFW award. Elri grew up in the small town of Smiths Falls, ON Canada. Despite the fact that she did not grow up on a farm, she is passionate about livestock, and agriculture. One of Elri’s earliest experiences with large animals began with horses. As a young eight-year-old girl, she went to her first horseback riding summer camp. This experience led to a lifetime passion for horses and riding. She still rides today for pleasure and for sanity. Horseback riding lessons turned into weekend chores at the horse farm, then summer jobs, and equine care jobs on the road for show horses on the competitive circuit. As a young girl active in the equine community, everyone always told her “Oh, you’ll be the horse vet one day!” And of course, as a child, she believed them, and ran with that story. Once she got to the University of Guelph for her undergrad degree in Animal Biology, she began to realize what a love she had for agriculture and farm animals. U of G provided a positive exposure to agriculture through the classes, atmosphere and surroundings. Once she reached vet school, she truly realized that her passion was rooted in farm/food animal medicine. Elri had wonderful experiences working summer jobs at the Arkell Swine Health Research Facility and at the University of Guelph with the “teaching dairy cows”. Although she still enjoys horses in her personal life, and will be working with them in her veterinary career; they will be accompanied by her focus on cattle/food animal medicine. Elri is very much looking forward to becoming part of the agricultural community in Bruce County. As a veterinarian, she wants to be part of the advancement of livestock practices, animal welfare, health and production. She wishes to work alongside producers to investigate potential areas of improvement, so that their operation may have optimal production and fulfill their farm goals, while maintaining their animals in top health condition. But ultimately, she wishes to be seen by the producers in the community as a warm, approachable, accepting individual, that has both their interests and the animal’s best interests at heart.
The Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week Committee congratulates Dr. Elri Oosthuizen, and wishes her all the best in her future endeavours!
For further information or interviews, please call Grey County Agricultural Services, at 519-986-3756, or email [email protected]. You may also contact Dr. Oosthuizen via email at [email protected]
