Pursue your dreams says Rosemary Davis award winner

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

by SUSAN MANN

At 29 years old, Julia James is an anomaly in the Ontario farming industry, where producers’ average age is in the mid-50s.

But the dairy farmer who milks 30 cows near Harley in Brant County says she doesn’t think “I do anything different than a lot of other farmers do on a daily basis.”

James, a 2006 graduate from the University of Guelph with a bachelor of science in agriculture degree, was named one of this year’s five Rosemary Davis Award winners by Farm Credit Canada. She is currently in Boston at the Simmons School of Management leadership conference. FCC awarded James and the other winners from across Canada a trip to the conference as their prize.

Photo: Julia James

“I hope that in recognizing someone who is young and in an industry that isn’t so populated with younger people it will give insight to others” to pursue their dreams, says James, who grew up on an eastern Ontario dairy farm and is passionate about farming and the dairy industry. “I wanted to be part of it so that I could promote it.”

James was very surprised to win. But she’s thankful FCC is recognizing agricultural industry representatives who are passionate about what they do.

It doesn’t matter what a person’s gender or age is as long as someone is passionate they can do what they want to do, she says. People should pursue their dreams even if it’s not the status quo or the norm. “That shouldn’t be a hindrance for achieving what makes you happy.”

FCC announced the five winners in a March 27 press release. The other winners are: Colleen Younie from Morell, Prince Edward Island; Rhonda Driediger from Langley, British Columbia; Sylvie Cloutier from Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Pierrette Desrosiers from Saint-Herménégilde, Quebec.

For more than 30 years Rosemary Davis, the award’s namesake, was a successful agribusiness owner and operator. She was the first female chair of the FCC board. The award was created in 2005 to recognize outstanding Canadian women in the agricultural industry for their commitment and leadership.

A total of 35 Rosemary Davis awards have been presented since 2005 from more than 200 nominees. The winners have ranged in age from their early 20s to their mid 80s, FCC’s press release says. BF