A County of Barrhead resident has been named to Alberta's Agricultural Hall of Fame.
The province named long-time Neerlandia farmer George Visser to the prestigious hall in early December. However, due to delays in part due to the pandemic, the province only announced it on Jan. 11.
Visser enters the hall as part of the 2020 class with Walter Paszkowski and David Price. He is the sixth County of Barrhead resident to be inducted to the Agricultural Hall of Fame, the others are Claire and Hubert Anderson, Gloria Paquette, Dr Hugh Horner and Lloyd Lee.
The hall was created in 1951 to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to agriculture, the food industry and to the development and sustainability of rural life in Alberta.
County of Barrhead Coun. Walter Preugschas, who helped nominate Visser, said the honour was long overdue, as his influence on the province's agricultural industry is undeniable.
Preugschas said the move away from the typical mixed farm that Visser grew up on started to change in the early 1970s.
His parents homesteaded a farm in Neerlandia, which George and his wife Florence would take over and expand.
"He is one of the farmers who really influenced the industry and helped move it away from the small, family-owned mixed farms with a few dairy cows, chickens, pigs or sheep, along with hay and grain crops to that of specialization and intensive agriculture," he said.
In the early 70s, Visser set up a 130 sow to finish and a 5,000 hen laying operation.
Other farmers in the region followed Visser's example and by the 1980s, the Neerlandia region became one of the most concentrated hog producing areas.
Visser decided to step back from the farm when his sons Wayne, Rick and John were old enough to take over the day-to-day operations, providing each of them their own operation.
He then joined the Alberta Agricultural Marketing Board and helped establish several key committees that are still in operation including ones on quotas, egg quality and research and study, which he would go on to chair.
Visser was also appointed to the province's Agricultural Products Marketing Council, a body that oversees and regulates several smaller marketing councils.
Eventually, through his experience running his own farming operations, Visser helped spearhead the effort to bring a pork processing plant proposed to Barrhead through Twin Peaks Feeders Incorporated which would eventually turn into BarrWest Pork Limited in the mid to late 1990s.
It was through this effort that Preugschas got to know Visser.
And although the plant did not come to fruition, the effort would help employ hundreds of people over the years, as it became the home to Northplex, a modular home manufacturer.
"George is a natural leader who knows how to make use of the resources he has available, especially when it comes to people. He knew how to bring out the best in people and use their talents," Preugshas said.
Municipal government
Visser's impact on agriculture also expanded into the world of politics via County of Barrhead council. He served as Division 7 (Neerlandia) councillor for the County of Barrhead from 1986 to 2001, ten of those years from 1989 to 1999 as reeve.
Under his leadership, council supported the amalgamation of the fire department and the landfill as well as a contracted ambulance service jointly run by the Barrhead municipalities. Visser was instrumental in the creation of a water line connecting the Town of Barrhead to Neerlandia through what became the Barrhead Regional Water Commission.
He also, as reeve, advocated on issues that impacted farms and rural communities through the Rural Municipalities of Alberta Association (RMA).
Former County of Barrhead councillor and reeve Les Zylinski said although Visser represented all his constituents, his knowledge and experience lent itself well in helping advance agricultural issues.
Zylinski served with Visser on council for 10 years, many of those as deputy reeve.
"He was a fine gentleman and a person on the Agricultural Services Board (ASB) would look to, he said. "Not all the councillors on the ASB had an agricultural background and his voice and opinions carried a lot of weight ... as it should be because he and his family are excellent farmers."
At the time all councillors were part of the ASB along with two members at large. The ASB now comprised of four members at large and three councillors.
One of the reasons why Zylinski believes Visser was such an effective councillor, farmer and businessman, was because he was able to bring people together, in large part due to his amiable personality.
"He was a fair and reasonable man that got along great with everyone, from his fellow councillors in Barrhead to neighbouring municipalities, MLAs, people on the street. He didn't have a lot of enemies," Zylinkski joked, adding Visser was "very prominent" in any role he took on.
Marilyn Flock, the now-retired, long-time agricultural fieldman for the county, said she could not think of a more deserving person to be inducted to the province's Agricultural Hall of Fame.
Flock worked with Visser mostly through his involvement in the ASB, which often he was the chair of.
"He was a progressive-thinker and during his time on the ASB we were able to accomplish that at the time were the first in the province," she said. "We did a lot of test plot work, learning what crops and products would be best used, adding to the provincial shelterbelt program to create one of our own, working on conservation through the creation of county-run initiatives and working with farmers."
Visser said he was honoured to have named to the Agricultural Hall of Fame.
However, he was quick to point out that everything he has accomplished would not have been possible without a lot of help and support of a lot of people.
"I have a lot of people to thank for this honour. There were a lot of people who were smarter than me that helped me along the way and help have the successes I have had. When I was a county councillor I ways said it is important to surround yourself with talented people and I was very fortunate to have those type of people around me my whole life," he said.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
