BARRHEAD - After two years of being unable to hold large gatherings due to COVID-19, the County of Barrhead hosted its annual appreciation dinner April 28 at Summerdale Hall, a special night that saw former reeve George Visser honoured.
Following the meal, it was a busy evening of awards, with guest speaker Nate Horner, Alberta Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development, along with Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken, officially presenting the main award, the Agriculture Hall of Fame award to Visser. Horner, who has relatives in the Barrhead area, gave a complete presentation of Visser’s many accomplishments that earned him a place in the hall, which now numbers at least 135 people — Visser was named to the hall in 2020.
With a strong commitment to the farming community and a keen interest in modern, up-to-date farming practices, Visser has been a leader in the agricultural community since the 1970s. He could see that specializing in commodities would be important and led the way by setting up a 130-sow farrow-to-finish hog operation and a 5,000 laying hen operation.
Others followed suit, and during the 1980s the Neerlandia region became one of the most concentrated hog production areas in Alberta. Visser was also instrumental in giving producers a unified voice during his tenure on the Alberta Agriculture Products Marketing Council.
Visser spoke briefly, giving thanks to those who nominated him, saying as an “an old guy, I’ve seen amazing changes in the technological industry, particularly as it pertains to agriculture. It’s amazing for somebody like me — I can remember still with my dad and having horses. Look how much we’ve progressed.
“But one thing hasn’t changed. Human nature hasn’t changed a bit. I’m always surprised about that.”
He recalled farming with his dad with an old Oliver 80 tractor and updating to a larger John Deere diesel. He told his dad it had hydraulics and had to explain to him what it was — he said his dad felt there was nothing wrong with having to do a little cranking to level and a trip to lift implements and didn’t need hydraulics. But George said he was stubborn enough to convince his dad that’s what they needed.
He said his sons were the same as him when they told him about GPS in tractors.
“And I said to them, ‘What do you need GPS for? Can’t you drive straight anymore?’”
In conclusion, he thanked his wife Florence and his family for looking after things at the farm when he was involved in various boards and the marketing council. To thundering applause from the audience, he said, “She deserves a medal.”
Along with Visser, five other Barrhead-area residents are in the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame, including Clarence E. (Clare) Anderson (1986), Hubert N. Anderson (1993) Dr. Hugh Horner (1988), Mrs. Gloria Paquette (1991), and Lloyd Errington Lee (1998).
The Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame was created in 1951 to recognize men and women who have shown agricultural leadership and accomplishment and made significant contributions to the agriculture and food industry and to the development and sustainability of rural life.
Other awards
Also giving presentations at the event were Paralympian Heidi Peters of Neerlandia, 4-H speaker presentations by Cyrus Anderson, Tyson King and Grace Nikkel, and Boneyard & Lakeview Events presentation by Cindy Day and Brie’Enna Kindt.
Other awards were presented to the Greilach Family (G3 Farms), 2020 Farm Family Award recipients for Barrhead County, and Rural Beautification Award recipients to county residents that show pride in their property by maintaining their farms and yard sites that display the beauty of the municipality. Recipients for this past year were Brett and Sherry Cooper, Roy and Shelly Batdorf (Pots’n’Pansies Greenhouse and Garden Center), Brian and Vicki Bain, Jeff and Daren Toivonen and John and Shirley Busch.
