Kim Cooper of Wheatley joined George Denys of the former Township of Raleigh, Dennis Jackson of the former Township of Chatham, and the late Dr. Ron Pitblado of Ridgetown as the newest members to be inducted into Kent Agricultural Hall of Fame on November 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Pedro)Kim Cooper of Wheatley joined George Denys of the former Township of Raleigh, Dennis Jackson of the former Township of Chatham, and the late Dr. Ron Pitblado of Ridgetown as the newest members to be inducted into Kent Agricultural Hall of Fame on November 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Pedro)
Chatham

Kent Agricultural Hall of Fame honours newest members

Some local agriculture pioneers have been inducted into the Kent Agricultural Hall of Fame.

Kim Cooper of Wheatley joined George Denys of the former Township of Raleigh, Dennis Jackson of the former Township of Chatham, and the late Dr. Ron Pitblado of Ridgetown as new inductees at the induction ceremony on Tuesday.

Cooper is known as an excellent ambassador and has produced agricultural information and guidance for many groups, organizations and committees, and has helped local businesses to grow and expand into the global marketplace. He has also educated and informed the public through newspapers, magazines, and radio.

Cooper said it's a great honour to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, although it was completely unexpected, and very humbling.

Cooper credits Stewart Irving for igniting his passion in agriculture when he worked with him at a grocery store in Chatham.

"He encouraged me to go to Ridgetown College and I credit him with a lot of this passion. And the more I got involved in it, I say that I'm a city kid that got involved with agriculture," said Cooper, also known as the Ag Guy.

Cooper also credits his grandparents who had a farm at Jeannettes Creek where he spent a lot of time as a kid.

Cooper said it's been a great ride.

"I've been able to meet thousands of farmers and ag people both here in Canada and also in over 30 countries overseas. I still keep in touch with a lot of people. It's just been an amazing adventure," he said.

Cooper said there's so many great opportunities in agriculture that the younger generations should keep in mind.

Denys supported local and Canadian agriculture through his efforts to create crop insurance, promoted farming education events, found farm labour, researched innovations for farming and was a strong advocate for all residents while on Raleigh Township Council.

Jackson has been a champion of high quality Ontario food grade soybeans and worked to capture premium markets for local growers.

Dr. Pitblado researched vegetable pest management and taught thousands of students at Ridgetown Campus sharing his excitement for the development of insect and disease strategies for horticultural crops.

Pitblado also developed BeetCast to assist sugar beet production, TomCast for tomato production, and helped develop the Ontario Weather Network.

The Kent Agricultural Hall of Fame has inducted 197 members since its inception in 1989. The Hall has also supported another 17 Chatham-Kent agriculturalists into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame.

The mission of the Hall is to recognize people that have demonstrated unselfish achievement in agriculture and/or service to the rural community of Chatham-Kent and/or beyond.

Chair of the Hall of Fame Committee Rick Youlton said this year’s inductees reflect the diverse industry that agriculture is and the many ways that the rural community can be served.

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