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Farm Credit
Canada honours NSAC alumnus Jeannie van Dyk
NSAC alumnus Jeannie van Dyk was one of five women recognized
by Farm Credit Canada (FCC) for her leadership and commitment
to the Canadian agriculture and agri-food industry and is the
proud recipient of a Rosemary Davis Award.
Each award winner represents an FCC business region in Canada.
These impressive women truly shine as outstanding role models
in their communities and within the agriculture industry. They
all have pursued very successful careers in agriculture.
The award was created in 2005 to honour Rosemary Davis, FCC's
first female board chair. Rosemary was a successful agribusiness
owner and operator for many years and active in the industry.
Judging criteria for the award includes demonstrated leadership,
community involvement and making a difference in agriculture
by displaying passion for the industry and a clear vision for
its future.
Courage, determination and passion are qualities that all of
the winners possess. They have followed their dreams and taken
the time to share their knowledge with others in support of
the future success of the Canadian agriculture industry.
Jeannie is co-owner with her husband John McLellan of a dairy
operation with 90 cows and 415 acres of pasture forage and
corn in Noel Shore. She’s also a partner with her brothers
Peter and Charles in van Dyk Blueberry Enterprises, a low bush
blueberry operation, which consists of 600 acres of blueberry
land and 400 acres of forest.
 Jeannie spent five years as a Provincial Swine Specialist with
the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture. She was the first
female to work with the livestock branch, conducting extension
work.
In 2007, she became the first female chair of the Farmers Cooperative
Dairy, an organization of which she is very proud of.
“
I believe that success doesn’t magically appear. You
have to look for it and work towards it. I consider myself
fortunate to be involved in agriculture today. It’s a
complex industry and I wouldn’t want to do anything else.
As people’s ideas about the food they eat and how it’s
produced continue to evolve, we are faced with new challenges,” she
says.
Jeannie also believes in lifetime learning and enjoys working
with youth and learning from them, as well as sharing her knowledge
in various roles as a 4-H leader, teacher of Agriculture Exploratory
to middle school students, teacher of a Swine Production Course
at Nova Scotia Agricultural College and guest lecturer at the
university on topics such as rural communities, local agricultural
processing and success in agriculture. Jeannie loves working
with young people and encouraging them to pursue their dreams
in agriculture.
Congratulations Jeannie!
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