By Wendy Beswick

TRENTON — The world of farming that Bette Jean Crews entered as a young bride is completely different from today. Today, no one bats an eyelash if a woman runs a farm. Recipient of the 2010 Ontario Rosemary Davis Award for women and leadership, Crews has been instrumental in implementing some of those changes.

"Women would be the dairy club, the 4-H volunteer, the "ag in the classroom" people, the secretary of local associations; (pause …) not the president," said Crews. "I remember years and years ago at a local meeting where they were choosing delegates for the OFA convention. They were picking all men and I mentioned something about that. Again, this was years ago, but they said that women just go shopping! I think they were just joking but they don’t even joke about that anymore."

Crews is noticing more and more women taking a leadership role in agricultural organizations. "When you look at the [Ontario Agricultural Sustainability] Coalition that we pulled together there was a woman leader in pork, one in hort, one in veal, and me in OFA," she noted. "Then we had Gord Hardy from the Cattlemen. I had to try really hard not to make a joke about him being the token male, ‘cause I’ve been on the receiving end of that."

Bette Jean was not raised on a farm. "My dad was a barber, and my mother’s family were downtown Toronto people," she said. "I met my farmer in high school. Two years after we were married I quit a really good job to raise the kids and stay home full time to farm."

Crews and her husband Colin purchased their farm in the early 1970s, managing to pay it off in 10 years. "It took the fact that I was home to be able to do that," she said. "We didn’t do anything, I didn’t even buy a can of paint. We preserved and gardened, bought sides of beef and pork, and I was one of those backyard flock people that the chicken people hate so much!"

The young couple also started a business buying and selling processing apples from local farmers as well a trucking company to transport them. Colin and Bette Jean have always worked as a team and split the responsibilities evenly.

The learning curve was steep for Crews and she was breaking ground for women to enter positions traditionally held by men. "I learned to drive truck. There were women truck drivers out there but not many," she said. "Although, women on the farm were driving trucks nobody talked about that."

"One run I had to make with the truck was across the Glenora ferry in Prince Edward County. They put me in the front to balance the ferry, but then I was blocking everybody. They also wanted me to turn off the truck ‘cause it was diesel," she explained. "It was started with a button, not a key, and my thumb slipped off the button. The truck just went ‘aruump.’ I could see the reaction in the ferryman’s face was, ‘Oh my God! We’ve got a woman driving truck and she’s blocking everybody!’ Well, I just burst out laughing, started the truck and drove away!"

Today Colin and Bette Jean raise fruit, grains, oilseeds and vegetables on an 800 acre family farm near Trenton. All four of their children are married and live within 10 miles of home. Their oldest son is farming with them as well as running the roadside market. Their daughter is a veterinary radiologist currently working from home while the next son is a mechanic, and the youngest son is in sales.

Bette Jean has always been involved in farm organizations, beginning her involvement with the Farm Women’s Network and the Business and Professional Women. She has taken an increased role in farm politics at both the provincial and federal level since 2008 when she became president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

It takes a strong personality to fight the government and lobby for the farming community, yet stepping down from her position will be tougher according to Crews. "I know that I can’t do it forever," she said. 

Farm Credit Canada created the award, named after the Crown Corporation board’s first female chair, to honour women who show leadership and community involvement, make a difference in agriculture, display passion for the industry, and have a clear vision for agriculture’s future.

 "I was very pleasantly surprised to receive the award," said Crews. "It’s nice to get the recognition. That goes a long way." It is this confidence that others have in her that surprises her most. "I told a grade school friend of mine that I was surprised to be elected, and that I would never have imagined doing what I am," she said. "And my friend told me that she always knew I would be a leader. That surprises me." 

Bette Jean’s philosophy complements the award. "Trust your instincts. When you have a mindset and a heart to make a difference, it is why you do this," she stated. "It sounds so idealistic, but people do this to make a difference. So, when your instincts tell you something is right, it usually is. When I look back on the mistakes I made, I know that I should have done things a different way; I should have followed my instincts."