Agricultural Hall of Fame
Western Fair District is pleased and proud to serve as the home for the Middlesex County Agriculture Hall of Fame.
The Middlesex County Agricultural Hall of Fame, founded in 2000, recognizes the history and tradition of agriculture in Middlesex County. The primary objective of the Agricultural Hall of Fame is to recognize those who have demonstrated unselfish achievements within the realm of agriculture and service to the rural community in Middlesex County and beyond.
For More Information Contact:
Middlesex County Agricultural Hall of Fame
Hugh Fletcher, Chair
hughfletcher [at] sympatico.ca (hughfletcher[at]sympatico[dot]ca)
(519) 666-1572
General Inquiries
info [at] middlesexfederation.ca (info[at]middlesexfederation[dot]ca)
In 2025 the following nominees have been selected; John DePutter, Norman Hodgins & Douglas Hodgins, and Burton Matthews.
JOHN DEPUTTER (born in 1953) – John was raised on a farm near Appin, attended high school in Glencoe, and received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario. His career began working for the Middlesex Federation of Agriculture, as well as broadcasting farm radio shows for CFPL 980. John formed DePutter Publishing Ltd. in 1981, offering a subscription service called Ag Alert. For the next four decades his company provided information to farmers, and John became a sought-after public speaker. In 2021 the business was sold, after which John focused on an investment fund called Ag Capital Canada (ACC). This nomination reflects his pioneering of Canadian commodity marketing analysis, and his many years of providing this valuable information to farmers and entrepreneurs.
NORMAN HODGINS (1921-2013), and DOUGLAS HODGINS (born in 1948) – Norman’s family settled in West Williams Township, and in the 1940s he eventually took over the farm with his wife Margaret. His foresight led him to realize the need for proper drainage, which was the start of Hodgins & Watson, providing farm tiling and municipal drainage. He was active in the community, and then served as Reeve before being elected as Warden in 1963. During this time, his family took a stronger role in the farm operations. Following his graduation from the University of Guelph in 1968, son Doug worked with his father to expand their feedlot and then the commercial beef herd. For a number of years, Doug ran the bull test station in the region, continued to expand the land base, and acquired a grain elevator near Thedford. Their success and initiatives in the area, as well as their involvement in various organizations is being recognized with the nomination.
BURTON MATTHEWS (1926-2004) – Burton was born and raised on a farm near Kerwood, and showed great academic potential as a student. He entered the Ontario Agriculture College at 16, then achieved a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from University of Toronto in 1947, a Master’s from the University of Missouri in 1948, and a PhD in 1952 from Cornell University. He returned to Guelph as an assistant professor, contributed to soils science research, and was a Department Head from 1962-1966. He was known as Dr. Dirt to his students, and held a number of positions from 1966-1988. Burton was President of the University of Waterloo, and then the University of Guelph. Throughout his career, he took part in many leadership roles, encouraging inter-disciplinary studies, and researching complex issues of modern society. This nomination is based on his contributions to agricultural education, soil research and collaboration.
ARCHIVES
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
- Cuddy, Alfred McInroy 2000
- Broadwell, Charles E. 2007
- Earley, George Graham 2007
- Edwards, Alice Catherine 2009
- Riddell, William Keith 2000
- Stewart, William Atcheson 2000
- Grieve, William Richard 2001
- Hutton, Ken and Dora 2001
- Laidlaw, George Wallace 2001
- Filson, Hugh 2002
- Hughes, John (Bert) 2002
- Whale, I. B. 2002
- Dixon, Andrew 2003
- Long, Gerry and Renie 2003
- Twynstra, Peter 2003
- Frank, William C. 2008
- Gates, Marion 2006
- Guest, Emily Jane 2005
- Hardy, Clarence Alfred 2005
- Lewis, Fred 2004
- McDonald, David 2005
- McGugan, Evan 2009
- Patrick, Joseph H 2008
- Pretty, Dr. Kenneth 2007
- Robson, Tom E 2006
- Saunders, Sir Charles Edward 2004
- Shore, Hardy & Robert "Bob" 2008
- Stewart, Alex M. & John A. 2006
- Switzer, Dr. Clayton 2009
- White, George 2004
- Zavitz, Dr. Charles 2010
- Prestage, Robert “Bob” A. 2010
- Strybosch, John 2010
- Ferguson, Ralph 2011
- William, Weld 2011
- Heard, Richard 2011
- Bedggood, Robert 2012
- Carling, Sir John 2012
- Saunders, William 2012
- Beck, Sir Adam 2013
- The Herbert Family (Bill, Ruth & Jack) 2013
- Seelster Farms and Van Bussel Family 2013
- T. Alex Edwards 2014
- Peter Lewington 2014
- James Murby 2014
- Tom Bradish 2015
- Roy Jewell 2015
- Arthur Blashill 2016
- Dorinda Greenway 2016
- Kenneth Patterson 2016
- Richard Albert & Henry Noel Gibson 2017
- Dr. Donald Guest Grieve 2017
- Meredith Robb 2017
- Duncan Campbell 2018
- Jack Campbell 2018
- John Campbell 2018
- JJ Johnson 2018
- Colonel Robert McEwen 2019
- Willibrordus & Suzanne Heeman 2019
- Jack & Bea Phillips 2019
- William F. Bradish 2020
- J. Russel & Ruth Simpson 2020
- Laurie Stanton 2020
- Craig & Moira Connell 2022
- Syd & Jeanne Greenberg 2022
- Peter Johnson 2022
- Thomas (Cap) Robson 2022
- Donald G. Waters 2022
- David Edward Richards 2023
- The Murray Family (James, Andrew Gordon, James "Jim" David & Andrew David Murray) 2023
- James Duffin, William Galbraith, and Robert McCubbin 2024