Article 1 — Name

This organization shall be known as the Dundas County Federation of Agriculture.

Article 2 — Objectives

a)          To act as the Dundas county affiliate of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) in furthering the interests and the welfare of Dundas county farmers and farm families AND the farming industry as a whole. To act ethically in the conduct of its affairs and to fulfill the requirements of the registration and funding legislation (Ontario) as an OFA affiliate.

b)          To bring viewpoints and concerns of its members to the OFA for appropriate action and, in turn, to interpret OFA policy to its members and dissemble information of concern to farmers and the farming industry in the county.

c)          To maintain a policy of strict independence from any political party and to conduct all its affairs in an objective and non-political manner.

d)          To be available, in a coordinating role, to support and promote agriculture in conjunction with other agricultural/rural groups at the local level.

Article 3 — Membership

All Registered Farming Business Members, Individual Farm Members, and Additional Voting Members of the OFA residing in Dundas County shall be the ordinary members of the Dundas County Federation of Agriculture. They shall have the right to vote at all general meetings, including the regular monthly membership meetings. They shall not have the right to vote at a meeting of the county Board of Directors.

* Article 4 — Board of Directors           Ammended: January 27, 2000

a)          At the Annual General Meeting, the ordinary members shall elect from the county

             membership, a Board of Directors, made up as follows: President, Vice President, Past

             President, and one Coordinator for each township (4). The Regional Director of OFA is,         

             ex-officio, a full voting member of the Board. All elected Board positions are effective

             until the next Annual Meeting.

b)          The Board of Directors shall be responsible for:

       i)    the management of all business and financial affairs of the Dundas County Federation of

             Agriculture between the Annual Meetings of the members;

       ii)   appointing a Secretary-Treasurer for the organization;

       iii)   the development of all policies and procedures for the county federation and the

             implementation of OFA organizational policy;

       iv)  making available a full report of the activities of the County Federation, including the

             presentation of a reviewed financial statement, to each Annual General Meeting of the

             County Federation.

Article 5 — County Director and Delegates to Annual Convention

At a meeting to be held prior to October 31^st in each year, the ordinary voting members shall elect from their number one member to be an OFA Director and three additional members as voting delegates to the Annual Meeting and Convention of the OFA.

 Article 6 — Elections

Elections shall be by secret ballot and each person elected to a position by the members of the county federation shall be expected to hold that office until his/her successor has been elected. If a position becomes vacant before that time, for example, by resignation or other reason, the county Directors shall name an eligible person to fill the position for the balance of the term.

Article 7 — Meetings

a)    The Annual General Meeting of the Dundas County Federation of Agriculture shall be held within ninety (90) days following the DFA fiscal year. Notice of such meeting shall be by mail, by insertions in the local press, or both, no less than ten (10) days in advance of the date of that meeting.

b)    The (monthly) general meetings of the DFA shall recognize ordinary members and elected members of the county Board as each having equal voting rights. There shall be at least ten (10) of these meetings in each fiscal year.

c)    The Board of Directors may call Special General Meetings on a special occasion or issue. The notice for such meetings and voting rights for the same shall be the same as for an Annual General Meeting.

d)    Minutes of all DFA meetings and DFA Board Meetings shall be kept. All meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of ordinary parliamentary procedure.

Article 8 — Finances

a)    The fiscal year of the DFA shall be the twelve (12) month period beginning on the first day of January and ending on the last day of December.

b)    All monies received by the DFA shall be deposited by the Treasurer in a bank account maintained by the DFA. All expenditures shall be in keeping with and furtherance of the Objectives of DFA.

c)    The DFA financial records shall be reviewed following the fiscal year-end each year, by a qualified person appointed by the Annual General Meeting. The report of the financial examiner shall be presented at the Annual Meeting following that fiscal year-end. In recognition that an appointed financial examiner may not be available at the following review period, the Board of Directors shall appoint a suitable replacement.

Article 9 — Policies and Procedures

The Dundas Federation of Agriculture shall adopt such policies and procedures for the direction of its business as shall seem to best suit its needs, providing that these are in keeping with the terms of this Constitution.

Article 10 — Amendments

This Constitution may be amended at any members general meeting by a two-thirds (b) vote of members present, provided that the notice of the meeting directed to members has stated the intention to propose a constitutional amendment, the exact wording of the existing relevant portion, the wording of the proposed amendment and the procedure for voting on the proposal.

Approved by members at Annual Meeting — February 27, 1998

* Article 4 (a) Ammendment:

“...one Coordinator for each Township (4)” revised to read “...up to four (4) DFA Directors per Municipal Districts of North Dundas and South Dundas, maximum eight (8) DFA Directors.”

Approved by members at Annual Meeting — January 27, 2000