Rick C. E. Woodford
Rick C.E. Woodford was born in October of 1947 in Harbour Main, Newfoundland. He attended high school in Buchans and vocational school in Grand Falls.
Rick began beef farming in 1971 and expanded into a dairy operation in 1975. He developed the operation into a vibrant and successful business despite the many obstacles that faced farmers at that time.
Fear that much of the good farm land in his community was being eroded for non-farming activities prompted Rick to run for Municipal Council in 1975. During his 10 year tenure as Councilor and as Mayor, he led the development of a community plan to direct development but at the same time protect the valuable farmland. This plan became a model for the development of agricultural areas throughout the province.
Rick believed that agriculture could be a major contributor to the economic life of rural Newfoundland. He also knew that this potential would not be realized without provincial and federal government development support. To this end Rick helped revive the Cormack Agricultural Society, which was soon expanded into the regional agricultural organization known as the Humber Valley Agricultural Association.
During that time he also contributed to the municipal and rural life of his region and the province as community representative of the Humber Region Municipal Joint Council, as small communities’ representative on the provincial Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Municipalities and also as Newfoundland’s representative on the Canadian Federation of Municipalities.
Due to his belief that he could help influence change for agriculture and rural Newfoundland better within the halls of government, Rick offered himself in the riding of Humber Valley and was first elected to the Newfoundland House of Assembly in 1985. During his five terms in government as an opposition member, government member and Minister of the Crown, he was Minister of several departments including the Department of Rural, Agricultural and Northern Development, Transportation and Forestry and Agriculture. He made sure that the rural areas and rural economic generators such as Forestry and Agriculture got their fair share of available resources.
Before he left provincial politics, Rick had achieved his two major goals. The first was raising the profile and government attention on agriculture in the province. Agriculture had come into its own and was receiving the attention and support it deserved as a major contributor to the rural life of the province.
The second was leaving the agriculture industry of the province with a major federal-provincial development agreement under the National Framework Agreement. The $33 million agreement he was successful in negotiating as provincial Minister with the Federal Government was the largest agriculture development fund ever available to the industry and a key driver of the innovation in agriculture presently taking place in the province.
Rick and his wife Irene had one child, Tanya.
Nominated by Dairy Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador for his outstanding contributions to his community and industry as a farmer, community leader, lobbyist and politician, the late Rick C. E Woodford is a very deserving inductee into the Atlantic Agricultural Hall of Fame.