William John Hayden
William John (Billy) Hayden was born on July 3, 1922 in Cherry Valley, PEI and grew up on a mixed farm. Most of his formal education came from the local Cherry Valley School. His dad, Lewis Hayden, a member of the Atlantic Agricultural Hall of Fame, imported the first Hereford cattle to PEI in 1911 and from him, Billy learned a love for animals, especially Hereford cattle and the value of food production as a way of life.
In his early years Billy did community grain threshing and cleaned seed for the farmers in the area before buying his first farm and expanding into the potato business in 1945. It was only 70 acres in size. It was at this time too that he and his brother George bought their first tractor on the shares. Billy has always preferred an open tractor even though there are many to choose from on the farm. He always liked to be close to nature and feel the wind on his face.
By 1963, Billy had expanded his potato acreage to 27 acres per year, still picking by hand with mostly family help. The next year he purchased a bagger digger and in 1965, their first warehouse was started along the Trans Canada Highway in Cherry Valley. Their aim in business was to supply the early fresh market with potatoes. They have been very successful in this venture, always open to using new varieties and production techniques such as growing early potatoes under plastic to ensure his markets were well supplied.
Billy used to check his cattle on horseback. He was very patient and skilled in animal husbandry, persistent in treating sick animals long after others would have given up.
He has always been a very “hands on” person in his farming operation and up until the fall of 2006, he was still involved with grading potatoes, even though his two grandsons have taken over the day-to-day operation of his business.
Billy has always been active in his community. In his role as school trustee in the 1950s, Billy was able to help provide guidance and leadership in the education system for the youth of PEI. He was a Maritime director of the Canadian Hereford Breeders Association and has helped to promote the genetics of the breed that his family was instrumental in bringing to PEI in the early 1900s. He was a member of the Easter Beef Show and Sale Committee and one of the founding leaders of the Cherrycliffe 4-H Club. He was a member of Cherry Valley United Church and Cemetery Committee and a member of St. Andrew’s United Church as well as the Cherry Valley Players play group in the late 1940s and early 1950s
Billy and his wife Lillian raised a family of four children, Wayne, John, Reta and Carol.
Nominated by PEI Federation of Agriculture for his outstanding contributions to his community and industry, William John (Billy) Hayden is a very deserving inductee into the Atlantic Agricultural Hall of Fame.