By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
On her way to the receive the Agriculture Innovator of the Year Award for an individual, Emma Butler had to make a pit stop at a Chatham restaurant to deliver an order.
It didn’t matter that she was wearing a sparkly evening dress, the co-owner of J&E Meats said, because the hustle never stops.
“Beef and ball gowns really do represent my personality,” the bubbly entrepreneur joked.
Butler’s award was among four handed out at the Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce’s 78th annual Rural Urban Awards ceremony held Nov. 27 at the John D. Bradley Centre.
The awards recognize individuals and businesses leading the way in C-K’s agriculture industry.
Emma, who along with her husband Josh, operates the Croton-based business that sells chicken, beef and lamb sourced from their own farm. The couple made their first sale of beef in 2018 from their garage and have never looked back.
Today, the farm-to table operation is known for its high-quality meats, satisfying consumers who want to know where their food comes from.
“We are bridging the gap between customers and producers,” she said.
Ironically, while the COVID-19 pandemic hurt a lot of businesses, Butler said J&E Meats grew tenfold.
“People want to buy local and Covid really pushed that,” she explained, noting people started to care deeply about their food.
Emphasizing high-quality products, J&E Meats ages all its beef and cuts and packages its own products. After operating a small shop on their home farm for three years, the business has now graduated to a store located on Oakdale Road.
And if that wasn’t enough, the couple is also busy raising a family with four young children under the age of seven.
“We have grown our business and our family simultaneously,” she said, adding her husband is “always in her corner 100 per cent.”
As for the award, Butler said “it’s really wild and super, super cool.
“I’m really excited to have this platform and support women in agriculture and female-led businesses,” she said.
Ridgetown District High School student Meredith Anderson was the other young woman to receive an award at the ceremony. The 17-year-old Grade 12 student was named Future Leader of the Year, being recognized for her long-time experience with 4H, including membership in the Chatham-Kent Dairy Club.
Her mom Janice was raised on a dairy farm near Brantford that her uncle continues to operate to this day.
That passion has been handed down to Anderson, who raises and shows Holsteins at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. This year, she and heifer “Luna” placed 13th in all of Canada.
Anderson plans on attending university next year and will study either education or agriculture.
The Agriculture Innovator of the Year award for business 2024 went to Robb Nelson of Farm Lending Canada. The Chatham-based business is an up and comer in the industry, offering a full suite of products creating financial strategies for farmers, including transitional capital and succession planning.
Part of Family Lending since 2004, Farm Lending Canada broke off into its own independent company in 2019, and now offers services in nine provinces. It recently opened an office in Winnipeg.
Well known farmer, agri-business owner and farming advocate Louie Roesch was named Friend of Agriculture. Rosech, who grew up on the family farm in the former Harwich Township, is the third generation to farm the property and is now passing the torch to his children.
Roesch founded Roesch Meats in 1995, a business that continues to thrive, supplied with products raised by the family.
He’s a long-time member of various agricultural associations, including the Kent Federation of Agriculture, and is renowned for his work championing farmers’ rights.
