Farming in a Global Economy: A Case Study of Dutch Immigrant Farmers in Canada (International Studies in Sociology and Social Anthropology)

389 Pages·2006·2.66 MB·English

by  Frans Schryer

Farming in a Global Economy
International Studies
in Sociology and
Social Anthropology
Editors
Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo, Rubin Patterson,
Masamichi Sasaki
VOLUME 101
Farming in a Global
Economy
A Case Study of Dutch Immigrant Farmers
in Canada
by
Frans Schryer
BRILL
LEIDEN•BOSTON
2006
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Cover photo was provided by Mr. Andy Veldman, sales representative of Re/Max a-b
Realty Ltd. in Stratford, Ontario
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schryer, Frans.
Farming in a global economy : a case study of Dutch immigrant farmers in Canada /
by Frans Schryer.
p. cm. — (International studies in sociology and social anthropology,
ISSN 0074-8684 ; v.101)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
ISBN-13: 978-90-04-15170-3
ISBN-10: 90-04-15170-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Farmers—Ontario. 2. Dutch—Ontario—Social conditions. 3. Agriculture—Ontario.
I. Title. II. Series.
HD8039.F32C275 2006
338.1086’91209713—dc22
Mériot, Sylvie-Anne.
2006047568
[Cuisinier nostalgique. English]
Nostalgic cooks: another French paradox / edited by Sylvie-Anne Mériot ;
translated by Trevor Cox and Chanelle Paul ; pref. by André Grelon.
p. cm. — (International studies in sociology and social anthropology,
ISSN 0074-8684 ; v. 97)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 90-04-14346-7 paperback: alk. paper 1. Restaurant management—
France—History. I. Title. II.
ISSN 0074-8684
ISBN-10: 90 04 15170 2
ISBN-13: 978 90 04 15170 3
© Copyright 2006 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill Academic Publishers,
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Fees are subject to change.
printed in the netherlands
Contents • v
Contents
Preface .............................................................................................. vii
List of Figures & Tables ................................................................ ix
Abbreviations .................................................................................... xi
Introduction ...................................................................................... 1
PART ONE
FARMING, CULTURE, AND MIGRATION:
THE NETHERLANDS AND ONTARIO
Chapter 1: The Netherlands: The Country of Origin ................ 19
Chapter 2: Ontario: A Province of Immigrants .......................... 49
Chapter 3: Dutch Farm Immigrants Prior to World War Two 75
PART TWO
DUTCH FARM IMMIGRANTS AFTER WORLD WAR II
Chapter 4: The Netherlands-Canada Settlement Scheme .......... 91
Chapter 5: Becoming a Canadian Farmer .................................. 115
Chapter 6: Learning and Getting Ahead .................................... 131
Chapter 7: Dutch Farmers in Different Regions ........................ 143
Chapter 8: Forming Communities and Institutions .................... 161
Chapter 9: Getting Politically Involved ........................................ 193
Chapter 10: A Profile of Dutch-Canadian Farmers ...................... 213
Chapter 11: Three Generations of Farmers: Continuity and
and Discontinuity ........................................................ 243
PART THREE
THE DUTCH PRESENCE IN ONTARIO AGRICULTURE
Chapter 12: Demographics and Spatial Distribution .................... 253
Chapter 13: Crop Specialization and Agribusiness ...................... 283
vi • Contents
Chapter 14: The European-Dutch Corporate Connection .......... 299
Chapter 15: The Newcomers ........................................................ 311
Conclusion ........................................................................................ 325
Bibliography ...................................................................................... 339
Appendix (dual scaling) .................................................................... 343
Index .................................................................................................. 349
Preface • vii
Preface
This book would have been impossible without the help of numerous
people. I am indebted to the farmers who opened their doors and shared
their stories. Not only did I learn from them about life in the Dutch
countryside, but they dispelled any preconceptions I had about farming
in Canada as a way of life and a means of making a living. I also want
to thank my research assistants: Michael Fallon interviewed farmers of
Dutch background in the Niagara peninsula and in Brant County, while
working on his doctorate in history. Lisa Dent-Couturier, then an MA
student in rural extension, conducted interviews in Essex County, and
Margaret VanderSchot, a farmer, helped me in the southern half of
Perth and the northern tip of Oxford counties. Their initials will appear
in footnotes, when I refer to those interviews. Michael Johnston’s con-
tribution included mapping out the locations of Dutch farmers in Grey
County. His MA thesis on the perception of recent Dutch immigrant
farmers is cited in this book. Fiep de Biep did one interview and con-
ducted observations in Waterloo and Wellington counties as part of her
training in fieldwork methods while enrolled in a BA program at the
University of Guelph. At various times undergraduate students worked
for me as part of a student-work program. Andrew Westert helped me for
several weeks and Wilma Hovius was my part-time research assistant for
close to a year. She conducted interviews, sent letters to various farm
organizations, and obtained detailed information on the geographical dis-
tribution of farmers in the Listowel area. A year later Elizabeth Allingham
did fieldwork in Eastern Ontario and listened to taped interviews housed
in the Multicultural Historical Society of Ontario archives.
This book has benefited greatly from Kate George’s meticulous copy-
editing work, Marie Puddister’s skill in map making, and my daughter
Emily’s assistance with final proofreading. I am also grateful for the
encouragement and feedback I received from the editorial board of Brill
and their external reviewers.

List of Figures and Tables • ix
List of Figures and Tables
List of Figures
1. Ontario within North America ................................................ 20
2. The Low Countries within Europe .......................................... 21
3. Dutch Provinces and Major Soil Types .................................. 24
4. Dutch Socio-Cultural Regions .................................................. 31
5. Arable Land: Northern and Southern Ontario ...................... 50
6. Landforms and Soil Types in Southern Ontario .................... 52
7. Agricultural Regions in Southern Ontario .............................. 57
8. Kinship Network of Rural Dutch Calvinists .......................... 164
9. Kinship Network among Dutch Catholic Rural Families ...... 170
10. Kinship Network of Dutch Catholics in Wyoming ................ 171
11. Patterns of Intermarriage in the Brussels area ........................ 173
12. Diagram of a Hypothetical Dual Scaling Exercise
(shown in appendix) .................................................................. 346
13. First and Second Solutions ...................................................... 219
14. Third and Fourth Solutions ...................................................... 228
15. Fifth and Sixth Solutions .......................................................... 235
16. Seventh and Eighth Solutions .................................................. 239
17. Distribution of Dutch in Southwestern Ontario
(as percentage of total population) .......................................... 257
18. Distribution of Dutch in the Central and Eastern
Parts of Southern Ontario (as percentage of total
population) .................................................................................. 258
19. Dutch-Canadian Farms in the Area of Teeswater ................ 272
20. Dutch-Canadian Farms in the Vicinity of Warwick .............. 273
21. Dutch-Canadian Farms in the Vicinity of Listowel ................ 275
22. Dutch-Canadian Farms in Downie .......................................... 277
23. Dutch Ownership of Farmland in Grey and
Elma Townships ......................................................................... 280
List of Tables
1. Items (Variables) and their Values .......................................... 214
2. Rural Census Divisions with a Dutch Presence ...................... 259
3. Small Towns and Villages with a Dutch Presence ................ 261
4. Towns with between 5,000 and 9,999 Inhabitants
with a Dutch Presence .............................................................. 264