Farmers 'Field of Dreams' delivers on doctor recruitment

The final acre of Listowel’s Field of Dreams was combined this fall.

It’s a special harvest that’s part of a unique farming fundraiser where 23 acres of corn is grown and auctioned off for charity.

“Every individual is only allowed to rent one acre. So, when they rent one acre that gets the rent paid for. Then we go to the agribusinesses. We get the seed, the fertilizer, the sprays. We get it all. It gets harvested, planted and all that good stuff. It's all paid for,” said Ralph Coneybeare, a local farmer, who helped spearhead the farm fundraiser.

A bumper crop of corn, meant this year’s edition of North Perth’s Field of Dreams far exceeded expectations, helping to raise $120,000 towards doctor recruitment for the Listowel area.

“There really is a shortage of primary care physicians. We're really looking to use this money to try to fill that gap and make sure that everyone in our community has access to primary care, and that our hospital continues to be vibrant and offer all of the programs that the physicians support right now,” said the Executive Director of the Listowel-Wingham and Area Family Health Team, Robin Spence-Haffner.

This is the fifth Field of Dreams fundraiser, organized by the Listowel Agricultural Society. It’s a real grassroots endeavour that leverages the strengths of the region, which is growing food to help fund the search for healthcare workers willing to work in rural Ontario.

Listowel Agricultural Society donates $120,000 towards North Perth Doctor Recruitment. Nov. 29, 2024. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

“That's what I do. I'm a farmer. I have cash crop, dairy, chickens. So, for me to grow something and auction it off and actually make a profit to help something like this, well, it feels pretty great,” said Coneybeare.

“It's a neat thing. That was the Field of Dreams. There it was. And it made good dollars,” said Vince Judge, who supports doctor recruitment in North Perth, as well as being a Listowel Ag Society member.

“So, what we’ll be able to do with that money is continue to attend recruitment events in Ontario, across Canada, the U.S. and even Europe, where we're looking to repatriate physicians who have trained overseas. Over the past eight years, we've actually been able to recruit 10 physicians, which is something to really be proud of in this area. So, we really do want to continue on that path and recruit even more physicians,” said Spence-Haffner.