Islander elected president of Canadian Federation of Agriculture

Mary Robinson says she is "excited and a little overwhelmed" after being elected president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture in Ottawa on Wednesday.

"It is a big job so I'm still trying to process that," she said.

Robinson is the first Islander, and the first woman, to be elected president of the CFA in its 84-year-history, according to the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture.

Robinson has served as president of the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture. She is a managing partner of a sixth-generation family farm operation, Eric C. Robinson Inc. and its sister company Island Lime, and serves on the boards of associated companies P.E.I. Agromart and Mid-Isle Farms.

Robinson said P.E.I. has been well-represented at the CFA in past years, with Bertha Campbell and Alvin Keenan recently sitting on the board, and she hopes to continue to serve the province well as president.

'Lot of support from home'

"There's been a lot of support from home which has been lovely and I think P.E.I. typically is viewed at the national table as sending people who are quality people. I think we've always been proud of the people we've sent."

One of her first objectives will be "developing our election strategy in the next month or so and rolling that out to the federal government and all of the players on the federal scene to ensure that we have good support for Canadian agriculture as a whole," she said.

Robinson said she brings a "passion for agriculture" and critical thinking and leadership skills to her new job.

"It's important for us to sit at the table, have healthy conversations, figure out what's best for all of agriculture and then move forward as a group."

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