Dixons named Farm Family of the Year

The Farm Family of the Year award was presented to (sitting) Margaret Dixon, Bill Dixon, (standing) Doug Dixon and Theresa Dixon.

Each year the Caledon Chamber of Commerce and the Brampton Board of Trade recognize an agricultural business within the Region of Peel with the distinction of Farm Family of the Year, and this year, Dixellen Farms, owned by Bill and Doug Dixon and families, of Cheltenham, were the distinguished honourees.

On the international stage in competitive plowing competitions, Canada can boast of only two Canadian plowmen to capture World Champion honours, and Bill Dixon is part of that elite group.

The first world plowmen was fellow Canadian Jim Eccles, with both gentlemen coming from the former Township of Chinguacousy. But while Eccles captured the top world spot, he entered that competition as the second-place Canadian plowmen.

But Bill won the Esso Silver Plow award as Canadian Plowing Champion in 1960 which earned him a birth at the international competition the following year in Grignon, France. Only 27 at the time, Dixon handily won the coveted Esso Golden Plow award for top World Plowmen, becoming the youngest world plow champion and the only Canadian plowmen to capture both the Golden and Silver Esso Plow Awards.

Married to Marg, Bill is a past president of the Brampton Curling Club, the Peel Plowmen's Association, the Peel Holstein Club and Peel Seed Co-op.

Bill has been previously recognized and inducted into the Peel County Agriculture Hall of Fame and enjoys breeding standard bred horses as a hobby.

A graduate of the University of Waterloo (B.Sc), like his father, Doug is also active in the community and the agricultural fraternity. He is a captain with the Cheltenham Volunteer Firemen and like his father, is an avid curler with the Brampton Curling Club.

Doug has been a volunteer 4-H leader with the Brampton Junior Dairy Club for more than 10 years, and following in his father's footsteps, has been a president of each the Peel Plowmen's Association and the Peel Holstein Club.

Bill and Doug were awarded the coveted Master Breeder award in 2003 by Holstein Canada, the national breed association. Based on a point system, this award recognizes dairymen who have consistently bred and developed animals demonstrating strong and exceptional type and dairy characteristics. Only a select number of breeders from across the country are recognized with this award each year.

The Farm Family of the Year award was presented to the Dixon family at the annual Peel Federation of Agriculture banquet which was held Saturday, Nov. 18 at the Caledon Community Complex in Caledon East.