Ministerial Statement – Provincial Government Remembers Arthur Gill – Farming Pioneer and Innovator

  • Fisheries and Land Resources

April 24, 2018

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Gerry Byrne, Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources:


Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to commemorate the life of Arthur Gill, a true pioneer, innovator and entrepreneur in the province’s agriculture industry, who passed away on Wednesday, April 18, at the age of 88. I wish to offer condolences to Mr. Gill’s family and friends, and his daughter, Janice Gill, a manager in the Agriculture and Lands Branch of Fisheries and Land Resources.

No stranger to hard work, Art Gill and his wife Vanda were the first to acquire and clear land for farming in Wooddale in the 1960s – no small feat, and they didn’t stop there. In 1969, Art Gill took over his father in-law’s dairy farm in Bishop’s Falls and moved it to nearby Wooddale. He continued to expand, and today Art Gill’s farm is a beef, sheep, forage, and cranberry operation – a going concern, if ever there was one.

Ever the pioneer, Arthur Gill was the first farmer in the province to successfully grow alfalfa and grain to feed his dairy herd. Mr. Gill was also renowned for his outstanding knowledge of soil fertility and crop production, and was a proven leader in the province’s dairy industry.

Mr. Speaker, Art Gill’s contribution to this province’s farming community continues to inspire, and sets the bar high for what can be achieved through hard work, perseverance, dedication and innovation. Please join me in recognizing a life in agriculture, truly well lived.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

2018 04 24 2:05 pm