32 Story Idea? Email Paul.Nolan@Farms.com Better Farming | October 2024 FIELD TRIP This past summer, the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) united farmers and industry professionals at a two-day event, including on-farm presentations and a multi-stop bus tour. This networking and education offered farmers a unique opportunity to see different types of operations and gain new production strategies. “You look over the fence and see what your neighbour is doing,” says Eleanor Renaud, farmer and OSCIA board member. “You think about what they’re doing, and you learn from that.” On the Friday, roughly 70 farmers and industry professionals gathered at Eleanor’s Leacock Farms in Jasper for a day of learning. This included a panel on cover crops moderated by Scott Banks, an agronomist, with farmer experts Jennifer Doelman of Renfrew, Robert Massey of Alexander, and Reuben Stone of Renfrew, and Claire Coombs, a teacher at Algonquin College in the Business-Ag program. “You could’ve heard a pin drop as the people were speaking,” she said. “There were 70 or 80 people in the tent, and you didn’t hear a lot of chit-chat.” After the presentations concluded, Scott Banks fielded questions from the eager audience. “Questions kept coming from the floor, so we let them go. I never want to stop people from asking questions!” The panel was followed up with a presentation about Eleanor’s on-farm wetland restoration partnership with Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, Ducks Unlimited Canada, and ALUS through their Rural Clean Water Grants program. The partnership helps farmers fence areas of their pasture to preserve wetlands while keeping grazing cattle safe. “They make it easy to work with them – it’s amazing! It’s good for the environment, and they’re helping you pay for it.” In the afternoon, the Leeds County Federation of Agriculture (LCFA) served their Taste of Success lunch with beef, brisket, and hamburgers all raised on-farm. During the meal, the LCFA handed out their Farm Family Awards, which had been paused for a few years. “It was the perfect time and venue to bring this back. There were more people at this event, and it was good to have the LCFA with OSCIA. “We had four nominees, and it was so hard to pick because they all do so much,” Eleanor explains. “We picked Paul and Mary Ellen Ferguson, beef farmers down the road from us. Paul has a farmstead with everything you possibly need to train a calf for a show, and he does a lot with 4-H.” During the lunch break, attendees also had the opportunity to chat with the event sponsors and check out new machinery they brought with them. “There was always someone talking to the vendors. They got to meet people they didn’t usually see, and farmers got to see equipment they don’t usually see. Our neighbours thought we won the lottery because the equipment was lined up along the road!” OSCIA’S SUMMER FARM & BUS TOUR EDUCATES FARMERS. ‘A LOOK OVER THE FENCE’ BY LESLIE STEWART | PHOTOS COURTESY OF OSCIA
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