St. Clair Region — Blake Ellis and Shawn Brenneman (Provincial Director)
With a full year under our belts, Blake and I are happy to report on the St. Clair Region for 2025 and what to look forward to in 2026.
At the Chatham Kent Farm show in February 2025, we held out first–ever St. Clair Region Annual General Meeting (AGM). With approximately 30 people in attendance, we shared updates on agronomy, programs and regional activities. The 2026 St. Clair AGM was held at the Chatham-Kent Farm Show on January 28.
In August 2025, we held a Regional Event: Compaction Day in Rutherford. With over 250 people in attendance, it was a full day of learning and fellowship, with Ian McDonald presenting findings from the day at our Regional AGM.
Supporting Locals: One of the main goals for the St. Clair Region is to provide additional support to local associations. In 2025, Blake and Shawn attended multiple local AGMs, board meetings and special events. One of those events was the Essex SCIA bus tour of ADM Windsor where we coordinated members from other regions to attend and purchased lunch or all attendees.
Social Media and Newsletters: We continue to promote Soil and Crop events and activities through our X and Facebook social media accounts. We also started a “Follow this Field” initiative to highlight “new” crops in the area, and key agronomic and management practices. We’re planning tailgate tours of these fields through spring and summer of 2026.
One idea for 2026 is to coordinate drone cover crop trials in various crops through the region to showcase the variety types, timing and other factors in getting the most out of cover crops.
Financials: The Region is in good financial shape with approximately $27,000 in our account. A full financial report will be provided at the Regional AGM.
Please reach out to us anytime with ideas and initiatives you’d like to see in 2026 and beyond!
Blake Ellis, Regional Communications Coordinator, St. Clair
Thames Valley Region — Cathy Dibble
The 2025 year was a busy one across the Thames Valley Region, with successful and well-attended annual meetings and popular summer events.
Elgin SCIA held their summer tour in the Aylmer area, touring a hops farm and sampling hop water, checking out the progress on a new grain elevator build, watching a land remediation demonstration, and talks on nitrogen management, tar spot and other corn diseases.
The Middlesex SCIA’s twilight meeting near Newbury featured fertilizer discussions in the field, soil/SWAT mapping and management, farm and road safety, and local conservation authority funding opportunities.
Oxford SCIA’s summer event ventured into Brant County, touring an edible bean elevator, and visiting a hops yard and processing facility followed by a stop at a local brewery, that uses the local hops, for samples and pizza.
Members from across the region participated in various field research trials, both county and regionally based, and with OMAFA Field Crop Staff projects. Regional updates were published throughout the year, including information about local activities, field trial results and updated rainfall and heat unit data from each county, distributed alongside the OSCIA Innovator magazine both in electronic and paper formats as needed.
The regional website continues to be a popular source of information for coming local events, rain and heat unit data, local project reports, annual plot protocols and data, and tour photos.
One director representing each county association and one from the regional board sit on the Southwest Ag Conference steering committee as part of the Ontario Ag Conference, meeting several times over the past year to plan 2025 Ontario Agricultural Conference event in conjunction with the Eastern Crops Conference and the MidWest Crops Conference events.
In 2025, Heartland Soil and Crop Improvement Association (HSCIA) and its four county associations—Huron, Perth, Waterloo and Wellington—continued to show strength by offering a variety of events throughout the year. A big thank you to the Boards of Directors and volunteers for their ongoing commitment throughout this past year!
Personnel Update: With Anèl Dannhuaser’s resignation as Heartland’s Regional Communications Coordinator (RCC), Kristian Stephens became RCC on April 1, 2025.
At the end of 2024, the Heartland Board of Directors met and re-elected John Poel as Provincial Director, Jeff Strenzke (Waterloo) as President and Keith Martin (Waterloo) as Vice-President. In November 2025 Jeff Strenzke stepped down as President; Keith Martin has agreed to serve as Interim President until the next Heartland Board AGM.
Heartland thanks both Anèl and Jeff for their service, commitment and time to Heartland and wishes them well in their future endeavours.
Events:
Heartland once again partnered with Golden Horseshoe SCIA and OMAFA to co-host the 2025 MidWest Agricultural Conference (MWAC) in January in Waterloo. The event provided a full day of in-depth crop management and precision agriculture sessions, jointly delivered by Heartland and Golden Horseshoe regions with OMAFA support. MWAC 2025 emphasized Beyond the Hype: Making Sense of Precision Ag, helping farmers understand when, where and how precision agronomy adds value on their farms.
Perth SCIA had its AGM in February 2025 in Rostock. Presentations were given on Weather Trends in Ontario and from the Ontario Agri-Food Discovery Centre.
Waterloo SCIA had its 2025 AGM on March 25, in Floradale. The event was a full-day session on research, fighting tar spot, planter setup tips and hybrid selection. Around 30 people attended.
Wellington SCIA had a twilight tour on July 9 at which about 50 people attended. It focused on a tour of a Living Labs on-farm research site that is comparing conventional practices with co-developed approaches to measure greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of this research is to make the ‘invisible’ visible for farmers by improving understanding of emissions, their impacts and how science can guide better management. Next, the tour focused on an Ontario Soil Network site, which studied adaptive nitrogen trials in corn.
Huron SCIA had its equipment and crop demonstration day in Seaforth on August 15. The event featured robots fertilizing corn, drone seeding oats in standing corn and tire inflation; it was combined with the Huron County International Plowing Match. Over 30 people attended.
Waterloo SCIA hosted a twilight tour on September 4 within the Elora region. This tour showcased cover crops, on-farm plastic recycling and had Dr. Isabelle Aicklen from the University of Guelph speak on practical tips for weed and spraying. About 25 people attended.
Wellington SCIA had its AGM in Floradale on December 5 in Alma. Around 35 members and industry representatives attended. The day’s agenda included presentations from a local Living Labs adaptive nitrogen trial and on cover crops.
Kristian also educated school children about the importance of soil health using a soil-rainfall simulation. He taught hundreds of school children from the Fergus region on June 4 through an agricultural education event that was organized by the Fergus Agricultural Society. He also operated a soil health booth at Farm and Food Care Ontario’s October 10 Farmtoberfest public event. Over a hundred families visited his booth.
Kristian Stephens, Regional Communications Coordinator, Heartland
Georgian Central Region — Emily McKague for Grey Ag Services
Georgian Region started its year with an April director’s meeting that included business and updates from each county. The region did not organize any of its own events in 2025, but was involved with the OSCIA’s Summer Meeting and Tour, as its Provincial Director, Andy van Niekerk, held the position of 1st Vice President at the provincial level. Andy hosted the Summer Meeting on his farm in late August with good attendance and an excellent roster of speakers. The meeting day was followed by a bus tour highlighting agriculture in Simcoe County.
As a region, Georgian has begun organizing to host a webinar featuring Dr. Andrew McGuire from Washington State University in early March 2026, and a compaction event on a farm central to Dufferin, Grey and North Simcoe Counties on July 16, 2026. We look forward to excellent learning opportunities from both events!
Bruce County: The Bruce SCIA group kicked off their year with attendance at Grey Bruce Farmer’s Week’s Crops Day, where their president chaired the afternoon program. The group also supported the event by contributing suggestions for the agenda during planning time. Carrying on into spring, Bruce SCIA put together an educational station for the Roots of Bruce event which sees nearly 500 kids come together to learn about local agriculture over two days. Bruce SCIA then hosted Forage Expo in conjunction with the Ontario Forage Council—a day that turned out to be extremely rainy but went forward all the same, with valuable information being shared and lots of equipment to view! Shortly after Forage Expo came the annual Mystery Bus Tour: this is Bruce SCIA’s summer crop walk, an event where they book a bus to drive members from field to field (locations and topics are not advertised ahead of time) guided by a guest agronomist. They round the tour day out with a BBQ at a member’s farm. New for the group in 2025 was the creation of a Bruce SCIA Scholarship, awarded to graduating high school students pursuing a career in agriculture.
Dufferin County: Dufferin SCIA started their year early with a springtime AGM held in an evening format instead of as a daytime meeting. They did this to accommodate younger members with off-farm day jobs but noticed a lower attendance than in previous years. The committee was unsure whether poor weather could have played a part in attendance numbers in addition to the format change and will re-evaluate which format to proceed with in the future. They also hosted a bus trip to Ingredion and the Arva Flour Mill in March, noting it was an excellent trip with impressive juxtaposition between new and old technologies in use. Dufferin organized a summer crop walk but saw low attendance after needing to postpone and rebook it.
Grey County: Grey SCIA also participated in Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week at the start of the year, with several members involved in the planning committee and their president chairing the morning program. Grey SCIA hosted an excellent summer crop walk in partnership with the Ontario Canola Growers Association in July 2025. The group saw an organic dairy farm operated by a member family, including their barn and pasture system and field equipment. In the afternoon the group transitioned to a farm with canola ready to harvest where guest speakers presented before combine and tillage demonstrations were conducted. The Grey SCIA group held their AGM in December 2025 and also experimented with an evening format, again hoping to be more accessible for those unable to make daytime meetings and also to encourage a more social atmosphere. The Honourable Rob Black, P. Ag. (Hon), Senator for Ontario was the keynote speaker for the evening which also included a catered meal.
North Simcoe: North Simcoe SCIA has the largest membership of the Georgian Region. They had another extremely successful Seed Fair in spring 2025, with roughly 70 attendees. They ran their 47th Annual Summer Bus Trip over four days in July, touring an area spanning between Highway 401 and Lake Erie. Many of their members were involved in the planning and execution of OSCIA’s Summer Meeting as Andy van Niekerk’s home association. North Simcoe rounded out their year with an Annual General Meeting in early December including a business meeting, lunch and several guest speakers.
Emily McKague (on behalf of Grey Ag Services), Regional Communication Coordinator, Georgian Central
Golden Horseshoe Region — Nancy van Sas
Midwest Agricultural Conference: Members of Golden Horseshoe worked closely with Heartland and OMAFA staff to host the Midwest Agricultural Conference (MWAC) at RIM Park in Waterloo, January 17, 2025. The theme ‘Beyond the Hype: Making Sense of Precision Agriculture‘ had 180 participants with 16 tradeshow sponsors represented.
County Activities
BRANT
January 31 – Brant AGM & Winter Meeting. Topics included a keynote speaker discussing weather predictions including predictions for 2025.
HALDIMAND
January 21 – Haldimand held their AGM &Winter Meeting in combination with Niagara Peninsula SCIA in Dunnville. Discussions included growing canola as an alternative crop and tar spot.
August 21 – Haldimand held a successful On Farm Grain Storage Systems driving tour throughout the county, visiting 4 systems to learn the pros and cons.
December – Haldimand participated in Ag Summit, a multi-county combined educational opportunity and AGM. Shaun Haney and Peter Johnson from Real Agriculture, as well as glimpse behind the scenes documenting how fertilizer inputs flow into Ontario by Hugh Loomans, President and CEO of Sylvite Holdings.
HALTON
January 22 – Halton held a combined AGM and Winter Meeting with Peel featuring Biosolids and the result of the PurYield Research Trial.
Spring to Fall – Continued working on the 3-year Biosolids Research Grant conducting analysis on the 4 different treatment methods in bare and cover cropped fields. Final results to be released in spring 2027.
December 15 – Halton participated in Ag Summit featuring Shaun Haney and Peter Johnson from Real Agriculture, as well as Hugh Loomans, President and CEO of Sylvite Holdings. During the AGM, Halton SCIA and Peel SCIA merged to form Halton and Peel SCIA.
HAMILTON-WENTWORTH
January 30 – Hamilton-Wentworth AGM & Winter Meeting featuring the Yen project, growing canola and mental health awareness on the farm
July 12 – Hamilton-Wentworth was an active participant at the Binbrook Fair’s Safety Night, where they provided awareness to rural and non-rural communities on the importance of safety around large farm machinery.
December 15 – Hamilton-Wentworth participated in Ag Summit featuring Shaun Haney and Peter Johnson from Real Agriculture, as well as Hugh Loomans, President and CEO of Sylvite Holdings.
NIAGARA PENINSULA
January 21 – Niagara Peninsula held their AGM jointly with Haldimand in Dunnville. Discussions included growing canola as an alternative crop and tar spot.
April 15 – Niagara Peninsula hosted a planter clinic in a farm shop showcasing what you need to get ready for the spring.
September 16 – 20 – Grassie in Niagara was the home of the 2025 International Plowing Match and Rural Expo. Niagara Peninsula participated with a booth at the IPM.
December 15 – Niagara Peninsula participated in Ag Summit featuring Shaun Haney and Peter Johson from Real Agriculture, as well as Hugh Loomans, President and CEO of Sylvite Holdings. Niagara initiated the Ag Summit from an idea to bring Shaun Haney to Ontario.
NORFOLK
January 30 – Norfolk AGM dinner featured guest speakers discussing cyber attacks on your farm and how to reduce your risk. Announced at the dinner of a Grower’s Day on March 26th featuring Ian McDonald discussing Norfolk Compaction Day results and Irrigation Day highlights.
March 26 – Norfolk held a successful March Grower Day highlighting the results of Irrigation Day. Kevin McKague discussed how water moves through Norfolk soils, specifically the very light sandy soils. Ian McDonald discussed the final results of the 2023 Norfolk Compaction Day.
PEEL
January 22 – Joint AGM and Winter Meeting with Halton featuring Biosolids use and Pur-Yield plot results.
December 15 – Halton participated in Ag Summit featuring Shaun Haney and Peter Johnson from Real Agriculture, as well as Hugh Loomans, President and CEO of Sylvite Holdings. During the AGM, Peel SCIA and Halton SCIA merged to form Halton and Peel SCIA.
East Central Region — Neil Moore
The ECSCIA began about 1964 and now includes Durham Region and Hope Township from Northumberland County, Peterborough, and Victoria (City of Kawartha Lakes) and Haliburton Counties. York Region was added in 2001.
The 44th Annual East Central Farm Show was held in the Commonwell Exhibition Building, Lindsay Fairgrounds, on March 5-6. Attendance was about 80% of usual before the pandemic.
County Soil & Crop memberships were promoted and 136 memberships sold; members get in free.
ECSCIA uses some of the Farm Show proceeds to provide scholarships (six for 2014 to 2016, three for 2017, nine for 2018, six for 2019, 12 for 2020 and 2021, six for 2022, three for 2023, seven at 1,500 for 2024, 12 at $1,500 for 2025), and up to $1,100 for county SCIA and 4-H clubs in the East Central area to assist with projects. Eighteen 4-H crop club members were supported at $50 each.
Four newsletters were sent to about 400 ECSCIA members and previous members (about 60 by mail).
The East Central SCIA website hosts newsletters, coming events, project information and links updated to new information online: https://regionalscia.org.
Weather data from co-operators in the member counties, including some from Quinte region, was presented in newsletters and online https://regionalscia.org/weather-html/.
ECSCIA’s RCC attended county annual and director meetings, presenting updates; attendance is still down from before pandemic. The region’s Secretary-Treasurer completed 50 years with ECSCIA and still going.
Durham SCIA held a spring meeting with good attendance on the day of the big ice storm and York SCIA held their annual BBQ in August (over 150 attending).
The Quinte Soil and Crop Improvement Association covers Northumberland, Hastings/Lennox & Addington and Prince Edward counties.
Events & Member Benefits: In March 2025, Quinte SCIA organized the Crop Protection & Spray Summit in Cobourg. The morning started with an invitation–only breakfast with local custom spray operators, giving them an opportunity to connect and discuss shared issues (talk shop) ahead of the day’s programming.
Co-sponsored by Quinte SCIA and TCO Agromart Ltd, the day’s event included presentations on practical crop protection and spray application topics. These included weed management presented by Mike Cowbrough, Weed Management Specialist, Field Crops, OMAFA; a highly technical spray clinic delivered in two parts across the day by Darren McColm, Technical Product Manager, WinField United; and a session on personal protective equipment and closed transfer systems led by Ed Hanson (SurePoint Ag/CanGrow Solutions). Feedback pointed to strong, usable takeaways, with interest expressed in more hands-on and in-field learning in the future.
Local associations also hosted events focused on social connections rather than formal programming. Northumberland SCIA held a summer BBQ in August in Roseneath, and Prince Edward County SCIA partnered with Ontario Soil Network to host the Rainmaker BBQ in August at the Reynolds Farm in Picton, sponsored by Pioneer. Both events were well attended and provided a chance for farmers and families to connect during a very challenging growing season.
Membership and Local Engagement: Overall membership increased modestly, with a clear improvement in active memberships and a decline in lapsed members across the region. While this reflects stronger engagement at the individual member level, it has not yet translated consistently into volunteer participation on either local boards or the Quinte board. Strengthening local association leadership and supporting board renewal remains a key challenge and priority.
Research and Knowledge Sharing: Quinte SCIA is leading a three-year Grassroots Research project in collaboration with Trent University, looking at the effects of different winter cover crops on nutrient loss in tile water. Based on several years of pilot-scale data, the project is expanding in scope to provide more locally relevant information that can be shared with farmers as results become available.
Knowledge sharing also extended beyond the region through contributions to OSCIA’s Innovator magazine. Two articles were published: one highlighting applied soil carbon research at the Trent University Research Farm, and another summarizing the OSCIA AGM Deep Dive on micronutrients, distilling a full day of technical presentations into practical information for producers.
Partnerships and Regional Collaboration: Quinte SCIA began participating in emerging Phragmites Management Area initiatives, including the Quinte, Lower Trent and West Northumberland (Ganaraska Conservation) working groups. Early involvement has focused on attending meetings and building relationships, with the aim of helping farmers understand how to identify and report Phragmites and what support may be available as these initiatives develop.
Looking Ahead: Looking ahead, the focus will be on strengthening local and regional association leadership, continuing to build member engagement, supporting research knowledge sharing as work progresses, and maintaining targeted regional collaboration.
The Eastern Valley Soil and Crop Improvement Association is comprised of five counties: Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry, Prescott and Russell. Currently these counties have a combined membership of approximately 300 which includes those individuals who receive OSCIA’s quarterly Innovator magazine and bi-weekly Grassroots Matters, that is sent via email.
While each of the five counties actively participate in their own activities, there has been increased interest in moving forward with more regional activities which would ultimately involve a large number of the membership. Although 2025 was fairly quiet in the region, plans are in the making for an offering of a drainage workshop in 2026. This would encompass a large percentage of our membership who would be interested.
During 2025, Eastern Valley local associations were very keen to host a myriad of in-person events. Our 2025 regional annual meeting included common reports delivered to the group with discussions on moving forward with interesting regional events.
Eastern Valley directors are continually working closely with our OMAFA Specialists, who are an important part of our regional team and support us in many ways. We thank our Provincial Director, Jeannette Mongeon, for her leadership in 2025.
During 2025, as Regional Communication Coordinator, I was also involved in the following:
Communicating with the directorship of EVSCIA, to overview the past year’s successes and to continue with our mandate of creating a more visible regional association that will continue to work with the five counties.
Promoted county annual meetings and offered assistance to the local associations, where required and requested. This was valuable to aid in future planning.
Supported OSCIA’s provincial newsletter, the Innovator, by writing articles of interest to the general membership
Assisted with recruitment of membership as well as maintaining a master membership list from information provided by the local associations.
Participated in other communications as required by OSCIA.
Worked closely with our regional field representative to ensure that membership of Eastern Valley were aware of upcoming workshops.
Investigated new sponsorship potential.
On behalf of the Eastern Valley Soil and Crop Improvement Association I would like to express my gratitude to the staff and directors of OSCIA and to OMAFA staff who have assisted our region with their valuable input and support. We look forward to the ongoing communication in 2026.
The Ottawa-Rideau region of OSCIA includes six local associations: Leeds, Grenville, Ottawa-Carleton, Renfrew, Frontenac and Lanark.
In June, Kelsey Banks left the position of Regional Communications Coordinator and the Region would like to take this opportunity to thank her for her years of support as the RCC.
Leigh Hudson-Templeton provided an update on a research trial running in Ottawa-Carleton: one site planted for Year 1 of a cover crop and manure project. We used drone application for the trial and unfortunately, due to lack of rain, it did not germinate and won’t be able to be taken to yield in 2026. We plan to have two sites in 2026 for 2027 yield. We will likely be modifying our planting method to improve catch. This will be determined at a later date.
Ottawa Carleton also hosted a Summer Social at Hillside Farms. It included a tour of their new calf barn, horse barn and shop as well as an opportunity to see their milking robots in operation. The event was attended by the Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Trevor Jones.
Renfrew hosted a Twilight Meeting at the end of July at Bonnechere Haven Farms, the home of Jennifer and Mike Doelman and family. SCIA members had the opportunity tour the new shop and grain dryers as well as hear about their ONFARM/Living Labs research project and learn about the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
The Regional Board is in the planning stages of a 2026 summer bus tour; stay tuned for more details.
NOFIA has acted as the Regional Communications Coordinator for Northeastern Ontario since 2015. In this capacity, NOFIA has worked to improve awareness and access to OSCIA funding and submit content to the Innovator magazine through the provincial office.
Activities:
Currently supporting the NEOSCIA with upcoming AGM organization
Ongoing planning for 2026 Northern Ontario Ag Conference
Supported local producer education events including West Nipissing East Sudbury Federation of Agriculture Symposium, Earlton Farm Show, Manitoulin Ag Day, Temiskaming Crops Coalition summer tour and Northeast Diagnostic Day at the Ontario Crops Research Centre – New Liskeard
Assisted in producing four issues of the Innovator and regional content for the Northeast landing page, meeting all applicable deadlines; article subjects included multi-species regenerative grazing; biosecurity and pasture management for herd health; and a spotlight on Northeast Diagnostics Day
Attended several association events across the region, including AGMs and crop tours
Maintained membership and mailing lists, updating upon receipt of district lists
NOFIA and the NEOSCIA are looking forward to another year in 2026, further improving our membership databases, building and strengthening agricultural communities within Northern Ontario through various events, and providing educational opportunities to farmers in the north. It has been a pleasure to work with the various associations over the last year, and we look forward to 2026!
The Thunder Bay Spring Farm Conference, held in April 2025, served as the kickoff for Thunder Bay’s farming season! This year, we expanded our reach by introducing a dedicated Poultry Night featuring Charlotte Wall from the Poultry Industry Council.
By addressing the smaller sector of backyard poultry, we successfully engaged a broader demographic of producers. The two-day main event focused on practical innovations for the Northwest, fostering vital networking between exhibitors and producers as they prepared for the 2025 season.
The event highlight was a panel of the political candidates to present their agriculture platform, followed by a Q&A period, providing farmers the opportunity to gather information.
Save the Date: Thunder Bay Spring Farm Conference 2026 will be hosted on March 24-26, 2026.
As the season progressed, our regional tours provided boots-on-the-ground insights. Rainy River hosted a full-day tour, highlighting the diversity of the west-end of the region. From modern local egg production at Gerber Farms, to the impactful Canadian Foodgrains Bank projects, the event showcased a vibrant, multi-faceted agricultural community that continues to expand its footprint. Moving to Thunder Bay, in conjunction with the Lakehead University Agricultural Research Station (LUARS) open house, farmers heard about trial performance and local crop development in real time, as well as visited various fields to see what was growing in the area.
In partnership with the Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance (NOFIA) and Lakehead University, we entered into the second season of the Northwest Grassroots Grant project. Centered at the Thunder Bay Community Pasture, this study examines the long-term effects of rotational grazing on soil health and forage diversity.
Our Summer Field Day was a highlight of the season, featuring a morning pasture walk that allowed participants to see the ecological shifts firsthand, followed by afternoon technical sessions on herd health and rural funding strategies.
Reflecting on 2025, the Northwest agricultural sector experienced a great year! While the climate always presents its unique challenges in the North, the high engagement at our crop tours and the success of events demonstrate a region that is evolving and engaged. We head into 2026 excited for new events, and continued innovation.
