Eleanor Renaud owns and operates a 1,000-acre 5th generation farm in Leeds County. It was a dairy farm and now she runs a cow/calf operation and grows corn, beans, barley, oats and hay. 

Eleanor has been part of Leeds County Soil and Crop for the last 10 years. She has also been part of the Leeds County Federation of Agriculture Board of Directors since 1988, serving in a number of positions from board member to President. She currently serves as Secretary-Treasurer. 

Eleanor served as a councilor for Elizabethtown-Kitley Township for 25 years and also served on the boards of the Rural Ontario Municipal Association and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario where she had input into the municipal budgets for 19 years. 

Eleanor served on the OFA Board representing Leeds County for many years until 2008, and then served as the Zone director for Leeds, Grenville, Frontenac and Dundas Counties from 2008 – 2017.

Eleanor is proud to sit on the executive of OSCIA as 3rd vice. As a member of the OSCIA board she represents OSCIA to Farm and Food Care. She also sits on a National Species at Risk committee, again representing OSCIA. This committee is educational from the point that not all provinces have the same programs as Ontario to protect natural lands as well as agricultural lands; Eleanor does not see the same types of BMPs. Each province could benefit from an OSCIA-type organization.

Andy’s “farmer-first” attitude in all his dealings and a never-ending curiosity to learn new things gives him an edge on trying new practices and products.

Andy holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) from the University of Guelph and has been a Professional Agrologist (P.Ag.) since 1990 and a Certified Crop Advisor (CCA-ON) since 1999; most recently passing his 4R Stewardship requirements in 2016.

Andy is also a long-time director on the board of the Innovative Farmers Association of Ontario, serving as their research committee chairperson, and serving also on the OSCIA board as Provincial Director for the Georgian Central Region since 2019.

John is a 2nd-generation grain farmer from the St Marys area in Southern Perth County. Alongside his wife, Alanna and family, he grows corn, soybeans, winter wheat and dry beans. He also grows a variety of cover crops, some for feed for neighbouring dairy farms and/or for planting green using primarily no-till practices. In the past he has grown crops that include processing peas and sweet corn and quinoa.

John has participated on several commodity board local committees in the past, has been a member and director of the Perth County SCIA for over 30 years, and a part of the Heartland regional board since its formation. He feels his involvement within the organization has given him the opportunity to associate and learn from and with tremendously talented and inspiring individuals. He hopes to continue helping to evolve the OSCIA as an organization that can do the same for others: to foster continual improvement for themselves, those around them and their farms.

Brady farms with his wife, Jade, in Victoria County and surrounding areas. They grow soybeans, corn and wheat, mostly doing no-till. Brady also runs a custom farming business, and works full time at a local Agromart. Jade and Brady are also growing a herd of Charolais cattle.

Brady enjoys his role on the board to help evolve the future of OSCIA and appreciates all the knowledge shared and practices he can take home to his own farm.

Phil is a cash crop farmer with his father west of St. Thomas in Elgin County.  In 2015, the family began transitioning their farm to organic, and now operates a fully-certified operation growing corn, soybeans, dry edible beans and various winter cereals. While challenging, farming organically has pushed the family into adopting innovative new technology such as camera-guided equipment, precision implements and using electricity for weed control. Phil also runs a small organic elevator providing custom services to other organic farmers. Phil and his wife, Rachel, have three children aged 4, 8 and 9, who keep them busy with soccer practices, piano lessons and the occasional trip to the emergency room. 

Phil has been a director in his local SCIA for the past decade and has ESCIA to thank, not only for creating a culture of continuous improvement in Elgin County, but also for meaningful friendships around the shared goal of improving the health of soil and water.

Scott was the Cropping Systems Specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture. Over the past 30 plus years, he has worked with many Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association members and credits that he learned something from each one of them. This includes many on-farm, in-field projects and many successful educational events.

He is an agronomist and Certified Crop advisor, now working with the Soil Resource Group’s ONFarm Soil Health projects, the Ontario Corn Committee, teaching courses in the Algonquin College’s Business Agriculture Program, a Licenced Seed Crop Inspector and an Agricorp Adjuster to name a few.

His children Kelsey, Jacob and Liam have attended several local SCIA events over the years and even helped out on several ‘crop projects’. He values this special opportunity to work along side family in agriculture, which is not available in many other sectors. He is passionate about agriculture and believes that the OSCIA is a great network of people and will continue to do great things for Ontario grass-root farmers and the Agriculture industry.