What is OSCIA all about?

Steve Sickle farms on the rolling hills at the north end of Brant county. The Sickle family grows corn, soybeans, black beans, winter wheat and hay in a no-till system to keep soil in place and to avoid picking countless stones in the field. Recently planting green has been implemented on the farm to further increase soil health. Having 25 beef cows on the farm also helps utilize covers for feed. The cows are grazed for upwards of 10 months, which allows for cost savings on hay and machinery usage.

Steve has been involved in Brant Federation of Agriculture, Brant Beef Farmers and the Ag advisory council for the county.

Steve has also been involved at the county level of soil and crop for many years and with the Golden Horseshoe Soil and Crop for more than a decade. Steve has been mentored by many soil and crop members over the years to help improve his operation both financially but also environmentally. Steve truly believes the soil is in better shape now than when his father Bill purchased the farm and will be in good shape when and if their children Kara and Ethan take over.

After graduating from the University of Guelph, Andy invested the first ten years of his career learning the art and science of agricultural soil and water conservation, first at the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority in London for seven years before taking a similar position with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs working out of the Oxford County office in Woodstock. His career path shifted over to OSCIA in 1990 where he has devoted many years since working alongside partners on environmental program design, delivery, and performance measure. In 2014 he moved into his current role as Executive Director with Soil & Crop. 

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 even 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 practice, piano lessons, and the occasional trip to the emergency room.

Phil has been a director in his local soil and crop for the past decade and has Elgin Soil and Crop Improvement Association 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 our soil and water.

Eleanor Renaud owns and operates a 1,000-acre fifth 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 24 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 now sit on the executive of OSCIA as third 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 very educational from the point that not all Provinces have the same programs as we have in Ontario to protect natural lands as well as agricultural lands. She does not see the same types of BMPs. They could all benefit from an OSCIA type of organization in each province.

Andy van Niekerk, P.Ag, CCA-ON

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

Andy holds a Bachelor of Science (Agr) from the University of Guelph in 1980 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.  Serving also on the OSCIA board as Provincial Director for the Georgian Central Region since 2019.

Andy lives and farms with his family in Simcoe County, where he operates his agronomy consulting business from his farm.

Warren is a cash crop farmer from Morrisburg in Eastern Ontario. A long-time member of the Dundas SCIA, Warren has participated as a county and regional director for nearly as long as he has been a member.

Warren farms with his wife Christine and his parents, growing corn, soybeans, winter wheat and edible beans. The farm has spent the last decade implementing soil conservation strategies into the operation as it transitions from conventional tillage to no-till soybeans. These changes have been well rooted in the mission of the OSCIA and has been the main motivation of participating on the provincial board.