Perth, ON. The annual summer directors’ meeting of the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) was held in the town of Perth, starting at the McLaren Farm. Peter is the 1st Vice President of OSCIA and has been acclaimed as the President Elect, setting the stage to be named President in 2018. Peter is the first president elect since 2007 from Lanark County and will be the third president from Lanark County. The past presidents from Lanark include John McGill (1979) and T.A. Wilson (1947). Peter represents the counties of Frontenac, Grenville, Lanark, Leeds, Ottawa/Carleton, and Renfrew in the Ottawa Rideau Region.
McLaren Farms own a 200-acre farm with an additional 200 acres rented in the Lanark area. The home farm has been in the McLaren name since 1839. Crops are planted using reduced tillage where possible to grow forages, silage, grain corn, barley, and soybeans. Both soybeans and corn are non-GMO. The beef herd is cow-calf that are confined to the yard instead of pastured, meaning that daily feeding is required. Max Kaiser, a past president of OSCIA from nearby Lennox & Addington County, described the challenges in farming in the Canadian Shield saying, “[the fact] that people have found pockets of soil, well suited to cropping between the trees and rocks is a testament to the hardiness of the Ontario farmer.”
Peter McLaren and his wife, Suzanne, held the summer directors’ meeting August 13-15, hosting a reception at their farm on the Sunday, followed by tours of the area for attendees and their families on the following days. Mack Emiry, current OSCIA President, commented that "Peter and Suzanne seized the opportunity to showcase the Ottawa Rideau Region. The diversity of agriculture and related industries was evident from ultra-modern maple syrup production to mega-quarries producing calcium carbonate for diverse uses."
OSCIA’s mission is to facilitate responsible economic management of soil, water, air and crops through development and communication of innovative farming practices.
Source: OSCIA