AgScape announces 2017 Board of Directors

May 17, 2017

Three new members were elected to AgScape’s 2017 Board of Directors at the organization’s annual general meeting on May 3. The 12-member board directs the organization’s mandate to advance specialized agri-food education in Ontario.

Jim McMillan, a farmer from Beamsville, ON joins the board in a community seat position. Charlotte O’Neill from Elanco Animal Health and Stephanie Szusz from TD Canada Trust both join the board in corporate seat positions. Peter Hohenadel from the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair was re-elected to the board in a corporate seat position.

Returning board members who are taking on new duties include Audrie Bouwmeester and Jennifer Peart. Audrie Bouwmeester – a dairy education program manager with Dairy Farmers of Ontario – is the newly appointed acting chair and vice chair, and holds a corporate seat position. Jennifer Peart with Farm Credit Canada has been appointed acting treasurer and also holds a corporate seat on the board.

“Consumers of all ages are so much more aware of food and how it is produced,” says Audrie Bouwmeester, AgScape acting chair and vice chair. “AgScape sees tremendous opportunities to inform and engage today’s young consumers, and we’ve created a fantastic range of resources to educate our audiences.”

AgScape’s board includes three additional community seats held by past chair Lorie Jocius, Deb Campbell of Agronomy Advantage and Natalie Walt with Ceres Global Ag Corp. Three additional corporate seats are held by Kathryn Doan of AgCareers.com, Mark Kerry with Monsanto Canada Inc. and Meaghan Ryersee from Syngenta Canada Inc. The AgScape board also includes two advisors – Catherine Mahler with the Ministry of Education and Helen Scutt with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

“We’re off to a great start this year with such strong board representatives,” says AgScape Executive Director Colleen Smith. “Everyone is so passionate about bringing agriculture and information about our agri-food system into schools and raising awareness about the career opportunities this sector can offer.”

AgScape is a not-for-profit organization providing reliable and balanced resources to Ontario schools on agriculture, food production, environmental sustainability and related topics. AgScape, formerly OAFE, was created in 1991 with the mission of building awareness and understanding of the importance of our agriculture and food system.

Source: AgScape

Video: How farmers are protecting the soil and our food security | DW Documentary

For a long time, soil was all but ignored. But for years, the valuable humus layer has been thinning. Farmers in Brandenburg are clearly feeling the effects of this on their sandy fields. Many are now taking steps to prepare their farms for the future.

Years of drought, record rainfall and failed harvests: we are becoming increasingly aware of how sensitively our environment reacts to extreme weather conditions. Farmers' livelihoods are at stake. So is the ability of consumers to afford food.

For a few years now, agriculture that focuses solely on maximum yields has been regarded with increasing skepticism. It is becoming more and more clear just how dependent we are on healthy soils.

Brandenburg is the federal state with the worst soil quality in Germany. The already thin, fertile humus layer has been shrinking for decades. Researchers and farmers who are keen to experiment are combating these developments and looking for solutions. Priority is being given to building up the humus layer, which consists of microorganisms and fungi, as well as springtails, small worms and centipedes.

For Lena and Philipp Adler, two young vegetable farmers, the tiny soil creatures are invaluable helpers. On their three-hectare organic farm, they rely on simple, mechanical weed control, fallow areas where the soil can recover, and diversity. Conventional farmer Mark Dümichen also does everything he can to protect soil life on his land. For years, he has not tilled the soil after the harvest and sows directly into the field. His yields have stabilized since he began to work this way.

Isabella Krause from Regionalwert AG Berlin-Brandenburg is convinced after the experiences of the last hot summers that new crops will thrive on Brandenburg's fields in the long term. She has founded a network of farmers who are promoting the cultivation of chickpeas with support from the scientific community.