NOVEMBER 2, 1942 – JUNE 24, 2017
Farmer; conservationist; agricultural advocate. Born Nov. 2, 1942; died June 24, 2017 in Woodstock, age 74.
Jim Magee was “a binder. He could bring people together to do things,” says Mike Cooper, a friend who served with Magee on the Ontario Farm Animal Council (OFAC).
Magee “did a lot of good for the industry. He could say, ‘Here’s what the problem is. Let’s solve it, then, let’s go onto the next one and get it done.’”
It was this attitude that enabled Magee to tackle a variety of leadership roles. Magee served on the executive committee of the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association from 1984 to 1990, becoming president in 1989. He contributed to the founding of the OFAC, a precursor to Farm and Food Care Ontario, serving as the chair from 1994 to 1996.
Amidst his extensive volunteer work, Magee farmed in Oxford County, with cash crop and cow-calf operations, as well as a beef feed lot.
Overall, Magee “was a legend in the industry. I’ve always said he was an ag advocate even before there was a term for that. Jim was always looking for the next way to introduce consumers to where their food came from,” says Kelly Daynard, executive director of Farm & Food Care Ontario.
“I was lucky to call him a friend and a mentor.”
Catherine Stewart-Mott photo
Written by Andrea Gal.
Originally published in the September 2017 edition of Better Farming.