McQuail, James Smith, van Nes among local organic award winners

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Last week, the Organic Council of Ontario (OCO) announced its 2025 Organic Champions, with several locals among them. The winners will be officially recognized on Jan. 27-28 at the 2026 Guelph Organic Conference.

 

Bill van Nes of St. Brigid’s Dairy near Brussels was named this year’s Organic Trailblazer Award winner, for “redefining what organic dairy can be on the land, in the marketplace and across the sector.”

 

The release from the OCO also made note of van Nes’ pasture-first system and its focus on soil health, rotational grazing and diverse forages - all in the name of continuous ecological improvement.

 

Next, Gemma James Smith of Bayfield Lavender Farm was named the winner of this year’s Pollinator Protector Award. At the farm, James Smith “cultivates not only expansive lavender fields, but also diverse companion plantings that provide continuous forage for pollinators.”

 

The OCO also noted that James Smith’s work extends far beyond the farm - it includes outreach in the form of workshops, tours and partnerships, all in the name of educating the public about the role that pollinators play in both the world’s ecosystems and its agriculture.

 

Katrina McQuail was named the winner of this year’s Steward of the Herd Award for her extensive work at Meeting Place Organic Farm near Lucknow. There, the OCO says, she is continuing her family’s legacy, while also helping to shape the future of organic livestock management.

 

“Katrina’s influence extends farm beyond her farm. As president of the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario, a mentor to young farmers, and an active community member, she embodies the values of stewardship, leadership and generosity,” the OCO said in a press release.

 

Also honoured this year is Black Creek Community Farm as the winner of the Community Roots Award, Marc McKerracher and Ruth Gatzke of Rumar Farm as the winners of the Market Gardener Innovator Award and Phil Oegema with the Field Crop Leader Award thanks to his work at Oegema Grains.

 

Next January, the OCO will also honour the “organic legacies” of six long-standing members of the Canadian Organic Growers’ Ottawa-St. Lawrence-Outaouais Chapter: Margaret Tourond Townson, David Townson, Jim Davidson, Lloyd Strachan, Dick Coote and Gary Weinhold.