The agriculture group known for the management of soil, water, air, and crops, has named a new executive director.
Kerry Wright took the post with the Guelph-based Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) as of July 28.
“We’re excited to welcome Kerry Wright as our new executive director,” said OSCIA president Eleanor Renaud in a release. “Her wide-ranging experience and collaborative leadership style are a great match for OSCIA as we continue to expand our programming and support producers in building future-ready farms.”
OSCIA was founded in 1939 and now covers 50 county and district associations across 11 regions, with a diverse membership of approximately 2,500 farmers.
Wright, who grew up in a small town, has spent her life around a rural and agricultural community and has been working closely with agriculture for the last 20 years.
“My career path has very much taken me kind of close to home, in terms of the rural agriculture community I grew up in, and working with farmers and producers most of my career,” said Wright.
“So early on, I was working with the marketing arm of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, now known as Canada Beef. I was there for about 10 years, and moved into a consulting role for the agriculture and Agri-food industry for about 16 years.”
Most recently, she has spent time as the CEO of the Canadian Agri-Food Innovation Intelligence Network, also known as CAIIN. She went on to this new position with OSCIA, aligned with her experience, working with cost-sharing programs to help support farmers.
“It’s program-oriented in terms of offering cost-sharing program-related dollars fed through the innovation science and economic development,” added Wright.
Throughout her career, she notes she’s worked with farmers and in the industry to help them advance, and that is what drew her to the OSCIA.
“That was certainly spoken to me about this role with Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement, to be able to support the knowledge and development of farmers.”
Her father, who was a chef, instilled in her an appreciation for food and good ingredients.
“He taught me the value that good ingredients make good food. He often would comment on how good ingredients were a real priority, or what can get him to do his job, are the people out in the field,” she said, noting that message would be expressed in the car whenever they would pass farmers working in the field.
“That connection has never been lost on me, and I think it’s really apropos that I’m able to work with farmers that bring so much value to our communities and help thrive,” she added.
“The economy thrives when looking after the farms that they take care of and are our caretakers of, and part of that is, of course, being able to continue with the importance of soil health and how they’re able to grow their crops.”
In her new role, she said she’s looking forward to making connections with residents, farmers, academic and government agencies.
“That’s something I’ve inherently done throughout my career, and I’m really looking forward to making those connections and building on my existing networks.”
