Karen Graham
It’s not a position Norm ever expected to be in- the face of October on a glossy calendar. But there he is, selected to represent Ontario Grain farm operators who are finding ways to incorporate traditional farming approaches with modern sensitivities and techniques. Published by Farm & Food Care Ontario, this is the 11th edition of the Faces of Farming calendar which is designed to introduce the public to some of Ontario’s passionate and hardworking farmers producing food in the province.
A farmer, entrepreneur, college teacher, community leader, and most importantly, family man. Photo: Supplied.
The Grain Farmers of Ontario who tapped Lamothe as their representative is a farm organization representing Ontario’s 28,000 growers of barley, corn, oats, soybeans and wheat. He became involved with the organization in 2014 when he was selected as a young farmer to participate in a week-long Grain in Action tour where, along with other young grain producers, he visited facilities that receive local grain crops for processing into their ultimate form, including a flour mill, an ethanol producer, and an alcohol distillery.
While he could now be called a poster boy for the new breed of farmer, Lamothe’s path to farming was not a traditional one. In his youth, his father was the manager of a prison farm in Northern Ontario, so he watched the daily chores that were performed by the inmates rather than having the responsibility himself. While agriculture intrigued him, Lamothe chose a different career, spending 10 years as a commercial airline pilot. This job required him to be away from his family: wife Emily Winslow and their three children. With a significant farm operation in his wife’s family, Lamothe began to contemplate a different life spent closer to home.
For the past 10 years, Lamothe has been involved in the operation of the 500 acre family farm in Cavan, along with his brother-in-law Colin, father and mother-in-law Don and Marg Winslow, and in 2014, he took an ownership position, cementing his career on the farm.
Their farm operation is very diverse. The family grows approximately 400 acres of corn, soybeans and hay, has a market garden of vegetable crops. As with all successful business, over the years the farm production has responded to market conditions. For many years, the Winslow’s primary product was pork, but now the focus is on crops.
In addition to the working land, the family maintains a number of wood lots on the more marginal land of each farm property, which helps decrease their environmental footprint. Some of those wood lots grow naturally while other parts are planted strategically, but all serve to increase the farm’s biodiversity and reduce soil erosion. As an added bonus, the maple trees provide the family with sap, so maple syrup extends the range of agricultural products produced on the farm.
The farm products are just the beginning of the diversity Lamothe enjoys. He has found a way to incorporate his love of flying with his agricultural career by using drones to inspect their crops, and last year he became a dealer for Ag Eagle, a US-based producer of unmanned aerial vehicle systems specifically meant for use in agriculture, and operates under the name “Eagle Scout Imaging”. As these vehicles fly, infrared cameras capture hundreds of images of the fields below which are then assembled to create seamless, aerial maps. Easily loaded onto a computer, these maps identify crop health as indicated by their chlorophyll density. This detailed information on current crop conditions allows farmers to address issues such as pest problems or fertilizer deficiencies with precision, saving time and resources.
Last winter, Lamothe was invited to teach an Entrepreneurship Course in the Food and Farming Program at Durham College where he offers his insights into the farming business to students looking to forge their way into this rapidly changing industry. The course focuses on developing a business plan, and Lamothe is no stranger to numbers. He provides financial insight to a number of local different boards, including the Millbrook Agricultural Society and Millbrook Figure Skating Club where he acts as Treasurer.
With all of these irons in the fire, Lamothe is extremely satisfied with his decision to embrace a career in farming, which allows him to be creative each year as they decide what and where to plant, to participate more fully in his community and most importantly, in his family life. Sounds like win-win-win.
Copies of the calendar can be ordered online at www.farmfoodcare.org.
