Ottawa Valley Seed Growers
Guest Column
The Ottawa Valley Seed Growers Association held its 30th annual prestigious pedigreeds auction online earlier in March. Traditionally an in-person auction held at the Ottawa Valley Farm Show, the seed auction was online for the second year in a row.
Auction items lined the perimeter of the 2022 championship seed show awards presentations event held at the Greely community centre on March 19. The organizing committee made up of OVSGA volunteers wanted to recognize not only the championship seed show winners, but also feature the auction donations and highlight the significance this auction plays in our community.
A total of 56 items were donated for bid. There were 9 different lots of pedigreed seed, including soybeans, barley and wheat from seed companies who generously return each year to support the auction and CHEO. A huge thank you to all the purchasers of seed who chose to donate it to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, growing their donation to support others in need.
Artist Brenda Miller Beaudette with the print she donated for the auction. Her son Alex Beaudette, at left, won the haylage quality class award at the seed show awards event. Pictured also are OVSGA president Jeff Waldroff and Peter Beaudette.
There were gift items from exhibitors of the Ottawa Valley Farm Show, collectible tractors from Vintage Iron and Traditions of Eastern Ontario and IPM, baking from OVSGA volunteers and many donations from local businesses, artists, and organizations. Of special note were the donations from local organizations. When auction coordinator and OVSGA director Kathy Hardy put out the call for donations, 10 of the local County SCIA’s brought forward gift baskets, prints, local products, and tickets to local attractions in representation of their counties.
“Thank you for taking this opportunity to feature your county and some of its unique local products and activities,” says Kathy. A huge thank you also goes to Canadian Pacific for “drawing attention to the important work being done by doctors to mend the hearts of the future.”
CP partnered with OVSGA and provided matching funds for the auction through their “CP Has Heart” initiative. Together we all helped little hearts at CHEO. When everything is tallied, sale of the auction items, donations, CP matching funds and the OVSGA donation, OVSGA is very excited to make the donation of $30,000 to the CHEO Foundation for CHEO’s Cardiology Unit. Watch for the official presentation to be made at the annual CHEO telethon in early June 2022. With this amount, OVSGA’s total CHEO donation is just shy of $220,000 over 30 years.
OVSGA President Jeff Waldroff says, “it is an honour to partner with ag community people and organizations to support these essential networks we all need at some time in our lives – volunteers working together can make a difference”. Thank you to everyone who contin- ues to partner with OVSGA in support of CHEO and the young people in the community. We look forward to planning ahead to the 2023 auction.
For more information visit ottawafarmshow.com.
