GUELPH/ERAMOSA – In the agricultural community, Peter Hannam was known for his encouraging mentorship, innovative farming practices, leadership roles, integrity, discipline and successful businesses.
To his family, he was a loving, friendly and humble man who always made time for people and took an interest in them.
On June 5, Hannam died peacefully at Hospice Wellington at age 85.
Hannam was born at Woodrill Farms in Guelph/Eramosa and lived there his whole life.
The farm has been in his family for more than 100 years and is still farmed by Hannam’s son Greg and his grandsons Luke and Owen, Hannam’s son Rob told the Advertiser.
While many laud Hannam for the range of achievements in his career, Rob said “what’s really important to us as a family is the personal side.
“He made a real impression on our community, especially young people” by offering encouragement and support to help them develop themselves and their careers, Rob said.
“We’ve had dozens of people who work in agriculture or around agriculture reach out to us in the past few days and just comment things that Peter did that had a big impact on their career.”
That included leading training and mentorship sessions, sitting down with farm workers in lunch rooms and offering his perspective and context on current events in agriculture, and “just being friendly and open to discuss ideas,” he added.
Rob said his dad was friendly with people at the YMCA too, where he worked out regularly after retirement, and in chatting with him, “you would never know he was this great accomplished business person.”
‘Pivotal player’
Hannam had great success leading Woodrill Farms and First Line Seeds, and was inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame (CAHF) in 2006 and the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame (OAHF) in 2015.
OAHF officials say Hannam “has been widely recognized for his many achievements and contributions to agriculture, business and trade,” calling him “a pivotal player in the development of the soybean as a major crop in Ontario.
“Peter’s acumen in agribusiness and marketing and his ability to seize opportunities in developing short-season soybean varieties and other crop technology advances have played a vital role.”
Officials with the CAHF call Hannam “a crop farmer who made a difference far beyond his land, his county, his province, even beyond his country,” and say his work was “instrumental in making (soy) a major Canadian crop despite our short growing season.”
Hannam has received more than a dozen other awards, including the Ontario Institute of Agrologists’ Distinguished Agrologist Award, the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association’s Agri-Marketer of the Year and the Canadian Seed Trade Association’s Seed Achievement Award.
In 2007, he received an honorary doctorate of science from the University of of Guelph.
He served as president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and had leadership roles with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Seed Trade Association, the Canadian Soybean Export Association, Soy 20/20 ,Advanced Agricultural Leadership Trust and the John Labatt company’s board of directors.
Hannam launched a Project Soy competition in 1996 “to encourage students to think about the potential of soybeans in the development of new products and business opportunities for entrepreneurs,” OAHA officials state.
“In 2001, Peter initiated Soy 20/20, whose mission is to serve as an incubator of new ideas, connecting government, academia and industry to stimulate new global bioscience opportunities for Canadian soybeans.
“In 2005, Peter and partner Tom Lammer opened the Ontario AgriCentre in Guelph to house as many as 17 agriculture-based tenants as part of the effort to bring a diverse industry together and to stimulate opportunities to co-operate for the advancement of agriculture,” the OAHA continues.
OAC changed Hannam’s ‘whole outlook’
Hannam also acted as advisor to provincial governments, the U of G, the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) and many other agricultural organizations.
Before Hannam enrolled as a bachelor of science in agriculture student at the OAC at the U of G in 1958, he worked on his family’s dairy farm.
Hannam told the U of G “OAC changed my whole outlook and brought me opportunities.
“I went in a dairy farmer and came out a crop farmer. OAC opened my eyes to so many parts of the world I knew nothing about.”
According to U of G officials, one of Hannam’s professors said soybeans would never be grown further north than London, Ontario.
“Peter took this as a challenge and experimented with the management and breeding of soybean crops to fit the terrain and season length of Wellington County,” officials state.
“It took eight years of perseverance before Peter grew an economical plot of soybeans in the Wellington region with help from the University of Guelph’s agronomy department.
In 1968, six years after graduating from U of G, Hannam transitioned the family farm out of the dairy industry and began growing crops, university officials state.
Since then, Hannam “contributed tremendously to the [U of G] as an alumnus through his volunteer leadership and support and funding of special initiatives, like Project Soy, the Bio-products Discovery and Development Centre, and soybean research through the Hannam Soybean Utilization Fund.
Hannam’s family will receive friends and loved ones at the Gilbert MacIntyre and Son Funeral Home, Hart Chapel, at 1099 Gordon St., Guelph. Visitation details to be announced.
Mass will be celebrated at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate in Guelph on June 23 at 10:30am.
