Feature Story
Fueling One's Imagination
By David Morris
When a person takes up a cause that touches their personal and 
professional interests,
remarkable things can happen. The contributions made by Ontario Corn Producers’
Association (OCPA) Past-President Jim Johnson to the development of the
fuel ethanol industry in Ontario is a case in point. In fuel ethanol,
Johnson has found a cause that combines his two professional passions,
agriculture and chemistry. His interest in fuel alcohol began when he
was a chemistry student at St. Clair College in Windsor, during the oil
crisis of the early 1970s. One of his instructors advanced the idea of
alcohol as an alternative to gasoline and a seed was sown in very fertile
ground.
After graduation, Johnson worked briefly in industry before returning to the family farm in Brooke Township, Lambton
County, 25 years ago. He is the fourth-generation Johnson to work the family land, which he describes as “some
of the hardest, heaviest clay in the province.” He cash-crops just over 500 acres, growing corn, soybeans and winter
wheat.
When first elected as an OCPA Director, Johnson was appointed to the committee
responsible for developing new markets for corn. Since then, he has worked
tirelessly to advance the cause of fuel alcohol. (Full Story)
Features in the January 1999 Ontario Corn Producer
1999 Market
Outlook
Adaptation
Council Pushing the Right Buttons
Heat, High
Yields and Hybrid Selection
OCPA Annual
Meeting, London, Ontario - March 2 & 3, 1999