Peter Hannam: A Legacy of Leadership

Friday, August 22, 2025

Family Man, Farmer, Mentor, Entrepreneur, Visionary: Dec. 11, 1939 – June 5, 2025

By Leslie Stewart

Peter Hannam devoted his life to agriculture. Born in 1939 and raised on his family’s farm in Guelph, he spent his life in Wellington County, where he built two successful businesses and played a key role in advancing soybean production in Ontario.

His passion for farming led him to enroll in the OAC program at the University of Guelph, where he would make lifelong friends and collaborators.

“He wanted to go to the U of G, and he got to go because of a scholarship,” son Rob Hannam tells Better Farming. “That was a pivotal point where he gained perspective on the world, and about agriculture.

“Being a part of the class was important. It was a springboard for him to come back to the farm to expand, improve, and try new things,” Rob says.

After Peter graduated in 1962, he started to develop Woodrill Farms into the business is today. He shifted the focus of the farm from dairy to growing crops and opened a grain elevator, began selling seed to local farmers, and doing custom work.

“Before, when people had to buy corn, they’d have to go to Woodstock or London,” son Greg Hannam explains. “There wasn’t really much here, and local farmers were happy to have the opportunity.”

In 1982, Peter led a group of 12 seed growers to create First Line Seeds. They focused on improving soybean genetics and developed varieties that would thrive in Ontario’s short growing season. Peter’s work with First Line Seeds led to soybeans becoming a major Canadian crop.

His accomplishments were celebrated by the industry: He was inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame (2006) and the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame (2015), and received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the U of G in 2007.

Through his career, Peter participated in several ag organizations: The Canadian Seed Trade Association, the Canadian Soybean Export Association, the OAC International Advisory Council, and the Canadian Agri-Food Policy institute. He also served a term as president of the OFA in 1977.

While Peter had many accolades under his belt, he will be remembered by the people who knew him best as a gracious leader and mentor.

“He was a big thinker,” Rob says. “He was able to see beyond what most of us could see. He made things happen by working with and attracting people. He was so proud of the family of employees and team members that he built at Woodrill.”

Greg explains that “he was successful in business and leadership development, but from our perspective, it was his love of mentoring and getting young people involved in the industry. That’s the reason he did all the things he was acknowledged for.

“If you measure success by the number of lives that he touched, that outweighs any number of the things we recognize him for.” BF