The new year has come with a lot of newness at Saskatchewan’s crop development boards, as two approved a merger and two others elected new leaders last month.
SaskCanola and SaskFlax saw formal voting on an amalgamation plan during the two organizations’ annual general meetings and the plan “was met with widespread approval,” they said.
The formal merger involves amendments to provincial regulations, executive director Tracy Broughton says, so both commissions will now work with the Agri-Food Council, which oversees all Saskatchewan agri-food agencies, to get that work done before the amalgamation takes effect starting Aug. 1.
Read Also
Wildfire smoke threatens to hinder honey flow
In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, air quality advisories for long stretches of the last few months have been bad news for beekeepers. Simon Lalonde equates heavy smoke to a rainy day — without the benefit of rain.
“The collaborative efforts are expected to streamline operations, enhance research initiatives, and provide a more cohesive voice for oilseed growers in the province,” Broughton said in a release.
That same week, the board of Sask Wheat elected Jake Leguee of Fillmore as its new chair and Jocelyn Velestuk of Broadview as vice-chair.
If Jake’s name sounds familiar, you may have seen it most recently in our Jan. 16 issue with Lee Hart’s report on the Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers event at Laval, Que., where Jake and Sarah Leguee represented Saskatchewan as its OYF finalists. Jake has been on the Sask Wheat board since 2017, chairs the Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC), previously chaired Sask Wheat’s research committee and was a director with Cereals Canada.
Jocelyn is now on her fifth year with Sask Wheat’s board, and also sits on Sask Wheat’s research committee, represents Sask Wheat on the Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale (PRCWRT) cultivar voting panel, and is secretary/treasurer with the CWRC.
Meanwhile over at Sask Barley, Cody Glenn was elected that week as chair and Matt Enns to the vice-chair role. Glenn is a certified seed grower and owner of Southline Ag Services in Climax, while Enns farms near Rosthern and is a co-founder of Maker’s Crafted Malts.
Jake and Cody replace Brett Halstead and Keith Rueve as the chairs of their respective boards.
