Canadian Cattle Young Leaders
Holly McGill is a feed mill sales representative who joined the Elanco Canada team in 2022. Having completed both a bachelor’s degree in agriculture and a master’s degree in dairy nutrition, she was a ruminant nutritionist focused on beef and veal nutrition for almost 10 years after graduation before joining Elanco. McGill is an active member of the new Ontario Beef Youth Alliance. In her spare time, she volunteers on the board of directors for Farm and Food Care Ontario and as a big sister mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters, as well as on the organizing committee for the Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada as the speaker chair. McGill enjoys horseback riding, mountain biking and archery, and lives in Listowel, Ont., with her partner Dane and their two cats. McGill’s mentor is Shannon Borden, a 25-year veteran of the western Canadian animal nutrition business. Borden spent the first few years of her career in agronomy, grain marketing and crop management before finding her passion on the animal side.
James Kinley grew up in Cartwright, Man., on a mixed livestock farm with his parents and two siblings. The Kinley farm comprises commercial cattle and sheep, and sometimes pigs and chickens. Kinley was active on the farm and developed a passion and desire to get involved in the livestock industry, with a keen interest in beef cattle and grazing management. Cows on grass quickly became his favourite thing. After graduating from high school in 2020, he attended Lakeland College in Vermilion, Alta. where he took animal science technology, a beef major diploma. He went on to enrol in a bachelor’s degree in agricultural technology. Summers have been spent working on the farm and for an animal nutrition company doing market research on the beef industry in Manitoba. Kinley’s mentor is Shylo Penrod, who has over 20 years of experience in the cattle feeding industry, from animal health to nutrition. In 2019, Penrod signed on as manager of Rimrock Feeders at High River, Alta.
Read Also
Agricultural ambassadors to be inducted in Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame
Award recipients, job changes and more in the Canadian beef cattle industry
Congratulations to all the regional winners of the Environmental Stewardship Awards. They include: Nick Green of Kingston View Farms, P.E.I.; Stan Christensen, Cheryl Sage and their sons Ian and Eric of Ferme Sage, Que.; Lynn Leavitt of Leavitt’s Black Angus, Ont.; Pam and Glen Lowry of Lowry Farms, Man.; Brian and Debbie High- saw of Clear View Angus, Sask.; Alberta’s Wray Ranch, operated by Linda and Doug Wray, their nephew Tim Wray and his wife Joanne; and the Crystal Lake ranch of B.C., operated by Werner and Jody Stump. The national winner will be announced later this month at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Calgary, Alta. Readers can find out more about each operation via the Canadian Cattle Association’s blog at cancattle.wixsite.com/mysite/blog or by visiting the website of the regional cattle associations.
Congratulations to those selected for induction into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame. From the beef industry is Garnet Altwasser of Lakeside Farm Industries and Lakeside Feeders, Brooks, Alta. Also on the list is forage production champion Ray Robertson of Markdale, Ont. VetHealth Global conference founder Rory Francis is also slated for induction, representing Charlottetown, P.E.I. Rounding out the list are John Bragg of Bragg Foods Group (Collingwood, N.S.), dairy farmer Marcel Groeleau (Thetford Mines, Que.), and Shur Gro Farm Services founder Ron Helwer of Brandon, Man.
Agronomist Caroline Matteau has joined the Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association board as the representative from Conseil québécois des plantes fourragères, replacing long-time director Annie Claessens. Matteau completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in plant production at McGill University. It was through the latter that she joined Belisle Solution Nutrition Inc.’s team by carrying out a project on companion crops using Sudan grass.
Don Gordon, representing Dairy Farmers of Ontario, has been elected chair of Livestock Research Innovation Corporation. He takes over from outgoing chair Brian Miller. Moving into the vice-chair role is R.J. Taylor, managing director of the Ontario Aquaculture Association and co-owner of Cedar Crest Trout Farms. Taylor represents partner organizations on the LRIC board. Rounding out the board are Richard Horne (Beef Farmers of Ontario), Tara Terpstra (Ontario Pork), Ian Ross (Grand Valley Fortifiers), Jim White (consultant) and Franco Naccarato (Meat and Poultry Ontario).
Our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Jean Szkotnicki of Guelph, Ont., who passed away in June after a hard-fought battle against ovarian cancer. Szkotnicki was born on March 7, 1953, in Newmarket, Ont. She began working for the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association, at that time under the leadership of Graeme Hedley, before going on to lead the Canadian Animal Health Institute for more than 25 years. During her tenure, she sought to balance the needs of vets, livestock producers and the public with those of the veterinary pharmaceutical companies. Under her tenure, regulations were introduced in 2017 to support responsible use of drugs in animal medicine benefiting food safety, animal welfare and trade of food animal products. She was inducted into the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2017 and received an honourary degree from the University of Guelph last year. She was involved in several industry boards, and at the time of her passing was still an active director on the Livestock Research Innovation Corporation board. Szkotnicki was predeceased by her son, Peter, and her husband of 40 years, Bill. She is survived by her brothers, Gord (Sarah) and Don (Lynn) Surgeoner, her nieces and nephews as well as a large network of colleagues and her horse friends. Those wishing to honour her memory may donate to the Peter Szkotnicki Legacy Fund (Guelph Community Foundation).
