Congratulations to everyone inducted into the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame in Charlottetown, P.E.I., on November 8. Garnet Altwasser of Brooks, Alta., established Lakeside Farm Industries Ltd., a multi-faceted business that includes Lakeside Feeders — the largest single site feeding operation in Canada. Beef products from the Brooks, Alta. operation are marketed across Canada, North America and 20 other countries around the world. Ray Robertson, forage production champion, developed Grey Agricultural Services Centre to provide fee-for-service extension programs. His leadership saw the development of the Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association, building a national vision, international markets, and research and development for Canadian hay. Robertson lives in Markdale, Ont. Rory Francis of Charlottetown, P.E.I., has dedicated his career to the agriculture and life science sector in Canada with a particular passion for island agriculture. He is CEO of BioAlliance and founder of the annual VetHealth Global conference. Also inducted were John Bragg (Bragg Foods Group), Marcel Groleau (dairy farmer), Ron Helwer (Shur-Gro Farm Services) and Robert K. Irving (Cavendish Farms).
Congratulations to Dr. Kee Jim (see photo at top), who is slated for induction into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame during the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA trade show on February 1 in Orlando, Florida. Jim earned his doctor of veterinary medicine in 1983 from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatchewan. After graduating, he established G.K. Jim Farms and Feedlot Health Management Services Ltd. Over the next 40 years, Jim became a prominent figure in the Canadian and U.S. cattle industries. Recognized as a top 10 innovator of Canadian agriculture by Canadian Western Agribition and as one of the top 12 most influential farmers in Canada by Country Guide, Jim has devoted his career to enhancing the cattle feeding industry in Canada and the U.S.
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Dennis Harry Johnston of Johnston Angus at Conquest, Sask., passed away on June 6, 2025, with family by his side….
There are several new faces at the Alberta Beef Producers as we close out 2023. Ryan Ross is the controller assistant, and has worked in accounting for two years. Ross holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Lethbridge and grew up on a ranch south of Lethbridge. Kaley Segboer-Edge is the VBP+ co-ordinator and stewardship lead. She has a bachelor’s in environmental science with a psychology minor. She previously worked as the certified sustainable beef framework manager at the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. Jill McLerie is the advertising sales representative. She holds a diploma in agribusiness, with a major in marketing and communications, from Lakeland College as well a graphic design certificate from Red Deer Polytechnic. She previously worked for Olds College in continuing education as a programming co-ordinator for the school of life science and business. Finally, Kara Oosterhuis is the new digital content specialist at the Alberta Beef Producers. Oosterhuis earned degrees in communication and media studies, as well as a diploma in broadcast news, from the University of Calgary and SAIT. She has previously worked in ag communications and ag journalism.
In our November issue we noted that Wab Kinew was the newly elected premier of Manitoba. Kinew had not announced his cabinet in time for us to include it in the November issue. Since then, Kinew has appointed Ron Kostyshyn as minister of agriculture. Kostyshyn represents Dauphin, and from 2012-16 served as agriculture minister under then-premier Greg Selinger. Ian Bushie, representing Keewatinook, was named minister for municipal and northern relations and for Indigenous economic development. Bushie was previously transportation and infrastructure critic. St. Vital MLA Jamie Moses, previously the opposition critic for advanced education, became minister for economic development, investment, trade and natural resources. Rookie MLA Tracy Schmidt, representing the northeast Winnipeg riding of Rossmere, was named minister for environment and climate change. Wolseley MLA Lisa Naylor is now minister of transportation and infrastructure. Naylor previously served as the NDP’s environment and municipal relations critic. Kinew was also sworn in as minister of intergovernmental affairs.
After 25 years with the Ontario Charolais Association, Doris Aitken has decided to (slowly) retire. Aitken has helped promote the breed and organize events ranging from commercial shows to purebred sales to meetings. Ashley Baker has been named the incoming secretary-treasurer of the association.
After 17 years serving as the editor of the Manitoba Limousin Association’s News and Views magazine, Cheryl McPherson is stepping back. The association notes that McPherson “made an everlasting impact on our provincial association’s success and the breed in general.” At press time, the association was looking for a new editor.
Lexi Macza, policy and program manager for the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, attended the Global Youth Dialogue at the Sustainable Livestock Transformation Summit in Rome, Italy, earlier this year. The summit was hosted by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. She was one of 10 people to meet with the minister of agriculture, food and marine life for Ireland, the minister of nature and nitrogen policy in the Netherlands, as well as the assistant deputy secretary of Australia’s department of agriculture, fisheries and forestry. She also helped craft the Global Youth Statement on Sustainable Livestock Transformation, during which the youth delegates looked at everything from nutritional requirements to environmental soundness. Macza was one of the delegates who presented the statement to member nations. In the November issue of Beef Business, she reported it was “reassuring to see how many countries strongly believe in utilizing the livestock sector as a means of tackling environmental challenges, rather than looking at ways to move away from the livestock sector entirely.”
