The post-election cabinet shuffle took place earlier this fall. Marie-Claude Bibeau, MP for Compton-Stanstead, remains the federal minister of agriculture and agri-food. Conservative John Barlow, MP for the Foothills, was moved back to the ag critic chair. Steven Guilbeault is the federal minister of environment and climate change, while Dan Albas is the Conservative environment critic. Mary Ng is the federal trade minister. Randy Hoback is the Conservative’s trade critic. Jonathan Wilkinson is the federal natural resources minister, while Michelle Rempel Garner is the shadow minister for natural resources for the Conservatives.
Devin Dreeshen resigned as Alberta’s minister of agriculture and forestry, citing his personal conduct regarding alcohol. Dreeshen was elected MLA for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake in 2018 and was appointed ag minister in April 2019. He will remain an MLA and UCP caucus member. Nate Horner has been tapped as the new minister of agriculture and forestry. Horner was the associate minister for rural economic development and is the MLA for Drumheller-Stettler.
Jensen Cherewyk (photo at top), PhD student at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), has been awarded one of Canada’s most prestigious doctoral scholarships. Cherewyk has received the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s Alexander Graham Bell Canada graduate scholarship, which is awarded to the top tier of doctoral scholarship applicants and provides $35,000 a year for three years. She is researching a less-studied form of ergot, how it can cause toxic effects and possible ways to detoxify it for livestock and perhaps even humans. Specifically, she is looking at how grain storage times and temperature affect ergot concentration, and whether ammonia and ultraviolet light can be used to detoxify grains.
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Ingrid Johnston of B.C. is one of six Nuffield Canada scholars for 2022. Johnston is co-owner and manager of Onward Ranch near 150 Mile House. She will study how producers can direct-market their farm products and ship to customers without using a distribution company or middleman. Johnston’s scholarship is sponsored by Farm Credit Canada. Nuffield Canada provides $15,000 to scholars who undertake a self- directed research program on an ag topic through international travel and study. Other 2022 scholars include: Ken Coles, executive director of Farming Smarter in Lethbridge, Alta.; Shawn Moen of nano-brewery 9 Mile Legacy Brewing in Saskatoon, Sask.; Odette Menard, who works in soil and water conservation for Quebec’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries; Lauren Park, a beekeeper in Forest Hill, N.S.; and Mark Philips, marketing specialist with the P.E.I. Potato Board.
We were saddened to hear that Jacqueline “Jackie” Trimble, 86, of Calgary passed away on November 3, 2021. Born in Oklahoma’s Sand Hills, she married a Calgary-area oilman/rancher. Together they owned and ran Highfield Stock Farms in Okotoks, and later, Valiant Ranches Ltd. Trimble may have been best known for her decade-long 1970s column in the Charolais Banner for the ladies’ group of the breed, the “Charolettes.” Her monthly writings usually included the mischievous ramblings of a local badger. In the 1970s and ’80s, Trimble was a fixture at Charolais and Simmental cattle events. Her cheerful personality promoted the cattle and encouraged the breeders. With her worldwide travels, Trimble became a Canadian beef industry ambassador. Her daughter, Leslie Ann, and her son, Rodger, survive her, as does their father, Harvey Trimble.
Our condolences to the family of Lloyd DeBruycker, 87, of Dutton, Montana, who died on September 1, 2021. At the time of his passing, he and his family had the largest herd of registered Charolais cattle in the world at 2,200 breeding cows. He sold 1,000 purebred bulls annually. His privately held farming/ranching operations included 25,000 owned acres and another 50,000 leased acres. His holdings were at Dutton, Choteau, and Conrad. The DeBruycker annual bull sale, held at an auction yard just north of Great Falls, brought out buyers from across the West. In 2021, they auctioned off 690 purebred bulls, reported son, Brett DeBruycker. The famous DeBruycker bull of the early 1990s, Mr. Perfect, has progeny across the West. Another DeBruycker bull, Cigar, also sold well among Charolais herds. DeBruycker also was one of seven producers who founded Northern Montana Feeders in the early ’70s at Choteau. He managed it for decades. DeBruycker also bred and raised racehorses, some of which placed well at Stampede Park at Calgary, Alta. His wife of 67 years, Jane, survives him, along with their seven children, 26 grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren.
David Moss is stepping away from the general manager post at the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association to join the TELUS Agriculture team as director of business development, animal health. He will help build the reach and capability of TELUS’ animal health and animal agriculture business unit across the globe. The TELUS Agriculture team is focused on the digital transformation of the agriculture and food ecosystem — digitizing, connecting, optimizing and exchanging data while improving profitability and sustainability for their customers — for both producers and food companies. Moss has previously worked as the chief operating officer for Livestock Identification Services Ltd. and CEO of Integrated Traceability Solutions (ITS) Global.
