Canadian Cattle Young Leaders
Jayse Wilson was born and raised in Strathmore, Alta., where he grew up on a purebred Maine-Anjou operation. He played college baseball for four years, starting at Thompson Rivers University, where he majored in biology, from there transferring to the University of Alberta for animal science and then a semester at Hastings College in Nebraska for crop science. After university, Wilson pursued his passion in the beef industry, working for Feedlot Health Management Services for a couple of years before taking his current job as a territory manager for Huvepharma, where he handles ruminant sales for Western Canada, helping ranchers, feed yards and mills deliver feed additives. Wilson currently lives in Strathmore with his wife, Katelyn, where he helps on two seedstock operations in Strathmore and Leross, Sask., alongside his brother, parents and grandfather. Wilson and his younger brother, Kadin, own a waterfowl guiding business located in southeast Saskatchewan called Wilson Waterfowl, where they have aspirations of making it a premier destination for waterfowlers worldwide, all while running the SW Cattle Co. His mentor is Katie Songer, who farms with her family and works as the communications manager with Alberta Beef Producers. She has also judged almost every major cattle show in Canada, along with numerous regional and junior events, and bred champions at shows spanning the nation.
Josh Sanden is from a generational mixed cattle and grain farm located just eight miles west of Craik, Sask. He attended the University of Saskatchewan and graduated with an agribusiness degree. He found employment as a territory sales rep with BASF Canada, selling and servicing the seed and chemical business. He moved to the farm full-time in 2017, where he and his wife started renting farmland, running a cow-calf operation, and a farm-to-fork business. Together, the pair has two young children and plans to continue growing their family. Sanden has always been involved with the family farm, which consists of his grandfather, uncle, father, brother, and hired labour who seed and harvest around 8,000 acres of oil seeds, pulses and cereals. The farming operation has seen growth since 2010, when the original herd was dispersed when his grandfather decided to step away from cattle. They currently sell between 30 and 50 per cent of their total calf crop into the direct consumer market, with large success being driven by social media advertising and the power of connecting consumers to the farm gate. His mentor is Kyle Hebert, a rancher from Wawota, Sask. Hebert’s ranch consists of 900 commercial mother cows. He also raises bred heifers for sale and for in-herd use. The operation raises and markets fresh beef locally and through the abattoir in Wawota. Hebert also does custom silaging.
Gallagher announced that Lisbeth Jacobs, chief executive of Gallagher’s animal management business, will be stepping down from her role in September 2025. Since joining Gallagher in 2021, Jacobs has contributed to global strategy and innovation efforts. Under her leadership, the business has accelerated growth through open innovation, partnerships and geographic expansion — most notably through the successful global launch of eShepherd. Jacobs has accepted a new leadership role for a publicly listed industrial group based in Germany.
Congratulations to John Smith and Laura Laing of Plateau Cattle Company, who are the winners of the 2025 Alberta Beef Producers Environmental Stewardship Award. The Environmental Stewardship Award recognizes exceptional commitment to sustainable ranching practices and contributions to the beef industry.
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Finding greater value through controlled creep feeding of beef calves
Gerard Roney, founder of Advantage Feeders in Australia, spoke at Ag in Motion 2025 about using controlled creep feeding to develop a calf’s rumen, allowing for better uptake of energy and protein at a younger age, along with other beneficial applications of creep feeding.
Smith and Laing are members of the Spruce Grazing Co-op and the Waldron Grazing Co-op. They have Savanna Creek and upper Livingston grazing allotments that are side by side, over a range of mountains. Their ranch, which is named for Plateau Mountain, is a habitat for many species, including grizzly and black bears, cougars, bobcats, lynxes, foxes, raptors, such as eagles, hawks, owls, and even wolves. Plateau Cattle Co. is committed to improving cattle health and welfare. They have adopted innovative handling techniques inspired by Temple Grandin, enhancing animal welfare and operational efficiency. Their commitment to continuous improvement and sustainability is reflected in their numerous certifications, including the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and Verified Beef Production Plus.
The Saskatchewan Forage Council held their annual general meeting on June 23 in Swift Current. Three board members stepped down from the board this year — Scott Gehlan, Mark McNinch and Chelsey Siemens. Stepping in as new members, the council would like to welcome Valerie Petrie and Odile Aiken. Both women have a strong presence in Saskatchewan’s forage industry.
The Saskatchewan Forage Council also presented the Forage Innovator Award to the South West Forage Association. This award was developed by the council in 2008 to acknowledge exemplary innovation, leadership, service and stewardship in Saskatchewan’s forage industry. The South West Forage Association works with numerous research organizations, most notably the Swift Current Research and Development Centre forage department. They collaborate to host tours and field days as well as purchase livestock for the research and development centre to use in research, which they then sell and use the funds to assist in forage-based research. They play a vital role in forage and livestock research for producers in Saskatchewan.
Accepting this award on behalf of the association was Syd Smailes, president of the South West Forage Association.
