2021 Annual Summit

Mayor Sandra Masters

Mayor, City of Regina

Sandra Masters was sworn in as Regina’s 35^th Mayor on November 23, 2020. She made Regina’s history by becoming the first woman elected and defeating a two-time incumbent during a global pandemic.  

Proudly Saskatchewan, Mayor Masters has called Regina home for more than 22 years. Her professional career included employment in the agriculture sector working for Richardson Agriculture as the Manager of Credit for the Prairie Provinces. With prior background, knowledge and passion for the agricultural industry, Mayor Masters recognizes the significant impact of agri-food and agri-business opportunities that benefit the city’s economic and social growth. 

Fueled by the future of the agriculture industry, Mayor Masters signals forward-thinking vision, action and, with that,her infamous measured outcomes.  She is proud of her deep roots in agriculture and is a champion for Regina being an Ag and Food Innovation centre of excellence!

Josie Van Lent

Dean, Agriculture Technology & Applied Research, Lakeland College

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Josie is currently the Dean of Agriculture Technology and Applied Research at Lakeland College. For thirteen years prior Josie was the Dean of Agriculture Sciences. In her new role Josie provides leadership and support to applied research, continuing education, the new Ag Technology degree program and the College’s Student Managed Farm.  Josie spent the first half of her career working for Alberta Agriculture, Food & Rural Development as a District Agriculturist and Livestock Specialist. Following she was employed in the crop service sector as an Agronomist with Webb’s Crop Services in Vermilion and then as manager of the Crop Input Division (NE AB) for the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA).  Josie, her husband, sons and their families also operate a 9,000 acre livestock and grain farm, Staden Farms, which includes beef, bison, and crop enterprises.  In her spare time you can usually find her on a horse herding cattle on their ranch or competing in cow horse events.

Murad Al-Katib

President and CEO, AGT Foods and Ingredients

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Murad Al-Katib, President, CEO and Board member of AGT Food and Ingredients Inc. An international agri-food, strategic business and financial thinker, Murad founded AGT Foods in 2001, building a Canadian start-up into a global billion-dollar value-added pulses, staple foods and ingredient company. 

Murad has a varied experience in board roles including appointments to the Industry Strategy Council of the Government of Canada in 2020, Board Member of the Century Initiative, Chair of the SME Advisory Board for Canada’s Trade Minister, Chair of the Government of Canada National Agri-Food Strategy Roundtable, Chair of the Executive Committee of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and Board Chair of Economic Development Regina. Other board appointments include the Canadian Special Crops Association, Pulse Canada and Canada’s Protein Industries Canada Supercluster.  

Murad is a passionate advocate of Canadian agriculture speaking extensively on the opportunities and challenges facing the Canada’s agriculture sector. Murad is also passionate about entrepreneurs, championing compassionate entrepreneurism and working to expand female, youth and First Nations participation in business start-ups, advocating the role of entrepreneurs in driving social change and innovation in the new global economy.  

Murad’s awards include the 2020 Globe and Mail “Innovator CEO of the Year”, the 2021 Canadian Western Agribition “CWA Top 50 in Canadian Agriculture”, the 2017 Saskatchewan Order of Merit, a University of Regina Honorary Degree, the 2017 “Oslo Business for Peace” Honouree, 2017 EY “World Entrepreneur of the Year”, 2016 UN Association of Canada “Global Citizen Laureate”, PROFITGuide Magazine’s “30 Most Fabulous Entrepreneurs of the Past 30 Years” list, Globe & Mail “Canada’s Top 40 under 40” and the Western Producer “44 Innovators Who Shaped Prairie Agriculture”.

Ryan Hutchison

Business Development Lead, Crop Intelligence

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Ryan has worked in the Precision Ag industry for over 25 years—with a keen interest in weather stations and capacitance soil moisture probe technology. Working in this data driven industry, he has long understood the value of good data when it is trusted and put into action. Ryan recognizes the importance of collaboration and working with a strong team. He is often referred to as “Mr. Tenacious” for his determination and commitment to the development and success of Crop Intelligence.

Phillip Harder PHD

Research Associate - Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan

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Phillip Harder is a Research Associate at the Centre for Hydrology at the University of Saskatchewan who has a board interest in understanding the relationships between hydrology and agriculture on the Canadian Prairies. He grew up on a mixed farm near Saskatoon SK and trained in hydrology at the University of Saskatchewan graduating with a PhD in 2018.  His current work with the Agricultural Water Futures project of the Usask led Global Water Futures program utilises a network of SK research sites with micrometeorology, soil moisture, and drone based remote sensing instrumentation to observe and model agriculture and water interactions in dryland systems from a water balance perspective considering both wintertime and summertime processes.

Vanessa Bell BSA

Agronomist, Crop Intelligence

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Vanessa joins us as a Crop Intelligence Agronomist and will be supporting customers out of the Mossbank, Assiniboia, and Moose Jaw regions. Vanessa will be working alongside Andrea De Roo in the East Region as well as the Weyburn area. The growth of our Agronomy team will allow us to continue to deliver high level support to our our growing crop Intelligence network, deliver agronomic program offerings and increase focus on pulse crops.

Sarah Anderson

Agronomy Manager, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers

As Agronomy Manager with The Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, through extension with agronomists and growers, Sarah leads agronomy projects and communicates best practices for pulse production.

Christine Jones CCA

Project Co-ordinator, Crop Intelligence

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Whether it’s hopping into a piece of machinery or digging in a field to validate the equipment feeding the Crop Intelligence program, Christine isn’t afraid to tackle any challenge head-on. She has a passion for understanding how things work and how they can be used in daily practice to help benefit producers on their farms. The logistics co-ordinator and hardware development/support for South Country Equipment, Christine ensures the incoming data is accurate and can be trusted to paint a picture of the in-field conditions. Christine has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in marketing from the University of Regina and is a Certified Crop Advisor. She has been working with the South Country Equipment team since 2017.

Trevor Fraser Certified EST

Hardware Specialist, Crop Intelligence

Trevor Fraser is a hardworking, goal-oriented individual who aspires to lead and grow the hardware aspects of the Crop Intelligence Program. With an additional 20 years in the sales and service industries, he brings to the company a balance between customer training, sales, and service—while growing a company’s brand potential. His career path has led him through several different industries, landing now in agriculture. His passion for knowledge and hands-on ability will show in a steady hardware growth and understanding of how the right equipment will assist in the customer interaction and knowledge base.

Andrea De Roo M.Sc. P.Ag. CCA

Agronomist, Crop Intelligence

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Andrea De Roo is an agronomist with South Country Equipment and farmer in southeast Saskatchewan. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture in 2013 and Masters in Plant Science in 2016 from the University of Saskatchewan. She is also a designated Professional Agrologist with SIA and a Certified Crop Advisor and 4R Nutrient Management Specialist with CCA. Her and her husband currently live by Indian Head with their 2 dogs and 3.5 horses. In her spare time, you will find her doing something outdoors, or volunteering in the community.

Tyler Kessler

Independent Consulting Agronomist, Kessler Ag Ventures

Tweet to @KAVagronomy Tyler graduated from the U of S in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. The first seven years of his career were spent in Weyburn working as an Agrologist with a local Independent Ag Retail. These early years working retail built the foundation of practicing Agronomy, creating an industry network, and meeting numerous clients in the local trading area. Wanting to explore the manufacturer side of the industry Tyler took a Sales position with Monsanto Bio Ag in spring of 2014 where he spent 2 seasons selling and technically supporting biological products. Kessler Ag Ventures Ltd. was incorporated late in 2015 when Tyler was prepared to start his own Agronomy Consulting business. KAV is an agronomy consulting firm in Southern Saskatchewan that uses modern agronomic practices in todays Agriculture. Infused with technology and innovation, driven by purpose and passion for farming, our mandate is to provide our clients with optimal growing solution enabling profitability and environmental sustainability.

Kara Fowler BSA

Agronomist, Crop Intelligence

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Kara Fowler is an agronomist with South Country Equipment and resides in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture in 2011 from the University of Saskatchewan. Over the past 10 years, Kara has worked closely with growers to maximize yields using agronomy in the south-central area. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering at the Western Development Museum and working on the family farm near Eyebrow.

Elston Solberg M.Sc., P.Ag.

Agronomist ; Co-Founder, Crop Intelligence ; EarthDirtSoil

Elston grew up on a small dairy farm near Ryley Alberta where his passion was baseball and hockey as a player and coach.

Later he served on council for 9 years, Mayor for 8.

His professional life has 3 distinct chapters:

1. Academic Research - 7 years full time and 8 years part time with University of Alberta (while working at Alberta Agriculture).
2. Research and Extension - 17 years at Alberta Agriculture.
3. Coaching Growers and Coaches since 2002 as Sun Mountain Inc. - 15 years with Agri-Trend Agrology and 5+ years solo.

Elston has been privileged to coach around the world where he has learned more than he has taught.

Some of his favourite sayings are:

• Learn, UnLearn, ReLearn,
• Think Like a Plant
• Balance is the Key
• The Future is Already Here, it's Just Unevenly Distributed
• Sustaining the Resource? NO! The goal is Enhancement of the Resource.

and most importantly,

• K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Solberg, where the foundational concepts are 85% correct is great enough

as long as we continually seek incremental improvement whether we're farming or playing sports.

He is currently immersed in water use efficiency, liming solutions, creation of new nutrient delivery systems and coaching, coaching, coaching.

Elston has been blessed with 4 amazing children and 5 grandchildren (to date).

At 65 he is more passionate about the future of agriculture than ever.

Dr. Don Flaten

Professor Emeritus, University of Manitoba

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Dr. Don Flaten recently retired from the University of Manitoba, where he was a professor in soil fertility, crop nutrition, and nutrient management.  Prior to teaching and conducting research on a full-time basis in the Dept. of Soil Science, Don was Director of the School of Agriculture at the University of Manitoba, as well as Provincial Soils Specialist for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, and a District Agriculturist for Alberta Agriculture.

Ryan Hutchison

Business Development Lead, Crop Intelligence

Tweet to @rhutchsce

Ryan has worked in the Precision Ag industry for over 25 years—with a keen interest in weather stations and capacitance soil moisture probe technology. Working in this data driven industry, he has long understood the value of good data when it is trusted and put into action. Ryan recognizes the importance of collaboration and working with a strong team. He is often referred to as “Mr. Tenacious” for his determination and commitment to the development and success of Crop Intelligence.

Kari Harvey

CEO, Innovation Saskatchewan

Kari Harvey is CEO of Innovation Saskatchewan where her responsibilities include working with community partners to nurture an environment that supports the success of start-up tech companies in the province, and with the research community to ensure Saskatchewan research and commercialization interests are maximized.  Her 25-year public service career includes senior leadership positions in the Ministry of Agriculture such as Director of the Agri-business Development Branch, Executive Director, Capital and Regional Services with the Saskatchewan Ministry Health, and Executive Council and Office of the Premier as Assistant Deputy Minister, International Relations and Protocol.  Kari is currently a board member with the Canadian Light Source and Saskatchewan’s first tech incubator, Co.Labs.  In the fall of 2020, she was also appointed to the National IRAP Advisory Council. 

Kari holds a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Business Administration, both from the University of Regina.

Rob Davies

Ag Business and Research Development, Lakeland College

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Rob is currently consulting with Lakeland College in Ag Business and Research Development, with a key role in the development of the new Bachelor of Ag Technology Degree being offered at Lakeland. He has spent his entire career in Canadian ag, with time in crop input retail and distribution, machinery, and association work. The majority of his career was at Weyburn Inland Terminal,  where as CEO he had the opportunity to participate in and Chair several industry organizations and various task forces.  Most recently, he led the Smart Agri-food Supercluster’s effort to more effectively utilize technology and data by providing meaningful solutions to our industry through real returns all along the value chain, starting with primary producers.  

Garth MacDonald

CEO, G-Mac's AgTeam

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Garth MacDonald is the Co-Founder, Majority Owner and CEO of G-Mac’s AgTeam, a crop production company that strives to provide exceptional agronomic services while remaining focused on customers and communities. G-Mac’s AgTeam was founded in 2000 and has grown to 13 retail locations and one distribution facility placed throughout Western Saskatchewan, with the corporate Head Office located in Kindersley. Being a father of three and grandfather of 5, it has always been important to Garth that G-Mac’s AgTeam remains an extended family that live in, and contribute to, the communities in which they exist.

G-Mac’s AgTeam is focused on increasing productivity and profitability in a sustainable manner and as a result, supplies customers with leading edge service, emerging science and proven technology. They credit their success to being built on customer relationships that are based on knowledge and services including CrOptics, a year-round agronomy and crop production service; SoilConnect, a custom variable rate fertility prescription program that optimizes growing acres; and SprayConnect, a variable rate spray application prescription that treats only necessary acres. These are just a few of the services offered through the G-Mac’s AgTeam iFarm (Intelligent Farming) platform that allows G-Mac’s AgTeam to continually be committed to growth and improvement both in their knowledge and in practice on the farm.

Terry Aberhart

CEO; Sure Growth Solutions Managing Partner, Aberhart Farms; Aberhart Ag Solutions & Convergence Growth

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Terry Aberhart grew up and resides on the family farm near Langenburg Sk. Terry has always been passionate about agriculture, continuous learning, leveraging innovation, and surrounding himself with amazing people. 

Terry, with his wife Lichelle, children Sarrikah, Asceline, and Holden and father Harvey, operate Aberhart Farms, a progressive 16,000 grain farm. Aberhart Farms Inc. is committed to their mission of “Growing the Future”, guided by their core values of innovation, family, passion, culture, and sustainability for future generations. In 2017 Terry and his wife Lichelle were nominated for the Saskatchewan Outstanding Young Farmers competition and were honored to participate as runners-up in the program.

Terry founded Sure Growth Solutions in 2006, a professional independent agronomy consulting company, affiliated with Agri-Trend. In 2009 Terry received the Business Builder of the Year award and was voted Canadian Agri-Coach of the Year from Agri-Trend in 2011,2012 and 2013.

Terry has a strong focus on advancing agronomy with precision agriculture through developing and leveraging new technologies. He constantly continues his professional development attending, and often speaking at, various conferences around the world through attending training programs like The Executive Program for Agricultural Producers out of Texas A&M through 2015-2017, and Strategic Coach business program for entrepreneurs since 2017. Terry has worked extensively to develop precision technologies, farm research, and data management.

In 2015, Terry, along with his brother Dan and father Harvey, founded Aberhart Ag Solutions Inc. Aberhart Ag solutions continues to see network expansion, innovative and sustainable solutions.

In 2020 Terry partnered with Warren Bills to form Convergence Growth to further expand his passion for growing health lifes while bridging the gaps between agriculture, food and health.

Terry has been honored to share knowledge and inspiration about agriculture and entrepreneurial mindset through speaking engagements, agriculture learning tours around the world, hosting on Growing the Future Podcast and contributor to the Better Farming magazine with his ' Growing The Future ' column.

Terry is committed to pursuing innovation and hopes to influence progressive modern agriculture through his work and collaborations in the industry

 Terry continues to be passionate about giving back to the community and those in need through charity projects in the developing world. He loves agriculture and sharing his success and passion with his family and friends.

Shea Ferster CPA, CA

Business Advisor, MNP

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Shea Ferster, CPA, CA, is a Business Advisor with MNP’s Agricultural Services team. Based in Saskatoon, Shea has 22 years of public practice experience and is actively involved in the operations of his family farm. He works primarily with owner-operated agriculture businesses, including intensive livestock farms. In addition, he is the Ag Data Lead of MNP’s Ag Digital group.

Drawing on his extensive knowledge of agriculture and the various farm income programs available, Shea helps clients manage their risk and identify unique opportunities for increased success. His aim is to help create customized solutions for Ag producers so that they can positively impact profitability and achieve their business and personal goals.

Shea was designated a Chartered Accountant (CA) in 2002 after graduating from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.