The Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission has a new chairman of the board.
Nokomis, Sask., farmer Brett Halstead was elected chair by SaskWheat directors.
He will replace outgoing chair Laura Reiter, who served on SaskWheat’s board of directors for the past six years.
Fillmore, Sask., producer Jake Leguee was elected vice-chair.
Halstead was first elected as a SaskWheat director in November 2017. He also served as a director of SaskCanola for eight years and represented SaskCanola on the board of the Canadian Canola Growers Association.
He also served for seven years on the Western Standards Committee.
Leguee was elected to the SaskWheat board in November 2017. He is a third-generation farmer from Fillmore, Sask., not far from Weyburn.
Leguee has a degree in agriculture from the University of Saskatchewan, specializing in agronomy, and writes a blog called A Year in the Life of a Farmer.
Halstead said he was honoured to be elected SaskWheat chair.
“I would like to thank outgoing chair Laura Reiter, who served on the SaskWheat board of directors for the past six years and has reached her term limits,” Halstead said.
“Laura took on several roles on SaskWheat committees and represented SaskWheat on the boards of the Canadian International Grains Institute and Cereals Canada.
“Her dedication to Saskatchewan’s wheat producers is undeniable and we thank her and fellow outgoing directors Dan Danielson and Scott Hepworth for their contributions and accomplishments.”
Halstead acknowledged that SaskWheat has much work ahead of it.
“The board of directors of SaskWheat is focused on addressing current and emerging issues,” he said.
“Bringing new opportunities to wheat producers through collaboration with other crop commissions in Saskatchewan and across Canada is a priority for SaskWheat.”
The organization’s objective under Halstead’s leadership will be to increase the profitability of producing wheat in Saskatchewan by making strategic investments in research, advocating for new marketing opportunities and providing the latest agronomic information through events such as Think Wheat and CropSphere.
“We will continue to work hard on behalf of Saskatchewan’s wheat producers,” he said.
Wheat producers in Saskatchewan are encouraged to attend SaskWheat’s upcoming Think Wheat extension meetings, which will offer growers the latest wheat agronomy and marketing information.
The meetings will be on March 3 in Assiniboia, March 4 in Davidson and March 5 in Melfort. Additional information on the sessions is available on the commission’s website at saskwheat.ca.
SaskWheat is welcoming three new directors to its board, who were elected during the commission’s 2019 director elections: Lesley Kelly of Watrous, Glenn Tait from Meota and Jocelyn Velestuk from Broadview.
Contact brian.cross@producer.com
