Neil Petreny of CanWest DHI has received the Ralph J. Barichello Memorial Award from Jersey Canada.
The award was created to recognize outstanding long-term contribution to the agricultural industry in Canada.
Petreny was honoured for his 20 years of work with Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) services in Canada.
He grew up in the dairy industry and graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1982 with a bachelor of science degree majoring in animal science.
He joined the Saskatchewan agriculture department as a dairy specialist with roles in extension, education and the provincial DHI program.
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Petreny helped privatize the DHI program in Saskatchewan, turning it into a producer-run organization. It would eventually become part of Western Canadian DHI.
Petreny moved to Guelph in 1987 to accept a position with Ontario DHI as director of field services and later became general manager of Ontario DHI.
He has also represented Canada and North America on the International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR), joining the board in 2003.
He is the first Canadian to serve on this committee and was the first North American to serve as ICAR president, from 2006 to 2010. He continues to serve as an auditor for the organization.
Petreny has also had a number of roles with industry committees and is a member of the Institute of Agrologists.
