The pulse industry has lost one of its biggest champions.
Garth Patterson is stepping down as executive director of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers to assume the same role with the Western Grains Research Foundation.
“It will be a very difficult task to replace Garth,” said SPG chair Lee Moats.
“Not only has he built strong relationships in this industry, he also has great experience and has brought enthusiasm and passion to the position.”
Patterson also received high praise from some of the eight former SPG chairs with whom he has worked.
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Maurice Berry, who served as a board member for six years and chair in 2008 and 2009, credited Patterson for assisting with the remarkable growth of Saskatchewan’s pulse industry.
“He can really feel proud that he definitely played a role in making it what it is today. He definitely was the right person for the job and made a real mark,” he said.
Murray Purcell, who resigned as chair of the organization June 27, said Patterson was an outstanding executive director.
“He was one of the best I’ve ever worked with in all the boards I sat on,” he said.
“You don’t replace that corporate history and that knowledge. I think it’s going to be a huge loss for the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers.”
There is speculation that the association’s two most senior officials stepped down within a month of one another because of strife within the organization.
Purcell said that played a role in his decision to retire as chair.
“There is, right now, a disconnect between what the role of the board is and what the role of the staff is,” he said. “I chose to step down because of governance issues. I think that it’s critical a board stay at the 80,000 foot level and not get involved in staff decisions.”
Patterson said his decision to switch organizations had nothing to do with strife at SPG. He never expected to remain with the organization for 16 years, he added.
“I’m not leaving because of board issues. I’m leaving because of a new opportunity.”
Patterson said he was in negotiations with the research foundation months before Purcell stepped down as chair and he called it a coincidence that the two quit within weeks of one another.
Patterson was hired as executive director of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers April 1, 1995.
“I was the first employee the board ever hired.”
He had been working as an agrologist with the Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association in west-central Saskatchewan, a hotbed for pulse production.
Farmers were planting two million acres of peas and lentils a year when he started with the organization, and he was in charge of an annual budget of $600,000.
He leaves behind a 15 person organization with a $14 million annual budget and an industry that has blossomed to four to six million acres of peas and lentils, depending on the year.
“This has been the most rewarding and challenging position I’ve ever had in my life and I really do feel fortunate to have been associated with a wonderful organization for 16 years,” said Patterson.
He listed three highlights of his time with SPG:
• The association forged a relationship with the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre, which resulted in the distribution of royalty-free varieties to provincial growers.
• The organization was recently singled out in a report on Canada’s science and innovation for the creative use of check-off money to fund research on new varieties.
• The association led the charge in forming Pulse Canada and has cultivated a positive reputation in the agriculture industry.
“Through the hard work of directors and staff over the last few decades, we’re really considered a world class organization,” he said.
Purcell said SPG’s loss is the research foundation’s gain.
“He’ll be a great asset.” The WGRF’s board agreed.
“We are delighted to have hired someone of Garth’s experience and expertise in the agricultural community for this important position,” said chair Keith Degenhardt.
Patterson said one of his first responsibilities at WGRF will be to figure out how wheat and barley check-off collection will be effected by proposed changes to the Canadian Wheat Board.
