The Western Grains Research Foundation has a new chair.
Laura Reiter, a farmer from Radisson, Sask., northwest of Saskatoon, was elected to the post following the first meeting of the new board following the organization’s 2023 annual general meeting.
Reiter is a producer and trained agrologist who has spent time working in research and in the agriculture retail sector. She’s also a familiar face in Saskatchewan agriculture, having served as a board member, and later as chair, of Sask Wheat.
“WGRF has a long history of funding research that benefits Prairie farmers, and I am honoured to have been elected as the board chair,” Reiter said in a release Tuesday.
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She also thanked departing chair Keith Degenhardt for “his leadership, commitment and service to WGRF over many years.”
Kevin Auch of Carmangay, Alta. was re-elected vice-chair.
WGRF is the largest producer-led funder of field crop research in Canada. Since 1981, WGRF has funded more than $229 million of research in field crops of interest to western Canadian farmers.
“WGRF is a unique organization, focused on funding crop research to benefit Prairie farmers,” Reiter added. “Directing investments in field crop research on behalf of farmers is a responsibility that we all take very seriously, and I look forward to helping WGRF continue to invest in projects that will deliver a positive on-farm impact.”
The board also thanked outgoing directors Bill Prybylski and Stewart Wells for their time with the organization.
WGRF’s 2023 board of directors is:
- Mark Akins, Hearne, Sask.
- Mike Ammeter, Sylvan Lake, Alta.
- Kevin Auch, Carmangay, Alta.
- Dave Bishop, Barons, Alta.
- Terry Boehm, Allan, Sask.
- Wade Hainstock, Moose Jaw, Sask.
- Robert Kennedy, Hughenden, Alta.
- Adam Littman, Saltcoats, Sask.
- Doug Martin, East Selkirk, Man.
- Jeff Nielsen, Olds, Alta.
- Malcolm Odermatt, Fort St. John, B.C.
- Kenton Possberg, Humboldt, Sask.
- Laura Reiter, Radisson, Sask.
- Greg Sundquist, Watrous, Sask.
- Jill Verwey, Portage la Prairie, Man.
- Jeremy Welter, Kerrobert, Sask.
- Glenn Wright, Vanscoy, Sask.
- Dick Wymenga, Leslieville, Alta.
