Bill Greuel is Sask.’s new deputy ag minister

Jul 15, 2024

He will replace Rick Burton following his retirement

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

A member of Sask.’s ag community who left the provincial ag department for the private sector is rejoining the Ministry of Agriculture.

Bill Greuel, who served as an assistant deputy minister in the ministry for three years before leaving in 2018 to become the inaugural CEO of Protein Industries Canada, a national innovation cluster, is the new deputy minister of agriculture.

Deputy ministers are senior civil servants in provincial departments who work closely with the ministers.

One of his roles will be to “lead the organization in achieving the ministry business plan goals and furthering the strategic corporate agenda for the government and its public service,” a deputy minister profile says.

Greuel officially begins the role on July 31 and will replace Rick Burton, who’s retiring on Aug. 15 after almost 40 years with the provincial ag ministry.

His colleagues at Protein Industries Canada are confident he will have success back at the provincial ag ministry.

“Bill has demonstrated strong leadership to Protein Industries Canada and has been instrumental in our success to date,” Chair of the Board of Directors Tyler Groeneveld said in a statement. “Under his leadership the organization has grown from one employee to 26, and currently manages investments worth more than half a billion dollars. We are grateful for Bill’s leadership and wish him well in his new role.”

Video: A Farm Song (Busy) | Parody of A Bar Song (Tipsy) by Shaboozey

Lyrics:

My days begin with workin’, Alarm’s at 5 o’clock,
I Fill 5 gallon buckets, The feeders and the troughs,
This five to nine ain’t workin’, why the heck do I work so hard?,
I can’t worry ‘bout health problems, I can sleep in when I’m gone,

One, here comes the two to the three to the four,
Tell em’ ‘buy another cow, we need plenty more’,
Blue jeans are gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
There’s another flock of sheep that still needs feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

I’ve been working pretty stressed but,
I ain’t changing for some cash,
Lord knows that I’m very blessed (More chores),
But I gotta say it’s hard,
Workin’ outside gettin’ charred,
Living out here on the farm, (more chores)

One, here comes the two to the three to the four,
Tell em’ ‘buy another cow, we need plenty more’,
Blue jeans are gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history
There’s another 20 chickens that still need feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Everybody on the farm getting’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Fun, here on ranch that’s what you can’t ignore,
Might be pretty hard but I love it to its core,
Flannel’s gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores (Tell ‘em sing with me)

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
There’s another flock of sheep that still needs feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
Watching cattle in the dark, don’t miss me,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
(Yeeeeeehaw)
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
It’s the best bro, go get yourself a farm