Saskatchewan Ag Hall of Fame announces class of 2018

Jan 19, 2018

Five new members will be enshrined recognized later this year

By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com

Five members of Saskatchewan’s ag community make up the province’s Ag Hall of Fame’s class of 2018.

The group includes cattle breeders, producers, and representatives from the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Agriculture and Biosciences.

Dr. Henry Classen, a poultry researcher from the university, is among the inductees.

He has taught and researched poultry welfare, nutrition and management for 40 years.

Becoming a member of the hall of fame is a nice early parting gift for Classen, who plans on retiring in July 2019.

Henry Classen

“I was very excited to get the news – I certainly wasn’t expecting it,” he told Farms.com today. “I was born and raised in Saskatchewan, so to be recognized for contributing to the province’s agricultural industry means a lot to me.”

Classen earned his Bachelor of Science and Arts (BSA) from the University of Saskatchewan in 1971. He received his Master of Science (MSc) and Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts between 1971 and 1974.

And the poultry industry has seen substantial changes in the poultry industry since Classen graduated university.

For example, today’s birds are genetically superior to those in the past, Classen said.

“For me, the genetic change in the birds we’re utilizing – their growth rate and feed efficiency – is quite noticeable,” he said. “The direction of the breeding is another big change. There have been some negatives along the way but it’s been mostly positive.”

Another noticeable development over his career is the emphasis on animal welfare, he added.

Rounding out the 2018 induction class are

Dr. Brian Fowler, whose research focuses on the breeding of winter wheat rye,
Vernon Racz, who served as director of the Saskatchewan Feed Testing Laborator and founder of the Prairie Feed Resource Centre,
Douglas Howe, a producer and Charolais and Red Angus breeder from Moose Jaw, and
Joan Heath, a producer and canola advocate from Radisson.

Farms.com extends is congratulations to all the inductees!

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.