The Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame officially welcomed the 2024 inductees Abdul Jalil, Brian Olsen, Bruce Coulman, Grant Carlson, Les Johnston and Stewart Stone into the hall during a ceremony at Prairieland Park today.
“These individuals have had a lasting impact on Saskatchewan agriculture in areas covering livestock production and crop production to agriculture research, farm safety and beyond,” said Reed Andrew, president of the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame. “Congratulations to this year’s inductees. Thanks to you, the agriculture industry is stronger than ever.”
A brief overview of the recipients’ accomplishments is below:
- Abdul Jalil - As a career public servant with both the provincial and federal governments, Jalil has played an influential role in developing highly impactful infrastructure to keep agriculture research in Saskatchewan competitive. From the creation of agriculture research chairs at the University of Saskatchewan to the establishment of the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence and the Global Institute for Food Security, Jalil has made a big impact.
- Brian Olson - During his career, Brian Olson made huge strides towards improving safety for farmers. Brian recognized the lack of a standard hitch connection between tractors and the implements they pulled, and the dangers this created. Seeing this gap, Brian created his own company, Power Pin Inc., and grew his company to become the “World’s Largest Supplier of Tractor-Implement Drawbar Hitching Components”, selling the “Drop-Pin Hammer Strap."
- Bruce Coulman - Bruce spent is 42-year career in forage breeding working tirelessly to improve crop varieties for producers. Many of these years were spent working at the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence at the University of Saskatchewan. Bruce developed 24 novel forage crop varieties in nine different species, some of which were the first of their kind. These varieties were widely adopted by livestock producers as they provided alternatives for the beef industry.
- Grant Carlson - Grant dedicated a 50-year career in agriculture to operating the family farm, KEG Farm Ltd., and KEG Agro., a seed processing plant. His business shipped pulses all over the globe to destinations such as Turkey, Pakistan, India, the USA and Mexico. This created a local hub for farmers to access agricultural inputs, rental equipment and global markets. Grant was part of the formation of the Saskatchewan Pulse Crop Board and the decision to introduce the Saskatchewan Pulse Crop Levy (SPCL). As a grower, Grant engaged in many multi-year research projects with the Crop Development Centre at the College of Agriculture.
- Leslie (Les) Johnston - Les has dedicated his life to the livestock industry. He helped establish the Saskatchewan 4H Alumni at the University of Saskatchewan and served as its first vicechair. He spent 30 supporting Saskatchewan 4H as a club leader, public speaker and educator, and sought after cattle show judge. Les received a certificate in Beef Management, Beef Cattle Artificial Insemination and Public Relations, which began a lifetime of working in AI. He was the Saskatchewan representative on the National Quality Starts Here Program and helped develop and launch The Verified Beef Program (VBP). Les is a tireless promoter and defender of the beef industry and beef producers, appearing in articles, on the radio and in at least one television documentary.
- Stewart Stone - Stewart has made a lasting impact on Saskatchewan’s beef industry. He worked at the Saskatchewan Beef Stabilization Board (SBSB) to develop strategic direction to benefit ranchers and the industry. He spent 20 years of his career supporting the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool (SWP) Livestock Division/ Nilsson Brothers Inc. While fulfilling his professional responsibilities, volunteering in the agriculture community was also a priority for Stewart. He sat on many different committees, including the Canada Beef Export Federation, Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan, Livestock Services of Saskatchewan Corp. and Canadian Western Agribition. In November 2022, Stewart was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for exemplary volunteer and leadership efforts.
You can visit the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame Gallery on the upper level of the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon. New to the gallery are portraits of the 2024 inductees.
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