Ray Bouchard has worked in the agriculture industry for 46 years in a career that has spanned sales roles in agriculture manufacturing and distributing, and leadership roles including more than a decade as CEO of Enns Brothers. For more than ten years, Ray has contributed his entrepreneurial spirit and strategic expertise as EMILI’s board chair. Here, Ray shares what makes him passionate about agriculture, and his vision for EMILI’s future success.
Describe your role as EMILI’s board chair.
In the early days of EMILI, I was more involved on the operational side of the organization but now that we’re 10 years in as an organization, I am focused on EMILI’s long-term strategy.
Where did you grow up? Was it an agriculture or urban environment?
I grew up just west of Winnipeg in Elie, Manitoba. You could call it a bedroom community of the city, but also it was an agricultural community.
What was your first job in the agriculture or agri-food sector?
I had a chance when I was in my teens to work for a couple of farm operators. I did everything there from working as a truck driver, to operating a combine. I still remember the long hours and working well into the night with floodlights loading grain because you needed to get the crop off. It gave me an early understanding of the challenges producers face putting a crop in and taking it off.
What brought you to your role with EMILI?
After about 19 years working in the agriculture manufacturing and distribution sectors, I had the opportunity to join Enns Brothers in 1999. I’ve spent 27 years with Enns Brothers – I joined them as a partner and general manager in their Portage la Prairie operation, and from there I moved into sales management, and then ultimately worked my way into the CEO role about 11 years ago. I’ll be retiring from my role as CEO in October 2026.
In 2016, a company focused on machine learning moved to Winnipeg from Toronto. They were focused on going to market with machine learning intelligence around the ability to identify pathogens. They were looking for some investors in the province, and they approached me, as a partner at Enns Brothers, with an opportunity. They were doing work in the pathogen space, but in early conversations, we talked about agriculture, and how there was going to be an opportunity within agriculture around machine learning and AI. As a leader in the organization, I’ve always been focused on what’s coming, and how we can strategically position ourselves. People were having conversations about setting Manitoba up as a centre of excellence as it related to machine learning and AI. I liked the concept, and I said “I’m in.”
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