Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116Seed Grower Profile 48 www.seed.ab.ca | Advancing Seed in Alberta THE need for new blood in the Alberta seed industry is an issue on the minds of many. Specifically, volunteer groups and boards need an influx of new members to keep them vital and generat- ing new ideas. Thankfully, word is getting out and seed growers are heeding the call to become active participants in steering their industry forward by joining the board of the Alberta Seed Growers (ASG). ASG is one of seven branches of the Canadian Seed Grow- ers’ Association (CSGA). Its seed grower members work hard to maintain the standards and methods of producing clean, true-to- type, high-quality seed. Renee Hoyme, 30, works for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) as an animal programs inspector in the winter and as a crop inspector in the summer. She’s also heavily involved with the family business, DeWindt Seed Farm, based in Thorhild. “My goal was to go to veterinary school, but I got a full-time job with CFIA right out of university. I moved to Grande Prairie, but eventually back to the family farm. I’m a really lucky person to be able to do what I’m doing,” she says. Last year she was asked to join the ASG board and is glad she did. She’s learning a lot and feels a sense of camaraderie with her fellow seed growers. “If you show an interest in being involved in something, people will welcome you with open arms,” she says. Perhaps more importantly, she’s found she can play an impor- tant role in shaping the future of the seed industry. “Obviously, you can’t go on forever having the same people involved all the time. Bringing that new grower perspective I thought would be really helpful to the board and the members themselves,” she says. Tim Macyk feels the same way. He recently joined the ASG board as well. The 38-year-old seed grower is based in Radway, and admits he came onboard with ASG rather reluctantly. “I got nominated, and to be honest I wasn’t all that interested in joining,” he says. “But my dad’s been involved in agriculture for quite a while, and it dawned on me that being involved is a good chance to know what’s up and coming for new genetics, which benefits our farm, and I like the idea of being involved with deci- sion making and planning for the seed industry’s future in Alberta.” Macyk is a partner in MKM Holdings growing wheat, peas, barley and oats. He formerly worked as an agronomist. Three Alberta seed growers are going beyond the field to make a difference in the seed sector. GETTING INVOLVED in their INDUSTRY Renee Hoyme is an animal programs inspector in the winter and a crop inspector in the summer. She’s also heavily involved with the family business, DeWindt Seed Farm, based in Thorhild. Radway’s Tim Macyk is a partner in MKM Holdings growing wheat, peas, barley and oats.