Vern Racz was inducted into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame last year. His statement of induction noted ”he spent his career building bridges between the different sectors of the agricultural industry, first between the crops and livestock sectors, then between researchers and producers, and finally between Canadian agriculture and the rest of the world.

Racz started as a livestock specialist in Yorkton during the 1970’s, after being raised in the Kipling area and attending the University of Saskatchewan.

Racz would later return to the U of S and eventually manage the Feed Testing Lab, beginning in 1984. Under his direction, submissions to the laboratory doubled to over 10,000 samples per year.

He was also involved with the creation of the Feed Resource Centre, developing and marketing feed and feedstuffs for many countries. Racz promoted those feeds extensively, travelling to Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and South America.

Racz retired from the University of Saskatchewan in 2011, but remained active as a forensic agrologist, helping to resolve disputes between producers and feed companies.

Mary Buhr, dean of the University of Saskatchewan College of Agriculture and Bioresources, says Racz was very well-known by industry professionals and livestock producers.

“He knew what producers wanted and made sure they were able to count on the feed analysis,” Buhr said. “Because he knew the livestock sector so well, he broadened that into touching many aspects of agriculture.”

Bill Cooper is a retired farmer from West Bend, SK and was one of Racz’s many friends and professional associates. He said some people viewed livestock as a “sort of an add-on or afterthought to the grain farm.” Racz was different and Cooper said he was ”all-in” to the livestock sector, especially animal nutrition and feed development.

Vern Racz’s funeral was held Friday afternoon in Saskatoon. You can view his obituary here.