All six have made significant contributions to the advancement of the agricultural sector in our province.
“The award recognizes a lifetime of commitment and innovation to create new companies, new production and new markets,” said Blair Cummins, President of the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame. “This year’s inductees have made a lasting impact on agriculture and the province as a whole.
Four people will be present for the April 18th induction ceremony, while the other two will receive the honor posthumously. Here is a brief overview of each inductees lifetime accomplishments.
Terry Baker is President of Franklin Land & Cattle Co. Ltd. , a 120 year old, family owned, mixed farm located in West Central Sask. A non-practicing Civil Engineer, he was the former Chairman of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and the founding Chair of Viterra, now Bunge. He has served as the Chair of the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation; Nutrients For Life Canada, and presently serves as the Chair of the Global Transportation Hub, and Agrivita Canada. He is Vice-Chair of the Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health, and is involved with various other not-for -profit organizations. He maintains the ICD.D designation through the Institute of Corporate Directors.
● Norbert Beaujot is the founder and president of SeedMaster Manufacturing, opening a facility in Emerald Park in 2003. In the early 1990s, he developed and patented the first active hydraulic ground-following opener which caused minimal soil disturbance by seeding directly into the previous year’s stubble. His innovations revolutionized the no-till industry. In 2017, he developed the DOT Technology Corporation focused on an autonomous platform to drive seeding equipment.
● Joe Kleinsasser is a producer who farms with his family on the Rosetown Hutterite Colony. He served on the board of directors of Sask Pork from 2002 to 2009. He was also a director of SPI Marketing Group from 1999 to 2013. He served as the inaugural chair for Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan and has been a board member of the Saskatchewan Agri-Food Council since 2019. He is a strong advocate for educating consumers about where their food comes from and the importance of the producer’s role.
● Mary McKay Lindsay, who passed away in February 1991, immigrated to Saskatchewan from Scotland when she was 10 years old in 1906. Her family ran a livestock operation north of Lloydminster. Her dream was to import Highland cattle from Scotland, and in 1929 she became one of the first Canadian producers to raise Highland cattle. She partnered with neighbours to cross breed her cattle with theirs, laying the foundation for a new cattle breed called Speckle Park.
● Mark Pickard, who passed away April 2024, was an entrepreneurial leader focused on adding value to Saskatchewan grains instead of exporting raw product. He founded InfraReady in 1994 as a subsidiary of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and ran it for 30 years. InfraReady’s unique infra-red, precooking technology shortens cooking time and enhances quality. By 1998, the company had developed 100 products and was exporting ingredients globally. When the Wheat Pool decided to sell the company that year, Mark, with the help of investors, bought it. Today the company offers 250 custom-designed products for food processors worldwide.
● Cecil Werner began his agricultural career helping to increase exports for Saskatchewan’s dehydrated alfalfa industry. He has been a strong proponent of the province’s value-added industry, excelling at product development and international marketing. He started CanMar Grain Products and grew it to a major exporter of mill-roasted flax, opening a flax processing facility in Regina in 2003. He started WestCan Alfalfa in the 1980s which processed and exported dehydrated and sun-cured alfalfa pellets.
(Cecil Werner is seated in the front. Going from left to right in the back row, Patricia Lewis (widow of Mark Pickard), Kirk Thomas (great nephew of Mary McKay Lindsay), Terry Baker, Joe Kleinsasser and Allan Wiens, Seedmaster CEO (representing Norbert Beaujot who is Mexico)
