Wilfred Romanowski took over the operation of his family’s Sturgeon County farm in 1961. Though his family once raised cattle and chickens, today the Romanowski farm 20 minutes north of Edmonton strictly produces field crops.
Born and raised in a small agrarian village in India’s Punjab region, that nation’s breadbasket, Balwinder Kumar has been immersed in agriculture since childhood. His family grew forages for their small cattle herd, and though his parents encouraged him to study medicine, he was intensely curious about farming processes and problem solving. “Going into agricultural research was a natural progression,” he said. Since he earned his PhD from Punjab Agricultural University, his research has allowed him to act on his scientific curiosity while interacting with farmers. After earning an undergraduate degree in agronomy, he completed a doctorate in crop science while also studying crop physiology, crop production, genetics and soil science. He focused on how agronomics can improve farm efficiency and productivity while maintaining soil health. He drew upon this interconnected foundation as a full professor and associate director at his alma mater, where he led a team of 25 scientists and support staff. His immersive experience continues to serve him as a research scientist at Lakeland College in Vermilion.
“As one of the world’s leading experts in malting and brewing, Yueshu used science and his extensive knowledge to build customer confidence in Canadian barley and malt,” said Watts. “Just as importantly, he focused on building relationships and trust with our customers around the world.”
A formative experience, Tyler McCann spent almost a decade in the federal government, primarily as an advisor to then Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Minister Gerry Ritz. McCann and his wife Gillian MacDougall grew up on cattle and dairy farms respectively, and upon McCann’s exit from government in 2017, they established a herd of 60 purebred Simmental cattle on 200 acres in western Quebec.
Until his 2025 retirement from official duties after 13 years, Fawcett area farmer Gordon McCann oversaw shinny games and hockey practices and maintained the ice at the Fawcett Community Hall and Arena. Its schedule now includes men’s and children’s leagues, and its two curling sheets are central to the community’s annual cabaret and bonspiel to be held this year in late January. Nicknamed Iceman McCann by young skaters, he continues to take on occasional volunteer arena activities and will field a team in the bonspiel.
The first in a series of family farm portraits, GrainsWest visited Angela and Robert Semeniuk, whose land is in the Smoky Lake area. Their children, daughter Gabrielle and son Tristan, are the fifth generation to be raised at this 115-year-old farm.
As a microbiology student at the University of British Columbia, Rickey Yada struggled with his chosen path, until he received a recruitment letter from the school’s Food Science department and sat down with its chair. The young student had taken classes in chemistry, biochemistry and physics, and the administrator suggested Food Science addresses these disciplines as applied to food. Yada loved the idea, and the offer of a scholarship sealed the deal.
Awell-known voice in the grain transport sector, Mark Hemmes began a more-than-two-decade stint in the rail industry as a post-university summer employee with CN Rail. Much of this time was spent in marketing, but he also worked as a train master and superintendent. In 1999, he and a co-worker left to launch the consulting firm Hemmes now heads.
With the help of a Nuffield Canada scholarship, Craig Lester is challenging mainstream media coverage of agriculture. Lester is the founder of Rural Roots Canada, an agriculture media company he launched in 2010. In 2022, he left his day job as a broadcast journalist to work full time on his own business.
I am the fifth generation of my family to operate our Wetaskiwin area farm. In keeping with tradition, I have given it my own unique spin in the form of a garlic products business.
