Grainswest - Winter 2026

Winter 2026 Grains West 22 PERSON PLACE & THING “ You need to constantly change and evolve and meet the needs of your clients, students and the farm community. ” science that helps to address these things. For example, climate change: Can we develop drought-tolerant plant varieties? We intend to do more policy work. Affecting policy change is kind of like pushing a rock up a hill, but it happens with good science. Hopefully the science we do in ALES will help make those pol- icy changes, because a lot of the policies in this country and every other jurisdic- tion are way outdated, and they haven’t evolved with time. GW: Is there a lot of rethinking about policy going on in the world of agriculture and agri-food? RY: Yes. For example, ultra processed foods are quite topical now. The name demonizes certain foods and the notion of moderation gets lost. These are the kind of things we’re trying to help with. Even the government is struggling with what to do about ultra processed foods. What do we do about genetically modi- fied foods? Misinformation from various food influencers? If we do the rigorous science within the faculty, hopefully we can help correct misinformation. GW: Is there an appetite out there for that scientific truth? RY: When I was at OAC, we’d have townhall meetings about research. A question came from the audience about universities being bought and paid for by the industry. My response was, ‘It’s not the purview of universities to have an opinion about something. They do the research, deliver credible results and let the receptor of those results make the de- cision about whether X is better or worse than Y.’ That’s still our focus here at the academy: let’s do the good science. GW: What have you discovered about Alberta agriculture as dean of ALES? RY: I’m blown away by how much farm- land is in Alberta. But what we need to worry about is where are we going to grow the food, because we’re seeing rapid urbanization of the countryside. Some of what was farmland between Edmonton and Leduc is now industrial parks. If you believe economists and so- cial scientists, in 2050 there will be X bazillion people, and we’re not growing enough food. So that’s been the epiphany for me—how expansive this province is and how focused it is on food production. We really need to pivot to value-add to those commodities. We’re great at pro- ducing high-quality food and exporting it, then importing it back as a finished product. That’s got to stop. If we face the next pandemic, whatever that is, and bor- ders close, we’re not going to have access to some of that stuff. GW: In 2025, you received a federal Lab2Market grant, which is meant to assist scientists and students to commercialize innovative ideas. What is that project all about? RY: This is a pan-Canadian network to address how we get those bright ideas in the agri-food space ramped up to become commercially viable products or technologies. It’s been a gap in the ecosystem in Canada. Myself and my col- league Lenore Newman at the University of the Fraser Valley are trying to promote this philosophy in the western provinces. How do we foster entrepreneurship and prepare students for the real world? Recently, we had a hackathon in Win- nipeg with student teams from across Western Canada. With input from corpo- rate mentors, the challenge was to solve a hypothetical problem faced by a company and get it to that point of commercial viability. Hopefully, once they graduate, these students can take their own good ideas and incubate them. GW: What do you hope to achieve over the remainder of your term as dean? RY: Strategic plans are great, but it’s all about execution. My goal is to execute on the things we said we would do. If we do pivot, I want to provide a reason. GW: Why should students consider enrolment at ALES? RY: We’ll always have rubber boots, pitchforks and tractors, but agriculture is a high-tech industry. Every day there is a food story in the media, and agri-food is one of the major drivers of GDP. Students can be part of the solution. Parents can be sure that by sending their children here they will be job-ready once they come out of the faculty. GW: You’re known to wear shorts year- round, even as formal wear. Having left Vancouver, have you adapted to Alberta’s more challenging climate? RY: I’ve tried to keep the shorts on as long as possible. There was one week in February it was -25 C with the wind, and my wife said to me, ‘Are you going out in this weather with shorts on?’ It was like us talking to our children: ‘You’re not wearing that?’ I listened, and I put on long pants. I do miss the water, but Prairie people are warm, welcoming and hospitable un- til you tell them, especially in Edmonton, you’re a Canucks fan.