GrainsWest Winter 2020

GrainsWest: What drew you to agriculture as a career path? Erin Armstrong: I had a high school biology teacher who was one of those influential teachers in my life. He said, why don’t you think about agriculture? My first reaction was the typical: but I’m not from the farm. He said it’s not just about farming, so he also planted that seed in my mind. GW: How did you end up choosing your undergraduate major? EA: It was a process of elimination. I knew I didn’t want to do just chemistry or biology, and I’m very technical, so it came down to agriculture. I was getting my undergrad degree at the Univer- sity of Manitoba, and at that time they had a program where you rotated through different departments over six weeks to figure out where to specialize. Again, it was a process of elimination to find an undergraduate degree in food sciences. GW: Where did your career take you? EA: I travelled for several years and I looked into lab technolo- gy jobs, a couple of food companies and also research labs and I wandered around Europe and Australia. Then it was time to go to grad school. A whole bunch of circumstances lined up. I ended up doing my research under a scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Ottawa and that’s what really got me involved in grains. After that, I went to the United States for a couple years and worked for General Mills. GW: What eventually brought you back to Canada? EA: I joined Canada Malting in Calgary. I spent 14 years in the malting and brewing industry, six at Canada Malting and then eight years back in Winnipeg with the BMBRI. I then switched gears to the seed industry and spent 11 years with Canterra Seeds. GW : How did you end up at the helm of the BCC? EA: The BCC was going through an in-depth strategic review over the course of eight to 10 months, and in casual conversation with someone about whether I was going to be retiring, we started talking further about the direction of the BCC. The reason I signed on is the change aspect—so much is changing in all sectors. I was part of the industry roundtable process that preceded the strategic review the BCC undertook, and there were other changes happen- ing in the BCC infrastructure as well. It’s interesting to have been working at the back-end of this strategic review in the beginning to Winter 2020 grainswest.com 17 A born-and-raisedWinnipegger, Erin Armstrong has spent more than 20 years in the agriculture industry and has become a widely respected leader. Following management stints at Canterra Seeds, the CanadianMalting Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC) and the Brewing andMalting Barley Research Institute (BMBRI), she’s taken the helm of the Barley Council of Canada (BCC) to lead the organization through its current management transition. After a recent strategic review of the BCC, key areas of change were identified, such as tweaking its partnerships with other barley industry bodies, and Armstrong is ready to jump into action. BY ELLEN COTTEE • PHOTO BY ROB McMORRIS Erin Armstrong takes the helm of the Barley Council of Canada BRINGON THE BARLEY