SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, June 16, 2015 – Agriculture Council of Saskatchewan (ACS) Inc. elected a new Board Chair, a new director and discusses new and existing programs at the Annual General Meeting, which was held on June 16, 2015 in Saskatoon.
Clinton Monchuk, from the Chicken Farmers of Saskatchewan was elected the Chair of the Board of Directors. Roger Provencher, from the Saskatchewan Bison Association was elected to the Board of Directors, while former ACS Chair, Dr. Michael Nickerson, from of the U of S-College of Ag & Bioresources, was re-elected as a Director. Norm Hall, from APAS, was elected Vice-Chair, and Gord Schroeder, from Saskatchewan Sheep Development Commission, was elected as Secretary-Treasurer. Wayne Truman of the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission and Dan Prefontaine of the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre remain on the Board of Directors.
At the AGM, Executive Director, Bryan Kosteroski reported that the ACS Board of Directors approved 22 projects in 2014-2015 for a total commitment of $1,603.443.50 under the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Saskatchewan (ACAAFS) program of ACS.
The ACAAFS program, which was the precursor to CAAP, had $2.2 million uncommitted funds remaining as of the end of 2014.
It was another strong year for the ACS Levy Central program. Levy Central operates levy collection and related professional services for Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta commodity organizations. In addition to levy collection, depositing and reporting, buyer follow up and individual producer transaction recording, the core client services also include annual buyer registration, refund preparation, producer list generation for mail outs, elections and year-end reconciliation documentation.
Our guest speaker following the AGM was Ann Manley, the National Director of Strategic Marketing for the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology. She delivered a very information talk about the current global trends that affect the food and beverage industry and the agricultural sector in Canada. “Trends are important,” says Manley, “as we try to get into the brain of the consumer. Consumers want it all, but we have to provide what that consumer actually wants, versus what they believe or perceive they want.”