Board of Directors

SaskFSA Board of Directors

The SaskFSA Board of Directors are collectively accountable to SaskFSA membership and their families, rural communities, SaskFSA sponsors, all stakeholders, and the future of agriculture in Saskatchewan. We are grassroots professionals that believe in providing specific solutions to agriculture water and land policy challenges.

It is the responsibility of our board directors to advocate for progressive land and water management policy driven by agriculture landowners and supported by the citizens of Saskatchewan

Interested in making a difference? Read more about what is involved in being a SaskFSA Board Director

To nominate someone to be a SaskFSA board member please contact us.

The “Best When Managed” Team

MYLES THORPE – PRESIDENT

Owner of Thorpe Ag Ventures

Myles Thorpe operates Thorpe Ag Ventures, a grain farm in the Spy Hill, Sask area, about an hour SE of Yorkton.  Myles grew up on the family farm, where he became passionate about agriculture, always knowing where his career path would take him.  He bought his first ¼ section at the age of 17, and has been invested ever since!

Myles completed a degree in Agriculture from the University of Saskatchewan, and following that, worked in the Ag industry for nine years in various sales, management and financial lending roles.  These combined experiences have given him the drive to maximize the efficiency of all aspects on his farm, especially its most vital assets, land and water.

Myles is the president of Saskatchewan Farm Stewardship Association.  SaskFSA advocates for progressive land and water management policy driven by agriculture landowners and supported by the citizens of Saskatchewan.  Whether it is by traditional surface methods, or by tile drainage, responsible and organized land and water management is vital to the success of individual farms, communities and the province. The importance of land and water management is often over looked. Myles advocates for SK farmers and the benefits  of a well-designed land and water management plan as he knows first-hand the economic and agronomic benefits.

Email Myles Thorpe

RYAN MAURER – VICE PRESIDENT

Ryan grew up on a grain, dairy and hog farm in the Neudorf area. In 1984 Ryan started farming alongside his parents and brothers. In 1986 Ryan bought his first land within a C&D area and soon came to appreciate the benefits of water management and efficient land. Ryan and his wife Lauren and family operate Land and Sky Grains at Grenfell SK. 
 
Ryan currently sits on 2 C&D boards as well as RM council. Ryan is past president of the local SK Wildlife Federation and past board member of the policy think tank, George Morris Center, based out of Guelph. 
 
Ryan has participated in many continuous learning events over the years either as a participant or guest speaker. Continuous learning is not only practiced in a classroom but on their farm as well.  ‘Best when Managed’ is definitely Ryan’s approach to responsibly managing an excess or shortage of soil moisture: using tile pipe, culvert sizing, control gates and temporary holding ponds to control excess moisture, while using crop and input precision practices, cover crop areas and no-till practices to manage moisture shortages and reclaim soil health.

Email Ryan

BLAIR HARRIS – TREASURER

Blair Harris was born in 1963 on his family’s Century farm near Yorkton and currently live 2 miles from his great-grandfathers 1887 homestead.  Blair bought his first quarter of land in 1984 while attending the University of Saskatchewan obtaining his Degree in Agriculture. He chose to major in soil science; without the soil, there is no farming.  His farm is located east of Yorkton along Yorkton Creek which acts as a barometer of the water level in the region.

Blair spent 7 years working at the Sask Crop Insurance head office in Melville.  He was responsible for developing policies and ensuring actuarial soundness of the crop insurance program.  Blair was part of the committees that developed individual coverage programs and insurance on new crops. He was the Sask representative on the national committee to develop the Gross Revenue Insurance Program in the 90s.

For the next 7 years, Blair worked as a Agronomist for a fertilizer company in various parts of the province, Rosetown, North Battleford, Weyburn and back to Yorkton.  He also worked as a private Ag Consultant scouting fields in the summer and assisting farmers complete CAIS forms in the winter.

After getting married to Dolores in 2002, Blair and his wife bought their neighbor’s farm and moved to the country. Since then, I have farmed full time, expanding and taking over management of the family farm which has grown to 3,000 acres.  While most of my land is well drained by the Yorkton Creek, he has also seen the results when it floods. They also have land that is affected by other well intentioned “Conservation” projects.

Email Blair Harris

DAVID ZERR – PAST PRESIDENT

David Zerr is the owner of a third generation family farm that celebrated it’s centennial in 1998.  David purchased his first quarter of land in 1973 and has been on a C&D Board for 30 years, an RM Councilor for 16 years, a Board member of Smith Creek Watershed Association for 4 years and a founding member of SaskFSA — past President and currently serving as Vice-President.  David is passionate about farming and views the work done by SaskFSA to be the most important initiative in farming today. Through lobbying and working with the Provincial Government, SaskFSA hopes to help develop policies that can work for farmers so that future generations can be involved in sustainable agriculture.  It is imperative that farmers are at the negotiating table when decisions are being made about their industry.

David graduated from University of Regina in 1975 before traveling around the world for 7 months. He’s also had a number of seasonal jobs while farming, including:

  • Worked in INCO smelter in Thompson, Mb.
  • Spent a winter working on a drilling rig in northern Ab.
  • Worked as a Brakeman for CNR for three yrs.
  • Worked as a Corrections Worker at Regina Correctional Centre for 4 yrs
  • Worked as a ski instructor at Big White Ski Area for 5 yrs.
  • General Manager of Duck Mtn. ski area for 5 yrs.
  • Snow school manager at Asessippi ski area for 16 yrs.
  • And says that he’s still looking for something that he’s good at!
 

KYLE HEGGIE – PAST VICE PRESIDENT

Kyle Heggie grew up on a grain farm that helped him to pursue a career in agriculture. He attended Olds College in 2003 and received a diploma in Agriculture Production and Management in 2005.

Kyle purchased his first quarter of land in 2004 from his uncle. This is where Kyle, his wife Natashka, and their three beautiful girls (Nevaeh, Quinn & Sawyer) call home.

In 2015 Kyle, his dad, and his brother combined their farms to make Eskdale Acres Inc. They currently farm 6000 acres in the Leross Area.  They are pedigreed seed growers of cereals, oilseeds, pulses, and spices. Along with growing commercial grains and oilseeds. They also, operate a seed cleaning mill that keeps us busy throughout the winter and spring months.

In Kyle’s area, water management has been non existent and is starting to show the negative effects. These negative effects have resulted in historical productive acres being destroyed due to flooding, soil erosion, and salinity.

Kyle is currently a board of director for IHARF and SaskFSA, and has been since 2015.

Email Kyle Heggie

CAM WEIBE – BOARD DIRECTOR

Welcome Cam as a new director! Bio to come soon!

Email Cam

HARVEY GUENTHER – BOARD DIRECTOR

Harvey is a farm partner in the family grain farm and also works with a precision ag & drainage business in the Yorkton area.

On his own farm and other farms that he works with, the root of many problems arise from poor drainage – from not being able to get work done in a timely manner to poor soil health, crop health, weed control issues and all the logistics that happen during the growing season.  

Harvey has a passion for proper drainage and technology to manage excess water on the farm. 

Email Harvey Guenther

JOE WIDDUP – BOARD DIRECTOR

Joe Widdup is a grain farmer in the Kipling area. He manages a 4000 acre grain farm with his extended family and is actively involved in various water management organizations and policy groups. He completed a BSA in Agricultural with a minor in Bioresource engineering from the University of Saskatchewan with continued water management education from the University of Guelph. A long time political and governance enthusiast, he works for better integration between the needs of the farmer and the various levels of government. In the slower season Joe can be found helping with community work and on the curling ice.

Email Joe Widdup

NORM HALL – BOARD DIRECTOR

Norm was born and raised on a farm near Wynyard, which he now owns and operates with his brother. Together on their century farm, they plant 5500 acres of grains, oilseeds and pulses, 40 acres of agroforestry, 400 acres in hay and pasture, and 2500 are set aside for the environment (including 700 acres for fish in the Quills).

As an active member of his community, Norm has served on many community and cooperative boards and committees, as well as coaching both hockey and gymnastics over the past 40 years.

Provincially, Norm is the APAS Rep for the RM of Emerald and sat on the Board of APAS 2004 – 2019 and served as Vice-Pres, President and Past President from 2011 – 2019. He sat as Chair of the APAS Environment Committee from 2004 – 2011, a member of the Finance committee of the Sask Chambre of Commerce, and a member of the steering committee and interim board of the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission. Norm currently sits as Reeve of the RM of Elfros and  represents APAS at the Saskatchewan District of Co-operators Insurance.

Nationally, Norm was on the Board and a member of the Executive Committee of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture from 2012 – 2019 and spent 2017 – 2019 as First Vice President. During those seven years he also represented Saskatchewan and Canadian farmers on the Crop Logistics Working Group III, the Grains Round Table and the Public Trust Sub-Committee, the Commodity Supply Chain Table and the boards of Canadian Ag Human Resource Council – CAHRC and Farm Management Canada.

Norm is married to Fern and they have three married children Kevin, Jamie and Travis, as well as five grandchildren.

Email Norm Hall

CODY REAL – BOARD DIRECTOR

Our farm has been in fertile area for over a century now, family owned and operated with my parents and 4 brothers. As business owners we , and our next generation, depend on water management to manage risk and produce better crops year after year. We utilize a combination of tile and surface water management to protect our soil health, maximize equipment efficiency and manage water flows within our land base, neighboring lands and local communities.   

Email Cody Real

NEIL RATHGEBER – BOARD DIRECTOR

Neil operates a fourth-generation farm with his wife Tricia and three children, Tessa, Royce and Ella. As one of the founding members of SaskFSA, Neil is passionate about farming and producer driven solutions for managing water in the field. Neil is chair of the Smith Creek Watershed and also sits on RM council.

Water management (drainage) has always been a crucial component to our farm. Improving water management practices, adopting new technology, bringing forward drainage solutions and working with the RM is sustainability for our farm and surrounding communities.

SaskFSA is driving positive change on ag drainage policies for all farmers in SK. 

Email Neil

TIM MITSCHKE – BOARD DIRECTOR

Tim is part of a multi-generational family grain and dairy farm operating within the Smith Creek water basin. Farming and water management is a passion and a way of life. It is about the right to farm now and for the next generation.

Actively involved in community projects, watershed associations and serving as a past RM councilor, Tim believes in building solutions for proper water policy that fits modern agriculture as it is one of the most important issues facing our farms today.

Email Tim Mitschke

CANDACE MITSCHKE  PAg – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Candace is a Professional Agrologist and a proud agvocate with a diverse background in many different fields within the agriculture industry. Candace grew up on a grain and dairy farm that her brothers and their families now own and operate. The farm and her family are part of her, and she still remains involved through farm business and transition planning, support and driving the combine or grain cart every now and then! 

Candace’s work experience includes swine production research, livestock nutrition formulation, quality assurance programming, forage exporting, functional food market research and product development, field adjusting and crop insurance program development, crop retail marketing and agronomy along with owning and operating a photography and graphic design business.

Candace believes Agriculture is the best industry to be involved in. Candace is Executive Director for SaskFSA and also the SK Regional Manager for Nutrients for Life Canada.

She works with SaskFSA not because policy is easy but because she believes in the mandate of the organization, and that farmers need a voice when it comes to land and water management policy. 

Email Candace Mitschke

In memory of and in tribute to:

Founding SaskFSA Board Director Ken Waldherr

Ken was invaluable to our SaskFSA team. He believed it was important to work with all levels of government in order to ensure that the best policies and actions are taken to protect the interests of farmers and their land. That with the combined voices of like minded farmers we can keep agriculture in Saskatchewan on the right track towards continued growth while responsibly managing our water, land and wildlife resources.

Ken’s dedication to community and agriculture sets a standard for all of us to follow. Thank-you Ken, you will be greatly missed by many.

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