Trent Richards joined the SPG Board of Directors in 2016. Trent and his wife Tracy continue to operate a third generation farm in the Assiniboia area located in south‐central Saskatchewan. Trent currently continuously crops with lentils, peas, and soybeans making up one‐third of the acres, with cereals, canola, flax, and spices making up the remaining acres. Trent attended the University of Saskatchewan where he was enrolled in vocational agriculture. After school he operated a custom spraying business where he applied chemical, and sold sprayer parts. Trent served on the Assiniboia curling rink board, and Assiniboia civic improvement board. Trent currently serves as SPG’s Chair of the Board of Directors. He also sits on the Nominations Committee.
Winston van Staveren farms with his family at Creelman, Sask. where they grow canola, wheat, durum, soybeans, and lentils. Winston is on the board of directors for the Indian Head Agriculture Research Foundation (IHARF). For that organization, he is on the Crops and Marketing Committee. He is active in his community and serves as a director for the Creelman Agricultural Society. He is a director for the Fillmore Prairie Memories Museum and the Fillmore Catholic Church. Winston is also a volunteer crop reporter for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. Winston currently serves as SPG’s Vice Chair of the Board of Directors. He is Chair of SPG’s Governance Committee and sits on the Audit & Finance Committee and the Research & Development Committee. He also serves on the Soy Canada Board of Directors.
Brad Blackwell joined the SPG Board in 2017. He operates a family farm at Dinsmore where they grow 8,000 acres of lentils, chickpeas, soybeans, flax, and wheat. Pulse crops account for approximately 33% of their acres. Brad has been an active member of the Dinsmore Kinsmen Club since 1995, as well as a part of Telemiracle 27–31. Brad is Chair of SPG’s Research & Development Committee. He also serves on the Grain Growers of Canada Board of the Directors.
Shaun Dyrland has been active in the family farm west of Kyle for the last 20 years, growing the operation to 15,000 acres with his family. They produce lentils, field peas, and chickpeas on approximately 50% of the land, with the balance being made up of durum wheat and canola. Shaun is Chair of SPG’s Communications & Market Development Committee. He also serves on the Pulse Canada Board of Directors.
Mario is a fourth generation farmer, now operating in Melville and Edenwold where he grows peas, faba beans, durum, canola, and oats. Accredited for being the founding Director of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, Mario’s grandfather Ronald Gaudet, was inducted into the Saskatchewan Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2003. With a background in agriculture, Mario is fascinated by the potential of pulses to increase profitability, efficiency, and quality. He is also a member of the Melville Chamber of Commerce and Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation. Mario currently works for Timac Agro Canada as a Regional Manager for the North East region. Mario is Chair of SPG’s Audit & Finance Committee and sits on the Nominations Committee. He also serves on the Pulse Canada Board of Directors.
Robyn Henry joined the SPG board in 2023. She is a Professional Agrologist (P.Ag.) and fourth generation farmer at Hodgeville, Sask. where they grow red lentils, chickpeas, canola, and durum wheat. Pulse crops account for approximately 25% of their acres. Robyn sits on SPG’s Communications & Market Development Committee, Research & Development Committee, and Governance Committee.
Stuart Lawrence joined the SPG board in 2023. He is a fourth generation farmer near Rosetown where they grow lentils, barley, canary seed, flax, durum wheat, and canola. Stuart has served as a board member for the Western Applied Research Corporation (WARC), the Canary Seed Development Commission of Saskatchewan (CSDCS), and sits on the council of the Rural Municipality of St. Andrews No 287. Stuart sits on SPG’s Communications & Market Development Committee and Research & Development Committee. He also serves on the Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan Board of Directors.
Corey Loessin joined the SPG Board of Directors in 2012. Corey and his wife Joan Heath, along with their children Audra and Aidan, farm in northwestern Saskatchewan growing various crops including peas, lentils, and faba beans. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree from the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) and worked as a District Agriculturalist in Alberta for several years prior to returning to Saskatchewan to farm. While farming, he also taught crop science courses at the U of S for 12 years. Corey is Chair of SPG’s Nominations Committee and sits on the Research & Development Committee. He also serves on the Pulse Canada Board of Directors.
Terry Youzwa farms with his family at Nipawin, Sask. where they grow canola, wheat, oats, peas, faba beans, and canaryseed. Terry has previously served on the SaskCanola Board and the Canola Council of Canada. He has also served as a Director with Cereals Canada. Terry has been involved in his community serving on the Nipawin Community Justice Committee, and serving municipally as a councillor of the Resort Village of Tobin Lake. Terry sits on SPG’s Audit & Finance Committee, Governance Committee, and Communications & Market Development Committee. He also serves on the Pulse Canada Board of Directors.