Barley Council of Canada Board and Staff
Directors
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Saskatchewan Barley Development CommissionZenneth Faye was raised on the family farm near West Bend, SK in the Parkland Region of Saskatchewan. He attended university in Saskatoon where he received his Bachelor of Agricultural Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan. He worked for John Deere Canada until he and his wife Cindy returned to the farm on a full-time basis. Zenneth subsequently started a small manufacturing business, which designed and built cattle handling and feeding equipment and managed a 100-cow commercial beef cattle herd.
Faye became a Director for the Saskatchewan Canola Growers Association and subsequently the inaugural Chair of the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission. He was also the Western Vice-President of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association along with roles in multiple other organizations.
Zenneth along with researchers from the University of Saskatchewan developed a technology to produce Biodiesel and many other coproducts from off-grade canola seed and Milligan Bio- Tech Inc. was started, for which he was General Manager.
In 2012, Zenneth was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for his contribution to Agriculture in Canada, and he was inducted into the Saskatchewan Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2013.Zenneth has been on the board of BCC since 2014, on the Executive Committee since 2017, and Chair of the board since 2019. -
Atlantic Grains CouncilNeil Campbell became interested in agriculture growing up in a potato-farming community in Prince Edward Island. That interest motivated him to do a year of agri-business studies though the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro.
After his studies, Neil entered the grain trade, working first for Shur-Gain, then joining the PEI Grain Elevators Corporation in 2003. He worked in various positions, which lead to him becoming General Manager in 2012. In this position he is very involved in the agriculture industry in Atlantic Canada.Neil joined the team at the Atlantic Grains Council, a Moncton-based organization that represents Maritime growers nationally, in the position of Member-at-Large in 2016, and has represented the Council on the Board of Directors of BCC since 2019, taking on the role of Vice Chair, which he still occupies. -
Manitoba Crop Alliance
Rauri Qually lives and works on his family’s grain farm in Dacotah, Manitoba. He is in the process of succeeding the farm from his father. Rauri graduated in 2017 with a diploma in Agriculture from theUniversity of Manitoba.For 11 years Rauri worked in the city of Winnipeg and all over Canada as an electrician and still runs a small side business today servicing local farms and the community.Rauri has always been an active member of his community, such as helping with local hockey, the Dacotah Historical Society and assisting the community as needed.Rauri has gained experience on commodity boards and as a director will listen and learn, and voice peoples’ questions and concerns. -
Brewing & Malting Barley Research Institute (Executive Director)Gina Feist is the Executive Director of the Brewing and Malting Barley Research Institute (BMBRI), a not for profit member organization comprised of maltsters, brewers, seed companies and the barley commissions. The primary purpose of BMBRI is to support the
development of new Canadian malting barley varieties that are profitable for growers and meet the premium standards of BMBRI members and their customers.
Throughout her career Gina has worked in diverse research related roles; starting at the lab
bench early in her career, moving on to business development and intellectual property
management, and prior to joining BMBRI she was the research program manager at the
Western Grains Research Foundation. Gina has a BSc., a Masters of Business Administration
and is a Professional Agrologist (PAg).Gina joined the Barley Council of Canada board in 2019. -
Grain Farmers of Ontario
Jeff Harrison is a self-employed farmer and president/owner of Jeff Harrison Farms Ltd. He has 27 years experience as an Ontario grain producer, producing corn, soybeans, cereals and vegetable crops, among others. Jeff has an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree in Agricultural Business from the University of Guelph.
Jeff is actively involved in provincial and national commodity and producer organizations. He has been a Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) delegate since its inception in 2010, a GFO Provincial Director (District 12) since 2016, and a GFO Executive member since 2019, as well as serving on multiple GFO committees. Jeff is also a provincial appointee to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ (OMAFRA’s) Grain Financial Protection Board and an American National Soybean Association Young Leader.
Jeff has been a director on the board of BCC since June 2018, and became Treasurer in February 2020. -
Producteurs de grains du Quebec
Mr. Van Tassel is a grain farmer in the Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec. He has been growing many types of crops, including malt barley for more than forty years. Initially, the farm also included milk production. The succession is provided by his oldest son Dave, who is also co-owner.
He has been married to Mrs. Huguette Larouche (who is also co-owner) for 37 years, and they have three children, two of whom work in the health care system, and the other works to feed the world’s population.
Mr. Van Tassel is actively involved in the regional union of grain producers, he was also the first VP of the Producteurs de Grains du Québec for 13 years. He is particularly attracted by the research component in the grain sector. As a result, he has chaired the research and agronomy committee within the Producteurs de Grains du Quebec. He has acted as a director within provincial research centers, and he has represented grain producers on various working committees at the provincial and federal levels for many years.
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Beer Canada Interim PresidentLuke Chapman leads Beer Canada’s government, economic and technical affairs. Born in Picton, Ontario, Luke joined Beer Canada in 2013. He played for the Carleton Ravens basketball team for 4 years and is happy to talk about beer, sports, and health. He is also a graduate of the Canadian Society of Association Executive’s CAE Program. Luke has been Interim President of the Association since January 2020, and joined the Barley Council of Canada board in 2020.
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Bio Forthcoming
Staff
As of August 1, 2021 the office for the Barley Council of Canada has moved to Saskatoon and is being managed by AgriBiz Communications Corp. Note the information as follows:
Adele Buettner – (Interim) Executive Director – 306.931.3276 – info@barleycouncil.com | cluster@barleycouncil.com
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Adele is a passionate foodie and farm girl raised on a grain and beef farm near Saskatoon. In 1993, she founded AgriBiz Communications, which provides management, marketing and communication services to agriculture and food organizations and businesses across North America. Together with the AgriBiz team, they are very pleased to be providing services to the Barley Council of Canada.
The success of AgriBiz is grounded in Adele’s leadership skills and natural diplomacy, her focus on collaboration, and an innate ability to problem-solve. She has exceptional insight into board governance through her experience as a manager and senior executive, as well as serving on several boards including roles as an executive member of the Canadian Western Agribition, Chair of the SaskTel Centre, and President of both Saskatoon Prairieland Park Corporation and Agriculture in the Classroom (SK) Inc. to name a few.
Through her ongoing efforts as a champion of agriculture, Adele has pioneered in the area of building public trust in agriculture in our country. In 2019 Adele received the Branch Communication Award of the Canadian Culinary Federation/CF Saskatoon and was recognized as an Honorary Life Member of the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrology. She is also a 2020 inductee of the Saskatchewan Agriculture Hall of Fame.
The core of her business is her immense pride to work in an industry that produces the best food in the world.
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As the client experience and logistics ninja with AgriBiz Communications, Liz is the friendly and efficient first contact at Barley Council of Canada. She grew up on a mixed farm just outside Red Deer, Alberta and remains connected to agriculture through her husband’s Century Family Farm in southern Saskatchewan. In addition to her work on behalf of the Barley Council of Canada, she provides communications and administration support to several agriculture commissions via AgriBiz. Having spent over two decades in educational publishing, Liz occasionally obsesses over punctuation and the use of hyphens the way a chef approaches garnish and plating.
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Janice is an instrumental part of the Barley Council of Canada financial team. She serves as office manager and provides bookkeeping services to a number of AgriBiz clients, with a strong knowledge of research funding and recordkeeping. Raised in the small farming community of Rosetown, Saskatchewan, her lifelong ties to the rural community bode well with agriculture clientele. As a graduate of Robertson Career College, she has over thirty years experience providing financial services to clients, large and small, and looks forward to working with the Barley Council of Canada. Janice is a stickler for detail and is often referred to as our “numbers gatekeeper.”
Contact Us
306.931.3276
Fax: 306.244.4497
info@barleycouncil.com
Bay 6A 3602 Taylor Street East, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7H 5H9