Six individuals will be inducted into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame for 2017. Three of the inductees were announced recently at Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, including Art Mainil, Tim Oleksyn and George Cooper.
Art Mainil, a farmer from the Lampman area, was one of the founders of the Palliser Wheat Growers Association and was instrumental in leading the fight for marketing freedom. He was the founding president and driving force for Weyburn Inland Terminal, the first farmer-owned grain terminal in Canada.
As such, he promoted protein grading for wheat, grain cleaning on the Prairies and the loading of 100-car unit trains. He was also a champion and user of producer cars. Mainil passed away in November, 2011.
Three additional inductees will be announced at CropSphere in January. The induction ceremony for all six will take place on April 22, 2017.
The Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame is housed at Saskatoon’s Western Development Museum. Information on the SAHF and all past inductees can also be found at www.sahf.ca.
