At the Saskatchewan Forage Council Annual General Meeting in Saskatoon, on July 26, the Council announced this year’s recipient of the Forage Industry Innovation Award — Paul Jefferson.
Jefferson is currently the vice president of operations at the Western Beef Development Centre at Lanigan, SK. He has over three decades of forage research, and a PhD in drought-resistant forages, obtained from Utah State University.
“It is an honour to be recognized by the industry and I am very grateful to the nominators and to the Saskatchewan Forage Council Board of Directors,” said Jefferson.
Jefferson says his move to the WBDC was motivated in part by his desire to support more beef industry interest in forage and range research.
“It has been gratifying to see the increased support for forage and range research through the Beef Cattle Research Council and the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Development Fund in recent years. This will benefit the next generation of forage and range research scientists as well as focus research on issues that are important to the industry.”
The Saskatchewan Forage Council will be making a contribution to the Alicia Hargrave Memorial Bursary, College of Agriculture and Bioresources at the University of Saskatchewan, in Jefferson’s name.
Related: Beef Research School: Maximizing Production on Forage Acres
The award was developed in 2008 by the Saskatchewan Forage Council, and acknowledges ‘exemplary innovation, leadership, service and stewardship in Saskatchewan’s forage industry’. In 2015, it was awarded to Janice Bruynooghe.