By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
The Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame will be inducting three new honourees - Dr. Tom Droog, Dr. Ieauan Evans and Mabel Church Hamilton who are being recognized for the significant contributions that they have made to the agriculture industry. The Hall of Fame has been accepting inductees since its inception in 1951 and continues to do so based on individuals who have shown leadership in the agriculture industry in Alberta.
“These three individuals are terrific champions for their industries and have dedicated their lives to ensuring Alberta’s agricultural industry progresses in new ways,” said Verlyn Olson, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The three inductees have all contributed in unique and important ways to Alberta agriculture. Dr. Tom Droog was recognized largely because of the contributions that he has made growing sunflower seeds and created a business called Spitz, which now sells both sunflower and pumpkin seed snack pack products. The popular product has dominated the Canadian market and has managed to sell 75 percent domestically. Dr. Leuan Evans is being honoured for his two major contributions, one being his discovery that prairie soil lacked important minerals for cereal production. Once this discovery was made, crop yield significantly improved. The second contribution was his invention of a species of cherry tree that his commonly sold in both Canada and the U.S. Mable Church Hamilton has made her mark in the cattle industry, specifically to the Angus breed. She held establish the Angus breed into Canada and it’s now considered one of the largest beef cattle breeds in Canada. She was also one of the founding members of the Canaian Cattle Identification Agency.