Saskatoon Farm & Food Tour 2024

Canadian Food Focus is a gathering place to tell our Canadian food and farming stories. We will explore how food is grown and raised, share recipes and provide useful advice to help you make confident food choices.

Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan is a coalition linking thousands of livestock, crop and horticulture producers, government, individuals and businesses with a common goal to help people understand food and farming. Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan believes that getting to know farmers and ranchers is getting to know food.

Dorothy is a passionate advocate of Canadian food and farming. She holds degrees in home economics and education from the University of Saskatchewan, leveraging her background to promote greater consumer understanding of Canadian food and farming, as well as fostering positive relationships between consumers and farmers.

For over 25 years, Dorothy has organized farm tours for food influencers, such as dietitians, journalists, chefs, and food writers. These tours, which began with Canola Camp in Saskatchewan, have expanded across the country.

Dorothy has also been instrumental in developing a range of agrifood marketing strategies, including CanolaInfo, Saskatchewan Bounty, HealthyFlax, Spread the Mustard, Pick Pork, and the Saskatchewan component of the International Year of the Pulse campaign. In addition to her marketing work, Dorothy served as the Executive Director of Cuisine Canada and the Greenhouse Growers of Saskatchewan. She has written a food column for The Western Producer, edited the Growing Saskatchewan magazine, and co-authored the Discover the Pulse Potential cookbook.  

Dorothy believes that food is a powerful connector and the most intimate way that consumers come to understand agriculture. As the Managing Director of Canadian Food Focus with Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan, she spearheads Canadian Food Focus, a public trust initiative and marketing strategy that includes a consumer-friendly website. This project won a national Canadian AgriFood Marketers Alliance Award for Best Website Directed at the Public in 2022. Currently, Dorothy co-chairs the National Consumer Engagement Working Group for AAFC. In 2023, Dorothy was inducted into the Saskatchewan Agriculture Hall of Fame.  

Clinton Monchuk grew up on a mixed dairy, beef and grain family farm outside of Lanigan, Saskatchewan. He received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture majoring in Agricultural Economics from the University of Saskatchewan in 2000 and a Masters of Business Administration in Agriculture from the University of Guelph in 2002.

After completing his master’s degree, Clinton conducted research and taught at the Universidad de Guadalajara, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Following his interest in the livestock industry, Clinton worked with the Western Beef Development Centre as a Beef Economist. He then accepted an Economic Fellowship position with the National Farmers Union in Washington, DC working on trade-related aspects of policy development for American farmers and ranchers. This experience allowed him to become the Director of Trade Policy for the Canadian Federation of Agriculture in Ottawa.

In 2007, Clinton and his wife Laura moved to Saskatoon where he became the Chief Executive Officer for the Chicken Farmers of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Hatching Egg Producers. In 2016, Clinton accepted the role of Executive Director with Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan to promote farming, ranching and agri-food to consumers.

Clinton understands the value of increasing public trust in agriculture and actively promotes engagement between the agriculture industry and consumers. Clinton, Laura and their children Jackson and Katelyn, continue to be active partners on their family grain farm in Saskatchewan and cattle ranch in Oklahoma.

Penny Eaton is a farm girl turned communications specialist who works to answer consumer questions about farming and food production. At Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan, Penny manages stakeholder relations, coordinates events and communications projects and oversees funding requests and reporting.

Before joining FFC SK, Penny established her own consulting firm, providing writing and communications services to a wide base of clients. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Saskatchewan and is originally from a farm near Rosetown, Saskatchewan. She’s a proud Riders fan and probably takes Halloween a little too seriously.

Angela grew up on a mixed grain and beef cattle farm near Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. Throughout her career, she has worked with several agriculture groups such as CanolaInfo, SaskMustard, HealthyFlax, Sask Pork, and SaskTurkey on their social media and communications programming. Currently, she is our Communications Manager for Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan as well as for our national program, Canadian Food Focus.

Angela, her husband Andrew and their two daughters Molly and Claire, live and work on their multigenerational mixed grain farm near Lloydminster. They are also active in their local 4-H Beef Club.

Pamela MacDonald lived on a mixed farm in Saskatchewan as a young child and has fond memories of being on the farm. Her love of the outdoors started on the farm and led her to study Environmental Sciences in college. Although she currently lives outside of Saskatoon, over the years she has lived in small towns across Saskatchewan and has many family members that farm throughout the province.

Pamela is the Project Coordinator for Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan, providing support and guidance to the Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan staff. She has over 15 years of experience in the swine industry working both in the barn and in the office as well as working for a swine veterinarian practice.

Pamela is married, with two grown sons and enjoys spending time with friends and family at the lake. She loves gardening, landscaping, hiking and long walks with her dog.

Shawn and his cousins manage a fifth-generation farm near Delisle that encompasses 12,000 acres of grain land, a 700-head Red Angus/Charolais cow-calf operation, and a 40,000-layer poultry operation.

“I am extremely proud of the quality of the products that are grown on our farm,” Shawn says. “I enjoy the amazing technological advances in agriculture and the everyday changes that occur. I look forward to the opportunity to pass on our farm to the sixth generation.” His favourite piece of farm equipment? “I spend most of my spring and summer in our sprayer, so that has to be it.”

Shawn feels building public trust in food and farming is crucial for primary producers. “We want to ensure we have the freedom to operate and manage our farm operations for current and future generations. Consumers need to have confidence that producers are acting sustainably and humanely for the land and animals they manage. We want to ensure a viable food system where everyone has an abundance of choice in food they consume and producers have viable sustainable businesses for years to come.”

Frank is the creative person behind ChickenSask on the Chicken Farmers of Saskatchewan social media platforms. Frank loves food and helping farmers in the #digitalage. Frank has more than 5 years’ experience in content creation and as a Social Media Manager. Frank works as the Marketing Operations Manager and the Producer Programs Manger for the Chicken Farmers of Saskatchewan.

Frank has a degree Hotel and Restaurant Management with specialization in Culinary Arts. Prior to joining CFS, he worked in the aviation and hotel industry.

Frank gets his creative ideas from exploring Saskatchewan. He is a travelling man and loves to explore new places and experience the beauty, food, and people of different places and cultures.

Jennifer Hubert is the Executive Director of Plant Biotechnology for CropLife Canada, an industry association representing developers and distributers of plant science innovations. In this role, Hubert works with domestic and international agricultural stakeholders and governments on the development of policies, stewardship best practices, and scientific positions related to plant biotechnology. She brings nearly 20 years of experience in seed regulatory functions, including over decade working for multinational companies in securing approvals for plants with novel traits, novel foods and novel feeds in Canada. Hubert has a passion for communicating the safety and benefits of plant biotechnology. She holds a master’s degree in Nutritional Science from the University of Guelph.

As Director of Marketing & Communications with Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG), Amber strategically oversees and leads SPG’s grower communications team, communicating SPG’s value and outcomes to growers and other stakeholders. She also actively leads market development efforts to increase the awareness of lentils in the U.S. across the non-commercial and commercial foodservice industries working with chefs, culinary innovators, and industry experts. Amber sits on the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative Advisory Council and Canadian Food Focus National Advisory Council. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Marketing from the University of Saskatchewan and has a diverse array of experience working in agriculture, hospitality, tourism, and hotel industries.

Tiffany Martinka represents Chicken Farmers of Saskatchewan. She and her family operate a grain and broiler chicken farm in northeast Saskatchewan. Tiffany grew up with grain and cattle, earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture and worked in the industry for 10 years before focusing full-time on her family and their own farm. The thing she likes best about being in agriculture? “We have the best people in this industry. They are hard-working, caring, and innovative.” And nothing beats a combine ride!

Tiffany feels it’s important to reach consumers to talk about how food is produced. “As the years go by, we are losing the connection to our food and how it’s grown. People no longer have family to visit on the farm.”

Anthony and his family own and operate Nienhuis Family Farm located just west of Warman, SK. The family has been at that location just over 5 years, and they milk 110 cows in a newly-renovated, two-robot free-stall dairy. The Nienhuis family also tends about 500 acres with a mix of corn, oats and barley for the purpose of silage for their dairy cows.

Anthony serves the dairy industry as a director on the Board of SaskMilk. He is also a director on the Western Milk Pool, which represents the regional interests and common policies of the four western provinces, as well as on the Board of Dairy Innovation West, a new dairy concentration facility being built near Red Deer, Alberta. In addition, Anthony chairs Intervalley Water Inc., a water utility serving rural water users north of Saskatoon.

Along with the dairy business, Anthony also owns and operates three retail lumberyards, an RTM housing company and a construction company mostly building larger agricultural operations throughout Saskatchewan.

Anthony and his wife Corien have six children that are involved in dairy 4-H and in helping out on the farm and the construction businesses.

Jenna works to seek, track and analyze research relevant to the beef industry and disseminate the information into key messages for stakeholders. Her duties also include providing scientific support and assisting in projects to connect positively with consumers and the public. With the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Jenna is writing the National Beef Sustainability Assessment report and supporting other projects. Jenna will soon be defending her master’s thesis at the University of Saskatchewan in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science and has a wide background in animal research, public outreach, and technical support.