Dr. Joy Agnew in Top 50 most influential people in Canadian Ag

Feb. 23, 2021 | Olds, Alberta:  Dr. Joy Agnew, Associate Vice-President, Applied Research, Olds College was named in the Top 50 most influential people in Canadian Agriculture by Canadian Western Agribition (CWA).  Dr. Agnew joins several Olds college alumni on the esteemed list of agriculture leaders.  

Recruited to Olds College in 2018, Dr. Agnew has led the development of the Olds College Smart Farm and grown the applied research program at the College.  Under her leadership, the Olds College Smart Farm has grown by more than 1000 acres to nearly 2800 acres; has attracted more than $12 million in external investment; has engaged more than 50 partners and has worked on nearly 80 different research projects.

“Dr. Agnew has emerged as one of Canada’s key leaders for positioning our agriculture industry at the leading edge,” comments Stuart Cullum, President, Olds College. “She has built the next generation applied research environment in the Olds College Smart Farm and has designed it to also be the next generation learning environment that our country needs right now, in order to produce the talent required to maintain our global leadership.”

Olds College would like to also congratulate the following Olds College alumni and neighbours who were also recognized on the Top 50 list most influential people in Canadaian Agriculture list, including:

• Jill Harvie – Olds, AB, Olds College Alumni 
• Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel – Mossbank, SK, Olds College Alumni 
• Alex Villeneuve – Olds, AB, Olds College Alumni   
• Dennis Laycraft – Calgary, AB, Olds College Alumni   
• Ray Price – Acme, AB, Olds College Alumni 
• Todd Ormann – Olds, AB
• Robert Saik – Olds, AB
• Alison Sunstrum – Airdrie, AB

“Agriculture is an exciting industry to be working in, we are so proud to see such a strong representation from Olds College on the list,” comments Cullum.  “I would like to congratulate all of the leaders included in the Top 50 list.”  

In late 2020, CWA and Farm Credit Canada teamed up to launch the search for the Top 50 most influential leaders in Canadian agriculture. The nomination-based campaign ran coast-to-coast and consisted of five unique categories: Mentors, Upstarts, Innovators, Deal Makers and Designated Hitters.

After several weeks of nominations, a panel of judges, including Kim McConnell, Mary Robinson, Rory McAlpine, and Claude Lafleur, were put to the test of selecting 10 finalists in each category.