Individuals whose achievements have helped advance agriculture in the province and worldwide were honoured at the Manitoba Ag Hall of Fame awards ceremony.
The event, which was held at the William Glesby Centre on July 12, saw five individuals recognized for their efforts in Manitoba in the field of agriculture: Hayden Tolton, Wilf Chegwin, Edward Hudek, Herbert Lapp, and Edward Tyrchniewicz.
Both Wilf Chegwin, from Rossburn, as well as Herbert Lapp, originally from Saskatchewan before eventually becoming a professor in the dept. of agricultural engineering at University of Manitoba, were inducted posthumously.
Hayden Tolton
One of the inductees, Hayden Tolton, from near Otterburne West, Manitoba, who is turning 87 years old in a week’s time, appreciated the recognition.
“I feel pretty humble,” he said on receiving the award. “I’m in with a lot of fellows that have achieved a lot. I feel honoured and humble. I had met a lot of people -- farm families, 4-H families. They were always friends. They gave me a lot of ideas that I transferred. So I was really transferring ideas rather than making them all.”
Tolton was involved in soil conservation and working towards quality crop management. He used to work as a soil specialist with the Manitoba Department of Agriculture in Winnipeg. As well, he shared his knowledge with other provincial crop insurance corporations.
Tolton is also especially noted for his work on soil productivity mapping and identifying the geographic risk areas using soil-type information, for example.
Each of the inductees were commended for their successes in the field of agriculture.
Leaders in agriculture
Portage la Prairie MLA Ian Wishart, who attended the awards ceremony, said it’s critical to celebrate many of the leaders in agriculture.
“This is certainly a very special occasion,” he said. “We recognize the importance of agriculture, and specific people in agriculture to this province. It’s what built this province originally.”
Coun. Brent Froese spoke to guests at the ceremony on behalf of City of Portage.
“It’s great to see folks from all over Manitoba,” he said. “We in Portage certainly see agriculture as one of the biggest contributors to our livestock, economy and our survival -- the good food we eat, and the fact a lot of it is grown here.”
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