13 Apr PEIIA presents Recognition Awards at 2021 AGM
Two PEIIA members were presented with Recognition Awards for their contributions to Prince Edward Island agriculture at the 2021 PEIIA AGM on April 7th in Charlottetown.
Brenda Simmons, P.Ag. of Point Prim was recognized for her substantial contributions to the Prince Edward Island potato industry. While Brenda has previously worked for the PEI Horticultural Association, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada and the PEI BioAlliance, she has been an indispensable part of the management team at the PEI Potato Board for more than two decades. In his nomination letter, Steve Watts, P.Ag. remarks: “Brenda is well known by colleagues across all regions of the Canadian and North American potato business. She has stepped up to the plate to defend and promote PEI Potatoes in areas such as the potato wart crisis, the establishment of United Potato Growers of Canada, coordination of national research and risk management programs and minor use pesticide registration programs, to name just a few.”
Brenda also owns and operates a fruit farm in Point Prim and has been a passionate supporter of high school sports for many years. While she often avoids the spotlight, Brenda’s devotion to the success of Island agriculture has earned the respect and admiration of both PEI potato growers and her colleagues in the industry.
Also presented with a Recognition Award was Evan MacDonald, AIT of North Milton. Evan works as a Senior Precision Agronomist with Croptimistic Technology Inc. Evan combines his background in mapping and GIS with a passion for agronomy to help farmers identify variability in their fields and address it using precision agriculture tools. In presenting this award, Barry Thompson P.Ag. remarked that “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Evan both with the PEI Department of Agriculture and with Cavendish Agri-Services, and his passion for precision agriculture and working with farmers to find solutions is infectious. Evan has already accomplished so much but has a bright future in the PEI agriculture industry.”
In addition to his role with Croptimistic, Evan has also begun work on a Ph.D. at UPEI under the supervision of Dr. Aitazaz Farooque, where his focus will be on the use of remote sensing technologies and zone mapping for variable rate seeding of potatoes. Evan lives in North Milton with his wife and two young daughters.
Photo captions:
Steve Watts, P.Ag. (left) and Liz Maynard, P.Ag. (right) present Brenda Simmons, P.Ag. with a PEIIA Recognition Award.
Evan MacDonald, AIT (left) receives a PEIIA Recognition Award from Liz Maynard, P.Ag. and Barry Thompson, P.Ag.
