Manitoba Ag Hall of Fame welcomes four new inductees

Jul 19, 2016

Ceremony was held July 14

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

The Manitoba Agriculture Hall of Fame honoured four new inductees during a ceremony on July 14 at the William Glesby Centre.

The new hall of famers are Gordon McPhee, Jack Parker, Weldon Newton and Selma Maendel.

Gordon McPhee
Gordon McPhee

Dauphin’s Gordon McPhee is heralded as a zero-tillage pioneer in Manitoba. He’s worked with various national agricultural boards and champions soil preservation. McPhee received the 1997 L.B. Thomson Conservation Award for his work in promoting soil conservation and pioneering zero-tillage.

Jack Parker
Jack Parker

Winnipeg’s late Jack Parker became the first Soils Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture in 1946. In 1954, then Minister of Agriculture Ronald Robertson created the Soils and Crops Branch, selecting Mr. Parker to direct and supervise soils, crops, forage horticulture and weed control services. Parker created “Save the Soils” clubs, and after serving in World War II, remained in Europe to report on the state of farmland.

Selma Maendel
Selma Maendel

Representing Portage la Prairie, Selma Maendel’s computer skills helped her develop Farm History Manager software to record and maintain crop records. She also worked with the medical industry to understand the genetic basis for many disorders found in Hutterite children and adults, and its contribution to agriculture.

Weldon Newton
Weldon Newton

After growing up on his family’s Neepawa farm, Weldon Newton attended the University of Manitoba and earned a degree in Agriculture with a major in soil science. Along with his brother Murray and sister-in-law Donna, he was named 2002 Red River Exhibition Farm Family of the Year. He served for 20 years on the Manitoba Hog Producers Marketing Board and 16 years as a Keystone Agriculture Producers board.

Farms.com congratulates the new inductees and their families.

All photos courtesy of the Manitoba Agriculture Hall of Fame.

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