Renee Hoyme is Bridging the Gap for New Seed Growers

From soil sampling at the CFIA to acting as the president of the Alberta Seed Growers, Renee Hoyme brings her knowledge back to her family farm and emerging seed growers.

As a third-generation commercial grain farmer and first-generation pedigree seed producer, Renee Hoyme never expected that her life would be where it is today.

Hoyme grew up on her family farm, DeWindt Farms, which is now run by Hoyme, her husband Geoff and her parents, Harry and Barb DeWindt. The farm was acquired in the 1960s by Harry’s parents, Cornelius and Dieuwke “Deet” DeWindt. Cornelius and Dieuwke had immigrated from the Netherlands to Edmonton, Alta. where they then bought the family farm outside of Thorhild, Alta. The farm previously had a dairy and pig operation, but the family decided to grow strictly grain when Hoyme was a teenager.

Renee Hoyme
Renee Hoyme, former Alberta Seed Growers president, stands next to a field at her family farm DeWindt Farms in Thorhild, Alta. Photo: Renee Hoyme

While Hoyme originally went to the University of Alberta to become a veterinarian, she ultimately decided to pursue a degree in agriculture and was hired by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) directly out of college for a term soil sampling position — she has worked at the CFIA for the past 15 years. Hoyme then accepted a permanent position as an animal programs inspector, where she did crop inspection during the summer months from 2009 to 2011 and potato inspection from 2012 to 2016.