The six were introduced at a newsconference on Thursday morning at the Western Development Museum (WDM) in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame (SAHF) is located at the WDM and formally recognizes individuals making significant and distinguished contributions to the welfare and improvement of Saskatchewan agriculture. Their portraits are on display in the SAHF gallery.

The 2019 inductees are Chantelle Donahue (Biggar), 98 year old Clarence Hookenson (Kisbey), Roger Pederson (Outlook), Arnold Petracek (Esterhazy), Dan Prefontaine (Saskatoon) and Dr. Neil Shantz (Saskatoon)

The above picture has Dr. Shantz and Donahue in the back with Petracek, Hookenson and Pederson in the front

The six inductees will be honored at a formal ceremony in Saskatoon on April 27.

Here are their biographies:

Chantelle Donahue

Chantelle Donahue of Biggar, Sask., has been a leader in the efforts to maintain agriculture s social licence. She has been a driving force in the Canadian Journey to Public Trust, resulting in a more coordinated and strategic approach to building public trust in Canada s food system. Through Chantelle s role at Cargill, where she is a vice- president, and her participation on several boards, she has been instrumental in building, keeping or improving supply chains, adding value to all in the chain.

Clarence Hookenson

Clarence Hookenson, a former longtime reeve of the Rural Municipality of Brock, has been an advocate for agriculture throughout his life and career. In addition to being an accomplished cattleman, he established a reputation as an excellent cattle judge. He judged cattle shows across Canada, including countless 4H regional shows and fairs. For many years, Clarence showed cattle at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. Always willing to lend a hand and share his extensive knowledge of agriculture, he has helped to build the next generation of successful producers.

Roger Pederson

Roger Pederson has been a strong advocate for the growth and development of the irrigation sector in Saskatchewan, including as a member of the Canada-Saskatchewan Irrigation Diversification Centre in Outlook and the Saskatchewan Irrigation Projects Association. As an irrigation farmer, he is a champion for the importance and value of irrigation to Saskatchewan agriculture and the economic advantages for growers and the province s agri- food sector. He is also a founding member of True North, a seed potato company formed to expand potato production in the Lake Diefenbaker region.

Arnold Petracek

Arnold Petracek served many years on the Saskatchewan Municipal Hail Insurance Association board of directors, from 1975 until his retirement in 2015, in addition to his extensive involvement in local government as councillor and later reeve of the Rural Municipality of Fertile Belt. Arnold is also a long-serving director with the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame. He worked as an agronomist prior to taking over the family farm at Esterhazy in 1973 and later established AJ Seeds. Throughout the years he contributed to his local community as a volunteer and through his work with his local parish and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina.

Daniel Prefontaine

Daniel Prefontaine has spent his career advancing the cause of food processing in Saskatchewan. In 1990, he joined the University of Saskatchewan s new Saskatchewan Food Innovation Program, eventually leading to the creation of the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre (the Food Centre). In 2000, he was appointed

president of the Food Centre, an organization that has helped more than 300 Saskatchewan agri-food companies develop and launch over 800 new product lines that use Saskatchewan ingredients. Under his leadership, the Food Centre has developed a national and international reputation to the benefit of Saskatchewan agriculture.

Neil Shantz

Dr. Neil Shantz (DVM) has been a champion of the Saskatchewan pork industry s collective efforts to enhance on- farm food safety, animal welfare and biosecurity. Neil began working as a rural veterinarian in 1982, following his graduation from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan. In 1984, he set up his own large-animal veterinary specializing in swine and dairy cattle while also developing a swine and dairy consultancy focusing on the preventative aspects of health management. He has served as a Canada Quality Assurance program validator and as the chair of the board of directors of Prairie Diagnostic Services.