Dave Cubbon, right, at his retirement party in Meadow Lake Jan. 17, 2023, and, left, at the R.M. office in Meadow Lake in the 1980s. (submitted photos/Meadow Lake Co-op and Thomas Kelly Turkington)

By Angela Brown

Retirement celebration

Meadow Lake Co-op honours longtime agronomist Dave Cubbon

Jan 18, 2023 | 2:15 PM

Longtime Meadow Lake Co-op agronomist Dave Cubbon was fêted at a special retirement celebration this week.

The farewell gathering was held at the Seniors Activity Centre in Meadow Lake Tuesday afternoon.

Cubbon, 67, spent close to 10 years at the Meadow Lake Co-op in the agricultural department and as part of the newly named Grow Team. He has also worked for over 40 years as a well known agronomist and ag industry advisor in the Meadow Lake area and across the Prairies. Before working for the Co-op, Cubbon was employed by the province for many years in the agricultural field.

Dave Cubbon, with the Meadow Lake Co-op Agro department, during a prior field day event. (Facebook/Meadow Lake Co-op)

Originally from North Battleford, Cubbon first moved to the Meadow Lake area in 1985, and eventually went on to work at the Co-op around 2013.

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He said he is looking forward to heading into the next chapter of his life now that he is retiring, and plans to spend more time with family and his grandchildren.

“It was time,” Cubbon said. “I had certain things I wanted to do at the Co-op, and I’ve got them accomplished. Now it’s time to do something else.”

He plans to stay in Meadow Lake with his wife, a retired teacher. The couple have four kids, two of whom are also pursuing careers in agriculture.

During his work as an agronomist with the Meadow Lake Co-op, Cubbon enjoyed offering advice to producers purchasing products to use on their farms.

“People we do business with, that’s their livelihood,” he said. “So, we provide services and products to them to do their business.”

Cubbon said he has loved his work in agriculture over the years, using his expertise to help others, and being involved with the Co-op.

“I like working with people and I like being in the country, and that’s what I did,” he said. “Part of what I did was trying to show people new technology and how to be profitable in their business. You had to understand all that.”

Cubbon added that working at the Co-op also allowed him the opportunity to see a variety of things done in the ag sector around the Meadow Lake area.

“I wanted to train a number of people, the staff, to help them understand agriculture, as I’ve seen it over the years in Meadow Lake,” he said. “That was the big priority. And we wanted to set up a field-scouting program and a few other programs, and they [the Co-op] allowed me to do that.”

As part of the field-scouting program, experts go out to farmers’ fields, and make observations, while taking soil and tissue samples. Then, they can make recommendations to help farmers deal with any issues they may have during the growing season, and ultimately improve farmers’ crop production and make them more profitable.

“We have a good group of young staff now, and there is a field-scouting program [established], and some other services that have been expanded,” Cubbon said. “It’s pretty much to the point where the things I initially wanted to get done are in place there now. So, it’s great.”

Cubbon’s daughter, Jackie, is also one of the agronomists at the Co-op now, keeping the family tradition going strong.

Cubbon said the Meadow Lake Co-op has always been involved in the agricultural community, providing a range of services and products to farmers.

He added the Meadow Lake Co-op Fertilizer Plant, which was started around nine years ago, has also been a great addition to the farming community over the years to meet area farmers’ needs.

Curtis Ebach, Meadow Lake Co-op ag division manager, said Cubbon will be missed.

“He was a huge part of our team,” Ebach said. “He was our senior agronomist, and he trained our young agronomists to be what they are today. He was a big part of our business.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @meadowlakenow