Alanna Koch was awarded Farm & Food Care Champion for 2022 (submitted photo/Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan)

By Alice McFarlane

2022 Saskatchewan Farm & Food Care Champion

Farm and Food Care presents its 2022 Champion Award

Feb 16, 2023 | 5:19 PM

MELFORT, Sask. – Alanna Koch has been named the Farm & Food Care Champion for 2022

The announcement was made at the Ag Awareness Summit in Saskatoon, Sask.

Each year, the Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan Champion Award recognizes a person who has engaged consumers about agriculture and worked to build public trust in farming and food in our province and beyond.

Koch has been involved in the agriculture industry, both professionally and personally, for most of her life. She and her husband, Gerry Hertz, farm at Edenwold, Sask.

Koch is the chair of the Global Institute for Food Security. She previously served as Deputy Minister to the Premier and Cabinet Secretary for the Saskatchewan government. Prior to that, she was Saskatchewan’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture for nine years, one of the longest-serving Agriculture Deputy Ministers in Saskatchewan and Canadian history.

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Koch’s priority in government was to build and maintain public trust in agriculture by focusing on science-based decision-making and communicating the benefits of modern tools and technology.

Before joining government, Koch served as President of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, a director with Agricore United and Executive Director of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association.

She has been recognized with multiple other honours, including a Women of Distinction Award for excellence in Leadership and Management from Regina YWCA, the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, Saskatchewan Centennial Medal, and the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame.

Koch said in her acceptance speech that there are many people who do so much and she was honoured to be recognized.

“What better way to make a difference in the world than to champion the best people and the best industry? To be able to share our story of how we farm and why we need innovation and access to all the tools and technology to sustainably feed the world is where so much of our focus has been the last 10 years, since the very first Ag Awareness Summit,” Koch said. “We have come so far and made huge progress on getting our message out and we have so much more to do.”

“Farm & Food Care Executive Director Clinton Monchuk said the organization was pleased to recognize Koch.

“She is well-known within Saskatchewan and around the world as a tireless advocate for agriculture in our province. We’re so proud of the amazing people this award recognizes,” Monchuk said.

Less than three per cent of Canadians have a direct connection to the farm, which is one reason why so many have questions about how their food is produced.

Farm & Food Care works to address consumer questions and inspire more confidence in farmers and in Saskatchewan-grown foods.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW