A couple Lloydminster Ag stalwarts are giving of their time to mentor provincially in Saskatchewan over the next 18 months.
The Canadian Western Agribition’s (CWA) Next Gen Agriculture Mentorship Program will see several young ag professionals being mentored by long standing ag industry talent including Lloydminster’s Mike Sidoryk and Alison Weaver.
Sidoryk has a cattle ranch and Weaver has a grain operation in the Midwest region.
Weaver has been paired with Brooke Dudley who comes from a farming background near Lockwood, Saskatchewan. In the spring of 2020, Brooke graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, majoring in Agronomy with a minor in Agribusiness. She is currently working towards her Professional Agrologist designation.
Weaver is looking forward to supporting the young mentees in agriculture.
“They’re going to put together a plan and share that with us. And then we are going to be there to support, guide and help them navigate their plan. I’m really excited to see what the new young people of agriculture want to do. It’s really exciting that we can do this in agriculture.”
Weaver adds she is excited to be part of the support network as in the past, agriculture was a stand-alone endeavour but now there are so many programs offering assistance.
Sidoryk will be mentoring Erika Stewart who ranches with her husband Cyle and their three daughters in Morse.
Erika is currently the provincial coordinator for the Verified Beef Production Plus Program and is always striving to improve their operations and share the story of beef production to consumers.
Sidoryk is welcoming the opportunity to redirect his energies to mentor the next generation.
“Being asked to be part of the Next Gen mentorship program is a great honour. It gives me the opportunity to help take some of my knowledge and my abilities to support any young individual who would like to learn more, and be able to provide some assistance in their further growth and development.”
Overall eight young ag producers have been paired with individual mentors across the province.
The Next Gen Agriculture Mentorship Program is funded through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. Set up in 2019, the program is in its fourth cycle and the Federal and Saskatchewan governments have committed $100,000 to support this year’s program.
More information is available on the government’s website.
