SASKATOON — Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan has named Alanna Koch as the recipient of the 2022 Champion Award.
The announcement was made at the Ag Awareness Summit in Saskatoon.
Each year, the Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan Champion Award recognizes an individual who has engaged consumers about agriculture and worked to build public trust in farming and food in Saskatchewan 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 and have two daughters, Shayla and Keisha.
Koch is the board chair of the Global Institute for Food Security. She previously served as deputy minister to the premier and cabinet secretary for the government of Saskatchewan. 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.
According to Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan, 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.
“Saskatchewan is fortunate to have many talented agriculture influencers,” said Joan Heath, who has known and worked with Koch for several years. “What sets Alanna apart is her ability and opportunity to traverse into the broader community outside of agriculture to advance agriculture public trust.”
“There are so many who do so much and I’m just so honoured to be recognized as this year’s Champion,” Koch said in her acceptance speech. “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. We have come so far and made huge progress on getting our message out—and we have so much more to do.”
“She (Koch) is well-known within Saskatchewan and around the world as a tireless advocate for agriculture in our province,” said Clinton Monchuk, executive director.
We’re so proud of the amazing people this award recognizes.”
