A humble producer who helped create a massive farming collaboration has earned one of the most elusive honours of all – the recognition of his peers.
On October 24, the University of Alberta will present Bryan Perkins of Wainwright with one of five Alumni Honour Awards for 2024. Perkins, who graduated with a BSc in Agriculture, was nominated by members of his graduating class, who recently celebrated their 55th anniversary.
He said in an interview with Prairie Hog Country that he wrote an email to his classmates after learning about the award.
“I’m just a dusty old farmer. When I graduated from university, I planned to be a farmer and that’s what I’ve done,” said Perkins.
“I sent an e-mail out to the crew as just a dusty old farmer.
“Anything that I’ve accomplished has been because of the people that I’m working with, you know, and I’ve had the benefit of being able to work with people that are smarter than me, have more energy than me, and for the last increasing number of years are younger than me.”
The Alumni Association was much more generous in describing Perkins’s accomplishments in the past 55 years. The Honour Award is granted to alumni who have used their education to make the world a better place through their professional achievements, community service and innovation. In a prepared brief, it said:
“Bryan Perkins upended the tradition of independent family farms to harness the power of strength in numbers. In 1995, Perkins founded Sunhaven Farms, a consortium of about 150 family farms — including his own five-generation farm near Wainwright, Alta. — to share knowledge and expertise while benefiting from economies of scale. But Perkins’ dedication to building communities is also evident in his numerous appointments to industry and non-profit boards, and through his leadership of community projects, including a $2.2-million fundraising campaign to bring a CT scanner to Wainwright. Known for his calm demeanour and relentless follow-through, Perkins contributes to the greater good of his community while his commitment and innovation to agriculture set new standards of excellence in that ever-changing industry.”
Perkins is quick to point out that he is not the lone founder of Sunhaven Farms. Rather, it evolved through the efforts of six people – all involved in the swine industry – who pulled it together in forming the Alberta Pig Company.
“That consisted of Jim Gowans and Gary Shaw and at one point Dick Allen was involved in it. He was just not there for too long; then Frank Aherne, of course, and then we brought Frank Novak into it,” said Perkins.
The group reached out to farmers to invest in a new hog farm at Red Willow, and then went on to build the Poundmaker Pork Farm at Wainwright.
“We reached out to people to offer an opportunity to invest in these farms . . . and we’ve got some people that have invested in all of the farms and some people that have invested in just one farm. So, we’ve got . . . about 150 family farms that have invested in this in various amounts.”
He acknowledged that it is no small feat to create a collaboration among 150 farms in an industry whose leaders place a high value on independence.
“One of the things I said early on, and I remember speaking at a meeting when we were first raising funds for our Poundmaker Farm here at Wainwright . . . and I said that this is kind of my philosophy: We’re working together in order to maintain our independence. We’re trying to achieve what none of us could do ourselves.”
While quiet in his demeanour, Perkins is a powerful and committed leader who has served as director and chair on various associations. Notably, he was chair of Fletcher’s Fine Foods in Red Deer in 1995, when the Agricultural Marketing Council ordered its sale to Vencap, returning $1.71 per share to its producer-owners. Within that undertaking, the marketing arm of the Alberta Pork Producers Development Corporation was split off to form Western Hog Exchange.
His contributions to community and industry have earned him an array of prestigious awards in the past, including induction into the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2004 and the Alberta Pork Congress Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.
The Alberta Order of Excellence outlines Perkins’ career as follows:
“Bryan was born on June 22, 1946 in Edmonton and raised on the family farm outside Wainwright. He enjoyed a typical rural upbringing, working the farm with parents Jack and Vern and siblings Susan and Mark, and taking part in scouting and local sports. He attended the University of Alberta where he earned a BSc in Agriculture in 1969. He began farming that year and married his wife, Sharon. Sharon taught school before turning her attention to raising their young family and helping out with their farming operation and fertilizer and chemical business.
In addition to running the farm, Bryan kept busy as a volunteer. He served with the Wainwright Credit Union, the Wainedge Gas Co-op, on the board of Grace United Church, as a trainer, coach and manager of local hockey and swimming teams and as an active volunteer for minor and amateur hockey organizations. Bryan’s keen business sense, natural diplomacy and strong public speaking skills also made him a valuable asset to a number of industry organizations. He served as chairman of the Agricultural Diversification Alliance, vice president of the United Grain Growers, an early member and then president of the Western Hog Growers Association, director of United Oilseeds Products, board member of the Alberta Agricultural Research Institute and chairman of the board of Fletcher’s Fine Foods.
Regardless of the accolades, Perkins remains humble.
“Well, I think the amazing part is that anybody would consider, first of all nominating me, and then, and I told the guys that nominated me, they must have a pretty good yarn in order to have me considered,” he said.
“I’ve had people say, well, when are you going to retire? And I said, well, when I come in someday and I turn around and show my wife and I’ve got a toe mark on my rear end, I’ll know that it’s time for me to be done.” •
— By Brenda Kossowan