New board chair to lead CropLife Canada
March 10, 2023 (Ottawa) – CropLife Canada, the national trade association representing the manufacturers, developers and distributors of plant science innovations, including pest control products and products of plant breeding innovations, has announced that Trevor Heck, president of Syngenta Canada, has taken on the role of chair of the board of directors.
Heck takes over as chair of the board from Bryce Eger, who was previously president of Corteva Agriscience Canada and has been promoted to a global role of vice-president, seeds R&D for the organization. Eger led the board through a critical period as it developed and launched its new strategic plan to guide the association through to 2025.
Heck’s extensive experience in the Canadian agriculture industry and his passion for the advancement of the sector will serve the association well.
“I’m thrilled to be taking on the board chair role at CropLife Canada. It’s a top-calibre industry association and the need for its work has never been greater,” says Heck. “The plant science industry – and the agriculture industry more broadly – has an incredible opportunity to elevate its status both with governments and the public. The agriculture industry is a critical part of the solution to some of the world’s greatest challenges from food security to climate change.”
CropLife Canada’s current strategic plan has an increased focus on sustainability and trade, in addition to the critical work of enabling members to bring the benefits of their technologies to the Canadian market.
“It’s exciting to see CropLife Canada take on a greater role when it comes to sustainability and really positioning the plant science industry as a key partner in the discussions on climate change and emissions reductions,” says Heck. “And if Canada is going to become a global agriculture superpower, it is critical that we continue to push for a rules-based international trading order that allows Canadian agri-food products to make their way around the world to those who want and need them.”
CropLife Canada’s president and CEO, Pierre Petelle, is also looking forward to continuing the association’s work on behalf of members and the broader agricultural community.
“Trevor’s commitment to industry collaboration is clear and I look forward to continuing the work of the association under his leadership and that of the entire board of directors. We believe strongly in the power of working together as an industry to advance modern agriculture for the benefit of all Canadians,” says Petelle. “Our collective efforts to advocate for science-based decision making for agricultural innovations will be critical for supporting the advancement of sustainable agriculture in Canada.”
The CropLife Canada board of directors are:
- Trevor Heck, Syngenta Canada
- Al Driver, Bayer CropScience
- David Hansen, CANTERRA SEEDS
- Glenn Houser, Cargill Limited
- Trish Meyers, Federated Co-operatives Limited
- Casper Kaastra, Sollio Agriculture
- Jonathan Sweat, BASF Canada
- Suzanne Beattie, Premier Tech Home & Garden
- Boyd Bergstrom, Nufarm Agriculture Inc.
- Tyler Groeneveld, Corteva Agriscience
- Bruce Harrison, Nutrien Ag Solutions Canada
- Todd Hyra, SeCan
- Trent McCrea, UPL AgroSolutions Canada
- Greg McDonald, WinField United Canada
- Geneviève Potvin, Scotts Canada Limited
- Russ Reich, Richardson International Limited
- Fred Thun, UFA Co-operative Limited
- Cornie Thiessen, ADAMA Canada
CropLife Canada is the trade association representing the manufacturers, developers and distributors of plant science innovations, including pest control products and plant breeding innovations, for use in agriculture, urban and public health settings. We are committed to protecting human health and the environment, and driving innovation through continuous research. CropLife Canada is part of the CropLife International consortium, a global federation with members across 91 countries.