SARDA Ag Research held its 40th Anniversary celebration on Aug. 5-6 at its headquarters west of Donnelly.
The event was meant to put a focus on the entire agricultural industry, inclusive of grains, pulses, oilseeds, forage and specialty crops in the area.
“We’re very proud of the job the SARDA team did organizing this event and welcoming people from the industry,” says SARDA board chair Simon Lavoie.
“Our 40th anniversary had a variety of activities for the whole family, and we were happy to see a great crowd come throughout the day.”
SARDA celebrated its rich history in the Smoky River area.
“We’re proud of the extensive work that we’ve done since our inception in 1986,” says Lavoie.
“We started our ventures with direct seeding and then moved on to other agronomy work. In the late 1990s we worked on pea inoculant and then introduced forage seed work with then Alberta Agriculture’s Calvin Yoder (who is now part of our team).”
He adds they have been working on developing new markets with lupins and industrial hemp.
“We were also instrumental in helping spread knowledge about wheat midge during the outbreak in our area, hosting seminars to teach producers how to deal with the outbreak,” says Lavoie.
“We would also like to thank our generous sponsors of the event: Canterra Seeds, Taurus Ag, Goodon/Alain Turcotte, Norstar Agriculture, Koch Fertilizer Canada, FCC, Credit Union, Northern Sunrise County, St. Isidore Co-op, South Peace News, FMC, and Nutrien.”
Part of their celebration was recognizing their long-term employee Shelleen Gerbig, an instrumental part of their team, who passed away in 2025.
The celebration included equipment displays from Peace Country Equipment, John Deere and Foster’s. A mini trade show was also held with 30 booths of agricultural companies. Bouncy castles, food trucks and information sessions on lupins, canola, forage, a Smoky Hemp Decortication tour, herbicide injury, kochia and wild oat management were also held.
The next trade show SARDA will put on is their biennial Agricultural Trade Show at the Falher Regional Recreation Complex and Smoky River Community Hall from April 1 to 3, 2027.
Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
