Hi Everyone!

I’m Stu Rasmussen, Chairman of the CAAR Board of Directors. Mitch Rezansoff, your Executive Director, has kindly given me this platform for this issue of your CAAR Communicator.

This has been a year you had to live through to believe. From supply chain issues and product shortages like we’ve never experienced, through to high crop input costs and record high commodity prices. Despite these setbacks, we managed to have better crop yields compared to 2021.

Recently, some ag industry professionals and I provided feedback and guidance at a series of AAFC input stakeholder sessions in response to the federal government’s Fertilizer Emission Initiative, which seeks to lower these emissions by 30 precent by 2030.

In CAAR news, the Executive Board met for the first time since before Covid this past September. We are looking to fill a vacant board member position. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact me via the Blair’s Family of Companies at (306) 229-7959.

Current Board Members are:

Stan Loewen (TerraLink)
Taylor Olsen (Olds Fertilizer & Agri Services)
Stewart Whillans (Simplot Canada)
Darrel Knight (Federated Co-Operative Limited)
Scott Russel (Nutrien)
Martin Kiefer (Agrico Canada)
Craig Senchuk (Hitech Installations)
Eric Gregory (Brett Young)
Stu Rasmussen - CAAR Board Chairperson (Blair’s Family of Companies)

Our dynamic in-house team includes Mitch Rezansoff (CAAR Executive Director), Lady Gabilo (Services & Finance Manager), and Nikeisha Paul-Hunnighan (Marketing, Communications & Event Manager). We are looking for a Sales & Marketing Coordinator to join the CAAR team. If you would like to join a team positioned at the forefront of our industry, please contact me.

At CAAR, we want to ensure we are fully representing all aspects of ag retail within the industry. Members: Please be sure to renew your memberships and solicit, on our behalf, other ag retailers, suppliers, etc., to join our organization.

Everyone in the industry needs to be a member.

Finally, some exciting news: the next CAAR Convention will be in-person! This year’s convention will be held from February 7-9, 2023 in Edmonton, Alberta. Meet new people, make meaningful connections, and take advantage of a great opportunity to learn about and stay on top of the issues we face daily as an industry.

Have a great rest of the year, and stay healthy and safe.

I can be reached via the Blair’s Family of Companies at 306-229-7959, or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Stu Rasmussen, P.Ag.
Board Chairman