The University of Lethbridge Dhillon School of Business will honour the Perry family and the Perry Family Farm at its 33rd annual Scholarship Dinner on Thursday, April 9, 6 p.m. at the Coast Hotel and Conference Centre.
Each year, an outstanding member or members of the southern Alberta community are selected as honorees by the Dhillon School of Business and its advisory board for their leadership, achievements and commitment to the communities they serve.
The Perry family are fourth-generation farmers in Chin, Alberta who have owned and operated the award-winning, 5,280-acre Perry Family Farm since 1909. They primarily grow potatoes and are a major supplier for brands such as Frito-Lay, McCain Foods Canada and Bonduelle. They were recently named McCain’s Top Potato Grower and have been a Top 10 finalist for this consideration for the last nine years. In 2008, they were named Frito-Lay’s Canadian Supplier of the Year.
“Our core values are people, quality, stewardship and professionalism. In 2012, our farm created Vision 2020, to reduce major crop inputs by 20 per cent while increasing net yields 20 per cent by the year 2020,” says Chris Perry, president – CKP Farms Ltd. and Grow the Energy Circle Ltd. “Our team-based farming practices encourage natural biological systems with goals of producing healthy soils for healthier crops for a healthier population.”
The Perrys are leaders in data driven and sustainable agriculture. They were McCain’s National Environmental Award Winner in 2011. In 2013, they designed and constructed the GrowTEC Biogas Plant, which produces over 4,000 MWh of renewable electricity per year from manure and organic waste — enough energy to power 1,000 homes. They have spoken at the Paris Accord and Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue about their sustainable agriculture practices.
“The shared Data Driven Agriculture (DDA) initiative is part of the journey to achieving Vision 2020,” adds Perry. “DDA includes variable rate applications of water and fertilizer based on real-time data. Grow the Energy Circle (GrowTEC) is the farm’s energy facility that creates three times more electricity from organic waste than the entire farm uses, demonstrating on-farm sustainable energy stewardship.”
Dhillon School of Business Dean Kerry Godfrey says that honouring the Perry Family is true to the school’s core values.
“We’re a school that encourages our students to collect and analyze data to make informed business decisions while also ensuring long-term sustainability,” says Godfrey. “The Perry family’s commitment to these practices in agriculture has created a business where success is not only measured by today’s performance, but by how sustainable the business is for future generations.”
Over the past 32 years, the Scholarship Dinner has raised nearly $2 million in support of student scholarships. Proceeds from this year’s dinner will go towards creating an annual scholarship in the name of the Perry family.
Individual tickets are priced at $125 each and are available at go.uleth.ca/ScholarshipDinner2020. To purchase a table of eight ($1,000), or to inquire about other sponsorship opportunities or to donate, contact Dhillon.events@uleth.ca or 403-329-5181. Each ticket includes a $60 charitable tax receipt.
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Contact:
Clayton Varjassy, Marketing and Communications Specialist, Dhillon School of Business
403-329-2139
varjassy@uleth.ca
Kerry Godfrey, Dean, Dhillon School of Business
403-329-2633
kerry.godfrey@uleth.ca
