Head and shoulders image of Dr. Al Slinkard, Plant Sciences, Crop Development Centre.

Bio/Historical Note: American by birth, Alfred Eugene (Al) Slinkard came to the University of Saskatchewan’s then newly-minted Crop Development Centre from the University of Idaho in 1972. At the time, Saskatchewan farming was dominated by wheat, which was piling up in elevators at the time amid poor market conditions. Hired to help find options for Saskatchewan farmers to diversify, Dr. Slinkard arrived armed with a variety of lentil lines from a plant introduction station in his native Washington. He would go on to begin testing lentil varieties to see if they could be grown in Saskatchewan. In 1978 Dr. Slinkard introduced the Laird lentil variety, followed by the smaller seeded Eston variety in 1980. Dr. Slinkard’s field trials helped convince farmers to take a shot on growing lentils as part of their crop rotation. In the ensuing decades, Saskatchewan has become the world’s largest exporter of pulse crops, which include peas, lentils and chickpeas. At retirement in 1998, Dr. Slinkard was named Professor Emeritus at the College of Agriculture, and adjunct professor at the Crop Development Centre. He continued to be active in developing spice crops for Saskatchewan. In February 2021 Dr. Slinkard was appointed as an Honourary Member of the Order of Canada, a designation for foreign-born recipients of the honour. Alfred Slinkard died 24 November 2022 in Saskatoon.