A passionate leader, advocate and public servant, JoAnne Buth has made a lasting impact across a wide swath of the agricultural landscape in Canada, living her entire career with a passionate commitment to science and agriculture.

Born into city life, JoAnne’s interests quickly turned to all things agricultural. She began her career in research and development with DowElanco Canada, and then to managing crop, soil and water management with Manitoba Agriculture. Her agronomic expertise, strong connection to farmers and her proven ability to build relationships became some of her signature traits that were much sought after throughout the agricultural community.

With the Canola Council of Canada, as vice president and then president, JoAnne successfully engaged with all sectors of the canola industry during challenging market times. She brought her vision and insight into the entire value chain – from research to producers to processing – to see unprecedented growth for Canadian grains and oilseeds. She was instrumental in recruiting a highly qualified team to serve the canola value chain, and was recognized for her calm, confident and informative manner.

In 2012, she was called to join the Senate, serving two years representing Manitoba and agriculture. She was instrumental in promoting Canadian agriculture from that platform and had a dramatic impact on how the Senate looked at agricultural issues. The pull to serve agriculture more directly drew her back into the industry to head the Canadian International Grains Institute. As the first female CEO, JoAnne used her collaborative approach and the extensive connections she had amassed through her professional career to lead the organization into a new structure and funding model. Her work has elevated the Canadian International Grains Institute to a respected leader in technical training for the use of Canadian grains.

JoAnne has created a legacy through her service to farmers, the wider community and Canada’s agriculture sector. Her collaborative approach to solving complex domestic and international issues is one of her greatest strengths. She excels at linking science to commercial outputs – and the resulting growth that approach has brought to Canadian crop yields and quality, along with development of new export markets to link production to market.
JoAnne Buth is a tireless advocate for science and innovation in agriculture, and a respected ambassador in boardrooms and on