JULY 2017 GERMINATION.CA 25 Oats in Arborg The history of oats and the town of Arborg are inter- twined, notes Lorne Floyd, founder and owner of the Arborg-based Floyd Seed & Oat Processors. “Oats have been grown here for 120 years, first as feed for horses, and in more recent years for human consump- tion as people have recognized the crop’s nutritional benefits,” Floyd says. He remembers going to school with Weik in Arborg in the 1960s. “It’s quite an honour to have an oat named after us.” Randy Sigurdson, the mayor of Arborg, agrees. He, too, went to school with Weik all those decades ago. “We’re a small town, and it’s great to be recognized like this,” he says. Arborg, located 103 kilometres north of Winnipeg, has a population of around 1,250. Weik attended Arborg’s Homer School, which was one of the last rural one-room school- houses in Manitoba. He then completed high school in Arborg. He graduated from the University of Manitoba with a degree in agricultural economics in 1968. After a few years working for an ag consulting com- pany in Winnipeg, he moved to Regina in 1971. There, he worked for the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool in various roles until 2003, when he retired from his first career.  Shortly after that, Weik started his second career in the seed business with Quality Assured Seeds and later moved to his current position with FP Genetics. He has spent his entire second career as seed portfolio manager, where he is responsible for selecting new seed varieties and then acquiring licenses for those varieties for FP Genetics. At FP Genetics, Weik has been responsible for the success of several key crop varieties, including the very successful AC Harvest and CDC Utmost, which have both been the most popular wheat varieties in Western Canada. He has also been responsible for the success of several oat varieties such as AC Summit and CDC Minstrel. Weik is also proud of the new rye hybrids that were licensed from KWS for use in Canada.  CDC Arborg combines excellent yield potential and very good lodging resistance with a very good nutritional profile, good milling yield, and high kernel plumpness. Weik will keenly track the success of CDC Arborg as farmers and oat processors adopt it when it comes to market in 2020, he says. “This isn’t something you do on your own. You have to work collaboratively with all stakeholders, and have the support of your family and the seed companies I have worked with,” Weik says of receiving the honour. After all, Dr. Legge’s malt barley varieties have put almost half a billion dollars in premiums back into the pockets of Canadian farmers. And have produced enough malt to brew a six-pack for every person on earth. Congratulations Bill on such an incredible career. A toast to your success from all your friends at Get this man a beer! Get this man a beer! Cheers Bill! Cheers Bill!