Meet AMC’s new Board Members

AMC is proud to welcome two dynamic leaders to its Board of Directors—Scott Dickson, Advisor, MNP, and Chris Martin, Owner, Chinook Hay Systems Inc. Both bring a wealth of experience, deep ties to the agricultural manufacturing sector, and a shared passion for driving innovation and collaboration. In the following profiles, we’ll explore their career journeys, what inspired them to join AMC’s leadership, and the unique perspectives they bring to our growing community.

Amc Board Of Directors

Bob Cochran, Chair Director – Sales & Marketing Highline Manufacturing P.O. Box 120, Hwy. 27, Vonda, SK S0K 4N0 bobc@highlinemfg.com

Randy Bauman, Director President Eldale Machine & Tool /Bauman Mfg. 3 Industrial Dr., Elmira, ON N3B 2S1 randy.bauman@baumanmfg.com

Scott Dickson, Director Associate MNP 400-4311 54 Avenue Red Deer, AB T4N 4L9 Scott.Dickson@mnp.ca

Torey Hadland, Vice Chair Region Director CLAAS of America Inc. 1133 – 5th St. E., Saskatoon, SK S7H 1H4 torey.hadland@claas.com

Glenn Buurma, Director President Penta Equipment Inc. 4480 Progress Dr., Petrolia, ON N0N 1R0 gbuurma@pentaequipment.com

Chris Martin, Director Owner

Chinook Hay Systems Inc. 7715 Wellington Rd 8 Alma, ON N0B 1A0 chris@chinookhay.ca

Kiera Young, Treasurer Executive Vice-President MacDon Industries Ltd. 680 Moray St., Winnipeg, MB R3J 3S3 kyoung@macdon.com

Tara Chawla, Director Director

Cor Lodder, Past Chair Director Walinga Inc. P.O. Box 1790, 70-3rd Ave. N.E., Carman, MB R0G 0J0 Cor.lodder@walinga.com

Heather Forbes, Director President Morris Equipment Ltd. 1891 Albert St. N., P.O. Box 26097, Regina, SK S4R 8R7 heather@ritemfg.com www.a-m-c.ca

For Scott Dickson, joining the board of AMC was a natural fit after spending his career working with farmers to help them grow and expand their businesses.

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Dickson moved to Alberta as a Chartered Accountant with MNP, first in Calgary and then Red Deer, where he found his niche working in ag accounting. A recognized leader in MNP’s agricultural sector, Scott directed the firm’s livestock niche for 15 years and led the Hutterite niche for 12 years, developing specialized expertise in these areas.

“I liked working with farmers, so I focused on agriculture,” Dickson says. “I love the ag mentality – farmers have a real sense of pride in their operations.”

Now retired, Dickson joined AMC to stay involved in the ag sector and share his experience and business acumen. Working with Hutterite colonies, Dickson saw the growth in supporting farming practices with manufacturing. That prompted him to learn more about ag manufacturing and get involved with AMC, which played a matchmaking role connecting colonies with suppliers.

“It’s all about opportunity and there is more and more opportunity in manufacturing,” says Dickson, who now consults in the livestock and Hutterite sectors, with a focus on succession planning. “I look forward to cultivating this role and sharing my experience in ag and accounting.”

Active in his community, Scott served as past president of the Red Deer Kinsmen and the Red Deer Curling Club, and on the boards of the Canadian Cattle Foundation, Western Hog Exchange, Calgary Stampede Beef Committee, Alberta Pork Congress, Agritrade, and the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce Agricultural Committee.

Chris Martin joined the board of AMC to get more involved in ag manufacturing and share his knowledge of farming.

“It was a good opportunity to expand my knowledge on the manufacturing front and share my ag experience,” says Martin, who has served as board chair of the Forage and Grassland Association, a church trustee and on his local school board.

Born and raised on a dairy farm in Alma, Ontario, Martin farms with his brother and brother-in-law. Although they grew hay to feed their animals, a bounty crop in 2006 led them to a buyer in the U.S. and the hay business grew from there.

Today, Martin is founder and owner of Chinook Hay Systems, a hay equipment company that builds and sells hay dryers. It started with the need to produce more quality hay and, after partnering with a local manufacturer in 2015, they developed a special hay dryer for their farm.

“We are farmers not manufacturers,” says Martin. “We had to decide – are we going to market or keeping it for ourselves?”

That decision turned into big business as they just produced their 80th machine and plan to launch a new specialty product, a hay slicer, this fall. With customers across Canada and the U.S., Chinook now sells in Europe. Martin, who joined AMC several years ago to learn more about ag manufacturing, plans to attend AGRITECHNICA in Germany for the first time this fall with the association.

“We kept it close to home the first seven or eight years,” he says. “The U.S. is a great market, but with the trade issue it’s important to diversify.”