Alberta (Rural Roots Canada) – After more than three decades dedicated to bridging science and on-farm practicality, Dr. Brian Beres is being recognized for his impact on Prairie agriculture.
The senior research scientist in agronomy with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is this year’s recipient of the Orville Yanke Award, an honour that carries deep personal meaning.
Beres recalls one of his earliest winter wheat field days, with Orville Yanke, a southern Alberta conservation leader known for sharing knowledge and championing innovation, standing in the foreground as he presented research findings.
“Remembering how I met Orville, I can’t believe my name will be on a plaque with his name and in his honour amongst all these other innovators and advocates,” said Beres. “When I think of the farmers so far ahead of the curve… they didn’t have to share what they were learning on their farms, but guys like them, Orville in particular, were so willing to share it.”
That spirit of collaboration between farmers and researchers has defined Beres’ career.
Growing up near Readymade, just east of Lethbridge, Alberta, Beres knows firsthand what life on the farm is really like. He studied at the University of Lethbridge while spending his summers working with Agriculture Canada, a gig that eventually turned into a full-time job and, later on, his own research program.
“Thirty-four years later, here we are,” he said.
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Over time, Beres became widely respected for introducing and advancing the Genotype x Environment x Management – or G x E x M – framework. The model brings together crop genetics, environmental conditions and management practices into one integrated system designed to better reflect real-world farming.
“When I started out, one of the impetuses behind establishing an agronomy program at the Lethbridge Research Station was the siloed approach to each discipline,” Beres explained. “It had to be pulled together into a framework to make it relevant, especially to on-farm scenarios.”
His work has included advancing winter wheat systems, validating on-farm innovation, and tackling challenges such as wheat stem sawfly, an insect capable of cutting stems at the soil surface, increasing erosion risk and causing major yield loss.
For Beres, research must always serve the producer.
“There has to be an appreciation for the farmer as a client,” he said. “The farmer is actually paying for a lot of this research. Something I have always held close to my heart is, ‘Am I doing relevant work?’”
He believes focusing too much on isolated pieces of genetics, environment, or management can limit the full potential of research, especially when profitability is on the line.
“If we don’t embrace the entire framework to advance and capture yield potential on the farm, we’re doing a real disservice, especially to the farmers paying for the research.”
Beyond his own research, Beres has also contributed as an editor-in-chief and adjunct professor, mentoring students and supporting the publication of innovative work.
“I very much value the publishing piece of everything we are working to innovate,” he said. “To me, that’s non-negotiable — it’s the insurance back to the funder that we’ve done original and innovative work.”
Receiving an award named after Orville Yanke brings Beres’ career full circle.
“Looking at Orville standing there in that photo, especially as I started out my research career, to think that so many years later I would be the recipient of an award that’s based on his memory and what he did for the ag sector in southern Alberta, that’s pretty humbling.”
