Steve Funk (Adjunct Faculty Business Administration) was named the 2023 recipient of the Wilson Loree Award during Farm Management Canada’s annual Agricultural Excellence Conference on November 22, 2023. The prestigious award has been presented for over two decades and recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of farm business management across Canada.

The following is an excerpt from Farm Management Canada’s article about Steve’s accomplishments:

“Steve retired in 2023 from Director of MNP’s Agriculture Risk Management Resources, where he helped producers and industry understand AgriStability and other business risk management (BRM) programs, how these programs impact and support farm financial viability, and how to optimize program coverages and payments within the context of an overall farm insurance risk management strategy. Steve oversaw the Firm’s provision of AgriStability, AgriInvest, Ag Risk Management Projector™ and other risk management services, where he was instrumental in service design, development, implementation, training and monitoring of service delivery systems and processes.

Steve has been a leading authority on AgriStability and other BRM programs in Canada. Over the last 27 years of Steve’s career, he dedicated himself to helping the government shape the current BRM framework. Steve has also educated hundreds of people across Canada on business risk management to create awareness and further educate the industry on BRM, helping make a positive influence on many policy decisions related to BRM.

The cumulative dollar value he has single-handedly secured for Canadian Farmers would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars over his career.

More recently, Steve has been a strong supporter of financial fluency in Canadian agriculture. He has drawn a key correlation between a farmer’s level of financial fluency and their ability to understand risk management and support farmer mental health through risk management planning.”

Read the full article here: Alberta's Steve Funk Recognized for His Contribution to Farm Management Excellence with Prestigious Wilson Loree Award. 

Steve currently teaches BU 440 Agribusiness Risk Management and Financial Stability as part of Briercrest’s Agribusiness concentration.

Other courses in the concentration include:

• BU 310 Entrepreneurship and Small Business
• BU 340 Agribusiness Industry Management and Value Chain Analysis
• BU 410 International Business
• BU 420 Business Strategy
• ADM 367 Principles of Leadership

Contact Briercrest’s Business Department Academic Chair, Steve Robitaille, for any questions or comments.