One of the takeaways from the International Sugarbeet Institute that took place March 25-26 in Fargo, N.D., is the importance for growers to advocate for the sugar industry.
Laura Rutherford, a Red River Valley farm wife in Grafton, N.D., spoke at the institute in her latest appearance in front of growers to motivate farm women about the importance of stepping forward and discussing issues ranging from GMOs to life on the farm with the media and sugar critics.
She’s an unpaid volunteer, but the American Sugar Alliance and the Sugar Industry Biotech Council have been covering some travel costs.
Rutherford is the process of launching a blog designed to tell the sugar story at www.thesweettruth.net.
She is a 2004 political science graduate from the University of North Dakota. She and her husband, Roy, have three sons.
Laura is the first of what the ASA envisions as a vanguard of women from sugarbeet regions across the country who will tell their story.
Her goal is to become an effective farm voice to help teach consumers about the safety of sugar. Possessing a female voice gets away from the industry’s usual practice of being represented by male voices across the nation. It’s hoped that consumers will be receptive to their message.
More details about the institute appear in this issue and will be featured in coming months.
Sugar Man of the Year
Edward Makin, the president and CEO of Rogers Sugar and Lantic Sugar in Canada, is the 2014 “Sugar Man of the Year.”
Makin, who has played a major role in sugar industry in the United States and Canada for more than 40 years, received the coveted Dyer Memorial Award at a Sugar Club dinner in New York City on March 31.
Born in Liverpool, England, he immigrated to Canada in 1965, where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce honors degree in business administration from Concordia University in Montreal.
Makin’s career in the sugar industry began in 1972 when he joined Redpath Sugars in Montreal. He worked in sales, distribution and human resources. He served as Redpath’s vice president of raw sugar operations, which covered trading and raw sugar purchasing.
In 1987, he was appointed vice president of sales and marketing, which made him responsible for all of the company products. In 1989, he was promoted to president of Redpath Sugars.
He joined Domino Sugar in 1992 and served as president and CEO until 1998 at which time he joined C. Czarnikow Sugar as senior vice president and director. In 2005, he became president and CEO of Rogers Sugar and Lantic Sugar.