MOOSOMIN / YORKTON - Kristjan Hebert of Moosomin has been recognized as a Prairies region EY Entrepreneur of Year.
Seven awards were recently presented at an awards ceremony in Calgary.
“Each one of this year’s winners is carving their own unique path with unconventional thinking and unbounded ambition,” said Rob Jolley, Entrepreneur of the Year Prairies Program Co-Director in a release. “These leaders are unstoppable. They’re channelling innovation and operating with purpose to drive long-term value and sustainable growth in the Prairies region and beyond.”
Kristjan Hebert, president of The Hebert Group, a family of agriculture-based businesses based in Moosomin, credited his entire team for the award, noting that it isn’t possible to run a group of companies without the right people in place. He is a chartered professional accountant who returned to the farm with his wife Theresa and his parents, Louis and Karen Hebert. Since 1978, the farm has grown from 320 acres to over 30,000 acres and Hebert Grain Ventures utilizes the latest in climate-positive practices and cutting-edge technology.
“When you surround yourself with ambitious people you just have to hold on,” Hebert told Yorkton This Week.
Hebert said with the right people around him, he can focus on ideas to make the business better.
“I come up with ideas and they do the work,” he explained, adding he found the award humbling in the sense it was very much a team effort creating the success. He said he is most appreciative of the efforts of his staff.
Hebert said that is a recipe for success which is not only viable for agriculture.
“It’s not just in agriculture but for any small business that is growing,’ he said, adding that is why it is important to compete for talented staff because they truly are a key asset to success. “. . . You have to have great people.”
With the right people there to help, a business can grow, and that is something it must do according to Hebert.
“I’m a big believer in growth,” he said, adding that includes for people and for the farm.
Hebert said when you factor in inflation, standing still is essentially slipping backwards.
That said, how to grow depends on assets and needs and opportunities.
“There are lots of ways to grow,” said Hebert.
That can mean looking at some avenues not generally considered.
“That old notion that you’re ‘just a farmer’ is rapidly changing. Farmers wear many hats, and must have a CEO mindset in today’s fast-paced world!” said Hebert in a recent release. “Agriculture provides a great career and many opportunities for entrepreneurial and innovative thinkers. It’s an important time to be in agriculture and, as Canadians, we should take great pride in this industry.”
The Prairies winners of the EY Entrepreneur of Year will move forward to compete against peers from the Pacific, Ontario, Québec and Atlantic regions at the national awards celebration in November 2022, where 10 national winners will be named.
The award is the second for Hebert and the farm this year.
Earlier in 2022 he was recognized internationally receiving a Climate Positive Leader Award in agriculture from Corteva Agriscience. He was the only Canadian farmer to be recognized alongside others from Australia, Brazil, the US and Kenya.
The Climate Positive Leader program recognizes early adopter producers who are successfully implementing, scaling and sharing climate positive practices.
