Leona Staples Wins 2021 Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture Award

Leona Staples, Chair of the Board of Governors at Olds College, was one of the seven women to receive the 2021 Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture award. Staples, along with her husband and sons, also own and operate The Jungle Farm in Red Deer, AB and are proud to continue fostering farming traditions that generations before have established.

“It is a great honour to be recognized for something I get to do everyday,” says Staples. “I have always been passionate about agriculture — growing food, education and connecting families to our farm.”  

The Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture (IWCA) highlights the work women are doing across Canada’s agriculture industry. Each year, readers nominate Canadian women working in all aspects of agriculture for this award.    

“I have been fortunate to have strong female agriculture role models such as my mother, grandmother, sister, and Innisfail Growers partners,” claims Staples. “Growing up on our family farm, my mother and father ran the operation as equal partners and taught us to give back to our community with our time and talents.”

“With this philosophy, I have had the opportunity to be involved with many different facets of agriculture including the privilege of being part of Olds College Board of Governors,” Staples expresses.

Starting June 14, 2021, these winners will share their stories on the IWCA podcast series on AgAnnex Talks. They will also participate in an educational summit this fall.