Nutrien's purpose is to Feed the Future. The University of Saskatchewan (USask) aspires to Be What the World Needs. By joining forces on new projects, these ambitious organizations will advance sustainable agriculture around the globe and help train the scientists and engineers of the future.
A large portion of the gift will establish the Nutrien Centre for Sustainable and Digital Agriculture, housed in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources. The donation will also establish the Nutrien Future Fund for the college, provide scholarships for AgBio students, and fund Indigenous and community engagement initiatives via the kihci-okâwîmâw askiy (Great Mother Earth) Knowledge Centre. In addition, Nutrien's gift will support scholarships for engineering students and the creation of a state-of-the-art lecture theatre in the College of Engineering.
A transformational $15 million gift from Nutrien to USask will drive a new era of innovation, collaboration, and success.
Nutrien has the distinction of being the largest producer of potash in the world. It also has the distinction of making the largest single gift to the USask's Be What the World Needs campaign to date and are the largest cumulative corporate donor in USask's history.
For students like Sarah van Steenbergen at the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, the gift represents support both personally and professionally.
"I have been very fortunate to receive several scholarships while studying at the Department of Plant Sciences. With three children in daycare, that support has really helped me alleviate some of the financial stress associated with childcare costs as well as being a full-time university student," she said.
As a PhD student, van Steenbergen is currently studying in the agronomic crop imaging lab at USask with her research focusing on wide-scale forecasting for spring wheat across Western Canada. Nutrien's investment in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources signifies to van Steenbergen that sustainable agriculture is the way of the future.
"Nutrien's support demonstrates that sustainable agriculture and sustainable production is a priority here in Canada and particularly Western Canada and it makes me quite excited to see the career opportunities that will be available as I finish my PhD and look to make a larger contribution to the industry," she said.
"We are deeply grateful for this incredible donation, which builds on our long-standing relationship with Nutrien over the past five decades," said USask President Peter Stoicheff. "Nutrien is our valued partner and the largest corporate donor in USask's history, having generously invested more than $50 million dollars over the years to support the university's research mission and to help prepare our students to become the next generation of leaders."
"We at Nutrien are proud to continue our decades-long partnership with the University of Saskatchewan through a transformative $15 million donation," said Nutrien President and CEO Ken Seitz. "This investment supports research, education, and innovation that aims to tackle some of the world's most pressing challenges. Together, we strive to strengthen global food security and contribute to building resilient agricultural communities both locally and globally."
The Nutrien Centre for Sustainable and Digital Agriculture will focus on research, training and innovative technologies that accelerate farming into the digital age and create more sustainable and resilient food systems around the world.
"USask is a natural partner for us as we think about taking on cutting edge research to help our customers push yields, push profitability, but doing so sustainably because no one cares more about sustainability than farmers," said Nutrien's Region Manager (Canada), Jesse Hamonic.
According to Angela Bedard-Haughn, dean of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, the centre will serve as a nexus to bring researchers from across campus and beyond together to discuss shared challenges and brainstorm solutions to some of the greatest environmental, economic and social challenges we are facing in sustainable agriculture.
"By supporting workshops and scholarships and providing seed funding to explore new innovations, this generous donation will jumpstart the collaborations and research activities of our newest researchers in the area of sustainable agriculture, while also accelerating the innovations of our colleagues that have been leading in this area for years," said Bedard-Haughn.
She also emphasized that the donation will bring together the diverse perspectives needed to better understand and navigate the challenges of producing safe and nutritious food to feed the world while protecting the environment, ensuring food producers can make a decent living and find ways to distribute food that consumers can access and afford.
Another part of the major donation will support the kihci-okâwîmâw askiy (Great Mother Earth) Knowledge Centre, housed in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources.
"This gift really strengthens our ability to engage with communities, including Indigenous communities, particularly around issues related to land management," said Bedard-Haughn.
For the College of Engineering, Nutrien's gift to support students and a new lecture theatre is welcome news for Dean Michael Bradley.
"Our engineering graduates play a tremendous role in the development of the province, the infrastructure, the mines, all the various industrial activities that make up the economic activity and we're very proud to be in a position to play that role," said Bradley. "I'd like to thank our partners at Nutrien for this generous gift pointing the way to an extremely bright future for the College of Engineering and our province."
"Nutrien is the world's largest potash producer, with six low-cost mines right here in Saskatchewan," said Nutrien's Trevor Berg, senior vice-president potash operations. "By partnering with the university and specifically the College of Engineering, it helps us ensure that Nutrien has a pipeline of great candidates to help fulfill our purpose of Feeding the Future," said Berg.
USask is currently engaged in the largest campaign in Saskatchewan's history to raise $500 million to support critical research, Indigenous achievement, student success, and visionary spaces. As of the latest update, the Be What the World Needs campaign sits at just over 90 per cent raised ($475 million) with about five months left to go. Nutrien's gift signals an important milestone in the campaign as it approaches the finish line.
"USask has never been better equipped to confront humanity's most complex issues, but we need champions to make this bold vision for the future, a reality," said USask Vice-President University Relations Cheryl Hamelin. "We are asking alumni and our strong community of supporters to join us, as our friends at Nutrien have, in addressing the world's greatest challenges and creating a brighter future together."
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