Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
June 29, 2011

Dr. Stephen Yarrow has joined CropLife Canada - the trade association representing the developers, manufacturers and distributors of plant science technologies - as the organization's vice-president plant biotechnology.

"Stephen brings a tremendous amount of experience to our organization and I am excited about the impact his strengths will have on CropLife Canada's ability to represent our industry both here in Canada and around the world," said Lorne Hepworth, president of CropLife Canada.

Stephen has more than 28 years of experience in the biotechnology field in both the private and public sectors. He completed his B.Sc. in biological sciences and his PhD in plant genetics at universities in the United Kingdom. Stephen has held previous positions with Allelix Crop Technologies, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Innovations in science like plant biotechnology and pesticides allow Canada's agricultural sector to adapt and thrive in the face of changes such as population growth and climate change. Used by Canadian farmers for close to 20 years, plant biotechnology has helped them to increase yields as well as lead to environment-enhancing practices such as conservation tillage.

"Exciting research is well underway into how to develop plant biotech crops that will better cope with drought, salinity and heat - all problems that can dramatically decrease a farmer's success. Stephen joins us at an exciting time in our industry's history and we are pleased to have someone of his caliber leading our work on behalf of this important segment of our industry," Hepworth said.

Stephen will be based out of CropLife Canada's Ottawa office and can be reached at 613-230-9881 ext. 3231 or yarrows@croplife.ca.
 

Website: http://www.croplife.ca

Published: June 29, 2011