Board of Directors

Ian Boxall is the fourth generation and third youngest son to live on the home quarter that was homesteaded in 1904 by his great-grandfather. Ian and his four children farm mixed grains, oilseeds, and pulses in the Tisdale area.

Ian was elected councilor for division 3 of the RM of Connaught #457 in 2012 and was elected reeve in 2020. 

Ian started his time at APAS through the Youth Leadership and Mentorship program with APAS and in the spring of 2015, and then became the representative for the RM of Connaught. In December 2015, Ian was elected to the APAS Board of Directors. In 2016, he was elected as a Vice-President. He was elected President at the 2021 APAS General Meeting. 

Bill Prybylski grew up on the family’s mixed farm in the Willowbrook area west of Yorkton. After working several years as a welder in Estevan, he moved back to take over the farm. In 2007 the farm was incorporated. Along with his son, his brother and two nephews, they crop 11,000 acres of grains, oilseeds and pulses and run a 300 head commercial cow/calf herd. Bill has four children all of whom are involved in agriculture to some degree.

Bill served on RM of Garry #245 council for ten years and in 2015 was appointed as APAS Representative. He sits on the Economic and Trade Committee and the Governance Committee. At the 2017 AGM he was elected as one the Directors for District 4, and in 2018 was elected to the position of APAS Vice President.

Bill is very involved in his community having coached his kids in hockey and baseball. He has sat on the District 12 ADD Board and the East Central Research Foundation Board. Currently, he sits on the Board of Directors for the Yorkton Co-op. Bill is also very involved with the Knights of Columbus and sits on his Church’s Parish Council.

Bev Pirio has been an APAS Representative for the R.M. of Laurier (#38) since 2016. She was elected to the APAS Board of Directors for the first time in 2021.

Bev and her husband Rich produce grain and oilseed crops on their farm near Radville, SK. Bev and Rich have been married for 33 years and have two sons, Casey and Brett. Casey is slowly taking over the farm operation while Brett specializes in Information Technology.

Bev is an active member of her community, having sat on the R.M. council since 2011. She is also a member of multiple boards and committees.

Bev owned and operated an oil field rentals company for 15 years and has a background in Early Childhood Education.

Bev is a very proud owner of two dogs, Zoey and Turbo, previously featured in the Farmer's Voice magazine.

Bev loves books, and can often be found listening to an audiobook while in the combine or when baking, which is one of her favourite pastimes.

When Bev and Rich are not on the farm, they enjoy spending time at Mainprize Regional Park in the summer months and are avid travellers in the winter months.

Chris manages Four Mile Partnership, a business-first family farm operation at Fillmore, SK. Along with his wife, Paige, parents, Rick and Vickie and extended farm team, they grow small grains.

He returned to the family farm, after attending Lethbridge Community College and a fulfilling agri-industry career on the “other side of the desk.” Chris worked with Farming Smarter, Cargill and Top Notch Farm Supply in research, sales, agronomy, grain buying, procurement and management in both Alberta and Saskatchewan

Chris' parents instilled the importance of contributing to your community and encourage strong participation. Chris has served on the local Rec Board, special projects committees, and community enhancement committee for Fillmore and has been the Deputy Fire Chief since 2018. He has also been a Councillor and APAS Representative for the R.M. of Fillmore since 2021.

Chris believes in having various voices from multiple sides of industry at the table and that collaboration is the only way to move our agendas forward into the future. Efficiency, diplomacy and humility are values instilled by his most prized mentors; he hopes to bring that to his role with APAS.

On the farm, Chris especially loves his time in the sprayer or collaborating with his extensive networks of partners.

In his spare time, you might find Chris playing baseball, football or video games with his boys, Ryder and Nigel, snowmobiling with friends or debating agriculture and farm issues with his wife over a beer or two.

Steven is a fourth generation farmer from Moosomin, SK. Steven, his wife Jen and their four children, farm mixed grains and oilseeds and run a cow-calf operation.

Steven has a certificate in agriculture business from Sask. Polytech in Regina. He is also a journeyman agriculture tech. 

Steven participated in the APAS Youth Leadership and Mentorship program in 2016 and was elected to the APAS board in 2018. Stevn is the chair of the Crops and Transportation committee and represents APAS on the Western Grain Standards Committee.

Jim farms one mile west of the village of Bateman in the RM of Gravelbourg (#104) with his eldest of four children. He started farming rented land in grade 11 and worked winters surveying and engineering for the provincial government, later working for the Alberta oil industry as a survey manager. Jim and his wife moved to their farm in 1972 and went into a mixed operation with cattle, cereals, and oilseeds.

After his wife passed away and his children attended university, Jim began studying at the University of Manitoba, where he earned an agriculture business degree with a major in marketing. He is also just a few elective credits short of a master's degree in economics, all while still farming.

Aside from farming and APAS activities, Jim was a Councilor for the RM of Gravelbourg (#104), a chairman of the Wood River Board of Education, and a member of agrologist institutes in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta, as well as the Agriculture Institute of Canada. When he has off time, James enjoys golfing, traveling, and attending Swift Current Broncos hockey games.

Don Connick lives on his family's century farm south of Gull Lake, and he's been part of APAS since 2001 when he was elected as the Representative for the R.M. of Carmichael (#109).

He was later elected to APAS' Board as a Director for District 3.

Don has served in the role of interim president and as vice president on two occasions for APAS. He's also been on the APAS committees for Livestock, Economics and Trade, and Rural Life.

For many years Don also served as the APAS Director for the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council.

Don has a degree in Agriculture from the University of Saskatchewan and has earned credits for post-graduate classes from Colorado State University. For several years he lived in Manitoba, where he worked as an Ag Rep for Manitoba Agriculture. Don also served as Manager of the conservation district in the Boissevain, Manitoba area.

Don and his wife Norma eventually returned to his family farm, where they took over the operation. Together they raised their two daughters and now have three grandchildren. The couple is happy to live close to their family and watch their grandchildren grow.

Don has stepped back from many of the farm operations but continues to raise cattle on their pasture during the summer months.

Don has a love for the native prairie, its landscape, birds and wildlife.

In his spare time, Don enjoys photography, and he is also an avid writer of both fiction and non-fiction. Don enjoys reading and learning about Western Canadian history, which influences many of his stories.

Kevin Gilbert was born and raised on a fourth-generation family farm/ranch in the Cypress Hills in southwest Saskatchewan. After graduating from Lethbridge Community College, majoring in both Animal Science and Finance, Kevin started working in the feeding industry in feedlot alley near Lethbridge. After being involved in the construction and startup of a new shareholder feedlot in northern Alberta, Kevin moved to Hazenmore, Saskatchewan in 2000 to construct and manage Red Coat Cattle Feeders.

In 2003, Kevin moved back to the Cypress Hills to run a progressive ranch as well as build up the homestead farm/ranch feeding operation. With the help of his immediate and extended family members, Kevin was able to increase farm production and size considerably. Currently, with the help of the youngest of his three children, Kevin runs a diverse operation that includes corn, silage, cash crops, cattle production, and custom ag work.

Kevin is very passionate about all facets of livestock production. His first term on the APAS Board of Directors came in 2011 and rejoined the board for 2023.

Julie, her husband Logan, and their two young daughters live on the family farm near Nokomis SK. Along with some extended family, they run a herd of 200 commercial cows, a 50 head purebred Hereford seed stock operation, and grain farm 6,500 acres. 

Julie has been an APAS Representative for the R.M. of Wreford #280 since 2020. She is also active in her community and the greater rural agricultural community as youth representative for the Canadian Beef Cattle Check Off Agency and the Canadian Cattle Youth Council, chair of the Nokomis daycare, vice chair of the Nokomis Skating Club, Saskatchewan Hereford Association Director, past mentee of CWAs Next Gen Ag program and an alumnus of SaskCanola’s Learn to Lead program

Julie works full-time off farm at Richardson Pioneer where she enjoys selling crop inputs, buying grain, and working towards attaining her CCA standing. In her spare time, Julie likes to read, bake, and teach yoga classes. 

Ryan Scragg was elected to the APAS Board of Directors in 2021 and has been the APAS Representative for the R.M. of Garden River (#490) since 2018.

Born and raised in the Prince Albert area, Ryan farms alongside his father, brother, uncle and cousin.

Together, they farm a wide variety of crops such as wheat, canola, barley, oats, peas, lentils, faba beans and flax.

Ryan lives on his family farm with his partner, Shannon, who works in the agriculture industry and helps on the farm.

Ryan is also the Reeve of the R.M. of Garden River, the board chair for the Conservation Learning Centre, and Saskatchewan Young Ag Entrepreneurs' former chair.

The farm and organizations keep Ryan busy, but when he does have free time, he likes to spend it camping and fishing in the area.

Jeremy Welter was born in the area and raised on the family farm near Kerrobert. He is a fourth-generation farmer, a father, and a small business owner.

Welter has served as the APAS representative for the RM of Mariposa since 2013, and in addition to serving on the APAS Board of Directors for District Six, has also served as chairperson for the association’s Economics & Trade committee.

Devon Walker has farmed alongside his wife for 13 years at Lashburn, Saskatchewan on a 4th generation farm that began by producing cattle, hogs, and pedigree seed, but is now a 3000-acre farm focused on grain, oilseed, pulses, as well as some custom farmed acres for neighbours and extended family.

Devon and his wife are active in the community of Lashburn, volunteering and supporting various events. They have three children, all in various activities. After graduating from Lakeland College in 2008 with a Bachelor of Environmental Management, Devon previously managed water, wildlife, reclamation, and aquatic projects for an open pit coal mining operation South of Hinton, Alberta before returning to the farm in 2010.

During the first few years of farming alongside his father, Devon also worked off farm doing environmental reclamation and remediation of heavy oil and gas sites across northeastern Alberta and northwestern Saskatchewan. In 2013, Devon went “all in on the farm” and hasn’t looked back since. He says it’s been a privilege and honour to uphold the family traditions and strength in agriculture.

After realizing that primary producers need strong, passionate voices at the table for government and public relations impacting growers, Devon decided to get involved and became an APAS rep with the support of his wife and family in 2016. After learning about governance and seeing the value of primary producer voices being heard by policy makers and fellow ag groups, Devon ran for the Board of Directors, securing a director position for 2023. Devon is excited to be part of APAS and proud of the diverse attributes and strengths that exist within the organization.