Tarlok Singh Sahota
Director
Biography
Dr. Tarlok Singh Sahota, Director, Lakehead University Agricultural Research Station, Thunder Bay, Ontario, has been heading the research station since January 2004. Dr. Sahota has generated a lot of valuable agronomic information. As a result of Dr. Sahota's research and public outreach, area producers adopted a number of new crops/crop varieties and beneficial nutrient management practices, diversified and modernized/expanded their operations and initiated new small scale commercial activities leading to prosperity of the rural farm communities. He has a credit of introducing a new perennial forage crop 'Galega', which is better than alfalfa in dry matter yield and forage quality, on farms in Canada last year. Originally from a family farm, Dr. Sahota has Master's and Doctorate degrees in Agronomy with distinction, from the famous Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana, India.
Dr. Sahota has undertaken International Course for Development Oriented Research in Agriculture (ICRA), Wageningen, The Netherlands (7 months course meant for young agricultural professionals). He has over 40 years' experience in agricultural research, extension and development spread over four continents and 11 organizations. Highlights of his career include establishment of a 10101 acre commercially viable contract mint farming program for A. M. Todd Company USA and management of large scale commercial farms in Nigeria, including a fresh produce export project. Dr. Sahota served as a member of an International Panel for the Second External Review of ICRA, The Netherlands and has worked in multinational and multidisciplinary teams. He has several other awards and honors to his credit. Dr. Sahota has been an Ontario CCA since 2007, has published over 260 extension articles in Ontario and has made over 90 research presentations at Canadian Society of Agronomy (CSA), Plant Canada, American Society of Agronomy (ASA), International Conferences, and Farmers' Conferences in Ontario/Canada & USA in the recent past (total over 650 publications to date). Dr. Sahota has been a member of the CSA and the American Society of Agronomy for many years now and has served the CSA as Eastern Director (two terms), President Elect and President. At current he is Past President of the CSA. He is a life member of the Indian Society of Agronomy and Indian Society of Soil Science.
Since 1993, Dr. Sahota has held senior management positions reporting directly to the board of directors, has headed multimillion dollar projects/divisions and has served on the board of directors of a commercial organization, marketing agricultural inputs. Dr. Sahota is the recipient of the Distinguished Agronomist Award 2021 of the Canadian Society of Agronomy (CSA) and CSA Fellow Award 2018. Dr. Sahota was nominated for the CCA Award of Excellence in 2017 and for the RBC Innovation Award in 2015. He was presented with an Award of Honour by the Alumni Association, Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana, India in 2015. Dr. Sahota was awarded a certificate of recognition by the CSA for organizing and hosting the CSA Annual Conference at Montreal during July 24-26, 2016. In 2017 the ASA and the CSA presented him with certificates of recognition for being a long term member of the societies. He is also an Adjunct Professor with the Faculty of Natural Resources, Lakehead University Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada since 2013. Dr. Sahota has been an asset to the university in guiding undergraduate and graduate students for their on farm research. He loves to work with farmers, researchers, small agribusinesses and the industry alike. Gardening is his pet hobby and his flower beds have attracted photo journalists of the Chronicle Journal, Thunder Bay and has been a source of delight to the people passing by. Dr. Sahota has also been volunteering his time for fund raising for Heart and Stroke and the Kidney Foundation of Ontario. He has represented the Sikh Faith on the Thunder Bay Regional Multifaith Committee!