CARA Staff and Summer Field Crew 2023
Back row (left to right): Braeden Peers, Lizanne Booker, Danny Rude, Karly Willis, Renae Pratt, Autumn Julseth Front row: Nicole Bodnaruk, Karin Roen, Ali Sauer and Danica Woods Missing: Dianne Westerlund, Yamily Zavala, Jerry Pratt, Navneet Kaur, Shirley Burns, Rae Jorgenson and Luke Caskey
DIANNE WESTERLUND
B.Sc.Ag.
Manager & Forage Agronomist
Chinook Applied Research Association is headed up by Dianne Westerlund, a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan’s Agriculture degree program. She is a native of the Special Areas in east central Alberta which has been a real asset in understanding the needs of the area and guiding the development of CARA’s program over the years. In addition to Managerial responsibilities, Dianne oversees the Forage Program.
Email: cara-dw@telus.net
YAMILY ZAVALA
Ph.D
Soil Health & Crop Management Specialist
Dr. Yamily Zavala has managed the Chinook Applied Research Association’s crop and soil program for the past seven years and now manages the Soil Health lab. Prior to joining the CARA staff, she was a crop production consultant based out of Ottawa where project work took her to Central and South America as well as points in the south and west of Africa. Early in her career, Yamily was a Soil Scientist for the National Agricultural Research Foundation at the Táchira State Research Center in Venezuela.
Yamily’s extensive international experience in restoring soil fertility and improving cropping systems is supported by an education focused on agriculture and soils. She obtained an Agricultural Engineering degree at a university located in the Venezuelan Andes Mountains. She attended Missouri University achieving a Masters in Agronomy (with minor in Soil Science) and earned a PhD in Soil and Plant Nutrition from Cornell University.
Her passion for understanding and improving the health of soils has contributed to improvements in the local agricultural economies where she has worked. In addition to applied research projects, she manages CARA’s Soil Health Lab (CSHL), the first lab of its kind in Western Canada. The CSHL focuses on the evaluation of physical and biological soil properties and allows producers the opportunity for hands-on evaluation of their soils. She is a sought after speaker and has addressed producers across Western Canada on various soil health topics and demonstrations.
Yamily has two beautiful daughters who have supported her throughout her career.
Email: carashl@telus.net
LACEY GOULD
B.Sc.Ag., P.Ag
Livestock Nutritionist & Conservation Agronomist
Lacey is responsible for the Environmental Conservation & Livestock Nutrition projects at CARA. She attained an Agriculture degree from the University of Saskatchewan which has enabled her the qualifications to formulate rations for all categories of livestock to provide optimum nutrition and production. She studied Environmental Conservation and Wildlife Management at the University of Alberta and attained her professional Agrologist status with the Alberta Institute of Agrologist. She loves researching and demonstrating new ways to be more environmentally sustainable in livestock operations & is particularly interested in riparian health. She currently resides south of Consort with her Husband Matthew Gould & three daughters, working part-time for CARA while her daughters are young, she also is actively involved on the family farm, Gould Ranching ltd.
Email: cara-lr@telus.net
KARIN ROEN
B.Sc.
Program Agronomist
Karin grew up on a commercial cow-calf operation in southwest Saskatchewan. She went to Lakeland College in Vermilion where she obtained a diploma in Environmental Conservation and Reclamation. She then attended the U of S and received a degree in Soil Science. She is excited to help producers in the Special Areas maximize their crop and cattle growth while keeping practices sustainable.
Email: cara-3@telus.net
LIZANNE BOOKER
Soil Health Lab Technician
Lizanne recently convocated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. She is originally from a small French town in Saskatchewan, where she grew up on a grain farm. Lizanne now resides in Acadia Valley.
Email: caratech@telus.net
NAVNEET KAUR
Soil Health Lab Technician
Navneet was born and raised in a small city in India. She moved to Canada in 2019 after receiving her Bachelors of Honors in Zoology in 2018. Navneet went on to obtain her Bachelors of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Lethbridge in 2022. Navneet has a strong passion for research and finding holistic solutions for sustainable environment.
BRAEDEN PEERS
B.S.A Crop Agronomist
Braeden grew up farming in Acadia Valley, where he developed an interest in agriculture. He obtained a Bachelor of Science with specialization in geology from the University of Alberta in 2015, followed by a B.Sc. in Agriculture with Distinction in crop science in 2018. For the past two years he has been farming full time with his family, joining the CARA team in April 2020.
Email: cara2@telus.net
JERRY PRATT
Field Technician
Jerry was born and raised on a cattle farm near Esther. He has been employed by many companies which has provided him with lots of experience from oil hauling to cattle ranching. He started at CARA in March 2012 as our field technician.