Agri-Trend Agrology is pleased welcome Dr. Jim Beaton as our newest Senior Agri-Coach

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Written by Administrator    Monday, 04 January 2010

Agri-Trend Agrology is extremely excited that Dr. Jim Beaton has agreed to join our Senior Agri-Coach bench. For many of us in the agrology business, his textbook Soil Fertility and Fertilizers, was a well thumbed and much highlighted “bible” of soils.

Jim Beaton was born in Vancouver, BC and has a family background in heavy construction and dairy farming. He obtained BSc and MSc degrees, majoring in soil science with minors in chemistry and geology, at the University of B.C. and a PhD in the same discipline at Utah Sate University.  His career path included; research and teaching in soil fertility, soil microbiology, and soil-plant relationships at Univ. of BC, researching soil fertility and soil-fertilizer reactions research at Agriculture Canada, fertilizer research and market development with company restructured to become Agrium Inc., S-fertilizer market development in North America with the Sulphur Institute, domestic and international P and K market development and program administration at the Potash & Phosphate Institute (PPI) and Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada (PPIC) and  served as Senior VP of PPI and President of PPIC. Since his retirement in March 1994, Jim has had 4 short-term consultancies plus 5 long-term consulting appointments. 

Some his major achievements include:

  • Instrumental in acceptance of urea in western Canada and the development of Forestry Grade urea, impregnation of urea for “weed and feed”, development and evaluation of high-analysis (water degradable) granular elemental S-fertilizers, forest fertilization and research on reactions and behaviour of fertilizers in soil

  • In 1993, initiated the program of “Agronomic Testing and Introduction of Potassium Chloride (MOP) in Pakistan” which resulted in President Banazir Bhutto removing the ban on its use in October 1996

  • Co-authorship of the 4th (1985) to 7th (2005) editions of the widely used university textbook Soil Fertility and Fertilizers

  • Founding partner in a liquid fertilizer plant at Standard, Alberta, now owned by Agrium Inc.

  • Adjunct professor at the Universities of British Columbia and Saskatchewan

  • President of the Western Canada Fertilizer Association 1977-79

  • Correspondent Member of the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) 1995/96 to present and member of the panel for selection of the recipient of IFA’s International Fertilizer Award 1996-2000

  • Delivered technical papers and seminars in Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Iran,  Japan, Kenya, Mozambique, Nicaragua