Remembering Dr. Al Loyns
Dr. R.M.A (Al) Loyns, retired professor in the Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, passed away on February 15, 2025.
Al came to teach at the University of Manitoba in 1969 after completing his PhD at the University of California in Berkely. At that time his Department was called Agricultural Economics and Farm Management. He focused on marketing as an instructor.
A colleague from those days, Dr. Barry Prentice, noted he was he was very dedicated to his students and in making sure that those returning to the farm had a good understanding of marketing. Barry attended some farm meetings with Al and observed he was well-respected in the commercial farm community.
Dr. Loyns contributed to the discipline in the areas of market regulation in the agricultural and food industry, especially in the Canadian grain sector. He was an expert witness in the Charter Challenge on the Canadian Wheat Board in 1996 and in the Charter Challenge in 1998.
Al left the Department in 1998 to farm and work as a consultant. He remained focused on policy issues and continued to contribute to our discipline for many years after retirement, writing a brief about the CWB for the CD Howe Institute in 2011. In 2011 Al was named a Fellow of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society.