About Us

Our Vision Statement:

To create a family orientated, environmentally and economically resilient organic farming operation which contributes in a positive and significant way to both the local community and the greater agricultural community.

Cody Straza and Allison J. Squires

Cody was born and raised in the Wood Mountain area. He grew up on a farm and completed an engineering degree at the University of Saskatchewan in Agricultural and BioResource Engineering. After completing this degree he went on to work in the manufacturing sector for several years before returning back to farm in the Wood Mountain area. One of Cody’s strengths is in machinery design and he enjoys working with and improving the equipment on the farm. Using many of the skills he obtained through his previous experience working as an engineer, Cody has applied the concept of lean manufacturing to the farm to improve productivity. Cody has previously served as Vice President of SaskOrganics and joined the Organic Value Chain Round Table to serve as the Young Farmers Initiative representative. Cody recently served as a board member on the Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association (SaskSoil).

Allison was born in St. John’s, NFLD and grew up primarily in Southern Ontario. After completing her BSc in Environmental Toxicology at the University of Guelph (Guelph, ON) she moved to Saskatoon, SK to complete first her MSc and then Ph.D. in Toxicology at the University of Saskatchewan. Like Cody, Allison is very interested in promoting the organic industry, especially through on-farm research. Allison supports involving organic producers at the individual farm level and believes that it will contribute to the overall applicability of organic research. As such both her and Cody have implemented several on-farm research projects at Upland Organics. Allison currently serves the national organic community as Past-President of the Canadian Organic Growers. In 2022 Allison was elected to the Standards Interpretation Committee which is managed by the Organic Federation of Canada and is an active participant in the 2025 standards review process.

Allison and Cody met while they were both attending the University of Saskatchewan and got married several years later in 2008. After working in Saskatoon a few years more they decided to buy their farm in 2010. Both Cody and Allison believe in being involved in the local community and serve on several local boards and committees. They welcomed their first son in 2014 and their second son in 2015. Most recently in 2017, they were excited to welcome a third son as the newest addition to their family.

Allison and Cody have been very honoured to receive several awards during their farming career. In 2016 they were awarded the Young Organic Heroes award and in 2018 they received the international Canadian Farmer-Rancher Pollinator Conservation Award. In 2021 they were named SaskOrganics provincial Outstanding Organic Farmers and this was followed by COTA’s National Organic Famer of the Year award in 2022. Also in 2022 they were the first organic farmers to ever win provincial Saskatchewan Outstanding Young Farmer award. Following this, they were named the national Canadian Outstanding Young Farmers of 2022.