Percy Schmeiser

Percy Schmeiser
Percy Schmeiser in Stuttgart (2008);
MLA for Watrous
In office
19671971
Preceded byHans Broten
Succeeded byDonald Cody
Personal details
Born(1931-01-05)January 5, 1931
Bruno, Saskatchewan, Canada
DiedOctober 13, 2020(2020-10-13) (aged 89)
Political partySaskatchewan Liberal Party
OccupationFarmer
AwardsRight Livelihood Award

Percy Schmeiser (5 January 1931  13 October 2020) was a Canadian businessman, farmer, and politician. In 1954, he took over the operations of the family owned farm, gas station, and farm equipment dealership. He renamed the farm equipment dealership Schmeiser's Garage and added a second farm equipment dealership in Humboldt, Saskatchewan (Central Farm Sales) in 1986 and oversaw their operations until their sale in 2003.

He became an international symbol and spokesperson for independent farmers' rights and the regulation of transgenic crops during his protracted legal battle with multinational agrichemical company Monsanto. While farming, he specialized in breeding and growing canola, field peas, mustard, and wheat. He is the subject of the 2009 film David Versus Monsanto and the 2020 film Percy.