Gus was born in Elrose, Saskatchewan and grew up on a farm where he acquired a life-long love for the land. He earned a BSc (Agr) and MSc at the University of Saskatchewan, and a PhD in soil chemistry from Cornell University. Gus spent the majority of his academic career at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ's Macdonald Campus where he pioneered fertility research in crop production, maximizing crop yield and the value of fertilizer management.