Bill was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He earned his BSA degree in agricultural economics from the University of Manitoba and an MSc degree in agricultural economics from the University of Alberta. Bill has been teaching and conducting research in the Department of Bioresource Policy, Business & Economics at the University of Saskatchewan since 1978. His teaching and research interests are in the areas of farm and agribusiness management, planning and finance.
Bill has supervised over 60 undergraduate groups completing agribusiness plans and numerous graduate students at the MSc level. dealing with agricultural issues throughout Saskatchewan and Canada. He has also been involved in agribusiness training and development projects in China, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Guatemala, Mongolia and Mexico.