Doug Wright
Producer - Western Australia

Keynote Address:  Agronomic Challenges in Western Australia

Session Title:  Agronomic Challenges in Western Australia - In Depth

click here for a summary from the FarmTech Daily e-news

Bio:
Doug was raised on a farm in Western Australia. In 1990, he moved to Nobleford and began farming in southern Alberta. In 2006, Doug and his family returned to Australia to begin the third phase of his farming career. Doug will describe his farming operation in Australia and draw comparisons to farming in Southern Alberta. Doug will provide a unique and personal perspective on the opportunities and challenges of farming in Canada and Australia.

Keynote & Session Summary: unavailable

David Schindler
University of Alberta

Keynote Address:  Water: Will We Have Enough?

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Bio:
Dr. Schindler holds the Killam Memorial Chair and is Professor of Ecology in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta. His work on lakes has been widely used in formulating policy internationally. He received his doctorate from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. He has served as President of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, and as Canadian National Representative to the International Limnological Society. He is the author of over 275 scientific publications.

Dr. Schindler’s international awards include the G.E. Hutchinson Medal of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, the Naumann-Thienemann Medal of the International Limnological Society, the first Stockholm Water Prize, the Volvo Environment Prize (1998), and the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement (2006). In 2001 he was awarded the National Science and Engineering Research Council’s Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal for Science and Engineering, Canada’s highest scientific honour. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Royal Society of London, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, and a member of the U. S. National Academy of Sciences. He has received ten honorary doctorates from Canadian and US universities. He is an Officer in the Order of Canada.

Keynote Summary:
Dr. Schindler will look at water issues in Alberta as they relate to agriculture and other industries. He will examine the impacts of climate change and increasing demand on water quantity and our long-term water supply. Dr. Schindler will look at how we can develop ecologically sound management policy to wisely use one of our most precious resources.

Steve Padgette
Vice President, Technology, Monsanto

Keynote Address:  New Product Strategies in Agricultural Biotechnology

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Bio:
Steve Padgette is one of the true pioneers of modern Biotechnology. His presentation will focus on future biotech traits that are expected to be commercialized in North American crops and their potential impact on Agriculture. Steve will speak from an industry perspective. One cannot get a much more inside look into the future of biotech than Steve Padgette's perspective.

Steve Padgette currently serves as Vice-President of Biotechnology for Monsanto Company, with responsibility for the worldwide discovery and development of plant biotechnology products.

After obtaining his B.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Steve joined Monsanto in 1984, focusing on the development of enzymes and genes to confer glyphosate tolerance to crop plants. Steve is co-inventor of Roundup Ready® technology, the most widely-used crop biotechnology trait in history. He assumed technical project responsibility for glyphosate-tolerant soybean, canola, and cotton in 1989, and led the regulatory science safety studies for these products starting in 1991. Following several years of research in plant metabolic engineering and co-leadership of the Soybean Business Team, he assumed his current role in 1998. During Steve’s tenure, Monsanto Biotechnology has strengthened its industry-leading position in the discovery and development of crop biotechnology traits. Steve also has responsibility for Monsanto’s external collaboration and alliance strategy for biotechnology. Steve received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University in 2007.

Steve is a member of the Board of Directors of Mendel Biotechnology and Renessen, LLC. He serves on the St. Louis Science Center Board of Trustees, is a member of the External Advisory Board, Georgia Institute of Technology, Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, and is a recent member of The Department of Energy's Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee. Steve is also a Monsanto Distinguished Science Fellow. Steve and his family reside in St. Louis, Missouri.

Keynote Summary:
Presentation will focus on future plant biotechnology traits that are expected to be commercialized in North America and their potential impact on Agriculture.

Alejandro Lopez Moriena
Adecoagro, Argentina

Keynote Address:  Sustainable Farming in Argentina

Session Title: No-Till High Residue Systems

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Bio:
Alejandro received his degree as Engineer in Agronomics from University of Buenos Aires (Argentina) in 1994. His responsibilities include the technical management of Adeco’s agricultural production for Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

During the last five years, Alejandro has been defining, developing and evaluating the most efficient, profitable and sustainable technology to be applied in each crop and in each region. He also outlines the optimal production mix at every production area, consolidating the regional operation through the exchange and application of the best agricultural practices.

Alejandro works on the coordination and organization of staff training programs related to the agricultural business, in order to achieve the excellence in the task execution and techniques implementation.

At present, Alejandro collaborates with the analysis of the environmental aspects related to the Adeco’s agricultural projects, as well as with the developing of renewable energy.

Before joining Adeco Agropecuaria, he was responsible for the crop production in a 10,000 hectare farm in the central region of Argentina.

Keynote Summary:
Alejandro will describe how Argentine farmers in the "zona núcleo", where over 80 percent of the country's corn, soybeans and wheat are grown, are big on technology including no-till practices, Roundup Ready traits, Bt corn and the latest and greatest in planters, sprayers and combines. While Argentine farmers embrace the latest technologies in the field, they also embrace a different approach to managing their operations than that employed by their U.S. counterparts. Argentine farmers focus on renting farmland; managing their operations and minimizing risk by taking advantage of a longer planting window. And they succeed despite a heavy tax burden.

While generally speaking on Argentina, Alejandro will describe Adecoagro's vision on each subject and the special features that made Adecoagro's one of the agribusiness leader company in the southern cone.

Session Summary:
Alejandro will discuss the use of no-till on his farms and in Argentina. He will discuss the approach to residues, crop rotations, equipment and the impact of no till on soils and crop production.

Patrick Moore
The Sensible Environmentalist, Greenspirit Strategies

Keynote Address:  Environmentalism for the 21st Century

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Bio:
Dr. Patrick Moore has been a leader in the international environmental field for over 30 years. He is a co-founder of Greenpeace and served for nine years as President of Greenpeace Canada and seven years as a Director of Greenpeace International. As the leader of many campaigns Dr. Moore was a driving force shaping policy and direction while Greenpeace became the world's largest environmental activist organization.

In recent years, Dr. Moore has been focused on the promotion of sustainability and consensus building among competing concerns. He was a member of British Columbia government-appointed Round Table on the Environment and Economy from 1990 - 1994. In 1990, Dr. Moore founded and chaired the BC Carbon Project, a group that worked to develop a common understanding of climate change.

Dr. Moore served for four years as Vice President, Environment for Waterfurnace International, a manufacturer of geothermal heat pumps for residential heating and cooling with renewable earth energy. He is now a Director of NextEnergy Solutions, the largest distributor of geothermal systems in Canada.

As Chair of the Sustainable Forestry Committee of the Forest Alliance of BC from 1991 - 2002, he led the process of developing the "Principles of Sustainable Forestry" which were adopted by a majority of the industry.

In 2000, Dr. Moore published Green Spirit – Trees are the Answer, a photo-book that provides a new insight into how forests work and how they can play a powerful role in solving many of our current environmental problems.

Dr. Moore currently serves as Chair and Chief Scientist of Greenspirit Strategies, a consultancy focusing on environmental policy and communications in forestry, agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, mining, biodiversity, energy and climate change.

Keynote Summary:
Beginning with the Natural Resources Defense Council's scare tactics about the use of the pesticide Alar on apples, the environmental movement has been very clever at inventing campaigns that make us afraid of our food. The public is given a fearful impression with images of Frankenstein foods, killer tomatoes, and terminator seeds. The same kinds of scare tactics are now being employed in the campaign against biotechnology and genetically modified foods.

The debate on biotechnology is about whether this science is, in the balance, positive or negative for human health and the environment.

Biotechnology includes advances in human and veterinary medicine, pest control, crop production and nutrition. Unlike some other aspects of biotechnology, genetic modification is a form of biological rather than chemical intervention. In other words, genetic engineering is an organic science. For this reason it is likely that genetic engineering will be of great benefit to organic farming in the scientific sense of the term.

The programs of genetic research and development now underway in labs and field stations around the world are entirely about benefiting society and the environment. Its purpose is to improve nutrition, to reduce the use of synthetic chemicals, to increase the productivity of our farmlands and forests, and to improve human health. Those who have adopted a zero-tolerance attitude towards genetic modification threaten to deny these many benefits by playing on fear of the unknown and fear of change.

From an environmental perspective there are three main areas of positive impact on ecosystems:
• Genetically modified crops will generally result in a reduction in the use of chemical pesticides. This will result in a dramatic reduction to the impact on non-target species.
• The ability to increase the productivity of food crops. GMO's will often result in increased yields due to pest resistance, drought resistance, more efficient metabolism, and other genetic traits. The higher the yield of food per unit of land, the less land must be cleared to grow our food.
• The development of herbicide tolerant varieties of food crops allows the adoption of low and zero tillage systems. This results in a considerable reduction in soil erosion, both conserving native soils and reducing the amount of chemical fertilizer inputs.

Every day 6 billion people wake up with real needs for food, energy and materials. The challenge for sustainability is to provide for our needs in ways that reduce negative impact on the environment, while also being socially acceptable and technically and economically feasible.

Honourable George Groeneveld
Minster of Agriculture & Food

Keynote Address:  Greetings from the Government of Alberta

Bio:
A strong commitment to community and public service has always been a big part of George Groenevelds public and personal life. Since November 22, 2004, he has been pleased to bring this commitment to his role as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, for the constituency of Highwood. With both a personal and professional background in agriculture, Mr. Groeneveld was honoured to be sworn in as Minister of Agriculture and Food on December 15, 2006.

Mr. Groeneveld´s unique combination of work experience includes the position of regional director of the Alberta Wheat Pool, and the distinction of being the first vice-president of Agricore.

Mr. Groeneveld also represented his fellow Albertans in national agriculture activities, appointed by the federal government as a representative for the agriculture income disaster assistance and the net income stabilization account program. Having taken part in numerous agricultural trade missions to East Asia, Mr. Groeneveld continues to bring a keen understanding of the global economy to his work as Agriculture and Food Minister.

Although his career and accomplishments have been various, Mr. Groeneveld continues to have strong ties to his rural roots. He still finds time to help raise cattle with his son on the family farm in Blackie, Alberta, and is an active member of his community and the Gladys United Church. Mr. Groeneveld and his wife, Judith, have four children.

Kaleigh Klammer
Provincial 4H Speaking Champion

Keynote Address:  Provincial 4H Speaking Champion Address

Bio:
Kaleigh grew up on a farm south of Vegreville, Alberta. From a young age, she was actively involved in her family’s mixed farming operation and at age 9, joined 4-H. She was an energetic member of the Vegreville 4-H Beef Club for 8 years. Just this past year, Kaleigh attended 4-H Selections and was awarded a trip to Montana. Additionally, she was also selected as a 4-H Ambassador for her 4-H region. In addition, last April, Kaleigh attended 4-H Provincial Public Speaking and spoke against the top speakers in Alberta. She won the title of Provincial Champion and traveled to Toronto this past November to speak at the Canadian Young Speakers in Agriculture Public Speaking Competition at the Royal Fair. While there, she placed in the top six speakers and admits it was one of the greatest opportunities to come her way.

In addition to her farming background, Kaleigh’s passion is to dance. Since age four, she has taken classes in jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, and hip-hop and, presently teaches dance at her mother’s studio, Georgina’s Academy of dance and at Ballet Camrose. Additionally, Miss Klammer has played the violin and piano since the young age of four. Presently, Kaleigh is attending the University of Alberta studying Engineering and hopes to one day pursue a career in medicine. Kaleigh is very excited to be speaking at FarmTech and hopes you enjoy her speech.

Keynote Summary:
From the Eyes of a Farmer’s Daughter: Born and raised on a mixed farming operation, Kaleigh offers her perspective on growing up as a farmer’s daughter and her view how farming has changed over the years. Find out how your perception of farming differs from hers and what its like to see farming through the eyes of a farmer’s daughter.

Bio:
Brent Butt was born in Tisdale, Saskatchewan (pop. 3000) on August 3, 1966- the very same day that legendary comedian Lenny Bruce died. The youngest of seven children, Brent discovered that making people laugh was the quickest way to get their attention. In an environment where sharp wits triumphed over pull-my-finger gags, Brent learned to 'work clean' at a very early age. However, you can only build a comedy career so far in Tisdale- and so it wasn't long before Brent headed for the bright lights of Toronto. In a few years he went from doing 5 minutes on amateur night in Saskatoon to performing professionally for huge crowds in Canada and the United States.

Brent's style, which he refers to as "coffee shop humour", is comfortable and relaxed. "My friends and I used to sit in the local coffee shop, literally for hours, just talking. We would discuss everything from world domination to the best kind of socks." Butt says, "That's what I try to recapture onstage, that easy style. The jokes naturally build and multiply in that situation. You don't have to force them".

Brent's career has continued to build momentum over the years. From doing Television Specials on every network in Canada (and a few cable channels) to sold out concert shows in theatres across the country, Brent established himself as one of Canada's favourite funnymen. In 2003, he teamed up with CTV to create the hugely popular sitcom "CORNER GAS". The ratings for the show went through the roof, averaging over a million viewers per episode - with reruns of the show even drawing in a million plus each week. The network signed up for a second season (18 episodes this time) and on Oct.5 2004, the second season opened with the largest viewing audience ever - 1.53 MILLION VIEWERS!!!

Brent continues to live in Vancouver, BC and tours extensively across the country in between seasons of Corner Gas.

Simplicity Banquet Summary:
Catch Brent Butt - creator, star, and executive producer of Corner Gas at Farm Tech 2008. Butt headlines what is the most successful Canadian sitcom in history, bar none. Butt has shared his hilarious and uniquely comedic take on life with over a million viewers a week for the last four seasons and Farm Tech 2008 has invited Brett to take delegates on a wild ride into the world of Corner Gas at the 2008 convention. The show has become a staple of Canadian television, winning countless awards around the country, and ensuring a legion of Brent Butt fans from coast to coast. The show, with its relatable small town sensibility, has been licensed to broadcasters in 26 countries, including The United States, Iraq, Finland, and Morocco.... Set in the fictional town of Dog River, Saskatchewan, the hilarious half-hour show focuses on the life (or lack thereof) of gas station owner Brent LeRoy, coffee shop proprietor Lacey Burrows, and the local folks who populate the area. The show portrays the life Butt would have led had he not become a comic, and had instead gotten a real job—pumping gas at the Corner Gas station. Join us as Brent Butt brings Dog River, Saskatchewan to Farm Tech 2008.

Session Title:On Farm Research: Perks and Pitfalls

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click here for a summary from the FarmTech Daily e-news

Bio:
Roger joined the RTL team in 2004. He grew up on a grain/beef farm near Rycroft in the Peace region. After receiving his B.Sc. Agriculture from the U of A in 1979 Roger served as District Agriculturist with AAFRD in northern and central Alberta until 1994. Roger went back to school and obtained his M.Sc. in Soil Science in 1993. His thesis dealt with direct seeding effects on soil physical properties. From 1994-2002 he served as Crop Specialist (Cereal/Oilseeds) in Leduc with a secondment as Associate Provincial Oilseed Specialist during 1997-98. From 2002 until he joined RTL Roger was the Senior Agronomist with Norwest Labs. Roger has worked extensively with precision farming and on farm research over the last decade.

Session Summary:
On Farm Research can take many forms - ranging from strip trials for observation, using weigh wagons and marking out plots, to fully integrated replicated trials using GPS systems.

A main focus of this presentation will be this past years field scale research trial investigating the phosporus fertilizer effect on pea inoculant viability and pea yield.

Not only are the results important but the complete process of on-farm research, from inception to completion and all the little details in between, is critical to success of any experiment on your farm.

Points to keep in mind when planning your own on-farm research will be discussed. These will help you to avoid some of the pitfalls and capture the perks of on-farm research.

Wayne Baird
Competitive Technical Intelligence (CTI) Group;
National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT)

Session Title: Nanotechnology and Agri-Food

Bio:
Wayne is a mechanical engineer with 20+ years experience. He has worked many years in Alberta industry (oil & gas, pipeline, plastics, consulting engineering) and for the past 9+ years has worked for the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). He worked a number of years as an Industrial Technology Advisor with NRC’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), and his most recent role has been as a Technical Business Analyst providing competitive technical intelligence (CTI) services to the National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT).

Session Summary:
Many might not immediately guess that there is a significant degree of “intersection” between the terms “nanotechnology” and “agri-food”. However, much nanotechnology-related effort and work is underway, world-wide, in many (if not most) industries, markets, and sectors. The agriculture (and more specifically, the agri-food) industry is no exception. This presentation will provide a broad overview and give some examples of the type of work, initiatives, projects, and enormous areas of potential nanotechnology-related activities and research is having, and likely will have, on the agri-food industry.

Wade Barnes
Farmers Edge Precision Consulting

Session Title:  Variable Rate Technology

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Bio:
Wade Barnes, founder of Farmers Edge Precision Consulting has 11 years of experience advising producers on agronomic decisions as well as 8 years of management experience working with retail farm supply companies. Wade’s background from a mixed farm in Birtle Manitoba gives him a grass roots approach to making agronomic decisions while understanding their economic impact. Wade has received the distinction of “2005 Certified Crop Advisor of the Year” for the prairie region. Farmers Edge Precision Consulting currently provides professional, agronomic advice on more than 250,000 acres and focuses on providing profitable agronomic solutions for farm operations.

Session Summary: coming soon
Prairie fields aren’t uniform when it comes to soil nutrient levels. Nitrogen levels can vary as much as 80 lbs/ac, while organic matter can change more than 6%. Field variability can be naturally occurring such as elevation, soil texture and soil type. Man-made differences can include drainage, past cropping practices and manure application. By varying fertilizer application rates, you can increase profits through increased yields while minimizing economic and environmental losses.

Session Title: Management Tips From Leading Edge Farmers

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click here for a summary from the FarmTech Daily e-news

Bio:
Kevin farms in the Bentley/Sylvan Lake area with his father and brother. They farm approximately 3600 acres of barley, canola, oats, peas, spring wheat and winter wheat. Kevin is married to Sara and they have three children.

Session Summary:
With three sole proprietors who happen to be immediate family members farming together, the potential for conflict and disagreement is ever-present. A consensual unified strategy is essential for an efficient and profitable farm. There are significant advantages to operating under this structure. It is not a model that will work for everyone, but it has worked well for us and has given us an edge over other farm enterprises.

Session Title:  Market Outlook - Board Grains

Bio:
Neil was raised on a farm near Hardisty, Alberta and graduated from the University of Alberta with a B.Sc. Agriculture. Neil has farmed in the Mannville-Vermilion area since l981 and has also worked under contract with Alberta Agriculture for several winter seasons, working directly with farmers in the subject areas of financial management, estate planning and marketing. Since l995, Neil has been working full-time as a market specialist with Alberta Agriculture out of Vermilion. In this capacity, he assists farmers and agribusiness in understanding the markets, learning about marketing alternatives, and developing and using marketing strategies

Session Summary:
Neil will provide a market overview of recent past, current situation and forecast for board grains.

Session Title:  Marketing Solutions

Bio:
Jonathon Driedger joined FarmLink in June 2007. Prior to joining FarmLink Jon was a commodity risk management consultant with FCStone, opening their first Canadian office in 2005. Jon has also been an Economist with the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange and has worked in the livestock feed industry. He has a BSc in Agribusiness and an MSc in Agricultural Economics from the University of Manitoba. Jon resides with his wife and two daughters by the family farm where he grew up near Grunthal, Manitoba.

Session Summary:
The volatility in today's markets is unlike anything we've seen. FarmLink Marketing Solutions will help you develop a disciplined marketing plan to help you harness this volatility and position your farm to maximize your profitability.

Martin Entz
University of Manitoba

Session Title: Natural Nitrogen in Your Cropping System

Bio:.
Martin started his work on forages in 1989, when he was hired by the University of Manitoba as a cropping systems agronomist. For the first ten years, Martin and his graduate students revisited the role of perennial forages in integrated crop-livestock systems. His research group published 20 scientific papers that highlighted the positive contribution of forages in modern cropping systems. In 1992, Martin started the Glenlea rotation study, where integrated crop-livestock systems are investigated under both conventional and organic production. Grad student projects at Glenlea have ranged from measuring biodiversity to measuring energy use efficiency in the various systems. Martin has a PhD from the University of Saskatchewan and a BSc and MSc from the University of Manitoba.

Session Summary:
Nitrogen contained within grain legume crop residues is a valuable resource for all cropping systems. In this session, I will discuss nitrogen release from decomposing annual grain legume (pea, faba bean, and lupin) crop residues. The presentation will cover the amount and timing of nitrogen release in no-till and conventional-till systems. The session will conclude with the potential for these residues to supply “natural” nitrogen to your cropping system

Session Title: Polish Canola Breeding Program

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Bio:
Kevin Falk obtained his undergraduate and MSc. degrees at the University of Guelph, and Ph.D. at the University of Saskatchewan. He worked as a breeder of 'Polish' canola for ICI Seeds for about six years before joining the AAFC Saskatoon Research Centre in late 1992. Although his primary focus has been the development of early maturing disease resistant Polish canola (released 6 varieties and co-released 1) for the short season growing areas of western Canada, he is also involved in the breeding/development of Ethiopian mustard for the bio-lubricant, bio-fuel and fish feed stock markets. Much of his work on Polish canola is done at the AAFC laboratory/field station at Beaverlodge, AB where both synthetic and hybrid varieties incorporating resistance to brown girdling root rot, white rust and blackleg are being developed.

Session Summary:
It is estimated that 25% of western Canada is better suited to growing early maturing 'Polish' canola rather than Argentine. Polish matures 10-14 days earlier and is more shatter resistant than Argentine canola. The AAFC breeding program at Beaverlodge develops early maturing, disease resistant open-pollinated, synthetic and hybrid Polish canola varieties. This presentation will introduce producers to hybrids in this species and present performance data on new Polish varieties.

Indur Goklany
Independent Researcher

Session Title:  Adaptive Management of the Risks of Climate Change

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Bio:
Dr. Indur M. Goklany has worked with U.S. federal and state government, think tanks and the private sector for over 30 years, and written extensively on the interactions between globalization, economic development, environmental quality, technological change, climate change, hunger, and human well-being. He was a U.S. delegate to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in the negotiatiations to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as well as the UNFCCC itself. He has also contributed to various IPCC reports. In the 1980s he managed EPA's fledgling emission trading program before that became popular. Among his policy innovations, which are increasingly going mainstream, are that increasing the productivity and efficiency of land and water use to meet critical human needs for food, fiber and timber are the most effective methods of meeting those critical human needs while conserving habitat and biodiversity, and that sustainable development will make developing countries less vulnerable to future climate change while helping solve today’s urgent climate-related problems such as malaria, hunger and threats to species and ecosystems.

His books include The Improving State of the World: Why We're Living Longer, Healthier, More Comfortable Lives on a Cleaner Planet (2007) and The Precautionary Principle: A Critical Appraisal of Environmental Risk Assessment (2001). The latter uses real world cases to show that a truly precautionary principle requires evaluation of trade-offs between the risks of action as well as inaction (and other policy choices). It provides a framework for undertaking such risk-risk analysis to help ensure that overall risks are not increased under the guise of the precautionary principle. Applying this framework, the book shows that both DDT and genetically modified crops, despite some flaws, are boons to humanity -- and, in the case of the latter, to the enviornment as well. Both books were published by the Cato Institute, Washington, DC..

Session Summary:
Under most scenarios of the future world, including those developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world should be getting more populated and wealthier during this century. While this ought to advance human well-being, it should also increase greenhouse gas emissions, which may cause climate changes that may have negative consequences, with the potential to at least partly offset the advances in human and environmental well-being. Implicit in calls for aggressive reductions in greenhouse gases is the premise that a richer and more populous world will have lower human and environmental well-being because it would lead to greater climate change. These calls are further strengthened by repeated claims by highly regarded policy-makers ranging from President Chirac, Prime Minister Blair, and ex-President Clinton that climate change is the most important environmental challenge facing the globe this century.

Based on analyses of the global impacts of climate change funded by the British government and undertaken by an international team of scientists, virtually all intimately involved with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, this paper shows that climate change is unlikely to be the world’s most important environmental problem over the foreseeable future, and that richer-but-warmer worlds are likely to have higher human and environmental well-being than poorer-but-cooler worlds. Then comparing the global benefits and costs of reducing the impacts of climate change either through mitigation strategies (i.e. reductions in greenhouse gas emissions) or through strategies to reduce society’s vulnerability to these impacts (i.e. adaptation), it shows that in the near-to-medium term, reduction of vulnerability, appropriately focused, will provide greater benefits at lower costs than mitigation. In the longer term, however, mitigation may be inevitable, depending on the emissions path we find ourselves on and what is learned in the future about the social, economic, and environmental impacts of climate changes induced by greenhouse gases.

Session Title: Producer Investment in Biofuels

Bio:
Merle Good graduated from the University of Alberta in 1977 with a B.Sc. degree in Agriculture Economics. Merle worked in a loans office with AFSC for 2 years and then joined the Department in 1979. His expertise has been in the area of Taxation and Business Arrangements and in 1988 he became the Provincial Tax Specialist for the Ministry. In this capacity, Merle identifies and adapts unique business structures and tax-related strategies to meet the ever-evolving needs of Alberta’s Agricultural Industry. Recently the focus has been on the raising of capital for value-added. Merle has been married to Peggy for 26 years and they have one daughter, Annessa, who is in Grade 9 and keeps the Goods actively engaged in her schedule. As a family, they operate a simmental cattle and export hay operation in Cremona.

Session Summary:
Investing 101............Buyer Beware

This Session will primarily focus on the Investment opportunities that the farming community have in relation to the various investment and or supply contracts being offered by the Agriculture Industry. Specifically these contracts are being promoted by the Bio-Industrial , Beef and Pork Sectors. In addition a review of the current Income Tax rules regarding Investments in farm related assets will be discussed.

What due diligence should I do before I sign the Contract? What control do I have at the Board table?? What are some of the new Strategies for investing inside your current business? Investing is the growth engine of any Business... let's do it right!!

Session Title:  Canadian Brewing Industry and What it Means to Malting Barley Growers

Bio:
Luke Harford is the director of economics and technical services at the Brewers Association of Canada (BAC) based in Ottawa. He has degrees in applied economics from York University and the University of Waterloo. He has been actively involved in an industry working group dealing with malting barley since 2001

Session Summary:
An economic overview of the Canadian brewing industry, past, present and future, and what it means to Canada's malting barley industry.

Karen Haugen-Kozyra
Climate Change Central

Session Title:  Alberta's Carbon Offset Market

click here for a summary from the FarmTech Daily e-news

Bio:
Born in Edmonton, obtained Biological Sciences Diploma from NAIT, B.Sc. in Plant Pathology and M. Sc. in Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry from the University of Alberta.

Between 1991 and 1997, Karen ran an Environmental Consulting Business, out of her home office, contracting with federal, provincial and university agencies. From 1997 to 2005 Karen has served various policy, planning and technical positions within the Dept of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development and participated on several provincial and national committees, including the Ag rep on the National Climate Change Process, the National Agri-Environmental Coordinating Committee and the National Offset Quantification Team. Karen is also an active member of the Alberta Institute of Agrologists.

Karen is currently the Environmental and Land Use Policy Member with the Alberta Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. Current initiatives include developing real opportunities for the agriculture sector in reducing greenhouse gases, working on strategies to decrease fragmentation and loss of Alberta farmland and assessing the opportunities for enhancing agricultural environmental stewardship through the creation of environmental goods and services.

Session Summary:
Starting July 1, 2007 Alberta became the first jurisdiction in North America to introduce targets for reducing Greenhouse Gases from more than 101 facilities operating in the province. The regulatory framework includes an Alberta-based credit system which gives Albertans the opportunity to develop carbon-reducing projects that can be sold as offsets. Karen will be presenting on the Alberta Regulatory Framework for Greenhouse Gases and the Alberta-based Carbon Credit System. Attending this session should increase your understanding of how the credit system works and how producers can take advantage of it.

Bernie Hill
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada

Session Title:  Let's Put Some Artificial Intelligence (A. I.) into Agriculture

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Bio:
Bernie was born and raised in Brandon, MB and received his Ph.D. from U of Man. He has been a research scientist at the Lethbridge Research Centre since 1978. Bernie began his career as an environmental chemist but switched to computer modeling in 2000. He uses neural networks to help understand and predict outcomes in agricultural systems.

Session Summary:
Neural network modeling is an A.I. technique where patterns are learned from example data sets (data mining). Models are developed without an external expert or pre-conceived biases. Bernie has applied neural network modeling to: predicting sick feedlot animals from feeding patterns; land-use classification from satellite image data; a real-time camera system to identify weeds for selective spraying; predicting canola emergence and yields; and predicting days to harvest and yields of greenhouse-grown peppers. Bernie will explain neural networks and discuss these practical applications.

Session Title:  Spring Special - Nitrogen Fertilizer at $0.10 per Pound

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Bio:
Garry have been a research agronomist in western Canada for the last 25 years. He is presently Research Team Leader and Senior Research Agronomist for Philom Bios Inc in Saskatoon. Has extensive experience in fertility and microbial research in cereals, oilseeds, pulse and specialty crops. Author of the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers “Pulse Production Manual,” a regular contributor of columns in popular farm publications, and author or co-author on many scientific papers.

Session Summary:
With dramatic increases in the price of conventional fertilizer nitrogen, the above notice at any retail farm supply dealership would attract considerable attention. Yet, the price is factual and obtainable for well inoculated pulse crops. Inoculants are the oldest, manufactured crop input product, first introduced commercially in 1898. Little change in inoculants occurred for the next 80 – 90 years; however the last decade has witnessed remarkable improvements in all aspects on biological inoculants. New formulations, new strains, multiple action products, extended shelf life, on-seed stability, chemical seed treatment compatibility, etc. However, it is still apparent that many users of inoculants do not understand the mechanism of biological nitrogen fixation nor appropriate handling and application procedures. Consequently, the potential benefit of nitrogen fixation is often not fully achieved.

This presentation will address the most recent advances in inoculation technology and stress the “key issues” producers should consider when inoculating traditional pulse crops. Further I would like to address future trends in biological inoculants such as pathogenic biocontrol, growth promotion, fertility enhancement and nitrogen fixation in non-legume crops. All of the preceding inoculants are presently under field evaluation and commercialization is not a matter of “if” but rather “when.”

Session Title: Global Stewardship Initiatives and the Impact on the Market

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Bio:
Russel J. Hurst is responsible for various national lifecycle stewardship initiatives including the CleanFarms Obsolete Pesticide Collection Program, industry certification, responsible use training and education and the development of the “behind the farm gate” stewardship initiative. Russel was raised on a beef farm in South-Western Ontario and holds an MBA in Agri-business and a Bachelors Degree in Agriculture from the University of Guelph.

Session Summary:
Food scares, enhanced environmental awareness and other significant developments have created demands for a proliferation of public and private standards and assurance schemes that many agricultural producers accessing global markets must satisfy in order to market their products. These schemes and standards are becoming increasingly important on a global scale; the majority containing rules governing the selection and use of crop protection technologies, good agricultural practices and quality assurance principles. Such developments pose both threats and opportunities to all businesses operating along the value chain. The discussion will include an overview of what is currently underway from an international perspective and how the emergence of such global standards will potentially affect Canadian farmers and the overall industry.

Tom Jensen
International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI)

Session Title:  Greening up Nitrogen Fertilizers in Relation to Global Warming

Bio:
Tom Jensen, PhD. is the Regional Director of the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), out of the Saskatoon, SK. His background includes research, extension, and farm-level expertise in crops and soils. He comes from a mixed irrigated farm in southern Alberta, and received his agronomic training at the University of Alberta.

Session Summary:
Session Summary: Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions occur naturally as part of the nitrogen cycle. Nitrogen (N) fertilizer use does result in N2O emissions in addition to natural emissions that contribute to an overall increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) levels in the atmosphere and are a factor in global warming. Recent research has documented the potential for N2O emissions after N fertilizer applications in various climatic regions. These potential N2O emissions can be reduced and minimized by using N fertilizer application methods and forms of N fertilizer that minimize the amount of nitrate N present in the soil when little or no crop uptake is occurring but yet supply N for crop uptake when needed for optimum growth. Some of these N fertilizer application methods and forms have been used for some time. There are also new N fertilizer forms and technologies being developed and becoming available that help further mitigate GHG emissions resulting from N fertilizer use. How can these existing and new N fertilizer technologies be used effectively in today's cropping systems will be explained and discussed.

Session Title: Understanding the Challenges of Managing a Family Farm

Session Title: Tools for Working Together Successfully as Farm Partners

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Bio:
Dr. Jonovic is one of North America’s most experienced advisors to business owners and family companies, a specialist in management succession, business transition, and the management of multi-owner, family businesses and farms. He has written eight books, including “Ag-Planner/IV ™: An Ownership and Transition Planning Workbook for Family Agribusinesses.”

Session Summaries:
Understanding the Challenges of Managing a Family Farm
Dr. Jonovic will illustrate the typical farm organization structures (and their potential dysfunctions) and explain how and why family farm business partnerships tend to evolve in “unproductive” directions. Fortunately, since these tendencies toward tension, conflict, and indecision are almost universal, the problems that result have been faced—and solved—before by others. Still, in order to address problems, it’s essential to understand their underlying causes, which is the focus of this session.

Tools for Working Together Successfully as Farm Partners
Dr. Jonovic will discuss positive and practical (and relatively straightforward) actions that can be taken to avoid the causes of stress and conflict within family farm partnerships, or to help deal with them if they already exist. He will explain approaches to building a more effective organization through clarity of goals, rational pay systems, and real leadership development to help ensure that the business has the management talent and energy essential for a successful transition of the family farm.

Kurt Klein
University of Lethbridge

Session Title:  Biofuels and Agriculture: What are the Prospects?

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Bio:
Kurt Klein is Professor of Agricultural Economics and Research Chair at the University of Lethbridge. He earned his PhD in agricultural economics at Purdue University, following Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in agricultural economics at the University of Saskatchewan. Formerly an owner/operator of a mixed beef and grain farm in northern Saskatchewan, Dr. Klein has concentrated his research on different aspects of beef production, marketing, policies and trade. Recently, he has studied and written extensively on the impacts of the emerging biofuels industry on agriculture in North America.

Session Summary:
There has been an increasing international emphasis on production of biofuels. This is in response to (1) concern for the environmental effects of burning fossil fuels; (2) desire for a more secure source of energy since much available hydrocarbon fuel comes from areas of the world that are unstable and worries about the limit of their production; and (3) beliefs that a biofuel industry would aid primary agricultural producers and rural areas that are seen as being perpetually in financially strapped conditions.

The profitability of biofuel production is largely determined by the price of competing outputs, principally petroleum products, and the cost of its feedstock, mostly cereal grains and oilseeds. The prices of petroleum and agricultural crops are notoriously variable. This, combined with the uncertainties involved in agricultural crop production presents several risks for biofuel producers.

It is likely that the demand for biofuels will continue to increase throughout the world. There has been an increased awareness of environmental issues in recent years and this seems likely to continue. Additionally, demand is likely to grow due to new regulations being established in the European Union, the United States, and other countries on automobile emissions.

Session Title:  Long Term Benefits of No-Till: What Can We Expect?

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Bio:
Dr. Guy Lafond, a native of St Jean, Manitoba. He received his PhD from the University of Saskatchewan in 1984. Since 1985, he has been employed as a Production Systems Agronomist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at the Indian Head Research Farm. Dr Lafond=s research includes cropping systems, soil and fertilizer management, cereal, pulse and oilseed agronomy and precision farming.

Session Summary:
Few studies in Western Canada have tried to quantify the long-term benefits of no-till. A series of studies were initiated in 2002 to further explore these benefits on two adjacent fields with contrasting soil and crop management histories. One field had a 20 year history of no-till and continuous cropping when we started the studies and the other had a history of conventional tillage and fallow cropping but converted to no-till and continuous cropping in 2001. A summary of the results and observations obtained to date will be presented. A discussion of short-term no-till benefits will also be discussed.

Steve Larocque
Beyond Agronomy

Session Title:  Developing Trends in Agronomy

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Bio:
Steve is an independent crop advisor based out of Three Hills, Alberta. As owner of Beyond Agronomy, he manages 28,000 acres of cropland and publishes Beyond Agronomy News, a weekly crop production and market newsletter with his wife Vanessa. He also farms with his brother-in-law north of Drumheller.

Session Summary:
This session will focus on the fundamental shift away from “blanket farming” to the site-specific management of crop inputs. We’ll have fun discussing what it would take to produce 130 bushel spring wheat, 100 bushel canola and 200 bushel barley. We’ll discuss some of the tools and management philosophies that could get us there.

Robert Leblanc
Canadian International Grains Institute (CIGI)

Session Title: On-Farm Biofuel Production

Bio:
Mr. Robert R. Leblanc is the biodiesel technician with the Canadian International Grains Institute in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Mr. Leblanc has conducted biodiesel workshops and short courses across Canada over the last year. He has displayed the CIGI biodiesel trailer in Exhibitions including the Red River Exhibition in Winnipeg, the Calgary Stampede, the Western Farm Progress Show in Regina, SK, the Toronto Royal Winter Fare and the Western Canadian Crop Production Show in Saskatoon, SK.

Session Summary:
Is it possible to produce fuel on farm from agricultural products? The technology required to produce biofuels and the potential to produce these products at farm scale will be discussed. Due to the complexity and the regulations involved in ethanol production, this is likely not feasible. However, production of biodiesel is a simpler process and since diesel is the primary fuel consumed on farm, the potential to produce biodiesel will be explored.

Session Title:  Marketing Solutions

Bio:
Mark Lepp is the co-founder and Business Manager of FarmLink Marketing Solutions, a newly-created full-service marketing consulting advisory service for farms in western Canada. He has extensive experience in the seed and crop input sectors, having worked in sales and management for 14 years before becoming an entrepreneur. In addition, Mark grew and managed his family's 6,000-acre grain and oilseed farm in southern Manitoba, through which he's gained an in-depth understanding of farm practices, budgeting, profitability analysis and the goals of successful marketing. He holds and undergraduate degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Manitoba

Session Summary:
The volatility in today's markets is unlike anything we've seen. FarmLink Marketing Solutions will help you develop a disciplined marketing plan to help you harness this volatility and position your farm to maximize your profitability.

Richard McConnell
DYMAC Risk Management Solutions

Session Title:  Customized Weather and Area-Yield Insurance

Bio:
Rick McConnell graduated from the University of Guelph in 1976 with an Honours B.Sc. in Biology. His background before concentrating his efforts in the research field is varied. He has a family background in beekeeping/honey production and spent time in retail management, environmental consulting, modular home construction, sail boat manufacturing and as the owner of a home renovation and light construction company. He received a M.Sc. in Resource/Agriculture Economics at the University of Alberta in 1984.

In 1987, Mr. McConnell commenced employment with the Alberta Hail and Crop Insurance Corporation (AHCIC) as Research Coordinator. Throughout his eighteen year tenure at AHCIC, and its successor the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation, Mr. McConnell fulfilled various roles including: Executive Director for Communications and Corporate Planning, Acting General Manager, Operations and Research and Vice President of Research, Information and Development. Within that structure, Mr. McConnell championed a variety of innovative initiatives including the initiation of weather and satellite-based index program designs as well as a revenue-generating international consulting service.

In 2005, Mr. McConnell left AFSC to begin his own private consulting practice. Since that time he has been involved in projects with AFSC, federal and provincial governments in Canada, the World Bank and governments abroad. He has done international work in Chile, Turkey, Malta, India, China, Ukraine, the United States and Italy. Mr. McConnell has over 20 years of practical experience in all facets of agriculture insurance design and program delivery. He is currently the technical advisor for a crop insurance development project in Ukraine and the manager of a project to design internet accessible weather and area-based insurance schemes for producers in Canada.

Session Summary:
A working demonstration of a web-based insurance product that allows producers to build their own insurance policy,see how it may have worked for them in the past and get an actual premium cost for the insurance. This product has been developed with funding from the federal government and the cooperation of the Agricultural Financial Services Corporation (AFSC).

Ken Sapsford
University of Saskatchewan

Session Title:  Problem Weeds and Promising Herbicides

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Bio:
Ken Sapsford is a Research Assistant in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan. He has been managing the research program at the U of S since 2000. Over the past number of years the program has been involved in research to support minor use registration for weed control in crops like chickpea, flax, lentil, caraway, mustard and others. The program is also looking at management systems to control Canada thistle, dandelions and foxtail barley. Other projects are looking at problem weeds such as group 2 resistant kochia, winter annual cleavers, and white Cockle.

Prior to working at the U of S, Ken was a Conservation Agronomists with the Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association from 1994 to 2000. This was the time of the development and increase in direct seeding acres in the province in which Ken had a hand in developing the extension program that assisted that change. Ken Sapsford is also involved in a family farm with his brother where they have been direct seeding the 3000 acre grain farm since 1990. Ken received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Degree in 1979 from the University of Saskatchewan.

Session Summary:
Management of weeds like foxtail barley, kochia, including group 2 resistant kochia, winter annual cleavers and winter annuals. Solutions to some of these weed issues may be some of the new herbicides that are coming onto the market this spring or in the next couple of years. These new herbicides include products from a couple groups of herbicides that we have not had in western Canada before.

Craig Shaw
Producer

Session Title:  Variable Rate Technology

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Bio:
Craig was born and raised on a farm near Lacombe in Central Alberta. After graduating with a business admin diploma from Red Deer College Craig set out on a 4 year travel adventure around the world before returning to Canada to settle on the family farm in 1980. Craig farmed with his father and brother and has progressed to where he now runs a straight grain operation of about 2800 acres. Craig is married with 2 children and four special grandkids. Craig has enjoyed the challenge of seeking out new options and working with others to develop these opportunities. Craig has chaired both the Alberta Pulse Growers Commission and the Alberta Winter Wheat Producers Commission and remains in some capacity with these organizations. He has served on the Alberta Applied Research Institute Research committee and has just recently started as cereals rep on the Alberta Crop Industry Development Board. He has also been active in promoting direct seeding and soil conservation and has been involved with both ACTS and the Rainy Creek Soil Conservation Association. Craig’s newest challenge is to develop a variable rate fertilizing and herbicide program for his farm. Working with a crop consultant, a great farm employee and a precision farming firm Craig is moving into the second year of this program.

Session Summary:
Fields in western Canada are not uniform by nature. different regions of the fields require different management practices. Variable rate technology allows farmers to improve profits and reduce risk by increasing yields and decreasing crop inputs. managing crop inputs more efficiently also minimizes their impact on the environment.

Session Title: Clubroot: An Emerging Threat to the Canola Industry

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Bio:
Stephen Strelkov obtained M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Manitoba, specializing in Plant Pathology. He has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science at the University of Alberta since 2003, where he has been leading research on clubroot disease of canola.

Session Summary:
Clubroot is an important soil borne disease of crucifers that was first identified on canola in Alberta in 2003. Since then, more than 200 clubroot-infested canola fields have been found in the province, and the region affected by the outbreak seems to be growing. This session will provide information on the current disease situation, as well as an update on research efforts to develop integrated clubroot management strategies.

Sheri Strydhorst
University of Alberta

Session Title: Natural Nitrogen in Your Cropping System

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Bio:
Sheri is a 5th year PhD student at the University of Alberta. Her research focuses include production agronomics for new grain legume crops and the role of grain legume crops in sustainable cropping systems. She has worked in collaboration with AAF, AAFC, APG and 20/20 Seed Labs.

Session Summary:
Nitrogen contained within grain legume crop residues is a valuable resource for all cropping systems. In this session, I will discuss nitrogen release from decomposing annual grain legume (pea, faba bean, and lupin) crop residues. The presentation will cover the amount and timing of nitrogen release in no-till and conventional-till systems. The session will conclude with the potential for these residues to supply “natural” nitrogen to your cropping system.

Session Title: Management Tips From Leading Edge Farmers

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Bio:
Jack has been in a zero till program, utilizing diverse and sometimes unconventional crop rotation, for 10 years. He also custom direct seeds for many of his neighbors from his farm west of Red Deer. Winter wheat, pulses and forages are an integral part of his crop rotation system. Jack has worked closely with D.U.C., R.T.L., and A.C.T.S. for a number of years.

Session Summary:
Jack will be describing how he makes his crop management decisions and relate to his successes and failures. The integrity of the soil ecosystem is of paramount importance in his operation and he plans his cropping practices to enhance this. He will promote the advantages of including pulse and forage crops in a diverse crop rotation system, even though both crops have “harvesting challenges”. These crops are often only valued by farm gate prices as opposed to their documented nitrogen fixing ability and dramatic soil quality benefits.

Session Title: On Farm Research: Perks and Pitfalls

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Bio:
Gordon and Brenda Tuck are the third generation operating the original family farm near Lavoy, Alberta. He attended Vermillion Agricultural College before farming full time. The 2400 acre farm is a grain/livestock operation with Gordon’s main interest being the grain sector.

Gordon is very community minded and has served the agriculture industry on a number of boards. He served on the local seed cleaning plant board for 24 years and is currently on the boards for the Alberta Conservation Tillage Society, Alberta Pulse Growers and Reduced Tillage LINKAGES Steering Committee.

Gordon’s interest in on farm research and seeing how new practices or technologies work in his area is long standing. He uses yield mapping and keeps extensive records. On farm research is a big part of his overall farm management.

Session Summary:
On Farm Research can take many forms - ranging from strip trials for observation, using weigh wagons and marking out plots, to fully integrated replicated trials using GPS systems.

A main focus of this presentation will be this past years field scale research trial investigating the phosporus fertilizer effect on pea inoculant viability and pea yield.

Not only are the results important but the complete process of on-farm research, from inception to completion and all the little details in between, is critical to success of any experiment on your farm.

Points to keep in mind when planning your own on-farm research will be discussed. These will help you to avoid some of the pitfalls and capture the perks of on-farm research.

Session Title:  Competitive Ability in Barley Varieties

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Bio:
Paul obtained a B.Sc. in Environmental Science with a minor in Mathematics in 1994, an M.Sc. in Botany in 1997, and a Ph.D. in Weed Science and Agronomy in 2004. Since that time he has worked in weed science and agronomy at the Alberta Research Council in Vegreville, with a focus on development of new crops and products.

Session Summary:
Using competitive crops and cultivars can be an important integrated weed management (IWM) tool, useful in both conventional and low-external-input farming systems. Barley is considered a competitive crop, but cultivar competitiveness varies. Field trials were undertaken in 2001 and 2002 to determine cultivar competitive ability for 29 barley cultivars commonly grown on the Canadian prairies. Cultivars were selected from semidwarf and full height, hulled and hull-less, 2- and 6-row, and feed and malt classes. Crops and weeds were seeded to incur a yield loss of 25%. Actual yield loss ranged from 6 to 79%, while dockage ranged from 10 to 83% of gross yield. As a class, semidwarf and hull-less cultivars were less competitive than full height and hulled cultivars, respectively. However, considerable variation existed within these classes, and an absolute relationship between class membership and competitive ability did not exist.

Ranking barley cultivar competitive ability would make it a valuable IWM tool for farmers and extension personnel. Research is in progress with ARECA to develop such a screening methodology. This research has potential to save producers > $20M/year in saved yield if adoption is 10% and the effect is a 10% reduction in yield loss for that 10% of adopters.

Field and greenhouse trials were undertaken in 2001 and 2002 to determine the relationship between attributes measured, in each developmental phase, and competitive ability. Twenty-nine commonly-grown cultivars were selected based on morphological, genetic, and end-use differences. Of the attributes measured, only yield in weedy plots had a sufficiently strong relationship to be used in a breeding program. Yield in weed-free plots was the next best measure, followed by the first measurement for crop height, regardless of when measurement occurred. This suggests the simplest way currently available to breed for increased cultivar competitive ability is to rank it in varietal trials and then breed directly for it.

Session Title: Alternative Beef Marketing

Bio:
Started in 2004 Prairie Heritage Beef Producers Inc. was an attempt by 16 Western Canadian ranch families to de-commodify our beef businesses. My wife Erika and I operate Sprit View Ranching a grass based ranching operation in the Heart of the Peace Region of Alberta. When we started our ranch our aim was to be in the bottom 20% of cost of production and in the top 20% for marketing. To achieve this we needed out of the Box / Corral thinking, long term planning for our land and our cattle and a thought process of working together rather than independently like so much of agriculture does. Since founding Prairie Heritage Beef Producers Inc we have grown markets on Vancouver Island, lower mainland and in the Calgary Banff corridor. Currently there are 2500 head of finished animals marketed under this branded program.

Session Summary:
Christoph will discuss the principals and the backbone of Prairie Heritage Beef. It is based on:
1) Beef Raised Without Antibiotics from Birth
2) Beef that is Raised without the use of Growth Promotants or Artificial Hormones
3) No feeding of animal Byproducts
4) Cattle are ranch raised and owned from birth. No animals are bought or brought into the Prairie Heritage program under an affidavit system. We are the only “Natural” beef supplier in Canada that can claim this. In fact there are no conventional beef programs in Canada that can even make this claim.
5) Prairie Heritage Beef Producers is the only producers beef group where every member is third party audited and certified under the nationally recognized Verified Beef Production program.
6) All Prairie Heritage member ranches have completed their Environmental Farm Plans.
7) Prairie Heritage can place a face with the product. We work with our customers in promotion of the beef. We support them with in store visitations and demonstrations. It has been a phenomenal way to differentiate our product within the market place.
8) Prairie Heritage beef is sold on a cost of production, return on investment and reasonable profit model….it is based on fair trade for agriculture and not on a premium to commodity.

Shelley Wetmore
Market Master Ltd.

Session Title:  Market Outlook - Non Board Grains

Bio:
Shelley Wetmore is owner of Market Master Ltd., based out of Edmonton, Alberta. Since 1995, Market Master has provided grain marketing and brokerage services to producers and buyers of all types of grain and oilseeds (wheat, barley, canola, oats, peas, flax, rye, triticale, corn). Market Master also hosts educational seminars to provide grain marketing education.

Session Summary: coming soon

Session Title: Long Term Benefits of No-Till: What Can We Expect?

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Bio:
A Conservation Coordinator with Alberta Agriculture in the Peace Region at Fairview, Alberta, John Zylstra has been working on soil and water conservation related activities and programs for over twenty years. He has made numerous presentations in the past on direct seeding, crop rotations, nutrient management, carbon credits, greenhouse gasses, and environmental goods and services. He has recently led a planning team for environmental goods and services in AF. He was a member of the planning team for the Canada-Alberta Farm Stewardship Program, and has been involved with SCAP, CARTT, CASCI, CAESA, and AESA programs, as well as AEFP. He also operates a cow-calf operation.

Session Summary:
"What are the environmental goods and services provided by agriculture, and who is paying for them? An outline of various options, some of which are already occurring in various places and countries, including in Alberta, and some potential possibilities for the future will be described, including both land uses and farming practices. The challenges and possibilities of connecting markets with the production of these environmental goods will be highlighted.