FCC Young Farmer Summit - SWIFT CURRENT

Get ready to supercharge your farm management skills!

Join us for a free, full-day event for farmers under 40 to have fun and explore the business side of farming. Learn from industry experts, connect with peers and gain insights to take your operation to the next level.

Topics include transition planning, business management, mental health and more.

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

AGENDA

· 10:00 AM Welcome and Opening Remarks - Katelyn Duban

o Erin Cote Blaquiere: Taking the Lead Towards Farm Management Excellence

o Mark Verwey: The Business of Farming

o Graeme Crosbie: Navigating Economic Factors for Better Decision-Making

· noon: Lunch

· 1:00 PM Afternoon opening remarks – Katelyn Duban

o Brett Gardiner: The Power of a Positive Mindset

o Dan Lussier: Agriculture Data Literacy: High Quality Data to Support Decision Making

o Annessa Good-Hassard: Transition Tactics for Emerging Young Farmers

· 3:30 PM: Closing Remarks

Katelyn Duban, Host, The Rural Woman Podcast

Bio: Katelyn Duban is a first-generation farmer, storyteller and community builder. Since 2019 she has celebrated the stories of women in agriculture through her podcast, The Rural Woman Podcast. With over half a million downloads, Duban has been able to reach and amplify the voices of rural women to a worldwide audience.

Erin Coté Blaquiere, Board Member, Farm Management Canada

Taking the Lead Towards Farm Management Excellence

Learn how to lead your farm to success while maintaining team harmony. In this session, Erin from Farm Management Canada will share principles of farm management excellence and offer practical solutions and tools to proactively navigate agriculture's complexities to ensure a thriving and resilient farming future.

Bio: Erin has spent her life involved in agriculture. From grain farms, agritourism, marketing, communications, sales and policy, she understands the many facets of the industry in Canada and several different countries. Her current work at the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) centers around public trust in agriculture, with a focus on communication and analysis of environmental and management concerns that people have about the industry. Her personal and work experience gives her a unique perspective on the challenges agriculture businesses face. She truly loves agriculture – both as it is and for what it can become. Erin was elected to Farm Management Canada’s Board of Directors in 2024.

Mark Verwey, Partner, BDO LLP

The Business of Farming

In this presentation, gain key strategies and tactics integral to the success of your farming operation. From debt and cash flow management to creating and assessing success metrics, Mark Verwey, who leads BDO’s Agriculture Industry Group, will provide insights to help you navigate the ever-increasing complexities and challenges producers face.

Bio: Mark Verwey, a partner in BDO Canada LLP’s Portage la Prairie office, has 35 years of experience as a Chartered Professional Accountant with expertise in owner-managed businesses and agricultural clients. Mark is the leader of the National Agriculture Industry Group for BDO, a leading agriculture accounting and advisory firm with more than 125 offices across Canada. He is also a Certified Financial Planner and Registered Financial Planner, which enhances the services available to his clients, including estate, succession and tax planning.

Graeme Crosbie, Senior Economist, FCC

Navigating Economic Factors for Better Decision-Making

Spot trends and assess risks to make informed decisions and investments. In this session, Graeme will recap 2024 and present the FCC Ag Economics team’s forecasts of the economic and financial variables that matter in 2025.

Learn how to navigate the uncertain economic environment and interest rates, get profitability projections for agriculture and explore farmland value trends.

Bio: Graeme Crosbie is a Senior Economist at FCC with experience in macroeconomic analysis, insights, and monitoring and analyzing Canada’s food and beverage industries. Having grown up on a dairy farm in southern Saskatchewan, he occasionally comments on the health of the dairy industry in Canada.

Graeme has been at FCC for 10 years, spending most of that time in risk management. Graeme holds a Master of Science in financial economics from Cardiff University and is a CFA charter holder.

Brett Gardiner, Pro Rodeo Announcer, Mental Performance Coach

The Power of a Positive Mindset

In this session, Brett Gardiner will explore why we’re constantly “Battling for Baseline," and the unique impact that working in the agricultural industry can bring on mental health.

In telling his story, he’ll explore positive growth, the power of mindset, and psychological principles that support your well-being in good times and help you build resilience during challenging times.

Bio: Brett Gardiner is the most-awarded announcer in Western sports history. Having been named the Canadian Pro Rodeo Announcer of the Year for the past thirteen consecutive seasons, Brett can be found behind the microphone at many of the industry's most celebrated events, including the Canadian Finals Rodeo and the Calgary Stampede.

But more than just an award-winning wordsmith, Brett strongly advocates for mental health and wellness, having become one of the most sought-after speakers and consultants in mental performance and motivation. Brett holds a master's degree in counselling psychology and is a doctoral candidate in the sports and performance psychology program at the University of Western States.

Dan Lussier, Director, Canadian Agri-Food Data Initiative, EMILI

Agriculture Data Literacy: High Quality Data to Support Decision Making

○ What is agriculture data?

○ How to think about data quality?

○ Bringing together farm business planning and the data lifecycle

Bio: As EMILI’s Director of the Canadian Agri-Food Data Initiative, Dan’s work helps ensure digital tools and farm data are used responsibly throughout the agriculture value chain. He believes that by working closely with growers and technology innovators, digital agriculture can help to solve the industry's biggest challenges

Annessa Good-Hassard, Transition Advisor, Farmer

Transition Tactics for Emerging Young Farmers

As the agricultural landscape evolves, young farmers face unique challenges and opportunities. Join Annessa Good-Hassard of Peak Heritage Consulting Ltd. for a comprehensive transition planning presentation focused on helping young farmers navigate the complexities of family dynamics, operational clarity and estate planning to ensure a thriving future for their farming enterprises.

Bio: Annessa Good-Hassard knows firsthand the complexities of inter-generational family farm transition. Raised on her family’s mixed farm, she and her husband recently moved back and are the successors of their operation. As owner and advisor of Peak Heritage Consulting Ltd., Annessa provides her clients with a big-picture, holistic view of transition planning to better understand the intricacies of each unique family, their business and their wealth ramifications.

She previously worked for GRS Consulting, her family’s private consulting firm focused on financial management and succession planning, delivering content from the senior and junior generation’s perspectives. She then joined FCC as a Business Advisor, working with farm families and gaining national perspectives. Annessa is a certified Family Enterprise Advisor.