Canadian agriculture runs on innovation and dedication, and five outstanding individuals will be honoured for their lasting contributions as the 2026 inductees into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame Association (CAHFA). Dr. Brian Rossnagel, Ken Forth, Guy Charbonneau, Gary Bowers and Dr. David Bailey will be formally inducted at a special ceremony on Saturday, November... Read More
Category: Leadership
When margins tighten, farm management decisions become even more important. Yet some of the toughest decisions producers face aren't driven by markets, weather, or policy—they're shaped by human behaviour. On this episode of the Mind Your Farm Business podcast, host Shaun Haney speaks with Ben Brown, agricultural economist at the University of Missouri, about the... Read More
Bryce Eger returns to The Truth About Ag podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on professional capability, leadership, follow-through and why the ag industry needs to get more comfortable being uncomfortable. From basic networking and follow-up to the difference between credentials and real knowledge, Eger challenges the idea that experience, titles, or confidence automatically equal capability.... Read More
Seven students from across Canada have been selected as the 2026 recipients of the Canadian Agri-Business Education Foundation (CABEF) scholarships. Each student will receive a $2,500 scholarship to support their post-secondary studies in agriculture or agri-food at a Canadian university, college, or technical institute. Applicants were evaluated based on their leadership experience and their written... Read More
Ontario agronomist Henry Prinzen thought he had his future mapped out early: go to the University of Guelph, return to the family farm, and build a career there. Instead, he found himself following a different path — one shaped as much by instinct and opportunity as by planning. In this episode of the How Could... Read More
Drew and Heather Spoelstra of Binbrook, Ont., have been named Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers (OYF) for 2026, following the regional competition held April 7 to 9 in St. Jacobs, Ont. Based at Binbrook, the Spoelstras operate Roy-A-Lea Farms Ltd., a diversified family farm producing grains, hay, dairy, and beef. Heather Spoelstra leads the Roy-A-Lea Clydesdales... Read More
The Canadian Cattle Young Leaders (CYL) program is recognizing its mentors for the 2025–2026 program year, highlighting a broad cross-section of expertise supporting the next generation of Canada’s beef industry. Each year, CYL selects 16 participants aged 18 to 35 from across the country, pairing them with industry leaders for a nine-month mentorship focused on... Read More
In this episode of the Truth About Ag podcast, co-hosts Evan Shout and Kristjan Hebert sit down with first-generation farmer and long-time ag industry leader April Nichol to explore what it really takes to build both a business and a life on the farm. April and her husband Chad started their operation from scratch east... Read More
What makes a good farmer a great one? In this episode of the Mind Your Farm Business podcast, host Shaun Haney digs into that question with Margy Eckelkamp of Top Producer at Farm Journal. From battling through the 1980s farm crisis to navigating today’s economic curveballs, Eckelkamp shares how the most successful farm operators think... Read More
What does it mean to struggle well? In 2006, then Major Mark Gasparotto, now retired as a Colonel, led the combat engineers during Operation Medusa in Afghanistan, Canada's largest combat mission since the Korean War. As a keynote speaker, Gasparotto now shares how the lessons learned on that mission, of leadership following friendly fire, of... Read More