AgAnnex Talks

Welcome to the second episode in our 2022 Top 4 Under 40 series. These three episodes will feature conversations with the winners of Fruit & Vegetable’s recent contest, which sought to recognize the industry’s young trailblazers.

Alex Chesney grew up on her family’s fruit and vegetable farm, Thames River Melons Ltd., and is now using her training as a registered dietician to make clear connections for consumers between nutrition and agriculture. In this episode, Fruit & Vegetable editor Alex Barnard and Chesney, who also acts as the on-farm market and deliveries manager, discuss how consumer interest helps drive change, the importance of promoting health – both physical and mental – for growers, and a pandemic innovation that brought the market to her customers' homes.

Never miss an episode by subscribing to AgAnnex Talks on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Sponsored by Scotts.

Welcome to the first episode in our second annual Top 4 Under 40 series. These three episodes will feature conversations with the winners of Fruit & Vegetable’s recent contest, which sought to recognize the industry’s young trailblazers.

Nick Vranckx may have gotten into the Canadian fruit and vegetable industry because his parents bought a blueberry operation in 2004, but he's made his own mark both on the farm and in the industry. In this episode, Fruit & Vegetable editor Alex Barnard chats with Vranckx, winemaker with Blueberry Hill Estates in Norfolk County, Ont. He shares his thoughts on the ever-present labour issues in Canadian horticulture, the hypersaturated domestic blueberry market, and how having a value-added component can give an operation more flexibility.

 Never miss an episode by subscribing to AgAnnex Talks on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Sponsored by Scotts.

Leona Staples, president of The Jungle Farm in Red Deer, Alta., is passionate about sharing the story of agriculture with everyone she meets. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Staples, along with her husband and three sons, would host more than 5,000 students through educational experiences, offering students unforgettable knowledge about how food is produced.

Stefanie Croley, editorial director, agriculture, chats with Staples in this interview about the importance of creating connections between producers and consumers, and the struggle to balance motherhood and career, while still fulfilling your dreams. 

IWCA is a program created by the agriculture brands at Annex Business Media, designed to recognize women who make a difference in Canada’s ag industry and provide them with a platform to share their knowledge, triumphs and advice.

Stay tuned as we bring you the rest of our 2021 Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture. Never miss an episode by subscribing to AgAnnex Talks on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Special thanks to Bayer Crop Science, platinum sponsor of the 2021 Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture program.

Life is full of difficult decisions – when to take a chance, when to take time off, when to go back to your roots, when to try something new. Andrea McKenna has tackled all of those tough decisions and more as a farm operator, advocate and mentor. Now, she tells her story outlining her journey from city living to farm operation and helping growers make more sustainable business decisions.

AgAnnex editor Bree Rody chats with McKenna in this episode of the IWCA series for AgAnnex Talks, discussing challenges, lessons learned and what the future holds for agriculture.

IWCA is a program created by the agriculture brands at Annex Business Media, designed to recognize women who make a difference in Canada’s ag industry and provide them with a platform to share their knowledge, triumphs and advice.

Stay tuned as we bring you the rest of our 2021 Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture. Never miss an episode by subscribing to AgAnnex Talks on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Special thanks to Bayer Crop Science, platinum sponsor of the 2021 Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture program.

If you work with cereals in Ontario, odds are you’ve heard of Ellen Sparry – she’s a go-to person for cereals research and production questions, according to “Wheat Pete” Johnson. Sparry is the general manager of C&M Seeds in Palmerston, Ont., as well as wheat registration co-ordinator and performance test co-ordinator for the Ontario Cereal Crops Committee and chair of the newly formed Seeds Canada. Even beyond that, she’s a keen mentor and advocate for the importance of communication.

AgAnnex associate editor Alex Barnard chats with Sparry in this episode of the IWCA series for AgAnnex Talks, discussing challenges, lessons learned and what the future holds for agriculture.

IWCA is a program created by the agriculture brands at Annex Business Media, designed to recognize women who make a difference in Canada’s ag industry and provide them with a platform to share their knowledge, triumphs and advice.

Stay tuned as we bring you the rest of our 2021 Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture. Never miss an episode by subscribing to AgAnnex Talks on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Special thanks to Bayer Crop Science, platinum sponsor of the 2021 Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture program.

Professor Tina M. Widowski has spent more than 25 years investigating the factors that affect the well-being of poultry and livestock. Collaborating with academic leaders including Temple Grandin and Ian Duncan, her extensive research and authorship has included findings on growth, efficiency and mortality in broiler chickens, as well as alternative housing systems for chickens.

Canadian Poultry editor Brett Ruffell chats with Dr. Widowski in this episode of AgAnnexTalks about her triumphs, challenges and best advice for women in agriculture.

Simone Demers-Collins’ career has taken her from government and extension to independent consultation, but at the root of it has always been listening to the needs of the community around her. Now as a professional home economist, Simone also spends her time promoting food literacy in youth.

Agriculture editor Bree Rody chats with Demers-Collins in this episode of AgAnnexTalks, the second in this year’s series of podcasts with seven Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture. IWCA is a program created by the agriculture brands at Annex Business Media, designed to recognize women who make a difference in Canada’s ag industry and provide them with a platform to share their knowledge, triumphs and advice.

Stay tuned as we bring you the rest of our 2021 Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture. Never miss an episode by subscribing to AgAnnex Talks on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Crystal Mackay is an agriculture advocate, entrepreneur and much more. Currently the founder/CEO of Loft32, which works to elevate businesses, people and the conversations on food and farming, Mackay has been described as “doing the heavy lifting” of launching successful structures and programs in the ag industry for more than 30 years.

Stefanie Croley, editorial director, agriculture, chats with Mackay in this episode of AgAnnexTalks, the first in this year’s series of podcasts with seven Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture.

IWCA is a program created by the agriculture brands at Annex Business Media, designed to recognize women who make a difference in Canada’s ag industry and provide them with a platform to share their knowledge, triumphs and advice.

Stay tuned as we bring you the rest of our 2021 Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture. Never miss an episode by subscribing to AgAnnex Talks on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Welcome to the third episode in our Top 4 Under 40 series. These four episodes will feature conversations with the winners of Fruit & Vegetable’s recent contest, which sought to recognize the industry’s young trailblazers.

In our fourth and final episode, Fruit & Vegetable associate editor Alex Barnard chats with Nicholas Ploeg of Sunrise Potatoes in Alliston, Ont. Ploeg discusses the power of learning what the crop is telling you, rolling with the punches in a swiftly changing industry, and the value of efficiencies for a growing operation.

 Never miss an episode by subscribing to AgAnnex Talks on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Welcome to the third episode in our Top 4 Under 40 series. These four episodes will feature conversations with the winners of Fruit & Vegetable’s recent contest, which sought to recognize the industry’s young trailblazers.

In this episode, Fruit & Vegetable associate editor Alex Barnard chats with Philip Keddy, production manager of C.O. Keddy Nursery Inc. Keddy and his family grow strawberry nursery plants and sweet potatoes in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. He discusses the importance of finding what fits for your operation even if it's unconventional, the power of building a rapport with your customers, and finding motivation in doing what others say can't be done.

Never miss an episode by subscribing to AgAnnex Talks on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.