Farmsmart gears up with program for 2011 later this month

2011-01-12 / Community

Organizers of the upcoming 2011 FarmSmart Conference are confident a strong lineup of leading-edge topics and dynamic speakers will draw a huge crowd to their premier annual event.

The 13th anniversary edition of FarmSmart Conference will be held Jan. 22 at Rozanski Hall, University of Guelph. Registration begins at 8:15 a.m. and the first session is scheduled to begin promptly at 9.

“Each year the FarmSmart planning committee strives to offer a diverse range of timely and relevant sessions that appeal to the whole farm family,” commented Julia Whalen, conference chairman. “Participants have come to expect dynamic speakers and informative workshops and we are confident that this year’s program will not disappoint.”

Designed as a family-friendly event, with sessions of interest for all members of the family, the conference is held each January at the University of Guelph. Last year, it attracted more than 850 people. Organizers report signals are strong this year’s event will again be well attended, with trade show space selling out five weeks in advance.

FarmSmart Conference delegates will be able to custom design their day’s agenda from the more than 50 sessions that will run throughout the day. Topics focus on business, livestock, field crops, energy and the environment, computer applications, global perspectives and general agricultural themes.

Sessions will run concurrently through the six time slots, with all delegates convening in the amphitheatre for the afternoon keynote address from special guest speaker Chris St. Clair of The Weather Network.

A favourite mainstay at The Weather Network since 1995, St. Clair was chosen by Canadian’s as Canada’s Most Dependable Weatherman. He has been the host and co-producer of The Weather Network This Weekend and The GTA This Weekend, which draws more than four million Canadian watchers every weekend. During his address, St. Clair will discuss why Canada has some of the world’s most unique weather and how this has shaped Canadians into the people they are today. He will also review the past year and provide a look ahead to the coming growing season.

Other international speakers will include Douglas B. Beegle, a distinguished professor of agronomy and soil fertility specialist at Penn State University; Emerson Nafziger, professor of crop sciences and extension agronomist at the University of Illinois; Thomas R. Overton, associate professor in the Department of Animal Science at Cornell University; and Arland Suderman, a market analyst and feature writer with Farm Futures, Illinois.

Organizers are always looking to present new and innovative programs for their participants and for the 2011 FarmSmart Conference, they have partnered with the Beef Symposium to present the two programs concurrently.

“We are very excited about the extra value we will be able to provide to all participants through the additional programming and the sharing of resources,” Whalen said.

Brian Pogue, the beef cattle program lead with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and one of the Beef Symposium organizers, shared Whalen’s enthusiasm.

“We’re excited to be a part of FarmSmart because it offers producers a number of alternatives, as well as being a family event with programs planned for everybody, including kids,” he said.

The Beef Symposium agenda will include practical profitability tips and strategies and will give producers the opportunity to hear from both international and local presenters.

Dr. Larry Corah, of Kansas, vice-president of Certified Angus Beef (CAB), was instrumental in the growth of the CAB program worldwide and will headline as the symposium’s keynote speaker. He will share his thoughts on where he sees the beef sector going and what CAB can do to help Canadian producers be more sustainable.

The Nesbitt family of Cedardale Farms in the Durham Region were the recipients of the 2010 Ontario Mapleseed Pasture

Award and Ryan takes the lead in the family’s pasture program, overseeing the operation and grazing of 150 cow-calf pairs and about 20 bred-heifers on 280 acres. He will kick off the symposium speaker lineup, sharing some of his family’s practices that have been recognized as being core to their successful pasture program.

Other presenters will include Wayne Goodfellow, of Glencairn; Andy McNiven, of Oro Station; and a panel discussion moderated by Dan Ferguson, focusing on the benefits and challenges for cow-calf producers through calf marketing alliances.

Conference organizers have made application for Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) continuing educating credits for some portion of the program.

A $50 pre-registration fee will be charged for Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) members registered and paid by Jan.17, and include the choice of a hot or boxed lunch. And $75 will be charged for non-OSCIA registrants, and that includes a one-year OSCIA local membership.

For the Beef Symposium, proof of participation in a verified beef production workshop will give participants the benefit of the reduced OSCIA member registration fee.

Registrations will continue to be accepted after Jan. 17, as will walk-in registrations the day of the conference, however prices are increased and lunch cannot be guaranteed.

The conference is a joint project of the Golden Horseshoe and Heartland Regional Soil and Crop Improvement Associations, in partnership with the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC), the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and various agri-business partners, including Platinum sponsors Bayer CropScience Canada, DeKalb Seeds, EthoSolar, Farm Credit Canada, Grain Farmers of Ontario, Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited Canada, Syngenta Crop Protection Canada and Syngenta Seeds Canada Inc.

Information and program updates for the conference will be posted on-line at www.uoguelph.ca/farmsmart and on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/soilandcrop

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