Annual Conference

Allison is co-owner and operator of Upland Organics (www.uplandorganics.ca), a mixed cattle and organic grain farm located near Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, with her husband, Cody Straza, and their three children. Upland Organics has been certified organic for over a decade and certified Regenerative Organic since 2021. Upland Organics utilizes many different techniques to improve the health and functionally of the soil. These include crop diversity, reduced tillage, compost, compost teas and the full integration of livestock using planned rotational grazing. Allison and her husband Cody were named as Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2022 and Canada’s Organic Farmer of the year for 2022. Allison is the president of the Canadian Organic Growers (COG), an organization that provides education, advocacy and leadership to support organic growers at the National level.

Caroline Halde has been an associate professor in organic agriculture and agroecology in the Department of Plant Science of the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences at Laval University since 2015. She directs the Laboratory of Agroecology at Laval University, a dynamic research team with multidisciplinary interests (crop management, soil health, weed ecology, environmental footprint and international cooperation), but with a common goal: to push the boundaries of knowledge while taking care of our environment.

Cody is co-owner and operator of Upland Organics (www.uplandorganics.ca), a mixed cattle and organic grain farm located near Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, with his wife, Allison Squires, and their three children. Upland Organics has been certified organic for over a decade and certified Regenerative Organic since 2021. Upland Organics utilizes many different techniques to improve the health and functionally of the soil. These include crop diversity, reduced tillage, compost, compost teas and the full integration of livestock using planned rotational grazing. Cody and his wife Allison were named as Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2022 and Canada’s Organic Farmer of the year for 2022. 

Dave Sauchyn is Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies and Director of the Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative at the University of Regina. His research interests are 1) the climate and water resources of the Canadian Prairies, and 2) planned adaption to minimize the adverse impacts of climate change. Dave has given almost 500 invited talks on aspects of climate change. He is lead author of the Prairie Provinces chapters in the current and previous national assessments of climate change. Dave can trace his prairie roots to back 1910s when his grandparents arrived in Alberta from eastern Canada and from Ukraine.

Laura Telford has been the organic specialist for Manitoba Agriculture for the past twelve years. Previous to this, she spent eight years as the National Director for Canadian Organic Growers in Ottawa. Laura was attracted to the organic sector as a way to avoid some of challenges associated with food production, including loss of biodiversity and environmental degradation. Laura has a Ph.D. from Queen’s University in Psychology and spent 7 years conducting research in the field of Neuroscience prior to leaving academia to pursue her environmental interests.

Dr. Melissa Arcand is a soil biogeochemist whose research program investigates plant-soil interactions to understand how agricultural systems can cycle nutrients more efficiently and store more carbon in their soils. She has developed a new area of applied and interdisciplinary research in Indigenous agricultural land management; currently, she is working with Saskatchewan First Nations to assess soil health on their agricultural lands.

Derek was born and raised in a small town in southern Ontario called Brooklin. His only connection to agriculture as a kid was growing pumpkins on his grandfather’s acreage and selling them out of a wheelbarrow on his street. He picked up a degree in history from Wilfrid Laurier University and hit the road shortly thereafter, spending the next seven years of his life working as a tour guide in Germany. It was a stint on a farm in Tasmania that plunged him down the path of pursuing farm work wherever he could find it. He returned to Canada in 2013 and moved to Alberta in 2017.

He has a decade of experience under his belt as an organizer and communicator on climate and food security issues. Derek has worked for national not-for-profit organizations like Food Secure Canada and his articles on climate change and clean energy have been published in The Narwhal and National Observer. His agricultural experience is all over the map (literally)—a wild boar and shiitake mushroom farm in Quebec, a CSA in Ontario and cattle farms in Alberta—and he was part of Young Agrarians Alberta’s first ‘graduating class’.

Both Jenny and James have a heritage of market gardening that extends to their families in the Netherlands.  Farming is literally in their blood!  In the early 1980’s James’ parents decided to return to the land after some 20 years away from their rural roots.  The farming traditions instilled into Sundog Organic Farm could be traced through them all the way back to North Holland where there still exist Vriend families thriving in horticulture. Sundog Organic Farm (est. 2009) started out on the Vriend Organic Farmland and after two years there, moved to its current location in Sturgeon County, near the Sturgeon river.  James and Jenny now have one dog, three boys, twelve hens, fourteen acres, and five hundred rubbermaid bins! 

Though Dan Brisebois grew up surrounded by gardens to tend and a lawn to mow, he did not come from a farming background. It has been a few generations since any of his family would have called themselves farmers. Still, the farmers in his history have featured prominently in family lore. Dan had no idea that he would become a farmer until suddenly he was one. You might think otherwise when you hear that he has a degree in Agricultural Engineering. But he chose that degree because it focused on Environmental Engineering. Studying at an agricultural school led to working on farms in the summer and making friends with people who only want to talk about farming. Next thing he knew, he loved farming and it was all he wanted to do.

Edward Bork is the Mattheis Chair in Rangeland Ecology in Management, and Director of the Rangeland Research Institute at the University of Alberta. He has been teaching and conducting research for more than 25 years on basic and applied topics, including integrated weed control, grazing systems, fire ecology, forage production, agro-forestry, and recently, the role of rangelands in providing alternative ecosystem goods and services, including carbon storage, greenhouse gas reduction and biodiversity retention. He has supervised 48 graduate students, including 11 PhD students. Dr. Bork maintains close ties with the agriculture industry, and has given numerous extension talks.

Alex Pulwicki loves nothing more than bringing together people to celebrate local food and farms! As the Alberta and E-Learning Program Manager for Young Agrarians she gets to meet amazing new and aspiring farmers and help them to connect with the resources and support needed to start farming. She enjoys making online and in-person spaces a place to build connections with people near and far. Alex has worked and volunteered at a number of farms across Alberta and is passionate about local dairy and cheesemaking. She currently sits on the Edmonton Food Council and is in the early stages of starting a small herbal tea farm.

Aabir Dey is the Director of SeedChange’s Canadian field program, The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security. Aabir developed his passion for seeds (and an obsession for garlic) while working at Everdale Farm, where he helped Seeds of Diversity Canada grow their Great Canadian Garlic Collection. He completed a Master of Environmental Studies at York University, researching organic seed systems in Ontario, before joining SeedChange. Aabir has been instrumental in shaping and leading the Bauta Initiative’s training, research, and policy programs. Aabir is thrilled to be working with seed producers and farmers all over Canada to promote seed sovereignty coast-to-coast. (he/him, Guelph)

Andrew is a Director and Southern Region Representative for Organic Alberta. He is an organic farmer growing field and greenhouse vegetables, cover crops and cereals near Coaldale, Alberta.  His passion lies in regenerative agriculture with the intent of having the farm produce healthy food while improving the soil and the farm’s ecosystem as a whole.  He feels that the regenerative approach to farming is sustainable, profitable and enjoyable.

Becky is the Vice-President and Member-at-Large Representative at Organic Alberta. She is a first-generation farmer and until recently focused on her career in Natural Resources working as a spatial modeler and analyst. She has a Bachelor of Science in Geography and is highly focused, detailed oriented and organized. In 2016, her and her husband along with their two young kids bought a farm and started Stonepost Farms. The farm quickly evolved into a direct marketing business focusing on providing nutrient dense foods including pasture raised meats, naturally grown produce, free range eggs and unpasteurized honey. The farm focuses on holistic and regenerative agriculture practices. Becky has a newfound passion in agriculture with a desire to promote education in regenerative agriculture. She now focuses fully on the farm and its direct marketing business. She looks forward to being able to apply her skills with Organic Alberta and to gain knowledge.

Byron runs a mixed cattle and grain operation with his wife and father near Barrhead. Regenerative ag has proven to be a complementary practice between crop and cattle. Grazing crop acres before and after harvest, has helped to reduce synthetic inputs, while increasing soil health. Relay cropping, intercropping, biological seed treatments, bale & swath grazing, and corn intercrop grazing, are a few of the practices they have in place at Long Family Farm Ltd.

Chris Simeniuk is a husband, father and self-admitted iron junkie from Central Alberta. He and his wife Leah run Kettle Ridge Organics, a certified organic grain farm. Prior to converting to organic in 2015 Chris’s farm was using min-till conventional practices such as direct seeding and chemical weed control. Recognizing that the organic practices rely on more tillage for weed control, Chris has been working on methods to reduce/offset tillage impacts while maintaining adequate weed control and crop yields.

Chris has been working with different cover crops blends and tactics to reduce tillage and improve nutrient availability for following cash crops. While he admits he is far from having developed the perfect solution he can share his learnings. “No failures, only successes in what didn’t work.”

Denis Forstbauer is co-owner and operator of Grey Arrow Farm (greyarrowfarm.ca), a small organic market garden vegetable farm on Treaty 6 territory in Camrose, Alberta, along with his wife Andrea. Grey Arrow Farm has about 2.5 acres in production and been in operation for seven seasons providing fresh local produce to their community mainly though their CSA program that serves Camrose, Sherwood Park and Edmonton. 

Denis grew up on an organic farm in Chilliwack, BC and always dreamed of having his own one day. Together with Andrea, and their five children, they purchased a little slice of paradise known as Grey Arrow Farm in 2016 and now he enjoys growing good wholesome food for their community.

Born and raised on a dairy farm in Belgium, Dieter is freshly married to his wife Miriam Gagelmans whom he farms together with. Miriam supports Dieter throughout this journey towards ownership of the farm. His Canadian adventure started in 2015, working on a dairy farm by Millet, AB and now taking over a dairy farm by New Sarepta, AB since 2019 from a third party. Dieter is very fortunate to be a starter in the industry, but needs to find efficiencies to make it work. It all starts with quality forage that comes from healthy soils. This thinking put him on the journey towards ‘regenerative’ farming practices. Mostly cover cropping and rotational grazing. Improving what they do, observing the results and using that experience to help themselves and the next farmer along. Dieter would really like to emphasize the word JOURNEY, it’s a constant change on a path towards a system that fits him, his family and farm.

Dylan has worked in the retail side of organic produce for over 20 years with most of it being @ Community Natural Foods in Calgary. During this time, he has been purchasing organic produce farm direct from many growers across Alberta, British Columbia & also from organic produce distributors. He passionately brings to market from both here in western Canada & across the globe.

Mojo Jojo Pickles is the creative canning kitchen of Johwanna ‘Jojo’ Alleyne specializing in pickled and preserved vegetables, fruit, and eggs. Founded in 2011 as a side-hustle to being a professional photographer and darkroom technician,  the company was an offshoot of volunteer canning bees for Slow Food Edmonton. Always led by her stomach, this lover of food and market culture took on canning professionally; participating in farmers markets and artisanal markets in her local market community in Edmonton and evolving to grocery distribution and wholesale across Canada as the business grew. 

Johwanna holds an FDA certificate in acidified food processing as well as a canning certificate from the Center for Home Preservation.  She’s also served on the board of Slow Food Edmonton and as the president of the Alberta Farmers Market Association. Despite many moves and a global Pandemic, Mojo Jojo Pickles opened a permanent kitchen with a store front on Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue in the Pandemic summer of 2020. What drives the mad canner? A love of the immediacy of the natural world, an inexhaustible appetite for food and food culture, and a desire to always explore the world face-to-face and smile by smile.

Dr. Kris Nichols is a leader in the movement to regenerate soils for healthy crops, food, people and a planet. She is the Lead Soil Scientist with the Food Water Wellness Foundation and the Research Director at MyLand Company LLC. She is also the founder and principal scientist of KRIS (Knowledge for Regeneration and Innovation in Soils) Systems Education & Consultation. Kris participates on Advisory Board for the Real Organic Project; Scientific Advisory Board with the Savory Institute’s – Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) program; Scientific Advisory Board for McCain’s Farms of the Future; and as a Soil Science Advisor with Health First.

Previously, Dr. Nichols was the Chief Scientist at Rodale Institute and a Research (Soil) Microbiologist with the USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS). During her time with USDA, she focused on mycorrhizal fungi and the investigation of glomalin – a substance produced by AM (arbuscular mycorrhizal) fungi. Glomalin contributes to nutrient cycling by protecting AM hyphae transporting nutrients from the soil to the plant and to soil structure and plant health by helping to form and stabilize soil aggregates. Kris received Bachelor of Science degrees in Plant Biology and in Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of Minnesota in 1995, a Master’s degree in Environmental Microbiology from West Virginia University in 1999, and a Ph.D. in Soil Science from the University of Maryland in 2003. Throughout her career, Kris has given over 200 invited presentations to a wide variety of audiences throughout the world, authored or co-authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications including four book chapters, been cited or interviewed for more than 100 magazine or newspaper articles, highlighted in several books, and has numerous videos on-line at . Dr. Nichols has received several awards including the 2012 Conservation Research Award from the International Soil and Water Conservation Society.

Livestock, forage management and land stewardship have shaped Lee’s life both personally and professionally.  He developed, implemented and managed an invasive weed program for the Canadian government, targeting an 11,000 acre leafy spurge infestation. The integrated program initially consisted of 1900 small ruminants, but over the course of the program the numbers grew to 4200. This success helped Lee launch his own targeted grazing business. He continues to develop and operate targeted grazing programs, and work with landowners and those interested in reducing unwanted vegetation. Lee has consulted with landowners, urban planning committees, government agencies, livestock organizations and those who are interested in grazing as a management tool.  By promoting and practicing targeted grazing, Lee sees opportunities to enhance the land in a low impact, natural way.

Nicola Irving is the joint owner of Irvings Farm Fresh Ltd with her husband Alan. The Irvings’ have been in business for 18 years and operate a modern provincial pork processing facility, located on their farm near Camrose, producing artisanal products from locally grown pork, and specializing in their own home-grown Berkshire pork.

The Irvings sell their products direct to consumers from their farm store and through farmers’ markets, and wholesale to restaurant and retail stores across the province. When Nicola and Alan moved to Alberta from England in 2005, they couldn’t find the good quality pork sausages they had been used to back home, which prompted them to start their pork business.

Ron owns and operate Sunworks Farm, near Armena Alberta, along with his wife Sheila. In 1992, Ron and Sheila started their organic poultry and livestock farm and began selling their organic meat at farmers markets. In addition to farmers markets over the last 20 plus years they have sold and continue to sell their products to many retail stores throughout Alberta.  Ron has over 30 years experience in the organic industry including being on the boards of Organic Alberta, the Canadian General Standards Board when the Canadian Organic Standards were formulated, and the Board of the Organic Technical Review Committee of Canada for 15 years.

Sam used to run a market garden, Peno Creek Farm in Lamont County before moving to Northern Alberta. She now enjoys growing veggies for her family and the CANOVI trials.

Shiana works for RR2CS on the Regenerative Agriculture Lab.  She is also a 5th generation rancher with her husband and 3 girls. They use a regenerative approach in raising beef and dairy cattle, pastured chickens and pork. Their land base is over 96% grasslands where they implement planned rotational grazing. The Younger’s take stewardship very seriously and hope to provide the opportunity for their girls to continue on the family legacy and heritage for many more generations. 

Steven Snider farms near New Norway, Alberta on a fourth generation family farm operating under the name of Little Red Hen Mills. The farm covers 1900 acres of certified organic production. Crops include hay, wheat, oats, barley, rye and green manures. The farm has been certified organic for 34 years and has a seed cleaning operation to further process products for market.

Through trial and error, the farm pioneered base crop rotations and plowdown blends. Steven’s dad, Robert, pioneered the use of a rod-weeder and spike tooth cultivation for weed population control when they started. Several techniques are used to reduce weed populations including multiple mowing passes on green manures to reduce weeds (Mow Till), hay rotations, and selective fallowing. The art of tillage and it’s unsung benefits, have been a necessary study and never ending learning process. Through a partnership with an organic egg producer, production has shifted  to include the use of animal manures to address fertility needs.

The farm has hosted several U of A plots over the years and Steven speaks regularly at colleges and universities throughout the province to shed light on organic techniques. The farm has hosted several foreign students interested in production and currently retains a foreign worker from that program. He represented Alberta in the drafting of the National Organic Standard for Canada.

Steven has chaired Organic Alberta, served on the National Board of Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers, and Past Chair of Alberta’s Outstanding Young Farmers.

Tracy is the President and a Member-at-large at Organic Alberta. She grew up on her family’s hay and cattle farm 30 minutes east of Edmonton. They have never used chemicals or sprays on their land. When she was in her twenties, she helped to start and run an organic food buying cooperative in Edmonton, Simplefoods, which operated for around two years. She served on the Organic Alberta board in 2004-2005, back when it was called the Going Organic Network of Alberta. It was an eye-opening opportunity and she hopes to bring a lot more experience to the board this time around! Tracy started her company, Beanstalk Honey, in 2010. She is a self-sufficient beekeeper and produces honey without using antibiotics or chemicals.  It is very close to impossible to get organic certification status as a beekeeper, but she’s still working on it! She sells her honey at farmer’s markets in the Edmonton area. Tracy looks forward to serving on the Organic Alberta board and learning more about organic agriculture in our province.

Busy Bea’s Market Garden raises certified organic potatoes, onions, garlic, herbs and a variety of other vegetables in the Oldman River valley just east of Fort Macleod, Alberta.  The business was started in Coaldale in 1989 by Trevor’s parents John and Bea Aleman as a way to teach work ethic to their children and help pay for the move to the farm. Trevor took over in 1999 and now farms with his wife Cindy and their six children ages 15-27.  The wholesale portion of their business supplies specialty organic stores and restaurants in Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise and Edmonton.  Additionally they operate a booth at Exhibition Park Farmer’s Market in Lethbridge during the summer which merges into a Winter Box Program from November to April. Most recently they purchased a mail-order garlic business and sell their garlic by post from Ottawa to Yellowknife.