Keynote Speakers:
Lori Stahlbrand, Local Food Plus localfoodplus.ca
 Lori is the founder and President of Local Food Plus. Prior to launching LFP, Lori was a well-known national CBC journalist and broadcaster, a food policy consultant, a university teacher on food system issues and needs assessment, and the co-author of the Canadian bestseller Real Food For a Change. Lori has been a member of the Ontario Minister of Agriculture’s Strategic Advisory Committee and the Toronto Food Policy Council, as well as an advisor to the Toronto City Summit Alliance and the Laidlaw Foundation. She currently sits on the Advisory Committee of Sustain Ontario.
Lori has worked extensively with institutional policy makers and purchasers in implementing local sustainable food procurement policies and in setting meaningful, achievable targets that help them accomplish their goals. She holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Studies from York University. In 2008, Lori received a Woman of the Earth Award from the Yves Rocher Foundation. Under Lori’s leadership, Local Food Plus has won numerous awards. Most recently, Local Food Plus was named one of Tides Canada’s Top Ten Organizations of 2009, and won a 2010 Vital Ideas award from the Toronto Community Foundation.
Owen Roberts - “Rural Stories: So what? Who cares?”
 Owen Roberts is the director of research communications for the University of Guelph, an adjunct professor specializing in communications in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science, and a journalist. He founded the University’s student research-writing program called SPARK, an acronym for Students Promoting Awareness of Research Knowledge, whose participants write stories for the University of Guelph Research magazine and other commercial publications, and are also involved in video production.
In the 1980s, Owen was a reporter and editor in Ontario and Alberta. Today, besides his teaching, research and administrative work at the University of Guelph, Owen is active as a journalist, most notably as the agri-food columnist for the Guelph Mercury daily newspaper. His blog can be found at www.urbancowboy.ca. A significant portion of his columns in the past 18 months have been devoted to local food. He is also active as a professional speaker and facilitator, having given addresses and workshops on communications to organizations such as the Canadian Farm Writers Federation, the American Agricultural Editors Association and Syngenta Crop Protection Canada.
Owen Roberts' presentation sponsored by Farm Credit Canada and Steps to Leadership
Additional Speakers
Ed and Julie both grew up on dairy farms. Ed on a 70 cow dairy and Julie on a 40 cow Master Breeder Herd. Ed decided to farm because he enjoyed the flexibility
of being his own boss, the potential to achieve financial success and the diversity of work and challenges that dairy farming would provide. Julie had grown up
showing cattle in 4-H and enjoyed the challenge of improving the conformation in cattle. They both loved the industry and the way of life farming could provide
for them.
Danzel Holsteins is a family run dairy farm located in Perth County between Shakespeare and New Hamburg. It is run by Julie & Ed and their 3 children Rose, Emily & John. The farm currently milks 86 cows in a new free stall barn built in 2008. Current BCA is 215-212-215. 107 cows are classified 18VG, 60 GP, 18G, 11NC.
John and Maxine started their farming story when they got married in 1994 and moved onto a rented farm where John was raising veal, and doing some cash cropping. After spending a couple of year working on a dairy farm, they dreamed of raising a family on a family farm. In the year 2000 a Fruit and Vegetable Farm in Wyoming became available so they took a large leap of faith and started a new business.
Their first few years were extremely difficult. They realized that marketing was all about customer relationship and branding, yet since they were new to the area, no one knew them. Environmentally-wise, in 2010, they started on a Foliar Micronutrient Plan which allows micronutrients to be applied when needed directly to the crops for optimum efficiency of nutrients. They are also practicing natural Nematode control instead of using fumigation. Besides being full time farmers, sales people, and community stewards, the Zekvelds have four children – Phillip (15), Jessica (13), Devyn (10) and Eddy (7).
Paul and Rosie Hill of Willowgrove Hill are ahead of the curve when it comes to growing functional food on the farm. They have a 500 sow farrow-to-finish operation, all raised without antibiotics, from birth to market. And they're the first pork producers in North America to offer pork products enhanced with DHA/EPA Omega-3 fatty acids.
It all began with a personal quest to ensure that their family - and all families - have access to healthier food. The Hills found a way to enrich their herd's feed to make an even healthier product for consumers.
While their goal was to develop an enhanced food for human consumption, they've noticed that their herd's health has improved too. They've been recognized by the Ontario Pork Congress with an Industry Leadership Award for their contributions to the sector. This entrepreneurial family thinks locally - and acts globally. In just two years, Willowgrove Hill has seen their enriched pork products jump from two to 90 per cent of their total sales.
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Speakers
