Sustainability of Canadian Agriculture speakers 2022 | Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences

March 16

Keynote Speaker - David Kanter

Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at New York University and Vice-Chair of the International Nitrogen Initiative

His research examines new governance opportunities for addressing nutrient pollution and how to manage the transition to a global food system consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to his current position, David was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The Earth Institute at Columbia University. He received his BSc in Chemistry and Law from the University of Bristol in the UK and his MA and PhD in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy from Princeton University.

Tim Crews

Chief Scientist and Director of the New Roots International Initiative at the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas.

He is broadly interested in what attributes of natural systems like grasslands or forests can be integrated into agroecosystems in order improve on agricultural sustainability through ecological intensification. He is currently focused on helping to facilitate the international expansion of research on perennial grain agriculture. Before coming to The Land Institute in September 2012, Tim was a Professor of Environmental Studies and Agroecology at Prescott College in Arizona for 18 years. He was also a visiting researcher in Australia with CSIRO and with Rothamsted Research in the U.K. Tim received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and was an Ecology post-doc fellow at Stanford University before taking his faculty position at Prescott.

Michelle Finley

Veteran communications professional and community leader living and working in Manitoba

Michelle served as a City of Winnipeg spokesperson for 10 years and as a communications leader with such organizations as Habitat for Humanity, the Manitoba Liberal Party, and SkipTheDishes.

She has been with Roquette since early 2020 as their first Communications and Public Affairs Manager for Canada. Roquette is a global leader in plant-based ingredients and a pioneer of new vegetal proteins. In collaboration with its customers and partners, the Group addresses current and future societal challenges by unlocking the potential of nature to offer the best ingredients for food, nutrition and health markets.

Dr. Emily Missyabit McAuley

Director, Indigenous Science Liaison Office and Interdepartmental Indigenous STEM (I-STEM) Cluster at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Dr. Emily Missyabit McAuley is a member of Lake Manitoba First Nation. She received an M.Sc. in Biology from Carleton University in 2009 and a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Simon Fraser University in 2020. Her research interests include food web interactions, species distribution modeling, geomatics, stable isotopes, citizen science, and Indigenous knowledge systems. Emily is the Director of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) Indigenous Science Liaison Office as well as the AAFC-hosted interdepartmental Indigenous Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (I-STEM) Cluster. The I-STEM Cluster brings together 13 federal departments and agencies to inform and enhance federal policies, programs, and activities related to STEM disciplines in order to increase and expand support for Indigenous priorities in environmental stewardship, research, and technology development and transfer.

Christian Delporte

Technical Support Manager, Animal Nutrition ROQUETTE Europe & ROQUETTE Canada.

He graduated from Institute Lasalle Beauvais (France) as an engineer in agriculture. Christian has 25 years of experience as Animal Nutritionist at ROQUETTE Group, a world leader of plant-based ingredients, extracted from corn, wheat, potatoes and peas. In the context of the new pea processing plant built by Roquette in Portage La Prairie, Christian spent 2 years in Manitoba to explaining to Feed Millers, Nutritionists and Farmers, how to use pea products in animal nutrition: Pea Cream, Pea Hulls, Pea Screenings, Pea Starch and Pea Protein.

March 17

David Rourke

Borne and raised in Winnipeg, obtained a BSc (78) and MSc (81) from Plant Science U of M . David and his wife Diane (45 years married) started farming and conducting research in 1980 at Minto, Manitoba.

They have 4 kids and 9 grandkids. Dana Maxwell, the oldest has taken over AgQuest, Inc the research business with 5 research stations across Western Canada and 26 research crews. Darice is in social work. Don and Dorian along with her husband, John, are operating the 6000-acre grain farm with some seasonal assistance from David and Diane. David has been seriously concerned about the effect of the world’s use of 100,000,000 barrels of oil equivalence/ day is having on our ecosystem since 2015, the time of the Paris Accord. He has been working to see if agriculture can be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem to global warming. In 2021 he wrote a book, A Road to Fossil Fuel Free Farming, an example and a challenge. In September he started his PhD at the Natural Resource Institute at the U of M. The thesis has to do with, What I am missing from Western Canadian Agriculture to be in alignment with the needs of the UNIPCC Special Report on 1.5C. David is working to make their farm Net Negative.

Alex Stuart

15 years in renewable energy development with over 200 successful wind, solar and energy storage installations throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the Caribbean.

Adding 14 years of Manitoba civil service experience to his entrepreneurial ventures, Alex has an inside understanding of how policy affects outcomes. Alex is a national mirror committee member of the ISO Technical Committee 207, Sub Committee 7, responsible for the ISO 14064, 65, and 66 family of standards, which govern Greenhouse Gas measurement, reporting and verification. Alex is excited to be developing technology to support the carbon offset markets, which he believes is a critical intersection of capitalism and environmentalism. A married father of two young girls, Alex resides in Southern Winnipeg.

Mario Tenuta

NSERC/WGRF/Fertilizer Canada Industrial Research Chair in 4R Nutrient Stewardship and Professor of Applied Soil Ecology, University of Manitoba.

His training includes a B.Sc. in Botany and Physical Geography, an M.Sc. in Soil Science, a Ph.D. in Plant Sciences, and Post-Doctoral research in Nematology. Together with many colleagues and collaborators, his team is researching many soil-related issues, including; controlling potato early dying, improving nitrogen use efficiency of crops, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from fertilizers, development of rapid molecular tests of emerging soilborne diseases and nematode pests, and improvement of soil health. Mario is the lead of the Canadian Potato Early Dying Network (CanPEDNet).

March 18

David Lobb

Professor of Landscape Ecology, Soil Science, University of Manitoba

David was the Senior Research Chair of the Watershed Systems Research Program at the UofM. He earned his BSc from the University of Toronto and his MSc and PhD from the University of Guelph. He is internationally recognized for his research in tillage translocation and tillage erosion, particularly for his advances in experimental methods and modeling. His expertise in soil erosion and conservation has been sought by the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency and Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in addition to provincial and federal government agencies across Canada. David is currently the vice-chair of the FAO’s Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soil. David is a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Soil Science, the Soil and Water Conservation Society and the Soil Science Society of America.

Janine Paly

Ducks Unlimited Canada, Agricultural Programs & Extension Specialist

There's more to farming than a return on investment. This is something Janine Paly believes strongly and it is a belief she brings to both her personal and professional lives. The health of the land Paly, her husband and two young daughters farm comes first. Their mixed cow-calf operation consists of a rotation of wheat, barley, oats, canola and forages to optimize watershed and soil health. An advocate for sustainable agriculture, Paly is currently employed with Ducks Unlimited Canada based in Alberta as the Agricultural Programs & Extension Specialist. With this unique role, she works closely with ag stakeholders and is directly engaged with producers to help them achieve sustainable outcomes. Paly holds a Plant and Soil Science Diploma from Lethbridge College, a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Lethbridge, and is also a member of the Alberta Institute of Agrologists.

Duane Thompson

Owner/operator, Tee Two Land & Cattle Co in the Parkland Region near Kelliher, SK

Along with several of their adult children own and operate Tee Two Land & Cattle Co in the Parkland Region near Kelliher, SK. It is a family operation that focuses on the people and the land. Soil health and Regenerative Agriculture are the driving force. We believe that managing our multi enterprise business Holistically will enable us to be self insured and provide long term profitability, resiliency and a desirable standard of life for those involved.