Farm Management Canada Speakers:
Farm Business Management Best Practices
Heather Watson
Speaker Bio
Heather Watson is the Executive Director of Farm Management Canada. Heather obtained her Bachelor’s from the University of Guelph, and went on to obtain her Master’s degree from the University of Warwick in Coventry, England.
Heather’s passionate about education and committed to enhancing efforts to encourage better business management practices for a sustainable and truly remarkable agriculture industry in Canada. Before joining Farm Management Canada, Heather was a project coordinator within the Business Development Centre of the University of Guelph Kemptville Campus.
Heather grew up in South-western Ontario and now lives in Ottawa, Ontario.
Colleen Acres
Speaker Bio
Born and raised on a farm south of Ottawa, Colleen brings experience from decades of working for producers in several different agricultural associations from seed to soil to livestock production. Colleen believes the importance of good business management skills can be traced to a journey of lifelong learning. Facilitating producer sessions, discovering new resources, identifying trends by keeping abreast of key happenings in Canadian agriculture and exploring new learning opportunities are just some of the skills that Colleen brings to her role with Farm Management Canada combined with a healthy heap of practical farm level experience from managing the family sheep, beef and crop farm.
Colleen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (Political Studies) from Queen’s University. She looks forward to working with the team at Farm Management Canada to bring projects to life and to help farms become more productive, more profitable and more sustainable.
Christa Wright
Speaker Bio
Born and raised on a chicken farm in Newfoundland and Labrador, Christa brings over 25 years of experience working in agriculture in various capacities including supply management, farmer organizations, and agricultural education. Christa joined the Farm Management Canada team in July 2024 and is excited about the impact her experience will bring to Farm Management Canada. She sees her role as pivotal in driving initiatives that educate, equip, and inspire farmers to adopt best practices, manage risks, and remain competitive. Knowing that her work will directly impact farmers' lives, advance sustainability, and promote food security across Canada is deeply rewarding to her.
Being part of an organization that advocates for agriculture's long-term success aligns with Christa’s belief in creating lasting positive impacts on both industry and the communities and people that depend on it.
Christa holds a Masters Certificate in Project Management.
Terry Aberhart
Speaker Bio
Growing up on his family farm cultivated Terry Aberhart’s passion for agriculture and entrepreneurial growth. He worked in the agricultural industry before returning to manage farm and custom spraying operations in 2000.
In 2005, Terry founded Sure Growth Technologies, a professional independent agronomy consulting company, affiliated with Agri-Trend. In 2009 Terry received the Business Builder of the Year award and was voted Canadian Agri-Coach of the Year from Agri-Trend from 2011-2012.
Terry continues to be passionate about giving back to those in need through Learn Ag, Canadian Food Grains Bank and charity projects in the developing world. He loves agriculture, working with the farm team, and sharing his success and passion with his family.
Derek Brewin
Speaker Bio
Since 2003, Derek has been working as a teacher and researcher in the Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics at the University of Manitoba. Starting in January 2017, he has served as Head of that department.
Derek is an award-winning teacher of agricultural finance, marketing and risk management. Derek has served on numerous boards and committees. He is a Past President of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society. He has served as a Senator at the University of Manitoba, as a member of Manitoba’s Agricultural Risk Task Force and as a director of the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council.
Stephen Duff
Speaker Bio
Coming from a dairy and beef background in Ontario’s Northumberland county, Steve is an Ontario Agricultural College ‘94 grad who completed a Masters in Ag Economics from the Food, Agriculture and Resource Economics (FARE) department at the University of Guelph in 1996. Steve joined the Ontario Ministry of Agricultur and Food (OMAF) in late 1997 after a year as a policy researcher within FARE for the Dairy Farmers of Ontario.
During this time Steve chaired several federal-provincial-territorial committees including the Business Risk Management (BRM) advisory committee, the BRM administrators committee and is currently the co-chair of the Farm Income Forecasting Committee. Steve is currently OMAF’s Chief Economist. Since 2011, Steve has been an Adjunct Professor in the FARE department teaching 4th year Agricultural Policy analysis. In 2016, Steve was the recipient of the first FARE distinguished alumnus award. Steve and his wife Robyn operate a beef and cash crop farm near Colborne, Ontario.
Sylvain Gadbois
Speaker Bio
Business Development Officer, New Brunswick Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture & Fisheries
Sylvain is a business development officer within the Government of New Brunswick’s Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries. Sylvain has been New Brunswick’s representative to Farm Management Canada’s Provincial-Territorial Ministry Network for nearly a decade and is proud to serve as the Network’s elected representative to the Board of Directors.
Sylvain is passionate about advancing business management skills and practices in agriculture.
Sylvain spent his youth on a large family farm in the Province of Québec, where he acquired tremendous experience in the agricultural sector.
Sylvain graduated in Agricultural Economics from the Macdonald Campus of McGill University and went on to obtain his CMA and CPA designations. Committed to lifelong learning, Sylvain has taken advantage of numerous professional development opportunities including Business Risk Management from the Université de Moncton, Commercial Credit from Moody’s, and Production and Operations Management from Athabasca University.
Before coming to the Department, Sylvain worked as a farm business consultant, as a senior manager in the feed industry, in banking, in education and other industries. As General Manager for a large integrated farm in New Brunswick, Sylvain learned firsthand the importance of having a diverse set of business skills and practices to lead a successful farm business including strategic planning, operational policies, accounting, and information technology.
Sylvain lives in Fredericton with is wife Bette. He loves spending time with his family and son Alexandre. He has been involved in sports all his life (and still to this day). Every year he grows a large garden of fruits, vegetables and flowers that he named his “Lab of Experiments”. His most recent volunteer work was being an Executive member of the YMCA’s Men Club in Saint John NB and reading French to youth at the local library.
siness management practices and program development.
Andrea Gal
Speaker Bio
Andrea M. Gal is a farm manager in Oxford County, Ont. She also works as a consultant at Wilton Consulting Group (WCG).
Andrea and her family operate Morning Glory Stream Farming. They run a cash crop operation, as well as seed and fertilizer dealerships. They also have a small cow-calf herd. The Gals work closely as a team to run the family business. The Gals also operate a research farm focused on environmentally responsible crop nutrition programs that provide a strong return on investment.
At WCG, Andrea supports innovation and sustainability in the Canadian agri-food industry and rural communities. The WCG team collaborates with people and organizations throughout the agri-food value chain.
Andrea is the Vice Chair of Farm Management Canada. She has served on the Board executive since 2020.
Prior to her election to Farm Management Canada’s Board of Directors, Andrea served on the Board of Directors of the Agri-food Management Institute (AMI). This organization created and delivered programs and resources to help Ontario producers and processors strengthen their business management skills.
Since 2019, Andrea has served on the Policy Advisory Council of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. For four years, Andrea volunteered with the Ag Women’s Network as the Facebook moderator and then the content manager.
Andrea completed her Ph.D. with a focus on rural Ontario history at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2016.
Andrea is passionate about the adoption of best practices for farm management and is eager to continue to advance work in this field.