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.

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.

Steve 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 Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) 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 OMAFRA’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.

Stuart Person

Speaker Bio

Stuart has more than 25 years of experience in agriculture, specializing in the grain industry. Passionate about the industry, he grew up on a grain farm and continues to participate as a producer himself. This experience and knowledge allows Stuart to relate first hand to what Canadian Agriculture producers face in their operations—and gives him greater insights on how to help producers overcome challenges and achieve their goals.

Stuart works with many agriculture producers, associations and other industry stakeholders on a daily basis, providing advice into the complex issues that affect the industry. He has extensive experience as an Agriculture Business Advisor with MNP and has helped clients from coast to coast.

In his role as Senior Vice President, Stuart leads a national team of more than 700 Agriculture professionals who serve more than 21,000 clients. He is also a member of the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors (CAFA).

Stuart earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree with Distinction from the University of Saskatchewan in 2000. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), qualifying as a Chartered Accountant (CA) in 2003.