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.

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.

Since 2021, Andrea has served as the Chair of Farm Management Canada. Previously, she held the position of Secretary-Treasurer.

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.