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.

Denise Robertson

Speaker Bio

Denise Robertson joined Farm Management Canada in February 2018 as a Project Manager. Denise comes to us with broad expertise on Federal and Provincial policy. She graduated from the Event Management Post-Graduate program at Algonquin College in August 2014 and brings a vast knowledge of project and event management skills.

Denise spent two years with the Federal Government working in communications for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), supporting the Federal Ministry of Science and research at post-secondary institutions across the country. Denise then spent two years at the Public Policy Forum, a non-profit think tank in Ottawa. At PPF, she was a Project Administrator, supporting and managing projects and initiatives ranging in topics from Indigenous Issues to Agriculture sector specific engagement. In this role, Denise managed and oversaw many federally-funded projects involving a variety of stakeholders from private and public sectors.

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 Agriculture 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 OMAFs 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.

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.

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.

Kelly Dobson

Speaker Bio

Kelly Dobson is the Founder and Chief Performance Coach of LeaderShift Inc. a leader support and development firm specializing in small and medium sized enterprises.

Kelly has turned a lifelong fascination with leadership and its connection to personal and organizational success into a practice that supports farms and businesses related to agriculture.

Kelly is also the current leader of a fourth-generation farm at Fairfax, Manitoba. Kelly has served agriculture for over a decade, chairing groups provincially and federally. Kelly is a Certified Executive Coach and holds MA in Leadership from Royal Roads University.