Dr. Habibur Rahman is a Professor in Canola Breeding and Genetics in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science at the University of Alberta, Canada. He earned his PhD from the University of Copenhagen, and worked in Denmark with a Danish Seed company as a Senior Canola Breeder prior to joining the University of Alberta at the end of 2003.

Dr. Rahman’s research at the University of Alberta primarily focused on the introgression of beneficial traits including clubroot resistance into canola from its allied species and exotic gene pools for the development of improved canola germplasm. Broadening the genetic base of canola through introgression of exotic alleles and understanding the implications of these alleles in this crop is an important aspect of his breeding-research. Dr. Rahman employs both conventional breeding methods and molecular and genomics tools in his program.

A second generation beekeeper in Southern Alberta.

Dr. Janitha Wanasundara is a Research Scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon Research and Development Center. She holds a doctorate in Food Science and has contributed over 200 peer reviewed publications, book chapters and presentations in the area of food protein chemistry and technology. Brassica oilseed meal valorization through understanding their protein components is one of the objectives of her research program. She is a Certified Food Scientist and a Fellow of American Oil Chemists’ Society.

Jerry L. Hatfield is the retired Director of the USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment in Ames, Iowa.  He worked in California at the University of California-Davis from 1975-1983 as a biometeorologist working a range of different crops, joined USDA-ARS in 1983 at the Plant Stress and Water Conservation Unit in Lubbock, TX until his transfer to Ames in 1989 to develop the research program of the National Soil Tilth Laboratory (renamed the National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment in 2009). His research focused on the interactions among the components of the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum and their linkage to air, water, and soil quality. A platform for his research utilizes the genetics x environment x management concept as a framework to work with producers to demonstrate how they can increase their production efficiency, increase soil health, and develop resilience to weather and climate variation as the foundation for food security. His current activities focus on helping producers understand the dynamics of soil health and how it impacts production, profit, sustainability, and environmental quality. His outreach efforts have included participation in the National Climate Assessment as the Lead Author for agriculture for the US and on the IPCC effort on greenhouse gases and climate change. Dr. Hatfield is an accomplished author with 511 refereed publications and 18 monographs and serves as the Editor for Agroecosystems, Geosciences and Environment and ranks in the top 2% of researchers in the world. He edited several volumes including Crop Adaptation to Climate Change and Food Security and Climate Change and is currently the lead editor on a virtual issue for the Science Societies (Agronomy, Crops, and Soils) on Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture: Adaptation and Mitigation.  His numerous awards include being inducted into the USDA-ARS Hall of Fame for his research impact on environmental quality and farming systems, the Hugh Hammond Bennett award, and the Soil Science Society of America Distinguished Service Award in 2022 along with being a Fellow in the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America and serving as President of the American Society of Agronomy in 2007 and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Soil and Water Conservation Society.  He received his PhD from Iowa State University in 1975 in the area of agricultural climatology, MS in agronomy from the University of Kentucky in 1972, and a BS in agronomy from Kansas State University in 1971.

Ralph Lange started his career in plant in 1988 as a pathologist with biotechnology startup BioTechnica Canada. There, he ran some of the earliest commercial blackleg nurseries. He continued to focus on blackleg after completing an M.Sc. in 1993, but also branched off to
barley leaf diseases at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lacombe, and fungicide and epidemiology research for controlling diseases of saskatoons with Alberta Agriculture.

Since 1997, Ralph has been located in Vegreville with InnoTech Alberta and its predecessor organization. Projects at AEC/ARC/AITF include the evaluation of canola germplasm for resistance to diseases, and research into the effects of tillage systems and crop rotation on canola diseases. Ralph’s lab has developed disease diagnostic tests, including PCR detection methods for fusarium head blight of wheat, a rapid qPCR for detection of blackleg in canola seed, as well as disease surveys and screening for invasive canola diseases as they emerged, including Fusarium wilt, club root, and Verticillium stripe.

Ralph leaders a research group that provides biochemical and microbiological analytic services, plus diverse subject areas like nano-materials, industrial hygiene and smart agriculture. 

Dr. Heping Yang is a Senior Science Fellow at Bayer Crop Science. His expertise areas include RNAi-mediated elective regulations of genes and plant reproductive biology. Dr. Yang has more than 15 years of experience in technology innovations and RNAi-enhanced trait development. He helped create the 3^rd generation corn rootworm control product, the 2^nd generation Roundup Hybridization System, and the 1^st generation biotech short stature corn among others. Before joining the company, Dr. Yang was a scientist focusing on functional genomics of reproductive cells at the Plant Gene Expression Center, UC Berkeley/USDA, after discovering the first plant peptide growth factor genes at Nagoya University, Japan. He holds a Ph.D. in Bioscience from the University of Tsukuba, Japan.

Sakaria Liban is a Research Scientist at DL Seeds Inc., a canola breeding company located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He holds an MSc in plant pathology and population genetics and is currently pursuing his PhD in genomic selection and plant breeding at the University of Manitoba.

Sakaria's research experience covers a range of areas, including genomic selection, machine learning, genetic mapping, pathogen population genetics, and canola breeding. He is currently focusing on applying machine learning to enhance plant breeding and genetics, as well as exploring multimodal models that incorporate environmental data.

Kevin Rozwadowski is a Research Scientist at the Saskatoon Research and Development Centre of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.  He grew up on a mixed farm in Manitoba, a setting that instilled a deep interest in biology and led to receiving a B.Sc. in Agriculture from the University of Manitoba specialising in plant science, a M.Sc. in Applied Microbiology from the University of Saskatchewan investigating osmotic stress tolerance, and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Genetics from the University of Guelph studying pollen-pistil interactions and recognition factors. Post-doctoral training included positions at the National Research Council of Canada studying developmental regulators in Arabidopsis, and at AAFC-Saskatoon investigating meiotic recombination processes.  In addition to his long-standing interest in DNA recombination and repair mechanisms, his research includes mechanisms of gene and protein regulation, and development of molecular tools for transgenic technologies and transient expression systems.  His current research focuses on optimising gene editing systems for canola and camelina with an aim to improve productivity and quality traits.

Chris Vervaet is the Executive Director of the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association (COPA), representing its members on matters pertaining to the oilseed processing industry.  Chris is also a senior executive with the Canola Council of Canada (CCC), providing leadership on topics impacting all segments of the canola value chain. 

His work in these roles has focused on the growing opportunities and challenges for the canola industry as the world transitions to a lower carbon future.   He leads the value chain’s efforts on renewable fuels, working closely with government and industry partners on key regulatory initiatives, including Canada’s Clean Fuel Regulation and the canola oil pathway under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard.   

After obtaining her PhD at McGill University (Montréal, Canada), Véronique J. Barthet joined the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) in 2000.  Her research programs cover several research areas in order to maintain the Canadian oilseeds quality assurance programs.  She has been working on several projects to assess the impact of seed quality on end-products and the relationship with grading factors.  She has also been working on the development of analytical methods to measure minor seed components (e.g. cyanogenic glycosides in flaxseeds, n-7 fatty acids in Brassica).  Her research looks at the use of rapid methods (NIR spectroscopy) to analyze seeds components using bench instruments as well as handheld spectrometer. 

She is a member of several national and international committees, such as ISO sub-committees where she served as project leader for several standards, AOCS uniform committee and the quality and products committee of the GCIRC (Global Council for Innovation in Rapeseed and Canola).  She is a member of the Oilseeds Sub-Committee of the Western Standard Committee, an industry-CGC advisory committee recommending specifications for quality parameters allowing the segregation of Canadian grains in different classes and grades, for their end-uses and marketing by the industry nationally and internationally.  In Canada, Véronique has been the Chair of two ISO Sub-Committees (2 and 11) of the Technical Committee 34 dealing is oilseeds and oilseed meal analyses and served as President of the Canadian Section of the American Oil Chemist Society.

Kathryn is the Research Coordinator at Alberta Canola and lives in Edmonton. She has a BSc in Biology from The King’s University, and previously worked as a summer student in pulse field trials for Lakeland College, which was her first exposure the agricultural research. As Research Coordinator at Alberta Canola she oversees the research funding process, and plants events such as the Alberta Canola Research Symposium.

Erik Andvaag is an MSc candidate in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Saskatchewan. He is an NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship - Master's program (CGS M) recipient and two-time NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) recipient. Erik's research project has involved the development of Canola Counter, an easy-to-use web tool that detects and counts early-season canola plants in aerial field imagery. Erik enjoys playing the piano in his spare time and has an associate diploma (ARCT) in piano performance.

Kevin Cook is VP of Breeding at CoverCress Inc.  He is a crop improvement research leader focused on addressing challenges of agriculture through genetics solutions.  CoverCress’ work to develop a high performance winter oilseed crop from a common weed is an example of the type of work Kevin excels in.  He is skilled in establishing and leading crop genetics programs that leverage technology to deliver on challenging genetic improvement objectives and timelines.  Kevin holds a PhD in plant breeding and Genetics from Iowa State University.  He learned the ropes of crop improvement at Monsanto where his work concentrated on corn with diverse roles in breeding, technology development, and genetic trait deployment, ultimately leading a global team responsible for corn trait deployment around the world.  Kevin’s recent years were invested in the St. Louis agtech startup world, leading technology and crop development initiatives as CTO of Kaiima and Senior Director of Breeding at Benson Hill. 

Trevor Hadwen is an Agroclimate Specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s National Agroclimate Information Service. His responsibilities include leading multiple monitoring, assessment and reporting activities on weather and climate risks to agriculture. These activities help support producers and the sector anticipate and plan for potential risks. Since 2006, Trevor has led the Canadian Drought Monitor activity, and is the drought theme lead for Canada on the North American Climate Services Partnership and is a regular author for the North American Drought Monitor. Trevor leads development on risk and impact assessment tools including the Agroclimate Impact Reporter. Trevor’s work also includes a long history of development of drought, and excess moisture, indicators. Trevor’s academic background is geography.

Brian will present on Leafcutter Bee Pollination Service.

Dr Sam Cook is head of the ‘Next-Generation IPM’ section area at Rothamsted Research, UK.  She is an invertebrate behavioural ecologist working to develop integrated pest management strategies (IPM) of insect pests in arable crops, in particular oilseed rape.  Her work is highly collaborative and knits together scientific research with practical (industrial) application.  Her main research interests are:

(1) Developing push-pull systems based on attractant and repellent natural signalling compounds (semiochemicals) to manipulate pest and natural enemy behaviour for improved crop protection.  

(2) Understanding how agro-ecological methods, especially those based on plant diversification (trap cropping, undersowing, flower-rich field strips) can be optimised to reduce pest pressure and support biological control via natural enemies of crop pests 

(3) Gaining an improved understanding of the natural enemies of crop pests and quantifying their effects

She is a member of the Crop Protection Committee of the GCIRC, the convenor of the Entomology subsection of the IOBC Working Group ‘Integrated Control in Oilseed Crops’ and an inaugural member of the UK BCPC Pests & Beneficials group. She is also an Associate Editor of the journal Pest Management Science.  

Heather Shearer is the manager of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Plant Biosafety Office (PBO), which oversees the environmental release of plants with novel traits. Heather joined the PBO in 2011 after completing postdoctoral studies at the National Research Council Canada Plant Biotechnology Institute. Her educational background includes a PhD in plant agriculture from the University of Guelph, and an MSc in plant molecular biology from Queen’s University.

Kaylie Krys is a Master’s candidate in Dr. Steve Shirtliffe’s Agronomic Crop imaging lab at the University of Saskatchewan. Kaylie’s thesis focuses on applying a methodology for the use of Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to count emerging canola plant populations at a field scale. Kaylie comes from a small mixed cattle and grain farm near Vermilion, AB. She completed a diploma in Environmental Sciences from Lakeland College then transferred to the University of Saskatchewan to finish her Degree in Agriculture, majoring in soil science and minoring in field crop production. Kaylie became interested in UAV applications in agriculture in the summer of 2020 after taking her Basic UAV Pilot Certificate. She is passionate about the scalability of different UAV applications for farms big and small. Kaylie is currently teaching plant and soil science courses to environmental sciences and agriculture sustainability students at Lakeland College in Vermilion, while finishing her Master’s thesis and helping at the family farm.

Alejandro Costamagna is an Associate Professor in the Department of Entomology at the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba.  His research focuses on sustainable methods to control arthropod pests in agricultural systems. His current research projects include studying the effects of landscape complexity, crop diversity, cover crops, plant density and natural enemies on the abundance and damage of flea beetles in canola. He is also looking for sustainable methods to control other important pests, such as cereal leaf beetles, lygus bugs, and soybean aphids. In collaboration with scientists of AAFC and other Universities, he is looking for new sources of plant resistance to wheat midge. Alejandro obtained his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Entomology at Michigan State University and did post-doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota and at CSIRO in Australia.

Dr. Meghna Malik is the Senior Director at Yield10 Oilseeds located in Saskatoon, Canada. For the last 13 years Dr Malik has led the company's research projects on engineering of value-added traits and yield enhancement in the oilseed crop, Camelina sativa. Her projects at Yield10 have led to the development of several elite gene edited lines of Camelina and Canola.  Dr Malik received her Ph. D. in Botany from University of Delhi, India and post-doctoral training at the National Research Council in Saskatoon.

Dr. Britt Ousterhout is a data science leader bringing over 10 years of experience applying advanced analytics and modeling techniques. As the head of Digital Phenotyping in Breeding at Bayer Crop Sciences, Britt has positioned this innovative team to deliver precision breeding and a field-testing digital twin by leveraging AI and remote sensing. Britt completed her Ph.D. in biological sciences at the University of Missouri and holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Dartmouth College.

Iulian Gabur is a Scientific Researcher in the Department of Plant Breeding, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany and a guest Professor in the Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Iasi University of Life Sciences, Romania. He obtained a Bachelor degree from the Faculty of Agriculture, Iasi University of Life Sciences (2012), Master of Sciences, École Supérieure des Agricultures (ESA), Angers, France (2015) and a Ph D. in Plant Breeding from the Justus von Liebig University, Giessen Germany (2019). Research interests are on development of bioinformatics tools for genomic predictions, integration of Artificial Intelligence models in applied plant breeding, plant genetic resources and next generation sequencing technologies. Author of over 20 scientific papers, partner in many international research consortiums and recipient of numerous grants on genetics and genomics in applied plant breeding.

Jeffrey Bertholet received both his BSc in Agriculture and MSc in Weed Science from the University of Manitoba. Since October 2023, he has been employed as a Development and Technical Service Consultant with Greenlight Bioscience. Jeffrey has more than 35 years of agricultural industry experience in both eastern and western Canada. He has worked most of his career with BASF Canada and held positions in Field Research, R&D Planning, and Marketing.  Most recently, he was the Technical Service Manager and a member of BASF Canada’s leadership team. During his career, he has been involved with a number of associations and professional organizations, including Board of Director positions with Canadian Weed Science Society, Canadian Seed Trade Association, Cereals Canada and AgWest Bio.

Dr. Janet J. Knodel is the Professor and Extension Entomologist (80% Extension : 20% Research) at North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND. For the past 25 years, she provides leadership in Extension Entomology and the North Dakota Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program. Activities focus on developing IPM strategies for insect pests of agricultural crops grown in North Dakota including sunflower, canola, corn, pulse crops, dry beans, soybean, barley and spring wheat. Research projects include: developing alternative IPM strategies (host plant resistance, cultural control, biological control), evaluating insecticide efficacy for pest control including seed and foliar treatments, identifying the development of insecticide resistance in insect pests, forecasting pest populations and infestation risks in the field, and conducting pest surveys and insect trapping networks. She also co-edited the annual NDSU Extension Crop & Pest Report. Dr. Knodel studies pollinators including bees, Syrphid flies and butterflies in gardens and field crops. Dr. Knodel has authored / co-authored more than 600 publications in professional, Extension, technical and trade journals and newsletters including over 50 peer-reviewed papers and six book chapters.

Paul Galpern is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at University of Calgary where he works chiefly on sustainable agriculture in prairie croplands and rangelands.  He is a PI on the Prairie Precision Sustainability Network which maps unprofitable farmed land across Alberta and Saskatchewan to support its conversion to habitat. An active area of research is investigating the conditions where both agricultural and sustainability objectives can be achieved at the same time. He believes that such “win-wins” are well within reach in Prairie Canada.

Jemanesh Haile is a plant breeder/pathologist with over 10 years of experience working on wheat breeding and pathology in the Western Canadian Agriculture System. 

She has joined the Canola Council of Canada in June 2023. She manages and coordinates the Western Canadian Canola and Rapeseed Recommending Committee (WCCRCC) Co-operative (Verification) and Specialty and Contract Recommendation Subcommittee (SCRC) testing system for recommending new canola, rapeseed, and canola-quality Brassica varieties.

Before joining the Canola Council of Canada, she worked for the Crop Development Centre at the University as a research officer coordinating the pre-breeding and germplasm activities of the wheat breeding and genetics program. 

While working on wheat, she has significantly contributed to releasing three Canadian Western Amber Durum wheat varieties and others in the pipeline. She has published more than 25 articles in peer-reviewed journals. She is a Professional Agrologist (Registration #: 100895).  Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists (SIA), Saskatoon, SK, Canada, starting from May 05, 2016. 

She holds a Ph.D. in gene and genome mapping from the University of Kassel, Germany, an MSc in Applied Genetics and a BSc in Plant Sciences from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.

Dr. Meghan Vankosky is a field crop entomologist at the Saskatoon Research and Development Centre. Her research program focuses on studying the biology and population ecology of insect pests and their natural enemies in order to inform pest management programs. She is the Chair of the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network, a group of entomologists on the prairies that coordinates and conducts annual surveys of key insect pests of cereals, oilseeds, and pulses and provides weekly updates and annual risk and distribution maps to farmers, agronomists, researchers and other agricultural stakeholders. She is also interested in invasive species and biological control; in 2015 she worked on a postdoc project that focused on the release of a biological control agent of Asian citrus psyllid in California. Dr. Vankosky is a member of the AAFC Prairie Biovigilance Network, the AAFC Biological Control Working Group, and the Surveillance Working Group of the Canada Plant Health Council.

Dr. Charles Geddes is a Weed Scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, Alberta. Charles grew up on a mixed farm near Pilot Mound, Manitoba. He graduated with a B.Sc. in Agroecology and a Ph.D. in Plant Science from the University of Manitoba. Charles leads the prairie herbicide-resistant weed surveys, and research on the discovery, characterization, monitoring, and management of herbicide-resistant weeds in western Canada. Charles has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, and among other roles, serves as associate editor of the scientific journals: Canadian Journal of Plant Science and Weed Technology.

Justine Cornelsen is the Agronomic and Regulatory Services Manager with BrettYoung Seeds. She carries over 10 years of agricultural and environmental experience from previous positions with the Canola Council of Canada, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, and Parks Canada. 

Justine graduated in 2014 from Brandon University with a Bachelor of Science degree. In 2021 she completed her Master of Science degree at the University of Manitoba. 

Justine currently resides on an acreage near Virden, where she is surrounded by many, many horses.

Dr. Michael Harding is the Crop Health Assurance Lead for Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation. He received his BSc in Biology from the University of Lethbridge in 1996, and his PhD in Plant Pathology from the University of Arizona in 2004.  Dr. Harding leads crop disease monitoring and surveillance in Alberta and assists with crop health diagnostics.

Doug Heath is the Research Manager at the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission.  SaskCanola currently oversees over 70 active canola projects per year for the benefit of Saskatchewan’s canola growers.  He comes from a diverse research and development background including canola, wheat, Camelina, carinata, and pulse research from private industry, non-profit, academia, and public research organizations.  He has a BSc Biology and MSc Microbiology from the University of Saskatchewan.

Amy is the Research Manager with Manitoba Canola Growers Association and lives in south central Manitoba. She completed her PhD at the University of Manitoba (U of M) focused on Agronomy and is a Certified Crop Advisor and 4R Designated Agronomist. She completed her MSc at the University of Alberta in Weed Science and BSc in Agronomy from U of M. Previously, Amy has worked as a research technician in the soil fertility lab at the U of M and as an Agronomist with Pembina Coop.

Chris Manchur is an Agronomy Specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, providing agronomic advice and support to growers and agronomists across the eastern half of Manitoba. In addition to agronomic support, Chris coordinates research and innovation through the Canola Agronomic Research Program (CARP) and the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP) Canola Cluster, while also helping establish research priorities and funding through consultation with provincial grower organizations, government, and industry. He also provides leadership on the Crop Production and Innovation team on key canola pathogens, namely sclerotinia. Chris received a BSc in Plant Biotechnology and MSc researching RNAi-based pesticides from the University of Manitoba.

Robert (Rob) Wilson grew up on the family farm and has a long and distinguished career in agriculture, plant breeding and seed production having spent 42 years with Pioneer Hi-Bred Australia / GenTech Seeds.   

Rob commenced his career (1981) as a seed production agronomist before transitioning into research (1988) as a lucerne (alfalfa) breeder for Pioneer, in this role he released 5 new varieties before being appointed (1996) to establish and manage Pioneer’s Australian Canola research program, releasing 33 canola varieties, including the first Clearfield® and Roundup Ready® canola hybrids into the Australian market. In 2015 he was appointed Canola Business Development Manager until retiring in May 2023.

Rob has long been an active grains industry representative and is a past President of the Australian Oilseed Federation (AOF) the peak oilseeds body within the Australian grains industry, and a former President of the Canola Association of Australia (CAA). 

Rob is currently President of the Global Council for Innovation of Rapeseed & Canola (GCIRC) 2021-2025 and Chairman of the International Rapeseed Congress (IRC-16) held in Sydney September 24-27^th 2023.

Ola Lundin is a researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden. He has a master in Environmental Science from Lund University, a PhD in Ecology from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and experience as a postdoctoral scholar from University of California, USA. Ola Lundin's research is focused on beneficial and pest insect interactions with crops, and includes the agronomic impacts, drivers and management of such interactions. His research experience includes options for flea beetle management in spring rapeseed following the restriction and subsequent ban of neonicotinoid seed treatments in the European Union

Sarah grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan, studied veterinary medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, and practiced as a small animal veterinarian and a diagnostic veterinary pathologist. She never expected that one day she would find her ‘dream job’ as the first veterinary Research Chair in Pollinator Health in North America, a position made possible by support from SaskCanola, Manitoba Canola Growers, the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Development Commission, BASF, and the British Columbia Blueberry Council. 

Sarah’s current areas of research include infectious disease and toxicology of honey bees and the role of pollinators in sustainable agriculture.

Keith Gabert’s goal as an Agronomy Specialist is to help you be more successful growing canola.  Keith holds a BSc Ag, Plant Science from the University of Alberta as well as a Horticulture and Agronomy diploma from Olds College,  and continues to learn in a field near you.   Having grown up on a mixed farm,  Keith currently resides with his wife and whichever children are still home in Red Deer County, Alberta.  Keith in a decade of specialization as insect lead with the Canola Council continues to learn new things about insects every season.

Bob Larocque, from Ottawa, Ontario, joined the Canadian Fuels Association as President and CEO in September 2020. Bob is proud to represent Canada’s innovative fuels sector and the critical role the sector plays to provide reliable, safe and environmentally responsible transportation energy to all Canadians.

Bob leads the Association in driving policies that improve environmental performance, protect industry competitiveness and strengthen Canada’s critical energy infrastructure. Focusing on maintaining an open dialogue between industry and government, its stakeholders and the public are priorities. Bob also strongly believes that the Association can offer access to information and analysis in order to help drive informed policy decisions.

Prior to joining the CFA, Bob was the Senior Vice-President at the Forestry Products Association of Canada where he supported the sector on policy and technical issues relating to climate change, innovation, Indigenous engagement and environmental regulations.  Mr. Larocque was also responsible for supporting the sector in achieving its “30 by 30 Climate Change Challenge”. Bob attended the University of Ottawa graduating with an Honours Degree in Chemical Engineering.

Dan L. Johnson is committed to research and public understanding of science, and promotes appreciation for insects, spiders, and biodiversity. He has conducted hundreds of studies in integrated sustainable crop protection, entomology, and related topics. After 20 years as a research scientist with AAFC, where he introduced the first insect GIS forecast, insecticide baits, and microbial controls, he joined the University of Lethbridge as Professor, and Canada Research Chair I. He teaches data analysis, biogeography, insect ecology, environmental science, and received a teaching award from the Students’ Union. He organized and chaired the world conference on grasshoppers and locusts, held in Canmore, and he led the first Canadian Zebra Chip and Potato Psyllid Monitoring and Research Network, 2013-2017. He conducted research and taught courses in China, Africa, and Southeast Asia, served on the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board (two terms), and with USAID and CIDA. He was awarded the C. Gordon Hewitt medal from the Entomological Society of Canada in 1992, served as president of the Entomological Society of Canada in 2000, and president of the Entomological Society of Alberta in 2022. Dan has published over 100 refereed scientific articles, and hundreds of other chapters, books, reports, maps, and photos, and supervised over 30 graduate students. He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan (BSc Biology, High Honours), and University of British Columbia (MSc and PhD in Plant Science, and the Institute of Animal Resource Ecology), where he was a Killam Scholar. The cover of Canadian Geographic called him a Green Crusader.

Bifang Cheng obtained her Bachelor and Master degrees in plant breeding and genetics from Huazhong Agricultural University, China. She completed her Ph.D. degree in the Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden in 1996. Her thesis focused on Brassica cytogenetics and genome analysis. From 1997 to 2000, Bifang Cheng was a postdoctoral fellow at Saskatoon Research and Development Centre and worked in breeding projects related to genetic enhancement of B. napus and B. juncea under the supervision of Dr. Ginette Séguin-Swartz. Following her post-doctoral research, she spent five years with Bioriginal Food & Sciences Corp., responsible for the plant transformation program to produce very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids such as EPA and DHA. Bifang Cheng joined AAFC-Saskatoon Research and Development Centre in 2009 and has been leading the brown and oriental mustard (B. juncea), and yellow mustard (Sinapis alba) breeding and research programs. She has developed the first high-yielding brown mustard hybrid variety AAC Brown 18, and composite yellow mustard variety AAC Yellow 80.

Jordan Ubbens is a Research Officer in Computational Biology at the Aquatic and Crop Resource Development center at the NRC in Saskatoon. Previously, he was a Research Associate at the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS), where he was a member of the Plant Improvement team. His research program involves the improvement of crop plants, with a focus on machine learning applications in quantitative genetics and image-based plant phenotyping. With a history of collaborations with plant breeders, his ongoing work has an emphasis on genomic prediction, efficient cross selection, and the genetic architecture of shape traits. Jordan completed his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Saskatchewan in the Plant Phenotyping and Imaging Research Centre. 

Dr. Anna Rogiewicz is an Assistant Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. Her research is focused on the evaluation of the chemical and nutritional characteristics of various feed ingredients, the exploration of exogenous enzyme supplementation effects, poultry nutrition, and the examination of how diverse feed components and their derivatives influence the gut microflora, gut health, physiology, and ultimately, the production traits of monogastric animals. Dr. Rogiewicz has made substantial contributions to research on evaluation of the nutritive value of conventional, yellow-seeded B. napus, and canola-quality B. juncea meals, as well as the investigation of the impact of processing conditions on the quality of canola meal and cold-pressed canola. She is exploring the utilization of canola-derived feed ingredients for poultry and swine, and has been instrumental in identifying and assessing the prebiotic effects of bioactive ingredients enzymatically released from canola meal fiber

Andrea E. M. Campbell is a PhD student at the University of Vermont. As a member of the Insect Agroecology and Evolution Lab she strives to provide growers with ecologically-based management tools. Her primary scientific interests include plant-insect and insect-insect interactions, chemical ecology, and insect behavior. She deeply enjoys integrating these interests to understand and exploit insect biology and ecology to reduce pest pressure in agroecosystems. Currently, her research focuses specifically on semiochemical management strategies for the invasive swede midge.

Dr. Boyd A. Mori is an Assistant Professor and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Chair in Agricultural Entomology in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. Dr. Mori has over 15 years of research experience in agricultural entomology. His research group focuses on developing integrated pest management strategies for insect pests of field and horticultural crops. His research incorporates behavioural, chemical, and molecular ecology to understand and exploit the biology of insect pests and their host plants and natural enemies. Over the past 5 years, Dr. Mori’s research has expanded dramatically into the use of cutting-edge molecular tools to address questions relevant to insect pest management. His research has led to the discovery of a canola flower midge, an undescribed pest of canola on the prairies, and its parasitoids. He has extensive experience studying pest monitoring, insecticide resistance, and biological control. Dr. Mori is a member of the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network, and has collaborated extensively with researchers, farmers, and agronomists across the Prairies. Dr. Mori has been recognized for his contributions to the field with the Early Career Research and Leadership Award from the International Branch of Entomological Society of America (2018), and the C. Gordon Hewitt Award from the Entomological Society of Canada (2023).

Dr. Christine Noronha obtained her Ph.D in entomology from McGill University. She is currently a research scientist (entomology, IPM) at the Charlottetown Research and Development Centre (AAFC) in PEI. Her research focuses on developing insect pest management strategies for agricultural crops. She started researching pollen beetles in canola in 2013, when she found it damaging canola fields in PEI. Dr. Noronha has presented her research at several national and international conferences and published a book chapter on “Pollen beetles in North America.”  In addition to pollen beetle, she also researches other insect pest species (Colorado potato beetle, European corn borer, Wireworms, and Aphids). In 2016, she received the Agrologists Recognition Award for outstanding contributions to agriculture from the Prince Edward Island Institute of Agrologists and in 2022 she received the “Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture” award. She is regularly invited to present her research at grower meeting and provide advice on pest control strategies.

Dr. Tyler Wist has been chasing bugs since his second year of University when a fortuitous job posting to Pest Management with the City of Saskatoon gave him a taste for insect pest control and understanding the ecology of pest insects that afflict urban forests (think, tree pests) and urban dwellers (think mosquitoes). Tyler can safely say that he’s ended the lives of more mosquitoes than all of you put together.  After a lot of schooling, you can now call him Doctor and he acquired a scientist post in the most logical field of entomology in Saskatchewan, and that is, in a field, so he is now a field crop entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon. Although he specializes in wheat insect pests like wheat midge and cereal aphids, he still continues to work on new pests in new crops (canaryseed and quinoa), the worst insect pests in canola like flea beetles, insect vectored pathogens such as aster yellows and pea aphids in pulse crops.  Ask him about beneficial insects too…he loves to discuss how predators and parasitoids devour pest insects.

Ian Epp was raised on a family grain farm near Blaine Lake SK, where he continues to be involved in the operation. He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a B.Sc. in Agriculture, majoring in Agronomy. Since October 2015 Ian has been an Agronomy Specialist with the Canola Council of Canada. Ian is the CCC’s sustainability lead and assists in public affairs regarding pesticides, his areas of interest include weed control and herbicide resistance.