Don’t miss your chance to save on registration for the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association’s (CFGA) 15th annual conference. Organized in partnership with the Ontario Forage Council, this year’s conference will take place in Guelph, Ontario, Dec. 3 to 6 with early bird registration ending Sept. 2. 

With the theme Roots to Success: The Foundation of Resilient Agriculture, this not-to-be-missed four-day event celebrates the important environmental and economic role forages and grasslands play in Ontario, across the country and around the globe. It delivers practical, grassroots-based agronomic knowledge and serves as the gateway to Canada’s 70-million acres of forage and grassland production, the researchers who study it and the men and women who manage and protect it.  
 
The 2024 program kicks of with a pre-conference workshop on Tuesday, Dec. 3, followed by two days a informative sessions presented by industry leaders from across the country. There will also be an in-person trade show and real-time networking opportunities and the always popular post-conference tour, which is being held in conjunction with OFC’s Forage Focus this year. New this year will be a Young Farmers Forum to discuss the challenges and opportunities for this demographic as well as an evening social for those involved in the export of forage products. 

Meet some speakers 

Angie Straathoff, Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) 

Angie received a PhD in soil chemistry and biology from the Department of Soil Quality at Wageningen in the Netherlands, ranked as the number one agricultural research university in the world. Her background includes being raised on a dairy farm in Eastern Ontario before studying Land Resource Management at the University of Guelph. Beginning in 2018, she joined OSCIA as their program director. 
 
At OSCIA, Angie oversees facilitation and delivery of on-farm funding and producer education opportunities, including the On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF), Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP), Lake Erie Agriculture Demonstrating Sustainability (LEADS), Species at Risk and the On-Farm Applied Research and Monitoring Program. As manager of the program delivery team, she also directs program development, acquisition, producer outreach and soil health and best management practice promotion.  
 
Josh Callen, the Hoyt Report 

The Hoyt Report is the trusted source for hay prices in the Western United States and for export market developments. Seth Hoyt started the report in 2008 with Josh coming on in 2018 and taking over in 2020. Josh grew up on a hay farm and knows the production side.  Josh grew up on a custom farming operation in Southern Idaho. He started in hay production from a young age and worked in every part of the business. Josh pursued a dual major in accounting and finance, graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Boise State University in December 2015. He enjoys the challenge of learning the different production areas across the West.  

Martin Chantigny, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) 

Martin has been a researcher at AAFC since 1997. He works mainly on evaluating and improving agricultural practices to maintain the productivity and health of agro-ecosystems in a context of climate change. More specifically, his work contributes to a better understanding of how to preserve and improve the health of soils and the environment in order to ensure a sustainable increase in agricultural productivity in Canada. Since 2019, he has been the scientific animator of the Living Laboratory of Quebec for AAFC.  
 
Maggie Van Camp, Loft32, Farmers’ Bridge 

Maggie is Loft32’s co-founder, director of strategic change and in 2024 started Farmers’ Bridge to help farm families navigate transitions and build their businesses for the future. She is also CEO and owner of a family farm near Blackstock, Ontario. For decades, Maggie had an award-winning career as an agricultural journalist, notably as a senior business editor with Canada’s national agricultural magazine, Country Guide.  
 
Recently, she was BDO’s national director of agriculture, where she led sector marketing and industry relations, revitalized the accounting firm’s social responsibility program, worked closely with business transition services and built a strategic organization of Agteams from coast to coast. Maggie is a well-known and trusted speaker, moderator and writer and a respected member of the board of the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame. In 2021, she was named in the top 50 in Canadian Agriculture.   

Register today 

Early bird registration ends Sept. 2 so be sure to save on registration by registering today. Visit the CFGA conference website for more information, to view the draft agenda or to access the CFGA Leadership Award nomination forms.