Speakers

President of Ever.Ag’s Livestock division, Joe has nearly 40 years of experience working with producers, suppliers, and mills to support agricultural operations. He leads the team in assisting clients with technical aspects of risk management, specifically commodity management, livestock and grain marketing, ingredient procurement and operational benchmarking. Prior to this consulting venture, he directed risk management activities for industry leaders such as ADM, Premium Standard Farms, Continental Grain, and Iowa Select Farms.

Dr. Farmer is a research scientist in sow lactation biology who has been working at the Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada since 1986. She obtained her B.Sc. from McGill University, her M.Sc. from the University of Saskatchewan and her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Farmer’s research goal has always been to improve sow milk yield and performance of suckling piglets. She was a pioneer in studying mammary development in gilts and she has published 171 scientific manuscripts, 10 book chapters, and is the sole editor of two books that were also translated and published in Chinese. Dr. Farmer’s expertise is recognized internationally as evidenced by her being a guest-speaker in 13 European countries as well as China, Australia, Mexico, Canada and the USA. In 2022, Dr Farmer received the American Society of Animal Science President’s Award for International Achievements in Animal Science.

Chris Koch doesn’t let limitations or obstacles stand in his way. Despite being born without arms and legs, Koch grew up like any other small-town kid — playing road hockey, causing mischief at school, and helping out on his family farm. Neither he or his family treated his disability like a tragedy, and instead used it to fuel his dreams. Today, Koch is a motivational speaker who inspires his audiences to continually challenge themselves and build the life they dream of. Born in Lethbridge, Alberta, Koch was raised in the small farming and ranching community of Nanton, Alberta. Early on, he learned that he would not be raised with pity or sympathy. Sure, he had to do things a little differently and some tasks took him a little longer to complete than others, but he was determined to be just like the rest and was always treated just like the rest. After all, he still had a good head on his shoulders and with that, anything is possible. Koch loves sharing his story and spreading his message of, “If I Can…” An avid traveler, marathoner, and farmer, his presentation reflects his full life. Simply put, Koch says, if I can do what I’ve done so far in my life, what’s stopping others from doing the same?

Known as “The Food Professor”, he is one of the world's most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability with over 775 published peer-reviewed journal articles. He is also an editor for the prestigious Trends in Food Science Technology journal. Since 2012, he has published the highly anticipated Canadian Food Price Report, providing an overview of food price trends for the coming year. He co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, now ranked as top Canadian management podcast, discussing issues in the food industries. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries.

Jose is currently Alltech’s Director of Monogastric Research. His responsibilities includes R+D, technical services, and nutritional consulting. Jose was born and raised in Chile, where he received undergraduate and graduate training in agricultural sciences and agricultural economics, respectively. He received a Ph.D. in applied swine nutrition from Kansas State University, where he worked extensively with amino acid nutrition and dietary energy economic modeling. Prior to joining Alltech, Soto served in various roles for three of the Top 10 swine integrators in the U.S., in addition to supplier companies, where he was involved with R+D, production operations and technical services.

LeeAnn Peters is a Professional Agrologist with A Bsc. in Agriculture from the University Of Manitoba and 26 years of experience in the industry. Since 2013, she has held the role of Director, Technical Services at Maple Leaf Foods. Leading from a strong background in animal science, continuous improvement and change management, her team focuses on Animal Health and Welfare, Nutrition, Quality Assurance, Niche Programs, Technical Innovation & Employee Training. She is actively involved in several industry-wide committees with a focus and interest in animal diseases, their epidemiology and their economic impact to the swine industry.  

Rupert has 22 years’ experience with GIRA, directing a wide range of livestock and meat sector research and consultancy assignments globally, from the fast-evolving markets of Africa and Asia, to the established markets of Europe and North America. Rupert has worked as a strategy consultant in the food sector since joining Gira in 2003, with a high level of specialization in global meat and livestock markets. He spends a considerable amount of time analyzing the evolving nature of international meat demand and the supply systems that provide it, as well as their internal organization. For the last 20 years Rupert has produced the Asian sector of the annual Gira Meat Club report, and for the last 12 managed the Gira Asian Meat Club. In the last few years, he has been actively researching developments in the global pork supply chain as the disruption of ASF, COVID and the war in Ukraine have disrupted key markets and the resultant issues for producers and traders that have been created.

Lauren Van Ewyk is an engaging speaker, registered social worker, foster mom and agricultural mental health advocate. She has appeared in numerous radio, television and print articles concerning the issues of adoption, foster care, mental wellness and mental health in the agriculture sector. She and her husband raise sheep in southwestern Ontario. She is a doctorate student, founding member, and CEO of the National Farmer Mental Health Alliance; Lauren seeks to meet the needs of farmers and their families across Canada and the US.

With a Master’s Degree in Nutritional Physiology, Paul is currently working as a nutritional consultant with Masterfeeds, an Alltech company where he former held the role of Director of innovation and Nutrition.

Andy owns and operates Agri-Trend Agrology.   He is an Independent Agri-Coach specializing in Crop Consulting, Nutrient Management Consulting, and using NASM Nutrient Management Strategies. He is a certified crop advisor (CCA), and under contract finishes hogs.

Kendra Foran is the Barn Manager at Cedar Villa Farms, overseeing their Gilt Developer Barn. With over 20 years of experience in the swine industry, she specializes in husbandry and animal care. Outside of her work, Kendra is actively involved in her local community, enjoys trail running, and loves cheering on her four daughters at the ice rink, soccer field, and baseball fields.  

Anne C. McCaughey (Annie), is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC-IRB) who is a member in good standing with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), an active member of the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants (CAPIC), and a member of the Northumberland Chamber of Commerce. In 2019, she founded Immigration Station Canada Corp., bringing over 20 years of business experience, a passion for personal connections, and problem-solving to her work in immigration. Since 2017, she has specialized in the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process and developed particular expertise in handling complex cases that require reapplication or remedies.

Anne Deckert is an Assistant Professor in Swine Health Management, in the Department of Population Medicine at the University of Guelph. She graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), University of Guelph in 1990 and worked in food animal practice in south-western Ontario for two years. Anne has a Masters of Science (MS) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (1995) and a PhD from the University of Guelph (2012). She previously taught swine health management to veterinary students as a staff veterinarian at OVC and was a veterinary epidemiologist with the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS) at the Public Health Agency of Canada since it’s inception in 2002. Anne has also worked as a consultant for FAO and WHO on antimicrobial use and resistance surveillance projects in Central Asia.

Kevin graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2004 and has also earned a Bachelor of Science Agriculture degree and a Masters Degree in Epidemiology from the University of Guelph.  He is a partner of South West Vets, a swine focused veterinary practice in Stratford Ontario.  Kevin has an extensive background in swine medicine and has a particular interest in vaccines and viral pathogens as well as investigating novel ways to improve the tools available for producers to proactively control and reduce the economic impact of these diseases.  Kevin and his wife Alison are the proud parents of two active boys who keep them running to hockey practices through the winter and soccer practices in warmer weather.

Travis Jansen is a part of the team at Synergy Swine. Here, part of his role involves working with producers and Synergy’s production team on establishing and implementing best practices at the farm. This includes addressing challenges with mortality and euthanasia, which have a significant impact on the business’ bottom line, team welfare, and social license. 

Dr. Luc Dufresne is a distinguished swine veterinarian with over 35 years of experience in the industry. After earning his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Montreal in 1988, he began his career as a staff veterinarian at Shur-Gain in Quebec. He later held leadership roles at Brown’s of Carolina (Smithfield Foods), Pig Improvement Company (PIC), and Seaboard Foods, where he served as Senior Director of Health Assurance. In 2023, Dr. Dufresne joined Swine Veterinary Partners in Canada, providing consultation services in swine health and production. AASV His contributions to the field have been recognized with the Allen D. Leman Science in Practice Award from the University of Minnesota in 2014 and the Swine Practitioner of the Year Award from the American Association of Swine Veterinarians in 2016.

Youngji Rho completed her MSc at the University of Guelph, where she worked under the guidance of Drs. Kees de Lange and Elijah Kiarie. Her research focused on enhancing the nutritive value of corn distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for growing pigs, utilizing liquid feed systems and fiber-degrading enzymes. She continued her academic journey earning her PhD, again working with Dr. Kiarie. During her doctoral studies, she conducted a series of in vitro, in vivo and combination of experiments to explore the physicochemical properties of fiber in co-products like DDGS and wheat shorts, as well as the effects of enzyme supplementation and varying fermentation conditions. After completing her PhD in 2021, Youngji joined Grand Valley Fortifiers as a monogastric nutritionist, focusing on swine nutrition. She is currently the Feed Ingredient and By-products Specialist at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA).

TJ is a 7th Generation Farmer from Zurich, ON. Alongside his wife Jocelyn, they farm 8,500 acres cash crop, 60 cow/calf and have a Farrow to Finish operation, marketing 100,000 hogs a year. When planning to build their 3,500 head sow barn, they began renovations to convert a rented 1,500 head sow barn into a 350 sow farrow to finish multiplier to produce gilts for their own use. In his downtime TJ enjoys spending time with his family, watching his kids on the ice, playing hockey and figure skating, as well as playing old timer hockey. 

Katelyn Gaffield is an Assistant Research Professor in Swine Nutrition with the Kansas State University Applied Swine Nutrition Team. Originally from Illinois, Katelyn completed her B.S. and M.S. at the University of Illinois. Katelyn’s M.S. degree was in meat science with a focus on evaluating nutritional strategies for growing-finishing pigs and their subsequent impacts on growth performance, meat quality, and bacon characteristics. Katelyn then completed her Ph.D. in March of 2024 at Kansas State University with a focus on swine nutrition. Katelyn’s current position primarily involves conducting applied swine nutrition research focused on improving profitability, efficiency, and sustainability for pork producers. Currently, Katelyn’s research has resulted in 12 peer-reviewed publications and funding for swine-focused research projects totaling over $1 million in grants.