Crops Day Presentations
Monday January 12th, 2026
Tickets will be available for purchase online early December
Keynote Presentation: Road Safety in the Agricultural Industry
MTO Officers will deliver a high-level overview of HTA regulations and expectations relating to keeping our roads safe.
Panelist: Cody Hammer, Transportation Enforcement Officer, Ministry of Transportation, Waterloo District
Cody started with the MTO in 2021 at the Putnam Truck Inspection Station. During his time at Putnam he worked as a Vehicle Inspector, investigating fraud in the Motor Vehicle Inspection Station Program. In 2023 Cody excepted a transfer to the Waterloo District as an on-road Enforcement Officer. Cody is a Licensed 310S Automotive Service Technician and prior to working at the MTO he had a 17 year career working as a mechanic at the dealership level.
Panelist: Ryan Nichols, Enforcement Supervisor, Ministry of Transportation, Waterloo District
Ryan started with the MTO in 2008 at the Trafalgar Truck Inspection Station in Milton. During his career with the MTO, Ryan has also worked at the Vineland and Putnam Truck Inspection Stations. In 2023 Ryan accepted the role of Enforcement Supervisor for the Waterloo District. Ryan is a Provincial Trainer for weights and dimensions, as well as a Coach Officer for the MTO and several of our Police partners.
Presentation begins Monday January 12th, 2026 at 9:45 am.
Grain Market Outlook for 2025
Sponsored by: Trillium Mutual Insurance
Presented by: Steven Kell, Grain Merchant, Kell Grain Elevators
An examination of local and global grains and oil seeds supply and demand will lead us to finding the market opportunities for 2026. We will look at which crops to grow and where to set target expectations.
Steve Kell has worked in the Ontario grain and feed industry for the past 33 years in all phases of the industry, as a farmer producing grain, as a country elevator manager conditioning, storing, and shipping grain, and as a merchandizer, hedging and trading commodities. This has included 9 years in the Co-op elevator system. 20 years as a trader at P&H in Toronto, and for the past 4 years as the Grain Merchandizer for Kell Grain with 4 elevator locations spread across central Ontario. Steve farms in Simcoe County where he grows corn, wheat, and soybeans. In addition to farming Steve writes a column on the commodities markets for Farmers Forum newspaper.
Presentation begins Monday January 12th, 2026 at 11:05 am.
Corn Populations and Nitrogen Management
Presented by: Josh Nasielski, Assistant Professor, University of Guelph
From on-farm trials to remote sensing, Josh will present practical take-aways from the latest research in corn management for higher yields and environmental efficiency
Joshua Nasielski is an assistant professor of agronomy at the University of Guelph. He holds the MacSon Professorship in Agronomy for eastern and northern Ontario and works with a skilled group of research technicians at the Winchester, New Liskeard and Emo research stations.
Presentation begins Monday January 12th, 2026 at 2:30 pm.
Panel: The Autonomous Ag Frontier
Sponsored by: Grey County
Explore how autonomous machines are transforming modern crop production in this dynamic panel featuring industry experts and producers who are already putting the technology to work. From precision see-and-spray systems to AI-driven robots and fully autonomous irrigation units, panelists will showcase the problems these innovations solve and the advantages they offer over conventional equipment. Attendees will gain real-world insight into on-farm adoption, learning curves, ROI, and what’s next for the Autonomous Ag Frontier.
Panelist: See and Spray – Rob Warwick, Application Specialist/Sales, Huron Tractor Ltd.
Rob Warwick has over 20 years of experience in agriculture, including 7 years as a Customer Applicator and 4 years as a Field Agronomist with HDC. Since joining Huron Tractor in 2011, he has continued to apply his expertise in crop management and agronomy. Rob is also a Certified Crop Advisor.
Panelist: Ribey, Vice President, Biermans Farms HM Limited
Mark Ribey has spent the past 20 years at Biermans Farms HM, specializing in large -scale crop farming. He's known for his hands-on approach and focus on progressive farming techniques that keep the operation running efficiently. Mark lives with his wife Rebecca and their three kids.
Panelist: Autonomous 360 RAIN – Henry Hutten, Sales Manager
Henry is the Sales manager for Grand River Robotics. Grand River Robotics is centrally located in Wellington County, they have employees located throughout their service area. They are driven to assist their existing and future customers with timely service, advice and solutions. They are grateful for the customer base they have today and are excited to develop more relationships with producers in the future. Since 2012, Grand River Robotics' goal has been to provide their customers with dedicated service and automated solutions so they can have a sustainable dairy operation. They focus on selling and servicing Lely equipment, along with quality complementary products that accent the Lely brand of equipment including the recent 360 RAIN. Grand River Robotics is committed to continually improving their customers’ experience with our product offerings, as well as through their knowledge and ongoing training and advice. They have been selling the 360 Rain products since Summer 2024.
Panelist: Jamie Elisen, Sales Consultant, Grand River Robotics
Jamie is the Sales Consultant with Grand River Robotics for 360 Rain. Grand River Robotics is centrally located in Wellington County, they have employees located throughout their service area. They are driven to assist their existing and future customers with timely service, advice and solutions. They are grateful for the customer base they have today and are excited to develop more relationships with producers in the future. Since 2012, Grand River Robotics' goal has been to provide their customers with dedicated service and automated solutions so they can have a sustainable dairy operation. They focus on selling and servicing Lely equipment, along with quality complementary products that accent the Lely brand of equipment including the recent 360 RAIN. Grand River Robotics is committed to continually improving their customers’ experience with our product offerings, as well as through their knowledge and ongoing training and advice. They have been selling the 360 Rain products since Summer 2024.
Panelist: Marien Scherpenzeel, Scherpenzeel Farms
Marien is 14 years old and has six siblings; he is the fourth in the family. He attends Rehoboth Christian School in Norwich. His family milks around 330 cows near Ingersoll, raises all their youngstock, and keeps their bulls until they reach 1,800 lbs. They double-crop 440 acres of corn silage with triticale. This year, they used the 360 Rain system for the first time and were able to apply all their manure through it.
Panelist: AI Robots – Tanya Franklin, Founding Agronomist, Upside Robotics
Tanya Franklin grew up working on her family farm in Elgin County. She fell in love with agriculture the first time she got to drive the tractor on her own and has been immersed in the industry ever since. Over the past decade, Tanya has developed her agronomy skills working with a wide range of crops grown across Southwestern Ontario. Her experience spans independent ag retailers, A&L Labs, and now her current role at Upside, where she is helping to drive the industry into the next generation. Tanya is proud to be part of a team that truly cares about advancing agriculture and developing reliable, innovative technology.
Panelist: Sabanto Autonomy - Jordan Wallace, Advanced Solutions Technician, GPS Ontario
Bio coming soon
Facilitator: Deb Campbell, Owner/Agronomist, Agronomy Advantage
Deb obtained her BSc (Agr) with a major in Agronomy and an emphasis in soil management from the University of Guelph. She then went on to complete her Certified Crop Adviser certification in 2000. Since then Deb added to that certification by completing the 4R Nutrient Management Specialty and the Resistance Management Specialty. Deb has a broad range of experience from previously working for Cargill and Syngenta in an array of positions. From Agronomist to Account Manager, she understands all aspects of growing a successful crop both from the field and business perspective. She has production expertise in corn, soybeans (including IP), cereals, canola, edible beans, alfalfa, and cover crops. Deb was awarded the Certified Crop Advisor Award of Excellence in 2003. She has served on the Certified Crop Adviser Board of Directors since 2009 and in 2020 served as the Chair of the Board. Deb is currently a Co-Chair for the Provincial Soil Action Group. This group is tasked with creating an implementation plan for Ontario's Agriculture Soil Health and Conservation Strategy. She provides technical expertise to the Plant Health Biosecurity webinars offered by OSCIA. Deb is also a director at the local Grey County Soil and Crop and is the Chair for Grey Bruce Farmers Week. She has also previously served on the Board at AgScape. Most days you will find Deb checking fields as she works with farmers to achieve their cropping and business goals. Deb owns and operates Agronomy Advantage Inc. and lives on a farm just west of Dundalk, Ontario.
Presentation begins Monday January 12th, 2026 at 1:15 pm.
Pete's Ponderings
Sponsored by: Snobelen Farms
Presented by: Dr. Josh Cowan, Director of Research & Innovation, Grain Farmers of Ontario
In honour of the 60th anniversary of GBFW, Peter will cap off the week with a reflection about agriculture - past, present and the future. What have been the most impactful changes? He will review the key productivity and yield gains for cropping. He will reflect on the most notable ag experiences in the past 60 years. Then looking ahead, he will postulate about the agronomic concerns on the horizon.
Peter Johnson, @WheatPete, is the resident agronomist with Real Agriculture, where he posts a weekly podcast “Wheat Pete’s Word”. He is a regular on “Agronomy Monday” on Real Ag radio, Siruis Satellite Radio 147. Peter operates a small farm near Lucan, Ontario, where he constantly tries out new production ideas, and where the “rubber hits the road”! He is enthusiastic and passionate about agriculture, and loves to be challenged by growers.
**Recognized as a Nutrient Management KSE**
Presentation begins Monday January 12th, 2026 at 3:45 pm.
And don't forget to take a look at the list of On-Demand presentations which you can watch throughout the conference and for the thirty days following! Use the button on the left to browse full details for those!
Check out the program for other conference days using the buttons below.
