Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

2014 March Classic - Grain Farmers of Ontario

Event Details

2014 March Classic - Grain Farmers of Ontario

Time: March 24, 2014 all day
Location: London Convention Centre
Website or Map: http://www.gfo.ca/marchclassi…
Event Type: gfo, march, classic
Organized By: Grain Farmers of Ontario
Latest Activity: Jan 22, 2014

Export to Outlook or iCal (.ics)

Event Description

The March Classic is the largest grain-focused conference in Eastern Canada drawing upwards of 500 attendees from government, industry, and farms across Ontario. Click here for the website: http://www.gfo.ca/marchclassic.aspx

Chris Hadfield to speak at March Classic 2014
Grain Farmers of Ontario is proud to announce Chris Hadfield as the keynote speaker for the 2014 March Classic Conference. Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut and recent commander of the International Space Station, was born and raised on a grain farm in Sarnia, Ontario. He became interested in space at a young age after watching the Apollo moon landing on television.

Hadfield brought excitement to the Canadian space program and science through his interactions from the space station to Earth during his five-month expedition earlier this year. He used Skype to talk with students about what it takes to be an astronaut, made videos showing how everyday tasks can be performed without gravity, and shared photos from space with more than one million Twitter followers. 

The 2014 March Classic will be held on Monday March 24 at the London Convention Centre. Planning is well underway for an “out of this world” conference!
 

Comment Wall

Comment

RSVP for 2014 March Classic - Grain Farmers of Ontario to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

Comment by OntAG Admin on January 22, 2014 at 4:14am

GRAIN FARMERS OF ONTARIO UNVEILS MARCH CLASSIC SPEAKER LINEUP

GUELPH, ON (January 22, 2014) – The Grain Farmers of Ontario March Classic 2014 conference is sure to impress attendees with an outstanding speaker line-up. Joining headliners Colonel Chris Hadfield and environmentalist Mark Lynas will be Cal Whewell, Michelle Painchaud, and JonMontgomery.

A staple of the March Classic and crowd favourite Cal Whewell, Risk Management Consultant for FC Stone, will provide his 2014 grain market outlook. Whewell works with companies associated with end-users, producers, and county grain elevators in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Ontario, helping toreduce risk and increase margins. Grain farmers will not want to miss Whewell’s insights.

The afternoon portion of the conference will open with Michelle Painchaud, President and CEO of Painchaud Performance Group and S.C.O.R.E. Consulting. With over 20 years of field experience in employee performance and a background in agriculture, she is one of Canada’s leaders in behavioural science and talent management. Painchaud is a Certified Performance Technologist, a member of the Canadian Consulting Agrologists Association and FamilyBusiness.ag, and is active on the Farm Leadership Council and at the Centre for Talent Retention and Human Capital Institute. Painchaud will speak to audience members about the importance of Farm Business Vision.

Attendees will also want to stay for the banquet with evening speaker Jon Montgomery, Gold Medal Olympian and host of Amazing Race Canada. Montgomery’s experience as a representative for Canada on the world stage, both at the Olympics and on television, allow him to speak to the importance of Canada’s international reputation. We also look forward to his unique perspective on the 2014 Olympic Games.
“The speaker line-up at this year’s March Classic will take the audience on a journey from their farm to the rest of the world,” says Meghan Burke, Manager, Communications. “Each speaker brings a unique perspective that is relevant to the agriculture industry and emphasizes the importance and impact of what we do as grain farmers.”

The 2014 March Classic will be held on March 24th at the London Convention Centre. For more information and to register, visit www.gfo.ca/MarchClassic.

Grain Farmers of Ontario
Grain Farmers of Ontario is the province’s newest and largest commodity organization, representing Ontario’s 28,000 corn, soybean and wheat farmers. The crops they grow cover 5 million acres of farm land across the province, generate over $2.5 billion in farm gate receipts, result in over $9 billion in economic output and are responsible for over 40,000 jobs in the province.


- 30 –

Contact:
Meghan Burke, Communications, 519 767-2773, mburke@gfo.ca
John Cowan, Vice President, Strategic Development – 519 993-7692; jcowan@gfo.ca

Attending (1)

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Canadian Cattle Young Leaders announce 2026 Finalists

The Canadian Cattle Young Leaders (CYL) Program, a national youth initiative of the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA), is pleased to announce its 16 finalists for the 2026–2027 program year. The annual CYL Selections Competition took place on August 18, 2026, at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba. During the competition, impressive semi-finalists from across Canada, involved in various roles within the beef supply chain, competed for a spot in the 2026 mentorship program year. Through the Selections Competition, semi-finalists rotated through discussions with their peers at six roundtables, each facilitated and judged by representatives from the program’s sponsors and industry. Semi-finalists put their skills to the test during thought provoking discussions about timely beef industry topics such as education, succession planning, leadership, public trust, innovative technology and international trade. Each finalist will be awarded a $3,000 budget for beef i

Breeding Barley for an Uncertain Water Future

Western Crop Innovations breeder Yadeta Kabeta explains how new barley varieties are helping Prairie farmers manage drought, improve water-use efficiency and maintain yield stability in an increasingly unpredictable climate. Few production challenges occupy prairie farmers’ minds more consistently than water. Some years it’s too little. Other years it’s too much. Even when total rainfall looks adequate, the timing often isn’t. Moisture may arrive after the crop’s most critical growth stages have passed, or disappear altogether during grain fill. For Yadeta Kabeta, barley breeder with Western Crop Innovations (WCI), that increasing variability has become one of the defining challenges facing Prairie crop production. “Low moisture availability or variability in moisture is currently probably a top concern for producers,” says Kabeta. “In recent years there has been so much variability in the amount of rainfall and in the patterns of rainfall. Sometimes it doesn’t come when crops need

Wheat, Barley Groups Partner to Reshape Canadian Breeding System

The Canadian Wheat Research Coalition and Canadian Barley Research Coalition have entered a formal strategic partnership aimed at strengthening and modernizing Canada’s wheat and barley breeding system. Announced Thursday, the agreement brings the Canadian Barley Research Coalition (CBRC) formally into ongoing discussions between the Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC), and Agriculture Canada on the future of cereal breeding. CWRC chair Jocelyn Velestuk said the partnership builds on a history of collaboration between the two organizations and reflects the common challenges facing wheat and barley breeding. “Many farmers grow both wheat and barley, and the breeding systems for both crops face similar challenges that we can now address collaboratively,” said Velestuk in a statement. The discussions grew out of a CWRC review of Canada’s wheat breeding innovation system, which examined potential risks and opportunities and how the system can continue developing high-performin

Saskatchewan Yield Estimates Mixed as Harvest Reaches 18% Done

Saskatchewan’s 2026 crop is shaping up with lower yields than last year for many major crops, although durum, peas, and mustard are notable exceptions, according to the latest provincial crop report on Thursday. The province currently estimates the average spring wheat yield at 52 bu/acre, down from Statistics Canada’s final 2025 Saskatchewan yield of 55.8 bu. Barley is pegged at 74 bu./acre versus 78.2 last year, while oats are estimated at 94 bu/acre, down from 101. Canola is estimated at 38 bu/acre compared with 44.4 in 2025, while flax is projected at 26 versus 27.8. Durum is estimated at 44 bu/acre, up from 39.6 last year, while peas at 39 bu./acre are slightly above the 2025 yield of 38.6. The average provincial lentil yield is currently estimated by the province at 1,361 lbs/acre, below last year’s 1,705 lbs. Canary seed is pegged at 1,266 lbs versus 1,623 in 2025, while chickpeas at 1,501 pounds are down sharply from 1,985. Mustard is the exception, with the 2026 estimate

Global Food Commodity Prices Up Again in August

Global food prices rose for a second consecutive month in August, reaching their highest level since late 2022, as adverse weather, geopolitical tensions and trade disruptions increased concerns about supplies of major agricultural commodities. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said Friday that its Food Price Index averaged 133.3 points in August, up 1.9% from a revised July reading and 2.5% above a year earlier. The index had risen 0.6% in July after declining 0.3% in June. Despite reaching its highest level in about four years, the index remained roughly 17% below the all-time high of 160.2 points reached in March 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine Cereal prices were among the main drivers of the August increase. The FAO cereal price index averaged 116.3 points, up 2.2% from July and reaching its highest level since May 2024. Prices increased across all major grains amid strong demand, weather concerns and continued uncertainty surrounding

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service