CFWF 2016 Professional Development Day
Saturday, October 1
Saskatoon Delta Bessborough

7:00 am – Breakfast

7:30 am – Monsanto Bursary presentations (Sharon Grose and Trevor Bacque).

7:50 to 8:30 am – CFWF breakfast meeting – Regional association show and tell

9:00 to 9:45 – Panel 1: The role of freelancers in today’s ag media.
Will opportunities for freelance journalists continue to grow? Should staff journalists view freelancers as a threat? Or is it too difficult to make a living as a freelancer today? And what about ethical issues and conflicts of interest?

Panelists:
Leeann Minogue, editor of Grainews
Allison Finnamore, FCC Express and FCC’s Agribusiness and Agri-Food Weekly
Tamara Leigh, principal at Shiny Bird Communications
Moderator: Kevin Hursh

9:45 to 10:30 – Panel 2: When is a story pitch news?
At what point is a story pitch really just free advertising for the company or organization rather than a news story? What drives reporters crazy about these pitches? What constitutes a legitimate story pitch? What can ag communicators do to make story pitches more newsworthy?

Panelists:
Laura Rance, editorial director at Farm Business Communications
John Greig, Ontario field editor, Glacier FarmMedia
Mike Raine, managing editor, The Western Producer
Moderator: Kevin Hursh

10:30 to 11:00 – Coffee

11:00 to 11:50 – Eliminating sex from agriculture to feed the world
Dr. Tim Sharbel, Global Institute for Food Security
Dr. Sharbel is an internationally-renowned plant scientist originating from Montreal, who lived the last 20 years in Germany. He is researching a cost-effective way to produce seeds without pollination. Sharbel is a world leader in asexual seed formation known as apomixis.

12 to 1:00 –  Lunch

1:00 to 1:50- Antibiotic Use in Animal Agriculture: Myths and Facts
Dr. John Campbell, Department Head of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. John Campbell is currently head of the Dept. of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. His main research interests are infectious diseases and disease surveillance in beef cattle. He also acts as the director for the college’s Disease Investigation Unit which is funded by Saskatchewan Agriculture. Dr. Campbell has over 70 publications in scientific journals. He has received five teaching awards at WCVM, the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners Veterinarian of the Year Award, and the Carl Block Award for contributions to Canada’s animal health programs.

2:00 to 2:50 – From seed to sip: Taking Saskatchewan’s amazing agricultural inputs and creating a craft alcohol industry. 
What happens when a duck biologist and a woman with a grad degree in international politics decide to open a winery in Perdue, Saskatchewan? Award-winning vino and a great story.

Sue Echlin and Vance Lester own and operate Living Sky Winery. They were named Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers in 2012, and have won several awards for their wines. Echlin is currently spearheading the Saskatchewan Artisan Wine & Spirits Association and helping the industry work with government in this time of rapid growth to ensure both producers and the public have their needs met successfully.