
Krista Hulshof on finding her niche in ‘Agritecture’
Krista Hulshof has turned a niche into her career. She’s a self-described “agritect” serving rural and agricultural businesses in designing beautiful and sustainable buildings. As well as running her own architecture business, she and her husband are busy raising two young children. Krista shares with us about developing her business, being a mom and working to make our world more sustainable. If you’re interested in connecting with Krista, contact her via email (krista@velda

Jessica Kelly on balancing work, farm and family
Jessica Kelly is the Direct Farm Marketing Program Lead with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and owns a sow operation with her husband in Perth County. She readjusting to life because she recently went on maternity leave with her first child, but took some time to share her experiences with us. If you are interested in connecting with Jessica, contact her via email at jessmkelly@gmail.com Please tell us about yourself and your career path. I grew u

Finding a place in a male dominated industry - Aubrie Mowat
Aubrie Mowat works for a commodity marketing and handling company, which seems like a good fit considering she grew up in a family that owns and operates a grain elevator. She’s just starting her career and it hasn’t always been easy to find her place in a male dominated industry, but she’s been building the career she wants through personal drive and goal setting. If you’re interested in connecting with Aubrie, contact her via e-mail at aubriemowat@live.ca Please tell us a b

Celebrating Canadian Agriculture at the Calgary Stampede - Erin Stuart
Living in downtown Calgary directly across from Stampede grounds, I look forward to the ten days of Stampede every year – it’s a fantastic kick-off to summer. This year was no different, I enjoyed corporate events, the rodeo, a pancake breakfast or two, the fireworks and time with friends and family. To celebrate the event and the ag women involved in it, I spoke with Erin Stuart, Past Chair of the Beef Cattle Committee, to hear her perspective on Stampede and her advice for

Building a Better Society - From Generation to Generation
Because it’s 2016, Canadians are recognizing 100 years of the Women’s Suffrage Movement in Canada. Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp. The Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women will be celebrating this milestone at their upcoming national convention in Calgary. Equal Voice will mark this anniversary with the unique initiative “Daughters of the Vote” involving young women from every federal riding in Canada. (https://youtu.be/jvs_T-AAU0I) These are ju

Farm girl carves out her own place in agriculture
With no opportunity to transition into the family farm, Janet Chapman chartered her own route By Courtney Denard Ag Women’s Network Growing up, Janet Chapman, the daughter of a dairy farmer, wasn’t encouraged to go into farming. As the only girl in a family of four, Janet was in fact never allowed to touch any of the equipment on the farm. She was responsible for completing daily chores like her three brothers though. “I was always at home as I was the oldest. I worked right
Canadian Young Speaker, Katelyn Ayers talks women in Ag – Read the whole speech here
Earlier this week, an article appeared on CBC about women in agriculture, featuring a fellow enthusiastic women in agriculture and Ag Women Network member, Amanda Brodhagen. The piece couldn’t have come at a more opportune time with the focus we are trying to highlight about the important role women play in our industry. The article itself has generated thousands of views and created such positive social media buzz. The work that Amanda is doing to be a spokesperson for our i
How can we make the agricultural industry more inclusive?
This week, we asked several people to answer the question, how can we make the agricultural industry more inclusive? Here they’ve shared their ideas from each of their unique perspectives. “Agriculture has many different meanings and practices across the world and from individual to individual. For First Nations people here in Canada, recognizing traditional knowledge and teachings that exist within communities and respecting the differences that exist between different natio
Win-win: Inclusivity for a growing industry
Agriculture is moving into some exciting spaces. Consumers are interested in what they’re eating, science and technology are advancing, and food, fibre, fuel and feed will never be unnecessary. Just because it’s exciting however, doesn’t mean there aren’t hurdles along the way. Canadian agriculture is going to need talent to propel it to a place that allows farmers to continue to grow food efficiently, safely and in a way that pleases the end user all at the same time. I n 20

Wielding the power of words
“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.” J.K. Rowling I hope you’re not sick of J.K.’s wisdom yet! At a recent family dinner, we were discussing whether I would change my last name when I get married next year. This of course led to a deep dive into a multi-layered discussion of names. In our blended family, there are three different last names that also represent a mixture of ethnic