2024 Speakers
Tuesday Morning
Shannon Leppky M.Ed - Leading with Clarity
Red Chair Coaching & Leadership Academy
Shannon is a seasoned executive leadership coach and team facilitator with over 20 years of diverse experience in education and business. Her corporate leadership journey culminated in the C-Suite of a prominent Crown Corporation, where she served as the Chief Human Resource Officer and Vice President of Product, and was identified for CEO succession. She led people-strategies that enabled the successful adoption of many multi-million-dollar business transformation programs. Shannon was a trusted advisor to the President and CEO driving a swift and impactful culture shift across the Corporation. She firmly believes that effective leadership requires strong strategy and ultimately emanates from within, a philosophy she imparts through her coaching and facilitation practice.
Shannon partners with leaders and teams, facilitating transformative learning experiences that foster trust, clarity, and results. Whether virtually, in-person, or at Red Chair Ranch where she partners with her horses as co-coaches, individuals experience profound shifts as Shannon helps them explore leadership from the head and the heart.
Shannon holds a Master of Education (Adult Education) from the University of Manitoba, and an Executive Certificate in Management from the Smith School of Business, Queen's University. Her coaching certifications include Certified Professional Coach (CPC) through the College of Executive Coaching, and a Certification in Equine Facilitated Learning and Coaching (EFLC) through the Academy for Coaching with Horses in Colorado.
Tuesday Select-a-sessions
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Ag in the Classroom: Empowering Agriculture's Future: The AITC-M Journey
Katharine will talk about how Agriculture in the Classroom-Manitoba is shaping tomorrow’s agriculture industry by giving teachers accurate, balanced, and current information about agriculture for them to bring curriculum to life. We’re also highlighting career opportunities in agriculture (including farming, production, processing, and beyond) through innovative career programs we deliver throughout the province.
Talbot and Associates: Kyla & Brittany - Taxes 101
Kyla Murray, CPA
Kyla has been an accountant at Talbot & Associates for 10 years, bringing expertise and insight to the firm’s Agriculture team. As an Agriculture Manager at the St Norbert location, she enjoys working with farmers and agribusiness clients alike while training and providing guidance to the Agriculture team firmwide. Kyla is the granddaughter of farmers and agriculture has always held a special place in her heart. Although she didn’t have the opportunity to take over the family farm, she found a way to continue serving farmers and the agricultural community in Manitoba through her love of accounting. Kyla lives in St Malo, enjoys playing volleyball and softball, and she rarely misses a weekend at the rink cheering on her nieces and nephews.
Brittany Sandberg, CPA, CGA
Brittany has been an accountant at Talbot & Associates for over 15 years and leads the firm’s team in Stonewall. As a Partner at Talbot & Associates and one of the Agriculture Managers, she has ample opportunity to bring her insight and leadership to the firm and her clients helping them grow successful businesses and saving them taxes in the process. Brittany grew up in rural Manitoba in a farming community and is proud of her family’s ties to agribusiness. She now resides in Winnipeg with her husband and 2 kids and enjoys spending time with the family at the lake and watching her kids pursue their extracurricular activities.
Kyla & Brittany will discuss current tax issues, tips for ensuring you’re maximizing your operation from a tax and accounting standpoint, opportunities you may be missing with respect to GST, and opportunities available to farmers with respect to annual tax planning.
Alison Weaver - Resilience with a plan
Alison has a deep passion for agriculture, family, community, and connection. Rooted in agriculture Alison grew up on a mixed farm north of Craven, Sk creating community everywhere she went: 4-H camp, United Church Groups, university groups, and so on. Alison is a farmer who embraces everyone’s story. Alison’s entire life has been spent on the farm or learning more about agriculture. She and her husband Garnet farm North of Lloydminster on the AB/SK border. They have a grain farm and a small cow/calf herd. The farm is constantly in motion, Alison helps share how to live a sustainable life style, setting a pace that works best for you. What she has learned over the years is resilience. How to find it and how to create it. How to support others on their journey of resilience in the world of ag and a rural lifestyle. Alison officially started her speaking journey in 2020, speaking to a rural women’s group. She loves meeting new people and making connections with women in the agriculture industry. Alison created Navigate 5 years ago, a planner to help you plan your day, week, month, and much more. It is the book with everything in it to help you manage the marathon called life. Resilience with a Plan! alisonweaver.com
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*Navigate Planner*
More than your average day planner! Designed for a rural lifestyle, Navigate includes everything from weekly and monthly planning pages to reflections and gratitude practices. What makes Navigate unique is a section dedicated to agriculture including facts, inventory pages, a garden map, and much more. The planner has a durable cover and beautiful paper on the inside, every writers dream.
Quick Planner Tour Here Slow Planner Tour Here
Pre-order her planner "Navigate"at registration to make sure you don't miss out on one!
Tuesday Afternoon
MacDon
For over 75 years MacDon has been a world leader in technology, innovation, and manufacturing of high-performance harvesting equipment. Our harvesting history is rooted deep in the rich prairie heritage of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. MacDon products are manufactured in Winnipeg, and distributed and supported worldwide from offices in Canada, the United States, Australia, Brazil, and Germany.
Our Factory tour will take you through Fabrication, Welding, Paint, and our Draper Assembly line, as we build our award-winning Draper headers.
Peak of the Market Tour FULL​
Peak of the Market Ltd. is an inclusive and diverse company that fills the produce aisle with fresh, high-quality product from A to Z (asparagus to zucchini) across Canada and throughout the United States. As a Grower-owned business with a full-service team from sales to logistics to packing and distribution, Peak controls the supply chain from seed to plate. Peak’s culture is defined by our commitment to sustainability, innovation, and community.
Capital K Distillery Tour FULL
Located in the heart of Winnipeg, Capital K Distillery was Manitoba's first family-owned and operated producer of handcrafted spirits. Our first product, Tall Grass Vodka, was proudly launched in the fall of 2016, followed by Tall Grass Gin and the rest of the Tall Grass spirits line. WPG Vodka, our value brand, was introduced in 2019.
Our traditional craft distilling process begins with a controlled hand milling or mashing of locally grown grain. Capital K Distillery takes pride in selecting only the best Manitoba-grown produce for our craft spirits. Capital K Distillery tours feature a guided walkthrough by one of our distillery experts. Guests experience an intimate and interactive tour of the distillery, taking in details of the distilling process and observing our custom-engineered equipment firsthand.
Tours last about 30 minutes and conclude in our tasting room. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to taste our spirits.
Imperial Seed
We are a forage and turf seed company. We offer forage and turf seed production contracts to farmers across western Canada, helping to diversify their harvested crops. The seeds are growing in Western Canada, brought to Winnipeg where it is processed, tested to ensure grade is met, packages and shipped. Many of these contracts are for seeds which will be exported Europe, United States, China and other countries in the northern hemisphere. Quality control is preformed by our accredited seed Lab, Integrity Seed. We provide strong agronomic support to the growers through the growing season. We also retail seeds across western Canada through a dealer network of ~100. We retail forage, annual forage, turf and cover crop seeds.
Royal Aviation Museum
Did you know that Winnipeg is home to Canada’s first international airport? Or that the very first helicopter to fly in Canada was built in rural Manitoba? Would you be intrigued if we said you could see evidence of a top-secret project initiated during the Cold War?
Take a journey throughout time from the golden age of aviation in the 20’s and 30’s, to the present day. Learn how aviation has shaped our country and leave wondering, “what’s next?”
Wednesday
Viterra: Keith Brownell - Optimizing Grain Marketing
Keith is a prairie boy, raised in Southern Alberta and refined in Manitoba; marrying into a farming family. Winnipeg has been his home base since 1997, after a stint in Southern Ontario. Keith has an Economics Degree from the University of Calgary and an MBA from the University of Manitoba. He’s travelled extensively over his career working with agriculture-based food companies from 1997 to 2009, providing IT and software solutions. Notable partners include Warburtons, the Canadian Wheat Board, Cargill, Nestle, Simplot, Associated British Foods – British Sugar, Fresh Express, Chiquita, Dole, and DelMonte. Keith started working directly in the Western Canadian grain industry in 2010 with responsibilities including grain pricing derivatives, managing a grain marketing advisory business, and leading grain origination teams. Keith joined Viterra early in 2021 and his current role is Manager of Country Grain Marketing.
Marla Riekman - Building a Resilient Soil
Marla Riekman is the Soil Management Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Agroecology and a Master's Degree in Soil Science, both from the University of Manitoba. Before joining Manitoba Agriculture in 2007, Marla worked as the Farm Manager for the Manitoba Zero Tillage Research Association and also as a Soil Conservationist with the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration. Marla's main focus is to provide extension on dealing with problem soils and maintaining long-term productivity by managing soil health. Marla's passion for soil has even crept into her personal life – she is known to create jewelry with soil in her spare time!
Katelyn Duban - From Concept to Success: Creating a Sustainable and successful online platform
Katelyn Duban, originally hailing from Southern Alberta, Canada, is breaking ground as a first-generation farmer within her multi-generational family farm. Initially, she hadn't planned to take an active role in farming, but fate had other ideas, igniting within her a deep-seated passion for farm life. Today Katelyn, alongside her husband, dedicates herself to cultivating her skills as a grain farmer, both in the fields and beyond, contributing to the legacy of her family's agricultural heritage.
A passionate podcast enthusiast, Katelyn sought out content celebrating the significant contributions of women in agriculture but found a gap in the market. Undeterred, she took matters into her own hands and embarked on creating her own podcast. In the spring of 2019, she proudly launched The Rural Woman Podcast™.
Since its inception, Katelyn has been dedicated to amplifying the stories of remarkable women across various agricultural domains, including farming, ranching, homesteading, agribusiness, and beyond. With nearly one million downloads spanning countries worldwide, she continues to advocate for the vital role of women in agriculture. Additionally, Katelyn shares her personal journey and insights through social media where she has proudly built an inclusive community for women in the agriculture industry.
wildrosefarmer.com (Creating a podcast/blog)
Janine Stephens - Teamwork
Janine grew up in Winnipeg and started rowing at age 17. She earned a scholarship and graduated from the University of Michigan with her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and Movement Science in 2006.
She raced with the national rowing team for six years, winning multiple medals at World Cup and World Championship events, racing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and finishing her competitive career with a silver at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Janine has been the head coach for the Manitoba Rowing Association for the past eight years where she has had the privilege of working with incredible young people who are learning life skills through rowing. She has also had some brief stints working with some national-level programs.
Janine and her husband Matt have twin girls who give her lots of good stories to tell but also make her very proud.