By Kim Sheppard

From global agricultural trends and groundbreaking research to farm business and compelling human-interest stories, Owen Roberts has spent decades helping audiences understand the forces shaping modern agriculture. As Senior Advisor, Strategic Communications with Grain Farmers of Ontario and a longtime agricultural journalist, educator, and communicator, Owen brings a broad perspective to the industry’s biggest conversations. His contributions to agricultural journalism were recognized with the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. His career has taken him from newspaper reporting to university classrooms and international leadership roles, including serving as the first Canadian President of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists.

We asked Owen to reflect on his path into agricultural communications, the topics that inspire their work, and what keeps them passionate about telling the stories behind food and farming.

What drew you to farm writing?

“The breadth of the topics in agriculture and their importance to readers, listeners and viewers inside and outside of agriculture. In the 1980s, I was a general assignment reporter in Ontario and Alberta before becoming the agriculture sector editor at Alberta Report (and later, an agricultural communications instructor at the University of Guelph and professor at the University of Illinois). Switching to agriculture coverage full-time and realizing how many fascinating and important stories were percolating defined the rest of my career.”

What topics or issues do you most enjoy covering? 

“I like writing about 1) global issues, 2) profiles, 3) opinion, 4) research, and 5) business.” 

What’s one story or project that stands out in your career so far?

“Here’s a recent sponsored/supported collection of regenerative agriculture stories from the Toronto Star that was particularly high profile. It stands out because it was an opportunity to explain regenerative agriculture to so many people. A project I’m particularly proud of is the change to the IFAJ constitution, made while I was president, to admit countries to membership that were repressed and lacked freedom of the press.”

Why does farm writing matter to you today? 

“Farm writing matters to me today for the same reason that it has for decades: agriculture needs to reach the people who want and need to know more about their food sources, and farm writers can deliver those stories in an understandable, interesting and responsible way.”

What do you do for fun?

“I’m the lead guitarist in The GMOs, a Guelph-based rock and country band that celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2025, and is scheduled to be the closing night’s entertainment at CFWF 2026 in London, ON.” 

Connect with Owen:
Website: urbancowboy.ca 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drowenroberts/