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Member Spotlight: Lauren Miller
We asked Lauren to reflect on her path into agricultural communications, the topics that inspire her work, and what keeps her passionate about telling the stories behind food and farming. What drew you to farm writing and communications?I grew up on a farm and have been involved in agriculture my entire life. While I wouldn’t…
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2026 CFWF Conference Bursary Winners!
ECFWA offered two $1,000 CFWF conference bursaries for members to attend the CFWF national conference in London, Ontario this upcoming September 17-19, 2026. Interested individuals were encouraged to submit an application detailing their involvement in ECFWA and/or CFWF, and what they expect to do with the knowledge gained from the conference. Two successful applicants, Karen…
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Member spotlight: Owen Roberts, the Urban Cowboy
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…
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Overview of ECFWA annual meeting, May 26, Plattsville
By Tabitha Caswell At the Heart of Canadian Crop Innovation: Syngenta’s Honeywood Research Facility Before settling into AGM business, ECFWA members had the opportunity to visit Syngenta Canada’s Honeywood Research Facility. Located on a 100-acre farm near Plattsville, Ontario, the facility is named for the highly fertile Honeywood silt loam soils it sits on. While…
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A glimpse behind the glass
Article by Lilian Schaer Photos by Sharon Grose Sometimes the best professional development doesn’t happen in a conference room. Rather, it happens meeting an Ontario farmer and walking the rows of a greenhouse that smells faintly like soil, steam… and 4 million flowers a year. That’s what happened at the end of March when a small…
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Bringing agriculture to the headlines: two journalists share what makes farm stories stick
Getting more agriculture stories into the media is the goal of many members of the Eastern Canada Farm Writers’ Association (ECFWA) – particularly for those who work in communications. Those on the journalism side of the equation are always looking for story ideas from the sector. Providing some insights into this topic was the goal…
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Thank you to ECFWA volunteers!
Behind every great ECFWA event or activity is a team of fantastic volunteers! During this National Volunteer Week, we extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who gives of their time to this great organization. And a shoutout to IFAJ – International Federation of Agricultural Journalists and Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation volunteers, too! We are fortunate…
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FFCO conference becomes impromptu gathering for farm writers
The Farm & Food Care Ontario annual conference this past week featured an engagingprogram as always – but also served as an impromptu gathering of farm writers fromOntario, Alberta and overseas. Claire McCormack, an agricultural journalist and PhD researcher from UniversityCollege Dublin in Ireland, was the keynote speaker at the event, sharing early results ofher…
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CFWF managing director announced
The CFWF board has welcomed Annemarie Pedersen as the managing director of CFWF, effective Feb. 1, 2025. Annemarie is well-know to many of us as a longtime member of the Alberta Farm Writers’ Association and a co-chair of the 2023 congress of International Federation of Agricultural Journalists’ (IFAJ) in Calgary. She has a long history…
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Farm Tour & Holiday Lunch: Chickadee Christmas Trees
On December 10, about a dozen ECFWA members gathered outside of Cambridge to tour Chickadee Christmas Trees. Albeit a little less snow than anticipated, tour attendees were greeted by Alison McCrindle (with hot apple cider!) and toured the farm property of trees and nature trails. Alison and her husband, Joe Wareham have been growing and…
