About 20 eager attendees arrived ahead of the main group for Thursday’s pre-tour of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show. You might think a 100-acre site would take a while to reveal its highlights, but within just a few feet, the group had already found its first culinary temptation: Vodkow, a vodka made from milk. It wasn’t even properly mid-morning yet, but no one seemed particularly concerned about the timing. When someone offers you a sample, after all, it’s probably best to be polite.

There was plenty to see beyond the food and drink. New tractors lined the grounds, crop varieties were planted in neat plots, and just about every kind of modern technology considered essential to today’s farm was on display. But for those paying attention, it quickly became clear that the show had just as much to offer in the food department. Popcorn, donuts, chips, corn on the cob and even space ice cream kept everyone fueled up and ensured that no travel-weary writer had to face the afternoon on an empty stomach.

When the day’s exploring started to catch up with everyone, guests made their way to the COFS pond, where a glass of wine and some sunshine provided a well-earned break. Despite forecasts calling for overcast skies, the sun stuck around for much of the day—an unexpected bonus for anyone who had checked the weather before leaving home.

Eventually, the rain did arrive in the late afternoon, signalling that it was probably time to call it a day. The group headed back to the hotel, with thanks to Glacier Farm Media for making sure everyone—and their full stomachs—got there safely.

The conference officially got underway Thursday evening with the opening reception, where old acquaintances were happily reunited and plenty of new connections were made. For many farm writers, London was their first CFWF conference, and they were welcomed into the group with plenty of warmth. As the evening carried on, guests eventually made their way to the hospitality suite to swap stories and recap the day’s adventures—a tradition that, this author is reliably informed, continued each night of the conference. With Pioneer serving as host, there was little reason to call it an early night, especially with good spirits and even better company on hand.

With London and the surrounding counties offering no shortage of agricultural attractions, conference organizers put together four bus tours in an ambitious attempt to showcase just how much agriculture can be found within a day’s drive. This was no small task, particularly when Ontario produces more than 200 agricultural commodities. Tour itineraries took guests through grain fields and orchards, ginseng and berry farms, and even a Brussels sprouts farm—a first for a CFWF tour. Farm writers met dairy cows, sheep and llamas, while more than a few discovered an unexpected appreciation for goats. And then there was the group that was quite literally blown away during a visit to a research facility where scientists test the wind resistance of buildings and cargo ships.

Saturday’s professional development sessions turned the focus toward some of the issues facing Ontario farmers, including land development, trade concerns and the ever-increasing cost of production. From there, the conversation looked ahead to the future, with sessions on emerging technologies and the challenge—and opportunity—of engaging the next generation of farmers.

The afternoon workshops offered plenty for writers to take back to their desks. Attendees explored how to protect and strengthen their craft in the age of AI, photographers worked on developing a more discerning eye, and those with an appetite for digging deeper learned how to uncover the statistical truths that can provide important context for a story.

Of course, no conference would be complete without a proper finale. Saturday evening’s banquet, made possible through the generous support of BASF, brought everyone together one last time, with entertainment from the GMOs providing the soundtrack for the evening. The drinks flowed, glasses were raised, and the crowd celebrated the conference’s well-deserving award recipients.

Leaving such good company is never easy, but there is at least one consolation: the next invitation is already on the calendar. Next September, CFWF will head west to Kelowna, where the British Columbia Farm Writers’ Association will have the honour of welcoming the group. If this year was any indication, there will be no shortage of good stories, good company and, presumably, a few late nights along the way. And, as promised from the BCFWA attendees – a lot of good tasting wine!

Check out these great images from CFWF 2026! Got a few images of your own to share, or want to see more? Upload your images and check out everyone else’s on CFWF 2026 Google Photos.

We asked Jane to reflect on her 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?

My father. He was an agricultural communicator, independent filmmaker and storyteller. I was intrigued by how he learned about diverse subjects (from grape production and farm equipment to water conservation and scoring dairy cows) and then created communications to clearly and engagingly share them with the intended audience. From an early age, I knew that I wanted to be part of that craft.

What topics or issues do you most enjoy covering?

I really enjoy the challenge of taking technical/research information and finding ways to connect with audiences by turning the results into an interesting and relevant story.

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

I don’t have any single stories that stand out. But the memorable ones are with the sources I interview – researchers, farmers, industry – who are passionate about what they do and want to share their knowledge with others. Those stories are fun to write.

Why does farm writing matter to you today?

Writing about agriculture continues to inspire me because it is different every day. There will always be interesting stories to share, new research to break down into manageable bites, and innovations to explain. And there will always be a need for writers to craft these stories.

What do you do for fun?

Nature is where I go for fun – hiking, kayaking and birdwatching.

Join the Eastern Canadian Farm Writers’ Association for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Sportswood Printing in Woodstock, Ontario.

As publishing technology continues to evolve, understanding today’s printing process can help writers, editors and communicators make more informed decisions when preparing content for print. From file preparation and colour management to modern press technology and finishing, this tour will provide valuable insight into what happens after you hit “send.”

Hosted by Ben Lantheir, our group will tour the Sportswood Printing facility and learn how commercial printing has adapted to changing technology, increased efficiencies and the evolving needs of publishers and clients. You’ll gain a greater appreciation for the craftsmanship, precision and innovation involved in bringing magazines, books and other printed materials to life.

Following the tour and Q&A session, we’ll continue the conversation over lunch at Tempo Restaurant—a great opportunity to network with fellow farm writers while sharing ideas and experiences. We hope you’ll join us for this informative and engaging professional development opportunity and enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at one of Ontario’s leading commercial printing operations.

Details at a Glance:

Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Time:

• 10:00 a.m. – Sportswood Printing tour and Q&A
• 12:00 p.m. – Networking lunch at Tempo Restaurant

Tour Location:
Sportswood Printing (Barney Plant)
1001 Dundas Street
Woodstock, ON N4S 0A8

Lunch Location:
Tempo Restaurant
428 Dundas Street
Woodstock, ON N4S 1C1

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/

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 the property’s agricultural history spans more than a century, it has served as a dedicated research site since 1975. Today, Honeywood is a national hub for agricultural research and product validation, supporting the development of technologies used by growers across Canada.

Hosted by Abhi Deora, Crop Protection Field Development Manager for Eastern Canada, members toured the laboratories that support Syngenta’s field development, pathology, seedcare, and formulation and application technology programs.

During the tour, researchers demonstrated the methods used to evaluate how products behave in real-world conditions. From testing the stability of tank mixes after extended storage to assessing spray coverage through different nozzle types, every detail is examined to help ensure products perform as intended in the field.

Members also visited the Canadian Seedcare Institute on site, where seed treatments are tested for consistency, storage stability, and performance in diverse growing conditions. Researchers work closely with partners across Canada and internationally to validate results and ensure products meet regulatory and agronomic requirements.

The tour also highlighted Syngenta Canada’s Zero Hunger Challenge, an initiative focused on addressing food insecurity in rural communities. Through harvest donations and employee-led efforts, the Honeywood facility has contributed thousands of pounds of fresh produce to local food banks.

The visit offered a fascinating glimpse into the science and collaboration that support modern Canadian crop production, while showcasing the extensive work that happens long before a product reaches a farmer’s field.

Exploring Agricultural Misinformation in the Digital Age

Following the AGM, ECFWA members heard from Sid Heeg, a PhD candidate in Sustainability Management at the University of Waterloo whose research examines agricultural misinformation on social media.

Complementing Heeg’s academic work, lived experience growing up on a family-run farm offers a practical perspective on how information, including misinformation, spreads in today’s digital world.

Social media was once promoted as a powerful tool for farmers to connect, learn, and share their stories. While those benefits remain, Heeg says the digital world has become increasingly complex for producers. Noting that Canada is home to some of the world’s most active social media users, this high engagement rate creates both opportunities and challenges for agricultural communication.

During the presentation, Heeg explained how information can become distorted as it is shared, interpreted, and re-shared online. Common topics affected by misinformation include animal welfare, pesticide use, GMOs, food production practices, and environmental impacts. The root cause is not always malicious intent but rather gaps in knowledge, understanding, or access to credible information.

Heeg shared preliminary findings from a recent survey of 117 farmers that explored how misinformation affects producers. Responses pointed to impacts on mental health, public trust, and farm decision-making. Many farmers are becoming aware of these issues, choosing not to engage with misinformation at all, citing frustration, fatigue, and a desire for self-preservation.

Another key takeaway was that misinformation is not simply a consumer issue. Farmers themselves can encounter and inadvertently share inaccurate information, making access to credible sources and expert guidance increasingly important.

As conversations about agriculture increasingly take place online, Heeg emphasized the need for trusted information sources, improved digital literacy, and ongoing discussion about who should bear responsibility for addressing misinformation in Canada’s agri-food sector.

For more information on this topic, contact Sid Heeg via email at: syheeg@uwaterloo.ca

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At Slaman, production runs like clockwork: Continuous planting and harvesting cycles Up to 1,500 cuttings planted per hour Around 80,000 stems harvests weekly A staggering 500,000 stems moving through the company’s coolers in the three weeks before Mother’s Day. Here’s something that surprised many of us: Slaman is one of only a handful of Canadian growers specializing in cut chrysanthemums and lisianthus. Most of what we see in flower shops? Imports, often from South America, Israel or Europe. That puts operations like this in a unique (and competitive) position, supplying florists across Ontario, into the Maritimes, and even parts of the U.S.
And despite all the tech, you still need a grower walking the greenhouse, smelling and observing the plants and making that connection between science, nature and business. 

Next time you see a bouquet, especially if it has a pickOntario logo, remember this: there’s a lot more behind it than meets the eye.

Thanks, Stephanie Slaman, for opening your greenhouse doors to a group of curious farm writers! 

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 of the ECFWA’s May 14^th webinar, which attracted more than 60 farm writer participants from across Canada. Moderated by ECFWA past president Matt McIntosh, the panel featured David Zura of CityNews and Ed White with Reuters.

For Zura, who studied journalism, it was a job with fastener supplier Fastenal in Windsor that gave him his first real exposure to the agriculture world thanks to the crop, greenhouse and wine producers in southwestern Ontario.

From his first story on ice wine, Zura was struck by how visual and relatable farm stories can be — especially when tied to universal concerns like food prices, safety, and availability.

“It’s something we all need — everybody eats,” he said.

According to Zura, stories resonate best when they are human, visual, and timely. Personal stories in particular — like a family’s experience with a farm injury that he was entrusted to tell — outperform data alone and humanize numbers.

As well, for his audience, a story has to appeal to someone in Toronto but also be relevant to viewers in other parts of Ontario – and in the fast-paced world of TV news, access is everything. Deadlines are daily, and news teams are smaller than they used to be, so sources that are available quickly and reliably, even if just for a 10-minute call, are very important.

White started his career with local newspapers in Ontario and western Canada before spending three decades with The Western Producer. Now, as Canada’s agriculture reporter at global wire service Reuters, his beat has shifted from a farmer-first lens to an international one: what the world wants to know about Canadian agriculture.

“People care about Canadian oil and gas, lentils, potash, canola, and cattle. But to make readers care, they need to see a person in the story — not just the policy,” he said.

He stressed that agriculture stories must connect beyond the industry. For instance, a shrinking cow herd becomes a story about rising beef prices.

“You have to explain why it matters to people who aren’t farmers,” he added.

What helps get ag stories into mainstream media?

• Quick access to real people who can speak authentically and clearly about issues.
• Strong visuals that help stories stand out on screens and in feeds.
• Human angles — relatable stories with emotion and stakes.
• Help connecting dots for urban audiences: what’s happening in fields impacts grocery stores, prices, and daily life.

What doesn’t work?

• Generic press releases – “we need real people saying real things”
• A single spokesperson – different voices make stories more interesting
• Slow replies – deadlines are short in mainstream media and even shorter in the wire service world
• Overly technical or “aggie” language that non-farm audiences won’t understand.

A recording of the webinar will be available shortly in the members-only section of the ECFWA website.

CFWF presented gold, silver and bronze awards in 12 writing categories as well as awards for Communicator of the Year, Feature of the Year, Story of the Year and Farm Writer of the Year. It also awarded gold, silver and bronze in three photography categories and an award for Photographer of the Year.

ECFWA winners include:

Electronic Media – Video

Jack McPherson Awards

Sponsored by RuralRoots Canada

Gold

Geoff Morrison

The Pigeon Ponzi

Published by CBC Gem

Communication – Long
Henry Heald Award, Sponsored by Glacier Farm Media

Gold
Lilan Schaer, Matt McIntosh and Kelly Daynard
The Real Dirt on Farming
Printed in the National Post

Opinion Writing

Frank Jacob Awards, Sponsored by Chicken Farmers of Canada

Gold
Matt McIntosh
Recognizing our Mixed Environmental Record
Published by Farmtario

Silver
Mary Feldskov, Brendan Byrne, and Victoria Berry
Global hunger, farming, and climate change
Published by Hill-Times

Technical Feature

Peter Lewington Awards, Sponsored by Grain Farmers of Ontario

Silver
Melanie Epp
Living Proof: Use of biostimulants continues to grow, but remains experimental
Published by GrainsWest

Current Affairs Feature

Dick Beamish Awards, Sponsored by Grain Farmers of Ontario

Gold
Melanie Epp
Get on board: Ag groups need wider variety of leaders
Published by GrainsWest

Bronze
Mary Feldskov
Rural Childcare Challenges
Published by Ontario Grain Farmer

Feature of the Year Award, Sponsored by Grain Farmers of Ontario

Melanie Epp

Get on board: Ag groups need wider variety of leaders
Published by GrainsWest

Current Affairs Reporting, Q.H. Martinson Awards, Sponsored by Bayer

Gold
Matt McIntosh
Lake Erie is full of algae again. Southwestern Ontario’s exploding greenhouse sector won’t help
Published by The Narwhal

Story of the Year Award, Sponsored by Canadian Canola Growers Association

Melanie Epp
Get on board: Ag groups need wider variety of leaders
Published by GrainsWest

Farm Writer of the Year Award, Sponsored by AdFarm
Karen Davidson

People Photography, Don Baron Awards, Sponsored by CFWF

Bronze
Sharon Grose
Filling Planter for Another Round
Published by Ontario Farmer

Production Photography, John Philips Awards, Sponsored by CFWF

Silver
Lauren Miller
Bond of Bison: Mother and Calf
Published in The Real Dirt on Farming, 6th Edition

Landscape Photography, Sponsored by CFWF

Gold
Diana Martin
Soybeans
Published in the Soybean Guide

Silver
Sharon Grose
Canadian Winter
Published in Ontario Farmer

Photographer of the Year Award, Sponsored by CFWF

Diana Martin
Soybeans
Published in the Soybean Guide

At the annual conference of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation (CFWF) in Halifax on Saturday, Ontario agricultural journalists Robert Irwin of Vankleek Hill and Don Stoneman of Bancroft were presented with CFWF Lifetime Achievement Awards.

The pair’s careers, achievements, and contributions to Canadian agricultural journalism have been intertwined since they met as colleagues working at Farm & Country magazine in the late 1980s. When that publication folded in 1999, a group of its employees quickly regrouped, producing the first edition of Better Farming magazine only four months later, Irwin and Stoneman developed a reputation for leading a team of strong investigative journalists that covered stories across the spectrum, including farm animal welfare, stray voltage and its effects on livestock, the Ontario government’s decision to end the Slots at Racetrack program, the role of women in farming, neonicotinoids, sewage spills and bypasses from urban sources and more. They also covered farmers’ mental health issues years before they were given prominence in mainstream farm discussions. Among the magazine’s best-known pieces was a series on Lyme disease that won both national and international awards.

In 2007, they broke the story that later became known as the ‘Pigeon King’ scheme, with coverage containing more than 50 stories as the issue was first publicized, charges laid and through the court case. In years since, it has been used as the basis for both a play and a feature on CBC’s Farm Crime series. Former colleague Mary Baxter said, “They worked hard to uphold the principles of good, investigative journalism, and they gave their staff the chance to dig deep into really important issues.”

Kelly Daynard, Bernard Tobin, and John Muggeridge, all members of the Eastern Canada Farm Writers’ Association, submitted the nomination, and Baxter and other agricultural journalists and communications professionals from across the country submitted letters of support. Kelly Daynard and CFWF president Allison Finnamore co-presented the award to the recipients.