Registration Desk

12:00 pm to 7:00 pm – Sign in on the Mezzanine Level
Stop by the desk to sign in, pick up your conference nametag, and select some swag!

The CFWF 2025 registration desk will be open Thursday, 12 noon to 7 pm, on the Mezzanine level, located at the top of the stairs from the Lobby.

Pre-tour

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Experience Winnipeg’s agriculture history through architecture
Guide Patty Rosher will lead the group through the city’s historic and modern agricultural hubs, where industry meets innovation and architecture tells the story. Please wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather.

OPENING RECEPTION

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Celebrate the start of CFWF 2025 in the LaVerendrye Room
Join us in the LaVerendrye Room on the Mezzanine level for cocktails, appetizers, and welcoming remarks. Toe tapping entertainment will be provided by Métis fiddler Morgan Grace.

HOSPITALITY SUITE

9:00 pm onwards – Keep the party going in the Vice-Regal Suite
Enjoy cocktails and mocktails with fellow farm writers in the Vice-Regal Suite (Rm 114).

Registration Desk

7:00 am to 8:00 am – Located in the lobby, next to the Provencher Room
The desk will be open Friday from 7 am to 8 am.

BREAKFAST

7:15 am to 7:45 am – Grab and Go from the lobby, next to the Provencher Room
Fuel up before a day of touring by grabbing your “Breakfast-to-Go” box, containing a breakfast sandwich, yogurt, piece of fruit, and an oat/flax/fruit/nut bar. A coffee/tea and juice station with takeout cups will be provided.

Note: Bus riders may eat their breakfast at the hotel or on board the bus; City tour participants are asked to eat breakfast before departing.

BUS TOURS

ALL DAY – Explore Manitoba’s agriculture on three diverse routes:

Tour 1 – NORTH: Explore Manitoba’s “Interlaken”

Bus loads at 7:45 am on the Fort Street side of the hotel for a prompt 8:00 am departure.

Manitoba’s Interlake region, located between Lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba (we’re good at recycling names), is almost as famous as the Swiss resort town, Interlaken. On this tour, you’ll get inside the cockpit of a modern field machine, get close to bison (the most Manitoban of livestock), and taste rye two ways—kernels and Crown Royal. Your tour guide will also have a couple of extra surprises.

Tour 2 – SOUTH: Welcome to Mennotoba – seed, steam, sheep, and farmer sausage

Bus loads at 7:45 am on the Fort Street side of the hotel for a prompt 8:00 am departure.

Leave the Winnipeg side of the river (jantsied) for the Mennonite promised land (ditseid) of southeast Manitoba – also the home of French Canadian and Metis ‘frintschauft’ (relatives). There’ll be no time for a meddachschlop (nap) as we start at Brett Young’s seed treating and research facility, get up close and personal with modern animal agriculture at the University of Manitoba’s Glenlea Research Station, and then head to Steinbach for a traditional Mennonite meal, steam engine demonstration, and tour of Mennonite history. We’ll then learn about the art and science of home-grown wool at Long Way Homestead, one of Manitoba’s few small-scale fibre mills. Bring your own knackzoat (sunflower seeds).

Tour 3 – CITY: Food for Home and Abroad.

Tour leaves the hotel lobby on foot at 8:15 am sharp.

Starting with a short walk to downtown Winnipeg, you’ll visit Cereals Canada and the Canadian Grain Commission to learn more about how they welcome hundreds of international visitors every year to learn how to get the most out of Canadian grain. Before you leave the building, you’ll tour the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre’s brewery. After a visit and lunch at Red River Polytechnic’s Culinary Arts program, just up the street, you’ll jump on a bus headed for tours of Loveday Mushrooms and CN Rail’s National Training Centre.

DINNER

6:00 pm – Enjoy friendly Manitoba hospitality in Dugald
All buses will meet up for a Manitoba-themed meal and live entertainment by the vibrant Selo Ukrainian Dancers.

HOSPITALITY SUITE

9:00 pm onwards – Keep the Party Going in the Vice-Regal Suite
Swap tales of tour day with fellow writers over cocktails and mocktails in the Vice-Regal Suite (Rm 114).

BREAKFAST

7:45 am to 8:55 am – Provencher Room
Begin your day with breakfast, and a CFWF Discussion beginning at 8:00 am, in the Provencher Room.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Join us for a day of presentations inspired by our conference theme: Learning from the Past, Growing for the Future. All sessions take place in the Provencher Room.

8:55 am – Welcome remarks

9:00 am Prairie farming before settlement – There’s archaeological evidence of Manitoba farming as early as 1250. We’ll start the day with a history of Indigenous and Métis agriculture on the Prairies by Dan Benoit, a Red River Métis and a member of the Métis Nation.

10:00 am – Break

10:30 am Wheat: Canada’s longest ag success story – Wheat rivals maple syrup as Canada’s most successful brand. From Red Fife to Marquis to Manitoba Northern to Canada Western Red Spring — after 150 years, Canada retains its reputation as the exporter of the world’s highest-quality wheat. You’ll hear what’s needed to maintain that reputation from the Canadian Grain Commission’s chief grain inspector Derek Bunkowsky and Dr. Bin Xiao Fu, research scientist and program manager for its bread wheat and durum research program.

11:15 am Canadian wheat: the choice of millers around the world – For domestic and global customers, wheat quality determines success, and Canadian wheat holds a unique position in the international market due to its functionality and consistency. Two Cereals Canada leaders are joining us to share what sets Canadian wheat apart.

Elaine Sopiwnyk, vice president, technical services, reveals why global demand for Canadian wheat quality continues to grow and how Cereals Canada provides the data and expertise customers need. Ellen Pruden, vice president, communications and value chain relations, shares plans for Gate (Global Agricultural Technology Exchange)—a bold vision led by Cereals Canada to better serve global customers and strengthen Canada’s position in international markets.

12:00 pm – Buffet Lunch

12:30 pm Washington update – During lunch, we’ll be joined online by Richard Madan, the head of Manitoba’s new trade office in Washington. He’ll talk about what he’s learned in his new role, as well as in his former one as White House correspondent for CBC.

1:15 pm The farm media’s role in fostering progress – Farmers are continually pulled in different directions. They need to maximize production, but their practices in doing so may not be the best for the environment or the long-term health of their land. Meanwhile, they’re being asked to purchase and implement increasingly expensive and complex machinery and technology.

We’ve assembled a panel to address how the media helps or hinders farmers’ willingness to consider new ideas, and what farm media can do better in fostering change. Panel members include University of Manitoba soil science professor emeritus Don Flaten and Manitoba farmer and researcher David Rourke, whose PhD thesis explored why there can be resistance to specific proposed best management practices on the Prairies. They will be joined by seed grower Rick Rutherford, who has opened his 6,000-acre farm northwest of Winnipeg to partners as a real-world testing ground for agricultural innovations.

2:30 pm How ag advertisers are adapting to change – There aren’t as many farmers or pages in farm papers as there used to be. The health of farm media continues to depend on advertising support, so we’ve asked David Lazarenko of Winnipeg agency Think Shift to share some perspective on how marketers are trying to reach farmers these days.

COCKTAILS

5:00 pm – Mezzanine Level
Raise a glass and get ready for a night of good food and celebration.

AWARDS BANQUET

6:00 pm – Celebrate your peers in the Provencher Room
Dress up for the banquet and presentation of CFWF awards, followed by music, relaxed networking, and celebration. Dance to upbeat, timeless classics by Sassy Satellite and the Retro Rhythm Review. Doors open at 5:30 pm, dinner will be served at 6:00. Seating is not assigned.

HOSPITALITY SUITE

11:00 pm onwards – Keep the Party Going in the Vice-Regal Suite
Following the banquet, gather with friends new and old in the Vice-Regal Suite (Rm 114).