Coast to Coast to Coast

2022 Online Holistic Management Canada Conference

For many, many years we’ve hosted the Western Canadian HM Conference and we are so excited to be expanding to offer the 2022 Holistic Management Canada Conference: Coast to Coast to Coast. Its about time!

Save your Thursday evenings in February at 7pm Central Time Zone to join us online and hear from great farmers and ranchers using Holistic Management across the country.

Make the conference social! We encourage you to gather your friends (maybe even your HM management club!) around the kitchen table, set up a computer and join our sessions.

Cost & Registration: Pay-what-you-wish. Choose how much to pay depending on what feels right to you and your context. Your contribution will go towards the great work that Holistic Management Canada is doing to support farmers and ranchers build regenerative futures for their farms, family and communities.

Schedule:

FEB 3: Hosted by Grant Lastiwka
Speakers: Ralph Corcoran (Saskatchewan), Adam Maclean (PEI) and Rick and Lisa Waechter (Ontario)
FEB 10: Hosted by Kelly Sidoryk
Speakers: Cam and Lisa Hodgins (Manitoba), Kim Maloney (Quebec) and Tristan and Aubyn Banwell (BC)
FEB 17: Hosted by Bluesette Campbell
Speakers Scott and Alicia Adamson (Saskatchewan), Paul and Josée Slomp (Quebec) and Tim Wray (Alberta)
FEB 24: Hosted by Tony McQuail
Speakers Don Gilford (Manitoba), Cory Van Groningen (Ontario) and Jess and Cindy Hudson (Alberta)

Speakers:

Click on the links to see the latest of what’s happening on our speakers farms!

MCs:

Conference Sponsors:

B – C Ranch

Event Contact: For questions and information, contact Ralph Corcoran at 306-532-4778 or email rlcorcoran@sasktel.net.

	Tristan Banwell, Spray Creek Ranch – British Columbia Tristan Banwell manages Spray Creek Ranch, a regenerative, organic, diversified 500-acre farm in the Northern St’at’imc Territory near Lillooet, BC. Together with his wife Aubyn, he raises cattle, pigs and poultry on pasture along the mighty Fraser River in the rain shadow of the Coast Mountains. In addition to his volunteer work with Organic BC, Tristan co-founded the Lillooet Agriculture & Food Society and the BC Small-Scale Meat Producers Association.
	Tim Wray, Alberta Tim and Joanne Wray ranch cattle at Irricana, AB. They moved to Tim’s family farm in their mid 30s to try their hand at agriculture. Mentored by Tim’s Uncle Doug Wray for the past seven years they continue to experiment with several grazing practices and classes of cattle. Joanne has worked part time as an Occupational Therapist and has recently taken a leave of absence to help in her father in-laws ag business, Star Quality Samplers Inc. Tim works off farm half time as the pastor of a Lutheran church in nearby Airdrie. Spare time is filled with piano lessons, 4H projects, youth group, kids sports and the rare get away. Juggling a number of income streams and responsibilities, they try to use Holistic Management questions to direct their goals and energy with each passing season. An ever evolving task.
	Jess & Cindy Hudson, Alberta Jess and Cindy Hudson own and operate a ranch in the Ponoka/Bashaw area, having moved 28 years ago from southern Alberta. Both have five generation roots in agriculture and feel it is important to look to the future, be involved and keep this industry vibrant and viable for the generations to follow. They have two grown children who bring their own skill sets to the cow/calf and backgrounding operation. Their strength is their flexibility and creativity to meet the ever-changing demands in this industry and on our operation. Their Holistic Management background has been invaluable in their independent survival, as well as executing a management plan which tries to create life balance, environmental sustainability and profit.
	Scott & Alicia Adamson, Diamond J Horsemanship – Saskatchewan Together with their daughters Lily and Ivy, Scott and Alicia are 4th & 5th generation ranchers on Scott’s family’s ranch, now called Diamond J Cattle Co. Inc. They have a cow/calf, background and yearling operation near Makwa, Saskatchewan where they also raise some Quarter Horses and working Border Collies. They are thankful to the generation before them for the opportunity to be here and do what they love every day.
	Ralph Corcoran, HM Educator – Saskatchewan Ralph and his wife Linda, purchased 8.5 quarters of land in the parkland region in the south east Saskatchewan in 1985. Approximately 500 acres farmed and the rest native grass and trees. They seeded the farmed land to grass in 1991and by 2001 the grass needed to be all reseeded as there was very little production. After their daughter took a Holistic Management course from Don and Bev Campbell in 2001; the next year they changed our management and the land is healthier today than it ever was and still getting better.
	Don Guilford, Guildford Hereford Ranch – Manitoba Don and his wife Diane have been practicing Holistic Management since they took a course from Allan Savory in the ’80’s. This shaped their ranching career under the Guildford Hereford Ranch. They continue to take HM courses through Wayne Berry and Don and Bev Campbell which helped them to more than double their stocking rate and advance their winter feeding strategies. With Diane’s livestock and accounting knowledge, Don was able to attend many field days and tours. In 1987 they received the Premium Breeder award, in 1989 Canadian outstanding Farmer award and in 2009 Manitoba’s Environmental Stewardship award. Currently they calve 120 cows and lease cows out to another couple. They have 3 daughters, 6 grandkids. They are eternally grateful foe all the great people they have met and learned from. It has made the ranch what it is today.
	Cameron and Lisa Hodgins, Hodgins Farm– Manitoba Cameron and Lisa are 3^rd generation farmers on their family farm near Lenore, Manitoba. Here they are raising their four young children; Carrie, Chase, Cole and Conner and farm closely with Cameron’s parents, Ed and Debra. Hodgins Farm has a cow/calf and yearling operation along with raising grass fed beef, pastured pork, lamb, chicken and turkey, free range hens and honey bees and direct marketing their products to consumers. The Hodgins are guided by their values and beliefs in the principles of regenerative and holistic agriculture and enjoy discussing their farming practices with consumers and other producers as well as contributing to their local community. They feel very lucky and blessed to be part of the Holistic Management community. Farming for future generations!
	Cory Vangroningen, VG Meats – Ontario Cory is Savory Institute Accredited Professional and a Hub-verifier in Eastern Canada. He and his wife Heidi raise beef and pastured poultry with the help of their 4 daughters, Brooke, Haley, Ruth and Skylar. Cory and Heidi also mentor a growing team of young farmers. Their family business is the VG Family organization which includes an abattoir and 9 retail stores that serve the GTA, distributors, restaurants, and other retailers. Currently, the VG organization is working intensely on social regeneration with their supplying family farms, team members and customers. Cory has an M. Sc. in Agricultural Economics. His favourite steak is ribeye.
	Rick and Lisa Waechter, Double D Pastures – Ontario While the family farm, named after Rick and Lisa’s two boys, is currently found in the hills near northern end of the Niagara Escarpment, the early years were spent on rented land in several nearby locations. Holistic management practices helped Rick and Lisa overcome many challenges in the formative years, when working on rented land, and then again once the farm was moved to land they were able to purchase. What started as a small family project with 6 head of cattle and some chickens has grown into a small business with more than 20 head of cattle, 20 sheep, chickens, rabbits, geese, and occasionally pigs and goats. Customers have travelled from as far as Toronto, Ottawa and even Quebec to purchase meat or tour the property. Rick and Lisa enjoy sharing the results of their efforts and seeing the “ah ha” moments during the tours when visitors suddenly find a new appreciation for the benefits of holistic management. School groups (when conditions permit) have had opportunities to visit the farm, walk the pastures, learn about the interactions of nature in the various areas (forests, swamps, pastures, and gardens), and catch a selfie holding a chicken (often a complete first for a Toronto teen).
	Kim Maloney, Ferme Brylee – Quebec Kim is a 5th generation farmer. Her family farm specializes in grass fed beef and grass fed lamb using rotational grazing/regenerative grazing techniques. They are passionate about using animals to better the land and produce the highest quality meats for their customers. They specialize in direct marketing using social media and an online store. Getting to know customers and knowing that they fill their freezers with great grass fed meat is key to their family business! Family feeding families!
	Paul and Josée Slomp, Grazing Days Farm – Quebec Paul and Josée began Grazing Days in 2010, with 14 Angus beef yearlings. They have grown their farm to 110 cows, 70 yearling beef cattle and 70 pigs on pasture. Paul has loved working with cattle and soils since his early days on his family’s farm first in the Netherlands, and then in Rimbey, Alberta. When he isn’t with the herd moving fences or engineering a new winch system for feeding whey to the pigs, you can find Paul planning new play structures with two very excited young farm kids.Josée grew up in suburbia, as a kid who loved to ride bikes and write books. Her love of social puzzles landed her in some universities to study sociology and feminism. She leads the farm’s community development endeavours, social media presence, and farm kid picture taking. When she steals away for solo farm time, you can find her in her vegetable patch or chatting up the laying hens.
	Adam McLean, Wildwind Pastures – Maritimes Adam Maclean is a greenhorn grazier in the hills of south Melville, PEI. In his startup venture, he manages 200 ewes on 200 acres, in a lean grass-based, outdoor-only system. HM has been integral in the development of this farm, and continues to guide decision making (though sometimes without rigour and discipline, as with financial planning). Adan also serves as agriculture climate action specialist with the P.E.I. department of agriculture and land.