Dr. Aitazaz A. Farooque

Environment and climate change

Dr. Aitazaz A. Farooque is a Professor and Director of the Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation at the University of Prince Edward Island. His research focuses on developing climate-smart technologies to support sustainable agriculture in Atlantic Canada. A recognized leader in his field, Dr. Farooque has co-authored over 180 peer-reviewed journal articles and secured more than $17 million in research funding. He was named one of Canada’s top 125 researchers and received the prestigious NSERC Discovery Accelerator Grant. In 2024, he was inducted as a Member of the Royal Society of Canada College. His accolades include numerous national and international honors, such as the King Charles III Coronation Medal and the 2025 Next Generation of Ag Engineering Leaders Award. As both a Professional Engineer and a registered Professional Agrologist, Dr. Farooque also directs the Centre of Excellence in Food Security and Sustainability. His work has received global media coverage for advancing innovation and building resilience in agriculture.

Amaya Atucha

cranberry

Amaya Atucha is a Professor and the Gottschalk Endowed Chair for Cranberry Research in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research program addresses a broad set of questions in perennial fruit crop systems, with emphasis on crop ecophysiology, plant nutrition, and fruit quality. She is a plant physiologist interested in linking fundamental physiology with practical solutions for fruit crop industries, and her recent and ongoing work has examined fundamental processes such as cold hardiness and dormancy, along with plant responses to abiotic stresses including heat, flooding, and drought. The goal of her extension program is to deliver research-based information that enhances the productivity, profitability, and long-term sustainability of the fruit industry in the Midwest and beyond.

Andrea Versloot

cover crops

Andrea Versloot was raised on a dairy and cash crop farm in Eastern Ontario. She relocated to the Maritimes in 2018 to complete her post-secondary education at Dalhousie University’s Agricultural College in Truro, NS. Andrea graduated with her bachelors in Animal Science in 2022. After graduating, she worked at a small animal veterinary clinic before moving to Fredericton to work for the New Brunswick Soil & Crop Improvement Association (NBSCIA). She joined the NBSCIA team in 2023 where she currently works as an Agro-Environmental Coordinator serving producers in the Central Region of New Brunswick. In addition to working for NBSCIA, Andrea assists on her husband’s family’s dairy farm located outside of Fredericton, NB.

Anne-Charlie Robert

Pollination and Wild Blueberry

Anne-Charlie graduated from Université Laval, Québec, in December 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in biology and has a particular interest in all aspects of animal ecology. This interest, and her decision to complete a study profile during her bachelor’s degree, led her to pursue a master’s degree in biology under the supervision of Pierre Giovenazzo and co-supervision of Valérie Fournier, also at Université Laval, Québec. Her project focused on the management of commercial bumblebees during lowbush blueberry pollination to improve colony performance. This study is part of a larger project to maximize blueberry pollination by domestic pollinator species, including commercial bumblebees.

Caroline Letendre

vegetable

Caroline has 16 years of experience at Hortau and currently serves as Sales Director for the entire Canadian market, ‘coast to coast’! She has a background in agricultural economics and an MBA. Since 2020, she has been involved with the Irrigation committee of Quebec Reference Center for Agriculture and Agri-food (CRAAQ), helping to plan symposiums and webinars with other irrigation specialists. She is passionate about water and environmental management and loves contributing to innovation in the agricultural sector from a sustainable perspective. What motivates her: the dynamism and collaborative atmosphere of the agricultural sector and her desire to contribute.

Charles Karemangingo

apple

Charles Karemangingo is a professional agrologist and a Ph D holder in soil science from Laval University. He has accumulated more than 40 years of experience in agricultural research and development. He has been the soil management specialist for the New Brunswick Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries since January 2023. He had also been the soil fertility specialist for the same department from 1999 to 2007. In addition, Charles has worked for different institutions both national and international in soil management and in the management of academic institutions in Africa. His current activities include, among others, reviewing, updating, and promoting the soil fertility management in New Brunswick with the view to optimize the farm profitability while protecting the environment.

Chris Callahan

Controlled ENVIRONMENT agriculture, small fruits, vegetables, industry development

Chris Callahan is the Associate Director of Extension, an Extension Professor of Agricultural Engineering at the University of Vermont, and the Director of the Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety (NECAFS). His work focuses on the application of the engineering practice to food systems. Specific engagement is with food producers, processors, and distributors to improve efficiency, quality, safety, and cost control through the integration of technology, systems integration, and process controls.  Areas of work include protected culture, postharvest handling and storage, produce safety, and sustainable energy.

David Brennan

industry development

David Brennan brings over 15 years of experience working with farming families and agribusiness owners across Canada, helping them grow and strengthen their operations. As Manager of Business Development for New Brunswick, David partners with producers to develop strategies that support long-term farm viability and successful intergenerational transitions. His collaborative approach ensures that families can plan confidently for the future while sustaining their legacy.

Didier Labarre

cranberry

Didier holds a bachelor’s degree in Ecology from the Université de Sherbrooke and a master’s degree in biology from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), where he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Biology. He served as Research Manager at the Club environnemental et technique Atocas Québec (CETAQ) for just over a year, then as Director of Research at the Quebec Cranberry Growers Association (APCQ) for five years, before being appointed Executive and Scientific Director of the Cranberry Research and Innovation Centre (CRIC) two years ago. His work primarily focuses on developing alternative pest management methods, integrated pest management, pollination, and crop management practices.

François Biron

VEGETABLES, Controlled Environment Agriculture

Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture and Environmental Sciences from McGill University (2005), Master’s degree in Plant Biology from Laval University (2010). Worked at the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation Québec (MAPAQ) between 2006 and 2016. Started his business in 2012. The company’s business model is to grow a few vegetables in larger quantities and sell them wholesale. The focus is on production efficiency, products in demand and more specialized products, and very low production costs. Diversification with greenhouses began in 2015, exploring ways to use this infrastructure for as long as possible. Winner of the MAPAQ Relève award and the FADQ Tournez-vous vers l’excellence award in 2019.

François Gervais Agr.

Cranberry

After completing his bachelor’s degree in agronomy, François Gervais worked on various cranberry farms as a laborer and farm manager. He then moved on to CETAQ, where he provides consulting services in integrated pest management and fertilization. He has also participated in several research projects and conferences over the years.

Jess Vickruck

Pollination and Wild Blueberry

Jess is a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada based out of Fredericton, New Brunswick. The lab is generally interested in better understanding the role that beneficial insects play in delivering ecosystem services such as pollination and pest control. In particular, they study how off-field features or uncropped areas can promote beneficial insect diversity. While she started working primarily with wild bees, they now have projects in the lab working with carabid beetles and soil dwelling insects. They also collaborate on projects working with Colorado potato beetle.

Jason Deveau

apple

Jason studied biology & psychology at Mount Allison University, plant cell physiology at York University and plant cell electrophysiology at the University of Guelph. Based in Ontario’s Simcoe Resource Centre since 2008, he researches and develops practical methods to optimize productivity, effectiveness, and safety in all agricultural spraying systems. Author of “Airblast101 – Your Guide to Effective and Efficient Spraying”, he also founded and co-administers www.sprayers101.com, the world’s number one resource for agricultural spraying since 2015.

Joanne Driscoll

Vegetable

Working with the PEI Horticultural Association, Joanne and co-workers provide support services in the areas of on-farm research, extension and food safety to individual producers, grower cooperatives, grower associations and agri-business. Over the years the Association has worked in partnership with their growers, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada, PEI Department of Agriculture, and seed and crop protectant companies.

Joel English

floriculture

Joel English is a senior grower and manager at Jolly Farmer Products Inc, a 13-acre, state of the art young plant producer in Northampton, NB. Joel brings over 30 years of experience in advanced horticultural production and crop management to this position. He specializes in leveraging modern greenhouse technologies such as automated irrigation, fertigation systems, and integrated pest management programs to ensure consistent, high-quality production. Joel’s expertise in both seed and vegetative propagation has been honed through years of hard work and industry networking, and he is eager to share this experience with the next generation of growers

Jonathan Gadbois

small fruit, Controlled Environment Agriculture

Jonathan Gadbois is a producer and manager at Ferme Gadbois, a family business located in Saint-Barnabé-Sud, Quebec. With a degree in agroeconomics from Laval University and in agricultural business management and operations from the Institut de technologie agroalimentaire, he is responsible for vegetable crops, primarily strawberries in all their forms of production.
Within his company, he has participated in the development of day-neutral strawberry production, the establishment of a farmers’ market including a processing area on the farm, and more recently, the production of strawberries in greenhouses during the winter.
Committed to the Quebec agricultural community, he is vice-president of the PRISME advisory club and substitute member of the board of directors of the Quebec Strawberry and Raspberry Growers Association.

Dr. Kari Peter

apple

Dr. Kari Peter is currently an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology at Penn State University. She has a 50% Research, 50% Extension appointment and is located at the Fruit Research and Extension Center in Biglerville, PA, which is located in the heart of the tree fruit growing region of Pennsylvania. Her tree fruit pathology research and extension programs follow a holistic approach: all pest management systems (organic to conventional) and full circle (pre- and postharvest diseases). Her research program focuses on annual field trials evaluating conventional and organic fungicides and bactericides for the control of the most common fungal and bacterial diseases to affect apples and peaches; identifying sustainable management strategies for bitter rot of apple; identifying and mitigating postharvest apple rots; and elucidating causal agents of apple tree decline.

Dr. Lily Calderwood

Pollination and Wild Blueberry

Dr. Lily Calderwood is an Associate Professor of Horticulture and UMaine’s Wild Blueberry Specialist. Her research and education program aims to develop whole system approaches to wild blueberry production in Maine. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is at the forefront of her work, which can improve the economic and ecological resilience of farms by incorporating subjects such as fertility, soil health, and plant physiology into pest management. Current research includes state-wide phenology monitoring, fertility studies, mulching studies, harvester efficiency projects, herbicide trials, and now the installation of the Maine Mesonet. Past projects studied insect-plant interactions and biological control on lavender, cut flower, hop, dry bean, grains, and oilseeds. Her applied research and education helps growers to identify and address on-farm needs. To learn more about wild blueberry production research and outreach at the University of Maine.

Dr. Louis-Pierre Comeau

COVER CROPS

Dr. Louis-Pierre Comeau is a research scientist with the Federal Government of Canada. His research focus is on landscape and soil carbon. Specifically, he investigates ways to replenish soil organic matter from agricultural and forest lands.

Dr. Comeau started his Research Scientist appointment with AAFC after his postdoctoral fellowship at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Dr. Comeau previously completed a B.Sc. in Biology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico; a M.Sc. in Soil Science at the University of Saskatchewan; and a PhD. in soil Science at the University of Aberdeen UK (with the field work done in Indonesian forests).

Dr. Comeau lead pan-Canadian projects that investigates the relationship between management practices, soil biodiversity and carbon storage. One of these is a ground-breaking soil mapping project, and is the first of its kind in Canada. The main goal of the endeavor is to pull all of the results from broad soil carbon and biodiversity surveys together with the use of super computers to create detailed maps of the soil universe of Canada. The maps will give researchers a detailed view of the health and diversity of the soils in different regions of Canada and lead to recommendations and further research that will help farmers enhance soil health and better prepare for the impacts of climate change.

Dr. Comeau also collaborates in compost optimization projects and in international initiatives that have the aim to demonstrate managements which protect the soil health and can help to partially alleviate the effect of global warming. His long-term scientific goal is to contribute to knowledge about why some carbon molecules can remain stable in the soil for thousands of years.

Marvin Pritts

Small Fruits

Marvin Pritts obtained a B.S. in Biology from Bucknell University in 1978, a M.S. in Biology from the University of South Carolina in 1980, and a Ph.D. in horticulture at Michigan State University working with wild species of blueberries. Marvin came to Cornell in 1984 as the berry crop specialist with an appointment in extension, research and teaching. He works primarily with production, season extension, and pest management systems in strawberries and raspberries, and has consulted with berry farmers throughout the world. He teaches several courses at Cornell, has published more than 100 refereed papers, given more than 1,000 extension talks, and presented several keynotes at international conferences.

Maya Boivin-Lalonde, P.Ag. M.Sc.

Cranberry

PhD candidate in Plant Biology at Laval University under the supervision of Valérie Fournier, Pierre Giovenazzo, and Eve-Catherine Desjardins, researcher at the Centre for Experimentation and Development in the Boreal Forest (CEDFOB). For the past ten years, Maya (the bee) has been interested in the development of northern beekeeping and fruit pollination, in addition to teaching horticultural and fruit production at the National Institute of Organic Agriculture. She manages a small apiary dedicated to training, research, and breeding on a part-time basis.

Dr. Michael Tesfaendrias

Small fruit

Michael joined the NBDAAF in 2014. Michael is an IPM specialist specializing in plant pathology. In this capacity, he diagnoses plant diseases for NB agricultural industry, provide disease management advice, attend field days, grower and scientific meetings, and conduct research trials. Before joining the NBDAAF, he worked as a research associate and IPM program coordinator at the Ontario crops research centre-Bradford of the University of Guelph. At the Ontario crops research centre, he conducted and participated in research of diseases of vegetable crops, diagnosed plant diseases, ran pest forecasting models and supervised the pest management program for muck vegetable growers. Michael has worked as a plant protection extension officer in Eritrea and as a research assistant in the Dept. of Plant Sciences of the University of the Free State, South Africa. Michael obtained B.Sc. (Agric.), M.Sc. and Ph. D. (Plant Pathology) from University of the Free State, South Africa.

Noémie Gagnon

Cranberry

Noémie is a biologist by training. She has been working at the Centre d’expertise et de transfert en agriculture biologique et de proximité (Center for Expertise and Transfer in Organic and Local Agriculture) for 13 years as a researcher in fruit crops and biodiversity in agricultural environments. This is an applied research center that operates throughout Quebec. She also coordinates research and teaching activities at the research orchard of the Institut national d’agriculture biologique (National Institute of Organic Agriculture). Her projects focus on various aspects of fruit production using an agroecological approach. First, through the use of alternative methods of pest control to pesticides: growing under nets, biological control through introduction, mechanized weeding, etc. She also takes a more holistic approach to improving biodiversity on farms by protecting and developing habitats for wildlife.

Neil Mattson

Controlled Environment Agriculture

Neil Mattson is Professor and greenhouse extension specialist at the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University. Neil joined Cornell in 2007 after completing his PhD from the University of California Davis and Master’s from the University of Minnesota. Mattson is the director of Cornell’s Controlled Environment Agriculture program and his research is focused on the physiology of both vegetable and floriculture crops in controlled environments. Research interests include strategies to reduce greenhouse energy use, sustainable and organic fertilization practices, rootzone management, and plant stress physiology.

Philip Fanning

Pollination and Wild Blueberry

Dr. Fanning’s lab group focuses on the ecology and behavior of insects in wild blueberry fields, including pests and natural enemies, as well as their interactions within these fields and their surrounding landscapes. The evaluation and optimization of pest management programs, as well as the development of sustainable alternative management tactics, are key focuses of our research aimed at conserving biological control and pollinators.

Pierre Giovenazzo

Pollination and Wild Blueberry

Pierre Giovenazzo, received a PhD in veterinary sciences at the University of Montréal (Varroa IPM strategies). He is professor at University Laval’s Biology Department and holded a Chair in Educational Leadership in apicultural science 2016-2021. His recent research focuses on honey bee breeding and reproduction, pollination services, honeybee nutrition and varroa IPM strategies. He has published over 90 scientific research publications/reports and his communication skills are recognized not only in academia, but throughout the beekeeping community. He was vice-president of the Canadian Association of Professional Beekeepers of Canada (2014-2017) and is member of various national and international beekeeping stakeholder associations. He was president of the 46th Apimondia 2019 Congress Montreal.

Ralph C. Martin

Environment and climate change

Ralph C. Martin grew up on his family farm in Wallenstein, ON. After earning a Ph.D. (Plant Science, McGill University, 1990) he taught at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College. In 2001, he founded the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada and in 2011, was appointed as Professor, University of Guelph. In 2019, he retired and published the book, Food Security.

Renae Moran

apple

Renae Moran is a tree-fruit specialist with the University of Maine’s School of Food and Agriculture. In her research, she aims to solve problems such as nutritional deficiencies in Honeycrisp apples and cold hardiness losses in midwinter. She is currently working on methods to predict and prevent fruit losses in cold storage, apple and peach variety trials and breeding peaches for cold climates. She also works for Extension service providing research-based knowledge to Maine’s apple and peach growers.

Sarah Kistner

floriculture

Sarah Kistner has been part of the flower-growing community for over 20 years. Together with her husband, she founded Stone Meadow Gardens, where they have grown flowers commercially for more than a decade. After relocating their farm from British Columbia to the Maritimes four years ago, they’ve continued to specialize in dahlias—growing them for both fresh blooms and Canada-wide tuber sales. Stone Meadow offers fresh flowers and bouquets through its on-farm stand, local farmers market, and newly opened u-pick field. Sarah has served as the Canadian representative on the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers (ASCFG) Board of Directors since 2023, where she loves helping connect and support growers across North America.

Sarah Macalpine

floriculture

Sarah Macalpine is a farmer-florist based in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, where she runs Two Birds One Stone Farm – a boutique flower farm and floral design studio overlooking the Bay of Fundy. Specializing in seasonal, locally grown blooms, Sarah is known for her wild and natural aesthetic, thoughtful design, and community-focused approach to flower farming. Her work spans wedding and event florals, bouquet subscriptions, workshops, farmers’ markets and on-farm experiences.

With a love of both agriculture and the arts, Sarah is passionate about sharing the business and design skills that help farmers build sustainable, joy-filled flower enterprises. She regularly speaks and teaches on topics related to small-scale flower farming, floristry, on-farm events, and building authentic community connections through flowers.

Suzanne Blatt, PhD

Apple

Suzanne Blatt, PhD received her BSc (Agr) from the former Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Truro, NS with a major in Plant Protection. Her Honors thesis looked at the impact of pollinator enhancing products on honeybee behavior. Her PhD was received from Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC and her thesis focused on the ecology, chemical ecology and impact of the western conifer seed bug. In between her PhD and starting at AAFC in 2011 she studied plant-insect dynamics during succession at Queens University and parasitism of the large white cabbage moth at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Currently her research is focused on tree fruit and vegetable pests with ongoing projects on apple maggot fly, oblique banded leafroller and cabbage root maggot.

Talia Plasket

Controlled Environment Agriculture

Talia’s role at Perennia provides support for protected crop production across Nova Scotia. She graduated from the University of Guelph in 2015 and spent five years working in the greenhouse stationed at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. She joined Perennia’s Agri-Services team in June 2020 and is passionate in her work supporting high tunnel, greenhouse, and CEA production in Nova Scotia. Talia is excited to continue to strengthen the resource bank, community, and knowledge base surrounding protected production across the province.

Tim Livingstone

vegetable

Tim Livingstone and his wife own Strawberry Hill Farm in the Saint John River Valley of New Brunswick. They employ 20 people at the peak of the season and grow over 50 crops plus pasture raised meats. Tim has been growing plants in greenhouses and then as a farmer for over 35 years and as an organic farmer for the last 23 years. Cultivation for weed control is an important part of production on an organic farm, but the principles can be applied to all farms growing everything from vegetables and berries to row crops like soybeans and field corn.

Vanessa Deveau

small fruit, cranberry

Vanessa Deveau is an Integrated Pest Management Weed Specialist and Provincial Minor Use Coordinator for NBDAAF. Hailing from Nova Scotia she’s been in the role for nearly 2 years. She completed her MSc at Dalhousie University Agricultural Campus with a focus on vegetative management in lowbush blueberries.