Keynote Address

Dr. Patrick Moore, Ph. D
February 8 - Keynote Speaker
3:10 pm - 4:10 pm
TOPIC: Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout: the Making of a Sensible Environmentalist

Dr. Patrick Moore has been a leader in the international environmental field for over 30 years. He is a co-founder of Greenpeace and served for nine years as President of Greenpeace Canada and seven years as a Director of Greenpeace International. As the leader of many campaigns Dr. Moore was a driving force shaping policy and direction while Greenpeace became the world's largest environmental activist organization.

In recent years, Dr. Moore has been focused on the promotion of sustainability and consensus building among competing concerns. He was a member of British Columbia government-appointed Round Table on the Environment and Economy from 1990 - 1994. In 1990, Dr. Moore founded and chaired the BC Carbon Project, a group that worked to develop a common understanding of climate change.

Dr. Moore served for four years as Vice President, Environment for Waterfurnace International, a manufacturer of geothermal heat pumps for residential heating and cooling with renewable earth energy. He is now a Director of NextEnergy Solutions, the largest distributor of geothermal systems in Canada.

As Chair of the Sustainable Forestry Committee of the Forest Alliance of BC from 1991 - 2002, he led the process of developing the "Principles of Sustainable Forestry" which were adopted by a majority of the industry.

In 2000, Dr. Moore published Green Spirit – Trees are the Answer, a photo-book that provides a new insight into how forests work and how they can play a powerful role in solving many of our current environmental problems.

Released in 2011, Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout: the Making of a Sensible Environmentalist is Dr. Patrick Moore's engaging firsthand account of his many years spent as the ultimate Greenpeace insider, a co-founder and leader in the organization's top committee. Confessions details Moore's vision for a more sustainable world. From energy independence to climate change, genetic engineering to aquaculture, Moore sheds new light on some of the most controversial subjects in the news today. In Confessions Moore persuasively argues for us to rethink our conventional wisdom about environment and, in so doing, provides the reader with new ways in which to see the world.

Dr. Moore currently serves as Chair and Chief Scientist of Greenspirit Strategies, a consultancy focusing on environmental policy and communications in forestry, agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, mining, biodiversity, energy and climate change.

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Marketing Address

Michael Krueger, The Money Farm
February 9 - 2:30pm - 3:30 pm
TOPIC: Market Volatility – What are the Causes & When Will It Settle Down?

Michael Krueger is the founder and President of The Money Farm. The Money Farm is a grain marketing advisory service located near Fargo, North Dakota, that works with individual farmers, country elevators and others associated with agriculture. He is also a senior analyst for World Perspectives, a Washington, DC, based international agricultural consulting company, and has traveled extensively internationally as a speaker at various farm and grain industry meetings and seminars, including the Middle East, Africa, Asia, South America and Latin America. Mr. Krueger has also worked on numerous consulting projects in the US as well as overseas. He is a licensed commodity broker clearing through ADM Investor Services. Mr. Krueger also hosted a daily syndicated radio and television program called The Money Farm that was carried on 35 radio stations across the upper Midwest and six television stations across North Dakota and hosted The Money Farm Minute on AM 1100 in Fargo. Mr. Krueger is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. Mr. Krueger began his career with Cargill, Inc., holding a number of management and merchandising positions.

Additional Sessions

Tracy Greier , FCC
February 8 @ 11:20 - 12:00 pm
TOPIC: FCC Management Software: Maximizing your Operation with Automated Records

Tracy Greier has used her experience and education to encourage producers to take their operations to the next level with automated record keeping. As a Professional Agrologist, Tracy has dedicated over 14 years to the agriculture industry and understands framing businesses right down to their day to day activities.

In her current role with Farm Credit Canada, Tracy works extensively with producers from across Canada on improving their automated record keeping capabilities, field record management and farm traceability requirements. From her experience as a farm management consultant, Tracy recognizes that a business with a good set of books is essential to making well informed decisions and for long term planning.

Leah Knibbs

Dawn Hillrud

Leah Knibbs and Dawn Hillrud, Kn/a HR Consulting
February 9 @ 11:20 - 12:00 pm
TOPIC: Employee Retention - What the Heck Makes Employees Stick Around

LEAH KNIBBS, B.A., M.B.A., CHRP, CPM

Leah Knibbs is known to both urban and rural clients as a dynamic, results-producing individual with a proven record of accomplishment in planning and leading comprehensive human resource management strategies. Her ability to understand, support, develop, sustain, and grow business is a key factor in the success of both her Knibbs/associates hr consulting firm and her partnership in Knibbs/associates sourcing people.

Leah’s adeptness at communication within private and public business and unionized and non-unionized workplaces has enabled her to work with a diverse group of clients and projects and has brought her local recognition as Woman of the Year Entrepreneur. Her ability to transfer human resource management concepts to clients, such as in her series of articles in Country Guide or her sessional instruction at the University of Regina, demonstrates her experience in bringing a practical and straightforward approach to the work. As part of a farm operation for over 25 years, Leah and her husband Darwin raised their family and participated in the community. Leah’s farm ventures included having a milk cow and raising meat rabbits, among other things.

 Whether it is a small agribusiness or a multi-dimensional agricultural operation, Leah recognizes that human resource management in agribusiness is critical to the business success. Her information at this symposium will provide new skills and encourage participants to consider HRM as a critical discipline for an operation’s success.

DAWN HILLRUD, B.A., CHRP

Dawn Hillrud combines the best of education and practical knowledge in her partnership in Knibbs/associates sourcing people. She is an active farmer partnering with her husband on a cow and crop operation. Her academic achievements, in addition to her degree and professional certification in human resources management, include the University of Regina Scholars Scholarship and Administration Students Society Scholarship which she has put to use in accounting, post-secondary college course instruction, and the cattle-feeding industry. Dawn has worked in HR management since 2007 and has vast experience recruiting in the tight agricultural labour markets, including feedlot labour and agricultural management and sales.

Dawn’s passion, energy, and hands-on work in a mixed family farming operation, with 250 cows and 6000 acres of cultivated land, make her a dynamic member of the Knibbs/associates team. Also, do not be surprised if you see her enter the gate at the next barrel racing event you attend.