- Cropping Year In Review, OMAFRA Panel – 1:00PM
- KSE – Delta Yield, John Sulik, University of Guelph – 1:45PM
Cropping Year In Review – 1:20PM
With OMAFRA Field Team Specialists
Colin Elgie, Soil Fertility Specialist
Colin completed a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Guelph and has over 10 years of experience working in soil fertility across Ontario as an Agronomy Solution Specialist with Sylvite Agri- Services. Colin has demonstrated industry leadership by training industry agronomists on 4R nutrient management, soil fertility and soil test translation. He has been a Certified Crop Advisor since 2012, and achieved his 4R nutrient management specialty in 2016, and volunteers with local agriculture associations like the Soil and Crop Improvement Association and Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS). His interest in agriculture came from being raised on a farm operation and he continues to support his family’s cropping operation in Southwestern Ontario.
Laura Scott, Cropping Systems Specialist
Laura Scott brings relevant experience from working as a field crop agronomist with Harvex Agromart in Eastern Ontario for the past 3 years and she is a Certified Crop Advisor. Prior to her industry contributions, Laura completed a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Guelph, in the Food, Agriculture, and Resource Economics Department (FARE). Laura has strong leadership skills from volunteering in local agriculture associations.
Abigail Wiesner, Canola & Edible Bean Specialists
Abigail (Abbie) Wiesner is the interim Canola and Edible Bean Specialist for OMAFRA. She will be filling the role for the next year, until fall of 2023.
Abbie has a completed a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences and is working on a Master’s degree focused on pest management of an invasive insect species. Along with her strong pest management background, Abbie has field crop experience from her time spent working with Agriculture Agri-Food Canada as a Student Research Assistant in Indian Head Saskatchewan.
Abbie has a strong passion for helping growers to ensure that they are supported, have economical and effective solutions to production issues and are educated on industry and research advancements.
KSE – Delta Yield: Recent Developments and Future Prospects – 1:45PM
John Sulik, Assistant Professor, Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph
Sulik’s faculty position is based within the Department of Plant Agriculture in the University’s Ontario Agricultural College (OAC).
Sulik leads a comprehensive research program integrating concepts in agroecology with data-intensive precision agriculture tools to enhance sustainability of field crop production in Ontario. He teaches undergraduate courses in agroecology and precision agriculture, and mentor and advise graduate students.
Sulik helps train engineering students to understand the impact of drone flight planning on image quality, build relationships with key stakeholders, and helps identify circumstances and opportunities where precision ag technologies will benefit agriculture, viticulture, and horticulture.
Sulik’s academic studies trained him in geography, and his professional work gave him complimentary industry experience. After grad school, he accepted a postdoctoral fellowship as a Research Physical Scientist with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the USDA. ARS provided a deep understanding of how to apply geospatial techniques within the context of agronomy. Sulik then worked with precision agriculture and multispectral sensing systems companies.
Sulik is the first of several research faculty to be hired by the University through the Food from Thought program, which is funded by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF). The researchers will be directly involved in CFREF-supported research, and the development of an integrated research and innovation platform for accessing and applying big data in the agriculture and agri-food sector. They will have varying expertise across numerous departments and contribute to Food from Thought’s goal of increasing our ability to leverage big data for the benefit of food production while maintaining the health of our ecosystems.