Over 40% of Canadian farms will change hands before 2033 and 2/3 of farms do not have plans on how to make this happen. Farmers’ Bridge helps farms with this transition between generations, more efficiently and professionally, with a people-centric approach.
Loft 32 co-founder Crystal Mackay, together with Mary Thornley and Brenda Trask created the Grow Our People Unconference to promote learning and connection in the agri-food sector. They were awarded the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Excellence in Agriculture Award in 2023 for their leadership.
Guelph, ON – Agriculture is facing one of its greatest challenges with labour shortages and a pending wave of retirees leaving in the next decade. The Grow Our People Unconference is designed to help those who work in agriculture and food in Canada – to build new skills, grow deeper networks, and gain a renewed sense of enthusiasm for our agri-food sector.
“We call Grow Our People an ‘unconference’ experience as it’s unlike any other event in agriculture,” shares Brenda Trask, event co-founder. “We created it to bring people together from across sectors with a focus on people and skills, and have some fun at the same time.”
Event organizers Crystal Mackay, Mary Thornley and Brenda Trask came together in 2022 to create this event with the vision for a unique experience to equip people with skills and connections to help grow themselves, their businesses, and the agri-food sector. They were recognized with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture’s Excellence in Agriculture Award in 2023 for this innovative event experience and their dedication to making it happen.
Dr. Rumeet Billan, Chief Learning Architect for Viewpoint Leadership, will kick off the event the evening of May 28th with her profound keynote on The Science of Trust and Belonging. The remainder of the event is comprised of interactive workshops focusing on skills such as communications, leadership, advocacy, and human resources. While these skills are valuable for any human, three streams of sessions will be set up for: individual leaders early in their career, people who manage people, and board members.
The spirit of the event, to elevate people in agriculture and celebrate with good food, comes to life with a very special early bird registration offer. Everyone who registers before March 1, 2024 will be entered to win a private flight over southwestern Ontario hosted by pilots who also happen to be farmers, along with a $250 gift certificate for dinner.
The Grow Your People Unconference will be held in-person at the Queen’s Landing vintage hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake from May 28-30, 2024. Registration for this ‘unconference’ event experience is now open at www.loft32.ca/growourpeople
Attendees will leave the event with new skills, deeper networks, and a renewed sense of enthusiasm for our agri-food sector. Register yourself, your board, or your team today. Find out more at www.loft32.ca/growourpeople.
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Canadian Western Agribition (CWA) celebrated Canada’s Ag Day by unveiling a diverse group of industry leaders for the first-ever “Top 50 in Canadian Agriculture” campaign.
Crystal Mackay is an agriculture advocate, entrepreneur and much more. Currently the founder/CEO of Loft32, which works to elevate businesses, people and the conversations on food and farming, Mackay has been described as “doing the heavy lifting” of launching successful structures and programs in the ag industry for more than 30 years.
A University of Guelph alumna and well-known advocate for Canadian food and farming has been named coordinator of Food Day Canada.
Crystal Mackay, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’93, will take on the role of leading the planning of Canada’s largest culinary celebration.
“Food Day Canada is the very essence of what I’ve worked towards over my entire career – building positive, proactive conversations about food and farming,” said Mackay. “Bringing our country together and bridging gaps between consumers, farmers and many food system partners is truly a celebration I am proud to be part of.”
Read more here U of G Alumna Named Food Day Canada Coordinator – U of G News (uoguelph.ca)
Posted 06/15/2021 by University of Guelph News Release
By Loft32 founder Maggie Van Camp.
It’s hard to think about, but if you were to die suddenly, do your family and business partners have the critical information they need to move forward? Create a “Because I love you” list by filling out the fields on the file attached. It will help you organize key personal and business information in one place and provide peace of mind when people need it most.
New training resources and coaching for people in agriculture and food. When the media calls, people get nervous. Some may even panic. Two new on- demand training courses on Utensil.ca aim to change that for people who work in agriculture and food. Intro to Media Training with Crystal Mackay and Advanced Media Training with Kevin Stewart are the perfect places to get started or add to your media skills and confidence.
Elevate your business, your people and conversations on food and farming.