Now in its 13th year the FarmSmart Agricultural Conference is brought to you by the Golden Horseshoe and Heartland Regional Soil & Crop Improvement Associations in partnership with the Ontario Agricultural College, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and various agri-business partners. Participants select and custom design their own unique program from the over fifty concurrent sessions in a wide range of topics. Designed to offer something for everyone involved in the farming operation, participants can chose sessions on crop production, livestock production, soil and environmental management, business, marketing, and many other general interest topics. Our speakers are enthusiastic to share their expertise on present and emerging technologies and innovations in agriculture and last year’s event attracted over 850 people to the conference.

New this year, Beef Symposium joins FarmSmart. We are very excited about the extra value we will be able to provide to all participants through additional programming and the sharing of resources. For more details on the Beef Symposium click here.

Participants have the opportunity to sit down for a hot lunch or they can order a box lunch that allows them to attend sessions in every time slot of the day.

FarmSmart is designed as a family-friendly opportunity and we encourage you to bring the family to FarmSmart. Parents and coworkers can split the program to get the most out of the day and the kids can participate in the interactive Youth program. In addition we now post most of the session presentations here on our website following the conference so that if you miss a session you can still access the information and contact the speaker if further information is needed.

For those attendees in the Certified Crop Advisors (CCA) program there are opportunities to earn Continuing Eduacation Unit (CEU) credits.

Speakers

	Chris St. Clair Keynote speaker Weatherman, on-air personality, pilot and author The Weather Network Chris St. Clair has been a favourite mainstay on The Weather Network since 1995 and was chosen by Canadians as "Canada's Most Dependable Weatherman". He is, and has been, the host and co-producer of "The Weather Network This Weekend" and "The GTA This Weekend" since 2000, which is watched by over 4 million Canadians everyweekend. Chris is also a licensed pilot who flies regularly and his first book, "Canada's Weather" is a Canadian best seller. In his keynote address, Chris will explain why we in Canada have the world's most unique weather, how the weather has shaped us into the people we are today: tolerant, giving, accepting, hard-working and ever in awe of nature. Chris will also review the past year and provide a look ahead to the coming growing season.
	Arlan Suderman Market Analyst, Feature Writer Farm Futures Magazine Arland Suderman serves as market analyst and feature writer for Farm Futures magazine, writes twice daily market and weather commentary for Farm Futures Daily and writes monthly market analysis for Farm Progress' 18 state and regional magazines. He also writes daily afternoon market commentary that appears on FarmFutures.com and can be heard on pod casts and giving live daily market commentary on the AG Network. Before Farm Progress, Arlan worked for the Kansas Cooperative Extension service and then built a private consulting service focussing on marketing and risk management plans for farmers.
	Douglas B. Beegle Distinguished Professor of Agronomy Crop and Soil Sciences College of Agricultural Sciences, Penn State Douglas B. Beegle is a Distinguished Professor of Agronomy and extension soil fertility specialist in the Department of Crop Science at Penn State University. He had taught and conducted extension programs in soil fertility and nutrient management in Pennsylvania for over 30 years. He is very active working within the ag industry to develop nutrient management programs that optimize nutrient management for crop and livestock production, while at the same time minimizing the potential impact of nutrients on the environment.
	Emerson Nafziger Professor, Crop Sciences and Extension Agronomist, University of Illinois Emerson Nafziger grew up on a farm in northwestern Ohio, and has degrees in agronomy from Ohio State, Purdue and the University of Illinois. He is Professor of Crop Sciences and Extension Agronomist at the University of Illinois, where he has been faculty since 1982. His work is mostly in grain crop management.
	Thomas R. Overton Associate Professor, Department of Animal Science Cornell University Thomas R. Overton, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Animal Science at Cornell University. Tom is recognized nationally and internationally for his research and outreach efforts relating to metabolim and nutritional physiology of the transition cow and his work on milk component production in cows. Tom is a native of northern New York who grew up primarily in Massachusetts.
	Larry Corah Beef Symposium Vice President, Certified Angus Beef LLC Larry Corah assumed the role as vice president of Certified Angus Beef LLC in June of 1998. His initial responsibilities focused on creating a new supply development program to ensure product supply for the largest branded beef program in the United States. Currently, he administratively oversees the production division of the Program. Prior to that, he spent time with National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) as director of production systems and was a beef extension/research specialist at Kansas State University for 25 years. Dr. Corah has given presentations to cattle groups in 39 states and six Canadian provinces. He served as president of the Midwest section of the American Society of Animal Science and was the 1987 recipient of the Society's Extension Award for distinguished service. Dr. Corah, a North Dakotan, completed a master's degree in ruminant nutrition at Michigan State and received his Ph.D. in reproductive physiology at the University of Wyoming.