Over the past 20 years, Kevin Hursh has become the most highly respected agricultural journalist and broadcaster in Saskatchewan. In addition to serving as the editor for AgriSuccess Express, which is distributed across the country by Farm Credit Canada, he also produces a daily commentary for a dozen Saskatchewan radio stations and writes a weekly column for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and Regina Leader-Post as well as many rural weeklies. Each year, he is a guest speaker at scores of agricultural conferences and conventions.

A graduate with distinction from the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Agriculture, Kevin Hursh is a professional agrologist and certified agricultural consultant. Through his company, Hursh Consulting and Communications Inc. based in Saskatoon, he works on communication strategies, news releases and corporate videos for various agricultural organizations. 

Born and raised at Cabri in southwestern Saskatchewan, Hursh maintains an active interest in the operation and management of his family grain farm, growing and marketing a wide array of crops.

Allison Finnamore has been a freelance writer in Atlantic Canada for 14 years. Starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in rural New Brunswick, Allison became increasingly aware of the challenges facing today’s agriculture industry as she delved into farm-related issues. She soon moved from daily news to focus primarily on agriculture writing. Her efforts in reporting agriculture news have been recognized by Potatoes New Brunswick.

An executive member of the Canadian Farm Writers Federation, Allison is also a professional member of the Periodical Writers Association of Canada, where she serves on a national committee and on the local chapter’s executive. In 1991, she graduated at the top of her class with a journalism diploma from the New Brunswick Community College in Woodstock.

In addition to being associate editor with AgriSuccess Express, Allison is a regular contributor to the publication. Her byline has also appeared in other regional, national and international agricultural publications such as Canadian Poultry, Farmers’ Independent Weekly, Fruit and Vegetable Magazine, Canadian Potato Business, Farm Focus of Atlantic Canada, the Nova Scotia Business Journal of Farming, a Journal of Northeast Agriculture. Her first book, set for release early in 2005, is a side trip away from agriculture, looking at some amazing stories behind several East Coast murders.

Andy Walker has been a journalist in P.E.I. for over 25 years- the last seven as a full time freelance writer.

Currently, he is editor of Island Farmer- a bi-weekly journal serving the P.E.I. farm community. He is also the P.E.I. correspondent for The Chronicle-Herald newspaper and a contributor to a host of other publications including Canadian Potato Business, Old Farmers Almanac, Atlantic Fishermen, Canadian Tobacco Grower, Manitoba Co-operator and several business and trade publications.

Prior to that, he worked for both of P.E.I.'s daily newspapers- The Guardian and The Journal- Pioneer. He has been contributing P.E.I. stories to AgriSuccess Express since the fall of 2004.

Mark Cardwell is a writer and freelance journalist who lives in the Quebec City region. He is a regular correspondent for a dozen newspapers, magazines, trade and specialty publications in Canada, the United States, and Europe. He can reached at cardwell@mediom.qc.ca.

Mike Jubinville is lead analyst and president of Pro Farmer Canada, a market analysis and advisory service for farm commodities based out of Winnipeg. Mike formerly was employed as a cash merchant with what was then United Grain Growers, then senior market analyst with Growers Marketing Services of UGG. Mike also worked as an analyst with Manitoba Pool Elevators and market reporter with Resource News International and Bridge Financial News out of Winnipeg and Chicago.

He started Pro Farmer Canada in 1997 to provide independent market analysis and commentary for Prairie farmers. You can find him on the Internet at www.pfcanada.com and on DTN.

Owen Roberts, a native of Mitchell’s Bay, Ontario (near Chatham), teaches agricultural communication at the Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph, and is director of research communications for the university. He is directing an initiative to develop Canada’s first post-secondary agricultural communication education program at the University of Guelph, which will include a specialized graduate diploma in agricultural communication. Owen has a communication studies degree from the University of Windsor (Ontario) and a master’s of science in rural extension from the University of Guelph.

Owen began his journalism career in weekly newspapers in Ontario and Alberta, and continues an extensive freelance career in broadcast and print media. He was named one of Ontario’s top weekly newspaper columnists in 2001-2002 by the Ontario Community Newspapers’ Association.

He and the programs he co-ordinates at the University of Guelph – in particular SPARK (Students Promoting Awareness of Research Knowledge) – have been recognized by the Canadian Farm Writers Federation, the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education and the Association for Communications Excellence.

Anne is one of two regular contributors to AgriSuccess Express covering the Ontario perspective. A professional freelance writer, she is a regular contributor in Ontario Farmer, Country Routes and Farm Review. Her work has also appeared in the Toronto Star, Today’s Parent, Reader’s Digest, Canadian Living, Grainews, The Western Producer, The Manitoba Co-operator, Farm Woman and Voice of the Farmer. 

An accredited member of the Queen’s Park Press Gallery, she is also a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) and the Canadian Farm Writers Federation (CFWF).

Born and raised on her family’s dairy farm, Anne has always maintained an active involvement in the broader agricultural community. Currently, she is a member of the Canadian National Exhibition Association (CNEA) and the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) agricultural committee.

A past winner of the public speaking competition at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (RAWF), she has continued to be involved with the competition, now known as the Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture, and has served in a variety of capacities, including co-chairman. She is currently the media co-coordinator.

A dedicated agriculturalist, Anne brings her strong passion and commitment to the agricultural industry to her professional craft. She is pleased to be a part of Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) AgriSuccess Express team.

Larraine was raised on a large grain farm just west of Vulcan, Alberta and still remains closely connected to the operation. She attended the University of Calgary, graduating with a bachelor of commerce degree in 1977 and completed her chartered accountant designation in 1982. Over the last 10 years, Larraine has built a career as a freelance journalist on a part-time basis, and for the last five years has made the transition to working full-time as a freelancer specializing in business and agriculture related topics. She lives in High River, Alberta close to the Rocky Mountains and some of the best ranching country in Canada.

In 2002, Larraine won the Dick Beamish Award for Press Feature from the Canadian Farm Writers Federation for her article Under Siege, which appeared in the May/June 2002 issue of Alberta Views magazine. In 2001, she won the Dateline Hong Kong Fellowship, a national competition sponsored by the Canadian Association of Journalists and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office. The Fellowship allowed her to travel to Hong Kong and write a series of business and travel-related articles that have appeared in a number of local, national and international magazines.

President of the B.C. Farm Writers Association and a director and past president of the Canadian Farm Writers Federation, David Schmidt is associate editor of Country Life in B.C. and contributes to various other regional and national agricultural magazines. Schmidt grew up on a mixed/dairy farm in B.C.’s Fraser Valley and still lives within 30 km of where he grew up. He has a BA in creative writing from the University of B.C. and has been covering agriculture since 1985. He has won numerous awards including being named B.C.’s Agriculturist of the Year for 2000.

He calls agricultural reporting the best job in the world as it involves “all the fun of farming without any of the work – or risk!”

When not involved in agriculture, Schmidt provides personal and small business tax services and plays Tournament Bridge. He is a director and past president of the B.C.-Washington-Alaska District of the American Contract Bridge League.

As an agricultural journalist and communications consultant, Peter van Dongen has made it his mission to help promote and grow the agriculture industry on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia and across Canada.

Peter is a partner in Sincera Group Communications Inc., a company he co-founded to help agricultural organizations promote themselves and the industry more effectively. The company specializes in communication planning, writing, agricultural education, and event management for organizations of all sizes.

When he’s not helping his clients make news, Peter writes about it. In addition to AgriSuccess Express, he is a regular contributor to Country Life in B.C. and other agricultural magazines and publications.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Saskatchewan and is a member of both the British Columbia Institute of Agrologists and the British Columbia Farm Writers’ Association.

Born and raised on a dairy farm in Abbotsford, B.C., Peter’s natural curiosity led him to also work on beef, grain, and elk farms in Saskatchewan and Australia. He recently returned to British Columbia, after nearly 10 years in Saskatchewan, and now writes from his home in Parksville on beautiful Vancouver Island.