Dr. David C. Johnson and Hui-Chun Su Johnson
Regenerating the Diversity of Life in Soils - Hope for Farming, Ranching, Health, Nutrition, Environment and Climate!
Dr. David C. Johnson and his assistant, Hui-Chun Su Johnson, are exploring how the development of beneficial soil microbiological communities in agroecosystems: improves global food security and ranch and farm profitability, reduces agrochemical usage, increases soil organic carbon and total soil nitrogen, and effectively offsets significant quantities of carbon emissions.
Bluesette Campbell
Ranching with Nature: Holistic Management in Action
Bluesette Campbell is a Certified HMI Holistic Management Educator & President of Holistic Management Canada. She was raised by a single mom and grew up on a sheep ranch in south central Montana with her sister. After graduating from university in New York, she began managing a sheep and cattle ranch back in MT where she met her future husband. She is an owner/operator of the B-C Ranch Inc., a third-generation cattle ranch near Meadow Lake, SK, with her husband, Mark. They have two boys, Andrew (22) and Birch (20).
For over 20 years, they have successfully been in business with Mark’s brother, Scott, and their parents, Don and Bev Campbell. This experience has inspired her to become a Holistic Management educator, consultant and mentor. Bluesette’s interests lie strongly in human resource and team development bolstered by a foundation of lived experience in ranch management, regenerative planned grazing and profit-forward financial planning. The B-C Ranch has been embedded in holistic practice for nearly 40 years and now has more than doubled their stocking rate on the same land base. Bluesette is a self-professed enthusiast of getting cozy with change. When she is not ranching or teaching, you will probably catch her volunteering, gardening unconventionally, practicing chemistry in the kitchen or running (just because she can).
Dr. Melissa Arcand
Beyond the Scorecard: Piecing Together Soil Health Across Prairie Soils
Dr. Melissa Arcand is a soil scientist and Associate Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, specializing in soil health, carbon storage, and nutrient cycling in agroecosystems. She grew up on a farm on the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation and collaborates with First Nations to assess agricultural soils. She is a key leader in the Bridge to Land Water Sky initiative and the SAGE Project.
Roger Daniels
MISTAWASIS NÊHIYAWAK
Protecting our Lands for Future Generations
Roger Daniels has spent most of his life working with lands on Mistawasis, where he has lived for all but three years of his life. Beginning his career in the Band Office, Roger became Land Manager in 1989 and later served as Specific Land Claim Coordinator before taking on his current role as Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE) Legacy Trust Coordinator.
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The Lands Department has transitioned from Indian Act governance to a Land Code framework, empowering Mistawasis members with direct control and responsibility over their lands. Current initiatives include collaboration with Living Labs Bridge to Land, Water, Sky to restore environmentally sensitive and eroded areas, and conducting soil testing to inform sustainable land management decisions in the future.
Roger's lifelong commitment to land stewardship reflects a deep responsibility to protect, restore, and sustainably manage lands for future generations.
The Honourable Rob Black, P. Ag. (Hon.)
Special Guest
Rob Black, P. Ag. (Hon.), is a Canadian Senator representing Ontario and a long-time leader in agriculture, rural development, and leadership education. Prior to his Senate appointment in 2018, Rob worked with organizations including Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), 4-H Ontario, the Ontario Soybean Growers, The Centre for Rural Leadership and the Rural Ontario Institute (ROI).
He currently serves as Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry and is widely recognized for translating agricultural and soil science into policy and action that supports farmers and rural communities across Canada.
Cyle Stewart
Growing Mental Wellness: My journey navigating through life's unforeseen circumstances and the tools to work through them.
Cyle Stewart, alongside his wife Erika and their daughters, operates Pine Ranch in Morse, SK, where they run a commercial cow/calf and yearling operation. They are constantly looking at ways to learn and improve production practises: soil health, grazing management and low stress handling are integral components to their operation. In 2024,
Cyle and Erika were recognized as Saskatchewan's Outstanding Young Farmers. Being involved in the industry and giving back is something Cyle values, and he serves on a variety of different boards: a director for the Sask Cattle Association and the Canadian Ranch Roping Association, RM counsellor and executive on the Saskatchewan Agriculture Matters board. Cyle is also very passionate about working saddle and draft horses and training stock dogs.
Chuck Ewart
Breakout Session - Building Biology Without Synthetics
Chuck and his wife Amy own and operate their grain farm, All In Acres, near Drake SK, along with their family. Chuck has a passion for soil health. He implements regenerative practices across his farm such as: compost extract integration, minimal tillage, reduction of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, elimination of fungicides, and foliar application of micronutrients. He aims to manage photosynthesis in his crops in a way that builds carbon and soil biology.
Duane Thompson
Breakout Session - Holistic Management in a Multi-Enterprise Farm
Duane & Paula Thompson, along with two of their adult children, own and operate Tee Two Land & Cattle in the Parkland Region near Kelliher, SK. Their family has been in this area for 125 yrs and always had a mixture of cattle and grain. The Thompson's prioritize the people and the land, everything else falls in line after that.
Soil health and Regenerative Agriculture are the focus and they believe that managing the multi-enterprise business holistically will enable them to be self insured - providing long-term profitability, resiliency and a desirable standard of living for those involved.
Laura Hoimyr
Breakout Session - From Conventional to Forage-Based: Building Land Health Through Grazing
Laura is the co-owner/operator of Box H Farm in Gladmar, SK. Laura, her husband Mark, and their family run a cow/calf operation that emphasizes grazing management and a concern for the natural environment. She manages the Box H Farm website and arranges deliveries of their farm products, including grassfed beef, pasture-raised pork, and honey to customers.
Over the past 20 years, Box H Farm farm has evolved from a conventional mixed grain and cattle operation to a forage-based business that focuses on the health of the land to grow nourishing food.
Tannis Axten
Breakout Session - Power of Community: From Soil to Society
Tannis Axten’s farming journey is rooted in curiosity and openness to new ideas, transforming both the mindset and management of the family farm. With a strong focus on soil health and biological life, Axten Farms uses disc drill seeding, highly diverse crop rotations, and keeps soil covered as much as possible. This commitment to being “loyal to the soil” has reduced synthetic inputs, improved water efficiency, and increased organic matter.
By adding a food-grade seed cleaning plant, flour mill, and packaging line on the farm, Axten Farms now offers regeneratively grown grains and whole-grain flour direct from the farm.
