Featured Keynote Speakers

The 2025 MFGA Regen Ag Conference committee is pleased to announce our keynote speakers:

Michael Ferguson –  Presentation Topic: Open Minds Inspire Continuous Improvement On Farms

Presentation Summary:  If you want to make small changes, change the way you do things. If you want to make big changes, change the way you see things. This quote from Don Campbell summarizes Michael’s belief in agriculture today. From having first experience IN the fields, to consulting ON fields and farms, to working with industry partners, his goal is to inspire continuous improvement. With 15 years of working with producers and industry he continues to learn and adapt with the implementation of new technology, management practices, and the current economic environment challenges we face today. Having spoke at numerous events across North America the last few years, he believes he is able to help anyone who is willing to listen with an open mind learn at least ONE thing here today.

Bio:  Michael Ferguson, Co-founder of Collective Impact, is a fourth-generation farmer with dedication to driving out-of-the-box practices that shift modern agriculture into sustainable farming. Based near Melfort, Saskatchewan, Michael’s family has been farming for generations, with 3,000 acres of land cultivating canola, oats, wheat, barley, pulses, and forages. The farm also partners with local ranchers to create grazing opportunities.

While strongly connected to his family farm, Michael was always encouraged to explore opportunities beyond agriculture. However, he continually found himself drawn back to the land, bringing knowledge from his financial education to the operation. After earning finance and accounting diplomas from NAIT, he officially joined the family farm in 2010. Recognizing the need to advance his career due to the farm’s size, he began consulting in the same year, focusing initially on grain marketing and risk management.

Through his work with Collective Impact, Michael continues to collaborate with farmers who share his vision for a resilient and sustainable agricultural industry. His expertise in finance, risk management, and sustainability makes him a valuable leader in this space.

Tom Krawiec – Presentation Topic: Grazing In The Sweet Spot

Presentation Summary: Tom has strived to figure out how to simplify daily ranch duties so a 12-year-old or an 80-year-old can handle them easily. He went from grazing 40 cow/calf pairs and 70 hogs in 2000 on 373 acres to renting 5500 ac and grazing 3000 yearlings by 2007. By keeping things simple and easy, there was more daily labour required in 2000 with only a few animals than there was in 2007 with a lot of animals! His other goal in life has been to learn how to build topsoil rapidly using grazing animals and he feels he has done this via grazing in the ‘sweet spot’.

Bio: Tom published ‘Ranching Like A 12-Year-Old’ in 2022 which details his ideas on grass management, animal handling, and ranching as a business. Tom is also the author of numerous articles published in On Pasture, Stockman Grass Farmer magazines and various ag related publications in Alberta. He has been featured on several podcasts discussing his ideas about grazing, ranching, and labour allocation.

In his previous life, Tom grew up and then worked in the oilpatch in various capacities from water hauler to driller on the oil rigs. In January 2000 Tom attended a weeklong Holistic Management course and began his journey into ranching. In 2003 he took his first Ranching For Profit course and went on to join the Executive Link program for several years. When Tom is not ranching or writing, he enjoys scuba diving and studying the ecology of the coral reef. It his life goal to ranch in the summer and dive all winter. We wish him the best of luck on that endeavour!

Rob Wunder – Presentation Title:  Carrying the Dream: Setting the next generation up for profitability and regenerative agriculture

Presentation Summary: Our family farm manages as best we can within the soil health principles. We make compost and other on-farm amendments from different sources on the farm. We have been on this journey since 2013 and have never stopped learning! We are constantly improving, learning, and attempting new things. All while working towards the bigger goal of setting the next generation up to carry on the dream if they choose.  We have built a system that focuses on profit per acre and capturing value through regenerative practices and stacking enterprises

 Bio: Rob Wunder is a proud fourth generation family farmer who farms with his parents and brother and their families south of Foam Lake, Saskatchewan. We run a mixed farming operation including cow calf, stockers (or a sell buy enterprise), and cash crops.

Kimberly Cornish - Presentation Title: “Soil, Satellites, and Stewardship: Building a Next-Gen Ecosystem Services Registry from the Ground Up”

Presentation Summary: The promise of ecosystem services markets has long been challenged by questions of measurement, permanence, and credibility. In this presentation, Kimberly Cornish will share how a uniquely Canadian approach—grounded in high-resolution soil and carbon mapping, innovative sampling designs, and site-specific modeling—is tackling these challenges head-on. Drawing on the work of the Regenerative Alberta Living Lab and the development of a spatially explicit ecosystem services registry, Kimberly will explore how integrating tools like Latin hypercube sampling, machine learning, and stackable credit frameworks can transform the way we measure and reward land stewardship.

From the practicalities of measuring carbon in working landscapes to the dynamics of buyer-seller alignment, this session will unpack the core innovations that make this registry fair and equitable to farmers and ranchers and appealing to investors and funders. Join us for a conversation on what it takes to create a transparent, science-based system that serves producers, ecosystems, and the broader public good.

Bio: Kimberly Cornish is the Executive Director of the Food Water Wellness Foundation and Project Manager of the Regenerative Alberta Living Lab. She works with farmers, researchers, and local partners across Alberta to support practical approaches that improve soil health, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and strengthen farm resilience. Kimberly is also involved in developing a new ecosystem services registry, using soil and carbon mapping tools to help connect land stewardship with emerging market opportunities.