Adam has held the position of Program Manager with Warburtons Canada since 2009. With Warburtons, Adam is responsible for all Canadian operations and ensuring the contracting and delivery of high quality defined Canadian Spring Wheat and Pulses to Warburtons in the United Kingdom. Adam has a close working relationship with Warburtons 350+ contracted farmers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, seed companies, and plant breeders. Adam works in partnership Richardson International and Cereals Canada to implement the Warburtons Wheat Identity Preserved Wheat Program and with Avena Foods for the Pulse Program. Adam also heads up Warburtons Research and Development activities in Canada, with a focus on nutrition and food safety in the bakery sector. Prior to joining Warburtons, Adam worked in the seed industry, where he specialized in domestic and international Market Development.
Adam grew up west of Winnipeg, Manitoba on his family’s pedigreed seed farm. It was here where he developed his passion for agriculture. Adam sits as a Director on several boards, including Warburton Foods Ltd. Canada, Cereals Canada, Field to Market Canada and several local community boards.
Northern Chickpeas Alliance Inc (NCA) is Canada’s dedicated Chickpea export company with exclusive joint venture operations in grower communities in the heart of the Chickpea producing regions of Canada.
NCA has played an integral role in establishing a footprint for Canadian grown chickpeas in key consumption markets globally. Ali Siddiqui representing international trade relations for NCA is a passionate force behind promoting Canadian chickpeas based on its functional and nutritional value.
Presenting one of the best-in-class Food Safety & Traceability programs through our processing partners and offering a wide selection of Chickpea varieties, NCA is “Your Trusted Chickpeas Partner”.
Raised in Exeter, Ontario, Ben joined Hensall Co-op’s Food Products Division in 2016 following completing his graduate studies in Brisbane Australia. Since that time, Ben has been an active marketer of various classes of dry edible beans and food grade non-GMO soybeans to domestic and international markets. Ben currently resides in Lucan, Ontario with his wife and daughter.
Born and raised in a small town just outside of Winnipeg. Later on began his career in Agriculture upon completing a degree in Business from the University of Manitoba.
Brice has experience through all aspects of the supply chain, right from the farm to the end customer overseas, including managing all the logistics in between. Other than a short year long stint in banking, Mr. Moffatt has been involved in the industry for the past decade. Spending the first few years of his career focused more on grains and oilseeds, while moving across several locations in the Prairies.
In 2020 he joined the ADM Pulse desk, where he has predominately been responsible for the export marketing of Peas and lentils. He looks to continue supporting Canadian farmers and promoting Pulses around the world. M
Carlos Cairas is the Export Sales Merchandiser for Stricks Ag. He manages the exports of pulses and some specialty oilseeds. Carlos has been in the pulses industry since Jan 2014. Carlos enjoys visiting farmers in Montana and North Dakota as well as our neighbours up in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Chuck Penner started LeftField Commodity Research in 2010, providing independent research and analysis for 16 Canadian crop markets in special crops, small grains and oilseeds. LeftField’s services include weekly market analysis and client-specific research projects. Chuck grew up on a family farm in Manitoba’s Red River Valley and has 30 years of experience in the Canadian grain business, including 15 years in various roles at United Grain Growers and Agricore United, followed by 5 years at Informa Economics as Senior Consultant. He has a B.Sc Ag and Diploma in Agriculture from the University of Manitoba.
Born and raised in Canada, Derek holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Manitoba and has been in the Canadian agriculture industry for the past 14 years. He has held a number of different roles in Business Development, Logistics, Trading and Procurement and is now the Trading Manager at Agrocorp Processing in Canada. He has had the opportunity to involved with a number of commodities, including pulses, cereals and oilseeds which has led to a diverse view of the industry. Over the past nine years his focus has been on peas and lentils, where he continues to sell Canadian ag products around the world.
Diedrah Kelly (BA Hons [Political Science and Central, Eastern European and Russian Area Studies], Carleton University, 2001) joined Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 2001. In Ottawa, she has worked as head of the Policy and Programming Unit in the Threat Assessment and Intelligence Services Division, as senior nuclear adviser and program manager in the Global Partnership Program and as chief of staff to the assistant deputy minister for international security and global affairs.
She has served abroad in various positions, including, from 2004-07, consul and political counsellor at the Embassy to Bosnia and Herzegovina and, from 2007-10, as head of the embassy office in Astana, Kazakhstan. From 2011-14, she was the political counsellor at the High Commission in Ghana. From 2018-21, she was the ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Jakarta, Indonesia. From January 2022 until November 2023, she was the Consul General of Canada in Mumbai, India. Diedrah was appointed as the Executive Director of the Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office in December 2023.
Elyce attended College and University in Lethbridge where she obtained her Marketing Diploma. She joined the company in 2004 after working in the Agriculture Canada Soft Wheat breeding program. She is also part of the 3rd generation of family members working in the company, and is the current President and CEO of Simpson Seeds Inc.
Born and raised in India, where he completed his bachelor’s degree in international business and finance, followed by a Master’s in Import/Export Management. Over the past decade, Gaurav has built a diverse and successful career, beginning with the trading of industrial products like iron ore and coal, and later shifting to the edible oil sector with a major multinational company in India.
In 2017, Gaurav made a significant move to Canada, where he transitioned into the agricultural industry. His roles have spanned from grain buying and merchandising to promoting special crops originating from Canada and the USA. Today, Gaurav is an Export Trader with Providence Grain Group, where he manages a portfolio of red lentils, green lentils, and green peas. His work is focused on key markets including China, the Indian subcontinent, and the MENA regions.
J.P. Gervais is Executive Vice-President, Strategy and Impact at FCC. His insights help guide FCC strategy, monitor risks and identify opportunities in the economic environment. In addition to acting as an FCC spokesperson on economic matters, J.P. provides commentary on the agriculture and food industry through videos and the FCC Economics blog.
Background
Prior to joining FCC in 2010, J.P. was a professor of agricultural economics at North Carolina State University and Laval University. J.P. is a Fellow of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society. He obtained his PhD in economics from Iowa State University in 1999. Topics: Global economy, economic trends relevant to agriculture, agri-businesses and food processing, risk management
As the Genetics and Ingredients Research Manager at Ardent Mills, Julianne Kellogg leads the genetics program for the company’s alternative grains center of excellence, Emerging Nutrition. Ardent Mills recently expanded the footprint of its Ardent Mills Innovation Center (AMIC) with a location in Pullman, Washington where Julianne and her team conduct the thrust of their research. The state-of-the-art facility, serves as an R&D analytical lab and experimental mill focused on alternative grains. At the Pullman innovation center, innovative technology is used to uncover compelling genetic solutions for pulses and alternative grains, particularly chickpeas. Through plant breeding, the Ardent Mills R&D team aims to develop new varieties of specific crops to achieve nutritional and functional characteristics that provide value to Ardent Mills customers by expanding the company’s solution-focused offerings.
Kevin Dick is the President of All Commodities (AC) Trading Ltd based in Winnipeg, MB and has processing facilities in Regina and Delisle, SK. AC Trading handles mustard, canary seed, flax seed and all pulses. AC Trading recently celebrated over 20 years in business. Kevin has been a past board member of CSCA, including 2 years as President and 2 years as Vice President.
Originally from Brandon, Manitoba, Landon graduated from the University of Regina with a bachelor’s in Business Administration, majoring in finance, and obtained certificates in Economics and local government authority.
Landon is in his fifth year at Viterra, with the first two years spent on the oilseeds desk, managing the logistics while trading flax. Landon actively trades special crops including mustard, edible beans, and canary seed.
The Intermodalist
Larry Gross is a forty-three-year veteran of the freight transportation sector. He is the President of Gross Transportation Consulting of Durango, CO, an independent consulting practice specializing in freight transportation matters. He is the author of “Land Lines”, a monthly column in the Journal of Commerce. He is also the author and creator of the “Intermodal in Depth”, an analytical report covering the intermodal sector.
Larry is an acknowledged expert on intermodal matters who makes frequent appearances before the transportation community. He has participated in the creation of educational content at the IANA Intermodal Expo for the past ten years, including providing industry updates to the attendees . He enjoys teaching and has authored business case studies for use in the IANA Academic Challenge competition at the University of North Florida as well as the IANA Expo Academic Challenge.
Prior to starting his consulting practice, Larry enjoyed a long career in intermodal equipment development and sales. He is the individual most closely associated with the innovative RoadRailer intermodal system, an organization that he headed for over a decade.
He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Arts and Design from MIT.
He splits his time between New Jersey and Durango CO and enjoys the special qualities of each location.
Marlene has been actively involved the agriculture industry in Canada since 1983. She holds a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics, and traded and exported Canadian commodities (including pulses) internationally for 20 years while working for Cargill Grain, XCAN Grain Ltd, and leading Berdex Canada Ltd.
In 2003, Marlene co-founded Mercantile Consulting Venture with Anthony P. Temple, who she had worked with at Cargill. (Anthony served as VP of the Cargill Trading Group in Brazil and as VP and GM of LDC Canada Ltd).
Mercantile is a professional services company specializing in private label market intelligence, risk management solutions, and project consulting. The company has grown to be active in Canada, Australia and the EU. More detail is accessible at www.mercantileventure.com.
Raised on a livestock farm in southeast Manitoba, Nathan obtained a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness
from the University of Manitoba and later earned his Chartered Professional Accountant designation from the
Western School of Business. Nathan has extensive experience in the western Canadian feed industry where
his roles have included sales, nutrition, production consulting, ingredient pricing, and key account
management.
In his role of Business Development Manager, Nathan’s responsibilities include the management of client and
supplier relationships, feed ingredient pricing and procurement, and expanding the Gowans business base in
Western Canada and the United States. Nathan values the Gowans’ culture which enables him to work
directly with producers to address the various production and feeding cost challenges they face
Born in Regina, Quinton Stewart began his career working at Viterra as a summer student. After having completed his business degree at the University of Regina, he soon joined Viterra full-time as a Grain Merchandiser.
Having risen to his current position Mr. Stewart is now responsible for the Canadian Pulse desk. His area of expertise includes Green and Yellow Peas, Red and Green Lentils, as well as Viterra’s Manitoba Dry Bean program.
Mr. Stewart joined the Canadian Pulse and Special Crops Trade Association (CPSC) as a Board Member when elected in June 2015 and took on the position of President in 2018 for four years. In July 2018, he was also appointed to the Pulse Canada Board as a CPSC Representative. Mr. Stewart currently holds the position of Vice President of the CPSC Board of Directors.
Scott grew up on a farm in rural Saskatchewan, 60 miles southwest of Regina, SK which is where the head office for Viterra North America is located. He started his career in Ag with Viterra in 2013 working as a grain buyer and within his first year transferred to head office as a merchandiser. The majority of his trading time has been spent in pulses and he is now a Senior Merchandiser on the Viterra pulse team.
Sonja Parhar-Saroya, a rounded professional with a background in International Trade & Relations began her career based out of her hometown, Vancouver, BC in 1998. Employed by a commodity trading outfit where Sonja spent years developing and specializing in supply chain management of bulk vessels from trading, grain procurement, international freight, logistics and trade execution, risk management, quality assurance, regulatory compliance and product development.
After 24 years of an extensive and successful portfolio in various roles, Sonja Parhar-Saroya commenced operations in 2024 as GRAINFINTY, an independently owned International Brokerage Consulting firm based out of Oakville, Ontario. Specializing in peas, lentils, flaxseed, chick peas, from Canada including USA and Black Sea Regions.
Sonja hopes to continue building a successful branding of commodity broker channels around the world connecting her experience, customer base and developing key relationships with best practices.
Ms. Parhar-Saroya joined the Canadian Pulse and Special Crops Trade Association (CPSC) as a Board Member when elected in 2021 and recently took on the position of Treasurer in 2023.
Tanya Der is Pulse Canada’s Director of Diversification & Market Insights. Tanya leads work in gathering market insights to support innovative growth of Canadian pulses in new market categories and regions. Tanya is passionate about the role of pulses in diets around the world and using insights to help the industry imagine what’s possible with pulses. Tanya has a food science background and has worked in quality and R&D in the beverage, dairy, flax and natural health products sectors.
Tyler Heise is a senior merchandiser with AGT Foods for the last 11 years working within the North American trading group. Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Tyler attended the University of Regina and pursued a career in agriculture after graduating with a BBA majoring in Finance and HR. Tyler has spent the last 14 years in the Canadian Ag industry in both the human consumption and animal feed markets with a focus on export.