The Speakers
Abstract
Digital Farm 3.0 embraces the digital transformation impacting agriculture from local to global scale today. Digital technologies ranging from maps to GPS to satellite imagery are linking field data to decision making processes involving not only farm operations, but extending to all downstream activities related to agriculture. Cloud computing, improved mobile technologies, social media and greater collaborative possibilities are all shifting agriculture into a real-time framework whose greatest achievement will be more food production of a higher quality delivered to the right place at the best price.
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Jeff Thurston
Jeff Thurston is an Albertan living in Berlin, Germany where he is Co-Founder and Editor for Vector1 Media, a leading international online publication in the geospatial field. Vector1 Media also owns and operates Asian Surveying and Mapping magazine, the fastest growing geospatial related publication in Asia.
Jeff previously served as Agricultural Field Research Station Manager for the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta where he was involved in a wide variety of agricultural, environmental and forest research. He brings strong inter-disciplinary experience forward, together with an educational background in forestry, geographic information systems and holds a Master of Science degree in GIS.
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Lowell Catlett, Ph.D.
DR. Lowell Catlett, is a Regent’s Professor in Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business and Extension Economics and the Dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.
He is an exciting futurist whose knowledge of technologies and their implications on the way we will live and work is addressed in his varied and upbeat presentations. His vast knowledge astounds corporate and association audiences both nationally and internationally. His presentations are thought- provoking and highly-entertaining.
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John Furlong
As the world celebrated the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, John Furlong became a familiar figure to all watching. The CEO of VANOC, Furlong led the teams that organized and staged both the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Helping to improve the fabric of Canadian society has always been one of Furlong’s steadfast goals, and he has been a key player in demonstrating that the Games can be a true nation builder.
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Leona Dargis
This Canadian award-winning farmgirl is passionate about agriculture and life, and her enthusiasm is contagious. Sole recipient in 2006 of the Canadian National Student Leadership Excellence Award, board member on the Canadian Young Farmers Forum, elected Next Generation (NG) trustee for the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth (RASC) where she has the honour to work with Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, and recent recipient of the prestigious Canadian Nuffield Scholarship that will allow her to study the best practices of farmers from several continents.
Leona Dargis Bio 2011
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Maurice (Moe) Russell
Moe Russell is the cofounder and President of Russell Consulting Group of Panora, Iowa. He provides consulting services to clients in 19 states and Canada specializing in risk management services, transition planning and feasibility analysis. Moe has authored over 200 articles and webinar series and writes a monthly column called “Riskwise” for www.cornandsoybeandigest.com, and is a frequent business speaker on, motivation, planning, and entrepreneurship.
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Jerry Roell
Currently Jerry Roell is the Director, John Deere FarmSightTM and John Deere WorkSightTM. Graduated Ohio State University with his B.S. in Agricultural Engineering. He has been with John Deere for 30 years, and has served in a number of product development, marketing and sales responsibilities.
Experience includes assignments with Hay & Forage, Tractors, Crop Care (Tillage & Seeding) and Intelligent Solutions. Jerry has also served in a number dealer facing assignments in Product Support and Channel Development.
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Tyson Koopman
Tyson Koopman – currently Regional Director, SMB Western Canada for Dell Computer – descends from generations of Western Canada farmers in a diverse set of agricultural areas including crop, cattle, equine, and even salmon. This agrarian background combined with together with 19 years of experience in the information technology sector means Tyson continues to seek ways to apply the latest advances in computational technology to unique regional use cases, with agriculture being a key vertical in that ecosystem.
Tyson has previously been a student of business, economics, and geography and studied at both the University of Lethbridge and Mount Royal College in Calgary. Throughout his career he worked in a variety of operational, IT architecture, sales, and management roles and has played a role in defining, shaping, and executing dozens of customer IT solutions across a host of verticals. An accomplished speaker and former instructor, Tyson believes deeply in the power of technology and its ability to assist in overcoming business challenges and accelerate innovation.
Last Year’s Speakers
