16 An update on Grain Farmers of Ontario news and events YOUNG LEADERS WANTED! Grain Farmers of Ontario seeks applicants for the American Soybean Association Corteva Young Leader program. This program provides a two-phase training program that engages in leadership training that will enhance your farming operation and your service in other organizations, gives you tools to better enable you to tell your story, and provides an opportunity to meet and learn from agriculture industry leaders and other farmers. One soybean farming couple or individual will be selected as the Ontario representative for the Class of 2023. Training takes place in Iowa in November and in conjunction with the Commodity Classic in March 2023. Applications will open in early June at www.soygrowers.com. For more information, read about the experience of Kevin Vander Spek, the 2022 Ontario Young Leader, at www.ontariograinfarmer.ca; or contact Rachel Telford, manager of Member Relations, at rtelford@gfo.ca. YOUR GRAIN FARMERS OF ONTARIO TEAM Here is our next installment of profiles of your Grain Farmers of Ontario Staff to help introduce you to the team. SANKALP SHARMA, SENIOR ECONOMIST Sankalp Sharma joined Grain Farmers of Ontario in January 2022 as the senior economist. He holds a PhD in agricultural economics from the University of Nebraska — Lincoln and an MA in economics. He has worked at Kent State University (Ohio), the Food and Agriculture Organization (United Nations, Rome, Italy), the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, and the Council of Social Development. His research includes work on risk analysis, crop insurance, grain markets, and land acquisition policy. He is proficient in applied econometrics and frequently uses machine learning tools to address economic problems. Sharma has published articles in peerreviewed journals and has been invited to present papers at the Agriculture and Applied Economics Association, American Economic Association, Canadian Economic Association, International Water Resource Economics Consortium, and International Conference of Agricultural Economics conferences, the annual Land and Poverty conference held at the World Bank, and other applied economics conferences. MARY FELDSKOV, MANAGING EDITOR/ EDITORIAL SPECIALIST Mary Feldskov joined the Grain Farmers of Ontario staff in January 2022 as the managing editor of the Ontario Grain Farmer magazine. Feldskov, who grew up on a dairy farm in Huron County, has a BA from the University of Guelph. She has spent the past 20 years working in marketing and communications roles in the postsecondary education, not-forprofit, and agricultural sectors, including the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association and the Universities of Guelph and Waterloo. Before joining Grain Farmers of Ontario, she worked as a marketing and communications consultant focusing on the agriculture industry. As a volunteer, Feldskov is active in several organizations, including roles as secretarytreasurer of the Eastern Canada Farm Writers Association and a board member of the Canadian Farm Writers Federation. She lives in Elmira, Ontario, with her husband and four children. FROM THE CHAIR A Q&A with Brendan Byrne, chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario. What is Grain Farmers of Ontario doing to mitigate the negative impacts of the war in Ukraine? The Russian invasion of Ukraine is horrific, and our hearts go out to Ukrainians, as well as their families here in Canada, who are suffering and fighting to survive. In April, Grain Farmers of Ontario donated $15,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to support the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal. International conflicts, like the one in Ukraine, can have far-reaching impacts. Ontario grain farmers are impacted by fertilizer shortages and astronomical price increases due to Canadian sanctions against Russia. Since February, the Grain Farmers of Ontario Board of Directors and staff have been engaged in advocacy on this issue. We continue to push the government for actions that will help offset these rising costs and help Ontario grain farmers access the tools we need. We have, with partners, hosted a briefing for MPs and MPPs, reached out directly to the Prime Minister and the Premier of Ontario, and joined an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada roundtable. We have also done media interviews, press releases, and letter campaigns. We need our governments to have our backs as we take neverbefore-seen risks to produce food for Canada and the world. We are also looking at 2023 and beyond to find long-term solutions that work better for Ontario farmers. • Do you have a question for our chair? Email GrainTALK@gfo.ca.
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