Eco Farm Day is Eastern Ontario's premier farm conference. Organic, transitional and conventional farmers of field crops, market gardens, and livestock rely on Eco Farm Day for the best training, information, and commerce opportunities. Over 350 people come back every year for the social event, the networking, the positive atmosphere, and the great food!

Eco Farm Day is hosted by Canadian Organic Growers - Ottawa Chapter. COG is your national voice for organics in Canada. COG Ottawa, with over 500 members, hosts major activities to the benefit of organic consumers and farmers. Their mission is to lead local and national communities towards sustainable organic stewardship of land, food and fibre while respecting nature, upholding social justice and protecting natural resources.

Key Note Speakers

Steve Beauchesne
www.beaus.ca
Steve Beauchesne of Beau's All Natural Brewing Co. will describe how his family-run brewery has built a solid brand in an incredibly tough competitive market by firmly sticking to the goals of making organic beer, supporting their community and sustainable business practices. Steve will describe the importance of setting non-financial goals in order to create a culture around your business and turn customers into fans and employees into teammates. Steve will discuss the sacrifices a business must be willing to make to create a truly inspiring story and change from being a company that produces a product into a rallying point for other believers.

Lucy Sharratt
Coordinator, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN)
Collaborative Campaigning for Food Sovereignty and Environmental Justice
www.cban.ca
Lucy Sharratt works as Coordinator for the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network in Ottawa (www.cban.ca). Lucy has worked as a researcher and campaigner with organizations concerned about genetic modification since 1999. Lucy was Coordinator for the International Ban Terminator Campaign. She was also previously Coordinator of the Safe Food/Sustainable Agriculture Campaign at the Sierra Club of Canada and worked as a researcher for the BioJustice Project of the Polaris Institute in Ottawa. Lucy wrote her Masters thesis on the regulation of GM crops and foods in Canada.

Randy Whitteker
General Manager of the Ontario Natural Food Coop
www.onfc.ca
A graduate of the University of Guelph, Randy has been at ONFC since 1988, as General Manager since 1991. He has served on the boards of the Canadian Health Food Association (CHFA) and the Organic Council of Ontario. In 2006 he received the CHFA’s Organic Achievement award. He remains involved with CHFA’s Organic Caucus and is on the Board of the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada. He also contributes to the Organic Value Chain Round Table working group, Developing Canadian Capacity. At home in Guelph, Randy volunteers on the Board and steering committee of Transition Guelph, a grassroots initiative to address the twin threats of peak oil and climate change.

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