Farm & Food Care Ontario’s (FFCO) Annual General Meeting and Annual Conference returns on Thursday, April 9, 2026, at the GrandWay Events Centre in Elora.

This year’s theme, Farming in Focus: Real Stories, Real Impact, highlights the power of authentic agricultural storytelling to build public trust and strengthen the connection between farms and consumers.

The conference will feature a dynamic lineup of speakers shaping how agriculture is shared with the public, including keynote speaker, presented by FCC, Tyler Heppell (Potato Ty), a fifth-generation farmer and social media creator who will share how digital platforms can turn everyday farm life into engaging, educational content.

Attendees will also hear from the creators of the Canadian comedy series The Cows Come Home, presented by Caldwell Securities, who will explore how cinematic storytelling and humour can bring farming realities to life for wider audiences.

Hear directly from Ontario farmers who regularly open their gates to the public. Kevin Vallier, CEO of Agritourism Ontario will co-moderate a panel featuring Chris Hiemstra of Clovermead Adventure Farm, Korb Whale of Mapleton’s Organic Dairy Farm and John Zekveld of Zekveld’s Garden Market. They will lead a discussion on why high-quality storytelling and other agricultural education components are vital to the success of on-farm events and tours – and what they need from the industry to support their work.