Join us for these (free) Co-op webinars in October During Co-op Week!
Pulse Check Part I: Consultation with Small & Start-Up Agriculture & Food Cooperatives
Monday, October 18, 3:00 – 4:30 (PST)
Description:
The BC Cooperative Association would like to reconnect with agriculture and food co-ops (large and small) after Kwantlen Polytech University conducted snapshot research in 2019. BCCA is hosting these consultations to hear how we can best support agriculture and food co-ops now and in the future, especially considering COVID, wildfires, and climate chaos. These conversations will also help to inform more in-depth sessions at the first-ever BC agriculture co-op conference in February. This conversation is tailored for small and start-up agriculture & food coops in BC.
Speaker Bio: Wallapak Polasub
After graduating from the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2005, Wallapak worked as a lecturer and researcher at Kasetsart University, Thailand. She moved to Canada and made Vancouver her new home in 2010. Her research interests are on economics of local food systems, farm direct marketing, community food security and consumer behaviors. Currently, Wallapak is studying the existing barriers to food access among vulnerable populations, and consumer attitudes towards building resilient place-based food systems. She also assists the ISFS in bridging the gap between knowledge creators and knowledge users to build capacity through educational resources and peer-to-peer learning.
2021 Co-op Week Webinar 2: Data in Agriculture with Bill Oemichen and Marc-André Pigeon
The Canadian Agricultural sector is rapidly changing due to the advancement of digital “smart” technologies and cloud computing. While big data and smart farming provide revolutionary value to farmers, it also creates a set of potential problems and challenges. This session will provide an overview of major benefits, as well as concerns identified by farmers and researchers related to data privacy, security, and sharing; competition; market power; trust; public policy; and the transformation of agricultural work. This session aims to raise awareness about this critical subject leading up to a symposium in February. There will be ample time for discussion following the presentations.
Speaker Bios: Marc-André Pigeon and Bill Oemichen
Marc-André Pigeon is an assistant professor in the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy and director of the Canadian Centre for the Study of Co-operatives. His research interests center around the study of co-operatives, banking, and fiscal and monetary policy. Prior to joining Johnson Shoyama, Marc-Andre worked as assistant vice president of financial sector policy at the Canadian Credit Union Association, where he was responsible for monitoring, researching and advocating on behalf of credit unions. He has also served as an advisor at the Department of Finance, a lead analyst for the Senate Banking and House of Commons Finance Committees, an economist at the Levy Economics Institute, and a business reporter for Bloomberg Business News. Marc-André holds a PhD from Carleton University in Mass Communications, a Master’s Degree in economics from the University of Ottawa, and a journalism degree from Carleton University.
William L. (Bill) Oemichen’s research is focused on the potential national security implications of increasing foreign ownership of agricultural infrastructure. Oemichen is a Fellow with the Canadian Centre for Co-operatives and is also a food systems security researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He served as President & CEO of Cooperative Network, the leading statewide co-operative council representing more than 600 Minnesota and Wisconsin co-operative businesses; as Deputy Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner; and as Wisconsin Trade & Consumer Protection Administrator. Oemichen serves on several co-operative boards of directors, including the education and insurance arm of the $365 billion American Farm Credit System which is owned by 500,000 farmers and ranchers. Oemichen earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School, a B.A. in Economics from Carleton College, and was a Public Policy Fellow at the University of Minnesota.
2021 Co-op Week Webinar 3: Pulse Check Part II: Consultation with Large & Established Agriculture & Food Cooperatives
The BC Cooperative Association would like to reconnect with agriculture and food co-ops (large and small) after Kwantlen Polytech University conducted snapshot research in 2019. BCCA is hosting these consultations to hear how we can best support agriculture and food co-ops now and in the future, especially considering COVID, wildfires, and climate chaos. These conversations will also help to inform more in-depth sessions at the first-ever BC agriculture co-op conference in February. This conversation is tailored for large and established agriculture & food coops in BC.
Speaker Bio: Wallapak Polasub
After graduating from the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2005, Wallapak worked as a lecturer and researcher at Kasetsart University, Thailand. She moved to Canada and made Vancouver her new home in 2010. Her research interests are on economics of local food systems, farm direct marketing, community food security and consumer behaviors. Currently, Wallapak is studying the existing barriers to food access among vulnerable populations, and consumer attitudes towards building resilient place-based food systems. She also assists the ISFS in bridging the gap between knowledge creators and knowledge users to build capacity through educational resources and peer-to-peer learning.