Meet our Learning Tour presenters
Peggy Checkel
Peggy grew up working with the family's purebred polled Herefords and shorthorns in Canada and the U.S. She was Canada's first female cattle-buyer and eventually started her own livestock business. She's currently a beef market consultant who often speaks to cattle industry stakeholders about such topics as performance, marketing options and trends, risk management, and quality-based values in beef production.
Peggy helped develop Cattlemen's Financial Corp. and was involved in forming the Alberta Order Buyers and Livestock Dealers Association. She has served on several boards and commissions related to the livestock industry.
Anne Dunford
Anne is the general manager and marketing specialist for Gateway Livestock Exchange. Her background in the industry and extensive networks allows her to offer specialized cattle marketing expertise and personalized service to help her customers optimize marketing opportunities. Her professional experience includes 21 years with Canfax as a senior market analyst and she’s currently a member of the Calgary Stampede International Agriculture Committee. Anne is also a board member of ALMA (Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency) and has been a keynote cattle market speaker at events across Canada and the United States, providing commentary to media and industry publications.
Jean-Philippe Gervais
Jean-Philippe Gervais joined FCC as a senior agricultural economist in July 2010. He has over 15 years of experience in domestic and international analysis of agricultural policies and markets. Jean-Philippe is a featured speaker at conferences across the country on the linkages between the economy and agriculture as well as the determinants of competitiveness in agri-food markets. Prior to joining FCC, he was a professor of agricultural economics at North Carolina State University and Laval University where he held the Canada Research Chair in Agri-industries and International Trade. Jean-Philippe obtained his PhD in economics in 1999 from Iowa State University.
Mike Jubinville
Mike is lead analyst and president of Pro Farmer Canada, an independent market analysis and advisory service he started in 1997. Mike's experience includes work as a cash merchant with United Grain Growers, senior market analyst with Growers Marketing Services of UGG and an analyst with Manitoba Pool Elevators.
Mike was also employed as market reporter with Resource News International and Dow Jones Newswires out of Winnipeg and Chicago. He is based out of Winnipeg and can be contacted through PFCanada.com and on DTN.
Greg Kostal
President, Kostal Ag Consulting Ltd.
After growing up on his family grain and oilseed farm in southern Manitoba, it was only natural that Greg’s education and career path would focus on helping other grain and oilseed producers succeed. Through his business, Kostal Ag Consulting Ltd., Greg conducts market analysis and personalizes that with a consulting and advisory service for commercial and farm business operations. Distilling opinion and trends with a unique Canadian spin, his diversified, yet down-to-earth approach in grains, oilseeds, pulses and currency are key points contributing to his success. Conducting project work in agricultural areas that include risk management, value-added, transportation and policy are complimentary examples of diversity.
Mario Leclerc
Mario grew up on his family dairy farm in Casselman, Ontario. After earning his ag tech diploma from Collège d'Alfred, Mario returned to help the family operation until 1994. He was employed as an animal nutrition representative for a co-operative until he left to start his own company. In 1997, he co-founded Agtrek Nutrition, a dairy management consulting business he continues to own and operate throughout western Quebec and eastern Ontario.
