2021 Virtual CAAR Conference Speaker Announcement: Justin Funk

Details: Published on 23 November 2020

CAAR is pleased to announce Justin Funk, one of the keynote speakers scheduled to present at the 2021 Virtual CAAR Conference, will highlight some of the key findings from his Multi-Generational Farm Study as they relate to the Customer Journey and will discuss the implications to the Canadian Ag Retailers.

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The past decade has seen a significant shift in decision-making on Canadian farming operations as transitions occur from one generation to the next. This change presents suppliers with many challenges, but also opportunities as they look at new ways to appeal to the up-and-coming generation while continuing to satisfy the needs of the current generation of decision-makers.

In 2016, Justin partnered with Scott Downey (Purdue University) to conduct the Multi-Generational Farm Study to identify the differences that exist between generations with respect to:

- Decision-making responsibilities
- Motivations and decision-making criteria
- Preferred sources of information
- Attitudes towards technology
- Perspectives on the retailer relationship

In this 45-minute virtual session, Justin will present some of the key findings from this study as they relate to the Customer Journey and discuss the implications to Canadian Ag Retailers.

About Justin Funk

As the managing partner of Agri Studies, a firm based out of Guelph, ON, focused on market research, strategic planning, and professional development in the North American agribusiness industry, Justin brings over 18 years of experience working with clients in all sectors of the industry through sales and marketing education programs. Justin has spent his career working to help increase the knowledge, skill, and confidence of industry salespeople as they look to fulfill their mission of helping farmer customers. A major focus of his work has involved conducting marketing research to better understand farmer attitudes and perceptions with respect to purchase decision-making.

In addition to his experience working in the industry, Justin has taught Marketing Strategy in the MBA in Agriculture Program at the University of Guelph and currently holds a faculty position teaching executive development programs at the Center for Food and Agricultural Business at Purdue University in Indiana.

Justin is also a member of city of Guelph’s 40 Under 40, has received the National Agri-Marketing Association’s (NAMA) Professional Development Award of Excellence, and was recently honoured as the Agri-Marketer of the Year with the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association (CAMA) in 2019.