CAAR is delighted to announce more speakers for the 2022 CAAR Conference which will be held February 8-10, 2022, in Edmonton.  The theme of the conference is Resilience: Adapt & Advance., and will feature Michael Kirwin, Senior Vice President of Business Development for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), the largest independent business association in Canada. Josh Linville, Director of Fertilizer for StoneX Financial Inc., has also been announced. Be sure to mark the conference dates on your calendar!

Mike has been with CFIB for more than 30 years and has held a number of positions including General Manager for Southwestern Ontario and then Senior VP Sales, supervising about 200 CFIB salespeople across Canada.

Josh Linville grew up in Northwest Missouri on a family farm that raised row crops, tobacco and livestock. Josh brings a unique point of view to the fertilizer markets.

With 20 years of experience in the fertilizer industry, Josh has operated in roles that have given him perspective on the market as a North American logistics specialist, a U.S.-based nitrogen producer, and General Manager of Trade in Melbourne Australia. Josh and his team, which spans around the world, have been hard at work educating the market on how to use fertilizer futures markets to not only offset price risk but also be able to sell products to farmers well before fertilizer producers release their physical sales programs.

These speakers are in addition to the speakers that have already been announced:

• Chuck Penner, from Leftfield Commodities, with an overview of the Commodity Markets, and
• Karen Haugen-Kozyra, from Viresco Solutions, to discuss the Canadian Carbon Credit Market.

The Conference Committee has been busy, preparing for the 2022 conference, finalizing the speaker line-up.

Stay informed on CAAR Conference announcements on by checking out the CAAR website, caar.org, reading future issues of the CAAR Network newsletter, and following us on Twitter (@CdnAgRetail).

We welcome your feedback! If you have any suggestions for speaker topics or general conference ideas, or if you are interested in joining the conference committee, please contact Scott Van Alstyne at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 204.989.9305.  Those interested in sponsorship opportunities should also contact Scott.