CHEP’s Brian Bilkes

In this interview with Canadian Poultry magazine, 2024 4 Under 40 honouree Mark Ronald, a Manitoba-based egg producer, shares his journey into farming at just 18 through Manitoba's New Entrant Program. He discusses the challenges of starting out, innovations he's implemented on his farm, and how his faith has inspired his involvement in community outreach. Mark also touches on the support from his family and his dedication to continuous improvement in both his farming practices and his contributions to his community.

In this episode of the 2024 Top 4 Under 40 podcast series, Hinke Therrien, a poultry producer from Red Water, Alberta, discusses how a devastating fire pushed her and her husband into taking over the family farm sooner than expected. She shares her journey of resilience, innovation, and how they rebuilt their operation into a thriving, antibiotic-free poultry business focused on continuous improvement and community engagement.

In this episode of the 2024 Top 4 Under 40 podcast series, Thomas Hyde, owner of Mill Bay Farms on Vancouver Island, shares how his innovative approach to poultry farming is tackling food insecurity. He discusses the journey from starting with just three ducks to expanding his business into a full-circle model with his own processing facility, hatchery, and livestock brokerage. Hyde reflects on the challenges he's faced, including the closure of local waterfowl processors, and how his determination has reshaped the local poultry landscape while empowering small-scale farmers across the region.

In this episode of the 2024 Top 4 Under 40 podcast series, Tory Shynkaruk, a research assistant at the University of Saskatchewan, shares her journey from farm life to pioneering research in poultry welfare, feeding behavior, and lighting management, shaping the future of animal welfare in the poultry industry.

In this episode of our Year in Review series, we chat with Tim Klompmaker, chair of Chicken Farmers of Canada, about the most important developments for broiler producers in 2023 and look ahead to the next year.

In this episode of our Year in Review series, we chat with Drew Black, CEO of Egg Farmers of Canada, about the most important developments for egg producers in 2023 and look ahead to 2024.

Hi, I’m Brett Ruffell, editor of Canadian Poultry magazine.For our four-part Year in Review Podcast series, we spoke with Phil Boyd, executive director of Turkey Farmers of Canada. We discuss the most important developments for turkey producers last year.

For our four-part Year in Review Podcast series, we spoke with Brian Bilkes, chair of Canadian Hatching Egg Producers. We discuss the most important developments for hatching egg producers last year.

In this edition of the Feature Forum podcast series, Canadian Poultry editor Brett Ruffell talks to Darren Ference, a turkey producer and chair of Turkey Farmers of Canada (TFC). He discusses the outlook for Thanksgiving, TFC's Think Turkey campaign and the state of the turkey industry.

In the final episode of our 2023 Top 4 Under 40 podcast series, we talk to Dr. Ryan Snyder. Snyder is a scientist with Ceva Animal Health, where he works on the company’s vaccination programs. He also recently opened his own poultry research barn, where he runs research trials. And he goes the extra mile for his community and industry.