Nuffield Canada Announces 2027 Scholars
October 5, 2026
Nuffield Canada Announces 2027 Scholars
Four enthusiastic agricultural leaders are about to embark on a life-changing experience.
Nuffield Canada is pleased to announce the selection of its 2027 Nuffield Scholars:
Ashley Wagenaar from Alberta is studying responses to new and emerging pest and disease threats, with a focus on Potato Mop Top Virus.
Dave Kranenburg is from Ontario will study what makes regional food infrastructure durable: how it persists, adapts and helps small and mid-scale agriculture survive within a consolidated global food system.
Kalysha Snow-Hanrahan from Newfoundland and Labrador will investigate how Canada can build a more coordinated and inclusive approach to agricultural career awareness and workforce development.
Sarah van Heeswijk from British Columbia will study is exploring how countries around the world are creating pathways into farming through education, mentorship, apprenticeships, land access and succession.
The four recipients will each receive a $30,000 scholarship from Nuffield Canada and its generous sponsors to travel the world and learn about their chosen topics through self-directed, hands-on research.
"The next two years will greatly change the trajectory of these four people's lives," says Nuffield Canada Chair and 2008 Scholar Steve Larocque. "They will bring home their learnings for the betterment of their lives, communities and Canadian agriculture."
Nuffield Canada Scholars are required to complete a minimum of 10 weeks of international travel within 24 months to examine and research an agriculturally relevant issue of their choosing.
Each scholar prepares a written report outlining their research findings and presents a summary at the Nuffield Canada Global Knowledge Exchange before the Nuffield Canada Board, industry leaders, sponsors and peers.
For more information, contact:
Steve Larocque, Chair, Nuffield Canada & Sch. 2008
Scholar Bios:
Ashley Wagenaar didn't grow up on a farm, but agriculture ran in her family, and it wasn't long before she found her way into the industry. She began her career as an insect scout at a vegetable processing company, work that gave her a close, hands-on view of crop production from the ground up. That experience sparked a lasting passion for specialty crops, and Ashley has since built her career around carrots, green beans, sweet corn, peas, and now potatoes. She currently works with the Potato Growers of Alberta, a role that lets her bridge two of her favourite things, research and agronomy, while working alongside Alberta research institutions to bring valuable knowledge back to growers.
Ashley lives in southern Alberta with her fiancé and their two dogs. Outside of work, she spends much of her time in the Canadian Rockies, hiking, camping, and skiing throughout the year. She is also an active volunteer in her community, serving with the Coaldale Agriculture Society and the Canadian Ski Patrol, where she enjoys sharing her passion for agriculture and the outdoors with others.
Dave Kranenburg is a Canadian farmer, entrepreneur and food systems leader whose career has progressively deepened its level of intervention in Canada's food system: from convening conversations, to designing collaborative processes, to building and operating the infrastructure itself.
He began by building community and entrepreneurial capacity: as Executive Director of Meal Exchange, he grew a national student food security organization's budget by over 300% and developed the Campus Food Systems Project; as Director of Programming at the Centre for Social Innovation, he designed Ontario's Catapult Microloan Program and a social finance partnership framework supporting dozens of social enterprises.
He then turned to systems innovation itself, founding the Rhizome Institute for the Future of Food. What began as participation in one of Canada's earliest food-systems innovation labs - MaRS and WISIR's Ontario Tender Fruit Lab - evolved into Dave designing and leading multi-sector labs for major institutions, including a six-month engagement building Social Innovation Lab capacity within United Way Greater Toronto.
For the past decade, he has tested those ideas under real operating conditions. He owns and operates Kendal Hills Farm, a diversified regenerative farm on the Oak Ridges Moraine east of Toronto, and founded Green Circle Food Hub (operating as Graze & Gather), now one of Ontario's largest regional food hubs. It’s ann integrated aggregation, logistics and distribution network connecting farmers with households, restaurants and institutional buyers across Central Ontario.As a 2027 Nuffield Canada Agricultural Scholar, Dave will study what makes regional food infrastructure durable: how it persists, adapts and helps small and mid-scale agriculture survive within a consolidated global food system, drawing on operating models in Japan, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, the UK, and beyond.
Kalysha Snow-Hanrahan is an agricultural education and workforce development leader based in North River, Newfoundland and Labrador. Her career has focused on helping people better understand and access the breadth of opportunities available across Canada’s agriculture and food sector.
Kalysha has more than eight years of experience leading provincial and national initiatives in agricultural education, climate adaptation, young-farmer programming and workforce development. Through her work with Agriculture in the Classroom Canada, she has led thinkAG, a national initiative connecting young people, educators and career influencers with the diverse people and professions that make agriculture possible. Her work brings together educators, industry, government and agricultural organizations to strengthen career awareness and create clearer connections to opportunities across the sector.
Her broader leadership includes representing Newfoundland and Labrador on Canada’s inaugural Agricultural Youth Council. She also chairs the Perceptions of Agriculture Working Group within the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council’s National Workforce Strategic Framework for Agriculture and Food and Beverage Manufacturing. She serves as a director with Women in Agriculture Newfoundland and Labrador and the Canadian Agri-Business Education Foundation.
As a Nuffield Canada Scholar, Kalysha will investigate how Canada can build a more coordinated and inclusive approach to agricultural career awareness and workforce development. Her research will explore how other countries attract people from diverse backgrounds, establish clearer pathways into the sector and foster a sense of belonging among new entrants. Kalysha intends to translate her international findings into practical recommendations and resources that support collaboration across education, industry and workforce organizations throughout Canada’s agriculture and food sector. She is proud to bring a Newfoundland and Labrador perspective to the global Nuffield network as the province’s first Nuffield Canada Scholar.”
Sarah van Heeswijk has spent more than 20 years building connections between agriculture, young people and communities. In her role with the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food, she leads provincial initiatives focused on youth development and building the future agricultural workforce, working with organizations and communities across British Columbia. Agriculture has always been an important part of Sarah’s life. While she didn’t grow up in a farming family, she spent part of her childhood living on a mixed-fruit orchard in the South Okanagan. As a teenager, she became an active 4-H member, an experience she credits as the spark that led her to a career in agriculture.
Sarah is passionate about connecting people to agriculture and developing the next generation of agricultural leaders. She is particularly proud of the work she has done with organizations including 4-H, Agriculture in the Classroom, BC Young Farmers, and Farm to School. She is also involved as a volunteer with Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers Program and the Canadian Agri-Business Education Foundation.
Sarah is part of a farm family and lives in the Fraser Valley with her husband, Travis, a farmer and partner in Hopcott Farms, a beef and cranberry operation that offers both on-farm retail and agri-tourism experiences. She enjoys sharing their farm with others and creating opportunities for people to better understand where their food comes from.
Through her Nuffield research, Farming the Future: Global Approaches to Developing the Next Generation of Farmers, Sarah is exploring how countries around the world are creating pathways into farming through education, mentorship, apprenticeships, land access and succession. She hopes to bring these ideas home to help strengthen the future of Canadian agriculture.
About Nuffield Canada
Nuffield Canada is a dynamic platform for selected scholars to research, explore and collaborate on ideas, innovations, policies, and practices that drive advancements in Canadian agriculture through connecting with the world's largest peer-to-peer farmer and agribusiness network.
Comments