2026 is International Year of the Woman Farmer, celebrating the essential, and often unrecognized roles that women play across the agrifood system. This International Women’s Day, EMILI is spotlighting six women producers who play an integral role in Canadian agriculture.
Over the past few years, we’ve had the privilege of connecting with several women who play an integral role on farms as part of our This is Agriculture campaign. Read more about each woman below, and follow the links to read their whole story.
Jordyn Wiebe
Jordyn Wiebe grew up on her family’s farm, J.P. Wiebe Ltd., in MacGregor Manitoba. She spent her childhood working odd jobs to help the farm’s potato operation, and while she initially began her career off the farm, she was drawn back to her roots when she returned to become J.P. Wiebe Ltd.’s bookkeeper and farm and food safety manager. Read Jordyn’s story here.
Jill Verwey
Jill Verwey lives and breathes agriculture, holding roles as the office manager for Verwey Farms Ltd., president of Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), and first vice president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA). Jill’s pride in Canadian agriculture is unmistakable. Read Jill’s story here.
Katie Friesen
Katie Friesen grew up on her family’s farm in Niverville, Manitoba before beginning a career in tech and venture capital in the United States. Friesen returned to Manitoba a few years ago to help with the administrative aspects of her family’s farm, where she was exposed to the pain points that the farm was experiencing, and she set out to create a solution for her family’s farm and others like it. Friesen founded FarmerTitan as a user-friendly app farms can use to manage repairs and maintenance on their machines. Read Katie’s story here.
Leanne Koroscil
Leanne Koroscil grew up in a rural community and comes from a family of farmers. As EMILI’s Innovation Farms Manager, she oversees the projects and activities taking place on EMILI’s Innovation Farms to test, validate, and demonstrate the vast potential and capabilities of digital agriculture technologies. Leanne is also a provincial councillor for Agrologists Manitoba and serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Agricultural Drone Association. Read Leanne’s story here.
Emily Laudin
Emily Laudin is a sales agronomist at Rutherford Farms. She grew up on a grain and beef operation near Brunkild, MB, and returned to work in agriculture after spending a couple years traveling abroad. Emily shares the importance of building a strong network, and how innovation in digital agriculture – and a little friendly competition – keep her motivated on the farm. Read Emily’s story here.
Donalee Jones
When Donalee Jones stepped back into the family farm in Cartwright, Manitoba, she thought she would have to leave her career as a television producer behind. She soon discovered that there was a huge need for someone with her skills and experience as both a documentary producer and a farmer, to connect and share stories of the diverse and hardworking people working across Manitoba’s agriculture and agri-food sectors. She is now living her dream as a grain farmer and senior producer with Great Tastes of Manitoba. Read Donalee’s story here.
These stories are part of EMILI’s This is Agriculture series, highlighting talented and diverse individuals across the digital agriculture sector, including inspiring women who are passionate about advancing digital agriculture. Their contributions help foster innovation and strengthen the agriculture industry across Canada.