Community Keynote Access
Community Keynote Access
Thanks to support from the Ontario Agricultural College, the Department of Plant Agriculture, and the School of Environmental Science, a limited number of invited community guests may attend one morning keynote at the CSSS-CSA 2026 Joint Annual Meeting.
All three keynote presentations begin at 8:00 AM and finish at 9:30 AM, and take place at Rozanski Hall (Room 104) at the University of Guelph campus. Light breakfast and snacks are served before and after the keynote. Detailed logistics will be sent to all keynote ticket holders in advance of the event.
Community keynote access includes a light breakfast before the talk, the keynote presentation, and an after-keynote snack in Rozanski Hall (Room 104) from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. Please review the speakers, talk titles, and descriptions below, then click the button under the keynote you would like to attend to complete your registration. Space is limited. Community keynote access is for the morning keynote only and does not include the rest of the conference program. Additional event details will be sent to registered guests in advance.
REGISTRATION FOR THE COMMUNITY KEYNOTE ACCESS OPENS FRIDAY MAY 22.
Dr Whendee L Silver, University of California, Berkeley
Talk Title: Patterns and drivers of greenhouse gas emissions from soils: new advances in continuous measurement and modeling (Monday June 22)
Talk Description: Soil greenhouse gas fluxes, particularly of nitrous and methane, are typically characterized by high spatial and temporal variability with rare, extreme flux events that can account for a high proportion of annual emissions. Termed “hot spots” and “hot moments”, these extreme events are generally not captured with traditional manual measurements, which thus significantly underestimate emissions. We will show how continuous automated measurements are essential for quantifying the spatial and temporal variability in soil greenhouse gas fluxes and for resolving hot spot and hot moment emissions. We will also show how coupling flux measurements with continuous soil sensing dramatically improves our ability to model and predict emissions at an ecosystem scale.
Speaker Bio: Whendee Silver is an ecosystem ecologist and biogeochemist whose work focuses on how climate change and human activity affect soils and ecosystems, and how those impacts can be measured and reduced. Her research spans soil biogeochemistry, greenhouse gas dynamics, and environmental monitoring. Whendee's full bio is found here.
Dr Donald L Smith, McGill University
Talk Title: Inter-kingdom communication and coordination for greater crop productivity and climate change resilience (Tuesday June 23)
Talk Description: Plants interact constantly with communities of beneficial microbes, and those relationships can strongly influence crop growth, nutrient use, and resilience under stress. This talk will focus on the hidden communication between plants and beneficial microbes in the soil and around roots. Drawing on decades of research, Don will show how plant-microbe signalling can lead to new tools for improving crop productivity and helping agriculture adapt to climate change.
Best suited for: Farmers, crop advisors, agribusiness professionals and other guests interested in biological-based crop inputs and practical crop innovations.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Donald L. Smith is an agronomist and plant physiologist whose career has focused on crop production, plant-microbe interactions, nitrogen fixation, crop stress, biochar, and applied innovation. His work bridges fundamental plant science and real-world agricultural impact, including patents, commercialization, and technologies adopted at large scale. Don's full bio is found here.
Dr Sieg Snapp, Washington State University
Talk Title: On thinking like a hobbit to future-proof agriculture (Wednesday June 24)
Talk Description: Hobbits are little people, smaller than dwarves, known to love peace and good tilled earth. The Fellowship of the Ring recounts how hobbits came to the notice of the other races in Middle-Earth during a troubled time. Lessons that emerge include the importance of linking science with local knowledge, the strength of diverse perspectives, and the power of nature. Sieg Snapp the Associate Dean of Research at Washington State University will illustrate these themes, drawing on decades of experience with participatory action research and pluralistic extension from Michigan to Malawi.
Best suited for: Those interested in farmer-led research & extension efforts, farmers, agronomists and other guests interested in regenerative agriculture & soil health.
Speaker Bio: A professor of soils and cropping systems ecology at Michigan State University for over two decades, and as Director of the Sustainable Agrifood Systems program at the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT), Sieg is a pioneer in amplifying farmer voice and improving the relevance of scientific investigations. Sieg's full bio is found here.
