Farm to Fork Starts Here in the Land of the Living Skies: Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel, Saskatchewan Farmer

Cherilyn left her hometown intending never to come back. Answering questions about food from people who had never set foot on a farm showed her she could explain agriculture in a language people understand, and led her into advocacy and policy work. And back to the farm. Recorded at the tail end of harvest, after a day in the fields with host Michael LeBlanc, the conversation traces how her crops become everyday groceries: durum in pasta, canola in oil and animal feed, lentils and chickpeas in soups and pet food, barley in beer and beef. Roughly 90% of what Saskatchewan grows is exported, and Cherilyn makes a proud case for global trade and more value-added processing on the Prairies. It has been a hard season, with hail and a July heat blast after a promising start. Diesel has doubled, fertilizer, seed and land costs are up, and every link in the chain passes its costs down to farmers, who are price takers. She closes with advice for consumers, fellow farmers and grocers, starting with a simple one: ask a farmer. **About Your Host, Michael LeBlanc** **Michael LeBlanc** is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, *Remarkable Retail* with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast *The Voice of Retail* and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, *The Food Professor* with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax. Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, *Last Request BBQ*, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok. Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.