The seven honourees for the 2026 Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture have been named, including Burnbrae Farms poultry pioneer Margaret Hudson, B.C. Ag Council general manager Jennifer Woike, University of Guelph’s Andria Jones and more.
The full list of honourees is:
- Margaret Hudson, Burnbrae Farms
- Jennifer Woike, B.C. Ag Council
- Wen Chen, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- Margaret Hudson, Burnbrae Farms
- Coreen Franke, Nutrien
- Susan Ainsworth, Keystone Potato Producers Association
- Andria Jones, University of Guelph
Based in Lyn, ON, Hudson’s journey began on her own family farm as a child, where she developed a passion and respect for land, animals and the broader agricultural industry. After officially joining Burnbrae Farms full-time in 1990, she took on a diverse variety of roles before eventually becoming president in 2008 and CEO in 2021.
The Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture program was launched by the agriculture brands at Annex Business Media in 2020, with a goal of drawing awareness to, and celebrating, the achievements of women in all facets of agriculture. Since 2020, nearly 50 women have been named to the IWCA’s annual cohorts, with nearly 300 nominations amassed over the years. Honourees have included prolific producers, innovated researchers, professional ag communicators and organizers, and more.
Woike, Chen, Hudson, Franke, Ainsworth, Waugh and Jones join the ranks of past IWCA honourees including OMAFA field crop specialist Christine Brown, cattle farmer Cheryle Workentine and more.
This year’s IWCA program will be the first to feature a virtual roundtable, in which the seven honourees gather with editors from Annex’s agriculture publications – Top Crop Manager West‘s Kaitlin Berger, Top Crop Manager Eastand Fruit and Vegetable‘s Jillian Filmer, Canadian Poultry‘s Brett Ruffell and Manure Manager, Drainage Contractor and Potatoes in Canada‘s Bree Rody – for an extended, unstructured and intimate discussion of their own career trajectories, the uniqueness of their respective industries, invisible barriers and more.
