Chris van den Heuvel
2025
Scholar
Chris van den Heuvel grew up on a dairy farm in Skye Glen, Cape Breton, NS where his passion for the agricultural industry was instilled. Along with his wife Karen and partnered with their son Jordan he owned and operated a mixed dairy and beef farm. Chris and Karen also have 3 daughters who spent their childhood on the farm. Chris has his Information Systems degree from STFX and has spent close to 25 years working in the I.T. industry as a senior systems analyst and project leader in the agricultural, medical, financial services, government, insurance, retail, and education sectors.
Chris has sat on various boards and committees throughout his career including 9 years on the local county Federation of Agriculture and Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture where he served as president for 3 years. Chris was also elected to the Canadian Federation of Agriculture executive where he served 3 years as vice-president. He has represented Canadian agriculture internationally serving as a committee member on the USA/CAN/MEX North American Tripartite Committee on Pesticides and Pest Management and represented Canada at the World Trade Organization conference in Geneva, Switzerland in 2019.
Leveraging open-source technology for agricultural efficiency, reducing equipment cost of ownership and overcoming repair barriers.
Chris’ Nuffield study topic combines his passion for agriculture and information technology where he will study how open-source technology can be leveraged to enhance producers productivity and efficiency, reduce equipment cost of ownership, and overcome barriers facing farmers such as right to repair.