The Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance is pleased to welcome Heidi McFadden to the team. Heidi is a Bachelor of Commerce student in Food and Agricultural Business, minoring in Business Data Analytics with a passion for agricultural marketing, food systems, and the role of data and technology in advancing agriculture.
Growing up involved in her grandparents’ dairy farm, McFadden Holsteins, Heidi gained exposure to the role that technology and data play in decision making on farm operations. She developed an appreciation for technology and a belief that data has the power to transform how we grow, trade, and consume food.
Motivated by her interest in combining agriculture, data, and technology, Heidi founded ProBot, an educational coding company that has introduced over 700 individuals across Ontario to programming through both block and text based coding. Building on her entrepreneurial experience, she founded Breakthrough Marketing in September 2025, from her passion for branding, storytelling, and creative media. She believes it’s not just about what you do, but how you 
present it. Breakthrough Marketing works with livestock producers, businesses, and sports teams to create content and strategic branding strategies that helps clients stand out and tell their story.
Heidi is actively engaged in the agricultural community through her involvement in 4-H, the Ontario Junior Simmental Association, and the Canadian Junior Simmental Association. Through these organizations, she has developed leadership skills and strengthened her passion for supporting youth, breed development, and agricultural advocacy.
This past year, Heidi has been actively involved with the University of Guelph’s Canadian Agri-Food Marketers Alliance (CAMA) team. In May, she competed in the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) competition, where she worked collaboratively with her team to develop and present agricultural marketing solutions, through their product Norra. This experience strengthened her passion for sustainable agriculture and deepened her interest in using marketing to drive innovation in the future of farming.
In this role, Heidi will be involved in supporting the Alliance’s communications through social media, article writing, website content, and media research, helping to share stories and highlight initiatives across the agricultural sector.