Plenary Session

Terry Betker

President and CEO
Backswath Management Inc.

Biography

Terry Betker, P.Ag., CAC, CMC is President and CEO of Backswath Management Inc. Terry has an interest and passion in providing consulting expertise to farmers and agribusiness, focusing primarily on strategic and transition (succession) planning, financial performance analysis and general business management. He is recognized for his leading-edge contribution to farm business management, including his time at MNP where he initiated the development of the agriculture consulting practice across MNP and was responsible for strategically positioning MNP at the farm, industry, and government level within Canada in his role as Director of Practice Development in Agriculture. Terry’s passion for helping farm business originates from his roots on the family farm near Souris, MB where he spent nearly 20 years farming with his parents and brother.

Trish Meyers

Director, Ag Solutions,
Federated Co-operatives Limited

Biography

Trish joined Federated Co-operatives seven years ago as the Knowledge and Innovation Manager in the Crop Supplies department, leading training and innovation projects in agronomy. Currently, Trish is the Director of Ag Solutions for FCL based in Saskatoon. In this role, Trish is responsible for the leadership of the animal nutrition, crop inputs, and grain storage and handling lines of businesses, as well as ensuring local Co-ops are supported in proactive outreach to farm customers. 

Trish started her career in this amazing Western Canadian ag industry in 1997 as a retail and then regional agronomist with Westco Fertilizers and in 2008, moved to Monsanto, working both as a DEKALB field agronomist and an area sales manager. She has a BSA and an MSc from the U of S, is a Professional Agrologist, a Certified Crop Advisor, and a 4R nutrient management specialist. She has been on the Board of the Prairie Certified Crop Advisors, led the Nutrients Committee with Fertilizer Canada and is currently on the Board of Directors for CropLife Canada. Trish, her husband, and three teenage sons are involved in the family farm at Melfort, and she loves reading and running.

Stewart Boyd

Regional Grow Team Advisor
Federated Co-operatives Limited

Biography

Stewart joined Federated Co-operatives three years ago as a Regional Grow Team Advisor in the Crop Supplies department, a role he still holds today.  This regional agronomist role includes leading training, providing agronomic advice, implementing innovation initiatives, and supporting the private label brands of the Co-operative Retailing System. 

Stewart started his career in agriculture in 2006 at Neepawa Gladstone Co-op as a sales agronomist, moving to Heritage Co-op as an Agro Manager in 2011.  In 2016 he went to Decisive Farming as an agronomist advising clients across Manitoba and Eastern Saskatchewan.  He has a BSc in Agriculture from the U of M, is a Professional Agrologist, a Certified Crop Advisor and a 4R Nutrient Management Specialist.  Stewart sits on the Admissions committee for the Manitoba Institute of Agrologists, the Resistant Wild Oat Action Committee as well as the MB 4R committee with Fertilizer Canada.  Stewart resides in the Minnedosa area with his wife and daughter where they actively farm today.

Andy Nadler

Agricultural Meterologist
Peak Hydromet Solutions

Biography

Andrew Nadler is a consulting Agricultural Meteorologist with Peak HydroMet Solutions. He provides knowledge and expertise on weather, climate, and agriculture-related subject matter, including weather-based index insurance. He is currently involved in several weather and water monitoring projects throughout British Columbia. In 2021, he completed a roadmap for a sustainable agricultural weather monitoring network in BC. Andy grew up and spent most of his career in Manitoba, but now resides on Vancouver Island. He holds an MSc in Soil Science (Agrometeorology) from the University of Manitoba.

 

Dr. Sheri Strydhorst

Agronomy Research Agronomist,
Alberta Wheat and Barley Commission

Biography

Sheri Strydhorst is an Agronomy Research Specialist with the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, a position she began in February 2021.

In her role, she is working to build stronger relationships with researchers. She also provides support for developing funding proposals to help align producer-funded research with grower needs, while upholding strong scientific rigor. She assists with extension of research findings so that they resonate well with farmers leading to increased adoption. In addition, she coordinates the Regional Variety Trials which provide data on new variety performance for the provincial seed guide.  

Sheri Strydhorst farms with her husband, Shane, in Neerlandia, Alberta.

 

 

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois

Senior Director,
Agri-Food Analytics Lab,
Dalhousie University

Biography

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Professor in food distribution and policy in the Faculties of Management and Agriculture at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University.

Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world's most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries.

Soil Management Session

John Lee

Soil Scientist
AGVISE Laboratories

Biography

John grew up on a grain and livestock farm in west central Minnesota.  He received his B.S. Degree in Soil Science from NDSU Fargo ND in 1981.  John has been providing technical support in soil fertility to AGVISE Laboratories customers in Manitoba, North and South Dakota and Montana for the past 29 years. John is a recovering soil thief, after helping John Heard steal (collect) the official state soil from Minnesota a few years ago.

John will be talking about the effect of tile drainage on salinity over 17 years on a field located in eastern ND.   

Lyle Cowell

Regional Agrologist
Nutrien Ag Solutions

Biography

Lyle Cowell is a regional agrologist with Nutrien in Northeast Saskatchewan, supporting good agronomy to retail staff and to farm customers in the area. While he strives to be a well-rounded agronomist, his background and first interest is in best practices for soil management, including soils with marginal potential for annual crop production.

Barrie Manikel

Business Development Consultant
AgCall Inc.

Biography

Raised on a family farm in the Red River Valley where I still reside. Early in my career I worked in the crop protection area, then actively farmed as well as worked in ag retail. For the past 20+ years I have been involved as a business development consultant for AgCall Inc, and this has given me the opportunity to work across the entire ag spectrum. As an owner of farmland I have maintained a strong interest in soil conservation and land stewardship. I am married to Joy and together we have 4 grown children and 7 active grandchildren.

Dr. Cynthia Grant

(Retired) Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Biography

Dr. Cynthia Grant is a retired Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) scientist, who was based at the AAFC Research Centre in Brandon, MB.  Her soil fertility and crop nutrition research program focused on helping make crop production more agronomically, economically, and environmentally sustainable for Canadian farmers.

 

Dr. Don Flaten

(Retired) University of Manitoba

Biography

Dr. Don Flaten recently retired from the University of Manitoba, where he was a professor in soil fertility, crop nutrition, and nutrient management.  Prior to teaching and conducting research on a full-time basis in the Dept. of Soil Science, Don was Director of the School of Agriculture at the University of Manitoba, as well as Provincial Soils Specialist for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, and a District Agriculturist for Alberta Agriculture.

 

Wendy Kostur

Senior Agronomist
360 Ag Consulting

Biography

Wendy grew up, as a member of the 5th generation, on the McConnell family cattle and grain farm, near Gladstone, Manitoba. She attended the University of Manitoba and graduated with a degree in Agronomy in 1998. Wendy worked for one year in Red Deer, AB and then with Manitoba farmers, as an agronomist for over 20 years, at Crop Input sites and Grain Elevators for Agricore/Agricore United and P&H in Western Manitoba. Currently, she enjoys crop scouting, soil sampling, and making recommendations as an Independent Crop Consultant, with 360 Ag Consulting, in the Parkland. Wendy resides at Gilbert Plains, MB with her 2 daughters, KC and Connelly, and her favorite farmer: her new husband Brian. Wendy loves to be a cheerleader for Agriculture, and to promote Agriculture as a rewarding option to those considering their career path. Wendy has enjoyed contributing as a councillor with Agrologists Manitoba, Manitoba rep for Prairie Certified Crop Adviser Board, and as an advisory member for the ACC Agribusiness Program, Manitoba Agronomist Conference, and Prairie Certified Crop Adviser Exam. Wendy feels extremely grateful to be recognized as the 2019 Prairie Region Certified Crop Adviser of the Year and the 2020 Canadian Association of Agri Retailers Agronomist of the Year.

 

Jason Voogt

Owner
Lead Agronomist
Field 2 Field Agronomy Inc.

Biography

Jason is the co-owner and Lead Agronomist of Field 2 Field Agronomy Inc.  He has 26 years experience as an agronomist working for ag retail and industry. He has 8 staff including 4 full time agronomists and 4 summer scouts.  Field 2 Field Agronomy Inc. offers full-service boots on the ground crop consulting services such as soil testing and fertilizer planning as well as intensive field scouting and SWAT MAP VR services in the central area of Manitoba, across a range of soils and special crops.  He is currently the Vice Chair of the Prairie CCA program.  A good portion of Jason’s area suffered extreme drought this year and so farmer clients are dealing with a range of issues including soil fertility uncertainty in 2022.

John Heard

Soil Fertility Extension Specialist
Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development
Moderator, Farmer Panel

Biography

John serves as the soil fertility extension specialist for Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development, previously with Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food in extension and field crop research.

He has schooling from the University of Guelph and Purdue University.

Currently John is Chair of the MB Soil Fertility Advisory Committee. 

Adam Gurr

Farmer Panel
Rapid City

Biography

Adam is a proud husband and father to four young children between the ages of 6 and 14. He owns and operates a third-generation small grains farm with his family located just to the east and north of Brandon. In 2015 he started Agritruth Research Incorporated with his brother in-law; they deliver agronomic data generated on farm through a web platform to interested parties and they also conduct field-scale agronomic research trials under contract to companies in the agriculture industry. Adam has a diploma and degree in Agronomy from the University of Manitoba and a Master’s degree in Agronomy from Iowa State University

Adam has zero tilled for 25 years and been in a controlled traffic farming system (CTF) since 2012.  Much of his soil is Newdale clay loam with canola, wheat, and soybeans comprising the main crops in rotation. Some of his more recent on-farm-tests on soil fertility have investigated the long-term effects of reductions or increases in standard fertilizer rates, and the effectiveness of different phosphorus building strategies.  His standard fertilization program is based on sidebanding all nutrients at seeding with a Seed Hawk.  A number of his acres have been SWAT mapped and some are under variable rate applications.

Rick Rutherford

Farmer Panel
Grosse Isle

Biography

Rick Rutherford owns and operates Rutherford farms LTD a large pedigreed seed farm as well as a seed processing plant and retail seed business. The farm has grown pedigreed seed of wheat, oats, barley, peas, soybeans, canola, hybrid rye, and winter wheat. The farm it located on heavy clay soil just Northwest of Winnipeg at Grosse Isle.

Soil and Fertility issues have been managed through improvements in drainage and fertility planning with a long-term agronomist. They have also been monitoring the long-term effects of tile drainage on heavy clay soils. Rutherford installed tile on 40 acres in the fall of 2012.

Rick has used my John Deere app to collect data from all operation on his farm since 2014.

Data collect from harvest and along with yearly soil sampling is the cornerstone for developing prescription one pass seeding and fertilization system. Application data from spring is recorded which help us develop our report card on nitrogen efficiencies.

The drought of 2021 and high fertility cost has thrown a curve ball into planning for 2022 crop. Join me for my thoughts and actions deal with the unique challenges as we prepared for 2022 cropping season.

Pest Management Session

Dr. Sarah Lancaster

Assistant Professor
Kansas State University

Biography

Sarah was raised on an integrated crop and livestock farm in east central Missouri (United States). She holds degrees from the University of Missouri, North Carolina State University, and Texas A&M University. Sarah has been an Assistant Professor in the Kansas State University Agronomy Department since November, 2019. Her efforts are focused on weed management extension and research. Sarah and her husband, Phillip have two children, Levi and Caleb.

Dr. Charles Geddes

Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Biography

Dr. Geddes is a Research Scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, Alberta. He leads the Weed Ecology and Cropping Systems research program, which focuses on discovery, monitoring, and management of herbicide-resistant weeds in western Canada. Charles grew up on a mixed cattle/forage/grain farm near Pilot Mound, Manitoba. He graduated with a B.Sc. in Agroecology and a Ph.D. in Plant Science from the University of Manitoba. Currently, he leads a diverse range of research, including: the prairie herbicide-resistant weed surveys, management of herbicide-resistant kochia, manipulating weed seed production and return to the soil seedbank, and understanding soil seedbank dynamics.

Dr. Greg Tylka

Professor
Director of the Iowa Soybean Research Center
Iowa State University

Biography

Greg Tylka was born and raised in southwestern Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, in the United States. He earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in biology from California University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. degree in plant pathology from the University of Georgia. Tylka joined Iowa State University in February 1990.  At Iowa State, he has research and extension responsibilities that focus almost exclusively on the biology and management of the soybean cyst nematode (SCN), Heterodera glycines.

 

Dr. Elizabeth Rowen

Service Assistant Professor
West Virginia University

Biography

Elizabeth Rowen grew up in Santa Cruz, CA, and went to Wellesley College just outside of Boston where she got a BA in Biology.  She did her MS  in Entomology at Purdue University under the supervision of Dr. Ian Kaplan, where she studied plant volatiles and the effect of a predator lure (with methyl salicylate) on tomato defenses against Manduca sexta. She did a PhD at Pennsylvania State University in Entomology with Dr. John Tooker, where she studied the effects of soil management techniques (tillage, fertilizers, cover crops, and neonicotinoid pesticides) on plant resistance to herbivores and their predators in both corn and soybeans. She is now a Service Assistant Professor at West Virginia University in the Division of Plant and Soil Science. 

 

Dr. John Gavloski

Entomologist
Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development

Biography

John is an entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development based out of Carman.  He conducts monitoring programs for some of Manitoba's major insect pests and provides information on insects, both beneficial and potential pests, to farmers, agronomists and those working in agriculture. John does numerous presentations and information updates for agronomists and farmers, and co-produces a weekly Manitoba Crop Pest Update during the spring and summer. He has worked for Manitoba Agriculture since 1997.

John has a bachelor’s degree in environmental biology and a M. Sc. in entomology from the University of Guelph, and completed his Ph.D. in the department of entomology at the University of Manitoba.

Aside from entomology, John also enjoys cycling and observing almost any type of wildlife.

 

Crop Management Session

Dr. Malcolm Morrison

Oilseed Physiologist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
 

Biography

Malcolm Morrison has been a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada since 1988, after completing a Bachelor’s degree at Macdonald College, a Master’s degree at the U. of Saskatchewan and a Ph.D. at U. of Manitoba.  He is a crop physiologist who uses physiological and phenomic tools to characterize plant growth and development in response to abiotic stress.  Morrison focuses his research on cold and drought tolerance in soybean, wheat and corn improving growth and yield while elevating the nutritional and marketable value of the crop and decreasing anti-nutritional factors. He has over 90 publications and has presented countless talks.  He represented AAFC on Canadian soybean trade missions to Asia, and has traveled extensively in Australia where he worked from 2002-2003, and did 6 week study periods in 2010 and 2015.  In 2002 he was awarded an Australian Government McMaster’s Fellowship, and in 2011 won an Australian award for International Collaborative Research.  He was a recipient of an AAFC Golden Harvest award in 2008 and a 125th Anniversary Recognition Award in 2012.  He is a Fellow (2012) and a Distinguished Agronomist (2016) of the Canadian Society of Agronomy.  He will discuss the importance of heat and moisture stress on canola yield.

 

Nate Ort

Agronomy Specialist
Canola Council of Canada

Biography

Nathaniel (Nate) Ort is an Agronomy Specialist and Crop Physiologist with the Canola Council of Canada. In 2013 Nate graduated from the University of Manitoba’s School of Agriculture with a Diploma in Agriculture focusing on crop management. In 2017 he completed a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (Agronomy) and in 2021 a Master of Science in Plant Science focusing on crop physiology, both also at the University of Manitoba. Nate is passionate about using science and research findings to promote the best agronomic management practices and in engaging with farmers, industry representatives, educators, and researchers to explore creative, innovative, and practical concepts designed to tackle agricultural and environmental challenges.

 

Anastasia Kubinec

Agronomist
Roquette Canada Ltd.

Biography

Anastasia has been an agronomist in Manitoba for over 20 years working in both private industry and government. In all of her roles, she has travelled Manitoba extensively looking for wild and wonderful things in field and then communicating the findings and potential wins (or solutions) through extension. Since fall 2020, her focus is on field peas for Roquette Canada Ltd, to supply their pea processing plant in Portage la Prairie for the plant protein ingredient market.

 

Terry Buss

Agriculture Adaptation Specialist
Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development
Moderator, Farmer Panel

Biography

Terry grew up in Beausejour, Manitoba and was part of his family’s farming operation until 1993.  He received his Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Agriculture at the University of Manitoba.  He also has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the same institution.  Terry has been with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development since December of 2002 serving in a variety of capacities.  He is currently an Agriculture Adaptation Specialist – Crops and part of the Agriculture Branch of the Production Stewardship Division.  Previously, Terry worked as a Pulse Crop Specialist for Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development for seven years.      

Jenneth Johanson

Farmer Panel
Beausejour

Biography

Jenneth Johanson was raised on a grain farm in Lac Du Bonnet, MB. From a young age Jenneth developed a strong love and sense of commitment to the family farm. After high school, she enrolled in the Crop Advisor Diploma program at Olds College, in Olds, Alberta, upon completion she then continued her secondary education and received her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Studies from the University of Lethbridge in 2006. She also maintains her Certified Crop Advisor accreditation by taking in various conferences and events throughout the year.

In 2007, Jenneth had an opportunity to return home to the family farm operation and is where she remains today raising her three children with her husband Trevor while farming full time.

When Jenneth is not busy with the day-to-day requirements of the farm operation and her children’s various activities, she also dedicates time as a director of the Manitoba Oat Growers Association and is the current President of the Prairies Oat Growers Association.

 

Boris Michaleski

Farmer Panel
Dauphin

Biography

I grew up our family farm SW of Dauphin, MB in the Keld area which was homesteaded by my great grandfather in 1896. I currently reside on this farm where my wife Karen and I have raised 4 children.

I attended school in Dauphin graduating in 1983. Following my graduation I attended Assiniboine Community College in Brandon, MB where I studied HD and farm machinery mechanics. Following my graduation from ACC I was employed at a local IHC equipment dealer and then the local JD dealer where I worked as a Farm Equipment Tech. During which time I completed my apprenticeship training as a certified HD mechanic. Subsequently I worked at the dealership as a Service Manager.

During this time I continued to operate and grow our family farm. After approximately 14 years of working in the ag equipment industry I decided to make farming my full time career.

Being involved in community has always been a significant part of my life. I was a councillor for the RM of Dauphin for almost 20 years. I also served in various capacities on both local and provincial organizations. Some of them include Dauphin Ag Society, Dauphin Rec Commission, PAMI, MB Wheat And Barley Growers, and MB Crop Alliance to name a few.

As with most farms our farming practices have evolved over the years from the typical conventional tillage and summer fallow to continuous cropping and minimum till and now zero till. We are constantly looking at ways to improve our soil health, be more sustainable, efficient and hopefully profitable.

Rachel Neumann

Farmer Panel
Emerson

Dr. Hans Kandel

Extension Agronomist
North Dakota State University

Biography

Dr. Hans Kandel, North Dakota State University Extension Agronomist, is based on the main Fargo campus. He received his MSc from the University of Reading, England, and his PhD from NDSU. Kandel has developed innovative Extension programs for producers in Northwest Minnesota, ND, and Manitoba that blend agronomy, crop, soil science, and economics. Kandel's Extension programs address the needs of broadleaf crops, including sunflower, crop water management, and cover crops. He also conducts applied research with various broadleaf crops.  Kandel is a member of the National Sunflower Association research committee and has been the national sunflower survey coordinator.

 

Dr. Brian Beres

Senior Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Biography

Dr. Beres is a senior research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Lethbridge Research Centre and Adjunct Professor at the University of Alberta.  Dr. Beres leads several multi-disciplinary projects developing innovative and integrated crop management systems. His impact on academia and industry has been recognized on several occasions including the Alberta Seed Growers Honorary Life Award; Canadian Journal of Plant Science Best Paper; CJPS Outstanding Associate Editor; and Fellow – Canadian Society of Agronomy.  Dr. Beres publishes in the areas of agronomy and crop science and has been the author or co-author of 99 peer-reviewed research articles, 2 edited books and 2 book chapters. He serves as Editor-In-Chief for the Canadian Journal of Plant Science and Special Issues Editor for Frontiers in Plant Science.  Dr. Beres has several international collaborations and represents Canada on the Research Committee of the global Wheat Initiative, where he also recently developed and Chairs an Expert Working Group for global agronomy wheat research.

Contact Us

School of Agriculture
236 Agriculture Building
66 Dafoe Road
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Canada

204-474-8473