Jeff Schoenau is a professor of soil science and the Ministry of Agriculture Strategic Research Program Chair in Soil Nutrient Management at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S). He earned his bachelor of science in agriculture at the U of S, where he also completed his PhD in soil science in 1988. In addition to his work at the university, Schoenau and his wife Lynn own and operate a grain farm near Central Butte, SK.

The grain farm has provided him with extensive practical experience. Over the years, it has served as a valuable research site for many of his students and colleagues, supporting field research and providing soil samples for various experiments. He has brought graduate students to the farm to demonstrate soil conservation management techniques and facilitates hands-on learning by having students collect soil samples to study organic matter content and its changes across different land management practices.

Where did you work before the U of S?

I have been with the U of S for a long time. I stared as an undergraduate student in 1980, followed by graduate studies, and have been employed here since 1989. My role has been a mix of teaching, research and extension.

What got you interested in this area of work?

Our family farm in Central Butte has been in operation since it was homesteaded. I live in the original Eaton house built in 1913, where four generations of my family have lived. My wife Lynn and I continue to run the farm, and our two children Michael and Brianna live in Saskatoon. The farm is 1,600 acres, and without any hired help it keeps my wife and I very busy.

Tell us a bit about what you are working on at the university.

I manage around 25 research projects at any given time, handling aspects from proposals to implementation, reports and extension work through webinars, podcasts and presentations. I have a great research team. I lead a team of eight technicians and associates, plus eight graduate students, and sit on a number of advisory committees.

In addition to research, I teach an undergraduate course on soil fertility and fertilizers, supervise fourth-year thesis projects, and contribute to graduate-level courses on field research and soil analytical techniques. My days are spent balancing these responsibilities across teaching, research and student mentorship.

One of my current projects, supported by Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA), focuses on straw harvesting strategies to provide feedstock while maintaining soil and environmental quality. We are looking at the impacts of removing straw, which has growing demand from livestock producers and other industries.

The main site for this research is on my farm, where we are looking at precision straw harvesting. We want to understand how straw harvesting affects soil properties and productivity across different landscape positions, particularly comparing upslope regions with low slopes.

We are collaborating with farmers across Saskatchewan, examining the long-term effects of straw removal on soil fertility, organic matter, moisture and temperature, while also conducting an economic analysis. This fall, we completed our first harvest as part of this project, and we are already uncovering some interesting findings. Our research is designed to help growers make informed decisions about sustainable straw management.

What can you say about the value of farmers providing funding and support to your organization?

The support from farmers is incredibly valuable to my research. Organizations like MCA have provided crucial funding. This farmer-driven support is often matched by provincial funds from Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund, as well as contributions from industry partners and the government. Federal funding and the cluster program have also been essential in diversifying my research.

These partnerships not only provide financial backing but also offer opportunities to engage with farmers at conferences and field days where I can share my findings and learn from growers directly.

How does that farmer funding and support directly benefit farmers?

Farmer funding and support directly benefit growers by providing them with access to the latest knowledge and practices in nutrient management that are crucial for optimizing agronomic, economic and environmental outcomes. In today’s landscape, where environmental impacts are a significant concern, understanding the processes behind soil and nutrient management is essential. My research focuses not just on documenting impacts but on understanding the underlying mechanisms that can be applied across various regions.

Extension work is a passion of mine, inspired by my mentor, the late professor Les Henry, who taught me a lot about extension and the value of getting your message to growers.

How do you spend your time outside of work?

Outside of work I spend a lot of time enjoying the outdoors. I like being in the field, snowmobiling and hunting. I am also a bit of an automotive historian. I like old cars, trucks and tractors, and piddling around with machinery.

What is the best part about your job?

I really enjoy the opportunity to work with students, both undergraduate and graduate. Some students may spend two to five years working with me, and the constant influx of new students is truly rewarding. I take great pleasure in seeing them evolve and grow throughout their time in the program. Also, collaborating with growers, academics and industry professionals is always exciting.

What is the best piece of advice you have received?

One of the best pieces of advice I received relates to extension work, and it was “Know your audience.” Think about your audience, if it is a group of farmers, researchers or the public – what would they be interested in? What do they really want to know? That really resonated with me.

Colin Hiebert is a research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) Morden Research and Development Centre (RDC). He completed his undergraduate degree in biology at the University of Winnipeg, before continuing his graduate studies in plant genetics, focusing on wheat during his PhD. He now lives in Winkler, MB, with his wife and their two sons.

Where did you work before joining AAFC?

Before starting graduate school, I worked in both the public and private sectors of agriculture. After finishing my PhD, I was a postdoctoral researcher at AAFC’s Cereal Research Centre in Winnipeg (now closed) for a year before I was hired as a research scientist there. Subsequently, my program was moved to Morden.

What got you interested in this area of work?

I have always enjoyed the field of genetics, and wheat is scientifically fascinating. It is also a Prairie icon, so working on wheat connects me to western Canadian culture and the economy. Wheat is also a global crop, allowing me to interact with and impact research and agriculture internationally. The convergence of all these different factors drew me to working on wheat.

Tell us a bit about what you are working on at AAFC.

I lead a wheat genetics program, covering everything from fundamental genetics (classical genetics) to modern genomics tools. We cover quite the continuum of research, which was reflected in the previous cluster (2018-23) and in the current cluster (2023-28).

In the “Pre-breeding and development of breeding tools to diversify disease resistance in bread wheat” 20218-23 project, we focused on introducing combinations of disease resistance genes into elite genetic backgrounds that breeders can use in their programs. One challenge is when we have new or underutilized disease resistance genes, they are often in backgrounds that are not suitable for production in Western Canada. The pre-breeding work addressed this challenge.

Another challenge is that it is difficult to select resistance genes by a visual assessment, so we use DNA markers, or marker-assisted selection, to make the process more efficient and accurate. We discovered new DNA markers that made gene selection more efficient both for our projects and for breeder selection.

A positive outcome from this project was discovering a new stem rust resistance gene, Sr67, which is effective against strains of stem rust fungus including the Ug99 races discovered in Africa. There was previously a lot of research activities that went into mitigating the risk of those races. This work is still ongoing to mitigate the threats that exotic strains pose to Canadian producers.

At Morden, we have a biocontainment facility where we can evaluate plants in our genetic studies or in breeding programs against these exotic races to mitigate the risk of them coming to Canada. Sr67 is effective against present strains and can provide resistance against races that could pose a threat. The discovery was recently published here.

We have included the Sr67 gene in the current cluster project to ensure early adoption of this new gene. This is an exciting extension from the previous round of funding.

What can you say about the value of farmers providing funding and support to your organization?

All my collaborators here and at the other AAFC research centres and I are very grateful to farmers for their funding. In these types of projects, we are trying to directly address their more immediate needs. This funding allows us to translate some of our more upstream work into something that can find its way into a farmer’s field. We want our research to make a difference to producers.

How does that funding and support directly benefit farmers?

My research program focuses largely on disease resistance genes. By working closely with pathologists and breeders, we hope to create more sustainable disease resistance, which could lower input costs for farmers and protect yield potential. There are still issues that require chemical inputs, for example, but if we can get resistance to a point where the efficacy of the chemicals is better because the degree of disease protection required is not as high, that will help farmers.

I hope farmers feel welcomed and comfortable reaching out to scientists. Their insights and concerns help shape the direction of our research.

How do you spend your time outside of work?

I coach my kids’ hockey teams, and we enjoy a lot of outdoor activities like hiking, backpacking and hunting.

What is the best part of your job?

There are many aspects I enjoy. I get to tackle interesting scientific questions that impact an important sector in the Canadian economy and for Western Canada. I also get to interact with the international research community and meet people from around the world working on similar challenging research questions. I also have opportunities to interact with farmers, as I live and work in a rural community at a rural research centre. These conversations offer insights into how our research impacts their operations and livelihoods.

How do you celebrate agriculture?

My wife has done a restart on her family’s farm, and I have been able to participate in that. This was the second year of the farm’s restart, and it has been both enjoyable and a great way for us to celebrate agriculture.