After 30 years of farming, becoming a delegate with Manitoba Crop Alliance showed how much I had left to learn

Coles Ag on July 12, 2024

By Jonothan Hodson

When you’ve been farming your whole life, it’s easy to think you’ve seen and done it all – that there’s nothing else for you to learn about the job or the industry. Thanks to my decision six years ago to put my name forward to become a director for the Manitoba Corn Growers Association, I’m happy to report that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Like many farmers, my introduction to agriculture happened when I was young, growing up on the family farm. I spent some time away to go to university, and then to live and work in New Zealand for a growing season to learn about agriculture there, before returning to the family farm, where I’ve been for the last three plus decades. Through it all, I was extremely curious about the industry and thought about getting more involved, but it still took a bit of a coincidence for me to take the leap.

Six years ago, I was at the CropConnect Conference when I heard that the Manitoba Corn Growers Association was looking for new farmers to join its ranks. I said I might be interested, one thing led to another, and before I knew it, I was in. When Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) was formed in 2020 from the amalgamation of the Manitoba Corn Growers Association and four other crop commodity organizations, I stayed on to become a delegate of MCA’s corn crop committee, and then had the privilege to be nominated to serve as one of the inaugural directors for the organization.

I understand there are a lot of reasons people are reluctant to put their name forward. You might be nervous you’re not going to be able to offer much or feel like your opinion might not be needed, but that isn’t at all the case. In fact, it was completely the opposite. The committee and the organization were very welcoming from day one and showed me there was nothing to worry about. My input and perspectives were valued, and it quickly became clear each member of the organization had something unique to offer.

MCA staff are there to support you every step of the way and answer any questions you might have. They are passionate about finding innovative ways to help producers in the province now and into the future, and it feels meaningful to be a part of that important work.

One reason I encourage all farmers to get involved is to help determine where your check-off dollars are invested. Ensuring those investments align with the priorities of farmer members across the province is a major responsibility and one I don’t take lightly. The second reason is just as valuable: becoming a delegate is an incredible opportunity for personal growth.

My time as an MCA delegate has been an amazing learning experience. Manitoba is a diverse province, with many different climates, soils and types of crops being grown. As a result, I leave every crop committee and board meeting having learned something I didn’t know before from one of my fellow delegates or directors. Since 2018, my personal development has been dramatic, taking me from a delegate on the corn crop committee to an MCA director and now to an additional role as a director with the Grain Growers of Canada. During that time, everything I learned about agriculture in Manitoba and across Canada has made me a better farmer and a better advocate for our industry.

None of this would have been possible without taking the first step. As my dad always said, “You can’t finish until you start.” Looking back with those wise words in mind, my only regret is that I didn’t get involved sooner.

So, don’t make the same mistake I did – regardless of where in the province you call home, how long you’ve been farming or how much you think you know, the time to “start” is now.

Jonothan Hodson is a director and corn crop committee delegate with Manitoba Crop Alliance, as well as a director with the Grain Growers of Canada. He and his family farm near Lenore, MB.

Prairie FHB Risk Map Info Update July 2024 

Coles Ag on July 12, 2024

Meet Manitoba Crop Alliance’s inaugural high school bursary recipients

Coles Ag on July 10, 2024

Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) is proud to support agriculture’s next generation. MCA’s bursary program is designed to assist with the financial needs of students pursuing education in a field that will benefit the agriculture sector.

Six graduating high school students from Manitoba have been awarded with bursaries valued at $1,000 each. The six bursary recipients are Alara Krahn from Mather, Laura Delichte from St. Alphonse, Riley Jorgensen from Cromer, Madisyn Robertson from Neepawa, Zenith Vanstone from Miami, and Evan Whetter from Alexander.

“I’d like to offer my sincere congratulations to our inaugural high school bursary recipients and wish them well in their continued studies,” says MCA Chair Robert Misko. “MCA is committed to supporting agriculture’s next generation and expanding our bursary program is one way we have demonstrated that commitment.”

To qualify for these bursaries, applicants did not need to be continuing into an agriculture-specific program. However, they did need to clearly articulate how their continued studies would help them benefit the agriculture industry.

An independent selection committee was contracted to evaluate the applicants based on their connection to or interest in agriculture, how they hope to use their education to benefit the agriculture industry, and their academics and writing skills.

This year, the selection committee included Adelle Gervin, program manager with Agriculture in the Classroom – Manitoba; Sonia Wilson, oilseeds specialist with Manitoba Agriculture; and Santosh Kumar, research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Brandon Research and Development Centre.

Gervin graduated with a bachelor of science in agriculture (animal systems) from the University of Manitoba in 2019. She strives to educate today’s youth on our agricultural story and show them her perspective as a cattle rancher and “agvocate.”

Wilson recently started her role with Manitoba Agriculture, which includes focusing on special crops such as flax and sunflower. She has a background in agriculture focused on plant genetics and research.

Kumar completed his master’s degree at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi, India, before moving to Canada for his PhD. As a PhD student at the University of Manitoba, he worked on barley physiology and genetics. His current area of research includes wheat variety development, climate resilience and clean environment trait introgression, and targeted trait manipulation.

Thank you to the selection committee for evaluating the bursary applications and congratulations to the recipients!

Learn more about this year’s recipients

 

Manitoba Crop Alliance awards inaugural high school bursaries

Coles Ag on July 10, 2024

Identifying heading and flowering growth stages in wheat and barley for FHB spray timing

Coles Ag on July 8, 2024

MCA-commissioned study highlights research capacity challenges in Manitoba

Coles Ag on July 8, 2024

Agricultural research is fundamental to the continued productivity and sustainability of Manitoba farmers and supporting high-quality research is foundational to the mission and vision of Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA).

The research needs of farmers are unique, accounting for diverse geographic regions and crop types, and constantly evolving in response to consumer demand, climate and other factors. As a result, Manitoba’s research community must be well positioned to meet the current needs of farmers, while also anticipating the challenges they will face in the future.

We recently engaged Backswath Management to execute a study evaluating the existing crop research capacity in Manitoba. Most public and private research institutes contacted in the Backswath survey were interested in collaborating with MCA to meet farmer research objectives, but many cited barriers to initiating or expanding collaboration.

The study identified four main challenges facing research capacity in Manitoba:

Equipment was frequently cited as a limitation to meeting the research needs of Manitoba farmers. Increased demand on existing equipment and the need for new or specialized research equipment were emphasized in several survey responses. Barriers to addressing equipment challenges were often related to funding programs and reduction in funding at research institutions.

Infrastructure and access to land has created challenges for numerous private and public researchers in Manitoba. At public institutions, existing infrastructure is aging and not keeping pace with current demand or technological advancements. Meanwhile, the creation of new infrastructure has been slow, or non-existent. Demand for currently owned land at research stations is high and renting land from farmers can be challenging.

Program funding was strongly correlated to existing limitations of equipment, infrastructure and land access. Many funding programs limit the ability to offset the cost of capital expenses and do not allow expenditures related to ongoing maintenance and repair. Current funding structures were also noted as limiting the capacity to address certain research questions. Many funding programs are limited to a three- to five-year research project. As research questions become more complex, the need to fund longer-term studies is critical to adequately address these challenges. Funding programs have also become increasingly time consuming, placing strain on researchers and their staff to undertake administrative responsibilities, which take up time that could otherwise be spent conducting research.

Human resources are a significant challenge to research capacity. Recruitment and retention, as well as identifying skilled workers, were noted as limitations for both private and public research institutions. Competition from private industry outside the research field and adequate compensation were noted as barriers to addressing human resource related challenges in research.

We will carry out additional in-depth discussions with both private and public partners to determine the next steps to increase research capacity in Manitoba. We recognize the importance of fostering strong relationships between industry and research. By pursuing direct engagement with the Manitoba research community, we hope to improve communication, provide context for Manitoba farmers’ research objectives and identify opportunities to collaborate with new and existing members of Manitoba’s research landscape.

From Prairie to pint: Canada-China Barley Seminar strengthens trade relationship

Coles Ag on July 8, 2024

As member of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC), Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) participated in the 2024 Canada-China Barley Seminar in Qingdao, China, from June 19-20. This CMBTC-hosted seminar aimed to strengthen relationships with a key market for Canadian barley by connecting the Canadian barley value chain with Chinese maltsters and brewers.

“The seminar provided a unique platform for the Canadian barley value chain to engage directly with Chinese maltsters and brewers to cover critical aspects of Canadian barley supply and quality, production practices and sustainability,” says CMBTC chair Jon White. “China is a key market for Canadian barley. This event was pivotal in showcasing our superior quality to our end users.”

Farmers, as well as representatives from Canada’s world class barley breeding programs and grain suppliers, represented the Canadian barley value chain at the seminar.

Meetings were held at Tsingtao Brewery and Hyaline Malting Co., with a concurrent conference. Tsingtao Brewery was founded in 1903 and is ranked in the top five global brewers. Hyaline Malting, a former naval air base turned into a malt processing plant, has supplied Tsingtao Brewery with malt since 2005.

MCA director and wheat and barley crop committee delegate Sheila Elder travelled to Qingdao to represent MCA. She joined two other farmers and a representative from Richardson on a panel discussing the sustainability of Canadian grain production.

Elder was asked about Manitoba’s “much wetter” climate compared to the other two Prairie provinces. “Although the last couple of years have not felt so wet, this year is a different story,” she says.

“This led me to talk about how yield is not our only objective when choosing a variety; we need a variety that has resistance to Fusarium and is not as prone to lodging as earlier varieties were. Fortunately, thanks to our world-class breeders, we have great options to choose from.”

On the theme of collaboration, Elder also highlighted some of the resources farmers have access to in Canada to help them make the best management decisions throughout the growing season. These include access to highly trained experts, such as crop pathologists, entomologists, weed specialists, crop specialists and agronomists, as well as commodity organizations like MCA who have agronomists on staff.

The importance of farmer participation in the seminar was evident. Farmers like Elder could address Chinese maltsters and brewers’ specific questions and concerns about barley production, fostering trust and strengthening the relationship between our two countries.

Sheila also talked about how much pride farmers take in growing the best crops possible, as well as the importance of collaboration within the industry.

At one meeting with brewers, glyphosate came up as a concern. White, who in addition to being chair of CMBTC is also a merchandiser with Viterra, addressed this by explaining how malt barley samples are probed and tested at many different stages, reinforcing how well malt barley is tested for glyphosate.

It was evident to Elder that having many parts of the barley value chain represented at the seminar was important for the Chinese maltsters and brewers. “It was quite clear they value building relationships through face-to-face meetings and would like to see those from the value chain more often.”

With China’s doors open to trade with Australia, the seminar arrived at an important moment. Canada’s barley is well known for its high quality, but that quality comes at a premium, partly due to longer shipping distances and related costs when compared with Australia, for example.

“In today’s competitive global market, seizing opportunities to foster trusted and mutually beneficial relationships at home and around the world is crucial” says CMBTC managing director Peter Watts.

“End users are keenly interested in the systems and standards that distinguish Canada’s barley supply, quality and performance. This seminar was tailored to address the evolving needs and interests of international end users, who seek products that will meet their current and future needs, as well as insights into the Canadian system.”

From left to right: Jon White (Viterra), Sheila Elder (farmer, MCA), Roy (Leroy) Newman (farmer, Alberta Grain), Peter Schutz (Richardson), Peter Watts (CMBTC), Aaron Beattie (University of Saskatchewan Crop Development Centre), Hayley Stacey (CMBTC), Yueshu Li (CMBTC), Cody Glenn (farmer, SaskBarley), Jackie Oakes (Cargill), Al Morris (independent grain buyer) and Matt Enns (farmer, SaskBarley).
Qingdao (home to Tsingtao Brewery) is where the sailing events were held for the 2008 Olympics. This large, red sculpture symbolizes the Olympic flame.

Japanese delegation visits Manitoba to gain better understanding of Canadian crop production

Coles Ag on July 8, 2024

On June 27, a delegation from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) toured Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) director Doug Martin’s farm near East Selkirk, MB. In addition to Martin, MCA was represented during the farm tour by agronomy extension specialist for cereal crops Andrew Hector.

The tour was an excellent learning experience for the Japanese delegation and a great opportunity for MCA to interact directly with representatives from an important market for Manitoba agricultural products.

Members of the Japanese delegation typically communicate with grain buyers or suppliers, who provide them with information about grain quality and production practices, but they don’t often have the chance to interact with farmers. This led them to reach out to Cereals Canada, who then worked with MCA to help facilitate the event. The delegation had a desire to better understand the practices farmers are using firsthand, which is why they valued participating in the farm tour.

During the tour, members of the MAFF group asked specific and pointed questions regarding crop production practices used on the farm. They were also interested in how specific pieces of equipment work, what fungicides are used and at what frequency, and types and timings of fertilizer application. Additionally, there was a strong interest in on-farm grain storage and how the grain is transported to ports.

The MAFF is important in the Japanese market in that they set the contracts and associated terms for wheat importers that the importers then execute. They also control import regulatory tolerances for cereals.

Japan is a longstanding, quality-conscious purchaser of Canadian wheat. According to Cereals Canada, Japan imported an average of 1.62 million tonnes annually from 2018 to 2022, valued at $631 million. Meanwhile, Manitoba-specific data shows Japan is the province’s third-largest wheat export market, with an annual export average of 325,759 tonnes from 2018 to 2022, valued at $127 million.

Photo Gallery

Japanese MAFF Farm Tour - June 27, 2024
Japanese MAFF Farm Tour - June 27, 2024
Japanese MAFF Farm Tour - June 27, 2024
Japanese MAFF Farm Tour - June 27, 2024
Japanese MAFF Farm Tour - June 27, 2024
Japanese MAFF Farm Tour - June 27, 2024

Manitoba Crop Alliance opens nominations for delegate positions on crop committees

Coles Ag on July 2, 2024

Meghan Vankosky, research scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Coles Ag on June 12, 2024

Follow @vanbugsky on X.

Meghan Vankosky, a research scientist in field crop entomology with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), works at the Saskatoon Research and Development Centre (RDC). She holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Alberta and completed her PhD at the University of Windsor. After completing her PhD, Vankosky spent a year in California on a postdoctoral project. She now lives in Saskatoon with her four-year-old standard poodle, Flurry.

Where did you work before AAFC?

Before AAFC, I worked at the University of California at Riverside. I was there one year as a postdoctoral researcher. While there, I collaborated on a release program for a parasitoid to control Asian citrus psyllid, which is an important pest of all kinds of citrus. Asian citrus psyllid, also known as ACP, vectors a disease that kills citrus trees – the disease has no cure and all infected trees eventually die. In California we were trying to slow down the spread of the insect (and the disease) by starting a biological control program.

What got you interested in this area of work?

Well, like many young people, I had no idea that being an entomologist was even a career option. When I started university, I had decided I was going to med school, but realized in my first year that I was not cut out for it.

In my second year I took a selection of courses. One of them was the introduction to entomology and it just went from there. Some fortuitous choices and some good luck and I ended up with an awesome co-mentor for my master’s program, Dr. Lloyd Dosdall, who sadly passed away a few years ago. I learned a lot from him and from other mentors in entomology.

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

Since I came to AAFC in Saskatoon, the biggest project I have been part of (and now co-lead with Jennifer Otani) is the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network (PPMN). Jennifer and I collaborate closely with the provincial entomologists in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and we have funding support from nine different industry groups, including Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) and the Agriculture Development Fund.

One of the major activities of this project is to maintain and expand our records of the annual population densities and distribution of key pests of Prairie crops, including bertha armyworm, cabbage seedpod weevil, diamondback moth, grasshoppers, pea leaf weevil, wheat midge and wheat stem sawfly.

These are the major pests we monitor each year. The monitoring data is used to develop the annual risk maps available on the PPMN website. We aim to have the maps ready to share online in December or January, so that we can talk about them at winter outreach events and so that farmers can use them when planning for the next growing season. The maps can be used to estimate insect-related risk to crops going into the next growing season.

Through the PPMN and our current funding, we are also trying to do more lab research to understand better the biology and population dynamics of some of these insects. We are also partnering with Dr. Boyd Mori, University of Alberta, to better understand if there are any risks of resistance development in the insect populations we monitor. Insecticide resistance can affect how we manage insect pests, and we would like to try to add that as a layer to our mapping exercise.

There are a lot of moving parts and pieces to this project, and it is highly collaborative. We have a lot of people who help collect data and share information with us so that we can put the maps together and keep historical records. The historical records are valuable, as we can use them to build models that can help us to predict and understand how insects respond to changing climate. We hope that the PPMN is a helpful tool that farmers and agronomists use to find reliable information about insects in general and about what insects could be a problem in their crops.

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

It gives us an advantage in terms of our ability to do work that is for the public good and that will have a direct benefit to farmers. I think a lot of the work we do at AAFC and in university agriculture programs is all beneficial to agriculture, but knowing that the funds are coming from farmers towards research that aligns with the problems they are facing helps close that loop a little bit faster and bring that information back to farmers.

It is valuable that organizations like MCA have farmer board members as it provides clearer communication in terms of research priorities. I can write my proposals geared to what the research priorities of the organizations are, which are based on what farmers need.

How does that farmer funding and support directly benefit farmers?

A big piece of all the work we are doing with this project through the PPMN is providing information to farmers on a regular basis through our weekly updates and our insect of the week articles, and at the end of every season with insect risk maps. The funding also helps get us, as researchers, to outreach events where we can talk about our research with farmers and agronomists. These conversations not only allow us to share new information but provide us with helpful feedback.

How do you spend your time outside of work?

Doing many different things! I learned all kinds of needle and handicrafts from my grandmothers and my mom growing up, so I do a bit of crocheting and cross stitching and I am learning how to embroider. I took up paint by numbers again during the pandemic, which is something I hadn’t done for years. I like to take my dog to obedience classes and learn how to teach him different things. Also, since the pandemic, I started building Lego again. Now that I am an adult and I have disposable income, my Lego collection is growing and growing. 

How do you celebrate agriculture?

I think by being an entomologist. I grew up on a cattle farm in west central Alberta. I am grateful that I grew up on a farm and had that experience, but I did not want to farm as an adult. I am very grateful that I can give back to agriculture and celebrate it by still working in agriculture by studying insects. I am glad that I can do research that I enjoy and that brings benefits to agriculture.

What gets you most excited about your work?

The insects and the people. The insects are very interesting, and we have a really great team of people here in Saskatoon. The entomology community across Canada is top notch. There are so many great people who work in this field who we collaborate with and learn from. That is what gets me excited about what we are doing.

Follow Meghan (@vanbugsky) on X.

Visit prairiepest.ca to find weekly updates and insect of the week articles during the growing season, and risk maps at the end of the season.

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