Blog Archives - Manitoba Crop Alliance

MCA-funded research at the 2025 Manitoba Agronomists’ Conference

Ashley Ammeter on February 3, 2026

On Dec. 10 and 11, 2025, Manitoba agronomists met to discuss the latest developments in pest, crop and soil management. This year, the conference theme was “From Gaps to Gains: Unlocking Crop Potential.” Much of the research shared at the Manitoba Agronomists’ Conference was funded in part by Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA). Below is a summary of the posters shared that feature MCA-funded research!

Crop Management

Growing Together: Learnings from Manitoba Spring Wheat YEN Pilot

Andrew Hector, Madison Kostal, Manitoba Crop Alliance; Anne Kirk, Mark Lysack, Manitoba Agriculture

Digging Deeper: Identifying Long-Coleoptile Wheat for Dry Seeding Success

M.K. Carkner, C.A. McCartney, M.H. Entz, University of Manitoba; S. Kumar, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Effect of Preceding Crop and Residue Management on Corn Establishment in Manitoba

Ramona Mohr, Gordon Finlay, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Diffusion-based Dataset Augmentation for Downstream Crop Segmentation

Alex Senden, Masoomeh Gomroki, Robert Gulden, Christopher Henry, University of Manitoba

SOIL MANAGEMENT

Investigating the Effects of Soil Moisture and Temperature on the Transformation of N Fertilizer in Soil

Carlie Johnston, Xiaopeng Gao, Ramona Mohr, Timi Ojo, University of Manitoba; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

The Influence of Nitrogen Stabilizers and Split Fertilizer Application on Agronomic Performance and Mitigation of N2O Emission from Canadian Western Red Spring (CWRS) Wheat

L.H.N. Sawbhagya, B. Sparling, M. Tenuta, University of Manitoba; M. St. Luce, B. May, H. Kubota, B. Beres, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Pest Management

CWRepViT-Net: An Encoder-Decoder Deep Learning Framework with RepViT Blocks for Crop Weed Semantic Segmentation in Soybean Fields through their Life Journey

Masoomeh Gomroki, Dilshan Benaragma, Christopher Henry, Nasem Badreldin, Rob Gulden, University of Manitoba

Bacterial Leaf Streak Transmission Driven by Seed Infection and Irrigation

Vinuri Weerasinghe, Malini Jayawardana, Shaheen Bibi, W.G. Dilantha Fernando, University of Manitoba

For a full list of poster presentations and speakers from the 2025 conference, visit the Manitoba Agronomists’ Conference website.

Thank you to the conference partners, the University of Manitoba Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Manitoba Agriculture, for hosting an excellent conference!

2025 Manitoba Corn Disease Survey Results

Morgan Cott on January 30, 2026

Anne Kirk, Manitoba Agriculture
Morgan Cott, Manitoba Crop Alliance
Simon Huang, Manitoba Agriculture

A corn disease survey was conducted across Manitoba in September of 2025. Crop disease surveys are important for documenting the severity and geographical distribution of various diseases. Results from disease surveys provide warning about new diseases and help to prioritize where future research is needed.

Methods

A total of 54 fields were surveyed across Manitoba to document the prevalence (% of fields having infection) and incidence (average % of plants showing infection within infected fields) of various corn diseases. Field were surveyed in September around the beginning of crop maturity.

Plants were visually assessed for the presence of Goss’s wilt (Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. nebraskensis), common rust (Puccinia sorghi), common smut (Ustilago maydis), head smut (Sphacelotheca reiliana), and stalk rot. Holcus spot (Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae) was recorded in some but not all fields. In each field, 50 plants were surveyed in a “W” pattern, where the five points of the “W” were at least 50 paces apart and 100 m from field edges. The presence or absence of disease was noted for each of the 50 sampled plants per field, except for Goss’s wilt and holcus spot. Goss’s wilt and holcus spot were simply recorded as present or absent for each field.

Results
At crop maturity Goss’s wilt was found in 54% of the fields sampled, making it the most common disease found in the fall survey. Holcus spot was found in the majority of fields surveyed in the central region, but prevalence is not reported as all surveyors were not assessing plants for holcus spot. Head smut, common rust, stalk rot, and common smut were found in 33%, 11%, 7% and 6% of fields surveyed, respectively (Table 1).

Table 1. Results of the 2025 corn disease survey. Prevalence (% of fields having infection) and incidence (average % of plant showing infection within infected fields) for each region and for all fields surveyed.

Region	Common Rust	Common Smut	Head Smut	Stalk Rot	Anthracnose Stalk Rot	Goss’s Wilt
Central (35 fields)
% Prevalence	14	9	29	6	0	71
% Incidence	17	8	3	13	0	n/a
Eastern (9 fields)
% Prevalence	0	0	22	11	0	44
% Incidence	0	0	8	2	0	n/a
Interlake (2 fields)
% Prevalence	50	0	0	50	0	0
% Incidence	10	0	0	6	0	n/a
Southwest (8 fields)
% Prevalence	0	0	75	0	0	0
% Incidence	0	0	5	0	0	n/a
Manitoba (54 fields)
% Prevalence	11	6	33	7	0	54
% Incidence	16	8	4	9	0	n/a

Acknowledgements
This survey was supported by Manitoba Agriculture and Manitoba Crop Alliance. Thank you to the grower co-operators who allowed for their fields to be surveyed and provided surveyors with field information.

Contributed by Anne Kirk, Cereal Crop Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture.

Christopher Bidinosti, professor, University of Winnipeg

Coles Ag on January 22, 2026

Photo courtesy the University of Winnipeg.

Physics professor Christopher Bidinosti has been at the University of Winnipeg since 2007, and much of his recent work sits at the intersection of computing and agriculture. As a co-founder of the TerraByte research group, Bidinosti is helping advance digital agriculture in Manitoba by supporting plant science research with new data and imaging tools.

Where did you work before?

I’ve been in universities most of my life. Before coming to the University of Winnipeg, I was a postdoctoral researcher at Simon Fraser University and prior to that at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. Before that, I was a graduate student at the University of British Columbia and an undergraduate student at Brandon University. I also worked at Ayerst Organics in Brandon, MB, where they extracted estrogen from the pregnant mare’s urine and made hormone replacement drugs.

What got you interested in this area of work?

I’ve always had an interest in plants, gardens and growing food. Even though I don’t do it, I still find it fascinating. So, when my colleague and I were working on advanced computing techniques about 10 years ago, I saw this as an opportunity to engage my interest in agriculture. With the shrinking cost and size of sensors, like cameras in our phones, and the massive increase in computing power, it felt like the right time to jump into this kind of research.

Tell us a bit about what you’re working on at the University.

Our research group, TerraByte, works on several aspects of digital agriculture, including data generation, data hosting and sharing, and machine learning models for things like plant classification and disease detection. We primarily work with plant scientists, helping them automate and expedite visual tasks like phenotyping and disease assessment. We like to think of what we do as research helping research.

Michael Beck, Christopher Henry and I have been pushing digital agriculture for a long time. When Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) put out its “hope and dreams” call last fall, we knew we had to pitch the idea for the Manitoba Centre for Digital Ag (MCDA). When you look at other jurisdictions, there is significant investment in digital agriculture, and we felt strongly that Manitoba needed a more co-ordinated approach. The MCDA isn’t about a single building or institution. It’s about bringing researchers, grower organizations, government, and industry together around a shared provincial strategy. Our focus is on mobilizing researchers across universities and colleges to work collaboratively, apply for funding together and make better use of the digital tools we already have. That’s the vision we’re working toward, and we really appreciate MCA’s support in helping move it forward.

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

It’s huge and we appreciate it very much. It’s very forward thinking. There is no doubt that computers will bring as much change to agriculture as engineering, chemistry or genetics have in the past.

How does that farmer funding and support directly benefit farmers?

It really goes back to work we do with plant scientists and researchers. If we can help them expedite their breeding programs, then heartier crop varieties that are more pest, disease or heat resistance, for example, can make it to farms much sooner. That’s where we see a real, long-term benefit for farmers.

One example of this is work we do in the lab using low-cost cameras to take images of plants from many different angles and build 3D computer models of them. From those models, we can automatically extract plant traits like height, width, volume and leaf angle, without disrupting the plant’s growth cycle or relying on visual scoring. A lot of plant science still depends on people visually ranking plants, which takes a huge amount of time and can be quite subjective. What we’re doing replaces hours or days of manual work with something that takes minutes and produces consistent results.

For plant breeders, that’s a big deal. It means they can evaluate more plants, more accurately and much faster than before. That speeds up research and helps identify promising varieties earlier in the process. While this work isn’t showing up directly on farms next year, it influences the varieties that farmers will eventually be growing.

We’re very thankful for the trust farmers have placed in us. We’re always happy to talk about what we’re working on and to hear about other projects we could be involved in. This kind of work is an investment in the future, and we take that responsibility seriously.

How do you spend your time outside of work?

Biking, running and reading.

What is the best part about your job?

The best part of my job is working in an area that I find genuinely fascinating and working with inspired students. Over the last several years, my focus has shifted more toward digital agriculture, which brings together engineering, imaging equipment and computation. We often talk about how engineering plus agriculture gave us tractors, chemistry plus agriculture gave us pesticides, genetics plus agriculture gave us breeding, and now it’s computers plus agriculture. No one knows exactly where it will land, but there’s no doubt it’s going to be big, and that’s what makes it so interesting to work on.

What gets you most excited about your work?

The people I work with. I have amazing colleagues and collaborators who are incredibly talented and fun to work with, and I’ve worked closely with some of them for many years. The work itself is also fascinating because of how complicated it is. Plants and real farm fields are insanely complicated systems, even more so than physics, and that challenge is what keeps the work exciting.

Learn more at terrabyte.acs.uwinnipeg.ca

Practical Farm Finance Lessons for Uncertain Times

Coles Ag on January 13, 2026

The following article is a recap of “Staying Ahead of the Curve, “ a presentation in our Roots to Results Webinar Series. The full webinar recording can be viewed here.

Farming has always involved risk, but today the risks feel sharper. Volatile markets, rising input costs, unpredictable weather and tighter margins are forcing many farms to think differently about how they make decisions.

In our latest Roots to Results webinar, Evan Shout, president and co-founder of Maverick Ag, challenged the idea that these pressures are completely out of our hands. While farmers can’t control markets or weather, they can control how they prepare their business to respond. This preparation starts with understanding the right numbers, not all the numbers.

Strong land equity has helped many farms stay stable, but equity alone doesn’t create flexibility. Cash flow, debt structure, cost awareness and timing increasingly determine whether a farm can hold grain, invest wisely or weather a tough year without being forced into making hard decisions.

Know the Three Numbers That Really Matter

Not every ratio deserves your attention, but three do: working capital, debt service ratio and debt-to-equity. These are the numbers lenders watch and they shape your day-to-day flexibility. Strong working capital gives you selling power, a healthy debt service ratio keeps the bank on your side and debt-to-equity tells you how much cushion you really have.

Implementation

Ask your accountant for accrual financial statements and calculate these ratios annually. Track trends, not just single-year results.

Calculate Your True Cost of Production

Cost of production isn’t just seed and fertilizer. It also includes machinery depreciation, family living draws and even the opportunity cost of owning land. When those costs are hidden, pricing decisions become emotional instead of strategic.

Implementation

Use conservative, 10-year average yields and today’s prices. Include personal drawings and realistic equipment depreciation to find your real break-even.

Use Break-Even Numbers to Guide Marketing

Once you know your break-even, marketing becomes clearer. Instead of hoping for a rally, you can decide when selling at a small loss protects the whole farm, or when a crop is carrying the operation.

Implementation

Pair break-even prices with a simple return-on-investment target. Share these numbers with whoever handles marketing, so decisions support the entire business.

Treat Lean Management as Risk Management

In tighter years, controlling costs matters more than chasing yield. Lean management isn’t about cutting blindly; it’s about finding small efficiencies that reduce pressure on cash flow and debt.

Implementation

Review expenses line by line. Ask what can be delayed, downsized or done differently this year without hurting long-term productivity.

Benchmark, But Know the Story Behind the Numbers

Comparing your farm to others can reveal blind spots, especially in machinery, labour and debt per acre. However, numbers only make sense with context.

Implementation

Benchmark against similar farms and against your own five-year history. Use percentages of revenue, not just dollars per acre, to spot trends.

Michael Beck, assistant professor, University of Winnipeg

Coles Ag on January 6, 2026

Connect with Michael on LinkedIn.

Michael Beck is an assistant professor for data analytics in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg). Before moving to Canada in 2017, Beck earned his master’s degree in mathematics and doctorate in computer science from the University of Kaiserslautern in Germany. He has held postdoctoral positions at both UWinnipeg and the University of Manitoba (UM) and lives in Winnipeg.

What is the best part about your job?

The best part about my job is that I get to work in a very interdisciplinary field, where people from many different departments come together. I work with physicists, plant scientists and other computer scientists; it’s a very wide spectrum of people. I might talk to a farmer one day and a scientist the next, then sit down to write some code or head into the lab and start building a robot. It’s so diverse. That variety is what makes the work exciting and what makes me happy week by week.

What got you interested in working in computer science?

It was after doing my postdoc at UM when Christopher Henry and Christopher Bidinosti (both professors at UWinnipeg) asked if I could work on a project. They wanted me to build a robot, create a database to hold images and do a number of things I had never done before. When they asked if I could do it, I said I hadn’t done anything like it before, but I was willing to learn, and that was all they wanted.

My journey went from a very theoretical background in mathematics toward real-world problems. Curiosity and not being afraid to try something I wasn’t trained for is what got me into computer science, and the interdisciplinary nature of the work is what made me stay.

Tell us a bit about your role and the Manitoba Centre for Digital Ag.

As an assistant professor, my role is teaching and research, and I work in digital agriculture with TerraByte. We focus on bringing new technologies into agriculture, from machine learning and equipment such as sensors to new data acquisition methods and figuring out how that data can be useful. This can mean helping plant breeders, agronomy research or even directly on the farm. We have people from physics and computer science working with plant scientists, and together we solve research problems. We don’t know everything about plants, and plant scientists don’t have a full picture of what technologies are available, so bringing those worlds together is where real progress happens.

The Manitoba Centre for Digital Agriculture (MCDA) grew out of this same thinking. When Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) put out a “hopes and dreams” call, we responded with the idea of bringing together the many people already working in digital agriculture across Manitoba. Right now, there are individual efforts, but no co-ordinated, province-wide strategy. The MCDA is intended to connect post-secondary institutions, grower associations such as MCA and MPSG, government, industry and farmers, so that work can happen more strategically.

Similar centres exist in the U.S., the UK, Australia and even in Saskatoon, and the level of investment and synergy in those institutions far exceeds what we currently see in Manitoba. Without something like this, my concern is that Manitoba risks being left behind, with new technologies developed elsewhere and brought in at a cost. We want innovation to happen here, not only for economic reasons, but because solutions developed locally are better suited to our conditions. The MCDA isn’t a brick-and-mortar building. It’s more of a consortium that brings people together, avoids duplicated efforts and helps navigate an increasingly complex digital agriculture landscape. No single group can do this alone, and that’s really what the MCDA is about.

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

It’s absolutely instrumental. What we’re trying to build with the MCDA is very ambitious, and it’s hard to find funding channels for something like this. So, when MCA came to us and said, “Tell us about your hopes and dreams,” and then followed through with funding, that was absolutely massive. It’s an opportunity we would have a very hard time finding anywhere else, and we’re incredibly grateful. We really appreciate MCA and its members trusting us with this responsibility.

How does that farmer funding and support directly benefit farmers?

This is still research, and the work we’re doing isn’t going to show up on farms next year. To some level, this is fundamental research. There was a time when chemistry had no business in agriculture, then someone invented fertilizer. There was a time when biology or genetics had no business in agriculture, but look at plant breeding now. I think digital agriculture is a similar story. We don’t yet know exactly what it will look like in 10 or 20 years, but farmer funding will help us shape that future here in Manitoba, together with the people who are living and working in this system.

There are some very tangible benefits already. One example is our work with plant breeders studying Fusarium head blight in wheat. We’re helping researchers assess diseased wheat heads more accurately and faster, which in turn accelerates breeding program and helps deliver more resistant varieties sooner. These are the kinds of projects we want to establish more of through the MCDA. We’re very thankful for the opportunity farmers have given us, and we take that responsibility seriously.

How do you spend your time outside of work?

I play a lot of different games, including board games, tabletop RPGs, computer and card games. I also enjoy sports like volleyball and soccer.

Who or what inspires you?

What I find regularly inspiring is seeing people who are really good at what they do, no matter what their field is. Watching people perform at a high level and master their craft is something I find motivating, and that inspiration can come from anywhere.

Do you have a favourite TV series, movie or podcast at the moment?

One series I really like is The Bear. I also enjoyed Arcane League of Legends, which is based on a computer game but stands on its own as an animated series. Recently, we’ve also been enjoying Pluribus.

Connect with Michael on LinkedIn.

What are Hard Vitreous Kernels?

Coles Ag on December 16, 2025

Canadian wheat is known for being a high-quality and premium wheat in the global marketplace. To maintain this reputation, high grading standards are set by the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) to ensure quality meets end-users’ needs.

In 2025, downgrading due to hard vitreous kernel (HVK) levels was one of the main factors affecting Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat, according to the CGC’s harvest sample program and the Cereals Canada 2025 New Wheat Crop Report Webinar. This blog post will provide an overview of HVKs and related grading thresholds.

What are HVKs and what is the downgrading threshold?

Vitreousness is used to describe the natural translucent colouring of hard wheat and is an indicator of kernel hardness.
It is described as a “glassy” appearance. HVKs are wheat kernels that have this translucent colouring.
HVKs are a grading factor for CWRS and Canadian Western Amber Durum (CWAD) wheats, but the grading factors differ between the two wheat classes.

Table 1. Canadian Grain Commission HVK grading thresholds.¹

Wheat Class	Grade	Minimum HVK (%)
CWRS	No. 1	65
	No. 2, 3 & feed	No minimum
CWAD	No. 1	80
	No. 2	60
	No. 3	40
	No. 4 & 5	No minimum

Why is it important?

CWAD

In the CWAD class, there is a strong relationship between semolina extraction and high HVKs.
High extraction levels are important to millers and why CWAD has stricter HVK requirements than the CWRS class.

CWRS

HVK influences milling quality for CWRS wheat, but not to the same extent as with CWAD wheat.
For example, Cereals Canada states “a very low level of HVK could result in the production of more break flour and less purifiable endosperm during milling.”
Furthermore, high levels of HVKs are currently an important visual factor for some end-uses and is information some major importers require.

Additional resources

Understanding Fairness, Taxes and Planning in Farm Succession

Coles Ag on December 9, 2025

The following article is a recap of “Harvesting the Future: Farm Succession Planning & Tax-Smart Strategies, “a presentation in our Roots to Results Webinar Series. The full webinar recording can be viewed here.

Succession planning isn’t glamorous. It’s uncomfortable, emotional, and often pushed off until “next year.” But waiting too long can cost you more than just taxes. It can also cost you peace of mind.

In our recent webinar, MNP tax specialist Edith Frison shared real-world stories from decades of working with farm families. Her message was clear: good planning protects both the farm and the family.

Succession planning isn’t just paperwork. It’s a gift that preserves relationships, protects the land, and gives the next generation a fighting chance. Start early, ask questions and create a plan as strong as the farm you’ve worked so hard to build.

Your Will Is the First Gate to a Smooth Succession

Too often a missing or outdated will sends an estate to court, where assets are split “equally” not “fairly.” That’s how non-farming siblings end up owning land they never intended to operate.

Implementation

Set a reminder to review your will every two to five years. Keep it simple, keep it clear and talk about it with your kids so there are no surprises later.

Capital Gains Rules Can Make or Break the Next Generation

The capital gains exemption is a powerful tool, if used correctly. However, rules around land use, rental years, inactive assets and intergenerational transfers are complicated enough to trip up even the most seasoned operators.

Implementation

Make a list of every parcel you own. For each one, write down:

The legal land description
Who farmed it (including which family members or renters)
How many years it was farmed versus rented
Where it came from (when was it bought, was it inherited and, if so, from whom and how long had they farmed/owned it)

This small task can save your family hundreds of thousands in future taxes.

“Fair” Doesn’t Always Mean “Equal”

Splitting the farm equally between farming and non-farming children is often unrealistic. A daughter running a 5,000-acre operation simply can’t buy-out her brother’s million-dollar share overnight. There’s a difference between liquid and cash assets.

Implementation

Think in terms of fairness, not equality:

Farming kids may receive land or shares
Non-farming kids might receive cash, life insurance proceeds or non-farming assets

Written shareholder agreements can also ensure buyouts happen gradually, not all at once.

Be Careful Adding Kids to Land Titles

Adding a spouse or child to a title used to be common to avoid probate, but probate fees in Manitoba are no more. Today, this move can trigger a long list of new problems: land transfer tax, creditor risk, marital disputes and future tax complexity.

Implementation

Before adding anyone to a land title, ask your accountant or lawyer whether it helps or hurts your long-term plan.

Partnerships and Corporate Structures Matter More Than You Think

One of Frison’s strongest recommendations is don’t farm as a sole proprietor. Partnerships can reduce tax on death, provide access to more capital gains exemptions and make transitions cleaner.

Implementation

If you haven’t already, review your farm business structure:

Could a partnership with your spouse or children reduce future tax?
Should you remove inactive assets from your corporation?
Will Bill C-208 allow for a smoother parent-to-child share sale?
- Bill C-208 amended the Income Tax Act to allow for the intergenerational transfer of family farms. It allows these transfers to be treated similarly to a third-party sale for tax purposes.

Using Data & Seasonality to Improve Grain Marketing Decisions

Coles Ag on November 26, 2025

The following article is a recap of “Planning Without Prediction: Using Data to Improve the Odds,” a presentation in our Roots to Results Webinar Series. The full webinar recording can be viewed here.

Grain markets have rhythms. Knowing them helps you sell with more discipline and less emotion. Farmers don’t need to predict the future to make better marketing decisions, says Chuck Penner from LeftField Commodity Research.

Using historic price patterns, seasonal trends and simple, odds-based thinking can increase confidence, reduce stress and improve financial outcomes. There are clear seasonal patterns, including the reliable price rebound after harvest. Timing sales around seasonal highs delivers profits more times than not.

Here are five key takeaways from Penner’s webinar you can put to use on your farm to increase profits, reduce stress and deepen your market intelligence.

Use Patterns Instead of Predictions

Price prediction is unreliable because market drivers such as weather, geopolitics, trade policy and freight costs change constantly. But price patterns repeat often enough that farmers can use them to guide decisions.

Most crops follow predictable seasonal movements, with lows at harvest and recoveries later.
Across nine years of CWRS wheat data, prices were higher by the end of October in all nine years, averaging $0.83/bu higher from the seasonal low.
“History doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes”—use the rhyme.

Implementation

Build a simple seasonal reference chart for your crops as a check before reacting to bearish harvest news or elevator pressure. Add two markers:

Seasonal low (usually harvest).
Seasonal highs (often November and May).

Seasonal Lows and Highs are Real and Useful

Penner’s “thought experiments” showed that timing sales around seasonal highs historically outperformed both equal-month sales and cash-flow-based sales.

Selling CWRS in the mid-May seasonal high produced the strongest price in nine of 12 years.
Equal monthly sales provided average results; cash-flow-timed sales (October/December/March/June) were nearly identical to monthly sales.
In a sample mixed farm, seasonal-high selling outperformed equal-month sales by an average of $100,000/year across 10 years.

Implementation

You don’t need to sell everything at the high. Instead:

Pre-plan to price a portion during your crop’s historical seasonal high month.
Use firm targets for those months to reduce emotion and decision fatigue.

Watch Post-Harvest Behaviour, Don’t Panic Early

Even in tough years, prices usually rise in the month following harvest.

Panic selling at harvest is often driven by noise, not reality: buyers, analysts and media tend to amplify negative news during post-harvest lows.
In nine of nine years, CWRS prices rose by October—sometimes slightly, sometimes dramatically.

Implementation

When prices drop in July–September, assume the decline is normal, not a warning signal.
Set a no-sale window for the weeks immediately after harvest, unless exceptional opportunities arise.

Test Various Approaches to Clarify Your Decision-Making

Testing different sales approaches, such as seasonal-high sales, equal-month sales, or cash-flow-timed sales, helps you see how each strategy would have performed historically on your farm, replacing guesswork with clearer, more confident decisions.

These comparisons reveal how different choices behave in different market years, not just the good ones.
They help you separate emotion from strategy by showing the range of realistic outcomes.

Implementation

Compare your past bids using three approaches: seasonal-high sales, equal-month sales and cash-flow-timed sales.
Use the strategy that shows the most stable, repeatable results as the foundation for this year’s sales plan.

Seasonal Norms Aren’t Everything, Market Shocks Matter

Seasonal highs and lows work best in “normal” supply/demand conditions.

Trade shocks, policy changes or major global events can break seasonal trends (e.g., pea tariffs, drought years).

Implementation

If markets aren’t behaving seasonally (e.g., no fall recovery or persistent weakness), shift to strategy B:

Sell increments on profitability signals.
Respond quickly to basis improvements and buyer incentives.
Avoid waiting out a pattern that year won’t follow.

Loveleen Dhillon, agronomist in residence special crops, University of Manitoba

Coles Ag on November 24, 2025

Follow @LoveleenKaur024 on X.

Loveleen Kaur Dhillon joined the University of Manitoba (UM) as its agronomist in residence for special crops in February 2025, a new five-year position funded by Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA). She grew up on a farm in Punjab, India, and has always been fascinated by what makes crops adapt and thrive across varied soils, seasons and climates.

Dhillon earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural biotechnology at Punjab Agricultural University, then completed her PhD in plant science at the University of Saskatchewan. After her PhD, she worked as a postdoctoral fellow on agronomy and plant breeding-related projects before moving to Winnipeg in 2024. She lives with her husband, two-year-old son and mother-in-law.

What got you interested in this area of work?

My interest in agriculture really initiated in Grade 12, when a guest speaker from an agricultural university came to our school. I was already used to talking with my dad about crops, and I had always been fascinated by how a tiny seed could push through the soil and grow into a plant. When I entered university, something just clicked, and I knew this was the field for me. I had the chance to learn from experts in rice and wheat breeding, and being from Punjab, where nearly 70 per cent of people are connected to agriculture, it felt like a natural path.

Can you tell us about your role at UM?

As the agronomist in residence for special crops, my research looks at corn, flax and sunflowers. Currently, my focus is finding the critical period for weed control in these crops. This year I had trials running across different locations in Manitoba, working with the diversification centres, private contractors and trials at UM’s research farm at Carman.

Apart from weed control, I’m collaborating with researchers from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Ottawa on corn cold tolerance trials. They’ve generated corn inbred lines that can be seeded in cold soils, which could be exciting for Manitoba because of our shorter, colder growing season. I’m also looking at different seeding windows for corn, testing various seeding dates and varieties to see what works best for Manitoba.

Research planning takes a lot of my time. Being new to my position at the university this year, I had to set up my lab, develop protocols and manage the administrative work, while also being on the road most of the summer. Once the plants were out of the ground, I was busier than ever, but it was fun to be outside visiting sites and watching the crops grow.

This winter my focus will shift to extension, going to conferences, meeting farmers and communicating what we’ve found this summer. I’m excited to see the results and hope to have more to share once I analyze the data over the winter.

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

One word: thanks! It’s incredibly motivating to know that farmers are investing in my work. It tells me that they are open to exploring new possibilities for their farms, and it challenges me to deliver research that truly makes a difference. Farmers’ support means everything, and for that I am deeply thankful.

How does that farmer funding and support directly benefit farmers?

Farmers invest in this research because they see potential in these crops and want answers to the challenges they face. My role is to take those questions about weeds, fertility or management and turn them into practical solutions. It really is a partnership – farmers provide the support, and we work to deliver research that helps improve their operations. That funding directly translates into recommendations on what fertilizer works best, when to apply it or how to manage weeds more effectively. I’m deeply grateful for their trust, and I hope they continue to grow these special crops. They’re called “special” for a reason – they can bring real value to their farms.

What do you like to do outside of work?

Life with a two-year-old can be busy, but I enjoy cooking and reading.

What is the best part about your job?

From an early age, I knew I wanted to contribute to advancing farming practices, and that’s what excites me most about my job. I get to do exactly what I always dreamed of doing. During my PhD, I worked on promoting the adoption of field peas in Saskatchewan, and now I’m focused on special crops, supporting the adoption of these crops that can strengthen agriculture and promote sustainability. Every new project I take on is designed with farmers in mind. For me, the best part of this job is being able to use science to make a real difference in farmers’ lives.

What are you excited about for the future of agriculture?

What excites me most is how fast agriculture is evolving. We’re updating the basics, yes, but also stepping into a future shaped by plant breeding breakthroughs, faster cropping systems and AI-driven tools. These innovations are transforming farming in ways we couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. Agriculture has always been resilient, and I believe its future is brighter than ever.

Who or what inspires you?

My greatest inspiration comes from the farmers themselves. The trust they place in me through MCA, and even a simple letter from a farmer sharing their excitement about this agronomist role, reminds me that this work matters. Their support, both personal and financial, drives my commitment to stay honest, dedicated and focused on research that serves them. In many ways, their confidence is what drives me to give my very best.

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Grains Week 2025: Farmers Take Their Priorities to Parliament Hill

Coles Ag on November 5, 2025

Every year, Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) brings grain producers to Ottawa for Grains Week, a focused day of meetings, discussions and events designed to ensure that growers’ priorities are front and centre with parliamentarians. It is one of the most important advocacy efforts we undertake each year, connecting the realities of grain farming directly to the policy decisions that shape our sector.

This year’s Grains Week featured more than 30 meetings with ministers, secretaries of state, MPs, senators and senior staff, capped off by a well-attended Parliamentary reception that drew more than 150 guests from Parliament Hill. Farmers were divided into regional groups to cover as much ground as possible, sharing how federal decisions impact operations and outlining solutions to strengthen the competitiveness of Canadian grain.

In a single day of co-ordinated meetings, GGC members from across the country met with key decision-makers, beginning with a breakfast meeting with Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Heath MacDonald, to discuss how grain farmers and government can work together to advance shared priorities. Throughout the day, producers met with many others, including Leader of the Official Opposition Pierre Poilievre, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister Kody Blois and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Sophie Chatel.

Meetings also included influential voices such as Finance Committee Chair Karina Gould, Secretary of State for Rural Development Buckley Belanger, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance Ryan Turnbull, as well as critics and committee members from across party lines. In the Senate, we met with long-standing agricultural advocates, including senators Rob Black and Mary Robinson.

Across every meeting, our message was consistent: producers are ready to be part of the solution, but they need government to remove the barriers holding the sector back.

Our advocacy focused on four key issues. Farmers emphasized the need to reset Canada’s trade relationships and defend tariff-free access to key markets like the United States and China. With more than 70 per cent of Canadian grain exported, trade disruptions and new tariffs have a direct impact on farm incomes. Attendees urged the government to make agriculture a top priority in trade negotiations and to actively defend CUSMA in the upcoming 2026 review.

The second focus was trade-enabling infrastructure. Canada’s grain supply chain is under pressure, with the Port of Vancouver already at capacity and chokepoints like the Second Narrows Rail Bridge leaving the system vulnerable. Farmers made it clear that without urgent federal investment in ports, rail and bridges, delays will continue to erode both income and market confidence.

The third issue was the urgent need to reinvest in agricultural research and development. Total public spending in research has declined by nearly $200 million over the past decade, putting farmers at a disadvantage globally. We called for renewed federal support for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s breeding and innovation programs, along with stronger partnerships that keep farmers directly involved in setting research priorities.

Finally, farmers reinforced the need to protect family farms by permanently reversing the capital gains tax increase. While government has signalled a possible reversal, the hike remains scheduled for January 2026, leaving uncertainty for farm families. For producers, their land and equipment are their retirement savings, and this tax would make it harder for the next generation to take over.

Beyond meetings, our message was visible throughout Ottawa. Advertisements downtown and in The Hill Times, along with targeted digital outreach, reinforced farmers’ priorities for trade, infrastructure, research and fair taxation.

The week concluded with GGC’s board of directors meeting and participation in stakeholder receptions, where members connected with industry partners and set advocacy priorities for the year ahead. To cap off the week, we were able to celebrate the association’s first ever recognition, receiving a Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE) Award of Excellence for our Protect Family Farms campaign that opposed the capital gains tax hike.

Grains Week is about ensuring farmers are heard where it matters most. By bringing producers face-to-face with decision-makers, we are making sure the future of Canadian grain farming is shaped by those who know it best.