What's New at MCA Archives - Manitoba Crop Alliance

We’re Hiring: Research and Production Coordinator

Coles Ag on December 15, 2025

We are seeking a full-time Research and Production Coordinator to join our team on a 12-month term and help advance MCA’s research and extension programs. The role plays a key part in strengthening the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of Manitoba farmers.

Reporting to the Research Program Manager – Special Crops, the Research and Production Coordinator will lead MCA’s knowledge transfer and communication strategies for funded projects, oversee the Research on the Farm program, and ensure these activities align with MCA’s mission and objectives.

We’re looking for someone with a passion for agriculture who can work closely with our research and agronomy extension teams to bridge science and practice, ensuring research findings are effectively shared to MCA farmer members. The ideal candidate is a highly motivated self-starter who thrives in a collaborative, team-oriented environment.

Click here to view the full job posting, including duties and responsibilities, desired qualifications and experience, and working conditions of the position.

To apply, please forward resume and a letter of interest by e-mail to katherine@mbcropalliance.ca. The application deadline for this position is 4:30 p.m. CST on Jan. 16, 2026.

We thank all applicants for their interest. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

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.

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.

Photo Gallery

: Sally Parsonage with Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Heath MacDonald.

: Sally Parsonage with MP Emma Harrison.

: Leigh Smith with Finance Committee Chair Karina Gould.

: Sally Parsonage with Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Sophie Chatel.

: Leigh Smith with MP Adam Chambers.

: Leigh Smith with Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister Kody Blois.

Roots to Results Webinar Series: tips, tricks and strategies for successful farm businesses

Coles Ag on October 23, 2025

MCA_SM_Webinar Roots to Results series Generic X

Want to brush up on your farm business management skills and learn new ways to maximize value for your operation?

Our new Roots to Results Webinar Series is your one-stop-shop for grain marketing strategies, tax considerations, farm finance tips, innovative crop insurance options and so much more.

Detailed descriptions of every webinar in the series can be found at the links below. Registration is now open for all webinars, so mark your calendar and register today!

Roots to Results Webinar Series Lineup

Planning Without Prediction: Using Data to Improve the Odds
Speaker: Chuck Penner, LeftField Commodity Research
Date: Nov. 18, 2025
Watch the recording

Harvesting the Future: Farm Succession Planning & Tax-Smart Strategies
Speaker: Edith Frison, MNP
Date: Dec. 2, 2025
Watch the recording

Staying Ahead of the Curve
Speaker: Evan Shout, Maverick Ag
Date: Jan. 6, 2026
Watch the recording

Beyond Basic Coverage: Unlocking the Value of Crop Coverage Plus
Speaker: David Van Deynze and Scott Clayton, Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation
Date: Feb. 4, 2026
Learn more

Smart Financing for Manitoba Farmers
Speaker: Darcelle Graham, Manitoba Crop Alliance
Date: March 3, 2026
Learn more

Sign up now for our 2025 Corn Yield Competition

Coles Ag on September 25, 2025

Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) is looking for participants for the 2025 Corn Yield Competition!

All entrants must be farmer members of MCA.

Prizes will be awarded as follows at the CropConnect Conference banquet, which will be held on Feb. 11, 2026:

1^st Prize – $1,000 and a wall plaque (sponsored by the company with the winning hybrid)
2^nd Prize – $500 and a wall plaque
3^rd Prize – $300 and a wall plaque
4^th and 5^th Prize – Receive a wall plaque

Instructions for entering the yield competition

Please review the instructions and keep them in mind as you are scouting for the very best spot in your field. Even if you don’t have your spot(s) picked out, you can still enter early!

For more information or to enter, please contact:

Morgan Cott
Agronomy Extension Specialist – Special Crops
Manitoba Crop Alliance
204-750-2489
morgan@mbcropalliance.ca

A Combine to Customer experience

Coles Ag on September 9, 2025

By Andrew Hector, Agronomy and Extension Specialist – Cereal Crops

Annually, during the winter months long after the combines have finished rolling, Cereals Canada offers a one-of-a-kind program called Combine to Customer. This program connects farmers to how their grain is used in the global marketplace. Canadian cereal grains are some of the highest-quality grains produced in the world and are used in numerous goods, such as breads, noodles, pastas, crackers and more. This program illustrates why.

Taking place at Cereals Canada’s facilities in Winnipeg, this hands-on course provides insights into the quality requirements end-users are seeking, the impact of wheat grading factors on end-use quality, the variety development and registration system, and much more. It really helps provide context to why your elevator or grain buyer needs a specific falling number minimum or other quality requirements. It also answers questions around why common farm management practices are used in western Canadian production systems.

Additionally, the program showcases the Cereals Canada facilities and how much work and technology goes into the evaluation of grain and end-use product quality. There are demonstrations of technical equipment that measures variables relating to flour quality, dough strength and bread structure. The Canadian grain market outlook and major export markets are also covered through in-person classroom projects.

At the end of the experience, this program provided me and other participants with a much deeper understanding of what happens after grain leaves the farm and why Canadian cereals are viewed as a premium product around the world.

For more information about the program, visit combinetocustomer.ca.

Meet Manitoba Crop Alliance’s 2024-25 high school bursary recipients

Coles Ag on July 16, 2025

MCA_2024-25 HS Bursary Recipients Graphic_X

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 Rylan Wubbe from La Riviere, Peyton Tolton from Kenton, Caroline Anne McConnell from Cromer, Taylor Unrau from Douglas, Dane Bergen from Carman, and Elizabeth Woodason from Erickson.

“I’d like to congratulate this year’s high school bursary recipients and wish them all the best as they continue their education,” says MCA chair Jonothan Hodson. “MCA is proud to support agriculture’s next generation, and I can’t wait to see these promising, young individuals make their mark on our industry.”

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.

Learn more about this year’s recipients

MCA Strategic Plan – Year One Wrap Up

Coles Ag on May 14, 2025

It has been one full year since Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) released its 2024-27 strategic plan. Over this last year, MCA staff have worked hard to achieve the vision set out by the board of directors and crop committee delegates. Below is a recap of the wins and challenges from MCA’s efforts to execute year one of the strategic plan. If you are interested in what the future of MCA looks like, click here to view year two of our strategic plan.

This three-year plan was developed in 2024 to consciously guide MCA’s future. The plan consists of three Big Goals that will be achieved over the next three years. The plan also consists of nine sub-goals, known as Step Goals. Each Big Goal has three associated Step Goals, which are annual benchmarks and priorities that are to be achieved in a one-year timeframe.

Big Goal #1: Innovate our communications program to increase awareness and engagement with our farmer members.

Step Goal #1: Equip MCA staff to better understand the most effective ways to engage with our farmer members.

This Step Goal required staff to redefine how they approach communicating and engaging with farmers to ensure genuine programming impact. Step Goal #1 was completed and built a strong foundation for continued innovation of MCA’s communications program.
Major win: MCA staff members completed additional communication training to better understand the most effective way of communicating with our farmer members.

Step Goal #2: Conduct audience research and generate ideas for engagement and awareness that can be implemented through our communications frameworks.

Progress on Step Goal #2 has been meaningful but delayed. Due to the breadth of Step Goal #2, robust research is required to guarantee all audience inputs are folded into the development of the new communication framework.

Step Goal #3: Identify strategic communications initiatives informed by training and research that directly address the needs of our farmers members

No progress on Step Goal #3 occurred during 2024-25.

Big Goal #2: Discover and fund ground-breaking research.

Step Goal #4: Identify key priorities for investment to build Manitoba research capacity

MCA staff identified and met with research partners to understand Manitoba’s agricultural research capacity gaps. These meetings culminated in the identification of key gaps and potential solutions.
Major win: three priorities for support were identified and brought forward to the MCA board of directors.

Step Goal #5: Secure north/south partnerships to develop mutually beneficial research collaborations and investment opportunities.

Partnerships are key relationships that increase research capacity by leveraging talents and facilities to fulfill knowledge gaps. Corn and sunflowers were identified as the two crops with an absence of research partnerships and were prioritized in this Step Goal. Through in-person and online meetings, strong connections were established with funding organizations and research institutions.
Major win: MCA became a voting member of the National Sunflower Association and collaborator with the North Dakota Corn Council. Both partnerships have led to MCA research priorities being fulfilled.

Step Goal #6: Expand Research on the Farm (ROTF) program.

Over the last year, MCA’s ROTF program grew in the number of protocols offered and trials conducted. Additionally, a revamped website presentation has made it easier for ROTF trial data to be accessed and used by farmers.
Major win: MCA introduced five new protocols for the 2025 growing season, including MCA’s first whole farm protocol.

Big Goal #3: Explore areas for bold investment that unlocks hidden potential and fuels historic progress.

Step Goal #7: Conduct a study to identify value-added opportunities in Manitoba that would open new markets for MCA commodities.

MCA encountered several roadblocks in pursuit of Step Goal #7. As a result, this Step Goal was not completed.

Step Goal #8: Increase support to consumer outreach initiatives that educate and inspire the next generation.

MCA worked with Agriculture in the Classroom – Manitoba (AITC-M) to build upon their already strong programing to ensure young people gain an early understanding of farming and where their food comes from.
Major win: MCA made a historic investment of $195,000 in AITC-M’s classroom garden program. Read the full announcement here.

Step Goal #9: Conduct a “hopes and dreams” assessment with our partners in research and market development to highlight future opportunities for investment.

MCA staff reviewed and evaluated proposals from research and market development partners. All participating organizations had a shared vision and commitment to ensuring Manitoba farmers thrive.
Major win: MCA identified multiple new opportunities for bold investment to make historic changes for Manitoba farmers.

Introducing Year Two of MCA’s Strategic Plan

Coles Ag on May 14, 2025

Introduction

Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) recently developed and released new Step Goals and tweaked Big Goals for year two of its strategic plan. The newly developed Step Goals establish a bright and bold direction for the next year, while the Big Goals tweaks focus and specify MCA’s overarching goals over the next two years. The MCA board of directors and staff worked collaboratively to make these updates. Below is the breakdown of year two of the strategic plan. For a look back on the activities, achievements and challenges from year one of the strategic plan, please click here.

Big Goal Tweaks

There were a few tweaks made to Big Goals, most notably the wording of Big Goal #2. The new wording is more descriptive, emphasizing the intent to build research capacity for the benefit of Manitoba farmers. This change has made the Big Goal more specific and will guide MCA choices towards realizing our strategic vision.

Big Goal #2: Strengthen research capacity for the benefit of Manitoba farmers.

New Step Goals

Eight new Step Goals were developed spanning all three Big Goals. Many (but not all) of the new Step Goals build on the results of last year’s.
The newly developed Step Goal #1 is a continuation of two Step Goals from last year that weren’t completed.

Below is MCA’s strategic plan for 2025-26. Stay tuned for more information regarding MCA’s strategic plan, which will be shared on our website and in our print and digital publications!