Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter talk to researchers, inventors, and farmers with ideas and discoveries for the economic, environmental, and social enhancement of Canadian agriculture.
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Burr Forest Group Podcasts
How did a guy with a degree in dairy genetics end up working for the P.E.I. Potato Board? Ryan Barrett, after a job working in communications with Jersey Canada, found himself back on the island being hired by the P.E.I. Potato Board for his extension background. Over the years, his role morphed into its current form as the Board’s research and agr…
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John Burns didn’t start out as a farmer. He grew up on one, though. But when he finished high school he was shoed away and encouraged to attend university, which is where he discovered his love of science. This launched him into a career teaching science. After some time - no longer able to resist the call, he started farming in his spare time, alw…
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How do you respond to emergencies? How do you get the correct information out to producers if there's a disease outbreak or natural disaster? On the eighteenth episode, Jenelle Hamblin, director, swine health with Manitoba Pork, joins co-hosts Jay Whetter and Toban Dyck to offer invaluable insights on communications during tense, urgent situations.…
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How did a farm boy from Manitoba end up in Silicon Valley? In the 14th episode, The Extensionists co-hosts Jay Whetter and Toban Dyck sit down with Scott Day, an agronomist and director with Fall Line Capital. Scott and Jay go way back, having grown up on the farms surrounding Dand, MB. In this episode, Scott shares the story of how he went from wo…
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How do you connect with farmers and nurture leadership in the industry? At the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) in the UK, Mark Campbell and his colleagues run a multitude of extension programs to support UK farmers. Mark is the knowledge exchange manager for one of them - AHDB’s AgriLeader Program. In the sixteenth episode, Ma…
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The world of agriculture technology moves fast. Alison Sunstrum, managing partner of NYA Ventures, has been working in ag tech for decades and is now mentoring the next generation of inventors. In the fifteenth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Jay Whetter and Toban Dyck, sit down with Alison to discuss all the intricacies of ag tech from fund…
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In our fourteenth episode of The Extensionists, Diljeet Brar takes us back to his family farm in India, sharing the story of his family’s hundreds of years of farming and how the value his parents placed on education pushed him into the world of agricultural extension. Co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter speak with Diljeet about his fascinating, cr…
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In the thirteenth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter speak with farmer and retired Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers Executive Director Francois Labelle. Francois has had a long and illustrious career in the agriculture industry from working as a grain merchant at Continental Grain travelling the world to running a str…
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David Sauchyn uses tree-ring research to connect with climate change skeptics. And if that alone isn’t interesting enough, he also has other strategies in his toolkit. In the twelfth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter speak with David, who is the director of the Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative (PARC) and a p…
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In the eleventh episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter speak with Justice Acoose, communications specialist with the National Circle for Indigenous Agriculture and Food. In this in-depth conversation, Jay and Toban learn about everything from video game streaming to how the agriculture sector can move towards reconciliati…
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In the tenth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter speak with Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers Executive Director Daryl Domitruk. In this wide-ranging interview, the three of them get to the heart of what agriculture extension is and how it seems to have fallen by the wayside these days. Or has it… Daryl shares how exten…
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In the ninth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter speak with Beef Cattle Research Council Extension and Communications Director Tracy Herbert. Stemming from a lifetime of exposure and genuine interest, Tracy’s knowledge of cattle and everything related is comprehensive and comfortable. She grew up on a mixed cattle and …
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In the eighth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter chat with Jeff Schoenau, professor of soil fertility and the Saskatchewan Agriculture Ministry chair in soil nutrient management at the University of Saskatchewan. Jeff - otherwise known as Dr. Dirt - is passionate about soil health. In this wide-ranging interview, he d…
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With the holiday season upon us, The Extensionists hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter decided to take a break from interviewing the great thinkers of agriculture and instead share a reimagined Christmas poem with you, our dear listeners. So curl up by the fireplace and listen to The Extensionists version of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Happy hol…
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In the sixth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter chat with University of Manitoba professor and soil scientist Afua Mante. Afua’s fervor and perspective on soil breathe new life into a topic foundational to a successful ag sector. In this episode, Afua likens soil structure to the frame of a house with many rooms. Like…
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In the fifth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter chat with AAFC Lacombe research scientist Breanne Tidemann. Breanne is a self proclaimed weed nerd and creator of #WeedIDWednesday, an extension tool that uses social media to make weed education and identification more accessible. In this episode, Breanne shares all abo…
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In the fourth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter chat with former high school teacher and current University of Calgary associate professor Paul Galpern. Paul’s love of insects is contagious, and he thinks farmers should embrace the “messy” parts of the vocation. He makes a convincing, impassioned case. In this episod…
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In the third episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter chat with one of the “fathers of canola” Keith Downey. Back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, while working with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon, Keith was instrumental in creating the crop we now know as canola – Canada’s most valuable crop. In this episode, Keith tal…
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In this second episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter sit down with Marla Riekman, soil management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. Marla is passionate about all things soil, but her journey to becoming a soil expert wasn’t always a straight line. From her nerdy high school days immersed in science and music, to her …
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In the inaugural episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter talk with Alanna Koch. Alanna, a well-known and respected leader, does not wear jogging pants to the grocery store, and she values a good debate. Alanna and her husband, Gerry Hertz, farm near Edenwold, Sask. She has held various senior executive roles with the Saska…
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Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter talk to researchers, inventors, and farmers with ideas and discoveries for the economic, environmental, and social enhancement of Canadian agriculture.By Abigail Wall
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