Beef and Forage Roundup

Cam Ross comes from a cow-calf operation North of Minnedosa, MB where he still farms with his family today.  Cam has a degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Manitoba and started with Ducks Unlimited as a summer student in 2017 (He worked a summer with MBFI in 2016 as well!) and then moved into a full-time position in 2020 where he now manages all of DUC’s properties across So...

James Frey works with Manitoba Agriculture as an Applied Diversification Specialist, based in Roblin.  He collaborates with Parkland Crop Diversification Foundation to conduct small-plot research trials for a broad range of field and forage crops.  Previously, he worked in Northeast Asia with on-farm development projects.  James is always looking for ways to strengthen farm resilien...

Joe Gardiner grew up in the community of Clearwater Manitoba and he feels very fortunate that he and his wife Melanie, call Clearwater home today.  Together with his parents, brother Sheldon and his partner Derek, they run a mixed grain and cattle farm located just off #3 highway in southern Manitoba.   In 2016 Joe had a decision to make.  He was not enjoying the stress and hea...

The Tkachyk farm is a third-generation farm that was established in 1907. Together with his wife, Randy enjoys the farming lifestyle.  He had the opportunity to add custom grazing beginning in the early 2000s, with adjacent lands being available to rent and purchase. Being the only operator on the farm, and no extra help, he made the decision to take the hay ground and fence off into paddocks...

Pam de Rocquigny is the chief executive officer of Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA), a not-for-profit, farmer-led organization. MCA represents over 7,700 farmer-members and strives to continuously improve the competitiveness and profitability of all crops represented by the organization. Pam is responsible for providing vision and leadership in implementing MCA’s strategic direction under the guidance...

Dr. John Campbell graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph in 1985. After several years of rural veterinary practice, he returned to Guelph to complete a Doctor of Veterinary Science degree in Ruminant Health Management. He has worked as a clinical faculty member on the Ruminant Field Service Practice at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatche...

Dana strives to support inspired thinking and action in agriculture and rural communities. By thinking broadly and deeply about the systems upon which our society depends, Dana sees us better positioning the industry and our communities for the future. Dana’s work with Holistic Management Canada and with the Human Venture Institute has been foundational in developing her passion for supporting peo...

Brenda Ralston is a firm believer that applied research is critically needed today more than ever and that the Colleges are an excellent fit to carry this out in collaboration with Private Industry, Producer Groups, Universities, Government and most importantly the Producers themselves. Her guiding principle for applied research is ultimately if the outcome doesn’t provide a product or practice th...

Dr. Deanne Wilkinson grew up near Oakville on a mixed grain and cow/calf farm and currently lives north of Ste. Rose du Lac and farms with her husband and 3 kids. Together, they calve out approximately 80 purebred Gelbvieh and Balancer (registered Angus x Gelbvieh) cows and 20 commercial cows and run Gelbvieh, Balancer and Angus bulls.  They have gradually pushed their calving back to early M...

Pam Iwanchysko has been a Livestock Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture in Dauphin, Manitoba for more than 25 years. Pam was raised on a mixed farm north of Dauphin and attended the University of Manitoba where she received her BSc. Degree and then proceeded to attend the University of Saskatchewan to complete her Master’s degree in Ruminant Nutrition.  She is passionate about agriculture an...

Marcos Cordeiro is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Manitoba. He holds a PhD in Biosystems Engineering and is registered as a Professional Engineer in Manitoba. He has extensive expertise in agro-environmental modeling, statistical analysis of large datasets (i.e., big data), spatial analyses using geographical information systems (GIS) and remote sen...

Today we highlight Jonathan & Stefan Bouw who own and operate Edie Creek Angus at Dugald, Manitoba & Howrey Angus in Sterling, North Dakota. They are the third generation on the Edie Creek Farm, where they raise cattle that calve in the spring in a low management system. They have worked for many years to incorporate genetics into their herd that work well with their management, and sell b...

Dr. Joy Agnew grew up on a grain farm near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and earned her doctorate in Ag/Bio Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. She joined Olds College of Agriculture and Technology in 2019 where she oversees the applied research portfolio and smart farm operations. Applied research at Olds College is focused on crop and livestock production with a specialty in technology...

Adrienne Levay graduated with a PhD in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems from the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Land and Food Systems in 2018. She is a two-time Canadian Institutes of Health Research Awardee and was a 4-Year Fellow at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests have included gender and food insecurity in the global south, government school nu...

This week Mary-Jane Orr, General Manager for Manitoba Beef & Forage Initiatives Inc., joins me to discuss the Annual Forages for Soil Health Project that is currently taking place at MBFI’s Brookdale Farm.  Mary-Jane leads a dedicated team at MBFI to advance Manitoba’s beef & forage industry through engaging stakeholders, evaluating on-farm innovation, and extension for sustainability...

Melissa Atchison grew up on a purebred operation in the Interlake region of Manitoba. She attended the University of Manitoba where she received her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with a focus in Animal Science. Since then, Melissa has worked for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency as a porcine inspector, and for Manitoba Agriculture as a Livestock Specialist. Melissa spent several years with...

Megan Harris is an undergraduate student at Brandon University majoring in the Bio Medical Science Program. She plans to pursue further education in the medical field. She was born and raised in Brandon, Manitoba and grew up around horses.  Her passion for large animals led her to take the leap to work with cattle this summer at MBFI. Sydney Gerelus grew up on a mixed grain and cattle farm so...

Carson Callum is the General Manager with Manitoba Beef Producers.  Carson joined MBP in 2019, and comes with an extension background in agriculture.  He has a Master’s of Science in Agriculture, specifically related to beef cattle. Carson has worked in many areas of the ag sector, and the beef industry is near and dear to him.  He grew up on a small beef farm south of Miami Manitob...

Episode #38: Drought Information with Stacey Domolewski (BCRC) Stacey Domolewski is a Research and Innovation Coordinator with the Beef Cattle Research Council.  She grew up on a cow/calf operation in Southern Alberta and received both her Bachelors and Masters of Animal Science at the University of Saskatchewan.  Stacey now lives on a grain farm near Maple Creek, Saskatchewan. At the Be...

We are very excited to be talking with Dr. Edward Bork. In this episode, we dig into information on the study of greenhouse gasses and carbon cycling in beef production.  Dr. Edward Bork is the Mattheis Chair in Rangeland Ecology in Management, and Director of the Rangeland Research Institute at the University of Alberta. He has been teaching and conducting research for more than 25 years on...

This week Mary-Jane Orr, General Manager for Manitoba Beef & Forage Initiatives Inc., joins me to discuss the Pasture Cropping Project that took place at MBFI’s Johnson Farm.  Mary-Jane leads a dedicated team at MBFI to advance Manitoba’s beef & forage industry through engaging stakeholders, evaluating on-farm innovation, and extension for sustainability of farmers, the public, and th...

Stuart Chutter is an agriculture junky with passion for risk management, soil health, regenerative agriculture and fitness. Building resilience - in food production, in business and in personal development - are the conversations he wants to have.  For Stuart, diversity is the key to building soil health and to building his community.  Stuart is a 38 year old farmer on a first-generation...

In this episode, we are back talking to Leah Rodvang, Research Technician at MBFI.   In this episode we are discussing the fencing solutions used by MBFI for rotational grazing setups, as well as batt latches and other tools that assist with the grazing practices as MBFI. For any listeners who are new to the podcast, and haven’t heard us discuss the grazing practices at MBFI, Leah gives...

Shannon Carvey, the Executive Director at Manitoba 4-H Council Inc., is a generational 4-Her. She has been with 4-H since August 2016 in the role as Club Support Coordinator and transitioned into the Executive Director role in December of 2021. Shannon says that 4-H is the best youth development organization in the world.  They are proud to offer over 90 projects that cover topics of interest...

Today we are talking with Mae Elsinger, who is a Rangeland Biologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Since the start of Manitoba Beef & Forage Initiatives, Mae has been instrumental in lending her intellectual support for applied research and demonstration projects with a number of partners covering summer grazing strategies, pollinator habitat establishment, and leafy spurge biological...