Scouting Canola for Disease

In this demonstration, attendees will have the opportunity to get their hands dirty, trampling and sampling in a canola field. Learn to identify canola diseases found in Central Alberta, including how to assess level of damage and timely scouting tips & tricks.

Jason Casselman — CCA, RT Ag.

Agronomy Specialist, Canola Council of Canada

As an Agronomy Specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, Jason has extension responsibilities covering the Peace Region of Alberta and British Columbia and is the team lead on Precision Ag, Plant Establishment and Profitability. Jason and his wife Lora farm in Grovedale, Alberta and reside in the County of Grande Prairie.

Fungicide Timing

This demonstration will display the import role of timing in foliar fungicide application for pulse crops. The discussion will touch on disease ID as well as options available to producers for fungicide treatments.

Dr. Glen Hawkins — PhD, Certified Plant Breeder

Dr. Glen Hawkins grew up in the southern interior of BC, and obtained a Bachelors degree from the University of Lethbridge. He then went on to get a Doctoral degree from the University of Alberta. After graduation, he spent time as a research associate with Gary Stringham, gaining experinece in breeding in canola. Since then, he has worked in canola, wheat, and most recently breeding in pea and faba bean.

Grasshopper ID and Thresholds

How confident are you in your pest ID skills? This presentation will guide participants through pest identification and staging, and discuss updated threshold recommendations for action.

Amanda Jorgensen — MSc, ATT

Insect Management Specialist, Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation

Amanda Jorgensen is the Insect Management Specialist for Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation. Amanda and Shelley Barkley run the Alberta Insect Monitoring Network, which carries out surveys for major insect pests in Alberta field crops. While Amanda is new to the role with Alberta Agriculture, she previously worked researching insect pest management with Agriculture and Agri-food Canada for over ten years. Amanda completed a M.Sc. from the University of Alberta that validated monitoring tools and improved forecast models for wheat midge in the Peace River region. Generating and sharing high quality insect pest population forecasts, survey results, and sharing information about pest and beneficial insects is the focus of Amanda’s work.

New Barley Genetics

Attendees will tour a demo area of recently released and upcoming varieties from WCI. The breeder will discuss their targets and problems they are trying to solve with new & improved genetics, the benefits of growing regionally adapted varieties and how using regional data can be used to improve outcomes on the farm.

Dr. Yadeta Kabeta — PhD, MSc

Dr. Kabeta was raised in Ethiopia on a mixed livestock and grain farm. He completed his BSc and MSc at Alemaya University of Agriculture, and began working as an assistant plant breeder until he moved to Canada, completing his PhD in plant breeding from the University of Saskatchewan. Earlier in his career he worked in pulse breeding, and he has been breeding barley in Lacombe since 2008.

Triticale for Tomorrow

This presentation will highlight the benefits of triticale as a cropping system, comparing its root structure to wheat under normal and drought conditions. Attendees will gain an appreciation for the value of triticale as a feed & forage option in dry regions and for improving soil structure.

Mazen Aljarrah — MSc, Certified Plant Breeder

Research Scientist – Triticale Breeding, Western Crop Innovations

Born and raised in Syria, Mazen Aljarrah spent the first 22 years of his career at the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) in Aleppo. He began by breeding durum wheat for drought and disease resistance before shifting focus to winter wheat and triticale, working on collaborative projects in Turkey and Mexico. He has been working in Lacombe since 2008, leading WCI’s triticale breeding program.

Identifying & Managing Diseases in Barley

Attendees will learn how to identify various diseases affecting barley that are found in Central Alberta in this session. The importance of growing disease-resistant varieties will be demonstrated and discussed, as will options for disease management on the farm.

Dr. Sajid Rehman — PhD, MSc

Dr. Sajid Rehman completed his B.Sc. agriculture degree in Pakistan, and obtained his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in plant pathology from Wageningen University, the Netherlands. He continued his studies in plant pathology in the Netherlands for a few years, then worked at ICARDA for 10 years as a cereal plant pathologist. He established a plant health lab for the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture between 2019-2021, and has worked as WCI’s plant pathologist since 2022.

Soils & Soil Health

In this demonstration, participants will learn about soil formation and skills for soil texturing by hand. Lara will also explain how to interpret the results of a soil analysis, and how that information can be used to promote soil fertility on the farm.

Lara de Mossaic — MSc, CCA, PAg

Agronomy Programs Specialist, Alberta Grains

Lara grew up in west-central Saskatchewan on a grain farm. Over the last 10 years or so, she has held various positions in agriculture including hop farm management in lower mainland BC, working for an online ag news and media company, and in precision agronomy covering southern Alberta. Lara has an Applied Science degree from Olds College in horticulture, a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Lethbridge in agriculture, and a Master’s in Soil Science from the University of Saskatchewan. As the Agronomy Programs Specialist at Alberta Grains, Lara enjoys assisting farmers in evaluating on-farm research and connecting those results to potential management practice changes. Lara will always answer a soil related question.

Crop Plots

Explore cereal crop plots from Alliance Seeds, Canterra Seeds, Corns Seeds, FP Genetics, Mastin Seeds, SeCan, SeedNet, and Solick Seeds. Added Bonus: catch afternoon interviews with seed growers & seed company representatives, conducted by Dawn Ius, Associate Editor & Author at SeedWorld.

Variety Trial  – Pioneer Seeds

Pioneer Seeds will be in attendance, speaking about their recent partnership with Western Crop Innovations, which includes a variety trial for Hybrid Canola being grown at the research farm.

Equipment – LEMKEN

Come check out LEMKEN’s tractor, air cart, and seeder that will be on display throughout the day! Their team will be available to chat and will wrap up the day with an informative presentation.