Manitoba Agronomists' Conference

• An individual email address is required for each participant to access the webcast.  Do not use the same email address for multiple registrations and complete all required fields.
• In-person registration closed. Maximum capacity reached.

Registration confirmation and conference details will be emailed to you within 72 hours of registration.

Registration will be considered complete once full payment has been received.

• In-person attendance.
• Registration closed. Maximum capacity reached.
• Student Rate:  $75 (GST included).

Registration confirmation and conference details will be emailed to you within 72 hours of registration.

Registration will be considered complete once full payment has been received.

Manitoba Agronomists Conference Privacy Policy

All personal information requested during registration or any other time is used only for internal business and administration purposes in order to facilitate the conference.  The MAC does not knowingly solicit, trade, sell, or otherwise deliver any personal information to any third parties.

By providing the necessary information required in the registration process, you agree to receive information regarding future MAC news and conference updates. If you prefer not to receive such updates, please contact our office at mbagconf@umanitoba.ca.

Manitoba Agronomists' Conference Refund Policy

Notification of cancellation must be received by email by 4:00 pm on Monday, December 8, 2025 in order to receive a refund of a paid registration fee, less an administration fee of $50.00 CAD.  No refunds will be given after the cancellation due date.  Registrations may be transferred without an administration fee on or before 4:00 pm Monday, December 8, 2025.  Send notification to:  mbagconf@umanitoba.ca

Complete the following to claim your CEUs:

Note:  Watching an archived version of the conference does not qualify for CCA credits.

See posters for the CCA quiz and answer submission form

**This event qualifies for CEUs towards CCSC certification but sign in sheets are not required to be filled in. Certified Crop Science Consultants wishing to collect CEUs for the Manitoba Agronomists Conference sessions may submit a CEU request through the CCSC Program self-reporting database at ccsctracking.ca.

PDF Program

PROCEEDINGS

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

PLENARY SESSION

8:25 Welcome

8:30 Setting the Stage for MAC 2025

8:40 Lessons From Global Genotype x Environment x Management (GxExM) Systems Research to Unlock Yield Potenial
Dr. Brian Beres, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

9:15 Pushing the Limits of What is Possible and When it Pencils
Dr. Jochum Wiersma, University of Minnesota

9:50 Coffee Break & Poster Session

10:20 Exploring Soybean Yield Potential
Kristen MacMillan, University of Manitoba

10:55 Pushing the Limit on Canola Yields
Clinton Jurke, BASF

11:30 Panel: What Are We Learning in the Field? 
Moderator – Tammy Jones, Corteva Agriscience
Brunel Sabourin, Antara Agronomy Services Ltd
Scott Perkin, Perkin Land & Cattle Co

12:00 Lunch
 

SOIL MANAGEMENT SESSION

1:00 Everything is Too Heavy: Soil Compaction in Agriculture    
Alex Barrie, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness
    
1:45 Phosphorus Done Right: Insights from Formulation, Rate and Placement Trials
Chris Holzapfel, Indian Head Agricultural Research Foundation

2:30 Coffee Break & Poster Session

3:00 Biological Products in Manitoba Cropping Systems: Insights from On-Farm Research
Ashley Ammeter, Manitoba Crop Alliance

3:30 Spectroscopy for Soil and Crop Assessment: Principles, Applications, and Opportunities
Dr. Nasem Badreldin, University of Manitoba

4:00 Soil Salinity and Tile Drainage: Desalination Dash or Manitoba Marathon?
David Whetter, Agri-Earth Consulting Ltd
    
4:30 Reception

Thursday, December 11, 2025

PEST MANAGEMENT SESSION

8:30 Stripe Alert: Unmasking Verticillium in Canola Fields
Justine Cornelsen, BrettYoung Seeds

9:00 Panel: The Race to Finding Verticillium Resistant Varieties
Moderator – Justine Cornelsen, BrettYoung Seeds
Thomas Ernst, Corteva Agriscience
Clinton Jurke, BASF
Dr. Xuehua Zhang, Bayer Crop Science

9:45 Weevils Gone Wild: A Review of Cabbage Seedpod, Pea Leaf and Alfalfa Weevil
John Gavloski, Manitoba Agriculture

10:30 Coffee Break & Poster Session

11:00 Delta-T and its Impact on Spray Coverage and Efficacy
Andrew Thostenson, North Dakota State University

11:40 Liberty Under Pressure – Getting it Right
Brendan Metzger, BASF

12:00 Lunch

CROP MANAGEMENT SESSION

1:00 Crop Responses to Hazy Conditions
Dr. Alexander Lindsey, Ohio State University

1:45 Improving Management of White Mold in Dry Beans and Soybeans
Dr. Michael Wunsch, NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center

2:30 Coffee Break & Poster Session

3:00 A Review of Early-Season Corn Issues in 2025 and Tips for Moving Forward
Dr. Clair Keene, North Dakota State University

3:30 Bridging the Gap: Wheat Breeding Innovations into Superior Field Cultivars
Dr. Santosh Kumar, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

4:00 Winter Wheat Agronomy Update: Nitrogen Rates/Timings and Seeding Rates
Alex Griffiths, Ducks Unlimited

4:30 Closing Comments

Plenary

Two Years in Review: Canola Variety Evaluation Trials (CVET)  POSTER PDF
Jared Bento, Kendall Baker, Amy Delaquis, Manitoba Canola Growers Association

Measuring to Manage: Spectroscopy Can Serve the Industry  POSTER PDF
Calvin Bewsky, Tony Shaw, National Research Council Canada

Growing Together: Learnings from Manitoba Spring Wheat YEN Pilot  POSTER PDF
Andrew Hector, Madison Kostal, Manitoba Crop Alliance; Anne Kirk, Mark Lysack, Manitoba Agriculture

Soil Management

Irrigated and Rainfed Field Trials to Evaluate the Legacy Impacts of Soybean and Peas: First Year Wheat Yields (2025) and Response to Nitrogen Fertilizer  POSTER PDF
Kevin Baron, Solum Valley Biosciences, N49 Genetics

Solid Manure Diversifies the Soil Dissolved Organic Carbon Continuum: Linking Manure Management to Organic Matter Stabilization in Aggregates  POSTER PDF
Charitha Hansima, Inoka Amarakoon, Mario Tenuta, Francis Zvomuya, University of Manitoba; Henry Wilson, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; Nora Casson, University of Winnipeg

Assessing the Relationships Between Soil Test Phosphorus and Soil Phosphorus Release with Spring Snowmelt to inform Agronomic P Management  POSTER PDF
Nelum Jayarathna, Inoka Amarakoon, University of Manitoba; Darshani Kumaragamage, University of Winnipeg

Economic Response of Processing Potato to Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate as Affected by Nitrogen Timing and Soil Moisture  POSTER PDF
Mohammad Khakbazan, Ramona Mohr, Dale Tomasiewicz, Alison Nelson, Benoit Bizimungu, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Investigating the Effects of Soil Moisture and Temperature on the Transformation of N Fertilizer in Soil  POSTER PDF
Carlie Johnston, Xiaopeng Gao, Ramona Mohr, Timi Ojo, University of Manitoba; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Optimizing Nitrogen Strategy to Support Sustainable Canola Production in Manitoba  POSTER PDF
Mikhail Maslov, Brad Sparling, Mario Tenuta, University of Manitoba

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

Season Overview of Integrating Cover Crops, Intercrops, and Grazing into Organic Grain Production  POSTER PDF
Sophia Partyka, University of Manitoba

Assessment of Swine Manure Sources on Nutrient Losses and Use Efficiency Under Controlled Environmental Conditions  POSTER PDF
Anushika Rathnayake, Inoka Amarakoon, Xiaopeng Gao, University of Manitoba

Biostimulant Product Evaluation and Comparison Trials 2025-2027, Year 1  POSTER PDF
Baljeet Singh, Brittany McDougall, Tomiwa Babalola, Samarjot Singh Dhillon, Samantha Teal, Assiniboine Community College

What if You Wanted to Build an Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Assessment Tool?  POSTER PDF
M.D. Timmerman, P. Loro, Manitoba Agriculture

Pest Management

Quantification of Soybean Canopy Development and Weed Competition Using LiDAR-Based UAV Imaging  POSTER PDF
Matt Fallis, Kristen MacMillan, Dilshan Benaragma, University of Manitoba

CWRepViT-Net: An Encoder-Decoder Deep Learning Framework with RepViT Blocks for Crop Weed Semantic Segmentation in Soybean Fields through their Life Journey  POSTER PDF
Masoomeh Gomroki, Dilshan Benaragma, Christopher Henry, Nasem Badreldin, Rob Gulden, University of Manitoba

The Critical Weed Free Period in Canola  POSTER PDF
Daniel Pouteau, Rebecca Dueck, Robert Gulden, University of Manitoba; Steve Shirtliffe, University of Saskatchewan; Breanne Tideman, Charles Geddes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Mapping and Managing Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense) with Drone-Based Precision Tools  POSTER PDF
Sasha Loewen, University of Manitoba

Interaction Dynamics Between Verticillium longisporum and Leptosphaeria maculans in Canola  POSTER PDF
Z. Shahedi, M.C. Dayarathne, M. Sayari, J. Mzabi, F. Daayf, University of Manitoba; L. Wu, S.F. Hwang, R. Fredua-Agyeman, S.E. Strelkov, University of Alberta

Bacterial Leaf Streak Transmission Driven by Seed Infection and Irrigation  POSTER PDF
Vinuri Weerasinghe, Malini Jayawardana, Shaheen Bibi, W.G. Dilantha Fernando, University of Manitoba

Verticillium Stripe (Verticillium longisporum) in Manitoba: A Field-Focused Review  POSTER PDF
Sonia Wilson, Shuanglong Huang, Manitoba Agriculture; Justine Cornelsen, BrettYoung Seeds

Crop Management

Multi-View Robotics Imaging System for Distinguishing Similar Wheat Diseases  POSTER PDF
Gokarna Baskota, Jiating Li, University of Manitoba

Evaluating Cover Crop Integration in a Prairie Crop Rotation: Cover Crop and Cash Crop Productivity  POSTER PDF
Ramanpreet Brar, Yvonne Lawley, University of Manitoba

Digging Deeper: Identifying Long-Coleoptile Wheat for Dry Seeding Success  POSTER PDF
M.K. Carkner, C.A. McCartney, M.H. Entz, University of Manitoba; S. Kumar, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Hypergraph Models for Predicting Fusarium Head Blight Risk  POSTER PDF
Sajjad Heydari, Christopher Henry, University of Manitoba; Sean Walkowiak, Canadian Grain Commission

Effect of Preceding Crop and Residue Management on Corn Establishment in Manitoba  POSTER PDF
Ramona Mohr, Gordon Finlay, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Deriving Structural and Spectral Features From Aerial Multispectral Imagery For Crop Monitoring  POSTER PDF
Stephane Le Heiget, Jiating Li, University of Manitoba

Overcoming Hyperspectral Data Gaps with Generative Models to Improve Machine-Learning Crop Stress Detection for Crop Management  POSTER PDF
Nooshin Noshiri, Christopher Henry, University of Manitoba; Christopher Bidinosti, University of Winnipeg

Diffusion-based Dataset Augmentation for Downstream Crop Segmentation  POSTER PDF
Alex Senden, Masoomeh Gomroki, Robert Gulden, Christopher Henry, University of Manitoba

The Effect of Variety and Harvest Year on Malting Barley Starch Properties  POSTER PDF
Susane Trevisan, Martin Scanlon, Filiz Koksel, University of Manitoba; Marta Izydorczyk, Canadian Grain Commission

To submit a poster for consideration at the 2025 Manitoba Agronomists Conference, please complete the form found HERE. The deadline to submit this form is Friday, November 14th. You will be notified by November 21st if your poster has been accepted. If accepted, we require your abstract and pdf copy of your poster by December 1st.

DEADLINES

• Friday, November 14, 2025 - Title and 25-word summary due
• Friday, November 21, 2025 - Acceptance notifications sent out
• Monday, December 1, 2025 - Abstract & Poster PDF due. Five questions for CCAs if required.

ABSTRACT

• Submit in a Word Document
• Use Calibri, 11 size font, 1 inch margins, single spacing
• Include title, names and affiliations of authors and email of corresponging author
• 100-200 words in length

POSTER PITCH

Each poster presenter will have an opportunity to address the audience at one of four breaks during the conference. 

POSTER Q/A SESSION

To allow for networking with conference participants, poster presenters are required to host a question and answer break-out session during one of the four coffee breaks. Check the conference program above and select a break you prefer to host your Q/A session. Please indicate your preference in your abstract and poster pitch submission, and we will try to accommodate the preferences on a first-come, first-serve basis.

POSTER

Posters will be available to conference participants on the MAC website. Please ensure your content is legible and discernable using the following formatting requirements:

• Submit as a PDF
• Format for 8.5 x 11 inch paper
• Use Calibri, font size no smaller than 10, landscape orientation, page margins no less than 1/2 inch (1.27cm)
• Use simple tables, figures and graphs (all axis labelled) 

POSTER SIZE FOR POSTER SESSIONS

All posters will be displayed on a half-size poster board for both days. Display space per poster can be no larger than 44.5" x 44.5".

CCA QUESTIONS

Certified Crop Advisor continuing education credits are offered to participants viewing the posters and completing a quiz based on the research content. If you would like your poster to be eligible for such credits (which will likely increase the traffic to your poster), please submit five multiple choice questions to mbagconf@umanitoba.ca.