The Manitoba Young Speakers for Agriculutre speaking competition will feature talented young people from our province honing the communication skills that will power the ag industry in the future.
2026
As canola navigates trade challenges in top markets, opportunities exist for more domestic use of canola here in Canadian biofuel production.
Join Brittany as she walks through the current status of canola trade and highlights market diversification for canola in the North American biofuel complex.
Brittany Wood – Senior Manager, Transportation & Trade Policy with the Canadian Canola Growers Association
Brittany joined CCGA in spring of 2024 and has been working to advocate for farmer’s interest in areas of canola trade, biofuels, transportation policy and innovation. Prior to joining CCGA, Brittany has been involved in the canola industry working on market development, diversification and promotion of canola oil and canola meal. With a strong knowledge of the value of canola seed, oil and meal in the global market place, Brittany looks forward to continuing advocating for canola farmers’ best interests.
Brittany holds a master’s degree in agricultural sciences from the University of Alberta, focusing on dairy cattle nutrition.
Join this knowledgeable panel as they share research, knowledge and foresight into the yield robbing disease; verticillium wilt.
Obvious differences in resistance to Verticillium stripe (VS) were observed in replicated canola breeding trials in Manitoba in 2023-25. An incidence-based rating scale was developed allowing for comparisons of disease incidence observed between hybrids and between locations.
Resistance categories were created to account for the impact of plant maturity on disease expression.
Using yield estimates obtained from multiple replicated trials grown in VS and non-VS affected sites in western Canada, yield losses attributed to increasing disease susceptibility were estimated. This panel is focused on finding new ways to fight Verticillium stripe in canola.
The ultimate goal is to provide farmers with more resilient canola options that maintain yield and performance in fields where Verticillium stripe pressure is increasing.
Dr. Stephen Fox has been a canola breeder since July 2013. He has split his time between doing trait development and introgression work and managing genetic disease resistance for clubroot – all towards development of competitive hybrid canola varieties.
During the last three years, he has developed some understanding around managing Verticillium stripe resistance.
He previously was a research scientist/wheat breeder at AAFC’s Cereal Research Centre in Winnipeg since 2001, focusing on the development of new and improved cultivars of Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat.
Kendall Baker is the Research and Extension Coordinator for the Manitoba Canola Growers Association (MCGA). She earned her Diploma in Agribusiness from Assiniboine College in 2022 and joined the MCGA team in the fall of 2024. In her role, Kendall contributes to both the Canola On-Farm Research Program and the Canola Variety Evaluation Trials. She provides essential boots-on-the-ground support while helping bridge the gap between research findings and extension messaging for MCGA’s farmer members.
