Phone Number
204-745-5660
Email Address
mbcropschool@gmail.com

Instructors

Tammy Jones, Weeds Specialist (Weed Management Section)
Tammy is in her third year of working her dream job as the Weeds Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development. She originally hails from a small farm near Napinka, MB.

She earned a B.Sc. (Crop Protection) from the University of Manitoba, where she also taught Weed Identification labs and studied multiple herbicide resistance in wild oat.

She has returned to Manitoba after 8 years in Alberta where she worked as a crop advisor and as Communications Manager with the Alberta Pulse Growers Association.

Tammy continues to help with the family farm, as time allows.

John Heard, Crop Nutrition Specialist (Crop Nutrition & Soil Health section)
John serves as the soil fertility extension specialist for Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development and previously with Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food in extension and field crop research.

John has a B.Sc. Agr. in Crop Science from the University of Guelph and M.S. in Soil Science from Purdue University.

Currently John is Chair of the MB Soil Fertility Advisory Committee. John is a proud Certified crop Advisor and was recognized as International CCA of the Year in 2014.

John’s odd obsession is hunting the officially designated state and provincial soils – of which he has captured 41 states and 8 provinces.

Marla Riekman, Soil Management Specialist (Crop Nutrition & Soil Health section)
Marla is the Soil Management Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development. She earned a B.Sc. in Agroecology and a M.Sc. in Soil Science, both from the University of Manitoba.

Before joining Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development in 2007, Marla worked as the Farm Manager for the Manitoba Zero Tillage Research Association and also as a Soil Conservationist with the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration.

Marla’s main focus is to provide extension on soil management issues, which includes fun and exciting topics like salinity and compaction!

Marla’s passion for soil has even crept into her personal life – she is known to create jewelry with soil in her spare time.

Anne Kirk, Cereal Crop Specialist (Cereal Crop Agronomy section)
Anne is the Cereal Crop Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development.

She earned a B.Sc. in Agriculture and a M.Sc. in Plant Science, both from the University of Manitoba.

Before joining Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development in 2015, Anne worked as a Research Associate in the Natural Systems Agriculture program at the University of Manitoba and as the Research Manager of the Western Applied Research Corporation in Saskatchewan.

Rejean Picard, Farm Production Extension Specialist (Cereal Crop Agronomy section)
Rejean is the Farm Production Extension Specialist in Somerset, specializing in cereal crop production.

Topics of interest include winter cereals, Plant growth regulators, place of cereals in rotations, Fusarium head blight management and more.

Dennis Lange, Pulse Specialist (Pulse Crop Agronomy section)
Dennis is the Provincial Pulse Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture & Resource Development.

He has been involved in the pulse & soybean industry for the last 20 years working with peas, edible beans, soybeans and various other pulses.

Dennis works with growers and industry in Manitoba to help educate and promote sustainable production of pulses and soybeans. Dennis is also known for his collection of almost 140 Hawaiian shirts and counting.

Terry J. Buss, Farm Production Extension Specialist (Pulse Crop Agronomy section)
Terry is the Farm Production Extension Specialist – Crops with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development working out of the Beausejour office.

Terry grew up in Beausejour and was part of his family’s farming operation until 1993.

He received his B.Sc and M.Sc in Agriculture at the University of Manitoba. He also has a B.A. degree from the same institution.

Terry has been with Manitoba Agriculture since December of 2002 and previously has worked as an Ag Rep, Diversification Specialist and Farm Production Advisor – Crops.

Before joining Manitoba Agriculture, Terry worked as a Pulse Crop Specialist for Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development for seven years.

John Gavloski, Field Crop Entomologist (Insect Management section)
John is an entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development based out of Carman.

He conducts monitoring programs for some of Manitoba’s major insect pests and provides information on insects and insect management to farmers, agronomists and those working in the agriculture industry.

John does numerous presentations and information updates for agronomists and farmers, and co-produces a weekly Manitoba Crop Pest Update during the spring and summer. He has worked for Manitoba Agriculture since 1997.

John has a B.Sc. in environmental biology and a M. Sc. in entomology from the University of Guelph, and completed his Ph.D. in the department of entomology at the University of Manitoba.
Aside from entomology, John also enjoys cycling, travelling and observing almost any type of wildlife.

Jordan Bannerman, Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba (Insect Management section)
Jordan is an instructor at the University of Manitoba where he teaches a variety of entomology courses. He also provides research support for crop protection entomology and extension services to the general public via the ‘bugline’.

He holds a B.Sc. Honours in Ecology and Evolution from The University of British Columbia – Okanagan, and a Masters of Pest Management (MPM) from Simon Fraser University.

He is particularly interested in biological control and natural enemies of agricultural pests

David Kaminski, Field Crop Pathologist (Disease Management section)
David Kaminski is no specialist. Nor does he have all the answers in his field.

What he does have is a broad perspective on pest management in the field crops grown in western Canada and a deep interest in agronomy related to crop production.

David has worked as an extension plant pathologist in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta since 1989.

Dane Froese

Dane joined Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development in 2017, taking on the Oilseeds Specialist role.  He previously worked as an agronomist with several ag retailers.  His current projects include clubroot patch management, wide-row planted canola, and developing new scouting resources for agronomists and farmers.

Dane earned his B.Sc. (Agronomy) from the University of Manitoba, and continued his professional training, becoming a Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) and Professional Agrologist (P.Ag.) in following years.  He is still involved with his family farm operation near Winkler, and continues to farm together with his wife, after convincing her that city life wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.  Together, they grow corn, wheat, oats, canola, flax, and soybeans, and are excited to try intercropping and other specialty crops.

Dane has a passion for bringing flax to the max, scouting canola prior to swath stage, and eating sunflower seeds.

Amir Farooq, Farm Production Extension Specialist (Pulse Crop Agronomy section)

Amir Farooq is a Farm Production Extension Specialist Pulses in Western Manitoba.

He has been working for Manitoba Agriculture for last 11 years after finishing his IEAP from University of Manitoba.

He works with producers and industry in pulse crop extension e.g. Peas, Soybeans including maturity ratings at MCVET plots in Hamiota site and pulse crop surveying for disease insects.

Amir is also the regional weekly crop reporter of the southwest region.

He lives with his family In Brandon and enjoys working with area producers in the Agriculture sector.

Nicole Clouson, Farm Production Extension Specialist (Pulse Crop Agronomy section)
Nicole is the Farm Production Extension Specialist in the Swan River with the main crops being canola, wheat, and soybeans as they were introduced to the Swan River area a number of years ago.

She has been involved in the disease surveys with canola, FHB, soybeans for a few years and most recently with field peas. Nicole has lived in the Swan River area for 10 + years.

She is new to the Pulse team and is looking forward to a great season of working with the pulse growers and the pulse team.

She does not own an extensive collection of Hawaiian shirts…yet

Click to register for the 2020 Manitoba Crop Diagnostic School

Have Any Questions ? Call Us at 204-745-5660