Stop drowning your audience in raw data.
Learn to filter research into practical wins that balance the farm’s bottom line with the health of the land. Help producers stop guessing and start making evidence-based, confident decisions.
Learning Objectives:
- Distinguish between “interesting” research and “must-know” actionable data.
- Master a framework to distill heavy reports into bite-sized field takeaways.
- Practice delivering recommendations that put cash back in the producer’s pocket.
Instructors:
Toban Dyck
Toban Dyck farms near Winkler, Man., on the same land his family has worked for five generations. In summer, he can be seen lumbering down less-traveled roads on his KLR650 motorcycle. Toban is excitable – easily escalated when talking about extension. He also writes from time to time.
Dyck got into journalism in a way that is best explained as serendipitous. He studied philosophy and politics. He asked for an internship at CBC and got it (even though he didn’t officially apply and shouldn’t have gotten it). Since then, he managed a small newsroom on Queen Street and worked as a reporter/editor for the National Post in Toronto – all before returning to the family farm.
Dyck’s writing has appeared in the Financial/National Post, Grainews, Maclean’s, The Economist, Globe and Mail, and The Western Producer, among others. He’s as comfortable behind a podium as he is behind a combine wheel, and he’s passionate about telling stories that help agriculture move forward—honestly, clearly, and with heart.
He co-hosts The Extensionists podcast, serves as principal of Burr Forest Group, and loves camping and building things.
Jay Whetter
Jay Whetter likes to let a conversation flow naturally, and will happily scurry down a rabbit hole like a curious puppy. If not for Abby the producer tugging at Jay’s leash, The Extensionists podcasts would stretch to Joe Rogan length.
Whetter grew up on Chain Lakes Farm near Dand, Man. and has been a farm journalist since 1998. He started in radio, moved quickly to print, then expanded to podcasting. He is the editor of Canola Digest magazine, coordinates the Canola Council of Canada’s Canola Watch agronomy updates, and writes regularly for the Glacier farm papers. He also had a couple of travel articles in the Winnipeg Free Press this past winter. Career highlights include selection for the literary journalism residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in 2022, Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation “Farm Writer of the Year” in 2021, and the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program in 2008.
Whetter has taken at least six Jamie Oliver online “cookery” classes and recently completed a 12-session drawing class at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. While Jay loves being around people, he also likes to walk alone and listen to music, the Blue Jays or the wind and the birds.