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Crop Talk 2018 workshop set for March 22

Mar 13, 2018 | 12:00 PM

A conference next week will examine issues local farmers will face as the spring season gets underway.

Crop Talk 2018 happens Thursday, March 22. The one-day event, held at the Prince Albert Exhibition Centre, includes discussions on drainage management, soil fertility in drained wetlands, clubroot, herbicide-resistant weeds, salinity and research into anhydrous ammonia agronomy.

Langham-area farmer Doyle Wiebe, the keynote speaker at the event, will talk about succession planning for farmers. Wiebe’s talk will also include information about using a joint venture structure to plan for succession.

Wiebe told paNOW his succession plan started with an ad for a farming partner on Kijiji. While he got some replies, none of them worked out. After connecting with a neighbour who had recently moved into the area with his young family, the two struck an agreement for a 10-year succession plan.

Now, three years into that plan, Wiebe said he’s been able to step back from some of the daily farm duties to pursue other interests, while his new partner is gaining valuable experience in farm management. As his two son’s weren’t interested in taking over the large operation, Wiebe said a joint venture partnership was a viable option for him as he planned for retirement.

“I just thought it would be beneficial to someone else who wants to farm, and that’s how I started I guess, when my father and I struck an arrangement 40 years earlier,” he said. “I didn’t just start out on my own; it was really a joint venture.”

Joanne Kowalski, regional crop specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, said next week’s workshop will cover just about everything farmers need to know when the spring 2018 growing season gets underway, including runoff following the recent snowfall in the Prince Albert area.

“We’ve got lots of snow again, so it could be a wet spring,” Kowalski told paNOW.

The workshop is hosted by both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Conservation Learning Centre. The workshop is open to the public and free to attend. The deadline to register is Tuesday, March 20.

 

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 1:25 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 to include comments from Doyle Wiebe.

charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt