Producers, agronomists and field advisors gathered at EMILI’s Innovation Farms powered by AgExpert on August 12, 2026 for EMILI Agronomy Day: Weathering Change. With this season’s extreme weather, producers are facing tough decisions about their crops. This event brought together leaders in the industry who shared practical production insights and information on how digital agriculture tools can help mitigate risk in the field.
Commodity Group Panel
EMILI Agronomy Day began with a panel discussion between Colin Hornby of Keystone Agricultural Producers, Ashley Ammeter of Manitoba Crop Alliance, Susan Ainsworth with Keystone Potato Producers Association, and EMILI’s Innovation Farms Manager Leanne Koroscil.
The panel shared their insights on the influence of this season’s unprecedented weather, including how producers had to rethink their farm management systems, the role policy plays when severe weather hits, and how this year’s experiences are shaping the priorities of Manitoba’s commodity groups for next year.
“We’ve talked today about the challenges, but the challenges that we’re facing also bring opportunities. There are really creative, amazing people in our industry who are looking at these challenges and saying ‘what do we do about them?'” – Ashley Ammeter, Manitoba Crop Alliance
Sessions: Weather, Insurance, and Soil Health
Following the panel, attendees took part in three sessions which paired agtech innovators with industry experts for discussions around weather, insurance, and soil health. Each session highlighted a project taking place on EMILI’s Innovation Farms, and examined how these technologies can help producers respond to severe or unexpected weather.
Attendees gather at Agronomy Day stations. Photo Credit: EMILI
Alison Sass, agriculture meteorology specialist with Manitoba Agriculture joined Brian Archibald, territory business agronomist with Crop Intelligence, to share a summary of weather events from the season, emphasizing crop health and the upcoming harvest. The audience learned about how Crop Intelligence’s technology works in a surplus of soil moisture, and how this technology can be used to evaluate yield potential.
During the insurance session, Brent Wolfe, senior insurance specialist with Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation, was paired with Mohammad Asefi, CEO of TerraWave. Wolfe spoke about early-season weather impacting crop insurance decisions which mitigate risk, while Asefi shared how TerraWave’s technology can help producers achieve more accurate insurance estimates. This technology allows farmers to understand precisely how much grain is in their bins, along with any potential spoilage.
The final session with Megan Westphal, soil health specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, and Neil Wagner, senior product owner with FCC AgExpert, explored weather’s effect on overall soil health. Westphal discussed how building a healthy and resilient soil can help reduce leaching, runoff, and erosion, while Wagner shared how the AgExpert Sustainability model can improve soil health monitoring.
Sessions at EMILI Agronomy Day (Photo Credit: EMILI)
From Data to Decisions
EMILI was pleased to partner with BASF to bring Data to Decisions: Digital Agronomy in Action to EMILI’s Innovation Farms on the afternoon of August 12.
This event brought together producers, industry members, retail partners, researchers and policy makers for a practical look at how digital tools, on-farm research and industry collaboration are helping shape the future of agriculture in Canada.
“Agriculture is different. A common saying in tech development is ‘fail fast’, but you can’t fail fast in agriculture. Farmers have one harvest per year, so we need controlled and thoughtful places where technologies can be tested before we’re asking farmers to make adoption decisions.” – Jacqueline Keena
Panelists Kevin Peters of Keystone Agricultural Producers, Nicole Gaudette of Manitoba Agriculture, Jeremy Parkinson of BASF and EMILI CEO Jacqueline Keena shared their perspectives on technology adoption and the role of digital tools in farm management. Afterward, attendees saw demonstrations and learned more about technologies currently being tested on EMILI’s Innovation Farms from Crop Intelligence, TerraWave and BASF.
Panelists speak during From Data to Decisions at EMILI’s Innovation Farms. Photo credit: EMILI
EMILI hosts multiple events and demonstrations throughout the season to showcase new agricultural technologies, expand innovation opportunities, and increase understanding and adoption of digital tools. Reserve your spot at one of our upcoming events.