Minnesota Canola Council's

PRESENTATIONS
Canola Symposium 2025

Power Point      Email Address      Website
9:15 a.m. New InVigor Hybrids for 2026
		Sara Swenson, BASF - Hillsboro, ND Sara works for BASF as an Agronomic Solutions Advisor, covering NW Minnesota. Sara supports retailers and growers that sell and grow BASF’s seed and crop protection products. She graduated from NDSU in 2014 with a B.S. in crop and weed science. She currently lives in Hillsboro, ND.
9:30 a.m. DEKALB Canola 2026
		Ryan Fisher, DEKALB - Thompson, ND Ryan is a customer business advisor for Bayer Crop Science in NW Minnesota and NE North Dakota and is responsible for field support and agronomy of DEKALB/Asgrow Seed and the Bayer Crop Protection lineup. He has been with Bayer for 12 years. He earned a B.S. in crop production from the University of Minnesota-Crookston.
9:45 a.m. Advancements in Pod Shatter Tolerance
		Kevin Sinner, Pioneer Seeds – Kindred, ND Kevin is a Field Agronomist for Central Red River Valley in North Dakota & NW & West Central Minnesota for Pioneer Seeds. He has been with Pioneer for 20+ years; 8 years in soybean research, 7 years in soybean seed production, and 4 years as a Field Agronomist. He has a B.S. in Crop and Weed Science from NDSU.
10:00 a.m. CROPLAN New Innovations
		Mick Miller, CROPLAN - Fairfield, MT Mick is a Forage and Oilseed Specialist with WinField United and the CROPLAN brand. He grew up on a family farm in North Central Montana where his family raised malt barley, wheat, canola, and hay. His passion of working and visiting with people has allowed him to be able to work “hands on” with farmers over the past 12 years.
10:15 a.m. Managing Soil Borne Fungi & Developments from Lab to Field
		Megan McCaghey, University of Minnesota - St. Paul, MN Megan is an assistant professor of Plant Pathology at UM. She has a Ph.D. from UW-Madison. Her research is centered on soil-borne fungi causing crop diseases. She wants to understand the ecology/epidemiology of soil-associated fungi and oomycetes and enhance crop disease resistance.
10:45 a.m. US Canola Association – Washington Update
		Tom Hance, U.S. Canola Association – Washington, DC Tom has 28 years experience on Capitol Hill, including 17 with Gordley Associates. He served 4 years as Federal Policy Director and head of the DC office for Maryland’s Governor. He spent 7 years as a congressional aide, including 3 as Chief of Staff to a U.S. House of Representatives member. He earned his B.A. from the University of Richmond and M.A. from Johns Hopkins University.
11:15 a.m. Integrate Meal Fermentation in Canola Oilseeds Processing to Produce High-Nutritional Animal Feed
		Bo Hu, University of Minnesota – St. Paul, MN Bo is a professor and the Director of the Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering undergraduate program at UM. His main research areas are biomass utilization, fermentative conversion, and waste management. His team is working to convert agricultural residue to value added bioproducts.
11:30 a.m. Canola Insights: Key Findings from Minnesota’s 2025 CPC
		Dave Grafstrom, UM-Magnusson Research Farm – Roseau, MN Dave is the Minnesota Canola Production Centre site agronomist. He has a B.S. in Agronomy from UM and Ph.D. from NDSU. He worked for BASF for 14 years in research, technical service, and market development. He also worked for Northland College as a Farm Business Management Instructor.
12:50 p.m. Winter Canola – A Fit for Minnesota?
		Jesse Bealsburg, University of Minnesota – St. Paul, MN Jesse has a B.S. in agricultural sciences from Cornell University NY, a M.S. in plant science from NDSU and has been running research trials for the cropping systems lab at the University of Minnesota for the last five years, including Roseau, MN, this past year.
1:05 p.m. Canola & Biofuels: A Feedstock Story
		Andy Smith, CHS Inc. - Inver Grove Heights, MN Andy graduated from the University of St. Thomas and has worked at CHS for 17 years. His career has covered various roles within the Ag Business department including trading, risk management, and accounting. He has worked within the oilseed product team for 7 years, and assumed the role of Commercial Manager for the canola product line at CHS.
1:35 p.m. Managing Cash Flows for 2026
		Justin Grinde, AgCountry Farm Credit Services - Hillsboro, ND Teresa Sands, Agcountry Farm Credit Services - Viking, MN Justin has been a Regional VP of Lending in Northern MN for nine years. He was a Loan Officer and Branch Manager for 10 years previously. He lives on a farm south of Hillsboro, ND. Teresa is a Developing Markets Officer covering NW MN and NE ND. She has worked in agricultural lending for nine years and is passionate about supporting farmers. She lives in Viking, MN.
2:35 p.m. Borderline Crazy: Tariffs, Tonnage, & Tantrums
		Brian Voth, IntelliFARM - Winnipeg, MB Brian was a grain buyer and marketing advisor for two companies before launching IntelliFARM Inc. in 2016. He has a diploma in Ag finance and a B.S. in Agribusiness from Univ. of Manitoba and has a passion for analyzing grain markets as they relate to farmers. He helps farmers make informed, strategic decisions that improve their bottom line by taking the emotion out of grain marketing.
3:05 p.m. Managing Canola Insect Pests from Seedling to Harvest
		Janet Knodel, North Dakota State University - Fargo, ND Janet is a Professor and Extension Entomologist at NDSU in Fargo. She has provided statewide leadership for Extension Entomology, the ND IPM Program, and coordinates/co-edits the NDSU Crop & Pest Report. Her extension outreach/applied research focuses on insect pests of field crops and IPM strategies for wheat, barley, canola, soybean, pulse crops, and sunflower.