Episodes
Click below to listen or watch episodes of The Extensionists.
Episode 27 – The 2025 Holiday Special
In the 27th episode of The Extensionists, we take a look back at the year that was. Co-hosts Jay Whetter and Toban Dyck share what they learned from the guests they chatted with in 2025. We then welcome our behind-the-scenes team, producer and editor Abby Wall and coordinator Ashley Robinson, to discuss highlights, what it takes to put The Extensionists together, and what everyone is looking forward to in 2026.
EPISODE 26 – Senator Robert Black
In the 26th episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Jay Whetter and Toban Dyck sit down with the Honourable Robert Black, Senator for Ontario and Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. Senator Black shares how he became a soil health champion and pushed for the new Senate report on soil health.
Episode 25 – Sabrina Perić
In the 25th episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Jay Whetter and Toban Dyck sit down with Sabrina Perić, who didn’t actually set out to work in agriculture but found herself drawn into it. Sabrina’s interest in people ultimately led to a crossover into the world of agriculture. Her latest research into soil health skepticism in Canada revealed a national disconnect.
Episode 24 – Gerry Friesen
In the 24th episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Jay Whetter and Toban Dyck sit down with “The Recovering Farmer” Gerry Friesen. The three dig deep into the mental health struggles farmers face and what you can do to support yourself and those around you. It really can be just as easy as listening when a friend decides they’re ready to talk.
Episode 23 – Meaghan Seagrave
Meaghan Seagrave has very unique insights into the opportunities for Canadian agriculture. In the 23rd episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Jay Whetter and Toban Dyck sit down with Meaghan, executive director for Bioindustrial Innovation Canada. This organization is developing programming and early-stage investments in bio-based technologies that fit along a green-based value chain.
Episode 22 – Rupp Carriveau
In the 22nd episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Jay Whetter and Toban Dyck sit down with Rupp Carriveau, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Windsor and co-director of Agriculture UWindsor Centre of Excellence (AGUWin). Rupp shares how he became involved in the greenhouse industry through his natural curiosity and wanting to improve the sector.
Episode 21 – Jolanda Jansen
In the 21st episode, and season 2 premier of The Extensionists, co-hosts Jay Whetter and Toban Dyck sit down with Jolanda Jansen, a communications consultant and co-owner of St Anna Advies, to talk about her work. She delves into why you should start by asking a question and how you can take your conversations from an eight to a nine.
Episode 20 – Ryan Barrett
How did a guy with a degree in dairy genetics end up working for the P.E.I. Potato Board? Ryan Barrett, after a job working in communications with Jersey Canada, found himself back on the island being hired by the P.E.I. Potato Board for his extension background.
Episode 19 – John Burns
John Burns didn’t start out as a farmer. He grew up on one, though. But when he finished high school he was shoed away and encouraged to attend university, which is where he discovered his love of science.
Episode 18 – Jenelle Hamblin
How do you respond to emergencies? How do you get the correct information out to producers if there’s a disease outbreak or natural disaster? On the eighteenth episode, Jenelle Hamblin, director, swine health with Manitoba Pork, joins co-hosts Jay Whetter and Toban Dyck to offer invaluable insights on communications during tense, urgent situations.
Episode 17 – Scott Day
How did a farm boy from Manitoba end up in Silicon Valley? In the 14th episode, The Extensionists co-hosts Jay Whetter and Toban Dyck sit down with Scott Day, an agronomist and director with Fall Line Capital. Scott and Jay go way back, having grown up on the farms surrounding Dand, MB.
Episode 16 – Mark Campbell
How do you connect with farmers and nurture leadership in the industry? At the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) in the UK, Mark Campbell and his colleagues run a multitude of extension programs to support UK farmers. Mark is the knowledge exchange manager for one of them – AHDB’s AgriLeader Program.
Episode 15 – Alison Sunstrum
The world of agriculture technology moves fast. Alison Sunstrum, managing partner of NYA Ventures, has been working in ag tech for decades and is now mentoring the next generation of inventors. In the fifteenth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Jay Whetter and Toban Dyck, sit down with Alison to discuss all the intricacies of ag tech from funding to the things that are changing the future of agriculture.
Episode 14 – Diljeet Brar
In our fourteenth episode of The Extensionists, Diljeet Brar takes us back to his family farm in India, sharing the story of his family’s hundreds of years of farming and how the value his parents placed on education pushed him into the world of agricultural extension. Co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter speak with Diljeet about his fascinating, creative, and refreshingly novel approaches to the discipline.
Episode 13 – Francois Labelle
In the thirteenth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter speak with farmer and retired Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers Executive Director Francois Labelle. Francois has had a long and illustrious career in the agriculture industry from working as a grain merchant at Continental Grain travelling the world to running a strawberry u-pick farm — he has done a little bit of everything.
Episode 12 – David Sauchyn
David Sauchyn uses tree-ring research to connect with climate change skeptics. And if that alone isn’t interesting enough, he also has other strategies in his toolkit. In the twelfth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter speak with David, who is the director of the Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative (PARC) and a professor of geography and environmental studies at the University of Regina.
Episode 11 – Justice Acoose
In the eleventh episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter speak with Justice Acoose, communications specialist with the National Circle for Indigenous Agriculture and Food. In this in-depth conversation, Jay and Toban learn about everything from video game streaming to how the agriculture sector can move towards reconciliation.
Episode 10 – Daryl Domitruk
In the tenth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter speak with Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers Executive Director Daryl Domitruk. In this wide-ranging interview, the three of them get to the heart of what agriculture extension is and how it seems to have fallen by the wayside these days. Or has it…
Episode 9 – Tracy Herbert
In the ninth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter speak with Beef Cattle Research Council Extension and Communications Director Tracy Herbert. Stemming from a lifetime of exposure and genuine interest, Tracy’s knowledge of cattle and everything related is comprehensive and comfortable.
Episode 8 – Jeff Schoenau
In the eighth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter chat with Jeff Schoenau, professor of soil fertility and the Saskatchewan Agriculture Ministry chair in soil nutrient management at the University of Saskatchewan. Jeff – otherwise known as Dr. Dirt – is passionate about soil health.
Episode 7 – The 2024 Holiday Special
With the holiday season upon us, The Extensionists hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter decided to take a break from interviewing the great thinkers of agriculture and instead share a reimagined Christmas poem with you, our dear listeners. So curl up by the fireplace and listen to The Extensionists version of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.
Episode 6 – Afua Mante
In the sixth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter chat with University of Manitoba professor and soil scientist Afua Mante. Afua’s fervor and perspective on soil breathe new life into a topic foundational to a successful ag sector.
Episode 5 – Breanne Tidemann
In the fifth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter chat with AAFC Lacombe research scientist Breanne Tidemann. Breanne is a self proclaimed weed nerd and creator of #WeedIDWednesday, an extension tool that uses social media to make weed education and identification more accessible.
Episode 4 – Paul Galpern
In the fourth episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter chat with former high school teacher and current University of Calgary associate professor Paul Galpern. Paul’s love of insects is contagious, and he thinks farmers should embrace the “messy” parts of the vocation. He makes a convincing, impassioned case.
Episode 3 – Keith Downey
In the third episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter chat with one of the “fathers of canola” Keith Downey. Back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, while working with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon, Keith was instrumental in creating the crop we now know as canola – Canada’s most valuable crop.
Episode 2 – Marla Riekman
In this second episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter sit down with Marla Riekman, soil management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. Marla is passionate about all things soil, but her journey to becoming a soil expert wasn’t always a straight line.
Episode 1 – Alanna Koch
In the inaugural episode of The Extensionists, co-hosts Toban Dyck and Jay Whetter talk with Alanna Koch. Alanna, a well-known and respected leader, does not wear jogging pants to the grocery store, and she values a good debate. Alanna and her husband, Gerry Hertz, farm near Edenwold, Sask.