Meet our new Research Scientist SARDA Ag Research 2025 Field Days Research Updates on Forage and Annual Crops
2025 Board Members
Simon Lavoie
Leonard Desharnais
Whitney Boisvert
Mathieu Bergron
Kenny Stewart
GP - VACANT
Alain Anctil
John Vinette
Gilles Roy
Dave Berry
Garret Zahacy
Bob Chrenek
Alain Blanchette
Jason Javos
2025 Staff Members
Vance Yaremko
Calvin Yoder P.Ag.
Endale Tafesse PhD
Rajeev Dhakal PhD
Victor Gauthier
Amber Drouin
Megan Allard (on leave)
JP Pettyjohn
Executive Director
Forage Seed Specialist
Science Director
Research Scientist
Field Technician
Field Technician
Research Coordinator
Research Coordinator
In Memory of Shelleen Gerbig
It is with deep sadness that we inform you of the passing of our colleague, Shelleen Gerbig. Shelleen was a dedicated member of our team for 18 years and made invaluable contributions to SARDA Ag Research. Her professionalism, commitment, and kindness left a lasting impact on all of us at SARDA. We would like to acknowledge that Shelleen was a huge component in creating and distributing the SARDA Ag Research newsletter and her presence and guidance are greatly missed.
Thank you to our supporters!
Welcome Rajeev
Rajeev Dhakal is a Research Scientist at SARDA Ag Research, joining in November 2024. He has his PhD in Plant Science from the University of Saskatchewan, where his research focused on understanding nitrogen use efficiency in historical spring canola cultivars. Before moving to Canada, he worked for over five years with LI-BIRD in Nepal, leading onfarm research trials for various crops, including rice, maize, potato, barley, and minor millets. His work has contributed to biodiversity conservation, agricultural innovation, and sustainability. Rajeev has over ten years of agricultural experience in research.
Now based in Donnelly, Rajeev lives with his wife Sumitra and two sons Alex and Shreeyan. He is excited to be part of the Peace Region’s vibrant agricultural community, eager to learn from local producers, understand the region’s unique challenges, and contribute to its growth through research and collaboration. In his free time, he enjoys running, playing table tennis, listening to podcasts, traveling, and spending time with his family.
2025 Trade Show
SARDA Ag Research Agricultural Trade Show was held at the Falher Regional Recreation Complex from March 27 to 29, with a large crowd entering the facility each day.
The sold-out show consisted of more than 100 different vendors, occupying the 154 available booths in the arena and curling rink. There was a vast array of agricultural vendors, providing producers an opportunity to get their spring and fall wish lists compiled.
Our team appreciated the support we received from both vendors and attendees throughout the three-day event, receiving high praise for our agricultural trade show and the variety of vendors in attendance. All proceeds from the event are reinvested into agricultural research, including variety trials for crops such as wheat, oats, barley, flax, peas, and faba beans. The team is also planting new crops to develop strategies to help agricultural producers, these include Industrial Hemp and Lupins. Money is also applied to product testing, some products we test include micronutrients, growth regulators, herbicides, and others. The money also allows SARDA to complete vital research that money cannot be attained for through grant funding.
SARDA Ag Research also holds multiple information sessions for agricultural producers, we formulate an information newsletter, update our website with important information and research findings, have field days and provide other extension activities.
The SARDA Ag Research team is currently deliberating
the next show date. Moved in 2025 to accommodate Minor and Senior Men’s hockey, the dates chosen would now coincide with Easter in 2027. Our dates for the 2027 show will be chosen soon, with registration for the next show set to begin in late summer 2026. Vendors from our 2025 show will have first opportunity to reserve their booths, with open registration occurring after contact with those vendors. The team is currently looking at ways to increase the number of booths for our 2027 show, as we had a wait list of nearly 50 businesses and many phone calls from others who inquired about booths.
We’d like to extend our appreciation to Donna’s Kitchen and Kat’s Concession for ensuring great food service through our trade show. Big thanks also to all of our volunteers, most notably Francois Cote who lent us a hand throughout the event. Thanks also to Rocky Mountain Equipment’s Neil Cotton who helped out with a forklift to help exhibitors unload and load their exhibits. We appreciate everyone who went above and beyond to make our fundraiser successful.
Keep your eyes open for a new and exciting event soon to make a debut in our lineup. We’re hoping to have a demo day available for our agricultural producers and businesses in summer 2026. We’re ironing out details at the moment, but already it seems like it will be a couple days that you will not want to miss!
If you were at our 2025 show and have any suggestions about what you would like to see in future shows, please contact us by emailing smokyriveragtradeshow@gmail. com.
We look forward to seeing you again in 2027!
Emily Plihal Tradeshow Coordinator
What’s Happening in 2025
SARDA Ag Research is looking forward to a successful and productive year in 2025. This season, we are managing over 2,500 plots across multiple sites throughout the Peace River Region, with a continued focus on both annual and forage crops.
As a proud partner of the Peace Region Living Lab initiative, SARDA is working alongside producers to explore and evaluate best management practices directly on farm. This collaboration supports the development of practical strategies that promote environmental stewardship and provide valuable economic insights to improve farming operations.
We are excited to host several field tours throughout the growing season. Our first event, the Forage Field Day, will take place on July 15, 2025, in Donnelly at the SARDA shop and nearby field sites in the Whitemud Creek area. Additional events include our Field Tour in Debolt on July 24, 2025 and our main Field School & Crop Diagnostic Day in Donnelly on August 6, 2025. More information will be provided on these tours via SARDA Ag Research email. Sign up on the back page of this newsletter.
We look forward to seeing producers, partners, and community members at these events as we continue to share knowledge and advance agricultural research in the region.
Forage Seed - Calvin Yoder
It will be another busy summer conducting trials on many turf and forage seed crops grown throughout the Peace River Region. The majority of the trials are done on growers' fields located in the Donnelly, Girouxville, Whitemud, Debolt, Spirit River, Valhalla and Hythe areas.
The focuses in 2025 are:
1. Nitrogen fertilizer timing, rates and the use of Agrotain on timothy and creeping red fescue seed crops.
2. Effects of growth regulators Moddus and Manipulator on grass seed crops.
3. Herbicides for pre-seed, seedling and established crop tolerance and submitting products for User Requested Minor Use Registrations.
4. Evaluating herbicides for managing wild oats and foxtail barley in grass seed crops.
5. Evaluating some newly developed creeping red fescue, red clover and alsike clover varieties for seed yield potential.
6. Establishing grass seed crops with glufosinate tolerant canola.
Peace Region Forage Seed Association field tour will be held on July 15th in the Donnelly and Whitemud areas looking at a number of timothy, clover, creeping red fescue and bromegrass fields and trials.
Calvin is available for any questions on managing grass and legume seed fields and can be reached at 780-864-7663 or calvinyoder123@gmail.com.
Response of Timothy Seed Crops to Plant Growth
Regulators Trinexapac-ethyl (Moddus) and Chlormequat Chloride (Manipulator) Peace River Region (2020-2023)
Annual Crop - Rajeev Dhakal
This year SARDA will be conducting various field trials on several annual crops, including spring wheat, barley, oats, peas, faba beans, flax, lupins, canola and industrial hemp. We are excited to share that we will be having trials with around 1,500 small plots near Donnelly and Debolt.
Some of the exciting research trials in 2025 are:
1. Regional variety trials of wheat, barley, oats, pea and faba bean from the Alberta commissions.
2. Lupin adaptability trials for seed and for forage.
3. Lupin fertility trials to understand the effect of different rates of phosphorous, potassium and sulfur on lupin crops.
4. Trials on industrial hemp focusing on various seed treatment options.
5. Industrial hemp retting time and methods.
6. Pea intercropping with canola and wheat as well as lupin intercropping with canola and wheat trials through the Peace Region Living Labs project.
Apart from the small plot trials, similar to last year we are conducting field scale trials through the Peace Region Living Labs project with several producers.
Annually SARDA also collaborates with different industry partners. This year we have collaborated with Mosaic, KOCH, BASF, Vantage Ag, Alpine and Calcium Product to conduct small plot trials.
Please note that the SARDA annual field days will be held on July 24th at Debolt and on August 6th at SARDA Ag Research building Donnelly Corner.
As always, various producers and industry partners have supported and supplied seed to SARDA for conducting research trials. We are grateful for their support and want to extend our warm gratitude.
Boisvert Farms
Danny & Bradly Limoge
Chin Ridge Seeds
Corn Seeds Ltd.
Lupin Inc Mark & Robyn
Megan & Hayden Allard
Foster’s Seeds
North Peace Applied Research Assoc. BASF
3D Brothers Ltd - Danny Dion
