Calling all local producers — this event is just for you.
On Wednesday, June 10, EMILI is hosting Producer Day with Keystone Agricultural Producers. The event takes place at EMILI’s Innovation Farms in Grosse Isle from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Producers learn ways to optimize their combine calibrations as part of a free combine clinic with Bushel Plus as part of EMILI”s 2025 Producer Day
EMILI works collaboratively with producers, industry, investors and innovators who share the vision of Canadian agriculture leading the world through transformative innovation.
As an industry-led non-profit, EMILI provides innovators with access to leading-edge equipment, technology and production practices, along with unbiased feedback on how their innovation works on a full-scale farm.
“EMILI was founded 10 years ago, in 2016, and launched Innovation Farms powered by AgExpert in 2022 to create space for innovation on a full-scale farm. EMILI’s Innovation Farms provides innovators with access to leading-edge equipment, technology and production practices to increase productivity, sustainability and profitability across the agriculture and agri-food sector,” said Leanne Koroscil, EMILI’s Innovation Farms manager.
“EMILI’s Innovation Farms currently operates in two locations in Grosse Isle and MacGregor. EMILI’s Innovation Farms Grosse Isle site is located on Rutherford Farms, a 5,500-acre grain and oilseed farm. Crops include spring and winter wheat, oats, barley, corn, canola, soybeans, field peas and forage peas. EMILI’s Innovation Farms MacGregor site, which launched in 2025, is located at J.P. Wiebe Ltd., a 10,000-acre potato and grain farm with approximately 3,000 acres dedicated to potatoes.”
The producer-only field tour aims to create space for farmers to ask questions and share insights about what matters to them.
“EMILI Producer Day is one of several field tours that EMILI hosts throughout the season to showcase new agricultural technologies, expand innovation opportunities, and increase understanding and adoption of digital tools,” she said. “EMILI Producer Days are unique in that they are producer-only events.”
During these events, producers get a firsthand look at how EMILI’s Innovation Farms is advancing digital agriculture in the Prairies. They focus mainly on technology that’s close to commercial-ready to ensure discussions and demonstrations are relevant to attending farmers, since they might be thinking about adopting new tech on their farms.
Attendance is limited to producers to provide them an opportunity to learn about EMILI’s work to reduce risks related to agricultural technology. At the same time, they can connect with other producers interested in ag tech, while also having the chance to ask and answer questions about the demonstrated technology without anyone trying to sell them products.
In 2026, EMILI will host two Producer Day events. The first will take place on June 10 in Grosse Isle. The other event will take place on June 18 in partnership with Elmer’s Manufacturing at their site in Altona.
The Grosse Isle event will feature a half-day workshop featuring a producer panel that will share real-world experience and practical insights about adopting new on-farm technology. Attendees will also have the chance to exchange ideas with other producers and enjoy a free barbecue lunch.
The panel discussion will focus on adopting technology and driving innovation on the farm, while also highlighting how producers with different operations approach new technologies and how they believe these technologies make their operations more productive and sustainable.
Koroscil will moderate the panel with Andrew Doerksen, Hailey Jefferies and Jake Ayre. Doerksen is a partner at Beaver Creek Farms Ltd., a family-owned third-generation potato and grain farm near MacGregor. Jefferies is the co-founder and president of Prairie Fava, a Manitoba-based agri-food company. Ayre is vice-president of KAP and a producer at Southern Seed Ltd., a family-owned and operated pedigreed seed farm and retail business near Minto.
“During our 2024 event, attendees gained insight into how sensors benefit production practices, learned about the future of remote crop imaging and monitoring, and heard how EMILI uses drones to gain insight into crop health throughout the season,” Koroscil said.
“At our 2025 event, producers learned new ways to optimize harvest and took part in a free combine clinic in collaboration with Bushel Plus.”
At last year’s event, organizers also took the time to ask producers what type of topics they’d like to focus on for future events.
“Our 2026 planning has centred around this feedback and is one of the reasons we are hosting two events this year. Our event in Altona will provide producers an opportunity to get behind the scenes at a made-in-Manitoba equipment manufacturer while learning about the results from EMILI’s collaboration with them over the past few seasons,” Koroscil said.
“Our event at Grosse Isle will include panel discussions and ag-tech demonstrations centred around adopting new on-farm technologies, financing innovation and improving productivity — topics that we have heard are top of mind for farmers in our community.”
In addition, Grosse Isle attendees can look forward to ag-tech demonstrations that highlight projects EMILI is working on this season with Crop Intelligence, TerraWave, John Deere and Redekop Manufacturing. These demonstrations will showcase how their technology improves farm productivity and sustainability.
EMILI Producer Day is free, but space is limited and fills up quickly. Producers are encouraged to register as soon as possible to avoid missing out.
Producers can visit EMILI Canada to learn more and register for EMILI Producer Day with Keystone Agricultural Producers.
