South East Research Farm

Lana Shaw, Research Manager, & Junaid Afzal, Program Manager

Industry Profile: South East Research Farm is a producer-directed, non-profit agricultural research organization based in Redvers, Saskatchewan, dedicated to conducting applied, locally relevant agronomic research and demonstrations to support sustainable farming practices in southeast Saskatchewan.

Challenge Title: From Degradation to Regeneration: A Systems Approach to Managing Saline, Compacted Weedy Areas

Challenge Context: Canada’s food system faces complex challenges that go beyond conventional solutions—one of the most pressing being the intersection of soil compaction, salinity, and herbicide-resistant weeds like kochia. In affected field zones, poor crop growth, surface nitrate buildup, and water imbalance create a vicious cycle that worsens soil degradation and fosters weed dominance. These areas not only reduce farm productivity but also waste fertilizer and chemical inputs.

This challenge supports sustainable food innovation by focusing on the effective management of these degraded zones—particularly to enable the production of sensitive crops like legumes—while improving soil health, reducing input waste, and limiting the spread of herbicide-resistant weeds.

Challenge Statement: How can farmers better manage degraded field zones—especially wet, saline areas and kochia patches—where soil compaction, salinity, and weed pressure are defeating conventional control methods?

TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods

Gail Schafer – Account Manager

Industry Profile:TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods is a division of TELUS Corporation that provides data-driven digital solutions across the agriculture and consumer goods value chains, helping optimize production, enhance traceability, and improve sustainability from farm to retail. Operating in over 60 countries, it supports food producers, manufacturers, and retailers with advanced technologies such as AI, IoT, and supply chain analytics.

Challenge Title: Adapting Agriculture: Climate-Smart Crop Planning for a Shifting Food System

Challenge Context: As climate conditions shift across Canada and the globe, traditional crop-growing regions are becoming less reliable. A farm that has grown potatoes for a century may no longer have the right temperature, precipitation, or soil conditions in the coming decades. This growing uncertainty poses major risks for Canada’s food security and for the resilience of the entire agriculture and consumer goods value chain.TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods is a data and technology company focused on transforming how we grow, move, and consume food. In this challenge, they are asking students to explore how digital tools, predictive data, and supply chain strategies can help farmers, food processors, and retailers adapt to the changing geography of agriculture—while continuing to meet consumer expectations for high-quality, available, and affordable food.

Challenge Statement: How might we use data, digital tools, or policy models to help Canadian food system actors—especially growers, manufacturers, and retailers—adapt to changing crop viability due to climate change?

McCain Foods Limited

Hannah McKinney, Grant Lead | Sustainability Strategy

Industry Profile: McCain Foods Limited is a privately‑owned, family business founded in 1957 in Florenceville, New Brunswick, Canada, that has grown into the world’s largest manufacturer of frozen potato specialties, selling products in over 160 countries and employing some 20,000+ people globally.

Challenge Title: Partnering for Regeneration: Engaging Landowners in Sustainable Agriculture

Challenge Summary: Regenerative agriculture holds immense promise for combating climate change and strengthening food supply chains—but its adoption often rests heavily on growers, many of whom rent their land and lack long-term control. This hackathon challenges you to flip the script: how might we empower landowners to become champions of regenerative agriculture? As a team, design practical, creative, and scalable solutions that engage landowners as active partners in the transition to regenerative farming.

Think economic incentives, legacy storytelling, new lease structures, digital tools, or awareness campaigns— and how these work together to get landowners invested, literally and figuratively.

Challenge Statement: How can we demonstrate financial and social value to landowners, encouraging the support of regenerative agriculture practices on the land they rent out–so that growers can adopt long-term soil health strategies without added risk? How can we do this using a multi-phase approach that invites action alongside the sharing of information and ensure that the model is replicable for a sector-wide impact?

Nature United / Collective Impact

Warren McAuley, Prairies Agriculture Program Manager, Jane Church, Corporate Engagement Director from Nature United, Michael (Mike) Ferguson, Cofounder & Strategic Partnerships Lead and Derek Squair, Cofounder & Business Development Lead from Collective Impact.

Industry Profile: Nature United is a Canadian charity affiliated with The Nature Conservancy that builds diverse partnerships—especially with Indigenous peoples, governments, communities, and industries—to protect lands and waters, advance natural climate solutions, and ensure nature is the foundation of healthy communities and economies. Collective Impact is a key strategic approach used by Nature United to achieve its conservation and sustainability goals.

Challenge Title: Valuing Regeneration: Measuring Long-Term Land Value from Soil Health Gains

Challenge Summary: Transition Farms, a 2,000-acre grain farm in central-east Saskatchewan, is beginning transition from conventional to regenerative agricultural practices over the next 5 years with a goal of increased value on the farm in 15-20 years. This shift reflects growing interest across government, industry, and the farming community in improving soil health and reducing dependence on synthetic inputs — all while maintaining profitability. As Transition Farms begins this journey, they face a key question: How can we measure and demonstrate the long-term improvement in land value resulting from regenerative practices? Many soil health improvements — such as increased soil organic matter, better water infiltration, or improved microbial activity — are known to boost yield potential, reduce costs, and enhance resilience. However, there’s currently no practical, farm-scale methodology to track these improvements over time and translate them into tangible land value increases.

Challenge Statement: Develop a practical methodology to track and assign value to long-term improvements in land driven by regenerative agricultural practices.

Your methodology should help Transition Farms (and farms like it) answer:

• What changes in soil and land health are most valuable?
• How can we track those changes over time in a low-burden, cost-effective way?

What financial benefits can be tied to these improvements — both annually and at the point of farm sale?