Dr. Jason Gibbs studies the diversity and taxonomy of wild bees. He completed his PhD at York University. He was a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University and a research associate at Michigan State University before joining Canada’s only Department of Entomology at the University of Manitoba in 2016. He is curator of one of the largest insect collections in western Canada. He has published 115 scientific papers on various aspects of bee diversity, pollination ecology, and taxonomy. He has supervised 4 PhDs and 7 MSc students. He has named dozens of new species. Four species of bees have been named after him for his contributions to bee taxonomy.

Dr. Gibbs shares his agricultural background, growing up as the son of a bee keeper, as well as some information about his research background and how this early interest and exposure to bees has led him on his career path.

Today we are taking a close look at the benefits that wild bees and pollinators bring to agricultural landscapes. There are estimates that you can get an increase of 5-10% yield in agricultural crops from insect pollination and about 35% of crops benefit from pollination, along with many other benefits that wild bees and pollinators bring to agricultural production. There are many types of agricultural production that require these pollination services.

We talk about the history of the number and diversification of the population size and diversity of wild pollinators in Manitoba.

Jason discusses the difference between wild bees and honey bees, what bees require for habitat and what practices in agriculture may be threatening these important insects, including the use of pesticides.

Conversely, we discuss management practices that benefit wild pollinators and other beneficial insects, especially the use of floral or pollinator strips. Jason also explains some of the benefits to crop health as a result of floral strips.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Dr. Gibbs’ Faculty Page U of Manitoba: https://umanitoba.ca/agricultural-food-sciences/entomology/jason-gibbs

Gibbs Wild Bee Lab Website: https://sites.google.com/site/dialictus/home?authuser=0

Find Jason on Instagram @gibbsbeelab or https://www.instagram.com/gibbsbeelab/

Dr. Gibb’s Articles: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=5SWs9jQAAAAJ&hl=en

Current projects:

https://umanitoba.ca/agricultural-food-sciences/leap

https://genomeprairie.ca/project/gg4ghg_grassland_genomics/

Museum of Entomology:

https://umanitoba.ca/agricultural-food-sciences/wallis-roughley-museum-entomology

https://ecdysis.org/collections/misc/collprofiles.php?collid=129

The research programs and daily operations at MBFI would not be possible without the funding from the Province of Manitoba, Government of Canada, and Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, as well as the partnership with

Mary-Jane leads a dedicated team at MBFI to advance Manitoba’s beef & forage industry through engaging stakeholders, evaluating on-farm innovation, and extension for sustainability of farmers, the public, and the environment. She deeply values the opportunity to collaborate with producers, researchers, education providers, extension specialists, conservation groups, and all stakeholders in field-testing management practices and growing understanding of improved production in Manitoba. Mary-Jane holds a PhD from Purdue University in soil microbial ecology in agricultural systems, is a Professional Agrologist, and Certified Crop Advisor. Her experience in ecology and field agronomy gives her a unique perspective on the challenges facing agriculture today.

In this episode, we are talking about MBFI’s Mineral Case Study. With the drought in 2022, MBFI’s cattle herd experienced higher than usual open-rates, which was widespread throughout the area. After testing the animals in their herd, MBFI found that many were deficient in micronutrients, with copper being a common deficiency.

Mary-Jane shares some of the symptoms and clinical signs they noticed in their cattle during this time, and the immediate and lingering impacts this has had. There are many factors that probably contributed to this, Mary-Jane and the team have been working to look deeper into each to determine where they can make changes in their program.

We discuss what the pregnancy rates looked like in 2022, 2023 and in their 2024 testing, and which ages and groups of cattle had the highest fall out of the program.

We also discuss the use of Multi-Min and why MBFI chose to use this product in their herd, and the economics of adding this direct cost to their program.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Manitoba Ag Pasture Tour Information: https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/livestock/beef/pubs/pasture-tour.pdf

Shoal Lake MB Grazing School:

https://holisticmanagement.ca/courses/july-5-6-shoal-lake-mb-grazing-school/

MB Beef Producers - Producer Workshop on Unconventional Succession Planning:

https://mbbeef.ca/events/

The research programs and daily operations at MBFI would not be possible without the funding from the Province of Manitoba, Government of Canada, and Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, as well as the partnership with Manitoba Agriculture, Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) and Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC).

We encourage you to follow MBFI on social media, or check out the website for more information on project findings and results, upcoming events and more!

Instagram: @MBBeefandForage

Facebook: @MBBeefandForage

X (Twitter): @MBBeefandForage

Website: www.mbfi.ca

Email address: information@mbfi.ca

Mary-Jane’s Phone Number: 431-255-0011