Neal Wagar is the National Sales Manager for EcoTea.

He joined the agriculture industry just over 5 years ago with EcoTea. Neal was previously a golf course superintendent and has a degree in turf grass science. Once in the agriculture industry he went back to school to get his Ag Diploma from Olds College.

Neal has worked in all facets of the company from production and delivery of product to sales. He supports EcoTea Canada-wide with a strong focus on the prairies. One of his passions in the job is helping coordinate and analyze research. EcoTea has done over a million dollars worth of research in the last 5 years and is proud to share all of it - good, bad and ugly - with not only growers, but the industry as a whole.

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 today’s episode, we chat with Neal about his role with EcoTea, as well as a bit of history of the company and the products EcoTea has to offer producers.

Neal also explains the origin and process they use in creating the EcoTea products, and explains the process they use to ensure a consistent product year after year.

We discuss some of the research done on the EcoTea products, which have occurred in a variety of crops and locations, as well as trials that EcoTea is planning for the 2026 season.

We also chat about the benefits of using EcoTea, the benefits of increasing soil nutrient cycling and nutrient use.

We also talk with Mary-Jane about the preliminary results they have seen from their use of the EcoTea products at MBFI, as well as the trials she is looking to implement in the 2026 growing season using EcoTea products.

You can find EcoTea:

Online at: www.ecotea.ca

On X: @ecoteaag

On Instagram: @ecotea_ag

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: [email protected]

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