Growing the Future – Details, episodes & analysis

Jeff Ivan grew up on a family farm south of Glenside, Saskatchewan. He left it because there was no room for him and spent the next 35 years becoming one of the most widely traveled fertilizer specialists in the world -- 80 countries, 25 countries in a single year at his peak, and a career that took him from cleaning grain elevator dustbins in Glenside to advising governments and companies across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

The United Nations puts nitrogen loss at 46% of what is applied. Up to 90% of phosphate goes unused in the year of application. Jeff's position is that the answer is not to cut back on fertilizer. The answer is to make it work.

Soilgenic Technologies was built on that argument -- 60 patents on nitrogen stabilization and phosphate enhancement technology. Jeff was diagnosed with stage 3B colon cancer within a month of founding it.

 

What's Inside

• Why 46% of applied nitrogen and up to 90% of phosphate never reaches the crop -- and what that costs per acre
• The Haber-Bosch process: what it is, why half the world depends on it, and why calls to cut synthetic nitrogen concern Jeff deeply
• The elements beyond NPK most Prairie fertility programs underweight: sulfur, calcium, magnesium, zinc
• How Soilgenic's stabilization technology keeps nitrogen in the stable ammonium form longer -- reducing nitrous oxide emissions that are 265 times more potent than CO2
• What Jeff learned about balance -- in soil, and in himself -- after the diagnosis

 

Related Episodes

Your Soil Type Is Costing You Yield -- Greg Patterson on the fertility variable the handbooks skip

Before You Spray: 3 Things That Could Cost You Money This Season (May 2026) -- timing, inputs, and what the field actually needs

 

Connect with Jeff: 

Website: https://www.soilgenic.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soilgenic/ 

Twitter: https://x.com/Soilgenic

 

Connect with Growing the Future

Website: growingthefuture.ca

YouTube: Growing the Future

Instagram: @growingthefuturepodcast

LinkedIn: Growing the Future

Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.

Join host Dan Aberhart on the Growing the Future podcast as he welcomes Jessica Janzen, a motivational speaker, mindset coach, author, and philanthropist. 

Jessica shares her incredible journey of overcoming life challenges, including the heartbreaking loss of her son to Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Discover how her faith, resilience, and choice to bring joy have transformed her life and the lives of many others through the Love for Lewiston Foundation. 

This episode dives deep into the importance of self-worth, the power of choice, and bringing joy, even in the hardest of times. Don’t miss this emotional and inspiring conversation that is sure to leave a lasting impact.

Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.

Robert Andjelic crossed the Yugoslav border at ten years old. Hidden in a hay wagon. Rain coming down. Border guards on the other side with dogs. He made it.

He arrived in Canada in 1958 with his family and nothing else.

By 2023, he owned 231,000 acres of Saskatchewan farmland -- the largest private holding in the country.

And he says a farmer will outbid him every time. Because farmers capture operating returns. He only captures rent. The investor everyone assumes is pricing them out is actually the one at a disadvantage.

This is that conversation.

What's Inside:

- Why Robert left commercial real estate and chose food and water over everything else

- The Saskatchewan price gap: same crop as Manitoba, fraction of the price -- and why it's closing

- How he anticipated three recessions and moved to cash before each one hit

- Why investors owning 2-3% of Western Canadian farmland cannot move the market

- What he is waiting for before he buys again

Related Episodes

- Robert Andjelic Part Two: Scary Predictions and Rich Opportunities (Dec 2023)

- Too Big to Farm (May 2026) -- Robert returns to talk distress, scale, and the math that stopped working

Connect with Robert:

Website: https://andjelic.ca/about

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008628990360

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-andjelic-a0474178/

Connect with Growing the Future

Website: https://growingthefuture.ca/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@growingthefuturepodcast7899/videos
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@growingthefuturepodcast
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/company/growing-the-future

Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.

Rob is a director for Glacier Media, and is the show runner for the every growing outdoor farm show Ag in Motion in Saskatoon which has exploded in popularity as well as the Farm Forum Event, which returns to it's roots this year in Saskatoon. Rob has a strong background in the agricultural arena including running the Farm Progress show in Regina for over a decade, and is a 3rd generation rancher. We cover everything from the livestock industry to what makes Rob tick when it comes to growing agricultural platforms that facilitate business in #westerncdnag! Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.

In this conversation with Brianna Elliot, "techgronomist" at Olds College, we cover some new and interesting territory on what the faculty is pursuing with their new Smart Farm Program, and the end results they are looking for: marrying technology with boots on the ground for better decision making and higher profits! Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.

If you are trying to figure out precision ag for your farm, this is one episode you won't want to miss. Terry Aberhart speaks with Brent Nicol about the new innovations coming in the Wild West of technology in ag, what a techgronomist is, and how farmers can implement the tools that are out there to better their operation! Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.

Cherilyn Nagel, along with her husband David and family, operate a large grain farm near her hometown of Mossbank, Saskatchewan, Canada. Cherilyn is an energetic speaker and loves to share a positive message about the sustainable food grown in her home province and across the country. Cherilyn covers all kind of interesting ground in this candid conversation telling all about her personal journey of embracing farming and agricultural debate from the fields of Saskatchewan to the worldwide stage and everything in between! Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.

Brennan Turner is the CEO of Farm Lead. In this second appearance on the show we discuss fake fame vs real relationships, the CBC actually admitting farmers in western Canada sequester carbon, the nature of influencer referrals, benchmarking self awareness in relationships, President Trump, how likely the apocalypse currently is, the nature of USDA reporting, Brennan’s current book choice, what’s next in farming, and what life would be like if he was on the Bachelorette. Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.

Dean Klippenstine is the National Crops Leader for MNP. We chatted with Dean about the following: - Why Dean is a cool accountant - Dean’s farming background - Looking at a long term perspective on land in agriculture - Figuring out the vision of MNP to bring “infinite sustainability” - Balancing short term financial success with long term prospective on financials - Investing in fertility in rented land - Bringing the franchise model to agriculture - “the art of the possible” - Why the Liberals screwed up the trusts Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.

We talk with Jonathan Small, Chief Research Officer for Global Ag Risk at the Ag Smart Event in Olds AB about technology, the history of BSE, harnessing the ascendency of the consumer, why non - GMO labels work on consumers, the inception of GARS, what he learned in 25 years of succession planning, and how the GARS model works as a financial snapshot for your farm! Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.