Shauna Breault and Lawrence Knockaert are the newest inductees into the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association’s wall of fame.
Both are veterans of the organization’s board and both were honoured during the annual regenerative agriculture conference.
Breault and Knockaert have “contributed above and beyond to our MFGA organization,” said MFGA chair Mike Duguid in a Nov. 12 press release.
Read Also
Seeding Indigenous agricultural prosperity
National Circle for Indigenous Agriculture and Food says Indigenous agricultural success needs strong relationships.
Why it matters: The honour singles out individuals who have contributed to the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association and helped further its priorities, which include promotion of sustainable grassland management and regenerative agriculture.
Breault and her family operate Breault Ranching Ltd. north of Ste. Rose du Lac, which they have managed using holistic and regenerative principles for 17 years. Their herd tops 4,300 cattle, run across 22,000 pasture acres, a land base that includes forage leases under the agricultural Crown land program. The farm also has 1,325 cropped acres dedicated to corn intercropping and polycrops.
Experience with Crown lands put Breault in good position to take on the MFGA’s Crown lands file that threatened to become explosive after regulation changes sparked outrage among producers.
“I got to be a part of that, being that we had a lot of Crown lands. I got to be able to tell MFGA board members how it affected us. I got to be involved with the government and got to be another voice,” Breault said.
She also represented the MFGA on the Keystone Agricultural Producers’ livestock committee and helped organize the MFGA’s regenerative agriculture conference. Her tenure on the board spanned two three-year terms, ending in 2023.
Her “leadership on Crown lands both as a leaseholder and as MFGA’s lead on the file led to many meaningful, solutions-focused conversations with ministers and senior leaders at Manitoba Agriculture that, to this day, continue to showcase the importance and connectivity of the MFGA and including our voices at the table in key discussions,” Duguid said.
“I’m very humbled,” she said of her wall of fame induction. “There’s a lot of people that have been inducted prior to me. They (made) big shoes to fill. I didn’t know whether I really was somebody that should be picked. It was very surprising, and brought tears to my eyes.”
Bringing dairy to the table
Knockaert’s resume includes a stint at the front of the board table. He has served as vice-chair, chair and past-chair of the MFGA, with the latter role recently ended.
He has also been the voice of the dairy sector within the organization. The Bruxelles-area farmer spent the last 10 years as the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba representative on the MFGA board and also sat on that industry association’s board since 2012.
He “brought a great degree of business sense to MFGA,” says the association’s website, and his connections with the provincial and national dairy sectors made him “very in-tune to issues and opportunities for MFGA.”
“During his leadership at MFGA, we greatly expanded our brand of working for and with a diverse network of early adopters, leaders and those interested in learning more about regen ag in Manitoba and North America.”
“I feel good about it,” Knockaert said of his induction. “Working with MFGA and all the directors, and especially Duncan Morrison (MFGA executive director), has been very rewarding.”
In good company
This year was the fourth for the MFGA wall of fame.
Last year, the association inducted John McGregor, known by many producers for his forage extension efforts, regular hay market reports and the Green Gold program, which tracks alfalfa quality and ideal harvest timing.
The second inductee last year was long-time board member, past chair and MFGA blog author Larry Wegner. His tenure on the board saw significant transitions in the organization.
