Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) president and CEO Neil Hamilton is retiring June 2.
Although planned for a while, it still wasn’t an easy decision, Hamilton said in an interview April 24.
“There are certain things I am going to miss about it, but it’s just time probably for someone else to take charge and carry on,” Hamilton said. “I’ve done it for a long time, but sometimes it’s good to rejuvenate and have different ideas. I am going to miss it for sure, but I just think the time is right for me.”
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Hamilton, who began his career working on economic policy with Manitoba Agriculture in 1981, joined the Manitoba Crop Insurance Corporation as director of research and program development in 1989. In 1996 he was appointed general manager. Hamilton took on his current position in 2005 when the Manitoba government amalgamated crop insurance and the Manitoba Agricultural Credit Corporation to form MASC.
Three senior MASC employees retired not long ago — Jim Lewis, vice-president of lending, Craig Thomson, vice-president of insurance operations and Paul Bonnet, vice-president of research and program development.
“I wanted to at least get through a year with the new folks to try to assist where I could,” Hamilton said. “We’re through that transition.”
MASC is in good shape financially, he said. There’s an estimated $414 million and $56 million in the AgriInsurance and hail insurance reserves, respectively, an MASC official said later. (Final figures could change once all 2016 claims are settled.)
The farm lending division is self-sufficient and enrolment in crop insurance (AgriInsurance, funded by the federal and Manitoba governments and farmers) is high.
“Our lending operations have really had a big increase in volume to the point where lending operations are self-financing and making contributions to pay for other things in the corporation,” he said, including new computers. “That has been a huge success and I don’t take personal responsibility for that. It’s the good job of the people who work in the lending division, not me.”
About 9.4 million, or 90 per cent of Manitoba’s 10 million cultivated acres, are covered by crop insurance. While gratified with farmers’ participation, Hamilton said MASC can’t be complacent.
“We know we’ve got to keep changing to keep up with the industry, because this industry, wow, the way it has changed over the last few years is incredible,” he said.
For example, younger farmers want to do more business with MASC online and it’s working to accommodate that.
When asked about career highlights, Hamilton said it’s hard to single a few out.
“I really like this job,” he said. “I would go as far as to say I love this job. I’ve always thought part of what is special about MASC, or crop insurance before that, is two things: we got to work with farmers, which I always like to do, although sometimes we didn’t always agree. The other thing is we had a very specific program and very specific focus. When people came to work they understood why they were coming to work and why we were there. They didn’t have to wonder. They knew what their job was and they felt it was important. I think the farmers also felt it was important. It was a really good experience.”
Adding to that experience is the great staff at MASC, he said.
“It hasn’t been just one or two. It has been one good person, followed by another good person, followed by another good person. We have been really, really fortunate. That’s what makes retirement hard. You’ve got to move away from that personal aspect of it.”
Hamilton says there’s lots on his ‘to do’ list once he moves to the south-central Manitoba farm that has been in his spouse’s family. Asked if he might consult he replied: “I certainly wouldn’t be doing that in the short run. Maybe if I’m bored a year from now, but right now I am pretty sure I’ve got lots of things to keep me going.”
