Technical competency and a good work ethic are no longer enough to be a successful farmer. Farmers need to develop personal and leadership capacity, Kelly Dobson told the Advancing Women in Agriculture Conference. Hard work and skill are “actually the minimum standard,” said Dobson, a certified executive coach with Leadershift, and a farmer from Fairfax, Manitoba. “Who
Leadership effectiveness critical to farm success
Poor leadership prevents critical decisions, conversations from being confronted head on, says leadership coach Kelly Dobson
Synergy Seeds a local success story
Faces of Ag: Kristie Walker shared lessons learned from her leap into entrepreneurship with the Advancing Women in Agriculture conference
Kristie Walker remembers calling her parents the day she quit her job to start a seed retail business. She remembered “the phone just kind of going quiet,” she told her virtual audience at the Advancing Women in Agriculture Conference. She told her parents, “Well I kind of have a plan, but not really, and no
Federal funds to be used to shore up dairy, eggs, chicken against foreign imports
The federal government announced $691 million in trade compensation for poultry and egg farmers, shortened payment timelines for dairy on November 28
Federal funding commitments to supply-managed farmers should go to increase sustainability and efficiency and to innovate in the face of increasing foreign competition, say Manitoba commodity groups. Money promised to egg farmers would be well spent on product research, increasing sustainability, and consumer awareness — such as trust-building work done by the Canadian Centre for
One-man play portrays peril of Ukrainian settlers at Patterson Lake
‘Ukrainians, Pelicans and the Secret of Patterson Lake’ a piece of family history for Montreal playwright
An impoverished Ukrainian farmer is wooed to Manitoba, only to find his family and fellow settlers in grave peril from the elements, disease and discrimination in a new one-man play from playwright and musician Norman Nawrocki. Nawrocki broadcasted the play via Facebook and YouTube on November 21. Performing from his Montreal apartment, Nawrocki — in
Bringing mental health out in the open
Kevin Werner tells his story of depression, anxiety in hopes others will come forward
Depression nearly took Kevin Werner’s life when he was a preteen. Werner remembers being depressed and anxious even at age five or six, he told an online audience during this year’s virtual Advancing Women in Agriculture conference. He’d feel down, like he didn’t belong or shouldn’t be part of this world despite his tight-knit family,
AMM passes resolutions on municipal autonomy
Municipal leaders fear provincial Bill 37 will strip authority from local elected officials in favour of provincial tribunals
Manitoba’s municipalities are calling for the province to stop undermining their authority. Delegates passed two resolutions calling for changes to a provincial bill which they fear will reduce municipal governments’ power over their constituencies during the Association of Manitoba Municipalities virtual AGM on November 23. “(Bill 37) allows applicants to challenge the decisions… that duly elected municipal councils make in
New Foodgrains Bank head commits to standing with marginalized
World hunger on the rise after many years of decline, organization says
The Canadian Foodgrains Bank will continue to feed the hungry and work to change the systems causing poverty but it will be hard, said new executive director Andy Harrington and outgoing executive director Jim Cornelius on a webinar with supporters on November 10. Global hunger is on the rise after many years of decline, Harrington
The key lesson of COVID outbreaks at Manitoba meat processors? Be proactive
One report suggests meat processors were warned to prepare and failed to act
When it comes to COVID-19 at meat-processing facilities one thing has become clear — you can’t wait until you’ve got a problem to act. “With this virus you have to take precautions in advance,” said Jeff Traeger, president of UFCW local 832, which represents workers at Manitoba’s Maple Leaf, HyLife and Exceldor Co-operative meat-processing facilities.
Worker wage protection key for buy-in
In 2007, food processors and associations gathered to discuss the threat of a flu pandemic and their readiness for it. Among challenges they listed were low-income workers who couldn’t afford to take preventive measures. “This will contribute to the spread of disease,” says the report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. While low-wage, impoverished workers can’t
Recovery will be a long haul, says Canadian Foodgrains Bank
In the midst of deepening worldwide need, Canadian donors stepped up
For some families in countries without social safety nets, surviving the COVID-19 pandemic has forced them to eat less or sell assets that might have helped them recover, says the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. “The numbers of people who will be experiencing hunger are going up,” said Musu Taylor-Lewis, director of resources and public engagement at
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
