This year, he’s getting another chance to add “world champion livestock auctioneer” to his resume.

Jack is headed to the World Livestock Auctioneer Championship, presented by the Livestock Marketing Association, following a qualifying event held Jan. 6 at Bowman in southwestern North Dakota. Jack placed as a runner-up (third place).

It’s “pretty much the biggest title a person can have in our industry. It’s the Super Bowl or the Stanley Cup of auctioneering,” he said.

“It’s something I’ve been after for a long time.”

WHY IT MATTERS: Brennin Jack oversees one of Manitoba’s major livestock auctions in Virden.

This year’s world championships will be held at St. Onge, South Dakota, about 25 km northwest of Sturgis. The competition closes out the association’s annual convention June 17-20.

“Being crowned world champion is not just being the same-sounding auctioneer that day. That person goes and represents the entire industry for a year, promoting true price discovery and promoting what we do as livestock marketers,” Jack said.

The competition, which dates back to 1963, according to the Livestock Marketing Association website, was started “to spotlight North America’s top livestock auctioneers and to salute their traditionally important role in the competitive livestock marketing process.”

Winners in 2026 get a pickup truck, cash prize, diamond ring and trophy buckle, to say nothing of the bragging rights.

Making the grade

Jack and other competitors sold just under 6,000 head of cattle during the Jan. 6 qualifier.

“It was just a regular sale, and we got up there and sold, and the judges scored us on our knowledge of the industry, on our rhythm and chant, as well as how we conducted the sale,” he said.

That’s on top of a judged interview, which counts for 25 per cent of their overall score.

Ten auctioneers, including Jack, were selected to advance to the Worlds. Thirty contestants will compete at the final competition in June.

Past honours

Jack has a long history in the auctioneering world.

Jack started working full time as an auctioneer in 2009 in Saskatchewan, facing down five sales a week in various locations across the eastern half of that province.

“I happened to have a lot of good opportunities, and I’ve worked for the same company for coming on 20 years,” he said. “To be able to get that much practice and be able to hone my skill at such a young age made me be able to get past auctioneers that maybe had more experience or more time at the microphone, because it’s all I ever did,” he said.

His accolades include a Canadian championship. At 22, he won the Calgary Stampede’s international livestock auctioneer competition. He has placed as a reserve world champion and as runner-up world champion in past World Livestock Auctioneer Championship.

This will be Jack’s 11th trip to the world championship event. He’s placed in the top 10 the last 10 times he has attended.

What it takes to be an auctioneer

To be a good auctioneer, Jack notes, you need to know your product. You must have a great cadence and be personable. You must build enthusiasm to generate higher prices.

“You need to have a good handle on what the value of the item is that you’re selling and be somebody that can be in control of the sale,” he said.

In his mind, the auction method is true price discovery in action.

Jack took a few classes in auctioneering in 2007-2008. Mostly, though, he’s learned on the job.

“I took little bits and pieces from people over the years and made it into my own way of doing things,” he said.

One of the best things about auctioneering, in Jack’s mind, is the people. He also appreciates how much a good auctioneer can drive the sale and how an auctioneer’s conduct can weigh on final value. An auctioneer has a major impact on the business, as well as on the livelihoods of the producers who bring their animals to sell.

“It’s a really fascinating job,” he said.

There is pressure though: long days, stress and the need to be at the top of your game every day.

“It’s something that I’m very grateful that I get the opportunity to do,” he said.

Moving up the company ladder

Since becoming a market manager, Jack doesn’t do as many sales. He’s busy running the branch.

“Instead of selling 150, I maybe sell 50,” he said.

He has a world-class auctioneer who works for him in Virden. Still, Jack keeps his hand in the game, with a lot of horse sales and bison sales with his own company, Jack Auction Group and Farm Sales.

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The mixed farmer and long-time board member was named to the honour Nov. 12, during the MFGA’s annual regenerative agriculture conference in Brandon, an event that, as 2025 conference committee chair, he helped bring about.

WHY IT MATTERS: The Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association has dug a niche for itself as a farmer-facing group championing the adoption of regenerative agriculture.

Farming near Arnes, ten miles north of Gimli near Lake Winnipeg, Duguid runs Lake Forest Farms with his wife, Cheryl.

He joined the MFGA board in 2019 as a representative from the Manitoba Beef Producers, and served double duty with both boards throughout his six-year tenure. His resume with the organization includes a term as vice chair, two years chairing the MFGA’s regenerative agriculture conference committee and a period at the front of the table as chair —a role that he only recently set aside in the fall of 2025. His time with the MFGA board also dovetailed with a one-year stint as the Canadian Cattle Association’s national Environment Committee co-chair.

The association pointed to Duguid’s capacity as an ambassador for the MFGA, as well as his on-farm knowledge.

“The people I work with, they’re really enthusiastic. It’s not hard to lead people who are so enthused about regenerative agriculture, forages, grazing and all those things that a lot of us do already,” Duguid said. “To be recognized by people like that is quite humbling.”

Duguid was one of the first farmers who offered their land for a General Mills project looking at bird and soil research. The food giant has an official policy pushing regenerative agriculture and has committed to working with producers to promote adoption of regenerative practices. The company has a goal of promoting regenerative agriculture on one million acres by the end of this decade.

Likewise, he was one of the producers raising his hand for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s local Living Lab initiative in Manitoba. That initiative connects researchers, farmers and other groups and pursues projects meant to gather real-world insights and solutions for sustainable agriculture.

He was also among those turning to the Prairie Watersheds Climate Program —a program administered by the Manitoba Association of Watersheds and that offers funding for producers to implement certain projects, things like soil testing, precision fertilizer application, pasture water projects or urease inhibitors.

Past MFGA Wall of Fame names

Duguid’s inclusion brings the MFGA Wall of Fame up to 13 names. Last year, other long-time board members and MFGA leaders Shauna Breault and Lawrence Knockaert were named.

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The retired agrologist has a long list of local experience on his resume. He helped build the family seed and export business, Sabourin Seed Service out of St. Jean Baptiste, Man., worked for an agricultural engineering firm and eventually opened his own consultancy. He also has a long list of globe-trotting adventures.

When sitting down to write about those experiences, Sabourin said, he had a few reasons for picking up the pen. He wanted to preserve family history for his grandchildren. He also wanted to share the realities of Prairie farm life in the 1950s and 1960s, and he was advocating for global understanding through what he calls the spirit of ubuntu, a Zulu concept of shared humanity that he became familiar with during his travels.

“Primarily, it was for… my grandsons,” he said. “They’re pretty young now, but you know, another five, 10 years from now, or 20 years from now, they can see…how things were.”

WHY IT MATTERS: Philippe Sabourin’s new memoir chronicles a mix of local experience and global perspective.

The 75-year-old author spent more than two years penning the book.

It covers Sabourin’s childhood on a mixed farm near St. Jean Baptiste in southern Manitoba during an era when self-sufficiency was essential. Families grew their own vegetables, butchered their own livestock and preserved food for winter without the luxury of year-round imported produce, he recalled.

“Back then, there were many, many of the farms in southern Manitoba that were mixed farms because we needed the animals and a big garden to survive,” Sabourin said. “The food traveled 100 feet. So that is local.”

His family has a long history in the area. The first Sabourins arrived in the Red River Valley in 1891, and the surname still leaves a mark in the phone books of the region.

Without television in his early years and with no video games, the outdoors became Sabourin’s playground. His recollections include creating a maze by trampling down cattails in a marsh near the family home, fashioning secret rooms amid the reeds where he could lie and look at the sky.

“We had one thing to do, which was to go outside, run, play and enjoy nature,” he said. “We were very privileged to have a big marsh 100 feet from the house.”

Beyond the farmyard

Inspired by his older brother, Gilbert, who took on his own world travels in the late 1960s, Sabourin’s global adventures would eventually take him from the Amazon rain forest in South America to the Serengeti grasslands in Africa, to the Great Barrier Reef, to the Arctic village of Tuktoyaktuk in northern Canada.

His journeys weren’t merely tourist excursions, they were windows into food and agriculture across the world, from Chinese rice terraces to farmers in Bali, at the time still using cattle to pull plows.

In India and Pakistan, he witnessed the massive food distribution systems of Old Delhi’s Naya Bazar, where he captured a poignant photograph of young girls collecting spilled beans from the ground with handmade brooms.

“I saw these kids. Most were young girls, very poorly dressed up, and they had these little handmade brushes like brooms, and they would go and pick by hand or with their broom, with the dirt and grime and manure, and they would bring that back home to eat,” he said.

Those experiences reinforced his belief in humanity’s interconnectedness and the need for empathy across borders.

“All of a sudden, I broke out of that farm and I became a world trekker,” Sabourin said. “We are on a small earth … we all have to help each other.”

Back home, Sabourin built a successful seed business with his brothers, exporting lentils to Europe and bird food across North America, giving him additional perspective on global food production.

“I want to motivate kids and youth…to really think about that and to plan and maybe to save money instead of throwing money away on clothes or frivolous things. Instead, save money and go see the world,” he said.

Despite global challenges to trade and food security, Sabourin maintains an optimistic outlook about humanity’s ability to feed a growing world population through innovation and technology.

“There’s so much doom and gloom right now,” he said. “I’m trying to put a positive spin here, that human ingenuity and scientists and farmers will learn to always improve, and we will be able to feed 10 billion people.”

A lasting legacy

Written in English despite his Francophone heritage, Sabourin’s book also features 150 colour photographs documenting both his Prairie childhood and international travels.

Sabourin recently gifted a copy to the Manitoba Legislative Library, in an effort to make sure his family’s story will be preserved for future generations.

“If somebody picks it up and tries to read what was happening in 1970, it’s there for people to read it and see how we lived,” he said.

Now living in St. Pierre-Jolys, south of Winnipeg, Sabourin continues to plant trees and maintain gardens, though his traveling days may be winding down.

Prairie Roots and Wings is available through Friesen Press as a digital edition and at various rural bookstores.

The post Prairie Roots and Wings: Manitoba agrologist memoir recalls journey of discovery appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Today, as a farm journalist, long-time editor and fixture of the agricultural media world, Rance-Unger looks back at a career that has incorporated all three.

Her work has appeared in both a handful of Canada’s noteworthy mainstream newspapers, as well as some of ag media’s oldest and most respected publications. Her CV includes laurels like the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for her contribution to agricultural communication and the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Star Prize and UN-sponsored IFAJ-FAO Award for Excellence in Global Food Security Reporting for her work covering agricultural practices in three African countries.

She headed the editorial desk of the Manitoba Co-operator for years, later moving on to take broader responsibility across multiple Glacier FarmMedia newspapers.

As of Sept. 20, she’s got another major award to add to the list.

Rance-Unger, currently the executive editor for Glacier FarmMedia, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Farm Writers Federation (CFWF) for her almost 40-year career during the national organization’s awards banquet in Winnipeg.

“The award recognized her extraordinary contributions to agricultural journalism and her lasting impact on the industry over many years of dedicated service, mentoring and leadership,” read a CFWF news release.

WHY IT MATTERS: Laura Rance-Unger was one of several Glacier FarmMedia writers and editors honoured at the 2025 Canadian Farm Writers Federation awards Sept. 20 in Winnipeg.

Rance-Unger, who lives on an acreage near Carman with her husband Gord, described the prize as “very humbling” and “a huge honour.”

She reserves her highest praise though for the ag journalism industry itself.

“We call it agricultural journalism, but to me, we are journalists first and we cover agriculture. I always say we support this industry by telling its story and telling it with fairness, balance and objectivity, and I think that is a service to the industry that’s important.”

Making a farm reporter

Rance-Unger’s first instinct groing up was to become a veterinarian. In high school, however, she started to wonder, with a little encouragement, about pursuing a career in journalism.

“I always did very well in high school in writing. A couple of teachers had said to me, ‘You know, this is something that you could possibly consider as a career,’” she recalled.

“It just hit me because it was just something that felt like a natural fit for the things that I really was passionate about.”

Rance-Unger started that journey as a student at Red River Community College’s program in creative communications, which included journalism, advertising and public relations in its curriculum. After graduating in 1981, her first professional years saw her working as a reporter on a host of beats for the Stonewall Argus and Teulon Times, Calgary Herald and the Winnipeg Free Press.

It was at the latter, where her farm background made her a go-to for ag stories, that she learned an important lesson on writing for a specific readership.

“It took me a while to learn that when you’re writing about agriculture for an urban audience, you have to approach that story a little bit differently,” she said.

“I still recall the one editor that kept coming to me and saying ‘What does this have to do with the price of my pork chops?’ I didn’t get it at first, but then when I did get it, it was something that really helped me in my career.”

In 1986, her career as a specialized agricultural reporter kicked into gear. She became the Winnipeg correspondent, and eventually a national correspondent, for the Western Producer. In 1994, she accepted a position as associate editor of the Manitoba Co-operator.

At the time, both the Producer and Co-operator were owned by farmer co-operatives. This led to not just another key lesson in journalism, but insight into how a robust decision-making process can drive constructive discourse.

“In the days when the Prairie co-ops were running the show in grain handling, they would have these exhaustive five-day meetings (where) delegates would come to a central place … and they would debate issues,” she said.

“They would have resolutions that sometimes went days to talk about issues and people would all follow Robert’s Rules of Order. They would have an exhaustive debate and then the delegates would vote on the policy that they wanted the co-operative leaders to take forward.”

As a journalist attending these meetings, Rance-Unger learned how people with different perspectives could come to a conclusion the majority would support. She’s carried those lessons into the age of social media, a platform not always known for its level-headed discourse.

“I think that some of the social media platforms serve to actually cause more polarity in these discussions, because people who are in one channel only hear like-minded views amplified within that channel, but they never cross over to hear what the other side is saying.”

Journey to today

Her initial position at the Co-operator lasted seven-and-a-half years before a merger involving Manitoba Pool Elevators, which owned the paper, resulted in the termination of several employees, herself included.

The setback didn’t stop Rance-Unger for long. Along with a number of fellow Co-operator alumni, she started Farmers Independent Weekly, a publication that lasted five years before being acquired by Glacier Media, which by then included the Co-operator among its publications.

She was hired back to the Co-operator, this time as editor.

From that point to today, she worked for the various iterations of Glacier Media, which became Farm Business Communications and finally Glacier FarmMedia. In recent years, she has moved up to the senior echelons of the company’s editorial decision makers.

The role of farm media

Rance-Unger sees the role of farm media as a catalyst enabling a more informed ag industry.

“When you have a common platform and a common presentation from a trusted, credible source, people can at least hear and see what the different perspectives are coming to the table to say, and hopefully that can lead to a more informed community,” she said.

Although lifetime achievement awards sometimes suggest a career reaching its end, that is not the case with Rance-Unger.

“I’m not done yet. My career has been more rewarding and more challenging and more interesting than I could ever have imagined going into it. And you know, it’s been a great place to to spend 40 years of my life.”

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Now, two and a half years after retiring from her role, her decades of work have landed her a spot in the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame.

“It’s just a thrill. Just unbelievable,” she said. “I think, ‘I’m going to wake up and this didn’t really happen,’ but again, the honour … I just hope to keep being involved because agriculture is the best industry to work in. Absolutely the best.”

WHY IT MATTERS: Gingera-Beauchemin is one of six names that will be inducted in the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame during a ceremony Nov. 8, in Victoria, B.C.

Gingera-Beauchemin was born on a farm north of Dauphin. She was an active 4-H member for many years. She studied agriculture at the University of Manitoba and then went on to work for the provincial agriculture department.

“I worked for the department three summers during high school when we lived in McCreary, so I got familiar with the department then,”she said.

Throughout university, all her jobs were with the provincial agriculture department.

“It was knowing the department and the kind of people that it had attracted that were mentors and people I looked up to,” she said of her early employment. “I thought it would be a good place for what I thought would be part of my career. Little did I know, I’d stay the whole time.”

Her first government role was as a 4-H specialist in Beausejour and Steinbach. At that time, the position was equivalent to a 4-H provincial lead. Following that, she moved to Portage La Prairie, where she served as the director of central Manitoba for the department, covering 10 agricultural regions.

She later moved to Winnipeg to become the director of marketing and farm business management.

She held a series of other agriculture-related government positions — including assistant deputy minister, roles in agri-food and rural development and policy and agri-environment — before becoming deputy minister of agriculture in 2013.

By the time she retired, she had served as deputy minister across four different agriculture ministers and through both NDP and Progressive Conservative governments.

Today, she farms soybeans, canola, wheat, oats and flax with her husband just outside Winnipeg.

Her nomination for the national hall of fame, made by consulting firm Emerging Ag Inc., noted her continued ag advocacy after retirement.

Rural perspective, farm priorities

Gingera-Beauchemin is interested in many aspects of agriculture, especially sustainability.

“Sustainability of the environment, which I mean is sort of an obvious one, but also of our industry and our rural social fabric,” she said. “All those pieces are important. I came from a farm, then a very small town and I believe in rural. I believe in small towns. I’m a bit like Paul Brandt; small towns, big dreams.”

Gingera-Beauchemin had a hand in the creation of Manitoba’s Sustainable Protein Strategy; one of her proudest achievements.

Manitoba is the first province to have a sustainable protein strategy. It covers growth for both plant and animal protein, she noted, adding both are given equal weight.

“We know our economy depends on both animal and plant protein, which are important to us,” she said.

Gingera-Beauchemin pointed to key industries like the pork sector.

In 2004, Winnipeg hosted the World Meat Congress. It was the first time the conference was held in Canada. The conference was not limited to to the pork sector, “But it (the pork industry) was one of the reasons why we were able to secure that event,” she said. “To me, it was part and parcel of putting a spotlight on what’s possible, what’s happened, and what is happening and is possible.”

Despite the work put into developing the strategy, the bigger challenge came afterward, she said. That’s the point when the plan on paper meets the real world, “helping the minister take those ideas to cabinet and try it on for industry.”

“Then for myself, it’s really (about) going up to the federal level, where there are partnerships and alliances, and policy development that can help form this sustainable protein industry,” she said.

The end result was “targeted to drive expanded economic activity around protein, making those things available for our industry to succeed,” she said.

Farm community

Gingera-Beauchemin is passionate about agricultural organizations, particularly 4-H.

Manitoba was the first province in Canada to run 4-H, and it is well established with farm and rural communities in the province.

“To me, it’s been extremely important,” she said, adding she sees high value in other agricultural organizations like Agriculture in the Classroom and the province’s many community ag societies.

“These programs hit more on the social and human side rather than the technical side. And to me, it’s all a piece of that sustainable rural economy and community,” she said.

Gingera-Beauchemin was instrumental in setting up a 4-H exchange program with Japan that persists to this day. The program is a collaboration with a foundation set up by the York-Beminaru Company, a large supermarket company in Japan.

The York-Beminaru Company was already doing business with the province of Manitoba, purchasing Manitoba honey and pork for their supermarkets. When marketing staff in Manitoba’s agriculture department heard the company was supporting a youth exchange program with California, they pushed for a similar Japanese exchange with Manitoba.

That program began in 1987 and has had about 1,000 students participate.

Every year, a group of about 20 Japanese students comes to Manitoba. On alternating years, Manitoba students go to Japan. Each exchange last two weeks and is completely paid for by the company-affiliated foundation.

Gingera-Beauchemin said long-time friendships have blossomed between the two nations because of the program. Some exchange students have later returned to their host country for events like vacations or weddings.

“No one thought it would last this long or run this well,” she said.

The program has has periodic pauses due to international incidents such as SARS, 9/11, and COVID-19. But after each global event, the program has picked up and kept on going.

In 2018, Gingera-Beauchemin received a commendation from the Japanese foreign affairs minister for setting up the program.

Bound for the hall of fame

Robynne Anderson, president of Emerging Ag Inc. was part of the group that put together Gingera-Beauchemin’s nomination and has known the hall of fame honouree for decades. Others who worked on the nomination include former agriculture minister Ralph Eichler and Dean Fraser, who used to work at MacDon, a global farm equipment company based in Winnipeg.

Anderson and Gingera-Beauchemin both serve on the board of Farmers Abroad Canada, a non-profit that supports agriculture education internationally in places like Zambia and Ghana. Anderson is chair of the organization and was involved with its founding.

She said Gingera-Beauchemin can easily see possible ways to build a community and work together.

“One of the hallmarks of her nomination process is we had former ministers of agriculture from both parties endorse her nomination, which I think is quite special and isn’t very common anymore,” said Anderson.

“It’s definitely proof of what a tremendous consensus builder she is and how she has the interest of the sector of a whole at heart.”

Anderson said Gingera-Beauchemin is passionate about the industry and has a strong sense of community.

“She has a can-do attitude. While working in government, she’s always been able to see the path forward to advance issues.”

Anderson noted Gingera-Beauchemin’s huge commitment to 4-H, her commitment to youth and the abilities she brings to Farmers Abroad Canada.

Anderson added that Gingera-Beauchemin has the unique ability to see agriculture as a whole, saying that “she understands the role of livestock and crops value add across our agriculture sector in a very holistic way.”

Gingera-Beauchemin said her time in the agriculture industry in Manitoba has been a healthy work environment, especially with partners and colleagues in the department.

“I couldn’t have picked a better job or a better industry to be in,” she said.

Since she retired in 2023, Gingera-Beauchemin has been sitting on several boards. She currently sits on the board of Protein Industry Canada, the Canadian Agriculture Policy Institute, Farmers Abroad Canada and Protein Manitoba.

“I am lucky that I am able to stay in my lane and be able to keep up or learn or listen or meet people that are growing in depth and capacity and doing amazing things,” she said.

The post A place of national honour for former deputy ag minister, Dori Gingera-Beauchemin appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The annual honour is presented for outstanding contributions to Manitoba’s agricultural industry and rural communities and is presented to up to three people each year. Graduates of the former human economics and human ecology degree program, as well as the university’s agriculture diploma program, are also eligible.

This year, Cathey Day, Fred Greig and Kim McConnell were named by the school.

WHY IT MATTERS: University of Manitoba ag programs have put out key agriculture researchers, industry leaders, farmers and more for decades.

The awards were presented at a ceremony on June 19. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the certificate of merit program.

Since 1981, the university noted, it has recognized more than 95 individuals. Recipients are recognized for their “exemplary leadership in agriculture, agri-food, and community service.”

“We are proud to honour these three remarkable leaders in this milestone year,” said the faculty’s dean, Martin Scanlon, in a press release.

“We know that our alumni have deep and lasting impacts – not only within their professions, but also in their communities. These honourees are a true inspiration for young people who are considering studies and careers that will advance Canada’s agri-food sector.”

Day a champion of community and youth

Day was raised on a multi-generational hog farm near Dand, in southwestern Manitoba that “instilled in her a deep appreciation for rural life, family, and agriculture education,” according to her award citation.

Day graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1988 with a bachelor of human ecology, joining the Manitoba Association of Home Economists in 1989.

The next year, she became an extension home economist with the provincial agriculture department, serving communities across western Manitoba.

“For decades, Cathey has managed programs and people with humour and wit. She demonstrates empathy and gratitude with all those with whom she is involved,” the award citation said.

Her track record includes 30 years as a volunteer board member of Prairie Skills Inc., a non-profit organization that restored a heritage building in Deloraine. She was a founding member and vice-chair of Wannakumbac Circle Inc., which governs youth summer camp Camp Wannakumbac. She has also been involved in 4-H for decades, from being a member herself back in the 1980s to chaperoning Manitoba 4-H students on their way to Japan in 2024.

She has served internationally as Canadian co-ordinator for the Canadian Society of Extension, which partners with agricultural organizations in Tanzania and Ghana, and was a founding member of the former Canadian Agricultural Rural Extension Society.

In 2010, the faculty of human ecology centennial committee recognized her as one of 100 graduates who have made significant professional contributions.

“I feel deeply honoured and appreciative of all the opportunities I’ve had in my career and in my community,” Day said. “I’ve had great family support and people to work with that have encouraged me along the way, and there are many people deserving of being recognized.”

Today, she lives on Prairie Wind Angus farm near Deloraine with her husband Buzz, where they raised three sons.

Greig an innovator in farm leadership

After graduating in 1982 graduate with his agriculture diploma, Greig got a job handling agricultural loans with Virden Credit Union. He later moved on to the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation before transitioning to full-time farming in 1994.

He operates Avondale Seed Farm Ltd. and a beef-cow operation near Reston with his wife Lori and their three children.

Greig made his mark in local industry groups. He was a founding member of the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association following the end of single-desk marketing, later becoming the organization’s chair and leading the charge as it tackled topics like production research and market development

He “helped shape the organization into a powerful advocate for Manitoba’s grain producers,” his award citation said.

Under his watch, the wheat and barley growers became founding members of both the Canadian Wheat Research Coalition and the Canadian Barley Research Coalition. He helped foster ties between the provincial association and groups like Cereals Canada.

He also helped see the organization through its 2020 amalgamation with four other groups —representing flax, corn, sunflowers and winter cereals — into the Manitoba Crop Alliance.

His other industry leadership positions include stints on the boards of the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers, Western Grains Research Foundation, Canterra Seeds, and the Canadian Grain Commission’s Western Standards Committee. Currently, he chairs Sunrise Credit Union in western Manitoba.

Greig said he was surprised to hear he was getting the award.

“It was really meaningful, too, because all farmers get into organizations to help out, and to be recognized for doing that was really quite special.”

McConnell a marketing visionary

McConnell, who graduated in 1978 with a bachelor of science in agriculture, grew up on a family farm in Hamiota. He had already served in various university committees and had been “Senior Stick” (president) of the faculty of agricultural and food sciences student body.

In 1984, he founded Fieldstone Marketing and Communications from his basement. That evolved into AdFarm, one of North America’s largest agricultural marketing firms.

“It’s an honour to be recognized by your alma mater, to be recognized by your peers,” McConnell said about receiving the award.

AdFarm’s customer list includes names like Bayer, Cargill, Corteva, RBC Royal Bank and Farm Credit Canada. It had repeat slots on lists of “Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies” and “Best Places to Work in Canada.”

“Kim’s pioneering work in agricultural marketing has helped build public trust in food and farming and served as a catalyst for major industry initiatives,” his award citation said.

In 2007, McConnell handed over the reins of AdFarm. He “remained a strategic advisor while dedicating his energy to advancing agriculture, rural Canada, and youth leadership,” the university noted.

Those efforts include participation with the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, 4-H Canada, the Calgary Stampede and the Salvation Army. He’s supported programs and initiatives like Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers, Growing Alberta, Alberta Farm Animal Care, the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity.

The university particularly noted his efforts to mentor students and young professionals, “including Indigenous youth and young women entering leadership roles.”

McConnell’s leadership has been previously recognized. He was inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2012 and appointed to the Order of Canada in 2017.

He lives in Alberta with his wife Carolyn.

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Laycraft, who is based in Calgary, is the executive vice-president with the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA). He is one of six people who will be inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame this year.

“I had no idea that I’d even been nominated, so it was a complete surprise,” said Laycraft, who grew up on a big ranch in southern Alberta near the Porcupine Hills.

WHY IT MATTERS: Six names chosen for the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame this year also included a retired deputy agriculture minister from Manitoba.

Laycraft’s heart has always been in agriculture. For his post-secondary education, he went to Olds College and studied Livestock Production. He worked for a fertilizer and feed company for a few years. In 1981, he joined the Alberta Cattle Commission (now the Alberta Beef Producers) and worked there for nine years before joining the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (now the Canadian Cattle Association) in 1990.

Laycraft was nominated for the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame by the Canadian Cattle Association. Both Brenna Grant, executive director of Canfax, and Ryder Lee, general manager of the Canadian Cattle Association, said Laycraft has too many accomplishments to list.

Grant said Laycraft is being honoured for his contributions throughout his entire career.

“Those contributions are going to have a lasting impact on the industry,” she said.

“I would say that you can’t ever look at someone’s career in isolation at a certain season. It should really be looked at as a whole and the thing that makes Dennis so deserving of this is the fact that he has consistently served industry over long term, over many years. He firmly believes in building organizations and institutions that will stand the test of time.”

Beef industry leadership

Lee said Laycraft was involved with fighting Countervail, creating the Beef Breeds Agency and getting the industry through BSE. Laycraft is dedicated to trade and market access and was also involved with the creation of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. He was instrumental in helping create the check off as it exists today. The check off currently funds the Beef Cattle Research Council and public and stakeholder engagement.

Lee said Laycraft demonstrates principled, committed leadership around the ideas of market access and competitiveness. He is also decisive, promotes the cattle industry, and brings forth solutions that will move the cattle industry forward, said Lee. Laycraft remains calm and rational under pressure.

“That has spread through the years, throughout the organization and into other organizations,” he said.

Laycraft is also known for his mentorship and leadership and helping people in the industry flourish, said Lee.

“There’s been lots of big things going on that could have went in different directions if we got to pounding the table or taking different approaches that we found solutions to thanks to Dennis’ leadership for sure,” he said.

Lee said Laycraft is dedicated to the producer leadership at CCA and recognizes how producers are always involved in finding solutions to the industry issues, like the plant shutdowns that occurred during COVID-19.

Grant said one of Laycraft’s strengths is how he works in collaboration.

“A lot of the things he’s done have been in collaboration with other groups, so it’s not like he would ever take full credit for some of the ideas, or the implementation of so many things because so many of them are bigger than any one person. He does a lot of collaboration, both within industry as well as with government and across the sectors with other commodities,” she said.

Changes to the Canadian Cattle Association

Lee said CCA has evolved over time under Laycraft’s leadership. Laycraft has managed to build and enhance the staff at CCA and bring them along to work on major issues.

“I’ve seen different things where the benefit has been the recognition that we don’t have the right expertise leaning in that we need. We need to go and find that and make sure it’s coming to the plate,” said Lee. “It’s a good thing that cattle producers have come together and put the resources in or have been called upon to put extra resources in, to bring that expertise to the table that we know we don’t always have,” he said.

Grant said she has worked in a division of CCA for 18 years, and Laycraft has always provided direction, but given staff the space to own their files, run with them, and make them their own.

“I’ve been able to bring a number of strong staff into the organization, and that’s something I’ll always feel quite proud of, and the work they’ve done as well. It’s never one person. It’s a team. When you hire exceptional people, I often say, ‘when you have many bright lights, they all shine together,” said Laycraft.

Eyes on trade

Trade access is one of Laycraft’s areas of interest.

Since he started at CCA, Laycraft has had to work through multiple Canada-U.S. trade agreements and issues, building up the export-oriented industry and the yearly round of trade negotiations, said Lee.

“The move to a rule based global trading system and being export oriented isn’t something that we arrived at by accident. It was very purposeful. And then the challenge to that in 1999 was the U.S. countervail case, which was enormous, and we won that thing,” said Lee.

“I think the thing about trade cases is not everybody knows the federal government isn’t keen to fight these things. It takes convincing that it can be won, that it should be fought, and that it will be worth the time and resources of doing that. Winning that was key to moving our industry forward.”

“We’re not a high cattle population country, but boy, the product we put out into the world competes with the best, and we compete into the US, into Japan and South Korea, and we’re right there because of some of the things that we’ve built up and Dennis’ fingerprints are on so many of them,” said Lee.

In the 2000s, mandatory country of origin labelling became an issue, and there were a lot of people who had to fight against it for the success of the industry. Other major issues were the disastrous drought in 2002.

Laycraft said the biggest issue the cattle industry has ever faced was BSE, which began in May 2003 and affected the industry for years.

In the 2010s, the CCA needed to have the vision and see where the world was going on the environmental file, and that led to the creation of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. CCA staff fully dedicated themselves to investigating environmental sustainability for producers.

Laycraft is a family man, said Lee, and so thanks need to be given to his wife, Libby, as well as his son and daughter.

“He’s also able to bring those family values to CCA. We work for family values people, but we’re also able to do that as an industry, and thanks go to his family for carrying that all the way,” said Lee.

Laycraft plans to scale back next year but will still be working on trade issues.

The post Dennis Laycraft to be inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Hunter is fresh off the launch of her newest book. The True Cost of Wool, released June 10, examines the environmental, social and economic aspects of the wool supply chain in Canada.

WHY IT MATTERS: Wool in Canada has a large-scale processing capacity problem, something the Canadian industry has been looking to address.

Canada has a reliance on imported wool, while domestic wool processing infrastructure has declined, the book notes.

Hunter, who operates a sheep farm and wool mill in eastern Manitoba, used data analysis and personal accounts to trace wool’s journey from farm to finished product. The book examines how the loss of Canada’s wool processing capabilities has affected rural economies, environmental sustainability and the textile industry.

Hunter’s first book, Sheep, Shepherd and Land, was published in 2023 and tells the stories of wool-focused sheep farmers.

Hunter describes her approach to farming, creating and writing as grassroots activism.

“There are other organizations that are starting to do stuff about wool in Canada, and I say that they’re sort of like the wool advocacy in fashion boutiques, and we’re really the boots on the ground.”

From yarn shop owner to wool advocate

Hunter’s path to wool advocacy began with her pastime as a knitter. She opened up a yarn shop in Vancouver in 2009.

“My goal for that was to have it be a community-based yarn shop … a 100-mile yarn shop,” she said. “I wanted to sell wool that had been grown within 100 miles of the lower mainland in Vancouver, which is where I lived.”

But sourcing local fibre proved harder than anticipated.

The experience immersed Hunter in the details, nuances and gaps of the wool supply chain, knowledge that grew after she and her husband moved to Manitoba to start their own farm.

In 2018, the couple opened the door to their wool mill, which they hoped would help fill a service gap for local farmers lacking in local processing options.

“We don’t have the infrastructure to manufacture the wool in Canada, so it’s not worth it for so many farmers to do anything with their wool,” she said.

For many sheep producers in the province, wool is less income than it is cost recovery for shearing, a necessary animal health practice.

According to the International Wool Textile Organisation, Canada’s wool sector is classified as small, “currently building up its medium-scale production.”

The Canadian Co-operative Wool Growers takes in about two-thirds of the wool sheared by Canadian sheep farmers, the international organization noted.

The co-operative’s website notes 41 locations for farmers to drop off their wool. It grades and markets about three million pounds of raw wool a year, most of which comes from Quebec, Ontario and Alberta.

Timely release amidst trade tension

The book explores the global wool supply chain and proposes alternatives focused on local production and community-based manufacturing. It calls for more investment in domestic textile production.

The book’s release was accelerated from its original September timeline due to trade uncertainty within North America.

“In February, when this tariff stuff happened through the United States, I think in most industries, people were taking to community groups or the internet and saying, ‘Where’s our Canadian food? Where’s our Canadian products?’” Hunter said. “People are hungry for traceable supply chain, especially one that includes Canadian-grown and manufactured products.”

Hunter also sees wool production as part of a broader agricultural conversation. While it does face challenges with infrastructure, she argued synthetic fibres are still the biggest threat to the wool sector.

“One of the things that I try and talk about in farming spaces is that our clothing is agriculture too, or at least it should be. And we’ve really moved away from the concept or the idea of textile agriculture,” she said.

Many people often overlook the fact that what they choose to wear is connected to land and labour, she said. Her book is about the true costs of the wool and textile industry.

“It’s showing Canadians that a different way is possible. One that supports regenerative agriculture, fair labour, and a resilient, community-based manufacturing system.”

The post Manitoba author dissects wool supply chain politics appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Her farm has risen to 40,000 plants in a season. Even for them though, the farmer mused, that 24-hour planting blitz was a bit busier than she would have preferred.

WHY IT MATTERS: Locally grown garlic is fresher and is supposed to come with a longer shelf life.

Sandford owns Prairie Winds Garlic Farm near St. Malo, Man.

She’s among the relatively few farmers who have broken into the industry without a farm background. She discovered a love for growing her chosen crop during a visit to a friend about nine years ago.

“I started with one pound of garlic, and I became addicted to growing it,” she said. “The flavour surpassed any grocery store garlic you’d ever find.”

She hasn’t looked back since. Today, she plants betwen 500-800 pounds (226-362 kilograms) of garlic each year.

Her first large-scale effort began with seed garlic from British Columbia (an order of 25,000). It took several years for that West Coast variety to adapt to the temperature extremes high and low temperatures of a Prairie climate, so different from the steady temperature that the crop prefers.

“Once it took off, it was a really good seed product,” said Sandford, “but now I keep my own seed every year. I just pick out the best of my crop and use it to replant.”

When Sandford detects that her garlic bulbs are coming out smaller – a sign that the genetics are struggling – she adds in new seed to refresh her crop.

Lately she’s preferred to stay with Manitoba garlic varieties, as they are already well-adapted to local conditions.

Garlic production

Sandford starts off each season in the fall. This is when planting happens, and she draws a crowd to come help.

“It’s like a planting party day where we have it all organized; we plant it all together and then we do a big barbecue at the end of the evening,” she said.

For this 2025 growing season, her 28,000 plants are split into 25 rows. The farm uses a dibbler to ensure even spacing – essentially a series of spikes on a drum shape – to poke holes into the soil where each seed can be placed by hand.

Once this is done, she adds a six-inch layer of straw over the plants to protect the garlic from the winter cold. Once spring returns, the straw has the added benefit of keeping weed pressure down.

Sandford also uses a rotation cycle to keep disease from taking hold in her garlic crop.

“Every four years, we do a garlic rotation. So, you don’t plant in the same spot every year,” she said.

“It would surprise a lot of people that garlic is very susceptible to disease, even though garlic is very beneficial to our bodies,” she added. “In the garlic plant itself, it is combating a lot of issues.”

When a particular garlic plot is in a rest cycle, she uses that space for a variety of vegetables such as potatoes, green beans, sugar snap peas and cucumbers to keep her plots productive.

Sandford also taps organic methods for her garlic. Fertilizer comes in the form of a foliar spray of a fish emulsion during the growing season.

When it comes time to harvest, not all varieties peak at the same time.

“Different varieties have different times,” said Sandford. “I’ve harvested as early as July 15. That’s not always standard, but it was a very hot year.

“We generally have a time frame of two weeks between mid-July and early August. If you leave them too long in the ground, the garlic kind of pop out and they want to re-seed themselves.”

Garlic products in plenty

While garlic bulbs make up the majority of what Sandford sells to the public, she also sells pickled garlic cloves and scapes (the plant’s flowering stem), garlic powder, garlic salt and dehydrated granulated garlic.

But one particularly curious product that she makes is black garlic.

The process requires a special electric cooker that Sandford packs with garlic and sets at 72 degrees Celsius for nine days. Once it’s done, the garlic has dramatically changed from pearly white to a deep, brownish black – a process that’s known as the Maillard reaction.

“Some people say it’s kind of like a fermented product, but research has showed it’s technically not fermented,” said Sandford. “It’s just slowly cooked, kind of aged, and it turns it from this sharp, pungent taste to like a sweet, smoky flavour.”

The end result is a molasses-like paste that pairs nicely with a smear of cream cheese on a cracker (as suggested on the jar).

Sandford primarily sells her garlic locally via farmers’ markets and through direct marketing at the farm. A quick look at the farm’s social media shows a loyal following often eager to know when the next garlic crop is ready.

A particular quality her customers appreciate is the freshness of her garlic, she said.

“I would say a lot of customers are tired of buying garlic from the grocery stores. The main complaint is they buy it, and three weeks later, it has no flavour and it’s dried up.”

There’s also the added benefit of a longer shelf life — more than six months if it’s properly stored.

“When you buy local, you’re getting the product fresh out of the gate, and it hasn’t sat in a warehouse for six months already,” she noted.

The post Growing garlic by the thousands in Manitoba appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Long-time board member and past chair Larry Wegner, and John McGregor, probably best known for his years managing the Green Gold alfalfa quality monitoring program, are this year’s inductees for the honour.

Why it matters: It is the third year the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association has singled out individuals for their contributions to the organization and its goals.

“I have had the privilege of working with both of these gentlemen who have contributed so much to our MFGA organization,” said current chair Lawrence Knockaert. “Larry gave us leadership at the board table as our chair and outwardly to our audiences via his network, blogs and expertise. ”

As for McGregor, “John deserves a ton of credit for his leadership, advocacy and delivery of the MFGA Green Gold program,” Knockaert said.

The honourees were announced during the MFGA’s annual Regenerative Ag Conference, an event that Wegner helped get off the ground back in 2018.

Larry Wegner

Wegner, who runs a family-operated cow-calf and yearling operation near Virden, got involved with the MFGA when it used to run meetings in conjunction with Manitoba Beef Producers.

“At the time, they were having a hard time getting people involved,” Wegner said. “I am a strong believer that we need a strong forage industry to have the beef industry functioning well.”

Since then, he has logged two years as vice-chair of the organization, two years as chair and two years as past chair.

The MFGA today looks much different than the one that Wegner joined.

“We basically started with a clean slate. We could do whatever we wanted,” he said.

A conference with accomplished speakers mixed with local producers was one of Wegner’s ideas. Today, that conference draws hundreds of attendees and speakers from across Canada and the U.S.

“My role was bringing in some big ideas, but I had the people working with me to make it happen.”

Over the course of several years, the organization officially adopted the regenerative agriculture cause, becoming one of the main voices for the movement in Manitoba and a partner for organizations like the Manitoba Association of Watersheds, Manitoba Organic Alliance, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives, and various other private and non-profit stakeholders.

Riding a wave of funding opportunities around sustainable and regenerative farming, the MFGA has obtained funds through the Manitoba Conservation Trust and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. It has led research projects and its Aquanty hydrological modelling project has been tapped by organizations like the Assiniboine River Basin Initiative and local governments to map out water management.

In 2021, the MFGA announced an expanded Aquanty forecasting tool allowing farmers anticipate water flows in their area.

Following the MFGA’s reduced annual meeting in 2020, when the event was forced online due to the pandemic, Wegner also took the lead on a regular MFGA blog. He credited former chair Dave Koslowsky for setting the stage for much of the growth.

“I never thought the MFGA would be this far along,” he said.

John McGregor

McGregor spent years with Manitoba Agriculture sharing his forage production expertise with farmers. His history with the MFGA started a decade ago.

Under his 25-year watch, the MFGA’s Green Gold program (originally under the provincial government) expanded into a province-wide asset for producers looking to optimize their alfalfa cuts.

Every year, volunteers from various regions would submit alfalfa samples to be tested for feed quality, with those results were aggregated into weekly reports.

“Through the Green Gold program and the information that’s provided, [producers have] gone from maybe a two-cut system to a three or a four-cut system of alfalfa, which has greatly improved the quality of the alfalfa that they’re using,” McGregor said. “This quality is something that the dairy industry really wanted to look at.”

The Green Gold program was based on a similar initiative in Wisconsin. The U.S. program was highlighted by a visiting speaker and a number of Manitoba Agriculture personnel became interested.

McGregor was working in southeast Manitoba at the time, where the program gained traction among dairy producers. They were critical in providing the financial capital to keep the early program running, he said.

The programs’ expansion was steady, but “very gradual,” he recalled.

Normal workflow at the time had dairy producers taking their first cut late, similar to the current timing of beef hay, he said.

“They weren’t getting the quality. Once they started to see where the quality of their alfalfa was in early June … they started taking on that [earlier cut] practice. And once they did that, they saw how the cows performed, and then, next thing they knew, they were taking a second cut 28 days later and then a third cut 30 days later and then they were taking a fourth cut after freeze up.”

McGregor has stepped away from the program. Today, his name appears behind the MFGA’s regular market updates and status reports as a relative newcomer to the association’s services.

That program provides producers with guidance on general price trends when buying and selling hay in the province.

The post Two names added to MFGA wall of fame appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.