Manitoba’s Ag Days is back and in person at Brandon’s Keystone Centre, and so is the show’s premiere initiative to pay back the community.
Ag Days Gives Back has been an integral part of the annual Ag Days celebration and, over the last decade, has awarded thousands of dollars to programs and community groups throughout rural Manitoba. There have been funds for skating rinks and daycares and all manner of other staples that enrich rural life. Other projects have focused on agricultural education.
In total, the show estimates about $28,000 is gifted to local organizations each year.
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“We have exhibitors and patrons that come from all over Manitoba, so it was an opportunity to give back to their communities,” said Hannah Minshull, Ag Days director and head of the Ag Days Gives Back committee. “Over $340,000 has been invested into our communities and it’s really exciting to be a part of that.”
In spite of last year’s 11th-hour cancellation due to health restrictions, the Ag Days Gives Back committee awarded grants in 2022. Fifteen $1,000 grants were given to community centres across the province, in line with the year’s chosen theme.
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Facilities like the Gilbert Plains Recreational Complex in the northwest and the Sanford Community Rink in the southeast were among last year’s grant winners.
This year, health, wellness and safety will be the focal point for Ag Days Gives Back. The theme was announced after the 2022 event and promoted on the show’s web page, along with a call for interested communities.
“It’s an application process,” Minshull said. “We generally try to split the funding by region, so we do a northwest, northeast, southwest and southeast split so that we spread our resources across the province.”
Ag Days will award eight $2,000 grants to local fire departments for things like equipment upgrades or safety equipment training. Qualifying guidelines were flexible, although each fire department was required to confirm a matching amount from the community, to a maximum of $50,000, and the endorsement of a local producer. Both volunteer and municipal fire departments were eligible.
“They all do important work and we wanted to make sure we were supporting them the best we can,” Minshull said.
Applications were made online through the Ag Days website and ran until Nov. 15.
Three $1,000 scholarships, with an aim to push agricultural education, are also on the slate. Scholarships are awarded to one student attending Assiniboine Community College in Brandon and two students at the University of Manitoba, one going for their degree and one aimed at a diploma.
“The application was slightly different this year,” Minshull said. “Generally, we’ve done an essay style, but this year we requested a short video clip. Applicants did a presentation and answered the question: Why did you choose agriculture and why would you encourage someone else to do the same?”
The committee saw the shift as a novel and engaging way to spearhead discussion and conversation around the agricultural industry and give potential winners a chance to showcase their creativity, Minshull noted.
Ag In the Classroom will receive the final $10,000 grant for education and leadership in agricultural education. The well-established institution includes branches all over Canada.
At the tail end of the pandemic, Ag in the Classroom Manitoba said their organization has reached more than 56,000 students in 416 schools. The organization provides educational material for teachers, information ranging from basic industry facts to scholarships and potential careers in agriculture and spearheads Canadian Agricultural Literacy Month each year.
The grant “goes out annually to education and community funding,” Minshull said. “Ag in the Classroom is a good, solid fit.”
Funds for the Ag Days Gives Back program comes from budget surpluses at the end of the show, as well as proceeds from 50/50 tickets.
Ticket sales are now active through agdays.com.
