Brenna Mahoney says she’s looking forward to building relationships with Manitoba farmers as general manager of Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP).

“Relationship building is something that’s really core to who I am, and I think when you have such a broad, diverse and dynamic group around the table at KAP, having people who are there to unify and look for opportunities and build coalitions around key initiatives is going to be really important,” Mahoney told the Co-operator. “It’s something that I love doing.”

Previously Mahoney was communications director at Cereals Canada, a role she held since 2016. She was a steering committee member for the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops. She also sits on the board for the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame.

“I am very pleased to welcome Brenna to our organization,” said KAP president Bill Campbell in a news release May 6. “She brings with her a wealth of agricultural and communications experience that will build on the strong foundation we have at KAP.”

Mahoney didn’t grow up farming but took an interest in agriculture from an early age. She used to get dropped off at a friend’s farm as a young kid while her parents were working. She’d spend afternoons in the combine.

She worked in the textile industry for several years before transitioning to human resources management. She moved back to Manitoba and took a temporary job at Cereals Canada while finishing up her Manitoba HR certification.

Three months later she became communications director and stayed at Cereals Canada.

What kept her there were the people, Mahoney said. Everyone she met, whatever their place in the industry, wanted her to know about what they did, how the industry worked, and how every part of the value chain was important.

“Every single person that I met really wants you to be successful,” Mahoney said.

“I really care about farmers,” she said. “It’s one of the favourite parts of my job at Cereals Canada.”

The team at KAP is phenomenal, Mahoney added. The work they do is critical and she looks forward to supporting them.

Mahoney’s first day at KAP is June 14.