Manitoba Ag Days may officially span three days every January in Brandon. Its legacy, however, lives year-round throughout the province through the grants given by its charitable arm, Ag Days Gives Back.
You may notice a sticker or sign on a rural daycare, or you may know a young worker in the agricultural sector who received financial help in acquiring education and training in any facet of the industry. These are some of the lasting benefits of the program.
“It makes you feel good when you can give back to a community and Ag Days Gives Back strives to support the communities where our exhibitors and patrons live,” Hannah Minshull, an Ag Days board member, said. “As of April 30th of 2024 the Ag Days Gives Back program has distributed $465,000 in grants so it’s an incredible initiative.”
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In 2024 alone, $51,000 was given, according to the show’s website.
These grants are made possible through the sales of 50/50 tickets at the show. They can be purchased from one of the mobile sellers or there are a couple of selling stations as well.
“Half of the funds go to the recipient of the 50/50 and the other half of the pot goes to the Gives Back program,” Minshull said. “All of the funds we raise through the Ag Days 50/50 goes toward supporting the K-12 ag education through Ag In The Classroom, the post secondary education scholarship grants and then community organizations throughout Manitoba.”
The first grants came out in 2013, just a little over 20 years ago. Many of them are directly tied to facilities and institutions that affect rural quality of life. In rural communities, hubs like skating and curling rinks are important community places, as are fair grounds, and other athletic facilities. These things always require some upgrading.
In some years the grants were awarded to something specifically related to the year’s theme. For Ag Days 2022 the theme was health and wellbeing, so the awards were given to rural fire departments, many of them staffed by volunteers, to upgrade equipment or training.
“We have been specific in some years, depending on what our theme was and and where we would like to dial in our support,” Minshull said. But this year it is open to all non-profit organizations in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, like community clubs, community rinks and daycares.
Any rural community is invited to apply and may do so through the Ag Days website at agdays.com/community-giving-program. The grant may be used for a wide variety of different things such as upgrades to infrastructure, supplies and equipment. There really are no limitations. One of the local agricultural producers must endorse the project targeted by the application and the project cannot exceed $50,000.
“So wherever the community need is, that’s where we wanted to be helpful so it’s open to any non-profit,” said Teresa Hildebrand, Ag Days media co-ordinator. “Priority would be given to organizations that have not received funds in the last three years.”
All applicants are asked to specify in what quadrant of the province their community is located. This could be in the south west, north west, south east or north east sections of Manitoba. Even some of the border towns in eastern Saskatchewan are invited to apply.
“That we can make sure that we have representation from all quadrants of the province as we distribute those funds,” Hildebrand said.
There are two other types of grants given out by Ag Days Gives Back. The first are scholarships given to deserving students at many different levels for training or study relating to agriculture.
“The scholarships are $2,000, there will be three of those given away,” Hildebrand said. “They are open to any high school graduate or senior or anyone who is in post-secondary studies for any training that is related to agriculture.”
Originally these three grants were for students at Assiniboine College or the University of Manitoba. One scholarship would go towards a diploma from Assiniboine College, one for an agriculture diploma student and the other for a degree student studying at the University of Manitoba. The qualifications have been updated to include any form of study from any institution that qualifies people in any industry related to or servicing agriculture.
“We wanted to make sure that that was inclusive and so we’re acknowledging that there are all kinds of careers that contribute to agriculture,” Hildebrand said. “We wanted to make sure that all of those folks have a chance to apply too.”
That means there is potential financial help for someone getting a class one driver’s licence, if it’s related to agriculture, for example. Any students who may be interested may also apply next year on the Ag Days website. Applications for this year closed in the beginning of November.
“And then we support Ag in the Classroom Manitoba through the Education and Leadership grant as well,” Hildebrand said. “It’s for post secondary and the K through 12.”
This grant amounts to $10,000 annually and is usually given to Ag in the Classroom for their work in showcasing agriculture in all K-12 schools throughout the province.
Winners will be announced at this year’s Ag Days. Winners from 2024 may be seen here.
For more coverage and previews of this year’s show, check out our Manitoba Ag Days landing page here.
