“Great Tastes of Manitoba” began when a committee of representatives from various producer boards and associations conceptualized it in the spring of 1990. The first show went to air in November of 1990, and it has been on the air ever since.

Thirty seasons later, the show is watched by more Manitobans than anything on the Food Network, according to information provided by the show.

The majority of “Great Tastes of Manitoba” viewers are the primary grocery shoppers in their household, a group the show says has been historically difficult to reach for the ag sector.

The show reaches an average of 27,800 adult viewers in Manitoba each week, and is one of only four Canadian-made shows (aside from broadcast news) to land in the top 40 television rankings with female audiences age 35-plus in Winnipeg, they said in an August 22 news release.

The majority of “Great Tastes” watchers are also the primary grocery shopper in their household, according to the news release. It added that this means “Great Tastes” is reaching an audience that the agriculture industry often struggles to connect with.

Regular folks in a kitchen

“I’m a bit of a foodie, and I’m a farmer, and I’m a TV producer,” said show producer Donalee Jones, speaking on the phone from her family grain farm near Cartwright.

She said she was an avid cooking show fan before she signed on as producer of “Great Tastes of Manitoba.” They helped her feel comfortable in the kitchen.

As a producer she tests the recipes to make sure they work in her home kitchen. That means they can’t be too “cheffy” she said.

Jones said simplicity and accessibility is the mandate. The ingredients have to be affordable and readily available in grocery stores.

“People are watching more food television than ever before, but they’re cooking less,” Jones said. She added it’s more important than ever to get folks in the kitchen.

“If you can read a recipe, you can cook,” said Susan Riese, manager of public relations and consumer marketing at Manitoba Pork.

Riese has been a contributor on the show for 13 years. She also develops the recipes that Manitoba Pork contributes to the show.

She has no culinary training — quite the opposite. Riese laughed as she recalled boycotting ‘home economics’ in Grade 7 in favour of shops class.

“I did not want any part of it,” Riese said. “So it’s really, really funny and ironic that I’ve kind of come back to it as an adult.”

Riese said she leans on more than 35 years of home-cooking experience, and a lot of trial and error.

“The whole point is to not have to be a chef to make the recipes,” she said.

Highlighting farm families

In celebration of their 30th anniversary, “Great Tastes of Manitoba” will introduce viewers to Manitoba farm families through video episodes on their website.

“The family farm is more than a concept to me,” said show host Dez Daniels. “That was my whole beginning.”

Daniels, who is known in Winnipeg as a veteran radio host, grew up on a mixed farm east of Yorkton, Saskatchewan. There she milked cows before and after school from age 6 to Grade 11.

She said she appreciates the dedication it takes to farm, and is glad they can focus on rural, farm living.

Riese said during her time on the show, she’s seen its focus shift toward a more farm to food message, incorporating more facts about farms and farmers.

“People want to know where their food comes from,” Riese said.

“Food is the great unifier,” Jones said in a news release. “I think if we can connect with consumers over those times around the table, the shared love of food, often it involves family tradition, I think we can really make an impact and in turn build their trust.”

“I think ‘Great Tastes of Manitoba’ was ahead of its time. It was trendy when local wasn’t trendy,” said Ellen Pruden, a contributor with the Manitoba Canola Growers. “Now with social media, it’s so cool that Manitobans can connect with their local food expert and farmer to know more about the ingredients that they purchase in the grocery store.”

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“Great Tastes of Manitoba” first aired in 1991 with half-hour programs airing on CTV with dietitians and home economists sharing recipes and offering expert advice on how to cook and enjoy Manitoba-grown food.

“Great Tastes of Manitoba” is now distinguished as Manitoba’s longest-running, locally produced television show, said Donalee Jones, senior producer for Frank Digital, who spoke recently at Ag Days.

“We’re very proud of that,” she said. “Think about other shows that were on in the 1990s that you don’t see anymore. Only the Simpsons is still on the air.”

Manitoba commodity groups supporting all these seasons also have reason to boast. Theirs is a unique collaboration of commodity groups focused on an initiative to improve consumer awareness about locally grown foods this way.

Those commodity groups were ahead of the times, too, given that interest in locally grown food in the early 1990s was muted.

“These industries, which are farmer directed, had foresight” said Jones.

The program also remains a top-rated cooking show in the provincial market, among all other programs running on the Food Network, ranking even higher than celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, or other prime time shows.

Twenty-seven thousand viewers tune in weekly to the show which is broadcast at 6:30 p.m. spring and fall on CTV Winnipeg.

More recently, they’ve also branched into a social media and online presence, making content available 24 hours a day through GreatTastesMB.ca and on its YouTube channel.

“Great Tastes of Manitoba” has also been unfailing in its efforts to deliver not “just the facts” about farming, but to communicate shared values with viewers who are not farmers, Jones said.

“We (farmers) tell our story but if the only people who are listening are other farmers, I question how much progress we’re making,” she said.

“‘Great Tastes of Manitoba’ is reaching the urban consumer.”

And clearly viewers do want to hear more about farmers producing the milk and canola oil, pulses and mushrooms, and raising the eggs, chicken, pork, and beef used in the show’s recipes.

That’s why they’d like to try something new — develop more farm-focused content available for download or streaming outside the show, said Jones.

“What we’d like to develop are stand-alone webisodes about farm practices or meeting farmers and then those can be shared outside the 30-minute broadcast,” she said.

“Great Tastes of Manitoba” is now pitching the idea to farm organizations and the agricultural businesses, offering new sponsorships opportunities to help make it happen because to develop that content will require additional revenues.

“We would love to see additional sponsors come on board,” she said.

Manitoba Agriculture is an affiliated sponsor of “Great Tastes of Manitoba.”

Season 28 will air Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. from September 9 to December 16, 2017 with an encore presentation between February and March next year.

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the brave men and women who lost their lives in the World Wars and other places around the world?

those who are presently serving in Afghanistan and other trouble spots?

those peacekeeping troops whose tour of duty takes them away from their families for months at a time?

the reporters who are killed in the front lines?

those veterans who return injured; maimed for life?

the innocent children, men and women killed because they live where evil grips their land?

the mothers, fathers, daughters and sons whose hearts are forever broken when they lose someone to war?

the veterans who return whole but scarred for life with memories that haunt?

the families who never know when the dreaded knock will come to their door?

the young men and women still enlisting; ready to serve others, to sacrifice their lives for freedom, democracy and peace anywhere in the world?

Will you remember and bow your head for a moment of silence?

Will you thank God for the bravery and heroism of these men and women who volunteered in order to protect the innocent and their homeland?

Will you thank God for them as we remember?

May we never forget.

Joanne Rawluk writes from Gypsumville, Man.

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“If you use an antenna to receive over-the-air signals on a TV set with only an analog tuner, you’ll need a digital-to-analog converter box.”

Rural residents who rely on “Farmer Vision,” the three or four television signals that are available without subscribing to cable or satellite, will see changes to how they receive those channels in the future.

A Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) ruling in 2002 requires broadcasters to change analog transmitters to a digital signal August 31, 2011 as part of an effort to improve signal quality and maximize system capacity. The move is expected to free up more radio wave space for emergency services and cellphones.

It’s part of a worldwide trend to convert to digital signals. Countries such as Finland and Sweden have already made the switch.

The U. S. introduced high-definition (HD) signals last week, which will be followed to a full switch to digital by Feb. 17. To ease the switchover, the U. S. government is providing a $40 gift certificate for the needed converter on TVs that don’t have the built-in digital receiver. Updated television sets have been on the market in recent years, however, so recent purchases are likely already equipped.

The CRTC says the changeover should not be disruptive to the consumer. In fact the change should improve signal quality. But those living near the Canada-U. S. border will have to convert to digital by June 2009 in order to continue receiving American stations.

Canadian consumers with older televisions who depend on Farmer Vision will need a “black box” that will convert the new digital signal back to analog. “If you use an antenna (including outside antennas or ‘rabbit ears’) to receive over-the-air signals on a TV set with only an analog tuner, you’ll need a digital-to-analog converter box,” the CRTC website says. The converter box attaches to the antenna.

Some of the newer DVD players will also convert the new digital signal back to analog for the TV.

It is expected that most, but not all of the rebroadcasting towers will be changed by the 2011 deadline. But the new transmitters will provide coverage that will match and possibly extend the existing areas, while giving Canadians the benefits from the technological advances.

For more information, consumers can check out the CRTC website: www.crtc.gc.ca.

glen.nicoll@fbcpublishing.com

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GPS, GIS training available:

Farmers can now receive training workshops on global positioning systems (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS). Workshops will be held during February and March in Carman, Steinbach, Dauphin and Brandon. More information is available from MAFRI GO offices. Precision agriculture workshops will increase producers’ ability to use advanced technology on their farms, Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk said Jan. 28. Examples of site-specific farming include variable-rate fertility programs to improve fertilizer application on farmland.

Maple Leaf settlement:

Lawyers will be in court in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec next month to seek approval for a proposed Canada-wide settlement of class-action lawsuits against Maple Leaf Foods Ltd. over last year’s listeriosis outbreak at its Toronto sandwich meat-processing plant. The proposed settlement provides for the creation of a $25 million settlement fund from which eligible claimants may receive compensation. If the settlement is approved, in order to be eligible to receive compensation, claimants must complete, sign, and return a claim form.

Game over for La Broquerie:

The southeastern town of La Broquerie was stopped short of the goal by Terrace, B. C., in its play for local arena upgrades through CBC TV’s Hockeyville contest. Terrace won the west division’s Top 5 berth, guaranteeing at least $25,000 in upgrades and a shot at Hockeyville’s grand prize, $100,000 in upgrades plus a chance to host an NHL pre-season game. La Broquerie had been one of two western finalists in Hockeyville’s Top 10, from which the Top 5 and grand prizewinner are chosen through phone and online voting. The grand prizewinner will be revealed March 7.

Ridley settlement finalized:

Feed maker Ridley Inc. has finalized its settlement of Canadian cattle producers’ class-action suits over the discovery of BSE in the domestic herd. The Winnipeg firm now pays $6 million into a trust fund, to be immediately rolled over into funding for ongoing related suits against the federal government. Ridley’s settlement was conditional on a low number of cattle producers opting out of it; the company confirmed last week the number of opt-outs received is below its agreed threshold. Ridley’s settlement includes no admission of liability or wrongdoing.

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“There will be opportunities to acquire both assets, companies and hire people that we didn’t think we’d be able to do six months ago,” Asia-Pacific president Paul Conway said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Singapore.

The company has taken non-material write-downs in the last few months, and would take more, Conway told Bloomberg, estimating the figure in the tens of millions of dollars, without giving a precise number.

In October, Cargill posted a 62 per cent rise in quarterly earnings, led largely by its industrial business.

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