MFGA eBulletin - November 2023

A Regenerative Agriculture Fireside Chat at the 2023 MFGA Regen Ag conference featuring experts Blain Hjertaas, of Understanding Ag, and Dr. Jon Lundgren, of Ecdysis and Blue Dasher Farms was one highlight of many at the annual conference.

From the Desk of the Executive Director

Well, that’s a wrap! The 2023 MFGA Regen Ag Conference is officially in the books.

And what a conference it was…from peak Tuesday attendance of around 280-mostly farmers and producers; 28 trade show booths; eight incredible keynotes; four producer panels; three motivated, water-focused elected officials; one fireside chat; one second-ever-shown-in-Canada movie screening and one MFGA night to showcase our wingspan and amazing partners, I’d say we fit a lot into a very short time window.

And all of it – every single, wonderful, energy-charged, toque-wearing, soil-loving moment of it – was for you: the farmers, the conference sponsors, the trade show booths, the students, the families, the delegates, and the dignitaries. We do all of this for you. Your support allows us to be the best we can be.

I’ll have more reports on our usual plethora of MFGA activities, partnerships, board news and funding announcements as we head into the next little while, especially our first outreaches early in 2024. Opportunity is, indeed, always knocking at MFGA’s door. And we, in turn, answer every single knock with you, your families and your farms front of mind.

For now, though, I have a conference committee debrief meeting to prepare for as we set our sails toward another great conference in 2024. As you might suspect, we are back at it, planning to host another great event next year already.

Muchos Grasses ALL,

Duncan Morrison, MFGA Executive Director

A Photo Tour: Building Legacy and Partnerships at the MFGA Regen Ag Conference

(L to R, clockwise): Hon. Ron Kostyshyn, Manitoba Minister of Agriculture, welcomes delegates; Keynote speaker Brendon Rockey holding court; Viewing of the documentary "Common Ground"; "Raised on Regen" Producer panel: Marika Dewar-Norosky, Bluesette Campbell, Max Wegner, Nathan Beernaert, Larry Wegner (moderator on podium); Dairy farmer Korb Whale and MFGA chair Lawrence Knockaert; Derek & Tanis Axten explain how they run their Saskatchewan farm

(L to R): Mike Duguid (MFGA), Duncan Morrison (MFGA), MP Dan Mazier, Lawrence Knockaert (MFGA)

(L to R): Duncan Morrison (MFGA) , Lawrence Knockaert( MFGA Chair), Amber McNish (MFGA Regen Ag Conf Committee co-chair), Hon. Minister Ron Kostyshyn, Andrea Hamilton(MFGA Regen Ag Conf Committee co-chair), Mike Duguid (MFGA Vice Chair)

Elected Officials Welcome 2023 MFGA conference delegates; gather media attention

MFGA would like to sincerely thank Hon. Ron Kostyshyn, Manitoba Agriculture Minister; MP Terry Duguid, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and Special Advisor for Water (video); MP Dan Mazier, Vice-Chair, Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development for taking the time from your busy schedules to welcome our delegates.

MFGA would also like to thank and congratulate Minister Kostyshyn for the positive wording around sustainable agricultural as well as the inclusion of taking action to bring needed relief to beef producers on Crown land leases that were both mentioned in this week’s Throne Speech by the Manitoba Government. MFGA has been active on both files and we look forward to more MFGA synergies on those fronts and others as Minister Kostyshyn advances and leads the Manitoba Agriculture department.

A full overview of the dignitaries' comments at the 2023 MFGA conference can be found in Brandon Sun link below:

Politicians Pitch Platforms At Regenerative Ag Conference

(L to R): Duncan Morrison (MFGA), Armin Glas (Access Credit Union), Mike Duguid (MFGA), Lawrence Knockaert (MFGA), Jo-Elle Early (Stride Credit Union) at MFGA 2023 Regen Ag Conference

MANITOBA CREDIT UNIONS RENEW FIVE MORE YEARS OF MFGA SUPPORT

Manitoba’s Credit Unions are pleased to announce they have renewed their Platinum sponsorship of MFGA for five more years, from 2023 through 2027. Details to be announced soon.

(L to R): MFGA’s Amber McNish & Oluwatosin Esther Babayanju, a student at ACC, at the 2023 MFGA Regen Ag Conference

ACC-MFGA Partnership flourishing

Amber McNish is a proud Assiniboine Community College (ACC) alumni. So to, is Chelsi Beernaert. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that the pair of MFGA Board members comprise the MFGA board composition of the MFGA ACC Board Committee.

The committee was struck after a discussion with governance expert Wendy Bulloch, of Building Up Consulting and was designed to continue and enhance the accelerating relations between MFGA and ACC. The added ability of MFGA to add two ACC alumni from the MFGA board to the committee has definitely helped the partnership flourish.

Recently, Amber staffed the MFGA booth at the ACC Career Day where students asked her questions around her own career in sustainable agriculture, forages and other opportunities. One of the perks of visiting the MFGA booth was a draw for a free student registration to our 2023 MFGA Regen Ag Conference, won by ACC student Oluwatosin Esther Babayanju.

MFGA Aquanty Grasslander Fall 2023 Edition

MFGA recently released and posted our most recent publication of MFGA Aquanty Grasslander magazine to help users, audiences and stakeholders learn more about the incredible power of this water forecasting tool.

Special thanks to the design team at Glacier Farm Media, especially to Tiffiny Taylor for coordinating the design and printing of this excellent publication.  

The Value of Feed Testing

Thanksgiving and Halloween have passed and we’ve had our first dump of snow, that a recent warm spell has melted. We do know that winter is on the way. With winter comes the change from cattle grazing pasture to some form of winter feeding of stored forage. Read on..

Manitoba's new living lab is announced by Minister MacAulay.

Manitoba Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lawrence MacAulay, announced the creation of a $9.2 million living lab project, led by the Manitoba Association of Watersheds, under the Agricultural Climate Solutions program. MFGA is a proud partner of MAW and the individual Manitoba watersheds and we congratulate and we look forward to helping them deliver the very best success on this exciting project announcement. Click here.

PhD Study Looks for Innovative Grain Farmers

David Rourke, a Minto-area farmer and PhD candidate, seeking innovative net positive/net zero carbon grain farmers to share their successes, failures, enablers, and barriers in their journey. Rourke seeks innovators for his PhD research on net positive carbon grain farming in Western Canada, focusing on reducing emissions and sequestering carbon in soil for environmental and economic benefits.

For more information, contact David Rourke

Beef Cattle Research Council Conducting Survey

The Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) is conducting the 2023 Canadian Cow-Calf Survey to gather data on on-farm management, production practices, research priorities, and changes impacting Canadian cow-calf farms. Click here for the survey.

Young Agrarians Host Farm Mentor Applications Open!

Applications for the 2024 Young Agrarians Apprenticeship Program are now open for host farm mentors in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. The program seeks dedicated land stewards, skilled teachers, and those with a land-centric philosophy.

For more information, visit the Young Agrarians website: https://youngagrarians.org/tools/apprenticeships/apprenticeship-become-a-mentor/

Industry Events

Young Agrarians Prairie Mixer - Dec 2-3, 2023, in Saskatoon, SK

Theme: Rooted Grow Deep, Register: Young Agrarians

2023 Manitoba Watersheds Conference - Dec 4-6, 2023, in Brandon, MB

Register at manitobawatersheds.org.

DFM's 16^th Annual Manitoba Dairy Conference (MDC), Dec 6-8, 2023, in Winnipeg, MB

Dairy Farmers of Manitoba (DFM) is hosting this event at the Victoria Inn, Winnipeg. Details here.

Manitoba Beef & Forage Production Conference - Dec 12-13, 2023, in Brandon, MB

Register here.

Assiniboine West Watershed District's Ranching For Profit Workshop - Dec 14-15, 2023, in Russell, MB

For information or to register: info@myawwd.ca

KAP Annual Meeting - Jan 23-24, 2024, in Winnipeg, MB

For information or to register at kap.ca

37th Annual Brokenhead River Ag Conference - Feb 6th & 7th, 2024 in Beausejour, MB.

Day 1 targets Beef and Forages, Day 2 focuses on Grain and Crops. 

Details available at Brokenhead Ag

Manitoba Beef Producers AGM - Feb 8-9, 2024, in Brandon, MB

Visit MBP website for more details.

SaskSoil’s35th Annual Soil Health Conference - Feb 13-14, 2024, in Saskatoon, SK

Theme: Back To The Basics. Visit sasksoil.ca/ for more details.

Thank you to our 2023/24 Annual Supporters! 

It's never too late to join these 2023/24 leaders who are some of the best of the best in the agriculture and conservation communities - sign up here!