|
From the Desk of the Executive Director
As some of you may be aware, our annual MFGA corporate campaign kicked off last week.
Our corporate campaign is one of four main revenue streams that helps MFGA do the best possible work we possibly can. We are a non-check-off, nonprofit group governed by a farmer-led board that is focused on soil health boosting, regenerative agriculture practices and producer profitability.
MFGA works with and showcases farmers at the forefront around soil health, water, biodiversity and increasingly, on-farm research that promotes the incredible ecological goods and services provided to society by our farmer network. Add in the incredible values of grasslands and wetlands, and this is our place. MFGA has beef, dairy, grain, sheep, bison and organic operations among our ranks.
Our MFGA farmers often are demographically placed into the early adopter’s segment of the farmer demographic curve. They tend to be from generational farms, they try things on their own and adapt or abandon things that are not working quickly. They are also peer leaders and mentors and, by nature, generous with their time to share their learnings with farmers from all stripes and streams.
But what does MFGA do for our farmer network? Well, let’s frame them up in the talk of the day:
Farmers need to tell their story. MFGA does that for farmers in our network via our media and social channels and at our conference. We tell their stories often, we pitch and set up media access and opportunities to tell the MFGA farmers stories. And we do it very well.
Farmers want to hear and learn from other farmers. Check. Many of our farmers are peers and mentors and in fact, MFGA organizes an entire conference with farmers front of mind to connect via our annual shindig.
Regenerative Agriculture. There are still a lot of questions, for sure. But Regenerative Agriculture is not going anywhere. MFGA declared our regen ag position in 2018, one of the first, if not the first to do so in Manitoba. Since then, we have been deliberately farmgate focused though increasingly we are engaging with our producers in the push and processes for on farm research and benchmarks. Watch for our next steps on MFGA’s regen ag platform early this spring.
Farmers need water to farm. MFGA Aquanty is the top, cutting-edge water movement decision support model on the Prairies. Period. And the licence is owned by MFGA and we have publicly declared a strong want for as many farmers as possible to benefit from the model and forecasting tool. The model is gaining traction and momentum among many audiences.
Good Habits around Good Habitat: Increasingly, grasslands and wetlands are being identified as natural infrastructure that buffer climatic events such as flood and drought and are also habitat islands for biodiversity, especially species at risk. By following regenerative agriculture principles and guidelines, MFGA producers prefer to work alongside nature. Many of the MFGA-network farms include wetlands and grasslands that have been there for years.
The next generation of farmers needs to step up. MFGA’s current board has five of nine producer members under the age of 30. They are bright, connected and determined and either running their own farms or soon will be.
We all need to work together. Alongside our nine producers, MFGA has representatives from Manitoba Beef Producers, Dairy Farmers of Manitoba, Manitoba Sheep Association and Manitoba Bison Association on our MFGA board.
All in all, we need your support to do our best work and we are deeply grateful to all our supporters for their incredible support,
| 
