Rural MLA is Manitoba’s new ag minister

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Published: October 23, 2019

Blaine Pedersen, an MLA from the rural constituency of Midland, was sworn in as the minister responsible for the Department of Agriculture and Resource Development. | Twitter/@BlainePedersen photo

Manitoba has a new agriculture minister.

Blaine Pedersen, an MLA from the rural constituency of Midland, was sworn in as the minister responsible for the Department of Agriculture and Resource Development.

The new department will have additional responsibilities, including watershed districts, forestry, mining, fish and wildlife management.

Pedersen has extensive experience in agriculture. He operated a cattle and grain farm for 30 years and was involved in the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association, now known as Manitoba Beef Producers.

Pedersen replaces Ralph Eichler, who served as Manitoba’s agriculture minister from the spring of 2015 until the provincial election in September, when the Progressive Conservatives were re-elected in Manitoba.

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Eichler had an excellent rapport with farm groups and a positive relationship with Lawrence MacAulay, the former federal agriculture minister.

Eichler is now Manitoba’s economic development and training minister. In a press release, the province said the new department will focus on “post-secondary education and training to create synergies and alignment between learning and the jobs that will drive the economy.”

Contact robert.arnason@producer.com

 

 

 

About the author

Robert Arnason

Robert Arnason

Reporter

Robert Arnason is a reporter with The Western Producer and Glacier Farm Media. Since 2008, he has authored nearly 5,000 articles on anything and everything related to Canadian agriculture. He didn’t grow up on a farm, but Robert spent hundreds of days on his uncle’s cattle and grain farm in Manitoba. Robert started his journalism career in Winnipeg as a freelancer, then worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers in Nipawin, Saskatchewan and Fernie, BC. Robert has a degree in civil engineering from the University of Manitoba and a diploma in LSJF – Long Suffering Jets’ Fan.

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