MNP Agriculture in Regina has launched a group designed to give women in agriculture a place to discuss the ins and outs of the industry.
Kim Gerenscer, a business adviser at MNP, said the success of the group depends on the people who become involved.
“Ultimately, the door is wide open,” he said. “There’s huge possibilities on where this can go, what direction they want to take it.”
Gerenscer said the idea for the peer group has been a long time coming.
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“So as we at MNP are beginning to launch more programs for top tier farmers, it became natural to acknowledge the unique perspective and the unique contribution that women bring to the farm.”
Roxanne Olynyk, another business adviser at MNP, said the industry is moving toward involving more women than ever.
“There’s these conferences that are being run across Canada now for women in ag and they’ve had tremendous support and I think have been tremendous successes so far,” she said. “I think that’s also just an indicator of where the industry is going and the opportunity that’s there. And I think this lends well to that.”
Gerenscer said the group will discuss all things agriculture. The conversations will depend on what the participants want.
“It’s not just about growing the crop. It’s about managing the whole enterprise, the complexities that come with family business transition funds, financial plans, etc., you name it. There’s nothing off the table because the whole point of this is for everybody to get better from each other.”
Olynyk said many women appear enthusiastic about the group.
“And based on the uptake and the feedback that we’ve been receiving so far, I think it’s really exciting that we’ll be able to run with this and see where it goes.”
The group plans to meet twice a year, and could also arrange virtual meetings, if that’s what the members want.
Olynyk said the success of the group depends on the women who join.
“I think we will be able to define success by the ability for the participants to drive the agenda, to bring the ideas to the table, to, you know, bring up the topics of discussion that they want to dig into. So that’s what I’m really excited to see and being able to be a facilitator.”
