WINNIPEG (Staff) – Manitoba farm women are most concerned about education – whether it be of vegetarian urbanites, of unaware students or for untrained hired hands.
At a workshop at the Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference they said they want more awareness of agriculture. The issues they discussed will be part of a brief the Manitoba Women’s Institute will present to the provincial cabinet in January.
One woman said the labor department has spent lots of money on trades apprenticeships but little on vocational agricultural training.
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“We want seasonal farm labor for our dairy farm. … They don’t know how to AI or milk or feed,” she said.
Several others agreed that finding reliable, trained help was difficult. They urged a European-type system that trains people for needed jobs and places them on farms, rather than the longer, more general Canadian-style of university education. One asked why farming is the “kids’ last choice of a job.”
Safety also occupied them. One suggestion was to offer a course during the school spring break to teach teenagers the basics of machinery safety. However, the women also said farm safety must start at home with parents instructing their children how to handle snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. They also noted Manitoba’s farm stress line has to “beg for dollars” even though it is needed as a relief valve.
Farmers must promote products
In business, they want farmers, not industry, to do the processing that adds value to their raw products. Farmers should do more promotion and offer recipes for their products and be aware of consumer needs. They want to get away from the attitude that “if it’s made in Manitoba I should get it cheap.”
They also wondered about what will happen with the Crow Benefit subsidy and farm safety nets. One woman raised her battle to get a crop insurance contract in her own name, rather than her husband’s.
Rural development was a concern and the women urged use of local capital funds for projects, forums to talk about business development and junior achievement and other incentives for entrepreneurs.
They want the government to treat young offenders more toughly and to find a way to stabilize the health system so everyone has fair access.
