Rural communities and farms wanting to survive and thrive need to
foster a spirit of innovation and a willingness to take risks.
During a conference on rural revitalization in Brandon last week,
skepticism, apathy and a shortage of innovative spirit were cited as
some of the main barriers to the advancement of rural areas.
“Every one of our ancestors took huge risks,” said Ken Waddell, an
auctioneer, newspaper publisher and past mayor of Neepawa, Man.
“Our ancestors would just laugh themselves silly at what we consider
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risks today.”
Inadequate prices for farm produce and a shortage of money for rural
infrastructure and investment capital were also cited by conference
participants as obstacles.
“Don’t expect innovation from farmers who are on their knees,” said Bob
Friesen, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and a
producer from Wawanesa, Man.
To tackle the apathy it was suggested that some means be found to
showcase success stories in agriculture and community development.
On the issue of limited investment dollars, conference participants
brought forward the idea of a mutual fund program, where dollars
invested would be guaranteed by government and directed toward rural
development initiatives.
Several ideas were cited to help address the issue of farm commodity
prices, including increased farm diversification and a collective
effort among farmers to scale back production in a bid to push prices
higher, a measure advocated by a group known as Focus on Sabbatical.
“If the prices are not there, grow something else,” said Duncan
Broadfoot, a producer arguing the case for farm diversification during
a brainstorming session at the conference. “It’s scary, but we have to
change.”
Also offering inspiration was Carl Cunningham, a Nesbitt, Man.,
producer who presented some success stories.
Emerson Milling at Emerson, Man., was among the examples Cunningham
gave. The company arose from a partnership between two farmers looking
for ways to add value to their oat crops.
One of those partners, Real Tetrault, now owns the company that
processes oats primarily for the bird seed market in North America.
Markets for the oat groats are increasing by 10-20 percent a year. The
venture now employs 15 people and provides a reliable market for
quality oats grown in southern Manitoba. Emerson Milling operates seven
days a week around the clock and processes 5,000-6,000 bushels of oats
per day.
