Manitoba’s new agriculture minister takes over as farmers face a sudden trucking crisis and a long-term problem with labour.
Farm organizations have encouraged Derek Johnson to keep working on the files that former minister Ralph Eichler had prioritized.
“So many operations are short 20-30 percent staff,” said Cam Dahl, general manager of Manitoba Pork Council.
“From the barns to processors, trucking, veterinarians, we are short people to work.”
Eichler had championed a “Manitoba Protein Strategy” in his two stints in charge of Manitoba Agriculture since 2016, focusing on strengthening the province’s traditional cattle and hog industry, promoting increased meat processing, and taking advantage of the growing worldwide plant protein phenomenon.
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The province has seen significant growth in value-added processing in pork and plant proteins in recent years, but also a serious labour shortage that has hit the entire agriculture industry.
Johnson, who was appointed agriculture minister in a cabinet shuffle, was scheduled to speak at the Keystone Agricultural Producers convention this week.
“KAP will continue our work with Minister Johnson on key issues such as BRMs and the next Canadian Agricultural Partnership framework, climate change and the environment, economic competitiveness and labour, along with public trust in agriculture,” said KAP in a statement following Johnson’s appointment.
