The AgriPost
They’re Not Just for Show
Don Penner poses with a McCormick W-4 while other tractors work on tilling in the background.
By Myriam Dyck A classic tractor demo day was held on September 22nd near Steinbach. Six classic tractors were put into service tilling a field beside the highway. The pop-up event was well attended between word of mouth and people stopping from the highway because
of the sign. Spectators were offered lunch and got to enjoy the beautiful fall weather while enjoying the sights and sounds of days gone by. Don Penner of Benner Holsteins was one of the organizers. Several of the Penner brothers have restored tractors and enjoy displaying them.
“We didn’t really know when it would be,” said Don. “We looked at the weather forecast yesterday and decided it would be today because it looked like it would be nice. We called up a couple of guys, and they called a couple of guys, and somehow more tractors showed up!”
Several branches and generations of the Penner family with their classic tractors after work was completed.
Photos by Myriam Dyck
The Penner family have participated in these demo days with their classic tractors in the past, but it has been several years since one was held. The field was tilled in short order and several generations of the family took the opportunity to get a good photo with the tractors once the work was completed.
September 30, 2021
Seed Kits Link Manitoba Students to Agriculture The governments of Canada and Manitoba are providing $84,000 for Ag in the Classroom–Manitoba (AITC-M) to develop a Manitoba Seed Kit. The Manitoba Seed Kit will engage students in learning about the top cereal, oil, specialty and pulse crops grown in Manitoba. Each Manitoba Seed Kit will feature seed samples from 15 crops commonly grown in the province, as well as lesson plans for teachers linked to grades 3 to 6. Some of the crops included are barley, canola, sunflowers, wheat, soybeans and wild rice. In addition, the kits will include activities that expand the learning opportunities to other subjects such as math, social studies, health and science, and responds to the demand for hands-on learning resources that link students to agriculture in fun, curriculum-oriented ways. “This is an excellent vehicle to connect students to agriculture and show how it is ingrained into their everyday lives,” said Sue Clayton, executive director of AITC-M. “We are so grateful to receive this funding to help create these kits, which will ultimately increase agriculture literacy in more than 20,000 students each year. These students are Manitoba’s future consumers, customers and decision-makers.” The Manitoba Seed Kit will be available in English and French. It will be a foundational resource for AITC-M that will allow for other activities and learning opportunities to be added in as the program grows. The completed kits will also include a seed-related book and will be distributed by industry volunteers in Manitoba as part of AITC-M’s annual Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month (CALM) program in March 2022.
21