November 2016 CATTLE COUNTRY 15
Communication key for MBP Again I welcome the chance to write a short article and communicate with all our members about what’s going on in the MBP office. This regular column in Cattle Country is an important tool we use to try and make sure you know where and how we look after your interests and represent the industry. In my short time as your General Manager, in speaking with our board and members, and looking back at member survey results, I have recognized the importance of communicating and making certain that members are aware of what we are doing and why. Cattle Country is an important communications tool we use, but is certainly not the only one, and I will speak a bit later in this article about our upcoming district meetings. I would also encourage any of our members to pick up the phone and call the office to chat about what’s on your mind and to get to know me and the other staff better. Since I last wrote, we have seen a number of significant happenings that have kept us busy and working hard. The Progressive Conservative government was elected this past spring provincially and we have been working to have our first opportunities to visit with the new Ministers and introduce ourselves. Over the past little while, we have had the opportunity to meet and visit with some of the ministers critical to our industry. We have had the chance to meet with Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler, Sustainable Development Minister Cathy (formerly Conservation and Water Stewardship), Infrastructure Minister Blaine Pedersen and Education and Training Minister Ian Wishart. In each of these meetings we were able to meet the ministers, congratulate them and introduce our selves. We were able to explain to them the importance of the cattle industry to Manitoba and begin the process of introduc-
ing our key concerns and issues where we are looking for their support. Items such as the Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin outlets project, predator protection and getting agriculture into the curriculum to help build awareness and understanding in youth about modern agricultural practices. The process of working with elected ministers and advocating for Manitoba’s cattle producers is very often a slow and steady process and one that doesn’t necessarily produce immediate results. It was important for us to get into these offices and make good first impressions, as we have now hopefully started to lay the foundation for some positive discussions about potentially more difficult topics. It is important that we establish positive relationships and be open and willing to work with these ministers and their departments and not just be continually demanding more and more. We hope to achieve our goals by working with the government. Important in effective advocacy is having open and positive relationships and building a level of trust and respect with the ministers and senior officials in the departments. This will pay future dividends as we look to have more specific conversations about key concerns. All this said, the legislature is back sitting, and we are now looking to engage ministers to start having these more specific discussions and to ensure that commitments and statements made by ministers are delivered and that the interests of the cattle industry are considered as the provincial government moves forward. A key statement that caught the interest of the industry and pleased me, the MBP staff and the board was Minister Eichler’s statement that it was the new government’s goal to grow our cattle herd to pre-BSE numbers. This is a wonderful sign of the government’s commitment to and belief
BRIAN LEMON General Manager’s Column in our industry. We were surprised and excited to hear that he has this goal and we are looking forward to working with him to live up to his announcement. We met recently again with Minister Eichler and had initial discussions with him and his senior staff about this, and we made certain he understood we were excited to work with him and his department, and began the process of asking him
what plans and strategies he is considering to realize this exciting goal. Certainly MBP has a key part to play leading the industry’s response to the minister’s announcement and we were thrilled to hear that he has such wonderful plans for our industry. This brings me back to how I opened my column this time ... communications. We are presently in the middle of our fall dis-
trict meetings, speaking to members and hearing your thoughts about how we’ve performed over this past year, the state of the industry, as well as hearing from you about your thoughts regarding how we can assist the provincial government deliver on its goal of growing our herd. District meetings are a critical opportunity for us to hear from members and I hope that you all take the opportunity to attend in your district. This year we are taking time during the district meetings to discuss the idea of growing our herd and to hear from producers what it will take and what is needed
to deliver on the minister’s goal. It is an exciting time to be in Manitoba and in the cattle industry. In spite of prices not being where we would like them to be, it is a busy time with lots going on. Between the new government getting its feet under it and getting started delivering on its priorities, the minister showing his confidence in the cattle industry and making announcements about how the government is looking to grow the cattle industry, and our district meetings well underway, we are busy and excited about the future.
Quality Post Frame Buildings BOOK NOW
“Fall Building Dates Still available” Experienced, Efficient & Affordable!
1-800-665-0470 www.goodon.com
MB Sales - Ed Dyck www.mbbeef.ca