Four Manitoba Commodity Groups Moving Forward Together to Explore Potential Amalgamation

Aug 16, 2018

Four like-minded grower organizations will continue to explore a potential

amalgamation with the commitment to consultation and allowing membership to make the decision.

At the end of July, the steering committee consisting of directors and staff from five grower organizations met in Carman, Manitoba to review details on an updated proposal examining amalgamation and a model that did not include legal amalgamation. After reviewing both options, and following additional discussions after the July meeting, the Manitoba Corn Growers Association (MCGA), Manitoba Flax Growers Association (MFGA), National Sunflower Association of Canada (NSAC) and the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Association (MWBGA) will move forward together by allowing their memberships to decide on a potential amalgamation.

“I believe it is the time to look more closely at how Manitoba commodity organizations operate, with the end goal of how we can better serve our members - Manitoba farmers,” said Myron Krahn, past president of the MCGA.

“Many farmers belong to multiple commodity organizations. Imagine what we could accomplish together if an administratively efficient organization was formed that allowed focus on crop-specific issues, increased research and agronomic capacity, included a mechanism to allow farmers of any age or gender to serve on the new

organization, and enhanced grassroots involvement.”

The steering committee now comprised of farmer-director representatives from the four groups and staff will continue to incorporate feedback that was heard at the regional meetings held in January and the annual general meetings in February 2018. An amended proposal exploring amalgamation is being developed for membership to

consider.

“NSAC is willing and happy to proceed with like-minded organizations to ensure the best investments into research and market development,” said NSAC President Mark McDonald. “From the initial Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2017, we committed to consultation with membership to make sure farmers from each commodity

organization have a voice. We also committed to allowing membership to make the decision.”

The farmer-led steering committee will also determine the next steps to ensure an adequate consultation period for members to review the revised proposal, including when a membership vote would occur and how. “We have said from the beginning that farmer members need to drive this and we as directors need to make sure that

happens,” said MWBGA chair Fred Greig. However, as stated during the consultation period and the 2018 annual general meetings, the steering committee will take the time needed to do things right.

The four grower organizations remain committed to seek out and engage in collaborative opportunities with fellow Manitoba grower organizations, with the objective to better serve Manitoba farmers who grow multiple crops on their farm.

Source : Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association

Video: Seeing the Whole Season: How Continuous Crop Modeling Is Changing Breeding

Plant breeding has long been shaped by snapshots. A walk through a plot. A single set of notes. A yield check at the end of the season. But crops do not grow in moments. They change every day.

In this conversation, Gary Nijak of AerialPLOT explains how continuous crop modeling is changing the way breeders see, measure, and select plants by capturing growth, stress, and recovery across the entire season, not just at isolated points in time.

Nijak breaks down why point-in-time observations can miss critical performance signals, how repeated, season-long data collection removes the human bottleneck in breeding, and what becomes possible when every plot is treated as a living data set. He also explores how continuous modeling allows breeding programs to move beyond vague descriptors and toward measurable, repeatable insights that connect directly to on-farm outcomes.

This conversation explores:

• What continuous crop modeling is and how it works

• Why traditional field observations fall short over a full growing season

• How scale and repeated measurement change breeding decisions

• What “digital twins” of plots mean for selection and performance

• Why data, not hardware, is driving the next shift in breeding innovation As data-driven breeding moves from research into real-world programs, this discussion offers a clear look at how seeing the whole season is reshaping value for breeders, seed companies, and farmers, and why this may be only the beginning.