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february 26, 2015
SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | Vol. 73, No. 9
Dropping the hoe and doubling the yield Minimum tillage makes for dramatic improvements for this family in Malawi
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manitobacooperator.ca
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Farmers pack first MWBGA annual meeting Three new directors were elected, of whom two favour mail-in ballots for future elections
By Laura Rance Co-operator Editor/ Mwamshambo Village, Malawi
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t’s raining, but that doesn’t stop Thomas Nkhunda from leading a group of visitors into his fields where he describes how he manages plots demonstrating the benefits of conservation agriculture. Rain isn’t unusual at this time of year. After all, it’s the rainy season in Malawi. What’s unusual is the fact that the rains they call the “planting rains” came later than usual, by almost a full See TILLAGE on page 7 »
An estimated 150 people attended the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association first annual meeting Feb. 18 in Winnipeg. The adjoining meeting room was opened to accommodate the large crowd. photo: allan dawson
By Allan Dawson co-operator staff
Publication Mail Agreement 40069240
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o many came to the Manitoba W h e a t a n d B a r l e y G r ow e r s Association’s (MWBGA) first annual meeting at the Victoria Inn in Winnipeg that hotel staff had to open an adjoining room to seat the crowd. An estimated 150 people attended, 121 members registered and 117 cast ballots, defeating one interim incumbent director and electing three new directors to the organization’s six-member board.
The MWBGA was formed to collect a checkoff to fund research and development gaps created by the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly in 2012. Attendance at the meeting was boosted by interest in how future directors would be elected. The MWBGA interim board opted to hold elections at the annual meeting and elect half (three) directors annually. Other farmers have pushed for a mail-in ballot, which is used by the Manitoba Canola Growers. Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn also backs a mail-in ballot.
“It is my feeling that since they are contributing to the organization in the form of a checkoff, as many producers as possible should have a say in who will be managing their money,” he wrote in a letter to the editor of the Manitoba Co-operator.
New directors
Dean Harder and Drew Baker, two of the three new directors elected last week, support a mail-in ballot. Harder farms near Lowe Farm and
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