 |
|
CFGA Quarterly Newsletter
Winter 2019
|
|
Meet your new CFGA chairman
|
|
Chris Martin is the CFGA's new chairman, replacing Ray Robertson, manager of the Ontario Forage Council.
Martin was born and raised on a dairy and potato farm on the edge of St. Jacobs. He attended a
small rural public school before settling in to farm after Grade 8. His father bought the farm's first big square baler in 1996 to bale their own hay and do a few custom orders.
Martin married his wife, Anna Mae, in 2001 and began to milk cows on a farm near Drayton. The couple sold their dairy to Martin's brother, Tony, and moved to Alma. They now own and operate 800 acres with Chris' brother, Scott, and have two full-time employees. Their main focus is growing premium hay for export to the U.S. market. They also bale and transport straw for the local dairy market.
Martin became CFGA chairman at the 9th Annual CFGA conference in Calgary, Alta., in November.
|
A message from CFGA chairman Chris Martin
|
|
|
It is an honour to represent you nationally as the new chair of the CFGA. I have served as vice chair to Ray for several years and have the utmost respect for him and thank him for his many years of commitment to the CFGA.
It was a pleasure to step into the role of CFGA chair at the annual conference in Calgary in November. I thank everyone who attended this event. It was a great time of networking and learning. I am already looking forward to attending the conference in Moncton, New Brunswick, Nov. 12 to 15. Watch this newsletter as well as the CFGA website, Twitter and Facebook accounts for information as it becomes available.
I look forward to working with Cedric, the board of directors, the provinces and our members to strengthen our organization. My goals as chair are to continue to grow the organization and increase support for forages. I am passionate about forages and I bring that passion with me to this position and promise to work hard on your behalf. Please feel free to reach out to me at any time with questions or concerns.
|
Welcome your 2018-2019 CFGA Board of Directors
|
|
Chris Martin, Chairman - North American Exporters
Andrew Jungwirth - International Exporters
|
Provincial organization spotlight -
Peace Region Forage Seed Assoc.
New Alberta forage group joins CFGA
|
The Peace Region Forage Seed Association
(PRFSA) became a member of the CFGA in the summer of 2018. This decision was made after the association was given notice that Forage Seed Canada would be going dormant. The PRFSA felt there was still a need to be associated with a national group and the CFGA was the logical choice. The representative to the CFGA board of directors is Alberta director, Danny Limoges. Talon Gauthier represents the association at the CFGA managers' meetings.
Limoges, Gauthier and PRFSA projects contractor, Julie Robinson, attended the CFGA 9th Annual Conference and Technical Meetings in Calgary, Alta. Nov. 12 to 15, 2018. The CFGA has received funding from the Canadian Federal Government through the Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Program (AGGP) to develop and pilot a carbon reduction protocol built for high performance forage management systems in Canada. This project was the focus of the two days of technical working group meetings on Nov. 12 and 13. The PRFSA has been part of all these discussions and is looking into partnering with the CFGA, non-profit groups and researchers throughout Western Canada to determine if forage seed producers will qualify for any type of carbon credits.
During the conference, the CFGA agreed to give PRFSA $18,000 to start looking at the potential carbon capture happening in forage seed crops. PRFSA is currently looking into more funding options as well so they can tackle as many different crops and management practices as possible for forage seed producers. More information will be available by spring/summer 2019.
|
CFGA's 2018 annual conference huge success
|
|
by Trudy Kelly-Forsythe
The CFGA, in conjunction with the Alberta Forage Industry Network (AFIN), held its 9th annual conference in Calgary, Alta., Nov. 12 to 15.
The event kicked off with the association's managers' meetings and technical workshops that brought
together leaders in forage and grassland from across the country and throughout North America to share knowledge about the industry. This was followed by two days of a trade show and sessions that focused on the theme Foundation Forage, Built from the Ground Up. Topics included carbon policy, high performance forage systems, soil health, grassland conservation and export market opportunities. Check out conference presentations on the
CFGA website
.
The conference also offered an opportunity for a pre-conference tour for some
hands-on learning to see how industry leaders in Alberta make the most of their forage and grasslands. Sops included
Namaka Farms, a 24,000-head family-owned feedlot; the Arrowwood Hutterite Colony which operates AW Quality Meat Processing, produces grain, runs a cow-calf operation and feedlot, raises hogs and operates a provincially inspected slaughter plant; and Waldron Grazing Co-op, the largest deeded block of land on the eastern slopes of Alberta that has ranchers purchase shares in the co-op to give them the right to bring their cattle to the Waldron Ranch area to graze.
The 10th Annual CFGA Conference will be held Nov. 12 to 15 in Moncton, New Brunswick.
|
Manitoba producer wins
CFGA Leadership Award
|
|
Dave Koslowsky of Killarney, Man. is the winner of the 2018 CFGA Leadership Award.
Koslowsky and his wife, Rhonda, operate a 1,720-acre mixed farm that includes 120 head of cattle and the pastures and forage fields necessary to support the herd.
Koslowsky is the immediate past chair and a current board member of the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA) and a member of the Manitoba Beef Producers. He was also co-chair of the Manitoba Beef Producers annual meeting in 2017 and chaired the event in 2018.
During his time on the MFGA board, Koslowsky brought forth the importance of diversity, governance and leadership in the forage industry. At the helm of MFGA, Koslowsky advanced the organization by pushing for a complete governance exercise, including a strategic plan and bylaws update. This set the foundation for MFGA to become a more relevant organization to the point now where MFGA's board is comprised of the most diverse and well-rounded board of forage leaders from all walks of the industry and includes eight male and seven female board members.
"When I was elected to lead MFGA as chair, I took up the challenge and started on strategic planning actions, an organizational bylaws refresh and clear governance path that included succession led by Wendy Bulloch of Building Up Consultants that takes us where MFGA is today," Koslowsky said in his acceptance speech.
"I also worked on a strong collaboration process for MFGA. Whenever we met with our partners or government audiences, we always told them about our goals and intentions, but we also always asked about how MFGA could help accomplish their goals. We
really stress the win-win for all our partners."
The CFGA presented Koslowsky with its 2018 Leadership Award at a special presentation on Thursday, Nov. 15 during the 9th Annual CFGA Conference in Calgary. Darren Chapman, MFGA chair, and Duncan Morrison, MFGA executive director, accepted the award on behalf of Koslowsky.
About the award
The CFGA Leadership Award was established in 2012 to recognize and encourage leadership in the forage and grassland sector. It recognizes individuals, groups or organizations who exemplify or enhance the goals of the CFGA and whose leadership has impact of national and/or international significance. Watch for nominations for the 2019 award coming soon.
|
|
2019 Pollinator Conservation Award seeks nominations
|
The CFGA, Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) and Pollinator Partnership (P2) are accepting nominees for the 2019 Canadian Farmer-Rancher Pollinator Conservation Award
. This award recognizes an individual or family in the farm and ranch community in Canada who has contributed significantly to pollinator species protection and conservation.
Pollinator Conservation Award winners support pollinators on their lands, engage in research and experimentation to increase the understanding of pollinator management techniques, work with community and government groups and serve as advocates for these little, but hard-working, species that maintain agricultural and natural landscapes.
2018 winner
Cody Straza and Allison Squires are the winners of the 2018 Canadian Farmer-Rancher Pollinator Conservation Award at the NAPPC conference held in Washington, D.C., in October. Straza and Squires are the co-owners and operators of Upland Organics, a 2,000-acre certified organic grain farm near Wood Mountain, Sask.
Their vision is to create a family-orientated, environmentally and economically sustainable organic farming operation that contributes in a positive and significant way to both the local community and the greater organic agricultural community. To this end, they are working towards converting their entire farm to no-till.
Upland Organics is a certified Bee Friendly Farm through Pollinator Partnership. They are one of the few large-acre farms in Canada to hold this certification.
2019 award
The recipients of the 2019 award will be recognized during an evening reception that opens the 19th Annual North American Pollinator Protection Campaign Conference, Tuesday Oct. 22, 2019 from 6 to 8 p.m. in Washington, D.C., or in their hometown if they are unable to attend.
The award is intended to encourage conservation stewardship and catalyze future actions on behalf of pollinators through recognition and appreciation of these individuals and organizations. The deadline for nominations is July 5. More information and nomination forms are available on the Pollinator Partnership website.
|
Feb. 22:
CQPF AGM;
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue
, Que.
Feb. 26:
Scientific day on dairy cows and forage
;
Drummonville, Q
ue.
|
|
|
|
|
|
