Farmers urged to nominate local charities

Jan 30, 2017

Monsanto is accepting farmer nominations for cash grant recipients across the country

Monsanto’s annual Canada’s Farmers Grow Communities program allows farmers to nominate a non-profit project or organization of their choice for a cash grant of $2,500.

For every grain-growing region of Canada, there will be two grants available to win by draw. This equates to 66 grants across the country. Ontario will receive 12 to 14 of the grants, according to Kelly Funke, public affairs manager for Monsanto.

The program “is a way to give back to the communities where our customers work and live, and to celebrate the role that farmers have played in growing their communities,” she says.

Applications can be submitted in support of a number of types of non-profit organizations, including hospitals, schools, libraries, rural daycares, 4H clubs and senior centres, according to a Jan. 26 release.

Farmers can nominate “charities like the local two-sheet curling rink or old community school that needs a new playground,” says Funke. “All kinds of those (local) organizations are often at the centre (or are) the heart of the community.”

Last year, the program attracted some 500 applications. As 2017 will mark the sixth year, Funke is hoping to see the number of applicants grow.

The cash recipients are chosen randomly by draw to give every charity an equal chance at winning. The nomination process is free and only takes a few minutes to complete.

“Every person. whether they are a farmer or not, has a cause they care about,” says Funke. “In this program, farmers get to be the hero … (they) can give a charitable project just the shot in the arm it need to reach their goal, or to keep their cause (afloat).”

Farmers can visit http://www.canadasfarmers.ca/ to nominate a charity or to learn more about the program.

Monsanto will accept nominations until Sept. 30 and will draw winners on Nov. 1, 2017.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.