Man. farmer considers her sister an inspiration

Feb 29, 2024

Sally Parsonage’s sister, Jennie, served in the Canadian Armed Forces

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

With International Women’s Day on the horizon, Farms.com is speaking with female farmers about various topics, including who they consider to be a hero or inspiration.

Westman, Man., farmer and agribusiness owner Sally Parsonage doesn’t have to look far for someone she puts into that light.

Her older sister, Jennie, spent 14 years in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as a logistics officer.

These officers “provide the various means of transportation, equipment and supplies for the movement of Canadian Armed Forces members and all types and sizes of cargo throughout the world,” the CAF website says.

Jennie now uses some of the skills she learned in the military to help on the farm and as a dispatcher with the family’s agribusiness, Air Greenway.

Sally Parsonage

“Jennie started farming after me and already had a full career before coming back to the farm to work with us,” Sally told Farms.com. “She’s such a hard worker and to know she spent almost 15 years serving in the Canadian military, it’s easy to look at her as someone I want to emulate.”

Sally also has two brothers, Riley and Dory, who are involved in the family businesses.

Parsonage also identified Pam de Rocquigny, the CEO of the Manitoba Crop Alliance, and Anastasia Kubinec, a farmer and agronomist, as people she looks up to.

“It’s really nice to have people around who have experience in different aspects of the industry,” she said. “You know you can always get the right answer, or pointed in the right direction, or have someone to vent to if it’s needed.”

Parsonage completed her Bachelor of Science (Agriculture) at the University of Manitoba in 2012.

Her initial goal included a career in ag research, but she ended up back on the family farm as a primary producer.

“I did a summer of research and winter of classes, and the following summer I came back to the farm,” she said. “That was my first time on the farm as an adult with some sort of responsibility and seeing the breadth of the business. I really liked it and working with my family.”

As a kid, Parsonage helped on the farm where she could.

“As a kid you’re just a butt in the seat most of the time,” she said.

But if she could go back and speak with 12-year-old Sally, she’d tell her to push through the tough times.

“Times were tough when I was a kid on the farm because it didn’t seem like a viable career path,” she said. “And I had no idea what I wanted to do until I basically signed up for agronomy courses. I’d tell my younger self that the industry will grow, and you can have a career in agriculture.”

Farms.com will continue to connect with farm women as International Women’s Day approaches.

Jennifer Meyer, a producer from Wilton, N.D., never wanted to be a farmer until she helped out on her now husband’s family farm.

Video: The Investment Opportunities of Industrial Hemp

The fledgling U.S. hemp industry is decades behind countries like Canada, France and China, but according to impact investor and this week’s podcast guest, Pierre Berard, it could flourish into a $2.2 billion industry by 2030 and create thousands of jobs.

To reach its potential, what the hemp industry needs most right now, Berard said, is capital investment.

Last month, Berard published a report titled “Seeing the U.S. Industrial Hemp Opportunity — A Pioneering Venture for Investors and Corporations Driven by Environmental, Social and Financial Concerns” in which he lays out the case for investment.

It’s as if Berard, with this report, is waving a giant flag, trying to attract the eyes of investors, saying, “Look over here. Look at all this opportunity.”

Berard likens the burgeoning American hemp industry to a developing country.

“There is no capital. People don’t want to finance. This is too risky. And I was like, OK, this sounds like something for me,” he said.

As an impact investor who manages funds specializing in agro-processing companies, Berard now has his sights set on the U.S. hemp industry, which he believes has great economic value as well as social and environmental benefits.

He spent many years developing investment in the agriculture infrastructure of developing countries in Latin America and Africa, and said the hemp industry feels similar.

“It is very nascent and it is a very fragmented sector. You have pioneers and trailblazers inventing or reinventing the field after 80 years of prohibition,” he said. “So I feel very familiar with this context.”

On this week’s hemp podcast, Berard talks about the report and the opportunities available to investors in the feed, fiber and food sectors of the hemp industry.

Building an industry around an agricultural commodity takes time, he said. According to the report, “The soybean industry took about 50 years to become firmly established, from the first USDA imports in 1898 to the U.S. being the top worldwide producer in the 1950s.”

Berard has a plan to accelerate the growth of the hemp industry and sees a four-pillar approach to attract investment.

First, he said, the foundation of the industry is the relationship between farmers and processors at the local level.

Second, he said the industry needs what he calls a “federating body” that will represent it, foster markets and innovations, and reduce risk for its members and investors.

The third pillar is “collaboration with corporations that aim to secure or diversify their supply chains with sustainable products and enhance their ESG credentials. This will be key to funding the industry and creating markets,” he said.

The fourth pillar is investment. Lots of it. Over $1.6 billion over seven years. This money will come from government, corporations, individual investors, and philanthropic donors.

The 75-page report goes into detail about the hemp industry, its environmental and social impact, and the opportunities available to investors.

Read the report here: Seeing the U.S. Industrial Hemp Opportunity

Also on this episode, we check in with hemp and bison farmer Herb Grove from Brush Mountain Bison in Centre County, PA, where he grew 50 acres of hemp grain. We’ll hear about harvest and dry down and crushing the seed for oil and cake.