Celebrating 150 years of Manitoba ag history

Sep 28, 2022

A new e-book is available online

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

A new online publication is celebrating a sesquicentennial (150 years) of Manitoba’s agricultural history.

Keystone Agricultural Producers, with support from the Manitoba and federal governments through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, launched an e-book titled 150 Years of Farming in Manitoba.

“Agriculture in Manitoba has evolved through the hard work and innovation of those who have come before us and by those who continue to lead us today, and being able to reflect on the previous 150 years gives us an opportunity to bring forward the lessons of history,” Bill Campbell, president of KAP, said in a statement. “Throughout the past 150 years, agriculture has defined Manitoba’s people and has been the backbone of the province’s economy. This story pays tribute to the voices and forces that have shaped Manitoba itself.”

The 18-chapter book covers multiple topics like supply management, the Red River Agricultural Association, which was the precursor to KAP, and how Manitoba was home to the first bison ranch in Canada.

It was in 1966 that Bill Lenton, a Miami, Man., farmer who passed away in 2004, went to the U.S. to purchase horses and came back with five bison.

“He shouldn’t have been allowed to go to auction sales. He just continued to go down and bring back more,” Gail Reichert, Bill’s daughter, says in an excerpt from the book. “He believed in the animal and he believed in the meat product.”

Lenton’s contributions to the bison sector are still felt today.

He founded the Manitoba and National Bison Association, and the Bill Lenton award is presented annually to a top bison producer in Canada.

History buffs in Manitoba can also check out the Manitoba Agricultural Museum or the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame.

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.