Regenerative ag conference planned for Manitoba
Glacier FarmMedia – The Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association is set to host its annual Regenerative Agriculture conference from Nov. 12-13 in Brandon.
This one-and-a-half day event will bring together agricultural professionals, producers and families from across the region for a series of presentations and trade show.
The conference will feature a diverse lineup of national and international keynote speakers, offering insights into the latest trends and innovations in regenerative agriculture.
Read Also
Canada’s canola supply grows tighter
It is highly unusual to see a red number in the sea of black on Agriculture Canada’s monthly Grains and Oilseeds Supply and Disposition report.
This year’s event will also include a free kids program in partnership with Holistic Management Canada, aimed at supporting families attending the conference.
The theme is Enriching land, lives and livelihoods, and all the speakers will touch on that.
“As we’ve continued to look for keynotes that kind of push the envelope … what I really want to know is how you could take (those practices) onto the farm,” said Duncan Morrison, executive director of the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA).
Among the featured keynote speakers is Michael Ferguson, co-founder of Collective Impact and a fourth-generation farmer from Melfort, Sask.
Ferguson’s keynote, titled Open minds inspire continuous improvement on farms, will focus on how shifting perspectives can lead to lasting changes on farms.
Drawing from more than 15 years of experience consulting with producers across North America, Ferguson will share his insights on how new technology, management practices and adapting to economic challenges can promote sustainable farming.
As a farmer with a background in finance, Ferguson’s work emphasizes continuous improvement in agricultural practices.
Rob Wunder, a fourth-generation farmer from Foam Lake, Sask., will present Carrying the dream: setting the next generation up for profitability and regenerative agriculture.
Wunder will discuss his family’s journey towards regenerative farming, including the implementation of soil health principles, compost production and the building of a diversified farming system that incorporates both livestock and crop production.
Wunder’s farm, which has been committed to regenerative practices since 2013, focuses on profitability and sustainability for the next generation of farmers.
“Rob is a really generous human…. He’s done a lot of stuff around the biologicals on their farm and how he’s worked within his family, the trial-and-error-approach,” Morrison said.
“They’re motivated by doing and trying different things so that they can pass them off as knowledge and learning to their own family.”
Kimberly Cornish, executive director of the Food Water Wellness Foundation, will present Soil, satellites and stewardship: building a next-gen ecosystem services registry from the ground up.
Cornish will showcase a Canadian approach to ecosystem services markets, focusing on high-resolution soil and carbon mapping, innovative sampling techniques and site-specific modelling.
She will discuss her work with the Regenerative Alberta Living Lab and the development of an ecosystem services registry designed to reward land stewardship while providing market opportunities for farmers and ranchers.
“Kim … is really keen on acquiring data from producers to use, and (conducts) producer-benefitting projects,” Morrison said.
Also speaking at the convention is Tom Krawiec, a researcher and author. His presentation, titled Grazing in the sweet spot, will focus on the methods he has developed to simplify ranching tasks so that they can be easily managed by individuals of all ages.
Krawiec’s journey in ranching began in 2000 when he was managing a small operation with 40 cow/calf pairs and 70 hogs on 373 acres. By 2007, he had scaled up his operation significantly, all while reducing daily labour requirements. Krawiec is the author of Ranching Like a 12-Year-Old (2022), which outlines his innovative ideas on grass management, animal handling and ranching as a business.
“I think that Tom has worked really hard on his grazing insights, and I think that he was starting to really try and better understand why grazing is presented as sometimes so complex,” Morrison said.
“I think his key point is, you can find your grazing sweet spot, and it’s this straightforward application of that.”
The conference will also feature a trade show with exhibitors from across the agricultural sector offering attendees the opportunity to learn about new products, services and innovations.
“There’s a really great opportunity to learn, to try to establish a network that you can check back with and can help each other go forward,” Morrison said.
For more information about the 2025 Regenerative Agriculture Conference and to register for the event, visit the MFGA website.
Source: www.producer.com