PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
BY BILL CAMPBELL, KAP PRESIDENT
Sudden Changes
to Industry
Some changes to our way of life seem to happen all
at once. That’s what happened with the COVID-19
pandemic and the public health measures that
changed the way we interact with one another.
My last trip to Winnipeg before these changes was
for the provincial budget on March 11, where I sat
shoulder to shoulder with people from across the province in
the legislative gallery. That is something I likely will not be able
to do for quite some time.
Public health orders have changed the way we do a lot of
our work at KAP. We’ve now had board meetings, executive
meetings, policy committee meetings, and advocacy meetings
over online platforms. Rural internet being what it is means
that we often encounter delayed responses on calls and the
need to use family members as in-house IT specialists.
As for operations on the farm, social distancing is enforced
with the suppliers we need to visit and that need to visit us.
Some of the changes may stay in place forever like Plexiglas at
cash registers and one-way grocery aisles. Much of my work
on the farm is socially distanced already. I’m not sharing a
workspace closer than six feet for any extended period of time.
The one thing this pandemic should teach all of us is
the importance of our food and the supply chain. We saw
the stories about grocery stores limiting purchases as basic
necessities like toilet paper became hard to come by. The
supply chain is dependent on thousands of Manitobans from
all walks of life doing their part each and every day to get the
necessities of life to our homes. It’s easy to forget where these
things come from, and that there’s a face and a person behind
all of it.
That’s a story agriculture needs to start telling more. We
launched Growing Manitoba Together, a campaign aimed
at thanking all of the Manitobans in the supply chain like
farmers, truck drivers, grocery store employees, restaurant
workers, and meat processors. Our board and staff distributed
stickers across the province as a way of saying thank you
and sharing appreciation to those who ensure what we grow
and produce on the farm makes it way to people across the
province, country, and world.
It’s easy to be cynical about what is going on in agriculture.
Government support isn’t what it should be, and we need
stronger business risk management programming to help us >>
Manitoba Farmers’ Voice § Summer 2020 § 13