“The real big change they
emphasized was to learn
critical thinking skills
and to be able to analyze
things in a different way.”
– Shawn Williment
INTELLIGENT
ADAPTIVE
FARM-DRIVEN
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EDUCATION
– something which might have been con-sidered
taboo a few years ago. Martens
says farmers, usually men, aren’t always
good at talking about feelings and emo-tions.
However, farming is often a high-stress
occupation and mental health can
be a casualty if not dealt with openly.
Even a previous program empha-sis
on communications is changing. A
unit on public speaking is still offered,
but now it stresses public trust and the
importance of communicating agricul-ture
to the non-farming community.
The very face of the student body is
diversifying, too. Rogalsky says classes
now include more female and urban stu-dents
– different from the farm boys who
used to dominate the program.
“We do it all in two years,” Rogalsky
said. “We do production, business
management, putting it all together to
develop leaders and strong citizens who
communicate effectively, and are going
to lead.”
Martens says even though she grew
up on a farm and had been working on it
full-time for two years before taking the
diploma program, it helped her realize
the professional aspect of farming.
“Working on a farm, you don’t
always get a real understanding of the
business side of it until you’re in a man-agement
or ownership position. Taking
the diploma program and doing the farm
management project really gave me a
better understanding of our farm busi-ness,”
she said.
Besides becoming better business-people,
many graduates also become
farm leaders. As proof, Green points to
the current KAP executive, in which pres-ident
Bill Campbell and vice-presidents
Jill Verwey and Jake Ayre are all gradu-ates
of the diploma program.
Stories are often told of young peo-ple
avoiding agriculture as a career, and
parents who don’t want their children to
enter it because of tough times on the
farm. Those stories, whether apocryphal
or not, no longer appear valid. Rogalsky
says graduation from the diploma pro-gram
dipped sharply in the early 2000s,
but is back on an even keel. The program
now turns 60 to 70 graduates a year. A
maximum intake of 85 new students is
expected for the coming fall semester. FV
Manitoba Farmers’ Voice § Summer 2020 § 29
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