Where there’s help, there’s hope. That’s why we’ve partnered with Harvest Manitoba to help provide all Manitobans with nutritious dairy products. Join us and let’s be #HereforCanada.
Find out how you can donate to Harvest Manitoba here.
Where there’s help, there’s hope. That’s why we’ve partnered with Harvest Manitoba to help provide all Manitobans with nutritious dairy products. Join us and let’s be #HereforCanada.
Find out how you can donate to Harvest Manitoba here.
What do you get when you mix a group of eager students and a real-life learning kitchen? A whole lot of education, practical skills, and fun memories!
SuperChef Academy and Cooking Quest are two hands-on cooking programs making positive connections between kids and the kitchen. These programs, hosted by Nüton – a team of registered dietitians from Dairy Farmers of Manitoba (DFM), give children the chance to learn about food through hands-on participation while building cooking confidence and lifelong skills. More than 400 kids attend each of the two programs. SuperChef is geared toward Grades 2-3 children, while Cooking Quest is aimed at Grades 4-5 students.
Not only does Nüton teach kids practical skills, but it also equips Manitoba teachers with knowledge. Prior to a program, teachers attend a Nüton workshop where they learn how to teach about food and nutrition. It’s a positive, inclusive environment to work directly with registered dietitians about nutrition and, in turn, empower their students.
“It’s a primer to positive messages around food and nutrition before they engage in the actual field trip,” says Amanda Hamel, a Nüton nutrition programs educator. “This provides teachers with an understanding of how to talk to kids around and about food.”
SuperChef Academy participants are split into small groups led by a Nüton dietitian. Students learn the ground rules of kitchen and food safety before getting a chance to use the stovetop, oven, and skillets, while also having a chance to blend, chop, grate, slice, dice, and mix ingredients.
“We’re giving kids a sense of independence and ownership around food,” explains Hamel. “We try to get them to build confidence around eating by exposing them to a variety of foods. We can help them develop eating competence, which helps them navigate the complicated food system we live in.”
Hamel says the helpful connections made through collaborative preparation and consumption of food are invaluable for children. Even better, the program introduces the kitchen apprentices to new foods such as avocado, couscous, or even something as simple as a red pepper.
“Teachers are looking for exciting ways to provide fun food opportunities for kids – and I think SuperChef fits the bill,” adds Hamel.
One Winnipeg foods and nutrition teacher who immediately fell in love with the program is Stephanie Fehr. Her Grades 4-5 students attended Cooking Quest in 2019 – and she was left in awe of the program.
While SuperChef Academy introduces kids to the kitchen, Cooking Quest takes it a step further. The field trip pairs two on-site classes with two remote classes to complete educational food quests. In person, students investigate a mystery, and the remote groups communicate back through iPads, sharing the information they have researched for their team.
As students fill in the blanks, they earn points, which are ultimately converted into real dollars and put towards nourishment programs in that school’s community.
“The way it was organized, it was inviting and inclusive,” says Fehr, who described the entire experience as a perfect intersection of theoretical and practical. “Kids sometimes don’t want to be talked at, they want to do. It provides a really authentic experience.”
Fehr was delighted with Nüton’s organized event, which allowed her to stand back and watch the dietitians provide a time of education and entertainment.
“Students are laughing, making lasagna with hands in the water to soak noodles. They’re all having fun, waiting their turn, and being patient,” explains Fehr.
For the Nüton team, smiling faces of both students and teachers underscore the importance of both programs.
“The memories that kids walk away with will last them a really long time,” says Hamel.
Photos by Daniel Crump Photography
Did you know you can support Canadian-made products even at the grocery store? Look for the Blue Cow logo and you’ll know the product is made with quality Canadian milk.
Watch to find out what the Blue Cow logo stands for.
Video courtesy of Dairy Farmers of Canada
Growing up on a dairy farm in Landmark, Manitoba, Matt Plett had everything he wanted before him—fresh air, family, and a farm. He loved working with animals and being a part of his tight-knit rural community.
However, at 12, his father sold the dairy farm and within a few years the family made a decision to move to the United States. His stepmother had accepted a job as a nurse in Central Point, Oregon – following an American campaign to attract Canadian nurses. So, Plett, who only ever knew Landmark and his farm community, began life anew with his family at age 15.
“It was very challenging,” says Plett, now 40. “I had grown up in the same town my whole life. My baseball team, hockey, Sunday school—it was the same dozen guys and we were all very, very close.”
However, with the benefit of time, Plett did grow to appreciate his two years spent stateside, explaining how it made him grateful in a new way to what his childhood in Manitoba was all about.
“It was good to expand my horizons and see something different and experience different cultures,” he says. “At the same time, my sense of appreciation for time, people, [and] places were heightened.”
And, just as he planned, upon high school graduation, Plett returned to Manitoba and enrolled at the University of Manitoba to study agribusiness and animal science. He quickly landed his first job at Landmark Feeds in 1999.
He had a great job, a romantic relationship, and was back with his childhood friends and family. There was just one nagging void in his life—a farm.
Plett had a secret dream that if his old family farm ever came up for sale, he would buy it back.
Every couple years, Plett stopped in at the farm owner’s property to remind the landowner that should he ever want to sell, there was a buyer all ready.
The benefit of time was on the side of young Plett and, one fall day in 2006, he received a phone call. The owner was approaching his golden years and inquired to see just how serious Plett was. As it turned out, plenty serious. The two worked out equitable terms and made a sale.
Within nine months, Plett and his wife Tanya went from no farm to owning a 45-cow dairy farm. Oh, and they also had their second child during this chaotic period.
“It was a busy season of life, but it all turned out and I’m glad we did it,” says Plett.
Initially, their dairy farm had limited space with limited cash flow. So, their heifer calves (young cows) were sent to another farm to be raised until the Pletts slowly got their feet under them. The family was thriving, and the children were learning all about life on a dairy farm with a 24/7 education.
Another opportunity arose less than five years later as Tanya’s parents offered their nearby dairy farm at Blumenort to their daughter and son-in-law. Although initially not interested, after time spent in conservation with friends and family, they took the plunge.
“But because the opportunity fell in our lap, we felt that maybe that first chapter was done,” says Plett.
The barn setup has allowed them to efficiently produce milk, while continuing to maintain a high level of animal care through three milking sessions each day.
Through farming, Plett is grateful for the opportunity to provide his family with a lifestyle he believes in and where thousands of Canadians can enjoy the fruits of his labour.
“I didn’t look at farming as a get rich quick scheme, because it’s not,” he says with a laugh. “It’s a great way to raise a family and it’s a rewarding way of life. Our work in getting milk to the marketplace is obviously very important and it’s been quite rewarding.”
What Plett finds most rewarding of being a dairy farmer are closely related to the values he holds and ultimately want to pass on to his children, like how a farm is a great place to teach children the value of work, building something, and the value of being productive as a family.
“The fact that farming has been in our families for generations gives our children, and us, a sense of time, place, and purpose. They can see the connection to land and buildings that their ancestors used to make a living, which are still being used by our family today,” he says. “Many of our cow families still descend from a brood cow that my father-in-law purchased 40 years ago. To see the cycle of life from a heifer calf being born, to standing beside her great granddaughter in the barn is a constant reminder that rewarding things take time.”
A stone’s throw from Holland, Man., is a quaint 200-herd dairy farm run by sisters Marianne and Isabelle Parvais. Their farm, Parmarisa, is a mashup of their names and a testament that sisters are a mighty force. The pair has worked on the dairy farm since it was formed by their father Raymond, upon relocating to Canada from Halle, Belgium, in 1978.
Marianne Parvais’ passion for dairy farming was instilled at a young age and she took great inspiration from her paternal grandmother Madeleine Lemercier-Parvais, who farmed until age 85.
“She was such a strong woman,” says Parvais. “Her whole life she was independent with her cows.”
Similarly, Parvais took an immediate shine to the dairy world. As a young girl, she would be attached at her father’s hip, completing whatever tasks needed to be accomplished. At night she would verbally translate agricultural newspaper articles into French to him. Non-stop reading instilled a strong business acumen in Parvais early on.
By 13, she knew so confidently dairy farming was her future that she applied to have a share of the family farm. According to Parvais, she is grateful how the dairy industry has afforded her non-stop security and predictability.
“You know what you are working for and delivering,” she says. “I like that stability.”
Despite formative years during the harrowing interest rates of the ‘80s, Parvais remained committed, absorbing everything she could about dairy farming.
“You keep learning every day on a dairy farm,” she adds. “Technology is always changing; it’s an ongoing process and I love learning.”
In 1994, at age 19, she began her own farm with 15 dairy cows near the family farm. That experience gave her the confidence in 2001 to amalgamate with sister Isabelle, who also ran an independent dairy farm. Their biggest technological leap was in 2013 when they acquired two automated milking systems. With these systems in place, cows can come and go to the milking station as they please.
“I thought, ‘there has to be a more efficient way,” says Parvais. “I was a bit scared, and it was such a huge investment. Dad said, ‘I trust your instincts.’ He always believed in me.”
Since then, the farm has added an automated calf feeder – and data is monitored electronically, which helps Parvais with caring for her herd.
Today, married with two children, Parvais takes her role as a mother and leader seriously for her two daughters. As she continues to farm, Parvais knows one day her girls may be the next generation of sisters to operate the dairy farm.
“I’m working so there is a land base ready for them,” she says. “I will be there for my girls, even if they want new technology, just like my dad was there for me.”
Each day as Parvais prepares for her daily chores, she admits with pride how grandma Lemercier-Parvais continues to serve as an ongoing mentor.
“I’m proud to be a dairy farmer and produce a nourishing food for people,” she says. “That’s what keeps me going. I owe it to my grandmother.”
Photos by Marianne Parvais
Kristy-Layne & Richard raise kids and cows on their Manitoba farm. Operating a dairy farm is time consuming work. They milk three times a day, 365 days a year – no exceptions.
Add to that raising four kids who are involved in sports, 4-H and other extra-curricular activities, and these young parents are as busy as it gets.
Learn more about their story and how they balance the needs of a growing family while managing the well-being of their herd, the success of their farm, and their desire to produce the highest quality milk possible.
There is no question that farmers, and dairy farmers especially, are passionate about the animals in their care and making a living from the land. That passion extends to making sure that land is sustainable for future generations.
So, when Manitoba Hydro’s Power Smart Solar Energy Program provided an opportunity to pilot a large solar energy project, Optimist Holsteins leapt at the chance.
Within months of applying for the program, the 130-cow family-owned dairy farm near Otterburne – a farming community 50 km south of Winnipeg – flipped the switch on 540 solar panels with a capacity to produce 175 kilowatts (kw) of electric power per hour. They made history by becoming the first dairy farming solar energy project of its size in Manitoba.
Albert Gorter and Chelsea Enns
“The decision to move to solar technology was an easy one for us,” remarks Hans Gorter, who farms with his wife Nelleke, son Albert, and daughter-in-law Chelsea. “As farmers we are in tune with the land so it’s natural to implement sustainable operating systems when and where we can.”
Solar energy is a sustainable resource that is easy to access and creates very little carbon footprint to produce. It’s a clean form of energy that is renewable at no extra cost for the life of the solar panels, which can be up to 25 years.
Optimist Holsteins’ solar energy system sits on land that was only good for growing grass. Two and a half years later that space is now among the most productive pieces of land they own.
“The farm on average will use about 1,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) or more every day. The average solar production is around 750 kWh daily, year-round, which is equal to about 75 or 80 percent of our electricity needs,” explains Gorter. To put that in perspective, the average home in Manitoba uses less than 2,500 kWh of energy every month.
Optimist Holsteins’ environmental leanings are also influenced by Gorter’s European roots. Gorter and his wife moved to Canada from the Netherlands in 1987. He has many friends in Europe who use solar technology.
Optimist Holsteins’ system uses the same type of panels as many of Gorter’s European farming friends – but here in Manitoba, he is getting 20 percent more solar production.
“On average, we in Manitoba have more bright sunny days, making Manitoba an ideal place for solar energy systems,” Gorter adds.
While they aren’t the largest solar energy system in the province anymore, Optimist Holsteins is looking forward to the next big movement in solar technology – the day when solar-powered cars will be the norm and it’s their plan to be the first farm in their area to own one.
Photos by Cric Studios.
Every March, Dietitians of Canada hosts Nutrition Month to help you find information about food and nutrition. We encourage you to find what works best for your own lifestyle.
Dietitians help filter through all the information to give you personalized nutrition advice. They can show you how personal circumstances influence your eating – pushing back against simplified notions of ‘a healthy meal’ and ‘food rules’.
You can sign up for Nüton and Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s Manitoba Nutrition Tip of the Day here.
Photo courtesy of Dairy Farmers of Canada
Our dairy farmers take great pride in providing Canadians with safe, high quality milk. Starting on the farm and ending at the grocery store, see the journey milk takes!
’Twas the week before Christmas when all you could hear, were children from across Manitoba sharing some holiday cheer. From carols and poems to holiday light displays and special guests, the Spirit of the Holidays Kids Concert has everything that makes Manitoba a magical place this time of year. So we hope you enjoy the show as much as we enjoyed making it for you. And happy holidays everyone!