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First generation dairy farmer

Many of us spend our entire life wondering what we will be when we grow up. Not Owen Fijala, though. The young man from Manitou loves rural life and all that it affords.

He knew early on that agriculture was his life’s calling. However, which area of the industry did not become clear until his teenage years.

He grew up working on the family grain farm before he ventured out as a teen at a neighbouring cattle farm. Following this, his third agricultural experience proved lucky as he began to work at a nearby dairy farm in Notre Dame at just 16. He immediately fell in love with the animals and the work.

“I just enjoyed it right from the beginning and continued to enjoy it more and more,” says Fijala, now 20. “It is very challenging and interesting to continue to learn about herd health.”

It did not take long for Fijala to begin to aspire to have a dairy farm of his own. Luckily, Dairy Farmers of Manitoba (DFM) is keen to invest in those interested in pursuing dairy farming. Fijala applied to DFM’s new entrant program in the fall of 2017, a springboard to help Manitobans become part of the dairy industry. Fijala proved to the board of directors why he would be a great candidate to begin a dairy farm, and it did not take long for the board to sense his passion and green light the application and thorough business plan.

To help him as he began his journey into dairy farming, DFM matched his milk production allocation.

Fijala now has 55 cows on his farm, which are a mixture of young and mature. Today, his cows all produce milk on a predictable, routine schedule.

For Fijala, working on his dairy farm and helping with his family’s grain farm keeps the young entrepreneur busy from dawn ‘til dusk. The barn itself is also high-tech, as cows are milked in an automated system, which allows cows to come and go to the milking station as they please.

Fijala has long-term plans to double the size of his herd and add a second automated milking system.

He enjoys being in the community, as well, and recently participated in the Agriculture in the Classroom – Manitoba program, where he spoke with children at the Manitou Elementary School about dairy farms.

“I got to go in and talk to all the students about how the operations work and how cows are taken care of and the quality of milk,” he says.

Thanks to the new entrant program, Fijala is excited to be part of an industry that places a high priority on animal care and producing high quality milk for Canadians.

Hole-in-one

Golf may appear to be a group of people relaxing and having a good time, and you’re not wrong. However, if you see Dairy Farmers of Manitoba (DFM) at its annual charity golf tournament, the golfers are actually working hard for the community.

For the last 23 years, the annual event raises money for the University of Manitoba’s (U of M) dairy science bursary fund and the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba (CHFM). In 2019, DFM gave $6,000 to three post-secondary students and another $37,000 to CHFM. As of 2020, the fun-filled golf day has truly helped with the U of M and CHFM’s initiatives.

DFM’s board chair David Wiens participates each year and says that what began as a small gathering in the late ‘90s is now a 300-plus person affair that includes an evening banquet for farmers, sponsors, and representatives from the CHFM and U of M.

Photo courtesy of Dairy Farmers of Manitoba

“Our approach has been to give back to the community,” says Wiens, whose dairy farm is located near Grunthal. “Through the Foundation our farmers have been able to raise money for much needed, state-of-the-art equipment, which helps the Foundation increase the hospitals capacity/ability to run important and innovative programs.”

The Texas Scramble style sees a foursome begin on each of the course’s holes. Throughout the day there are light-hearted challenges such as hitting a ball off a milk jug or teeing off in a pair of hockey gloves. There is also the lucrative hole-in-one challenge, which is still awaiting its first lucky winner.

And while the tournament is postponed until 2021 due to COVID-19, that did not prevent DFM to step up and make outright donations to the U of M and CHFM. For Wiens, the decision to maintain support was simple.

“We can be responsible citizens on the one hand and also continue to make our contributions to what we consider important organizations,” he says. “Both need this kind of funding with or without the golf tournament. It becomes an important source of revenue for them.”

Speaking for the CHFM, campaign and development manager Courtney Nodrick says despite the lack of duffing this year, she is still so proud to be a community partner with DFM and its farmer members.

“It’s only because of generous members of the community – like DFM – who dedicate their time and efforts into fundraising events like their annual golf tournament, that we can continue to care for sick and injured children,” she says. “Everyone at DFM is helping transform health of sick children in the community because of this event.”

Photo courtesy of Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba

The funds raised from the golf tournament have helped the CHFM contribute to pediatric research, capital projects, renovation of current areas, and the relocation of clinics into newer space.

For Nodrick, appreciation is an understatement when she explains how DFM helps to better the community and the 130,000 children who access the Children’s Hospital each year, even through a friendly game of golf.

“Words don’t even really begin to describe how meaningful that is,” she says. “The dairy farmers in Manitoba see that they are having a true impact and changing children’s lives and changing their health for the better. It’s about these kids.”

 

Helping families in need

Keren Taylor-Hughes remembers the first time she saw the milk delivery truck roll in. It was January 2018 and her first week as the new CEO of Winnipeg Harvest. Taylor-Hughes wondered why over 6,000 litres of milk was being unloaded into Winnipeg Harvest’s refrigerators. She was witnessing the routine deliveries that have taken place for almost 30 years.

In fact, Dairy Farmers of Manitoba (DFM) donates over 300,000 litres of milk to Winnipeg Harvest each year. The milk is processed and packaged into one-litre cartons of milk, and also used to make cheese. Winnipeg Harvest distributes the milk and cheese along with its other food donations to 300 community food banks and agencies in Winnipeg and throughout Manitoba. “Every child aged 12 and under gets one litre of milk every two weeks,” confirms Taylor-Hughes.

Last year, Winnipeg Harvest provided food support to more than 70,000 people a month, including 25,000 children. Taylor-Hughes said that without dairy farmers in our province, hungry Manitobans would have little access to fresh nutritious milk and cheese unless Winnipeg Harvest purchased it for distribution.  

“I am so impressed with Dairy Farmers of Manitoba’s long-standing support of Winnipeg Harvest.” says Taylor-Hughes. “Their commitment to nourishing vulnerable Manitobans has never wavered.”

In 1992, Louis Balcaen, a dairy farmer from La Broquerie, 69 km southeast of Winnipeg, saw families in his community struggling to provide nutritious food for their kids. Farming is ultimately about feeding people and Balcaen knew there was something he and other dairy farmers could do to help.

At the time Balcaen was chair of Dairy Farmers of Manitoba. He worked with Parmalat (now Lactalis) and the bulk milk hauling companies to create a program that would donate over 14,000 litres of milk per month in one-litre cartons to Winnipeg Harvest.

Then in 2009, Bothwell Cheese joined the effort and started turning a portion of that donation into cheese for Winnipeg Harvest.

The program has truly become an effort of neighbour helping neighbour. DFM administers the program – with dairy farmers donating the milk, bulk milk hauling companies transporting the milk at no cost, and Lactalis and Bothwell Cheese donating their processing costs.

“We have the ability to move the milk to Winnipeg Harvest,” explains David Wiens, current chair of DFM. “Winnipeg Harvest’s food network is the best way to get our donation to those who need it.”

Those long-standing relationships help buffer against uncertain times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. During COVID-19, Winnipeg Harvest expected a 30 per cent increase in clients using food banks throughout the province and prepared a record 1,000 emergency food hampers a day.

During this time, Wiens explained DFM is donating an additional 60,000 litres of milk monthly, which Bothwell Cheese is processing into approximately 6,000 kilograms of cheese for Winnipeg Harvest each month.

 “We feel privileged to partner with Winnipeg Harvest to help families in need,” Wiens said.

 

Photos in story supplied by Winnipeg Harvest

Photo in header image by Sherri Mangin

Stone Soup competition

It’s difficult to imagine, but there are children today in Manitoba who continue to experience hunger. Thankfully, one group continues to work tirelessly to make that reality a thing of the past.

The Child Nutrition Council of Manitoba (CNCM) is a mainstay in the province with a visible community presence. However, of all the work it performs nothing is tastier than its annual Stone Soup competition.

For CNCM, the feeling of respect is a well-paved two-way street.

Now into its eighth year, this friendly foodie challenge puts 12 different restaurants, including TecVoc High School’s culinary program, against one another as the community decides whose cuisine reigns supreme. This year’s Stone Soup challenge raised more than $20,000, a new record. The best part of the amicable competition is that every single dollar will be used to feed students. This year, CNCM reports more than 32,000 Manitoba students will benefit through 287 unique breakfast, lunch, and snack programs.

This year, Rudy’s Eat and Drink earned bragging rights as the judge’s top pick for its chicken corn chowder soup while the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Catering Services was named the people’s choice winner with its candied bacon and potato chowder with Bothwell cheddar cheese.

The program is one that Dairy Farmers of Manitoba (DFM) strongly believes in because, at the heart of it, students are the real winners.

“In order for kids to be successful academically, they need to be fed,” explains Pat Bugera Krawchuk, DFM’s nutrition programs manager. “If they’re not well-nourished, they’re not ready to learn.”

Each year, DFM contributes its human resources and sponsorship investment to continue to draw attention to the positive work done by CNCM and initiatives such as Stone Soup.

“We felt this is something we can do to give back,” she says. “It felt like a really good fit to be able to work together with CNCM.”

For CNCM, the feeling of respect is a well-paved two-way street.

“Having the Dairy Farmers [of Manitoba’s] support is tremendous,” says Clara Birnie, a registered dietitian and program dietitian at CNCM. “They’re such an important ally in this cause. It’s not only Stone Soup—they’re always an important partner in all the work that we do.”

Birnie and the rest of the CNCM staff also promote the consumption of whole foods, as opposed to convenience-style food and there’s not much that is more whole than milk, a key reason the provincial organization is proud to continue on with such support from DFM.

“Milk is one of those foods that’s part of Canada’s Food Guide as a recommendation to support a healthy lifestyle,” says Birnie.

For Bugera Krawchuk, the CNCM represents a group that prioritizes healthy children and families, which will continue to be an easy goal for DFM to support.

“We’re really pleased with the work that they do and we’re proud to be supporters any way we can,” she says.

 

Photos supplied by Child Nutrition Council of Manitoba