District 2 - Greg Johnson
“Our meeting went well. I am wondering if we can post the MCPA presentation on the website so that it can be looked at online?
Also, I had one producer say that we need to get the government to instead of just changing the program names, leave the program names the same, and change the programs.”
District 7 - Ray Armbruster
“I was pleased with our meeting. We had a good turnout. A young producer who I have a lot of respect for said that he likes what we are doing, how we are taking on the issues. I took that as a real compliment.
We had four resolutions which was good, and also an action item. General feelings in my area is that producers are getting tired of intrusion into industry by government; how we are always being imposed upon; and all the regulations with no respect for the producer and how we run cattle.”
District 11 - Art Jonasson
“Well, my meeting was the first district meeting held this fall so it was a bit of a marathon. But it was nice to have John Masswohl there. I appreciate the CCA offering that. Comments I heard afterwards are that the producers who were there, were very impressed by what he had to say.
As usual, we had quite a few resolutions. One in particular was really good, shows guys are thinking outside the box - it is to expand the freight assistance on straw to make it a permanent program which will benefit both cattle and grain producers. And we are thinking it should be paid for out of a different department other than agriculture - maybe environment.”
District 4 - Don Winnicky
“My meeting was good. One thing though, when we talk about TB, it would be good if we had a customized presentation for my meeting that also talks about the problem in Minnesota. Also, I’d like to have the CCA come again.”
District 10 - Joe Bouchard
“We had a good turnout at my meeting. The biggest concern was the flooding and the state of the rural area and towns. There is a lot of frustration in my area but overall they seemed satisfied with what we’re doing as an Association.
We had a similar straw resolution as in Art’s district. And there is some concern about the transfer of Crown Lands, and conservation groups and contracts with producers.”
District 13 - Kim Crandall
“We had a good meeting. There was the usual concern about TB, wolves and beavers and we had a few resolutions come forward.”
District 3 - Marcel Gousseau
“There was a lot of board support at my meeting and I can’t say enough good things about John Masswohl, he is so knowledgeable.
There was some concern that we didn’t do enough about Bill 17, so I made it clear we did what we could - the government jut didn’t listen.”
District 9 - Mac McRae
“My meeting was pretty quiet except one producer thought that the MCEC should be allowed to speak at the meeting. But our meetings are long enough already. They could hold their own meetings—Also there was a resolution brought forward that the MCPA should rejoin KAP, but it was defeated.”
District 6 - Trevor Atchison
“My meeting was pretty calm. Producers were concerned that they weren’t getting enough value for age verifying their calves. Also, some want to see the auction marts putting in readers and announcing when the cows come through that they are age verified.
I personally don’t mind if other groups tag onto my meeting, but they should not be included in our allotted time. After the meeting is done if anyone else wants to speak, then they can.”
District 12 - Major Jay Fox
“We had a great meeting. I had a few guys come up to say they can see we are doing a lot on their behalf. We had an MLA there so hopefully he’ll be bringing up the informed access issue to his caucus.”
District 14 - Dane Guignion
“We didn’t have a great turnout. There were no big issues, everything was pretty low key. In talking to people their attitudes are pretty depressed, most have hunkered down to try and get through all this. Many are discouraged, at least in the area where I live.
We need to talk to the Minister and see what her vision of the industry is in 10 years, because with the direction it’s going right now, things aren’t going to be good. If the NDP want this to be their legacy, then fine.”
District 5 - Martin Unrau
“My meeting was pretty quiet. There are guys in my area selling part of herd and getting a job.
We had an action item to contact the Prime Minister’s office, but after we reviewed it later, we determined it would be inappropriate and maybe even counterproductive.
Other than that, nobody challenged me for my position so I guess I’m here for another two years.”
District 1 - Brian Sterling
“We had a pretty good meeting. Most of same concerns and issues as last year.
We had a few comments about the water situation in our municipality and the Oak Lake aquifer and people sourcing it for their towns. I got about 20 calls over the next few days - there was more concern than I first realized. We need to discuss this further with the environment committee. This is a huge issue for producers in my area.
We needed a bit more time for local issues, so next year we may want to shorten up our presentation a bit to give more time to that.”
District 8 - Glen Campbell
“We had fairly good attendance. Two members from MCEC were there and I chatted with them for awhile. We had no resolutions.
There were some questions about COOL. And we were asked how our relationship is with KAP. I said it was amicable. Overall it was a pretty quiet meeting and I heard a few positive comments about the work the MCPA is doing.”
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