Lawrence Knockaert, a dairy farmer from Bruxelles, Manitoba that recently termed out as MFGA past chair after serving a full term on the MFGA Board as Dairy Farmers of Manitoba (DFM) representative, and Toutes Aides, Manitoba’s Shauna Breault, a well-respected regenerative agriculture rancher and an integral voice in forage and lease matters on Manitoba’s Crown agricultural lands that termed off the MFGA board in 2023, will represent the MFGA’s fourth inductee class to the MFGA Wall of Fame.
MFGA WALL OF FAME 2024 INDUCTEES
Lawrence Knockaert: Category: Producer: Organizational Leadership
Shauna Breault: Category: Producer: Agriculture Leadership/ Government Relations
“I have had the privilege of sitting on the MFGA Board with Lawrence and Shauna, both who have contributed above and beyond to our MFGA organization,” said Mike Duguid, MFGA chair.
“Lawrence brought a great degree of business sense to MFGA that helped us greatly. Lawrence also helped facilitate and strengthen the connections between MFGA and the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba. Lawrence is very well-connected across Manitoba and Canadian dairy and farmer circles and, as result always was very in-tune to issues and opportunities for MFGA. During his leadership at MFGA, we greatly expanded our brand of working for and with a diverse network of early adopters, leaders and those interested in learning more about regen ag in Manitoba and North America.”
“Shauna was a key board member on the MFGA Board. Consistently, her thoughts on important matters were always in line with where we needed to go, and often we did. Shauna, husband Clayton and their family, are leaders on regen ag at their large ranch operation, including operating on Crown lands leases north of Ste. Rose. Shauna’s leadership on Crown lands both as a leaseholder and as MFGA’s lead on the file led to many meaningful, solutions-focused conversations with Ministers and senior leaders at Manitoba Agriculture that, to this day, continue to showcase the importance and connectivity of the MFGA and including our voices at the table in key discussions.”
The 2024 recipients bring the number of MFGA Wall of Fame honourees to 12 over the four years of the tribute-intended designation. The MFGA Wall of Fame resides on MFGA.net.
Duguid said the nominations were collected in conversations and at board meetings and the elected 2024 duo was unanimously approved by MFGA board members during meetings leading up to the MFGA annual conference. Duguid said a main principle of the induction process is that the inductees cannot be current board members or staff members.
Knockaert was recently elected to another three-year term at Dairy Farmers of Manitoba though he will step away from official MFGA duties after the 2024 MFGA conference. Despite leaving the board in 2023, Breault continues to be a valued supporter and champion of MFGA in the community and province.