Nominations are now open for the 2024 Manitoba's Outstanding Young Farmer program.
Kristy-Layne Carr and her husband Richard run Rich Lane Farms, a dairy operation at Marchand, and were the Provincial OYF winners for 2022.
"It was amazing experience. I think the best things about the program are the alumni that you get to meet, and that's why we have such a huge number of alumni that come back every year. They're very invested in the program, whether at the regional or national level. It's an amazing group of people that you get to meet with and network, get inspired by and you know, bounce ideas back and forth. "
Carr is now co-chair of the nominations committee for the Manitoba OYF program :
"What we're looking at is to highlight young Manitoba farmers that are doing, you know, amazing, innovative and outstanding things in their respective farms. So the qualifications to be involved in the program is that you need to be between the ages of 18 and 39, and derive at least two thirds of your income from farming."
She notes the 2023 winners were Harley and Brooklyn Siemens, fourth generation egg farmers from Rosenort.
"On Siemen Farms they have about 95,000 layers and 15,000 pullets. Harley is a member of the Board of Manitoba Egg Farmers, and he's the first winner of the top four under 40 poultry farms in Canada. He's been very involved in the Farm and Food Discovery Center at Glenlea, and does a lot of educational and promotional kind of tours for schools, politicians, sports icons, and industry leaders. So he's very much an advocate for egg farming and for agriculture in general."
The couple now advance to the National Outstanding Young Farmer Competition in Quebec in November where they'll compete against the winners from the other seven regions.
The OYF program gives producers an opportunity to really take a close look at the operation and their management, it gives participants a chance to also learn from and network with other innovative producers from across the country.
More information on the nomination process is available on their website www.oyfmanitoba.ca
The nomination deadline for the 2024 Manitoba Outstanding Young Farmer program is October 30th.
You can listen to Glenda-Lee's conversation with Kristy-Layne Carr by clicking on the link below.