To read the release click here

To view a list of resolutions click here

On Thursday, December 17, farm reporter Rae Groeneveld will broadcast GX94 on Agriculture live from the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association’s 31st Annual General Meeting. GX94 on Agriculture, hosted by Groeneveld, airs weekdays from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m.

MCPA incoming President, Jay Fox, will appear on the program at 12:20 a.m. Fox will be discussing his recent appointment and highlights from the AGM.

To listen to the program live, online, visit http://www.gx94radio.com

The Manitoba Cattle Producers Association is one of the several commodity groups who make up Food Manitoba - a unique cooperative of agriculture marketing boards, producer associations, and the Manitoba department of agriculture. Food Manitoba has been producing Great Tastes of Manitoba for twenty years.

To read the story click here: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/life/food/mmm-anitoban-79391952.html

“I’m quiet honoured to have been elected by my peers to represent the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association,” says Fox. “We recognize the difficult situation Manitoba cattle producers are in right now, and there are several projects that we’re working on to make things easier for them.”

Fox is a fourth generation cow/calf operator from Eddystone, Manitoba. He was elected to MCPA’s Board of Directors in 2005, to represent District 12. Fox was named Vice-President in 2008 and will now begin his first term as President.

The decision to elect a new President comes after outgoing President, Joe Bouchard, announced his resignation in October, due to increasing family and business commitments. Bouchard will remain active with the MCPA Board in a lesser capacity and plans to assist Fox and the rest of the Board during the transition period.

“I am honoured to have been able to serve the cattle industry as President of the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association this past year,” says Bouchard. “While I am sad to be stepping down, I am confident in Jay Fox’s ability to lead the Association and I look forward to seeing the Board continue to move the industry forward.”

Bouchard was elected to the Board in 2005, and was Vice-President in 2006 and 2007, and President in 2008.

“I feel like we made real progress on several important issues, such as traceability, TB, as well as building better relationships with industry and government,” says Bouchard. “I’m proud to have worked on improving business risk management tools such as AgriStability, AgriRecovery and Agri Insurance Programs. I feel that I have created a good Foundation on which Fox and the rest of the executive will be able to build on.”

The 2009/2010 MCPA Executive Committee is as follows: Jay Fox, President; Ray Armbruster, first Vice-President; Don Winnicky, second Vice-President; Dane Guignion, Treasurer; Greg Johnson, Secretary.

“Farmers and rural communities are struggling. Our small towns are disappearing, and more than ever, our farmers need their government’s support,” says Joe Bouchard, President, MCPA. “That’s why it was so disappointing to have no mention of agriculture in the Throne Speech. Premier Selinger is making lots of promises, but none to an industry that generates so much for the province.”

To read the full news release click here.

To read the full news release click here: AGM News Release

The Manitoba Cattle Producers Association has participated in the Great Tastes of Manitoba for six years. To get more great beef recipes, visit www.beefinfo.org or www.foodmanitoba.ca.

To view the presentation MCPA made to the Minister, click here minister-struthers-presentation.

The Great Tastes of Manitoba celebrated its 20th Anniversary this year, making it the the longest running TV cooking show in Manitoba’s history! In honour of this milestone, the commodity groups behind the show will launch a cookbook entitled “Great Tastes of Manitoba - Celebrating delicious, local food,” this weekend.

The Manitoba Cattle Producers Association has been involved with the show for the past six years and participated in the planning and promotion of the book.

MCPA will be at the Polo Park Chapters, located at 695 Empress Street, in Winnipeg on Sunday, November 22, handing out samples of one of the fantastic beef recipes featured in the book. Come down, try the “maple flank steak with chutney mayo” recipe, and pick up your copy of “Great Tastes of Manitoba - Celebrating delicious local food.”

www.mcpa.net recently underwent some changes to improve the online services we offer our members, industry supporters, and the general public. Please bear with us as we may experience some “growing pains” in the next few weeks.

You may notice that several pages have been added to the site, including a section for events, consumers and research. If you come across a page that doesn’t have any information on it, be sure to check back in a few days as we are in the process of updating and adding content to the site every day.

Other new features include:

• A ”search” option, which will help web visitors quickly find what they are looking for.
• An archival system for news updates. Web visitors will be able to search for news items by name, category, and month.
• More information for producers. Once all site content has been uploaded, producers will be able to access information on the many issues MCPA lobbies on, including animal health, environment and production management issues.
• A new and improved photo gallery. See what MCPA has been doing!
• Cattle Country archives, web visitors will be able to download past issues.
• An event section, which will include information on MCPA’s AGM, District Meetings and the trade shows and conferences that we participate in.

You may also notice that the website’s look and feel has been updated. MCPA is in the process of building a brand identity, creating consistency in our visual communications, and raising its visibility across the province. Watch for other new MCPA communications initiatives in the New Year.

If you have any comments, suggestions or feedback on the new site please email mcpa.com@mts.net.