Meet Our Members: The Manitoba Cattle Producers Association

Jul 14, 2010 | Government News

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The Manitoba Cattle Producers Association is a non-profit organization, with a producer-elected board that consists of 14 directors, each representing cattle producers in a specific region or district of our province; along with five full time staff.  The role and mission of the MCPA is to represent our cattle producers through communication, research, advocacy and education – within industry, to government, and to consumers.  These efforts takes place to strengthen our industry viability, improve prosperity and ensure a sustainable future for the beef industry in Manitoba for the benefit of our beef producers and all Manitobans.  With over 10,000 beef cattle producers in Manitoba, our province has the 3rd largest beef herd in Canada.  To represent our Manitoba cattle producers and their well-being is more than a job – it is work that we are passionate about and to which we are deeply committed. 

How do we represent our producers? 

MCPA’s dedicated staff diligently works under the guidance of our Board of Directors, all of whom are cattle producers on our provincial landscape.  Management, staff and directors, in their various roles, promote and further advance the Manitoba beef industry by addressing a wide range of issues that concern our beef producers across all sectors of industry and government.  We work with both the provincial and federal governments to ensure the enactment of legislation, and to introduce or improve upon necessary programming.  This takes place in order to establish systems of support and programs that will ensure sustainability, competitiveness, and improve market conditions for our producers.   We proactively work with associations, societies and organizations that have objectives similar to those of the MCPA and cultivate and enhance all strategic alliances within the beef industry, in order to sustain and promote the beef industry in Manitoba.  

What does this ultimately mean for our Manitoba producers? 

The MCPA is an organization of beef producers working for beef producers.  We are more than their voice – we are their advocates.  We don’t just serve our beef producers, we count ourselves among them and are diligently committed to their cause.  Our motivation is one in the same – it is for the future – for the next generation of cattle producer; for a thriving beef industry in Manitoba for generations to come. 

What does the Manitoba beef industry mean to and for Manitobans? 

Conceivably, the image conjured up could be one of traditional rancher on the prairie landscape, operating the generational family farm with an unhurried ease.  Perhaps this picture carries with it little credence when compared to more cutting edge industries and progressive businesses operating in our contemporary world of commerce, and perhaps little weight in terms of its contribution to our overall provincial economy.  Not so. 

The cattle producer is indeed distinctive in that way – the beef industry has evolved significantly, yet maintains much of its traditional guise.  Cattle producers are keen and savvy business leaders and have adopted progressive and innovative business practices into their operations over the years, yet all the while have preserved many of those foundational characteristics that accompany their image – never losing sight of the ideology and guiding principles on which their industry was built.  As a result, their contribution to the provincial economy is a major driving force. 

Cattle producers truly are the backbone of many of our rural communities.  Ultimately, they are the rural tax base and therefore a significant component to the overall strength and viability of our province.  Manitoba relies on agriculture and our rural communities.  In order to maintain and build on the strength of our province, we must remain cognizant of the share of the overall economy to which cattle producers contribute.   We are the sum of our parts.  A thriving beef industry in Manitoba benefits every Manitoban. 

The beef industry in Manitoba has been tested in recent years, but the cattle producers of Manitoba remain resilient and are dedicated to maintaining a sustainable, competitive industry for the benefit of all Manitobans.  They are proud of their role on the provincial landscape and the thrust to which they contribute to the strength of the provincial economic engine. 

To learn more about the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association, please visit our website at http://www.mcpa.net/.

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