duties as well, for which they “have that the situation that they’re saying Manitoba Nurses Union,
said she is expanded capacity in or
little to no formal training or experi- is arising is only arising in exception- also monitoring the situation and the this increasing demand.”
Brandon
ence.”Sun - 01/16/2019
Ryan Boyd, a beef farmer near Brandon, stands with his herd of cattle. (Drew May/The Brandon Sun)
Farmer receives Nuffield scholarship
BY DREW MAY
When Ryan Boyd wants to
get his herd’s attention, he yells
“Cow boss!” across the field.
The cattle react almost in-
stantly, turning with a “moo”
and coming over, stopping ap-
proximately 15 feet away to look
at him expectantly.
Boyd says the cattle are
trained to come when they hear
the phrase, and that each farm-
er has their own. His father used
“Cow boss,” too.
The herd of approximately
300 cattle is just one compo-
nent of Boyd’s farm and agricul-
tural work. He also farms grain,
using his herd to make the land
more productive by having cat-
tle graze on fallow land, fertiliz-
ing the land naturally with their
manure.
Boyd was recognized for his
work with a Nuffield scholar-
ship, an international prize that
celebrates farmers who are de-
livering long-term benefits to
farmers and growers, providing
them with international travel
opportunities.
He said he was first in-
troduced to the scholarship
through other recipients who
were touring through Westman,
which included a stop at his
farm. Scholars get the chance
to travel to different countries
Copyright (c)2019 Brandon Sun, All Rights Reserved. Edition 01/16/2019
January 16, 2019 8:30 am (GMT +6:00)
alCopy Reduced
cases,” to 92% said
the minister from Tuesday.
original to fit letter
union page
is working with the employer Page : A006
Within the last year, o
Leg
adv
file
WINNIPE
say that Le
shouldn’t b
using staff
than lawye
claims, the
peg charity
ing refuge
their legal d
rise in num
overwhelm
be permitte
“We’re re
Ghezae Hag
Canada pro
Manitoba I
tion Counc
A few year
ment helpe
arrived asy
ally by prep
claim repor
Last year, th
said. That’s
in 2017.
studying how other farmers do toba, when bison would move amount of flooding in the prov- “We have
their work, learning about the through the area through the ince. and migrat
issues that affect them. year in search of fresh grass. “If we can reduce peak flows world is so
“I kind of thought, ‘Hey, this While the pasture land during flood events in Brandon, He is in c
looks like a great opportunity,’ doesn’t make money itself, it well that’s huge money (saved).” free service
so I applied thinking, ‘Well reduces the amount he has to Boyd is looking for sponsors nipeg, help
chances of me getting it are spend on feeding the cattle or to help him with the costs as- ers prepare
probably slim but hey, we’ll give buying fertilizer. sociated with the travel portion documents
it a shot, why not?’ and lo and He uses this method in the of winning the Nuffield schol- sis of claim
behold, here we are.” winter as well as the cows stay arship. He said winners get why they n
He said he was humbled outside for the season. Their the chance to go to the United tection in C
when he heard he received the manure will help fertilize the States, Mexico, Brazil, the Neth- entirely by
scholarship last year, which land in the spring, once the erlands and New Zealand for two full-tim
gives farmers $15,000. snow melts. six weeks in March and April himself, an
“In November we had the The method of land manage- to study other forms of agricul- sity of Ma
opportunity to meet the past ment also makes beef farming ture. volunteers.
scholars, and it’s an impressive more environmentally friendly. He hopes to bring what he have been
group of people,” Boyd said. “I When the land is growing pas- learns back to Canada and help said Hagos.
guess I’m still in awe and ex- ture there are many different improve agriculture across the it without
cited and a little bit nervous just types of local plants on it, which country. Farmers are always long-term h
waiting to see where this adven- provide habitat for wildlife, as looking for ways to improve needed, he
ture takes me.” well as food for cows. The cattle things and provide the biggest Under th
The third-generation farmer also reintroduce nutrients in benefit possible with their land. Refugee Pr
at South Glanton Farms — just the soil through their manure. Boyd said he hopes to get a bet- lawyers in g
north of Brandon — uses a “Cattle get a bad rap because ter insight regarding what the a law soci
method of rotating pasture and the cattle release methane. future might hold for farmers in supervised
cash crops through his plots of When you take that cow and Canada and across the world. tered immig
land and lets his herd graze on put her in a grazing system on “I’m just really excited about and regula
the pasture land when it’s not pasture, yeah she’s still releasing this opportunity to do some which only
growing grain. some methane, but that meth- travelling and visit with other be paid to
By doing so, Boyd said he ane pales in comparison to the farmers around the world and before the
is able to return the land to a carbon that’s able to be seques- hopefully gain some meaning- Refugee Bo
more natural state and break tered.” ful insight for what we do here The unpa
many of the negative cycles, like When properly managed, the in our farm but also on a greater at Welcome
having to fertilize and spray for land is also able to absorb more Western Canada and Canadian paring refu
pests, that regular farmers have water and filter it properly into scale.” tial legal d
to deal with. He said this is akin the water table. Boyd said this plication fo
to what the land was like before could cut down on extreme » dmay@brandonsun.com by a trained
large-scale agriculture in Mani- runoff into rivers, reducing the » Twitter: @DrewMay_ under a law
Powered by TECNAVIA