Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/1120507
31 Passion and a willingness to take on the unknown are key ingredients for success. And it takes an appreciation of all the changes that go on from day to day, season to season and year to year. "We're very, very vulnerable to things like weather, which means we must be willing to accept some rather harsh treatment from Mother Nature from time to time," she says. "We're also very vulnerable to market forces which may have nothing directly to do with farming, or fallout from political decisions that can negatively impact us quite quickly," she adds. "The upside is that we can influence the health and well-being of our communities and our environment." Rempel says challenges and barriers that held women back from farming as little as 40 years ago have all but disappeared. "For example, in the '70s, when I started being an owner/manager of a farm, women were not eligible to participate in the crop insurance program," she says. "Those battles have been fought and won." There is still "room at the top" for more women on boards of agriculture-related organizations, but her own experience has taught her that the future looks bright for women in all aspects of farming and agriculture. One change contributes to another, and some have been especially helpful to women. "One that seems obvious to me is the way in which technology has eased physical labour for both women and men, but I think we as women notice it more," she says. There is one aspect of farm work that doesn't change — it is never done, she says. "Animals may be fed and watered and cared for, and crops are seeded and growing, but there's always another research paper to read. There's always a piece of government policy or regulation to be improved upon. There's always a new technology becoming available." The hog sector employs about 14,000 Manitobans — roughly 7,000 who are directly employed as farm workers and in meat processing, and another 7,000 who are employed indirectly, through their work as skilled professionals and tradespeople. The sector contributes more than $1.7 billion to the provincial economy annually, and Rempel says there are opportunities for women in all areas of pork production and agriculture, including processing and packaging. Additionally, agricultural endeavours are tied into many other related professions and trades, all of which are open to women. Rempel says producers are not "flying solo." Farmers rely on the same trades and professions that any other business needs, in areas which offer employment opportunities for women. "We need electricians, plumbers and truck drivers, and we use accountants and lawyers and people in construction," she says. "We rely on veterinarians, animal nutritionists and agronomists, soil scientists and plant researchers, equipment dealers and service personnel and mechanics. "And it extends to the tech sector and to communications people who tell our story, which has become more important as a smaller and smaller percentage of society is involved directly in farming and growing food." Rempel says that in many cases, at least 50 per cent of students in university agriculture departments are women, and there is a close partnership with the University of Manitoba as the next generation of producers prepares to enter the field. "I've always told my children — and anyone who will listen — there's no more important, and no more basic vocation or task in society than to grow our food," she says. "I love farming and I could go on and on talking about it forever, and I consider it a privilege and an honour to grow nutritious food in humane and environmentally sustainable ways." ❚ Learn more at manitobapork.com/economy Learn more about Manitoba pork producers and the sector at www.manitobapork.com "I've always told my children — and anyone who will listen — there's no more important, and no more basic vocation or task in society than to grow our food."