Bonus Episode: The Bright Future of Ag with MBFI’s 2022 Summer Students

In this Bonus Episode, we meet MBFI’s four amazing summer students. These up and coming ag professionals have been busy at the farm doing everything from cattle health checks and daily moves, to yard work, seeding, haying and everything in between!  Each of them has a slightly different career path and future plan, but their love of the outdoors and the animals they work with is a common theme.  Join me as I introduce the 2022 Summer Students!

Lauren McKee

Lauren grew up on a family farm Northeast of Brandon where her family has a mixed beef and grain operation along with raising Suffolk Draft Horses.  Growing up, she was heavily involved with all aspects of the farm and continues to help when possible.  Lauren spent ten years in the 4-H program in equine and beef clubs. Much of her free time is spent training the Suffolk draft foals or driving her miniature horses. This fall, Lauren is going into the third year of her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, majoring in Animal Science at the University of Saskatchewan.  In the future, Lauren plans to be involved in the agricultural sector to support and benefit the growth of livestock in the rural area. 

Maeghan McDonald

This fall Maeghan is entering the final term of her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science at Brandon University. Maeghan grew up in a rural area near the small town of Brookdale, Manitoba on her family's acreage. She has always had a deep appreciation for the environment and the outdoors, which is what pushed her to study Environmental Science.  While Maeghan did not grow up on a farm, she was always surrounded by farmsteads and people in the agriculture industry, and as such has always been interested in this field. Maeghan is currently working her third summer as a co-op student through Brandon university and her second summer as an employee at MBFI. While working at MBFI Maeghan has been privileged to learn a ton of new skills and knowledge relevant to the beef cattle industry. It has been a pleasure to learn about rangeland management, beef production, and sustainable farming. As Maeghan continues to grow as a professional in the environmental sector she hopes to continue to expand her repertoire of skills and knowledge so she can make positive impacts throughout her career.

Josie Pedersen

This fall Josie will be a 3rd year Animal Science student at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.  She grew up on her family’s commercial cattle operation North of Neepawa and was a member of the Neepawa 4-H beef club until graduating high school. During high school Josie was able to take part in different youth agriculture events across Canada and worked on the family farm for a summer and also at the Neepawa vet clinic. This is Josie’s 2nd summer at MBFI and she really enjoys being in the fields, beef cattle production and rangeland management. Going forward Josie hopes to maintain an active role in the production of cattle and sustainable farming that is practiced at MBFI. 

Oksana Iwanchysko

This fall Oksana will be entering her first year of vet school after completing 2 years of an Animal Bioscience Degree at the University of Saskatchewan. She lives on an acreage North of Dauphin, where she was an active member of the community and has been a 4-H member for 13 years. This is Oksana’s first summer with MBFI and she has enjoyed all aspects of the position and will continue to implement the management practices used at MBFI.

If you are interested in being a summer student at MBFI for future years, or know a student who might be interested, please watch for the annual advertisement for available positions.  As an MBFI Summer Student, you are sure to gain hands-on experience in both the cattle and crop industries.  

MBFI would like to send a special thank you to Canada Summer Jobs for their assistance with funding to hire these fantastic students.

The research programs and daily operations at MBFI would not be possible without the funding from the Province of Manitoba, Government of Canada and Canadian Agricultural Partnership, as well as the partnership with Manitoba Agriculture, Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP), Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) and the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA). 

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