The annual Manitoba Ag Days farm show is on in Brandon until this Thursday (Jan 18th) at the Keystone Centre. It’s one of the largest farm shows in Western Canada and brings in farmers and ag professionals from all over eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Having worked in Western Manitoba several years ago, I had the great fortune of making, and keeping, many friendships over the years, so it was nice seeing so many familiar faces at Ag Days. One of the first “live” radio interviews I ever did was with a fella named Ron while I worked at a station in Dauphin, MB nearly 20 years ago. Ron was the Reeve for a nearby rural municipality, which was hosting a special celebration.

Ron and I remained friends after that interview because he was a farm kid just like me. Over time, his political ambitions grew and soon he left municipal politics for provincial politics, eventually being elected as an MLA. As life sometimes goes, one tends to fall out of contact with one’s friends over the years thanks to moves, promotions, etc.

The Ron I’m referring to is Ron Kostyshyn, who is now the Minister of Agriculture for Manitoba. It’s always nice to see friends do well for themselves in life whether it be politically, financially, or personally. We all like to see our friends find great success in life. We ended up having a great visit, reminisced about old times, and talked about what’s coming up…and yes, I got to interview him one more time. It’s a good reminder to reach out to long lost friends and check in on them to see how they’re doing. You might be surprised at what they’re doing!