The Wiebes
Featuring Evy Wiebe
Meet Manitoba chicken farmers Evy and Rod Wiebe. In 1994, Evy married Rod and they took over Rod’s parents family farm. Together, they have been farming on it ever since and have raised a beautiful family on the farm.
Evy will be the first to tell you she loves being a chicken farmer. When talking about her work, she exudes passion about the privilege of being able to nourish fellow Manitobans year-round by providing them with local chicken as a source of nutritious protein. She says she and Rod take this responsibility very seriously and work hard to ensure they raise the highest quality chickens possible for consumers.
The Wiebes are second generation farmers and farming has provided the kind of lifestyle they have always dreamt of for their children. They are very grateful for the stability their farm has given to their family. Evy and Rob have four children: three girls and one boy. Their first-born, Emma, and her husband live next door on a bee farm and recently had their first child, Sadie, making Evy and Rod proud grandparents.
Their other three children, Julia, Katrina, and Sam are still pursuing their studies. Two of the children have expressed interest in taking over the farm when their parents retire.
Educating the Public
Evy has discovered she has a natural gift for participating in advocacy work. With her education degree, informing the public about chicken farming now comes naturally for her. She has been sharing her story as a Manitoba Chicken Producers farmer with the public for the last 10 to 15 years by meeting with the public at agriculture tradeshows. She started by helping at the Manitoba Chicken Producers’ booth at Discovery Place at the Red River Exhibition, talking to visitors about chicken farming. Since then she has taken on more opportunities to educate the public about the industry.
Evy states, “I have a lot of confidence in my industry, and I want to share that with the public. It’s important to share our story about farming so the youth of today know where their food comes from and the many adventures that are a part of the life of as a farmer!”
Evy’s advocacy work has taken her many places. She’s participated in Discover Agriculture in the City, an initiative held at The Forks in the centre of Winnipeg. It’s a day-long event that draws people of all ages, from all walks of life. Evy has also helped host booths at Brandon Royal Winter Fair, Save-on Foods, and at Open Farm Day at the Farm Food Discovery Centre.
Giving Back to the Community
To Evy, community is everything. She acknowledges that the community has given so much to her and her family, and firmly believes that it is very important to give back. Evy and her family donate to the local food bank, both personally and on behalf of Manitoba Chicken Producers, as one of the farm families that collectively donates 1,000 whole chickens per week through the Caring for Communities program to Harvest Manitoba. Harvest Manitoba is a charitable organization that represents the province’s food banks, to ensure that even the most vulnerable community members have access to healthy chicken.
Evy takes time out of her busy schedule to volunteer at her local community food bank. She genuinely believes a farmer’s job is to feed people, and that is exactly what food banks do. She enjoys seeing the hope that a box full of food can give to people. Evy also volunteers at her church and is looking forward to the day when the congregation can meet again in person.
Evy genuinely enjoys her work as a community ambassador for our industry. She is appreciative of all Manitobans for trusting her family and other Manitoba chicken farmers to produce the chicken to feed their families.
As a farmer, she takes the confidence the public places in her industry very seriously. Manitoba chicken farmers care for their flocks of chickens very diligently, making sure they always have fresh air and lots of food and water. These things are very important to ensuring healthy chickens.
Thank you Evy and the Wiebe family for the work you do as chicken farmers to ensure Manitobans and Canadians alike have access to healthy chicken to eat year-round.
