“It was so nice to see all these groups
come together and talk and voice their
concerns. I like seeing the younger guys
have an idea, and the older guys saying,
‘That’s never worked before,’ or ‘I
think that could definitely work,’ based
on their experiences.”
Collaboration has been a constant
throughout her farming career, and she
says the key ingredient to her success is
support from her family.
In addition to the drawing by
her younger daughter, Madeleine,
Marianne has also saved an essay that
16-year-old Sophie wrote for a competition
last year. Sophie wrote about
how young women should reach for
their dreams and not feel limited by
stereotypical ideas about what girls
can and cannot do.
She pointed to her mother and
aunt as examples of women making
their way in what is often thought of
as a man’s world, writing, “Seeing what
they have done and what they have
taught me made me realize that ‘man
power’ doesn’t always need to involve
men. Girl power works just as well.”
The women and girls in the family
have had another mentor in the form
of Marianne’s mother, Roseline Parvais.
In addition to modelling resilience for
her daughters, she offered Marianne
the support with child care and chores
that she needed to get through the busy
years when her children were small.
“I could never have done it without
her,” she says.
She feels the same way about
her husband, Dean, who, in addition
to helping out in his off-work hours,
“most importantly, encourages me and
understands.”
Finally, Marianne owes a lot to
her father, Raymond Parvais, who she
describes as a source of support and
motivation and someone who has never
lost confidence in her.
Her father never believed that farming
was a man’s game, or that his daughters
weren’t capable of running the farm
on their own. Marianne recalls, decades
ago, her dad getting a visit from the
farmer who had been renting some of
their pastureland, and who now wanted
to buy it.
“You’ve just got girls, so they probably
won’t be farming,” the man reasoned.
“Why not sell me the half-section?”
Raymond Parvais gestured to
Marianne, who was sitting beside him,
and said, “Well, you’ll have to ask my
daughter if she wants to sell it.”
Marianne Parvais, then 12 years old,
mulled over her very first business proposition,
then looked at the man and said:
“No way.” FV
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6 § Manitoba Farmers’ Voice § Spring 2019
/Cleanfarms.ca
