Agribusiness: It's All In The Family

From Rhonda Oakden’s perspective, it wasn’t part of a plan. It just turned out that way, and it’s turned out great. She is one of five Nykoliation women – including her sister, Donna Adam, and cousins Kim Kimpinski and Jennifer Askin – who were raised on farms north of Virden and have each graduated from Assiniboine’s Agribusiness program.

“Donna was the first one and I was the second,” says Rhonda. “And then Kim and then Jennifer. When I was in my second year, Kim was in her first year. It never really dawned on me until later that there’s four Nykoliations that took Agribusiness. That’s kind of cool.”

It’s more than cool. It’s a great story about the range of opportunities that come with an Agribusiness diploma – a reflection of the variety of careers in and intersecting with this growing industry - and how those opportunities have transformed lives for the better.

Donna started the Agribusiness program in 1990. “I was always interested in the finance side. I had always, in my mind, thought that I would be helping, whether it was farmers, farm families or businesses in some way in finance.”

After her graduation in 1992, she joined a John Deere dealership in Brandon and then transferred to a dealership in Neepawa a few years later. It was there that she met a senior manager with RBC, and after serving as a branch manager in Souris, she will soon celebrate her 30th year as a financial planner with RBC in Winnipeg.

Rhonda, who is Donna’s younger sister, was the second of the Nykoliations to enter the Agribusiness program. “When I graduated, I knew I wanted to stay fairly close to Brandon and surrounding area,” she says. “And observing my sister’s career path, she was enjoying being on the finance side.”

“Finance was sort of the natural fit for me,” she adds, “and I took the courses to become a financial planner and an insurance advisor. I’ve been with Westoba Credit Union as director financial planning for the past three years.”

Kim Kimpinski graduated from the Agribusiness program in 1998, the year after Rhonda. “I grew up on a farm,” she says. “It was just kind of the area that I had interest in, and I liked the idea of the agribusiness program. Just from hearing from past graduates, the job opportunities that they had after they completed their diploma, there was lots out there.”

For Kim, that opportunity was a position with John Deere dealer S.H. Dayton Ltd. in Shoal Lake. “I’m in the admin side of things, and I do like it,” she says. “My job has changed and evolved over time. What I first started doing is not what I’m doing now, and with Enns Brothers taking over, my job has changed again. So, I’m getting that change internally.”

Jennifer Askin graduated from Agribusiness in 2005. She and her husband, Jeff – also an Assiniboine Agribusiness graduate – operate a 2000-acre farm near Portage la Prairie, growing soy beans, wheat, canola and edible beans. She also helps with Jeff’s seed business.

Why did she choose the Agribusiness program? “Probably because of what my cousins had said. We grew up in agriculture, so for me, it was like my comfort thing. I kind of already grew up with that. It was like second nature to me.”

When asked why the four Nykoliation girls each enrolled in the Agribusiness program, Donna says: “We were a family that got together with family Christmases and whatnot. It wasn’t that we sought each other out to talk about it, but it was known that we were each taking it and it was of interest to the next ones.”

Rhonda recalls it this way: “For Donna and I and Kim and Jennifer, I think our dads were proud that we all went into the program. Our dads were brothers, and I remember when Kim was looking to get into it, I remember her dad saying to my dad, ‘Well, Kim should do what Donna and Rhonda did. That’s a good program.’ I think they had a sense of pride, knowing that their girls, who were farm kids, went onto that path for education.”

Though they may have had different reasons for entering the program, Donna, Rhonda, Kim and Jennifer are each convinced that they would do it again.

“There are multiple job opportunities and if you find your passion, you stick with it. But if you start one job and find that’s really not for you, that Agribusiness diploma will give you opportunities to branch off into a different direction,” said Kim.

Donna agrees. “I couldn’t even start to put my finger on all the opportunities. It’s a huge range, and agriculture jobs, it stems far past that. Ag careers are all over the world,” she said.

For those considering the Agribusiness course, Rhonda has some advice.

“Don’t restrict yourselves to a specific area. There is a bias that when you take agribusiness that you’re maybe going to work for a seed company or a grain company, or a chem company. Don’t limit yourself to that. Understand that there’s the business aspect too, and the skills that you’re learning are transferable.”

“Open your eyes to other areas that could add value in your career path and chase the learning. Don’t ever stop the learning.”