Six farm families will be honoured at this year's Royal Manitoba Winter Fair taking place at Brandon's Keystone Centre March 26 - 31.

The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba has teamed up with the Bank of Montreal (BMO) in establishing the Manitoba Farm Family Award.

“As an ag society in Manitoba with 135 years of history, we are very excited to add this program to the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair,” said Ron Kristjansson, General Manager at the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba. “Recognizing the achievement and commitment of the farm families across our province is an important goal for our community; In an era where our people’s thirst for knowledge on food production is unparalleled, hearing real life stories of families that grow our food is critical to knowing the facts."

2018 will mark the first year that the award is handed out in Manitoba.

Each family will receive one night accommodation at the Victoria Inn Hotel & Conference Centre, free admission to the fair, recognition at the BMO Manitoba Farm Family Award ceremony, VIP seating, presentation during the evening show and an opportunity to meet with representations from BMO Bank of Montreal, local government officials and board members from the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba.

Nominations will be open until December 15th at www.royalmanitobawinterfair.com.