Collaboration was a hot topic of conversation last week at the CropConnect conference in Winnipeg.

Many Manitoba farm commodity groups are struggling and are looking for new ways of doing business.

Kelly Dobson of DobsonLead was hired to help facilitate conversations between the different groups.

He says a six-week engagement has revealed some interesting points of discussion..

"Some organizations are very comfortable with how they're structured and how they're functioning and they think they're very successful. Others in the room, and there were a number of them who felt it's time for a change. They realize that maybe they're going to need to do more than just get sharper with the pencil to figure out how to really meet their mission and mandate."

Dobson says some of the farm commodity groups go back 50 years, adding the role of such organizations has changed significantly over the years.

He's hoping to see a few of the organizations step up and lead the collaboration talks forward.