AFA sees common ground with new government

The election of a majority NDP government on May 5, 2015, was a historic moment for Albertans. While the change in government may introduce some uncertainty in the short term, AFA President Lynn Jacobson sees a solid basis for partnership with the incoming administration.

“We look forward to working with the new government,” says Jacobson. “Many of the NDP platform items, such as a diversified economy and an improvement in grain transportation, also match our goals. These are issues we have been working on for quite a while.”

As we have since 1959, AFA will advocate on issues of importance to Alberta farmers, ranchers and food producers. Jacobson has already reached out to Premier-Designate Rachel Notley’s office to request a meeting with the new NDP rural caucus once it is announced.

On a diversified economy

AFA couldn’t agree more that the prosperity of our province not only depends on our oil and gas industry, but on having a diverse economy that emphasizes our agriculture industry. AFA is ready to share our knowledge and to work with the new government to perpetuate Alberta’s long-standing international reputation as leaders and innovators in agriculture.

On the issue of grain transportation

Although there has been some improvement in this area, grain shipments are still not moving at a level AFA would like to see. Jacobson chairs the Canadian Federation of Agriculture Transportation Committee, which in turn is a member of the Agriculture Industry Canadian Transportation Act Review Coalition. The coalition represents a majority of Canada’s largest agricultural product shippers and processors as well as a broad cross-section of grower-funded organizations. The coalition is working to ensure Canada has a competitive rail system that meets the needs of producers and exporters. AFA has also been active with the Government of Alberta Transportation Task Team.

Jacobson says he looks forward to reviewing in detail the new government’s priorities for agriculture and sitting down with its caucus in a mutually constructive spirit. He believes that there is great opportunity to advance the industry together.

“As Alberta’s largest producer-funded general farm organization, AFA is non-partisan,” Jacobson says. “Since we are not bound by any political party or sector or group, we are available to listen to producers across all agricultural sectors and be an advocate for the changes they are looking for.”

New water project welcome news for farmers

It’s no secret that water-related events can have a devastating impact on agriculture. Whether it’s a catastrophic flood, wet fields at seeding time or extended drought, farmers are often faced with either too much water or not nearly enough.

What’s more, science lacks a solid understanding of why these events occur. For Camrose-area farmer Humphrey Banack, it’s hard to pick an issue of more direct importance to farmers.

“With recent disastrous water events in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario, we all know how devastating flooding can be,” says Banack. “Although the attention sometimes centers on the impacts to urban properties, water-related events can be a major risk for primary agriculture, too.”

As a farmer managing 5,000 acres, Banack has had his share of battles with insufficient or excess moisture. He recalls the wet spring of April 2011 in the Camrose area as one of the worst.

Now, as 2nd Vice President with the Alberta Federation of Agriculture (AFA), Banack is involved in a new, large-scale effort to remove some of the mystery surrounding water events in rural Alberta.

On March 17, 2015, Member of Parliament for Wetaskiwin Blaine Calkins, on behalf of Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, announced $1.3 million in federal support for AFA to develop a unique computer model that will better identify the risk and impacts of overland flooding and drought in agricultural areas. Federal funding is being provided through the AgriRisk Initiatives program.

The project’s focus will be to construct and showcase a suite of complex hydrologic models to assess interactive water movement throughout the South Saskatchewan River Basin. Under each water‐related risk assessment, the model will build maps that define risk zones within the study area. The model will then quantify the frequency, geographical extent and severity of water-related events.

To execute the project, AFA will team up with private consultants experienced in agriculture risk and with world-renowned hydrologic and climate change scientists to generate the computer simulation model. The three-year project will begin April 1, 2015 and continue through March 31, 2018.

Banack notes that this project fits perfectly with AFA’s mandate. As Alberta’s largest producer-funded general farm organization, AFA supports a sustainable agriculture industry with viable farm incomes. The data collected under this project could contribute to better flood risk analysis and eventually lead to the development of overland flooding insurance products. Spearheading effective farm risk management tools for farmers is a key priority area for AFA.

“Many people don’t know that Canada is the only G8 country where overland flooding is not an insurable risk,” Banack says. “The federal funding provided to AFA will allow us to begin immediately in addressing the important area of water and risk assessment in agriculture, potentially paving the way for practical insurance solutions for producers.”

March 15-21 is Canadian Agricultural Safety Week

Farm businesses are a complex combination of highly specialized and technical equipment. Growth in a farm business can also increase the number of people who are involved in that business.

Tragically, in a few cases, all this can add up to fatalities and injuries. In Canada, too many people die in farming accidents each year. Many of those incidents are preventable.

Humphrey Banack, Alberta Federation of Agriculture (AFA) 2nd Vice President, says agriculture has been identified as a ‘high risk’ industry, and even one death or serious injury is too many.

“We’re an industry that operates in our own backyard,” says Banack, whose family farms 5,000 acres near Camrose. “Safety on farms is critical. I know neighbors who have been injured, and even killed, on farms. We have to look at safety and plan to be safe.”

Banack and his wife, Terry, feel passionate about farm safety. In 2014, they joined nine other Alberta farmers to volunteer-test a pilot safety program being developed by Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD). The pilot encouraged farmers to document their farm safety practices as a way of managing safety risk on the farm.

Banack says because there are a lot of moving parts with a farm business, it can sometimes be a challenge to teach someone new about the wide variety of safety protocols on a farm. That’s why the Banacks have created a written farm safety plan, and encourage other producers to do the same.

“It’s not something you do once and it’s done,” he says. “A good on-farm safety plan is constantly being updated as the farm business grows and evolves.”

Banack says the AFA Board will continue to push for progress in the area of farm safety. AFA is actively involved in initiatives like those being brought forward by ARD to improve our province’s farm safety record.

Banack also recommends that producers check out the information available through Canadian Agricultural Safety Week which occurs March 15 through 21, 2015. This annual public education campaign focuses on the importance of safety in agriculture and provides producers with resources and information to make their farms safer.

More information on Canadian Agricultural Safety Week can be found at www.agsafetyweek.ca. For videos featuring the Banacks speaking about farm safety, visit the Alberta Federation of Agriculture YouTube Channel and click on the videos in the ‘AFA In The News’ playlist.