| | Debra Lozinski
The Agricultural Research and Extension Council of Alberta (ARECA) and its member associations are key players in Alberta’s agricultural extension scene. Through applied research and technology transfer, they provide up-to-date information tailored to local conditions so producers can improve their profitability and sustainability.“
We’re the middle man between the researchers and the producers,” explains Debra Lozinski, vice-chair of ARECA. This provincial body is composed of 14 non-profit, producer-driven applied research and forage associations.
She notes, “Each area has different needs and interests. I think that’s our strength – that we can be diverse in each geographical region and based on the type of producers that we’re working with.” The member associations are involved in such activities as crop and variety 5testing, grazing management workshops, and demonstrating beneficial management practices.
Lozinski came to be a part of ARECA through her local association – the Lakeland Applied Research Association (LARA). LARA’s wide-ranging activities also include projects on niche market opportunities, like organic farming and production of natural health products.
ARECA’s associations often work in partnership with other agencies like municipalities, colleges and businesses. Several have partnered with AESA over the years, through its Farm Based Program and by working with local AESA-funded rural extension staff.
ARECA was created in 2003 when the Alberta Forage Council amalgamated with Alberta’s applied research associations. “ARECA was formed to advocate on behalf of our member associations and to build partnerships at a provincial level,” says Lozinski.
Lozinski became ARECA’s representative on AESA Council in the fall of 2004. She grew up near Hylo, Alberta on a mixed farm. After going to the University of Alberta and working in Edmonton for a few years, she moved back to the Hylo area. She now farms on her grandfather’s homestead, focusing mainly on cow-calf production. Off-farm, she does contract teaching and works on several committees and boards. She also spent six years in municipal politics, serving as a councillor and a reeve for Lakeland County. During that time, she sat on various committees related to environmental issues.
Lozinski sees environmental stewardship as important for everyone, including producers. She says, “Many of the changes to become more environmentally sustainable are economically beneficial to producers as well. From a business perspective, it pays to be environmentally sustainable.... It’s also about doing our part as an industry. It’s important that we demonstrate that agricultural producers are being progressive and addressing these issues.”
Dave Hegland
As the new representative of the Alberta Pulse Growers on AESA Council, Dave Hegland sees some key linkages between the two agencies. For example, one of AESA’s major priorities is to encourage integrated crop management systems. Pulse crops – like peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas – play a valuable part in these environmentally sound production systems.
“Pulses are some of the most environmentally friendly crops to grow,” says Hegland. “They are fairly low-input crops. They add nitrogen to the soil as opposed to taking it out. And typically, if your land is fairly clean, you don’t have too many weed problems.”
He notes, “The Alberta Pulse Growers [APG] has worked on the idea of including pulse crops in a rotation, as opposed to using them as a cash crop one year and then not growing them again.” Adding pulses to a rotation can help to break weed, disease and insect pest cycles, and to improve soil quality. So, as more and more producers include pulses in their crop rotations, the pulse industry grows and the environment benefits.
Hegland recently retired from the APG board after nine years, serving as vice-president, then president and finally past-president, as well as working on various committees. The APG is a producer-run organization aimed at encouraging the growth of a viable, profitable pulse industry in Alberta. In his time on the board, Hegland saw Alberta’s pulse production expand from about 200,000 acres to nearly 800,000 acres.
The APG is very active in sponsoring and assisting in research and extension to help improve Alberta’s pulse industry. “Agronomy is a big part of what we do, so farmers will feel comfortable growing this crop. There’s a lot of risk involved in farming nowadays, ...so we put Pulse Grower money into applied research and demonstrations of new techniques,” explains Hegland.
He adds, “We’ve also done a fair amount of work on some initiatives to increase market opportunities for pulses. For example, the inclusion of peas in hog rations has been an important focus. We’ve done a lot of research projects that determine the net energy in the crop so that people using this product in their rations know what exactly they are using.”
Hegland and his wife have a pedigreed seed operation in the Wembley area (near Grande Prairie). They grow registered and certified cereals, oilseeds and pulses, using a minimum tillage system. |
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