| | Agriculture and Food Council
Alberta’s Agriculture and Food Council (AFC) focuses on supporting the industry’s growth, competitiveness, profitability and sustainability. “We like to think of ourselves as a catalyst or an enabler to move the industry forward. And we recognize that in order to grow and be sustainable, the industry has to be profitable and that profitable isn’t a bad word,” says Marilyn Sharp, AFC Chair.
The Council’s membership is remarkably diverse, representing Alberta’s entire agri-food sector. It includes people involved in production, processing, transportation, marketing, research, and education (including educators and a student representative), as well as representatives from the provincial and federal agriculture departments. Sharp says, “We have been really fortunate with our Council members that they look at the good of the whole industry, not just their own sector.”
The AFC manages a variety of term programs and projects. For instance, it is the Alberta delivery agent for Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food (ACAAF) program. A five-year federal program, ACAAF funds projects in three areas: supporting industry-led solutions to emerging opportunities; advancing research results so the information gets to the people who can use it; and information sharing.
The Council also delivers the Alberta portion of the federal Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative. This initiative provides funds for agricultural producers to develop business plans for biofuel production projects with significant producer ownership. “This program complements what the province is doing to assist development of the biofuel industry, so we work hand-in-hand,” notes Sharp.
She emphasizes the importance of the very positive working relationship between the Council and the Alberta and federal governments. “We work very well together and because of this relationship we are able to work very hard to move the industry forward.”
The AFC carries out various projects related to value chains, such as holding an international value chains conference, and human resources, such as its web-based portal (www.soiltosky.ca) on opportunities in the agri-food industry.
Environmental policy is another key project area. “We have to take care of our land and animals so that they take care of us,” says Sharp.
The AFC has produced environmental policy discussion papers on land use and ecological stewardship and is now following up with a public opinion survey. Sharp explains, “As the discussion about the environment progresses, the producers need to be recognized for their contribution [to environmental stewardship] and needs to be part of the discussion.” The survey will be one way to engage both producers and the general public in the discussion around agriculture and the environment.
Bob Anderson represents the AFC on AESA Council. Visit www.agfoodcouncil.com for more information.
Alberta Pulse Growers Commission
Pulses – the dry edible seeds of peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas, fababeans, soybeans and lupins – have a lot going for them. They are part of a healthy diet for humans and livestock, providing agronomic benefits to growers, and generating environmental benefits for everyone.
The goal of the Alberta Pulse Growers (APG) Commission is “to drive this industry toward a more profitable, environmentally sustainable industry by linking science, technology and innovation for the benefit of our growers and the wider community,” says Barry Grabo, the new APG president.
He notes, “To get to where we want to be, we want to do the right research and market development to promote the benefits of our crops. We think that the benefits are there but they haven’t really been quantified at this point.”
Consequently, much of the current research sponsored by this producer group centres on putting hard numbers on these benefits. For instance, APG’s market development research includes clinical trials to assess the human health benefits of eating pulses and feeding trials to evaluate pulses in animal rations. Some of our agronomic research involves pinning down the numbers for the nitrogen benefits of pulses.
“Agronomically pulses really fit well in crop rotation because they fix their own nitrogen. We’ve always known that, but we don’t know really how much they fix. In fact scientists can’t even agree on how to measure how much nitrogen is fixed,” explains Grabo. “So one of our calls for research proposals this year will be for a project to come up with a way to measure how much nitrogen pulses actually fix, to get the scientific community to agree that this is the standard measurement.” Other APG studies compare the nitrogen fixation abilities of different types of pulses.
Since pulses fix their own nitrogen, they don’t need any nitrogen fertilizer. Along with reducing fertilizer costs for growers, that saves on the energy used in producing nitrogen fertilizer. Other environmental benefits of pulses include improving soil health and tilth, and helping to break weed, disease and insect pest cycles in crop rotation.
“When we talk about growing healthy food from healthy soil, I think pulses have a great fit there,” says Grabo, who farms in the Strathmore area. He adds, “I think farmers have always been good stewards of the environment - we’re trying to do the best job that we can, and we’re certainly getting better at it as time goes on.” Dave Hegland represents APG on AESA Council. For more information, visit www.pulse.ab.ca. |
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