The Association of Alberta Agricultural Fieldmen: Peace Region Directory

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Big Lakes County

Agricultural Service Board
Box 239
High Prairie, Alberta, T0G 1E0

Phone: 780-523-5955
Fax: 780-523-4227

Sheila Kaus, Agricultural Fieldman
Email: skaus@BigLakesCounty.ca

Mary Dusseault, Animal/Pest Control Officer
Email: mdusseault@biglakescounty.ca

Successful programs:
Pest Control, Predator Control, Beaver Control, Roadside Mowing and Brush Control, Flood Control Ditch Maintenance, Crop Pest Monitoring, Weed Inspections / Control / Enforcement, "No Spray" Program Demonstrations, Seed Cleaning Plant Inspections, Pesticide Container Collections, and Equipment Rentals.

Rental equipment:
Land Scraper (2), Post Pounder (2), Cattle Squeezes (2), Loading Chute (2), Post Hole Auger, Wire Spooler, Tree Spade, Tree Fogger, Bran Applicator, Quad Seeder, Trailer Sprayer, Ground Drive Sprayer, Scare Cannons, Land Roller (2)

A.S.B. meetings:
Meetings are held every second month or as required.

Current A.S.B. (council):
Doug Meneice - Chair/Member at Large
Ken Matthews - Councillor/Reeve
David Marx - Councillor/Deputy Reeve
Ken Killeen - Councillor
Ann Stewart - Councillor
Donald Bissell - Councillor
Lorne Pratt - Member at Large
Grant Gaschnitz - Member at Large
Garry Basarb - Member at Large
Duane Nichols - Member at Large
Ron Matula - Member at Large

Birch Hills County

Agricultural Service Board
Box 157
Wanham, Alberta, T0H 3P0

Phone: 780-694-3793
Fax: 780-694-3788

Amanda Ouellet, Agricultural Fieldman
E-mail: amandao@birchhillscounty.com

Kathrin Langlois, Assistant Agricultural Fieldman
E-mail: kathrinl@birchhillscounty.com

Rental equipment:
None

ASB meetings:
Second Wednesday of each month

Current A.S.B.:
Terry Carbone - Chair/Councillor
Mel Duvall - Vice-Chair/Councillor
Paul Reum - Councillor
Gerald Manzulenko - Councillor
Denise Joudrey - Councillor
Albert Poetker - Councillor
Deanne Wendland - Councillor

Clear Hills County

Agricultural Service Board
Box 240
Worsley, Alberta, T0H 3W0

Phone: 780-685-3925
Fax: 780-685-3960

Greg Coon, Agricultural Fieldman
Email: greg@clearhillscounty.ab.ca

Audrey Bjorkland, Community Development Manager
E-mail: audrey@clearhillscounty.ab.ca

Successful programs:

• Tree Variety Plot -- self-viewing demonstration plot of a variety of tree and shrub species with characteristics and shelterbelt uses outlined on information boards
• Field Shelterbelt / Plastic Mulch Weed Control -- demonstration of field shelterbelts and weed control using plastic mulch.
• Special Weed Control -- assists landowners in the control of new advancing weed species in the Municipality i.e. Tansy, Toadflax, Scentless Chamomile and Ox Eye Daisy.
• Annual Clear Hills County Agricultural Tradeshow open to more than 2000 visitors and 100 exhibitors.

• On-going control of noxious weeds not common to the municipality such as Scentless Chamomile, Ox-Eye Daisy, Common Tansy, Toadflax and Green Foxtail.
• Predator control
• Blackleg and Clubroot inspections and testing if required.
• Fusarium testing - 1 sample per producer paid for by the M.D. via the Seed Cleaning Plant
• Roadside brush and noxious weed control
• Roadside grass mowing program
• Roadside brushing program
• Crop pest monitoring for Alberta Agriculture
• Seed Cleaning plant inspections
• Weed inspections
• Drainage ditch mowing
• Equipment rental
• Producer Informational meetings

• E.S.A. Programs such as Biological Control of Scentless Chamomile and Toad Flax, Chicken Manure Composting, Riparian Management and Watershed Enhancement Group.
• Effective Noxious and Restricted Weed Programs with Public Lands on Bed and Shore and the Wapiti and Smoky Rivers.
• Effective "No Spray Program" with organic producers.
• Currently initiating the West Country Watershed Enhancement Group.
• Facilitator for the Grande Prairie Regional Geographic Information System Project.
• Extensive Fusarium Head Blight education program.
• Works cooperatively with 4 seed cleaning plants in the County of Grande Prairie No. 1
• Beaver flood control program on municipal and private land fully supported by producers.

• 5 skid mount sprayers
• 2 three point sprayers
• l skid mount sprayer with 30 foot boom
• 1 scraper
• 1 tree planter
• Also available dog and cat traps

• End of August complete area drive by leading to fall weed letters on Thistle infestations (on pre-set levels i.e. 25% crop, 10% hay and pasture)
• Continued emphasis on control of Scentless Chamomile, Tansy, Toadflax, Ox Eye Daisy and Bull Thistle.
• Exemption available for those opposed to roadside spraying.
• Landowner or weed inspector initiated request (signed agreement) for roadside spray unit to overlap into crop (along roadsides), where strip of Canada Thistle and Perennial Sow Thistle is usually prevalent (i.e. over fencelines, rough berms) within the roadside spray units reach.
• Weed Inspectors responsible only for inspections, they refer roadside and environment ditch weed control to main (contracted) or patch spray crew for control.

• Welted Thistle
• Green Foxtail
• Bull Thistle
• Orange Hawkweed

• Mapping Roadsides requiring weed control - to give control information to spray crews i.e. weed types, location, sensitive areas, etc.
• Urban Industrial sites spreading Scentless Chamomile into green zone - and the education of industry on weed spread.

• New - 12' Pull Type Grader, 10' Quad mount wick applicator (M.D. of Greenview design)
• Hagedorn Hydra-Spread Manure Spreader, Post Pounders, skid/trailed/backpack/ATV and boom buster sprayers, cattle squeezes, loading chutes, corral panels, soil movers, vee ditcher, soil samples, Heavy Harrow with Valmar
• Main site in Valleyview, satellite rental locations in Crooked Creek and Grovedale
• Bin Crane

• Cattle ranching, farming, bit and spur making, horse training

• Administration of A.S.B. Program, including cooperation with other local governments, agencies, etc.
• Agricultural extension/training and education opportunities for ratepayers/staff
• Roadside weed/brush control and grass seeding of new/rebuilt roads and flood control ditches
• Two year rotation of complete vegetation control on roadsides.

• The roadside vegetation management program which includes, roadside spraying for weed control, roadside brushing and spraying for brush control and roadside mowing.
• The ASB also has a backsloping/brushing program, which is well received by the producers.
• The beaver control program is also working well.
• We are not conducting a blackleg of canola survey every year, only checks where blackleg is suspected.
• The control of noxious weed program is still ongoing with focus on weeds not common to the Municipality, for example tansy, scentless chamomile, ox-eye daisy and toadflax. Our program, over the last 5 years or so, has been extended into the green zone with cooperation from industry. We have also been working with the urban areas, and the program is working well.
• We still conduct lygus bug and bertha army worm inspections as asked by the producers.
• We will be conducting inspections for fusarium graminearum in the fields, at the seed cleaning plant and on farms as requested by the producer.

Pest Control Program
Under the Agricultural Services Pest Inspection Program, pests that have been declared under the APA are identified and recorded. This includes crop diseases sampling and reporting (Clubroot of Canola, Fusarium Graminearum, Blackleg, etc.) as well as crop insects and other organisms. As a courtesy, the landowner is notified of all inspection results, and provided a copy of the Pest Inspection Report by regular mail. The yearly inspections revealed that the majority of the pests were identified as Virulent Blackleg of Canola, located in cropped land where shorter rotation have been recorded in recent years. The County’s Fusarium Graminearum program is still abiding by the a Zero Tolerance policy. Seed testing reimbursement is still in effect with the program to which Producers may submit up to 5 samples a year to a maximum of $50 per test. The Pest Control Program includes distribution of coyote toxicants such as Sodium Monofluoroacetate (compound 1080) for coyote control.

VSI (Veterinary Services Incorporated)
Veterinary Services Incorporated is a municipally funded program to assist livestock producers by offsetting some of the costs related to veterinary care for their animals. A number of procedures are eligible for a 50% cost share with the municipality. Membership is required, and new members complete an application form and are issued a V.S.I. number which they present to the veterinarian. Invoices to livestock producers (for eligible procedures) are automatically reduced by 50% for veterinary service charges. V.S.I. administrators maintain a record of billing and at year-end, the municipality provides grant funding to V.S.I. for the municipal share of the costs. Agricultural Services is requesting that all V.S.I. members contact our Nampa office to ensure memberships are current and information is accurate and updated. This information is vital to an immediate response, in the event of an emergency or livestock disease outbreak. Reportable and Notifiable Diseases are monitored under the Animal Health Act.

Soil and Water Conservation Programs
Soil conservation is a program which involves monitoring as well as prevention of erosion issues; specifically through grass seeding and weed control, following new construction of roadways or drainage ditches.

Water monitoring is an important program that began in 2003; it complimented the riparian health assessments and restoration projects that were initiated in collaboration with other organizations.

Rental Fleet Program
The Equipment Rental fleet comprises 13 pieces of equipment available for rental by County ratepayers. The fleet includes: (1) 15’ field/brush mower (2) 26’ field/brush mowers (1) solar cattle waterer (1) tree spade (1) small tree planter (1) bran bait spreader (1) cattle corral panels (1) RFID tag reader (1) baler – agricultural plastics (1) water pump / pipe wagon

Workshops and Extension Events
Annual workshops are hosted to assist not only ratepayers but also include commercial, agricultural and government agencies. A number of workshops are organized in collaboration with Fieldmen from other municipalities in the region (weed inspector and pesticide applicator training; oil and gas, transportation and utilities corridor workshop).
The Classroom Agriculture Program is instrumental in the ASB education platform, as it targets youth (approximately 10 years of age). As the numbers of urbanites increased, it was deemed important to help young people understand food supply and environmental impact early on, as segregation from the food source is increasing.

Other Programs
Community infrastructure facilities maintenance duties provide an additional opportunity for personnel to monitor for pest, erosion, and weed concerns while conducting maintenance of infrastructure and grounds. Personnel mow and maintain in excess of 40 municipal properties, infrastructure and community areas.

Fleet maintenance is conducted in-house to provide ASB staff with well-maintained equipment and vehicles for delivery of programs and services. This represents roadside mowing, spray application, parks maintenance, inspections, as well as rental fleet equipment and vehicles.

A.S.B. meetings:
As council is the ASB, agricultural issues are dealt with as they arise at council meetings held the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month. We are currently reviewing the composition of the ASB this year.

Current A.S.B.:
Dan Boisvert - Chair/Councillor
Corinna Williams - Vice Chair/Councillor
Peter Gunning - Member at Large
Bryan Gacek - Member at Large
Simon Lavoie - Member at Large
Kyle Petluk - Member at Large
Gwenda Fortin - Member at Large

Municipal District of Peace #135

Agricultural Service Board
Box 34
Berwyn Alberta, T0H 0E0

Phone: 780-338-3845
Fax: 780-338-2222

Nasar Iqbal, Manager of Agricultural Services
E-mail: agfieldman@mdpeace.com

Rental equipment:
15 ft mower, grain bag roller, cattle squeeze, ATV sprayer, backpack sprayers, grain probe, feed probe, soil sampler, tree/seeding planter, post pounder, cattle tag reader, cattle shute and corral panels, scare canons, magpie traps, pressure canner, food dehydrator and surveyor's level.

A.S.B. meetings:
As required

Current A.S.B.:
Sandra Eastman - Chair/Councillor
Janice Reyda - Councillor
Rick Keillor - Member at Large
Brian Grant - Member at Large
Nigel Thorne - Member at Large
George Leger - Member at Large
Judy Bowcott - Member at Large
Christi Friesen - Member at Large

Saddle Hills County

Agricultural Service Board
RR #1
Spirit River, Alberta, T0H 3G0

Phone: 780-864-3760
Fax: 780-864-2008

Shayne Steffen, Agricultural Fieldman
E-mail: SSteffen@saddlehills.ab.ca

Dessa Nicholson, Agricultural Fieldman
E-mail: dnicholson@saddlehills.ab.ca

Weed Inspection Program
Under the Agricultural Services Department operates a program which identifies noxious and prohibited noxious weeds as listed in the Weed Control Act. Actions are taken according to the size and severity of the infestation and the threats to economic, social and environmental values.

The landowner or occupier can control the spread of noxious weeds by ensuring that only clean seed is purchased and used, recommendations are to use local seed sources. Should seeds need to be imported from outside the Peace Country, we strongly advise that the Certificate of Seed Analysis us checked to ensure your seedlot is free of listed noxious weeds and known invasive plants. The department also recommends:

• that all equipment is cleaned before moving from one location to the next. This applies to farm, industrial and recreational equipment. Tarping loads of agriculture products that may contain noxious weed or invasive plant seeds or propagules in order to keep them from establishing in new areas.
• harvest hay before weed seeds have become viable. In the case of scentless chamomile, there are viable seeds as soon as the flower opens.
• manage marginal areas to prevent noxious weeds and invasive plants from becoming infested and avoid unintentional transportation of seeds from area to area by wind, water and wildlife.

• On-going control of noxious weeds not common to the municipality such as Scentless Chamomile, Ox-Eye Daisy, Common Tansy, White Cockle Dame's rocket and Stork's Bill.
• Integrated mowing and roadside spraying program for enhanced control of weeds and brush along M.D. roads - added a Degelman Liquifire (herbicide application through mower) in 2014
• Spot spray program on roadsides and other M.D. property to eradicate Toadflax, White Cockle, Tansy, Ox-eye Daisy and other "rare" weeds.
• Beaver and Coyote Control Programs, Wolf Incentive program and Wild Boar bounty program
• Public education programs through a monthly "Fieldman's Files" article in the local paper, annual M.D. newsletter, producer and industry meetings, mailouts and participation in the bi-ennial Smoky River Agricultural Fair.

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