Carbon, technology and sustainability in focus at AFA’s AGM

Alberta Federation of Agriculture (AFA) put a spotlight on key issues now affecting producers at its 2020 Conference and Annual General Meeting (AGM) that wrapped up yesterday in Leduc.

From the day-long conference on Tuesday to resolutions made and passed at Wednesday’s AGM, producers heard from industry experts and made their own voices heard.

“We’ve just come off a difficult year in agriculture in Alberta, with several national and international issues facing producers,” says AFA President Lynn Jacobson, “It's no surprise that many discussions at our AGM were focused on ways to manage risk on the farm, financial planning and actions on carbon tax, proposed seed royalties, trade issues and more.”

Tuesday conference speakers went deep on issues such as sustainable crops and beef to communicating with consumers and grazing’s impact on soil carbon.

AFA partner Aquanty updated members on the development of AgSat, the new remote sensing platform owned by AFA that provides producers with essential data for their land at an accessible price.

“There’s a digital revolution going on in agriculture right now, with many companies providing valuable products and services to producers,” says Jacobson. “We don’t want farm size and finances to be barriers that keep some producers from participating. AgSat will be of value and within financial reach of any producer, that’s why AFA and Aquanty are working on this new tool together.”

Resolutions passed on Wednesday spanned carbon tax and offsets, crop insurance, grain drying, updating the Canada Grain Act, farm employee insurance, producer protections under Canadian Grain Commission, farm asset transfer and Canada’s evolving seed royalty system.

AFA delegates also re-confirmed the AFA Board of Directors and Executive for 2020 with Lynn Jacobson, Keith Degenhardt and Grace MacGregor all staying on as President, 1st and 2nd Vice President respectively. AFA’s leadership team will continue to engage in vital policy advocacy alongside Canada’s provincial and national farm organizations.

To Jacobson, the conference speakers and resolutions discussed at the AGM reflect top concerns of producers right now. He believes that sustainability should not be viewed too narrowly.

“Our conference theme this year was sustainability and it's important to remember that financial sustainability is part of the mix as we look at ways to enhance farming practices, land and environmental management and production sustainability in the future.”