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Building A Unified Voice for Agriculture: Agriculture Updates, Supports, and News: May 2024

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Building A Unified Voice for Agriculture: Agriculture Updates, Supports, and News: May 2024

Chamber

Agriculture Updates since April 2024

Don't forget to register here for the Ag Roundtable taking place before the Chuckwagons on June 20th.

Headlines

Do you own a pre-2002 confined feeding operation? 

Help protect its future with a formal grandfathering determination from the NRCB. Did your operation exist, or was it permitted by the county, before the Agricultural Operation Practices Act came into effect on January 1, 2002? If so, now is the time to request a formal grandfathering determination from the Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB). Here's why:

  • provides documentation for selling, refinancing or expanding
  • records from 2002 are getting harder to find
  • shorter processing time
  • clarifying your capacity

Read more and request a formal grandfathering determination for your pre-2002 CFO

Farm Economics - FCC

Learn the core concepts that influence profitability and how they impact your bottom line. Get the Guide

Alberta releases drought response plan
Alberta’s new Drought and Flood Protection Program is now accepting applications for projects to help protect homes, businesses and lives. Learn More

Navigating the cattle market
Seasonal trends generally are a reliable tool for forecasts, however the volatility in the futures markets demonstrates vulnerabilities. More Here

Funding Updates 

Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership – Year Two Program Adjustments

We were advised that input from the Sustainable CAP stakeholder engagement in fall 2023 helped inform program adjustments that will enable the framework to serve Alberta’s agriculture sector. Engagement sessions focused on the Sustainable CAP program suite as a whole – with targeted discussions about the On-Farm Water and Irrigation; Building Sector Capacity, Growth and Competitiveness; and Climate Change and Environment programming. There were also surveys available on alberta.ca during the engagement period.  

The indication was that feedback and suggested changes related to continuous improvement to the existing program suite, as no significant concerns were identified. As of April 2024, program updates include: 

•    adjusted grant maximums and cost shares for the Water Program to offset rising project costs. In both the Irrigation and On-Farm Water Streams, this change should incentivize producers to participate in programming. 

•    adjustments to the On-Farm Value-Added and Value-Added programs to better align with the industry need for quicker response times and clearer application outcomes.  

Please visit the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership page for program information, including how to apply. If you have any questions or comments about the changes, please contact me at laureen.kennedy@gov.ab.ca. 

Drought and Flood Protection Program now open

Alberta’s new Drought and Flood Protection Program is now accepting applications for projects to help protect homes, businesses and lives. Learn More and Apply Here

Labour Resources

AgriWorkforce Matters #4 Magazine now online.

Do You Have Health & Safety Questions?

If you have farm-specific health and safety questions or require support relating to health and safety on your farm, please contact AgSafe Alberta at info@agsafeab.ca.   You may be eligible for onsite farm visits and up to 10 hours of advisor support at no cost! 

Free counselling sessions

Farming is 24-7-365, but you don't have to handle it alone. Get support from AgKnow's farm-informed counsellors and get up to four free counselling sessions. This program covers counselling sessions for farmers, their families, farm employees, veterinarians and registered veterinarian technicians. Learn more and book a counselling session.

Student Work Placement Program (SWPP)

We are thrilled to share that Growing Opportunities through the Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) is available again for Summer 2024. Whether a student seeking valuable work experience or an employer eager to invest in emerging talent, SWPP has something special to offer. To apply simply visit the SWPP Application Page and complete the online application form.

If you'd like to learn more about SWPP, including eligibility criteria and detailed program information, please visit the website. For any questions or additional information, reach out to Megan Lockhart at mlockhart@cahrc-ccrha.ca. 

Phase 2 of the Recognized Employer Pilot under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program 

Employers are now able to submit applications for positions on Service Canada’s Phase 2 Recognized Employer Pilot (REP) occupations list. These 84 occupations are in high-demand and show shortage conditions based on the Canadian Occupational Projection System assessment of recent labour market conditions (2019-2021). The deadline to submit applications to become a recognized employer is September 16, 2024, however recognized employers will continue to have access to simplified applications for the 84 designated occupations until the end of the pilot on December 31, 2026. If you have questions on the REP, please visit Canada.ca or contact the Employer Contact Centre. 

Health and Safety on Alberta Farms and Ranches
A guide to rights and obligations for farmers and workers under Alberta's OHS legislation. Provides information about hazard identification and control, incident reporting and investigations.https://ohs-bstore.labour.alberta.ca/bp029 

AgSafe FarmSafe Plan Learning Program launched

This is a free, self-paced learning program that introduces Alberta producers to health and safety fundamentals and explains how to apply this information to their specific operations. It was designed for both family farms and farms with employees. It will walk you through creating a farm-specific health and safety program, explain why these elements are needed, and support you in putting your farm’s health and safety program into action. Learn more and register.

Canada Alberta Jobs Grant: The Canada-Alberta Job Grant is a training program where an employer applies on behalf of their present or future employees for eligible training costs. Employers decide who gets training and what type of training may be needed for their employees. Learn more: https://www.alberta.ca/canada-alberta-job-grant  

Agriculture Job Connector: https://www.alberta.ca/agriculture-job-connector.aspx 

We were pleased to launch our partnership with the Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council at our Ag-Forum on February 21. For anyone interested in the HR toolkit, please use this QR code to gain access to the free HR Toolkit offered during the program.


Additional Government & Industry News and Information

Ear tag retention comes down to best management practices

Lost ear tags are a costly and frustrating reality on Canadian cattle ranches. Tags play an integral role in disease outbreak investigations, as well as in maintaining the credibility of Canada’s traceability system.

The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency both examines and investigates reports of retention issues on an ongoing basis. Most of the issues around retention come down to human error, which is why the agency launched its “Retention Matters” campaign earlier this year. Through the campaign, industry experts offer best management practices to improve tag retention. Learn more

Tax credit fuels investments in bioprocessing industry

Alberta will be home to the largest renewable diesel facility in Canada as Imperial qualifies for the Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit program. Learn more here.

2024 Crop Reporting Program

Every year, from May until the end of harvest (October or November), Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation (AGI) in partnership with Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) and the Alberta Agricultural Fieldmen, delivers the Alberta Crop Reporting program. Learn More Here

Bolstering Alberta’s Irrigation Infrastructure
Alberta’s government is investing $19 million to update irrigation infrastructure and improve the agriculture industry’s productivity and competitiveness. Learn More Here

Events, Webinars and Podcasts

GROWING UP: FOOD TECH FARM TO FORK - Inventures 2024 May 29-31 | Register

Third annual RDAR Round-Up - save the date for June 6 at the Red Barn in Cremona. This year's Round-Up is all about water. Join RDAR as speakers discuss water quality, use efficiency and reuse, and how to adapt to changing weather conditions in the short and long term.

FCC Events including Business Plan Boot Camp & Young Farmer Summit: https://www.fcc-fac.ca/en/knowledge/events.html

AgSafe Alberta FarmSafe Plan Learning Program is Online & Free
It is a free, self-paced learning program that introduces Alberta producers to health & safety fundamentals and explains how they can apply this information to their specific operations. Get started today at agsafeab.ca or by clicking HERE!

Agri-News online - www.alberta.ca/agri-news.aspx and upcoming events

Other Resources

As always, you can always find more agribusiness resources on our website: https://www.medicinehatchamber.com/agribusiness-resources/    

If you know of someone who may be interested in the work we are doing and might be interested in investing in this work through membership, please feel free to refer them to us. You can also encourage others to subscribe to our agriculture updates through this page. We look forward to continuing our work with you and pushing for our collective priorities on your behalf.

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