About Us Lobbying

Current Policy Directions

Alberta’s Rural Development Strategy has identified many challenges, and sets out a framework to help reinvigorate rural Alberta. Within this strategy, Wild Rose sees a number of initiatives that need to occur immediately.

• Improve and revamp income support programs in order to provide the level of coverage our farmers need to address unforeseen events and global market forces. Programs need to be strategic, efficient and in the best interest of farmers. We encourage meaningful industry consultation to ensure that this occurs. We recommend re-examining a Business Risk Management Safety Net that would contain a NISA-like component. This would provide producers a more stable and predictable program.
• Ensure that financial lending institutions meet the needs of the new agricultural environment. A good example of this is AFSC lending program on alternate energy sources. At the same time, any further debt that the agricultural sector incurs must be very strategic given the very high debt ratio that the sector already experiences.

• Work with our farmers to combat issues of labour shortages. Wild Rose Agricultural Producers is a founding member of the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) The CAHRC has begun its work identifying human resource issues in Canada, but a mechanism is needed to co-ordinate its work with the needs of Alberta’s diverse agricultural sector. The co-ordination of the needs and demands of the various sectors must be at the forefront in order to maintain the viability of all types of agricultural operations.

• The area of farm safety needs very significant attention. Wild Rose Agricultural Producers, Rural Development staff of the new Employment, Immigration and Industry department and private sector interests are actively seeking support in forming a provincial Farm Safety Foundation and Society. Farm safety initiatives not only help address labour issues, they contribute to savings in the health and risk management fields. We are concerned with the transfer of Farm Safety out of the Agriculture portfolio if it is going to mean less significance for the file.

• Work with farmers and the agriculture industry to seek new industries and opportunities such as bio-diesel, nutraceuticals, and specialized food products. This could be accomplished through both science-based and business-based research. Work with farmers to develop new industries that process Alberta’s products. Wild Rose would like to see a stream-lined approach to ensure farmer involvement in frontline bio-diesel and ethanol production. This would enable farmers to capture opportunities further up the value chain, something that needs to occur far more often in today’s economy.

• Deal with the competing interests on the Alberta land and water base. Farmers and ranchers, the energy industry, tourism, recreation, and residential developers all have an interest in the provincial land and water base. We highly recommend undertaking a full review of Alberta’s Surface Rights legislation. As part of an overall government review of Alberta’s energy regulatory and royalty regimes, Alberta’s surface rights need to receive top priority. Given the prevalence of wellheads on privately owned farmlands, the issue of surface rights has special importance to rural Albertans. Alberta’s energy legislation and regulations were designed to help facilitate the development of Alberta’s energy industry. Now that Alberta’s conventional energy industry has very much matured, it makes sense to examine whether surface rights legislation should accordingly be modernized. As part of the review of the Surface Rights Act, entry fee compensation to landowners needs to be increased to reflect modern land values. We also support the Water for Life Strategy and want to ensure that the agricultural sector continues to have access to the resources necessary to grow safe and healthy food domestically.

• Related to the land base issue, are Environmental Stewardship Programs. Land owners should be compensated by the public for good stewardship practices and parcel set asides that enhance air, land and water quality as well as wildlife preservation and biodiversity. The implementation of ALUS (Alternate Land Use Services) pilot projects throughout Alberta would be a good first step as well as the continued promotion of environmental farm plans in conjunction with an extension of the Canada Alberta Farm Stewardship Program.

• Farmers need empowerment in the marketplace. Farmers and ranchers need a larger share of the profits in the value-chain. We encourage producing boxed beef and processed meat instead of live cattle; food products, pharmaceuticals, alternative energy, and countless other products instead of wheat, barley and canola. There are many challenges in moving away from the selling of base commodities into higher processing. To overcome some of the barriers in developing more value-added industry, two initiatives could prove beneficial:

• Investing in research to discover new technologies and new product possibilities for Alberta’s agriculture
• Gathering information on market opportunities and flowing this information to Alberta producers and investor

• The Canadian Wheat Board, supply management, and other marketing boards are tools for market empowerment. Changes to the CWB need to be positive and in the best interest of the majority of farmers. Wild Rose Agricultural Producers strongly believes that farmers need to be the ones who advocate and approve any changes to the Board. This is an issue between the federal government and farmers.

• Dedicate funding for research into agronomic science and “varietal research” to assist in developing:
• Special strains of crops for agricultural, industrial and pharmaceutical uses.
• Crop strains designed to withstand Alberta’s highly variable climates and conditions, such as water-efficient plants and crops.

Investment into animal science has proven to be very successful. Scientific research is one important aspect. Business research is another. A better future for Alberta’s agriculture production industry lies in making our crops more than just commodities. We produce marketable products that can meet growing consumer demands around the world. But too often, agricultural producers are left out of the loop when it comes to hearing about, understanding and adapting to customer trends and changes. This kind of business-based research information needs to flow back to the producer in a usable form. Smaller agricultural producers do not always have the capacity or resources to undertake this kind of research. Judgments concerning whether to act on the research, and which crops to grow, will continue to stay with the farmer. Alberta farmers need to be armed with strategic market information.