ASB Position Statement on Agriculture Extension

The ASBs published a Position Statement on Agriculture Extension as part of their efforts to contribute to the establishment of a cooperative extension model in Alberta.

See the post from July 2023 “Creating ASB Position on Ag Extension” for the background leading on this work.

The Position Statement was first sent to the Minister and staff at Agriculture and Irrigation and the ASBs through the AAAF email list and the Chair email lists. This is the first ASB position statement.

Since the 2019 ASB program review when the AAAF received a grant to hire administrative support for the ASBPC, the ASBPC has been working to improve communications and engagement with the ASBs. The frequency of blog posts and emails has increased, the ASBPC EA is now available to attend regional resolution meetings and provide background and support for regional resolutions, ASB Regional Reps are emailing their chairs in their regions more frequently, and in some regions have reimplemented the June regional chair and AAAF meeting to grade and discuss new resolutions.

The ASBPC and the AGI ASB Program staff have also taken several steps to improve the relationship and frequency of engagement with AGI. ASB Chairs are now invited to regular Town halls with ADM John Conrad, the ASB Connector e-newsletter is distributed quarterly, and the ASB Liaison Program provides broader access to AGI staff to engage with ASBs. We have also seen renewed commitment and engagement by the Minister and staff to meet with the ASBPC annually.

With increased communication and better visibility, there has also been an increase engagement particularly on the topic of agriculture extension programming and resources. Last year AGI and RDAR created a committee to review the current agriculture extension system and work with a consultant to provide recommendations. ASBs were not engaged in that work initially, and having input has been difficult. The ASBPC is focused on the resolution process so does not represent the ASBs on mandates outside of what is available through the passed provincial resolutions, which does not provide enough information to participate in a stakeholder engagement of this type. The Position Statement on Ag Extension is one tool to help the ASBPC to represent the interests of the ASBs at future and ongoing stakeholder engagements.

Related Resolutions:

• Resolution 3-23
• Resolution E1-23
• Resolution 8-21
• Resolution 4-20