Cooperative Extension Update

From Val Carney

August 1, 2024

Hello Industry Stakeholders and Fellow Colleagues in Extension! 

We would like to update you on the significant progress since our last virtual meeting on March 4^th. The collaborative extension Working Group continues to push forward with this initiative.

Over the past five months, we’ve achieved some significant milestones that we would like to share with you:

• Sheri Strydhorst, PhD, PAg, is the successful candidate of our Executive Director competition. Sheri looks forward to strengthening and coordinating agricultural extension, so Alberta producers are more sustainable, more profitable, and more resilient. Sheri’s bio can be found at the end of this letter.
• We have confirmed our official name as Ag Extension Alberta with a secured website URL under this name. The official launch of the website is anticipated Fall 2024.
• In an upcoming virtual meeting, we will review your feedback from the Second Survey (completed in May 2024) and present our strategy to confirm our Communities of Extension focus areas and the skill sets we plan to hire in our Extension Specialists.
• We continue to work through the funding process to secure funding for a full cooperative extension pilot. The pilot will build, test, and refine a scalable extension model that best serves Alberta’s farmers and ranchers for years to come.

If you would like more information, please contact Sheri Strydhorst, Acting Executive Director, Ag Extension Alberta at sheri@agextensionab.ca.

We look forward to strong and productive extension collaborations in the months and years to come.

Sincerely,

Val Carney, PhD

Chair, Ag Extension Alberta

Ag Extension Alberta’s Working Group (WG) Members:

• Val Carney, University of Alberta, Post Secondary Rep – WG Chair
• Karin Schmid, Alberta Beef Producers, Livestock Commissions Rep – WG Vice Chair
• Jeremy Boychyn, Alberta Grains, Crop Commissions Rep
• Andrew Dunlop, Lethbridge Polytechnic, Post Secondary Rep
• Stephen Majek, County of Wetaskiwin, Agriculture Fieldmen Rep
• Walter Preugschas, County of Barrhead, Ag Service Board Rep
• Mueen Aslam, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Rep
• D’Arcy Hilgartner, Grain Producer, RDAR Rep
• Dianne Westerlund, Chinook Applied Research, Applied Research and Forage Association Rep
• Tacey Robertson, Farming Forward, Applied Research and Forage Association Rep
• Mike Jelinski, DVM, Veterinary Agri-Health Services Ltd., Allied Industry
• Twyla Jones, Nutrien, Allied Industry
• Marcia Hewitt-Fisher, Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation

Sheri Strydhorst, Ag Extension Alberta, Executive Director

Sheri Strydhorst, PhD, PAg, has over 20 years of experience in research and the agricultural industry. Her career has focused on enhancing the profitability of Canadian crop producers. She believes in research that aligns with grower needs, while upholding scientific rigor.

Sheri completed her BSc, MSc, and PhD at the University of Alberta. After graduate school, Sheri worked as the Executive Director for the Alberta Pulse Growers and then returned to research in 2013 where she focused on cereal agronomy with Alberta Agriculture. After Alberta Ag, she worked for Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions.

In fall 2022, Sheri established Sheri’s Ag Consulting Inc. She has been providing consulting services in the areas of: regional variety trial management, data analysis, and extension.
Sheri Strydhorst farms with her husband, Shane, in Neerlandia, Alberta where they are raising a daughter, Sarina to appreciate the hard work and intricacies of food production.

Valerie Carney, PhD  Phone 780-221-1462 Associate Professor – RDAR Poultry Extension, University of Alberta

Poultry Innovation Partnership Lead