2020: a year we won't soon forget

I’m sure most would agree that 2020 is a year we are happy to have behind us.

Yet despite the challenges of the Harvest from Hell, the fallout from a CN strike, rail blockades and a global pandemic, Alberta grain farmers fared pretty well.

The crop was mostly good, prices were mostly good right off the combine and grain movement was strong as railways saw declines in their other lines of business due to COVID-19.

Among the highlights for me are how quickly Alberta farmers recovered from one of the toughest harvests in recent memory. I was also proud of the resiliency of our staff in adapting to the new reality of working remotely. We quickly learned how to work with technologies we had barely heard of before the pandemic hit – Zoom, Teams and Webex.

In April, we saw the creation of Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR), a bold new direction in farmer-led research initiated by Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Devin Dreeshen. I have been privileged to serve on the interim board of RDAR and our initial $4 million targeted research call was launched in October. The permanent board will be elected in March by RDAR’s “Class A” members consisting of 33 crop and livestock commissions and farm groups.

Other major developments in 2020 included the signing of core wheat and barley breeding agreements with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC). These investments of farmer check-off dollars from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, totaling $36.4 million over five years, support the development of new field-ready wheat and barley varieties.

The past year was also a successful one for our FarmCash cash advance program as we consistently maintained a turnaround time of three to five business days on new loans, even at the height of the pandemic.

As we embark on a new year, I would like to say a special thank you to four outgoing directors including Alberta Barley chair Dave Bishop, Alberta Barley director Jeff Nielsen who has served with distinction as president of Grain Growers of Canada and Terry James who chaired Alberta Barley’s research and policy committees and served as our representative on the Western Grains Research Foundation.

Also terming out from the Alberta Wheat Commission board is John Wozniak who was part of various committees including communications, governance and finance, and represented Canadian farmers on a Cereals Canada New Crop Mission to the United Arab Emirates in January 2020.

Thank you Dave, Jeff, Terry and John for your hard work and dedication over the years.