DIDSBURY - Longtime Didsbury-area cattle producer Ross Bricker has been appointed to the board of the provincial Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC).
The three-year appointment was officially announced on April 12. AFSC is a provincial Crown corporation that provides loans, crop and livestock insurance and farm income disaster assistance programs to farmers and ranchers, agricultural businesses and others.
“Agriculture is going through an ongoing evolution and the AFSC is continuing to evolve to continue to address the opportunities and the needs of the industry and I’m looking forward to helping with that process,” Becker told the Albertan.
“Agriculture today has changed from what it was 10 years ago and will continue to evolve going forward. There is both intensification of smaller farms and growth of larger farms.
“Farms are becoming more complex, with more experts involved in providing specialized services in various areas to assist in agriculture.”
Bricker is one of three new board members; the others being crop producer Andre Harpe and accountant Michael Howden. Current member Renata Colic was reappointed at the same time.
The other members on the board are chair Kelly Smith-Fraser, Rodney Bradshaw and Chioma Ufodike.
Smith-Fraser, a cattle producer in the Pine Lake area of Red Deer County, says the newly-appointed members bring a great diversity of skills that will “complement the existing strengths of our board.”
Nate Horner, minister of Alberta Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development, says the board’s diverse membership “ensures the organization continues to meet the needs of the province’s crop and livestock producers and agribusiness.
“After experiencing drought conditions last summer, we are reminded how important proactive business risk management is for the agriculture and agri-food industries.”
The knowledge and experience of board’s members is key to AFSC’s success, he said.
