MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - The county’s agricultural service board has been given an update on activities and plans of the Alberta Farm Animal Care Association.
The review came during a recent meeting of the board, held in person and on Zoom.
Executive director Annemarie Pedersen appeared before the board as a delegation, outlining activities and answering board member questions.
Started by Alberta producers in 1993, the association is a province-wide multi-species livestock welfare organization.
Pedersen said the association has been working with stakeholder partners, including Mountain View County, on a variety of initiatives, including research, training, operating the emergency ALERT line and Emergency Livestock Handling Equipment Trailers.
“Research is something we’d like to do more of,” she said. “We are always looking for opportunities to partner and improve knowledge and understanding.”
Workshops have been held to provide information to community members about livestock welfare and safety, she said.
Specifically the association is doing more workshops with people raising their own animals, such as backyard chickens, she said.
“We are seeing more and more the concern about the potential impact of small holder, backyard livestock people and what could happen if they are not taking care of their animals correctly and how that could impact the sector,” she said.
“That is why the commercial sector is so keen to see us doing more of these projects. We are very happy to make sure those practices (such as biosecurity) are being shared broadly.”
The association is working with all variety of livestock associations, including pork, beef and poultry, as well as forage associations, she said.
“We are really looking for new ideas and new ways to collaborate on funding requests,” she said. “There is a lot of good information out there.”
Emergency preparedness and the mental health of producers both remain vital in the agriculture community and things the association is always working to promote, she said.
Board members accepted Pedersen’s report as information. The agricultural service board is made up of appointed public members from the district's agriculture community, as well as county councillors.
