MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - The county will be seeking input from young people in the district about the possibility of the municipality adopting an honorary brand for use in marketing of the area’s agriculture community.
A report on Mountain View County’s animal brands was presented by administration during the recent regularly scheduled council meeting, held in person in the Town of Olds council chambers and online.
The county currently has two active registered brands and associated certificates, one each for both cattle and horses. The brand designs are the same and described as the ‘W Quarter Circle’.
The brands have not been used in many years since the county no longer has cattle or horses.
In the report, administration said that an honorary brand could have a character or combination of characters to promote the livestock industry but not to donate ownership of livestock.
“Any brand design can be registered as an honorary brand, though honorary brands can features more intricate and arbitrary features that standard brands, provided that approval from the Livestock Identification Services is granted,” administration said in the report.
“An honorary brand certificate is $288.75. We would be required to contact the LIS brand registrar directly if the county proceeds with this option.”
During council discussion of the matter, Coun. Peggy Johnson said, “I want to honour our historical roots. Certainly I think it is valuable to honour both our history and our agricultural roots.
“Maybe there would be a way to include an element from our historical brand, as well a something that would be recognizable based on our current marketing strategy.”
Put forward by Coun. Johnson, council carried a motion calling on administration to “engage county youth, including 4-H groups, to pursue a range of alternatives for a recognizable honorary brand that honour our historical brand and agricultural roots and that the options be brought back to council for consideration.”
Reeve Angela Aalbers said seeking input from local youth makes sense.
“These are great opportunities to really engage the community,” Aalbers said. “We have lot of talented youth out there, a lot of talented 4-H groups that could potentially be engaged in something like this.”
The administration report could come back before council in the fall, said Chris Atchison, director of agriculture.
“We do a lot of agricultural marketing and it (honorary brand) could be included in there as kind of a connection,” Atchison said. “At this point in time it does not directly tie into the marketing strategy but it could if council is eager to have an (honorary) county brand.”
In the briefing note to council, chief administrative officer Jeff Holmes said, in part, that, “It is administration’s position that the existing livestock brands holds minimal value to the county’s overall marketing brand due to it’s limited recognition, disconnect with the county’s identity and minimal use.
“If council was interested in holding a livestock brand, administration would recommend that an honorary brand be developed. For instance, a particular design of note would be the ‘Half Diamond MV’. For design purposes, the half diamond over the MV provides some mountain-like iconography that provides a clearer representation of Mountain View County specifically.
“There may be functions within the county’s marketing strategy where a more representative livestock brand would bring value.”
The input will be gathered through the county's various social media platforms and website.
Coun. Gord Krebs did not attend the recent council meeting.
