Tara Sawyer has always been interested in ag politics. Even when her kids were very young, dinner conversations centred around governance and policy. She was keen to join a commodity board, but her priorities were farm and family. During this time, she attended meetings and conferences alongside her husband Matt, who has served on multiple boards. As her children grew more independent, the timing was right, she said. Five years ago, without a word to her family, she put her name forward to serve as an Alberta Barley director-at-large. “I never thought you had the right to complain if you’re not willing to put in the work,” she said. “I felt an obligation to contribute. It’s important for farmers’ voices to be at the table.” In 2019 she was elected the first female chair of Alberta Barley and now serves as Alberta Grains interim chair.

Summer wildfires are commonplace in Alberta, but this year’s unusually warm, dry spring produced an especially difficult season. Fires sprung up earlier than usual and grew larger and burned longer than normal. They also encroached on farmland where they destroyed pastures and fences and depleted food and water sources for livestock as farmers scrambled to repair the damage.

Canadian agriculture continues to suffer the firsthand effects of a shrinking labour force. The average age of Canadian farmers has been on the increase for more than 20 years with no sign of reversal. By the latest estimate, Canada will be 30,000 farm workers short by 2033. This is both a crisis and an opportunity.

Established by the Government of Alberta in 1973 to help farmers protect their rights in dealings with the booming oil and gas industry of the day, the Farmers’ Advocate Office (FAO) has been greatly expanded from its original mandate. The office later merged with the Property Rights Advocate office and is now known as the Farmers’ and Property Rights Advocate Offices (FPRAO). Its modest team supports farmers and ranchers as they navigate a range of regulatory, environmental and legal issues.

For developers of next-generation agricultural equipment and systems, the gap between drawing board and commercialization can be a lonely wilderness. To support the efforts of such innovators in the agri-food and technology sectors, the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN) was formed in 2019 with a $49.5 million grant from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund.

Launched in June by the Alberta Small Brewers Association (ASBA), the Alberta Ale Trail website is a carefully curated, year-round provincial tourism guide geared to local and international craft beer enthusiasts. The website promotes the province’s entire brewing sector in one convenient resource that features interactive trail maps. With the province’s burgeoning brewing industry as its central hook, tour itineraries incorporate complementary activities, attractions and accommodations that play to the broader tourism strengths of each region. The site also features a beer-themed events page.

As part of a two-year project, the University of Alberta is building the Database on Alberta Soil Health (DASH). The goal is to create an online resource that marries soil data with associated agronomic and climate data to generate recommendations for use by farmers, soil scientists and agronomists.

FuelPositive of Waterloo, ON, has the ambitious goal to disrupt the global ammonia industry with its customizable, on-farm production system. These modular, containerized units would allow farmers to produce their own anhydrous fertilizer and, eventually, fuel. It’s a timely project given recent input cost fluctuations.

In the battle against Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), research from the University of Saskatchewan suggests fungi versus fungi is the undercard to watch.

Saskatchewan-based cartographer Alex McPhee makes western Canadian maps with a high level of detail and accuracy. Despite his growing reputation, potential customers occasionally try to spot omissions.