Grainswest - Winter 2022

Winter 2022 grainswest.com 19 BY ELLEN COTTEE • ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY CHU Newly appointed AFSC chair an experienced spokesperson for farmers and ranchers The voice GrainsWest: What was life like growing up on your family farm? Kelly Smith-Fraser: My grandfather and nana built Poplar Haven Farms, our family farm in Wimborne. It was a mixed grain operation with a feedlot and Maine-Anjou cattle. My grandfather ran it with my dad and his two brothers. He passed away just after I was born, then it was run completely by the three sons. The three families worked together, lived within a mile of each other, rodeoed and showed cattle together. It was a phenomenal way to grow up. GW: How was your current farm and business established? KSF: We needed to split Poplar Haven up to bring in each of the kids who wanted to come home. One cousin was working there full time, and my brother, another cousin and myself had an interest in agriculture. It was decided we would split the farm three ways, and my family unit created NuHaven Cattle Company from our share. I n September, as the economic fallout from the 2021 drought continued to hit home on Alberta farms, Pine Lake cattle farmer Kelly Smith-Fraser stepped into the role of Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) board chair. It has not been an easy time to lead the group: insurance needs are high across the ag sector and AFSC has been tasked with administering the $340 million joint federal–provincial AgriRecovery program through the Canada-Alberta Livestock Feed Assistance Initiative. Smith-Fraser is prepared for the challenge. With a lifetime of on-farm work and business management and a degree in marketing from Texas Tech University, she also has years of industry leadership experience. She was the first woman to chair Alberta Beef Producers, served as president of the Canadian Maine-Anjou Association and sat on the interim board for Results Driven Agriculture Research. She also now sits on the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association board. GW: Have you always enjoyed working with family? KSF: As a kid, I enjoyed the cattle and the horses, but I’ve always enjoyed the family side of the farm. As an adult, to work side by side with your dad is a gift a lot of people aren’t given. He passed away six years ago. My mom is still on the farm along with my husband Scott Fraser who works off-farm, and our 10-year-old daughter Aubrey who is already making plans to take over the farm. I think that’s awesome. There’s no pressure if she chooses not to, but she’s making great breeding decisions and developing her own herd. It’s pretty neat to see how she makes her own plans and honestly, we take her input. GW: What has driven you to be so engaged with farm organizations? KSF: Growing up, my dad was very involved on boards. He was on the Alberta Cattle Commission in the ’80s, and very, very involved in what we call the industry politics. His line was,