December 1996

Food tasting rates as tour highlight
by Coralie Adams

The Sept. 12-13 AFWA tour was blessed with wonderful Alberta fall weather. Tour dates -- and weather forecast -- were chosen last January by Harry Sugimoto and Jack Howell, who should be hired on as permanent tour 'date-pickers'.

The tour focused on the diversity of farming and processing opportunities in the Innisfail, Cottonwood, Craig and Dickson areas. An added bonus was the food tasting, giving tour participants a taste of the food producing diversity in our province.

Tour organizers invited all seven producers and or/businesses to the barbecue, so that tour participants could interview and visit with them in a more relaxed setting.

Hot on the heels of the AFWA tour was the CFWF conference, held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, from Sept. 19-22. Courtesy of the AFWA, I was able to attend.

Both Alberta and Manitoba have a wide variety of farming talents and challenges -- and similarities. For instance, both tours featured a PMU family business. According to the North American Equine Ranching Information Council spokesman Norman Luba, from Louisville, Kentucky, these two ranches are part of an industry that brings $85 million into the economy of Canada and North Dakota.

The CFWF conference focus was on food security. This issue was addressed Thursday evening by Lester Brown, Worldwatch Institute, and by other featured speakers during the conference.

All in all, it was an excellent opportunity to compare Manitoba's agriculture industry to Alberta's. Seeing first-hand the hard working, proficient farmers and researchers that both provinces have, proves to me that the future of farming and feeding the world should be secure for some time.

AFWA members awarded

Members of the AFWA may be few, but the impact they have on agriculture is apparent each year at the annual CFWF awards banquet.

This year, a total of four AFWA members brought home hardware for their excellence in agriculture communications.

Bill Black and Dianne Finstad with CKRD-TV in Red Deer won awards for television news reporting. Bill's story, 'Swine Class' took gold, while Dianne's story, 'Farm Safety' captured a silver award.

In the news release category, named after Alice Switzer, AFWA pioneer and life member, new member Mark Kihn took the bronze award.

Finally, Larry Thomas, associate editor of Cattleman magazine who resides at

Priddis, won bronze in the press editorial category for his column headed 'Should We Be Doing Business With China?'

Upon receiving the $100 bronze cash award, Thomas says he immediately went out and bought an AbMaster machine. Hmmmmm.

Farm Radio

Veteran farm broadcaster Jim Fisher is the new host of a program being billed as 'Canada's only interactive radio show on agriculture'.

Beginning in late September on CKDQ Drumheller, the 45-minute show is broadcast daily on a network of stations owned by NORNET broadcasting.

The talk show comes complete with a guest, discussing a topical subject on agriculture. The first month included much debate on the wheat board marketing issue.

Happy Host

Chuck Greig, farm director of CHRB, High River, is smiling these days. His station recently switched to 1140 AM, a much better position on the dial. The switch means he can be heard virtually anywhere in central and southern Alberta.

Message from the President

Message from the President

Tracey Feist is a communications consultant, working from her home at Cochrane, Alberta. Tracey has been a member of the Alberta Farm Writers Association since 1989. She also served as the association's secretary-treasurer from 1989-92.

After spending seven years in the work force with Alberta Agriculture and the University of Alberta, I decided to hit the books and finish my degree. I received my Bachelor of Science in Communication (PR major, Agricultural Economics minor) in June, 1995. It was at this time I decided to take the plunge and start my freelance career. The name of my company is Ground Words.

Currently, I am the public relations manager for the Alberta Bison Association, working to increase the awareness of bison meat in the food and restaurant industry, and serve as editor of the Alberta Blonde d'Aquitaine Association newsletter. I have recently completed a needs assessment of food safety and nutrition for Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, and in my spare time write the odd freelance article.

I am also involved as a volunteer for the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede's Agriculture Media Committee. Being a fourth generation from the Springbank district west of Calgary, I've always wanted to support the Stampede and its efforts.

For those of you who were unable to attend the meeting in September, we are hoping to move our January meeting to Red Deer in March or April. More details on this to follow.

New name for bison association

The largest group of bison producers in Canada recently voted to become the Alberta Biosn Association (ABA).

Bison producers from across Alberta met at the Red Deer Lodge Nov. 2, to vote on changing their name from the Southern Alberta Bison Association.

The ABA numbers over 200 members, more than double what it was just one year ago.

There are over 675 bison producers in Canada, managing 35,000 head in private herds. The Canadian Bison Association estimates the industry is growing at an annual rate of 25 per cent, and expects there will be close to 100,000 animals in Canada by the year 2000.

Coming agricultural events in Alberta

DECEMBER 1996

• Herb Marketing Workshop
  Olds College, Olds
  December 9-10
• Outlook Agri-Food '97
  Regional Exhibition Centre, Camrose
  December 13
  

JANUARY 1997

• Canadian Alfalfa Seed Conference
  Banff Park Lodge, Banff
  January 9-11
  
• 1997 Alberta 4-H Leaders' Conference
  Red Deer
  January 10-12
  
• Alberta Horse Breeders & Owners Conference
  Capri Centre, Red Deer
  January 10-12
  
• Global Market Focus for Farm Profits
  Vegreville
  January 13
  
• Alberta Canola Producers Commission
  and Alberta Winter Wheat
  Producers Convention
  Lethbridge Lodge, Lethbridge
  January 14-16
  
• Direct Seeding: Back to the Future II
  Fairview
  January 16
  
• Prairie Potato Council Meeting
  Capri Centre, Red Deer
  January 15-17
  
• 1997 Canadian Bull Congress
  Camrose Regional Exhibition, Camrose
  January 17-18
  
• Alberta Agriculture & Food Council
  Conference
  Red Deer
  January 18-19
  
• Global Market Focus for Farm Profits
  Westlock
  January 20
  
• Position Yourself for Precision Farming
  Taber
  January 20-21
  
• 1997 Banff Pork Seminar
  The Banff Centre, Banff
  January 21-24
  
• 1997 Provincial Agricultural Service
  Board Conference
  Westin Hotel, Edmonton
  January 28-30
  
• Managing Agriculture for Profit
  Conference
  Capri Centre, Red Deer
  January 28-30
  
• AgVenture Opportunities Plus
  Airdrie and Three Hills
  January 29 (and March 13)
  

FEBRUARY 1996

• A Farmer's Guide to the Information Highway
  Hanna -- February 6
  Crossfield -- February 10
  Lacombe -- February 11
  Rocky Mountain House -- February 12
  Stettler -- February 13
  Camrose -- February 24
  Killam -- February 25
  
• AgriFuture and Direct Seeding
  Red Deer
  February 6-7
  
• Provincial Conservation Workshop and Farm Tech Trade Show
  Westerner Park, Red Deer
  February 6-8
  
• Uniquely Alberta
  Edmonton Convention Centre
  February 9-12
  
• Moisture Management to Improve Crop Production
  Hanna
  February 11
  
• Practical Marketing of Your New Venture
  Lac La Biche
  February 20
  

Alberta Farm Writers Association 1997 Executive

Credits

Printing and mailing costs for the December 1996 issue courtesy of FARM BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS (Publishers of Country Guide, Cattleman and Grainews)

Scoops is published quarterly and is free to members of :

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