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The challenge ahead: Getting a decent price for downgraded crops Discounts for lower grades are widening, and working the phones with grain buyers is crucial if you have good quality BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF staff
T
Running from dawn to dusk:
Women ag entrepreneurs face extra challenges
Operating a farm, raising kids, and building a business often mean there’s no time for conferences and other vital learning opportunities
he rain started falling in the middle of the night on Aug. 22, dumping two inches of water on John Guelly’s mature crops in less than 12 hours. And then the storm started. “I thought we had the worst of it, and then it ratcheted itself up. We ended up getting almost seven inches in about 32 hours,” said Guelly, who grows barley, wheat, and canola near Westlock. “Around the fourth or fifth inch, all the water started running off the land and through the creek system, backing up the culverts just like in spring. “We’ve never seen this before. This has got to be a one-in-50year rain event at this time of the year.” The flooding receded a day later but by then, the damage was done. “I got some malt barley off last week, but with what’s left, I think malt is definitely out of the question,” Guelly said in an interview Aug. 25. “I’m worried that even the standing barley is going to start sprouting if we keep with this kind of moisture.”
see downgraded } page 6 Nancy and Ray Nolan split farm and childcare chores but like many women agri-entrepreneurs, Nancy says she faces unique challenges. PHOTO: Lambtastic Farms
BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF staff
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t first, Kim Good didn’t really see the point of a program geared toward women agri-food entrepreneurs. “I sometimes get a little annoyed at the fact women need more programming than anybody else,” said Good, who coowns Farm Fresh Pet Foods, which has a line of healthy dog food products made from Alberta-sourced ingredients.
Fog fever
“I thought, ‘Women can do whatever men can do. Why are we worried about this? Let’s get past this. The less we talk about it, the faster we’ll move forward.’” But Good changed her mind when she was invited to take part in a focus group for the Success for Women in Ag program, a pilot project for rural Alberta women entrepreneurs that will launch in 2017. “Once I started talking to other women and listening to them, I realized that we face the same things,” said Good, who also operates a grain and cattle farm near Carstairs with her husband and two sons.
“We do have a different role in our agribusinesses, our families, and our communities. I eventually came to the realization that there are places where women can use more assistance.” The three-year-long project is being designed to address some of the unique challenges faced by rural Alberta women when building their businesses, said Heather Broughton, who is leading the project for the Agriculture and Food Council.
see entrepreneurs } page 8
deadly condition returns to Alberta } PAGE 9