Sask. 4-H Age changes
Saskatchewan 4-H members can now belong to clubs until age 25. The age span to belong is now six to 25 years.
The initiative is an attempt to standardize the 4-H age across Canada while improving recruitment and retention. It’s also to create a smoother transition of 4-Hers from members to leaders.
This new age group of 22 to 25 year olds is called Future Leaders. Possible roles of this new age group could include supporting existing clubs, promoting agriculture and exploring career opportunities/networking.
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4-H members in this new age category can remain in their home clubs or form Future Leaders clubs.
4-H Saskatchewan is piloting the new Future Leaders age group in 2012-13 to help provide direction to other 4-H organizations in Canada.
The Saskatchewan 4-H Council serves about 3,600 members and more than 1,000 leaders.
Pulse Days registration
Early registration is open for Pulse Days 2013, planned for Saskatoon on Jan. 7-8.
Admission costs are now half-price for Saskatchewan residents at $25 and are $50 for people living outside the province. The deadline for early registration is Dec. 18.
Organized by the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, this year’s conference agenda focuses on helping pulse growers become more strategic and competitive in their overall operations, in areas such as marketing, selling, agronomy, human resources and agronomy.
For a detailed Pulse Days 2013 agenda go to www.saskpulse.com.
Alberta canola commission seeks nominations
Alberta canola producers wishing to become directors have until Oct. 31 to get their nominations in for the Alberta Canola Producers Commission. This year, nominations are required for Regions 3, 6, 9, and 12.
Elected directors represent canola producers in their regions for three-year terms.
The positions can go to anyone who has paid the ACPC a service charge on canola sold since Aug. 1, 2010, is an eligible producer and can stand for election as a director.
An eligible producer can be an individual, corporation, partnership or organization.
Eligible producers must produce canola within the defined region to be nominated, but do not have to reside in the region.
For detailed descriptions about the ACPC regions where elections are being held, visit canola.ab.ca/about_regions.aspx or call the ACPC office at 800-551-6652.
New flax website
The Manitoba Flax Growers Association has launched a new website at www.mfga.ca.
The site is designed to improve economic returns and agronomic benefits to Manitoba flax growers through research, promotion and communication.
Features of the new site include current flax prices, selling production and tax credits and other flax information resources.
Promotional funding
The British Columbia government has announced $2 million to boost promotion of local farmers and food processors.
Organizations or businesses can apply for matching funds to promote their products through social media or web campaigns, in-store advertising, traditional advertising and other methods.
The Investment Agricultural Foundation is administering $1.5 million and the B.C. Agriculture Council will administer $500,000.
Individual farmers are not eligible. The money will be allocated to organizations that represent farmers such as the B.C. Association of Farmers’ Markets.
The initiative comes from the B.C. Jobs Plan Agrifood Strategy, which aims to develop B.C.’s agrifood sector. The goal of the new strategy is to create $14 billion per year in agrifood revenue by 2017.
