If you reform it, will they come?
That’s a question facing Alberta Beef Producers as it heads into delegate election season. The farm group is seeking four people to run in each of its five zones, a smaller figure than before a revamp two years ago that reduced the number of zones and delegates.
“Part of that was done because of our finances,” said chair Melanie Wowk.
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“It definitely reduced our costs. There has been some pushback about that, but our industry has changed so much. There are fewer producers than there ever used to be. We just found that we were having a hard time filling some of the zone positions, even though there were smaller zones.”
It remains difficult.
“There are still some open positions in the northwest that were never filled,” said Wowk, noting there are fewer producers in that vast region, which stretches roughly from Whitecourt to High Level.
“Obviously, if you have something in your zone that is four to five hours away, you’re not going to make it. I think it’s always been that way,” she said. “Finding people to get involved is difficult.”
It’s not any easier for current board members, including Wowk, to attend meetings, which are held in Calgary. She has a cow-calf operation at Beauvallon, northeast of Vegreville, and must drive nearly five hours. It’s the same for finance chair Brodie Haugen, who ranches near Orion, south of Medicine Hat.
To ease that burden, the board is running every second meeting on Zoom.
“For me, it takes a day of travel, the board meeting, and then a day to travel home,” said Wowk, adding some delegates from the northwest zone must fly to make in-person meetings.
“We’ve gotten better at Zoom. We’re trying to find a balance between the two to reduce travel and reduce costs.”
However, zone meetings are face-to-face affairs.
“People engage much better, and it gives people a chance to talk with their neighbours and do some socializing,” said Wowk.
The challenge of getting people involved in a sector that has fewer operators every year is a problem faced by virtually every farm group, but ABP has seen a notable (and unusual) change – a youth movement.
“The average age of board members and delegates is way lower than it used to be,” said Wowk.
“I don’t believe we have anybody who has been on the board 10 years. We had a high turnover this year, and a lot of the board members are very new.”
That’s a significant and welcome change, she said.
“We need their input. Where I am at my career and in my place in the industry is very different from someone who is 25 years younger than me.”
For example, the organization is working with Agriculture Financial Services Corporation and government to create an effective risk management program. That’s a long-sought goal in the cattle sector but it’s especially important for those closer to the start of their farming career.
“It’s their generation that can be really affected,” Wowk said.
Producers who want to get involved can have a say on what issues the organization should deal with, she said. That is done via the issues management committee.
“They can see everything that comes into ABP,” she said. “They can decide if it’s something that ABP should work on, if it’s out of our wheelhouse, and if the issue needs to go to the board.
“If you want to know what’s happening in the beef industry, that’s ground zero.”
Being a delegate and sitting on committees is not a huge time commitment, she said.
Delegate nomination forms are available at albertabeef.org (there’s a link on the home page of the producers’ section of the site) and they must be received by Oct. 31. Candidates must be over 18, have paid a checkoff in the last two years, and need another producer (who has paid a checkoff) to sign the nomination form.
People can still run if they’ve asked for a checkoff refund and that fact is disclosed to producers during the zone election. Wowk encourages those who have sought a refund to think about running.
“This is a great way for people who aren’t very happy or who don’t think ABP is doing much, to get involved and see the inner workings, and hopefully that will change their minds about pulling their checkoff.”
Voting will be done at zone meetings in January and February as well as online.
“We will know who the delegates are, and they will convene at the AGM in March and start taking over their positions,” she said. “That’s when we will elect the new board and the new executive.”
Wowk will end her two-year term as chair at that meeting, and will move into the role of past-chair.
