Ag rockers raise almost $28K for charities

Dec 09, 2019

Industry reps hosted the first Ag Rocks for Charity event

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

About 500 people attended a Saskatchewan rock concert last week put on by some of the ag industry’s finest musicians who raised money for many causes.

The first Ag Rocks For Charity event took place on Dec. 3 at TCU Place in Saskatoon, Sask. The show featured 10 members of Western Canada’s ag community playing instruments and singing live with a house band to raise money for nine charities. For some of the musicians, it was their first public performance.

In total, the concert raised $27,640 for the charities, which included Kids Cancer Care of Alberta, White Pony Lodge, which helps build relationships with people in Regina’s north central neighbourhood, and the Canadian Cancer Society.

While the performances were impressive, the stories behind the charities were even more so, said Dan Aberhart, president of Aberhart Ag Solutions.

“All these people came together with such passionate and incredible stories about why they were performing,” Aberhart told Farms.com. “If you were in the audience, it was hard not to be moved by the music but also (not to be) brought to tears when hearing some of the stories.”

Katelyn Duncan plays the accordion in support of White Pony Lodge.
Dan Aberhart photo

Aberhart performed during the event and raised money for Give a Shirt, which aims to send a shipping container full of clothing to Laos every to years.

In addition to the musicians, multiple volunteers helped run the show smoothly, Aberhart said.

The top-earning charity for the evening was Kids Cancer Care of Alberta.

Warren Bills, the business development manager for xarvio, raised nearly $8,000 for the organization, which is close to his heart.

“Warren knows a young boy who has been diagnosed with leukemia at the age of three,” Aberhart said. “There’s nothing that we can do as people that’s (better than) giving back to our communities.”

With the first show in the books, it appears encore performances could be in the future.

“We have every intention of coming back bigger and better,” Aberhart said. “There’s an eye towards making this an annual event.”

Warren Bills receives a cheque for Kids Cancer Care of Alberta.
Dan Aberhart photo

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.