AFSC launches 4-H Ag Next Gen Tour

May 12, 2022

This summer, 22 4-H Alberta senior members will explore Alberta’s agriculture industry as part of the Ag Next Gen Tour. Participants were selected during the recent 4-H Alberta Senior Symposium, a weekend of learning for senior 4-H members from across the province.

Through the Ag Next Gen Tour, 4-H members will gain increased awareness of Alberta agriculture and potential career opportunities. Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) is proud to be the exclusive sponsor of the tour.

”We are at a key point in the agriculture industry, as new technologies and climate concerns intersect, and the next generation will drive the innovations and changes necessary to ensure that we can continue to feed the world population while protecting the climate and growing our industry,” said AFSC Board of Directors Chair Kelly Smith-Fraser, during the award presentation.

“It is our job to nurture that next generation and help them learn about agriculture – its roots, its history and its many faces. With that in mind, AFSC jumped at the chance to be a part of the creation of a new program – the Ag Next Gen Tour.

“This agriculture/agri-food awareness tour will help members gain insights into local agriculture and food, the diversity of careers in agriculture and food and the culture and lifestyle of Alberta’s diverse regions.”

Click here to see more...

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.