Working together is not exactly a new concept to agriculture in Alberta. The vast majority of agricultural producers are willing to drop whatever they are doing if a neighbour, friend or family member needs a hand. There are also producers in Alberta who have found it beneficial to take things one step further by creating a co-operative with other producers.
Date: November 14, 2019; 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Tea Room, Camrose Heritage Railway Station and Park
Presenter(s): Seth Leon from Alberta Community and Co-operative Association and Ken Espheter from Battle River Railway
Cost: $20 includes light breakfast and lunch
Rural Routes to Climate Solutions has partnered up with the Alberta Community and Co-operative Association (ACCA) and the Battle River Railway Co-operative to host a full day workshop in Camrose for agricultural producers to learn how to form their very own co-operative that will help producers save on costs and minimize their environmental footprint.
ACCA will go through what you need to consider before forming a co-operative (also when not to form a co-operative) and how to get it done. Co-operatives come in all different shapes and sizes—consumers co-ops, producers co-ops, land management co-ops, energy generation co-ops—and we’ll take you through the steps of designing the co-op that will work for you. After lunch Battle River Railway will give us their firsthand experience and some best practices for setting up a co-operative. Then we’ll have lots of time for Q&A and group discussion.
If you and other producers you know have been toying with the idea of establishing a co-operative for some time now, this workshop is a perfect opportunity to test that idea. Bring yourself, bring them and find out if a co-operative is a good fit.
And as a bit of pre-workshop homework, be sure to listen to our Farmers Co-ops 101 podcast episode with Seth Leon from the ACCA.
Speakers: The Alberta Community and Co-operative Association is a not-for-profit co-operative working for the education, development and promotion of co-operatives across Alberta. Battle River Railway is a new generation co-operative, shortline railway, based out of Forestburg, Alberta. The railway was purchased in 2010 by area producers and residents.
Workshop includes a light breakfast with coffee/tea and lunch (please inform us of dietary restrictions and allergies in your registration form or by emailing etanaka@stettlerlearning.com). As an added bonus staff will let us check out the Railway Museum during lunch break even though the museum is technically closed to the public during the winter months. We are asking for a nominal charge of $20 to cover some of the food costs for this workshop.
Rural Routes to Climate Solutions (#RR2CS) is a program of the Stettler Learning Centre. We empower Alberta’s agricultural producers and the communities they live in with climate solutions. Our partners include Food Water Wellness Foundation, Young Agrarians, Organic Alberta and many farmers across the province!
