ALBERTA AGRISYSTEMS LIVING LABS IS LOOKING FOR PRODUCERS TO PARTICIPATE IN BRINGING ‘RESEARCH TO REALITY’

Alberta AgriSystems Living Labs (AALL) is a project led by Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) that will benefit Alberta’s agricultural producers through scientific collaboration, innovation, and research.

The goal of AALL is to co-develop beneficial management practices (BMPs) that work on-farm, offering real value to the environment and to producers. That means working directly with experts to determine what BMPs a producer might be interested in implementing on their operation and determining how best to undertake that implementation for each individual operation. Preferably, these will be practices that improve profitability or productivity, while also demonstrating some potential environmental benefits, such as improving carbon sequestration or reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Participating producers also receive a yearly stipend for their participation and are still able to apply for implementation funding from other programs and agencies.

The Project is looking for Alberta producers interested in adopting or trying out some of the BMPs listed below.

BMPs will focus on the following key areas:

• Crop rotations and cropping systems

• Land use changes

• Grazing management and livestock feeding

• Nutrient/fertilizer management

• Increasing carbon storage on the whole farm

The AALL project was announced in July 2022 by the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. This is an expansion of Agricultural Climate Solutions – Living Labs program. The initiative is led by ABP and supported by 16 partner organizations including Alberta Beekeepers Commission.

The Living Labs program was developed as part of the Government of Canada’s effort to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The goal of Living Labs is to “accelerate the development and adoption of sustainable practices and technologies by Canadian farmers,” based on three core principles:

• Focusing on farmers’ needs

• Broad and diverse partnerships

• Testing ideas in a real-life context

“Ideally we’d like to see some of these practices spread beyond our core participants and out into the wider community across agricultural producers in Alberta,” says Schmid.

The AALL activities are designed to be flexible and to work for producers across Alberta. The collaboration between scientists and producers is designed to build on the knowledge that both sides offer to production and climate change solutions. Your expertise, ideas and knowledge as a producer is valuable to the next steps in this project and will influence policy decisions in the future.

If you’re interested in participating in the project, or have more questions: please visit us at agrisystemsll.ca or contact us llextension@albertabeef.org

*This article is adapted from an article that originally appeared in the October issue of ABP magazine and was written by Debra Murphy and Karin Schmid. Reprinted in this publication with permission.

Karin Schmid, ABP’s Beef Production and Extension Lead. “That’s where our researchers and their expertise can really finetune that and set them up for success right out of the gate.”