I am inspired and encouraged by the outpouring of support we received in 2024 from rural municipalities, businesses, farm societies and associations, and rural health service providers. Through your generous support and encouragement we were able to extend our Free counselling session program 4 months past the end date of our grant funding, only pausing for a short 3 months before restarting in November. A special mention to PorchLight Society and ATB who are our current sponsors of the Free Session Program. Since November, we have funded over 41 counselling sessions.
Alberta research has confirmed that farmers prefer to get support from an informed farm professional. Our network connections have indicated that farm business professionals and farm informed counsellors feel they would benefit from stronger working relationships to offer better referrals to clients working through financial or relational farm stress. This is what our Community of Practice project is designed to do, and I am pleased to announce that it has received funding from the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
The Community of Practice will create a deeper understanding of the barriers and concerns impacting farm families in Alberta and provide an opportunity for a multidisciplinary team of Ag experts to connect and learn collaboratively. Insights gained from this project will be incorporated into a self-assessment tool that will help farm clients find professionals based on their needs.
For this Quarter, we’re regrouping and rolling out plans to bring AgKnow back to full engagement. I am using bridge funding from the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions to create a report that summarizes what we’ve learned, accomplished - and recommendations for the next three years. As part of this process, many of you will receive an invite to one of two stakeholder engagement sessions March 11 (agriculture stakeholders) and March 14 (mental health stakeholders). There will be room for 50 stakeholders in each session so please register to ensure your spot. If you can’t attend, we will be making an online survey available to ensure your input is incorporated into our planning.  
Funding uncertainty made 2024 very challenging, and I want to thank Katie and Cornelius for their invaluable contributions that helped us deliver on our mandate. In April, we will relaunch AgKnow with a renewed sense of purpose, and hopefully, the necessary staff to deliver what our stakeholders have told us they need.
On a personal note, I want to thank everyone for your letters of support, encouraging phone calls, emails and hugs at the Provincial ASB conference. Despite the inevitable challenges, I have no doubt that we are on the right track, and that together, we will make a difference.
