Local farmers and ranchers form convoy group

Commentator/courier pHOTOs by Justin Seward Walsh, AB Freedom Riders convoyed from Walsh to Redcliff on Feb. 6.

By Justin Seward

Commentator/Courier

Walsh, AB Freedom Riders was established earlier this month by local area farmers and ranchers to start raising awareness about getting rights and freedoms back.

“I don’t know if it’s so much about vaccine mandates anymore,” said Jack Zieffle, an organizer of the group.

“I know truckers are still fighting vaccine mandates and stuff like it. But it started out with heading to Ottawa, fighting vaccine mandates, and it snowballed from there. It’s all about vaccine mandates, our freedoms (and) our rights. You know get rid of the mandates—let people live their lives.”

Zieffle felt it was important for the farmers and ranchers to get together because the truckers are hauling their products.

“When they brought in mandates and stuff like that for the ag sector—like moving cattle—there’s a lot of grain cattle that go from the U.S. into Canada,” he said

“And a lot of these guys, that’s their employment to haul our products. And you take away the trucks out of the ag sector, then things would get pretty tough to get our products to market.”

The group can be followed on the Walsh, AB Freedom Riders Facebook page.

“And whether we’re going to keep going and try to make a difference, so be it, that’s what we’re going to have to do. We’re not going away,” said Zieffle.

Convoying will be in Cypress County for the time being.