Cypress County ‘Ag Connections’ conference a one-stop producer networking event

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Ryan Dahlman

By Samantha Johnson
Commentator/Courier
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Cypress County Ag Connections conference is now open for registration.

The conference, organized to support the agriculture industry in Cypress County and southeastern Alberta, is presented by MNP and will take place Nov. 22 at the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede grounds.

The one-day event for cattle and crop producers will feature at least 18 speakers from across Western Canada, including an address from Premier Danielle Smith, the MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat.

“We are hearing from our agriculture and business community that they wanted support and this seemed like a good opportunity for us to give back to support the development, sustainability and growth of our agriculture industry,” stated economic development officer Beth Cash.

The keynote speaker is Leslie Kelly, a grain farm and mental health advocate, who will be talking about stress on farms. It will be a day of professional development, learning and networking with an agricultural trade show also on site.

“We wanted to ensure the event was producer focused,” explained Cash. “It doesn’t start until 10 a.m. because we wanted people to be able to feed their cows and do their chores before they come. It will run until about 4:30 p.m.”

Cash has been working with Cypress County since January. Her family owns a mixed cattle and crop operation near Seven Persons, which has offered her local insight to plan the conference with an understanding of relevant topics for fellow producers.

Registration is required and will close Oct. 31, with a cost of $40 per person. Register at the Cypress County office or at cypresscountybusiness.ca.