UCP leadership candidate Brian Jean believes concrete actions must be taken to support farming and ranching families in Alberta..On Friday, Jean made the announcement to an audience collected from the small business, farming, and ranching sectors..He said he would like to make sure farmers are able to pass on their life’s work to the next generation..“As you know my campaign is about autonomy — which means giving people more control over their lives,” Jean said..“Agricultural autonomy, and respecting the people who feed us and look after the land that makes Alberta great. They are the ones to make the best decisions for their families and their operations.”.He agreed Team Jean is committed to putting "meat on the bone" with the following actions:.• Establish a cross-commodity, geographically representative advisory board of grassroots farmers and ranchers to help the premier and the minister of agriculture enhance the growth potential and competitiveness of the sector.."Government needs to listen more to the grassroots people who know their own business," Jean said..•Improve the rules about the transfer of farm and ranch operations to the next generation, pressure the federal government to implement common sense actions to ensure that it’s not more lucrative to sell a family-owned operation to non-family members, and instruct AFSC and ATB to explore ways to create flexible generational-transition financing to keep more farms in the family..• Explore policies that will prevent the growing instances of absentee corporate landlords in agriculture.."The degree of land purchases by foreign billionaires and pension funds at the expense of local families is a matter of concern," Jean said..• Protect the future of Alberta’s farm and ranch families by immediately reversing the ability of non-Albertans, who don’t have a vested interest in our province, to purchase Alberta Grazing Leases.."Crown grazing leases should be restricted to Albertans," Jean added..• Tighten and clarify the rules for leased grazing land and wild Crown land, which means tougher trespassing rules on leased land with significant fines and more education for Albertans..According to Jean, Crown lands should be enjoyed for recreation, but not by destroying fences or interfering with leased property..Jean said he also believes enhancing business risk management programs to better meet the needs of farm and ranch families in Alberta and ensure timely access to funding to mitigate risks caused by weather such as drought, flooding, and wildfires..• Develop a Made-in-Alberta strategy to address the shortage of skilled workers in our agriculture and agri-food sector..According to Jean, Alberta needs the same immigration deal with the Federal government that Quebec has negotiated, to provide the same tools that can ensure agriculture operators get the labour they need..Jean will also reform training requirements for Class 1 licensing for farmers, ranchers, and agricultural workers without compromising safety.."Farmers should be able to challenge Class 1 tests. There should be expedited programs for farmers who already have comparable driving and air brake skills. The MELT system will be reformed to accomplish these goals," Jean said..• He will also make strategic investments to promote careers available in Alberta’s agriculture sector as well as experiential training programs in high school and post secondary..Jean said he will work with Alberta based fertilizer makers to produce lines of product that are only sold in Alberta and would then use those cases to challenge "Trudeau’s foolish fertilizer rules."."These fertilizer rules are a threat to grain farmers and ranchers," Jean said..• He will also support ways to diversify and build capacity in the meat-processing sector. Producers must have choice, whether they are marketing wheat or running a cow-calf operation..In releasing this comprehensive suite of policies, Jean pointed to his support for farmers and ranchers when fighting the NDP bill 6, and further stated, “Agriculture is one of our most important industries and will be treated as such under my watch.”
