The province is helping ag societies moo-ve forward with plans for the future and to deal with increasing costs by sprinkling in a one-time cash injection of over $7.4 million.
Alberta’s seven regional agricultural societies are in Olds, Red Deer, Camrose, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, and Medicine Hat.
Just over $4 million in one-time supports will be doled out among them as they try to achieve more sustainable operational models.
Another one-time investment totals nearly $2.9 million which the province says will “support business transformation projects and funding set aside for a third-party consultant to help with those efforts.”
The new funding is being added on to the annual total funding of $2.8 million the regional ag societies continue to receive through the provincial Agricultural Societies Grant Program.
Last year, the provincial government had hired a consulting firm to do a “sustainability assessment of the societies and provide recommendations to address their financial struggles.” The province points out that “those recommendations helped inform this funding and the next steps.”
