Agriculture

The Alberta we know and love today was built on the foundation of strong rural communities. Although urbanization has changed the face of our province, rural communities still play an instrumental role in its economic and social fabric.

By any measure, Alberta's farmers and ranchers are among the most productive in the world. In a highly entrepreneurial sector, they manage large, complex operations with high capital and operating costs and volatile product prices. Increasingly, they are burdened by product pricing established not by business economics, but rather by foreign government subsidies.

Our agricultural communities provide a secure source of high quality food products for Alberta and the rest of Canada and also make a significant contribution to our positive trade balance with other countries. We need to ensure that our farmers and ranchers are given the opportunities and assistance they need to succeed in the international marketplace.

In the interests of providing choice and new market opportunities for our agricultural producers, our provincial government must continue to lobby the federal government to end the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly over the marketing of wheat and barley, and work to open up new agricultural markets outside of Canada and the United States.