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Jody Wacowich is tasked with providing strategic leadership to strengthen farm and ranch safety culture in Alberta. FARM SAFETY As AgSafe Alberta's Execu ve Director, Wacowich is tasked with providing strategic leadership to strengthen farm and ranch safety culture in Alberta. "Some of the things that we need to get out and do right away is to make producers aware of the resources that we're providing so that they can start working on farm safety plans," she said. "Certainly, we will be making sure that the resources match what the new Occupa onal Health and Safety regula ons are for farm safety." Wacowich expects to meet many Alberta producers when she a ends some of the commission mee ngs this fall. "I know that there are producers who are concerned with what this means on their farms and the cost of it," Wacowich explained. "I am going to be looking for opportuni es to work with them. We certainly don't want this to cost a lot of money, but we do want to make sure we have a safe culture around farms and ranches in Alberta." The AgSafe Alberta Society was launched in 2017 to develop and deliver farm safety management tools, resources and programs for farmers and ranchers in the province of Alberta. Alberta Pulse Growers is a suppor ng member of the society. AgSafe's goal is to enable farm businesses to take the next step to establishing prac cal farm safety management programs that will AGSAFE ALBERTA APPOINTS JODY WACOWICH AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The AgSafe Alberta Society's first Execu ve Director brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in agriculture and business management to the role that tasks her with helping farmers to increase safety on their farms. "I think it's exci ng to have the opportunity to work with producers in all the commodity groups across the province to set the direc on, start the plan and build the safety culture in Alberta," Jody Wacowich said. "My goal is to see an increase in the use of resources and implementa on of programs on farm. There will be some promo on and interac on with producers that way as well, and we will be star ng to look at the networks and resources we can build to make it be er." Wacowich, who grew up on a farm near Redwater and now lives near the Village of Carbon with her husband and three children, began her new posi on in August. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Food Business from the University of Alberta and a Masters of Business Administra on in Agriculture from the University of Guelph. Wacowich's previous experience includes work in communica ons and informa on services with Alberta Pork, and most recently in the crop insurance side of opera ons with Agriculture Financial Services Corpora on (AFSC). help enhance the development of a 'safety culture,' where safety is a fully integrated part of the farm business. "Our board sees AgSafe as an organiza on that can close a gap by providing resources to foster farm and ranch safety culture in Alberta," said Kent Erickson, AgSafe Chair. "Now with a dedicated Execu ve Director in place, we look forward to building on this momentum to execute our strategic plan." Farmers and ranchers are encouraged to learn more about AgSafe's programming by visi ng www.agsafeab.ca. 1 6

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