Helping Alberta's producers with expert agricultural and business management advice, and connecting producers with vital government resources, employees at Alberta Agriculture and Forestry (AF)’s Ag-Info Centre have now answered more than 500,000 calls.
"The number of producers our staff has helped over the years is proof of how invaluable the Ag-Info Centre is," says Robert Spencer, commercial horticulture specialist, Alberta Ag-Info Centre. "Producers know that expert advice on all agriculture-related topics is just a toll-free phone call away."
Located in Stettler, the centre opened in April 2002 and is staffed by crop, beef, forage and business development specialists, and agriculture resource agents. Employees all have in-depth knowledge of the Alberta agriculture industry. The specialists are all agrologists, many with graduate degrees and all with extensive practical experience. In addition to taking phone calls from across Alberta, the Ag-Info Centre also handles e-mail questions and some walk-in clientele.
Staff at the Ag-Info Centre are the first point of contact for accessing the many resources within the department. Resource agents are knowledgeable about Growing Forward, Traceability and Premise ID and provide the agriculture industry with a diverse assortment of services, including the registration line, general store postings (e.g. hay and livestock listings) and other resources and documents available on AF’s
webpage.
"These professionals know their stuff and are able to share their knowledge with producers," says Spencer. "All sectors of the agriculture industry are incredibly complex, but when producers need advice, it's there for them."
Source : Agriculture and Forestry