Alta. trucking changes worry farmers

Feb 11, 2019

Semi drivers will need more extensive training beginning March 1

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Potential changes to Alberta’s commercial truck driver training requirements could affect farm businesses.

All Class 1 semi drivers in the province must earn a Safety Fitness Certificate. But, as of March 1, new drivers will also be required to complete the Pre-Entry for New National Safety Code Carriers program.

Passing that program includes participating in an online safety and compliance course, scoring at least 80 per cent in a knowledge test and completing a new carrier compliance review within one year of operation.

Producers worry such extensive training requirements will cut into daily business operations.

Finding a balance between normal amounts of regulations while understanding the needs of the ag industry is necessary, said Lynn Jacobson, an Enchant, Alta. grain farmer and president of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture.

“There are aspects of the commercial trucking training that we wouldn’t use in agriculture,” he told Farms.com. “It’s not that drivers don’t need safety training and we’re not talking about getting rid of the training completely but, realistically, we might be able to ask for some exemptions to help save time and the costs associated with training.”

Saskatchewan will introduce new training requirements on March 15.

But drivers working for an agribusiness can receive a special endorsement. Implementing similar rules in Alberta might be the best way to proceed, Jacobson said.

Other Alberta farm groups are asking for a deadline extension.

Complying in time for March 1 would be challenging for several farmers, said Team Alberta, which represents the province’s barley, canola, pulse and wheat growers.

“Team Alberta supports safer and more highly skilled drivers operating on our roads and highways,” Hannah Konschuh, vice-chair of the Alberta Wheat Commission, said in a statement. “But the timelines and lack of consultation with farmers would make it virtually impossible to comply with new regulations by the deadline.”

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.