New mandate letter for Alberta’s ag minister

Oct 07, 2025
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content, Farms.com

RJ Sigurdson’s responsibilities include passing ‘Alberta Agriculture First’ legislation

Alberta’s minister of agriculture and irrigation has new directions from Premier Danielle Smith.

Minister RJ Sigurdson received a new mandate letter on Oct. 2 laying out multiple items the premier wants him to focus on going forward.

“This mandate is about building opportunity and prosperity, while protecting the land and resources that make it all possible,” Sigurdson said in a social media post. “I’m thrilled to get to work on the important initiatives that lie ahead.”

I’m proud to receive my new mandate letter from Premier @ABDanielleSmith.

Alberta’s government is committed to putting Agriculture First - supporting growth, investment, and innovation across our ag and agri-processing sector.

From making connections at home and abroad to grow… pic.twitter.com/whl8PY1gUO
— RJ Sigurdson (@RjSigurdson) October 2, 2025

The first piece of Sigurdson’s new mandate letter calls developing and passing ‘Alberta Agriculture First legislation.

These bills should be designed to “significantly reduce unnecessary red tape that is harming the competitiveness of Alberta agricultural products in both foreign and domestic markets,” the letter says.

Alberta has the best score with regards to cutting red tape in the country.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business’s 2025 Provincial Red Tape Report Card scored Alberta a 9.4 out of 10. New Brunswick scored the worst with a 5 out of 10.

Many of Minister Sigurdson’s new goals include expanded access for Alberta products.

This includes finding new markets abroad, and in Canada, and helping to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers for ag products.\

In addition, the ag minister is asked to come up with ways to prioritize and incentivize farming practices that benefit soil health and biological diversity, while cutting costs and increasing fertilizer availability.

Another minister’s new mandate letter crosses over with Minister Sigurdson’s department.

Rebecca Schulz, the minister of environment and protected areas, is to “introduce substantive amendments to the Water Act to improve access to water licenses for municipalities, industry, and agricultural producers…,” her new letter says.

In addition, the associate minister of water, and Minister Sigurdson, are tasked with working together to complete irrigation commitments and explore investment opportunities to support Alberta’s water infrastructure.

Video: A Farm Song (Busy) | Parody of A Bar Song (Tipsy) by Shaboozey

Lyrics:

My days begin with workin’, Alarm’s at 5 o’clock,
I Fill 5 gallon buckets, The feeders and the troughs,
This five to nine ain’t workin’, why the heck do I work so hard?,
I can’t worry ‘bout health problems, I can sleep in when I’m gone,

One, here comes the two to the three to the four,
Tell em’ ‘buy another cow, we need plenty more’,
Blue jeans are gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
There’s another flock of sheep that still needs feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

I’ve been working pretty stressed but,
I ain’t changing for some cash,
Lord knows that I’m very blessed (More chores),
But I gotta say it’s hard,
Workin’ outside gettin’ charred,
Living out here on the farm, (more chores)

One, here comes the two to the three to the four,
Tell em’ ‘buy another cow, we need plenty more’,
Blue jeans are gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history
There’s another 20 chickens that still need feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Everybody on the farm getting’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Fun, here on ranch that’s what you can’t ignore,
Might be pretty hard but I love it to its core,
Flannel’s gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores (Tell ‘em sing with me)

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
There’s another flock of sheep that still needs feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
Watching cattle in the dark, don’t miss me,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
(Yeeeeeehaw)
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
It’s the best bro, go get yourself a farm