WESTLOCK – Women shared stories about how and why they came to be farmers during the inaugural Cattle Women’s Conference Dec. 6 at Memorial Hall.
The one-day event hosted by Westlock Veterinary Centre (WVC) and Zoetis, a pharmaceutical company specializing in animal medicine, brought women in agriculture together to learn, share and inspire each other with stories and information. While the conference focused on cattle care and the industry, it also included guest speakers on a variety of ag-related topics such as vaccinations, the use of genomics, women in agriculture, mental health and farming and scour prevention. It also featured a WVC vet panel on cattle care and keynote speaker Katelyn Duban.
“These are just the stories that we talk about when we think about family and farming — it can be really beautiful, we can look at things and legacy but there can also be really big challenges,” said Duban during her presentation.
Conference organizer Amy Miller said it was well attended with about 65 registered participants from places like Bruderheim, Athabasca and Westlock. Many in attendance were cattle farmers who are clients of the veterinary centre and expressed interest in having an opportunity to learn more.
“It was something that we’ve talked about for a while, something that our cattle women have chatted with us about,” said Miller. “We do hope to do it again if it’s something we can do and there’s an interest.”
In addition to guest speakers, the day also included a lunch, a mini market with local crafts and artisans as well as agriculture-related products and information. The event also provided women a day to gather, meet new people, learn, and enjoy a day away from the farm and operations.
One of those cattle farmers in attendance was Denise Gerig, who runs a cow-calf and grain operation near Busby with her husband.
“It was actually really good to get out and just see more people out and about in the community,” said Gerig. “Everyone’s always busy working on the farm so you never really get a chance for everyone to get together and enjoy some visiting and learn a lot of new things. It was really, very interesting.”
Keynote speaker Katelyn Duban is a first-generation farmer and podcaster from southern Alberta. She farms alongside her husband and together they operate a grain and oil seed operation. The 32-year-old began farming in 2017 and started her podcast in 2019. In her presentation Duban shared stories of women in agriculture and touched on several areas including family, passion, privilege, and health.
“These are just themes that have come up over the last four years that women have shared in their stories,” said Duban. “When it comes down to it, I think we can be really cognizant of the health of our land and our animals, but we’re not very good at it for ourselves,” she told participants. “I think by having a strong group of women like you here, having these conversations and being present, that helps our agricultural community.”
Duban has learned much as a farmer and a woman in agriculture and pointed out the importance of women sharing their stories, supporting each other and local farmers in the industry today.
“Our stories aren’t often in the forefront but really there is a whole generation of women who have been growing their food for generations before,” explained Duban. “I think our stories haven’t been told and I think our stories need to be told to inspire the next generation of women to grow food and to be curious about where their food came from.
“If you’re curious about growing food or if you are a producer, there’s nothing better than coming to a room full of rural women who have done this before that you can learn from, connect with and build a community with.”
