Brooks (Rural Roots Canada) – Collaboration, innovation and agriculture research will take centre stage next month in Brooks as the CDC Newell Ag Summit brings producers, researchers, industry and community members together for two days of networking and discussion.
The event is scheduled for June 18 and 19 and will showcase the work being done at CDC South while creating opportunities for new partnerships and ideas across the agriculture sector.
Candace Woods, the Projects Coordinator – CDC South Revitalization, says the goal is to help connect the dots between researchers, funders, industry and producers.
“We’re hoping this will lead to further collaboration, innovation of new ideas,” Woods told Rural Roots Canada. “We often meet with people who have a great idea but don’t really understand the process of what it takes to bring that idea to fruition.”
Woods says the summit was intentionally built around the theme of collaboration because agricultural innovation depends on people working together.
“We’re where we are because of the networking that we’ve had, the success we’ve had with collaboration with different people,” she said. “Without research driving new ideas, agriculture wouldn’t be innovating at the rate that it is.”
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The first day of the summit will begin at the Medicine Hat College – Brooks Campus, with registration opening at 10 a.m. Activities will then move to CDC South for tours, dinner, networking opportunities, panel discussions, live music and interactive activities.
The second day, June 19, will feature optional personalized tours and hands-on opportunities for attendees looking for a closer look at the research facility and its work.
Alberta’s Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson has also been confirmed as the keynote speaker. According to Woods, he will speak about the partnership between the County of Newell and the provincial government that is helping keep CDC South operational and available for research.
For Woods, the summit is about more than just hosting another agriculture event.
“To us, this is more than just an Ag Summit,” she said. “It is a reintroduction of CDC South to the research community in southern Alberta.”
She hopes attendees leave with a better understanding of the resources available at CDC South and the people who can help move ideas from concept to reality.
Registration and event details can be found at CDC Newell Ag Summit.
Feature photo: Courtesy County of Newell
