Lacombe County council heard a report that the municipality conforms to Alberta Agriculture grant requirements and pondered some further suggestions from the provincial government. The report was made at the Jan. 29 regular meeting of council.

Manager of Agriculture and Environmental Services Mike Bates presented councillors with a report on recommendations made to the municipality after a recent visit from Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation.

“Lacombe County received a field visit from Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation on July 8, 2025,” stated Bates’ report to council. “Agricultural Services staff met with representatives of Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation to review applicable policies and procedures, followed by a field tour to observe some of the projects undertaken by the Agricultural Services Department.

“Field visits are conducted once every five years to confirm alignment with Agricultural Service Board (ASB) grant funding and legislative requirements. At the Nov. 4, 2025, ASB meeting, Kellie Jackson with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation presented the findings of the report to the ASB. Administration also provided a summary report of the field visit’s findings.

“Overall, the ASB field visit found that Lacombe County demonstrates the appropriate use of ASB grant funds to support activities and legislative requirements under the Agricultural Service Board Act.”

Bates explained in his report that during such a tour Alberta Agriculture looks at three different levels of alignment with grant funding requirements, “critical” being the most important and closely linked to grants. That is followed by significant and enhancement levels.

“No critical recommendations were made following the ASB field visit,” stated Bates’ report.

Bates did point out that Alberta Agriculture suggested some improvements under the significant and enhancement levels.

Among the “significant” suggestions was the creation of an Animal Health Act (AHA) policy.

Among the “enhancement” suggestions was “Recommend completing the review of the county emergency response plan identified in your grant application to ensure it includes information on how you will provide support during an animal health outbreak.”

It was noted that along with various suggestions was also a list of recommended actions for Lacombe County to follow to address certain issues.

As councillors discussed the various recommendations, councillors wondered what the AHA suggestion would entail. Bates responded that generally Lacombe County’s responsibility would be to provide help to the agencies whose responsibility it is to administer the AHA; for example, in the event of an animal health emergency, Lacombe County could provide facilities for agencies to use. He added that Lacombe County’s responsibilities for AHA emergencies would be fairly limited when it came to on-the-ground responsibilities.

Councillors also discussed a recommendation under the Soil Conservation Act (SCA), with Bates responding Lacombe County has staff certified in that area. It was observed the agriculture fieldman is certified in that area and another staff member could be appointed if required, adding further training wouldn’t be required.

Councillors unanimously agreed that the county manager implement the recommended corrective actions as identified in the ASB field visit recommendation report.