For 30 years, Rocky View County (RVC) residents have been able to learn more about the region’s rural opportunities through the county’s annual Agricultural Tour.
This year, on July 24, the tour will take participants to a number of operations located in the northwest part of the county.
“We rotate through different areas within (RVC), because this area is so large and there is such variety,” said Tim Dietzler, agricultural fieldman with RVC. “It’s a great way for us to showcase that variety – I don’t think people necessarily know what’s going on in their own backyard.”
Participants will be able to visit a traditional ranching operation to learn how the cattle ranch incorporates a number of environmentally sustainable practises, including the protection of areas along bodies of water through offsite watering, fencing and rebuilding bank stabilization by adding trees.
“They are also in a unique area where there is a threat of forest fire, so we will be talking about those kinds of things, too,” Dietzler added.
Another stop will take guests to a smaller operation that houses a rare breed of Spanish mustang horses and provides dog training, which will be demonstrated for the audience.
Weather permitting, participants will also be able to see a forestry reserve area just outside of the county that demonstrates some of the environmental impact caused by wild horses.
“Despite this being a sort of urban-dominated area, it’s important to remember that 90 per cent of our land base in RVC is agricultural,” Dietzler said. “There is such an array of different types of agriculture here, from traditional grain and cereal crops and cattle ranches to more unique ventures like elk farming and growing local foods.”
The tour kicks off early in the morning at Balzac Hall and wraps up there at the end of the day with a steak barbecue, sponsored for the past few years by Dow AgroSciences.
Registration for this year’s tour is closed, but Dietzler said there is a waiting list available. According to Dietzler, the tours have been so popular with residents, they usually fill two tour buses with participants.
“We’ve had somewhat of a new generation coming out for these tours over the last few years, which is really great to see,” he said.
“In every part of the county, we have such a variety of operations and the willingness of producers to show off what they are doing – the only problem is narrowing it down to a mix of six sites we can get to logistically.”
