Dianne Westerlund nominated for Women in Ag Award
By Joan Janzen
Oyen resident Dianne Westerlund was nominated for AFSC’s (Agriculture Financial Services Corp) Women in Agriculture Award. All 38 award nominees were invited to celebrate their achievements at a gala on March 16th in Calgary.
Dianne Westerlund, CARA Manager and Forage Agronomist at Oyen was nominated for AFSC’s (Agriculture Financial Services) Women in Agriculture Award.
As a nominee, Dianne is a woman who is shaping the agriculture industry’s future through dedication, passion and commitment to growing and sustaining agriculture in Alberta. As Manager and Forage Agronomist at Chinook Applied Research Assoc. (CARA), Dianne was honoured to be nominated.
She felt her strength lay in a behind-the-scenes role and credited her accomplishments with a team effort combined with the support of family, the Board of Directors, staff, local producers, and peers.
Dianne graciously provided the following account of her time at CARA.
After graduating from the U of S with a BSc in Agriculture in 1981, she joined CARA as a summer technician. When the Program Coordinator left in late summer, the Board gave her the opportunity to take on the leading role at CARA.
Over the years, CARA’s program has expanded. They now have seven full-time staff equivalents, including a PhD in Soils and four BSc’s. Two seasoned Field Technicians have been with the program for the past several years, and four or more summer students assist with adaptive research projects.
CARA’s capacity has grown to include a full component of small plot field equipment, as well as all necessary processing and monitoring tools. Local producers who donate use of their land for trials are a huge asset for CARA.
In 2018, their program expanded with the opening of the Soil Health lab, a unique facility that offers evaluation of soil health indicators, assessment of compost and plant materials, and training opportunities for farmers, ranchers, industry, and students to better understand and monitor soil health. Dianne reported that the lab has processed thousands of samples for individual operations and research projects.
In addition to their projects, CARA staff lead and/or participate in a number of agricultural initiatives. Staff are also asked to present information to producers and industry across Alberta and western Canada.
“CARA‘s program wouldn’t be possible without the support from local producers, the Special Areas Board, the MD of Acadia, our Ag Services Boards as well as agri-businesses within our agricultural community,” Dianne said. “Funding and in-kind contributions enable CARA to connect ag research and innovation to the farm level.”
A sincere thank you to Dianne for giving us a window into the extensive work done at CARA. The community offers their heartfelt congratulations on her much-deserved nomination.