The Lethbridge & District Agricultural Society wants to hear from the community.
On Nov. 24 and 25, the LDAS will host the Southern Alberta Agricultural Producers Conference, in partnership with the SouthGrow Regional Initiative.
The event is set to take place at the Lethbridge Trade and Convention Centre.
Cody McIntosh, executive director of the LDAS, said hearing directly from producers, industry members and the broader community will help guide the society’s future plans.
“An ag society is supposed to represent and provide support for its community, so we can sit in a boardroom and kind of discuss what we think the community needs, but we wouldn’t be doing it justice,” McIntosh told My Lethbridge Now. “It’s much better for us to create this opportunity where we can hear directly from the members of this area.”
The conference will serve as the launchpad for a broader community engagement initiative, which McIntosh said will take place over the next 12 to 18 months.
“We want to engage with as many agricultural producers as we can and folks in the agricultural industry,” he stated.
McIntosh added that the society has seven board members, who all bring valuable industry experience to the table, but the more feedback they can gather, the better.
“Seven voices [are] great, but we would like to hear from hundreds at least. That way we know that we’re serving them well,” he remarked.
The theme for the conference is ‘Growing What’s Next’, and the event will allow producers, industry leaders and regional partners to share ideas and discuss the priorities for agriculture in southern Alberta. Some of the topics set to be discussed include water availability and growth, people and prosperity, as well as markets and innovation.
The conference will wrap up with a keynote speech by Rob Saik, titled ‘Growing What’s Next: How Southern Alberta Agriculture Can Feed the Future’.
CELEBRATING ONE YEAR
The LDAS was announced in late 2025 and since then, McIntosh said members have been kept very busy, with local events like Aggie Days and farmers’ markets.
“My first take is that it would take about a year for me to understand what we’re doing and what we’re about … we began working a whole lot faster than that,” he stated, adding the group quickly dove into event delivery after planning work over the winter months.
READ MORE: Lethbridge & District Ag Society announces director, board members
McIntosh noted that these events have been a great first step in engaging with the community and spreading awareness on the work being done by the LDAS.
As for the conference in November, he said, “It’s a dual-purpose type of event”.
“We want to give something to the community and bring in great speakers so they can hear [about] the topics but also at the same time, we are going to set these up so we can hear back from the audience,” McIntosh said.
He added that ultimately, their goal is to find out how the society can help the community.
“The first year has been a lot busier than I expected coming from the planning stage to the execution, but it’s been a lot of fun and there’s a lot of excitement about this next event in particular,” McIntosh said.
He noted that those unable to attend the conference or who want to provide feedback before or after the event can reach out to the LDAS on social media, or by email at info@lethbridgeagsociety.ca.
Registration for the November conference can be done through the event webpage.
