Congratulations to Lesley Burton and Roxanne Doerksen, the recipients of the 2024 Women in Ag Grant from Credit Unions of Alberta and Alberta Central!
The Women in Ag Grant, back for its second year in 2024, provided the opportunity for Alberta-based women who are currently working in or planning to work in the agriculture industry to apply for funding, with two grants of $10,000 awarded to two individuals or businesses.
For 2024, the grant received many competitive applications which were shortlisted down to ten semi-finalists. Our two judges, Luree Williamson with non-profit Ag for Life, and Trish Romanchuk, Agricultural Brand & Reputation Business Partner with Servus and Connect First Credit Union, had the tough task of choosing the final two recipients from this shortlist.
The two finalists were selected based on their passion for agriculture, vision for the future of the industry, commitment to sustainability and their desire to support other women working in ag now and in the future. They will each receive the $10,000 grant to help grow their ag dreams, deposited into their local credit union.
Read on for details on the recipients and how they are going to use the funds!
Lesley Burton, Tillorie Farms
Lesley is a fourth-generation farmer and manages Tillorie Farms Ltd. with her husband and two daughters. Her farm is primarily dedicated to field crops, with the recent addition of greenhouse strawberries and raspberries. She is also a professional Agrologist and the owner and operator of Idyllic Resources Ltd. that offers consulting services in irrigated land classification and soil fertility. In her role managing the farm, she strives to mentor and guide women who aspire to careers in agriculture to help empower the next generation. She is also a champion of sustainable farming practices and is working to make farming more environmentally and economically sustainable for communities and producers. She will use the funds to continue to expand her operation, both to increase fertilizer injection efficiency and expand her greenhouse facilities.
Lesley is a member of Connect First and Servus Credit Union Ltd.
Roxanne Doerksen, Trad Worm Industries
Roxanne is the founder and CEO of Trad Worm Industries, focused on advancing environmental agriculture through soil remediation. Her mission is to ensure the continued growth of clean and healthy food using vermicomposting and composting. She is passionate about sustainability, microbiology and soil science, which motivated her to start a business that uses landfill-diverted organic waste to create biologically diverse soil amendments. She is committed to supporting women in the ag industry, both within her company through opportunities for leadership and growth, and outside her company by actively participating in industry forums and networks for women in ag. She will use the funds to enhance her operations and expand the impact of her sustainable agriculture business.
Roxanne is a member of Connect First and Servus Credit Union Ltd.
The Women in Ag grant was developed by Credit Unions of Alberta in partnership with the nextGen Leader group at Servus and Connect First Credit Union.
Credit unions know how important ag businesses are to the communities we operate in and that women can face barriers to accessing capital or financing. So that’s why we developed the Women in Ag Grant in 2023, which gave two Alberta women the chance at $10,000 grants to put towards growing their financial future.
Stay in the loop! Sign-up for updates on this and other grants here.