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Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) announced Tuesday that 13 members are returning and nine new members have been named to the Canadian Agricultural Youth Council (CAYC).
The new council will serve terms of 18 months. The CAYC is a consultative body to Minister MacAulay as well as the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada that will provide advice, enable ongoing dialogue on food-related challenges and opportunities, share information and best practices, and advise on policies and programs affecting the agriculture and agri-food sectors.
"There's no doubt that young people are the future of the sector, but they're also leading the way today. The Canadian Agricultural Youth Council brings together folks from right across Canada to share their unique perspectives and this forum is vitally important to helping us develop policies and programming that will support the next generation of farmers. I would like to congratulate all of the new and returning members and thank past members for their hard work and dedication to Canadian agriculture," MacAulay said in a media release.
The council was first established in 2020 and its primary role is to provide a youth perspective to AAFC and the Government of Canada.
Among the council members is Lauren Younker of the Foothills, who was the only Albertan named to the CAYC.
With education from the University of Saskatchewan, Texas Tech, and the University of Nebraska, Younker has been across North America gaining hands-on experience in the beef industry. She's a PhD Production Consultant at TELUS Agriculture where she works with feedlot producers to determine the optimal marketing for their cattle.