Grant funding will remain unchanged for Alberta agricultural societies

Agricultural societies were notified Tuesday by the Alberta government that grant funding for this year will remain unchanged.

The province told the Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies (AAAS) that its 2017 funding will stay at $8.67 million.

The group was told the department will begin processing cheques as early as the end of this week. According to the AAAS CEO, members can expect grant cheques shortly after that.

READ MORE: Alberta agriculture societies unsure of funding status with the province 

There are 295 agricultural societies across Alberta. Approximately one third of the societies’ budgets come from the $8.6 million in grants promised in the provincial budget.

“Our government has been in the process of assessing the current budget to find savings in order to fairly and responsibly reduce the deficit,” said Oneil Carlier, minister of agriculture and forestry, in a statement to Global News.

“As part of this, we assessed the current funding levels for agricultural societies.

“We know and understand the good work that these organizations do in small towns and rural communities across the province, and how they make life better for rural Albertans.

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“I am pleased that we have decided that the funds budgeted for ag societies will not be reduced in this fiscal year. These funds will be disbursed soon and we will continue to be in close contact with ag societies.”

This year’s grant money was expected to reach societies by June but it didn’t come. Without provincial support, many groups thought they’d have to increase fees for programs and facilities they operate, like community arenas.

Earlier in September, Carlier said the province was looking at overall savings and promised the societies the funds would be coming out in the next few weeks.