From organization to inspiration meet WIA member Alison Weaver and Navigate 2021!
This year Women in Ag want to feature you, our membership. So many of the women who make up our membership have unique life stories, projects they are working on, diversified farms and even small businesses. We want to start highlighting these women, showcase their work and support them in achieving their goals.
Our first membership feature is Alison Weaver. Alison has been farming with her husband, Garnet, for over 30 years in the Lloydminster area. Originally they had a mixed farm, moved into grain farming in 1998 and have recently started back into a mixed farm. Alison raised four children who all are still involved in the farm when time allows but more importantly they all know and appreciate where their food comes from and are advocates for the agriculture industry. In addition to farming full time and being an active grandma to her three grandkids, Alison is a huge advocate and remains involved in 4H as well as volunteers with the United Church. Alison supports the community helping families work through the loss of a loved one.
Alison is new to our WIA organization but her insight and knowledge has already brought so much to our membership when she joined the virtual AGM earlier this month. Alison first noticed the organization after seeing a familiar face in a WIA calendar a few years ago. After keeping a close eye on WIA over the years, she had planned to attend the 2019 Connect conference but with the difficult harvest, she didn’t have a chance. Now more than ever she is wanting to support the younger generation of ag women. A lot has changed from when she went to university at the College of Ag and finds her heart is full when she sees so many women embracing careers in Agriculture. One thing Alison has said that stands out is that you really do not have to have it all together by thirty years of age. She brings a lot of wisdom and passion to WIA and we are so lucky to have her join our membership.
Have you ever felt like you had too many to-do lists to keep track of, calendars and journals that you half wrote in? Ever wished there was a way someone could amalgamate everything into one book? That is how Alison felt back in August 2020 when it came time to purchase a new day planner for 2021. Her and her daughter, Amanda Burzynski, came up with an idea. They wanted something that housed all the info in one neat and tidy package. Something that not only helped with organizational tasks but also inspired and prompted goal setting and reflection.
Over the course of a few months and with input from community members and family, Alison and Amanda produced NAVIGATE 2021. This one book not only helps manage day to day tasks but also, monthly tasks, to-do lists, farm data and records, personal and professional goals, motivational quotes and even space for reflection and journaling. Alison wanted to incorporate inspiration for tough days and help add balance to life when it feels like there is no balance at all. Each month starts with a quote, February 2021 is Kindness Wins. Simple yet powerful and something we all can take with us day to day. Also at the beginning of each month is space for goal planning and self reflection. If journaling doesn’t come easy to you, Alison has included questions that help guide and prompt reflection and goal setting.
At the back of the book is a resource area. Everything from farming facts, livestock information, cooking conversions and other household tips. If you needed to know how long a Bison gestational period is, Alison has it there! Need to quickly know the weight of one bushel of wheat, it too is in there. Even “must have items” for your kitchen pantry - there is a guideline.
Physically, NAVIGATE 2021, fits in a purse with it being 9 ¾ inches by 10 inches. The beautiful hardcover artwork was done by a local Lloydminster artist Mikael McAllister of Typeset Creative. The coil binding makes it very versatile and sturdy. Since this book is meant to travel with us day to day or lay open on the counter, Alison wanted to make it not only look nice but be workable and durable. Also included in each copy of NAVIGATE 2021 is a special wheat pen to use with the book.
In total Alison printed 225 copies in December and all sold very quickly to women across Canada and even in North Dakota and New Zealand. Already the wheels have been turning and new ideas for NAVIGATE 2022 have started to take shape. Alison and Amanda have been working on adding things like basic first aid, gardening tips, budgeting ideas and terminology, go-to recipes etc. A similar planner may even be introduced but with more of a focus on young families vs. farming operations.
For more information you can visit Alison’s Instagram and Facebook page - @alisonweaverherstory. She is working on a website that will have a pre-order option. Follow her Instagram and Facebook for updates and additional sneak peaks at NAVIGATE 2021!
If you know of a WIA member with a unique story, please reach out to us at info@womeninag.ca. Again, we want to hear from you, the inspiring Women in Ag as we feature our membership throughout 2021.
-WIA