Congratulations to Lynn Dargis and Laurel Thompson, the recipients of the 2023 Women in Ag Grant from Credit Unions of Alberta!
The Women in Ag Grant received 106 applications, with a shortlist of ten reviewed by two credit union judges with backgrounds in agriculture and small business lending. It was a very tough competition, but the two finalists were selected based on their passion, vision for the future, and their desire to give back and break down barriers for women in ag.
Read on for details on the recipients and how they are going to use the funds!
Lynn Dargis, Farmbucks Inc.
Lynn is the owner and operator of Dargis Seed and Feed, a farm located near Bonnyville and the CEO and founder of Farmbucks, an online grain pricing discovering platform. She developed Farmbucks to support farmers trying to sell grain on tight timelines while still managing the day-to-day work of growing and maintaining crops. It works by aggregating and sorting grain bids via an easy to use phone app. She will use the grant funds to build her own API (Application Programming Interface) for Farmbucks to ensure the app can expand and better integrate with other farm management platforms. She envisions a modernized future for the industry that embraces technology, but also supports women as leaders in the industry.
Lynn is a member of Lakeland Credit Union.
Laurel Thompson, Thompson Farm
Laurel runs Thompson Farm in partnership with her husband Duncan, growing canola and small cereal grains and managing commercial cows. Laurel, who has a Masters in Science with a background in crop science, is involved in all aspects of the farm while raising two young children, aged one and three. She hopes to use the grant funds to pursue targeted breeding and artificial insemination technology for her commercial cow herd in order to lower breeding costs. She envisions a future where women can take more of a leading role in agriculture and the path for women to enter – and stay – in the industry is a bit easier and more inviting.
Laurel is a member of Vermilion Credit Union.
The Women in Ag grant was developed by Credit Unions of Alberta in partnership with connectFirst 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 Grant, which gave two Alberta women the chance at $10,000 grants to put towards growing their financial future.
Learn more about the grant and sign-up for our 2024 mailing list here: albertacreditunions.com/women-in-ag-grant/