Katherine Aske

Katherine Aske is a settler and farmworker who grew up in Mi'kma'ki. She joined Dr. Annette Desmarais' project analyzing changing farmland tenure on the prairies after witnessing investor interest in farmland while working for the National Farmers Union in New Brunswick. After farming in Alaska and at the Tsawwassen First Nation Farm School, she now works at the UBC Farm on the unceded territory of the Musqueam as their Practicum Field Coordinator. She is also the chair of the National Farmers Union's Farmland Committee.

authortag: author_katherine_aske

Finance in the Fields: Investors, Lenders, Farmers, and the Future of Farmland in Alberta

research | Jun 13, 2022

Alberta has over 50 million acres of farmland. What happens on this land? Who owns it? Who can access it? Most of all, why are land relations structured the way they are? And what are the current impacts of these land tenure dynamics and their implications for our future?

The answers to these questions are political, and we urgently need to face them together. This report draws on publicly-funded qualitative research conducted from 2019 to 2020. It seeks to contribute to a vibrant path forward for rural Alberta.

Private management of public data: Benefits and risks

blog | Feb 17, 2021

From 1976-2016, Alberta lost 34 per cent of its farms, and fewer and fewer people now control more and more of the land base. In 2016, 40 per cent of farmland in Alberta was controlled by just six per cent of farms. This kind of information is vital as researchers keep track of the changing patterns of tenure across the province. Alberta government's privatization of land titles means higher service fees are likely and less accessibility for researchers to study Alberta's 50 million acres of farmland.