UFA Co-operative Ltd. (UFA) celebrated Farmer’s Day at its farm and ranch supply stores and some UFA petroleum locations across Alberta June 14, including in Ponoka.
Farmer’s Day dates back to a 1945 UFA convention resolution where UFA declared it would recognize the tireless efforts of farmers as the drivers of the agricultural industry each year on the second Friday of June.
Founded in 1909, The UFA is a 110-year-old co-operative with over 120,000 member-owners and has a deep history of celebrating Farmer’s Day.
In Ponoka, there was a beef-on-a-bun lunch served at the farm and ranch supply store with a number of local vendors supplying homemade goods for purchase and giveaways.
Cake was served at the Ponoka petroleum location.
“The food that’s on our table is because of them,” said Everett Caskey, store manager of the Ponoka UFA farm and ranch supply store. “We’re celebrating the farming community and we’re part of it.”
Glenn Bingley, the chief operations officer for all the farm and ranch store locations across Alberta, who has his office in Calgary, was onsite in Ponoka for the celebration.
Bingely said it was important to have an event that brought people together to celebrate farmers and that it was fun to get out to see some of the stores.
“Ponoka is a very important market for UFA and we have a lot of history here with our members.”
The Ponoka UFA farm and ranch supply store will be re-locating to the south end of Ponoka at the end of October and will be holding a grand-reopening celebration. They will be renovating and upgrading an existing building before moving in.
UFA has a network of 111 bulk fuel and cardlock petroleum locations, 34 farm and ranch supply stores and a support office in Calgary.