Ag News

Alberta's Agriculture Minister RJ Sigurdson is back from his international trade mission to South Korea and Japan.

He says it was a very productive trip adding that we've seen South Korea increase its agri investment and trade with Alberta by 230 per cent.

"Of course a lot of it is focused around our beef and pork. We had a chance to visit some restaurants that are featuring Alberta beef and Alberta pork. As well as some of the shops that are marketing it there to get a greater understanding of what we're seeing in South Korean and what is important to them."

On Monday, the Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne along with Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay met with major international food processors to talk about the need to stabilize food prices in Canada.

During the meeting, the ministers emphasized the importance of food processors to work with retailers to support new strategies and actions that will make a real difference to stabilizing grocery prices.

David Przednowek, assistant vice-president of grain for CN Rail, says now that we're looking towards the end of September and early October, that's always going to be full run rate.

The Old Farmer's Almanac is known by many for its long range weather forecasting, but the book also includes a variety of features including farmer profiles.

The Almanac's Managing Editor Jack Burnett says they like to profile producers adding that among the farmers featured in the 2024 edition is Allison Squires and Cody Straza.

"The farm in Wood Mountain is called Upland Organics. They're organic farmers, stewarding 4500 acres as mix cattle and grain.  So, it's all about their story."

Squires says it was a pretty huge surprise. 

Protein Industries Canada (PIC) has launched a bilateral partnership with Innovate UK a research institution that focuses on the development of the plant-based food sector in the UK.

PIC's CEO Bill Gruel says what's interesting about Innovate UK and the UK ecosystem is that they don't have a lot of ingredient manufacturing and crop production on a scale that we have here in Canada. 

Trade and export development minister Jeremy Harrison is leading the delegation with a focus on expanding opportunities in agriculture, critical minerals, innovative technology, immigration and talent attraction.

He says more than one in six jobs in the province is tied directly to international exports.

Saskatchewan's merchandise exports to the EU and UK have increased by 50 per cent from $1.8 billion in 2021 to $2.7 billion in 2022. 

The end of harvest is quickly approaching for many producers in the west-central region, with 92 per cent of harvest completed. This is ahead of the five-year average of 72 per cent.

CowBytes, is a ration balancing software and an excellent resource that enables beef producers to formulate their own feed rations. The software comes pre-loaded with average values for common feeds, but we strongly recommend you enter the values from your feed tests.

The nutritional quality of feed can vary immensely year to year and from one area to another. So our suggestion is that the first step in this process is testing your feed. A lot of hard work goes into growing and harvesting the feed so ensuring it meets your herd’s nutritional requirements is important.

Saskatchewan's Weekly Crop Report shows harvest is moving along.

According to the report, 82 per cent of the provincial crop is now in the bin, that's well ahead of the five-year average of 64 per cent.

At this point only a few acres of flax remain out in the southwest, where harvest is essentially complete with 97 per cent of the crop in the bin. The west-central region is 92 per cent complete followed by the southeast at 79 per cent, the northeast and northwest at 75 per cent, while the east-central region is at  66 per cent.

A new partnership will help farmers support local food banks across Saskatchewan and Western Canada. 

AGT Foods is working with Food Banks Canada and Drive Away Hunger.

President and CEO Murad Al Katib launched the AGT Food Bank Crop Exchange Program this morning in Regina. 

He says through the program  producers can donate a portion of their crop delivery at their local AGT Foods location, to support local food banks across Saskatchewan and Western Canada. 

Producers simply commit to an amount and "Round Down" their delivery .