Ag News

The province originally announced plans for the Saskatchewan Marshals Service in November 2022, with legislation laying the foundation for the new police service being introduced on November 7, 2023.

Chief Marshal Rob Cameron was hired a few weeks later and comes to the job with an extensive career in law enforcement.

Following his retirement from the RCMP, he served as the province's executive director of policing and, in 2019, was appointed as the assistant deputy minister for policing and community safety services.

Cattle producers across the Prairies still have time to purchase calf insurance under the Livestock Price Insurance program. 

The program allows producers to manage their risk by providing protection against unexpected drops in prices over a defined period of time.

Saskatchewan's program coordinator, Jodie Griffin, says the calf price insurance deadline is Thursday, June 13th for producers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

She notes they've seen a lot of interest in the calf program and strong interest in the feeder program as well.

The cattle industry is taking a page out of science fiction with the government of Canada investing just over 1 and a half million dollars to help improve genetic evaluation tools for Canadian beef and dairy cattle. In a release,

"Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced up to $1,627,270 to the Canadian Angus Association (CAA), through the AgriScience Program – Projects Component, to help improve genetic evaluation tools for Canadian beef and dairy cattle."

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay met with U.S. officials last week to strengthen our relationship and share priorities on food production and security.

MacAulay travelled to Des Moines, Iowa, to take part in the World Pork Expo, and met with Iowa's Governor and Secretary of Agriculture where he highlighted the importance of the strong and secure Canada-U.S. agri-food trade relationship and reinforced Canada's role as a reliable and indispensable trading partner.

The Senate Committee on Agriculture has released a new study on Soil Health in Canada.

The new study "Critical Ground: Why Soil is Essential to Canada's Economic, Environmental, Human and Social Health" looks at the current status of our soils and puts forward 25 recommendations for improving and maintaining our soils.

Committee Chair Senator Rob Black says one of the recommendations, and probably one of the most important ones in his mind is for the Federal Government to recognize a sense of urgency and act accordingly to protect and conserve our soils.

The Canadian Angus Association will receive over $1.6 million to improve genetic evaluation tools for Canadian beef and dairy cattle.

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced the funding on Friday noting that Canada's world-class cattle industry contributes significantly to our country's economy. 

"By investing in new innovations and technologies, we can enhance the industry's economic and environmental sustainability -  putting more money in the pockets of producers, and more top-quality Canadian products on tables around the world."

We are still waiting on a decision from the Canada Industrial Relations Board regarding Ottawa's request to consider whether the movement of certain specific commodities, including grain, if it were to be halted due to a labour disruption would affect the health and safety of Canadians.

The spotlight is on the Charolais breed this week as producers gather in Moose Jaw for their annual general meeting. 

Dale Weinbender, President of the Saskatchewan Charolais Association, says the breed is extremely popular and known for producing tan calves that wean off well.

Weinbender says the Charolais have been topping the markets for a long time, adding that the feedlots really like them as they finish very well.

"It's just been kind of the main focus for the breed and how we've been so successful."

The Federal Minister of Labour, Seamus O'Regan, is being called on to step up and find a solution between the union and the railways.

Daryl Fransoo, chair of the Wheat Growers Association, says something has to be done.

"We have reached the point of uncertainty where the Minister needs to step up and find a solution between the union and the railways."

He notes that over the past month, they've communicated with the Minister twice and the Canadian Industrial Relations Board about the strike, but they haven't seen a response.

For years, glyphosate has been one of the most widely used chemicals in agriculture, but the long-term impact of that is now becoming more evident.

It's commonly used as a dry down on crops, but the product is believed to be causing serious health issues in livestock.

During the drought, some producers were forced to bring feed in from other areas to maintain the herd.

Tragically, some of those animals became sick and even died. It was later discovered that some of that feed had been treated with glyphosate during the dry-down period.