Ag News

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has selected Ron Kostyshyn the MLA for Dauphin as the new Minister of Agriculture.

The Ag portfolio is something Kostyshyn is very familiar with after having served in the role as Agriculture Minister from 2012 to 2016.

Ron and his wife ran a family mixed farming operation for 40 years and has spent several years in the political arena from municipal to provincial politics.

He's held many roles on community boards including as Reeve for the Mossey River Municipality, and AMM Parkland Director.

Beef producers impacted by the drought that are looking to maintain or grow their herd can now apply for Farm Credit Canada's new " Heifer Replacement Program ".

Sophie Perreault, FCC’s chief operations officer announced the program on Tuesday.

The Heifer Replacement Program loan offers a maximum two-year period of interest only,  with a maximum life of seven years. .

The loans variable interest rates are capped at prime plus 1.5%, with FCC waiving the loan processing fees.

Farm Credit Canada spring wheat and durum forecast is included in the 2023 Grains, Oilseeds and Pulse Outlook.

Justin Shepherd a Senior Economist with FCC expects to see an increase in spring wheat.

With the harvest wrapped up in many areas, the country elevator system is seeing more deliveries headed to Port. 

Elizabeth Hucker, CPKC's assistant vice-president of sales and marketing for bulk says they started the month of October out strong.

"So in week 10, CPKC moved approximately 569,000 metric tons of grain and grain products to destinations in Thunder Bay, Vancouver, and throughout North America. This was our second largest screen shipping week of the 2023 - 2024 grain crop year."

Earlier this year, the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission (SaskCanola) and Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission (SaskFlax)  announced they were considering amalgamation.

The proposed merger would see SaskCanola assume the operations for SaskFlax which would include everything from research and advocacy to market development investments and communications.

SaskCanola has providing operational support for SaskFlax since early January when resolutions were passed at both AGM's calling on the two groups to look into amalgamation.

Protein Industries Canada has opened its first call for Expressions of Interest under their current Capacity Building Stream. 

This is the first call for capacity-building projects under the second round of funding from the Government of Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster program.

Working across eight priority areas, the projects will focus on the growth and success of the entire ecosystem and complement investments into innovative R&D.

Project consortiums are encouraged to submit an expression of interest for a project before the November 15th deadline.

Manitoba Canola Growers Association is encouraging producers to take part in their survey regarding the potential merger of Bunge and Viterra.

The MCGA notes they have been actively engaged with the Competition Bureau raising member concerns about the potential merger and the fact that it would substantially lessen competition among buyers and crushers.

They note as a result it would put limitations on farmer's choices and would potentially impact price competitiveness.

The Competition Bureau is still seeking input from farmers on the merger 

The latest report from Manitoba shows feeder steer prices dropped off with the biggest drop of $14.83 per cwt being recorded for the 901 plus pound steers for an average price of $276.83 per cwt.

Feeder heifers also saw a drop in prices for most weight categories... other than the 401 to 500-pound girls which saw a price increase of $4.21 per cwt for an average price of $360.32 per cwt.

Slaughter cows saw an increase with the average price for D1-D2 's coming in at $130.50 per cwt.

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced a $9.8 million partnership with the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC).

The funding is coming through the AgriScience Program's Clusters Component, a program under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

MacAulay says agriculture creates jobs and a sense of pride in communities right across Canada.

Fall migration has once again brought the issue of avian influenza back to the prairies. 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed the presence of H5N1 (the highly pathogenic avian influenza) on ten premises across Western Canada.

According to the government website eight operations in Alberta, one in British Columbia, and one in Saskatchewan have reported avian influenza.

Producers are encouraged to practice enhanced biosecurity procedures as outlined through their provincial requirements.