Ag News

With strike action looming on the horizon railways in Canada are likely to be stopped next week.

CN and CPKC are both set to lock out workers on the 22nd, the date that a possible strike was set for by the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

Vice president of grain for CN Rail David Przednowec says that the current labour situation is taking up a bulk of the current conversation in the industry.

Saskatchewan is seeing harvest continue with many cereal crops ready to go around the province.

Tyce Masich, a Crops Extension Specialist with Saskatchewan's Ministry of Agriculture, talks about the current pace of the harvest.

Biosecurity is an important part of any farming operation with ranchers having to take special care for their own farm systems.

That can include managing disease risks wherever they pop up, including from outside sources.

Chelsea Siemens, a livestock and feed extension specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, talks about what biosecurity looks like on farms.

With farmers getting close to harvest they're taking an extra look at any diseases that could pop up this year, including verticillium stripe.

While more common in eastern portions of Manitoba, samples have been seen in fields all the west to Alberta.

The disease is a relative newcomer, with agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada Breanna Miller explaining its impact.

Manitoba is inching closer to harvest, but recent rainfall is slowing that down in some areas before machines can really get going.

The most recent crop report shows that harvest has kicked off in the more southern and central regions while those further north have yet to begin.

Manitoba Agriculture Cereal Crops Specialist Anne Kirk goes over some of the conditions they've seen over the last week.

SARM's President Ray Orb will be stepping down after 20 years on the board and nine years as president, leaving the organization in another's hands.

Orb will be succeeded by Vice President Bill Huber who will be acting president until a replacement is elected during the next annual SARM convention in March.

Orb announced earlier this year he wouldn't be running and is now leaving the post as he wants to enjoy the summer.

The beef industry will be hosting a major get-together next week with the Canadian Beef Industry Conference getting underway in Saskatoon.

It'll be the first time for the city to host the conference, which includes meetings and presentations by numerous important figures in Canada's beef industry.

Scott Wright, a co-host of the Canadian Beef Industry Conference for 2024, says it's a great opportunity for the city and the province.

The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) is getting ready to open up its ranks for the Young Leaders program again this year.

In that program, they invite anyone between the ages of 18-40 to look at the policy side of agriculture and what APAS does.

APAS Vice President Bill Prybylski talks about what that entails for the people selected.

Railways across Canada are inching closer to strike conditions as nearly ten thousand workers haven't yet reached a deal on a new contract with Canada's biggest rail companies.

The Canadian Industrial Relations Board delayed a possible strike back in May to determine if there was any danger in the strike and has now given a date of August 22 for that strike to start if a new contract is not agreed on.

The Canadian beef industry is taking a look at what it's done and how it can move forward as a status update on its 2020-2024 National Beef Strategy.

The status update covers the last two years of the strategy, covering June 2022 through June 2024.

Chair of the Canadian Beef Advisors Craig Lehr talks about some of the accomplishments they've gone through over the past couple of years.