Ag News

A key topic of discussion at farm meetings over the last few weeks has been the insect forecast.

The Prairie Pest Network released the provincial insect forecast maps this week.

During Alberta's Agronomy Update insect technologist with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation Dr Shelley Barkley told producers that not only did grasshoppers increase in numbers in 2022, but also in area.

You can start watching for grasshoppers in May or June in areas where we saw lots of them in 2022. 

The Weston Family Foundation has announced  $10 million in funding to help promote more adaptive and resilient agricultural lands in Canada.

Research shows that improving soil health on farmland is one of the largest and most immediate ways to improve biodiversity and mitigate climate change.

Healthy soil organic matter helps to improve water retention, supports carbon sequestration, and makes agro-ecosystems more resilient and better able to recover and adapt to environmental stresses such as drought and floods.

Free workshops called AgH2Onward will introduce farmers and ranchers to the Agricultural Water Management Strategy in Saskatchewan. 

The Water Security Agency is helping producers plan sustainable agricultural water management projects.

The workshops will explore the process and benefits of obtaining drainage approvals and techniques to best manage water on their land. 

These free half-day workshops are being offered online and in-person until April 2023. 

Scheduled in-person workshops will begin in March.

The  Pembina Valley Watershed District and Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association have joined forces on a key project.

The groups receiving funding of up to $152,250 from AAFC's AgriRisk Initiatives Research and Development Stream 

They are teaming up with Aquanty an Ontario software firm to develop a water forecasting platform.

PVWD Manager Ryan Sheffield says the Pembina Valley watershed is a vitally important region for Manitoba covering 5000 sq. km.

Agknow and Agsafe Alberta have partnered together to host a virtual ‘in the know’ workshop geared towards farmers' and ranchers' mental health.  

The newest statistics revealed that about 45 percent of farmers across Canada have a high stress level, while 58 percent meet the threshold for anxiety and 45 percent are depressed. 1 in 4 Canadian farmers have felt like life is not worth living, wished that they were dead or have thought about taking their own life in the last 12 months. Farmers are also having higher levels of burnout and a high level of emotional exhaustion.  

The federal government has announced some key funding to help resolve agriculture's current workforce challenges.

The impact of the pandemic hit the agriculture and agri-food sector hard, with plant closures, market fluctuations and supply chain delays resulting in a significant shortage and loss of skilled labour.

A Labour Force Survey in December of 2022 showed that 260,600 people were working in the agriculture and agri-food sector, down 12.5% compared to pre-pandemic numbers from February 2020.

Water management in agriculture is a complicated facet of the industry. Water availability, distribution, and drainage are all part of successful growing and ranching operations. Add into the mix the need to mitigate flooding and to be sensitive to the regional environment, water is the keystone to sustainable agriculture. 

There's a lot of interest in a private members bill put forward by Bloc Quebecois MP Luc Thériault.

Bill C-282 is a bill to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act - relating to supply management.

The bill would legislate the protection of supply-managed sectors in Canada by ensuring the federal government does not make market access concessions in future trade deals for supply-managed products like dairy, eggs and poultry.

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture has come out in support of the Bill.

Today we celebrate Canada's Agriculture Day.

It's a time to recognize the efforts and accomplishments of farmers and those that work in the agri-food sector.

The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity President and CEO John Jamieson says this is an ideal opportunity for everyone to learn more about where their food comes from while getting to know the people who produce it.

 Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, announced $150 million in renewed funding for Protein Industries Canada.

The funding is part of the $750 million investment into the Global Innovation Cluster program which was announced in the 2022 budget.  

CEO Bill Greuel says the renewed investment of $150 Million into Protein Industries Canada will support continued innovation, scale-up of companies and the commercialization of new products in Canada’s plant-based food, feed and ingredient sector.