Ag News

Over the next two years, $80,000 in scholarship funds will be awarded.

The scholarships will be awarded to sixteen Senior 4-H Youth Leaders from across the countrty.

The scholarship program will focus on educational pursuits in agriculture, climate change and sustainability. 

Gemma Pryor, Senior Director, Canada Impact Team, McDonald's Canada says they wouldn't be who they are today without Canadian farmers, ranchers and growers. 

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau making some key announcements recently.

Yesterday, she announced that the fourth payment under the Dairy Direct Payment Program (DDPP) is now available for dairy producers.

Dairy farmers will receive compensation payments based on their milk quota. 

For example, the owner of an 80 head dairy farm will receive $38,000 in direct payment compensation. 

The compensation for this fourth round of payments will total $468 million.

Snow and bitterly cold temperatures are in the forecast across most of the prairies this week. 

With the drop in temperatures, livestock producers will be busy putting out more feed. 

Livestock and Feed Extension Specialist Adriane Good says it's important to bump up rations.

A discussion document and survey on a Sustainable Agriculture Strategy are now available online and open for comment.

The federal government says the overall goal for the Sustainable Agriculture Strategy is to support the livelihood of farmers, while growing a sustainable sector.

The Strategy will focus on five key areas - soil health, climate adaptation and resilience, water, climate change mitigation, and biodiversity. 

The President of Canadian Western Agribition says this year's show attracted about 120 thousand attendees and marked an increase in exhibitors and some strong prices for cattle sales.

Kim Hextall says the six-day event is a showcase for livestock genetics with entries up this year over the five-year average, as well as record-setting entries in the Junior Beef Extreme.

This year's event featured 12 beef breed shows as well as bison, sheep and alpaca.

Producers taking part in the Foraging into the Future Conference were reminded about the importance of feed testing. 

The nutrient content of feed will vary from year to year, field to field, species, climate conditions, fertilization, stage of maturity
when it was cut and processed, as well as storage management.

In order to balance rations for livestock it's key to know exactly what you're working with.

Livestock and Feed Extension Specialist Adriane Good says this is where a feed test can help.

2022 was a busy year for the CCHA.

The Canadian Crop Hail Association says with increasing input costs, inflation and stronger crop prices farmers bought a record-setting $10 billion in insurance coverage.

Insurance payments to prairie producers topped $265 million with producer premiums totaling more than $375 million. 

The CCHA reports Alberta was the hardest hit with an industry loss ratio of 98 percent, compared to 2021’s 97 percent. 

Saskatchewan had a 68 percent loss ratio, compared to 133 percent in 2021.  

The Assiniboia and District Chamber of Commerce is hosting the first-ever Agriculture (AG) Appreciation Banquet on Friday, January 13, 2023. 

The banquet is to honour the AG producers and suppliers within the community and will be held at the Prince of Wales Cultural and Recreation Centre. 

A lot of people are talking about the challenge this year of finding that Christmas turkey.

Darren Ferrance, Chair of the Turkey Farmers of Canada says the turkey industry was hit hard by avian influenza.

He says they had 46 cases of avian influenza reported in commercial turkey operations, which resulted in the loss of 991 thousand birds.

"In Canada, at the end of November the losses are totalling about 12 and a half million kilograms due to AI, and on the Prairies, that's about 5.6 million kilograms.

Cattle producers from around the southwest are in Swift Current this week for the Foraging into the Future event.

The event is held every two years and is back this year with an in-person event.

This year's theme is "Adding Value in Unconventional Times".