Ag News

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers (WCWG) have taken a firm stand in opposition of a proposed cut of 30% to fertilizer emissions in a submission to the federal government.

The organizations says the policy attempts to reduce greenhouse gases, but the actual reduction would be infinitesimal, and the impact on the food in Canada, and globally, would be significant.

President Gunter Jochum notes the policy is precisely what Canada, and the world, does not need in a time of food insecurity and inflation. 

The Province is expanding the eligibility for the Saskatchewan Loan Forgiveness program for Veterinarians and Veterinary Technologists.

Under the program now, any Saskatchewan veterinary practice that offers veterinary services to livestock stakeholders from rural or remote communities is now eligible.

Agriculture Minister David Marit says the program is intended to help attract veterinary professionals to work in rural areas by forgiving a portion of their Saskatchewan Student Loan debt for up to five years or a maximum of $20,000.

Farmers are making good progress with the harvest. 

The Alberta Crop Report shows harvest is now 17 per cent complete, up from 7 per cent the previous week, and ahead of the 10-year average of 14 per cent.

Harvest is most advanced in the South which includes Strathmore, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Foremost now has 49 per cent of the crop has been swathed or combined.   The area did see some localized rains which slowed harvest but with the dry soils farmers were able to get back to the harvest fairly quickly.

APAS was one of a number of farm groups taking part in the Federal Governments consultations on the proposed 30 per cent fertilizer emission reduction target.

President Ian Boxall says there needs to be a balance between production and ag policy.

"We are doing what we can. We care about the environment, we care about all this stuff. At the same point we also have a role to play in the production of key agricultural products for the world. We need to ensure that policy is all a balance within all these tiers, environment, agriculture, all of that."

According to a recent survey, most Canadians are not ready to scrap "best before" dates on food products.

In recent months, several grocers in Europe have opted to eliminate "best before" dates with the intention to reduce food waste.

The survey, which was conducted by the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, in partnership with Angus Reid, showed that only 27% of Canadians either strongly support or support eliminating "best before" dates.

Cleanfarms has hired a new program coordinator in Manitoba.

Serena Klippenstein will be responsible for helping to operate solutions that work in Manitoba to manage used agricultural products including used grain bags, twine and empty pesticide and fertilizer containers for recycling. These programs are part of the provincial Manitoba Ag Plastic Program, which was approved under the Packaging and Printed Paper Stewardship Regulation. 

The federal government's consultations over their proposed fertilizer emissions reduction target wrapped up last week.

The Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) was one of a number of farm groups taking part in that consultation process.

GGC Chair Andre Harpe says our sector knows nitrogen fertilizer is essential to the success of individual farm operations and, in turn, the Canadian economy.

According to a recent survey, most Canadians are not ready to scrap "best before" dates on food products.

In recent months, several grocers in Europe have opted to eliminate "best before" dates with the intention to reduce food waste.

The survey, which was conducted by the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, in partnership with Angus Reid, showed that only 27% of Canadians either strongly support or support eliminating "best before" dates.

Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C) has launched an expanded version of its resource library for educators, with over 500 curriculum-connected resources available.

“We are incredibly proud of the growth we’ve witnessed over the last couple of months for the resource library,” said AITC-C Executive Director Johanne Ross. “New learning materials are being added every week and we’ve received very positive feedback from educators across the country, which means we’re growing in the right direction!”

There's a lot on the agenda for the Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association. 

Last week the group took a number of Conservative MP's from around the province to tour ranching operations in the North Central part of Saskatchewan to get a better understanding of the drought situation and some of the key issues facing producers and the livestock industry.

MPs Kelly Block, Gary Vidal, Kevin Waugh, Brad Redekopp and Rosemarie Falk visited with producers and toured the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence.