Ag News

Agricultural societies in Central Alberta and across the province are getting a significant funding boost from the Government of Alberta to help them manage rising operational costs and invest in long-term sustainability.

The province has announced more than $7.4 million in one-time funding for its seven regional agricultural societies, including those in Red Deer, Camrose, Olds, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Lloydminster and Grande Prairie.

The Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame will officially recognize six outstanding individuals who will be formally inducted into the Hall and honored for their lifetime of achievements and contributions in agriculture. 

Reed Andrew, President of the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame, says this award recognizes a lifetime of commitment, innovation, and plain hard work to help strengthen and grow Saskatchewan’s agricultural sector.

"Congratulations to this year’s inductees; they have made a lasting impact on agriculture and the province as a whole."

Seed treatments can play an important role against disease, helping to give the newly emerging crop a better start.

Dr. Kelly Turkington, a plant pathologist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lacombe says seed treatments can effectively control seed-borne diseases such as Fusarium, spot blotch pathogens in cereals, and loose smut in barley. 

The second annual Canadian Wild Pig Summit is set to take place on April 29th. This virtual event will feature a morning of presentations focusing on wild pig monitoring programs and recommendations from Indigenous communities regarding the Canadian Invasive Wild Pig Strategy.

Organized by Manitoba Pork, Squeal on Pigs Manitoba, and Animal Health Canada, the summit aims to address the growing wild pig population in Western Canada. These animals pose significant dangers to people and livestock and cause considerable environmental damage.

The Western Dairy Expo begins today in Saskatoon, bringing together dairy producers from across Western Canada to showcase the best of the best in the dairy industry. 

The event runs through Saturday at Prairieland and is also being live-streamed.

The Expo starts at 2 pm today with junior events, featuring showmanship and a junior show where kids under 21 will present heifers.

A new grow season means the continuance of ongoing research trials, and the start to new research projects, at the Westman Agricultural Diversification Organization near Melita (WADO).

Applied Research Crop Analyst with Manitoba Agriculture, Scott Chalmers, says they're starting a new project to test how barley grows at different temperatures in the soil.

Signs say Manitoba’s wild pigs aren’t headed for a population boom, says Wayne Lees, co-ordinator for Squeal on Pigs Manitoba.

“We’ve always heard that, you know, these pigs are going to explode in population,” Lees said. “Our field experience didn’t really support that, so we wanted to start challenging some of these assumptions.”

WHY IT MATTERS: A study from Squeal on Pigs Manitoba appears to show a slower population growth of wild pigs in Manitoba than originally expected.

The 2025 Agricultural Water Management Fund is now accepting applications. This fund aims to support agricultural producers and local governments in developing effective water management projects.

Naomi Paley, Manager of Drainage Extension at the Water Security Agency, explains that qualified applicants can receive up to $95,000 per project through a cost-sharing approach across three funding streams:

Pioneer Co-op recently announced an enormous investment of $10 million for a new Swift Current-based fertilizer plant. 

Work has already begun west of Swift Current, just off the Trans-Canada Highway at the site of the new facility. It will be a 10,000-ton capacity flat bottom facility, capable of coating micronutrients onto the fertilizer. 

It will be divided into a nine-bin partition, with two 50-ton loadout bins. These bins will be capable of loading and unloading semi trucks and trailers in under 15 minutes. 

Cattle market analyst Anne Wasko from Gateway Livestock says that's largely due to tariff uncertainties leading up to April 2nd. 

She notes despite that cattle prices in Western Canada have remained strong, hitting record highs across all classes of cattle with slaughter cow prices hitting another high last week.