Ag News

This week's Provincial Budget highlighted some key funding announcements for Manitoba's Agriculture sector.

Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn says topping the list for him was the increase in funding for the "Young Farmer Rebate".

"We're going to increase the loan amount for producers from $200,000 to $300,000. So the borrowing capacity numbers have increased as well. Agriculture, commodity prices, and input costs continue to rise, so we really felt this was an opportune time that we needed to provide some additional borrowing capacity dollars for the young producers."

Saskatchewan's Deputy Agriculture Minister Rick Burton says the carbon tax is a significant hit for Saskatchewan producers.

"The carbon tax was at $65 per tonne and as of April 1st it'll be moving to $80 a tonne, at that rate its estimated cost to Saskatchewan producers will be around $137 million a year."

He says it adds costs to the inputs they are using and just about everything that's coming in or off their farm is impacted by the carbon price.

The Federal Liberal Carbox Tax Pricing plan would see the pricing increase to $170.00 per tonne by 2030.

Over the last few days, we've seen protests pop up across the country over the increase in the Federal Carbon Tax.

As of Monday, the Federal Carbon Tax jumped $15 a tonne to $80 a tonne - a 23 per cent increase.

In the last few weeks, seven premiers have called for a pause on the increase from Ottawa or to scrap it altogether. 

However, the Federal Government moved ahead with the increase pushing the carbon price tax forward, resulting in a 3 cent a litre jump at the pumps.

A project that helps to map the level of risk of fusarium head blight throughout the prairies is looking to gather more data to help create a detailed picture for Saskatchewan. The mapping tool, provided by the University of Manitoba in partnership with several organizations across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, uses weather data such as air temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall to calculate the risk of fusarium head blight and generate maps showing the risk.  

An important part of your winter-feeding plan is monitoring your wintering sites for weeds to prevent the establishment of undesirable plants. As with any feeding system, the risk of introducing weeds increases when feed is being imported from an offsite location. Weed monitoring plans can be tailored to the needs of your operation. This includes recognizing invasive species, evaluating your winter site selection and considering the forage sources you have available.

Over the last few weeks, we've seen grain shipments picking up in the Prairies. 

CN's Assistant Vice-President of Grain David Przednowek says they saw fairly consistent grain movement for March with demand picking up.

"CN shipped over 530,000 tons of grain and processed grain products out of the country in grain week #34. That's slightly below supply chain targets, but very similar to the average of the past three years for that specific week."

There's a new face at the Board table for the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM).

Darren Steinley a councillor from the RM of Excelsior #166 has replaced Larry Grant as the Division 3 Director.

Grant has been a Director for SARM at the board level for the past nine years. He is also Reeve of the RM of Val Marie and has served as an RM councillor for 27 years.

SARM President Ray Orb says Grant has been a real asset to the Board of Directors over the years.

Canola markets have been very bearish over the last few months.

Senior Market Analyst with MarketsFarm Mike Jubenville says we've seen some correction in the last month, adding he's optimistic that we'll see some positive opportunities through the Spring.

According to the province, Algeria, Indonesia and Morocco, three of Saskatchewan's key international markets, saw significant increases in provincial agri-food exports in 2023 over, the previous year. 

Deputy Agriculture Minister Rick Burton says the total volume of agri-food exports hit $20.2 billion with significant increases for wheat, durum and lentils coming from Algeria, Indonesia and Morocco.

Participants at last week's Canada Grain Act Summit covered a lot of topics from the mandate of the Canadian Grain Commission to issues around delivery contracts
and market information.

The event brought together producers, industry and government representatives from across the prairies.

The President of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) Ian Boxall says one thing everyone agrees on is that the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) must focus on following its mandate of protecting producers.