Agripod

Canada's own regulatory system is making its farmers less competitive internationally and hampering their ability to provide the world with food. Manitoba Pork General Manager Cam Dahl says when the costs imposed on Canadian agriculture as the result of regulations are higher than they are in countries like the United States or Brazil it means that Canadian farmers are less competitive.

Farm Health Guardian is looking to test its digital biosecurity technology with farms and food companies across Canada. The ideal project participants are farms or food companies with multiple connected sites, such as pig production systems; transport or feed companies looking to verify vehicle biosecurity; and veterinarians who oversee a group of farms with shared biosecurity protocols.

Rob Hannam, CEO of Farm Health Guardian, says it automates biosecurity to send biosecurity breach alerts, stop unauthorized entry, and verify requirements to protect against disease transmission.

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A document released by the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance outlines eleven principles designed to help Canada's trade negotiators achieve fair and sustainable trade agreements that won't inadvertently hinder trade.

CAFTA Executive Director Michael Harvey says the document "Principles for Sustainable and Fair Trade in the Agri-Food Sector." - provides a structured approach for governments and interested stakeholders as they engage in policy discussions related to trade and sustainability.

The beef industry hosts a major get-together with the Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Saskatchewan.

It'll be the first time Saskatoon is hosting the conference, which includes meetings and presentations by numerous important figures in Canada's beef industry. Canadian Cattle Association Nathan Phinney talks about the pressing issues facing the cattle industry and how the U.S. election can impact producers.

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It’s a new chapter for Ray Orb, as he is now adjusting to life after being the president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) for the last ten years, and twenty overall with the Board. Orb talks about what he has seen in his two decades with the organization, working with different levels of government, the key issues, accomplishments and regrets.

Root rot in pulse crops has grown to be a devastating issue for growers across Western Canada, so a team of University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers and colleagues at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the National Research Council(NRC) led by Dr. Sabine Banniza (PhD) of USask’s Crop Development Centre (CDC) is searching for ways to beat it.

Banniza, a professor with the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, received more than $4.2 million from the Strategic Research Initiative (SRI) to uncover solutions for root rot in pea and lentil crops.

As Banniza puts it, root rot in pea and lentil has become so prevalent in Western Canada it has caused growers to stop planting the crops in some areas.

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The subject is Family Farm succession is complex and emotional. That's why we felt it was topic that was worthy of being the focus of the entire podcast this week.

While discussions surrounding succession can be difficult there are strategies available to Canadian farm business families to confidently navigate the paths of transition decision making. My guest is Patti Durand, a certified Family Enterprise Advisor, with Brightrack Consulting.

Over the past six years she's guided 350 farm families through transition and succession conversations.As a speaker and workshop leader, Patti provides relatable, thoughtful ideas to help business families move ahead, together and with certainty.

I'll talk to Patti about nine habits worth adjusting and shifting to in the conversation of the future of the family farm.

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Canadian Western Agribition’s Next Gen Mentorship Program was created to support the next generation of agriculture leaders.

The program matches eight young leaders in the agriculture industry with professionals for an 18-month mentorship where they gain skills and experiences to advance their careers. David McTaggart is one of the mentees in the fourth cohort. He has been partnered with Protein Industries Canada CEO Bill Greuel.

I'll talk to David about what he has gained from being involved in the program.
 
The aging demographic of producers may be the most significant issue facing the future of the livestock sector . . . but is only one of several areas of concern. Representatives from cattle, sheep and bison organizations participated in a Livestock Summit sponsored by the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan. 

A young cattle producer from eastern Saskatchewan Levi Hull talked about some of the challenges including access to capital for new producers, improving business risk management programs and preventing the ongoing conversion of pastures into cropland. 

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Showcasing agriculture innovation - that's the premise behind the Innovation Awards handed out before the start of this year's outdoor farm show Ag in Motion. There were 5 categories – crops, livestock, business solutions, agronomics and environmental sustainability

I had a chance to speak to 2 of the winners at Dennis Bulani the creator of the HedgeHog app that allows farmers to quickly hedge diesel fuel prices for up to two years in advance and Deans Scrivens with CropScan Ag with its on-combine grain analyzer, the winner in the agronomics category.

The Agricultural Manufacturers of Canada officially unveiled their mobile skills lab at Western Canada 's largest outdoor farm show.

The lab is designed to encourage people to consider a career and ag. I had a chance to talk to AMC president Donna Boyd about the mobile lab. She said it has been 3 years since they first started to notice the ag manufacturing industry was having challenges attracting new talent despite a boom period for the sector.

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Corteva Agriscience announced its new brand, Trusource™ wheat, a high fiber durum that can help meet consumers’ needs for increased dietary fiber through use in high-volume foods such as pasta.

Trusource wheat will be available to food companies to trial in product development and evaluation in late 2024, with North American commercialization plans for farmers to be announced in the coming years.

Tyler Groeneveld is the North American Director for value added ingredients at Corteva Agriscience.

He says its important because fiber is the most under-consumed macronutrient and there is a direct correlation between low fiber and chronic inflammation, leading to many human health issues.

Hot summers may be great for your time at the lake but very hot temperatures can cause stress in crops, especially flowering canola.

Curtis Rempel, vice president of crop production and innovation with the Canola Council of Canada says when the temperatures are in the 30's, it's especially hard on flowering canola plants.

The crop at flowering is when the pollen is produced, the canola gets pollinated and seeds start forming. When you have high heat levels, when the crop is starting to flower, you get the pollen dying because of the heat.

Then the flower does not get pollinated and it gets blasted off or falls off, and the farmer loses that yield potential they would have otherwise had.

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Hunters and wildlife, like bears, add to the challenges of locating feral wild boar. Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, Alberta pork and Alberta Invasive Species Council are working together to locate and eliminate wild boar from Alberta's landscape,  Charlotte Shipp is the industry programs manager with Alberta Pork, and she will talk about their joint efforts.   

Western Canada's largest outdoor show is celebrating its 10th anniversary at AG in motion Prairie farmers have a chance to see what's new in agriculture and connect with others in the industry. AIM has over 100 acres of trade show exhibits, company share products and new technology at the three-day event and there are live infield demonstrations, ride and drives and a showcase of over 550 exhibitors 

Show manager Rob O'Connor says the show in 2023 reached a record attendance of over 31,000 guests and they anticipate a similar crowd in 2024.   

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Cereals Canada recently released its annual report and announced the national cereal grain value chain organization want a new facility that would serve as the hub for Canada’s grain industry, promoting the use of Canadian crops around the world.

That new $100 million facility would be built in downtown Winnipeg and would be branded as the Global Agriculture Technology Exchange (GATE.) Cereals Canada CEO Dean Dias will talk about the report and share why this new building is needed.

Farmers and agronomists scout for signs of sclerotinia in canola fields following a wetter than normal spring and early summer. The challenge is determining the economic threshold for spray treatments. The Canola Council of Canada has developed a new online tool to assist with the decision. It is available at CanolaCalculator.ca,

Chris Manchur with the council says the sclerotinia risk assessment tool offers both a recommendation about whether or not to spray a canola crop based on information provided by the user and rating sclerotinia severity at maturity.

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Canadian agriculture needs to focus on adapting to climate change in a manner that will help sustain food security in the world. A policy paper released by Agri-Food Economic Systems, reviewed the effects of climate change on agriculture.

Research Lead Dr. Al Mussell says data from Environment and Climate Change Canada indicates Canada is getting warmer and wetter, however, rather than focusing on adapting to those changing conditions, policy makers have prioritized mitigating the effects of climate change.

Demand for beef is expected to stay high even though the cattle herd has declined in Canada and the United States and beef prices are relatively high. Anne Wasko is the president of Cattle Trends. She says the U.S. beef cow herd has declined 2.5 per cent to 28.2 million head so far this year.

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