A Saskatchewan teenager was able to share her love for the sport of cutting horses during a recent livestock show in Regina. The sport involves a horse and a rider trying to separate one animal from a herd of cattle. Zoe Schellenberg not only participates in the sport but is also the youth director for Saskatchewan, for the National Cutting Horse Association.

She was instrumental in getting virtual reality goggles for their booth at Agribition. She talks about the things she loves about the sport.

Producer voices are needed at the table when there are discussions around sustainability and agriculture. Farmers for Climate Solutions have put a call out for farmers and ranchers to part of select Forums across the Prairies in early 2024. Recommendations coming out of the forums will be included in a report to be released later in the year. Gordon Bacon is a co-lead for the forums. He says they want to sit down and have an open and frank discussion about sustainability, carbon emissions, and solutions going forward while still focusing on profitability.

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Manitoba Ag Days is a three-day show held in January in Brandon that highlights agriculture production, technology, and equipment and attracts exhibitors and visitors from across Canada and the United States. The Keystone Centre is the home to the trade show that showcases new and unique products and guest speakers.

Terese Vallotton is the media coordinator for AG Days.She shares what's new at this year's event and explains why those face-to-face conversations are so important in the ag industry.

Online hackers are becoming more sophisticated, so, there is a need for stepped up awareness and heightened cybersecurity. Cathy Lennon, the General Manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, explains cybersecurity is about protecting any of your assets that are attached to the internet, be it a cell phone, an iPad or anything in your tractor or your barn that is potentially vulnerable to attack through the internet.

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An Edmonton based veterinary consultant believes by improving the design of the loadout, pork producers can improve the biosecurity of their farms and reduce the risk of disease transmission.

Dr. Julia Keenliside says the loadout is the area of the barn where finisher pigs or cull sows or isoweans or sometimes deadstock are loaded onto the truck. Sometimes animals will enter the barn through the loadout. She says the project was inspired by a large outbreak of PED in Manitoba in the spring of 2022.

Protein Industries Canada has released “The Road to $25 Billion,” an updated roadmap for Canada’s ingredient manufacturing, food processing, and bio-products sector. It includes a goal of $25 billion in revenue by 2035.

Bill Greuel, the CEO of Protein Industries Canada, says the country's agriculture and food sector has long been undervalued as an economic driver with trading partners importing raw commodities. He says its time to generate value through ingredient manufacturing, food production, and bio-product development.

Greuel will discuss the steps required to meet its target, including investing in infrastructure, trade, and domestic processing.

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The Broadway Theatre in Saskatoon was the location of an award-winning film on regenerative agriculture. Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association hosted the premiere of the documentary "Common Ground" earlier this month.

Derek Axten is the president of SaskSoil. He says the film examines the benefits of healthy soil and its impact on climate AND he hopes it is the jumping off point for meaningful discussion on regenerative agriculture.

A new cull sow processing facility in Saskatchewan is expected to generate economic spin offs for the next 30 to 40 years. North 49 Foods is ramping up operations at its new state-of-the-art sow processing facility at Moose Jaw. The federally inspected plant is on the site of the former XL beef plant and has the capacity to process up to 225 thousand sows annually.

North 49 Foods industry relations manager Neil Ketilson says the project has received tremendous support from producers and industry leaders across Western Canada.

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I’m away this week.  Here’s one of my favourite episodes to tide you over until I’m back.

Agriculture technology is helping to fight COVID-19 and play a role in preparations for future pandemics. A recent article in Nature Biotechnology said the current pandemic shows the need to mobilize efforts on a large scale to ramp up diagnostics and testing. The lead author is Steve Webb, chief executive officer of the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan. Webb will explain how the tools used in plant breeding—like genetic testing and sequencing, are the same as those use in the pharmaceutical and health care fields.

The Canadian Beef Industry Conference usually attract hundreds of cattle producers, as well as the other players in the beef industry to Calgary, Alberta. But instead the conference was held entirely on-line due to COVID-19.

The opening keynote speaker was from London, England. David Hughes is an Emeritus Professor of Food Marketing at Imperial College. He is considered an expert in global food issues and opportunities. He spoke about food trends and the steps the cattle industry needs to take in order to be sustainable and strong.

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The federal government has announced $219 million for its 60 per cent share of an AgriRecovery payment targeted at livestock producers in areas of Western Canada impacted by drought. Saskatchewan committed its 40 per cent two months ago.

The “Canada-Saskatchewan Feed Program” will cover 70 per cent of extraordinary costs related to feed purchase and transportation costs, as well as pasture rentals. Funding will provide eligible producers an initial payment of up to $150 per head to help maintain the breeding herd in the drought regions.

Jeff Morrow is the Acting President and CEO of Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation who will administer the program. He will provide details on what producers will need to to do to apply.

Some very enthusiastic school aged children took a field trip to a farm near Norquay, Sask. to participate in a program called Food Farm. Food Farm aims to teach children about Saskatchewan’s agriculture industry.

It has been hosted by Jennifer Lindgren and her family for a number of years.
Jennifer will share what the students learned during the tour and her family feels its an important to share the good news story of agriculture.

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Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan wants direct discussion among farmers and consumers saying it is a key step toward building trust. Executive Director Clinton Monchuk says this organizations’ goal is encourage more farmers to get out there and talk to others about what they do. He'll share what some of the consequences are for not sharing those stories.

Fifteen farm families have worked through the year to grow 120 acres of canola that was harvested with all the proceeds to going to assist children in India, Cambodia and Brazil. Harvest for Kids has been active in the Saskatoon area for more than a decade----highlighted by a 2012 event in the Dalmeny area that set a Guinness Book of World record for the most combines harvesting simultaneously on the same field. It took 249 combines less than five minutes to harvest a single field.

The new world record of 303 combines was established six years later at Winkler, Manitoba. The current focus is on smaller harvest projects. There are four in the Saskatoon region. One of this year's projects cleared $75,000 from a wheat crop. Art Thiessen with Harvest for Kids tells us about the event in Hepburn and explain where all the proceeds go.

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Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan wants direct discussion among farmers and consumers saying it is a key step toward building trust. Executive Director Clinton Monchuk says this organizations’ goal is encourage more farmers to get out there and talk to others about what they do. He'll share what some of the consequences are for not sharing those stories.

Fifteen farm families have worked through the year to grow 120 acres of canola that was harvested with all the proceeds to going to assist children in India, Cambodia and Brazil.

Harvest for Kids has been active in the Saskatoon area for more than a decade----highlighted by a 2012 event in the Dalmeny area that set a Guinness Book of World record for the most combines harvesting simultaneously on the same field. It took 249 combines less than five minutes to harvest a single field.

The new world record of 303 combines was established six years later at Winkler, Manitoba. The current focus is on smaller harvest projects. There are four in the Saskatoon region. One of this year's projects cleared $75,000 from a wheat crop. Art Thiessen with Harvest for Kids tells us about the event in Hepburn and explain where all the proceeds go.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Genesis Fertilizers is a partnership that will be majority owned by Western Canadian farmers to build a urea production and distribution facility to be located at Belle Plaine, Saskatchewan, and a network of seven storage and distribution facilities across the three Prairie provinces.

One of those distribution centers will be in Northeast Saskatchewan at Tisdale. This proposed project, if completed, will be new investment in, and will create jobs at, the newly established agricultural industrial park in Tisdale. Terry Drabiuk is the Vice President of Business Development for Genesis.He'll talk about the company's plans and how farmers can get involved.

Four provincial farm organizations want the Saskatchewan government to examine the proposed merger between Bungee and Viterra. Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, along with crop commissions SaskCanola, SaskWheat and SaskBarley have sent a joint letter to Agriculture Minister David Marit making the request.

Farmers are worried about less competition. A recent poll of farmers found that well over 80 percent were concerned about a lack of competition if the Bunge/Viterra deal is approved. APAS President Ian Boxall shares those concerns and points to the province's examination of the 2012 Glencore-Viterra merger as a precedent . . . along with a 2010 proposed merger between Potash Corp and BHP Billiton, which eventually fell through.

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The Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health located at the University of Saskatchewan has received an anonymous, $1.5-million donation to fund the purchase and operating costs of a new mobile unit that will travel around rural Saskatchewan.

Centre Director Dr. Shelly Kirchuk and Kendra Ulmer, the manager of the Agricultural Health and Safety Network will talk about the work of the rural and agricultural centre and the significance of the donation.

Saskatchewan Agriculture is telling farmers to watch for anthrax after one confirmed case in the eastern part of the province.Two additional cows in the same herd are also suspected of contracting the fatal disease.

Dr Wendy Wilkins, a disease surveillance veterinarian with the Ministry of agriculture says anthrax is caused by a bacterium which can survive in spore form for decades in the soil. Changes in soil moisture from flooding and drying can lead to a buildup of spores on pastures. Those spores tend to concentrate in slough and pothole and become exposed in drier years.

She'll explain which animals are susceptible and what should be done if you suspect anthrax on your farm.

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