Up to 30 separate projects to share the funding
By Diego Flammini, Farms.com
The federal and Saskatchewan governments are working together to provide funding for up to 30 provincial projects dedicated to research focusing on forage and livestock initiatives.
The investment, which will be in the neighbourhood of $3.8 million is being made available through Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund (ADF).
The money will go towards projects whose research initiatives include improving cow and calf performance through dietary methods, extending spring grazing by developing new forage lines, recycling baler twine and net wrap.
"The livestock and forage sectors each make important contributions to the growth and prosperity of our rural communities and economy,” said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz in a release. “Our Government is proud to help producers increase their productivity and profitability through research and new innovations like vaccines and improvements in feed.”
Specifically, three projects will focus on controlling Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED), a virus not dangerous to humans but can cause vomiting and is responsible for deaths in pig herds, including a cases in Ontario and Saskatchewan.
"Efforts to better understand and control the PED virus and emerging diseases are vital to the competitiveness of our industry,” said Florian Possberg, Chair of Sask Pork. “Engineering advances in air quality systems will enhance the health and welfare of sows as producers transition from individual pens to group sow housing."
Earlier in January, the Saskatchewan provincial and federal governments announced a partnership and around $6.9 million in funding for crop-related research, bringing the ADF investments for 2015 to approximately $10.7 million.
