Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund supports livestock and forage research
By Kate Ayers
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A joint government investment of $6.3 million will fund 24 livestock- and forage-related projects through Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund (ADF).
Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, minister of agriculture and agri-food, and Lyle Stewart, Saskatchewan’s agriculture minister, made the announcement yesterday, according to a Sask. government release.
The governments are also investing $2 million over two years to support research and operations at the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence at the University of Saskatchewan.
“Investing in research and innovation helps ensure that Saskatchewan remains a competitive and world-class agricultural research hub,” Stewart said in the release.
“Saskatchewan farmers and ranchers benefit from the knowledge and tools developed by this research.”
ADF research is intended to increase the productivity of Sask. agriculture and to conduct projects that benefit farmers and ranchers.
The three projects being launched this year include:
- Researching vaccine strategies to help prevent pink eye as well as to reduce the potential of antibiotic resistance
- Integrating DNA paternity and genomic program information to allow beef farmers to make better breeding decisions
- Studying the physiology behind forage-efficient beef cows and improving selection tools for the cow/calf industry
The Saskatchewan Cattleman’s Association, the Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission, SaskMilk, and the Saskatchewan Forage Development Commission also provided a total of $186,500 in funding for projects, according to the release.
“We are proud to invest in and support projects that will improve all areas of production,” Ryan Beierbach, Saskatchewan Cattleman’s Association chair, said in the release.
“The outcomes of these projects strengthen our producers and our beef industry overall.”
In July 2017, the federal, provincial and territorial ministers of ag selected the key elements of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. This program, set to launch April 1, 2018, will replace Growing Forward 2.
More information on the full list of funded projects can be found here.