Canada’s Farm Show to Discuss Future of Ag

Mar 18, 2025

The Viterra International Trade Show in Regina will play host to Canada’s Farm show today through Thursday and agriculture challenges will certainly be under the microscope over the next few days. Farm show organizers have added two new panel discussions at the Launch Pad that will focus on the impacts of recent United States policy and how Saskatchewan’s budget will shape the ag industry locally.

Elbows Up: U.S. Politics and Canadian Ag is a discussion that centres around American policy and what the implications are for Canadian agriculture. The session will explore how policy changes will affect trade, supply chains, and industry regulations while bringing together policy leaders, industry experts, and farmers for perspectives on the ever changing situation south of the border. The panelists include Tina Beaudry of Deloitte, Senior Strategy Advisor of Prairie Sky Strategy, Grant McLellan, and farmer Levi Wood. The discussion starts Wednesday morning at 11:00.

Saskatchewan’s budget comes down on Wednesday in the Legislature, which means farmers and other ag industry professionals will be watching very closely on what support and initiatives the provincial government has for the industry. On Thursday, the Launch Pad will host “Saskatchewan Budget 2025: Impacts and Insights for Agriculture,” which will examine how the budget will shape the future of the ag sector in the province. Experts will weight in on funding allocations, policy changes, and broad economic challenges. Among the panelists are Tin Beaudry of Deloitte, Bill Prybylski of APAS, and Bill Greuel, Deputy Minister of the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. The discussion starts at 9 a.m. on Thursday.

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Video: Not only is corn getting sweatier, it's getting smarter

Over the past several weeks, much of the U.S. Midwest has experienced prolonged episodes of extreme heat, a trend also observed in other major corn-producing regions of North America such as eastern South Dakota, southern Ontario, and parts of Kansas and Missouri. These high-temperature events can place significant physiological stress on maize (Zea mays L.), which is cultivated on approximately 90 million acres across the United States, with leading production in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Like all maize, Bayer’s PRECEON™ Smart Corn System is subject to transpiration-driven water loss under high heat. However, this system incorporates agronomic traits designed to improve standability through enhanced stalk strength, thereby reducing lodging risk during stress conditions. Furthermore, the system supports precision agriculture practices by enabling more targeted fertilizer and crop protection applications. This approach not only helps to optimize input efficiency but also contributes to maintaining or increasing yield potential under variable environmental stresses such as heat waves, which are becoming more frequent in corn belt and fringe production regions.