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Funding available to help cover Agriculture employment costs

Federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced $13.5 million on Thursday to support a new application intake under the Youth Employment and Skills Program (YESP). 

The initiative will provide the agricultural sector with the help needed to support approximately 1,200 jobs for youth in the sector.

MacAulay says young people are the future of Canada’s agriculture industry.

"We want to make sure that they can gain the experience they need to have a long and prosperous career in the sector. I encourage folks to take advantage of this program and the opportunities it holds – both for our youth and employers.”

The YESP program offers support for 50 per cent of wages up to a maximum of $14,000 to agriculture employers hiring Canadian youth. 

Employers that hire youth facing employment barriers will be eligible for 80 per cent of the cost of salaries and benefits (to a maximum of $14,000) and may be eligible for an additional $5,000 to address specific obstacles to employment.

Source : Pembinavalley online

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Since blackberries must be harvested by hand, the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To support a growing blackberry industry in Arkansas, food science associate professor Renee Threlfall is collaborating with mechanical engineering assistant professor Anthony Gunderman to develop a mechanical harvesting system. Most recently, the team designed a device to measure the force needed to pick a blackberry without damaging it. The data from this device will help inform the next stage of development and move the team closer to the goal of a fully autonomous robotic berry picker. The device was developed by Gunderman, with Yue Chen, a former U of A professor now at Georgia Tech, and Jeremy Collins, then a U of A undergraduate engineering student. To determine the force needed to pick blackberries without damage, the engineers worked with Threlfall and Andrea Myers, then a graduate student.