Irrigation funding
The federal government will provide $1 million a year for the next five years to support irrigation in Saskatchewan.
The new agreement, announced July 17 in Outlook in the heart of Saskatchewan’s irrigation area, is the renewal of a 10-year agreement that recently expired.
Other partners in the Canada-Saskatchewan Irrigation and Diversification Centre include the provincial government, the University of Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Irrigation Projects Association, which represents irrigation farmers, and the Irrigation Crop Diversification Corp., which administers a producer research checkoff.
Read Also
Europe holds promise for Canadian lentils
Pulse Canada is trying to help boost lentil consumption in Europe, which is already the fourth largest market.
The centre was set up in 1998 and carries out applied research and demonstration projects in areas like crop selection, technology and management practices.
Forage publication
The Saskatchewan Forage Council has published a revised edition of Managing Saskatchewan Rangeland.
Originally published in 1990, the publication is a resource tool for rangeland managers. The new edition focuses on sustainability of the province’s rangeland resources through education. Topics include plant ecology and growth, biodiversity, Saskatchewan’s natural vegetation zones, grazing management and monitoring, livestock behaviour, fencing techniques and water development on pastures.
Janice Bruynooghe, executive director of the Saskatchewan Forage Council, and Ross Macdonald, a range management professional, edited the new edition.
A complete copy can be downloaded from the council’s website at www.saskforage.ca, or a hard copy can be requested by contacting the council’s office.
Hard copies are also available through Ducks Unlimited Canada, Saskatchewan Watershed Authority, Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration and Saskatchewan’s agriculture ministry.
Viterra donates in Iowa
Viterra and its wholly owned subsidiary Can-Oat Milling have announced a contribution of $30,000 toward flood cleanup efforts in Iowa, where both companies have key business partnerships.
The funds will be allocated to recovery initiatives in the city of Cedar Rapids and surrounding areas.
The record flooding that hit the area in late June caused extensive damage to residential neighbourhoods and businesses and plants in Cedar Rapids and its surrounding districts.
Viterra chief executive officer Mayo Schmidt said he hoped the donation would help ease the losses of those affected.
FARM program extended
The Saskatchewan Trade Export Partnership (STEP) has announced a two-year extension of the Canada-Ukraine Facility for Agriculture Reform and Modernization (FARM) Program.
Managed by STEP, the FARM Program began in March 2003 and has assisted producers, farmers and rural residents in Ukraine.
