Only two of 18 Saskatchewan cabinet ministers retained their existing portfolios after premier Brad Wall announced a large-scale shuffle last week and reorganized ministries. Seven people were dropped in the May 25 changes, seven were added and nine were moved to different ministries. Among the changes are three ministries that now have two ministers. Kindersley […] Read more
Tag Archives Ag Finance
Wall, Sask. Party remake government
New ag minister has high praise for Bjornerud
Stewart takes over | Outgoing minister cites tax reduction, crop insurance and AgriStability as highlights
Saskatchewan’s new agriculture minister said last week he was a little concerned about filling his predecessor’s shoes. Lyle Stewart, MLA for Thunder Creek, took over from Bob Bjornerud after the May 25 cabinet shuffle. He immediately paid tribute to Bjornerud, noting his popularity within the agricultural community. Bjornerud had been the Saskatchewan Party’s only agriculture […] Read moreNew products needed to cover off regional disparity: researcher
Call for risk management programs National program preferred to allow level playing field for cattle producers
CYPRESS HILLS PARK, Sask. — Cattle price insurance based on the existing Alberta program is feasible in Western Canada but would require new products to make it work. Iebeling Kaastra, research director with Gibson Capital Inc., told the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association annual convention that a study done by his company found that eight new […] Read moreSaskatchewan stock growers receive money for two cattle traceability projects
$50,000 pledged Money earmarked for cattle tag retention, greater awareness of premise registry
CYPRESS HILLS PARK, Sask. — Lyle Stewart used his first appearance as Saskatchewan’s new agriculture minister May 27 to announce $50,000 in funding for traceability projects. Speaking to the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association annual convention, Stewart said the organization would receive the money for two projects. Half will go to a cattle tag retention project, […] Read moreLivestock industry needs voice to educate, advise consumers
Manitoba’s livestock industry would have had an independent voice to deal with public concerns about livestock transport accidents if the Manitoba Farm Animal Council still existed, says the council’s former executive director. Two trailers transporting hogs rolled over in Manitoba in the last month, one west of Brandon May 8 and another near Manitou May […] Read more
Tired bull sign of a productive animal
An efficient and practical breeding system might not be an attractive one, says Eric Weisbeck. “Is he crippled or is he tired? At the end of the breeding system, the bulls should look like rags,” said Weisbeck, a community pasture manager in Saskatchewan. “A good rooster is a skinny one.” As manager of the federal […] Read more
Industry officials praise CIGI for crop research, promotion
Educates foreign buyers | The grain institute holds courses for international customers on how to use crops grown in Canada
Earl Geddes said something startling about the Canadian International Grains Institute at its recent 40th anniversary celebration. “It’s just really a lot of fun to be at CIGI right now,” the institute’s executive director told a roomful of grain industry leaders, CIGI staff and retired CIGI leaders. “It has … positioned CIGI in quite a […] Read moreEI changes negative for ag sector
CAHRC weighs in | Reduced labour force, increased bureaucracy likely
A federal government redesign of the Employment Insurance program to encourage unemployed Canadians to take available local jobs is giving agricultural employers a headache, say industry leaders. “We think it will have a net negative effect on agriculture,” Mervin Wiseman, chair of the Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council, said before appearing at a parliamentary committee […] Read moreRisk management spending to rise
Agriculture Canada’s funding for key industry policies cannot be estimated until Ottawa and the provinces agree on the next long-term agriculture policy, says the department. In a Plans and Priorities report tabled in Parliament last week, the department projected an annual eight percent increase in business risk management spending over the next three years because […] Read more
Understanding of ag labour needed
Data collection | Flawed surveys blamed
The federal government consistently under estimates the labour needs of the agricultural sector because of flawed surveys, says the main agricultural human resources lobby. The implications are that policy makers can misunderstand the number of workers needed in the agricultural sector and where the supply is available. “There is not a common approach to collecting […] Read more
