Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart announced nearly CAD$3.8 million in funding for 30 livestock and forage research projects. Funding will be provided through the province’s Agriculture Development Fund (ADF).
Some of the projects receiving this funding includes research to improve cow and calf performance through diet, develop new forage lines to extend the spring grazing season and investigate options for recycling baler twine and net wrap. Three projects will look at controlling Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea (PED).
Third party support contributes additional funds to many of these ADF projects, with several industry partner organisations committing an amount totalling nearly CAD$1.2 million. Co-funding groups include Western Grains Research Foundation, SaskMilk and Sask Pork, among others.
Earlier this month, the federal and provincial governments announced nearly CAD$6.9 million for 42 crop-related research projects, bringing this year’s total ADF investment to approximately CAD$10.7 million.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says, “The livestock and forage sectors each make important contributions to the growth and prosperity of our rural communities and economy. Our Government is proud to help producers increase their productivity and profitability through research and new innovations like vaccines and improvements in feed.”