"Together with the province, our government is helping Saskatchewan farmers find practical ways to take advantage of the opportunities and address the challenges they face every day," said Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in a recent press release. "These projects will give Saskatchewan farmers new direct applications of science in the field that will increase their sustainability and resiliency."
The ADOPT Program provides funding to assist producer groups to evaluate and demonstrate new agricultural practices and technologies at the local level. The results of successful trials can then be adopted by agricultural operations in the region.
"Funding applied research that has an immediate impact on Saskatchewan producers drives our industry forward and responds to current issues facing the sector," Agriculture Minister David Marit said in the release. "We're funding projects with practical applications that will directly support producers, like winter varieties of wheat and oats, spring cereal re-seeding options and the advantages of feeding supplemental protein on fall pasture."
Among the recipients of funding was Yorkton Agricultural Information Inc. which will be getting $5,000 for a forage project.
The money will be used to create a forage demonstration plot out by the Tourism Yorkton office near where the Crops of the Parkland plots are planted each year, explained Thom Weir a member of the YAI board.
“It will help make people aware of some of the forages that we grow,” he told Yorkton This Week.
The plots will also be a good tool for groups such as Ducks Unlimited and local agrologists who are talking to producers about forage crops, said Weir, adding once established the plots will be easy access to show producers the different options.
Weir said the plan is to plant 16 varieties of forages, both legumes and grasses, in the spring of 2022. These projects received $45,000 in additional industry support from Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association and Fertilizer Canada.
ADOPT is funded through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP), a five-year, $3 billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen and grow Canada's agriculture, agri-food and agri-products sectors. This includes a $2-billion commitment that is cost-shared 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent provincially/territorially for programs that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories.
Since the start of CAP in 2018, 210 projects have received $2.5 million in support through ADOPT.
