REGINA — Thirty new agricultural research projects will benefit from funding recently announced by the Saskatchewan and Canadian governments.
A total of $6.8 million in funding is being provided through the Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP).
This year's projects, which are awarded funding on an annual competitive basis, focus on topics such as the development of a rapid and sensitive pathogen surveillance method for Bovine Respiratory Disease in cattle, development of new red clover cultivars for Western Canada, and African Swine Fever preparedness with a focus on evaluating manure management and treatment strategies and understanding pathogen survival in mortality management.
In addition to the federal-provincial ADF funding, a total of $478,597 for eight livestock and forage projects was contributed by five industry co-funders:
- Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association
- Saskatchewan Forage Seed Development Commission
- Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission
- Saskatchewan Pulse Growers
- Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission
“We are very enthusiastic about supporting research and development of new red clover cultivars adapted to seed production in Saskatchewan and relevant to use in domestic and export markets,” Saskatchewan Forage Seed Development Commission Executive Director Jo-Anne Relf-Eckstein said.
“Red clover is an efficient source of organic nitrogen, improves soil health and reduces erosion during the winter while providing a habitat for pollinators and supporting honey production. With its high protein content, it’s also an important crop for the ruminant industry, and maintaining a consistent supply of high-quality adapted seed sources helps support livestock producers. The ‘dream team’ assembled for this unprecedented research project creates a collaborative opportunity to support Saskatchewan’s seed growers and forage seed exporters, livestock producers and the provincial bio-economy.”
