$8.1 million in research projects announced for Saskatchewan livestock and forage

Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit, along with federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, have announced $8.1 million towards 28 livestock and forage-related research projects. These projects fall under the province’s Agriculture Development Fund (ADF).

From the money, $4.9 million will go towards 27 livestock and forage-related projects. Additionally, the projects will also receive more than $650,000 from the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association, the Western Grains Research Foundation and Feedlot Health Management Services. Meanwhile, $3.4 million will go to operational funding of the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence.

The projects explore a variety of areas of interest to producers, including strategies to address mineral nutrition in the face of poor water quality, developing new and improved forages, and developing diagnostics supports. Other projects will also examine cutting edge computing tools that will help the livestock industry manage genomic test data, assess risk, inform therapy decisions, and ultimately achieve more prudent antimicrobial use.

The ADF is funded through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP), over a five-year, $388 million funding projects for Saskatchewan agriculture by the federal and provincial governments.

“Research that impacts farm-level decisions, such as water quality, nutrition and animal care, can result in tangible benefits for the Saskatchewan herd as whole,” Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister, David Marit says.  “We’re making strategic investments in research that will help producers and agri-businesses reach the targets for 2030 that are laid out in Saskatchewan’s growth plan. The results of this year’s projects will support a sustainable, strong and growing livestock sector.”

“The partnership that this research funding represents is an important part of Saskatchewan agriculture,” Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association chair Rick Toney says.  “Having governments that will invest in research along with industry groups like the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association is a key part of growing our cattle receipts and staying competitive in this global business.  We appreciate this partnership and the focus the government has on agriculture as a major part of the provincial economy and way of life.”