Southwest Agricultural Conference

AAFC response to planned cuts

The ministry is committed to investing in science and strengthening collaboration

Canada’s Ag Day Is Coming Soon – Here is why it matters!

Canada’s Ag Day is a chance to highlight trust in the food system is essential, fragile, and built through ongoing connection between farmers and Canadians.

Red Tape Pushes 70% of Agri Businesses to Deter Next Generation from Farming

A new CFIB report reveals that Canada’s agriculture sector is buckling under regulatory overload, with most agri business owners discouraging successors from taking over.

Provincial insect specialist says to "be vigilant" for pests during 2026 season

There was significant spraying of canola for bertha armyworm in central and northern regions of Saskatchewan last year and there may be issues again in 2026, says Dr. James Tansey, provincial insect specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. Tansey spoke Tuesday during a webinar sponsored by the Ministry of Ag. The Ministry captured male moths in traps at 290 site locations during mid and late July, Some of the hot spots were places like Herschel, Landis and Sonningdale west of Saskatoon, as well as Nokomis and Jansen south and east of Saskatoon. Moderate bertha army worm moths numbers were found east of Prince Albert and in the Tisdale area. Tansey says bertha army worm outbreaks are not usually one year events. However, he adds there is a naturally occurring virus which kills bertha armyworm called nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV). NPV causes the infected larvae to liquefy and any contact with it can make it burst. "We did see occurrence of this virus. Was it numer

Oat sector eyes potential opportunity in China

Canada is the world’s largest exporter of oats. China is the world’s second largest importer of oats. This seems, on paper, like a good opportunity for a trading relationship. However, Canada only ships a tiny volume of oats to China because Australia and Russia supply 98.7 per cent of the country’s annual oat imports, says OatInformation.com, an oat market intelligence firm. The main obstacle blocking exports is the lack of a phytosanitary protocol for Canadian raw oats in China. “We can send them processed oats and we can send seed oats, but we cannot send raw oats,” said Shawna Mathieson, Prairie Oat Growers Association executive director. That’s a problem because China wants to import raw oats rather than milled oats from its suppliers. “The thing with China, they have a lot of milling capacity…. They want to take the raw oats so they can use their own mills.” China’s phytosanitary issues with Canadian oats is a bit of mystery because Chinese officials won’t specify the pro