John Beardsley's Page

How one company is reducing agricultural waste on Earth Day

As the world celebrates Earth Day on Monday, one agriculture organization is reflecting on the work it accomplished in 2023. According to a release from CleanFarms, a non-profit group that ensures farmers actively contribute to a healthy environment, the agriculture industry used many recycling and safe disposal programs for agricultural plastics and packaging last year, and there’s certainly an appetite for more solutions in the future. One example that CleanFarms offers is AgriRÉCUP in Quebec, which operated four permanent collection programs and two pilot programs in the province that captured pesticide and fertilizer containers, plastics for hay and silage protection and seed, and pesticide and fertilizer bags. “We’re thrilled to have seen so much expansion in our programs last year,” said Barry Friesen, executive director of Cleanfarms. “Earth Day encourages us to acknowledge the important work we get to do on behalf of our members, with farmers, first sellers, ag retailers, an

More incentive for grads to consider agriculture-focused vet career

On any given day, Prince Albert, SK veterinarian Peter Surkan sees roughly 40 patients, but for every patient he sees, there are dozens more waiting. To accommodate all of the clients in the area, Surkan said there needs to be more vets, especially in smaller, rural communities. His practice in Prince Albert only has three full and part-time veterinarians, compared to 10 vets a decade ago. On Friday, the province announced $13.2 million in funding to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) in 2024-25, representing a $667,000 increase over last year. The money will partially subsidize 25 training seats for Saskatchewan students. “We continue to see a rising demand for veterinary services in the province and they are a key support for our growing economy,” Advanced Education Minister Gordon Wyant said in a press release. “This is a priority investment for Advanced Education that supports the continued implementation with five new seats, bringing the total now to 25 seats, t

Squeal on Pigs Manitoba receives new Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership funding

Manitoba Pork, in partnership with the Government of Canada and the Province of Manitoba, and in collaboration with Manitoba’s agricultural sector, is pleased to announce that the Squeal on Pigs Manitoba initiative will receive over $2.6 million over the next four years to further the work of tracking and removing wild pigs from Manitoba’s landscape. “Wild pigs continue to thrive across Manitoba and are vectors for many diseases that have a devastating impact on both domestic pigs as well as other animals,” said Dr. Wayne Lees, project coordinator, Squeal on Pigs Manitoba. “Together with our partners in both the provincial and federal governments, as well as Manitoba’s agricultural sector and stakeholders across the province, this new funding will allow us to further our efforts to track, trap, and remove wild pigs from the landscape and protect our province.” The goal of the Squeal on Pigs campaign is to identify where wild pigs are in Manitoba, control their spread, and remove as m

Another year of guaranteed financial return for CRSB Certified beef producers from Cargill, its supply chain partners and the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef

The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) has once again partnered with Cargill and its customers – Centennial Food Solutions, Gordon Food Service, Intercity Packers, MacGregors Meat & Seafood, McDonald’s Canada, Metro, Recipe Unlimited and Walmart – to provide up to $400 CAD for beef producers maintaining their CRSB Certification. This credit will be provided for another year to “fill the gap” for Canadian beef producers who have made the upfront investment of becomingCRSB Certified but did not receive at least $400 CACargill Certification Credit USE D in financial return for qualifying cattle processed in 2023 as part of the existing Qualifying Cattle Credits  I would like to extend my sincere thanks to these organizations for supporting the CRSB Certified program for another year. In 2024, CRSB will prioritize identifying long-term solutions to ensure certification provides financial value and enduring benefit to producer participation,” said Ryan Beierbach, Chair of the

Competition Bureau Raises Concerns with Bunge-Viterra Merger

The Competition Bureau has thrown some cold water on the proposed Viterra-Bunge merger.