Government Of Saskatchewan Proclaims Biotech Week

Agriculture Minister David Marit proclaimed September 28 to October 4, 2020, Biotech Week in Saskatchewan to celebrate the role biotechnology plays in the agriculture industry.

 

“Biotechnology is a significant source of growth in the agriculture sector and plays an important role in ensuring the sustainability of our industry,” Marit said.  “Saskatchewan’s biotech sector has been at the forefront of ensuring our producers have the innovative technologies and agronomic practices they require to feed a growing population.”

 

Saskatchewan is considered a biotechnology leader, with roughly one-third of Canada’s agricultural biotechnology sector calling the province home.  Biotech Week, first proclaimed in Canada in 2003, celebrates the work of these researchers and raises awareness of the role the sector plays in agriculture and the life sciences.  Biotech Week in Saskatchewan coincides each year with Global Biotech Week.

 

“Global Biotech Week is an opportunity to celebrate Saskatchewan’s bioscience sector,” Ag-West Bio President and CEO Karen Churchill said.  “Saskatchewan organizations are involved in sustainable crop development, creating products that use enzymes to replace harsh chemicals, producing nutraceuticals and healthy foods, environmental remediation using microbes, and of course vaccine development.  We should all be very proud of the accomplishments of our local scientists and entrepreneurs.”

 

The Government of Saskatchewan supports agricultural innovation through a variety of research-focused programs and initiatives.  This includes a $32.9 million commitment to agricultural research for the 2020-21 fiscal year.

 

Ag-West Bio is coordinating activities across the province to mark the week, including several events in Regina and Saskatoon that will be held virtually this year.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.