Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan announce $12 million in funding for crop research

Regina, Saskatchewan – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit announced more than $12 million in funding for 44 crop-related research projects through Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) and the Strategic Research Initiative (SRI).

 

The SRI is a new program starting this year with the goal of providing targeted funding to advance strategic priorities within the industry.  Projects are expected to go beyond the scope and scale of work normally undertaken in ADF, pursuing innovative research that will address complex challenges facing the industry. This year’s funding has been awarded to a project that will increase the quantity and quality of protein in the smooth yellow pea while advancing crop breeding technologies.

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.