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Horner cautiously optimistic heading into the discussions around the next Ag Policy Framework

Agriculture Minister Nate Horner is at the Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Agriculture Minister's Conference in Saskatoon this week. 

He's cautiously optimistic heading into the discussions around the next ag policy framework. 

"We've been a long ways apart on a few things, some things the provinces desperately want to see in the deal. We haven't had any of those formal talks yet, but we're still optimistic. We're hearing rumblings from the Federal Minister's team that some of our conditions may be able to be reached."

Horner says he definitely wants to see the pot grow, the envelope itself has been pretty static for a decade. 

"With the cost of everything, we just want to definitely see the pot grow.  And we're hesitant to bring environmental linkages into the BRM suite at all. I would say that we're cognizant of the Federal Ministers marching orders as well."

He says in the end, they want to make sure it's done in a way that doesn't impede producers from using the program. but may reward them for using best management practices.

Yesterday, the country's agriculture ministers had an opportunity to tour Ag in Motion.

Horner noted it's very impressive, adding the advancements we're seeing in agricultural technology and the use of artificial intelligence continues to grow.

"You could tell it really opened some of our federal colleagues eyes to just understand how fast stuff is moving. Even the demonstration around the smart grain bins and how they can basically monitor that very valuable storage commodity and help you market it."

He says it also showed the importance of rural broadband from the drones to the AI. 

"For some people that have followed it (AI) closely, it may seem like it's taken a while. But it's really going to grow exponentially. That's the feeling around here. They're using some of our colleges like Olds College to grow the technology."

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This presentation was recorded at Illinois Soybean Association's Better Beans event on January 11, 2024 in Bloomington, IL. Shaun Casteel, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Agronomy and Extension Soybean Specialist for Purdue University. Dr. Casteel was born and raised on the family farm in east-central Illinois. He earned his B.S. in Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois, his M.S. in Crop Science and his Ph.D. in Soil Science at North Carolina State University. He has given over 850 invited presentations to 60,000 people across the country and world. Key areas of interest include: sulfur synergies, precision management of resources and practices; integration of soil characteristics, nutrient inputs, and crop physiology; and the influence of agronomic practices on yield physiology of soybean. His practical research also extends to field-scale trials with seeding rates, sulfur, and intensive management of soybean. You can follow him on his podcast Purdue Crop Chat