More support coming for B.C. farmers' markets

May 02, 2022

Victoria, British Columbia - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Additional federal-provincial funding is coming to the BC Farmers' Market Expansion Program, further supporting the province's local farmers' markets and vendors.

The BC Farmers' Market Expansion Program is re-opening, making $142,500 available to eligible farmers' markets that did not receive funding in the first round. Each successful applicant can receive as much as $15,000.

Funding for this one-time, reimbursement-based program is being shared by the federal and provincial governments through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership and is being delivered in collaboration with the BC Association of Farmers' Markets. The program will help farmers' markets grow and to operate during emergencies, while supporting the markets' long-term success and contributing to resilient local food systems.

The program re-opens on Monday, May 2, 2022, when it will begin accepting applications on a first-come, first-served basis until funding is fully allocated. To apply, visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/fmexpansion.

Funding is provided by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year, $3-billion commitment by Canada's federal, provincial and territorial governments that supports Canada's agriculture, agri-food and agri-products sectors. This includes a $2-billion commitment that is cost-shared 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent provincially/territorially for programs that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories.

Source : canada.ca

Video: US Soy: Pig growth is impaired by soybean meal displacement in the diet

Eric van Heugten, PhD, professor and swine extension specialist at North Carolina State University, recently spoke at the Iowa Swine Day Pre-Conference Symposium, titled Soybean Meal 360°: Expanding our horizons through discoveries and field-proven feeding strategies for improving pork production. The event was sponsored by Iowa State University and U.S. Soy.

Soybean meal offers pig producers a high-value proposition. It’s a high-quality protein source, providing essential and non-essential amino acids to the pig that are highly digestible and palatable. Studies now show that soybean meal provides higher net energy than current National Research Council (NRC) requirements. Plus, soybean meal offers health benefits such as isoflavones and antioxidants as well as benefits with respiratory diseases such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS).

One of several ingredients that compete with the inclusion of soybean meal in pig diets is dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS).

“With DDGS, we typically see more variable responses because of the quality differences depending on which plant it comes from,” said Dr. van Heugten. “At very high levels, we often see a reduction in performance especially with feed intake which can have negative consequences on pig performance, especially in the summer months when feed intake is already low and gaining weight is at a premium to get them to market.”

Over the last few decades, the industry has also seen the increased inclusion of crystalline amino acids in pig diets.

“We started with lysine at about 3 lbs. per ton in the diet, and then we added methionine and threonine to go to 6 to 8 lbs. per ton,” he said. “Now we have tryptophan, isoleucine and valine and can go to 12 to 15 lbs. per ton. All of these, when price competitive, are formulated into the diet and are displacing soybean meal which also removes the potential health benefits that soybean meal provides.”