Saskatchewan Investing In Ag Tech Sector

Jul 24, 2020

On Wednesday, the Province announced the creation of a $1 million AgTech Growth Fund to encourage the development of agricultural technology.

Innovation Saskatchewan Minister Tina Beaudry-Mellor says they realized the need for the fund when they saw AgTech applications in the Saskatchewan Advantage for Innovation Fund go from zero to 31% in a two-year period.

She says the new AgTech Growth Fund will help people with really innovative ideas get them off the ground.

"We have found that in the past we have farmers that have been anxious to test out some of those ideas, and get help for those innovators and get them ready for commercialization."

She notes we have a thriving agriculture sector and a growing tech sector.

"Both of those areas have really been amplified by the COVID pandemic. It's been really important, everybody I think has had the experience of using increased technology throughout the pandemic. It's also been really critically important to make sure the food supply chain is intact and so that has actually amplified this opportunity even more."

Agriculture Minister David Marit says Saskatchewan is already an agriculture research hub and investing in farm equipment technology will add to our investments in crop breeding and production.

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Video: Sweetener Effects on Gut Health - Dr. Kwangwook Kim

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Kwangwook Kim, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, discusses the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in nursery pig diets. He explains how sucralose and neotame influence feed intake, gut health, metabolism, and the frequency of diarrhea compared to antibiotics. The conversation highlights mechanisms beyond palatability, including hormone signaling and nutrient transport. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Receptors responsible for sweet taste are present not only in the mouth but also along the intestinal tract.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Kwangwook Kim / kwangwook-kim is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, specializing in swine nutrition and feed additives under disease challenge models. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from the University of California, Davis, where he focused on intestinal health and metabolic responses in pigs. His research evaluates alternatives to antibiotics, targeting gut health and performance in nursery pigs.