SaskCrops submission to Sustainable Agriculture Strategy consultation

Apr 21, 2023

On December 12th, 2022, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced the launch of consultations to develop a Sustainable Agriculture Strategy (SAS) with the goal of “helping to direct collective action to improve environmental performance in the sector over the long-term, support farmers’ livelihoods and strengthen the business vitality of the Canadian agricultural industry.” SaskCrops, a collaboration of SaskBarley, SaskCanola, SaskFlax, SaskOats, Sask Wheat, and the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, submitted a response on behalf of Saskatchewan’s annual crop producers.

Saskatchewan accounts for 43% of the annually cropped acres in Canada. Alone, it produces the equivalent of the entire Canadian domestic demand for most of the primary field crops grown in Canada while exporting most of its production.

Saskatchewan’s annual crop producers operate in a world where the prices they receive for their production are largely determined globally. If policies, targets, and timeframes impose costs that do not contribute to improved efficiency or increased output at the farm level, producers will have to absorb the costs at the risk of becoming globally uncompetitive and unprofitable.

Click here to see more...

Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?