Better Farming Prairies

A researcher from the University of Saskatchewan (USask) is looking for Saskatchewan farmers with sore shoulders to participate in a study about how producers move. “The initial focus is looking at the postural exposures (movement requirements) farmers experience at work,” Dr. Angelica Lang, an associate professor at the Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health at the USask’s College of Medicine, told Farms.com. Dr. Lang also wants to connect with farmers who don’t have shoulder pain. This will allow her team to define the movements, compare those to farmers with pain and make other comparisons along the way. “We’ll look at sex, to see if women do things differently than men,” she said. “And for people who already have pain, we want to know if they’re moving differently than the people without pain. This can help us understand why injuries might be happening.” This research emerged from a previous study Dr. Lang ran. In 2022, she and Dr. Kenzie Friesen, a postdoctoral scholar in the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre at the University of Calgary,

Image by Stefan Schweihofer from Pixabay It’s over. Two of France’s main farmers’ unions asked their members to end the protest that was blocking access in and out of the capital city of Paris after the government agreed to their demands. The French farmers took no pleasure in harassing their fellow countrymen. But it appears as though their hold on the arteries going in and out of the capital worked, as the French government agreed to many of their demands. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, just three weeks into the job, had failed with his initial attempt to quell the blockade that was starving Parisians of access to fresh fruits and vegetables. His second attempt went much better. The French protest was initiated after farmers said their concerns were being ignored by the government. French farmers were angry over rising input costs, increased taxes, falling income, and European agriculture policies. With regards to its European neighbours, French farmers were upset about its government purchasing too much agricultural product from Ukraine. Understanding that Ukraine is at war with Russia and can use financial aid, French farmers railed against its government for being too generous in flooding the market with Ukrainian goods, not to mention that they believe much of the Ukrainian products to be substandard to expected French food quality. Worse still, for the French farmers, the Ukrainian products were being sold at a cheaper price than their own. For French farmers, purchasing too many substandard and inexpensive Ukrainian agricultural products had affected their livelihood while lowering the accepted food standards for consumers. The French farmers said they had been raising their concerns to the government for years, but to finally get their point across, a tractor blockade at every roadway leading in and out of Paris caught not only the government’s attention but the attention of other European countries facing similar shortcomings. By way of apology and righting the situation, Attal said the government wants French ag to come first—French food products, produced in France, by its farmers. As well, the French government said it would create a $162 million financial aid package for its farmers. A financial aid package worth over CDN $215 million was promised for French livestock farmers. As well, the Prime Minister said there would be a ban on the import of fruit and vegetables treated with , an insecticide that may be harmful to honeybees. has been banned in the EU since 2019, but both Canada and the US allow its use, though only for limited purposes in Canada. Most importantly, the France plan—which follows the UK and EU’s plans—to reduce pesticide usage has been put on hold. While pesticide reduction is still being considered, the French government said it wants to implement an easier way for farmers to reduce pesticide usage while maintaining its yield quantity and quality. It just doesn’t know how to do that yet. The farmers’ action wasn’t a complete blockage. Aft

Image via Grigorenko/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo Moo-ve over gassy feed, there’s a new additive in town. Just approved for use in Canada, , , is a livestock ingredient that will reduce cattle methane emissions via burps and… you know. With approval from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the Bovaer product is said to neutralize methane in the rumen. When microbes in the rumen break down the feed, hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases are released, which combine when there’s an enzyme present. But Bovaer suppresses the enzyme, thereby reducing the amount of methane created. With less methane created, it also means fewer possible methane gases released by the cattle. Dsm-Firmenich said that the product (produced by the same-named Bovaer) could be available for sale in Canada in a few weeks. Dsm-Firmenich has the right to sell the product in Canada. Additional Canadian research into ingredient usage shows that cattle achieve a small increase in feed efficiency without any change in their growth rate. Mark van Nieuwland, the Vice-President of Bovaer, stated: “This will benefit Canadian farmers, the efforts of the sector, and support Canada in delivering on its international emissions reduction commitments, such as the Global Methane Pledge.” According to van Nieuwland, Canadian cattle feeders can reduce cow methane emissions by an average of 45 percent by using the ingredient. For dairy cows, the company said that the product additive can “reduce methane emissions by 30 percent on average, potentially lowering the overall greenhouse gas footprint per litre of milk by 10 to 15 percent.”

The federal government and provincial governments in Western Canada are providing more support for livestock producers affected by the drought in 2023. In Saskatchewan, the Canada-Saskatchewan Feed Program’s application deadline has been extended to March 15, 2024. And farmers in 10 more rural municipalities are eligible for support payments of up to $150 per head. The new communities are the R.M.’s of: Britannia No. 502 Rosthern No. 403 Bayne No. 371 Lumsden No. 189 Sherwood No. 159 Bratt’s Lake No. 129 Lajord No. 128

Farmers in Manitoba have one less grain elevator to do business at. Parrish & Heimbecker (P&H) sent emails to producers indicating that as of Jan. 31, 2024, its grain elevator in Strathclair (Glossop), Man., would permanently close. Producers will still be able to access the crop inputs business operating out of the same location. Andrew Dalgarno, a farmer from Newdale, Man., posted a photo of P&H’s letter on X on Jan. 11. The email identifies other grain elevators farmers can use. “To continue serving your grain requirements, we have strategically identified alternative locations in Gladstone, Dutton (Gilbert Plaints), and Virden,” the letter says. “These locations will now handle all grain contracts and deliveries, providing you with uninterrupted service and support.” Each of those locations is within two hours of the Glossop elevator. The large steel elevator in Strathclair was built as a Pioneer elevator in 1994. At the time, the elevator was the company’s first high-throughput elevator. It now has a capacity of 22,000 tonnes and can handle 11,000 bushels per hour. It can also store 1,600 tonnes of fertilizer, Gr

The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba is officially on the road to choosing a new leader. Party members voted for Wayne Ewasko, the MLA for Lac du Bonnet since 2011, and a former minister of education and early childhood learning to serve as the party’s interim leader and leader of the Official Opposition. “I’m extremely honoured to have been chosen by our PC caucus to lead them going into the leadership race,” he told media at the Manitoba Legislature on Jan. 29. He will be in these positions until party members elect a new leader in a leadership contest planned for later in 2024. Ewasko takes over for Heather Stefanson. She announced her resignation as leader on Jan. 15, calling her time as leader and premier “the honour of a lifetime,” and says she’s looking forward to watching the PCs hold the NDP government accountable. She publicized her intent to step down following the