12 Our Advertisers Appreciate Your Business Better Farming | March 2024 Beyond the Barn FORMER USASK RESEARCHER JOINS AG HALL OF FAME A forage breeder with more than 40 years of experience is joining the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame. Bruce Coulman, whose time in agriculture includes his role as the head of the Plant Sciences department at the University of Saskatchewan and as a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, will be enshrined during a ceremony in Saskatoon next month with five other inductees. The inductees were revealed during the recent Western Canadian Crop Production Show in Saskatoon. “I was quite surprised and very humbled,” Coulman told Better Farming. “I know a number of folks who have been inducted, so to be included among them is a great honour.” In his professional career, he developed 24 novel forage varieties in nine different species. In some cases, they were the first of their kind. A hybrid grass stands out as a key accomplishment, Coulman said. “Smooth bromegrass has been around a long time and is quite a good hay species, but it doesn’t regrow very well after first cut,” he said. “Meadow brome is a little different in that it doesn’t yield as much, but it regrows really well. We made crosses between these two types of bromegrasses to combine the characteristics of the grasses and that’s been very popular among beef producers.” Nothing replaces field-level trials, he said. “You’ve got to grow them in the field and evaluate them there because that’s where the farmers grow them,” he said. “It can take multiple years before you get a good handle on how the crop performs in different conditions. No matter how fast some things in crop breeding evolve, nothing will replace the benefit of being thorough.” BF - Diego Flammini After MPs recently returned to Ottawa for the winter session of Parliament, Better Farming connected with Tyler McCann, managing director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, for a preview of this session and where agriculture could fit in. Bill C-234, which provides carbon tax exemptions for propane and natural gas used to dry grain and heat barns, is coming back to the House of Commons. This after senators voted in December in favour of an amendment that shortens the sunset clause in the bill from eight years to three. And because a Conservative MP introduced Bill C-234, making it a private member’s bill, the government can decide when to bring it up for debate. “Given how committed the government seems to be to kill this bill, there doesn’t seem to be a path for it,” he said. “I would be surprised if the government brought it back.” Had a new senator been appointed earlier, the outcome may have been different. Mary Robinson, a former president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, received a Senate appointment on Jan. 22. “It’s great to see another person from the ag community get opportunities like this,” McCann said. “I think if her voice was in the Senate at the time of the vote, the outcome would’ve been very different. Another ag topic the government may have to answer for is suspended trade talks. Discussions between Canada and the U.K. have broken down, partly due to how much tariff-free access Britain should have to the Canadian cheese market. Also, Canada wants Britain to ease its rules on hormone-treated beef. In terms of the dairy portion of the negotiations, this could bring Bill C-282 back into the spotlight, McCann said. The bill would remove supply management from any future trade deals. It’s currently in its second reading in the Senate. The trade situation with Canada and the U.K. “will add fuel to the fire for those who don’t want to see C-282 passed because they are concerned about what it could mean for trade,” McCann said. BF - Diego Flammini Tracy Miller photo AG ISSUES WHICH MAY BE IN SPOTLIGHT
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