The federal and provincial governments announced a total of $4.5 million to support 25 new livestock and forage-related research projects in Saskatchewan through the Agriculture Development Fund (ADF).
Thirteen Industry groups provided an additional $1.3 million for the projects with some co-funded by the groups and the ADF.
Groups include Alberta Beef Producers; Alfalfa Seed Commission of Alberta; Canadian Poultry Research Council; Manitoba Forage Seed Association; Results Driven Agricultural Research; Saskatchewan Alfalfa Seed Producers Development Commission; Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission; Saskatchewan Cattle Association; Saskatchewan Chicken Industry Development Fund; Saskatchewan Forage Seed Development Commission; Saskatchewan Pork Development Board; Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board; and Western Dairy Research Collaboration.
In addition to ADF approved projects, two partnership agreements are being supported by $3.9 million in funding.
Most of the approved projects come from the University of Saskatchewan with 17. The University of Regina, Prairie Swine Centre, and Prairie Diagnostic Services have two projects each, and one apiece from the University of Alberta, Pollinature Research & Conservation, Lakeland College, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
Beef and forage are the main commodities being studied for these projects, along with beef & dairy, bison, poultry, sheep, swine, and other species.
Provincial Agriculture Minister David Marit made the announcement Wednesday morning at the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference in Saskatoon. He says the list of approved projects reflect current challenges faced by producers.
The projects cover a wide range of topics, such as "developing new types of hybrid bromegrass with more consistent yield and improved digestibility; exploring biomarkers to develop an earlier and more reliable test for Johne's disease; and enhancing sustainable bison production through improved grazing strategies and the preservation of prairie ecosystems in Saskatchewan."
The governments also announced a renewed multi-year partnership with the Prairie Swine Centre (PSC) and the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) for $3.9 million.
Marit says both centres do important work for the agriculture industry.
"We are investing in research that will deliver innovation to livestock producers, helping them to adapt, stay competitive and thrive in an everchanging industry," Marit said.
In a news release, Federal Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald says investing in agricultural research drives innovation and strengthens "one of Canada's most important economic engines."
The ADF funding comes from the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
Satellite Forage Insurance announced
Improvements to a business risk management program were also announced by Ottawa and Saskatchewan.
The newly created Satellite Forage Insurance is replacing the Forage Rainfall Insurance Program (FRIP) for this year. This comes after a shadow pilot was conducted last year.
The province says customers under the FRIP program will be automatically enrolled into Satellite Forage Insurance.
Marit says Satellite Forage Insurance will be more accurate compared to the previous program.
When producers filed a claim under the FRIP program, they had to pick the nearest weather station to them, but in some cases, the closest was 30 to 40 kilometres away, so rainfall amounts from a station wouldn't match a producer's rainfall total.
"What the satellite does now is bring it down to a township, so it’s a lot more accurate," Marit said."It’s something we’ve been working on for a few years. We piloted it last year and saw some good results, so that’s why we want to implement it and go full satellite now, and it’s going to be a lot more accurate for the producers."
Chair of the Saskatchewan Cattle Association Chad Ross welcomed the announcement, saying the new program should make things easier.
"There were a lot of different options available with the old system, and so it got a little bit confusing for our producers and that type of thing," Ross said. "So the satellite program is quite a bit more straightforward. It’s actually measuring soil moisture, which we really appreciate, and hopefully it’s a program that will work in the future."
In addition to measure soil moisture using satellite-based technology and claims & premiums localized at the township level, coverage levels of high, medium, and low are available based on soil zone. There are two monthly weighting options available for producers to tailor their coverage.
Other groups such as the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) and the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) are also happy with the enhancements.
"Saskatchewan's producers face tremendous variability when it comes to weather and growing conditions," SARM President Bill Huber said. "The introduction of Satellite Forage Insurance is another important step in providing tools that better reflect what is happening on the ground. By expanding and modernizing forage coverage, we are strengthening risk management options that help producers remain resilient and sustainable in the face of change."
"We are pleased a new and improved forage insurance program is going to be available for the 2026 growing season, as a result of the collaborative work initiated through our AgriRisk Initiatives project," SSGA President Jeff Yorga said. "We are expecting this program to eliminate long standing issues with basis risk. By measuring conditions at the local level, payments will be more reflective of conditions on the ground and be more responsive when there is a production shortfall."
Producer information packages will be available in mid-to-late February and will include coverage options and premiums, the province said.
