Agriview Fall 2022

Welcome to the October edition of Agriview+

We have a great story to tell about Canadian agriculture—and in my role I have the privilege of sharing that story from the Saskatchewan perspective to people and investors across the country and around the world.

During Ag Month in October, we have a platform for showcasing the most exciting elements of our ag story in Saskatchewan and the people for whom this industry isn’t just a way to make a living, but a way of life. I encourage you to take the opportunity to talk about what you do, and why, to help promote better understanding and appreciation for how we help feed the world in a sustainable and innovative way.

We took a major step this past summer toward further supporting these goals. In July, at the annual meeting of the federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers in Saskatoon, we reached a new agreement in principle for the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership—the new five-year policy framework for the ag industry that includes $500 million in new funding. It was an honour to host our counterparts to discuss key issues and common goals; the Ag in Motion event also demonstrated some of the innovation and productivity that characterizes this industry in Saskatchewan, reinforced by a panel of champions for Saskatchewan agriculture.

It’s hard to have a conversation about the direction and growth of Canadian agriculture without talking about Saskatchewan producers and their production practices. Our province sequestered 12.8 million tonnes of CO2eq in its agricultural soils in 2020- the equivalent to taking 2.78 million cars off the road—more soil carbon sequestration than any other province—due to practices like increasing crop productivity, converting cropland to grassland, and implementing zero and minimum tillage. Nearly all (95 per cent) of Saskatchewan’s cultivated land is in zero and minimum till. Pulses accounted for about six million acres (15 per cent) of our total seeded area in 2022, which lowered emissions in Saskatchewan by about 2.1 million tonnes primarily through decreased use of nitrogen fertilizer. This is the equivalent to removing the green house gas emissions of 236,000 average Canadian households.

Canada is a nation with an increasingly vital role in global food security and value chains, and Saskatchewan is one of the biggest reasons why. To that end, we’ve worked hard to ensure we have the proper policies in place in the new federal-provincial-territorial agricultural agreement to ensure the farmers, ranchers and businesses who comprise this industry remain competitive in the global market. It’s a growing market that is vulnerable to ongoing challenges of supply, technology and sustainability—challenges we know Saskatchewan can, in many ways, provide new or proven solutions for.

For our part, we will continue to advocate and stand up however we can for our producers on issues of importance to them, because they are issues of importance to us all.

David Marit
Minister of Agriculture