Welcome to the fall edition of Agriview+
Minister's Message
By the time this issue of Agriview reaches your hands, it will be close to a year since I was appointed Minister of Agriculture. One of my first public events in this role was Agribition, and I look forward to attending this year as well. It’s always a pleasure to attend Canada’s largest livestock show, which attracts more than 125,000 visitors each year, and connect with producers and agribusinesses. I look forward to seeing many of you there.
Earlier this fall, I was proud to proclaim October 5-11 as Agriculture Week in Saskatchewan – another opportunity to celebrate the importance of this sector in our lives. Not only does it put food on the table for everyone in the province, but it is also a driving force for our economy, contributing 41 per cent of our overall exports and employing almost 37,000 people.
In the past year, I have participated in several research funding announcements. In June, I took part in an event at the Livestock Forage Centre of Excellence, announcing $3.4 million through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership to fund livestock genomic work by the University of Saskatchewan and its partners. This work will have a substantial impact on livestock productivity.
Over the past five years, the Ministry of Agriculture has provided $170 million in research funding, with the aim of helping the sector become more competitive and productive. In this issue of Agriview, we highlight research work undertaken by Prairie Diagnostic Services to help producers identify livestock reproductive issues.
I also had the opportunity this summer to visit the Westside Irrigation Rehabilitation Project, which will support 100,000 acres of new irrigation development around Lake Diefenbaker. The ministry is working closely with the Water Security Agency to explore and support irrigation expansion opportunities across the province. I read with interest the article profiling Brady and Lindsay Funk and their subsurface drip irrigation project at Lucky Lake. Innovation in irrigation will have a big impact on helping producers increase productivity, try new crops and address dry conditions.
Two top priorities in the past year have been dealing with tariffs and dry conditions. Governments and industry have been working together to assess the impacts of tariffs from major global export partners – the United States (U.S.) and China – and develop effective responses. In the past year, I have made two trips to the U.S. to take part in conferences which brought together U.S. agricultural legislators and industry leaders to make the case for reducing market barriers. Your provincial government will continue to make this work a priority. We appreciate the responsiveness of industry groups and producers in helping us develop strategies to address these trade challenges.
During this growing season, some areas of the province experienced dry conditions. In response, we worked with our federal and provincial counterparts to enhance business risk management programs, such as AgriStability, to help producers navigate these challenges. We will continue to review these programs and work with the federal government to ensure they are responsive to producers’ immediate and long-term needs.
It has been my privilege to represent Saskatchewan producers and the agricultural sector over the past year. I will continue to listen to you and collaborate with you to strengthen and grow the sector in 2026 and beyond.
Daryl Harrison
Minister of Agriculture