By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Tuesday February 15, 2022

Feb 15, 2022 | 11:11 AM

MELFORT, Sask. – Farm tractor sales in Canada remain strong.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) said sales of tractors for January were up 6.3 per cent overall. Sales of over 100 horsepower units jumped 26 per cent. Tractors are considered a benchmark for the farm equipment industry.

It was a different story for combine harvesters. Combine sales in January fell 30 per cent to 49 units in Canada.

AEM represents roughly 1,000 companies and more than 200 product lines in the agriculture and construction sectors worldwide.

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The Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission (SaskBarley) will commit $106,925 to barley research over the next three years, through the Agriculture Funding Consortium (AFC) program.

SaskBarley chair Keith Rueve said the projects help to ensure that barley remains a competitive crop choice.

“This research will support the development of best management practices and technology that could lead to resistance to pre-harvest sprouting in new barley varieties, and other breakthroughs that will benefit Saskatchewan producers,” Rueve said.

SaskBarley’s total research commitments for 2021-2022 is valued at roughly $2 million.

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Weston Family Foundation launched a $33-million program to support Canada’s food system.

The Homegrown Innovation Challenge was created to generate solutions that will allow domestic food producers to grow berries out of season.

Funding will be awarded in stages over six years to eligible teams developing tools and technologies that solve the interconnected challenges of growing produce out of season in Canada.

Weston Family Foundation chair Emma Adamo said there is an opportunity to boost innovation in the food sector by nurturing bold, game-changing solutions for agricultural producers.

“By catalyzing these solutions for berries, we anticipate the creation of systems relevant to a broad array of fruit and vegetable crops, helping to position Canada as a leader in this sector,” Adama said.

Canada is heavily reliant on imported fresh fruits and vegetables with roughly 80 per cent of fresh produce coming from climate-vulnerable areas.

The ultimate winner of the Challenge could be awarded as much as $8 million, with substantial funding also available to eligible teams that progress through different stages as they develop, scale, and ready their innovations for market.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW