CALGARY – A strong and competitive agriculture sector is vital to Canada's prosperity; creating good jobs, growing the middle class, and bringing high-quality products to the tables of Canadian consumers.
Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities and Member of Parliament for Calgary Centre, Kent Hehr, on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lawrence MacAulay, was in Calgary today to announce our Government is investing $4.4 million to help farmers stay on the cutting edge of innovation, expand markets and manage their business risk.
As part of this investment, our Government has committed $2.2 million to projects that will help support the world-class cattle industry in Alberta and across Canada.
Projects include:
- $839,485 for the Canadian Cattlemen's Association to explore the use of remote sensing as a tool to insure forage crops.
- $901,240 to help the Alberta Beef Producers develop satellite data to help improve forage insurance.
- $255,000 to help the Canadian Angus Association develop tools that will improve better breeding cattle.
- $205,500 for the National Cattle Feeders Association to develop and implement a national feedlot animal care assessment program.
The remaining funds, just over $2.2 million, will support a number of innovative projects that will help market development, emergency planning, competitive pricing, animal care assessments and farm software development.
These investments are part of our Government's plan to grow the economy in a way that works for the middle class and those working hard to join it.
Quotes
"Our Government's targeted investments in these agricultural projects will help the sector build on its competitive strengths, leading to greater returns for our farmers and their families, here in Alberta and across the country, and ensure continued growth of the middle class."
– Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities and Member of Parliament for Calgary Centre, Kent Hehr
"Pasture is the lifeblood of the beef cattle industry and when things go wrong, rapid response and alternatives for feeding the cow herd must be timely. Using satellite measurements on a very localized scale, predictions of pasture productivity field by field, week by week, will be a significant tool for producers' risk management on a yearly basis."
– Rob McNabb, Canadian Cattlemen's Association General Manager
Quick Facts
- The agricultural industry in Alberta is a diverse and dynamic industry with over $13 billion in farmgate sales and close to $10 billion in exports.
- Budget 2017 set an ambitious goal of growing Canada's agri-food exports to $75 billion by 2025.
- Budget 2017 focused on agri-food as one of the top industries in our Government's Innovation and Skills Plan, an ambitious effort to make Canadaa world leader in innovation, with a focus on expanding growth and creating good, well-paying jobs.
- Growing Forward 2 (GF2) is a five-year (2013-2018) policy framework for Canada's agricultural and agri-food sector that focuses on innovation, competitiveness and market development to ensure the long term prosperity of the sector.
Source: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
