This Week Marketplace | March 26, 2021
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Saskatchewan producers branded as environmental stewardship champs Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) has announced it has secured $840,000 in additional funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to continue working with landowners to protect Greater SageGrouse critical habitat in Saskatchewan. ECCC’s Species at Risk Partnership on Agricultural Lands (SARPAL) fund supports projects that are committed to engaging the agricultural sector to preserve key wildlife habitats today and in the future. SSGA President Kelcy Elford explains, “We are building on the success of SARPAL’s first five years. This second iteration of funding ensures that we can forge ahead with the innovative work we are doing
with Grasslands National Park (GNP).” “ECCC is working in partnership with the agricultural sector to conserve and protect biodiversity in the Canadian Prairies and across the country,” states the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. “Through the SARPAL fund, we are conserving important grass and habitat for species at risk like the Greater SageGrouse.” Between 2015 and 2020, SSGA has signed more than 40 conservation agreements with landowners, protecting a total of 250,000 acres of grassland and critical habit for species at risk in southwest Saskatchewan. Elford says over the next three years, “Our project
will focus on continuing the grass-bank we established in partnership with GNP as well as investigating the development of producer-friendly term conservation easements. Native grasslands in these areas are an important forage resource for the cow-calf sector and are the last refuge for many species at risk in the province, which means these grasslands are valuable from ecological, cultural and economical standpoints.” Elford explains, “Five years ago, we surveyed producers and it was apparent many producers were not interested in conservation easements in perpetuity. However, there were a number of landowners who did show sincere interest in conservation easements that would be
developed to meet their unique circumstances, but signed only for a fixed term, to support succession planning. We want to interview producers to learn more about their current opinions. That’s one of the reasons we established Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation (SSGF). We needed a committed group to lead that charge.” SSGF Board Chair Ray McDougald adds, “SSGF is a registered charity recognized by Canada Revenue Agency, and approved by Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment as an official conservation easement holder. We set up the Foundation to be at an arm’s length from SSGA, so the Foundation would be the holder when conservation ease-
USask awarded $3.2M towards first-in-Canada engineering biology centre for ag innovation By USask Research Profile and Impact Saskatoon – The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) will invest $3.2 million in a unique biomanufacturing facility at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) that will use cutting-edge “engineering biology” technologies to accelerate agri-food innovation and help address food security needs. Developing canola varieties more resistant to climate change, flavourings for the plantbased meat industry, and non-animal enzyme alternatives for the dairy industry are a sample of the innovations to be advanced by the new Engineering Biology Agri-food Innovation Centre within the university’s Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS). “This new centre will establish the University of Saskatchewan as the national node for engineering biology applications in agriculture and food that will accelerate science and innovation,” said USask VicePresident Research Dr.
Baljit Singh. “Using automation and other emerging technologies, our researchers will harness the power of biology to design more nutritious and sustainable crop varieties and food products.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today announced more than $518 million to support the infrastructure needs of universities and research institutions across the country. Engineering biology is an exploding new field that combines genomics and molecular biology with high-performance computing, automation, and artificial intelligence, potentially transforming what we eat, medicines we take, and fuels we use. A May 2020 report from the McKinsey Global Institute estimates engineering biology could have a global economic impact of up to $4 trillion in the next 10 to 20 years, with more than a third of this direct annual impact in the agri-food area. “Essentially, engineering biology uses biological machinery of
cells to make useful tools and products,” said GIFS Executive Director and CEO Steve Webb, who is also a member of the National Engineering Biology Steering Committee. An example is flavourings added to pea-based proteins (such as myoglobin and hemoglobin) to make plant-based burgers taste like a regular meat-based burger. The iron-containing molecule heme is highly concentrated in red meat but can also be found in plants. The CFI funding, made through its Innovation Fund, will be used for critical infrastructure including robots, computers, cell culture systems, and other equipment for the centre. Another $5 million is being sought from private and public sources. “Engineering biology integrates automation, biology and computation—the ‘ABC’ approach—to advance research and new product development by accelerating the designbuild-test-and-learn cycle. This technology
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platform provides the capacity for research and development that is beyond the reach of traditional approaches,” Webb said. “This will help us Continued on Page 16
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Greater Sage-Grouse taken by Sherri Grant of Val Marie, SK. ments are signed.” “Canadian farmers are responsible stewards of the land who understand the importance of conservation to the long-term sustainability of agricultural lands. By supporting the Stock Growers’ conservation initiatives, we can protect important wildlife habitats of the prairie grasslands and get closer to our goal of preserving 25 per cent of land areas by 2025,” states the Honourable MarieClaude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and AgriFood Canada. With the goal of helping the federal govern-
ment protect 25 per cent of Canada’s ag land, freshwater and oceans by 2025, McDougald and Elford agree, “ SSGF will continue to develop programs that support landowners in conserving grasslands and forage while protecting species at risk today and in the future. On top of feeding a growing population amidst climate change and a host of other uncontrollable risk factors, participating in these projects is yet another reason Saskatchewan producers have been branded as environmental stewardship champs.” --Submitted
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