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By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup

Agriculture Roundup for Thursday February 13, 2020

Feb 13, 2020 | 9:47 AM

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers (WCWG) group is increasingly concerned over the illegal blockades stopping rail traffic across Canada.

WCWG Saskatchewan Director Daryl Fransoo said blockades stopping rail traffic have far reaching impacts. Grain farmers depend on the movement of their grain to export markets all around the world and those markets depend on the timely arrival of grain.

He said with the injunctions now approved by the courts, the blockades are now illegal. The Wheat Growers called upon the federal and provincial authorities to enforce the injunctions so grain move freely again.

Fransoo said grain farmers should not be held hostage through this issue.

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Western Economic Solutions Taskforce (WEST) met with federal officials in Leduc, Alta. this week.

Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities President Ray Orb said the meeting was held to discuss priorities of western communities in the next federal budget.

“We focused on infrastructure, and in particular, Western economic diversification, how they can help us with some of the downturn of the economy in Saskatchewan and Alberta, in particular, oil and gas and issues in agriculture,” he said. “One of the things we discussed is how to push the carbon tax issue on grain drying for farmers.”

Orb said there were good meetings with federal cabinet ministers, and he hoped they would take action on their agriculture concerns.

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JBS Canada has achieved another milestone towards sustainable food production. The beef processing facility in Brooks, Alta. is now a Certified Sustainable Beef Processor, after successfully completing a third-party audit.

President David Cowell said the certification is affirmation the company is doing its part to advance sustainable beef production.

The standard ensures the plant has met requirements in natural resources, people and community, animal health and welfare, food integrity and, efficiencies and innovations.

Cowell said they are especially proud of programs like water management and animal handling systems designed by welfare specialist Dr. Temple Grandin.

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New research is investigating the benefits of hemp for horses.

Researchers at Tarleton State University’s Equine Center in Texas are looking into the potential benefits of CBD oil in a unique study that has the attention of horse owners around the world.

Dr. Kimberly Guay and her student researchers from Tarleton’s equine science classes give horses in the trial different kinds of CBD, such as oil or pellets. They measure the physiological effects of the non-psychoactive substance on the horses’ heart rate and cortisol levels.

She said they observe the horses after dosing them with CBD to note its effect on any common obsessive compulsive behaviours common to horses that spend time in a stall or trailer. This is known as cribbing, which is when a horse bites on a fence or gate.

Guay said she expects to publish the result of the study sometime in 2021.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF