Conservative Agriculture and Agri-Food Critic Lianne Rood. (Twitter/@Lianne_Rood)

By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup

Agriculture Roundup for Wednesday September 9, 2020

Sep 9, 2020 | 10:09 AM

The conservatives have a new agriculture critic.

New leader Erin O’Toole appointed Ontario MP Lianne Rood to the portfolio.

Rood grew up on a 1,000 acre vegetable farm. She also has a background in politics and small business.

In her time working with the Harper government she was part of the team that developed legislation to end the Canadian Wheat Board export monopoly with then Agriculture and Agri-Food minister Gerry Ritz.

Rood replaces John Barlow from Alberta.

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Some troublesome weather in the last week of August resulted in more than 700 crop damage hail claims across the prairies.

Canadian Crop Hail Association president Rick Omelchenko said about 24 communities in Saskatchewan were hit by hailstorms that caused severe damage because the crop was ripe.

“They’re near harvest and they shatter very easily at this time,” Omelchenko said. “Any kind of hail damage whatsoever really plays a role and effects them really heavily.”

Omelchenko said communities affected by hailstorms the last week of August include Rosetown, Outlook, Davidson, Melville, Yorkton, Langenburg and Swift Current.

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The coronavirus pandemic has meant many dairy producers have closed the door on traditional dairy tours.

The restriction of outside visitors has opened another avenue for information sharing and engagement.

DeLaval, a milking equipment supplier, has created a new tool to connect with dairy producers using video and web-based “live” presentation tools.

The company’s Virtual Dairy Tour Program delivers a farm-to-screen experience to dairy producers interested in benchmarking with other farms.

DeLaval hosted several virtual tours since May and plans to continue offering new tours once or twice per month through the end of the year. Each tour features a pre-recorded video walk-thru, a live presentation of the farm’s milking technology showcasing the farm owner’s experience, and ample time for attendees to ask questions.

Producers must for the virtual tours or view videos from previous tours.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF