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By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup

Agriculture Roundup for Tuesday June 23, 2020

Jun 23, 2020 | 9:23 AM

The provincial government is supporting the 2020 Bridge2Food Virtual Plant-Based Foods and Proteins Summit going on this week.

Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison said the demand for pulse crops is increasing with opportunities for growth in the province from crop science research to primary production to value-added processing.

He said participating in the plant protein conference will help the province reach the goal to process 50 per cent of the Saskatchewan pulse crops close to home.

As part of the conference, Saskatchewan is showcasing economic opportunities within its value-added agriculture.

Statistics show Saskatchewan’s agri-food sector exported $12.9 billion in 2019, while food manufacturing sales have almost doubled from $2.4 billion in 2007 to $4.7 billion in 2019.

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Saskatchewan hosted the summit last year.

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The federal government is helping finance an innovative, new agricultural production plant in Winnipeg that turns peas and canola into protein powders for the food industry.

Merit Functional Foods plans to have its new 94,000-square-foot production plant in Winnipeg running by the end of the year.

The proteins will be used in everything from pre-packaged protein shakes and meat-alternative foods to non-dairy creamers and energy bars.

The company intends to use only Canadian-grown peas and canola and claims to be the first in the world that will produce canola protein for the food industry.

Ottawa is contributing a total of $100 million, including a previously announced $9.2 million from the Protein Industries Supercluster.

Loans of $25 million and $55 million are coming from Farm Credit Canada and Export Development Canada, while the AgriInnovate Program is contributing a $10 million repayable grant.

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The Ontario government said it will work with Ottawa to conduct joint inspections of living quarters of migrant workers.

The province’s labour minister said the two levels of government will begin inspections this week.

Advocates believe the cramped quarters migrant workers share on farms have contributed to the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Hundreds of migrant workers across the province have tested positive for COVID-19 and three have died.

Premier Doug Ford said farmers must help the province have their workers tested for COVID-19 and if farmers do not participate, he may be forced to use other measures to ensure testing is conducted.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government put strong measures in place to quarantine temporary foreign workers when they arrived in Canada, but it’s obvious those rules were not followed in some cases.

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allice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF