Members of Alberta’s agricultural industry listen to Agriculture and Irrigation Minister RJ Sigurdson announce a capital grant to expand the capacity of agriculture research organizations.
Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation Minister RJ Sigurdson, announced a one-time capital grant of $3.2 million to a crowd of more than 100 attendees at the Farming Smarter Field School on June 25.
The capital funding is to be distributed to forage and applied research associations throughout Alberta for capital purchases.
“Agriculture helped to build our province,” Sigurdson said. “It is the backbone of (Alberta), and it continues to be a strong contributor to our economic growth and diversification.”
“The funding is intended to support agricultural research and improve competitiveness.”
Sigurdson spoke of the Farming Smarter event as an example of the benefit this grant will have on the agriculture industry in Alberta.
By bringing information from the lab to the field helps farmers improve their technologies and adopt new practices.
Farming Smarter executive director Ken Coles, speaks highly of capital funding’s long-lasting impact on the industry.
“They’re one type of investment with nearly never-ending returns,” Coles said. “They catapult organizations to do more work and better work.”
Farming Smarter received $500,000 through this grant to buy equipment that will advance irrigated crop production and potato agronomy in southern Alberta.
It has enabled the research organization to enhance its services into these incredibly valuable industries for the region and the entire province.
“We took this opportunity to expand our operations into a new realm of research that includes the potato industry,” Coles said. “This requires specialized equipment we were previously unable to acquire.”
The ability to explore new opportunities to adopt technology and practices will service incredibly valuable sectors of the industry and improve the profitability and sustainability of farmers across the province.
“Irrigation is tremendously valuable in southern Alberta as farmers can grow more crop yield without the need for the expensive purchase of land,” Coles said. “This helps to ensure a meaningful return of investment to the irrigation expansion in southern Alberta.”
