As Saskatchewan heads into the 2025 growing season, it’s a good time to be thinking about gopher control, livestock water supplies, forage blends and other aspects of your operation.
What programs can help with these plans and decisions? Here’s an overview of several that may be most timely at this stage of the year, and for more information on any of these you can contact one of our Regional Offices.
Farm and Ranch Water Infrastructure Program (FRWIP)
“This is by far one of the most popular programs we offer, and rightly so,” says agricultural program specialist Rachel Kraynick. “With the dry conditions we experienced across Saskatchewan these past few years, it’s no wonder producers are wanting to develop a secure and sustainable water source for agriculture use.”
Producers, especially in the south, who traditionally relied on spring runoff to fill their dugouts have found their dugouts low or empty, she adds, and have needed to dig wells or develop extensive waterline projects to access quality water for livestock and crop spraying purposes. “Developing these secure and sustainable water projects will benefit these operations for years to come.”
Assistance for well decommissioning is also available under FRWIP. Besides producers, Kraynick says, they’ve seen several rural municipalities (RMs) making application on behalf of their rate payers who don’t meet program eligibility. It’s worthwhile: abandoned wells don’t just pose a risk to human and animal safety above ground—they’re also a direct conduit to unintended groundwater contamination.
“Since aquifers are used and shared by hundreds, if not thousands, of people in one area, it’s in everyone’s best interest to protect these precious resources,” she says. “Getting old wells decommissioned is a win-win situation for everyone.”
Animal Health and Biosecurity
This program funds equipment that will improve animal health and safety, while demonstrating to the public that Saskatchewan livestock producers continue to take training on industry codes of practice and have a valid vet-client-patient-relationship (VCPR).
“A VCPR ensures the vet has a solid understanding of the animal’s health history, which is crucial for diagnosing and treating animals effectively,” Kraynick says. It also allows the vet to provide more accurate recommendations regarding disease prevention, nutrition and overall animal well-being. The result—industry-trained producers and valid VCPRs build public trust and confidence in the safety and quality of the food we produce.
Resilient Agricultural Landscapes Program (RALP)
The Tame Forage Stream—which helps producers get a forage blend to meet their priorities (haying or grazing) and timelines (spring or fall)—is one of the most popular under RALP, according to agri-environmental specialist (AES) Alison Fransoo. In past years, securing quality feed for their livestock with less annual input costs has become more important but also more challenging.
“Producers appreciate the simplicity of the process working with an agri-environmental specialist who can provide insight into their forage blend and follow-up support to complete the paperwork to access their rebate,” Fransoo says. “The funding helps to transition annual crop land into perennial forage to save on annual inputs and offers funding to support the benefit of keeping land under permanent cover through the Land Use Agreement.”
While winter is behind us, RALP’s Extensive Wintering Site Management beneficial management practice (BMP) may have been something producers made use of over the past few months. If not, now is a good time to consider it for next year and for good reasons, according to AES McKenzie Paget.
“Extensive winter feeding sites support sustainable land management by promoting better manure management to reduce nutrient loading and risk of water contamination due to runoff,” Paget explains. It also helps producers manage their livestock; whether that goal is accomplished through reduced manure hauling costs, reduced feed wastage, or reduced labour, this program is tailored to each operation. “Winter feed and yardage costs are some of a producer’s largest operating costs,” she adds, “and this BMP promotes management practices that meet livestock requirements but also provide environmental benefits.”
AES Kaitlyn McMurphy points out two other advantages. First, feeding livestock in the field during the winter months deposits nutrients in the field, which reduces fertilizer and manure management costs. And, perhaps even better, “you don’t like working in cold weather and neither does your tractor… extensive winter feeding keeps hours off your tractor and you out of the cold.”
Pest Biosecurity Program
The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) administers five programs through the Pest Biosecurity Program funded under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. Among them, the Gopher Control Program (GCP) and the Invasive Plant Control Program (IPCP) are very popular and are the two programs where producers are eligible to claim through RMs and First Nations.
SARM Agriculture Program Administrator Annette Ellert has seen the value each program provides through support and financial assistance to encourage RMs, First Nations and producers to be proactive in crop pest management.
“There probably aren’t many areas in the province not affected by the Richardson’s ground squirrel,” Ellert says, noting that participation in the GCP far exceeded expectations in its first two years. It’s no surprise, she notes, that 93 per cent of claims received in 2024 were from agricultural producers struggling to deal with growing populations of Richardson’s ground squirrels causing significant financial losses, as well as physical injury to livestock.
“Drought conditions year over year certainly contribute to population growth and the severe damage we see everywhere. The GCP is a welcome relief offering financial assistance with high costs to manage these pests and has become a very popular program.”
Prohibited weed species in the province, although not prevalent, are a focus of the IPCP, along with a limited number of noxious weeds of high concern. RMs, First Nations and producers spend countless hours and dollars to reduce the impact of infested acres and decrease spread, Ellert explains.
“As the program promotes early detection and rapid response to identify, assess and respond to invasive plant species, the financial assistance this program provides enables users to be proactive in their management plans surrounding prohibited and all noxious weed species each year,” she says.
“The Pest Biosecurity Program information and claim deadlines are available on the SARM website under Programs, and we encourage everyone to reach out to the Plant Health Technical Advisor in your SARM division with questions.”