APAS has announced a livestock summit to be held in Saskatoon on April 5th.

The summit will bring together farmers, academics and industry to help outline solutions to issues around livestock producers, including cattle, bison and sheep.

APAS president Ian Boxall says producers have struggled in recent years with the impact of drought, rising costs and large spreads between farmgate and retail prices.

Saskatchewan is the second largest cattle producer in Canada and home to more than a third of the country’s native and tame pastureland.

However, the latest StatsCan numbers show the provincial cattle herd has declined by 90 thousand head since the start of January 2021.

Land that is best suited for livestock production is at risk of being converted to cropland, which creates even more challenges for the future viability of livestock production.

The APAS livestock summit will look at trends, policies and program options to promote future success in livestock production.

These include positive environmental contributions, improvements to business risk management programs and value added processing.

Registration for the livestock summit April 5th in Saskatoon is now open at the APAS website.

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