The five-year program, known by the acronym CAP, will replace Growing Forward 2 next week.

A total of $388 million will be invested in strategic agricultural initiatives in Saskatchewan based on the traditional cost-sharing formula of 60 per cent federal and 40 per cent provincial.

The largest portion of the $388 million—approximately half—is earmarked for Science, Research and Innovation.

The next largest segment is $70.5 million for Environment Sustainability and Climate Change. That is followed by Risk Management ($48 million), Value-Added Agriculture and Agri-Food Processing ($30 million), Public Trust ($8.5 million) and Trade and Market Development ($7.5 million).

An additional $32 million will be allocated to activities delivered by the federal government on behalf of the province.

CAP is similar to the previous program with a couple of exceptions.

The minimum threshold for produceer participation is an annual gross income of $50,000, up from the former $35,000.

“It’s still very low in terms of what even a small-sized farm would produce,” says Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart. “I don’t think it will cause much hurt, but it will save a lot of processing of forms and some occasional payouts for people who are just dabbling.”

In addition, livestock producers will require a Premise Identification (PID) number to participate in CAP funded programs.

“PID has been mandatory in Saskatchewan for awhile now, but signup is still disappointing. Hopefully this will encourage livestock producers to sign up.”

Stewart anticipates that at some point in the future, a PID number will be needed to move livestock.

The $388 million announced on Wednesday does not include crop insurance, Agri-Stability, Agri-Invest or livestock price insurance, which are funded by an additional package of federal/provincial money.