Farm Credit Canada, Federated Co-operatives Limited, and Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Inc., together with a special investment from the University of Saskatchewan, have contributed to the CCHSA Founding Chairs Program, which provides research funds for special projects, student training and knowledge translation in the area of agricultural health and safety.

For Farm Credit Canada, this will be a $250,000 first time gift to CCHSA, matching the previous and current contributions equaling $250,000 by Federated Co-operatives Limited and $250,000 by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Inc. The Dr. Peter D. Stewart Trust of the University of Saskatchewan also committed $125,000 to the Founding Chairs Program.

"These organizations, Farm Credit Canada, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and Federated Co-op, are intricately linked to the very people that the CCHSA reaches out to - farm families and workers," said Dr. James Dosman, Director of the Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture. "When community stakeholders like these invest in the work of the Centre, they are very visibly demonstrating their commitment to their customers and to Canadian agriculture as a whole."

Farm Credit Canada is Canada's largest provider of business and financial services to farms and agribusiness. Operating out of 100 offices located primarily in rural Canada, FCC employees are passionate about the business of agriculture and their commitment to safety in rural communities.

Federated Co-operatives Limited serves an extensive network of 300 retail co-ops and over one million individual members throughout Western Canada. Retail co-ops provide their members with a variety of goods and services ranging from petroleum, food, and general merchandise to crop supplies and feed.

Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Inc. has been a longstanding supporter of agricultural health and safety initiatives at the University of Saskatchewan. The Pool connects prairie producers to destination customers around the world. Innovative solutions that generate value for Pool customers are provided through the Pool's three core businesses of grain handling and marketing, agri-products, and agri-food processing.

The CCHSA, located on the University of Saskatchewan campus, is comprised of a national laboratory and network of 66 scientists at 14 universities across Canada. The Centre hosts an interdisciplinary research team whose work focuses on four themes in agricultural health and safety: what we breathe (inhalation exposure), what we eat and drink (food safety and water quality), how we work (safety and noise), and how we live (rural development and health issues).

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For more information, contact:

Dr. James A. Dosman
Director, Canadian Centre for Health & Safety in Agriculture
University of Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 966-8286

Melanie Lightfoot
Public Relations, Farm Credit Canada
Tel: (306) 780-6768

Scott Banda
Corporate Secretary, Federated Co-operatives Limited
Tel: (306) 244-3227

Susan Cline
Media Relations, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Inc.
Tel: (306) 569-6948