SASKATOON — Saskatchewan cattle producers place a high priority on funding research to improve their industry.
The provincial government now wants their input on how effectively the money is being spent.
Meyers Norris Penny is conducting a review of beef, feed and forage research in Saskatchewan.
Agriculture minister Bob Bjornerud told the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Symposium last week that research funding has increased 30 percent since 2007.
“I don’t think it hurts every once in a while to take a good look at how that research is turning out, what’s coming out of it for producers and are we getting a bang for our buck,” he said.
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Bjornerud announced $3.5 million in funding through the Agriculture Development Fund for 26 livestock and forage projects this year. The University of Saskatchewan will get the lion’s share at $1.65 million.
Other recipients are the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, Western Beef Development Centre, Prairie Swine Centre, Saskatchewan Forage Council and Agriculture Canada.
One-third of the money will go to fund beef projects, and Bjornerud said the government money should also leverage private money.
He said the review might find that everything is working well, but it might also show that money should be diverted to other projects that better improve producers’ bottom lines.
The review will also identify future priorities and create a governance model that allows for greater collaboration among researchers and improved technology transfer to producers.
Producers can participate in an online survey at www.saskbeefreview.com or submit written comments to MNP.
Bjornerud said he would like the review completed by fall.
Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association passed a resolution at its semi-annual meeting last week calling on the federal and provincial governments to increase funding for beef related research.
Ryan Beierbach of Whitewood noted that Saskatchewan producers have shown their commitment by last year voting to increase the amount they direct to the Beef Cattle Research Council from 10 to 20 cents of each national check-off dollar.
He said an increase in government funds might help field-scale work be done sooner.
Past SSGA president Brian Weedon of Swift Current said producers and the industry have been essentially in survival mode since BSE was discovered in Canada in 2003, but research is critical to the future.
“We play a pivotal role in identifying what are the new priorities,” he told the meeting.
