Feds pull out | The nursery, which has been distributing shelter belt trees 
to prairie farmers for more than a century, is slated to close this fall
A Regina consulting firm has been hired to develop a business plan for the acquisition and operation of a federally owned tree nursery at Indian Head, Sask.
McNair Business Development Inc. has been asked to develop a plan that would determine whether the Agroforestry Development Centre could be acquired from Ottawa and operated as a viable business, without federal assistance.
The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan contracted McNair after securing a grant through the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program.
APAS applied for the grant on behalf of the Western Canadian Tree Nursery Coalition (WCTNC), which consists of APAS and seven other agricultural and municipal groups attempting to keep the nursery open.
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The Indian Head nursery has been supplying trees to western Canadian farmers and landowners for more than 100 years, but it was slated to close as part of the 2012 federal budget.
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz said earlier this year that planting shelter belts is a well-established practice in Canada, and it is time for private sector interests to take over the role of growing and distributing seedlings.
The nursery has distributed more than 600 million trees and shrubs to farmers across the West since it opened in 1901, most recently through the Prairie Shelterbelt Program.
APAS president Norm Hall said the business plan is expected to be complete by the end of August, allowing the coalition adequate time to negotiate with Ottawa for a takeover and orderly transition of the facility.
“To do your due diligence, you need to do a feasibility assessment and a business plan,” said Hall.
“One of the things that they (McNair) are going to be looking at is whether there is still going to be adequate demand … if there is a slight charge for trees.”
It has yet to be determined who would operate the nursery or how ownership of the facility’s assets would be transferred, Hall added.
The coalition’s primary concern right now is to determine if the Indian Head tree nursery can be kept open.
“We (the coalition) wouldn’t be on the ground running it as such,” Hall said. “We would likely hire staff to do all that and hire management … be-cause none of us have experience in trees.
“That’s another thing that the business plan will be looking at is what type of business structure we will go forward with.”
Hall declined to say how much the business plan will cost.
