BROMONT, Que. — What comes first, the chicken or the egg? Or, with forages, what comes first, the money or the research?
The forage industry says $100,000 would help it access a matching federal grant to fund important re-search.
However, the Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association will have only $3,000 in the bank by the end of the year and no chance of developing an inoculant that would dramatically boost alfalfa and other legumes’ ability to survive over winter.
“The data shows these arctic rhizhobia were phenomenal in increasing sainfoin production in relation to some of the conventional rhizhobia,” said former association executive director Ron Pidskalny.
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Inoculants help plants fix nitrogen from the air for its own use and also help the plant’s phosphorus use.
“Arctic rhizhobia encourages winter survival. If the legume has been iced over, the legumes that have been inoculated with the arctic rhizhobia, there is greater survivability under ice,” he said.
“Many of the specialized legume crops no longer have inoculate in Canada.”
However, no money in the bank puts matching provincial and federal research grants out of reach.
The Canadian forage industry has been valued at $5.1 million, but unlike other grain and oilseed crops that collect checkoffs to help fund research and marketing programs, the national forage association relies only on memberships, donations and some sponsorship money for its funding.
Pidskalny’s contacts within the industry helped him discover that the arctic rhizhobia registration in Canada had lapsed. The existing owner of the inoculant isn’t interested in reactivating the registration for such a minor use crop.
However, a deal with the owner would allow researchers in Sask-atoon to use organisms from an existing cell bank to revive the inoculant.
Pidskalny said some inoculant manufacturers in Saskatchewan would be willing to manufacture the inoculant and work with the CFGA to register and license it.
“They do have the capacity to man-ufacture the inoculant, they are willing to do it,” he said.
“The immediate goal is not derive a profit but to service the market in need of a product and help ensure sustainability of the forage industry of the grasslands in Canada.”
However, it would cost $200,000 to organize the paperwork if the owner of the inoculum agreed to the sale.
“We might be able to get a grant for $100,000, but the bottom line is CFGA, and our stakeholders, would have to front $100,000 to get the grant to make this activity work.”
