Steve Shirtliffe is in Madison, Wisconsin, on sabbatical, but his enthusiasm about a new opportunity back in Saskatoon comes through the phone line loud and clear.
“I’m excited,” he said, about the news that he will fill the new research chair in organic crop production at the University of Saskatchewan. However, he had few details.
Funding for the chair was secured last month when the provincial government approved a contribution of $440,000.
“The reason that I, and our college, approached the government was the need to get longer term funding,” Shirtliffe said. “I had been entering a little dry spell.”
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Shirtliffe has been leading organic crop production research at the university and said secure funding allows other researchers to participate at various levels.
Graham Scoles, associate dean of research, said the money will likely be spent over five years to provide core support for Shirtliffe’s position.
“It’s what we call an enhancement chair,” he said.
Scoles said additional funding will come from the university itself and other sources.
Shirtliffe specializes in weeds but said research should take a systems point of view.
Organic growers don’t have quick solutions, he said. Instead, they need to take a longer term look at what techniques they use and how these can work together.
It’s only been about 50 years that farming hasn’t been organic, but Shirtliffe said technology has changed so much that simply reverting to old ways wouldn’t work.
Harrows weren’t even around 100 years ago, he pointed out.
Research into seeding rates has shown that some crops can outcompete weeds. For example, if lentils are seeded at twice the usual rate, they can grow high and won’t be overwhelmed by weeds, he said.
Other work could look at a closed-circuit system where organically produced rapeseed, for example, could also be used for bioenergy.
While on sabbatical, Shirtliffe has been analyzing data and writing manuscripts from previous research and learning how to use meta-analysis for agronomic data, specifically seeding rates in canola.
However, he has also been overseeing organic field trials and research in Saskatchewan. His sabbatical ends June 30.
Scoles added that the establishment of a formal research chair creates a leadership position for working with other provinces and the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada.
The government also recently passed an order in council granting $200,000 to the U of S to support the organic centre’s prairie office. The money will be mainly used for extension to get information out to organic producers.
Other money spent included: $350,000 to the Saskatchewan research foundations in Prince Albert, Canora, Indian Head, Melfort, Rosthern, Redvers, Scott and Swift Current; $125,000 to the First Nations Agricultural Council of Saskatchewan for youth programs and $100,000 to SeCan Association for regional variety testing.
