Cow-calf research will now be done at the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute and the change in who operates the Western Beef Development Centre is not expected to affect the type of work that the WBDC does.
The not-for-profit research centre conducts applied research that brings academic science and economics together in ways that cow-calf producers can adopt.
In the past few years, the beef centre’s board of directors and the University of Saskatchewan have been moving toward either finding a new home for the research group or shutting it down.
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The university was responsible for operating deficits.
As long-term-federal funding ran out for the nine-year-old organization, the U of S decided to withdraw from the project.
Until last month, the beef development centre was administered from the Saskatoon campus of the U of S, while most of its applied activities took place 170 kilometres east at the Termuende research farm.
Now the centre will have a new overseer: the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute at Humboldt, Sask., run jointly by the Saskatchewan and Manitoba agriculture departments.
David Gullacher of PAMI said his organization has for many years recognized that it would benefit by integrating livestock into its other applied research.
“Not to mention we’re physically closer to Termuende, being only 25 minutes away,” he said.
“We have farm equipment, administrative services and 25 other staff available to assist the WBDC staff … it also falls into line with where the business of agriculture is headed in Saskatchewan,” Gullacher said.
PAMI is known for analyzing and developing farm equipment, but has long been involved in manure management, grain and fibre processing and livestock handling work.
The beef centre has worked on cow-calf performance improvement, forage feeding and water systems.
“This was a good fit for us,” he said.
PAMI was created through a partnership of the Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan governments and also has research operations in Portage la Prairie, Man. In 1988, Alberta withdrew from the partnership.
While PAMI was once fully funded by government revenue, public money now represents only 30 percent of its current budget. The remainder is provided from fees charged to farm equipment manufacturers and industry for testing and consulting.
“This wasn’t a government takeover of the WBDC. This was a merger of research centres and now PAMI will be working directly to support the 22,000 cattle producers in the province,” said Gullacher.
Wilfred Campbell, former chair of the beef centre board and a cattle producer at Tompkins, Sask., said “yes, as producers we will have less control over what happens at WBDC, and some people take that personally. I believe that PAMI does intend to build on the centre’s work and it is only going to improve cow-calf research in Western Canada.”
Saskatchewan’s minister of agriculture agreed.
“It was a move that focuses both groups on supporting agriculture in Saskatchewan. Establishing a new beef advisory board to PAMI was integral to the plan’s success,” said Mark Wartman.
Gullacher said the 13 advisers would mainly be producers and would include Campbell.
He said PAMI may also start to look at meat packing and processing and other livestock related equipment research.
