Several of the most prominent agencies in the development and marketing of prairie grains could one day be housed at the same location.
Funding was announced May 26 to investigate the possibility of a new agricultural centre of excellence in Winnipeg featuring laboratories, offices, classrooms, greenhouses and pilot processing facilities.
Possible tenants could include the Canadian Wheat Board, Agriculture Canada, the Canadian International Grains Institute, the Canadian Grain Commission and the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre.
“You’d be going to a facility that was dealing with plant breeding right through to market development and quality assurance, and ultimately the sale of the grain,” said Barry Senft, executive director of CIGI and chair of the future building committee. “It would literally be one-stop service.
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“We’ve benefited with all of these five organizations being in Winnipeg, to some degree. Are there even further synergies to be achieved by moving under one roof?”
The $149,445 feasibility study is to be completed by mid-August.
Western Economic Diversification Canada provided $99,500 for the study with another $35,000 committed by Agriculture Canada. The balance of the support, either as money or as an in-kind contribution, is coming from the wheat board, the malting barley technical centre and CIGI.
The study will look not only at the merits of housing the five organizations under one roof, but also the potential drawbacks.
Senft said it is premature to talk about possible locations for such a centre. Some of the agencies involved need upgraded accommodations, and the federal government announced earlier this year that the cereal research centre will be closing in 2007, creating some urgency to find a new location for it.
“It’s just the opportune time for us to look at what we could collectively be doing together,” said Senft.
