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Winter
2017
Grains
West
6
Takecontrol
Commoditygroupsmust look after theirmembers first and foremost
The future of research
funding in Alberta is an issue that raises
many important questions. How much do
we have now? Is new money coming? If
so, how much? And when? Our industry
will need to make important decisions.
Crop groups are putting together plans
for their next five-year clusters, long-term
research agreements with all members
of the value chain for their specific crop
type. However, with the provincial gov-
ernment sending signals that there aren’t
available dollars like there used to be,
there is more uncertainty than clarity to
start the New Year. It’s scary to think that
there may not be funding available for the
people who help our industry flourish.
Farmer groups interact with govern-
ment continuously; it’s part of the job.
There are farm lobbies, demonstrations,
letters (of both the “thank-you” and the
“no-thank-you” variety), cabinet meet-
ings, committee hearings, roundtables
and trade missions. A large component
of government decision-making that is of
interest to farm groups involves research
work—from agronomists to breeders,
entomologists and pathologists, govern-
ment ag employees form a vital cog in
agriculture’s wheel. Farm groups work
with these people throughout the year.
They appear at farming shows, crop walks
and field tours, and sit in on various indus-
try committees to help shape agricultural
policy as well.
However, with the taps slowly being
turned off by government, dwindling
funding has become an issue of consterna-
tion. What will come of the Alberta Crop
Industry Development Fund (ACIDF)
losing its ability to provide core funding to
research projects throughout Alberta? For
about 20 years, executive director Doug
Walkey and company have given countless
farmers, scientists and farmer groups a leg
up on farming smarter. ACIDF is vital to
ensuring that there are scientists working
hard in the lab so farmers can work hard in
the field. It also makes certain that those
farmers will be equipped with the latest
tools and technology to benefit themselves,
the industry, and also society as a whole
through sustainable farming practices
and, ultimately, the production of safe and
wholesome food for the world. Howev-
er, the current reality is that once their
coffers run dry—expected within the next
18 months—there’s nothing left and a re-
search gap will begin to widen. Worse yet,
future provincial and federal government
funding will become linked to their social
priorities and not farmers’ pressing needs,
such as FHB resistance and standability.
Now, faced with a future marked with
more questions than answers, Alberta
crop groups, and other groups through-
out Canada, have to take control of their
own destiny with an even greater focus
on research and funding agreements for
scientists and researchers of all stripes in
the province. It’s not an easy task, but it’s
one that farm groups are tasked with on
a never-ending basis. In order to remain
competitive on a global scale, as we are
an export nation in a global market,
adequate levels of research funding are
crucial to give Canadian farmers a leg
up on international competition. If we
are unable to support the “up” end of
the stream (researchers and scientists),
then it will become increasingly difficult
on the “down” part of the stream (farm-
ers, grain handlers, exporters) since our
research will be stuck in first gear while
other countries with more robust research
funding leave us in the dust.
By TREVOR BACQUE
EDITOR’S
MESSAGE
To guarantee our province doesn’t fall
behind, farm groups will have to step up
in order to provide value where ACIDF
will soon be unable and protect the inter-
ests of their industry and their crop type.
This is an unforeseen development, but
it’s merely another obstacle our resilient
industry will overcome. Too see this
resiliency, we need only look back at the
harvest that we experienced this past year.
Agriculture is a long game and that’s not
going to change. The responsibility now
lies on farmer groups to take action, as
more and more available dollars are being
diverted away from one of Canada’s most
vital industries. I have no doubt that they
will rise to the occasion.