Indian Head celebrates after research farms get reprieve

Sask. agriculture ministry agrees to take over from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Two research farms in Saskatchewan may remain open after the provincial agriculture ministry came to an agreement with federal officials who were preparing to shut them down.

“There's a lot of excitement going on and happiness that a research farm that's been here for 140 years is going to remain open and still stay part of our community,” Indian Head Mayor Steve Cole said on Friday.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced earlier this year that it intended to close seven research operations across the country, including the two Saskatchewan satellite farms located in Indian Head and the town of Scott.

Research farms are vital to the agricultural industry, said Richard Gray, a professor of agricultural and resource economics at the University of Saskatchewan.

The Indian Head location was the second experimental farm ever opened in Canada, and was used for testing that benefitted a large area of Western Canada, he said.

Its closure would affect farming development all over the country, Gray said.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to close 2 research sites in Sask.

2 Sask. research farms slated to close will now stay open

“It was a major blow to the productivity of agricultural research and the effectiveness, if you're going to close that important site. It got a lot of reaction from the industry.”

Cole said opposing the potential closure was a group effort.

“We pulled together. We got a meeting and we tried to see where we could go and keep the research farm open,” he said.

The memorandum of understanding between the federal and provincial governments indicates the province will take over the two Saskatchewan research farms.

There is still a lot of work to be done, Gray noted.

"I see the announcement today as one being [that] we're going to keep the land. I don't see the federal government reiterating its belief that this type of research is important,” he said.

“So I'm hoping that's just not written down or not said, but it'll happen."

The federal government has not indicated its intentions for the other research sites in the country that are slated to be closed.

“Immediate federal action is required to ensure the long-term strength of Canada’s agricultural research system,” Grain Growers of Canada wrote in an email to CBC.

Andrea Vera is a Regina-based journalist. You can reach her at andrea.vera@cbc.ca.