Province seeks farm research feedback
By Medicine Hat News on January 10, 2020.
The province’s agriculture ministry is seeking feedback on how it prioritizes, conducts and supports research programs with a public survey this month. The effort, which ends on Jan. 31, will also survey farm and ranch producer groups, research associations and post-secondary institutions. “This is an opportunity to transform how we do research and attract investment from the private sector,” minister Devin Dreeshen states in a release. “I see world-leading agricultural research happening here, either by leveraging work happening in existing facilities or building brand new ones.” The survey asks stakeholders’ opinion about how research is structured and funded, as well as priority areas, such as weed control, irrigation, or emerging technologies, and who should determine them in the future. A series of six public meetings on the subject will be held before the end of the month. The first is scheduled to take place on the morning of Jan. 13 in Lethbridge. Others are scheduled for Grande Prairie, Vermillion, Camrose, Olds, before concluding in Calgary on Jan. 24. Ministry officials plan to meet separately with marketing boards and commissions representatives, research associations and post-secondary institutions. 7-6
