The federal and provincial governments pledged $10 million for a new Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence.
“The new centre will serve as a unique research, teaching, outreach and industry training hub that unites agriculture and veterinary researchers, producers, industry, governments and academia. The Centre of Excellence will integrate and expand on the many existing strengths in University of Saskatchewan veterinary and agricultural sciences, the Western Beef Development Centre, government and industry,” a news release said about the centre.
The centre will have two buildings: one centering on beef cattle near Clavet, and one dealing with forage and cow-calf research east of Saskatoon.
“The cattle industry, being as important as it is as an economic driver in Saskatchewan and Canada, this Centre of Excellence will allow for increased collaboration and integration of activities, some of which are already underway in the province,” Saskatchewan agriculture minister Lyle Stewart said.
Though the University of Saskatoon is involved in setting up the centre and will conduct research there, it’s not just for people affiliated with the university.
“It’s for university and industries and both levels of government,” Stewart said. “A lot of the research will be done and co-ordinated by the U of S but it’s a tool of industry.”
The forage research will look at different types and different ways to use forages to efficiently and effectively feed beef cattle in the province. The livestock part will look at cow-calf management and health and animal treatment protocols. The third aspect of the centre is more based on feedlot cattle.
The news release said, “The Centre of Excellence will incorporate and build on the collaborative work of University of Saskatchewan and government researchers in areas such as herd health, animal welfare, disease prevention, nutrition, management, public health, environmental stewardship, food safety and security, forage utilization, breeding and development. The Centre of Excellence will integrate resources and undertake relevant livestock and forage research, provide hands-on training opportunities for agriculture and veterinary students and transfer knowledge from researchers to farmers, ranchers, processors and exporters.”
“It’s really a three pronged approach that covers the entire beef industry and forage industry,” Stewart said. “It’s very important. I think it makes us a national leader for sure. I think it puts us on equal footing with the best facilities globally.”
Most of the land is assembled for the project, and Stewart said they’re looking to get a substantial part of the centre up and running by 2018.
