Portage la Prairie research farm to close following AAFC cuts

Manitoba producers say they are concerned with news of job cuts at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

An Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research farm in Portage la Prairie will be closing as part of federal government funding cuts.

Earlier this month, the department announced that seven research facilities across multiple provinces will be closing as the federal government moves to reduce the size of the public service.

“We knew that the government was going to be making reductions, it was just a question of where,” said Colin Hornby, general manager of Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), which represents thousands of farmers in the province.

“Firstly, the details are not all clear yet, we’re still figuring out how these things are going to happen… but more generally speaking, a reduction in research capacity is always something that concerns us,” he said.

Hornby said the federal facility was also used by universities and other researchers to conduct a range of studies, including work on horticulture, grain, oil and other conventional crops.

“Research is the foundation of everything we do in agriculture… We rely on research from both private research institutions, companies, but as well as government,” Hornby said.

“Overall, it’s a signal that’s being sent to agriculture that there’s a reduction in investment in your research, and what does this mean for farmers? So we want to get those answers.”

AAFC told CTV News it is “too soon to know what the ultimate effects are to AAFC’s workforce,” adding that a full closure of the sites will not occur immediately.

“At this stage, we anticipate that wind-down of science operations could take up to 12 months, with timelines varying from one site to another depending on specific circumstances. Full divestiture of sites is expected to take even longer,” it said in an emailed statement.

Hornby said representatives from KAP will be in Ottawa next month for meetings and that “this will definitely a topic that will be discussed.”

The recent funding cuts at AAFC are expected to affect just over 1,000 people nationwide, according to the Agriculture Union, which represents thousands of federal agricultural public service employees.

The union headquartered in Ottawa claims staffing numbers at AAFC have decreased by 14 per cent between 2012 and 2025.

Research centres in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta are also anticipated to close, along with research farms across Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan.

Two of the research farms slated to end in other provinces were among the five original research farms established by the federal government in 1887, said the Agriculture Union in a news release.

-With files from The Canadian Press