The department says producer engagement, field demonstrations and making data available online are expected of its researchers
Agriculture Canada employs about 380 scientists at its 20 research centres across the country.
Their job?
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Conducting research that supports Canada’s agriculture industry to make it more productive and sustainable.
Those researchers also have another role — sharing their findings and knowledge with people in the ag sector and the public.
“AAFC scientists in their respective regions are expected to communicate their findings with provincial partners, industry collaborators, local producers and policymakers through scientific conferences, seminars, field days, industry collaboration meetings and media interviews,” an Agriculture Canada spokesperson said in an email.
Furthermore, knowledge transfer is “integral” to the job.
“Stakeholder engagement, field demonstrations as well as making data available online … are often integral to the role of AAFC scientists, and as such are important aspects of their work performance expectations,” the spokesperson said.
Some Agriculture Canada scientists embrace that part of their job and are skilled communicators.
Others, however, struggle to connect their research to reality.
“When you are just working on the bench (in a lab), you can come up with a lot of great ideas, but you don’t (always) understand the challenges and nuances within the industry,” Tim McAllister, an Agriculture Canada scientist in Lethbridge who specializes in ruminant nutrition and microbiology, said in 2020.
”Some (ideas) can look quite ridiculous when you try and apply them at the farm level.”
As an example, a scientist might be studying an exotic forage grass that has potential to improve cattle nutrition and health, but if the forage can’t tolerate Saskatchewan’s climate or generates poor yields, the research doesn’t matter to producers.
The lion’s share of Agriculture Canada research, however, does matter for farmers and Canada’s agriculture industry. To transfer that science to farmers, the department collaborates with other players, including provincial governments and industry groups.
Agriculture Canada also relies on its 14 Living Labs to build relationships with local producers by having farmers participate in projects and develop knowledge in tandem with scientists.
The focus of the Living Labs is cutting emissions from Canadian farms.
“Where the previous initiative tackled a wide range of environmental issues, the new ACS-Living Labs program focuses on reducing greenhouse gases and sequestering carbon,” Agriculture Canada says.