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Regional Consultations

Regional Science Consultation Meeting for Yukon in Whitehorse

November 8, 2005

QUESTION 1
Visioning Exercise

"What do you think the agriculture and agri-food sector in your region needs to do over the next 10-15 years to achieve sustainable profitability and growth?"

What are the key drivers of change…

• economic/cost/quality (e.g. food, fertilizer) => necessities
• demand/supply; change demand from consumers
• climate/environment change (e.g. wild animals, musk ox, reindeer)
• special interest groups/lobbyist
• public awareness/education
• policy/politics
• settlement of aboriginal land claims in YU mean new land use policies around availability of land for agriculture
• lack of land claim settlements in NWT means little available land for agriculture (could change in future once claims are settled)
• big corporation impact (e.g., Wal-Mart, Superstore moving into northern communities)
• globalization
• health and obesity, desire for healthier foods from "clean" northern environment
• increased fuel costs have huge impact on cost of food in northern communities

What are the principal challenges…

• lack of knowledge/science about northern environment
• lack of infrastructure for agriculture in north (service companies, farm dealers, etc)
• lack of rural infrastructure outside of communities (power, roads, school buses)
• market availability (small populations)
• climate limits what can be grown, difficult to meet market needs
• food supply depends on outside the region
• cost of inputs
• disaster survival/vulnerability (only one highway into Yukon)
• providing opportunities for young people
• getting First Nations interested to support agriculture
• overcoming image of agriculture being a negative factor on landscape (i.e. loss of wildlife habitat, native vegetation because of land clearing)
• keeping livestock herds disease free.

What are the principal opportunities…

• climate change advantage
• speciality products (biodiesel), international niche markets
• feed the Yukon/NWT - goal in NWT is to replace 25% of imported foods that could be grown locally
• demand for more organic foods
• buy local/organic
• increase local awareness
• traditional medicine from local agricultural products and from harvesting from wild.
• demands for game meats that can be raised in north (elk and bison)
• providing school programs to educate northerners about agriculture
• North marketing/ambience/clear/fresh/virgin
• Departmental risk management funding ( APF funds, ACAAF, CAIS) now available for first time in territories
• to realize opportunities, governments need to coordinate programming and policies to encourage northern production and marketing
• reducing dependence on southern products by implementing innovative northern production systems
• opportunities seen as mainly in local market supply rather than export market.
• distance from southern food distributors and high costs of transportation into territories is an advantage for local producers (can get good price for what they produce compared to what southern producers can get)
• community gardens and greenhouses
• agro-tourism and marketing of locally grown/produced foods

QUESTION 2

Regional Consultations Mechanism

"In establishing an ongoing Agriculture and Agri-Food Sector Regional Consultation mechanism, what is your advice as to how this could best be accomplished in a way that identifies regional research priorities of greatest benefit to the sector?"

Who should be engaged in ongoing regional consultations?

• need a regional office
• more research liaison
• need aboriginal representation
• use of agriculture for addressing aboriginal social issues
• governments at various levels
• consumer involvement

How should this consultation be done?

• regular meetings
• coordinate meetings with existing advisory groups in Yukon (new APF group called Yukon Ag. Industry Advisory Committee, or ACAAF committee in NWT)
• researchers should visit farms
• conference call do not work well if homework not done
• communication is a 2 -way street, northerners need to know latest research developments where they can benefit or act as partners (i.e. support testing programs in northern environments for both plant and animal projects)
• difficult for northerners to access RB expertise

How often should consultations be held?

• annual meeting with continued dialogue in between, farm visits (hands-on experiences)

How should consultation advice be channelled to the Department?

• through APF S&I committee
• territories at least need a "point of contact" with Research Branch, preferably someone who knows the northern conditions or who can spend time in terriories to learn local conditions
• need liaison or "point of contact" person to direct research inquiries or needs to the right people in AAFC-AAC

QUESTION 3

Research Need Identification Exercise

In addition to the MCA specific comments below the following general comments were provided regarding research needs

• Territories would like to see the use of northern research sites for extending on-going research in southern environments to the northern environment. Comment applies to traditional crop trials, environmental monitoring and assessment (experimental watersheds, etc), and application of BMP to northern sites.
• Desire better communication with Research Branch through coordinated point of contact, regular visits from research scientist working on areas of interest to northerners.
• Yukon and NWT industry groups have funding and sites to offer Research Branch in return for expertise and research leadership.

Crop Production and Health

• alternate fertilizer for forage crops (reduce dependence on expensive mineral N fertilizers)
• non-traditional crops suitable to north (i.e. cereal forages)
• understanding plant diseases in northern environment
• weed control methods developed in southern Canada don't always work in northern environment
• access to latest irrigation technology (PFRA?)
• use of emerging technologies from southern Canada
• carbon credit research for northern agriculture
• liquid injection systems for fertilizer - research?
• biodiesel
• basic agronomic research needs to be done, no AAFC research in agronomy has been done in north.
• need access to circumpolar information on soil management and classification

Animal Production and Health

• forage and elk management (native range)
• game farm animals
• protein, energy required of game farm animals
• value added milk and meat
• meat quality and value added properties of range feed Yukon livestock (fatty acids, CLA)
• animal pasture management
• animal welfare and behaviour
• nutrient utilization and efficiency by livestock in northern environments
• animal disease monitoring, advances on live tests
• riparium management
• disease transmission between domestic animals and wild animals
• need a program to bring scientists working on emerging issues to visit northern regions
• need assistance in experimental design and analysis e.g. wheat for poultry rations, micronutrient deficiencies in locally grown feeds

Environmentally Sound Crop Production

• nothing is known about GHG emissions from northern agriculture
• need to identify possible carbon sequestration in northern ag soils
• No GMO's wanted in territories
• adoption of adapted legumes into northern forage stands to reduce fertilizer needs

Environmentally Sound Animal Production

• water quality on grazing leases (E. coli background levels and sources in water courses)
• grazing impacts on native rangelands
• sensible riparian management for low intensity northern livestock systems

Bioresources and Bioproducts and Processes (Combined)

• explore production systems for the development of native seeds (indigenous seed)
• utilization of native plants and their properties (herbal health products, teas)
• understanding of climate change impacts on pests and insect populations in northern agriculture
• impact of climate change on provision of ecological services
• better access to circumpolar plant germplasm
• explore functional food potential of native vegetation
• how to simulate microbial decomposers in cold northern soils (composting and green manure)
• use of soil ammendments
• shelter belt tree identification and suitabilities for northern agriculture
• at present, easier for Yukoners to access information from University of Alaska than from AAFC

Food Quality and Food Safety (combined)

• north is breeding ground for many migratory birds, is there a potential for avian flu in northern poultry (much poultry is free range)
• animal welfare issues regarding northern livestock (housing, husbandry, feed requirements)
  need to design proper regulations for cottage industry food production, marketing of local jams, jellies, - SMART regulations
• compare nutriative values of locally produced northern vegetables with those of southern regions (is there a competitive advance in locally grown foods?)
• vegetable storage research to maintain taste and nutrition over long winters (identification of cost-effective methods suitable to small producers)