Forage Industry Assessment
(project status: complete; Phase II - commenced May 2010)
The Saskatchewan Forage Council asked KIS to be
on its organizing committee for its ACAAFS funded forage industry assessment
project. The final report was released April 15, 2010.
Background
Forages are a major resource in Saskatchewan, with approximately 5.2 million acres of tame hay, 4.8 million acres of tame pasture, 12.8 million acres of native rangeland and nearly 200,000 acres of forage seed for a total of 23 milllion acres of forage land (Statistics Canada, 2006). By comparison, no other agricultural crop approaches the vast area that forage crops are grown on.
Because of the diverse and extensive
nature of production, it has been difficult to assess and quantify direct
economic effects of forage production and indirect benefits as they
pertain to other agricultural sectors, the environment and society as
a whole. However, this information is important to guide research, management
and policy.
Through extensive research and stakehold consultations, this report has quantified that forages are an important resource in Saskatchewan both in economic and environmental terms. This report estimates that the total direct and indirect value from forages equals $2-3 billion annually in Saskatchewan.
Deliverables
KIS worked with SK Forage to coordinate a stakeholder forum in November 2008 to introduce
the project, develop partnerships, identify information sources, identify
all industry segments, and further refine strategies for completion
of the project. KIS disseminates the research results on its website to expand the reach of the information.
This project ran from September 2008 until March 2010.
Stakeholder Forum (November 20-21, 2008)
A Stakeholder Forum was held at the Willows in late November 2008 to introduce the project to industry stakeholders and gain their input on what the direct and indirect benefits of the forage industry are. This invaluable input from stakeholders is now being used by Project Consultant Leanne Thompson to conduct research for the industry assessment. One of the outputs from the forum which was facilitated by Eclecthink International (Bill and Sue Brooks) was a flowchart diagram depicting the benefits of the industry (click here to view diagram).
For more information:
Kathy Larson click
to email the KIS Project
Janice Bruynooghe: Click
to email Janice Bruynooghe
SK Forage website: View
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