Agriculture knowledge centre prepares for busy season

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

As producers wrap up harvest and get ready to ease up the pace, the province’s Agriculture Knowledge Centre (AKC) is actually preparing for the pace to pick up.

The AKC, located in Moose Jaw, is often the first point of contact with Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food for farmers with technical or general inquiries.

The centre is staffed with resource agents and specialists knowledgeable about the farm industry and able to provide information and technical assistance on a broad range of agricultural topics. There are specialists in beef cattle management, ruminant nutrition, grazing and forage management, soil and nutrient management, crop and pest management and production economics.

Rick Bjorge, the AKC manager, says call volume is actually likely to increase after harvest.

“Normally during the harvest season, the call volumes are lower, and then when freeze-up and snow comes, we get more and more questions about the year ahead,” he said.

“We get more questions about decisions that producers have to make about the year ahead – the profitability of certain enterprises and certain things they would consider doing differently in the year ahead – so that kind of all kicks in once winter starts. Livestock feeding and nutrition calls also increase as winter approaches.”

The AKC handles about 17,000 calls a year, although Bjorge predicts that number will continue to rise.

“Based on our feedback, we know that we are getting first-time callers all the time who weren’t previously aware of the services that we have to offer,” he noted. “We think that we have a good service to offer. We have talented and knowledgeable people, and the more we can get that message out—that this is a good place to call for agriculture information—the more our numbers will continue to grow.”

The AKC was established when the province’s network of 31 Rural Service Centres was consolidated into nine regional offices in 2004. As with any change, there were those who were concerned about the impact of that transition. However, the experience of the past two years has changed more than a few minds.

Adair Ramsell runs a cow/calf operation near Paradise Hill in the northwest part of the province. He admits he was initially a skeptic, but says he’s now a believer.

“My experiences have been good,” said Ramsell. “I’ve used [the Rural Service Centres] for years and years, and I was pretty much against it when they started [the Agriculture Knowledge Centre]. I thought I was going to lose contact with the experts I need. That proved not to be the case.”

Ramsell says it’s the quality and speed of the advice that makes him appreciate the service.

“They are always there and I always get to speak to the people who have that information right on the tip of their tongue,” he said.

“This morning I called them because I needed a water test on my well, and I was under the impression that there was a place in Lloydminster that I could ship the sample to rather than sending it all the way to Regina. Sure enough, there was, and they were able to get me the address right away.”

Back at the AKC, Bjorge says this past year saw the number of calls vary considerably, with a peak number of inquiries in July.

“Depending on what issues there are, the calls can be higher or lower on any given day,” he explained. “For this summer, the top number of calls was around 130 a day. I think that was right around the time of the Bertha armyworm outbreak, and in amongst that time there were also anthrax concerns, as well.”

Bjorge says some people may not know that the AKC is open over the noon hour, or that the service is also available via e-mail.

“That could be quite convenient for people in off-hours when we are closed. Send us an e-mail and we’ll get back to you the next day,” he noted.

The e-mail address for the AKC is aginfo@agr.gov.sk.ca. The toll-free number for the centre is 1-866-457-2377.

For more information, contact:

Rick Bjorge, Manager
Agriculture Knowledge Centre
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Phone: (306) 694-3813
E-mail: rbjorge@agr.gov.sk.ca