CANADA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

The story of agricultural research in Canada has been well documented in Fifty Years of Progress on Dominion Experimental Farms, 1886-1936 and Canada Agriculture: The First Hundred Years. Canadians may well be proud of what has taken place. In order to present the history of the development of the Research Station at Harrow, it seems appropriate to repeat some of the pertinent historical facts in the unfolding growth of agriculture and government in this country.

Prior to 1867 a Bureau of Agriculture functioned in the Province of Canada under a minister, but its performance was less than satisfactory. With the consummation of Confederation the new parliament passed an act in 1868 for the organization of a Department of Agriculture to be presided over by a minister and a deputy minister. In its first years the Department was responsible for a number of activities quite remote from the context of agriculture such as public health, the census, and patents, but these eventually became assigned to other departments.

In January 1884 a select committee of the House of Commons was appointed to look into the need for agricultural improvement in Canada. It recommended the establishment of an experimental farm. In 1886 Professor William Saunders of London, Ont. was appointed to further investigate this matter. In the same year in which his report was presented to the House of Commons by the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Sir John Carling, "An Act Respecting Experimental Farm Stations" was passed, which authorized the establishment of five experimental farms. Dr. Saunders was appointed as Director of the new organization, which was called the Experimental Farms Branch and within 3 years he had set up the Central Experimental Farm on the outskirts of Ottawa and branch farms at Nappan, N.S., Brandon, Man., Indian Head, Northwest Territories (later Sask.), and Agassiz, B.C. The Central Farm was organized into five divisions: Agriculture, Cereals, Horticulture, Poultry, and Chemistry. The Veterinary Branch was established in 1869 and the Dairy Branch started in 1889.

This branch system of organization persisted for many years and underwent numerous changes. As agriculture expanded and Western Canada became opened up for farming in the early years of the twentieth century, the activities and responsibilities of the Department grew. In 1902 the Veterinary Branch became the Health of Animals Branch. In 1905 the Livestock Branch, the Seed Branch, and the Tobacco Branch were established. The last of these remainèd only until 1913 when it became the Tobacco Division of the Experimental Farms Branch. Other branches were created as indicated: Publications 1911, Entomology and Fruit 1914, and Economics 1929.

The number of divisions at the Central Farm gradually increased until in 1923 they numbered 14: Animal Husbandry, Field Husbandry, Horticulture, Poultry, Cereal, Forage Plants, Economic Fibre, Bee, Tobacco, Chemistry, Botany, Bacteriology, Illustration Stations, and Extension and Publicity.

The rapid settlement of Western Canada together with the successful operation of the five experimental farms over the first 20-yr period indicated a need for more branch farms particularly on the prairies. In 1906 a new establishment was created at Lethbridge, Alta., but it was designated as an experimental station rather than an experimental farm. This nomenclature was retained for many years. For the next 10 years new stations were opened every year at some point. This type of expansion continued until 1935. When the Experimental Farms Branch celebrated its 50th anniversary on June 6, 1936, it had grown to include 33 experimental stations and farms, 14 substations, 11 branch laboratories, and 233 illustration stations. The personnel numbered about 1400 and operations extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the International Border almost to the Arctic Circle, to serve every province.

Dr. Saunders was a man of exceptional ability and stamina. He remained as Director until 1911 and personally supervised and inspected all work on the branch farms. Shortly before his retirement the organization had grown to such proportions that this huge task was impossible for one man and a change in supervision became necessary. Thenceforth the chiefs of the various divisions of the Central Experimental Farm were given supervision, under the Director's general control, of their respective lines of investigation on the branch farms and stations. This arrangement had important implications for the future development of research programs on the stations, because it frequently tended to fragment the lines of management.

Because of the great diversity found 'in agriculture, the organization of agricultural research has always posed a problem to managers. They cannot fit it into a neatly designed package. Overlapping and overemphasis of various elements constantly recur. Any system of management must be a compromise because some prefer to organize around crops and species whereas others favor organization on the basis of scientific discipline or activity.

A major reorganization of the Department of Agriculture took place in 1937 when the old structure made up of branches was superseded by a regrouping into services on a functional basis. The work of the Department was fitted into five services, which were each headed by a director. The Marketing Service was responsible for all phases of marketing, grading, and economics. The Production Service included health of animals, plant protection, plant products, and other phases of production. The Experimental Farms Service replaced the Experimental Farms Branch, but some of the divisions of the Central Experimental Farm were transferred to Science Service, which took in botany, plant pathology, entomology, bacteriology, and chemistry. There was also an Administration Service. Subsequent experience over the next 20 years indicated that the rearrangement of the various research functions of the Department into two services, which was designed to foster a combined cooperative effort, resulted rather in a segregation of interest and control.

The Science Service launched into an extensive program of laboratory construction in Ottawa and throughout the country. Many of these laboratories were located adjacent to experimental stations, but had separate programs and administration. The research effort extended into many new fields of activity and made a vital contribution to the advancement of Canadian agriculture.

The Second World War and the period of adjustment immediately following it produced tremendous changes in the Department. Science was having an increasing impact on agriculture and rapid advances in technology were influencing every phase of farming. In keeping with the new problems and new concepts, a second major reorganization of the Department was carried out in 1959. Three branches were established: Research, Production and Marketing, and Administration. The first two of these were each responsible to an Assistant Deputy Minister and administered by a Director General. Within a few years the Administration Branch was divided into the Financial and Administration Branch and the Personnel Administration Branch, and the Economics Branch and the Health of Animals Branch were formed.

The Research Branch brought together the former establishments of the Experimental Farms Service and the Science Service. The new structure included research institutes, research stations, branch farms, and regional laboratories. At many establishments an amalgamation took place between units and research programs were merged. In Ottawa a program directorate composed of senior scientists was provided to assist in the coordination of research.

The aim of Canadian agricultural research has always been service to the farmer or producer in the solving of problems and the development of new ideas. The constant change in the structure of the organization has probably had little effect upon the substance of the program over the years, but it has undoubtedly increased the speed and efficiency with which it was carried out. In 1867 the departmental staff numbered 27. Fifty years later more than 1000 were employed, exclusive of laborers. Now about 11,000 people serve the Department; a fifth of this number are professionals. The Research Branch consists of 6 research institutes, 3 research services, 26 research stations, 11 experimental farms, and 13 substations. It employs a total of almost 1000 research scientists with a support staff of more than 5000 and is the largest research organization in Canada. In regard to the number of establishments in its organization and the far-flung nature of its operations in every province and territory, it is unique in the world.

The achievements of Canadian agricultural research have not generally been widely publicized although they have usually been well documented. However, in February 1973 the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Eugene F. Whelan, a farmer from Essex County, addressed the Southwestern Ontario Branch of the Ontario Institute of Agrologists in the following terms:

"In my brief term of office 1 have earned a new degree of respect for the effort that is put forth by agricultural scientists. I have seen scores of specific factual cases of major gains made possible by your research ... research that has paid off in the form of major benefits for our farmers and our industry. The Canada Department of Agriculture has the best research organization in the world ... The leaders of Canada's largest agricultural research organization have done a good job of defining the problems our industry faces, of taking stock of the money and men available, and of picking projects. The Research Branch has proven its ability to respond promptly to the changing demands of the industry and has produced solid results ... There is no other industry in Canada, which can pick as many examples as we can in agriculture of research being put to practical use so promptly and effectively ... I am on the farmers' side ... If you are not making a valuable contribution, if your work does not in some way help the farmer, 1 would be just as happy to take away your salary and research funds and give the money directly to the farmers.

In overall terms your record has been one of the solid achievement. I hope you will keep up the good work. We need you, and the more you have to offer us, the more we will need you in the future."