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AgTech Centre: A History of Innovation | |
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AgTech Innovator #1 - January 1, 2001 | |
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| | AgTech Centre's roots in agricultural innovation trace to 1958 when Saskatchewan's provincial government founded the Agricultural Machinery Administration. That evolved into the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI), under which three centres were established each with different responsibilities. The Portage la Prairie, Manitoba station specialized in forage and materials handling equipment while Humboldt, Saskatchewan station's area of expertise was harvesting and grain handling/ processing equipment. The Lethbridge station, a forerunner of the AgTech Centre, was established in 1975 and took the lead in tillage, seeding and spraying.
Alberta seeks own path
By the mid-1980s, budget pressures spurred PAMI's partners to re-evaluate its structure and mandate. In 1988, the Alberta provincial government decided it wanted more control over the annual operating grant. On April 1, 1988, the Alberta Farm Machinery Research Centre was established as part of Alberta Agriculture's Engineering Services Branch. The change also expanded the Centre's mandate beyond testing, to research and development.
Today, with a further expanded mandate, the AgTech Centre continues to have a complementary relationship with PAMI. |
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For more information about the content of this document, contact George Ragan.
This information published to the web on January 1, 2001.
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