Photo: Most of Lacombe’s approximately 450-head research cattle herd will be sold, while about 100 animals will be transferred to Lethbridge. The sale is one of three research-herd dispersals linked to federal facility closures and workforce reductions. Rural Alberta Report/C. Bowman

Most of the cattle at the Lacombe Research and Development Centre will be sold this fall as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada winds down operations at the facility.

The Lacombe research herd includes about 450 bred heifers and cows, heifer calves and herd bulls. About 100 animals will be transferred to the federal research centre in Lethbridge for continued cow-calf research.

The remaining cattle are expected to be offered through a public auction. A Direct Livestock Marketing Systems listing schedules the Lacombe Research and Development Centre’s complete cattle dispersal sale for Dec. 9.

The sale is part of a broader dispersal of federal research herds in Alberta and Nova Scotia following workforce reductions and research facility closures announced by the federal government in January.

Cattle from the Nappan Research Farm in Nova Scotia are also being sold. About 130 animals were sold earlier this year, including 15 heifers purchased by a local stockyard for breeding.

Another 96 cows and 93 calves are expected to be sold this fall. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada agreed to breed the cows before the sale after the Beef Cattle Research Council and Maritime Beef Council raised concerns about the herd’s dispersal.

The two organizations said selling bred cows would give producers an opportunity to obtain research cattle with established genetics at a time when Canada’s beef herd remains historically small. However, they said the dispersals also represent the loss of valuable research infrastructure, scientific expertise and programs supported by cattle producers.

A third dispersal involves research cattle associated with federal researchers at the University of Alberta. The animals are owned by the Canada/Alberta Livestock Research Trust, which was established in 1990 and has connections to the University of Alberta and the Lethbridge research centre.

Two purebred herds consisting of about 120 Charolais and 180 Angus females are scheduled to be sold Dec. 4 at the Vermilion Livestock Exchange. Proceeds from that sale are expected to support beef research in Lethbridge through the trust.

The Lacombe centre has operated since the early 1900s and has supported research involving livestock production, meat science and agricultural systems. The City of Lacombe has said more than 100 employees are affected by the closure.

Municipal leaders and agricultural organizations have called on Ottawa to reconsider the closures, warning that specialized facilities, long-term studies and scientific expertise cannot be quickly replaced once they are lost.