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“I think that was the problem the first around.”

Gregorich and Morrison were at an out-of-town conference in November 2014 when someone contacted them to ask if they had heard the news: “They just gave away the farm.” The scientists were blindsided.

“I was shocked,” said Gregorich.

Back then, Gregorich’s only statements on the issue were in the form of an email exchange with a superior obtained through access to information in which Gregorich asked if those making the decision understood that the work being done on the field was “irreplaceable.” They understand, his superior responded, but they don’t care.

Gregorich said he understood that he could not speak publicly about the issue in 2015.

“Let’s just say there were clear messages.”

But this summer, he felt it was important to talk about the work so that Ottawa residents better understand what goes on at the farm. So he asked his superiors and they said yes, “as long as I talk about science”. He also took part in a consultation session with the NCC.

Walking in the fields of corn, wheat and soybeans Gregorich and Morrison acknowledged it is difficult to put a value on the work that they and other scientists do.

“That is something that is hard to get across to the public and hard for people to understand. It (looks like) a big open field, but these are like laboratories for us.”

Studies done on the farm directly contribute to Canada’s multi-billion-dollar agriculture industry. Some of Gregorich’s ongoing work has also contributed to a better understanding of climate change and was contributed to the 2007 Nobel Prize for work on climate change.