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It’s part of a 2.8 per cent reduction to overall government spending to balance the books by 2022-23. Government has said it will cut the public service by 7.7 per cent during the next four years.

The budget also says the department will work with farmers, producers and industry to determine their research priorities and develop programs to support them.

The shift is to make sure “agricultural research is led by farmers, not government,” said Adrienne South, press secretary to Agriculture and Forestry Minister Devin Dreeshen, in a Friday email.

She said the UCP government was elected to clean up the “financial mess” left by the previous NDP government.

“Alberta has a spending problem, and tough decisions need to be made to chart a path back to balance and ensure we can provide high-quality services in the future,” she said.

The 50 jobs affected are in management and non-unionized positions, she said. They’re also reviewing every ministry program to look for efficiencies.

Southern Alberta dependent on irrigation research

McKenzie said some of his former colleagues found out Monday and Tuesday they were losing their jobs.

He worries Alberta will lose access to agriculture researchers with specialized and local knowledge. One of the affected employees is the only water management specialist who advised farmers on irrigation techniques, he said.

Another jobless former colleague is an irrigation engineer, who developed a computer model to help predict different crops’ water requirements during different stages of growth, McKenzie said. Farmers growing high-value specialty crops like sugar beets, potatoes and soya beans use the tool for precise irrigation management, he said.

It’s not the kind of thing an industry group would develop, he said, and with nobody updating the model, it will become obsolete.

“A lot of the leading-edge farmers will use them, but then, their neighbour will look over the fence and watch what they’re dong, so it has a spin-off benefit as well,” McKenzie said.

The long-term benefits to farmers substantially outweighed the upfront research costs, he said.

jfrench@postmedia.com