15 décembre 2002
auteur | co-auteur
Au Québec, les plantes fourragères occupent 50% des terres cultivées. Malgré l'importance de cette production, surtout autoconsommée, l'établissement d'orientations d'étude tarde. Le Conseil Québécois des Plantes Fourragères a donc entrepris d'établir une liste des besoins prioritaires en consultant les éleveurs et les intervenants du secteur fourrager. Une méthodologie particulière a été utilisée.
Cette consultation a été effectuée en deux temps : 1/ trois rencontres avec des groupes de 12 à 15 personnes afin d'établir les besoins (deux groupes d'éleveurs et un groupe d'intervenants de l'industrie et des organismes publics), 2/ une consultation (par sondage écrit) auprès de quelques 300 éleveurs et intervenants pour classer par ordre de priorité les 199 besoins établis. Parmi les 10 besoins placés en tête par les éleveurs et par les autres intervenants, 7 sont communs. Cette liste de besoins permettra d'orienter, entre autres, les actions en recherche et développement dans le domaine des plantes fourragères au Québec.
Half the cultivated area in Quebec is used to grow forages. Most of this forage is used as home-grown feed on the dairy and beef cattle farms, numbering some 16 000. Since forages are not considered a commercial commodity like grain, industry is less likely to lead the way in establishing a list of needs and priorities associated to forages. The Quebec Forage Council, a non-profit organization promoting the production and utilization of forages, has decided to set up such a list. Farmers, as well as people from industry and from government agencies, were consulted in a two-way process in 1995. First, three different groups of 12 to 15 participants each, two of them comprised exclusively of farmers (mostly dairy and beef producers) and the third with people from industry and from the government, were formed to list what they considered to be the various needs related to forages. Second, this list of needs thus established was sent to some 300 persons, farmers and industry and government people alike, to rate them on a scale of three exclusive statements : very important, moderately important, less important. This rating was further used to compile a list of priorities for the forage industry. Of the 199 forage needs listed, 26 were considered priorities in all answers. Farmers as a group, and the industry and government people as another group, listed 7 priorities in common among the 10 top ones. This list of needs and priorities in forages has been used to determine the course of action not only in research and development, but also for such things as conference and symposium presentations.
PDF - 49,76 ko