07/02/2026
From culling ostriches, the Federal Dept of Agriculture under Minister Heath MacDonald is shipping a herd of beef cattle at the Nappan Research Facility.
Recent federal government decisions to close several agricultural research centres, including the Nappan Research Farm in Nova Scotia, sparked plans to cull its historic beef cattle herd.
This decision has prompted widespread backlash from local farmers and politicians seeking to halt the liquidation and preserve the facility's legacy.
The Nappan Research Farm is the oldest research farm in Canada.
The beef cow-calf herd was not bred in the spring, with plans previously laid out for a cull in the fall.
Nappan is among seven agricultural research centres targeted for closure by the federal government and the Minister, ending federal beef cattle research in Eastern Canada.
Local advocates, farmers, and provincial representatives have actively protested the closures, citing the loss of critical climate and forage research as well as the irreplaceable genetics of the legacy herd.
A cattle farmer reached out and can not understand why the herd is not sold off to local farmers given the shortage of beef and the history of this herd.
John Barlow, MP Foothillsmp Michelle Ferreri Lianne Rood M.P.
