What began as an 18-acre tree nursery has grown into a vital centre for plant health, disease surveillance and agricultural research in Alberta.
Alberta’s Crop Diversification Centre North is celebrating 75 years of helping farmers protect their crops, confront emerging threats and prepare for the future.
CDC North began in 1951 as a tree nursery on 18 acres of a former federal government fur farm outside Edmonton. Today, the 340-acre site is a hub for collaborative agricultural research, crop health surveillance and plant diagnostics.
The centre now houses nine greenhouses, the Alberta Plant Health Lab, the province’s Bee Health Unit and Western Canada’s only seed potato repository. Its research plots and specialized facilities are also used by collaborators including the University of Alberta and Western Crop Innovations.
“From strengthening crop health to fighting diseases and helping protect Alberta’s farmland, CDC North has been leading the way in agriculture research, crop health surveillance and more,” says Tara Sawyer, Alberta’s minister of agriculture and irrigation.
“For 75 years, the work done on this site has had an outsized impact on Alberta’s ag sector, and it’s worth celebrating. Congratulations to everyone who played a key role in making CDC North such a massive success, and all the best in the next 75 years.”
The centre has evolved alongside Alberta agriculture, moving far beyond its original role as a nursery. Its work now spans crop disease research, plant and bee health, seed potato conservation and field-scale studies intended to give farmers the information they need to make sound long-term production decisions.
Among its earlier achievements was the operation of a provincial tree nursery that, at its peak, distributed 3.5 million seedlings annually. Farmers across Alberta used the seedlings to establish shelterbelts that protected fields, farmyards and soil from wind erosion.
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