02/06/2026
Saskatchewan Archives Week 2026 - Day 5
It focuses on a story whose importance reaches far beyond Indian Head. In light of the announced closure of the Research (Experimental) Farm after 140 years, it is more important than ever to pause and reflect on the people, knowledge, and innovations that shaped generations of farm families and helped define Prairie agriculture.
For Archives Week 2026, we have chosen an article that documents the valuable service of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Research (Experimental) Farm. This is because, as all of Indian Head was shocked to hear, the staff were told at a January 22nd meeting, that the Farm would be closed after 140 years of service.
The article, written in 1926 for “The Country Gentleman” magazine and reprinted in the Indian Head News of January 4th and 11th, 1927, is “The men who found Marquis wheat – A great work for Canada by Dr. Angus MacKay, William Saunders and Charles E. Saunders”
The creation of the federal Experimental Farms system was announced in 1886, the site of the Indian Head Experimental Farm was chosen in October, 1887, and the new superintendent, Angus MacKay, got busy organizing for the first crop year. An official announcement was made in February, 1888.
To Superintendent MacKay, the Experimental Farm’s role was to support farm families, most of whom were recently arrived settlers. This included research, development and demonstration of fruits, vegetables, livestock, poultry, shelterbelt trees and farming techniques.
His most famous accomplishment was the role he played in the selection of Marquis wheat. Before the fall of 1907, farmers were stuck with the uncertainty of Red Fife wheat. Although it was a good quality wheat, it did not ripen fast enough and early frosts meant crop failure. 1907 was a year of late seeding and cold weather in August that slowed ripening – the Red Fife didn’t stand a chance. But, at the Regina Agriculture Exhibition that fall, Angus MacKay showed farmers the high-quality wheat he had harvested from his plots at Indian Head at 41 bushels per acre. “This is the Marquis,” he said proudly.
He and his colleagues at the other Experimental Farms increased the Marquis as fast as they could to get it into the hands of farmers. Suddenly, wheat had become a reliable and profitable crop in the prairies turning the Prairie Provinces into the breadbasket of the world. Readers can get request a copy of the article from [email protected].
The history of the Indian Head Experimental Farm was documented in a special issue of the Indian Head News on July 19, 1962 – 75th Anniversary edition – and in a 44-page booklet, published by Agriculture Canada in 1986 – “Indian Head Experimental Farm 1886-1986.”
Because of the station’s impending closure, it is now essential that the Indian Head Museum preserve whatever pictures, documents and artifacts that it can, so that it can tell this important Indian Head story.
🔗 Learn more about Saskatchewan Archives Week and events across the province via the Saskatchewan Council for Archives & Archivists:
👉 https://www.scaa.sk.ca/public-awareness/archives-week
