Oat and corn research projects through the Canadian Field Crop Research Alliance (CFCRA) recently received $4.1 million over five years to support national projects.
The federal funding will support CFCRA’s work in developing new oat varieties, enhance breeding efforts, and inform new agronomic practices to help improve productivity, stability of yields, consistency, and quality.
Funding will also support development of early-maturing, cold-tolerant corn genetics and added disease resistance, and will explore new nitrogen strategies that will help “enhance productivity and environmental performance for farmers across the country.”
The CFCRA is a national collaboration comprised of provincial producer organizations and industry partners, including: Atlantic Grains Council; Producteurs de grains du Quebec; Grain Farmers of Ontario; Manitoba Corn Growers Association; Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers; Saskatchewan Pulse Growers; Prairie Oat Growers Association; SeCan; and FP Genetics.
This announced funding comes just after Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay pledged nearly $40 million in funding for four crop research clusters, including $5.4 million for soybean research.
“Research that furthers the development of new varieties that have greater resiliency, quality, and yield benefits is vital to Canadian agriculture,” says Markus Haerle, chair, Grain Farmers of Ontario. “We welcome the Government of Canada’s commitment to supporting grain farmers in Ontario through these research investments and thank them for their work with the CFCRA.”
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