Rob Graf, who is well-known in Western Canada for decades of experience breeding wheat in both the private and public sector, has joined the management team for Alberta-based seed company SeedNet.
Graf, who retired from a nearly 24 year career with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in 2022, was a principal research scientist in winter wheat breeding with AAFC, based in Lethbridge. His breeding program concentrated on developing high yielding, agronomically superior, disease and pest-resistant, hard red winter wheat varieties.
Since 2001, he developed and co-developed 14 winter wheat varieties, and assisted in the development of several spring wheats of various quality types.
Prior to working for AAFC, Graf was a wheat breeder and cereal research manager for the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.
Graf is currently also an advisor to the board of the Alberta/British Columbia Seed Growers, the plant breeders committee of the Canadian Seed Growers Association, and a member of the CFIA-PBR Advisory Committee.
SeedNet, based in Southern Alberta, was formed by fourteen independent seed growers in 2010.
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