Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has announced up to $5,733,852 for the Canadian Field Crop Research Alliance (CFCRA) through the AgriScience Program – Clusters Component, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, to promote more diverse crop rotations on farms.
The Cropping Systems Cluster, led by CFCRA, will develop the characteristics and practices to encourage diverse crop rotations for soybean, corn, and oat, says AAFC.
The Canadian Field Crop Research Alliance is a not-for-profit entity founded in 2010 with an interest in advancing the genetic capacity of field crops in Canada, particularly barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat. Members include: Grain Farmers of Ontario, Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers and the Atlantic Grains Council.
CFCRA says it will further leverage an additional $4.8 million from industry for a total investment of up to $10.5 million over five years.
The research aims to reduce business risk for farmers by developing crops that are resilient to climate change and weather stresses, protect against losses caused by diseases and insects, and are profitable for producers overall. This will be achieved by developing oat varieties with improved traits for Eastern and Western Canada, as well as improving soybean varieties for short-season production environments in Canada.
Research activities will also explore how diverse crop rotations can play a central role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and how better genetics, land management, and fertilizer use can improve nitrogen use efficiency to protect the environment.
