The Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC) announced today that it has elected its first executive. The inaugural executive is as follows: Chair: Terry Young, a farmer from Lacombe, Alberta, and director with the Alberta Wheat Commission. Vice-Chair: Laura Reiter, a farmer from Radisson, SK, and director with the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission. Secretary/Treasurer: Cale Jefferies,… Read More
Search Results for: wheat breeding
Winter durum wheat isn’t grown in Western Canada, but the possible benefits have breeders working on developing it. As Jamie Larsen with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge discusses in this Wheat School episode, winter durum could perform well during dry years, and face reduced fusarium head blight (FHB) risk compared with spring durum. “We are… Read More
The FHB1 gene for fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance has been around for some time, but now it’s available in stronger agronomic varieties that deliver yield punch. That’s good news for North American wheat growers, says Bryan Gerard of Indiana-based Gerard Seed Solutions. In this episode of RealAgriculture Wheat School, Gerard explains that the FHB1… Read More
15 months ago, Jason Reinheimer flew with his family from Australia to Saskatoon to become the first employee and senior breeder for Limagrain Cereals Research Canada. Limagrain Cereals Research Canada, established in 2015, is a wheat breeding partnership between France-based Limagrain and Western Canada-based Canterra Seeds. In the video below, Reinheimer explains their breeding goals of developing wheat varieties that… Read More
It’s late September, the days are warm, and the combines are starting to roll into the edible beans and soybeans. Corn silage harvest has also started and that means we kick off this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word with a reminder and a plead — stay safe and use those lights! From there, we head into… Read More
It’s been more than a year since the Canadian government’s decision to implement UPOV ’91 standards for Plant Breeders’ Rights. When it was ratified, the seed industry touted the agreement as a significant driver of new investment in crop breeding and genetics for Canadian farmers. In this Wheat School episode, Real Agriculture resident agronomist Peter… Read More
A new grains analytical testing laboratory will provide value for farmers, plant breeders and the end users of Ontario cereal crops, says Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO). The lab, a joint venture between GFO and SGS Canada, was officially opened during a ceremony this week at its Guelph location. Grain Farmers CEO Barry Senft says… Read More
The gene gun, the first of which literally used a .22-calibre bullet, was invented by plant geneticists working at Cornell University in the 1980s as a way of injecting DNA into plant cells. The technology made the process of introducing new genetic material to many major crops, including corn and wheat, much more efficient, helping to create plants with resistance… Read More
The Alberta Wheat Commission was formally created on August 1st, 2012, the same day the Canadian Wheat Board was stripped of its single desk selling authority for wheat and barley in Western Canada. Since then, AWC has become heavily involved in funding wheat research and market development, as well as serving as a voice for… Read More
Wheat and barley grower organizations from across Western Canada are trying to figure out how to move forward with farmer involvement in variety development. The transitional Western Canadian wheat and barley check-offs implemented by the federal government with the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly in 2012 are set to expire in 2017. The majority… Read More
A pair of major wheat research announcements coincided with the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission’s annual general meeting in Saskatoon on Wednesday. Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart announced $1.5 million for six projects through the Canadian Wheat Alliance. Industry and government partners from across the prairies are also contributing $1.7 million to the genetic and agronomic… Read More
Happy New Year! We’re talking about 500 bushel/acre corn, a wheat breeding breakthrough and much more on this week’s news podcast: Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | All Podcasts
An international group of scientists working on mapping the genetic code for wheat say they’ve reached a major milestone that will help them reach their goal several years earlier than expected. The International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium project, which is co-led by two Canadians and partly funded by Canadian farmers, announced yesterday it has produced… Read More
Alberta wheat growers are contributing nearly $1 million to 13 wheat-related research projects across Western Canada over the next five years. A total of $970,000 in research funding was announced by the Alberta Wheat Commission in Calgary yesterday. “Investing in research is one of our key priorities as it ensures farmers have consistent access to… Read More
Knowing the context in which a plant variety was selected is critical in understanding how it should be managed in the field. As an example, in the video above, Martin Entz of the University of Manitoba explains what happens when cereal crop varieties developed in a conventional breeding system are grown in an organic system, or vice… Read More