The hybridization of crops is one of the first big stepping stones to major advancements in crop yield, as hybrid vigour really does create offspring greater than either of the parents. Hybrid breeding of corn and canola varieties has led to yield jumps in the leaps vs. the incremental gains made through straight crosses. But… Read More

Monsanto Canada recently announced its commitment of $100 million over the next 10 years towards breeding earlier maturing corn varieties aimed at the western Canadian market. Monsanto Canada today announced details of a long-range plan focused on breeding corn hybrids with earlier relative maturities (RM) that are adapted to the diverse geography and climatic conditions… Read More

I am attending CropWeek 2013 in Saskatoon this week which always involves some great discussions in the sessions and the hallway. I had a grain /seed industry insider ask me a really interesting question today. “Do we really need to re-create the wheel with wheat? Does wheat royalty collection for research really need to be… Read More

Sir Winston Churchill said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Over the last year or so, several significant changes and developments have occurred in the Canadian cereals sector – including most recently, the announcement by the federal government that the Canadian Grains Commission will move… Read More

The global demand for wheat is expected to double over the next forty years – and Canada can play an important role in meeting that demand. In addition to its growing prominence on the world stage, what makes wheat truly exciting is its significant potential for technology transformation – and Canadian agriculture has the opportunity… Read More

Wheat School: Wheat is the Next Frontier - Rob Hannam

Wheat is a crop that is grown around the world.  There is a harvest somewhere in the world every month of the year.  The winds of change have been blowing in the wheat industry with the influx of new breeding and trait development capital from the private sector.  Many insiders are expecting changes to the… Read More

Feeding the World, One Wheat Variety at a Time

Globally, we€™re in a position where demand for wheat is surpassing supply. Figures from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) show wheat demand growing by 1.5 per cent per year, while annual production is increasing by only 0.9 per cent. With the global population expected to rise to over 9 billion by 2050,… Read More

The Changing World of Wheat - Sean Gardner - Monsanto Wheat Lead

Sean Gardner may have the future of the wheat industry in his hands.  As the Monsanto Global Wheat Lead, Sean is charged with the task of leveraging Monsanto’s current breeding technologies to bring biotech wheat to the market and to develop a value capture model for wheat.  It is no secret that the wheat game… Read More

CropWeek 2010 - Todd Hyra - Midge Tolerant Wheat Becomes Reality

Wheat midge has great impact on wheat growers in many areas.  This year will  be the first year that farmers will be able to purchase midge tolerant varieties.  There are three different varieties right now and more in the pipeline.  It is critical that as an industry we properly manage this great new innovation in… Read More

CropWeek 2010 - Ron Brand - The Potential of Glenn Wheat

Fusarium has become a massive concern for many wheat growers on the prairies.  Fortunately many plant breeders in both Canada and the US are truly focused on providing higher tolerances in new varieties.  Many potential agronomic issues can be solved thru plant breeding but the challenge is that it takes time.  Plant breeding is not… Read More

CropWeek 2010 - Richard Phillips - Public Plant Breeding and Farm Safety Nets

Richard Phillips is the Executive Director of the Grain Growers of Canada and he is a very busy man these days with all the things going on in the grain industry.  Richard was apart of a panel discussion at the SaskSeed annual meeting at CropWeek.  The panel discussion was about whether or not the grain… Read More

Richard Phillips - Executive Director of the Grain Growers of Canada on Biotech Wheat

This afternoon I talked to Richard Phillips, Executive Director of the Grain Growers of Canada about the possible introduction of biotech wheat to the agricultural system. The Grain Growers of Canada were members of the Biotech Wheat Coalition that is trying to push the international community to support biotech wheat. Shaun: Why is the Grain… Read More

Biotech Wheat Coalition is Formed to Push the Need For Biotech Wheat

Canadian, Australian and American wheat organizations have formed the Biotech Wheat Coalition “in support for more efficient, sustainable and profitable production of wheat around the world”. See the Joint Statment Here As RealAgriculture.com has discussed before the need for biotech wheat is rising and the usual roadblocks are presenting themselves as discussed by the Canadian… Read More

Protecting grain crops from costly plant diseases and making crop production more resilient to climate change are two goals a new $2-million gift to the University of Guelph from Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO). Announced at the close of the Ontario Agricultural Conference, the funding will support a new GFO professorship in field crop pathology… Read More

Personally, I know that I lack the ability to focus on one thing for very long. I bounce from topic to topic every day as new issues develop and new questions arise. Authors commit months, or even years, to one subject when writing a book. Their ability to make that time commitment is so amazing… Read More

 

Register for a RealAgriculture account to manage your Shortcut menu instead of the default.

Register