The way farmers support new variety development of most open-pollinated and trait-free crops is set to change. Currently, the federal government is hosting consultation meetings across Canada to garner feedback from farmers, plant breeders, seed companies, and industry on two proposed systems: end point royalty or trailing royalty contracts. The impending change has been a… Read More
Search Results for: wheat breeding
The 25-year-old trade deal known as NAFTA is no more. As of Sunday night, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement know as USMCA was born. So what does this mean for producers? Let us break it down for you… Increased market access for American dairy farmers So far, market access into the Canadian dairy sector has been… Read More
BASF employees can officially get to work on the company’s newly-acquired business from Bayer. The company announced Wednesday that it has closed its acquisition of assets from Bayer, which competition regulators required Bayer sell to gain approval of its purchase of Monsanto that closed in early July. The 7.6 billion euro (C$11.5 billion at today’s… Read More
As the dust settles on the recent major crop company mergers and acquisitions, the new, re-branded entities are beginning to emerge. Brand new for this year is the Brevant seed brand, by Corteva. Brad Orr, marketing leader for Corteva explains that, in Western Canada, producers will see canola and soybean offerings under the Brevant brand… Read More
A ruling by the European Union’s (EU) top court states that food produced by a series of new biotechnology breeding techniques, such as CRISPR, should be considered genetically modified organisms (GMO). This ruling means the specific food or food ingredient resulting from these gene-editing techniques falls under the EU’s strict regulations and restrictions on GMO. Any… Read More
The Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame has announced its slate of inductees for 2018. “We had a tremendous response from the industry with a record of 11 nominations put forward, and have selected five outstanding agricultural ambassadors,” says Hall of Fame Association president Guy Charbonneau. “This year’s inductees exemplify the leadership and vision that continues to… Read More
The length of time it takes to a new technology to clear regulatory approvals is often seen as a barrier to innovation. In the case of a new wheat variety, for example, there are multiple pieces of federal legislation (ie. the Canada Seeds Act and the Canada Grains Act) and government departments involved in bringing… Read More
Ontario’s corn crop is showing high vomitoxin levels and growers are being urged to harvest as quickly as possible to preserve corn quality. Last week, the OMAFRA Field Crops team revealed that 26% of the samples taken in its annual vomitoxin survey had DON concentrations of 2.0 ppm or greater. At these levels, vomitoxin produced… Read More
There are revolutionary developments happening in the world of molecular biology that could soon make their way to the farm or field. That is, if society allows it. Chances are you’ve seen a headline containing the terms ‘gene editing’ or ‘CRISPR’ in the last year or two. It likely involved a scientist excited about how this new… Read More
Barley grower organizations from the three prairie provinces and the Western Grains Research Foundation are investing $2.4 million over the next five years in the barley variety development program at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre. The funding from Alberta Barley, the Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission, the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association and… Read More
Canada’s largest distributor of certified seed is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Likely ahead of its time in bringing together industry, universities, government and producer partners, the not-for-profit member association known as SeCan was started in 1976. “The roots are tied very closely to the Canadian Seed Growers Association — seed growers, seed trade,… Read More
A red spring wheat variety that accounted for more than 20 percent of wheat acres in Western Canada in the early 2000s has been chosen as the 2015-16 Seed of the Year West. CDC Teal was developed by Dr. Geoff Hughes and Dr. Pierre Hucl at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre and supported… Read More
Winnipeg-based Canterra Seeds and Limagrain were in Saskatoon, Sask., Thursday to announce the establishment of a new cereal breeding and development partnership, Limagrain Cereals Research Canada. The joint venture will be located in Saskatoon. Limagrain Cereals will bring “significant added value to western Canadian agriculture by developing new varieties of cereals, with a specific focus on… Read More
After a 41 year career with Agriculture & Agri-Food Canad, and building his reputation as a world-class wheat breeder, Dr. Ron DePauw has joined SeCan in the position of Science Advisor. DePauw recently retired from AAFC, a career marked by the successful breeding of prairie-farm-staple AC Barrie. DePauw was also a co-developer of AC Lillian,… Read More
Ergot (often refered to as “Ergot of Rye”) is a disease caused by the plant fungus Claviceps pururea. It’s history with humans is rich and painful, believed to be a contributing factor in the Salem Witch Trials, and the diagnoses of “Holy Fire,” later termed “St. Anthony’s Fire.” Today, it is regarded as a highly… Read More