Canadian farm and industry organizations are calling for a national plant breeding strategy that recognizes the different economic and regional realities facing crops across the country. Nine producer and industry organizations have endorsed a joint vision, A National Plant Breeding Strategy Must Work for Every Crop, calling for stable public investment where needed to ensure... Read More
Category: Research
The federal government is standing firm on its decision to shutter seven Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research facilities and a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) testing lab, formally rejecting a parliamentary recommendation to pause the shutdowns. In its official response to a report from the House of Commons Agriculture Committee, the government confirmed the... Read More
The Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC) and Canadian Barley Research Coalition (CBRC) have entered a formal, strategic partnership "to transform the Canadian wheat and barley breeding system." “Our two organizations have a history of working together on behalf of western Canadian farmers, so this formal partnership was a natural fit,” says CWRC chair Jocelyn Velestuk,... Read More
Most farmers see a patch of herbicide-resistant wild oats as a nightmare. Troy Basaraba saw an opportunity. After testing a patch of wild oats at a research site near Brandon, Man., the Bayer technical solutions agronomist discovered resistance to both Group 1 and Group 2 herbicides. Rather than letting the discovery go to waste, he…Read More
The research farms at Indian Head and Scott, Saskatchewan may continue to operate under the province's oversight, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the Province of Saskatchewan. The two facilities are among the seven AAFC research sites nationwide that the federal government planned to close... Read More
By Darcy Pawlik, Executive Director, Wheat Growers Association Every conversation about the future of Canadian wheat breeding seems to begin with budget cuts. While understandable, focusing only on funding risks missing the much larger issue. The challenge isn't simply that government has less money. It's that Canada continues to rely on a delivery model that... Read More
By Elisabeta Lika Few issues in Canadian agriculture are as emotionally charged as the closure of federal research sites. These are not just buildings on a federal asset list. They hold long-term experiments, invaluable datasets, breeding material, scientific expertise, and relationships that have been built over decades. The familiar narrative is easy: research good, cuts... Read More
A new drone-based technology aimed at easing one of hemp production’s most labour-intensive jobs could also open the door to broader applications across agriculture. Speaking at the Ag Drone Summit in Camrose, Alta., Dr. Jan Slaski of Mirabilis Hemp Consulting outlined how drones and machine learning are being used to identify male plants in hemp... Read More
On this episode of The Agronomists, your host Lyndsey Smith is joined by Riley McConachie of the University of Guelph and Dr. Steve Shirtliffe of the University of Saskatchewan to discuss applications of drones and field imaging tech, including its use in plant breeding, field scouting, disease ID, seeding, and more! The Agronomists is brought... Read More
In a joint statement released today from the Canadian Wheat Research Coalition, the Canadian Barley Research Coalition, Seeds Canada, University of Manitoba, University of Saskatchewan Crop Development Centre and the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Alberta, the group sets out a path forward on a shared vision for wheat... Read More