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USask Wheat Research

Crop Development Centre receives funding for continued wheat research

Jan 28, 2025 | 1:58 PM

The Canadian Wheat Research Coalition will continue its commitment to improving wheat varieties.

CWRC is committing $11.8 million over the next five years to a core breeding agreement (CBA) with the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC) which extends the CBA that concluded at the end of 2024.

CWRC chair and Claresholm, Alta. farmer Dean Hubbard said the renewed investment will benefit western Canadian farmers by supporting the development of wheat varieties with improved yields, stronger disease resistance and better adaptation to our growing conditions.

“Farmer-funded breeding programs like this ensure that producers have access to innovative, high-performing varieties that are in demand and help make their farms more productive and sustainable,” he said.

This next round of CWRC will support the CDC’s development of new Canadian Western Red Spring (CWRS), Canada Northern Hard Red (CNHR), Canadian Western Amber Durum (CWAD) and Canadian Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat cultivars with strong agronomics and improved resistance to common diseases such as the wheat rusts, common bunt and Fusarium Head Blight. The funding will also support the application of genomic assisted selection across all wheat breeding programs at the CDC, a technology that is used in part to “stack” genes for disease resistance, pest resistance and end-use quality in new varieties.

Dr. Curtis Pozniak, CDC director and wheat breeder said this has been a successful partnership.

“The continued investment from the CWRC will help support the CDC’s mission to deliver high-yielding and reliable wheat varieties for western Canadian farmers,” Pozniak stated.

The new agreement represents a more than $2-million increase in funding compared with the previous five-year agreement.

CWRC investment through the new CBA is divided among the organization’s founding members by a funding shares agreement.

The CWRC also maintains CBAs with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the University of Manitoba and the University of Alberta.

alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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