Quaker and Cargill support oat breeding at U of S College of Agriculture
Posted July 23, 2003
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 23rd, 2003 2003-07-04-AG
Quaker and Cargill support oat breeding at U of S College of Agriculture
Today University of Saskatchewan received an investment of more than $1.1 M
from QTC Canada Inc. (which operates the Quaker Oats business in Canada) and
Cargill Ltd. in support of its oat research and development program at the
College of Agriculture's Crop Development Centre.
Over the next five years, QTC Canada plans to contribute $850,000 and
Cargill $285,000 for oats research; leading to new knowledge that aims to
improve oat varieties for growers in Saskatchewan and western Canada and the
quality of food ingredients for the consumer.
The investment represents a continuation of almost 30 years of funding
support for the Crop Development Centre from QTC Canada ($2.3m in total) and
over 10 years ($700,000 in total) from Cargill Ltd.
Project co-leader Brian Rossnagel says: "We are very pleased to be
associated with QTC Canada and Cargill Ltd. on this project. Their
investment will strengthen our research efforts into oat disease, milling
quality and field yield as well as mapping the oat genome - all of which are
important components of what has been an extremely successful 30-year
breeding program at the University of Saskatchewan."
Saskatchewan is the largest oat producer in Canada with more than 1.5
million acres annually worth $150 million each year. Saskatchewan oat
acreage and production has tripled since the early 1990s and is now one of
the largest oat producing areas in the world.
Since 1983, the Crop Development Centre has released nine varieties of
milling oat which dominate oat acreage in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The most
recent releases called CDC Dancer and CDC Orrin consistently produce
exceptional yields. A yet-to-be-named variety which will be released at the
end of this year represents a first for the Crop Development Centre in that
it has rust resistance for the eastern prairie oat region. Rust, caused by a
fungus which attacks the leaves, causes widespread crop losses and lowers
the quality of the oat.
Our goal is to consistently deliver high quality oats to our consumers,"
says Grant Morrison, Director - Quality Assurance Services, QTC Canada.
"And, as an industry leader for more than 125 years, it is natural for
Quaker Oats to continue to invest in this premier oat research."
"We are proud to be apart of a team that remains committed to ongoing
investment, research and development into quality food ingredients for the
consumer," said Don Chute, Seed Product Manager with Cargill Ltd. "At
Cargill we are striving to provide opportunities for
western Canadian farmers to differentiate themselves and join with us in
being a global leader in nourishing people. This investment is one of the
steps towards achieving this goal."
The Crop Development Centre is a unit of the U of S College of Agriculture
established in 1971 to increase crop diversification opportunities for
Saskatchewan farmers, to improve the adaptation of existing Saskatchewan
crops and as a centre of excellence for crop research.
QTC Canada is an operating unit of PepsiCo Inc. company that manufactures
and markets a wide variety of grain products including Quaker hot cereals,
cold cereals, rice cakes, snack bars and other grain-based foods.
Cargill Limited is the Canadian subsidiary of Cargill Incorporated, an
international marketer, processor and distributor of agricultural, food,
financial and industrial products and services with some 82,000 employees in
59 countries. In Canada, Cargill employs more than 4,000 people in the
grain, feed, seed, farm supply, fertilizer manufacturing, malting barley,
egg processing, meat, salt, starch, malt, canola and flax fibre processing
businesses.
For more information, please contact:
Brian Rossnagel
Oat Breeder, Crop Development Centre
University of Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 966-4976
Email: brian.rossnagel@usask.ca
Graham Scoles
Associate Dean of Research and Oat Biotechnologist
College of Agriculture
University of Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 966-4957
Email: graham.scoles@usask.ca
Steve Shirtliffe
Agronomist, Plant Sciences Department
College of Agriculture
University of Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 966-4959
Email: steve.shirtliffe@usask.ca
Bruce Roskens
Senior Manager - Agricultural Research and Commodity Development
Quaker Foods and Beverages
Tel: 312-821-2952
Email: bruce_roskens@quakeroats.com
Don Chute
Cargill Limited
Tel: (204) 947-6319
Email: Don_Chute@cargill.com
