Prairie Farmers Invest $9 Million in U of S Crop Research

Posted April 07, 2005


A Joint Western Grains Research Foundation and University of Saskatchewan
Media Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Thursday, April 7th, 2005 2005-04-03-AG

Prairie Farmers Invest $9 Million in U of S Crop Research

SASKATOON, SK. Prairie farmers will invest more than $9 million over 10
years in world-class research at the University of Saskatchewan aimed at
developing the next generation of superior quality wheat and barley
varieties to keep Prairie farmers competitive in global markets.

A renewed 10-year funding partnership was announced today by the Western
Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) and the U of S Crop Development Centre
(CDC) which houses the largest university-based plant breeding operation in
Canada. WGRF, a farmer funded and directed organization, will make the
investment through its producer-funded Wheat and Barley Check-off Funds.

The funding will be targeted at specific goals such as improvements to
yield, quality, disease and pest resistance, agronomic characteristics and
class diversification.

"This agreement is a renewal of our long-term partnership with CDC, which
ensures Western Canadian wheat and barley producers will continue to benefit
from breeding advances essential to meet changing production challenges and
market demands," says WGRF Chair Keith Degenhardt, a Hughenden, Alta.
producer. "This will help our industry remain competitive with Australia,
the U.S. and other countries where producers are investing heavily in
breeding research."

"This funding provides a strong anchor to our centre of excellence in crop
development," said CDC director Rick Holm. "The CDC has become a world
leader in wheat and barley genetics and variety development, and producer
support through the Check-off has played an important role in our success
over the past decade. The continuation of this partnership over the next 10
years will help sustain wheat and barley production as a major economic
force in Western Canada, delivering broad benefits to society as a whole."

The Crop Development Centre is a field crop research unit in the U of S
department of plant sciences which seeks to increase diversification of
crops and their products for farmers and Saskatchewan's agricultural
industry by improving existing crops, creating new uses for traditional
crops, and introducing new crops. Over the past 30 years, the CDC's plant
breeding programs have led to the release of more than 232 varieties in 22
crop kinds.

CDC research funded under the agreement includes breeding programs for
Canada Western Red Spring wheat, Canada Western Hard White wheat, Canada
Western Amber Durum wheat and

Canada Western Red Winter Wheat, along with breeding programs for two-row
malting barley and two-row feed and food barley, including hulless barley.

WGRF typically invests more than $4 million annually in wheat and barley
breeding research through the Check-off Funds. All funding decisions are
made by the WGRF Board, which is made up of representatives of 18 diverse
agricultural organizations representing the majority of producers across the
Prairies.

Under previous 10-year agreements that began in 1994, the Check-off has
supported breeding research at the CDC and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
It has also supported complementary germplasm development research at the
University of Manitoba, the University of Alberta and Alberta Agriculture,
Food and Rural Development in Lacombe.

"The CDC agreement is a reflection of the strong track record of the
institution and the value of this research to Prairie agriculture and farmer
research investors," says Lanette Kuchenski, WGRF executive-director. "The
development of new agreements has been an extensive effort based on broad
industry input, independent reviews, work by our advisory committees and
negotiations with research institutions."

Information on the CDC is available at
http://www.usask.ca/agriculture/plantsci/cdc.html. For information on the
Wheat and Barley Check-off Fund and resulting research progress, visit
www.westerngrains.com.

For more information contact:

Lanette Kuchenski, Executive Director
Keith Degenhardt, Chair
Western Grains Research Foundation
(306) 975-0060

Rick Holm
Director, Crop Development Centre
Department of Plant Sciences
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-8195