Prairie farmers will invest more than $9 million over 10 years in world-class research at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) 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.