Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food has allocated a grant of $100,000 for regional variety testing as part of the Saskatchewan Variety Performance Group (SVPG), a partnership between government and industry.

The grant will provide stable funding for the SVPG variety testing program that will enable performance testing of new varieties of cereals and oilseeds. The variety trials allow farmers to evaluate the newest varieties in comparison to the check varieties.

"The work of the Saskatchewan Variety Performance Group helps producers make the best possible cropping decisions," Agriculture and Food Minister Mark Wartman said. "The Province is pleased to make another investment in our agriculture industry, which will pay important dividends for producers in terms of improved yields and disease resistance."

The grant is provided to the SeCan Association, which will disperse funds associated with the costs of the SVPG program and provide administrative support. Dispersals will take place under the advice of the SVPG and under the direction of Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food.

"SeCan is pleased to administer the funds for the Saskatchewan Variety Performance Group," SeCan Research Co-ordinator Jim Downey said. "We view third-party variety testing as a critical source of objective agronomic information for Western Canadian producers."

The SVPG trials will also be partly funded by a variety entry fee paid by the distributor of each variety. The combination of the Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food grant and variety entry fees will provide funds to pay co-operators who run the variety trials at numerous locations across Saskatchewan.

The grant will also provide support to the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers and the Canola Council of Canada, which are carrying out testing programs for pulses and canola respectively.