Public research to develop new varieties of crops is an outstanding investment that should be strengthened to help farmers succeed and to ensure a competitive Canadian agriculture and agri-food industry.

That is the message Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) is delivering to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) as part of cross-country consultations by the department to update priorities for agriculture and agri-food research.

The farmer funded and directed WGRF is the largest funding partner in AAFC variety development research. This spring, WGRF reached a new five-year partnership with AAFC that represents a $40 million investment in wheat and barley breeding programs.

"There is no simpler test of value in agriculture than what a farmer plants," says Dr. Keith Degenhardt, a Hughenden, Alta., producer and Chair of WGRF. "Producers only grow crop varieties they know make sense for their operations and that meet clear market demands. Canada needs strong variety development research to provide this critical anchor to all of our production and market success."

With genetics established as a primary battleground for agriculture competitiveness around the world, this research has never been more important to protect the multi-billion-dollar markets Canadian agriculture has earned, and to both create and capitalize on emerging opportunities, says Degenhardt. "A key component to building a healthy farming environment is a crop breeding system that ensures farmers continue to maintain access to new varieties with as little impedance as possible."

Farmers rely heavily on public research to deliver a regular turnover of varieties with the yield, quality, disease and pest resistance, and other characteristics necessary to meet increasingly sophisticated production and market demands.

Variety development research is also crucial to drive innovations important to the Canadian public, such as lowering the use of pesticides and other agricultural inputs, improving environmentally sustainable production and protecting food safety.

This research is also the anchor of innovation - it provides the tailored characteristics needed to add value and both develop and capture new market opportunities.

"There is arguably no better public research investment than variety development to help our farmers and to make sure we get the most benefit - economically, socially and environmentally - from our agriculture and agri-food industry," says Degenhardt.

WGRF is made up of 18 diverse agricultural organizations representing the vast majority of Prairie crop producers. The major funding sources it administers are the Wheat and Barley Check-off Funds, which for the past decade have been invested in research to develop new wheat and barley varieties.

Under WGRF's renewed partnership with AAFC, the department will invest $24.5 million in wheat research and $3.15 million for barley over the next five years, and WGRF will provide an additional $12.5 million. The agreement, which is renewable for an additional five years, follows the original WGRF-AAFC 10-year agreement signed in 1994.

WGRF would like to see the AAFC commitment to this research extended and strengthened, says Lanette Kuchenski, WGRF Executive Director. "The WGRF partnership with AAFC in funding this research has been an outstanding success. We would like to see the variety development effort not only be maintained, but increased to further capitalize on the proven high returns and fundamental role of this research."

Recently, WGRF commissioned an independent study to examine the return on investment from the past 10 years of Wheat and Barley Check-off investment in wheat and barley variety development programs.

The study, lead by University of Saskatchewan agricultural economists Dr. Hartley Furtan and Dr. Richard Gray, identified a minimum four-to-one return on investment for wheat breeding and 12-to-one return for barley breeding (the higher barley return is due to the smaller acres of barley). The results support the findings of many economic studies of variety development research conducted over the years, which consistently show major returns that are arguably the highest and most consistent among any area of agricultural research.

More information on WGRF and the Wheat and Barley Check-off Funds is available at www.westerngrains.com.