Lethbridge Research Centre -- LNN

By Alice McFarlane

Western Grains Research Foundation supports agriculture research projects

Jan 28, 2022 | 1:17 PM

MELFORT, SASK. — The Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) will spend $3.3 million for field equipment and phenomics at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research and development centres.

The agricultural community had expressed concerns about the status of crop-related research in Western Canada.

Board chair Dr. Keith Degenhardt said WGRF responded by committing $32 million to expand crop research. AAFC has six Research and Development Centres (RDC) and eight Research Farms (RFs) within the prairie region of Canada. He said AAFC plays an important role in accelerating agricultural research and innovation in the region.

Degenhardt said it was an opportunity to continue the great partnership with AAFC and enhance some of the equipment needed for field research programs.

“Prairie farmers will see the results of this investment through improved crop productivity and resource use efficiency,” he said.

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AAFC stations and research farms that will benefit include Brandon, Indian Head, Swift Current, Morden, Saskatoon, Lacombe, Lethbridge, and Portage La Prairie.

The equipment being purchased includes multiple plot seeders, combines, sprayers, swathers, and irrigation equipment. There will also be field-based phenotyping equipment purchased that will measure plant characteristics like height, nitrogen content, photosynthesis, and other qualitative plant growth characteristics. The combination of equipment will benefit both variety development and agronomy research.

Dr. Joyce Boye is the director general for AAFC’s Science and Technology Branch for the Prairie Region. She said some of the funds will be put towards data-based tools to speed up the ability to breed wheat that can withstand the extremes of a dryer climate.

WGRF is a farmer-funded and farmer-directed non-profit organization investing in agricultural research. Since 1981, WGRF has funded more than $210 million of research in field crops.

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