Terry Young, WGRF Board Chair, said:

“We continue to see tremendous value in a collaborative approach to funding research. WGRF partners with producer commodity organizations and government funding agencies to maximize the investment farmers are making in crop research. WGRF is excited about the potential impact these projects can have for western Canadian farmers.”

The approved projects include research into: soil health, intercropping, nitrogen management, agronomics for precision agriculture, herbicide-resistant weed surveys and surveillance, weed management in oats, fusarium resistance, clubroot resistance, nitrogen use in wheat, lodging, water efficiency in wheat and analytic tools for improved crop breeding.

Garth Patterson, WGRF Executive Director, added:

“WGRF established this funding partnership with ADF seven years ago. Since that time WGRF has invested over $18 million into 146 research projects in partnership with ADF and crop commissions. WGRF looks forward to increased and continued collaboration investing in crop research that benefits western Canadian farmers.”

A full listing of projects will be posted on the WGRF website once research contracts are in place. More than 500 past and present WGRF funded research projects are currently listed on westerngrains.com.

Source: Western Grains Research Foundation

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Western Canadian farmers face agronomic challenges that cut across multiple crops. A Cropping Systems Chair position will provide a dedicated scientist to work on farm-level management systems. Examples include, inter-disciplinary considerations of crop, water and input use efficiency, soil management, economic benefits and control of pests (weeds, insects and diseases). The Chair may also provide innovation related to whole-farm sustainability from economic, social and environmental perspectives.

“This position will provide much needed expertise in the area of Cropping Systems,” said Terry Young, WGRF Board Chair. “Farmers don’t just grow one crop. Focusing research on a multi-crop systems approach will help lead to innovative farming practices and technologies that boost yield and crop quality while controlling crop diseases and insects, improving profitability and sustainability.”

“We are grateful for this new investment by WGRF to support hiring a new chair in our faculty,” said Stan Blade, dean of the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences. “We appreciate the willingness of WGRF leadership and producers across Western Canada to invest in the future of our sector. The new chair will develop a program that will create new ideas through innovative research and will train the next generation of people needed by the industry.”

“WGRF is focused on taking a whole-farm approach to research. Strategic investments to increase agronomy research capacity in Western Canada is one of many approaches we are using,” said Garth Patterson, WGRF Executive Director. “We are very excited about having a Research Chair in Cropping Systems at the University of Alberta. This Research Chair will create incremental field crop research capacity in western Canada, while providing the U of A the ability to advance its academic mission and catalyze new research initiatives in agronomy.”

Source: Westerngrains news

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