Wheat and barley groups from Canada’s four western provinces have developed a plan to make sure farmers get the most out of the money they invest in cereal breeding.
Bill Gehl, chair of the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, says provincial cereal grain commissions want to maximize the returns that farmers receive from the check-off revenue they put into wheat and barley breeding and varietal development.
He said the commissions have been meeting since late 2014 and have recently hired a consultant to look at options available to farmer investors.
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Options could include an independent farmer-owned cereal breeding program, which would give producers significant proprietary control over new seed varieties that are produced.
JRG Consulting of Guelph, Ont., is expected to produce an interim report this summer and a final report later in the year outlining options that could be followed.
“I’m not sure how many options (the consultant) will be coming forward with, but certainly I don’t think anything is off the table at this point,” Gehl said.
“At this point, we just want to make sure that there’s a good farmer funded option going forward.”
Gehl described the initiative as a historic step that will give farmers more control over the seed products that their check-off dollars help to create.
Groups involved in the initiative include the B.C. Peace River Grain Industry Development Council, the Alberta Wheat Commission, the Alberta Barley Commission, the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, the Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission, the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association, Winter Cereals Manitoba and the Saskatchewan Winter Cereals Development Commission.
The Western Grains Research Foundation is also providing support for the initiative.
Cam Goff, chair of Sask Barley, said recent changes in the research funding environment will likely see farmers playing a larger role in breeding and varietal development work.
Agriculture Canada is expected to gradually reduce its involvement in the development and commercialization of new cereal varieties.
There is a general recognition that producer contributions to agricultural research in Canada are lower than those in many other major grain producing and exporting countries.
If Canadian producers are going to be asked to “step up to the plate” and play a larger role in funding agricultural research, then they should be assured reasonable control over the products they create.
“Will we partner with private industry? It’s possible, certainly, if we see a benefit to it,” said Goff.
“But everybody’s pretty positive about making sure that the farmers control this.”
Goff said a final consultant’s report containing two or three options is expected from JRG Consulting in December.
Participating grower groups will then consider the recommendations and consult with growers before deciding a future course of action, Gehl added.
“There’s been no decisions made so far, so I think it’s fair to say that the heavy lifting is yet to come.”
