MP David Anderson announced Sept. 15 in Saskatoon the federal government is investing $11 million in grain research to develop new wheat and barley varieties. The money will help improve crop performance and assist producers maintain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.Part of the money, an investment of $8 million, will go toward creating the Canadian Wheat Breeding Cluster. Anderson said the cluster will bring together the best science to improve wheat varieties that will help farmers obtain higher yields and higher quality with lower production costs. Researchers will focus on varieties that are more resistant to disease and insects, promote efficient nutrient and water use and capitalize on opportunities in new markets.”Clusters are being set up in virtually every area of agriculture. There’s a cluster for dairy, a cluster for horticulture, a cluster for organics. This will be the wheat research cluster. The desire is to bring the leading researchers and academics together and have them focus on some of these issues,” Anderson said.An investment of $2.8 million will go to barley breeding and related research. Demand for high quality Canadian malt, malt products, bioproducts and healthy food is rising, and producers need new barley varieties to compete in the marketplace.Keith Degenhardt, chair of the Western Grains Research Foundation, said the breeding community was pleased with the announcement. He said the money will increase the capacity to develop new wheat and barley varieties. “It’s really going to speed things up.”
Feds assign $11 million to wheat and barley research
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