A federal government cereal breeding program based at Lethbridge has entered a unique funding arrangement with the Alberta Wheat Commission and Canterra Seeds, a Winnipeg-based seed company.
Under the deal, Canterra and the Alberta Wheat Commission will contribute cash and in-kind resources to Agriculture Canada’s Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat breeding program based at Agriculture Canada’s Lethbridge Research Centre.
The resources will allow CPSR wheat lines from the Lethbridge program to be tested at more sites across Western Canada, giving the program’s senior breeder, Harpinder Randhawa, access to more robust performance data collected from more test sites and a wider range of growing conditions.
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In return, the AWC will receive a share of royalties derived from new lines that are developed by Randhawa’s program and Canterra will secure exclusive distribution rights to 50 percent of the registered CPSR varieties developed by the Lethbridge research centre.
The arrangement, being billed as an example of a public-private-producer research partnership, will add $3.4 million worth of additional resources to the CPSR program in Lethbridge and will benefit Canadian farmers by producing improved CPSR varieties.
“The Government of Canada is proud to join with Canterra Seeds and AWC as we take another major step forward for wheat breeding in Canada,” said federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz, who announced the partnership July 8.
“Each of these partners bring their own skills and resources to drive competitive new Canadian Prairie Spring wheat varieties for producers across the Prairies.”
“Our goal is to bring products to market that will help grow farmers’ profitability and competitive edge,” added AWC chair Kent Erickson, a grain grower from Irma, Alta.
“Providing the producer perspective on agronomic characteristics will ensure that wheat varieties coming from the LRC program meet the needs of growers.”
Canterra’s chief executive officer, Dave Hansen, said his company will provide additional technical and field-testing capacity for the CPSR material from Lethbridge, as well as increased funding and support for the program as a whole.
“We see this as a win-win for the producers in Western Canada, and it also helps to secure the future of Harpinder’s CPSR program in Lightbridge,” Hansen said in a July 8 interview.
“The Lethbridge program will be provided with more field testing that Canterra brings to the table, more quality testing … and certainly more cash, which is obviously a significant component of any breeding program.”
Canterra will receive the first-right-of-refusal on a number of new CPSR varieties, a class of wheat with significant market potential in evolving food markets, particularly in Asia, he added.
“In essence, this will add to our product portfolio in a grain class that we see as very, very important.”
CPSR varieties acquired by Canterra will be multiplied by the company’s network of seed grower shareholders across the West and distributed to commercial grain growers throughout the Prairies.
Canterra is based in Winnipeg and owned by shareholders, which include approximately 175 western Canadian pedigreed seed growers and a number of independent agricultural retailers.
Other Canterra shareholders include European seed breeding company Limagrain, Ceres Global Ag and private investors.
Sources close to the deal said AWC will make a pre-determined financial contribution over the next five years.
Canterra’s commitment will not result in a reduction of Agriculture Canada’s current testing capacity.
Contact brian.cross@producer.com
