The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association is proposing a new wheat classification system that it says would reduce the amount of time needed to bring new wheat varieties to market.
WCWG members say the new system would preserve the current classification system for wheat but would reduce pre-registration testing requirements for new wheat lines and encourage investment in wheat breeding, especially for private sector breeding companies.
“This new model will attract much-needed investment in wheat breeding research in Western Canada,” said Levi Wood, newly elected president of the WCWG.
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“It will give farmers immediate access to new, more profitable wheat varieties, and allow us to make the decision on which varieties are right for our farms.”
Under the proposed model, seed developers would register a new variety and then submit the variety to three years of quality testing.
After the variety has been tested for quality, a wheat classification panel would determine whether the variety meets the quality parameters of one of Western Canada’s existing wheat classes, such as Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) or Canada Prairie Spring (CPS).
Under the proposed system, the decision on whether to introduce a new wheat variety to the marketplace would rest solely with the seed developer.
To enhance speed to market, a seed developer would be permitted to bring a registered variety to market in advance of classification, providing the variety is sold as feed, or on a spec basis.
As well, merit testing of disease and agronomic traits would no longer be a pre-condition for registration.
Instead, a voluntary industry-led performance trial system would be implemented, similar to the system that is currently in place for canola.
