SASKATOON – The future of winter cereals in Saskatchewan may be gulping for air, but don’t call 911 yet.
Farmers who formed a new group called Saskatchewan Winter Cereal Growers Inc. are planning to rescue the industry.
An overflow crowd of about 70 people went to the group’s first meeting, held during the recent Crop Production Week.
They’re concerned because fewer farmers are growing winter wheat, fall rye and winter triticale. This lack of interest leads to fewer dollars being spent on improved varieties. Without volume and research, potential market opportunities are being missed.
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Lesley McCallum has grown winter wheat since 1969 on her farm in Aylsham, Sask., about 20 km southeast of Nipawin, and has recently added winter triticale.
“There’s all the right reasons for growing the crops,” said McCallum, president of the group. “But the problems have to be addressed. People can’t grow it for the right reasons if they’re not going to make money at it and if the problems are going to be too overwhelming.”
Gary Storey, an agricultural economist and Brian Fowler, a crop breeder, both from the University of Saskatchewan, say winter cereals suffer from an image problem, reflected by the number of farmers growing the crops.
Statistics Canada estimates for 1994 indicate that Saskatchewan farmers seeded just over 35,000 acres of winter wheat and slightly under 260,000 acres of fall rye. Compare this to 1985, when 980,000 acres of winter wheat and 360,000 acres of fall rye were planted.
Storey’s analysis of the Canadian rye industry, which will be available in March, indicates that the commodity needs a better pricing mechanism.
There are no rye futures markets in the United States and the new rye contract at Winnipeg Commodity Exchange has attracted almost no interest. He said it will likely be dropped in March.
As for winter wheat in the province, Fowler said: “It’s been a long time since someone asked me about the future of winter wheat. I’ve been told there is no future.”
He said the future seemed bright in the early 1980s, when there was a lot of production with high yields and the net returns for winter wheat were higher than for spring wheat.
But in 1985, farmers experienced the worse winter kill and rust infestation in 30 years, followed by two years of drought.
Setting priorities
McCallum said the group’s priorities are to:
- Tell the Prairie Registration Recommending Committee that producers need CDC Kestrel, a semi-dwarf variety facing deregulation, for at least two more seasons, or until a suitable alternative is provided.
- Ensure that research funding bodies keep the winter wheat research program at the Crop Development Centre alive.
- Encourage more producers to grow winter cereals.
