Carl Potts harbours no ill will toward the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre after its breeding agreement divorce with Saskatchewan Pulse Growers.
“From my perspective at least, it has been amicable,” said the executive director of SPG, responding to a question raised at the association’s 2022 annual general meeting.
“We remain very open to continuing to work with CDC on all the pulse crops.”
SPG used to sign 15-year breeding agreements with the CDC, which would provide up-front money in exchange for farmers getting royalty-free access to the centre’s pulse varieties.
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That ended in 2021 when the CDC said it didn’t want to re-up with the provincial farm organization for another 15 years.
Instead, the centre wanted to shift to a different model with multiple funders and the ability to generate royalties on the varieties it develops.
Potts said the breeding landscape has changed since the two entities first entered into the long-term breeding arrangements in the late-1990s.
The Plant Breeders’ Rights Act has been amended and pulse acres have exploded in that stretch of time.
“We understand why the CDC may be looking at different models. That really isn’t an issue for us,” he said.
SPG chair Shaun Dyrland said growers are apprehensive about moving away from the longstanding perk of royalty-free access to new pulse varieties.
He added that all the varieties released by SPG to seed growers in 2021 and 2022 will continue to be royalty-free and the organization will have access to all its genetic material for use in future breeding programs.
SPG’s expenditure on pulse crop breeding tumbled to $756,160 in 2021, down from $3.45 million in 2020.
The organization has redefined its research and development strategy to focus on high priority issues such as root diseases, herbicide tolerance in lentils and agronomic practices that improve end-use quality.
Dyrland said SPG is going to continue to be involved in future breeding programs and projects.
“We want a seat at the table when decisions are being made and breeding priorities are being set,” he said.
Before it invests any grower money SPG will require that a portion of the royalties flow back to it for reinvestment and that the varieties are not priced so high that all the incremental value is captured in the cost of the seed.
SPG continues to fund short-term projects at the CDC, as well as at Agriculture Canada and J4 Agri-Science.
Dyrland said the organization is working on additional partnerships that will be made public soon.
When asked if SPG will be starting its own breeding program, Potts said that is not something the organization intends to do.
