Ducks Unlimited will pay eligible producers, who have not previously grown winter wheat, a $4 per acre rebate for planting winter wheat in 2009-10.
In addition, DU is offering a $2 per acre rebate for the first 12,000 acres in the program.
The overall goal of the initiative is to increase winter wheat acreage by 100,000 acres, but individual farmers can only sign up 320 acres for the rebate.
Paul Thoroughgood, a DU regional agrologist in the prairie region, said having Viterra as a partner will expand the reach of the incentive program.
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“Rather than having seven (DU) agrologists, we’ve got Viterra’s whole complement of staff out there helping to deliver a winter wheat program,” he said.
The rebate and partnership announcement is a followup to an agreement signed in January between DU and Bayer CropScience.
Bayer committed $20 million over five years to a program called Winter Cereals: Sustainability in Action. The funds will support development of new winter wheat varieties and help cover the cost of producer incentive programs.
For Viterra, the partnership with DU is an opportunity to boost winter wheat production and help out ducks.
As part of the program, Viterra will offer loyalty bonuses to farmers who buy inputs for a winter wheat crop. Viterra is not providing details of the loyalty bonuses.
One catch of the program is that DU is targeting farmers in certain locations on the Prairies where there is a potential to boost waterfowl numbers.
The Viterra offering is all across the Prairies.
For more information on the Grower Incentive Program, call DU at 866-384-3825
