Agriculture Canada has talked before about getting out of wheat breeding, but researchers think this time there’s substance to the talk. | File photo

Wheat breeding faces ‘seismic shift’

The future of variety development is uncertain if Agriculture Canada changes focus

Glacier FarmMedia – The future of wheat breeding in Canada is on uncertain ground. Agriculture Canada may be moving away from field-ready wheat development and toward upstream research, attendees heard during Edmonton’s Crossroads Crop Conference late last month. The event featured a round table of four prominent wheat breeding figures, with an eye to what […] Read more

A hat in a field of AAC Westking wheat highlights the variety’s strength and standability.  |  Richard Cuthbert photo

New variety aims to grab Prairie wheat crown

Developers of AAC Westking are confident the new variety will supplant AAC Brandon as the spring wheat of choice

Glacier FarmMedia – Can a single wheat variety become synonymous with prairie spring wheat production? If so, it would be AAC Brandon. One of the most widely grown Canadian Western Red Spring wheats in Western Canada for the past nine years, Brandon first hit the seed market in 2014 and quickly became a farmer favourite, […] Read more

Agricultural scientists in Canada are focusing more of their time on research related to climate, such as collecting nitrous oxide samples from canola fields, and less time on canola yields. The federal government and provinces agreed in 2021 that climate and emissions would become an ag research priority. | Robert Arnason photo

Research priorities breed frustration, confusion

WINNIPEG — Last year at harvest time, farmers across western Manitoba and parts of eastern Saskatchewan had a similar reaction. When they looked at yield monitors in their combines, they were surprised at figures of 60 to 75 bushels an acre for spring wheat, despite lack of sufficient moisture during the growing season. Other stories […] Read more


The recent funding for wheat research will focus on sustainability, such as genomic practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and quicker variety development.  |  File photo

New wheat cluster funding to boost research

The federal government and a variety of commodity groups recently announced more than $20 million in funding


Glacier FarmMedia – Future Canadian wheat research will be supported by more than $20 million, following back-to-back commitments from the federal government and wheat farm groups. On March 6, Agriculture Canada announced $11.2 million for the Canadian National Wheat Cluster via the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. Similar investments have been announced for the canola, pork […] Read more