Agriculture didn’t make the G7 agenda. It was pushed aside by more pressing issues like international security, economics, technology global migration and trade.

But the forum hosted by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) was designed to ensure agriculture and food stays on world leaders’ radar.

“Agriculture has to be an instrument of peace,” IICA director general Manuel Otero said in an interview on the opening day of the Americas AgForum. “In all of these issues, agriculture is at the centre of the solutions, so implicitly or explicitly G7 leaders have to discuss the role of agriculture.”

Climate, nutritionally smart

IICA, founded in 1942, focuses on fostering rural and agricultural development among its 34 member states across the Americas. It works to increase the sector’s contributions to rural well -being, food security and economic growth through the bioeconomy and trade.

Otero told his audience of about 150 delegates in the room and 800 watching virtually that meeting the world’s food needs over the next 40 years will be a multidimensional challenge that involves grappling with production challenges brought about by climate change as well as navigating the simultaneous crises of undernutrition and obesity.

“It is not just climate smart any more, it has to be nutritionally smart too,” he said.

Otero called for policies that enable small-holder farmers to adopt new technologies such as digital agriculture to grow productivity, and which stabilize rural economies by keeping farmers on the land. That has a stabilizing effect on cities too.

“Every time a producer becomes a consumer, we face a problem,” Otero said, noting outward migration from rural areas creates unsustainable pressure on urban infrastructure and food systems.

Speakers said making it possible for people to thrive in rural communities requires major investments in rural connectivity to make productivity-enhancing digital technology more accessible.

Need for timely innovation

The food system also needs more entrepreneurs and investment capital at all levels to bring new ideas to market, said Justine Hendricks, president and CEO of Farm Credit Canada.

“We’ve been hearing more and more the need to accelerate innovation, the time to get innovation through to commercialization is certainly too long in Canada,” she said. “Whether you are early stage or all the way through to a growth stage, some of the work we’ve done shows that in the Canadian ecosystem, there were gaps all along the way.”

FCC has recently dedicated $2 billion in spending over the next five years to support Canada’s innovation pipeline.

“Canada has got really outstanding innovation hubs, our education system is second to none, we’ve got land, we’ve got water we’ve got what the world wants,” she said. “Canada has this generational opportunity. We just need to bring those things closer together.”

Plus, it requires building a foundation of trust with consumers beneath the sector’s never-ending drive to innovate.

Lisa Bishop-Spencer, executive director for the Canadian Centre for Food integrity, said public trust in the food system has been eroded in recent years, but Canada doesn’t face that trend alone.

“This is common across many countries in the Americas,” she said.

“What we know is that people trust farmers, they trust individuals. Where they start to lose that trust is when it starts to become more institutional in its setting,” she said.

“’Innovation’ is a wonderful word and it means so much to our industry, but consumers are afraid of innovation,” Bishop-Spencer said.

“When you position it terms of outcomes that’s when it becomes more resonate for people,” she said. “People understand the values behind the little red barn and little green tractor are still behind what do no matter what scale we do it at.”

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It was seeping south even before the U.S. declared economic war.

There is no denying it will be difficult to pivot away from Canadian producers’ dependence on the U.S. market. Despite our rhetoric about diversifying our markets, Canada is even more reliant on the U.S. market today than it was 10 years ago.

According to statistics circulated by Grain Growers the U.S. imports over $17 billion worth of Canadian grain and grain products every year. Canola exports were valued at $8.5 billion, wheat exports at $1 billion, oats at $850 billion and barley at $200 million.

Grain and oilseeds can be rediverted or stored, albeit at a cost.

That’s not an option for our livestock sector.

Farm Credit Canada said in a recent analysis that Canada exports 22 per cent of its total hog production, with exports to the U.S. making up 99 per cent of all exports.

Sixty per cent or four million pigs annually are weanlings sold to the U.S. for fattening and slaughter. The majority, 2.6 million piglets, come from Manitoba producers.

One-quarter of Canada’s hog exports are market-ready hogs ready for slaughter and that number has been rising over the past four years due to the continued loss of processing capacity in Canada.

The story for cattle is similar, but more complicated. “A calf could be born in Alberta, sent to Montana to graze, sent back to Alberta for fattening in a feedlot, and then shipped back to the U.S. for slaughter,” the FCC report says. Imagine trying to figure out the tariff impact of that.

Live animals need to move through the supply chain until the production pipeline can be adjusted. That means the additional costs of tariffs will have to be absorbed. History suggests producers become the sponge.

News stories have already started to surface about Canadian-born food processors dependent on the U.S. market for growth making plans to move their operations south. That is exactly the intent of this tariff war.

It’s well documented that Canada’s food and beverage processing sector has been losing ground in productivity and competitiveness. Statistics Canada reported in December that the pace of the sector’s investment in product, process, organizational and marketing innovations has been declining at a time when the industry openly acknowledges it needs to increase. Investments in process innovation declined the most.

“Canada’s food and beverage manufacturers lag significantly behind some of our international peers in automation, technology adoption and operational efficiency,” Food and Beverage Canada CEO Kristina Farrell told a recent Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute webinar. “It directly impacts our ability to compete globally, especially as input costs rise and margins tighten.”

She cited key vulnerabilities such as the industry’s structure, which is dominated by small- to medium-sized enterprises that lack the scale to go global, and the sector’s over-reliance on the increasingly uncertain U.S. market.

Farrell said external factors aren’t the only ones holding Canada back. She cited internal ones such as inadequate infrastructure in housing, childcare, transportation and labour, as well an inefficient regulatory framework. “These challenges aren’t necessarily new, but the urgency to address them has never been greater. We need to shift toward a forward-looking policy framework that prioritizes enhancing productivity and competitiveness across the industry, both in primary agriculture and in food and beverage manufacturing,” Farrell said.

Countering tariffs with tariffs is a normal reaction. It may buy us time. But it isn’t a strategy.

Neither is shaking our heads and speculating on when Donald Trump will come to his senses and do sensible things.

His power comes from unpredictability and his ability to create chaos.

Canada must move quickly to break down provincial barriers to trade, which a Queen’s University analysis says adds between 7.8 and 14.5 per cent to the price of goods and services purchased within Canada. Studies suggest eliminating those barriers could grow our national per capita GDP by three to seven per cent, adding $50 billion to $130 billion to the Canadian economy. We can’t change our geography, but we can develop national consistency in regulatory and technical standards.

That can’t happen overnight. What must change now is the commitment of our political leaders to achieving it.

In the meantime, any funds collected through import tariffs should be split between keeping the agriculture and agri-food sector afloat and investing in its future.

Instead of pointing fingers and scurrying around like gophers beneath a hawk’s shadow, it’s time to focus on the things that are within our power to change.

The post Canada can’t afford to let its food sector be snatched in trade war appeared first on Country Guide.

This year’s theme, “Caring for Soils: Measure, Monitor, Manage,” underscores the importance of accurate soil data and information in understanding soils characteristics and supporting informed decision-making on sustainable soil management for food security.

Here at Glacier FarmMedia, we appreciate the deep connection and commitment Prairie farmers have to the soil that supports their farming operations.

Watch the video below outlining some key facts about our soils.

Here at Glacier FarmMedia, our ongoing coverage acknowledges the deep connection and commitment Prairie farmers have to the soil that supports their farming operations.

To recognize this day, our editors have pulled together some of our favourite articles about soil from across the network of publications for your reading enjoyment.

For many on our team, 2024 will be remembered as the year we lost Les Henry, one of Canada’s best-known soil scientists and long-time columnist for Grainews. A farmer’s scientist, Henry’s columns were always informative and tailored to the issues important to people with boots on the ground.

In this column from 2022, he outlines the links between soil qualities and climate on the Canadian Prairies.

“If there’s a common thread through most of what’s been written about soils in Grainews, it’s the absence of a common thread,” says Editor Dave Bedard.

“Soils vary greatly across the Prairies, within provinces, regions, even within municipalities, as do the markers — and, in some ways, the definitions — of soil health. Of course, most farmers today will at least consider that serious declines in their crops or pastures may be symptoms of a longer-term problem below the surface and will consider the possible solutions accordingly. But they also tell us that their solutions didn’t just come off the rack.

“In this article different farmers in different parts of the country told our correspondent Lee Hart how they assess for soil compaction and, where a problem existed, what they’ve done to manage it,” Bedard writes.

From the Canadian Cattlemen archives, we bring you these top picks.

• Canadian Cattlemen: Grazing management and soil health (Pt. 1)
• Canadian Cattlemen: Grazing management and soil health (Pt. 2)

“In these two articles, Burke Teichert reminds us that a ranch is a system, and soil is central to the whole operation,” says Editor Lisa Guenther.

“What does that mean? It means soil health affects ecosystem functions such as the water and mineral cycles, sunlight/energy flow and the communities of different species found in the pasture. It also ties into profitability, by improving range use, water infiltration, forage growth and stocking rates,” she says. “Teichert explains these principles, and how farmers and ranchers can adapt them to fit the context of their ranch.”

Gord Gilmour, senior editor of news and national affairs, selected this article from Alberta Farmer Express.

• Alberta Farmer Express: N maybe making your soils more acidic

“Nitrogen is the most commonly used crop nutrient, but it could be having subtle effects on soil health over time,” Gilmour says. ”In this article reporter Jeff Melchior speaks to a researcher who’s trying to separate fact and fiction on this important question.

“Understanding these impacts is going to be an important part of protecting and enhancing soil microbiology while still ensuring productivity of farms.”

From The Western Producer, we bring you these stories:

This video features Afua Mante who is a soil scientist with a focus on bioengineering highlighting the fact that our Prairie soils are, at best, in a steady state. But in almost every soil health measure, they are getting worse, says Robin Booker, editor of The Western Producer.

Mante, who originally trained as an engineer, said part of the reason soils are degrading is the speed farmers work their soils, and the disconnect between the agricultural industry and the engineering community.

Meanwhile, the story below addresses ways to rebuild the fertility of knolls on a field where the topsoil has been eroded. Manure applications help, as does increased fertilizer. However, taking topsoil from field depression and adding them back to the top of hills was the best treatment in an experiment near Central Butte, Sask., conducted by Jeff Schoenau, University of Saskatchewan soil scientist. The topsoil replacement produced the highest spring wheat yield due to better soil fertility and water-holding capacity associated with thicker topsoil.

• The Western Producer: When topsoil moves uphill

Statistics Canada recently published a Census of Environment data portal that shows soil organic matter has been increasing on agricultural lands in Canada. In 2016 Canadian agricultural soils removed 11.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” says an Agriculture Canada website on soil organic matter. The website contains a Soil Carbon Change Index, which shows that soil carbon conditions have gone from “moderate” in the 1980s to “good” in the 2000s.

• The Western Producer: Farmers make big soil health strides

From Farmtario, we selected this article encouraging farmers to not get caught up some of the popular mythology around soil testing.

• Farmtario: Nutrient and soil testing myths

Finally, from Country Guide, we selected the article below about progress, however slow, towards increased use of variable rate fertilizers.

• Country Guide: The slow evolution toward real-time variable rate fertilizer

“Variable rate fertilizer to apply the best rate for each acre has merit, but the cost and the hassle to make it work does not appeal to many farmers,” says editor Lisa Guenther. The return does not seem to justify the work required.

“Can we change that with a real-time on-the-go system? Country Guide talked to three industry leaders to find out.”

Key facts about our soils:

• 95 per cent of our food comes from soils.
• 33 per cent of soils are degraded world-wide.
• It can take up to 1000 years to produce just 2-3 cm of soil.
• Soils supply 15 of the 18 naturally occurring chemical elements essential to plants.
• There are more living organisms in a tablespoon of soil than people on Earth.
• Over the last 70 years, the level of vitamins and nutrients in food has drastically decreased.
• Two billion people worldwide suffer from lack of micronutrients, known as hidden hunger.
• Agricultural production will have to increase by 60 per cent to meet the global food demand in 2050.
• Up to 58 per cent more food could be produced through sustainable soil management.
• Up to half of household waste could be composted to nurture our soil.

Source: United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization

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Ken Wall said the economics of growing forage as a cash crop have changed significantly in recent years due to market conditions and a sharp increase in the price of fuel.

Hay grown locally is in high demand and the prices buyers are willing to pay now compete with grain crops for profitability.

Based on a harvest of two tonnes per acre, Wall suggested, it’s possible to get $450 to $500 per acre from hay sales, “so it really does start to compete with some of these higher-yielding, higher-dollar annual crops,” he told farmers gathered in one of the speakers’ tents at the recent Ag in Motion outdoor farm show.

However, the cash value is only part of the equation. Because legume forages fix their own nitrogen, they support the crops that follow.

“A legume such as alfalfa can fix up to 250 pounds of nitrogen per year,” he said.

The residual nitrogen builds soil fertility, which increases both yields and protein in a grain crop.

There are other agronomic rationales. A perennial crop can help control salinity – an issue Manitoba producers have struggled with through recent years of water supply extremes. It controls weeds without herbicides and breaks up disease cycles such as aphanomyces.

It also helps build mycorrhizae in the soil, which allows plants to make better use of available phosphorus.

Wall noted the federal government’s target of reducing fertilizer emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. In this too, he argued, forages in the rotation could be a game changer.

“I really do think one of the things that’s going to become a player in this is forages because, again, you can reduce the amount of fertilizer you’re putting in,” he said.

However, Wall cautioned that if farmers want forages to pay like a cash crop, they need to treat it like a cash crop. It must get the same care and attention paid to annuals.

“Treat it like you would your grain crop … that’s my biggest complaint with a lot of cereal grain farmers. They’ll seed all their cereal crops. And then (at) the end of June, when they got everything done, the first pass of the chemical has been put on. Then they’ll think about seeding forages,” he said.

Wall advised farmers to get weed populations under control and prepare a firm seed bed before seeding if they’re interested in the crop. Starter fertilizer will also set forage establishment up for success.

“Don’t cheap out and buy common seed, especially for larger acreages where you really want to get some production,” he advised.

He further encouraged growers to put in a cover crop. That can be harvested as green feed in the first year while the perennial crop gets established, he said.

– This article was originally published at the Manitoba Co-operator.

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After all, who can survive without food?

Nevertheless, the guidance document issued by Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair this week sent an important signal, one that the industry was desperately waiting to hear — and one that consumers needed to hear.

“We are all going through a period of great uncertainty right now and, as Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, I assure you that our government is taking all the necessary measures to ensure that Canadians always have access to quality food at affordable prices,” Marie-Claude Bibeau said in an accompanying statement.

Analysts are following the fascinating shift in consumption patterns as shoppers stock up on pantry items and food service providers rapidly transition from dining-room service to takeout and delivery.

“It is hard not to miss the lack of flour in the grocery aisles lately as consumers stock up on the ‘essentials’,” said Bruce Burnett, analyst with Glacier FarmMedia’s MarketsFarm said in a research note this week. “A number of stores are just rolling out the pallets of flour into the store and they are picked clean by the end of the day.”

The U.S.-based agricultural lender CoBank has tracked what it calls a “monumental shift” in recent weeks to consumers purchasing nearly 90 per cent of their food at supermarkets, up from 48 per cent.

This has created unforeseen pressures on the supply chains and some have found it hard to quickly adjust.

So far, dairy farmers have borne the brunt of that reality as they dump millions of litres of milk due to sudden changes in market demand from the food service sector. At the same time, the “stocking up” phenomenon has resulted in temporary shortages in some grocery stores.

While some have used this to condemn supply management in Canada, it’s notable that dairy farmers in the U.S. and Europe are in the same boat. It’s a supply chain issue that has nothing to do with how the marketing system is structured.

It’s still important to note that basic access to food is not in jeopardy.

“There is surely a need to reassure the public of our food security,” three leading agricultural economists say in a research paper released in late March.

“Nothing fundamental has changed with regard to productive capacity in the agri-food system — no livestock or plant disease, or a natural disaster (flood, drought, pests, destruction of property) has occurred that destroys food output,” wrote Al Mussell, Doug Hedley and Ted Bilyea with Agri-Food Economic Systems. “Movement of agri-food product from farms through to consumers has been resilient to any number of past extremes.”

That said, they highlight the fact that efforts to streamline supply chains, which in agriculture are often lengthy and involving several intermediaries, might backfire in times like these.

When agriculture is viewed solely through an economic lens, redundancy is a bad thing. If however, it is seen as an essential requirement, a little redundancy in the system makes sense.

If, for example, a major meat processing plant is taken off-line due to a high rate of employee absenteeism or a COVID-19 related isolation order, it quickly spreads back to the farm level. We’ve seen evidence of that already as Olymel has started backing out of delivery contracts.

It’s a worrisome for livestock production systems that depend on delivering a steady flow of animals to market, and which quickly run out of space in barns.

The availability of labour, which was already a critical concern for the sector, could become acute on two fronts. While the federal government has made provisions to allow temporary foreign workers into Canada during the pandemic crisis, the logistics of getting them here at a time when airline operators are drastically reducing their flights schedules are sketchy.

As well, housing, sanitation, and working conditions to reduce the risk of an outbreak will be under extra scrutiny. Similar concerns apply to U.S. and Mexican operations that supply many of the fresh fruits and vegetables available to the Canadian market.

Farming in Canada operates within tight windows for seeding and harvest, so even a short-term loss of workers can have a major impact on production.

The one bright spot, at least for grain farmers, is that the downturn in the oil and gas sector has likely increased the availability of workers capable of handing industrial-scale equipment. But there appears to be little by way of infrastructure to connect those workers with the farmers who need seasonal help.

A federal designation of food and its supporting industries as essential doesn’t mean any of these issues evaporate, only that they won’t be relegated to the political backburner.

Laura Rance is vice-president of content for Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at lrance@farmmedia.com

The post Opinion: The changing conversation around food  appeared first on Country Guide.

A unique facility at the Elora Research Station operated by the University of Guelph digs deep to quantify soil ecosystem services.

The post VIDEO: Measuring how crop rotations affect soil health in Ontario appeared first on Country Guide.

And he’s rolling it out for the first time in July 18 to 20 at Ag in Motion (AIM), Western Canada’s outdoor farm show now in its third season.

“Everyone else is working on adapting the tractor technology to be autonomous, where this takes a grassroots look at it and says, why do we need a tractor?” says Beaujot, president and founder of SeedMaster, which has been developing the concept over the past three years through sister company Dot Technology Corp.

Not only does the DOT autonomous field implement platform eliminate the need for the hefty drawing power of a four-wheel-drive tractor, it eliminates axles, wheels and hitches on most field implements by essentially turning them into self-propelled units.

“The main reason I wanted to avoid having a tractor is if you take a 500-horsepower tractor and you drive it through the field, between 20 per cent and a third of its power requirement is to move itself. It has to have all the weights on it for the traction to pull whatever is behind,” Beaujot said in a recent interview.

“In this case, the weight of the implement and weight of the grain, or seed or fertilizer — whatever you put into it — satisfies the traction requirement.”

It takes only seconds for the U-shaped ‘prime mover’ operating on four independent hydrostatic wheels to sidle up to a specially designed implement such as seeder, sprayer or grain cart and hydraulically lift it onto its platform.

By carrying the implement instead of pulling it, it provides the same mobility — while being ‘driven’ remotely.

Beaujot says it potentially reduces the capital costs farmers have tied up in equipment, in addition to offering double-digit cuts in the cost of fuel and labour.

“I suspect that we would be looking at a 20 to 30 per cent saving per foot of implement,” he said.

The autonomous platform can be controlled by a remote operator or programmed through GPS with a ‘flight plan’ for the field or part of the field. The unit shuts itself off if it deviates from its programmed path or if it encounters obstacles. The operator can monitor and adjust the programming for several units operating simultaneously through a mobile device.

The unit is powered by a 160-hp Cummins diesel engine, which Beaujot said is more than adequate for operating a 30-foot seeder at speeds up to six m.p.h.

The company plans to conduct field tests throughout 2017 and make the first units available to a select number of farmers in 2018.

Full commercialization will follow. It also plans to make the platform accessible to all implement manufacturers for development of DOT Ready implements.

Better and safer

Beaujot has seen the trends to larger farms continue on the Prairies, which has coincided with fewer experienced operators available to do the work. He said this technology is part of the solution.

“I am convinced that if we put side by side any operator and a machine like this that is properly set up and you run them both for 17 hours, like farmers try to do at seeding time, that it will not only operate better and safer, but it will do a better job.”

The DOT autonomous field implement platform will be featured in live demonstrations at 2:45 p.m. daily at the AIM show site located 15 minutes north of Saskatoon on Highway 16.

It’s just one of many new innovations and hundreds of exhibits at this 325-acre site showcasing new developments in crop or livestock technology, equipment and agribusiness services.

Other innovations at AIM

Other new innovations being launched include:

• Michelin North America’s EvoBIB tire, a ‘two in one tire’ that adapts its profile and footprint according to the farmer’s requirements. At ultra-low pressures, the contact patch increases to reduce soil compaction, while enabling the power transmission to be increased. At higher pressures, the tire transforms so that only the central continuous band grips the road, giving a smoother vibration-free ride, fuel savings and improved safety.
• Farmers Edge will showcase its FarmCommand Scouting system — an app-based tool for monitoring and addressing field conditions. It is the first mobile scouting app that’s integrated with the FarmCommand, giving growers an integrated and seamless experience. It is also launching Corn Manager and its Next-Gen FarmCommand farm management tool.
• In the livestock sector, there is Libra TMR by AgriMatics, a tablet-based livestock ration weighing and data management system. It measures the exact weight of ingredients going into a feed mixer, tracks and measures what has been fed to each pen and allows users to export data from the app through email.
• Northern Strands Co. Inc. is launching its Grain Bin Fall Protection system, which is designed to protect a worker from a fall while inspecting or repairing a bin.
• PolyWest will introduce Safe-Fill, designed to prevent cross-contamination between water fill stations and the user’s tank.
• Agroliquid is releasing the Flavanol Polymer Technology, which is designed to optimize a grower’s fertilizer investments by providing a product that doesn’t tie up in the soils. Virtually all of what is applied is taken up by the plant. An added benefit of this technology is that nutrients are protected and resist the losses that can happen when applied in stressful environments.
• DirectSpray Nozzle is introducing an innovative pressure washer attachment designed to quickly reach where a normal pressure washer nozzle can’t. You can change the nozzle from straight to 45, to 90 degrees on the fly. No tools are needed.

This article originally appeared on the Manitoba Co-operator.

The post Not just a driverless tractor, but no tractor at all appeared first on Country Guide.

“The Canadian Wheat Alliance will improve the quality of Canadian wheat, and enhance Canada’s competitive position in the growing world market,” said federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz in a release Thursday.

“The benefits of this alliance will flow throughout the entire value chain, strengthening our producers’ bottom lines and our overall economy.”

The Canadian Wheat Alliance will invest approximately $97 million over five years into genetic improvements as well as more efficient fertilizer use.

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association welcomed the announcement. “We do need more research to reduce yield losses due to environmental factors,” said president Levi Wood. “This funding will help develop new wheat varieties better able to withstand drought, frost and disease.”

The association commended the federal government, province and university for their leadership and commitment to research on behalf of wheat farmers.

The Grain Growers of Canada was also pleased. “At the national Grains Roundtable recently, we created a work plan to identify overlaps and gaps in research between levels of governments, agencies of governments and the academic world,” said Richard Phillips, executive director.

“That roadmap will help ensure we minimize duplication and also identify areas where more work is needed, to maximize the use of our public resources.

“We can use this model as a starting point to also leverage producer and private investments to put wheat innovation on a fast track in Canada,” said Phillips. “Although we have not been happy with some research cutbacks, making more efficient use of the resources and infrastructure like greenhouses and laboratories may mean as much or more progress at the end of the day.”

The alliance combines resources from the National Research Council of Canada and AAFC with a $5 million contribution from the Saskatchewan government that will be used to support CWA activities and leverage contributions from other stakeholders, part of a $10 million commitment the province is making to wheat research over the next five years.

The University of Saskatchewan is contributing $1.4 million per year through in-kind contributions.

“With renowned plant breeding expertise available in areas such as our Crop Development Centre, the University of Saskatchewan is a recognized leader in agricultural and food production research,” said Dr. Ilene Busch-Vishniac, University of Saskatchewan president.

“Through this alliance, we will continue to work with our partners to further strengthen the knowledge and tools needed to improve wheat, a crop that brings nearly $4 billion annually to the farm gate in Canada.”

“Integrated fashion”

The federal government announced May 7 it is refocusing the NRC. It says the new structure would bridge the gap between knowledge and discoveries, and industrial innovation.

“With the world’s population expected to exceed nine billion by 2050, there is an increased demand for food, which places a responsibility on, and creates an opportunity for, the Canadian agriculture and food sector,” the release says.

The alliance is meant to develop wheat varieties that are more resistant to disease; have increased tolerance to drought, heat and cold stresses; require less nitrogen fertilizer; and produce increased yields.

“By working in an integrated fashion, and bringing in additional collaborators and contributors, the Alliance is striving to ensure the global competitiveness of Canadian wheat farmers and increase the value at the Canadian farm gate by a cumulative total of $4.5 billion by 2031.”

The alliance says climate change is expected to pressure agricultural production Canada as models predict Western Canada will become drier and its winters less severe — which means pests may overwinter and attack crops earlier in the growing season.

As well, the rate of world wheat trade, one of the most important cereal grains, is expected to grow at a much faster rate than overall consumption, doubling to 240 million tons or more by 2050.

“Canada, as one of the world’s primary wheat exporters, will have to significantly increase production over the next four decades to take advantage of those global demands.”

— Laura Rance is editor of the Manitoba Co-operator at Carman, Man.

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