Glacier FarmMedia — Canada’s public wheat breeding system is under review.
The Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC) has hired Synthesis Agri-Food Network to conduct the review to help identify potential risks and opportunities in the system.
Find more Western Canadian Crop Prodution Show coverage here.
“We must ensure Canada has a system that is stable and continues to generate new elite varieties for farmers, while supporting choice and competition,” Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission (SaskWheat) chair Jake Leguee told delegates attending the annual general meeting.
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The CWRC is funded by SaskWheat, Alberta Grains and the Manitoba Crop Alliance.
It in turn funds core breeding programs for Agriculture Canada, the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Manitoba and the University of Alberta.
CWRC has invested $75.2 million in those institutions, with $38 million of that coming from SaskWheat.
WHY IT MATTERS: Wheat heavily relies on public breeding programs.
Western Canadian farmers are investing more than $9.5 million a year in core wheat breeding activities through the CWRC.
That contribution accounts for about half of the total public wheat varietal research and development costs.
“Farmers are holding the key to the future of wheat breeding,” said Leguee.
That is why it is important for Synthesis to review the system to make sure they are getting it right.
The company has reviewed all related reports and analyses, interviewed 29 stakeholders (including breeders, scientists, Agriculture Canada managers and private seed companies) and has conducted two workshops with farmer representatives from all three Prairie provinces.
A report on its findings is due in March.
Leguee said breeding is a long-term game, noting that the main varieties grown today are from crosses made 10 or 15 years ago.
“It is critical to have predictable and sustained funding for breeding programs to keep the pipeline full of new innovations and prevent technology gaps from occurring,” he said.
That is why the recently announced budget cuts of up to 15 per cent over three years at Agriculture Canada are “incredibly concerning.”
“We don’t know where those cuts are going to be targeted,” said Leguee.
SaskWheat is also a key funder of the Canadian National Wheat Cluster, a five-year program that started on April 1, 2023.
The cluster funds 15 research activities and three non-science activities through a funding commitment of $20.5 million that comes from government as well as producer and private organizations.
Year four of the program begins April 1, 2026. SaskWheat has committed slightly more than $3 million to the project.
SaskWheat has committed nearly $71 million to 373 research projects since 2014, including $2.2 million to 26 projects in 2024-25.
“We believe, and history shows, breeding activities that develop trait technology and innovation engrained in the seed will help to meet sustainability goals,” said Leguee.
The money is being spent on crops that improve nitrogen use efficiency, use fewer herbicides and better withstand stress.
Researchers are also identifying best management practices that result in improved environmental performance, more effective input use and more efficient carbon capture.
“Directed farmer funding is a critical component of research and breeding because nobody knows what is happening in the fields better than farmers themselves,” he said.
