$8.8 million has been committed to a Western Canadian research project aims to help wheat breeders select important agronomic traits more efficiently. The Alberta Wheat Commission, the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission and the Western Grains Research Foundation announced Thursday they are contributing a combined $3.6 million over four years to the Saskatchewan-based research. Titled “Canadian... Read More

What crop and seed mixes could farmers plant to make their farms more bee-friendly? That’s a question Bayer CropScience and Pollinator Partnership are trying to answer with a study aiming to give farmers recommendations on what they can do to improve bee habitat on their farms. Vicki Wojcik, research director for Pollinator Partnership, a non-profit... Read More

Alberta wheat growers are contributing nearly $1 million to 13 wheat-related research projects across Western Canada over the next five years. A total of $970,000 in research funding was announced by the Alberta Wheat Commission in Calgary yesterday. “Investing in research is one of our key priorities as it ensures farmers have consistent access to... Read More

Preliminary research conducted in southern Manitoba is casting some doubt on the common belief that dark, tilled soil is best for planting soybeans in northern growing regions. Greg Bartley, a graduate student working together with Dr. Yvonne Lawley at the University of Manitoba, is in his second year of comparing how soybeans respond when planted... Read More

Boron's complete role in plant health is not entirely understood, but the nutrient does play a key role in cell elongation, hormone response and membrane function. Boron is a micronutrient necessary for optimal yield and growth, but needed in only very small quantities. In Western Canada, trials surrounding boron have shown inconsistencies in yield response,... Read More

The federal agriculture minister joined the chairs of Genome Canada and the Western Grains Research Foundation in Saskatoon on Tuesday to announce a total of $93 million in funding for 11 agriculture and aquaculture genomics research projects. $30.8 million is coming from the federal government through Genome Canada, with $5 million from WGRF. The balance... Read More