The federal and Saskatchewan governments are investing $9.8 million in 39 crop-related research projects through Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) in 2021.
The annual ADF announcement delivered by Premier Scott Moe, federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, and her Saskatchewan counterpart David Marit kicked off this year’s virtual CropSphere conference, as Saskatchewan crop commissions held their annual meetings online on Tuesday.
The following producer groups and industry partners are contributing an additional $3.1 million to these projects: Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF), Saskatchewan Alfalfa Seed Producers, Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission, Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission, Saskatchewan Oat Development Commission, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, Alberta Wheat Commission, and Manitoba Crop Alliance.
Several of these groups, including WGRF and Sask Wheat, announced additional funding for projects that were submitted through the ADF application process, but did not receive government money.
For example, WGRF says it’s contributing a total of $2.6 million in new funding for 16 crop-related research projects, focusing on rapid and low-cost disease diagnosis, insect pest surveillance, fusarium head blight management, epidemiology and virulence of plant pathogens, as well as breeding for disease resistance, increased yield and trait improvements.
Sask Wheat is contributing $3.9 million to 23 crop-related projects, including: fusarium head blight and ergot resistance studies, research into next generation fungicides, fungi and deoxynivalenol (DON) diagnostic tools, integrated pest management strategies for kochia, identification of genome structural variants for trait improvement, and grain protein and yield studies in durum and Canada Western Red Spring wheat varieties.
“The program provides opportunities for quality, innovative projects that will benefit Saskatchewan grain producers,” says Sask Wheat chair Brett Halstead. “The ADF funding process allows us to collaborate with other Prairie crop commissions, connect with researchers and fund projects that are developing crop varieties with greater yield potentials and resistance to common pests and environmental stressors. The benefits of farmer-funded research goes beyond farm gate, increasing market opportunities for Canadian crops and leading to a stronger agriculture sector and provincial economy.”
Download a complete list of the projects receiving government funding, and their funding amounts here.