The Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC) — a collaboration between the Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA), Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission (Sask Wheat) and Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC), has announced its newly appointed executive and president.
The new executive is comprised of chair Fred Greig (MCA) who farms at Reston, vice-chair Jake Leguee (Sask Wheat), a farmer from Fillmore, Sask., and treasurer Jason Lenz (AWC), who farms near Bentley, Alta.
Lauren Comin, the director of research with AWC, has been appointed the CWRC president, succeeding Harvey Brooks, general manager of Sask Wheat.
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“It’s been a historical year for wheat research in Canada,” said Greig, in a media release.
“We saw the execution of two core breeding agreements, marking the largest of these producer contributions towards wheat variety development since their establishment. This would not have been possible without the collaborative environment that the CWRC creates.”
CWRC’s operational hosting duties rotate every three years between the three Prairie commissions that represent wheat farmers. Hosting duties include administrative functions such as accounting services, research funding co-ordination, communications including website updates and annual reports, and other responsibilities such as planning and co-ordinating CWRC’s annual general meeting.
Sask Wheat was the first commission to host CWRC in its initial startup years. The key contact for external stakeholders, the president, is appointed from the host organization and approved by the CWRC board of directors. The duties will now fall to the Alberta Wheat Commission for the next three years.
The CWRC facilitates a collaborative approach to producer support of regional and national wheat research in variety development and agronomy, including administering the Canadian National Wheat Cluster under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) Canadian Agricultural Partnership program.
