AAFC’s Stephen Morgan Jones says private investment is necessary to fill the wheat variety research gap in Canada.  photo: allan dawson

AAFC official says private companies needed to fill wheat research gap

There’s a multimillion-dollar wheat research funding gap in Canada that the private sector needs to fill, says Stephen Morgan Jones, director general of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) Prairie/Boreal Ecozone. It will require stronger plant breeders’ rights rules and partnerships with publicly funded researchers, he told the Grain Industry Symposium Nov. 20 organized by the

Gerry Ritz

Canada to sign UPOV ’91

Farmers will pay royalties on crop instead of seed

The federal government is poised to sign on to an international treaty that will see farmers pay seed royalties when they sell their crop. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said last week the decision to adopt UPOV ’91 by Aug. 1, 2014 will provide plant breeders with a better return on investment and encourage more private-sector


Agriculture Canada’s Cereal Research Centre in Winnipeg is being mothballed and its research staff transferred to other locations.  photo: shannon vanraes

Where is AAFC’s wheat-breeding program headed?

After closing Winnipeg’s Cereal Research Centre, the federal government has
invested $85 million in a new wheat research program in Saskatoon

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has led Canadian wheat breeding for more than 100 years, but recent actions by the federal government have some wondering about its future role. A year ago, Ottawa announced it will close AAFC’s venerable Cereal Research Centre on the University of Manitoba’s Winnipeg campus because it would cost too much

AAFC Brandon beef research cuts condemned

The Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Research Centre at Brandon is losing eight full-time employees, 850 head of cattle and $300,000 a year in revenue because the federal government is shutting down its beef research program. Whether the herd is sold or moved, it will be the first time in the centre’s 127-year history without


KAP counting on new checkoff legislation this spring

Keystone Agricultural Producers’ (KAP) membership and revenues could more than double if the Manitoba government comes through with legislation this spring to revamp the general farm organization’s checkoff system, the organization’s president says. “(Agriculture) Minister (Ron) Kostyshyn has committed to me they will move forward with something in the spring session,” Doug Chorney said in

Brandon rally draws 40 protesters opposed to introduction of Roundup Ready alfalfa

Opponents of genetically modified crops rallied in front of the constituency office of a local MP to protest approval of glyphosate-tolerant alfalfa, which they say could be seeded on fields in Eastern Canada as early as this spring. The demonstration, which drew about 40 protesters, was organized by the local chapter of the National Farmers


Letters, April 11, 2013

One super farm group needed? Danny Penner has been advocating for one “super” farm group to speak with one voice. That idea has been around for as long as there have been farmers. It’s easy to feel disassociated with the groups that are left, such as the commodity groups and the astroturf wheat-barley growers, Grain

COOL: Some are for it, some are not

More than a decade after mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) was first included in the Farm Bill, the debate continues. We’ve examined a legal opinion by the legal firm Stewart and Stewart (S&S) — paid for by the National Farmers Union, the United States Cattleman’s Association, the Food and Water Watch, and Public Citizen’s Global Trade


Pulse crops eyed for fast-tracked registration

Lentil, field pea, field bean and faba bean growers are being asked to consider a proposal under which new varieties submitted for federal registration could skip one or two levels of assessment they now receive. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency last week released a draft discussion document as part of an overall review of the

Letters, March 28, 2013

Farmers well represented by commodity groups I am replying to your recent article regarding farmer’s voice splintered. I am a grain farmer from Alberta growing wheat, canola and peas and have been involved in the canola and newly formed wheat commission in this province for the past 20 years. I take exception to your comments