This year marks a half century of barley breeding at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC). The program has created plenty of top-tier varieties for western Canadian farmers since 1971.

The production volume of Canada Western Soft White Spring wheat (CWSWS) grown for food purposes in Western Canada is low. However, the handful of Alberta farmers who grow this limited acreage crop consistently praise it.

The improvement of Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance in durum wheat varieties is no easy task, but progress has been made in recent years. Varieties with improved resistance are in the breeding pipeline.

Dave Chalack has brought his decades of agricultural experience to the position of interim board chair of the newly formed Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR). The organization embodies Alberta’s fresh direction in grant allocation.

Throughout the winter months, grain industry groups, stakeholders and farmers across Canada will have the opportunity to provide input on the first draft of the code of practice developed by the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops (CRSC). Dubbed “Responsible Grain,” the code has been drawn up over the past year-and-a half and the CRSC is ready for feedback.

As part of the implementation of Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR), the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry (AF) Field Crop Development Centre (FCDC) in Lacombe will come under the management of Olds College.

There is strength in numbers. It’s a truism that has motivated cereals commissions across the Prairies to team up and strengthen their research efforts.

The first Co-op Disker rolled off the assembly line of the of the Canadian Co-operative Implements Ltd. (CCIL) Winnipeg, MB, plant in August 1946 and launched a new era in tillage and seeding practices in North America.

Early snow and wet or moist conditions in the fall are conducive to pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) in wheat and barley. PHS occurs when the seed’s dormancy is broken, forcing it to germinate rather than to store starch as it should prior to harvest.

A shared value strategy under development in the Canadian grains sector will enable eco-labelling for products made using western Canadian winter wheat, a crop that has seen a years-long decline in Prairie acreage.