Grainswest - Fall 2021

Fall 2021 Grains West 48 Funding process targets better ROI for farmers, scientists Researchmatchmakers GRAIN SCIENCE NEWS EACH YEAR, THE PROVINCE’S wheat and barley farmers invest heavily in research and innovation. In fact, the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) and Alberta Barley reserve the largest part of their respective budgets for this program- ming area—between $4.5 and $5 million annually combined. And while farmers set the priorities and make funding de- cisions, the commissions’ research team makes sure they get the maximum return on investment from every dollar. Lauren Comin is director of research for both commissions. She started with AWC in 2013 as its first research manag- er. Faced with the daunting task to create a multi-million-dollar research program from scratch, she began the process by building relationships with veteran re- searchers in the field to determine what was possible. She then turned to farmers to identify their agronomic needs. “It was really important from the get-go that everything be farmer direct- ed,” said Comin. “Farmers are making funding decisions based on recommenda- tions from staff. We hold priority-setting sessions and bring farmers in to talk about today’s on-farm problems that haven’t been addressed by research and what issues are going to be important in the future.” With research priorities that are set by farmers in combination with the strong relationships they have built with the Ca- nadian research community, Comin and her team have increasingly been able to focus their efforts. They work to find the right projects rather than simply opening the door to proposals. “We call it research matchmaking. We’re going out and telling the research- ers what we need, and we’re trying to figure out who has the skillsets to address those priorities,” she said. In support of the process, the research team works with scientists to ensure their project proposals hit the mark prior to submission. Sheri Strydhorst is the most recent addition to the dual-commission re- search team. A well-known agricultural research scientist herself, Strydhorst has taken on the role of agronomy research specialist. She provides mentorship to new researchers and helps them develop a practical understanding of the context they are working in. “Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen new people come in the door who are great scientists but don’t have the connection to the farm,” said Strydhorst. “There’s a real opportunity here to help them understand what’s going on at the farm level so they are more successful with their funding applications.” Having operated a grain farm with her husband for more than 20 years, Strydhorst is well placed to bridge the two worlds. She recently launched Shop Talk with Sheri , an eNewsletter that goes out to 100-plus researchers across Cana- da. It offers information about upcoming webinars and funding calls as well as tips on how to write funding proposals and detailed information on the commissions’ research priorities. “We really have two goals,” said Stryd- horst. “Those are to help deliver the best science to our farmers and to support the researchers to increase their probability of success. I want to make sure scientists are putting in proposals with a high success rate to make more efficient use of their time. We may have fewer proposals sub- mitted, but they will be more targeted.” Looking ahead, Strydhorst also plans to organize on-farm tours for scientists so they connect with the farmers who will ultimately benefit from their research pro- jects. “Such on-farm visits will be helpful for new scientists to understand the con- text their research will fit into and to help shape research treatments so that they can be practically applied on-farm,” she said. For example, if a researcher submits a pro- posal that finds value in a new nitrogen fertilizer source but it is so dilute a farmer would need to make 1,000 passes over the field to meet the crop’s nutrient needs, it would not be a practical treatment to research.