Grainswest - Fall 2021

Fall 2021 grainswest.com 49 BY TAMARA LEIGH • PHOTO BY NICOLE MURRAY PHOTOGRAPHY David Simbo, research program manager, appreciates the value of Strydhorst’s role on the team. Every year the com- missions receive more than 100 letters of intent for research projects. It is Simbo’s role to review them and make rec- ommendations as to which ones move forward. He said the farmer-driven process of research priority development helps the team understand the challenges farmers face and to select projects that address these needs. “A lot of our researchers have some association with farmers and are pretty familiar with on-farm practices, but there are others who are not, and it’s important to get them familiarized with what the local, on-farm challenges are,” he said. After spending two seasons carrying out wheat and barley trials as a cropping program agronomist with the Lakeland Agri- cultural Research Association, Simbo joined Alberta Barley. He now addresses the research programs of both commissions. This role includes consultation with expert peer reviewers to ensure proposed projects do not duplicate work that has been done elsewhere and meets the level of scientific quality required to deliver the desired results. Based on suggestions from reviewers, he works with the researchers as they develop their proposals to ensure there are no flaws in how these studies are designed. The support provided to scientists by the research team is a benefit to the funder and the grant recipient, said Simbo. “Re- cently, a researcher proposed a project, and we had previously funded another researcher to do something really similar. We were able to recommend that they connect with each other, so they were not reinventing the wheel,” he said. “A lot of time, funders like that type of collaboration because they see that your research builds on what they’ve already funded.” Collaboration is indeed key for researchers and funders alike. It allows them to leverage a combination of knowledge and dollars as they look for synergies between research priorities for wheat and barley. This co-operative approach extends to pro- jects undertaken with additional agricultural boards, commis- sions and associations across Alberta. “It’s important to empower our staff to reach out and make connections to ensure our farmers have every opportunity to benefit from available research,” said Comin. She emphasized the research team is actively engaged with various scientific research organizations and participates in national and international funding committees. “The more we reach out and learn from others, the better equipped we are to deliver research to farmers.” Pictured here taking notes at the Chinook Applied Research AssociationWheatStalk event in July, Sheri Strydhorst is AlbertaWheat and Barley Commissions’ agronomy research specialist. She and her colleagues work with scientists to ensure their funding applications are more likely to be accepted. “We call it research matchmaking. We’re going out and telling the researchers what we need.” —Sheri Strydhorst