Grainswest - Spring 2025

Spring 2025 Grains West 18 PERSON PLACE & THING GW: How did your flax and canola experience prepare you for WGRF? WT: With experience in flax and canola and my farming background, that has provided me with experiences and skills to help support research. It’s given me the opportunity to build relationships with farmers, industry, government and understanding of how the agriculture industry works and collaborates, the is- sues and opportunities and what farmers want. GW: How does WGRF fit into the big picture of ag research? WT: WGRF was established in 1981 to direct and fund research that benefits farmers. It has a board of directors made up of farmers from across Western Canada for a broad range of perspectives across several crops. The opportunities for WGRF to collaborate with other producer organizations and governments that fund research has been really valuable. GW: WGRF funds projects across a range of crops. What is the key to addressing the needs of the industry groups and the farmers who grow them? WT: It’s important to work with the industry groups to address the diverse range of crops we grow in Western Canada. Those relationships help WGRF understand the needs of the farmers who grow those various crops. It also helps WGRF identify the cross-cutting research opportunities. Because they grow crops in rotation, farmers have a lot of ques- tions about research related to the bene- fits and drawbacks of various rotations. They’re thinking about the sustainability and profitability of their farms. That’s part of what WGRF considers when mak- ing funding decisions. GW: What is the focus of WGRF as a research funder? WT: WGRF funds research in variety de- velopment and crop production. It funds research in 16 crops that include barley, canary seed, canola, chickpea, corn, dry beans, faba bean, flax, lentil, mustard, oats, pea, soybean, sunflower, wheat and winter cereals. The diverse research proposals we see and the discussions we have with researchers and our board makes WGRF a fun place to work every single day. GW: How is the organization itself funded, and how does it go about allo- cating funds for research projects? WT: The way it has been funded has changed over the years. It started with an original $9 million fund. That was invested, and returns from the invest- ment funded the research projects. Then, for a while, WGRF was the administrator of the wheat and barley check-o† for Western Canada. Today, WGRF contin- ues to receive returns from that original $9 million and is also the recipient of the Maximum Railway Entitlement. At WGRF, the research committee reviews the letters of intent and research proposals. They determine if the science methodology is good, and if the project results in outcomes that have an impact on the farm. The board takes the re- search committee recommendations and makes the final funding decisions. GW: Under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP) Pro- gram, WGRF leads and partially funds the second Integrated Crop Agronomy Cluster, that began April 1, 2023, and runs until March 31, 2028. How does the Cluster advance ag research? WT: The Integrated Crop Agronomy Clus- ter was designed to address the interaction of crops within a cropping system. Its development of the cluster was an oppor- tunity to research the benefits of di†erent crop rotations. Also, activities within the cluster support the monitoring and fore- casting of weeds on the Prairies. GW: In June 2024, WGRF invested $1 million in the five-year Diverse Field Crop Cluster. What is the intent and duration of the program, and how will that money be used? WT: It is one of the clusters under the SCAP. Flax, mustard and sunflowers are the priority-eligible crops for WGRF. The cluster is an important way to carry out research for crops that can be valuable and profitable in a rotation. It’s impor- tant for farmers to have information about which crops are a good fit for their rotation. GW: What additional work does WGRF carry out? WT: In addition to the research that is funded by WGRF, the extension and communication of those research results to farmers is also important. We do that through conferences, producer meetings and webinars, and we support researchers in the development of websites. We sup- port the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network, which provides farmers with information about insect developments during the growing season as well as monitoring and forecasting insect issues. We have taken that model and are working with researchers to develop prairieweeds.com and prairiecropdisease.com as additional resources for farmers. We’ve also worked with researchers to develop fieldheroes.ca and provide information to farmers and agronomists about beneficial insects. GW: What do you hear from farmers and ag organizations about the state of Canadian agriculture research? WT: Farmers are asking for high-quality research that helps them grow a sustaina- ble and profitable crop. They want infor- mation they can use on their farm. For that to take place, the ability to carry out the research is important. They’re looking for places where that research can be done, and they want to be confident they can apply the results to their farm. GW: What is needed to maintain the good health and vitality of Canadian ag research? WT: There’s always going to be the need for collaboration between farmers and government. They need to talk about the opportunities for research and identify the needs of the various sectors in the agricul- ture industry. Produced by: SeCan Ad Number: SEC-MULTIWHEAT24_GW Product/Campaign Name: SeCan Multi Wheat Publication: GrainsWest Date Produced: January 2025 Trim: 8.25" x 10.75" Bleed: 8.5" x 11"