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Alberta Wheat Commission invests $970,000 in research funding

Sept. 29, 2015, Calgary, AB - The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) is pleased to announce a total investment of $970,000 over five years in 13 wheat-related research projects focusing on agronomic and genetic improvements. Projects are taking place at research stations across Western Canada and target on-farm challenges and improved profitability and productivity for farmers.

"Investing in research is one of our key priorities as it ensures farmers have consistent access to new and better varieties as well as advanced agronomic knowledge," said Kent Erickson, Chairman, Alberta Wheat Commission. "Access to innovation is integral in building the Canadian wheat brand and maintaining our competitive edge in the international marketplace."

Projects include topics such as the effectiveness and appropriate timing of Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs), Fusarium Head Blight resistance in spring wheat, development of Soft White Spring (SWS) and General Purpose (GP) Spring wheat with higher yield potential, influence of Genotype, weather and the growing environment and crop management on gluten strength and the sustainability of CWRS as a premium wheat class, fighting rust fungal crop threats through integrated genomics research, and a province wide survey to assess the extent of Fusarium graminearum infestation, among others.

Farmers can look forward to hearing project updates and end-results through AWC as well as other funding partners.

Six of these projects have been funded via the Agriculture Funding Consortium, a partnership of 13 organizations that create a one-window approach to agricultural research and development funding in Alberta. AWC's participation in the Consortium leverages producer check-off dollars at a rate of almost 1:11.3. Seven more projects were funded independently based on alignment with AWC research priorities.

"Leveraging producer check-off dollars ensures that we are giving farmers the best return on their investment possible. We appreciate the collaboration between our funding partners and look forward to seeing the end-results from the research we've funded."

September 30, 2015  By News release