Features Agronomy Plant Breeding
Improving Canadian Prairie Spring wheat varieties

July 8, 2015, Lethbridge, AB - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), CANTERRA SEEDS, and the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) have entered a partnership aimed at combining the strengths of producers, along with the public and private sectors, to create improved Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat varieties for farmers.

With a total contribution of $3.4 million over five years from AAFC, CANTERRA SEEDS and AWC, this public/private/producer partnership, or 4-P, will strengthen Dr. Harpinder Randhawa's Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) breeding program at Lethbridge Research Centre.

Through combined expertise, this important collaboration will streamline the development and commercialization of CPSR wheat at AAFC Lethbridge Research Centre (LRC), benefiting Alberta farmers and Western Canada as a whole. The 4-P builds on the passing of the Agricultural Growth Act (Bill C-18) which enables an environment more conducive to investment in plant breeding.

AWC will receive a share of royalties on new varieties resulting from the program to be used for future CPSR research and development.

CANTERRA SEEDS will provide additional technical and field-testing capacity for the CPSR material from AAFC Lethbridge, and increased funding and support for the program as a whole. These collaborative efforts will also factor in input from Alberta's wheat producers.

In addition to a financial contribution and significant field-testing capacity, CANTERRA SEEDS will also provide links to the entire value chain, a deeper understanding of end-user requirements and broad experience in seed production and commercialization. In exchange, CANTERRA SEEDS will receive the first right of refusal on a stream of future CPSR varieties from the program, a class of wheat with an unrealized potential in evolving food markets – particularly in Asia.

July 8, 2015  By News release