Sour cherry shrubs, with proper care, can thrive in the challenging climate of Canada’s Prairies and produce fruit for delicacies such as strudel, as shown in the recipe here.
Tag Archives plant breeding
Cherries, part 2: Strudel
First We Eat: Prairie gardeners have until about the end of October to get sour cherry plants into the ground
Poppy crops for Western Canada
Could this be an opportunity for Prairie farmers?
My interest in this topic was piqued by the fact that I purchased a pound of poppy seed at an Edmonton grocery outlet and it cost me more than $10. I checked the internet and the literature on poppy seed growing and was surprised to find that Australia, Turkey, the Czech Republic and even Britain […] Read more
Bibeau says government committed to federal plant breeding
Seed royalty consultations stalled
The Canadian government is committed to plant breeding, federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau told members of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation on Tuesday. Some farmers and seed industry officials suspect Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) variety development work, along with many other programs, will be on the chopping block post-COVID-19 as the government tackles its […] Read more
USDA limits review requirements of some biotech farm products
Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Thursday a rule that will simplify or waive agency reviews of certain biotech farm products, including plants and seeds that have been genetically modified or engineered. As a result, some products could be sold to farmers without a USDA review — a move that […] Read more
POGA speaks out on Value Creation
The Prairie Oat Growers Association have a plan to provide more funds to seed breeders
The Prairie Oat Growers Association (POGA) would like to provide comments on the Grainews editor’s column titled “Paying for seed breeding.” In this article, Leeann Minogue suggested that “We’re already electing farmers to commodity boards across the Prairies, and these boards are already investing our money into research and development. These elected reps are studying […] Read more
Make your own seed initiative enters its ninth year
Manitoba’s Participatory Plant Breeding program turns farmers into plant breeders
[UPDATE: Dec. 12, 2019] The University of Manitoba’s Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) program, now in its ninth year — brings together farmers and plant breeders as partners in the plant breeding process. The program is particularly useful in crop production systems that traditional breeding programs aren’t always geared for, like organic or under unique growing […] Read more
Editor’s Column: Adding value to value creation?
“Value creation” has been a hot topic at farm meetings this season. It’s been a while since I’ve seen so many farmers so eager to get to a microphone and share an opinion. “Value creation” is one name for the idea of farmers paying more to fund Canadian wheat breeding. The meetings I’ve seen cover […] Read more
It’s a good time to be breeding oats
Oat research and development continues despite industry and government funding cuts
Despite a few stumbling blocks, the Canadian oat industry continues to advance and offer good opportunities for oat growers. The good news is that researchers are looking at new, value-added products that provide increased health benefits to consumers. Thanks to improvements in oat breeding and agronomic practices, Canadian oat yields have increased by 18 per […] Read more
Bring back the Western Canadian Deduction
Ensuring producer funding for variety development is fair, transparent and market driven
I attended the value creation meeting in Edmonton on December 6, 2018. I went as a farmer, seed grower and a person deeply interested in the policies that shape the success of the cropping industry in Western Canada. As a professional writer, I am used to reporting what other people have to say about an […] Read more
Paying more, getting more
As we sign up to pay more for seed, we must make sure we get a return on our investment
The discussion around seed royalty is now official. The question is not, “Will we have a seed royalty?” The question is, “Which system is going to be implemented?” The options have been defined and the choice is between two payment plans, which will likely boil down to one: EPR, or end point royalty, a charge […] Read more
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