The Canadian Barley Research Coalition (CBRC) announced today it will invest $2.7 million over five years in the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC) through a core breeding agreement to develop barley varieties with improved agronomics, disease resistance and end-use quality.
The CBRC is a collaboration among the Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission (SaskBarley), Alberta Barley and Manitoba Crop Alliance (formerly the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association).
“The agreement with the CDC ensures that western Canadian barley farmers can expect new and improved barley varieties from a world-class, multi-million dollar breeding program over the next five years,” says CBRC Interim Chair Jason Skotheim and SaskBarley Chair.
“This investment into the CDC breeding program will produce deliverables that will allow our farmers to stay competitive,” Skotheim says. “The last round of producer funding provided to the CDC saw the registration of two new malting varieties, one feed variety and one hulless variety. In the next five years we expect another three varieties to be released. This will have major benefits to our farmers.”
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Image via University of Saskatchewan.