By Braden Hursh
As a constantly evolving industry, agriculture in Western Canada needs to be growing, improving, and adapting to meet new challenges. From technology to biology, economics to efficiencies, agriculture, as an industry, has countless moving parts. So, when someone asks the question, “What do western Canadian farmers need to be successful?” The best people to answer are western Canadian farmers.
In 1981, the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) was formed and was granted $9 million from a discontinued federal emergency program under the Prairie Farm Assistance Act. Since inception, WGRF has invested over $240 million into agricultural research across Western Canada in a wide variety of areas that directly impact farmers. WGRF is now the largest producer-led funder of crop research in Canada.
Led by farmers, for the benefit of farmers
WGRF is a farmer-funded and farmer-directed non-profit organization that invests directly into agricultural research that benefits western Canadian producers. Today, the WGRF board of directors comprises 14 producers from 14 different western Canadian organizations such as Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, Alberta Grains, BC Grain Producers Association, and Manitoba Crop Alliance. To date, over 140 farmers have served on the WGRF board.
Wayne Thompson, executive director of WGRF, states, “We are made up of organizations that are collecting checkoffs from farmers to fund research plus also policy organizations. So, we have a well-rounded board that has direct insights into what farmers are looking for in regards to research. It’s valuable to have directors from across Western Canada from the member organizations, as it provides a lot of valuable perspectives into what farmers are seeking when it comes to research. It’s also very representative because we have people all across the Prairie provinces and they all have a say.”
The research selection process
Instead of sending out its own call for research proposals, WGRF relies on its partnerships from across Western Canada to bring forward proposals intended to benefit producers. WGRF works with the partners to review proposals sent to them, and then the board discusses and collaborates on the best ways for this research to positively impact producers across the different regions. Research priority areas are variety development and production. Proposals can include single-crop research involving barley, canary seed, canola, chickpea, corn, faba bean, flax, lentil, mustard, oats, pea, soybean, sunflower, wheat, and winter cereals or research that includes several of the crops listed.
Thompson explains, “The WGRF research committee is made up of some directors currently on the WGRF board, who can bring the farmer perspective to the research recommendations, and also external scientists.” Between the farmers and the scientists, the proposals are reviewed, discussed, and then recommendations are brought to the WGRF board for final funding approval.
Each proposal is measured by three parameters:
- Impact on farmers: Is this something the research committee suspects farmers will see value in? Example: a new agronomy practice to control disease would have a more significant impact and be ranked higher.
- Is it good science? When the research committee examines the proposal, they look at the process and method. Example: if a proposal to control kochia is put forward, WGRF would want to see that the study is done in different locations to have well-supported research results.
- Is it likely to succeed? Based on the knowledge of the research committee, will the result be achievable in the way proposed in the research? Example: will a new or improved agronomic practice use farm equipment that is widely in use or require different equipment to be adopted on the farm?
Research success stories
WGRF has funded more than 700 research projects across Western Canada with a major emphasis on applicable research that is consistent and accessible to as many farmers as possible.
Thompson points to a couple of specific examples of this applicable research that is now at the fingertips of all farmers and agronomists across Western Canada. Several websites available to all farmers include:
- Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network (prairiecropdisease.com)
- Prairie Weed Monitoring Network (prairieweeds.com)
- Prairie Pest Monitoring Network (prairiepest.ca)
- Field Heroes – beneficial insects (fieldheroes.ca)
The websites provide farmers with a combination of interactive maps, research, forecasts, and regular updates to help them plan their year and also adapt mid-season to potential changes. Thompson says, “We have been working with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), the provincial researchers, extension specialists and scientists at the universities. The value of these sites has grown over time because the farmers have access to information about what insects, diseases, or weeds to watch out for at different parts of the growing season. This helps them to work with their agronomist when scouting fields for pests.”
For a full list of past and ongoing projects, visit WGRF.ca.
Building human and technological capacity
Along with funding research for today, WGRF also looks ahead to the future of agricultural research. WGRF is currently funding graduate scholarships at the University of Manitoba, University of Saskatchewan, University of Alberta, University of Lethbridge, and University of British Columbia. Thompson says, “We’ve had these in place for a few years and they are meant to help graduate students continue their studies and provide them with experience in agriculture. We also supported research chairs at several universities, and the purpose behind those is to increase the capacity to do the research that is of interest to farmers. One of the drivers for the funding has been to fill gaps for agronomy research.”
Along with funding researchers, WGRF has also put an emphasis on funding research infrastructure. The WGRF Accelerating Capacity initiative has helped put the people, tools, and infrastructure in place to accelerate agricultural research capacity across Western Canada. This has involved the purchasing of equipment and the construction of buildings to increase the capacity to perform high-level research at various research farms across the Prairies, multiple AAFC research stations, and several universities.
Research can often be limited by the tools available to the researchers. “Say they had an older small plot seeder,” says Thompson. “It is probably time to get a model with GPS or better designs to collect reliable data. Sometimes you can be limited by the equipment at your disposal. It helps to have similar, if not the same, equipment at different locations to improve collaboration between researchers and provide results and information that may be used by farmers in a wider region of the Prairies.”
The emphasis on applicable research directly benefiting farmers of Western Canada has always been a benchmark of the Western Grains Research Foundation and will continue the drive to seek and fund the ideas of tomorrow.