The official ground-breaking for the Station took place on September 8, 2014 and is representative of a $24M (CDN) investment by Bayer into Canadian wheat breeding and a larger ten-year investment of $1.9B (CDN), into global wheat breeding technologies. June 10, 2016 will mark the official opening of the Station, which will be attended by numerous public officials and industry partners.
“The opening of this facility represents a monumental investment into the research and development of new and innovative hybrid wheat technologies designed specifically to help Canadian growers overcome some of their biggest cropping challenges, so they can successfully compete in the global grains market.” says Dr. Marcus Weidler, Head of Seeds Canada.
The cutting-edge facility will bring together multiple aspects of wheat breeding into one centralized location and will include an analytical lab, pathology research space and quality laboratory with an accompanying 2,550 square feet of environmentally controlled, off-site greenhouse space. Additionally, the station includes an incredible 480 acres of Field Breeding and Trial Evaluation, along with Bayer’s Crop Protection Research and Product Excellence Trials.
“This is a very exciting time for Bayer both globally and within Canada. We have always enjoyed an exceptional reputation as a leader in the agricultural industry and we are now at the forefront of wheat hybrid research and development,” continued Weidler.
The Bayer Wheat Breeding Station will focus on the creation of new Canadian Prairie Spring and Canadian Western Red Spring wheat hybrids that will be commercially available to Canadian growers within the next 6 to 8 years.
Source : Bayer