The Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC) has elected its first executive from its Board of Directors.
Alberta farmer Terry Young, who is a director with the Alberta Wheat Commission, will be the inaugural chair for the organization. He'll be joined on the executive by Saskatchewan farmer and Sask Wheat director Laura Reiter, who was elected as the vice-chair. The secretary/treasurer position will be served by Cale Jefferies, who farms near Glenboro, Manitoba and sits as a director of the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association (MWBGA).
“The three Prairie wheat commissions are committed to working together to drive farmer investment in varietal development and regional priorities,” said Young. “We have seen excellent results in variety development thanks to farmer investment and we anticipate the development of new, high-performing varieties that result in better returns and increased competitiveness for farmers.”
The CWRC’s first board consists of eight farmers including Cale Jefferies and Dylan Wiebe representing MWBGA.
The formation of the CWRC directly follows the commissions’ recent shift to a single wheat check-off that coincided with the end of the end of the Western Canadian Deduction (WCD) on July 31, 2017. Under the previous check-off structure, the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) took the lead on core wheat breeding agreements and the national wheat cluster through WCD funding.
Source : Steinbachonline