Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Swift Current Research and Development Centre has been instrumental in bringing farmers new and improved crop varieties.
The first crop planted at the Research Centre was back in 1921 and since then farmers cropping options and farming techniques have benefitted.
Bruce McArthur the Associate Director at the Research Centre talks about the number of varieties that have been developed at the facility.
"Theres something like 70 odd something varieties of durums and hard red spring wheat, theres a bit of triticale in their and some soft whites as well, so it's an incredible amount."
He says over the year’s scientists at the site have significantly improved farming practices and varieties which are now commonly used by producers.
"In the crop here like in 2017, we ended up having a third of all Saskatchewan acres that were planted in hard red spring were coming from a variety that came out of Swift Current and in terms of durum we have the vast of durum wheat planted on the praries completly."
Source : Discoverestevan