12 www.seed.ab.ca | Advancing Seed in Alberta Join us at Next Level Farming, featuring regional commission updates, trade issues insight including NAFTA, valuable farm management tips and the latest on pesticide use. Attend a Next Level Farming event in your region or zone. FARMING NEXT LEVEL albertabarley.com l albertawheat.com l 1.800.265.9111 pulse.ab.ca l 780.986.9398 All meetings will take place from 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. What is the typical turn around for tests? Does BioVision provide sample bags or containers? What is the typical turn around for tests? What are the lab locations? Does BioVision provide sample bags or containers? 1-800-952-5407 www.biovision.ca @seed_testing Did you know you can now TEXT us your questions? Give it a try at 1-587-801-1313 What is Clubroot & should I test for it? How do I send BioVision a sample? BioVision offers a pre-paid courier... When should I send my samples? Seed Testing • Varietal Purity • Grain Grading • Soil & Tissue Testing SHERWOOD PARK • WINNIPEG • GRANDE PRAIRIE Then in 2000, the Endowment Fund got another important source of funds. “The federal government named WGRF as the recipient under the Canada Transportation Act with respect to the Rail Revenue Entitlement. Anytime the railways exceed that Entitlement, the amount they exceed it by is awarded to WGRF,” Patterson says. “It is bittersweet because it means farmers have been over- charged for grain transportation. On the other hand it would be administratively very complex and costly to try and return that to farmers, so the federal government decided to put the money into WGRF to benefit all farmers.” Of the $18 million invested in research by WGRF in 2016, about $7.5 million was from the Endowment Fund. WGRF began receiving the wheat and barley check-offs for variety development in 1994. A 2012 return-on-investment study commissioned by WGRF found that, on average, for every check- off dollar invested in variety development, producers receive $20 in value for wheat and $7.50 for barley. The Western Canadian Deduction (WCD) was a five-year measure put in place by the federal government on Aug. 1, 2012 with the ending of the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly. This transitional measure allowed the then newly formed provincial wheat and barley commissions and associations time to take responsibility for the wheat and barley check-offs going forward. Patterson notes, “The western Canadian wheat and barley commissions have now assumed the check-off as of Aug. 1, 2017. Farmers really won’t notice a difference.” WGRF felt it was crucial to prevent any funding gaps in wheat and barley variety development programs, so it took steps to ensure a smooth transition with the full support of the provincial commissions and associations. “Even though the check-off that WGRF received expired on July 31, 2017, we had enough in our wheat and barley reserve funds to commit to new agreements that go to 2020 with the public institutions,” Patterson states. “So there is stability for public breeders. And the wheat and barley commissions have time to put their plan together for how they would like to continue that.” Renewing Agronomic Research Capacity One of WGRF’s current initiatives involves reinvigorating agro- nomic research capacity in Western Canada. This initiative had its beginnings about three years ago, when a number of producer groups expressed concerns to WGRF about declining capacity. To get a better handle on the issue, WGRF commissioned a study of the current and projected agronomic research capac- ity to 2020. The resulting report, Fertile Ground: Agronomic Research Capacity in Western Canada, was released in 2014. It confirmed the declining capacity, including loss of scientific expertise due to retirements, a lack of adequate equipment, land and buildings, and insufficient staff and funding. So WGRF, wanting to develop a vision of future agronomic research capacity, held a workshop in April 2015 to consult with stakeholders. This generated Shaping the Future, a report that details changes expected in crop production and the research needed. By fall 2015, a technical working group provided input on the capacity that would be required to address the research