b"VIEWPOINTSThe 411 on RVTsWhat are the regional variety trials and how can you as a farmer use them to grow the best crops.Editors note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. SHERI STRYDHORST ISthe cereal and flax regional variety trial coordinator for Alberta. She completed her masters and PhD studies in crop production at the University of Alberta. Strydhorst has worked in various positions in Albertas agriculture industry, including executive director of Alberta Pulse Growers and at Alberta Agriculture doing applied cereal agronomic research. As part of her role with the provincial government, she was one of the trial co-operators for the regional variety trials. Strydhorst also serves as the chair of Prairie Grains Development Committee executive committee.Alberta Seed Guide (ASG): What are the regional variety trials?Sheri Strydhorst (SS): The Alberta regional variety trials, weSheri Strydhorst, cereal and flax regional variety trial coordinator for Albertaabbreviate them to RVTs, are small plot trials, grown at multiple locations. I have cereal RVTs at up to 16 locations across Alberta, and they compare the performance of newly registered wheat,What's great about ARVAC is that it consists of representatives barley, oats, flax and triticale varieties with the performance offrom the seed industry, breeders at the university and college level, well-known check cultivars. New varieties are tested for threebreeders from the federal government, crop commissions, and years to understand their performance under Alberta's differentgrower groups. The ARVAC membership reviews the data to really environmental conditions. make sure the information in the seed guide is as high quality as possible. ASG: Why are the RVTs important? Seed companies are part of ARVAC, but how they get involved SS: This data is not novel or unique, it is foundational. Thisin having their varieties tested is that in mid-February I send out a information has been generated for decades and is the cornerstonerequest for testing package. This package outlines the requirements source of information used when growers are adopting a newand cost of the program. By mid-March, seed companies need to variety. The RVTs are third party independent trials which providelet me know what varieties they want to enter into the Alberta RVT growers with a trusted source of variety performance across Alberta.program, and then they have to deliver high quality seed, which Some seed companies have their own variety trials and growersmeets the required specifications, to our contractor who treats and often view those as a marketing tool. What the regional varietydistributes the seed by the very beginning of April.trials do is they provide information on variety performance conducted under standardized, unbiased conditions in multipleASG: Can you share a brief overview of how the geographies across Alberta. And then the results are published inannual process for the RVTs goes?the Alberta Seed Guide.SS: Seed companies provide seed, then the seed is treated, weighed and distributed and sent to the field trial cooperators. I send field ASG: Who are all involved in the RVTs? How dotrial cooperators field books and plot randomizations. I also host a companies become involved and have their cropprotocol training meeting with the field trial cooperators to review varieties included? the scientific protocols that the RVTs must follow. SS: The regional variety trials are directed by the Alberta RegionalThe trials are planted and grown according to the standardized Variety Advisory Committee, which is abbreviated to ARVAC.scientific protocols. Data collection is conducted according to ARVAC coordinates the collection, review and the use of cereal andthe protocols, and then I physically inspect the site to make sure flax performance data for publication in the Alberta Seed Guide.that the trials are being done according to the protocols. Once the 32seed.ab.ca"