News
May 16, 2013 at 02:33 PM
Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) would like to congratulate the Government of Canada, the Government of Saskatchewan and the University of Saskatchewan on the creation of the Canadian Wheat Alliance (CWA).
“This initiative is an important step towards increasing the overall investment in wheat research to ensure that producers continue to have access to the best performing wheat varieties” said Dave Sefton, WGRF Board Chair. “The Canadian Wheat Alliance is a great example of collaboration between institutions at both the federal and provincial levels allowing producers to leverage their investment in wheat research.”
“Western Canadian producers are currently investing $4 million per year into wheat variety development at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the University of Saskatchewan (Crop Development Centre) through the Wheat Check-off and the Endowment Fund,” says Garth Patterson, WGRF Executive Director. “Since 1995, WGRF has invested over $60 million into wheat variety development at AAFC and the Crop Development Centre on behalf of Western Canadian producers.”
“WGRF will be working with the provincial wheat commissions, as they assume responsibility for funding wheat variety development to ensure continued producer support for initiatives such as the Canadian Wheat Alliance,” said Sefton.
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For further information, contact:
Mike Espeseth
Communications Manager
Western Grains Research Foundation
306-975-0365
MikeEspeseth@westerngrains.com
March 21, 2013 at 11:40 AM
“Producers will benefit from the Saskatchewan Government’s increased commitment to research,” says Garth Patterson, WGRF Executive Director. “The Agriculture Development Fund’s (ADF) budget of $27.7 million is an increase of 36% over last year,” says Patterson. “I would like to thank the Government of Saskatchewan for their commitment and Minister Stewart for his ongoing support of agriculture research and innovation in the province.”
WGRF is committed to continued collaboration on agricultural research funding at both the federal and provincial levels to leverage public, private producer and private industry investments into crop research to increase the industry’s competitiveness.
In January 2013 WGRF announced $3.5 million of new funding towards 25 crop-related research projects out of the Endowment Fund through a co-funding partnership with the Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) and other producer commodity groups. WGRF has set a target of $15 million of new project funding over the next four years.
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For further information, contact:
Garth Patterson, M.Sc., P Ag
Executive Director
Western Grains Research Foundation
306-975-2081
GarthPatterson@westerngrains.com
Mike Espeseth
Communications Manager
Western Grains Research Foundation
306-380-2553
MikeEspeseth@westerngrains.com
March 13, 2013 at 12:30 PM
Dave Sefton of Broadview Saskatchewan was elected for a second year as Chair of the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) at its Board meeting in Saskatoon on March 7, 2013. Dr. Keith Degenhardt of Hughenden, Alberta was elected as Vice-Chair. Others elected to the WGRF Executive were Gerrid Gust of Davidson, Saskatchewan, Mel Stickland of Red Deer, Alberta and Garth Butcher of Birtle, Manitoba.
“Our role at WGRF as Board members is to invest private producer dollars into crop research that will ultimately benefit their farms” says Sefton. “In 2012, WGRF invested over $7.4 Million into breeding and crop research that we are confident will benefit western Canadian producers. I am honored to have been elected for a second year as the WGRF Board Chair. 2013 will see WGRF continue to increase its research expenditures to provide value to producers through a western Canadian approach to research.”
Dave and his family farm near Broadview Saskatchewan. Dave is the representative from the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission on the WGRF Board. He is a former WGRF Vice-Chair and has been on the WGRF Board of Directors since 2002. Dave has been actively involved in producer groups for many years holding numerous positions and was recently awarded a Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his work and contributions on behalf of the canola industry.
The Board that over-sees WGRF is comprised of 14 producers representing the crop production sector in Western Canada and one non-voting representative from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The 2013 WGRF Board is:
Dave Sefton, WGRF Chair, Broadview, SK – Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission
Dr. Keith Degenhardt, WGRF Vice-Chair, Hughenden, AB – Wild Rose Agricultural Producers
Dr. Stephen Morgan Jones, Lethbridge, AB – Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada (non-voting)
Todd Lewis, Regina, SK – Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan
Kevin Auch, Carmangay, AB – Alberta Wheat Commission
Martin Moore, Fort St John, BC – BC Grain Producers Association
Jack Froese, Winkler, MB – Canadian Canola Growers Association
Joe Rennick, Milestone, SK – Canadian Seed Growers Association
Don Dewar, Dauphin, MB – Keystone Agricultural Producers
Bill Gehl, Regina, SK – National Farmers Union
Bob Anderson, Dugald, MB – Prairie Oat Growers Association
Mel Stickland, Red Deer, AB – Western Barley Growers Association
Gerrid Gust, Davidson, SK – Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association
D’Arcy Hilgartner, Camrose, AB – Western Pulse Growers Association
Garth Butcher, Birtle, MB – Western Winter Cereal Producers
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For further information, contact:
Mike Espeseth
Communications Manager
Western Grains Research Foundation
306-975-0365
MikeEspeseth@westerngrains.com
March 05, 2013 at 08:02 AM
The federal government annually provides a Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit to producers offering them a tax credit on their check-off investments.
The tax credit percentage for producers who contributed to the Wheat and Barley Check-off, administered by the Western Grains Research Foundation in 2012 are 85% for wheat and 86% for barley. It should be noted that the check-off on barley in Alberta is collected by the Alberta Barley Commission and will be subject to a different tax credit rate.
The percentages above are calculated by looking at the amount of the check-off dollars spent directly on research and development; this is then determined to be the eligible portion. Each check-off organization may vary, as they will have their own eligible percentage.
Producers can visit the WGRF website at www.westerngrains.com under the Current Info tab for links to the Canadian Revenue Agency website where the appropriate forms can be obtained and options for tax credit use are outlined.
For more information on claiming your SR&ED tax credit, please consult your accountant. For more information on the SR&ED investment tax credit, visit the Canada Revenue Agency website http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/txcrdt/sred-rsde/menu-eng.html.
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For further information, contact:
Mike Espeseth
Communications Manager
Western Grains Research Foundation
306-975-0365
MikeEspeseth@westerngrains.com
January 10, 2013 at 08:34 AM
Through a co-funding partnership with the Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) and other producer commodity groups, Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) is pleased to announce $3.5 million of new funding towards 25 crop-related research projects out of the Endowment Fund.
“The WGRF Endowment Fund supports research on a broad range of crops” said Dave Sefton, WGRF Board Chair. “As a regional producer organization, WGRF brings the research spending power of all farmers in western Canada together. This investment by producers in the research projects announced today will likely lead to improved crop production for western Canadian producers,” noted Sefton.
“Establishing co-funding partnerships across western Canada is an important step towards leveraging producers’ dollars to maximize investments in crop research,” said Garth Patterson, WGRF Executive Director. “We want to make WGRF a forum where producer organizations can come together to direct research on a western Canadian basis.”
Some of the projects receiving funding include: Mapping of blackleg in canola, fusarium resistance in cereals, new technologies to assess sprouting damage in wheat, addressing the challenges of growing canary seed, pulse disease management, improving weed management for Saskatchewan growers, and Improving the nutritional value of oats.
WGRF has targeted a total of $15 million in new funding over the next four years. WGRF has established relationships with Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) in Saskatchewan, Agri-Food Research & Development Initiative (ARDI) in Manitoba and the Agriculture Funding Consortium (AFC) in Alberta as well as other producer commodity groups that will double this investment to $30 million in these priority areas:
- Agronomy
- Variety Development
- Minor Crop Development
- New Crop Uses Utilization
- Crop Risk Management
- Post-Harvest Management
To view a full list of projects supported through the WGRF Endowment Fund visit: westerngrains.com/current-research/endowment-fund-research/
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For further information, contact:
Mike Espeseth
Communications Manager
Western Grains Research Foundation
306-380-2553
December 19, 2012 at 02:55 PM
WGRF is set to receive $672,329 from the Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CP) and the Canadian National Railway Company (CN). The Canadian Transportation Agency announced on December 19, 2012 that Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway both exceeded their railway revenue caps for the 2011-12 crop year:
- CN’s grain revenue of $542,756,316 was $240,185 above its cap of $542,516,131.
- CP’s grain revenue of $494,436,705 was $400,132 above its revenue cap of $494,036,573.
CN and CP now have until January 19, 2013 to appeal the ruling or pay the amount by which they exceeded their 2011-2012 revenue caps, in addition to a five percent penalty of $12,009 and $20,006, respectively.
The news release on the ruling is available from the Canadian Transportation Agency website at www.cta-otc.gc.ca.
December 10, 2012 at 11:00 AM
“The Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) congratulates the Province of Saskatchewan, the University of Saskatchewan, and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. on the establishment of the Global Institute for Food Security,” said Dave Sefton of Broadview SK and WGRF Board Chair. “WGRF is very supportive of partnerships between producers, private industry and public institutions to increase the productivity of western Canadian producers.”
“Western Canada is well positioned to increase its share of world food exports and the establishment of the Global Institute for Food Security places Saskatchewan in a leadership position,” said Gerrid Gust of Davidson SK and WGRF Board Executive Member. “Producers need higher yielding cereal, oilseed and pulse varieties along with the best agronomic tools to increase production on their farms,” says Gust. “The Global Institute for Food Security along with the cluster of public and private researchers on the University of Saskatchewan campus and at Innovation Place can do this for us.”
“WGRF invests over $6 million of producers’ dollars annually into crop variety development and agronomic research and the University of Saskatchewan is an important research partner,” said Garth Patterson, WGRF Executive Director. “We plan to increase our research funding by $15 million over the next four years and I am confident that the University’s increased research capacity will attract a portion of this funding.”
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For further information, contact:
Mike Espeseth
Communications Manager
Western Grains Research Foundation
306-380-2553
November 14, 2012 at 08:21 AM
A recent return on investment study commissioned by the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) has estimated that investment in wheat and barley varietal research is providing producers with a very high return on their investment. This study calculates that on average every producer check-off dollar invested into wheat varietal research has returned $20.40 in value to the producer. Barley varietal research saw a return of over $7.56 for each producer dollar invested.
The value is realized when new wheat and barley varieties are released and adopted by producers in Western Canada. For example, new WGRF supported varieties like Carberry, Muchmore, CDC Verona and all of the midge tolerant wheat’s are higher yielding with improved disease and pest resistance. Through WGRF farmers have assisted in the development and release of more than 110 new wheat and barley varieties over the past decade and a half, many of which are today seeded to large portions of the cropland in Western Canada.
“The WGRF investment in variety development has earned a very high return for producers,” says Dave Sefton, WGRF Board Chair. “The return on investment of 36% on wheat variety development and 28% on barley variety development demonstrates that investing in research continues to be an excellent way for producers to improve their returns. WGRF invests over $6 million of producers dollars annually into breeding and crop research. As a regional organization WGRF brings the research spending power of all farmers in Western Canada together, maximizing the returns they see in crop research,” says Sefton.
“The popularity of WGRF supported varieties and these high rates of returns show that producers have benefited substantially from their check-offs and would benefit from increased investment in varietal research” said Garth Patterson, WGRF Executive Director.
A full copy of the study can be found by clicking here.
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For further information, contact:
Mike Espeseth
Communications Manager
Western Grains Research Foundation
306-975-0365
WGRF Backgrounder
The Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) is a farmer funded and directed non-profit organization investing primarily in wheat and barley variety development to benefit western Canadian producers. WGRF has assisted in the development and release of more than 110 new wheat and barley varieties over the past decade and a half, many of which are today seeded to large portions of the cropland in Western Canada. WGRF also invests in research on other western Canadian crops through the Endowment fund. Since 1981 the Endowment Fund has supported a wealth of innovation across Western Canada providing over $26 million in funding for over 230 research projects.
September 24, 2012 at 04:17 PM
Alberta Barley Commission gives farmers and buyers another tool to help understand the check-off program
CALGARY, AB, September 24, 2012 – The Alberta Barley Commission (ABC) recently launched a new website to help Western Canadian grain farmers and buyers better understand the new collection system for the wheat and barley check-off. The website, www.wheatbarleycheckoff.com, provides information about the check-off, the remittance process, reporting procedures and answers frequently asked questions.
In accordance with the federal “Regulations Respecting Research, Market Development and Technical Assistance (Wheat and Barley),” the ABC has been collecting the check-off since August 1, 2012. The new website is intended to be another tool to assist farmers and grain buyers in understanding the program.
“We know that farmers and buyers don’t have time to go hunting for information – especially at harvest time,” says ABC Chairman Matt Sawyer. “The website will make it as easy as possible for all stakeholders to get the information they need to understand the check-off.”
The ABC is collecting the voluntary check-off on behalf of three recipient groups: the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF); the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi); and the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC). The check-off funds will enable these three organizations to continue to deliver new varieties, market development and technical support to the industry.
“All three organizations have a proven track record of success,” says Sawyer. “Their vast achievements have proven invaluable to farmers.”
Western Canadian farmers and grain buyers are encouraged to utilize the website www.wheatbarleycheckoff.com or phone the ABC’s toll-free number at 1-800-265-9111.
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For more information, please contact:
Lisa Bastarache
Public Relations Specialist, Alberta Barley Commission
(403) 462-0532
Backgrounder
Cigi is an independent market development institute created in 1972. Its mission is to create profitable opportunities for Canadian field crops through the delivery of technical expertise, support and customized training to the domestic industry and customers around the world. Cigi is funded by farmers, the Government of Canada (AAFC) and industry partners. www.cigi.ca
CMBTC is an independent, non-profit organization funded by members of the malting barley and malt industry. The CMBTC is the focal point for applied malting and brewing research and provides technical support to members and clients. www.cmbtc.com
WGRF is a farmer funded and directed non-profit organization investing primarily in wheat and barley variety development. WGRF has assisted in the development and release of more than 110 new wheat and barley varieties over the past decade and a half, many of which are today seeded to large portions of the cropland in Western Canada. www.westerngrains.com
June 13, 2012 at 03:00 PM
“75% of producers believe that the wheat and barley check-offs are important to producers for variety research according to a recent survey of western Canadian farmers,” says Garth Patterson, Executive Director of the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF).
Overall, producers surveyed have a positive perception of WGRF and highly value farmer directed agricultural research. “In fact, 89% of producers believe it is important to have a research oriented organization like WGRF,” says Patterson.
Through the wheat and barley check-offs and the Endowment Fund WGRF invested over $6.3 million dollars into breeding and crop production research on behalf of producers in western Canada last year. “WGRF prides itself on being producer funded and directed and as an organization, it is great to hear such positive feedback from producers” said Garth Patterson, WGRF Executive Director.
The survey also shows support to increase investment in wheat, as evident by the fact that 65% of producers agree that increased funding of wheat breeding is important to increasing wheat profitability for farmers. There is also strong support by producers for an increase in both public (84%) and private (68%) wheat breeding.
Top research priorities listed in the survey included improving disease and pest resistance management, and the development of higher yielding varieties. “WGRF would like to thank the producers who participated in the survey” says Patterson. “The information collected will help WGRF with our research investments and our efforts to collaborate with private industry.”
In March WGRF contracted Insightrix Research to conduct a telephone survey of 600 wheat and barley producers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. WGRF was interested in gauging producer’s awareness, understanding and opinions of WGRF, the wheat and barley check-offs and research priorities. To see a full copy of the survey results, and learn more about WGRF please visit our NEW WEBSITE at www.westerngrains.com or stop by our booth at the Farm Progress Show next week located in Banner Hall.
WGRF Producer Survey Results
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For further information, contact:
Mike Espeseth
Communications Manager
Western Grains Research Foundation
306-975-0365
WGRF Backgrounder
The Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) is a farmer funded and directed non-profit organization investing primarily in wheat and barley variety development to benefit western Canadian producers. Through investments of over $60 million WGRF has assisted in the development and release of more than 110 new wheat and barley varieties over the past decade and a half, many of which are today seeded to large portions of the cropland in Western Canada. WGRF also invests in research on other western Canadian crops through the Endowment fund. Since 1981 the Endowment Fund has supported a wealth of innovation across Western Canada providing over $26 million in funding for over 230 research projects.
