Saskatchewan gains $8.3 million in agricultural funding

Ottawa, Ont. – Crop research in Saskatchewan has received a significant boost, with $8.3-million in funding from the Saskatchewan Agriculture Development Fund.

The money will go toward 34 research projects. Some of the research initiatives benefiting from the funding in 2012 include:

•    Improving yields and disease resistance in wheat, barley and flax;
•    Increasing lentil yields and marketability through fertilization and genetic analysis;
•    Studying infrared technology to screen out fusarium-infected wheat and barley seeds;
•    Nutritional and quality analysis of peas, oats and Saskatoon berries;
•    Increasing profitability for wheat and lentil producers through genetic developments;
•    Reducing yield losses in pulse crops due to drought;
•    Increasing flax seed size to improve yields;
•    Identifying clubroot-resistant genes in canola; and,
•    Identifying factors that cause blackleg disease in canola.

“As the world population grows, research will be more important than ever to ensuring our producers have the tools they need to continue meeting the demands for safe, reliable agriculture products, both at home and abroad,” said Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Bob Bjornerud, in making the announcement. “This record funding will support projects that will ultimately create long-term benefits for producers at the farmgate.”

The funding comes through the federal-provincial Growing Forward framework.