A weekend feature for you - Horses to horsepower

Sep 18, 2023

How much has the type of agricultural equipment available to you, determined how you farm? How much did the type of machinery available to your father or grandfather influence the way they farmed?

Obviously, the kind of equipment available to farmers has changed a lot over the decades, and so have general farming practices. But did we change how we farmed and looked for machinery to accommodate those changes, or did the machinery available to us at the time change our methods?

Throughout the last century, a handful of inventors saw a way to do things better, and created machines that could improve farming practices. Then the rest of us changed what we did when those new and innovative machines became available.

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Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?