AAFC And Cereals Canada Publish Wheat Research Priorities

On behalf of the entire value chain, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Cereals Canada have released updated wheat research priorities through to 2022.

 

National wheat research priorities have been developed and refined through a unique national collaboration of farmers, federal and provincial governments, public research institutions, exporters and processors, led by Cereals Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

 

The five research priorities are:

 

· improving wheat yield

· improving wheat yield reliability

· increasing sustainability

· improving food safety

· increasing the ability to respond to consumer needs, both internationally and domestically, by enhancing the feedback mechanisms between purchasers, researchers, and producers.

 

The first report on priorities was released in 2017.

 

The new installment refines the objectives and measurements for the five research priority themes and updates the priorities based on new understanding of the value chain. The report lays out the priority areas of research that public, private and producer groups should focus on for the next two years in order to ensure that this $7 billion wheat industry provides growing and sustainable profitability into the future.

 

The report lays out a roadmap for innovation for public and private researchers, farmer-led organizations that fund innovation, and governments who continue to invest in wheat research and development. The report also provides a first picture of where research dollars are spent, allowing the value chain to measure work against the established goals and refine objectives for success.

 

Stakeholders in every region of the country can use the document to better understand where efforts and funding should be focused in order to achieve greater success for Canada’s important wheat sector.

 

In 2019, wheat exports were valued at almost $7.1 billion.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.