Strategic Realignment To "Better Serve" The Barley Industry

Chair Zenneth Faye says the move comes after a months-long comprehensive review of the roles and responsibilities of its partners in the value chain.

 

"The Barley Council of Canada has been in existence now for about five years and the Board felt that it was time to do a review of what our deliverables have been and where we're short falling," he explained. "So we put together a wish list of some places where we need to try and make better and efficient use of our resources internally, but also to efficiently use the dollars that our members pay towards the organization."

 

The move includes Cereals Canada, the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC), and the Brewing and Malting Barley Research Institute (BMBRI).

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?