This\u00a0Seed World Canada webinar\u00a0brings together leaders from across Canada\u2019s seed and crop development sector to discuss the future of\u00a0plant breeding in Western Canada\u00a0amid proposed federal research cuts. Hosted by\u00a0Marc Zienkiewicz, editor of Seed World Canada, the webinar explores how reductions to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research funding could impact Canada\u2019s crop innovation pipeline and what a stronger, more resilient plant breeding system could look like.<\/p>\n
The panel features experts from industry, research organizations, and regional government, including\u00a0Jeff Reed (SeCan), Jocelyn Velestuk (Canadian Wheat Research Coalition), Candace Woods and Todd Green (County of Newell), and Brent Derkatch (CANTERRA SEEDS). Together they examine the risks associated with potential closures of research stations and variety trial sites across the Prairies, which are essential for testing and developing high-performing crop varieties adapted to Western Canadian conditions.<\/p>\n
Speakers emphasize that\u00a0plant breeding is foundational infrastructure for Canada\u2019s agricultural competitiveness, supporting crop diversification, productivity, and long-term resilience. Panelists also highlight the growing role of\u00a0farmer investment and public-private collaboration\u00a0in sustaining breeding programs. For example, farmers currently fund half of all wheat breeding in Canada, demonstrating their significant stake in the innovation system.<\/p>\n
The discussion also explores emerging partnership models, such as the\u00a0County of Newell\u2019s management of the CDC South research facility, which illustrates how local governments, researchers, and industry can work together to preserve vital research infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Overall, the webinar underscores that maintaining Canada\u2019s global leadership in agriculture will require\u00a0new collaborative funding models, stronger industry partnerships, and long-term investment in plant breeding innovation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This\u00a0Seed World Canada webinar\u00a0brings together leaders from across Canada\u2019s seed and crop development sector to discuss the future…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540847,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,71900,44,13963,2100,13964,3194,74597],"class_list":["post-540846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-featured-canada","tag-news","tag-plant-breeding","tag-policy","tag-seed-world-canada","tag-videos","tag-webinars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/540847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}