Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
January 20, 2003

Higher yielding wheat and barley varieties with stronger resistance to Fusarium Head Blight - this is just one goal of new research funded by Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF).

The farmer funded and directed WGRF administers the Wheat and Barley Check-off Funds, which support breeding programs toward new varieties of those crops in Western Canada. As part of its funding agreements with breeding institutions, the Foundation receives a share of the royalties generated by Check-off funded varieties.

WGRF's producer Board has decided to funnel these royalties - over $245,000 in 2002 - back into specific projects in the breeding programs that developed the varieties. Among the new projects funded this year are ones that target higher yields and greater Fusarium resistance for wheat and barley. Since 1998, over $360,000 in royalties have been re-invested by the Foundation.

"These royalties are a strong signal that wheat and barley varieties developed in part with farmer funding are becoming widely available and accepted," says Dr. Keith Degenhardt, a Hughenden, Alta., producer and Chair of WGRF. "They are also a sign of the growing equity producers have in the genetics of their crops."

The Foundation Board's decision to re-invest these funds in further wheat and barley research supports the intention of the Check-off Funds, he says. "This will allow farmers to get more mileage from their original investment."

The Wheat and Barley Check-off program began in the 1993-94 crop year to increase research funding into new wheat and barley varieties and help keep Canada competitive in crop development. The Funds are generated by check-offs deducted from Canadian Wheat Board final payments to producers, set at $0.20/tonne for wheat and $0.40/tonne for barley. They allocate over $4 million annually to breeding programs.

"There's often a lack of clarity in the industry about what royalties are and how they contribute to breeding research," says Lorence Peterson, WGRF Executive Director. "From the standpoint of WGRF, it's important producers understand the royalty system operates independently of the Check-off Funds and is a completely separate funding source for breeding programs."

Plant breeding royalties are intellectual property charges that are directed back to the original creators of a product, as compensation for the use of that product, he explains. Like royalties for books and music recordings, seed royalties are one way for breeding institutions to receive a financial return for their work..

"Royalties represent a user-pay system and typically generate less than 10 percent of the annual operating budget of breeding programs," he says. "By contrast, Check-off Funds typically contribute 25 percent of operating budget to the programs they support."

Royalties received by WGRF in 2002 have been re-invested in Fusarium and high strength durum breeding at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Swift Current, ultra high yielding feed wheat breeding at AAFC Winnipeg, winter wheat breeding at the University of Saskatchewan and barley breeding at the University of Saskatchewan.