A new report gives farmers a first look at the latest crop lines that will fill Prairie fields in the coming years, along with an update on major issues surrounding crop development.

The 2004 PRRCG Report, "Kick-starting a New Era", is delivered out of this year's Prairie Registration Recommending Committee for Grain (PRRCG) meeting in Saskatoon. It was produced by Meristem Information Resources, Ltd., an independent, Calgary-based communications company, and sponsored in part by Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF), a major research funding organization for farmers in Western Canada.

The PRRCG is a major gatekeeper for new crop lines in Western Canada's multi-billion dollar grains industry, says Dr. Mario Therrien, Chair of PRRCG and one of several experts who provided technical review assistance for the report.

The PRRCG mandate is to evaluate candidate lines in three major categories - wheat, rye and triticale; barley and oat; pulse and special crops; and oilseeds - and make recommendations to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on which ones should be granted federal variety registration.

"For the plant breeders who spend years developing new crop lines, the meeting is a high stakes event where the results of their work are presented and judged," says Therrien. "Most lines under scrutiny are the result of a seven to 15 years of development and testing, and only those judged to be top performers with clear benefits for the industry are recommended."

The 2004 PRRCG Report includes complete lists of the crop lines recommended for registration, along with a description of the key traits they include. The report also includes highlights of discussion at the meeting, along with several feature articles on major issues affecting crop development.

"The PRRCG participants represent a virtual who's who of the players and stakeholders in western Canadian crop development," says Brad Brinkworth, senior editor at Meristem Information Resources, Ltd. "The presentations and discussions at the meeting offer an excellent window on major issues affecting this community - from Canada's competitiveness in the world to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and food safety concerns."

At this year's meeting, a primary issue was the future of the PRRCG itself. In recent years, the PRRCG has undergone a thorough re-examination of its role, resulting in calls for fundamental changes to the committee structure and that would give the organization's four crop specific subcommittees more power to make decisions in the best interest of the crops they represent. The details and rationale of PRRCG's decision on this issue are presented in the PRRCG Report. Other feature articles focus on the CFIA variety registration review, the Seed Sector Review and the Canadian Grain Commission's emerging wheat quality assurance strategy.

The report was sponsored in part by WGRF, in the interest of informed producer investors in crops research. "Western Canadian farmers have become major investors in research through the Wheat and Barley Check-off Funds, which allocate over $4 million annually to wheat and barley breeding programs," says Lanette Kuchenski, Executive Director of WGRF. "To get the most out of their research investment, farmers need information on research progress and on ideas and issues that support their role in directing research funds."

The complete 2004 PRRCG Report is available on the Meristem Land and Science website at www.meristem.com/prrcg04/index.html

Meristem Land and Science is a service featuring "Progress and perspective from the best minds in agriculture, food and the environment."

A limited number of printed copies are available to western Canadian crop producers by contacting the Meristem office by phone: (403) 543-7420, fax: (403) 543-7419, or email: info@meristem.com or by contacting the Western Grains Research Foundation office.