Reprinted with permission from Meristem Land and Science, www.meristem.com

Without action now to strengthen crop development research, Canada risks losing major ground in agriculture, says the veteran barley breeder.

It just doesn't make business sense.

Dr. Jim Helm's message on grains research is simple: "Support it or lose it"

Canada has built a network of crop development research programs that play a critical role in the country's agriculture and food industry. They provide returns in the form of new crop varieties and knowledge that are proven to deliver strong and reliable investment value. In fact, crop development research is viewed by several agricultural economists as providing among the best investment returns of any area of agricultural research over the past 20 years.

Yet Canada's major crop development research programs for traditional grain crops - such as wheat, barley and oats - are in danger of being woefully under-funded compared to similar programs supported by Canada's competitors.

'Waking up' to a critical resource

Canada's programs for these crops have traditionally been supported by public funding, and over the past decade grain producers have stepped up and provided support through check-offs. Royalties on seed sales have also played a small but significant role. But public funding has been steadily reduced for these programs over the past 10-15 years and there's danger of further reduction.

Governments are re-prioritizing research investment and directing more dollars away from crop development research toward efforts seen as more novel, further up the value chain, or providing quick payoff (developing a new grain variety can take from six to 12 years). At the same time, industry sectors that have long benefited greatly from development research for these crops, such as the livestock industry, the malting and brewing industry and the food industry, have provided little, if any, investment support.

Because the vast majority of grain farmers use farm-saved seed and only purchase Certified seed every three or four years, there has been little economic incentive for private breeding programs or seed company investment in existing programs.

Helm discusses barley research progress during a Field Crop Development Centre plot tour.

For veteran crop development scientists such as Dr. Jim Helm, who has helped lead barley development research in Alberta for three decades, the situation is understandably frustrating. But for Helm, it's not just about keeping his program or those of his colleagues strong and sustainable, it's about Canada and its agriculture and food industry needlessly weakening a proven, powerful resource. As a result, Canada risks losing major competitive ground and opportunity.

A big problem is getting people to wake up to the critical role and importance of crop development research, he says. Traditional crops such as grains tend to be taken for granted, but to remain viable they depend on crop development research just as much as any other crop. When you consider these crops continue to dominate production, fuel several multi-billion dollar industries and are a critical foundation to the emerging revolution in bio-potential, it's not hard to see what's at stake if this research goes under-funded.

"We have built a strong research base, and we need to keep this in tact in order to capitalize on where we need to go in the future," says Helm, head of research at the Field Crop Development Centre in Lacombe. "We're not doing that.

"As researchers in this area, we're fighting a battle across Canada on how important crop development research is. Collectively, crop development research is at a crossroads and there's potential to lose what we've built if we don't act decisively."

Anchor to multi-billion dollar sectors

Canada delivers over $24 billion worth of agriculture and food products to more than 180 countries around the world every year.

Three big drivers of that are wheat production, barley production and livestock production, which account for a large portion of that total. Livestock production counts on barley and wheat as major feed sources and all three sectors of production depend heavily on crop development research to be successful.

"Ask yourself, where would the cattle industry be without a steady supply of cost-effective, high quality feed barley?" says Helm. "Without strong crop development, we won't have varieties farmers want to grow or that the industry needs to succeed."

Research into newer crops and applications is what draws attention these days. But traditional crop breeding has proven itself time and time again to be a backbone of Canada's success, and one that remains equally if not more essential for the future.

In wheat, for example, markets have become more diversified and sophisticated. To keep up, Canada needs a steady stream of varieties that deliver top-notch quality for these markets, while providing the yield potential, resistance to ever-shifting insect and disease pressures, and other key characteristics that farmers need to produce a profitable crop. The same requirements are needed for the other grain crops, for the full range of feed, food and other market options.

Dramatic new potential

People think of traditional crops such as wheat and barley as old standbys. But these crops have shown a growing number of innovative applications for today's broad range of emerging bio-potential.

In barley development, for example, the focus is on new feed types that offer sophisticated tailoring to meet the nutritional needs of livestock, resulting in higher performing animals that produce less waste. A new generation of malting barley varieties is being launched, which reflects widening international preferences and has renewed demand for Canadian barley to supply top maltsters and brewers. At the same time, innovative hulless and specialty starch barleys are being fine-tuned to capitalize on expanding opportunities in human food, health and industrial markets.

The health front in particular looks rosy for barley, Helm points out. Researchers have found the grain contains higher levels of beta-glucan, a type of fibre linked to reduce levels of blood cholesterol. Barley also contains several powerful antioxidants, most notably tocophenol, which is associated with reducing the risk of cancer. These properties already represent a rapidly growing sector of the emerging "nutraceuticals" market, a burgeoning market of the future expected to represent $250 billion by the year 2020.

Stepping up to the plate

The investment value of crop development research for grains is not a question. One study, by independent economist Dr. Joseph Nagy, put the return on investment in Field Crop Development Centre research at a minimum 10-to-one. Numerous studies have consistently pegged crop development research for grains as delivering strong investment value - among the strongest of any research in agriculture.

The question is why isn't there more investment in this research.

"In barley development in Canada, we've seen our budgets generally dropping over the past 10-15 years," says Helm. "That is a big concern for me, and I'm speaking from the standpoint of the agriculture industry as a whole. We cannot see this budget drop anymore."

Canada has about the half the researchers in barley breeding as it did 10 years ago, he observes. "Right now, we have six barley breeders in Western Canada for 10-11 million acres of barley. It's unbelievable.

"The U.S. barley production is now dropping this year below four million acres. Barley is going to become a specialty crop down there. There's going to be fewer acres of barley in the U.S. this year, than oats. And Australia has about half of Canada's acreage. Both those countries are spending two to three times or more than we are on barley genetics and all the other related types of research. Meanwhile, we're having a difficult time here just keeping our basic programs funded. How do we keep up?"

The need for strong public funding is a key factor, but Helm is also disappointed in the lack of support from industry. For his program, which focuses heavily on feed barley development, a major source of frustration is the beef industry, which benefits greatly from strong barley production fueled by strong crop development, yet largely fails to recognize the value of variety improvements or significantly support that effort. By contrast, Australia has benefited from strong cooperation and funding across industry sectors.

"I don't believe the livestock industry is stepping up to the plate," says Helm. "They just want cheap. I think they're afraid to change their approach, because they're afraid that they're going to have to pay more for research or more for barley as its true value is recognized. And I think that's a fear based on bad economics. Barley development research is an investment that generates higher returns in the market for everyone involved. If we can develop systems that benefit both the crop producer and the livestock producer, everyone wins in the end."

Canada needs strong support for its crop development research, and that needs to happen soon, says Helm. Everyone, from the research and investment decision-makers to the many industry sectors that benefit from this research, needs to be more aware of the stakes and to do their part. "It's a simple decision - support it or lose it," he says. "The time is now to get our crop development system back on track."

More information on the issue of crop development research is available in a special Report on Crop Development, "The Elephant in the Room," available on the Meristem Land and Science Web site, at www.meristem.com.

Reprinted with permission from Meristem Land and Science