SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA — Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada will invest more than C$4 million in the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) as part of the AgriScience Program — Clusters Component, part of the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Agronomy Cluster will deliver innovative research and knowledge transfer, resulting in more resilient, productive crops and increased yields. Specifically, research activity in the Agronomy Cluster is expected to generate a better understanding of the relationship between soil moisture conditions and the productivity and profitability of management strategies in western Canada. Additionally, the research activities will facilitate the adoption of a biovigilance-based approach to weed mitigation in the Canadian prairies.

“Agronomic practices that support resilient and profitable crop production are vital to our sector and to Canada’s economy,” said Lawrence MacAulay, minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. “This important research that will be done across the country through this cluster will help to give farmers better solutions to the agronomic challenges they face, while improving profitability and incorporating climate-friendly practices to keep the sector well-positioned for the future.”

Laura Reiter, chair of the WGRF, added, “Opportunities and challenges in crop production cannot always be addressed by studying individual crops in isolation, it is important to include the interaction of crops within a cropping system. This Cluster provides WGRF the opportunity to continue funding multi crop agronomic research that will ultimately provide farmers valuable insight and tools as they tackle widespread agronomic challenges.”