Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) moved a major step closer to establishing new long-term funding agreements with wheat and barley breeding institutions at its fall board meeting in Saskatoon, Nov. 12-14.

WGRF administers the farmer-funded Wheat and Barley Check-off Funds, which are allocated to breeding programs based on 10-year agreements that will expire at the end of 2004, says Dr. Keith Degenhardt, WGRF Chair. The Funds support the development of new wheat and barley varieties with higher yields, improved quality, greater disease resistance and other key traits for Western Canada.

"WGRF Wheat and Barley Advisory Committees worked throughout the summer and fall reviewing reports from two independent teams that had been selected to review the Check-off programs," says Degenhardt, a Hughenden, Alta. producer. "Information from both the committees and the review teams was presented at the board meeting. The target now is to have drafts of the agreements ready for approval at the WGRF spring annual meeting and final agreements signed next fall in time for implementation in 2005."

Along with working toward the new agreements, the board members, representing 17 agricultural organizations from the Prairie provinces and the Peace River region of British Columbia, tackled updating business plans for the three funds administered by WGRF.

In addition to the Wheat and Barley Check-off Funds, WGRF also administers the Endowment Fund, which was a major discussion point at the meeting. The interest on this $9 million fund has provided $17.5 million in support for research projects since its inception in 1984. However, in recent years, low interest rates have led the WGRF to decrease the amount of research grants and develop a new strategy for the Fund.

"This year, in order to keep the Fund viable in the short term, we changed the criteria and limited the number of projects it will fund," says Degenhardt. "Two new Endowment Fund projects were approved at the meeting: one project from the innovation category and another from the integrated crop management category. We're evaluating options for the Fund to see that it supports research with the most benefit to Western crop growers."

WGRF expects to have finalized, re-vamped strategies for all three funds by its spring board meeting.

"As we have throughout the process, we'll continue to ask for producer input as we move forward with the new agreements and funding strategies," says Degenhardt. "Since producers fund research through the Check-offs, producer input on how their investment is handled is very important to us, particularly at this transition time in developing new agreements."

Western Grains Research Foundation is the largest grains research funding organization for farmers in Western Canada. It is funded and directed by producers, who allocate approximately $5 million annually to research though the Wheat and Barley Check-off Funds, and a separate Endowment Fund.