b"Watch our full Seed Speaks episode on this very topic atgermination.ca/research-fundingThe Future about the research ideas we have put together, along with my As a farmer, Gary Stanford has concerns about the future offellow barley breeder colleagues and pathology colleagues crop breeding and agronomy, and also the funding that makesacross Canada. In terms of changing priorities or next steps, we the wheels turn in the research community.recognize that some of these research ideas are aimed at filling The challenges we face with new diseases, bug problems,knowledge gaps in a relatively smaller crop like barley com-and wireworms are increasing, and its crucial that we havepared to larger crops like wheat. support from entomologists and other experts to address theseAs a result, the funding his work receives from producer issues. Wheat breeding programs need to continue to improvegroups may not be sufficient to fund all the research. His team to keep up with these challenges, and I'm curious about whatis exploring other funding opportunities and looking to recycle the future holds with pre-breeding and potential innovationssome of their past ideas to secure additional funding.like perennial wheat or nitrogen-fixing wheat, says the formerFor Stanford, its a challenging and uncertain time, but he Alberta Wheat Commission chair.believes that with proactive engagement and collaboration, These could be game changers for our industry, and Ithe industry can navigate these challenges and secure a better believe farmer organizations should support and advocate forfuture for farmers and their communities. such research. Overall, Im hopeful that we can find solutions and work That said, hes worried about the recent decrease in fund- towards a more resilient and sustainable agriculture industry, ing for agronomy and winter wheat research. With the federalbut it will require continued effort and advocacy from all governments goals of reducing nitrous oxide usage, he saysstakeholders, including farmers, research funders, and indus-we need to find better ways to fertilize to maximize yields. Hetry organizations. Together, we can ensure that our crops are believes its the responsibility of farmers to voice their concernshealthier, more resilient, and better suited to feed the growing and engage with research funders to understand why someworld population, Stanford said. AWB_Germination-June2023.pdf 1 2023-06-06 5:13:01 PMprojects are not getting funded and where things need to go.Its important that we hold organizations accountable and seek answers when projects or programs are not adequately funded. The future of crop breeding, including winter wheat breeding, is at stake, and we need to ensure that funding and support are available to address the challenges we face and con-tinue improving our crops for the growing world population, Stanford said.Wheat breeder and geneticist Gurcharn Singh Brar started his career at the University of British Columbia in 2020. While he feels fortunate to have received support from producer groups and grower organizations that have funded his research pro- Cgram, hes not immune to the challenges of accessing funding. MHe and his team were recently putting together a researchYproposal on applied barley genomics and applied for a federal funding opportunity led by Genome Canada last year. CMBarley is the third-largest crop in Canada in terms of acre- MYage, but unlike some of the other major crops in the country,CYit has never been funded by Genome Canada. There are stillCMYknowledge gaps in the barley industry that could be filled with genomics and applied genomics research. Unlike other majorKcrops such as wheat, lentil, and soybean, barley lacks some of the resources and funding needed for research, according to Brar.Nevertheless, we were hopeful that we would receive sup-port from federal funding for our barley research program, which focuses on applied knowledge and genomics research. Unfortunately, it was disappointing to learn that our proposal was not funded, despite the strong support from our barley producer groups and industry, he said.Despite this setback, we are still optimistic and confident JULY 2023 GERMINATION.CA 39"