Groups ante up for new U of S ag buildings

EAGLE STAFF

Two agriculture organizations announced contributions to a University of Saskatchewan expansion project last June.

The Western Grains Research Foundation is supplying $7 million for “critical facility improvements” and the Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission (SaskBarley) is chipping in $850,000, their respective statements said.

“The Harrington plant growth facility and the soil science field facility will provide capacity to expand research programs and enhance training opportunities for students” in the agriculture college and the Crop Development Centre, a university statement said. Part of the existing crop science field lab will get renovated to provide more work space. Construction is underway and should be finished next July.

“These state-of-the-art improvements will replace outdated spaces and provide much-needed research capacity expansion,” the research foundation statement said. The new buildings “will expand research and teaching capacity and enable year-round plant breeding and seed development for key crops, including barley,” the SaskBarley statement noted.

The foundation’s grant aligns with its “commitment to increase research capacity and support the development of innovative solutions for agriculture," said Laura Reiter of Radisson, who chairs its board.

Barley varieties developed at the centre “continue to dominate Canadian acres across both malt and feed categories,” added Cody Glenn from Climax, who chairs SaskBarley. Its grant “will bolster barley breeding and help ensure that Saskatchewan farmers have continued access to world-class genetics and innovations,” Glenn said.

The Harrington building will have new lab spaces and indoor plant growth rooms for breeding programs and pathology research. It will carry the name of James Bishop Harrington, who graduated from the university in 1920, to recognize his significant contributions to plant breeding, the U of S statement said.

The other building will lead to more efficiency in soil research and have rooms dedicated to processing, drying and threshing plants, the foundation statement said.

“With a limited growing season in Saskatchewan, growth rooms are essential for researchers, allowing for multiple cropping cycles in a year,” the university statement said. The soil science building “will better equip” scientists working on “soil health and sustainability, soil fertility and plant production, Indigenous agriculture and environmental issues such as mitigation of climate change and its impact on agriculture,” it said.

Other major contributors include the provincial wheat development commission with $2.3 million, the provincial Agriculture Department, $1 million with federal help, and the oilseeds development commission, $400,000. Other commodity organizations and private companies have also contributed, the U of S statement noted.

“We appreciate the importance of innovative ideas and getting them where they need to be - into the hands of our producers and value-added businesses to help them stay positioned as global leaders in the industry,” said Daryl Harrison, the provincial agriculture minister.