101 Advancing Seed in Alberta | fall.2017 quality testing is done at the Limagrain Cereal Seeds Quality Lab in Fort Collins, Colorado, a shared facility for the two North American Limagrain cereal breeding companies.” Armstrong adds that Hayley Butler, LCRC’s quality lab manager, is a member of the Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale quality evaluation team, and is fully familiar with the quality testing requirements for the Canadian variety registration system. Focus on Spring Wheat LCRC’s initial focus is to develop broadly-adapted, disease- resistant and high-quality spring wheat varieties specifically for Western Canada. We asked Reinheimer for details on how this will work. “LCRC will build on the success and strength of the Canadian breeding and seeds industry through partnering and collaborating with local programs,” he explains. “LCRC has developed an extensive trial testing network covering the diverse wheat growing areas of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. We will field-test breeding material across a broad range of environments to help evaluate it against real-world stresses and diseases. Some of that material will make it into varieties and therefore onto farmers’ fields.” Reinheimer adds while the wheat evaluation network will primarily be managed by LCRC’s breeding team, it will also include collaborative testing opportunities with government and universities. The wheat breeding material LCRC is utilizing in Canada has been accessed from Limagrain’s international breeding germplasm inventory. “The 2015 update to the PBR Act was critical to LCRC’s launch.” —Erin Armstrong Est. 1906 Glenn & Marie, Douglas & Heather Logan Box 249, Lomond, AB T0L 1G0 Phone (403) 792-3696 | Fax (403) 792-3397 www.wheatcrest.com | e-mail:
[email protected] Specializing in the production and processing of pedigreed seed.