As part of their 40th Anniversary, WGRF commissioned a survey to identify and confirm cross cutting crop prodcution issues of greatest concern to western Canadian farmers.

“I would like to thank everyone that participated in this survey,” says Dr. Keith Degenhardt, WGRF Board Chair. “WGRF’s research priorities and processes have evolved throughout its 40-year history, but we have always operated with the sole purpose of funding research to benefit western Canadian crop producers. That is why it was so important to reach out to stakeholders for their views on the most pressing issues affecting farmers now and in the future.”

The survey was conducted by Amaethon Agricultural Solutions from January to March 2021. “Over that time Amaethon conducted 60 interviews with a total of 187 participants from all regions of the prairies,” said Dr. Stephen Morgan Jones of Amaethon. “Respondents were asked what western field crop production could look like in the short (5 year) and longer term (10-20 years),” said Dr. George Clayton.

“There was general agreement that farms would likely continue to get larger. Cereals, canola and pulses would continue to be the major acreage crops grown but there was considerable divergence of opinion on which crops would have expansion opportunities and those that would decline in popularity. Research implications were identified in the areas of crop and soil management, sustainability and precision agriculture,” said Dr.’s Morgan Jones and Clayton.

“I encourage everyone to read the report and stay engaged with WGRF as we move forward,” says Garth Patterson, Executive Director of WGRF. “This report was the first step.  WGRF will be conducting a series of workshops in 2021 to identify research implications that will influence WGRF’s future research funding initiatives.”

The full report can be found here: