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• Seed of the Year winner named at Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
• Seed of the Year finalists named
• Background - Seed of the Year

Joel Hemingway awarded 2009-10 Seed of the Year scholarship

(Guelph, ON, February 1, 2010) – A University of Guelph graduate student from the Department of Plant Agriculture has been awarded the 2009-2010 Seed of the Year Scholarship.

Joel Hemingway, a Master’s student, developed an interest in plant agriculture while growing up on his family’s hog and cash crop farm near Brussels, Ontario, in Huron County.

“I became interested in plant breeding specifically because I wanted to contribute to the improvement of crop varieties,” says Hemingway. “I wanted to make growing crops more profitable and sustainable for farmers.”

Hemingway received his undergraduate degree in agriculture and a major in agronomy. He now works with Prof. Istvan Rajcan, and is engaged in soybean research.

“The goal of my study is to identify particular soybean lines, with strong agronomic characteristics and high linoleic acid levels,” says Hemingway. “These soybeans could be used or incorporated into a breeding program or to create an economically viable source of high linoleic acid oil for the auto-parts industry.”

Prof. Rene Van Acker, Associate Dean of External Relations for the Ontario Agricultural College says people with skills in plant breeding are increasingly in high demand, as the world looks to supply more of its needs from renewable resources. “We are grateful for the Seed of the Year scholarship which helps to support the training and development of experts in this field,” he says.

The Seed of the Year competition encourages public breeders to highlight their research accomplishments in developing a new field crop, forage, fruit, vegetable or herb variety. Any publicly developed Canadian variety is eligible to compete.

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For more information, please contact Martin Harry at mharry@secan.com or 1-519-423-6435

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - NOVEMBER 11, 2009

Chapais barley named 2009 Seed of the Year

(TORONTO, ON) - A barley variety with outstanding performance, sustainability, marketability and industry impact topped entries in the fifth annual Seed of the Year competition (east division).

Chapais barley, developed by Jean-Pierre Dubuc of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, was named Seed of the Year (east division) today at a recognition event at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto.

Chapais Barley is an outstanding sustainable cultivar, as demonstrated by its appearance on the market for more then 20 years. In the past 21 years, approximately 160,000 acres of this cultivar have been planted for seed production. It has large kernels and superior grain quality, but also has a unique degree of tolerance for acidic soils. Chapais is the earliest maturing barley, averaging 89 days, making it well adapted to all growing areas. It has been used as a parent in many breeding lines, successfully producing new varieties such as AC® Encore and AC Alma.

Four other finalists for the east division of Seed of the Year were also recognized at the event. They are Ex Rico 23, a navy bean variety nominated by University of Guelph professor Peter Pauls, technician Tom Smith and breeder Alireza Navabi; Estival, a crisphead lettuce variety developed by Dr. Sylvie Jenni of Horticultural Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Quebec; AC Gehl, a hulless oat variety developed by Bill Collins and Vern Burrows of the Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ottawa; and AC Rigodon developed by Jean-Pierre Dubuc and Andre Comeau of the Soils and Crops Development Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Quebec City.

The Seed of the Year competition encourages public breeders to highlight their research accomplishments in developing a new field crop, forage, fruit, vegetable or herb variety. Any publicly developed Canadian variety is eligible to compete.

The competition was designed by University of Guelph and SeCan, with support from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Additional sponsorship was provided by Ontario Bean Producers, Ontario Soybean Growers, Canadian Seed Growers, Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association and Ontario Asparagus Marketing Board.

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For more information contact:

Owen Roberts, University of Guelph 519-824-4120 ext. 58278

Martin Harry, SeCan 519-423-6435

Seed of the Year finalists for 2009 announced

Winner to be announced at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

(GUELPH, ON, July 13, 2009) – Five seed varieties have been named finalists in the fifth annual Seed of the Year competition for eastern Canada, sponsored by the University of Guelph and SeCan.

AC Rigodon oats, AC Gehl hulless oats, Estival lettuce, Chapais barley and Ex Rico 23 navy beans are the 2009 finalists.

These varieties along with their breeders will be honoured at the eastern Canada Seed of the Year recognition event at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto in November. The winner will be announced at that time.

The event will be open to industry professionals, plant breeders, media and farming community members.

Through the Seed of the Year application process, breeders are encouraged to highlight their research accomplishments in developing a new field crop, forage, fruit, vegetable or herb variety. Any publicly developed Canadian variety is eligible to compete.

Entries were evaluated based on innovation, presence throughout the value chain, sustainability, marketability and overall impact on the Canadian agri-food industry.

The Seed of the Year competition has been designed by the University if Guelph and SeCan with additional support from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

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For more information contact:

Owen Roberts, University of Guelph 519-824-4120 ext. 58278
Martin Harry, SeCan 519-657-6456

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Background - Seed of the Year

Chapais
Chapais barley is an outstanding sustainable cultivar, as demonstrated by its appearance on the market for more than 20 years. Dr. J.P. Dubuc of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada developed this variety through selection in stress-prone soils, accounting for its unique degree of tolerance to acidic soils. Chapais also is the earliest maturing barley, averaging 89 days, making it well adapted to all growing areas. This variety is used as a parent in many breeding lines, successfully producing new varieties such as Encore, and AC Alma.

Estival
Estival lettuce is a new crisphead lettuce variety showing a high tolerance to bolting and rib discolouration. It was developed by Dr. Sylvie Jenni of the Horticulture Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec and has been on the market for two years. Estival has a greater capacity over other popular varieties to produce a high head weight on a short stem. It is a high-quality lettuce variety better adapted to extreme weather conditions and was developed for both the fresh and processing markets.

AC Rigodon
AC Rigodon is an oat variety that has large kernel size and low hull percentages. It has been on the market for 17 years and was developed by Dr. J.P Dubuc of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Rigodon requires less fertilizer, is adapted to all soil types and tolerates disease well without visible impact on grain quality, making it popular among growers. It has also been used as parent material for the oat breeding program at the Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre.

Ex Rico 23
Ex Rico 23 is a navy bean variety originally from Columbia. Oswaldo Voysest of the Centro International de Agricltura Tropical harvested the white bean and tested it in 1976 and was then included in the International Bean Adaptation Nursery. In 1979 the University of Guelph tested Ex Rico 23 and found it to a superior bean variety that is tolerant to white mold and is resistant to rust and ozone pollution. It was grown commercially in Canada from the mid-1980s until 2003. Ex Rico 23 has been used readily in both public and private breeding programs as a parent material.

AC Gehl
AC Gehl is the first bald-seeded hulless oat variety produced in Canada. It was developed by Dr. Vernon Burrows and Dr. Bill Collins at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre. This new oat has been on the market for less then a year. Gehl performs well in saline soils, which has created a market in China where there is a large amount of unproductive saline soil. AC Gehl is being grown and used as food for human consumptions and feed for non-ruminant animals.