A better understanding of kochia’s herbicide-resistant properties is the main focus of new crop research funding from the federal government.  

Tuesday morning, federal agriculture minister Heath MacDonald and Saskatchewan Minister of Agriculture David Marit jointly announced $9.7 million to support crop research in Saskatchewan.

This investment includes $2.5 million to tackle the kochia initiative, and another $7.2 million to support 39 new crop research projects. This year’s projects include: evaluating the performance of subsurface drip irrigation; identifying new ways to build resistance to wheat stem sawfly; managing rice worm infestations in northern Saskatchewan wild rice production; and validating bale wrapping material made from flax straw and oat hulls. 

Also supporting these projects are 13 industry partners with an additional $3.2 million. Local partners include the SaskBarley, SaskOats, SaskOilseeds, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, SaskWheat, and Western Grains Research Foundation.