Alberta’s Field Crop Development Centre (FCDC) has been relaunched as a new non-profit under the name Western Crop Innovations.
“Western Crop Innovations will carry on the Field Crop Development Centre’s substantial legacy, ensuring its work is addressing the issues farmers are facing in the fields,” said RJ Sigurdson, Alberta’s minister of agriculture and irrigation in a news release Wednesday.
The Alberta government pledged $3.2 million to the centre’s establishment, indicating in the news release that some industry support was expected. The relaunch is effective April 1.
The Field Crop Development Centre at Lacombe has been a hub for breeding barley and triticale varieties. The province transitioned it to Olds College in 2021.
Under the leadership of its new board, Western Crop Innovations will review its programming and “where necessary, will be transitioned to ensure crop innovations support Alberta’s farmers’ needs,” the news release said.
