By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Friday March 19, 2021

Mar 19, 2021 | 9:41 AM

MELFORT, Sask. — An international team has successfully completed decoding the genome of rye.

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) and IPK Leibniz Institute in Germany accomplished the task despite ryes’ large size and complexity.

Rye is a distinctly climate-resistant cereal plant of considerable importance for Germany and northeastern Europe. In Canada, most rye is grown in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

USask professor Curtis Pozniak said rye is one of the most cold-tolerant cereal crops and can survive the harshest winters typical of the Canadian Prairies.

“The genome sequence of rye points to important genes that could be used to enhance the cold tolerance of other important winter crops, including wheat,” Pozniak said in a news release.

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The information is considered promising for both science and breeding. Rye offers access to a diverse gene pool, not only for rye breeding but also for wheat breeding.

The results were published in the journal Nature Genetics.

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A new report says a wide range of government policies and on-farm measures could reduce food-system emissions and increase resilience and sustainability.

The report called Imagine If… A Vision of a Near-Zero-Emission Farm and Food System for Canada was released by the National Farmers Union (NFU).

The report outlines the steps that can be taken to reduce food-system emissions by 20 to 30 per cent while increasing net farm incomes and the numbers of farmers while creating a more secure food system for Canadians.

The report is on the NFU website.

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The Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions have launched a new joint website.

Alberta Wheat chair Todd Hames said the new combined website is another way the groups are showcasing the ‘Better Together’ mantra the commissions have embraced.

After months of consultation and work within the commissions’ management team, albertawheatbarley.com contains new features to help connect farmers to the commissions’ programs and priorities.

A new feature of the website is a news feed called What Farmers Need to Know Now. It provides updates on agriculture policy, research investments, market access initiatives and other commission related updates.

While the new website was designed to integrate both brands, it also provides the option to choose barley or wheat to view the differences in research, markets, and agronomy.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW