CANTERRA SEEDS & Limagrain ANNOUNCE The Launch of Limagrain Cereals Research Canada

Posted by CANTERRA SEEDS on July 30^th, 2015

Categories:: News

Limagrain Cereals Research Canada will harvest the best research, the most innovative technologies and the best germplasm from partnerships, new and existing, including Limagrain’s global resources, and deliver those benefits to the Western Canadian farmer.

We are celebrating a great achievement at CANTERRA SEEDS – one that has taken many years of negotiation, required a number of legislative pieces to fall into place and the building of a relationship with a global leader in cereal breeding. No small achievement for a company started by a group of entrepreneurial seed growers 19 years ago. With the launch of Limagrain Cereals Research Canada Thursday July 2, 2015, the board and management of CANTERRA SEEDS have concluded what they see as a necessary and desirable development in the evolution of CANTERRA SEEDS as a seed distribution company.

Being in the seed business in Western Canada has meant negotiating many system-wide changes recently, starting with the removal of the CWB monopoly to the changes ushered in this year in the omnibus Agricultural Growth Act.

Key for the creation of Limagrain Cereals Research Canada was the modernization of our Plant Breeders’ Rights Act. Now, plant breeders are afforded expanded intellectual property protection rights as outlined in the 1991 International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants or UPOV ’91 as we’ve come to know it. But only if they choose those protections, because PBR remains a voluntary process.

Thanks to The Agricultural Growth Act, a new world of wheat has opened up for Canadian grain farmers. New investment is going to bring new sources of genetics, with the promise of improved agronomic qualities, disease resistance and better end-use characteristics.

The business of producing, and growing cereal varieties will become more profitable for the entire value chain, especially for farmers.

Our company, CANTERRA SEEDS, has been in the business of providing farmers of western Canada with elite varieties of wheat, barley, oats, peas, and canola for the last 19 years. We are able to accomplish this through our partnerships with numerous public and private seed developers from around the world, including the key public breeding programs including those at the Crop Development Centre in Saskatoon and Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada and Alberta Agriculture and Forestry

With the opportunities presented by the Agricultural Growth Act, CANTERRA SEEDS and Limagrain from France, have leveraged our existing partnership and established a new joint venture cereal seed research and development company that will contribute to the advancement of cereals for Western Canada.

This new company will provide Western Canadian farmers with access to a broader and more diverse portfolio of cereal varieties, with the intent to help improve their bottom lines. This new company will be led by Dr. Erin Armstrong as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Armstrong will split her time between this new role as Limagrain Cereals Research Canada grows and her existing role on the senior management team at CANTERRA SEEDS. Likewise, Limagrain Cereals Research Canada’s new VP of Research, Jim Peterson, will split his time with his very similar duties at Limagrain Cereal Seeds in the U.S.

Limagrain is CANTERRA SEEDS’ partner in this new joint venture. Limagrain is an international cooperative group created and directed by French farmers that moves agriculture forward to meet food challenges. As a creator and producer of plant and cereal varieties, the Limagrain markets seeds and cereal products intended for farmers, growers, home gardeners and for agri-food industrialists and consumers. It is the fourth largest seed company in the world (field seeds and vegetable seeds), the European leader for functional flours, and the No. 1 French industrial baker, all with strong brands in their markets.

As part of the deal, Limagrain is also making a significant investment in CANTERRA SEEDS. This is a vote of confidence in this company, its board of directors, management team and vision.

This new company will provide Western Canadian farmers with access to a broader and more diverse portfolio of cereal varieties, with the intention to help improve their bottom lines.

Click here to read the full news release

It's an exciting time to be in agriculture in Western Canada, and it’s only just beginning.