A plot of Alliance Seed’s CDC Envy CWRS wheat on display at Ag in Motion in July 2024. Photo: Dave Bedard

Canterra buys pedigreed seed firm Alliance Seed

Alliance will remain a 'standalone' brand under Canterra ownership

Canterra Seeds announced May 1 it has acquired Alliance Seed for an undisclosed amount, and will continue to operate Alliance as "a standalone brand under Canterra Seeds' umbrella, with key staff transitioning to maintain continuity and customer relationships."


Lorne Hepworth (right), pictured here in 2021 accepting the Saskatchewan Order of Merit from Sask. Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty. Photo: Brighten Creative Group

Hepworth honoured for agricultural achievements

The London, Ont. resident started as a Sask. farmer and vet before moving to politics, then research

Lorne Hepworth, former Saskatchewan agriculture minister and current chair of the Agriculture Research Institute of Ontario, has been named a member of the Order of Canada.

File photo of a rye field in Kazakhstan. (Stsmhn/iStock/Getty Images)

Beware of Kazakhs wanting to buy seed, agency says

Seed growers and farmers alike are being warned such sales breach breeders' rights rules

Western Canadian seed growers, seed retailers and commercial farmers are being urged not to sell seed to Kazakhs or their agents because it breaches plant breeders’ rights rules. “The basic fact is no Canadian breeder has given permission for their genetics to go to Kazakhstan,” Lorne Hadley, executive director of the Canadian Plant Technology Agency, […] Read more

(Video screengrab from Limagrain.com)

Limagrain to launch plant-based protein food next year

Paris | Reuters — French agricultural co-operative Limagrain on Tuesday said it is launching a new legumes business that aims to deliver plant-based food products from next year, betting on the fast-growing plant protein sector and a trend towards eating less red meat. Many large agricultural companies, including Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill and France’s Roquette […] Read more


Canterra, which has already worked with AAFC-bred CPSR varieties such as AC Conquer VB, has entered a partnership with AAFC and the Alberta Wheat Commission for future CPSR development. (Canterra.com)

CPSR wheat breeding program adopts ‘4-P’ model

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s breeding program for Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat in Alberta is picking up new investment partners. AAFC, Canterra Seeds and the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) on Wednesday announced they would jointly contribute $3.4 million over five years to Dr. Harpinder Randhawa’s CPSR breeding program at AAFC’s Lethbridge Research Centre. The […] Read more

(Limagrain.com)

Canterra, Limagrain plan cereal breeding j.v.

Canada’s recent moves to tighten protections of plant breeders’ rights are getting the credit for encouraging a new private-sector joint venture in cereal seed development for the Prairie market. Canterra Seeds and French farmer co-operative Limagrain on Thursday announced they would further tie up their wheat variety commercialization work through a new joint seed breeding […] Read more

Prairie farmers scramble for canola seed after frost

Winnipeg | Reuters –– Western Canadian farmers are scrambling to find scarce canola seed as they reseed crops snuffed out by frost and insects. Farmers in the region have until mid- to late June to plant ahead of insurance deadlines, but the later they sow canola, the higher the risk of damage later from heat […] Read more