Agricultural research and crop breeding have been cornerstones of sustained farm profitability in Canada. Despite this track record of excellent returns, publicly funded agricultural research remains under the threat of budget cuts in Canada. UK, Australian and Canadian experience suggests that increases in producer-controlled levies and royalty-based funding may be critical for sustaining the research needed to drive longer term agricultural productivity growth.

This session will provide an introduction to salinity, an overview of its causes and its impact on Prairie landscapes.

This talk will describe the symptoms of these diseases of wheat, the pathogens that cause them, the environmental and agronomic conditions conducive to disease development, the significance and impact of these diseases on wheat production, and the mitigation strategies available at present.

This presentation will explore the cause, prevention and alleviation of soil compaction to improve soil health and crop productivity.

This session explores root rot diseases in pulse crops, with a focus on Aphanomyces euteiches and its complex interactions with Fusarium and other pathogens.

Herbicide resistance threatens Prairie agricultural sustainability. Kochia is spreading into new environments and evolving resistance to multiple herbicide groups. Invasive pigweeds like Palmer amaranth and waterhemp also pose a growing threat. This session highlights two recent kochia studies and field research on suppressing invasive pigweeds.

The history of cabbage seedpod weevil (CSW) as an invasive species in North America as well as its importance as a pest will be discussed.

This session explores current SaskBarley funded research tackling key challenges in barley farming. In 2025, growers dealt with lodging and pre-harvest sprouting – and research in genetics, screening techniques and agronomy is underway to help provide realistic solutions.

This session will cover insect pests and viruses in Saskatchewan crops, including newly emerging pests and also current research being conducted by the entomology research group at USask.

This presentation provides an overview of different approaches to increasing crop recovery of nitrogen fertilizers through use of enhanced efficiency products.