USask crop research projects receive lion’s share of ADF funding

The ADF is supported through the Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership (CAP), an investment of $3.5 billion over five years from federal, provincial and territorial governments with the goal of supporting the agri-food and agri-product sectors across Canada. The Sustainable CAP includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and a $2.5 billion commitment for programs designed by provinces and territories that is cost-shared 60 per cent by the federal government and 40 per cent by provincial/territorial governments. 

 “Agricultural research at USask has long been a pillar of our success and our standing in Saskatchewan and around the world,” said Dr. Baljit Singh (PhD), USask vice-president, research. “This support from the government and our industry partners in furthering this type of research and innovation is a vote of confidence for USask being what Saskatchewan and the world needs in the agricultural sector.”

A total of 53 crop projects received funding from the 2025 ADF. USask’s 23 projects, with $4.18 million in total funding, are the most of any organization to receive support from the ADF. Projects funded range from soil science research to health benefits of plant proteins to exploring different varieties of wheat and pea crops.

“ADF is an essential partner for the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, in terms of our ability to carry out high-impact research that supports the producers of Saskatchewan,” said Dr. Angela Bedard-Haughn (PhD), dean of USask’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources, and a professor in the Department of Soil Sciences. “Whether we’re looking at soil, plants, animals, all the way through the value chain, ADF is key.”

ADF projects can also receive funding through industry partners. Select USask projects received additional support from valuable industry partners in the agricultural and agri-food industries including Alberta Grains, Manitoba Crop Alliance, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, Western Grains Research Foundation, Saskatchewan Oilseeds Development Commission and the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission. 

The following University of Saskatchewan (USask) crop research projects received funding from the 2025 Agriculture Development Fund:

• Haixia Zhang (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Improving haskap quality and marketability by examining factors related to fruit shelf life, bioactivity and harvest span – $260,000
  
  
• Jeff Schoenau (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Revealing Nutrient Uptake and Biomass Development Patterns in Chickpea Cultivars – $32,275 – Co-funded by Saskatchewan Pulse Growers
  
  
• Lingling Jin (PhD), College of Arts and Science – GreenSkEye: a software system for automated and direct monitoring and analyzing continuous changes of greenhouse crops – $263,500
  
  
• Sabine Banniza (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Digging deeper into chickpea root rot issues – $134,989 – Co-funded by Saskatchewan Pulse Growers and Western Grains Research Foundation
• Sabine Banniza (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Evaluating shade covers to improve reliability of blossom blight disease screening – $71,300
  
  
• Ana Vargas (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Breeding the next generation of high value lentil cultivars – $337,500 – Co-funded by Western Grains Research Foundation
• Ana Vargas (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Developing high-value faba bean cultivars – $167, 248 – Co-funded by Western Grains Research Foundation

• Michael Nickerson (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Improving the gelation properties of faba bean and pea protein concentrates for application in structured plant-based products – $250,500
• Michael Nickerson (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Development of a wet fractionation process for extracting pea and faba bean albumins by pilot-scale vibrational shear filtration – $149,800
  
  
• Oon-Doo Baik (PhD), College of Engineering – Cost-effective and high-performance atmospheric cold plasma technology for wheat, canola and lentil – $137,000 – Co-funded by Saskatchewan Pulse Growers
  
  
• Angela Bedard-Haughn (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – A sustainable future for the Saskatchewan Soil Information System (SKSIS) – $90,668 – Co-funded by Saskatchewan Oilseeds Development Commission, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers and Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission
• Angela Bedard-Haughn (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Mapping soil carbon sequestration in Saskatchewan cropland – $290,400 – Co-funded by Saskatchewan Oilseeds Development Commission and Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission
  
  
• Tom Warkentin (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Rapid introgression of aphid resistance into pea elite cultivars – $149,645 – Co-funded by Saskatchewan Pulse Growers and Western Grains Research Foundation
  
  
• Christian Willenborg, College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Herbicide screening in spice crops II: continuing the search and generating minor use data – $179,400
  
  
• Martin Reaney (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Graphene and epoxidized oil strengthen canola protein-based plastics – $180,000
  
  
• Yongfeng Ai (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Enzymatic modification and ultrasonication to improve functionality, nutritional quality, and flavor of starch-rich pulse flours – $149,000 – Co-funded by Saskatchewan Pulse Growers
• Yongfeng Ai (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Novel hydrothermal method to develop functional low-glycemic food ingredients and encapsulant from pea starch – $144,500 – Co-funded by Saskatchewan Pulse Growers
  
  
• Phil Chilibeck (PhD), College of Kinesiology – A pea-based beverage for improving bone health – $150,000 – Co-funded by Saskatchewan Pulse Growers
  
  
• Adam Carter (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Accelerating CWRS wheat improvement with multi-trait rapid-cycle recurrent genomic selection – $242,444 – Co-funded by Alberta Grains, Manitoba Crop Alliance, Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission and Western Grains Research Foundation
  
  
• Bishnu Acharya (PhD), College of Engineering – Developing Innovative applications for spent bleaching clay and soapstocks from canola processing – $146,000
  
  
• Curtis Pozniak (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Alternative mechanisms for resistance to the wheat stem sawfly in wheat – $206,019 – Co-funded by Alberta Grains, Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission and Western Grains Research Foundation
• Curtis Pozniak (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Introducing high-protein content and early flowering alleles from wild wheat relatives while minimizing linkage drag – $160,037 – Co-funded by Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission
  
  
• Dr. Warren Helgason (PhD), College of Engineering – Flexible allocation of irrigation water – maximizing productivity and water efficiency – $287,180