Prairie canola growers are investing in new research aimed at strengthening crop productivity and protecting one of Canada’s most valuable agricultural commodities.
The three Prairie provincial canola grower associations — Alberta Canola, SaskOilseeds and the Manitoba Canola Growers — have selected 11 research projects to receive funding through the Canola Agronomic Research Program (CARP) in 2026, said a Canola Council of Canada release Wednesday.
The projects will share a combined investment of about $4 million, including more than $2.4 million from the grower organizations, $495,000 from the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) and over $1 million from Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR).
The funding is aimed at advancing agronomic practices, improving disease resistance and helping farmers address emerging production challenges such as pests, weeds and viral infections. CARP is administered by the Canola Council of Canada and allows growers to direct research toward practical issues affecting canola production on their farms.
Cheryl Westman, research chair with Alberta Canola, said grower-led investment has become increasingly important as research capacity declines at public institutions.
“Being a part of CARP allows Canadian canola growers to fund research that directly impacts their own farms, ensuring they have the tools to remain profitable and productive in a rapidly evolving environment,” she said.
Among the projects funded in the latest round is research which will explore how certain susceptibility genes in canola could be manipulated to improve resistance against two major diseases — clubroot and sclerotinia stem rot.
Another project will examine biological control strategies to manage verticillium stripe, a disease that has become an emerging concern for canola growers across the Prairies.
Since the program began in 1994, more than $37 million has been invested in canola research through CARP, helping deliver new agronomic practices, improved crop varieties and management tools that continue to support the productivity of Prairie farms.
