The BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands provided a grant to the BC Forage Council to conduct three years of wheat variety trials in the area surrounding Prince George. The objective of the trial was to examine the feasibility of locally produced wheat for ethanol production.
The project developed three wheat/cereal trials in Hixon, Prince George and Vanderhoof. The project will consist of 4 replicated plots containing approximately 20 varieties and will continue over a 3 year period. Doug Hatfield, Vern Bardy and Halltray Farms are cooperating producers with plots located on their farms. Thank you to the cooperators.
Through the trials we hope to identify early maturing varieties suitable for ethanol production and to identify varieties that are susceptible to disease. The first season was troubled with by the local drought; however, the 2007 season is looking more optimistic.
Brent Barclay, BCMAFF
