Commission Meetings

[Hopalong]

Most Sask crop check off meetings are coming up next week in Saskatoon.
Discussion topic near top of list could be future role for Western Grains Research Foundation.
How far should it go toward becoming a crop variety developer and owner in its own right?
Could it satisfy demands from some for a farmer owned and controlled entity to compete with investor owned and other government-private enterprise partnerships?
Is there a future for refundable check off money for biotech research?
Think at some point there is a limit on how far we go with check off money and how it is spent.

[CptnObvious]

If you are thinking there are better ways to spend check-off money remember:
-The return on investment on plant breeding is supposed to be around 20:1.
-Private breeders don't give away anything for nothing and only re-invest about 10% of their profit.
-Private breeders breed in a direction that will increase their profit margin( linked to patented herbicides etc.), not necessarily to maximize profit to the farmer. New varieties only have to be slightly more profitable than the alternative, profit above that line goes back to the shareholders.