Cover Letter from Dr. Curtis Rempel, Vice President Crop Production

Cover Letter from Dr. Curtis Rempel, Vice President Crop Production

November 20, 2012
Dear Colleagues,
There was some great discussion and excitement around Growing Forward 2(GF2) and opportunities for the
Canola sector at the Science Cluster and Crop Production Issues meetings on October 29th & 30th in
Winnipeg. While GF2 funding particulars have not yet been released, we do know from media releases to
date that the themes of "Innovation, Competitiveness, and Market Development" will form the basis of GF2
platform.
Research leading to increased canola supply and crop quality while maintaining productivity of the land and
surrounding ecosystems and enhancing profitability of the farm can readily fit the Innovation and
Competitiveness themes. These can be linked to food safety, quality assurance and sustainability for the
supply chain, which are requisites for the Market Development theme. We have significant expertise within
industry, universities and government scientists pertaining to canola crop production, agronomic best
practices for yield and production risk mitigation, enhanced crop quality, environmental stewardship and
sustainability, climatic and pest forecasting and a host of other opportunities, to advance the sector with the
GF2 initiative.
However, the proposals have to be written to fit the Innovation and/or Competiveness themes of GF2. If
they cannot fit into these themes, they will not be given consideration for funding.
Attached are templates for GF2 LOI's which the Canola Council of Canada is providing as the basis for
submission of collaborative projects pertaining to the "GF2 – Innovation, Competitiveness and Market
Development" requirements with the emphasis on canola production / supply.
I would ask that you forward the completed LOI electronically no later than 1:00 pm on Friday, December
14th, 2012, to Wanda McFadyen, Science Cluster Administrator at [email protected] and copy
Yilan Zhang, Crop Production Research Manager at [email protected]. We look forward to receipt
of your LOI.
Regards,
Curtis Rempel, MBA PhD PAg
Vice President, Crop Production
Canola Council of Canada