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Research

Investment in research is a long-term strategic initiative of Grain Farmers of Ontario for the benefit of all barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat farmers. Ontario’s grain farmers have sponsored and participated in decades of practical research that has resulted in economic gains and improved agricultural sustainability for Ontario farmers and the Ontario environment.

Farmer-Researcher Connect

What is it? The Grain Farmers of Ontario Farmer-Researcher Connect is a database that will help connect researchers with Ontario grain farmers interested in participating in their research projects.

How does it work? Interested farmer-members register through our online form to send in their basic contact information (click the Farmer button below).

Researchers fill out a short application form and submit it to Grain Farmers of Ontario when they are looking for farmer participants (click the Researcher button below). Grain Farmers of Ontario uses this information to determine if the project addresses its research priorities.

This research project information will be emailed to Farmer-Researcher Connect farmers. Farmers will be invited to review this information and, if interested, to contact the researcher directly to discuss their potential involvement.

Farmer Registration Researcher Application Form

At no point will Grain Farmers of Ontario provide researchers with the names and/or contact details of those farmers participating in Farmer-Researcher Connect.

Grain Farmers of Ontario will not provide compensation to farmers who decide to partner with a researcher; however, researchers MAY have the capacity to provide some compensation to participating farmers, depending on the project.

For more information about Farmer-Researcher Connect, please check our program overview.

For helpful tips on collaboration, check out:

Helpful tips for farmers Helpful tips for researchers

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LOI Form & Instructions

Research Priorities

Revised June 2024 Download Research Priorities PDF

Investment in research is a long-term strategic initiative of the Grain Farmers of Ontario for the benefit of all barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat farmers. Ontario’s grain farmers have sponsored and participated in decades of practical research that has resulted in economic gains and improved agricultural sustainability for Ontario farmers and the Ontario environment. Our goal is to invest in research and support innovation and knowledge transfer that will enhance farmer member profitability and sector competitiveness.

Grain Farmers of Ontario aims to address the research needs for barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat through four overall priority areas: Agronomy and Production; Weed, Disease and Insect Pests; Crop Quality and Utilization;and Breeding and Genetics.  Within each priority area, Grain Farmers of Ontario invests funds in projects of high priority to Ontario farmers, strives to maximize public sector research investment, and encourages private sector research investment.

Each year Grain Farmers of Ontario identifies specific priorities toward which it would like to target increased research investment. This year, Grain Farmers of Ontario is placing a particular emphasis on research proposals targeting the following research priorities:

  • Integrate 4R nutrient stewardship practices for commercial fertilizer with other nutrient sources (e.g., cover crops, manure application, biosolids) and validate 4R practices to improve farm profitability and reduce N losses and GHG emissions per unit of crop production.
  • Develop integrated weed, disease, and insect pest management strategies that consider multiple management options, biology and epidemiology of the pest, and prevention of pest resistance to trait and pesticide control measures. Of particular interest are projects addressing white mould in soybeans.
  • Develop effective crop residue management practices to minimize residue challenges, and maximize crop production, profitability and environmental sustainability under minimal tillage/no-till.
  • Explore revolutionary grain drying technologies to substantially improve grain drying efficiency and explore agronomic solutions for drydown to improve profitability of grain production and reduce GHG emissions.

These four key priorities are also included within the more comprehensive list of research priorities, classified by priority area, below.

Looking for summaries of current and past funded projects? Click here.