As it prepares to mark 50 years in 2021, we offer a brief history of the formation of the Crop Development Centre.
In 1971, the Crop Development Centre (CDC) was established as an integral part of the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Science Department but funded outside of the university budget.
The first three years of the CDC would see the recruitment of six research scientists whose mandate was to expand research, particularly in breeding and quality of wheat, field grains and new crops. Several faculty members also conducted research at the CDC.
Dr. G.M Simpson was appointed as the first director of the CDC. He would hold that position until his resignation in 1974. At the time of his resignation, the directorship of the CDC was added to the responsibilities of the department head.
A large gift of farmland from Mr. F. Kernen in 1977 allowed for the development of the Kernen Crop Research Farm, the centre of research for both field crop and ecological landscapes. In 1994, it was determined that the administrative responsibilities of the department and the CDC were far greater than one person could manage, and the two were once again divided into two positions. Dr. Gordon Rowland was appointed as director of the CDC for a five-year term, succeeding myself. Upon completion of Rowland’s term, Professor Rick Holm was named the succeeding director of the centre in July 1999.
The CDC is now a fully integrated unit of the Department of Plant Sciences. The pressures of increasing student enrollment numbers have demanded the faculty members of the CDC to acquire teaching responsibilities, which was not a mandate in the early development years of the CDC. The CDC’s breeding programs have led to the release of over 400 crop varieties in 20 different kinds.
Holm resigned his position as director of the Crop Development Centre in 2006. At that time, it was determined that the growth in the CDC would not allow for a researcher to perform both research and administrative duties, and the decision was made to employ a managing director to oversee its business dealings.
Dorothy Murrell was selected as the first managing director of the CDC in 2007. She held that position until 2011 when she retired. Dr. Kofi Agblor replaced her in 2012 and passed the torch to interim managing director Dr. Pierre Hucl in 2019.
In July of 2020, Dr. Curtis Pozniak took over as director for a five-year term, as the CDC is moving back to a director model.
The centre continues to be one of the most successful research units in the university. It has developed hundreds of varieties in a number of field crops, introduced new crops and developed numerous cropping practices which have contributed many billions of dollars to the Saskatchewan economy.
—Bryan Harvey is a former director of the CDC and was a recipient of a Canadian Plant Breeding Innovation (CPBI) Award in 2019, when his barley variety CDC Copeland won a Seed of the Year honour.
