By the time most people are just getting their footing in their careers, Adam Carter has already stepped into one of the most iconic roles in Canadian plant breeding.
Carter talks humbly but confidently about taking over the spring wheat and canary seed breeding programs long stewarded by the legendary Pierre Hucl. “I’ve been really fortunate—Pierre’s still very involved in breeding specialty wheats and triticale, and he’s been incredibly supportive as I get comfortable in the role.”
Raised in Brandon, Man., Carter’s journey into plant breeding started the way many great careers do—by accident. “I was looking for a summer job during university and ended up at the Brandon Research Centre, working in Dr. Ana Badea’s barley breeding program,” he says. “That job changed everything for me. I realized I loved plant breeding—it was this perfect mix of my interest in genetics and agriculture.”
That summer gig eventually turned into a calling. Carter went on to earn a master’s degree at the University of Guelph, focusing on soybeans, before pursuing his PhD at the University of Saskatchewan in wheat breeding and genetics. That led him to where he is now—leading one of Canada’s most important cereal breeding programs at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC).
This year marks Carter’s second Prairie Grain Development Committee meeting, and while he’s relatively new to the event, he’s already making an impact. “We’ve got four lines we’re putting forward—these are all Pierre’s selections, but they’re exciting. One is a new spelt wheat with improved agronomics. Another is a purple wheat line with significantly better quality traits than previous versions. And then there’s the triticale line—which is a bit of a landmark. It’s the first CDC triticale line being submitted for registration support in over 50 years.”
The triticale effort speaks to Hucl’s vision and curiosity as a breeder. “He’s been tackling this long-standing issue with triticale,” Carter explains. “You get great abiotic stress tolerance from the rye side, but the baking quality has always been a problem. This new line has much better grain quality and is also a solid forage yielder—a real dual-purpose variety.”
Carter himself is laser-focused on CWRS wheat, one of the most competitive and high-stakes breeding spaces in Canadian agriculture. “It’s where I put most of my energy. There’s real opportunity to make a big impact, and the investment in CWRS breeding lets us push boundaries,” he says. “But honestly, what excites me most is managing and operating a breeding program—there’s so much satisfaction in the systems, the logistics, and the challenge of making everything work together.”
He’s also developed a newfound appreciation for canaryseed, a crop that brings a different set of challenges than more commonly grown cereals. “It’s been eye-opening. The agronomics, the end-use—it’s a different world. But I like that. I like working across diverse crops. That variety keeps things interesting.”
At just 33, Carter is part of a new wave of Canadian plant breeders, but he’s already thinking in decades. “Plant breeding is a long game. My ambition is to look back 30 years from now and be proud of the varieties we’ve released—knowing they’ve made a difference for farmers and for the industry,” he says. “And I think university-based breeding programs like ours have another responsibility: training the next generation of breeders and plant scientists. I want to be part of that legacy too.”
