6   SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADA   NOVEMBER 2026
policy of the CDC, where every royalty 
dollar returned to the centre is reinvested 
directly back to support breeding. 
The approach mirrors the genomic 
selection initiative itself. Both recognize 
that modern plant breeding depends on 
stable systems rather than one-off invest­
ments.
Breeding for a Different Marketplace
The collaborative model also reflects how 
Canada’s pulse industry is changing. For 
decades, breeding focused primarily on 
helping farmers produce higher yields 
and withstand disease and environmental 
stresses. Those priorities remain.
But Canada’s rapidly expanding 
processing sector increasingly requires 
varieties with traits tied to protein func­
tionality, ingredient quality and end-use 
performance. That means processors are 
informing breeding discussions much 
earlier than they once were. 
“We’re seeing the value in under­
standing the priorities for those end 
users,” says Saskatchewan Pulse Growers 
Director of Research and Development 
Sherrilyn Phelps. “There are conversa­
tions happening between end users and 
breeders around specific targets or inter­
ests, which is really great to see.”
Eudes believes genomic predic­
tion could also help breeders overcome 
one of pulse breeding’s long-standing 
challenges: increasing protein content 
without sacrificing yield.
“We could envision an increase in 
yield while we also increase the protein 
content,” he says. “That’s where you have 
additional power with genomic predic­
tion.”
Trust Becomes Competitive 
Infrastructure
One word surfaced repeatedly through­
out conversations about the genomic 
selection project: trust. Organizations 
that normally compete are sharing data, 
research investments and expertise before 
they compete in the marketplace. 
“I think something as an industry we 
need to consider is our appetite for risk,” 
Anderson says. “It requires an appetite 
for risk, but it does actually build trust 
and bridges across that public-private-
producer continuum.”
Pozniak believes collaboration and 
competition are not opposing ideas. 
Canada’s breeding system, he argues, 
should collaborate where collaboration 
creates capacity — in precompetitive and 
foundational science, genomics infra­
structure and data generation — while 
continuing to compete where competi­
tion creates value: developing better 
varieties for farmers. 
“THERE IS A GENERAL CONSENSUS THAT THERE’S NO SINGLE ACTOR 
THAT CAN DELIVER OPTIMAL BREEDING ALONE.”
–Francois Eudes

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