Western Crop Innovations

Western Crop Innovations (WCI) is dedicated to developing feed and forage barley, malting barley, and triticale varieties specifically tailored for the Western Prairies. Operating on a core land base of 400 acres in Lacombe, Alberta, our team of researchers is committed to achieving high yields, bolstering disease resistance, and ensuring superior end-use quality characteristics. To accomplish this, we plant, maintain, and evaluate 40,000 plots annually across our facilities in Lacombe and other sites throughout Alberta in our pursuit of the next breakthrough variety. Supported by in-house expertise in pathology, quality, and biotechnology, our breeding program utilizes cutting-edge technologies such as molecular markers and NIR (near-infrared) spectroscopy to efficiently identify the most exceptional materials in our breeding pipelines. Additionally, our pathology team diligently screens over 12,000 breeding lines in disease nurseries annually. At WCI, were driven to deliver variet...