Seed breeders, seed companies, and members of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance (CHTA) are invited to nominate industrial hemp cultivars for inclusion in CHTA's 2020 National Variety Field Trials program. Cultivars listed on the Health Canada List of Approved Cultivars (LOAC) and/or legal research cultivars are eligible for inclusion in the program.
“Hemp industry research is one of the ways we ensure both competitiveness and the growth of our industry,” said Ted Haney - Executive Director for the Calgary based Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance (CHTA). The CHTA is a national organization that was established to build the hemp industry in Canada.
“The National Variety Field Trials program provides a science-based approach to demonstrate performance measures for participating cultivars at sites across Canada. The program will provide sufficient data to confirm THC content of tested cultivars, for consideration by Health Canada. The program will also provide information to support applications to the Canadian Seed Growers' Association Variety Certification Eligibility (Form 300) process. With experts overseeing the protocols and data analysis, this is an unbiased and fair comparison for producers,” said Haney .
“The 2019 Field Trial Report includes details on the 11 cultivars tested (8 LOAC and 3 Research) tested in 12 locations. This year we are looking for a minimum of 9 cultivars to be tested at 13 sites (117 insertions) but can test up to 180 insertions. This includes all the sites from 2019,” explained Haney.
The National Variety Field Trials Program participation fees are: $700/LOAC cultivar and $1,000/Research cultivar. Payment is required at the time of final cultivar selection and prior to seed distribution.
Expressions of interest and completed Cultivar Registration Forms should be forwarded no later than April 15, 2020 to:
James Frey
Principal Investigator
National Variety Field Trials Program
Email: James.Frey@gov.mb.ca
The CHTA is a national organization that promotes Canadian hemp and hemp products globally. Established in 2003, the Alliance represents those involved in Canada’s hemp industry. Members include farmers, processors, manufacturers, researchers, entrepreneurs and marketers. The key functions of the Alliance are to disseminate information, promote the use of nutritional and industrial hemp and coordinate research.
"We are taking a long-term view of expanding the hemp industry in Canada. New cultivars are an important part of the future," concluded Haney.
