WESTLOCK - Like every other organization, the year 2020 certainly put a damper on many of the activities and meetings of Gateway Research Organization (GRO) due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But GRO manager Sandeep Nain is hoping things will be much better this year, and things can get back to a more normal way of operating.
As he noted in an e-mail to members in late November, it has been a blur of activity and changes since March 2020, but added, “It has been incredible to see the agriculture community coming together. We (GRO) have been forging ahead in this time of challenge and coming up with new ways to complete our once normal tasks.
He added, “Your team at GRO has been no different in this. While we miss the opportunity to meet with many of you in person, we are working hard to ensure that you can still have the trial results that you have come to rely on at your fingertips.”
Nain said GRO has also been making headway with extension, and has taken most of that work online. “As always, we are active on social media as well, and have recently started an Instagram account. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and on our YouTube channel. We have also updated our website to reflect our ever-broadening membership base. You can now get access to our latest videos, trial results, and even renew your membership right from the website at www.gatewayresearchorganization.com.”
In 2020, GRO had 145 varieties of barley, oats, wheat, triticale, canola, flax, yellow and green peas, faba beans, soybeans, lentils, plus fall rye and winter wheat sown last fall. They conducted research trials on cereals and oilseed crops, conventional canola and others. Overall, Nain said about there was work on about 2,400 small plots; a total of 42 research and demo trials in 2020.
There are many things going on this year at GRO and information can be found on the website as noted above. And, if things return to a more normal state this summer, there will no doubt be field tours held at some of the plots sites this summer.
Among other things this year, Nain has been able to secure funding from Western Grain Research Foundation for a new plot combine. He is hoping to host an inauguration event this year to showcase the new machine.
“Gateway Research Organization is governed by a forward-thinking board of directors who set the tone for GRO,” he added. “We are currently collaborating with the University of Alberta, crop commissions, other applied research associations, and industry for many research trials. We love learning and then sharing what we learn with our producers.”
Les Dunford, TownandCountryToday.com
