ew people outside of the research
community know Ron DePauw’s name, but chances
are you have been eating the fruits of his labours for
decades—maybe even your whole life.
Amongst science nerds, this 71-year-old is a living legend,
a sort of Wayne Gretzky of wheat breeding. When you look at
his career stats, it’s easy to see why. For much of the past two
decades, 40 to 55 per cent of Canada’s total wheat crop has
been made up of cultivars produced by DePauw and his team.
Throughout his decades-long career as one of the world’s
most influential grain breeders, DePauw has amassed a
staggering list of accomplishments, both public and private.
Now, on the verge of a retirement that will be chock full of
everything from judo to ballroom dancing, DePauw says wheat,
as a major part of the human diet, is here to stay.
Formally, Ron DePauw, PhD, is the senior principal wheat
breeder at the Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre in
Swift Current, SK.
“This institution is responsible for agriculture in the semi-arid
Prairie strip, which covers the brown soil zone, a lot of the dark
brown soil zone and a lot of the black,” he said. “This counts
for about a third of the arable crop land, and we’re developing
farmlands and genetic products that will tolerate the drought
and heat conditions.
“In this environment, water, drought, heat, high winds and
moisture deficit are the primary limiting factors of production.”
Similar climatic conditions are found between 45 and
60 degrees latitude, in both the Northern and Southern
Hemispheres. As such, scientific breakthroughs made in Swift
Current have been put to use everywhere from Siberia and
Kazakhstan to Argentina and New Zealand.
Born in Kamsack, SK, in 1944, and raised on a farm in
Treherne, MB, DePauw showed an early interest in agriculture,
participating in his local 4-H seed club. He studied
undergraduate science at the University of Manitoba before
heading on to master’s-level studies in botany and philosophy
at St. Louis University in Missouri.
It was during his master’s studies that DePauw first heard of,
then enthusiastically embraced, the Japanese martial art of judo.
“I started doing judo back in ’62, before everyone in this
Spring
2015
Grains
West
22
Prolific wheat breeder Ron DePauwgoes back to the future
by JEFF DAVIS • Photos by ELECTRIC UMBRELLA
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