Morden’s Cereal Research Centre celebrates 100 years

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This article was published 06/08/2015 (4001 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Next time you chow down on your breakfast, you can thank 100 years of agriculture research at the Cereal Research Centre.

The station, established in 1915 by national department of agriculture, is celebrating its 100th anniversary on Aug. 12 with an open house and a meet-and-greet with scientists who will be on hand at the facility.

It will be open at 9 a.m. to about 4 p.m. with guided and self-guided tours available. It is located on the eastern side of Morden on 1st Street and Hwy. 3. There will be an official ceremony at 11 a.m.

“It’s a huge milestone for the morden research station,” said city counsellor Alex Fedorchuk. “It’s played a major role in the development of various fruits and vegetables, cereal crops, buckwheat, peas, flax, sunflowers, corn and a lot of ornamentals, especially the rose program. We had a very famous rose called the Morden Rose.”

The world-famous rose-breeding program at the Morden facility ended in 2010 after about 80 years when federal funding was redirected to grain.

The centre was started as an experimental farm to conduct research and show farmers better methods of growing crops and how to use trees and shrubs to beautify and protect their land.

Visitor information from the centre states that the location in Morden was chosen because it has the long growing season and greatest number of frost-free days on the Prairies.

“Everyone is so impressed, this research station has done some wonderful things over the hundred years and employs over 70 people. We have a host of first-class scientists who are doing some wonderful work for the province, the country and the world,” Fedorchuk said.