Jennifer Mitchell Fetch

Jennifer Mitchell Fetch is a Canadian research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) with expertise in oat breeding. She is known for running the only organic oat breeding program in Canada and helping with the development of several oat milling quality cultivars, including the first organically developed cultivar, AAC Oravena. Canada is the largest exporter of oats in the world, emphasizing the importance of developing new and improved cultivars for farmers. Canada is responsible for producing approximately 3 million tonnes of quality oats every year, with 90% being from Western Canada, where Mitchell Fetch focused her research and was the only Agriculture Canada oat breeder for years. Mitchell Fetch was employed by AAFC in 1998 and spent 22 years as an oat breeder before her retirement in 2020. Her father's love for farming provided her with a strong interest in agriculture from a young age. She attended the University of Saskatchewan, where she completed her B.Sc. in crop science in 1979, followed by her M.Sc. in 1981. After spending some time as a triticale breeder with the University of Manitoba, she started her Ph.D. in flax breeding at North Dakota State University (NDSU), which was completed in 1989. The organic community has been beneficial to her research by calling attention to important traits for their production systems. Lu Oat Pinnacle Oat AC Gwen Hulless Oat Ronald Oat Furlong Oat Jordan Oat Stainless Oat Leggett Oat Summit Oat Stride Oat AAC Banner Oat AAC Jatharia Canada Western Red Spring Wheat AAC Prevail Canada Western Red Spring Wheat AAC Magnet Canada Western Red Spring Wheat AAC LeRoy Canada Western Red Spring Wheat AAC Crossfield Red Spring Wheat AAC Warman Canada Western Red Spring Wheat AAC Redstar Hard Red Spring Wheat AAC Cameron Canada Western Red Spring Wheat AAC Foray Red Spring Wheat AAC Tenacious Red Spring Wheat

Jennifer Mitchell Fetch retired in 2020 and has expressed that upon her retirement she would like to see the cultivars she developed being grown widely, being used in many food products, and improving consumers’ health.

Awards and achievements Recognized plant breeder by the Canadian Seed Growers Association (CSGA) Member of the Canadian Society of Agronomy Member of the American Societies of Agronomy and Crop Science Honorary Life Membership Award by the Manitoba Seed Growers Association in recognition of valuable service to the seed industry in December 2014 Honorary Life Award by the Canadian Seed Growers Association 2020 Awarded for Distinguished Service to Oat Improvement by the American Oat Workers in June 2018 Outstanding Associate Editor Award by the Canadian Journal of Plant Science in 2018