NEWS
THE WESTERN PRODUCER | WWW.PRODUCER.COM | FEBRUARY 28, 2013
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WEEDS | HERBICIDE RESISTANCE
HERBICIDE RESISTANT CORN | APPROVAL
Collective effort essential to combat resistant weeds
Clock ticking for Enlist OK BY ROBERT ARNASON BRANDON BUREAU
Neighbours affect neighbours | Producers must work together and take action against herbicide resistance in their areas BY ROBERT ARNASON BRANDON BUREAU
BALTIMORE, Md. — Farmers are often categorized as rugged individuals who prefer to do things on their own and in their own way. However, that “go it alone” attitude won’t work when it comes to herbicide resistant weeds, said David Ervin, an environmental sciences professor at Portland State University. “I’m just convinced that individual efforts, alone, will not suffice,” Ervin told the Weed Science Society of America annual meeting held in Baltimore in early February. “If they (farmers) continue to go it on their own … they’ll simply find that they are worse off in the long run.” The association released 12 best management practices last year to help growers cope with herbicide resistance, which has become a significant agronomic and economic issue in the southern United States and the U.S. Midwest as more weeds develop resistance to multiple modes of action. However, Ervin said the list was incomplete. “(It’s) like the missing best management practice. If (we) don’t have some kind of a collective effort … we’re simply not going to make the kind of progress that people want, in terms of corralling this issue.” Ervin, who participated in a panel discussion about the sociological and economic aspects of herbicide resistance, said his own father bristled at the thought of working with others. “I was raised on a farm and my father was as individualistic as you could imagine. He wouldn’t want to join anything.” However, Ervin’s dad understood that his crops suffered if the neighbours didn’t control the weeds on their land. As an example of the value of collective action, Ervin referred to a case in California where growers were squabbling over a common supply of groundwater. The farmers eventually realized that the success of their farms depended on the actions of other growers and vice versa. History and current experiences
The idea now is to show them that managing weed resistance is as much of a common resource issue as helping your neighbour harvest their crop.” RAY JUSSAUME SOCIOLOGY PROFESSOR
show that producers do co-operate for the common good, said Ray Jussaume, a sociology professor from Michigan State University. He said the agricultural pioneers who settled western North America succeeded partly because they were determined, resourceful people, but help from their fellow pioneers also played a crucial role in their success. Neighbours coming together to harvest a farmer’s crop when he falls ill during the growing season is a modern day example of co-operation, he added. “They (growers) are already doing it in other areas. The idea now is to show them that managing weed resistance is as much of a common resource issue as helping your neighbour harvest their crop.” However, the difficulty is persuading farmers to act collectively on herbicide resistance Ervin said control is a key to successful collective action. A small and local group of producers should control the collective effort to slow herbicide resistance in their region, rather than a global, top down approach. “You may want to create little nests of associations within a larger umbrella,” he said. “What you’re doing in building this kind of collective group is establishing trust…. They have to trust one
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another to be responsible and behave according to the rules.” Jussaume said weed scientists and policy-makers need to bring other experts onboard, such as sociologists, to understand farmer’s attitudes and perceptions regarding herbicide resistance. For instance, the issue of personal responsibility will need to be part of the sales pitch to get growers on board if they blame the biotech industry for the problem by failing to warn them about the risks of herbicide resistance. However, Jussaume said it’s obvious to him as a sociologist that technology didn’t cause the problem. The critical issue is managing existing biotech traits and the technologies in development. “The way out of the conundrum is the approaches that people develop,” he said. “It’s going to have to take (people) … to come up with approaches that recognize the complexity of the issue. Its not just, ‘here’s the technology and use it.’ ”
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Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship® (ETS). Monsanto products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. This product has been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from this product can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for this product. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Roundup Ready® crops contain genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides. Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Genuity and Design®, Genuity Icons, Genuity®, Roundup Ready®, and Roundup® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. Used under license.
Dow AgroSciences still doesn’t have the necessary approvals to launch its Enlist corn system in Canada. However, a company representative says there is a chance that Enlist corn, a variety with stacked herbicide resistance, could be seeded in Ontario this spring. The Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency approved Dow’s Enlist trait for corn and soybeans last fall, which provides 2,4-D tolerance on top of glyphosate tolerance. Dow had expected Canadian growers to seed Enlist corn this year, but the company is still waiting on two approvals, said Jeff Loessin, Dow AgroSciences Canada’s portfolio marketing leader for crop protection. The company needs Canadian regulatory approval for its Enlist Duo herbicide, which is a combination of glyphosate and a new formulation of 2,4-D. “We’re not going to launch the seed without the herbicide approval. They go together,” Loessin said. “The herbicide is designed to work with the crop, but it’s also designed to deliver benefits, as far as drift reduction and low volatility.” Dow also requires U.S. trade approval. “(With) the grain movement between our two countries, we don’t want to get into a situation where if
we’ve grown the crop in Canada, we’re restricting movement of that crop into the U.S.,” he said. “We’re not going to launch in Canada without the U.S. trade approval.” Complicating matters, most corn growers in Ontario and Quebec have already ordered seed for spring planting. Only a small number of growers would likely switch to Enlist this spring, even if it received the necessary approvals. “We’ve obviously talked to corn growers and we’ve got a list of who some of the interested people would be,” Loessin said. “If we get our approval, (those) will be the people we’ll go to see … and get some seed in the ground this spring.” Dow announced in Januar y it would push back the U.S. release of Enlist corn until next year because the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency have delayed approval amid an outcry of protests. Environmental groups, non-governmental organizations and individuals submitted more than 450,000 comments to the USDA, opposing the Enlist weed control system. Enlist critics include a number of weed scientists who claim stacked traits will exacerbate the herbicide resistance crisis in North America because weeds will soon develop resistance to glyphosate and 2,4-D.
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