CropLinks Autumn 2016

T H E L AT E S T P L A N T S C I E N C E I N D U S T R Y N E W S

Secure farmer choice in Western Australia

AUTUMN EDITION 2016 Repealing the WA Government’s moratorium is crucial to giving WA farmers such as Bindi Murray from Woodanilling (pictured below) the choice to be a world-leading farmer

Time up for antiquated moratoria Farmer representative groups and the plant science industry are urging the Western Australian Government to prioritise the Bill to repeal the Genetically Modified (GM) Crops Free Areas Act 2003 (WA). Repealing the Act will secure farmers the choice to access modern agricultural innovations.

Repealing the Act is a sound, scientific and evidence-based initiative that will give farmers access to the latest, approved agricultural biotechnology innovations and the choice to reap their well-established economic and environmental benefits.

With the highest usage in the country, Western Australian farmers are growing GM canola varieties at an increasing rate as they recognise the advantages of superior weed control, higher yields, increased market demand and greater on-farm economic and environmental benefits.

The debate in WA highlighted that the moratoria on GM crop cultivation in other states are also antiquated and serve no purpose. Several independent and government commissioned reports, along with real‑world experience, show that Tasmania and South Australia have not gained a marketing advantage from a GM-free status, while their farmers have missed out on their share of more than US$885 million of farm income gained by Australian farmers with access to crop biotechnology over the last 20 years.

Support WA’s farmer choice at

www.farmerchoice.org.au

Inside this issue Unnecessary regulatory changes to AgVet chemical labels threaten WH&S best practice

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Pesticides crucial to defending Australia’s natural environment

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20 years of GM crop benefits for Australian farmers

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representing the best of the plant science industry

Matthew Cossey Chief Executive Officer, CropLife Australia

From the Chief Executive Officer With a welcome bipartisan focus on innovation, it is critical that an effective agricultural public policy framework is put in place to support the nation's farmers to act on the opportunities and overcome the challenges that Australian agriculture will face.

The recent Australian Academy of Science report The importance of advanced physical, mathematical and biological sciences to the Australian Economy shows that scientific innovations are responsible for $330 billion of Australia’s economic growth over the last thirty years—a quarter of the nation's total growth over that period. The plant science industry has a proud tradition of delivering innovation to agriculture for more than sixty years and innovation will only become more important for the nation’s farming sector in the future.

Australian farmers are facing the mammoth task of assisting in feeding a growing world population, which has been recently estimated by the United Nations to increase to 9.7 billion by 2050. This will need to be done in the context of a changing and more challenging climate, production and resource constraints and an increasingly competitive global agricultural marketplace.

The global plant science industry invests more than US$6.7 billion each year on research and development into innovations in modern cropping with the focus of helping farmers to farm more productively and environmentally sustainably than ever before. However, the

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benefits of the plant science industry’s innovations cannot be realised unless effective public policy ensures and facilitates farmers’ opportunity to access these technologies.

Effective policy should always be based on independent, peer-reviewed scientific evidence, rather than misinformation, myth and narrow short-term political agendas.

Farmers and consumers both stand to gain from the Western Australian Government’s repeal of the GM moratorium based on the conclusions of reputable and independent scientific organisations and institutions who have confirmed the safety and benefits of approved genetically modified crops. It's time other governments also ensured that good agricultural policy and initiatives are not hijacked by a very small extremist element.

Effective fact- and science-based public policy is essential for a productive and globally competitive Australian agricultural sector in which farmers, equipped by the innovations of the plant science industry, can take advantage of the opportunities and overcome the challenges that they face. We all win when that occurs.

CROPLINKS THE NEWSLETTER OF CROPLIFE AUSTRALIA | AUTUMN 2016

Bipartisan support for innovation in agriculture is critical for Australia’s future

Focus on innovation and science in agriculture benefits all Australians Recent announcements by the Federal Government and Opposition highlight a bipartisan support for innovation and science, which is core to Australia’s future success and competitiveness.

With the right support and public policy framework, our scientists, researchers and industry are well equipped to help farmers meet the challenges that the nation will face.

The Government’s announcement of a National Innovation and Science Agenda is an important marker in Australia’s future economic success and welcomed leadership in the important areas of innovation and science.

The Federal Opposition’s Future Smart Australia policy shows an equal recognition of the importance of, and commitment to innovation.

The Australian plant science industry has been delivering innovation to agriculture for more than 60 years and innovation in agriculture will only become more important for the nation’s farming sector in the next 100 years. Innovation from the plant science sector already directly underpins $18 billion dollars of Australia’s agricultural production.

Australia’s cotton industry is an example of an industry that is benefitting from modern agricultural innovations. Farmers started using GM cotton more than 20 years ago and it now comprises almost 100 per cent of Australia’s cotton crop. The use of GM cotton has helped the industry to become more productive and sustainable. GM cotton

farmers reaped a net farm income gain of more than US$100 million in 2013 with reduced costs and environmental benefits such as a 40 per cent increase in water productivity, which has earned it the reputation of being the most water efficient cotton industry in the world.

The use of GM cotton has also allowed farmers to improve their sustainable use of cropprotection products with a reduction ofpesticide applications by up to 85 per cent eachseason.

A truly productive and competitive agriculture sector that can sustainably contribute to food security in Australia and globally requires access to modern farming technologies, including agricultural biotechnology and crop protection products.

Innovation and science are in the national interest and genuine bipartisan support is crucial to Australia’s future prosperity.

Unnecessary regulatory changes to AgVet chemical labels compromises safety and adds nearly $60 million cost to farmers Duplicative and unnecessary changes to work health and safety regulations regarding agricultural and veterinary chemical product labelling threatens to undermine the effective worker health and safety measures already in place to protect users. The imposition of these ill‑conceived extra regulations will also unnecessarily increase costs for essential products used

by Australia’s farmers— nearly $60 million.

The Model Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 introduced by Safe Work Australia (SWA) removed the legislated recognition that Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA)

approved labels, resulting from expert scientific and technical risk assessment, comply with Work Health and Safety regulations. This places Australia out of step with the United States, one of our major trading partners, which has a comparative regulatory system in place for AgVet chemicals, but has specifically exempted AgVet chemicals in recognition of their existing regulatory system. As of 1 January 2017, all agricultural and veterinary chemicals regulated by the APVMA will require unnecessary, confusing and often misleading hazard and precautionary statements.

The Department of Employment and SWA have belligerently pushed ahead with the changes despite opposition from all relevant industry bodies, including CropLife Australia, the Plastics and

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Chemical Industries Association, Accord Australasia and the National Farmers’ Federation along with the relevant policy departments, the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources and the Department of Health. This highlights why departments or regulators should not seek to develop policy and regulations when they are operating completely outside their respective areas of expertise.

CropLife Australia and its members support initiatives that deliver the best outcomes for protection of worker health and safety and all available evidence confirms that the APVMA’s expert scientific, evidence-based risk assessment system already provides this.

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Crop Protection

Recent media reporting on glyphosate misleading and irresponsible Recent media reporting on the use of crop protection products containing the active ingredient glyphosate has been marred by serious factual inaccuracies and is misleading in regard to the context of the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) classification. Understanding the difference between hazard and risk is essential when it comes to reporting on a complex and important issue such as this.

Some reports, such as the ABC's 16 February 2016 online article Local councils still using weed killer glyphosate despite WHO warning it 'probably’ causes cancer, demonstrates a serious lack of understanding of the difference between hazard and risk and also omits pertinent information, such as the fact that all glyphosate products have been extensively and independently risk-assessed by regulators in the United States, Canada,

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Australia and Europe and found to be safe. More recent findings, such as a peer-review by the European Food Safety Authority, have concluded that glyphosate is unlikely to pose even a carcinogenic hazard let alone an actual risk.

A hazard is something that has the potential to harm people, including objects and processes. A risk is the probability that a hazard will harm an individual in a real-world setting. The hazard doesn’t change but the risk changes enormously depending on how a hazard is mitigated.

For example, there is the hazard of coming into contact with a deadly 240 volts of electricity when plugging an appliance into a power point. However, the power point reduces the risk of exposure to negligible levels, which allows its safe use despite the hazard.

The IARC report is not a risk assessment.

It very narrowly determines the potential for a specific compound to cause cancer under some circumstances, even if those circumstances are unlikely to occur. The pre-amble to the final complete scientific monograph report goes to some length to specifically

Recent reporting on glyphosate has been filled with inaccuracies. highlight this point after the original misrepresentation and misreporting of their interim report.

For example, working the night shift or being a hairdresser are classified as probably cancer-causing, the same as glyphosate, because one job disrupts the body’s circadian rhythms and the other involves exposure to dyes. Coffee and aloe vera are ‘possible’ carcinogens according to the IARC's classifications.

All agricultural chemical products are subject to a chemical risk assessment that involves years of data collection and an exposure assessment to ensure their safety for human health and the environment. This process assesses in detail the likely exposure of humans, users and members of the public and environmental organisms, and takes into account how the chemical product is to be used, the type and formulation of the product and the crops or animals to be treated.

It’s crucial that news reporting on technical, scientific information is accurate, factual and not driven by media click bait and activists’ misplaced political agendas.

CROPLINKS THE NEWSLETTER OF CROPLIFE AUSTRALIA | AUTUMN 2016

Glyphosate Unlike IARC, the APVMA considers how the risk of a hazard may be effectively mitigated.

What does IARC’s classification mean for you?

By Professor Bernard Stewart

Glyphosate is an organic compound that kills weeds by interfering with the plants’ metabolism. In Australia, it’s been registered for use for more than 40 years. But it’s also classified as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’, which means children should stay away from it. Right? Well, no.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer’s evaluations identify hazards— that is, whether a certain substance has the biological capability to cause cancer.

A hazard identification is only one part of the process to determine whether a chemical is dangerous for use.

If it is capable of causing cancer, or probably is, then a separate level of investigation is needed to determine under what circumstances people are exposed to the chemical, and then, what the likelihood is of it causing the cancer.

in Australia, the relevant authority is the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA).

The APVMA regulates how glyphosate is to be used safely. Authorities like this take into account factors such as the circumstances of a chemical’s use, the level of exposure and availability of alternatives and protective measures— such as warning labels and protective equipment and clothing.

As already mentioned, glyphosate has only been found to be ‘probably’ carcinogenic, and the studies on which this determination was based were confined to those most exposed to the chemical (those who use it occupationally).

But what about the rest of us, as in, the vast majority of Australians whose job doesn’t involve using glyphosate?

This exercise is called a ‘risk assessment’ and is not addressed by IARC.

Negative health effects of chemicals are mainly determined by the level of exposure to them. The good news is that soil microbes degrade glyphosate in a matter of days. It doesn’t accumulate the way some pesticides do.

Risk assessment is the business of statutory authorities. For pesticide use

The carcinogenicity evidence for glyphosate doesn’t involve incidental

exposure for children. Such level of exposure, if measurable at all, would be hundreds of times below that of occupational exposure.

And when it comes to children, it’s not only the level of exposure that must be considered. It’s also the frequency of exposure when compared to those using it occupationally (possibly most days over a period of years, if not decades). So clearly, much less.

Children get to parks by crossing roads.

That’s a risk and there are warning signs for it. When they get to a park, they also risk attack by dogs or humans, being struck by lightning or bitten by snakes. Although those risks are real, they don’t (in most cases) merit warning signs.

And then there’s the even lesser risk of cancer from residual glyphosate, which has never been documented. Just forget it.

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This is an excerpt from University of New South Wales’ Professor Bernard Stewart’s article Council Workers spraying the weed‑killer glyphosate in playgrounds won’t hurt your children published on The Conversation.

This article has been republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 international license.

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Crop Protection

BEFORE

ACT nature reserves overrun with invasive St John's Wart weeds.

AFTER Native wildflowers are returning and the invasive weed is no longer a threat to this nature reserve after a careful and targeted three-year herbicide spraying program by the ACT Parks and Conservation Service.

Pesticides crucial to defending Australia’s natural environment Australia is envied around the world for the natural beauty of its environment. Protecting it is a daily battle for our environmental land managers.

Our environment is constantly under attack from invasive weeds and other pests. Like farmers, Australia’s environmental land managers, such as the parks and wildlife services, rely on the use of crop protection products to effectively defend and protect our natural environment from these threats.

Invasive weeds and other pests can have major negative impacts on Australia’s natural environments as they can damage the diversity and balance of

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Photographs by ACT Parks and Conservation Service.

ecosystems. These changes threaten the survival of many native plants and animals because weeds compete for space, moisture, nutrients and sunlight.

The plant science industry provides Australia’s land managers with the innovative tools that are crucial to controlling invasive weeds and insects throughout Australia’s national parks, in public parks, golf courses, gardens and to control weeds alongside roads, buildings, pathways and other public infrastructure.

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A 2013 Deloitte Ac cess Economics report estimates th at more than

$17.6 billion

of Australia’s agric ultural output is attributable to th e use of crop protection products.

Plant science helping farmers make Valentine’s Day sweeter What would Valentine’s Day be without strawberries, chocolate and wine? Valentine’s Day is always a good reminder of how important innovation in the plant science industry is to Australian agriculture.

Crop protection products are crucial to the commercial production of roses, strawberries, chocolate and wine.

The 2013 Deloitte Access Economics report Economic activity attributable to crop protection products shows that more than $17.6 billion dollars of agricultural output, as well as the commercial viability of growing many of Australia’s fruit and vegetable crops, such as strawberries and wine grapes, is attributable to the use of crop protection products from the plant science industry.

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Roses, like much of Australia’s agricultural output, are susceptible to a range of fungal diseases and insect pests, which are effectively managed by Australia’s farmers using the innovative tools provided by the plant science industry. Cocoa production by the world's leading producing countries increased up to 75 per cent after the introduction of crop protection products.

The Australian plant science industry is proud to have helped farmers bring you the best of Valentine’s Day.

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Crop Biotechnology

Celebrating twenty years of Australian farmers benefitting from GM crops In 1996, the first commercial genetically modified (GM) crop was planted in Australia and in the twenty years since, GM crops have helped an increasing number of Australian farmers to grow food, feed and fibre more productively and sustainably.

Since the first insect resistant GM cotton developed by the CSIRO was planted, Australian farmers have embraced the modern plant breeding technique. The Gene Technology Regulator has issued 13 licences since 1996 for the commercial release of GM cotton and canola in Australia. Today, more than 99 per cent and almost a

quarter of planted cotton and canola in Australia respectively are GM varieties.

GM crops continue to deliver major economic and environmental benefits after two decades. A 2015 independent report by PG Economics GM crops: global socio-economic and environmental impacts 1996–2013 revealed that Australian farmers growing GM crops had a farm income increase of more than US$885 million over 18 years compared to non-GM crops. Farmers growing GM crops have seen reduced costs and improved yields, while also significantly reducing carbon emissions, fuel consumption and the demands on land and water resources.

Australian cotton farmers had seen a net income gain of more than $US100 million in 2013, with reduced costs equivalent to an annual production increase of more than 5 per cent. Australian canola farmers saw an average net increase in farm gross margins of US$60.66 per hectare of GM canola in 2013.

The future is bright for crop biotechnology in Australia. New GM crops are being developed with significant health benefits such as increased fibre and reduced cholesterol, higher yielding and resistant to pests and environmental stress. Many of these new innovations, including pest resistance, drought tolerance, heat tolerance and salinity tolerance will be well-suited to Australia’s challenging natural environment.

BIOTECH CROPS

AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE FOR AGRICULTURE AS IT CONTINUALLY IMPROVES TO KEEP PACE WITH THE GROWING DEMAND FOR FOO D. FARMERS AND PLANT BREEDERS HAVE BEEN MODIFYING PLANT GENES FOR MORE THAN 10,000 YEARS in order to develop higher-yielding crops and foods

with improved nutrition and taste. Plant breeding has evolved over centuries and biotechnology is a continuation of this time-tested process.

1700s

Cross-breeding: farmers and scientists crossbreed plants within a species (e.g. rutabagas are a cross between turnips and cabbage).

1940s

Seed breeding: plant breeders use radiation or chemicals to generate seeds with desirable traits. These random mutations lead to new and useful plant characteristics such as size, sweetness or color (e.g. red grapefruit).

1973

Scientists Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer perfect recombinant DNA development — the technique used to cut and paste DNA and reproduce the new DNA in bacteria. This signalled the birth of genetic engineering or modern biotechnology.

1996

BC 8000 Simple selection: farmers select seed from top-performing plants. Many “modern” or familiar vegetables and fruits were domesticated through breeding programs.

Scientific discoveries dating back to the 1800s have paved the way for modern plant breeders to use molecular biology to remove the guesswork and imprecision of conventional breeding methods.

1865

Scientist Gregor Mendel’s pea-breeding experiments prove heredity and the field of genetics is “born.”

1953

Scientists James Watson and Francis Crick discover the double helix structure of DNA.

1980s

Insulin is the first approved product of modern biotechnology. Plant breeders apply new techniques of biotechnology to plants.

1996–2014

Researchers introduce biotech corn, soybean, cotton, canola, papaya and more to farmers around the world.

First biotech staple crops are commercialised and available for planting

2015 and beyond Plant biotechnology continues to evolve with new techniques that will advance food productionfor farmers and meet the needs of consumers (such as canola with healthier oils and allergen free nuts).

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CROPLINKS THE NEWSLETTER OF CROPLIFE AUSTRALIA | AUTUMN 2016

Securing access to new technologies in agriculture is crucial to WA’s farming future GM crops have helped WA farmers become more productive and environmentally sustainable.

GM crops are the most independently tested food technology in human history and proven safe*.

Health benefits such as reduced cholesterol and environmental tolerances to drought and salinity are some of the advantages of GM crops in development.

Let’s clear the way for WA farmers to continue realising the benefits of modern agriculture.

Get the facts and support farmer choice at

www.farmerchoice.org.au * Every Australian and international legitimate scientific institution and regulatory body has arrived at the conclusion that GM crops and the foods they produce are as safe as their conventional counterparts. This includes the World Health Organization, the Australian Academy of Science, the European Commission, the American National Academy of Science, the Royal Society and many more.

A U T H O R I S E D B Y B. M U R R AY, C A N O L A FA R M E R , W O O D A N I L L I N G , W E S T E R N AU S T R A L I A

What people are saying recently about the safety and benefits of GM crops “There is no factual basis to deny growers in WA the right to choose a technology that is safe.”

“If you continually scare consumers by spreading misinformation about cropping biotechnology but try and claim the high moral ground on climate change or environmental issues by using evidence provided by the same scientific agencies that declare GM crops safe to human health and the environment, it’s impossible to maintain public or professional credibility.”

Mr Mark Lynas Former anti-GM campaigner turned supporter, 16 January 2016.

“I do not have a blanket objection to the use of genetically modified crops—I absolutely don’t—and it would be hypocritical for me to say that because I support the use of genetic modification in medicine.”

Senator Richard Di Natale Leader of the Australian Greens, 5 January 2016

Mr Duncan Young WAFarmers Grain Section President, 15 February 2016

“The PGA has recognised the benefits of GM crops since their introduction in the 1990s and now we see GM crops and non-GM crops being grown alongside one another all over the world.”

Mr John Snooke Spokesperson for the Pastoralists and Graziers Association of Western Australia, 16 February 2016

“If a government has appropriate regulation, appropriate controls in place and the science is conducted ethically, then the future is probably going to require us to have GM food.”

Professor Ian Chubb Former Chief Scientist of Australia, 13 January 2016

“If innovation and investment are encouraged, agriculture can play an important role in the diversification and growth of the WA economy with GM crops and conventional farming working side by side.”

“You can’t possibly hope to feed the world’s population of nine billion by 2035 without having significant advancement in agricultural productivity. There’s no doubt that many of those advancements are coming from genetic modification.”

Mr Simon Talbot Former Chief Executive Officer, National Farmers’ Federation, 9 January 2016

Ms Deidre Willmott Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia, 18 November 2015

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CROPLINKS THE NEWSLETTER OF CROPLIFE AUSTRALIA | AUTUMN 2016

High Court of Australia confirms foundation of coexistence in agriculture The High Court of Australia’s rejection of an application for special leave to appeal by organic growers Steve and Sue Marsh against a ruling of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and Court of Appeal is a victory for common sense and confirms the foundation of coexistence of farming methods by Australian farmers.

The Supreme Court of Western Australia and Court of Appeal have both upheld that the actions of Michael Baxter in growing a legal crop in a legal manner did not cause the direct economic loss claimed by the Marshes.

Australian farmers have always been best placed to make decisions as to the most appropriate farming method for their property, whether it be traditional, organic or modern. Some organic certifiers, acting more like activist organisations, have incorrectly

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interpreted Australia’s organic marketing rules to enforce an unworkable and unreasonable ‘zero tolerance’ for the unintended presence of GM products.

There is no scientific basis for zero tolerance and it places relationships between farmers and their neighbours in completely unnecessary conflict.

The decision by the High Court of Australia reaffirms the foundation of coexistence in farming, regardless of farming method: traditional, organic or modern.

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Industry Stewardship

helping protect bees around the world Building on the success of BeeConnected in Australia, CropLife Australia is now working with sister organisations across the globe to roll out the award‑winning application to help protect bees around the world.

This world-first smartphone and web tool has been launched by CropLife Asia under the name ‘Madhu sandesh’, which means honey message in Hindi, and is also in development for CropLife Canada and CropLife Brazil.

Since its launch, BeeConnected has seen significant user uptake, received positive reviews and won the Best Stewardship Programme at the prestigious international 2015 Agrow Awards.

BeeConnected was launched as part of CropLife’s Pollinator Protection Initiative to enable easy and private communication between Australian farmers and beekeepers to help them protect bees.

To find out more information or to download the free app, visit www.croplife.org.au/beeconnected

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The award-winning BeeConnected is helping farmers, contractors and beekeepers protect pollinators around the world

drumMUSTER prepares to celebrate milestone in Tasmania drumMUSTER is preparing to celebrate the significant milestone of half a million drums collected in Tasmania.

With more than 30 drumMUSTER collection sites in Tasmania provided by Agsafe, the program’s accessibility has assisted Australian farmers to safely and sustainably dispose of empty farming chemical containers.

“The past two years have seen a significant increase in the amount of drums being returned,” said drumMUSTER Tasmania Regional Consultant, Andrew Winkler.

“We now have 40,000–50,000 containers being recycled each year across the state, up from an average of 30,000 previously.” drumMUSTER congratulates everyone who has made a contribution to the more than 429,000 containers collected so far in Tasmania, especially the local farmers who embrace the program as a normal practice in their day to day activities.

CROPLINKS THE NEWSLETTER OF CROPLIFE AUSTRALIA | AUTUMN 2016

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

CropLife's 10 influential studies of 2015

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The continued growth of the biotech market

The Global Status of Commercialised Biotech/ GM Crops: 2014 report from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications details the remarkable growth of biotech crops for 19 consecutive years.

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Pesticides knocked off list of top bee threats

Friends of the Earth’s co-authored report with the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council, Bees and Pollinators: A Commonwealth Concern, identified the main causes of pollinator decline as loss of natural habitats, climate change, pathogens and hunting.

Crop protection products were not on that list, as the evidence points to a variety of other factors influencing bee health.

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Personal essays to inform decision makers on GM

Voices and Views: Why Biotech? is a collection of personal essays from individuals all over the world who have followed the development of biotechnology and are convinced that it has a significant role to play in improving the quality of life of people everywhere.

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EFSA disagrees with IARC statement

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) report, Conclusion on the peer review of the pesticide risk assessment of the active substance glyphosate, concludes that glyphosate ‘is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic hazard to humans’. This is a direct contradiction to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which classified glyphosate as ‘probably’ carcinogenic to humans in March 2015.

Explaining how it reached a different conclusion, EFSA said it had ‘assessed more evidence including additional key studies that were not considered by IARC’.

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Farmers and consumers benefit from intellectual property Modern plant breeding allows us to develop more productive, efficient and environmentally-friendly plant varieties, which benefit farmers, consumers and the environment. These benefits are clearly demonstrated by a study on Ogura, a ground-breaking technology developed by the French National Institute for Agricultural Research that enables the production of higher-yielding varieties of canola. A paper, Who benefits from intellectual property rights for agricultural innovation?, found that in France alone, Ogura had been adopted by 83 per cent of farmers and generated an estimated AUD$1.5 billion, 75 per cent of which went to farmers and consumers.

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Big economic and environmental benefits from GM

Plant biotechnology continues to provide substantial economic and environmental benefits. It allows farmers, especially those in developing countries, to grow more food while using fewer resources. PG Economics’ GM crops: global socio-economic and environmental impacts 1996–2013 looks at how and where these benefits have accrued.

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Global economic, environmental and health benefits from GM crop adoption

‘Global economic, environmental and health benefits from GM crop adoption’ was published in the journal Global Food Security and summarises the economic, environmental and health benefits from GM crop adoptions in various countries, concluding with estimates of the distribution of the benefits of GM crops between farmers, consumers and innovators.

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Bee population rising around the world

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Biotech crops lead the way

An article in AgProfessional, ‘Bee population rising around the world’, highlights promising figures from sources worldwide to show that despite some reported regional declines, the world’s overall bee population has been rising almost continuously for the past 50 years.

For example, there are almost 10 million more beehives in the world now than in 2000—an increase of 13.2 per cent.

The Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs published Taking root: global trends in agricultural biotechnology, which highlights the benefits of plant biotechnology and emphasises the growing potential of the technology as even more traits are being developed, tested and brought to market with significant societal benefits stemming from positive economic impact, food security and environmental sustainability.

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Lost colonies found in a data mine: Global honey trade but not pests or pesticides as a major cause of regional honey bee colony declines

While activists continue to fear monger about a global honey bee decline, Moritz & Erler’s paper ‘Lost colonies found in a data mine: Global honey trade but not pests or pesticides as a major cause of regional honeybee colony declines’ in Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment uses data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to show that there is no evidence supporting this misinformation nor is there any link between colony dynamics and pesticides.

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News and Events

As part of the Grains Research and Development Corporation and Bayer CropScience ‘Herbicide Innovation Partnership’ that aims to develop novel chemistry for managing herbicide-resistant weeds, 11 postdoctoral chemists from Australia and New Zealand have begun working at Bayer’s laboratory in Frankfurt, Germany where they are analysing chemical molecules that have the potential to provide new options for weed control. The program is expected to help build the capacity of the young scientists and the overall weeds research capacity at Bayer.

Courtney Piesse is the winner of the inaugural Adama Young Agronomist of the Year award.

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Dow AgroSciences is pleased to announce Mr Rob Kaan as the new General Manager for Australia and New Zealand. Rob has moved back to Sydney from Head Office in Indianapolis where he was the global business leader of a portfolio of herbicides. Prior to this, Rob was the regional commercial leader for the SE Asia region based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Rob takes over from outgoing Managing Director, Peter Dryden.

Adama has announced Courtney Piesse from Elders in Kojonup, WA as the winner of the inaugural Adama Young Agronomist of the Year Award. The competition attracted over 100 entrants aged 30 and under and has revealed some amazing young talent in Australian agriculture.

Adama are using the award to highlight the significant contribution agronomists make to Australian farming and to support young agronomists to further their agronomy career.

Over 450 Landmark affiliates, key suppliers and staff attended the National Merchandise and Fertiliser Conference, which took place in November 2015. Delegates heard from a number of special expert guest speakers. Landmark’s Managing Director, Tommy Warner, delivered an address about the performance and strategy for 2016, whilst National Procurement Director, Andrew Duperouzel, gave a more detailed insight into their merchandise and fertiliser business results for 2015 and key focuses for 2016.

Nufarm takes the safety of its employees, visitors and contractors extremely seriously. For this reason it has implemented a set of non-negotiable mandatory safety rules for these groups. They define the behaviours that are critical to safeguarding the lives of their personnel. The seven Life Saving Rules emphasise the importance of following all safety procedures, not consuming or being under the influence of drugs or alcohol in the workplace and reporting all incidents immediately. All Nufarm personnel have taken part in Life Saving Rules training, been provided training materials and regularly hear refreshers from senior leaders.

CROPLINKS THE NEWSLETTER OF CROPLIFE AUSTRALIA | AUTUMN 2016

CropLife hosts the best of the plant science industry at 2015 National Forum CropLife Australia hosted its annual National Forum at the National Press Club in Canberra in November last year. Attendees were addressed

by Senator the Hon. Anne Ruston, Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources; the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; Ms Kareena Arthy, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority and Mr Mick Keogh, Executive Director of the Australian Farming Institute.

The forum was also addressed by several other government and industry leaders who covered topics such as next generation bio-pesticides, insecticide resistance, the current state of agribusiness—trends and markets, and recent advances in the science of biotechnology.

The Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Senator the Hon Anne Ruston opens the CropLife National Forum

The Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Rural Affairs the Hon Joel Fitzgibbon addressing the Forum

The forum was followed by CropLife’s annual agriculture industry function.

The function brought together key policy makers, politicians, ambassadors, journalists and industry stakeholders to discuss the year ahead in agriculture and acknowledge the successes of 2015.

The 2015 forum was particularly significant because it marked 60 years of the plant science industry collectively operating through a single national peak body.

(L–R) Mr Matthew Cossey, CropLife Australia Chief Executive Officer and Mr Taf Shaamano, Associate, Global Industry Research, International and Institutional Banking, ANZ

(L–R) The 2015 CropLife Australia Industry Award recipients Mr Dean Corbett, outgoing Chief Executive Officer of Accensi and Mr Peter Dryden, outgoing Managing Director of Dow AgroSciences Australia

(L–R) Mr Lachie McKinnon, CropLife Australia President and Nufarm General Manager Australasia, Ms Michelle Landry MP and His Excellency John Berry, the United States Ambassador to Australia

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(L–R) Senator David Leyonhjelm and Mr Andrew Broad MP

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CropLife Australia is the peak organisation representing the best of Australia’s plant science and crop protection product companies.

CropLife ensures world’s best stewardship and responsible use of the industry’s products through its conduct of conduct and has set a benchmark for industry stewardship through initiatives in the StewardshipFirst™ program such as drumMUSTER, ChemClear, Agsafe Accrediation and Training and the Pollinator Protection Initiative.

That is why you can have full confidence when dealing with a CropLife member company.

CropLife represents Australia’s leading innovators, developers, manufacturers, formulators and registrants of crop protection and agricultural biotechnology products.

CropLife Australia is part of the CropLife International Federation, representing the plant science sector in 91 countries around the world.

LAB EL SPEC IALISTS

CROPLIFE AUSTRALIA LIMITED t 02 6230 6399 f 02 6230 6355 w www.croplife.org.au

www.facebook.com/CropLifeOZ

www.twitter.com/CropLifeOZ