100-bushel canola?
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SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | Vol. 73, No. 31 | $1.75
July 30, 2015
Ritz optimistic for TPP Canada says it has put offers on the TPP table, while the U.S. continues to disagree
manitobacooperator.ca
Corn and soybeans headed north and west DuPont Pioneer is among a number of companies that see huge growth potential on the western Prairies
BY SHANNON VANRAES Co-operator staff
C
anada’s agriculture minister says Canada won’t negotiate in public when it comes to the Trans-Pacific Partnership ( TPP), the proposed wide-ranging free trade agreement among a group of Pacific Rim countries. Responding to questions at an unrelated event in Winnipeg last week, Agriculture and AgriFood Minister Gerry Ritz said Canada has put forward strong proposals regarding supply management when it comes to TPP negotiations. On July 21, the U.S. government publicly criticized Canada in an open letter, saying it was, “unwilling to seriously engage in market access discussions regarding dairy.” “We consider the proposals we’ve put forward balanced in scope and we want to make sure those who export have the ability to export,” Ritz said. “And under the supply-managed system we recognized the value that it brings to the Canadian economy, we make all these arguments at the negotiating table, we don’t do it in public, nor does any other country for that matter.” The exception to that rule See RITZ TPP on page 7 »
A young couple checks out some of DuPont Pioneer’s new lineup of corn and soybean varieties being developed for Western Canada. Photo: Farm Boy Productions
BY LAURA RANCE Co-operator editor / Langham, Sask.
Publication Mail Agreement 40069240
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arlier-maturing varieties of corn and soybeans rolling out across the Canadian Prairies will provide new cash crop options and contribute to more sustainable rotations, a senior official with DuPont Pioneer said here last week. While it is widely acknowledged that farmers are squeezing their canola rotations too tightly, setting the stage for a rise in yield-crippling diseases such as clubroot, it’s because farmers see value in the crop, said Neal Gutterson, vicepresident of agricultural biotechnology for DuPont Pioneer. “I think the message we are hearing from growers is that they need other cash crop opportunities,” Gutterson
said in an interview at the Ag in Motion 2015 outdoor farm show here. “Are there options we can provide that might replace some of the cereals with corn and soybeans to enlarge that rotation cycle, which may enable them to rotate canola more sustainably over the longer term?” he said. The answer to that appears to be yes. DuPont used the new farm show near Saskatoon as its backdrop for launching six new corn hybrids, including three which are ultra-early, plus five new soybean varieties bred for Western Canada. These are already significant crops in Manitoba but many believe a combination of earlier-maturing varieties and climate change is poised to open up a new Corn Belt across the West. The new Pioneer hybrids range from 2,000 heat units (70 comparative relative maturity or CRM) — which is the
earliest-maturing corn in Western Canada — up to 2,600 heat units (85 CRM). The hybrids combine high yield potential with traits ranging from disease resistance to pest protection, and stacked herbicide tolerance, the company said. As well, the company launched new canola hybrids that combine improved yields with better protection against sclerotinia and clubroot. It also offers growers protection against pod shatter through the company’s HarvestMax technology.
Genetic editing, not modification Gutterson said the new releases reflect DuPont Pioneer’s recognition of Western Canada as one of five regions in the world along with China, South See CORN AND SOYBEANS on page 6 »
FEATURE: buying an RTM in a rural area: » PAGE 20-23