DON’T GIVE UP ON PEAS JUST YET, SAYS PULSE OFFICIAL
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Pesticide rules hurting farmers, says consultant Producers north of the border have access to fewer modes of action and active ingredients
Big stakes and big risks in Trans-Pacific trade talks Canola and beef sectors say there’s no middle ground — reaching a deal will be a huge win and failure will be ‘a really bad scenario’
BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF staff / Lacombe
C
anadian farmers are losing much-needed pest management products to red tape. “We’re losing products faster than we’re bringing them in,” said Ron Pidskalny, an Edmonton-based consultant with a background in herbicide development and agronomy. “We’re in a situation where we’re actually ending up with fewer active ingredients than we had before. “The tool box is becoming less diverse.” The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) — a branch of Health Canada — is slowly chipping away at products producers rely on to manage pests on their farm, Pidskalny said at a recent Next Level Farming event in Lacombe. “The PMRA is terminating efficacious and cost-effective active ingredients and actually impeding the registration of new best management tools.” And Canadian producers will become less competitive as a result. “The loss of pest management
A mountain to climb? Reaching a deal with Japan and the other nine countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks could boost canola and beef exports alone by more than $1 billion, but there would be big losses if talks founder. Pictured is Tokyo’s port with Mt. Fuji in the background. Photo: REUTERS/Toru Hanai
see PESTICIDES } page 7
BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF staff
W
ithout a new Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, two ag sectors won’t just miss out on multimillion-dollar opportunities — they’ll take a major hit in key Asian markets, say canola and beef officials. “There are some really clear benefits for Canada here in terms of growth potential, but also some very serious consequences if we don’t move ahead on this,” said Catherine Scovil, director of government relations for the Canadian Canola Growers Association. “This will not just be simply status quo with a lack of growth opportunities. We would see the industry sliding back.”
You lookin’ at me?
About 90 per cent of Canadian canola seed, meal, and oil is exported, but that figure doesn’t tell the whole story, said Scovil, who points to Japan. The country is our third-largest customer but imposes a 16 per cent tariff on canola oil — a levy that would disappear if the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal becomes a reality. “Right now, Canada exports seed, and then Japan crushes the seed — they get that value-added benefit,” she said. “If we could get rid of the tariff, then over time, Canada would be shipping the oil and keeping those jobs at home.” The Japanese market is the big prize in the proposed deal, although other Asian markets, such at Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore also offer opportunity. (The others countries involved are Australia,
New Zealand, Brunei, Mexico, Chile and Peru. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the talks shortly after his inauguration.) Canola officials estimate that combined exports of oil and meal to Japan and Vietnam would take a major jump if import duties were removed. “Total exports could increase by about $780 million per year, or about one million tonnes of additional canola oil and meal exports,” said Scovil. “It’s pretty significant in terms of additional growth.” However, failing to get rid of those tariffs would mean more than just a lost opportunity, she added. “Other canola-producing countries — like Australia — already have an agree-
see TRADE TALKS } page 6
Eye tracking boosts sales } PAGE 2