THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2013
Canola
HAIRY PLANTS OFFER NEW PROTECTION
WESTERN
+Pulse CROPS PRODUCER
VOL. 91 | NO. 48 | $4.25
Trait may help guard s. | P. 4 against flea beetle
CLUBROOT ON THE MOVE first
BER 2013 CER • NOVEM THE WESTE RN PRODU
READY,
get Manitoba growers | P. 14 e. look at the diseas
BIG YIELDS
record Growers harvest a| P. 32 crop in 2013.
STORING CANOLA, STAYING COOL
ETIssue InS This
GROWING WITH FARMERS FOR 90 YEARS
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RESEARCH | CANOLA
GM | INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Do regulatory costs hurt farmers? Canola traits | Companies not willing to invest in new lines that lack big revenue potential BY ROBERT ARNASON BRANDON BUREAU
A canola trait that could reduce the need for insecticides may never come to market because seed companies aren’t willing to cover the immense regulatory costs associated with genetically modified technology, say canola industry representatives. Agriculture Canada researchers in Saskatoon have developed hairy canola plants that repel flea beetles. As noted in an Agriculture Canada publication released this year, “scientists have already field-tested GMO germplasm available for plant breeders to use in developing commercial varieties of hairy canola.” However, Pat Flaten, research manager with SaskCanola, said this transgenic trait might not be commercialized because crop science companies are primarily interested in blockbuster GM traits. “The seed industry has said that only ‘transformative’ transgenic approaches will really be considered,” said Flaten, who has heard that it requires $40 to $100 million to commercialize a transgenic trait. Stephen Yarrow, CropLife Canada vice-president of plant biotechnology, said those estimates are low. “How much does it cost these days to get a plant with a novel trait or a GM crop through the system?... I’ve heard numbers that are higher than that. Up to $150 million and up to 13 years.” Agriculture Canada scientists began investigating the potential of hairy canola nearly a decade ago with funding from SaskCanola, Alberta Canola Producers and the Canola Council of Canada. Nearly every canola seed in Western Canada is now sold with an insecticidal seed treatment to control flea beetles. As reported in an Ag Canada publication, a canola variety with hairs on the leaves and stems could help producers grow canola without these insecticides. Paul Gregory, a farmer and beekeeper who runs Interlake Forage Seeds in Fisher Branch, Man., introduced a resolution at a Manitoba Beekeepers’ Association meeting in November that called on farm organizations to lobby for hairy canola. “This trait was developed by public money…. It’s a hairy trait, so it’s chemical free,” he said. “They (chemical companies) obviously want to sell chemical so it kind of goes against their profit and their
GM presence could ‘shut down trade’ unless new rules developed BY BARRY WILSON OTTAWA BUREAU
A veteran Canadian grain industry official says an international agreement to accept imports with lowlevel presence of genetically modified material is essential to avoid trade chaos in the future. A “tsunami” of new GM traits will be approved within years and could create shipping chaos if importing countries maintain a zero-tolerance policy for GM, Dennis Stephens, long affiliated with the Canada Grains Council and now secretary of the International Grain Trade Coalition, told an Ottawa grain symposium last week. The issue is becoming urgent and already costs grain exporters millions of dollars, he said. It will only get worse. SEE GMOs THREATEN TRADE, PAGE 2
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u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv%:) NOVEMBER 28, 2013 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4
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bottom line…. I’d like to see some public pressure brought to bear on Syngenta, Bayer, Dow and Monsanto to bring this into (their) programs so we would all benefit.” Marcus Weidler, who works in business operations, seeds, with Bayer CropScience, said factors that determine if a crop trait enters the market include farmer demand, the time
required to commercialize and the cost. “The cost of (more than) $100 million to bring a new product to market is accurate, of which regulatory costs are a key contributor,” he said in an email. “For every product that makes it to market, there are many that do not. For instance, a trait such as drought
tolerance may result in one successful product and hundreds that are cancelled. We invest heavily in laboratory research, germplasm, specialized research and breeding expertise, growth trials, land and rental contracts, and many other musthave costs.” SEE PLANT RESEARCH, PAGE 3
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The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Corp. Publisher: Shaun Jessome Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240
See the Western Canola & Pulse Crops Producer, including 2013 CPT trials