THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 2017
VOL. 95 | NO. 25 | $4.25 ADVERTISEMENT
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CROP DISEASE
SOYBEANS
Scout now for fusarium
Canola’s competitive threat is here High oleic soybeans get regulatory approval BY SEAN PRATT
But farmers are urged not to over-spray
SASKATOON NEWSROOM
It’s on. After years of regulatory delays, developers of high oleic soybeans are finally in a position to take back market share lost to high oleic canola. After a lengthy review process, China has approved Monsanto’s Vistive Gold soybeans, paving the way for full-scale commercial introduction of the product in 2018. It will be competing head-tohead with high oleic canola out of Canada. “We are excited and encouraged by that news,” said John Motter, chair of the United Soybean Board. Monsanto had little to say about the development other than it has not finalized its 2018 commercialization plans for Vistive Gold.
BY WILLIAM DEKAY SASKATOON NEWSROOM
SEE SCOUT NOW, PAGE 4
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SEE COMPETITIVE THREAT, PAGE 5
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u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv#:; JUNE 22, 2017 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Stn. Main, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4
THE COST OF CARBON Carbon taxation is a hot topic now that the federal government has embraced it as a major weapon in the effort to mitigate climate change. Some provinces have introduced carbon pricing, others are planning to do so and at least one is refusing to consider it. But what is carbon, why does taxing it help slow down climate change and how would such as a taxation system work? Ultimately, what would it mean for farmers? The Western Producer will examine these questions in the next three issues. SEE PAGE 50 FOR THIS WEEK’S INSTALMENT. | MICHAEL RAINE PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
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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
Conditions could be ripe for fusarium head blight across large swathes of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Recent rain, high humidity and warm daytime temperatures may have increased the risk of the disease in many fields of winter and spring wheat. It’s also a combination of high levels of inoculums carried over from last year in relation to temperature and relative humidity, say provincial pathologists. “Last year with high levels of fusarium across the province there’s inoculums definitely present in the environment,” said Barb Ziesman, Saskatchewan Agriculture’s provincial specialist for plant disease. “The other factor we’re looking at is the environment, and that’s really going to push the disease and that’s really giving us that annual variation,” she said. The latest risk assessment maps, which are updated daily using data collected from weather stations across each province, show much of Manitoba in the medium zone with scattered pockets of high risk for the fungal disease. Saskatchewan generally remains at low risk, except a broad strip classified as moderate that travels from the southeast region up to the northeast where the risk is high. However, it remains somewhat early to know for sure because flowering dates are generally still a