The Rural Voice, 2004-03, Page 43News
"As an example, The Nature of
Things (CBC science -oriented TV
show) last month was a disturbing
wake up call to me. 1 do not want that
industrial style of agriculture for you
or for my children. I do not want to
be like the Alabama chicken farmer
taking $.05 per bird to barely cover
the mortgage.
"We need to put our foot down
and say YES, we will meet the needs
of the various markets, but we need
to be full participants in the decision-
making process. In fact, I would say
more... we need to drive that
process, in order to get a reasonable
share of the value and be more
firmly in control of our financial
destiny.
"Let me be clear, though, about
the difficulties. This notion will be
foreign to processors and retailers.
They might not readily welcome
producers at their appointed end of
the food chain trying to pull value
through," Skinner said.
Skinner said he hoped people
wouldn't see his comments as
processor bashing. "Maple Leaf and
Quality are good players in Ontario.
We need them! They are innovative,
competitive, but make no mistake —
their primary concern is NOT my or
your welfare. It's not that they wish
you ill, it's just that they want what
they want and that may or may not be
good for you and me. Michael
McCain's driving concern is creating
value for his shareholders. My
driving concern is the same —
creating value for you, the owners of
Ontario Pork," he said.
"I urge you to consider shifting
your frame of reference to thinking
more in these broad terms. No
longer think of yourself as a simple
farmer — 1 heard one of my fellow
board members use that expression
the other day and I cringed. You are
not a simple farmer — you run a
complex, sophisticated business and
you do it well. Take that attitude
forward onto your farms, into your
meetings, into your church and into
your children's heads. Speak that
way with neighbours, with politicians
and consumers and let's take back
the respect that we deserve."0
AgriTech
Protecting hgbrid technologg
Janice
Becker is a
computer
enthusiast
and
journalist
living near
Walton, ON.
As the years progress, so too does
the technology which has gone into
improving the productivity of crops.
Seed is designed to be pest resistant
while maturing in a shorter period of
time to protect against our
sometimes -short growing seasons
while still producing ever-increasing
yields, hopefully.
However, with change also comes
the constant threat that nature will
adapt to technology designed to
thwart pests' reproduction.
The Canadian Corn Pest Coalition
(CCPC) was created in 1997 with the
goal of developing methods to
combat an increasing tolerance to Bt
corn by the European corn borer
(ECB) and more recently, corn
rootworm (CRW).
Its members include
representatives from the seed corn
industry, growers' associations,
regulatory agencies, and extension
and research staffers from academic
institutes working through both the
provincial and federal governments.
Last year, CCPC went on-line at
www.cornpest.ca to bring their
information to a wider audience.
With the initial focus being to protect
against Bt corn resistance
development by the ECB moth,
CCPC created protocols for Bt corn
growers.
The Insect Resistance
Management (IRM) program details
the "how and why" of the strategy
and its survival plan for non-resistant
moths.
The survival of this species is
paramount in maintaining the
productivity of Bt corn as they help
to reduce the number of the rare Bt -
resistant moths.
By providing a safe habitat for the
ECB moths, and thereby supporting
their growth, the interbreeding with
resistant moths decreases the overall
population of resistant insects as all
offspring are susceptible to Bt corn.
The CCPC website also details
how Bt corn controls ECB and the
process through which resistance is
built.
Recently, CCPC has added CRW-
resistance planting methods to their
directive, adapting those developed
for ECB.
With easily understood graphics,
CCPC displays their recommended
planting patterns for Bt and non -Bt
corn for stewardship of the crop.
Each example includes the
advantages, disadvantages and
requirements to adequately prevent
further resistance development in the
insects.
OMAF released a report in
January regarding updated refuge
requirements based on CCPC
recommendations. The report can be
found on OMAFRA's site at
www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/Englishk
rops/field/news/croptal k/2004/ct_O 10
4a6.htm.
Aside from planting practices, the
use of Bt corn also entails scouting
the field for infestations. By
checking the fields when waist -high
then again at pollination, growers
monitor the crop for the presence of
ECB and feeding damage. If more
than five percent of a random sample
shows damage, follow-up is done by
the seed company to confirm that the
damaged plants are Bt positive.
Further investigation is then
undertaken by CCPC. CFIA and
AAFC (Agriculture and Agri -Food
Canada).
The CCPC site also includes a
downloadable version of the 2003
compliance survey (presumably to be
updated for the current year) and a
report on the compliance study for
Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba.
Similar studies are available for the
United States, showing a 90 per cent
compliance rate, better than that
found in Canada.
Numerous news releases and
research papers can be reviewed
through the "news" link.
Contact me at
jlbecker@wightman.ca or through
The Rural Voice office, with
feedback or topic suggestions.
MARCH 2004 39