Alberta’s new policy to stop the spread of fusarium doesn’t go far
enough for counties worried about the devastation the pest could bring
to crops, says one county official.
“Our bread and butter is the grain-growing industry and we have to
protect it,” said Paul King, agricultural fieldman for the County of
Camrose.
King said county councillors don’t feel the Alberta government policy,
which establishes zero tolerance for fusarium-infected seed and best
management practices for feed, is tough enough to stop fusarium from
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spreading in the province.
“I don’t feel it meets the needs of our county,” said King, a member of
the fusarium action committee that studied what Alberta should do to
keep the pest out of the province. Fusarium can dramatically reduce
yields and eliminate malt and seed potential.
The policy takes effect Oct. 1.
In the spring, the province proposed a tough zero tolerance policy that
would require all feed and seed entering the province to be certified
fusarium free. Strong opposition from Alberta’s cattle feeding
industries throughout the summer forced the government to revise its
policy.
Alberta is one of the few grain-growing areas in Western Canada and the
northern United States that is considered free of the pest.
King expects some counties will introduce tougher policies that
override the provincial policy once they discover how difficult it is
to control the spread of fusarium in cattle feed with “best management
practices.”
Under such practices, farmers must clean up all feed spills, no feed is
stored uncovered, and no feed comes in contact with soil.
Fusarium is listed as a pest under the Agricultural Pests Act, and
enforcement is the responsibility of agricultural fieldmen hired by
municipal districts and counties.
Keith Boras, agriculture fieldman for Lacombe County, said councillors
were to vote Sept. 10 on whether they will lift or keep their zero
tolerance policy established earlier this summer.
Farmers in the livestock and grain growing area are split over the
county’s zero tolerance policy. Some feel it is too restrictive for
cattle producers who would like to feed corn from the U.S. and hay and
straw from Saskatchewan and Manitoba, which may be infected with
fusarium. Others feel it is needed by grain producers who want to
protect their crops from the pest.
Walter Saar, agricultural fieldman for the County of Stettler, said
councillors will likely choose to keep their zero tolerance policy on
fusarium when they meet again.
Saar said councillors were worried that the best management practices
policy for livestock producers is vague and unrealistic.
After years of spreading cattle feed on the ground, farmers are not
likely to buy feed troughs.
Shaffeek Ali of Alberta Agriculture’s Pest Risk Management Unit said he
is confident farmers will follow best management practices to prevent
the pest from spreading.
“Many people, both cereal and livestock producers, have an interest to
prevent the spread of fusarium,” he said.
