Keeping weeds out of your garden is a never-ending chore.
Keeping them out of your fields is expensive and time-consuming.
Imagine trying to keep them out of an entire country.
That’s what Canada’s expert committee on weeds wants done and it’s asking the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to develop regulations to intercept unwanted weeds at the border.
“We are expanding our trade with all sorts of countries that have all sorts of weed problems,” said Steve Darbyshire of Agriculture Canada, chair of the committee’s working group that is looking at the issue. “We want to stop the problem before we have it rather than try to control it afterwards.”
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Weeds can enter the country in all sorts of ways. Imported wildflower mixes, dried flowers and exotic plants can harbor unwanted plant material, as can imports of grain, seed, livestock and agricultural equipment.
Even something as seemingly innocent as a box of cheese can be a haven for noxious weeds looking to take up residence in Canada.
Darbyshire was recently asked to check out the straw packing material in a box of cheese imported from southern Europe. The concern was that it might be wheat straw and might be harboring weed seeds that could cause problems for Canadian wheat farmers.
Even for an expert, it’s not easy to analyze a piece of cereal straw and identify it as oats or sorghum or millet, said Darbyshire, but eventually it was identified as rye and judged to be safe.
In another case last year, an alert customs inspector noticed that used tractors imported from South Africa were covered with mud and plant material.
Darbyshire ended up with a garbage bag full of dried, straw-like vegetable matter on his desk, and the task of figuring out whether it posed any threat to Canadian agriculture.
In fact it was full of weeds. The tractors were impounded and the importer was ordered to clean them.
“It’s quite bizarre how these things can get around,” said Darbyshire. “We do more and more trading with different countries. We’re going to see more and more strange things coming in.”
While there is federal legislation providing quarantine rules for plant diseases and other pests, there is nothing covering weeds. Each province has its own rules and regulations.
Shaffeek Ali of Alberta Agriculture, a member of the weed committee, said Canada’s situation contrasts with the United States, which recently passed strict rules to prevent imports of invasive species.
“We need federal leadership on this,” he said.
The first step will be for the committee to agree on a list of weeds that it wants banned. Then it wants CFIA to co-ordinate whatever risk assessment and evaluation is necessary before implementing new regulations, ensure that any new rules comply with international trade obligations and to provide resources and training to those on the front line at border points.
Officials from the agency were not available for comment last week.
