Seed companies want fewer restrictions on what crop varieties they can sell to farmers.
But farmers aren’t willing to accept seed companies’ claims that they are looking out for farmers’ interests as well as their own, said Gord Flaten, director of market development for the Canadian Wheat Board.
“We don’t think the interests of the developer – the company that’s developing the product – will always be perfectly aligned with the interests of farmers,” said Flaten at the Canadian Grains Council annual meeting.
“In those cases we think we need a backstop in order to make sure that especially farmers, but also others in the grain industry, that their voices are respected in the decision process.”
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The wheat board is lobbying the federal government to stop the approval of genetically modified wheat until farmers can be assured that the controversial crop won’t ruin markets.
The board says 82 percent of Canada Western red spring customers don’t want GM wheat, and don’t want traces of it in the wheat they buy.
Now, the variety registration system judges new crop varieties by how well they grow in the field and by the quality of the grain they produce. A variety’s impact on markets is not considered.
The wheat board is asking the federal government to insert a new step to look for market acceptability. The board is asking for this to be implemented on a case by case basis, not for all new varieties. Right now it only wants special consideration given to GM wheat.
The board’s call runs counter to seed companies’ hopes to speed up the registration system. Art Stirling of Pioneer Hi-Bred said seed companies are developing innovative new varieties that would benefit farmers, but farmers can’t get quick access to them because of a cumbersome registration system.
And he said farmers don’t need to worry about seed companies unleashing varieties that would undermine farmers’ markets.
“I don’t know a company that is going to intentionally go out there and cut the throat of its customers,” said Stirling. “That would be very short sighted.”
Flaten said the wheat board wants to ensure the variety registration system and its underlying visual distinguishability system of proof aren’t undermined before a dependable substitute is developed.
Farmers have told the board “be extremely careful about going down that road,” said Flaten.
D’Arce McMillan’s Market Watch column will return next week.
