Company hints of non-GM flax

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Canola isn’t the only western Canadian crop Cibus Global is working on.

“I anticipate we will be announcing another strategic crop for Canada in the first quarter of 2010,” said company vice-president of commercial development David Voss.

He wouldn’t reveal the crop, but said it will appeal to parts of the world concerned about genetically modified crops.

Cibus president Keith Walker may have dropped a hint in a September interview when he told The Western Producer the company was in preliminary discussions with players in the flax industry about creating a non-GM flax that could give growers much-needed traits without jeopardizing the European market.

“We can be the foster parent for flax and help the industry avoid these kind of dust-ups,” said Walker, referring to the closure of the European market due to a GM flax incident.

About the author

Sean Pratt has been working at The Western Producer since 1993 after graduating from the University of Regina’s School of Journalism. Sean also has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan and worked in a bank for a few years before switching careers. Sean primarily writes markets and policy stories about the grain industry and has attended more than 100 conferences over the past three decades. He has received awards from the Canadian Farm Writers Federation, North American Agricultural Journalists and the American Agricultural Editors Association.