Growers can continue importing ClearOut 41 Plus from the United States for at least one more year through the controversial Own Use Import program.
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency has extended the equivalency certificate for the generic glyphosate to June 28, 2008.
There have been no changes to the application process and interested parties can begin submitting forms immediately.
Farmers of North America, a Canadian bulk buying firm that has an exclusive arrangement with the North American distributor of Clear-Out to bring the product across the border on behalf of its members, welcomed the extension.
Read Also
New Alberta funding for program hopes to further unlock agritourism industry in province
Alberta Farm Fresh Producers Association is launching a new initiative thanks to $300,000 of provincial funding to bolster Alberta’s smaller scale family farms and agritourism sector.
“It is particularly important that this product be available to Canadian farmers in the current environment,” said FNA vice-president Glenn Caleval.
“For whatever reasons, the supply of generic glyphosates is being restricted and there is significant upward pressure on price. By ensuring our membership has access to a high quality, lower cost alternative we should be able to cap the price increases faced by all farmers.”
He said producer intervention prevented the ClearOut program from being mothballed and encouraged growers to take the same approach in ensuring the new rules for generic registration are fully harmonized with those in the United States.
A comparison of branded agricultural chemicals completed by Ridge-town College at the University of Guelph shows Canadian farmers are paying far more for their chemical inputs.
“Right now we have absurd price differences, some as high as 250 percent for the exact same product,” said Caleval.
He said the difference would be even greater if the study had been expanded to include generic products.
ClearOut is the only product eligible for import under the OUI program, which is being phased out in favour of the Grower Requested Own Use (GROU) program, scheduled for implementation this month.
To date in 2007, the federal agency has approved 2,904 permits to import 5.7 million litres of ClearOut. That compares to 3,337 permits for 6.4 million litres in all of 2006.
The 2007 program appears to be on pace to exceed last year’s record volumes but that is not a certainty due to the glyphosate supply problems.
“It’s a little hard to forecast if in fact we’re going to land in the same ballpark as we did last year,” said Karen McCullagh, who oversees the agency’s equivalency certificate process.
Some of the ClearOut brought in under this year’s program was substandard. Albaugh Inc., the U.S. manufacturer of the generic glyphosate, recalled six lots of the product for containing a level of active ingredient below what was specified on the label.
An estimated 300 to 400 FNA members were affected by the recall.
Agency officials are working with FNA to ensure farmers receive the right formulation of ClearOut from its U.S. distributor under the newly extended program.
“We want to make sure they get the new and approved product versus last year’s product,” said McCullagh.
Those logistical considerations will be handled by the agency, the manufacturer and FNA.
“We’re trying to work it out so the grower doesn’t have to worry about this at all,” she said.
