New Grain Growers of Canada president Gary Stanford had barely taken office when one of the group’s major initiatives came to fruition.
On Dec. 9, Canada announced plans to amend its plant breeders’ rights legislation to comply with UPOV 91, the Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties.
Stanford, who farms about 5,000 acres of grains and oilseeds near Magrath, Alta., said modernized regulations for plant breeders can provide the needed encouragement to preserve public and private development of new crop varieties.
The GGC and nine of its 14 member associations sent letters to federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz Dec. 6 outlining their general support for UPOV 91.
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In one of his first news releases, Stanford called on the government to move ahead with legislation as soon as possible.
In an interview Dec. 9, Stanford said the GGC would also continue to push for more variety research funding, as it has for several years.
“We want to see the public sector (research) stay strong, but also the private sector. If they want to come in and develop new varieties of wheat and barley and other crops, we’re in favour of it but I don’t want to lose the public sector,” Stanford said.
“I don’t want to see it all go private.”
Other files on his desk in coming years include attention to the rail services review to ensure Canada’s railways meet their freight commitments for agricultural commodities.
This year’s bin-busting crop has already created freight challenges as railways also attempt to meet commitments for oil and lumber.
“I think that we should help work on having more pipelines so we don’t have as much oil on the rail,” Stanford said.
“I think that if we can work with other countries to move more of our oil by pipeline, I don’t know how much pressure we can put on the railways … but maybe there’s some more work we can do with having more locomotives to work with and move more grain.”
The GGC will also continue its advocacy for reduced international tariffs and more trade access, with attention to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership being negotiated in Asia.
Stanford also expects the GGC to play a role in improving federal safety nets now that grain prices are dropping. AgriStability is not up to the task, he added.
A new executive director will likely be hired in January to replace former executive director Richard Phillips, now of the Canadian Grains Council.
The new GGC team includes Stanford as president, Matt Sawyer of Acme, Alta., as vice-president, and executive members Irmi Critcher of Taylor, B.C., Art Enns of Morris, Man., and Franck Groeneweg of Edgeley, Sask.
