Proposed revisions to Saskatchewan’s Noxious Weeds Act would be noxious to organic farming, says a group of growers.
Saskatchewan Agriculture is attempting to update the act with changes such as creating three categories of weeds instead of one, increasing fines for offences and boosting the amount of cost recovery for municipalities.
The province has requested feedback on the proposals and is getting an earful from Chapter 5 of the Organic Crop Improvement Association, which thinks the policy is overly punitive, divisive and puts too much power in the hands of rural municipalities.
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“It’s going to create a real conflict between conventional farmers and organic farmers,” said Sandy Lowndes, a member of Chapter 5.
By raising the stakes associated with having prohibited weeds growing on one’s property, the province is going to torque up the tension that already exists between the two approaches to agriculture.
Lowndes said she is already seeing signs of animosity, as evidenced by one of the resolutions the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities will debate at its annual convention in March.
The resolution submitted by the RM of Cote calls on SARM to pressure the provincial government to allow conventional farmers to seek reimbursement from their organic neighbours for weed control costs that they’ve caused.
Pat Godhe, another member of Chapter 5 of the OCIA, said after 40 years of organic farming she is finally gaining some “grudging respect” from her neighbours.
“I don’t want to change that,” she said.
Godhe said the proposed changes are written with a bias toward conventional farming. What constitutes a weed and how to control it varies markedly depending on what type of farmer you are.
Godhe recoils at the suggestion of fines for weed-related offences.
“I don’t think that you should fine a person for having weeds,” she said, adding that they can enter a field on seed, wind, water or animals, all factors beyond a farmer’s control.
Fines would range from a minimum of $1,000 to a maximum of $5,000.
“Those fines are high enough that it’s an incentive for the RMs to go after a farmer and make some money,” said Godhe.
The OCIA chapter feels the proposed changes give RMs too much power, such as a clause giving them the ability to assume control of private land to deal with prohibited weeds. Godhe said checks are needed to prevent corrupt practices or unjust persecution.
“If you get a group of farmers in there who really don’t like us organic farmers, they can create a lot of problems for you,” she said.
The group is also concerned by what it perceives to be a glaring omission from the weed list. GM crops are not designated in the prohibited or noxious weed categories, although they pose a significant threat to organic farmers, are invasive and aggressive and can easily spread to neighbouring fields.
“As an organic farmer, I definitely consider (GM crops) a weed,” said Lowndes.
The proposed revisions to the act were delivered to the Saskatchewan Organic Directorate around Christmas 2008. Comments were supposed to be returned by Jan. 31, 2009.
But the organic growers convinced the province to extend the deadline to Feb. 23, when it has scheduled a phone call with SOD members to discuss their concerns.
Lowndes believes the final revisions to the act will be made this fall.
