Ounce of prevention may not be the cure

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Published: April 25, 2002

On his west-central Saskatchewan farm, Art Walde has planted barley

almost every spring for the past 45 years. This year he is “cutting it

way back,” partly because of fusarium head blight and its effect on the

Alberta feed grain market.

Walde, who is provincial vice-president of the Western Barley Growers

Association, doesn’t have the disease on his farm.

Located far from Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan where the disease is

causing havoc with cereal producers, it is unlikely he will have a

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fusarium problem soon.

Nonetheless, he’s concerned the disease will affect markets.

“If Alberta completely bans fusarium (in cereal grains entering that

province) then it is going to hurt the market for feed barley. At the

very least make it really unstable. You can’t plan for unstable,” he

said.

Fusarium moulds produce mycotoxins including one called vomitoxin. If

this toxin exceeds a certain level, it causes livestock to reduce their

feed consumption and may result in weakened immune systems. Many barley

maltsters have a zero tolerance for the fungus.

The Alberta government is considering a ban on all fusarium

contaminated feed grain that enters the province.

Walde is a malt barley grower, but if his barley isn’t accepted by

maltsters, he sells it into the feed market at Brooks, Alta., 220

kilometres away.

“We’ve had good luck moving our barley there. If we had to test it all

(for fusarium) first, compete with American corn … work with feeders

that were in trouble from paying high feed bills – I’m not so sure,” he

said.

He said Alberta must “be careful not to wreck the livestock industry

for Alberta or Canada.

“If we can’t ship grain to Alberta then they may have to replace some

of that feeding capacity (in Alberta) with feedlots and hog barns to

the east of the border. Near our place for instance.”

Walde said Alberta feed grain producers wouldn’t benefit from the

isolation of their marketplace. The livestock feeding industry would be

forced to move to “places where the feed was competitively priced and

supply was certain. There’s already a feed shortfall in Alberta.”

American cattle now being finished and slaughtered in Alberta could

also be affected if feed supplies were destabilized due to a partial or

complete ban on fusarium infected grains.

“I understand what the Alberta growers are going through and I can’t

fault them for not wanting the disease. They just have to be careful

about the cure,” he said.

About the author

Michael Raine

Managing Editor, Saskatoon newsroom

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