There is now a western Canadian coexistence plan for genetically modified alfalfa.
Released April 29 by the Canadian Seed Trade Association, the plan is a companion to one released for Eastern Canada in 2013.
The presence of a plan doesn’t necessarily mean GM alfalfa, with Roundup Ready or low lignin traits, will be commercially released in the West any time soon, said CSTA president Scott Horner.
Forage Genetics International, which has rights to commercialize the technology in Canada, has said it has no plans to use that option in Western Canada. It did offer a targeted launch of fewer than 5,000 acres of its HarvXtra brand in Eastern Canada this year.
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“There’s no stated plans for GM alfalfa in the West,” said Horner.
“(The coexistence plan) was really just a proactive step to put something out there that groups, individuals, associations could grab hold of and build on. Best management practices are good regardless of the state of the industry.”
The CSTA news release about the coexistence plan said it was developed with input from forage specialists, alfalfa producers, seed companies and honey producers and included a review of alfalfa biology.
The plan does not favour any one method of production or advocate for or against commercialization of GM alfalfa.
Introduction of GM alfalfa is a hot button issue for forage and seed growers in the West. Some fear the technology will spread to non-GM alfalfa, most likely through the work of pollinators.
That could jeopardize organic alfalfa production as well as do-mestic and international markets for conventional alfalfa hay.
Heather Kerschbaumer, president of Forage Seed Canada, has spoken against use of GM alfalfa in Western Canada, at least until there is greater acceptance in international markets.
She said she found the coexistence plan lacking.
“The thing that it doesn’t address is the fact that this is just strictly for hay. There’s not even any mention of the fact that there’s going to be seed in amongst the hay and it’s going to definitely affect the seed. There’s no way to contain it,” said Kerschbaumer.
“I don’t think that it does satisfy many of even the stakeholders who were involved in the development of it. I think there’s a lot of them that are not wanting their names associated with it now. I know that for a fact.”
Kerschbaumer said she accepts FGI’s assurance that GM alfalfa will not be commercialized in Western Canada, but the release of the coexistence plan, titled Planning for Choice, does give her pause.
“I don’t know why they’d develop this, though, if they didn’t plan to bring it to Western Canada. That kind of makes me wonder. But to have some kind of best management practices for the West, I do think is a good idea.”
Crosby Devitt, executive director of the CSTA, acknowledged that the report has raised questions about impending GM commercialization.
“I think there’s some confusion around what a coexistence plan is trying to accomplish. Right now there’s no barrier to commercialization of GM alfalfa, of the traits that are approved. So the coexistence plan is developed to help growers,” Devitt said.
“It’s really kind of an educational document and a set of best management practices to consider, both if you’re growing GM but also if you’re growing non-GM or organic. ”
Horner said the plan was developed at the request of CSTA members, who represent conventional, organic, GM, domestic and export areas of crop production and trade.
GM alfalfa has been produced in the United States for 11 years, and members took steps to be “proactive and collaborative in an effort to try to protect different production systems,” Horner said.
A separate plan for Western Canada was devised primarily because of the production volumes and differences between the two geographies, said Devitt.
Western Canada produces 80 percent of Canada’s alfalfa crop, and it tends to be managed less intensively than that of Eastern Canada.
There is also greater potential for feral alfalfa in the West, so the western coexistence plan goes into more detail on management of feral plants.
Kerschbaumer took note of the disclaimers presented in the plan, which she said are longer and more detailed than those in the eastern coexistence plan.
“Just by looking at that one page, to me it looks like they don’t have faith in their own document,” she said. “It’s destined to fail, I guess, is what I would say, as far as coexisting.”
The GM alfalfa issue has created inner conflict for producers who use GM technology in crops such canola, corn and sugar beets but remain uncertain about its use in alfalfa.
Kerschbaumer, who operates Golden Acre Seeds in Fairview, Alta., said she appreciates the potential benefits in one respect.
“For us as a seed producer, I can’t think of anything better than being able to spray my field and not having any weeds in there,” she said.
“The only thing is that if the market that we’re selling the seed to is not as comfortable with it and won’t buy it, then we have to wait until they will. I think it’s a great idea. I just don’t think it’s a great idea right now. Not until the marketplace accepts it.”
Horner said the United States still sells large quantities of conventional and organic hay despite producing GM alfalfa for more than a decade. However, getting greater marketplace acceptance for GM crops including alfalfa is a CSTA goal.
“One of our main activities right now is working with international groups to try and get a low level presence policy in place for all crops, grain and seed, so that the low level presence of an approved trait does not jeopardize these end use markets,” he said.
“That’s really the solution to everyone’s challenges and concerns, is establishing those low level presence policies.”
The plan can be found online at cdnseed.org.
