Wet weather, higher prices for pulse crops and global demand for agricultural inputs have led to a supply crunch for a commonly used desiccant, especially in Saskatchewan.
The shortage of Reglone, a Syngenta product also known as diquat, has some pulse producers scrambling to get their hands on the product.
Others are exploring their options, including dusting off the swather they haven’t used in years or using glyphosate as an alternative desiccant spray.
For seed growers, the latter is not an option, which leaves them in a quandary.
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Last week, some supplies of the product were still available in Manitoba from at least one retailer.
A trip to the United States, if supplies of the product can be secured there, might offer a way out, according the Bruce Murray, a weed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, because the product has recently been added to the Grower Own-Use import program.
Rumours of shortages of a wide variety of products have been rife this summer, he added, but he has received no calls from Manitoba farmers concerned about the product’s availability.
If Reglone supplies are short later in the season, the people most likely to be pinched in the province are sunflower and possibly pea growers, he said.
“But you know, there’s been a lot of sunflowers harvested in the snow.”
Although Reglone is more expensive, growers generally prefer it because it dries out mature plants faster than glyphosate.
Registered as a Group 22 herbicide, its mode of action is to rupture internal membranes within plant cells. Glyphosate, on the other hand, kills much more slowly, taking a few days.
“(Reglone) works on contact and under the right conditions it dries the crop right down,” said Murray.
Doug Renwick, of Milestone, Sask., who has 4,000 acres in pulses this year, said the shortage might be one of those headaches that temper the euphoria of higher prices.
The promise of much higher returns have convinced many pea growers that it’s worth it to spend more to ensure a good crop goes in the bin.
“A lot of guys sprayed their peas this year. It used to be that if peas were worth only three or four bucks, who in hell would want to spray Reglone on them?” said Renwick.
“Now they’re worth $10. Guys want to get them off before they bleach.”
Weather has also been a factor, he added, with a dry spring followed by a wet summer leading to uneven growth. With some field areas ripe and other parts still green, growers have been trying to even things out by using a desiccant.
“We’ve got enough to do ours,” said Renwick. “I know it’s hard to get. Anybody who ordered early is all right, but the guys who left it to the last minute are having problems.”
Swathing lentils would normally be a common option, he said, but if the wet weather continues and swaths get wet, quality could suffer.
Jay Bradshaw, president of Syngenta Crop Protection, said that shortages this year are the result of unprecedented global demand for all crop inputs.
“The global demand for diquat is absolutely amazing,” said Bradshaw. “I’ve been doing this in Canada for 26 years and I’ve never seen a season like 2008.”
Even though Syngenta Crop Protection Canada brought in 30 percent more Reglone than last year in anticipation of higher demand, the demand has exceeded sales projections.
“Just like our farmers compete globally, for us on the manufacturing side, we’re competing for the allocation of supply with our own organization all over the world,” said Bradshaw.
Although he admitted that the window for getting the product to farmers in Western Canada is closing fast, he said he is still trying hard to secure more supplies from other regions.
“I think I’ll be successful to some degree,” said Bradshaw. “But I don’t think I’ll be able to fully meet everyone’s expectations.”
Lately, he has been telling growers to look at other options such as pre-harvest glyphosate for non-seed crops, or the old-fashioned practice of swathing a crop and letting it dry in the sun.
“They may not like to hear this, but a pretty good option is to pull a swather out, if you can find one,” said Bradshaw.
