Alberta seed potato producers have given officials until Jan. 11 to tell them if there is a chance the American border will reopen and they can sell their crop.
The border was closed to Alberta seed potato exports in October after the discovery of cyst nematodes.
Larry Buba of Lewis Farms said producers need to know within the next few days whether they will be able to sell any of their 2007 seed potato production into the American and Mexican markets.
“People have to make plans for next years. Our customers in the States, who have been loyal and have been waiting for some response, will have to go and find some seed,” said Buba.
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“The farmers are in trouble. They’ve got customers in the U.S. going out and finding other seed. If it does open in a month, they’ll have made other plans and they won’t need that seed. Some of the varieties we don’t plant here in Alberta so there’s no chance of selling them,” he said.
Alberta exports two-thirds of its seed potato production to the United States. Its 60 seed potato growers produce about 115,000 tonnes of seed potatoes yearly.
The cyst nematode was discovered on two Alberta farms, which were quarantined, but all Alberta seed potato growers were shut out of their main American and Mexican markets.
“I’m confused at why (U.S. Department of Agriculture) has not allowed shipment from Alberta farms that have tested negative, not only from last fall but the spring before that,” said Buba.
“I can understand why they might have some concern about the two farms where the cyst was found, but the rest of the farms in Alberta that tested 100 percent of their acres with no positive, why the restriction is still there?”
The nemotodes do not pose a risk to human health, but are considered a quarantine pest. If left unmanaged they can cause significant yield reduction in potato crops.
On Jan. 3, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency completed testing of Alberta seed potato fields for 2007. All 8,700 soil samples tested negative for the pest. The tests were part of an investigation, initiated by the CFIA to provide international groups and trading partners with the assurance the potato cyst nematode is not a problem in Alberta fields.
Through a previous agreement, Alberta growers wanting to ship potatoes to Mexico need to send soil and tuber samples to Mexico for testing. Of the 18,775 samples sent to Mexico, no potato cyst nematodes were detected.
Buba said potato producers have talked to the provincial government about financial assistance for their lost production. There is a possibility for a quick payout with crop insurance, but any payment from the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program wouldn’t come for another two years.
“That’s a long time for guys to go with out any income. We’re telling our provincial government we need some kind of support to carry these guys over.”
Dwayne Campbell, senior manager of insurance operations with Agriculture Financial Services Corp., said they have talked with the two producers whose farms have been quarantined and who cannot sell their crop.
Those producers can claim their production guarantee through crop insurance. AFSC is monitoring the temporary trade restriction for the other producers.
Terry Petrow, CFIA’s western area program specialist with seed potatoes, said extensive information packages were sent to American and Mexican agriculture officials before Christmas to help speed up the border reopening.
The Christmas season ground any trade discussion to a halt, said Petrow. He expects negotiations will soon be under way again, but he doesn’t know if a decision will be made in time to help Alberta producers.
“They have to feel comfortable that any kind of contamination is mitigated,” said Petrow.
Buba said American agriculture officials have began testing their own commercial farms for the worm. He doesn’t believe the border will reopen before those results are analyzed.
“I guess I’m not very optimistic,” said Buba, who is sitting with a mountain of unsold seed potatoes on his farm west of Edmonton.
He said the provincial seed potato market in southern Alberta will be able to absorb some of the excess, but most of the potatoes will not be sold and farmers will be left without income for the year.
One of the biggest problems is that the technology to search for the nematode has advanced further than the regulations governing it, he said.
“I think people have to look at it and say if you’re looking for it with a microscope there should be a management plan for that. If you see it visually in the field, you’ve got a different story,” he said.
