The Canadian Grain Commission initiative to bring in a new system intended to better identify and track grain varieties in the grain handling system is creating a stir in the countryside.
Many producers and others in the grain industry have expressed concerns about the lack of details released so far. But while caution is warranted, there are valid reasons to support some type of change.
The variety eligibility declaration, or VED, system is designed to protect producers from unwanted and unlicensed grain contaminating the grain handling system.
Read Also
Agriculture needs to prepare for government spending cuts
As government makes necessary cuts to spending, what can be reduced or restructured in the budgets for agriculture?
Last spring, a shipment of 50,000 tonnes of No. 1 Canadian western red spring wheat was downgraded when it was discovered that an unlicensed variety was mixed in with it. Last summer, a similar situation occurred, although the contamination was limited when the unwanted varieties were discovered at the country elevator.
Under the VED system, a declaration stating that the grain is a licensed variety must be signed every time the grain changes hands, from the farm to the loading of the vessel at port.
As well, samples would be taken at each transfer point. Then the grain commission would test each export load and contaminated shipments could be traced back to the source.
It would seem a reasonable precaution given that Canada has staked out a market position as a supplier of consistent and high quality product.
Producers and others in the grain handling system do raise important concerns, however. Topping the list are questions of who will pay the added costs for improved traceablity? Also, who would bear responsibility for contaminated shipments and how should penalties be assessed.
But in today’s fragmented marketplace, better traceability could enable farmers to grow and deliver a wider range of crop varieties. Alsen wheat serves as a good example. The fusarium-resistant feed wheat could offer producers in fusarium-prone areas a valuable option if a means could be found to ensure it would not contaminate higher quality wheat shipments.
Consumers today have high expectations that the food they eat is safe and of high quality. Given this and Ottawa’s emphasis on food safety – it is a key component of the new agricultural policy framework – it seems likely that a trace-back system for grain will become inevitable.
It is becoming standard practice in other agricultural sectors. National identification programs already have been instituted in the beef and dairy industries and the sheep industry is expected to start its program next year.
The trick is to ensure that the benefits of a new system outweigh the costs for producers.
