Grain groups in Canada, the United States and Australia are pushing for the simultaneous introduction of genetically modified wheat but research is only happening in one of those countries right now.
Australian regulators have approved field trials for five GM wheat projects, one of which has been terminated. Another three projects are awaiting approval.
A search of a U.S. biotechnology database shows there has been no action on GM wheat since Monsanto terminated its Roundup Ready wheat project in 2004.
The last field trial in Canada took place in 2006 for fungal resistance.
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“Currently there are no GM wheat confined research trials going on in Canada and there are no applications from industry for GM wheat trials pending approval either,” said Margaret Gourlay, spokesperson for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The lack of activity in North America compared to Australia worries Doug Robertson, president of Grain Growers of Canada.
“Let’s not get way behind in the experimentation that takes 10 years or 12 years to bring a variety to market. We need to be working on this stuff,” he said.
That is partially why the group signed an accord with producers in Australia and the U.S. to push for the synchronized introduction of GM wheat in the three countries.
Most of the Australian trials pertain to the drought tolerance trait but researchers are also exploring altered grain starch composition and enhanced nutrient use efficiency.
Results of the drought tolerance trials have been encouraging, according to a story that ran in The Age, an Australian newspaper.
GM wheat varieties delivered 20 percent higher yields than non-GM wheat varieties under drought stress conditions in field trials conducted in 2007 and 2008.
Researchers said half of the last 38 crop years in Australia have been drought stressed in some way. A 20 to 25 percent increase in yields during those years would deliver a $6 to $47 Aus per acres gross benefit to wheat farmers in that country.
Drought tolerant wheat would not be commercially available for another eight years, according to the story. There will be four or five more years of trials followed by three or four years of regulatory approval.
Robertson isn’t concerned about increased export competition out of Australia if the drought tolerance trait is commercialized and lives up to expectations that it will make the country a more reliable supplier of wheat.
Drought isn’t as big a threat in Canada as it is in Australia, but he can foresee a time when farmers are competing with city dwellers for limited water resources, which could limit the amount available for irrigation. If that happens, a crop that uses less water could prove valuable in southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan.
But there are other traits researchers could be working on that would be of great benefit to Canadian growers.
“I would think the GM focus here would be more on things like fusarium, things that we have a big problem with.”
That is why he feels the Canadian wheat industry needs to be following Australia’s lead by fully exploring this technology.
“We need to get this stuff working and in the hopper. Otherwise, we’re going to be way behind,” said Robertson.
