by SUSAN MANN
Western Canada could become a corn-growing powerhouse in 12 years thanks to a Monsanto Canada project designed to develop earlier maturing varieties, and it may lead to increased seed production for Ontario.
Al Mussell, George Morris Centre senior research associate, says Ontario has an infrastructure in place to grow seed corn, particularly “for those low heat-unit varieties,” and notes this might lead to an opportunity for Ontario farmers to grow seeds for the region.
Monsanto Canada is spending $100 million over the next 10 years to develop corn hybrids with earlier relative maturities as part of a venture called the Canada Corn Expansion Project. Currently most corn in Western Canada is grown in southern Manitoba on about 300,000 to 500,000 acres, but the project could result in an estimated annual Western corn market of eight to 10 million acres by 2025 with corn also being grown in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
In comparison, Ontario farmers grow about two million acres of corn annually.
Mussell says expanding the acreage to eight to 10 million acres in the West is a significant increase “but I don’t know if it’s material in terms of overall weighing in on the corn market.”
He doubts if that added production would “materially influence the corn price.” I don’t know if I am seeing a lot of direct impact” for Ontario.
The far greater impact of the increased corn acres will be on Western Canada with the corn displacing a combination of wheat, grains and canola there, he notes. The burgeoning corn acreage could also lead to increased land rents and values. It could also result in a solid feed grain market in Western Canada, which is something the region is lacking.
John Cowan, vice president of strategic development for Grain Farmers of Ontario, says “we believe the world corn market will continue to grow,” and he doesn’t see the increased acres for Western Canada as “any kind of a problem.”
Mike Nailor, Monsanto corn and soybean lead for Canada, says their work involves selecting hybrids that mature earlier than current hybrids. Farmers in Saskatchewan and other prairie provinces can’t grow corn now because the crop just doesn’t mature in time. The project is about “getting that base maturity lower.”
Monsanto is developing hybrids that will be fully mature in 70 days. Nailor says in comparison, in the Woodstock area of Ontario corn matures in 100 days while in southern Manitoba it’s 76 to 80 days.
The longer growing period brings higher yields, he says.
With corn that matures in 70 days there will be fewer growing days “so you’re not going to get the kinds of yields that farmers get in Ontario, initially,” he notes. Monsanto is targeting 100 to 110 bushels per acre for its early maturing variety. Ontario farmers average 150 to160 bushels per acre.
Monsanto decided to pursue the corn expansion project because Western farmers requested a different crop than the ones they’re currently growing, such as canola, wheat barley and alfalfa. “They wanted a crop that would bring them more profitability,” he says.
The project began several years ago when Monsanto started earmarking part of its corn-breeding budget in London to focus on breeding earlier maturing corn hybrids. Monsanto currently has hybrids that mature in 72 to 74 days and they’re now undergoing field-testing.
Nailor agrees with Cowan that increasing Western corn acres won’t displace Ontario-grown corn because “the global demand for corn has been rising based on increasing populations and changing diets.”
Cowan says markets are fluid and growers will plant corn if market signals are favourable but “if they (market signals) tell him not to or to plant a different crop he’ll do that as well.”
Monsanto’s announcement is good news, he adds, because the fall-out from some of the research could be very beneficial to farmers in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. “We’re happy to see investment in research in Canada.”
The early genetics Monsanto is working to develop could also be used by Ontario farmers in the north. There could also be other agronomic information from the project “that we gain that we’d be able to use in all corn-growing regions,” Cowan notes. BF
Comments
I'm wholeheartedly against GE products. We need further scientific and health studies before these products are 'let loose' on the consumer. GE crops need to be researched in a controlled environment so that there is absolutely no chance of contamination of regular crops. Which independent scientific body did the research and data production for the London early cropping corn? Who has approved the field-testing and on what evidence and who's evidence? Has the corn been tested for adverse effects, same as for pharmaceutical drugs? It should be as the consequences are even more dire than drugs....every human being consumes some sort of corn product.
Why isn't Japan importing GE crops? We need tighter controls until GE foods have been thoroughly tested by independent scientific institutes.
I look forward to your reply.
Regards
L Elliott
I just spent a week in the San Francisco area, and I couldn't find a milk container anywhere which didn't have a claim that the farmers producing that milk didn't use growth-promoting hormones - US consumers, therefore, have a choice about what they eat which is denied to Canadian consumers who don't know if the milk they drink has been "enhanced" with BST our dairy farmers import for their own use. Forget about educating consumers - give them a choice, and let them decide. It's too bad Canadian farmers, especially our dairy farmers, don't understand the concept.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
l have always wondered why the US dairy industry supports the use of BST and at the same time US dairies are paying milk producers a premium not to use it? l wonder if US taxpayers who heavily subsidizes Dairy wonder the same thing?
However you are correct,Canada along with Australia,New Zealand,Japan and all European Union countries do not allow BST on the Market.Therefore Yes,the Canadian Dairy industry does not give consumers the choice to purchase growth-promoting hormone milk,for that one has to cross the border!
Dairy farmer in Perth
BST can't be sold in Canada, and that's the only restriction we have. However, Canadian dairy farmers are allowed to import BST for their own use, and there are no restrictions (other than tariffs) on the import of products containing BST. Therefore, while US consumers can avoid dairy products containing BST, Canadian consumers, thanks to the double-standards of our dairy industry, cannot.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
Does BST not naturally occur in milk just like hormones in beef ?
GE products have been a normal part of corn and soybean production for more than 20 years on millions of acres. If, just if, there were adverse heath effects wouldn't we have seen them by now? By the way, when was the last time you ate a grape with a seed in it or maybe enjoyed a seedless watermelon?
This article is not about GE corn, its about corn that matures earlier. Monsanto breeds lots of conventional seed, and the corn pest pressure in canada will likely not require plant incorporated protectants. Just because it involves Monsanto should not automatically imply genetic engineering.
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