An upcoming report hopes to give producers and government decision-makers facts they need about potential problems and benefits with Roundup Ready alfalfa in Canada.
Grant Lastiwka, a forage specialist with Alberta Agriculture, said the Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association report assesses the potential impact of Roundup Ready alfalfa on Canada’s forage industry.
“They are not taking a stand, but trying to bring forth potential issues or benefits. We wanted to create a dialog,” he said.
“We are absolutely not meant to come up with a position paper.”
Roundup Ready alfalfa has been approved for growth and sale in Canada since 2005, about the same time as it was approved in the United States. A judge’s ruling said the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not properly look at market impacts and stalled Roundup Ready alfalfa production in the United States until recently.
Forage Genetics International sells the seed in the United States and has the right to sell it on behalf of Monsanto in Canada.
Janice Bruynooghe, executive director of the Saskatchewan Forage Council, said her group has no indication that Roundup Ready alfalfa will be sold in Canada soon but it wants to make sure it has the information needed for an informed discussion.
“We want to bring the industry together to talk about it and gather information that we do have and compile it,” she said.
“We will present what we know, make an assessment and it is what it is.”
After the study is released in April, the council may form a policy statement, based on the information, she said.
Doug Yungblut, who was hired to produce the report, wants to interview as many people as possible from across Canada about genetically modified alfalfa’s potential benefits and impacts.
During a daylong session in Saskatoon in December, the seed industry raised concerns about the possibility of Roundup Ready alfalfa affecting seed sales in Europe. The organic industry also brought up concerns about contaminated alfalfa seed and the sprouts business. Others believed it would be a useful tool for the farm.
Yungblut said his report would focus on the size of the forage industry and its potential growth and discuss how Roundup Ready alfalfa could affect existing markets or benefit farmers.
“It’s hard to know how big the market will be,” said Yungblut.
Bruynooghe said there is no easy answer to adopting Roundup Ready alfalfa for use in Canada.
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