Grainswest - Winter 2019

Winter 2019 Grains West 38 BY TREVOR BACQUE Three popular active ingredients on the government’s chopping block HAT’S YOUR SECRET CURE for the hiccups? Do you hold your breath? Do you drink a glass of water from the side? Do you hop on one leg? What if you weren’t allowed to do anything and had to hope the diaphragmatic dilemma resolved itself? When we have problems, we look for solutions to solve them. It’s instinctive. But what if the solutions to your problems became unavailable? Or worse yet, illegal. Western Canadian farmers may experience a few hiccups of their own W when it comes to protecting their crops thanks to recent decisions by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) surrounding three common neonicotinoids. Neonics have been commonplace for Western Canada’s farmers since the early 2000s with the introduction of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and clothianidin, which replaced harsh and more toxic organophosphates such as lindane and diazinon, which farmers often mixed by hand. “When [neonics] were brought to Canada, the PMRA and other FEATURE regulators fast-tracked those because they were in the process of getting rid of the organophosphates. This new class heralded a new approach and less human toxicity and they were welcomed as a great alternative to the organophosphates,” said Pierre Petelle, CEO of CropLife Canada, an Ottawa, ON-based industry group representing the world’s largest agrochemical companies within Canada. Imidacloprid is a neonic used extensively to combat wireworm in wheat. As with all active ingredients, it was subject to a 15-year cyclical review NO MORE NEONICS Photo:Michael Interisano