Grainswest - Winter 2019

Winter 2019 grainswest.com 41 thiamethoxam. However, the PMRA subsequently indicated HC5 reference points of 1.5 and 26 PPT, for clothianidin and thiamethoxam, respectively. The issue became clouded yet again when different reference standards were announced for the PMRA’s risk assessments on clothianidin and thiamethoxam, this time higher, to 20 and 300 PPT, respectively. Nevin Rosaasen is the Alberta Pulse Growers’ policy and programs specialist as well as a Saskatchewan grain farmer who is concerned with the aquatic findings. “They should consider other impactful substances to waterways and specifically those downstream from urban centres,” he said. The substances in question include medications, hormones, air source pollutants and other contaminants, most of which were found downstream of dense population zones in recent monitoring. “The data should be collected in a manner that’s common and consistent across the country. The PMRA’s work could be further harmonized with the U.S. EPA and include work sharing in special reviews or re-evaluations. We want them to come to similar conclusions using similar methods. That’s what we’re striving for.” For wheat and barley farmers, Sereda is concerned about wireworm and that alternatives do not exist to treat this invasive pest. “From a cereals perspective, lindane was an effective product available for the eradication of wireworm but was cancelled in 2004. Since then, there has been an anecdotal increase in wireworm, because neonics do not eradicate it. They’re a suppressant and only work to allow the plant to emerge but will not reduce the prevalence of wireworm,” she said. Both she and Rosaasen agree that the PMRA needs to change the process it uses to engage with stakeholders, including the creation of a draft assessment prior to a publicly proposed decision to avoid alarmist language in the public domain. As well, they’re advocates of the PMRA expanding its mandate. Aside from evaluating environmental risks, they believe it should consider economic impacts to farmers and the economy, if and when chemistries are no longer available to Canadian farmers despite remaining in use in other countries. Today, Alberta has surpassed Saskatchewan as the No. 1 producer and exporter of Canadian yellow peas. The increase in production has raised red flags about increasing pest prevalence, specifically the pea leaf weevil. Pulse farmers now have two suppression options: thiamethoxam and imidacloprid. If these active ingredients become unavailable, there will be no accessible products to suppress or control the weevil. There is also no product now available to farmers that is 100 per cent effective against the pest. “The lifecycle of pea leaf weevil is such that by the time you notice any notching in your plants, the adult weevil has laid an egg at the surface of the soil. Once the egg has hatched, the larvae begin chewing away on the nodules of pea plants,” said Rosaasen. What makes pea leaf weevil that much harder to control is they can fly in from adjacent fields and continue multiple life cycles during a growing season. Rosaasen describes foliar spraying for weevil as “revenge killing” that would accomplish nothing and certainly not control adult populations. To salvage a pea crop, it must become attractive enough for farmers to apply a nitrogen rescue. “To finish a 50-bushel pea crop, peas will need 150 pounds of actual nitrogen, which basically negates our pulse advantage,” he said. Losing not only a pulse advantage, but also a general agronomic advantage, is what these neonics in question continue to represent for western Canadian farmers. Despite reservations over research methods and chronic endpoints at the PMRA, both Sereda and Rosaasen side with Petelle and are eager to continue to collaborate to reform the PMRA’s decision-making process. “One glimmer of hope is that we are having dialogue with the PMRA. They have committed and acknowledged that the re-evaluation process needs to change. We’re engaging with them on that process. My expectation is that we’ll have a better outcome on that program in the future. The next cycle of re-evaluation—we’re hopeful and optimistic that the process will be improved, with less surprises with negative impacts for ag,” said Petelle. For a chemical company to bring a new active ingredient to Canadian farmers, it costs more than $300 million and takes anywhere from eight to 11 years. If the three active ingredients in question vanish, conventional farmers should hope that new research has already begun so they may have new options to protect their crops. Hiccup. Without thiamethoxam and imidacloprid, farmers could have nomeans to control pea leaf weevil. Photo: Hector Carcamo.