Roundup Ready alfalfa’s release delayed another year

Forage Genetics International is planning on-farm hay trials in Eastern Canada

Forage Genetics International (FGI) has decided to hold off on commercial sales of its herbicide-tolerant genetically modified (GM) alfalfa this spring, but it will conduct on-farm trials in Eastern Canada. “FGI will not be having any spring of 2014 sales. But what we’re doing this spring is putting in a small number of on-farm evaluation

Palmer amaranth

Glyphosate-resistant weeds a real and present danger

Canadian farmers are being warned to be careful not to lose their most precious weed-control resource

It’s like an episode of the old TV show “The Twilight Zone” — farmers repeatedly spray their crops but the weeds refuse to die. But that’s reality for many farmers in the mid-southern United States. Glyphosate, “the world’s greatest herbicide,” is no longer effective there due to an explosion of glyphosate-resistant weeds caused by a


Potato seed growers want less herbicide drift

Potato seed growers want less herbicide drift

Sometimes potato plants show no signs of damage, but tuber germination can suffer and only be discovered the following year


When it comes to seed potatoes and herbicide drift, what you can’t see can hurt you. Increased use of glyphosate as a pre-harvest burn-down, as well as increased acreage for Roundup Ready corn and soybeans, has upped the use of the ubiquitous herbicide — and that’s upped the risk for seed potato growers. “If it’s

A million acres of glyphosate-resistant weeds in Canada?

A million acres of glyphosate-resistant weeds in Canada?

More than one million acres of Canadian farmland have glyphosate-resistant weeds growing on them, including 43,000 in Manitoba, according to an online survey of 2,028 farmers conducted by Stratus Agri-Marketing Inc. based in Guelph, Ont. The shockingly high Canadian numbers met with skepticism from some experts who suggest farmers might be mistaking hard-to-kill weeds with


Brandon rally draws 40 protesters opposed to introduction of Roundup Ready alfalfa

Opponents of genetically modified crops rallied in front of the constituency office of a local MP to protest approval of glyphosate-tolerant alfalfa, which they say could be seeded on fields in Eastern Canada as early as this spring. The demonstration, which drew about 40 protesters, was organized by the local chapter of the National Farmers

Off-label glyphosate applications can be costly

Farmers are increasingly going “off label” applying higher rates of glyphosate to their Roundup Ready canola at a later crop stage than recommended, a survey commissioned by Monsanto Canada reveals. As a result farmers are losing three bushels an acre, Monsanto Canada said in a recent new release citing its own research. “The symptoms of


Dairy farmers ask for delay of GM alfalfa registration

Registration of genetically modified alfalfa should be delayed until next year so a “coexistence” plan can be completed, says Dairy Farmers of Canada. Roundup Ready alfalfa has become a cause célèbre for anti-GM groups, which say its cultivation will make it impossible for growers of organic alfalfa to stay in business because their crops will

Spraying off label reduces yield and costs farmers money

Survey work conducted in 2012 by Stratus Agri-Marketing Inc. for Monsanto Canada shows the farmer practice of spraying off label is becoming more common. The Stratus research results — compiled from online surveys with over 1,700 farmers — confirm 45 per cent of farmers sprayed above label rates, up eight percentage points from 2011. The


Monsanto, DuPont settle lawsuits, set new $1.75-billion deal

The companies have dropped their lawsuits against each other and agreed 
to work together delivering new technology to farmers

Reuters / Monsanto Co. and DuPont have settled a bitter legal battle over rights to technology for genetically modified seeds and will drop antitrust and patent claims against each other while forging a new collaboration, the companies said March 26. The deal tosses out a $1-billion jury verdict DuPont was ordered to pay Monsanto last August. Instead,

Arysta launches broadleaf/grass/burndown combo

Arysta LifeScience has launched Inferno Duo Herbicide for spring wheat growers in Canada. Arysta says it combines the enhanced broadleaf activity of tribenuron (the same active ingredient in Express SG) with broadleaf and longer-lasting soil activity on grasses of flucarbazone. Inferno Duo also provides wide-spectrum burndown when mixed with glyphosate. “Together with glyphosate, Inferno Duo