Key Topics
Economics of Herbicide Use the Driving Force for Planting Biotech Canola Varieties
Manitoba farmer Bruce Dalgarno explains how biotech canola reduces his reliance on conventional herbicides
Nestled in the rural municipality of Harrison, the small town of Newdale, Manitoba, provides the ideal mix of soil and climate for growing crops such as wheat, barley, alfalfa and canola. Agriculture is the livelihood of this small western Canadian farming town with a population of less than 900 people.
Born and raised a farmer, Bruce Dalgarno left his former life as a plumber and pipe-fitter to return to his farming roots, purchasing the 2,500-acre Pen-Dale Farms with his wife in 1974. Wheat, barley, flax, peas and canola are the mainstay crop rotations with canola, both conventional and biotech varieties, representing on average one-third of his total acreage in a given year.
Biotech canola made its first appearance on the Pen-Dale farm stage in 1996, with an 80-acre herbicide tolerant canola demonstration plot. The economics behind biotech canola has been the primary driving force behind Dalgarno’s decision to plant herbicide tolerant varieties the last four years running.
For Dalgarno, weed control for conventional canola costs in the range of $30 to $50 per acre, using a variety of herbicides: one to control broadleaf and grassy weeds, another for heavy weed infestations, yet another to control Canada thistle, and so on. With one-third of his acreage devoted to canola, conventional varieties carry significant input costs.
In contrast, weed control for herbicide tolerant canola costs just $5 to $7 per acre — about one-sixth to one-seventh of the cost required with conventional varieties. In addition, biotech canola is hassle-free — only one herbicide is required versus the combination to control a broad spectrum of weed species in conventional canola.
When you combine these benefits with increased yields and the ability to grow canola in normally inhospitable growing areas, Dalgarno says the decision to plant biotech canola is an easy one.
Dalgarno is part of a growing trend of biotech canola farming on the Canadian prairies. In 2008, almost 100 percent of canola crop plantings were biotech varieties — a truly remarkable increase from only 4 percent in 1996 when the first biotech canola crop was planted, according to the Canola Council of Canada.
But Dalgarno also plants conventional canola, although it, too, has been genetically enhanced. One type of canola has been enhanced so its oil has a heart healthy fatty acid profile, extended shelf life and improved stability in food products.
Because this heart healthy canola has a higher value, Dalgarno preserves its identity throughout harvest, storage and transport to a crushing facility in Alberta.Dalgarno sees the future of identity preservation expanding even further down the food chain, with biotechnology allowing for the development of seeds with traits that directly benefit the consumer – extending the identity preservation process from grower to food manufacturer to consumer.
As a farmer, active member of various commodity groups and strong supporter of the science behind biotechnology, Dalgarno has experienced first-hand the economic benefits of biotech canola.
As a consumer in an increasingly health conscious society, he feels others soon will see biotechnology as a key tool in providing a mechanism for delivering enhanced nutritional value in food products while feeding an ever-growing population.
For more information:
An Agronomic and Economic Assessment of GMO Canola — Canola Council of Canada