Guess what flax growers?

[SASKFARMER3]

OK tom it is sad that this happened. But BSE happened and it was sad to. Oh yea pork compared to swine flu that was sad. HM now Triffid in flax. SAD really isn't it. Not to blame people who knew about it that's fricking sad. Why is it that Canada always frucks up. HM makes you wonder A.

[parsley]

Huh? Do you think breeder seed purity is the responsibility of Walmart? Or of Home Hardware?

Ask yourself, who developed the seed and who were the breeder multipliers?They are the ones responsible, not per, or cotton, or gregpet or Glen Beck.

Obviously containment was a problem with Triffid and will be with every modified variety, every new bred variety.

Where is the duty of care? THERE MUST BE ACCOUNTABILITY.

What should be done?

1.Seed Association should publicly say they screwed up.
2. Apologize. These know-nots have cost everyone, and especially their customers, countless dollars.

3. Target public facilities and make them take a time out to clean up their mess, develop new protocol. And if they won't, and remain the snotty know it alls they think they are, then farmer associations should ban them from futher activity/involvement. They WILL be repeat offenders, otherwise. The Seed Associations can provided all farmers with a "Scanned Facility" list

4. Farmer seed associations must ban the pedigreed seed breeders. They knew they had problems a long time ago. they just decided to let it slide. They will DO THE SAME WITH ANY OTHER FOOD CROPS.

I watched purebred cattle breeders do the same thing to commercial cattle breeders, again, and again, and again. And then one day, commercial men sat up, mad, and said "We won't buy your bulls any longer. Piss off"

That is where pedigreed seed growers are headed. You will wake up some morning, and discover your pedigreed seed is worth commercial price...because you do not have any customers left.

And scheming to improve your markets by enforced legislation is not going to help you. Once you look like an ass, and then act like an ass, and then sound like an ass in the media, even your ex-friend politicians won't support you.

Seed growers are just about at that point. And they know it. And hunkering down willonly accelerate decimating them.

Remember the Saskatchewan football player who knowingly spread aids to a bunch of his groupies?

Silence was definitely not golden. pars

[TOM4CWB]

Parsley,

For Secan to publish this letter, be honest, and for CDC to admit they have a problem... all took huge guts.

This is truly a billion$ problem. To clean this up will take decades. Now I will dump my seed stocks and not grow flax.

Please tell me how I was in any way responsible for this. March 4 2010 was the first time I knew there was a widespread problem that involved me... after spending $1500 on testing that was totally a loss.

I am a tad cranky... that you put all seed growers in the same box... and basically call us crooks. NOT TRUE.

I did not ever KNOWINGLY release any gm gene to anyone.

I do not need to grow flax.

I did not make any profit off the flax I grew...

I grew flax to get a break crop for clubroot and extend canola rotations. NOT to rip off any farmer, not to hurt any person.

[parsley]

And there will be many seed growers like you Tom, who were diligent, and honest.

It is one of the reasons why I write what I write. It's making you mad, and not making me popular. And I have a sad heart to do it. I would like Canadian seed growers to shine again.

But they do not.

But I do believe Seedgrowers can salvage the seed growing industry if they work quicklly as an association, which is why I press..

I also believe a cleansed seed industry can serve farmers.

But not as it is.

It needs cleansing, badly. You know that. There are a bunch of people that have just gotta go. Unless they do, and I will say this again, ALL WILL BE LOST because your customers, ordinary commercial growers, will look a seedgrower in the eye, and ask. "Why the hell should I pay a premium for contaminated seed?"

Many of them are already getting orders from their next door commercial neighbors for seed!

You simply became peripheral damage, Tom, as sad as that is.

There must be some public cleansing to gain back credibility or ALL WILL LA MORTE. And not just within Canada.

And doing nothing will impact all other exporting.

[parsley]

I disagree about guts.

Responsibility is reacting quickly to solve a problem. They did not.

Responsibility is owning up. They had to be tied up and dragged across frozen ground by horses and stoneboat before they would grunt, "OOps"

You think they had guts? Good heavens, this was their legislated responsibility!

[parsley]

And I believe the question for every single farmer reading this will be:

How will the same people tend gentically modified crops,(stacked genes,for example) that your children will eat?

[TOM4CWB]

Parsley,

The breeder that started Triffid is not at CDC Uof S. THe total breeder seed program was moved to a different farm area over 10 years ago on the breeder seed multification area at CDC.

I don't believe the CDC farm in Saskatoon that multiplies for select seed distribution... had any clue this was a problem. Why would they... they never tested for the gm event in the first place... Hindsite is 20/20... blame easily attributed.

To pick on the average pedigreed seed grower... who totally depends on reputation and honesty to do business... to infer we are crooks is uncalled for and unjust. This is a margin business. Easily... you can start tomorrow Parsley... and grow Pedigreed seed. No questions asked.

There is no more competitive farm based business in western Canada.

Your inferences are unfair Parsley... we do not grow seed to rip you off.

[parsley]

I paid a price, too.

My blog got hacked, and for anyone doing a google search on Triffid flax/biotech webpages, most get sent to la la land links.

Me and my techie know who did it, too. But you know what Yogi said. lol Pars

[parsley]

An example, Tom:

In 2000, Advanta imported Canadian breeder foundation canola seed into Sweden, Germany and France and found that it contained 0.4% unapproved GM traits. It was because of gene flow.

Ding ding.

France ordered it ploughed down. Sweden prohibited the canola from entering the market

Ding ding.

Do you suppose this should have been a heads up for Canadian foundation seed breeders?

[agstar77]

Do the Seedgrowers Association have liability insurance?? Or is it up to individual seedgrowers. If they don't then they need it for future situations, ugly. I have not grown flax for years. I would only grow it now under contact with guarantees on pricing and acceptance with or without Triffid.

[oneoff]

The warning bells went off when the industry tried to force feed a flawed certified seed solution to the Triffid nightmare. That plan has now become totally unwound; but do we hear an apology for misleading the farming community? It is patently evident that the regulators and the promoters and the researchers should never have been entrusted with the science; not yet and maybe never should be. Do they not see what has gone wrong; and what will again happen until they learn the lessons that absolutely must be the foundation of this experiment.
They are playing with much more than their own marbles. Time to act like they appreciate that fact.

[bucket]

I think the testing protocol at the labs is flawed.

They should review the science behind the tests.