Canola on Canola

[Francksaskfarmer]

I agree with you for the most part, and just like you, along with the provincial organizations wonder what the proper solution is. Crop insurance cannot be the puppet for anybody and everybody that wants to send a message on proper agronomics. Besides you cannot stop stupidity. I agree with you, all are doing their part except some bad apple farmers. Researchers have done such great job that farmers are confident they need not be responsible, that is where awareness is a must, and what makes this tougher is that these characters do not care to start with! So, how do we get awareness in the same idea as the "don't mess with Texas" no litter campaign that delivered the message to stop littering Texas. Do you really think with doubling crop insurance premiums they will magically stop Canola on Canola? Maybe a portion of them and that is my point, it is only a small tool in the toolbox… Maybe! I understand some AB counties banned growing canola for a number of years on fields reported to have had clubroot, did that help curb the disease?
Strong research investment in disease areas is more than ever necessary to understand and get a hold of the ever changing pathogens. On your blackleg examples, you state that there are no new types of resistances out there, but from interactions with scientist that is not entirely true. We do not know what type of resistance is available in each variety sold or the type of pathogen present in field. (that would be like applying a herbicide that I do not know what weeds it controls to a field that I do not which weeds it contains) That information would be useful as it is suspected that rotating varieties with different types of resistance to blackleg would strongly decrease the breakdown of resistance. And once you have that information, you need more … Awareness and Education.
So PLEASE don’t hit me with political crap shoot like you did. A canola rotation police will not solve stupidity, unless I misunderstood you and you are asking for a Canadian Canola Board that will only let all farmers in a designated area (Alberta for example, eh why not) deliver the equivalent of a fourth of your acres x 30 bu, so the farmers can be protected from themselves? Now that is a clever idea! Understand this last statement is meant strongly tong in cheek !)
I stand by my words strong awareness (education) and research investment hand in hand the key.

[wd9]

Franck thankyou for the reply. It is so
hard to get some discussion on this
topic. I sort of apologize for the
'political' shot, but both you and i,
although in alternate time lines, sat in
the same meetings listening to grand
philosophies of why things are
impossible.

Canola success was built on good SWOT
planning and crop rotation needs to be
moved up the ladder on the T (Threat).

Crop insurance would be a good
incentive, it would create awareness
immediately and give accountability to a
wallet, the policy that speaks the
loudest.

I was wrong, there are LIMITED sources
of resistance that have become
exponentially harder to find. Like penicillin, sure there will always be
new species right?

The message i hear from CCC is that a
short crop rotation is bad, but if
you're gonna do it, well these are the
things you should do. Is that a good
strategy basically advocating bad
behaviour?

Maybe we should think a little farther
than 2015. Back in 2004, 2005 when we
planned the 2015 strategy we grew 5 to 7
mmt. Even then we knew rotation would be
a serious problem but the 'accepted'
response was grow more on less acres.
While that has occurred it came at the
expense of rotation in a major part.

I would hate for this industries success
to be its downfall.

[charliep]

I suggested using BMP (best management practices) as a factor in crop insurance coverage/premiums and was beat on fairly severely. The arguement was poor agronomics/crop rotations likely already impacted yields/quality used in determining coverage levels so BMP factors would be redundant. Also, there could be a situation where a farmer used BMP by the book but didn't obtain the yield of a neighbor who didn't follow BMP by the definitions but did the right things in growing their crop otherwise.

An interesting topic.

[wd9]

Its different when the dramatic impact of
a few (loss of blackleg resistance for
example) affect all of us.

[cottonpicken]

In a perfect world,we would all do the right thing.

Stop the speed of disease to neighbours who drain
water on you?

Or out bid you on land?

Or chase your wife?

Or slander you behind your back?

Not saying your wrong,just trying kick out the soap
box.

[freenorth]

A few times this year I have been asked how many years in a row does "that guy" have to grow canola before somebody reports him to the CCC or a canola commission, and what would they do about it anyway? Yes it is his land and his right to take additional risk in an effort to earn a living; however what level of risk to his neighborhood is not acceptable? What should the consequences be for repeatedly growing canolaoncanola versus canolaoncanolaoncanolaoncanolaoncanola?