ROLLING SOYBEANS
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JUNE 27, 2013
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SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | VOL. 71, NO. 26
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MANITOBACOOPERATOR.CA
Potato seed growers want less herbicide drift
PHOTO: JEANNETTE GREAVES
Sometimes potato plants show no signs of damage, but tuber germination can suffer and only be discovered the following year
By Allan Dawson CO-OPERATOR STAFF
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hen 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 systemic (herbicide) product, it will be translocated into the tubers and that’s the concern,” said Jeremy Kuhl, a director with the Seed Potato Growers Association of Manitoba. “You might not see the drift on the plant, but the glyphosate will be present in the tubers and it will either delay or inhibit emergence of the daughter tubers for the following crop.” The association has launched
an awareness campaign to alert neighbours and custom herbicide applicators about seed potatoes’ sensitivity to herbicide drift. “We really need to communicate and work together with our neighbours to make them aware of the concerns,” said Kuhl, who is vice-president of seed potato and rotational crops with the Southern Manitoba Potato Co. “It’s obviously not just a con-
cern on potatoes. Drift is a concern in any situation.” However, when glyphosate drifts into a neighbour’s field of canola the damage is usually visible seven to 10 days later, and so calculating the compensation is relatively straightforward. But damage to seed potatoes may not show up until the potato grower who planted the affected seed complains about See POTATO on page 6 »
Manitoba farmers credited for using fertilizer efficiently But drainage and wetland loss threatens water quality By Laura Rance CO-OPERATOR EDITOR
Publication Mail Agreement 40069240
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ew research by the International Institute for Sustainable Development has confirmed what Keystone Agricultural Producers president Doug Chorney already knew about how farmers manage fertilizer in this province. After comparing how much synthetic fertilizer Manitoba farmers use in every municipality across agro-Manitoba against
the nutrients removed by crops, researchers found farmers here are highly efficient compared to other jurisdictions. In fact, in some areas and in some years, they are actually applying less than is removed by their crops, which is leaving a net deficit of phosphorus in their soils. “What it points out is that Manitoba (farmers are) actually very efficient users of fertilizers in total compared to other jurisdictions in the world and they
are getting better,” said Hank Venema, director of IISD’s Water Innovation Centre. Chorney said the study, a draft of which was released at a Winnipeg conference on water management last week, came as no surprise. But it was encouraging all the same. “It proves that producers are efficiently managing synthetic fertilizer use and I think that confirms what many of us know,” he said. “But it’s nice to have some evidence of that.”
Chorney said crop farmers have been accused of over-applying fertilizer, which contributes to increased run-off and nutrient contamination in Lake Winnipeg. “I think we can make the case that synthetic fertilizer is used pretty efficiently.”
But still too much
But while the way farmers manage their inputs isn’t a major contributor to nutrient See FERTILIZER on page 6 »