20130606

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THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013

VOL. 91 | NO. 23 | $4.25

The curious case of the solitary headstone | P. 30 Slow going in North Dakota SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923

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WHY THE LONG FACE?

Wet conditions persist in some parts of Sask.

GM wheat discovery prompts calls for changes

Seeding progressing well in most areas despite late start BY BRIAN CROSS SASKATOON NEWSROOM

Early and widespread concerns over a cool and belated spring seeding season have mostly been forgotten in Saskatchewan, although farmers in some areas are still struggling to get their crops seeded between a maze of expanding potholes and recurring spring showers. As of early June, producers across much of the province were on pace to finish spring seeding within a normal timeframe, said provincial crop specialist Grant McLean with Saskatchewan Agriculture. But wet conditions persist in some areas and many farms in southern Saskatchewan could be forced to set aside more acres than expected for summerfallow or winter wheat production. “As a whole, we’re doing quite well when you consider where we were three weeks ago,” McLean said late last week.

Unwelcome news | GM wheat found in an Oregon field catches industry by surprise BY SEAN PRATT SASKATOON NEWSROOM

Players in the Canadian farm industry are calling for everything from a new grain handling system to a complete ban on genetically modified crops in the wake of another GM contamination incident. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed last week that Roundup Ready wheat volunteers were found growing in an 80-acre field in Oregon. The news caught everybody by surprise because Monsanto abandoned its Roundup Ready wheat program in 2005. The company claims its process for closing out the program and disposing of the material was “rigorous, well-documented and audited.” GM wheat has not been approved for sale or for planting in any country in the world. Japan and South Korea have suspended imports of soft white wheat from the U.S. and the European Union announced it will be testing all wheat shipments for GM content once a test is developed. The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) said the contamination incident was alarming but not unprecedented. “Canadian farmers are still eliminating GM flax contamination that was discovered 10 years after farmers successfully stopped GM flax from entering the market,” said CBAN co-ordinator Lucy Sharratt. She accused the federal government of not caring about the economic impacts of contamination. “We need a moratorium on all new GM crop approvals and field tests until the contamination risk is adequately recognized in regulation and the environmental, economic and social impacts are fully evaluated,” Sharratt said in a press release. SEE INDUSTRY REACTS, PAGE 2

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WEATHER | SEEDING

SEE SOGGY IN SASK., PAGE 3

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u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv-:. JUNE 6, 2013 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4

Austin Daniels of Berwick, Nova Scotia, slips tack on friend Donny Travis’s horse, Tom, before competing at the Queen’s County Fair Spring Horse Pull in Caledonia, Nova Scotia. Located inland from the province’s southeast corner, the event has been an agricultural hub for 134 years. | RANDY FIEDLER PHOTO

The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Corp. Publisher: Shaun Jessome Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240

GM WHEAT | VOLUNTEERS

Growing conditions and prices make wheat unattractive | P. 7


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