Lalrise Start SC liquid inoculant aims to improve another key nutrient. The seed treatment designed to enhance phosphorus solubility has received full commercial registration and will be available in spring 2024 for spring wheat, oats, barley and rye.

Canola, corn, soybeans, pulses and winter wheat are also on the label and the product will be available for those crops in the future.

Why it matters: Phosphorus solubility has gained recent attention related to soil health, yet the full extent of its impact and activity are slowly being realized by researchers, extension personnel and service providers.

Traditional inoculants geared to pulses and legumes use Bradyrhizobium japonicum or Bacillus subtilis.

Lalrise Start SC employs a new strain in this product formulation – Bacillus velezensis.

It is a plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria selected to increase crop establishment via improved root vigour and nutrient availability.

“What you have is a highly concentrated suspension that will give the seed a package of growth promotion because of a biofilm of these bacteria,” says Matt Pfarr, field solutions manager with Lallemand Plant Care.

“This product is very different because it’s going to focus on phosphorus fertility. We’re complementing the grower’s fertility placement because up to 90 per cent of that can get tied up within one year of that dollar being spent, so we want to give the grower back that 90 cents in availability.”

In research and registration trials in 2022, Lallemand showed a 38 per cent increase in phosphorus availability in situations where phosphate is tied up in an organic or inorganic (mineral) form.

The plant uptake can be 25 per cent greater in the early stages of growth, helping with establishment and early vigour and leading to potential for healthy grain set. In theory, it should increase the number of grains on the head.

“With the Lalrise Start SC bacteria, they’re more like a probiotic, where we’re more interested in how they can colonize outside of the root, and plants are always giving carbon into that space,” says Pfarr.

“We’re hoping beneficial bacteria will come with beneficial fungi and colonize that root zone. We know Bacillus velezensis is aggressive and forms this biofilm and can colonize very well.”

More detail on soil

Pfarr acknowledges the industry is in its early stages where soil health and root zone interactions are concerned, and growers have questions about any new inoculant. What is the effect? What does it do for crops? What is the mode of action?

He likens the potential to investing in the root’s architecture at an early stage, so there’s growth stimulation, and the structure produces phyto-hormones that the plant will respond to and develop a more robust root system.

“We’re exploring that soil and then we enter an exponential growth phase of the vegetation of the shoot a little earlier than the non-treated,” says Pfarr. “There’s a bit of an investment period but then five to six weeks after emergence, we see improvement over the untreated, and that leads to higher yields.”

Lalrise Start SC is billed as a resource for growers that uses the right solution at the right time in the right form and at the right rate, similar to the 4R Nutrient Stewardship. The question from Pfarr’s perspective is the metric on what the inoculant will bring.

“Whether it’s for stress mitigation or promoting the diversity of the soil microbiome, there’s a lot to be done,” he says. “We’re just appreciating that more and we’re going to manage for that. But we have to be able to measure it and get more looks at it.”

– This article was originally published at the Manitoba Co-operator.

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The cranes dig up seeds and other crops such as potatoes and cause significant damage when they stop in North Ontario.

Mac Emiry, who farms in the Sudbury district has heard that farmers have lost $50,000 due to damage to potatoes.

“You don’t understand what these birds are like,” he said. “They are an interesting bird and I thought it was neat when I saw the first ones on our property, but I’ve kind of changed my mind on that.”

Another resolution called for more work to enable hay quality to be a determinant of the need for forage insurance compensation through Agricorp. It is challenging to evaluate hay quality independently and so insurance for hay is based on information from weather stations closest to the farm.

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The changes will also decrease the need for using certified assessors to evaluate the need for the insecticides, also known as neonics.

Why it matters: The large amount of paperwork involved in managing the use of neonic pesticides has been an irritant to farmers.

“This is not reducing the risk assessment burden,” says Keith Currie, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA). “You still need an integrated pest management certification to do that risk assessment, but once you do it it is done.”

Neonic insecticides were used on almost all corn and soybean seed planted in Ontario, but there are concerns about their effects on pollinators and aquatic insects. The Liberal government in 2015 started a process to limit their use by requiring a risk assessment be completed and training undertaken by farmers.

Information provided by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) says that the annual need for a Pest Assessment Report will be eliminated, if a farmer wanting use the insecticide already has one completed.

If a farmer who already has a Pest Assessment Report proposes to use neonic-treated seed on an additional field on a farm property, then another assessment wouldn’t be needed.

Farmers also will no longer have to hire a professional pest advisor, often also employed by a seed company to complete assessment reports every three years, says the MECP.

Farmers will continue to have to complete Integrated Pest Management certification, but won’t have renew that certification every five years.

The cosmetic pesticide ban will remain in place.

“Our government recognizes that Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is currently reviewing Canada’s historic approval of the use of neonicotinoid pesticides and looks forward to the results of that review as early as next year,” said the MECP statement sent to Farmtario.

The changes also work to align Ontario pesticide classes with those of Health Canada.

“It’s just aligning, making some things easier and taking away some of the silly burden of paperwork that was out there,” says Currie.

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Farmers growing edible beans under processing contracts can keep soybean cyst nematodes (SCN) under control through strict rotation schedules of crops that don’t include SCN-susceptible soybean varieties, as well as crop scouting and soil testing.

Why it matters: Soybean cyst nematodes can hurt edible beans as well as soybeans, and once in the soil, the worms never go away. However, producers can keep nematodes at manageable levels by scouting, maintaining strict rotation schedules, and using SCN-resistant soybean cultivars in that rotation.

Chris Gillard, associate professor of dry bean agronomy and pests at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown Campus said SCN has been around for some time.

“SCN is the number one soybean pest worldwide… Dry beans have been documented as an alternative host to SCN since the 1980s, but there’s been very little research on why.”

Edible beans fall into two broad categories based on the area from which they originated: small-seed Mesoamerican beans such as pinto, navy, and black; and large-seeded Andean beans like kidney and cranberry.

According to Gillard’s research, as well as other work from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and North Dakota State University, large-seed Andean varieties are much more susceptible to SCN than small-seed beans, but why remains a mystery.

“We don’t understand why or to what extent they respond differently,” said Gillard.

“We believe black beans and navy beans are much more resilient, but there’s evidence that there are also differences in cultivars within the navy bean class. Adzuki beans are another exception as they are much more susceptible to SCN than any other dry bean market class.”

Limited information useful for rotation schedules

With six to eight common cultivars for each class of market bean, research into which ones fare better against SCN is ongoing. However, Gillard said current knowledge can offer farmers practical ways to deal with the pest.

Knowing that large-seed beans are much more susceptible to SCN means bean producers and processors can make strategic decisions about where crops could and should be grown.

Hensall Co-operative Inc. and its bean growers, for example, regularly work together using Gillard’s SCN data to determine which market classes are most susceptible. Contracts can then be adjusted to avoid planting extra-susceptible varieties in higher-risk areas.

Even if SCN is not prolific, Gillard stressed the importance of using SCN-resistant soybean cultivars in annual rotation schedules, as well as naturally immune corn and cereal crops. Preventing SCN from accessing susceptible host plants reduces the population for subsequent growing seasons.

“Once you have (SCN), it never goes away,” he said. “When you do grow a susceptible crop, make sure you monitor it. This is the perfect time to start scouting.”

Looking for SCN damage in edible beans

In an article written for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ Field Crop News website, Meghan Moran, canola and edible bean specialist with OMAFRA, said SCN often goes unnoticed because plants appear healthy. The only evidence of SCN comes at the end of the growing season in the form of yield losses.

SCN can also cause symptoms normally indicative of other issues, such as leaf discolouration and stunting. That is why farmers must check the plant roots.

“Producers should soil sample fields to determine their risk of yield loss. Soil samples taken for fertility can be split and submitted to labs for SCN assessment,” said Moran in the article.

“In August, carefully dig up plant roots and look for small, pearl-white or yellow cysts. The cysts will be smaller than nodules on the roots.”

Gillard added that SCN does not overwinter well in moisture-laden ground, meaning sandy soils pose greater proliferation risks than clay. Farmers working with sandy soils must be more vigilant.

“You can’t just do the same thing you always did. You have to work within boundaries,” said Gillard.

Soybean cyst nematode is a voracious soybean pest well understood by researchers, but why it’s so effective at attacking edible beans is much less known

Large-seed Andean varieties are much more susceptible to SCN than small-seed beans, but why remains a mystery

Understanding chemical controls

No edible bean varieties resistant to soybean cyst nematode are currently available to growers. However, Gillard said several chemical controls can help manage the problem.

“They are currently registered for soybeans in Canada and we’d like to see them registered for use in dry beans too.”

He and his colleagues have investigated the effectiveness of seed treatments like VOTiVO and ILeVO, both Bayer products, as well as Clariva, a Syngenta chemistry, in field and laboratory trials for the last five years. The research team has concluded a mixture of VOTiVO and ILeVO can reduce SCN by 50 per cent in kidney beans.

Gillard said the mixture had little effect on black beans because they are inherently more tolerant to begin with. These tests were carried out in controlled environments, so field studies are needed, he added. Research investigating what chemistries work best on different edible bean varieties, as well as efforts to better understand the behaviour of individual cultivars, is also ongoing.

“To start, growers need to understand their risk from SCN,” he said. “They need to sample their fields and determine their SCN population. Then we can work on managing this pest on their farm.”

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Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) on Wednesday announced it had completed a re-evaluation of the pesticide and has kicked off a 90-day public consultation period, from now until Feb. 21, on its proposed phase-out for the product.

For agricultural use, imidacloprid is marketed in Canada in seed treatments — such as Bayer’s Admire, Gaucho and Stress Shield and Adama’s Alias and Sombrero — and in other crop and greenhouse insecticides such as Bayer’s Concept, Intercept, Genesis and Merit and Cheminova’s Grapple. Off-farm, it’s also approved for use in various flea and lice treatments for dogs and cats.

PMRA’s assessment proposes the current use of imidacloprid “is not sustainable.” The product is being found in waterways and aquatic environments at levels harmful to aquatic insects such as mayflies and midges, which in turn are “important food sources for fish, birds and other animals,” the agency said.

Health Canada “is taking the findings of the re-evaluation of this pesticide seriously, and is taking action to further protect the environment,” Health Minister Jane Philpott said Wednesday in a release.

PMRA’s proposal calls for “any required changes to the use-pattern” for imidacloprid to take place within three years.

However, for uses where no “suitable alternative products” are yet available, a phase-out period of up to five years from the date of the PMRA’s final decision “may be considered.”

The phase-out would apply to all outdoor agricultural, ornamental, turf and tree uses (except tree injection uses) and greenhouse uses of imidacloprid.

Farmers and “other stakeholders” are to be consulted “to consider the availability of suitable alternatives,” the agency said.

The agency’s risk assessment found exposure to imidacloprid from spray drift and from runoff “may result in toxic effects to aquatic insects,” based on environmental modelling and Canadian water monitoring information. The product isn’t expected to pose a direct risk to fish, amphibians, algae or aquatic plants.

Environmental monitoring from “areas of intense agricultural activity” in Ontario and Quebec supported those findings, the agency said. Imidacloprid had been detected “frequently” in surface water at levels “well above concentrations that may result in toxic effects to insects.”

The regions in question included areas of both outdoor farm use, such as in potato and vegetable crops, and greenhouse use. The risks to freshwater insects couldn’t be attributed to a specific crop or application method, PMRA said.

The current continued use of the product isn’t sustainable, the agency said, because despite the precautionary label statements on all product labels to reduce the potential for runoff risk, and despite label restrictions against the release of imidacloprid from greenhouses into surface waters, the higher levels are still found in surface waters near areas where the product is in agricultural use.

“Robust” monitoring data isn’t available for all regions in Canada, the agency said, but “given the chemical properties of imidacloprid, it is anticipated that elevated levels may be found in many agricultural areas where there is a high volume of use.”

Thus, PMRA said, it can’t exclude any particular crop from its proposed risk management plan, “based on the available information.”

Also, the agency said, the available monitoring data “likely provide an underestimate of actual exposure, as sampling typically does not capture peak concentrations.”

Imidacloprid levels in surface water have been found to range from “non-detectable” up to as high as 11.9 parts per billion “in some rare cases,” Health Canada said. Evidence indicates levels above 0.041 parts per billion “are a concern.”

Other options that would see imidacloprid’s use curbed, but not eliminated, for the same risk-management result “would be difficult to achieve,” the agency said.

It would be tough to identify specific uses that caused elevated levels in water, PMRA said, because much of the water monitoring data came from “mixed-use” farming areas.

Also, the agency said, it’s “not possible to accurately predict how much use reduction would be necessary to achieve acceptable levels of imidacloprid in the environment and, therefore, any use-reduction strategy would require extensive and comprehensive water monitoring information to confirm that risk reduction targets are being achieved. It is also not possible to estimate how long a reduction in environmental levels would take.”

Also, in sectors where imidacloprid is “approved for use but not currently used extensively,” later intensified use “may lead to additional risks of concern.”

The agency acknowledged that for a few crops imidacloprid is the only approved insecticide for specific pests, and it has value as a seed treatment due to the “limited number” of registered seed treatments to manage the same pest and site combinations.

However, the agency noted, new insecticides have been submitted for approval and could serve as replacements in some cases, and label uses could possibly be expanded in other currently registered products.

That said, some of the alternatives “may have cost implications, be less effective against specific pests, or be under re-evaluation themselves,” PMRA said.

During the public comment period, and a planned “multi-stakeholder forum” expected to be held next month, PMRA said it would welcome any proposals for “potential alternative mitigation strategies that would achieve the same outcomes in a similar timeframe.”

However, the agency warned, any proposals that would allow imidacloprid’s continued registration would have to “clearly demonstrate concrete actions that would ensure that levels of imidacloprid in water would be reduced below the level of concern.”

The findings on imidacloprid have now also led the agency to launch “special reviews” for two other widely used neonicotinoids, clothianidin and thiamethoxam — looking specifically at the risks to aquatic invertebrates.

Both of the other neonics “are also being detected frequently in aquatic environments,” Health Canada said Wednesday.

The proposed phase-out for imidacloprid doesn’t relate to Health Canada’s still-ongoing evaluation of the neonic class of pesticides relating to the risk to bees and other pollinators.

Health Canada noted its re-evaluation efforts on the potential risks to pollinators have so far reduced the environmental risks of neonicotinoids.

For example, the department said, since it introduced mandatory “mitigation measures” on treated corn and soybean seed in 2014, the number of incidents reported at planting time has “decreased by up to 80 per cent.”

Ontario last year became the first jurisdiction in North America to limit use of seed treated with neonics. Quebec in 2015 announced plans for similar curbs. — AGCanada.com Network

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The appeal court on Wednesday dismissed a March 9 application from Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) seeking an interpretation of the province’s new rules and a stay pending the outcome.

GFO chairman Mark Brock, in a release Wednesday, described the ruling as “frustrating and disheartening for myself, our farmer-members and the grain industry.”

However, he said, the ruling at least “acknowledged that farmer rights have been negatively affected by this regulation and that it does create legitimate hardships on grain farmers in this province.”

The organization’s previous request for a stay was dismissed at Ontario Superior Court in October last year.

Writing for the appeal court, Justice Bradley Miller rejected GFO’s claim that the province’s regulation was “ambiguous.” GFO, he wrote, “has not identified a genuine dispute about the farmers’ rights and obligations.”

Granting GFO’s request, he added, “would be tantamount to amending a regulation through interpretation, a remedy well outside the court’s discretionary power to order declaratory relief.”

Miller granted that the new regulation “narrows the farmers’ range of legally permitted options” for pesticide use, but added that “limitation of a right does not, standing alone, create a justiciable issue.”

GFO said Wednesday its board will discuss its options for further appeals, but will also “immediately” hire accounting and consulting firm BDO to conduct an audit of the impact of the provincial regulations on Ontario grain farmers.

Over the next three years, GFO said, BDO will “investigate the socioeconomic consequences of these regulations, including the cost to farmers operating under this new regime and the cost to the future of food and fibre production in Canada.”

“To ensure the government truly understands how decisions like this impact our businesses, and with the goal of improving how agricultural policy is formed in the future, we are commissioning this audit and we will regularly inform the government of findings throughout this study,” Brock said.

Ontario’s neonic regulations were put in place last summer to meet a government target to cut use of neonic-treated corn and soybean seed by 80 per cent by 2017, to be used “only when there is a demonstrated pest problem.”

The regulations put the neonic insecticides — imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and clothianidin — in a new pesticide class, Class 12.

Between now and the end of August this year, any Ontario corn or soy grower wanting to plant Class 12-treated seed on more than 50 per cent of his or her acres must complete a soil inspection pest assessment report.

Past August, a corn and/or soy grower wanting to use any Class 12-treated seed at all must complete a pest assessment report and present his or her certificate in integrated pest management (IPM) training.

Pest assessments beyond August must be done either via a soil inspection by an IPM-certified grower or professional pest advisor, or via a crop inspection by a professional advisor.

Ontario set up its neonic regs citing evidence that the Class 12 pesticides are “highly toxic to honeybees and other beneficial insects,” and could also harm aquatic insects if they run off soils into nearby watercourses.

The GFO on Wednesday cited a Conference Board of Canada study, conducted before the regulations took effect, estimating losses at over $600 million if farmers were unable to access neonics.

The appeal court, in its dismissal Wednesday, made no order as to the costs of the appeal. — AGCanada.com Network

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Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO), the body for the province’s corn, soy, wheat, barley and oat growers, said Tuesday the Ontario Court of Appeal has agreed to hear its case on March 9.

“We are pleased that the Ontario Court of Appeal has agreed to hear our case and to move quickly on the issue,” GFO chair Mark Brock said in a release.

GFO had said in November it would file for the appeal, after its previous request for a stay on the province’s neonic regulations was dismissed at Ontario Superior Court in October.

The group had sought to delay implementation of the regulations until May 1 this year, or “such time as the requirements of the regulation can reasonably be met.”

After its case was dismissed, GFO said it would also file a motion to the Ontario Divisional Court to have the request for a stay of the regulations reviewed.

Ontario’s neonic regulations were put in place last summer to meet a government target to cut use of neonic-treated corn and soybean seed by 80 per cent by 2017, to be used “only when there is a demonstrated pest problem.”

The regulations put the neonic insecticides — imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and clothianidin — in a new pesticide class, Class 12.

Between now and the end of August this year, any Ontario corn or soy grower wanting to plant Class 12-treated seed on more than 50 per cent of his or her acres must complete a soil inspection pest assessment report.

Past August, a corn and/or soy grower wanting to use any Class 12-treated seed at all must complete a pest assessment report and present his or her certificate in integrated pest management (IPM) training.

Pest assessments beyond August must be done either via a soil inspection by an IPM-certified grower or professional pest advisor, or via a crop inspection by a professional advisor.

Ontario set up its neonic regs citing evidence that the Class 12 pesticides are “highly toxic to honeybees and other beneficial insects,” and could also harm aquatic insects if they run off soils into nearby watercourses.

Risk assessments

Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency is now running risk assessments on the neonics and plans to release preliminary assessments on thiamethoxam and clothianidin for public comment in December this year.

PMRA’s preliminary assessment on imidacloprid, released last week, said “no potential risk to bees was indicated for seed treatment use.” However, it noted imidacloprid has “very little reported use” as a corn or soybean seed treatment in Canada.

The PMRA last week also released a preliminary value assessment on the neonics, for public comment. It found neonic-based corn seed treatments, in 2013, showed a national economic benefit for the corn industry of about $74.2 to $83.3 million, or about 3.2 to 3.6 per cent of the national farm gate value for corn.

Neonic seed treatments on soybeans yielded an estimated economic benefit of about 1.5 to 2.1 per cent of the crop’s national farm gate value for 2013, or about $37.3 million to $51 million, the agency said.

In both corn and soybeans, PMRA said, those economic benefits appeared to accrue mostly in Ontario and Manitoba, while in Quebec, corn and soy growers’ expenses on treated seeds were “estimated to exceed the yield returns.” — AGCanada.com Network

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However, during a protest Friday in front of Ontario Deputy Premier Deb Matthews’ riding office in London, executives with the Grain Farmers of Ontario and roughly 35 farmers took a more proactive approach, hoping to create a better understanding of farming practices and the need for seed treatments.

Mark Brock, chair of GFO and a Perth County farmer, was the chief spokesperson at the morning rally, held on the riding office’s front lawn. Instead of expressing only frustration on the part of crop producers, he chose to highlight certain gaps in the neonic-bee health issue — including the urban-rural divide.

“I think the big thing we brought forward was the concerns that we have as growers about this really urban-focused agenda around seed treatments, and this very quick timeline that they’re pushing forward with,” said Brock.

“You see reports coming out of the U.S. that they’re going to take a 10-year period to do some of this work that our government is trying to do in seven months. I know they’ve said it’s a phased limitation, but I think a lot of us feel the value of the seed treatments are going to be affected by this legislation effective July 1.”

Parkhill-area farmer and GFO director Joe Thomson was also on hand and addressed Matthews in her office, trying to provide a first-hand perspective on farming, noting Matthews is an urbanite and likely unfamiliar with today’s farm management practices.

Thomson said he believes Matthews, the MPP for London North Centre, did listen to his concerns, acknowledging there is an opportunity for some bridge-building.

In spite of the timing of the season, where some farmers were reseeding due to frost damage earlier in the week, and spraying already-emerged crops, Brock said he was satisfied with the showing. The proactive approach was exactly what he said he hoped for, as well.

Some individuals and organizations have advocated a more militant approach. Brock said he hoped more can be done using a calmer approach, though he agreed frustrations are beginning to mount.

In its current form, the Ontario government’s legislation stipulates that as of July 1, farmers will be restricted in the use of neonic seed treatments to just 50 per cent of their corn and soybean acres.

Any higher concentration will require an assessment of fields by an independent “assessor,” such as a certified crop advisor.

However, no official protocols exist on training these independent CCAs, and most crop producers and grower organizations are of the opinion that there aren’t enough of these trained specialists to make assessments possible in time for the 2016 planting season.

“The groundswell we’re getting from our membership is so much frustration and anger, and it is starting to show up,” Brock said, but added that’s all the more reason why cooler heads must prevail.

“A lot of producers are realizing now that we’ve gone through the planting season and have in their heads how this regulation is going to apply and the logistics involved, and they just realize how unworkable it is in its current form.”

GFO is encouraging farmers and the public to take to Twitter to show support, including the hashtags #onpoli and #ontag, typically used to denote tweets relating to provincial politics and agriculture respectively.

— Ralph Pearce is a field editor for Country Guide at St. Marys, Ont. Follow him on Twitter at @arpee_AG.

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