The Seasons and Seeds of Change

CROP RESEARCH
The Seasons and Seeds of Change
By Ken Hough, OCPA Director of Research and Market Development

The harvest season is barely finished, but Ontario’s corn growers are already putting lots of thought into next year’s crop – which hybrids and agronomic traits are likely to provide the best return, any changes to cropping practices needed, and so on. These are crucial decisions in any year, but especially when commodity prices are historically low. Shaving $5 to $10 per acre off your nitrogen costs by improved nutrient management (perhaps as simple as giving increased credit for manure application), lowering weed control costs, increasing yields through use of Bt corn (if corn borer infestations are expected to be moderate or high) reducing tillage costs, etc. – each of these merit consideration for their suitability to your farm situation. By seeking out the best information from a multitude of sources and evaluating it for its impact on profitability within your system, you should be able to determine the best course of action for next year’s crop.

But what about the longer term? We can’t just assume that the types of information noted here will always exist when we need them. Indeed, as a grower, you can probably list at least five additional questions in each of these areas which Ontario producers would like answered, for profitability, and longer-term viability and competitiveness.

In some cases, companies provide the research needed – for example, corn hybrids which provide corn borer or corn rootworm resistance, tolerate drought or excessive rainfall better, mature well, provide high yields and high feed-value grain or silage, and so on.

However, there are other areas of research where groups such as OCPA need to provide our financial support and input on priorities to ensure the needs of growers are best served. For most of these, seed companies and other input supply companies are less likely to invest their research resources, unless perhaps in a partnership arrangement with OCPA or other such organization. Some examples include:

Methods to reduce tillage and improve cropping systems (rotations, nutrient and pest interactions among successive crops, etc.), because there is little opportunity for any return on investment for input suppliers.
Research to optimize nitrogen utilization efficiency – there are many aspects of nitrogen management research which seed companies have not delved into, such as measuring and predicting the amount of residual N from previous crops or manure application (i.e., the N measurement tests themselves, amount and timing of availability of residual N, site-specific or ‘management unit’ application of supplemental N to meet crop needs, fate of excess N in the environment, etc.). Thankfully, fertilizer suppliers are providing increasing support for such research, but corn grower priorities through OCPA remain a key driver.
Reducing weed management costs, by determining weed-specific herbicide rates (often lower than broad-spectrum label rates), site-specific spray application, improved spray targeting and lowered drift (improved effectiveness, lowering costs and off-target hazard), and on new or especially troublesome weed species (insufficient acreage to justify a company’s investment in the required research).
Studies on insect pest dynamics and management recommendations, such as monitoring for the corn rootworm variant that lays eggs in soybeans and wheat, potentially rendering crop rotation ineffective for control; or wheat curl mite, believed to be a contributing factor to kernel red streak, which could limit the market for Ontario-grown food grade corn production, a significantly expanding market opportunity.
Research on novel grain drying and storage technologies (such as storage of corn at 18 to 20 per cent moisture content through the winter months, to provide Casco with corn that yields a higher percentage of starch, at higher purity, than dried corn) to ensure maintenance of top quality and reduced costs.

For a few research priorities, a partnership between OCPA and seed companies is virtually essential. Examples include the use of biotechnology to substantially improve resistance to Fusarium ear molds and freedom from mycotoxins, or to enhance the tolerance of corn to chilling temperatures (or frost) during the grain-filling period for improved grain quality and yields. In these cases, the ‘product’ will ultimately be delivered in the seed, but the results may have significant impact primarily for the relatively small northern corn belt market so the initiative ranks lower on the list of priorities for international seed companies.

There are a multitude of research priorities that require farmer funding to address the specific needs of corn producers. OCPA members have directed us to implement the 50 cents per bag research contribution on seed corn, in cooperation with the seed corn companies. Beginning with the 1999 seed sales season, and continuing this year, 11 companies – Agventure, Cargill, Direct, Growmark, King Agro (Pride brand), Maizex, Mycogen, Novartis, Renk, W. G. Thompson and Sons (Hyland brand), and Zeneca (Garst brand) are working with OCPA on this research contribution.

OCPA needs you to vocally support this program with your local seed dealer(s), and seed company sales and agronomy staff, not only with these cooperating seed companies, but also with the other companies that are not participating. OCPA asks that each of you make the following points with your local and provincial seed company representatives:

The 50 cents per bag research contribution on seed corn is very important to the longer-term profitability and competitiveness of Ontario corn growers. This small investment per acre can reap huge returns over time. A full description of projects supported by OCPA and grower funding was provided in the August issue of the Ontario Corn Producer magazine.
The research contribution is grower funded, to be used to support research priorities which meet specific grower needs. Seed company support and contributions from other industry partners is welcomed and solicited for projects where we have common objectives, but a distinct source of grower funding is essential. OCPA will make every attempt to avoid duplication of company research, or public research in other jurisdictions, which is applicable to Ontario conditions.
Collecting the research contribution through all seed corn purchases (i.e. all seed corn companies) is a cost-effective means of ensuring all growers contribute equitably, roughly in proportion to the benefits they will accrue from the public sector research to be funded. The suggested alternative of establishing a bureaucracy-heavy structure to collect this directly by OCPA is not in the best interests of the corn growers. As seed corn company clients, corn growers ask for seed company cooperation in collecting the research contribution on our behalf.
For individual growers that are either unable or do not wish to support public corn research through this means, the research contribution collected on seed corn purchased can be easily refunded, by direct request to OCPA (along with a copy of seed purchase information).
At about 17 cents per acre, this is a relatively minor issue for the vast majority of corn growers, relative to the other, much more significant economic decisions faced on an ongoing basis (crop marketing decisions, hybrid and input supply selections, safety net issues, etc.). We urge all seed corn companies to assist OCPA by getting on with the job of collecting the research contribution on behalf of the corn growers in Ontario.

By speaking out on this at the grassroots level, farmers will encourage those seed companies who have already made a commitment to assist OCPA in collecting the research contribution, stimulate non-participating companies to come on-side with the desires of their clients, and help themselves over the longer term by supporting research addressing growers’ specific needs.