The national umbrella organization representing Canada’s grain, oilseed, pulse and special crop industries is welcoming the North American trade dispute panel ruling against Mexico’s restrictions on genetically-modified (GM) corn. The dispute revolves around Mexico’s February 2023 presidential corn decree to ban the use of GM corn in dough and tortillas, and to gradually eliminate the… Read More
Category: Biotechnology
Canada has finally decided on how crop varieties developed with gene-editing technology will be handled in the registration and approval process. Announced last week, crops developed using the technique will not be considered a GMO or “novel” and therefore will have a more streamlined path to approval. Now that plant breeders and seed companies know… Read More
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s third and final ruling announced Friday on gene-editing for crop variety development clears the path for this precise, cost-effective plant breeding tool to be used in Canada. Does this mean farmers will have access to new drought-resistant or nitrogen-efficient varieties for next year? Not so fast, says Krista Thomas, vice-president… Read More
Approval of a biotechnology reform bill in the European Parliament last month has been hailed as a major breakthrough toward allowing “new genomic techniques,” such as gene-editing, to be used in crop breeding in Europe. The bill still faces an uphill battle to become law across the European Union, but the vote was one example… Read More
Surrounding yourself with exceptional people and building a winning team. It’s a recipe for success that Saskatchewan-born Lorne Hepworth has followed through three successful careers and now an appointment as Member of the Order of Canada. This week, RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney sat down with Hepworth to discuss his journey, which includes a career arc with… Read More
The chair of the House of Commons’ agriculture committee has introduced a private member’s bill aimed at speeding up regulatory approvals of new seed genetics, feed products, and crop protection products for Canadian farmers. Kody Blois, Liberal MP from Nova Scotia, tabled Bill C-359 — An Act to amend the Feeds Act, the Seeds Act… Read More
Bayer and Pairwise, an ag and food company that offers gene-editing for the U.S. market, have announced a five year deal to further develop short-stature corn. This deal will focus on gene-edited, short-stature corn for future use in Bayer’s Preceon Smart Corn System. Short-stature corn – with a targeted height of 30 to 40 percent… Read More
Several government departments, consultations, and decisions are converging to clear a path for gene-editing technology to be approved as a breeding technique for conventional crops. That’s right, if the last hurdle can be cleared — approval of gene-edited plants for livestock feed — a variety or cultivar produced with gene-editing techniques would be considered non-novel… Read More
The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau today announced how Canada will handle crop cultivars that contain gene-editing as part of the breeding process. Bibeau says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has officially published updated guidance for Part V(5) of the Seed Regulations to make it clear which plants — whether developed via… Read More
Put aside for a moment your opinion on the current federal government’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. (Though, if you’re curious, you can read about what is proposed, here) There are two timeframes to think about in regards to carbon emissions — there’s the 2030 line in the sand, by which… Read More