Posted: July 25, 2010

The Canola Council of Canada (CCC) is reminding growers that keeping malathion out of storage bins is critical to being export ready this fall.

Malathion is an insecticide registered in Canada for foliar use and for empty bin treatment for stored product insects.

"It can still be used on the canola plant for in-season insect control according to label directions," says the council on its website. "However, do not use it to treat canola for storage or the empty bins where canola will be stored. This can result in residues in the canola."

If the bin was treated previously, do not store canola in bins within six months of treatment, CCC advises.

Every country that buys Canadian canola sets limits on pesticide residues, and exceeding those limits can mean rejected shipments and increased monitoring.

For one example of the consequences, the Japanese industry is very concerned over pesticide residues, especially those that are applied to stored canola or to empty bins, says the council. In addition, the Japanese government has introduced new food safety legislation that prohibits entry of any commodities if pesticide residues are found above the allowable limit.

"If malathion is detected above the allowable limit in Japan, the shipment will be rejected resulting in millions of dollars of losses and increased testing of all shipments to Japan," it says. Japan is the number one customer of Canadian canola seed with imports valued at over $600 million each year.

More information on protecting against malathion residue is available on the CCC website.

Posted: July 25, 2010

Crop sciences job opportunities are bucking the trend in a tough recession-hit job market, says the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA).

Many predict that up to half of all crop scientists in industry and government jobs will retire over the next decade, WSSA observes. A recent report by Purdue University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture predicts more than 54,000 agriculture-related job openings annually between 2010 and 2015.

"There isn't a better business to be in right now," says Randy Smith, a member of WSSA and a field research and development leader for Dow AgroSciences.

The challenge is, despite a growing demand for talent, university enrollment in crop sciences is declining by a third or more and several universities have dropped or consolidated programs in the agricultural sciences because of low enrollment and dwindling funds.

"The issue of talent development in the agricultural sciences is a topic of paramount concern within higher education and industry circles," says Emilio Oyarzabal, technology development manager, Monsanto. "There are many students pursuing degrees in the marketing, sales and business side of agriculture, but the number in the applied agricultural sciences is declining steadily."

WSSA says it and nearly 30 other partners have begun to collaborate on ideas for building a sustainable workforce.

View the WSSA release here.