-By CALVIN DANIELS
For example, the first step toward zero-till farming began with a fundamental change in how farmers farmed. A report at www.producer.com notes “a field trial of genetically modified and gene-edited barley is due to be planted this April. The research is evaluating whether improved crop interactions with naturally occurring soil fungi promote more sustainable food production and reduce the need for synthetic nitrogen fertilizer.” U.K. scientists hope the result will be cereal crops that are able to pull more nitrogen and phosphorus from the soil.
The idea of producing a cereal grain plant capable of fixing nitrogen from the soil – much as legume crops do – is not a new idea, but so far, nothing has come to the market for producers.
Certainly, part of the drag on research in the area is the concern from some quarters that genetic modification of plants is a dangerous path for research to take. But, if one looks at canola, which is now the primary crop on the Canadian Prairies, demand seems to be exploding. An ever-expanding crush sector with several new builds announced is primarily GM varieties. In the case of canola, many of the varieties are tied to being able to use specific crop protection products to combat in-crop weeds.
The tech being worked on with barley by U.K. scientists is actually a far more farmer-friendly one since it would, in theory, reduce the reliance on purchased fertilizer. That would be a massive development for a lower-valued crop such as barley.
Suppose you could reduce the cost of fertilizer. In that case, you could even up with a better bottom line for a crop that is already generally lower cost to produce with a bit more versatility in marketing, with the feed market always a fall-back position if a crop is off grade.
If the U.K. trials are successful, it could transfer the basic tech to other cereal crops like wheat and oats.
On the Prairies, anything that could enhance oat production should be of interest, given production plants here, but they might also be an industry resistant to such tech. The oat sector has become much more careful regarding glyphosate than most. Hence, they may have a lower tolerance for anything they see as something their customer base would react negatively.
Still, the technology needs to be explored. The potential of nitrogen-fixing cereals is too great not to be developed. If not now, then in the future, when farmers, trying to feed a hungry world, will need all the help they can get.
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Disclaimer: opinions expressed are those of the writer.
