An industry-wide initiative is being launched to help growers and grain handlers clearly identify non-EU approved corn hybrids. 

The initiative, introduced under the banner Market Choices™, will use a distinctive, identifiable symbol on corn hybrids possessing traits not yet approved for export to the European Union.  Grain from these hybrids can be used on-farm or delivered only to facilities that have agreed to accept and segregate it.

The Market Choices program will be introduced to the Canadian agricultural industry in early 2004. The Market Choices symbol – bearing the program name, with a red maple leaf atop a stylized red-and-blue field – is designed to remind producers to market grain from these products through appropriate market channels. The symbol can only be used by seed corn companies under license from the American Seed Trade Association and is expected to gradually appear on seed bag tags, product catalogues, field signs and all other promotional materials.

“This program introduces much-needed uniformity across the industry,” says Bill Leask, executive vice-president of the Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA). “Growers will see a consistent designation on products not yet approved in the EU and will be able to distinguish them from approved counterparts.” The program has been running successfully in the United States for a few years, drawing accolades from the industry there. Leask expects Canadian producers will likewise see the wisdom and advantages of identifying products to assist in proper grain channeling.  

Mat Menich, president of the Ontario Corn Producers’ Association, says it’s important that producers know what they are growing, and understand their marketing options for non-EU approved corn hybrids. He believes the Market Choices program will be an important step in developing that understanding.

“We’ve been successfully channeling non-EU corn hybrids for some time, and we view this program as fresh evidence of Ontario’s ability to provide corn with preferred traits to our industrial users,” says Menich. 

Traits available in corn hybrids marketed in Canada have received regulatory approvals for food, feed and environmental safety here and in the United States. Approvals for some traits have been delayed in the EU. Grain from some hybrids must be marketed to buyers who will not ship this grain or its processed products to the EU.

Corn hybrids containing Herculex I, Roundup Ready, YieldGard Rootworm and some stacked YieldGard Corn Borer-Liberty Link transgenic traits must be channeled to appropriate markets.  Channeling is the process of marketing approved grain to appropriate and approved markets.  Growers marketing corn identified with the Market Choices symbol must ensure that harvested grain is channeled to approved markets.  This includes on-farm feeding, selling the grain to a domestic feedlot or feed mill, or delivering to appropriate grain handling or processing facilities with a prior agreement. 

Producers and grain handlers can find a complete list of Canadian corn hybrids containing traits that are not approved in the European Union at www.cdnseed.org.

Headquartered in the nation’s capital, the CSTA represents the interests of 170 corporate members engaged in all aspects of seed research, production and marketing, both domestically and internationally.