In the March 7 issue of Grainews, Lee Hart wrote two in-depth features on what 2023 looks like without lambda-cyhalothrin products, which provide cost-effective and efficient means of controlling common crop insect pests. Starting this April, Health Canada and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) have introduced restrictions on the use of insecticides containing the active ingredient lambda-cyhalothrin on crops destined for feed use.
Since publication of Lee’s stories (called “How to manage without lambda-cyhalothrin in 2023” and “Farmers discuss how lambda-cyhalothrin regulation changes will affect them in 2023”), Health Canada has provided Grainews with an update on this ruling.
Health Canada says it is in the process of reconsidering the restriction of lambda-cy products destined for feed use; however, the agency did not have a timeline on when the review would be completed.
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“Health Canada recognizes the challenges that may be faced by grain and livestock industries as a result of this decision. An application from the registrant to reinstate the feed uses is currently under review. Health Canada is unable to provide a timeline for completion of the review at this time. The registrant is aware of the status of their application and Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency is actively working with them,” said Health Canada in a statement to Grainews.
Health Canada also provided some background to the 2017 review and subsequent re- evaluation decision of lambda-cy in 2021.
“Health Canada scientists completed the re- evaluation of lambda-cyhalothrin in 2021 (RVD2021-04, Lambda-cyhalothrin and Its Associated End-use Products), following the assessment of comments received during a 90-day consultation in 2017. A number of uses were cancelled in the final re-evaluation decision as the dietary risks from all registered crops was not acceptable and would not be protective of vulnerable populations like children.
“The remaining uses are in line with the prioritization of uses chosen by the registrant during the consultation period. The list of crops prioritized by the registrant is provided in RVD2021-04. Although grains were given the highest priority, feed uses were not prioritized by the registrant. A number of alternatives to lambda-cyhalothrin are currently registered for the majority of the field crops/pests that have feed uses.”
It is excellent news a review to reinstate feed uses is going forward. However, without a timeline for the review, it is doubtful any new ruling will happen in time for the growing season this year. Hopefully, a satisfactory conclusion for all will be in place for the 2024 growing season. Many thanks to Lee for following up with Health Canada and providing this update.
As we go to print with this issue of Grainews, Adama Canada announced on March 8 it will continue to make lambda-cy products available to retailers and farmers across Canada. Adama has completed relabelling of its existing inventories of its products containing the active ingredient lambda-cyhalothrin, Silencer and Zivata, for the 2023 season.
“We will continue to sell our lambda-cy products, Silencer and Zivata, with the new labelling across Canada,” said Cornie Thiessen, general manager of Adama Canada, in a press release.
“The bottom line for growers is to read the labelling guidelines carefully. Talk to your full-service input retailer and to your crop buyers so you can make an informed decision about if and when to apply the product.”
We can do better
If I may, I’d like to direct your attention a story by the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) called “New data highlights need for culture of safety on the farm.”
This information is as important, if not more so, to managing risk on your farm than the above announcement from Health Canada about the lambda-cy review. Using crop protection products like insecticides is an obvious risk management tool for your farm operation to protect your crops and your profits. Less obvious to some is embracing a culture of safety is also an important risk management tool.
During Canadian Agricultural Safety Week (March 12-18), Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting (CAIR) released its latest report with data on agriculture-related fatalities in Canada from 1990 to 2020. In the story, Erin Kelly for the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association and Don Voaklander, director of the Injury Prevention Centre at the University of Alberta, provide highlights and insights from the report. Some of those findings should stop and make us think hard about safety on the farm.
For example, there are still on average 91 agriculture-related deaths per year in Canada.
However, it is the fatality rate of children aged 0 to 14 that is the most alarming data to come from the report.
According to Voaklander, the incidence of fatalities hasn’t decreased over three decades and children account for a significant number of injuries in agriculture.
“It’s still distressing that the child fatality rate has not changed one iota in the 30 years of CAIR reports. It’s just flatline for fatality rates with kids and that’s the most disturbing part of the report,” he says. And the primary mechanisms of injury for children on the farm are drowning and machine runovers, he adds.
You won’t regret reading the entire story as it contains useful information about safety in agriculture and even a place to start adopting a culture of safety — by being aware of the hazards that exist across all farm work.
Farmers are excellent at finding solutions to manage and reduce crop production, farm management and financial risks on the farm. It’s time to look at farm safety as a risk mitigation strategy.
Putting safety first and building a culture of safety on your farm and in your community is also managing risk.
What could put your farm in more jeopardy than a life-altering or fatal accident involving you or a loved one?
We owe it to our children to protect them from safety hazards around the farm and instil in them a safety culture that will be with them as they grow and then become farm managers themselves.
Long-term change is difficult, but in this case worth working toward. Behaviours toward safety in agriculture will take time to change but it can be done one safety-based decision at a time.
Make this your year to embrace a culture of safety in agriculture.
How are you building a safety culture on your farm and in your community? Please drop me a line at [email protected].
Have a safe and happy start to spring, Kari
