By John Ippolito, Regional Crops Specialist, Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Services, Kindersley
Biosecurity
Biosecurity practices have been common on intensive livestock operations for a long time. Biosecurity on a grain farm is a relatively new concept for many mainly as a result of grain farming not being conducted in confined spaces and being more difficult to implement.
Biosecurity is a series of management practices that are designed to prevent, minimize, and control the introduction and spread of plant pests. On grain farms the introduction of pests cannot always be controlled as they are spread by wind or wildlife. However there are some pests, that at the very least, the risk of introduction and spread can be minimized if not controlled.
Plant diseases such as clubroot and Aphanomyces that are mainly spread from field to field by movement of infected soils on equipment would be an example of this. Weed seeds are another pest where biosecurity practices can prevent the introduction and spread of new weed species or herbicide tolerant biotypes of existing weeds.
Producers should start with an evaluation of current practices and determine what the potential risks are to their farm. From this point they can implement strategies or practices that either reduce or eliminate those risks. The chart below shows a few examples.
| Potential Vectors | Key Risks | Risk Mitigation Tools |
| Seed | Introduction of new weed species | Seed analysis prior to purchase |
| Soil | Introduction of soil borne diseases | Cleaning of equipment between fields
Controlling access by other users Using equipment last on fields known to be infested with a soil borne pathogen |
| Equipment | Introduction of new pests
Spread of pests such as herbicide resistant weeds |
Restricted access of equipment if not cleaned |
This may seem to be an extremely difficult task on a grain farm. However producers may wish to keep in mind that some of these pests will not go away once introduced and may require a change in disease or weed control practices for a long time into the future. This is also something that land owners may want to consider as the practices of tenants can have implications for rental value in the future as well.
For more information refer to the Producer Guide to the National Voluntary Farm-Level Standard for the Grains and Oilseeds Industry at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/
For more articles like this, ‘Like’ the Kindersley Social Facebook page below…
