Fieldcrop biosecurity comes into its own

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

A growing number of farmers are realizing that biosecurity isn't just for livestock. And workshops on field crop biosecurity are attracting everyone from grain farmers to large vegetable crop producers and greenhouse growers

by MARY BAXTER

A few years ago, after desiccating their dry beans in preparation for harvest on their Middlesex County farm east of London, brothers Mike Donnelly-Vanderloo and Joe Donnelly noticed something odd. Some weeds stood tall in the field, unaffected.


The weeds were Canada fleabane, among the first glyphosate-resistant weeds to appear in the county. Donnelly-Vanderloo contacted Peter Sikkema, a professor in field crop weed management at the University of Guelph Ridgetown campus, with a view to changing his herbicide program.

"If you don't make a fast change, you're actually setting up a scenario where you're favouring that weed," Donnelly-Vanderloo explains. Quick action, in the form of a herbicide change, soon brought the outbreak under control.

Over on the other side of London, Steve Twynstra wasn't as lucky when horse nettle arrived in a field five years ago.

Compost from a new supplier was the source of the weed, which is similar to a rosebush or nettle, has sharp thorns and reproduces by berries and rhizomes.

When he realized that pulling it out wasn't going to work, Twynstra, like Donnelly-Vanderloo, contacted Sikkema to determine what products to use. Glyphosate was the answer. Twynstra applied it regularly along the field's edges and in the field when his crop rotation permitted.  

Today the infestation hasn't spread but "we're still fighting it," Twynstra says. They still use some compost "but we know where it's coming from."

Weeds, pests and disease are every farmer's headache because of the threat to yield and quality. Twynstra and Donnelly-Vanderloo have other reasons to be concerned, too.

Twynstra's rotation includes not only cash crops but also identity-preserved soybeans, IP wheat, edible beans and pedigreed seeds for wheat, soy and edible beans. Ensuring a contamination-free product is paramount for the specialty crops, many of which other farmers rely on to produce their own healthy crop stands.

Donnelly-Vanderloo and his brother also grow specialty crops (dry beans, sweet corn and processing peas) alongside their cash crops. They provide custom-farming services as well. Farming so close to a city means changing fields when rented land undergoes development. Moreover, vegetable crop equipment moves from farm to farm and grower to grower. Transience heightens risk of exposure to pests. Each farm operation therefore takes special care to mitigate risk. Twynstra keeps detailed records, contracts reputable suppliers and insists that everyone uses the same procedures to clean equipment. That means working top down and not forgetting to clean off the frames. He even carries a leaf blower in the combine so "if you're switching fields or going into the same variety and the same crop, you can still blow what can be blown off."

Donnelly-Vanderloo prioritizes scouting crops and rides his small motorbike between rows. Over the years, rigorous scouting has turned up the first recorded instance of stripe rust in Ontario, unusual cases of bean common mosaic virus following soybean aphids' sudden arrival in Ontario in the early 2000s, and more routine problems, such as last year's garden-variety fusarium in the beans.
When he finds something odd, he always reports it to a crop specialist.  "How do you know (if it's something of concern) until you get somebody in there to check?"

At Christmas, Mike Donnelly-Vanderloo's son Jonathan acquired a Phantom 3 unmanned aerial vehicle, which carries a high resolution camera. The UAV can be remotely controlled to fly over fields and take videos. Donnelly-Vanderloo talked to crop advisors at the Southwest Ag Conference and sees a lot of potential for early diagnosis of problems in fields.

Not just for livestock
Twynstra and Donnelly-Vanderloo are among a growing number of farmers who recognize that biosecurity isn't just for livestock production.  

Field crop biosecurity has become one of the most popular subjects in the biosecurity-themed workshops that the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association delivers on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), says Barb Caswell, the association's program co-ordinator.

"We get anywhere from 10 producers at a workshop to over 20," Caswell says, noting that the sessions are run by certified crop advisors. "We've had everyone from grain farmers right through to large vegetable crop producers and greenhouse guys. We've even had smaller producers who are selling produce at the farm gate."

Introduced last year, the workshop was developed from Canadian Food Inspection Agency grains and oilseeds, as well as potato biosecurity protocols, and applies to all field crops. Field crop biosecurity involves implementing mostly preventative practices and procedures throughout the farm to mitigate biological risks to crops and to prevent problems from spreading to other farms.

Caswell acknowledges that part of the interest stems from the workshop being mandatory for obtaining cost-share funding for related biosecurity projects. But the workshop was introduced because farmers wanted it.

"At the time that we originally started offering the (livestock) workshops, we hadn't developed a crop standard," she explains. "We weren't sure really whether there was a lot of interest that would facilitate offering such a workshop." After farmers attending the other workshops began asking about crop security, the association approached the province to develop the session.

Caswell says that many farmers already practise crop biosecurity but don't think of the measures that way. Yet it's important to recognize biosecurity as a unique procedure.

"In order to fully maximize the benefits of a practice, you have to understand why you're doing it," she says. "And if you don't understand why you're doing it, then you might not be fully capitalizing on its benefits."

She uses the example of taking a four-wheeler out into a field. If biosecurity is not top of mind, you're unlikely to pressure-wash the vehicle before travelling to another field.  

Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA weed management field crops program lead, acknowledges that biosecurity protocols benefit agriculture and weed management. "But I'm just not sure how you do it efficiently."

He points out that weeds produce a lot of seed and there's many ways seed can move around. And, while it's easy to advise someone to clean out the combine, for example, "the practicality of doing it is pretty overwhelming. If you think about getting every last seed out of the combine, how do you do that?"

He predicts that, eventually, there will be advances in farm equipment and crop handling that "will allow us to efficiently almost sterilize equipment."

Until then, focusing on measures to manage a specific weed problem may have a greater chance of success, he says, adding that it won't be convenient or easy to implement.

Swede midge infestations

When it comes to pests of the winged kind, growers in Ontario's Temiskaming District might heartily agree with Cowbrough's observation. For five years now, they have struggled with swede midge infestations in their canola crops.

Terry Phillips, who farms in the district and is president of the Ontario Canola Growers, recalls how mystified his local farm community was when damage from the insect, an invasive species, first began to appear. "Everybody had these tell-tale miniature palm tree-looking plants, or distorted plants. All the pods would be at one node and the plant would be about a foot high," he says. "It almost looked like a spray issue, that the guy hadn't cleaned the sprayer."

No one knows for sure how or why the insect's numbers escalated. Swede midge is found in canola crops in both southern Ontario and on the Prairies but at much lower populations. They prey on cruciferous crops as well.

Northern farmers tried spraying but soon learned that they needed more than one application. Repeated spraying might be financially feasible on a high-value broccoli crop, but it wasn't on $400-per-acre canola.

Two years ago, a University of Guelph professor studying the problem recommended that all of the growers stop growing the crop for a while. That strategy wasn't successful either, says Phillips, although many did stop growing because the infestations were so bad they couldn't break even.

Now, the growers are trying to co-ordinate resources at Nipissing University and the University of Guelph to explore whether an environmental factor could alert them to the potential for infestation.

As well, some Quebec growers are experiencing similar problems, and so the northern Ontario growers are considering working with the Quebec government to solve the problem.

Nevertheless, Caswell urges not to give up on biosecurity just because your neighbour isn't practising it. Ultimately, all farmers ever have control over is what they do on their own farms. "You need to put the practices in place that do the best to reduce the risk on your farm, realizing that the risk is never gone," she says.

Biosecurity, she adds, "is going to be one of the key ways in which we contain the problems that are already at play in the industry; it's also going to help us in terms of mitigating future concerns." BF

Is the Invasive Species Act too invasive?
Invasive plants are rarely a problem within the farm field, but at the field edge they can clog ditches, present safety hazards and host new plant pests.

Now there is another way the presence of invasive species may affect Ontario's farmers: through the administration of the provincial government's new Invasive Species Act.

The Act achieved Royal Assent in November and empowers the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to regulate invasives, including banning their sale and transport. It comes into effect in November 2016; there are no timelines for regulations development.

There are two categories of regulation: restricted and prohibited. To regulate a plant the ministry must first assess the risk and then post a proposal on the environmental registry for public comment.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and Toby Barrett, Haldimand-Norfolk-Brant MPP and Tory agriculture critic, have criticized the Act for its warrantless entry provisions. The Act grants inspectors warrantless entry to inspect all types of property (buildings, structures and land), except a dwelling and to survey land.

In a submission filed while the legislation was under development, the OFA also raised concern about overlaps in jurisdiction and the use of vague terms, such as "natural environment."

Jeremy Downe, ministry invasive species program and policy advisor, downplays the impact on farmers and maintains that the legislation adds clarity about requirements for the movement and transfer of invasive species.

The law will likely first be used to prevent the spread of invasive species from neighbouring jurisdictions. "Then we'll probably start looking at some of the ones that are here in Ontario in terms of the highest threat" such as Phragmites australis and dog strangling vines, he says.

"There are potentially hundreds if not thousands of invasive species that either are already in Ontario or that could potentially get here" although it's expected the ministry will focus on a core group, he adds.

Phragmites australis, a reed originally from Eurasia, can grow to 15 feet and a density of 200 stems per 3.3 square feet. It is of concern because it is choking out natural habitat along Great Lakes shorelines and in marshes. In southwestern Ontario, many farmers are concerned about the reed clogging municipal drains.

Lyle Hall, who farms in Essex in Essex County and operates a service to remove Phragmites from ditches, recalls that last spring in Tecumseh farmers along one drain told him "they could see the Phragmites (in the drain) actually holding a wall of water back."

According to the Ontario Invading Species Awareness program, dog strangling vines, two different but related plants, may be toxic to livestock. The vines can grow up to nearly seven feet high, wrap around other plants and trees and form dense stands that overwhelm and crowd out native plants and young trees, preventing forest regeneration, the program's website says.

The Act doesn't cover species that only affect crops. "So if it's a corn borer, for example, we wouldn't address it under the Invasive Species Act," says Downe. Those species would continue to be addressed either through OMAFRA under the Animal Health Act or the Canadian Food Inspection Agency under the Plant Protection Act.

The ministry would work with the agriculture ministry to control species which have an impact on both the natural and agricultural environments. "The wild parsnip is a good example," Downe says, noting that the weed, whose sap can cause severe burns, is a hazard both for farmers and people visiting natural areas.

Plants such as miscanthus, which are used in agricultural production but have the potential to be invasive, would not be regulated in a controlled agriculture environment, although rules could be imposed to prevent its spread into the natural environment.

The horticultural trade is a well-identified pathway for the spread of invasive pests, such as insects or fungus. "It is one of those areas that we will likely have to look at in terms of making sure that they're treated to ensure they don't have a fungus on them (for example)," Downe says.  

Education is the first line of approach; enforcement is the fallback. "We'll look at doing that first contact, getting that permission to build that relationship," Downe says. But "if the landowner is not supportive of that action, but significant concern exists because of something that's either known to be – or potentially to be – on that property, then we would have that authority to go on that property without the landowner's permission. Obviously that's not the desired state." BF

A biosecurity checklist for your crops*

• Create a layout of your farm and its location.
• Identify biosecurity zones based on use, status, access and the level of protection needed. Mark with signage and ensure controlled access.
• Ensure there are visible boundaries around property and production areas (i.e. windbreaks) and route are defined with signage.
• Ensure there is a dedicated cleaning facility; also identify areas between biosecurity zones to inspect clean equipment moving between the zones
• Designate a crop waste/residue disposal area.
• Designate a receiving area for inputs and machinery. Inspect (and clean) these before moving to a production area.
• Designate a parking area for off-farm vehicles and transport visitors using farm vehicles.
• Ensure drainage is effective.
• Establish a visitor's log and limit visitors' access to production areas.
• Establish a procedure to ensure footwear, equipment and clothing are free from soil and crop material at entry. Provide cleaning facilities or alternative gear if needed.
• Ensure workflow procedures move from clean to dirty areas and field operations move from clean production areas to those more likely to be infested.
• Minimize movement of vehicles or machinery over wet soil.
• Maintain a vehicle movement log.
• Test water regularly; filter and treat if needed.
• Have a high-heat compost procedure. Don't compost infested crop residues.
• Minimize movement of soil between fields and biosecurity zones.
• Establish controls for animals and wildlife as well as for weeds in and around production areas.
• Create a written, practical biosecurity plan in consultation with a professional. Share it with everyone necessary and conduct biosecurity training.
• Document all biosecurity procedures, events and actions.
• Use best management practices.
• Ensure the source of planting material (seed, transplants, cuttings, etc.) is certified as pest-free.
• Ask about the biosecurity status of land prior to renting.
• Maintain cropping records for each field.
• Regularly scout, monitor and survey.
• Record pest surveillance activities, even when nothing is found.
• Investigate suspected problems to identify pests. Implement appropriate management practices.
• Establish a procedure for reporting pests and other biosecurity risk(s) to appropriate plant health authorities and specialists.
• Create a disposal system for weed seed, crop waste and potentially infected plant material. BF

Don't forget to clean the soil off your boots
To reduce the risk of spreading soil-borne pathogens, you might want to clean that dirt off your boots, says a researcher with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Last year, from mid-July to the end of August, Ontario horticulture crop protection program lead Denise Beaton and other OMAFRA staff took their Wellies to silt loam and loamy sand fields in both dry and wet conditions to explore the risk of footwear picking up soil-borne pathogens.

Using toothpicks, they scraped the soil collected on the boots' treads and sides into clean (and otherwise empty) kitty litter boxes and sent the soil for testing at the pest diagnostic clinic at the University of Guelph. The lab was instructed to look exclusively for fungal pathogens and nematode extractions.

The lab found fungal pathogens in both soil types tested. More soil and pathogens were picked up under wet conditions compared to the dry; it found one cyst nematode under wet conditions from the silt loam field.

The message from the results is clear for Beaton: "You should at least be cleaning off the soil off your boots. There is the potential to transfer soil-borne pathogens" and, in wet conditions, cyst nematodes.
Beaton says she always disinfects her boots before, after and between farm visits. She advises making sure your vehicle, equipment and boots are clean before visiting a farm. "You just want to cut down on any potential risk," she says. BF