b'STEWARDSHIPCelebrating 10 Years ofMidge-Tolerant Wheat Stewardship A significant milestone is met for the utilization of this technology.ALBERTA PRODUCERS HAVE been successfully seedingtolerant wheat to growers, industry midge-tolerant wheat varieties for the past 10 growing seasons.worked together to create a strategy to Thats a significant milestone for a technology that was launchedcollectively manage the stewardship and with stewardship strings attached.ensure that resistance was not broken. Since day one, midge-tolerant wheat growers have had toThe result was the Midge Tolerant Wheat sign a stewardship agreement that limits the use of farm-savedStewardship Committeea broad seed to one generation past certified, says Mike Espeseth,industry coalition representing plant co-chair of the Midge Tolerant Wheat Stewardship Committeebreeders, government, seed growers, and communications manager of the Western Grains ResearchIn the pastseed distributors and producer groups. Foundation. This requirement ensures the varietys built-inIt was really cool how everybody came refuge is maintained, which prevents the development of aseveraltogether to ensure that the stewardship resistant midge population. years, 98program was developed. It was very When the technology was introduced to growers in 2009, weper cent ofmuch a team approach, says Hyra. explained that without an interspersed refuge system, midgeToday, we continue to work together to tolerance could break down within 10 years. Weve maintainedusers haveensure that this technology lasts.this message over the past decade and are grateful to growersbeen inSeed retailers also play a key role by and industry for respecting it. sharing stewardship best practices with Several significant milestones have been achieved thanks tocompliance.growers. Approximately 550 front-line this ongoing commitment, starting with a growth in the number Todd Hyra retailers have completed midge-tolerant of midge-tolerant wheat varieties available to producers. Atwheat training to ensure they understand launch, just four varieties were availabletoday, there are 35.the technology and can effectively Theres now just about something in every wheat class, sayscommunicate about it to growers. Todd Hyra, western business manager for SeCan, one of the firstAnyone who sells midge-tolerant companies to offer a midge-tolerant wheat variety to growers.wheat is also responsible for ensuring In addition, a broad range of adaptation has happened withingrowers have signed a stewardship the genetics. Its a very complete management package foragreement. In 2016, the Midge Tolerant producers. Theyve got everything they would want in aWheat Stewardship Assurance Site wheat varietytop yields, improved Fusarium ratings, short,was launched to replace the paper strong straw for manageability and, on top of all of that, midgeagreements that were originally in place. tolerance. The secure, web-based tool for use by According to StatCan data, 27 million acres of midge-tolerantseed distributors, seed retailers and wheat have been grown across the Prairies since its first plantingseed growers has made the process of in 2009. An even more impressive number is the financialdocumenting the movement of certified advantage to farms.midge-tolerant wheat seed more efficient. A compliance survey is also $1 Billion in Benefits to Growers conducted annually to follow up with Research shows that producers achieve $36 per acre in yield andmidge-tolerant wheat growers on grade benefits when growing midge-tolerant wheat, says Hyra.their stewardship practices. They are When you apply that advantage across all those acres over thequestioned in terms of understanding past 10 years, it adds up to an estimated $1 billion. Thats aand respecting the technology, and significant return to producers.results are consistently strong, says Hyra. This billion-dollar achievement has only been possible withIn the past several years, 98 per cent of the cooperation of many people. Prior to launching midge- users have been in compliance.54seed.ab.ca'