Winter cereal producers shouldn't give up on their crops

 

Winter cereal producers shouldn’t get too concerned about the crops just yet.

 

In some areas of the province, the crop went into fairly dry conditions, coupled with a lack of snowfall and temperature fluctuations have some people wondering just how it’s going to do.

 

The snow normally provides the much-needed insulation the crop needs against the cold weather.

 

Mark Akins, the new Chair of the Saskatchewan Winter Cereals Development Commission advises producers not to give up on the crop.

 

"The best thing I can tell growers is one be patient on your crop, and two keep doing the things you need to do to make sure the crop has every chance to succeed," he said. "I've had in the past where growers are worried about the crop, and then they don't do the fertilization they would normally do, or they don't do the wheat control that they would normally do and they end up having a thinner stand with struggling a little bit in the spring."

 

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.