b'CONVENTIONALCOMEBACK Theres still a place for and renewed interest in non-GM corn and soybeans among farmers, seed growers and retailers.Jim TimlickIT MIGHT BE ANexaggeration to call it a comeback, butAs part of that, Davidson says Canada needs to look there appears to be a renewed sense of interest in non- at additional testing of non-GM products that focuses on genetically modified soybeans among farmers and seedtaste and texture to increase the confidence of buyers growers in this country. in markets like Japan, the single largest importer of According to data from Statistics Canada, non-GMCanadian non-GM soybeans.soybean production in Canada totaled 1.44 million metric tonnes in 2017. Although that number represents a decline of 9.6 per cent from the year before, it stacks up favour- THE MARKET IS SIMPLY NOT AS BIG [ON THE ably to totals from the early and mid-2000s, when produc-tion was slightly below 1.4 million tonnes for several ofNON-GM SIDE], BUT WE DO SEE IT CONTINUING those years. While GM-traited soybeans still account for aboutTO INCREASE BECAUSE THERE IS A CONSUMER 80 per cent of the soybeans grown in Canada, a grow-ing number of Canadian farmers have started lookingDEMAND THERE, EVEN DOMESTICALLY. at conventional soy as another option, drawn in part by Ron Davidsonhigher premiums and growing export opportunities. In 2017, conventional soybeans accounted for $896 million in export sales. The majority of those shipments ended up inThe vast majority of non-GM soybeans produced in Japan, China and a number of other Asian markets includ- Canada are currently grown in two provinces: Ontario ing Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan. and Quebec. Although soybean production in Western Ron Davidson, executive director of Soy Canada,Canada has experienced a major boom in the last decade, says even though non-GM soybean as a percentage ofits largely been on the GM side of things because of low Canadas total soybean crop has dropped in recent years,protein content in soy in the West. Soy Canada is leading that is largely due to increased production of GM soy- a dialogue with researchers, private breeders and seed beans in Western Canada and advances in geneticallygrowers that it hopes will eventually address the issue.modified products that have led to much bigger yields. Davidson says Soy Canada sees there being room for And that, according to Davidson, is one of the biggestgrowth when it comes to non-GM soybean production in challenges when it comes to growing Canadas conven- this country. As part of a strategic plan the organization tional soybean market. developed in 2016-17, it has targeted an increase of 25 per One of the challenges that were facing as the GMcent in non-GM production by 2026 as part of an over-varieties continue to increase in yield is that we have toall goal of doubling soybean production during the next have new varieties coming out of the non-GM side or thedecade.premium has to go up, he says. The market is simply not as big [on the non-GM side], We explain this to our customers regularly becausebut we do see it continuing to increase because there is a the importers abroad get used to certain varieties for theirconsumer demand there, even domestically, he says.tofu or soy milk and they dont like to change varieties. We explain that over the long-term, unless you wantIP Program Gets Top Marksto continue paying higher premiums, you need to startWhen it comes to non-GM soybean exports, Canadas looking at some of the new non-GM varieties that offer atwo main rivals are the U.S. and Australia. So what higher yield and are more competitive with the GM crop. makes Canadian soy an attractive option for buyers like 4GERMINATION.CAMARCH 2020'