Biosecurity for the Grains and Oilseeds Industry

Ottawa: Grains and oilseeds growers have a new tool to help protect crops, following the release of a national biosecurity standard today.

“Managing on-farm risk is an important part of staying competitive in today’s market,” said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. “This standard offers grains and oilseeds producers a distinct advantage in the fight against pests and diseases on the farm.”

“There is a lot of useful information within this standard for producers,” said Richard Phillips Executive Director of the Grain Growers of Canada. “While some pieces of this may already be common practice, I think many producers will pick up some new tips as well to help prevent the spread of pests.”

The National Standard is a tool designed to help producers minimize and control the risk of pests and disease entering their farms, spreading within the farm or to neighbouring farms. It is applicable to farm-level operations of all types and sizes.

The standard is divided into four sections:

-Entry of pests to the farm
-Movement of pests within the farm
-Exit of pests from the farm
-Management process

The National Voluntary Farm-Level Biosecurity Standard for the Grains and Oilseeds Industry was developed over two years through a partnership between the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Canada Grains Council along with other stakeholders including:

-Grain Growers of Canada
-Canadian Grains Commission
-Canadian Canola Growers Association
-provincial governments

Funding was provided by the Growing Forward policy initiative of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

For a copy of the National Standard or to learn more about biosecurity visit the CFIA’s website at www.inspection.gc.ca/plantbiosecurity.