nCGa points out the importance of refuge compliance this spring As planting for the 2012 season
approaches, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) notes that newly revamped on-farm refuge assessments are part of the enhanced Compliance Assurance Program (CAP) implemented last year, which is designed to improve compliance with Insect Resistance Management (IRM) requirements. Corn
growers found to be out of compliance with refuge requirements will be checked more frequently by the Bt corn registrants and have a higher probability of losing access to Bt corn if compliance is not estab- lished and maintained. The Agricultural Biotechnology
Stewardship Technical Committee (ABSTC), a consortium of Bt corn regis-
trants, submits an annual CAP report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) describing industry-coordinated compliance assurance efforts for Bt traits. The year’s report is the first following the implementation of the enhanced CAP. “To implement the CAP, technology
providers made some major changes to their procedures last year as directed by
EPA,” said Mike Smith, ABSTC IRM sub- committee co-chairman. “One of the changes was the selection process for on- farm assessments. In past years, we’ve randomly selected those participants, but in 2011 we used a more targeted approach and conducted assessments based on purchase history, and, as antici- pated, using this methodology resulted in the identification of more non-compli- ant growers than in years past. Changes were also made to the grower survey and included more Bt corn products with dif- fering refuge requirements.” The survey results include compliance
with refuge requirements for corn borer traits and rootworm traits, either alone or in stacked Bt corn products, regardless of refuge size differences. Highlights of the report include: • The CAP for all Bt corn products with
NOBODY DOES FORAGE BETTER....
structured refuge requirements continues to be effective. In 2011, the majority of growers surveyed planted the required refuge size on their farms and the majority of growers surveyed planted a refuge within the required distance for all of their Bt corn fields. Furthermore, the survey indicates that the vast majority of all Bt corn fields have an associated refuge. • The majority of growers found out of
compliance in 2010 were found to be com- plying with the IRM requirements during the 2011 growing season. This result is con- sistent with previous years and confirms that the CAP’s phase compliance approach in which non-compliant growers were pro- vided additional educational materials and re-assessed in 2011 is working. • As in previous years, adherence to
refuge requirements in the cotton grow- ing region was lower than in the Corn Belt. Factors contributing to lower adher- ence in the cotton region include larger required refuge size, smaller field sizes, more diverse cropping systems, and greater complexity of operations. The cotton region will receive increased focus for on-farm assessments in 2012. Education programs continue to high- light the specific refuge requirements in the cotton region and, in tandem with the on-farm assessment program, grow- ers have the opportunity to correct indi- vidual instances of non-compliance for future growing seasons. As anticipated, targeted on-farm assess-
ments identified more than three times as many corn growers who were out of com- pliance than in years past. Each member company independently reviewed avail- able sales data for its Bt corn customers and assessments were conducted with growers who, according to the sales records, may have purchased little or no refuge seed. All non-compliant growers will undergo a second on-farm assessment to help ensure compliance in 2012. “The objective of the on-farm assess-
ment program is to identify individual non-compliant growers and bring them back into compliance through a phased approach,” said Joanne Carden, ABSTC IRM subcommittee co-chairwoman. “The new approach to conducting IRM on-farm assessments has resulted in more non-com- pliant growers being identified, demon- strating that the enhanced CAP is working as planned.”
28 Crops • Ohio’s Country Journal •
ocj.com • March 2012
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