When you consider market access at all points in the growing season and take the necessary steps to grow a market-ready crop, you can protect your investments and help keep markets open for all.

To help you make some of the important decisions along the way, Keep it Clean! has put together a handy reference guide called 5 Simple Tips. Covering every stage of crop production, the guide is filled with practical advice to reduce pesticide residues and traces of disease, ensuring crops comply with set maximum residue limits (MRLs).

You can help maintain Canada’s reputation as a supplier of high-quality cereals by keeping market access top of mind and following these 5 Simple Tips: 

• Tip #1: Use Acceptable Pesticides Only
  Only apply pesticides that are both registered for use on your crop in Canada and won’t create trade concerns. 
• Tip #2: Always Read and Follow the Label 
  Applying pesticides or desiccants without following label directions may result in unacceptable residues. 
• Tip #3: Grow Disease-Resistant Varieties and Use Practices That Reduce Infection
  Crop diseases like fusarium head blight (FHB) in cereals can cause yield and quality losses, impact profitability and may create a market risk. 
• Tip #4: Store Your Crop Properly
  Proper storage helps to maintain crop quality and keeps the bulk free of harmful cross contaminants.
• Tip #5: Deliver What You Declare
  When you sign the mandatory Declaration of Eligibility affidavit at the elevator, you are making a legal assertion that your crop is the variety and/or class you have designated.

We all play a role in keeping markets open for Canadian cereals. Click the link below to learn more about the 5 Simple Tips and to access useful crop-specific resources and information from Keep it Clean!

Click here for more information on the 5 Simple Tips

Help maintain Canada’s reputation for quality cereals and protect your investments by keeping Ochratoxin A (OTA) out of your stored grain. 

OTA is a potent mycotoxin produced by Penicillium verrucosum, a naturally occurring soil fungus, that can form on stored grain. Unlike deoxynivalenol (also known as DON or vomitoxin) which is formed in the field, OTA forms exclusively in storage in wet grain or when water comes in contact with grain.

Prevention of even small pockets of OTA-contaminated grain during storage is the only way that it can be managed to protect health and prevent product recalls. By taking steps to prevent the formation of OTA in stored grain, you can protect your investments and help keep markets open for all.

Follow these Keep it Clean! safe storage protocols to mitigate the risk:

• Keep bins and grain handling equipment clean, thoroughly cleaning dust and debris between grain lots.
• Ensure crops are harvested or dried to a safe level for storage. 
• Cool the grain quickly to well below 10°C and keep it cool for as long as possible to minimize condensation in the bin. Even fine droplets of condensate can allow the fungus to grow. 

Click here for more information on how OTA forms, along with visual examples at critical points of handling and storage. 

Visit Keep it Clean!

Important: Oats may not be accepted if treated with glyphosate pre-harvest. Always check with your grain buyer before applying glyphosate to oats.

Download the Staging Guide on KeepingItClean.ca

Help maintain Canada’s reputation for quality cereals and protect your investments by taking a proactive approach to managing fusarium head blight (FHB) and the presence of mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON), in your wheat, barley and oat crops.

Commonly known as vomitoxin, DON can be produced when the fungal disease FHB infects cereal crops. As most importing countries have strict limits on DON levels, its presence can limit grain’s end uses and marketing potential.

To preserve crop marketing opportunities and keep Canada’s markets open for all, Cereals Canada recommends wheat, barley and oat growers take the following steps to manage fusarium:

• Grow fusarium-resistant varieties.
• Apply a fungicide when there is an elevated risk of FHB.
• Plan crop rotations to allow ample time for crop residue to decompose.
• Plant clean seed and consider a seed treatment in high-risk areas to improve the crop stand.
• Use a combination of disease management best practices to control fusarium.

We are all in this together and growers like you play an important role in managing risk. Help maintain Canada’s reputation for quality and protect your investments by keeping it clean this growing season. By doing your part to keep your wheat, barley and oat crops market-ready, you help keep markets open for all.

Click here to visit Keep it Clean! for more information

Improper or off-label use of crop protection products can jeopardize growers’ investments and create market risk for all agriculture commodities. By ensuring you always read and follow the label, Canadian growers like you can protect your investment and do your part to keep markets open for all.

The label has important information like a product’s rate, timing and registered crops. Applying crop protection products without following label directions is illegal and may result in residue levels that are unacceptable to both domestic and export customers.

Improper or off-label use of crop protection products can jeopardize your investment and market access for all agriculture commodities.

Visit KeepingItClean.ca for Products of Concern and more information!