NEWSLETTER
ST LAWRENCE VISION 2000
VOLUME 12 – ISSUE 6 – DECEMBER 2001
Preceding issues

	SUMMARY
	Agriculture Agricultural Producers Take Pride in New Strategy
	Corporate communications Gold Leaf Award
	Human Health Survey of waterfowl and fish consumption by St. Lawrence waterfowl hunters and health risk analysis
	Community involvement ZIP Chronicle The Chaleur Bay ZIP Committee — Biophysical characterization of the coastal wetlands along the southern Gaspé peninsula
	News in brief

Le Fleuve is published jointly by St Lawrence Vision 2000 partners.

Co-ordination
Raymonde Goupil, Clément Dugas and Danielle Coulombe

Text
Gaétane Tardif, Environmental Consultant

Realization
Françoise Lapointe, Editor, SLV 2000

Translation from French to English
PWGSC–Translation Bureau

This Newsletter is also available in PDF format.

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Photo: Luc Vallières, MAPAQ

In 1998 the St. Lawrence Vision 2000 partners launched the Agroenvironmental Pest Control Strategy Support Program. Since then, some eighty projects have received financial support, helping agricultural producers switch to new farming methods. The aim is to reduce non-point source agricultural pollution in the tributaries of the St. Lawrence and thereby help improve the quality of the river environment.

Not Shy about Their Achievements

Convinced that it is essential to take steps to reduce the health and environmental risks of pesticide use, agricultural producers are trying new production techniques. This reorientation is also a response to increased consumer demand for healthy products grown in an unpolluted environment. Proud of their contribution toward the achievement of MAPAQ’s objectives, agricultural producers told the government that they wanted to raise public awareness of their involvement in the program to reduce pesticide use.

In response, MAPAQ designed a dozen signs for the major crops, including grains (oats, wheat, barley), corn, soybeans and potatoes. The sign Champ moins de pesticides (low-pesticide field), for instance, testifies to a producer’s commitment to reduce the volume of pesticides used on his or her land; the producer may have opted to combine limited pesticide use with mechanical weeding of fields. Farmers who have completely stopped using any pesticide at all may display the sign Champ sans pesticides (pesticide-free field). Another sign, using the slogan Pesticides agricoles : moins et mieux, j'y crois (Agricultural pesticides — practicing the ‘less is more’ principle), is also displayed in some agricultural areas of the province.

Agroenvironmental consulting clubs distribute the signs to agricultural producers, who must already have taken concrete steps to improve their farming practices. The signs are displayed at the edge of fields, at farm entrances and on farm buildings.

In the summer of 2001, signs were also displayed on sixty or so farms whose owners had agreed to make their fields demonstration sites for simple, effective pest management techniques. By observing other farmers’ work methods and comparing the results, agricultural producers are continuing to explore an agroenvironmental approach that allows them to reduce pesticide use while still controlling crop pests.

Contagious Pride

In the fall of 2001, agroenvironmental consulting club members who had distributed MAPAQ signs were surveyed. One of the comments most often heard by members was that producers were proud to let people know that they were concerned about protecting the environment and the health of consumers. They said the signs improved their corporate image in their communities. Moreover, producers who sell produce, such as potatoes or corn on the cob, on their farms are pleased to inform their customers about the production choices they have made.

The agroenvironmental consultants say that the signs also arouse the curiosity of producers. Those who have not yet switched to integrated pest management learn that there are effective ways for producers to cut down on pesticide use and thereby reduce their related expenses. As more producers opt for this method of production, it increases the number striving to achieve the objectives of the Pest Control Strategy and making use of the services of specialized consultants.

"Agroenvironmental consultants told us that pesticide retailers tended to alter what they said when they learned that producers had adopted an environmental approach," says Raymond-Marie Duchesne, co-ordinator of MAPAQ’s Pest Control Strategy.

In designing the signs, MAPAQ and its Pest Control Strategy partners wanted to spotlight the know-how of agricultural producers who decide to implement new techniques in order to maintain the profitability of their operations without harming the environment or endangering their own health or that of consumers. Their commitment definitely deserves a high profile.

For Information

Raymond-Marie Duchesne
Co-ordinator, Pest Control Strategy
Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ)
(Quebec Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food)
Telephone: (418) 380-2100, ext. 3181
E-mail: raymond-marie.duchesne@agr.gouv.qc.ca

Pest Control Strategy Publication List

The purpose of this newsletter is to provide recent information on projects and activities surrounding the implementation of the St Lawrence Vision 2000 Action Plan.