Interstate use offers evidence

“I’ve done the numbers of what it’s cost our business not being able to grow GM crops and this year it will equate to about $700,000,” he said.

“Our rotation is 45 per cent barley, 10pc canola, 15pc pulses and the rest is wheat or other cereals.

“We can’t really push conventional canola and grow it across a larger area.

“But if we could grow GM canola, it would replace about half of the barley.

“If you compare the return on canola this year compared to barley, it’s about $700 a hectare. So if we could grow it across an extra 1000ha, it would add $700,000 to the bottom line.”

Mr Dabinett says studying the experience of growing genetically-modified crops interstate shows that being able to grow them made sense.

“If you look at the take-up of GM in WA, the proof is in the pudding,” he said.

“I can’t see why our state government needs to dictate what crops we have in our rotation, when the technology is proven to be safe and it’s been proven that co-existence can work.”

Mr Dabinett said if technology like frost-tolerant GM wheat became available, it would be hard to justify not giving farmers access to it.

“If we do get frost-tolerant GM wheat, I could see the day when farmers would be marching at Parliament House demanding access to it,” he said.

“There’s a myth about GM, that’s it’s all about big chemical companies wanting to sell more chemicals. 

“But if you look at the cotton industry and their use of GM crops, it’s actually reduced their insecticide use.”

Mallee farmer Leighton Huxtable believes, further down the track, GM could offer the answer to frost issues, a problem that plagues many of the nation’s farmers.

“Plant breeders are saying frost-tolerant wheat and barley is in the pipeline, with four degrees higher tolerance,” he said.

Mr Huxtable said that having access to this kind of technology would be a game-changer.

“On our family farm at Borrika, we had 75pc crop losses two years in a row due to frost,” he said.

“It’s devastating, and not just on a financial level, but also on an emotional one.

“We’re in an area where we have frost almost every year. 

“It means we’ve had to move to hay production. 

“While it has been good for us in the past few years, it also means we’re locked into a certain farming system.​”

Mr Huxtable said a recent trip to WA was an eye-opener.

“About 30 per cent of cropping area in WA is sown to GM canola, so it’s a very significant crop,” he said. “They have a massive problem with wild radish in WA, and one of the reasons for GM canola’s popularity is the fact they can spray it out in-crop.”