Plastic mulch extends Quebec's growing season. Some residents worry it's polluting the region

For close to a decade, Michel Frigon struggled with his corn crop. He had volume, but not quality, making it hard to feed the cows on his dairy farm in Albanel, Que., about 150 kilometres northwest of Saguenay.

"Growing corn in SaguenayLac-Saint-Jean isn't a marathon. It's a sprint," said Frigon, because the cold spring climate gives farmers like him a short growing season.

But five years ago he turned to a product that was relatively new to the area plastic mulch.

"In terms of my herd's productivity and feed costs, it's had a huge impact," said Frigon, vice-president of the group representing milk producers in the region.

Imported from Ireland, plastic mulch is a film placed on a growing surface used to help plant crops and apply products, such as pesticides. It's intended to be oxo-biodegradable, meaning the plastic film can be broken down into smaller pieces through exposure to heat, light or oxygen.

But it's caused controversy across the region for potential environmental and health concerns raised in a recent study.

Farmers like Frigon say more study is needed before any restrictions are placed on the product which he says could have a major impact on his business.

Residents voice concern

The use of plastic mulch has gone up 90 per cent over the past seven years in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, according to a new study from Universit du Qubec Chicoutimi (UQAC).

Maxime Par, science professor at UQAC and lead author of the study, says an alternative is needed due to potential environmental and health harms.

"Those microparticles stay for a very long time in the soil and in the water," said Par.

It's a finding that concerned the municipality of Domaine-du-Roy which is now asking the province to regulate plastic mulch, which is also used by farmers outside the region and in the rest of Canada.

Yanick Baillargeon, the prefect for the municipality, said residents have been voicing their concerns for the past two years.

Worried about plastic particles blowing into neighbouring fields and water sources, they have asked Quebec's Agriculture Ministry and Environment Ministry to study and regulate its use.

"We want it to be managed, verified and analyzed to make sure there is no impact on human health, animal health, our waterways and our land," said Baillargeon.

While he doesn't want to impact farmers' bottom line or ban plastic mulch outright, he says it's critical to understand how this product will impact his community.

More research will be a first step, he says.

In an emailed statement, the Environment Ministry said that the province has committed to developing and implementing a strategy for the reduction and responsible management of plastics, which could eventually lead to a ban on certain products.

The ministry said it will be necessary to ensure there are viable alternatives to support farmers.

Single-use items containing oxo-biodegradable plastics have been banned in British Columbia since July. The province only allows farmers to use plastic mulch that can be removed at the end of the season.

But for much of the country, the product is unregulated. A study was done using plastic mulch to test its effect on the cultivation of bush beans in Yukon.

"It made a big difference in the rate of crop maturity and production levels," said Randy Lamb, an agrologist for the Yukon government. "We also observed that the plastic mulch degraded significantly by season end."

'We have to stop it,' says resident

Jean-Franois Robert is one of the residents of Saint-Flicien, a town within Domaine-du-Roy, who has been actively campaigning against plastic mulch.

"I agree that we should support agriculture, but on the other hand, when we see that an agricultural practice is harmful, we have to stop it," said Robert.

He says getting the municipality to act has been difficult, arguing business interests are trampling collective ones.

Following the publication of the UQAC study, he says the municipality hasn't taken a strong enough stance given that producers will start ordering the plastic mulch needed for the spring within the next few weeks.

"The researchers' conclusion is categorical: Ban this technology as soon as possible," he said. "We want our municipal representatives to demand this of the ministry."

Farmers question findings

But Frigon, who hopes to continue using plastic mulch, says some dairy farmers in the regiontake issue with how the study was conducted.

"They didn't do research in the region. They did a literature review of everything that was being done in other regions with a different climate to ours, " he said.

Alongside other dairy farmers, Frigon says he asked UQAC to collaborate on a separate study being planned by farmers and agricultural research firm Agrinova, but was turned down.

"I find it deplorable," he said.

That study would look at concentrations of plastic mulch fragments in their soil. This kind of research needs to be done before drawing conclusions about the region, says Frigon.

"We need regional solidarity," he said. "We don't need to tear each other apart like this."