Serving the producers of the Northwest
FARMER North Battleford, Saskatchewan
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Thursday, July 23, 2020
The value of planting shelterbelts
New USask app promotes potential economic benefit of storing carbon Submitted A unique new app developed by University of Saskatchewan researchers offers agricultural landowners tailored information about the carbon offset value of planting shelterbelts — a tool that could help reduce the carbon footprint of farming and potentially put a little extra money in farmers’ pockets. “People tend to focus on the negative environmental aspects of farming such as the greenhouse gases emitted from vehicles, fertilizers and grain transportation, when in fact much of this impact can be offset through planting trees. In fact, with shelterbelts on their land, many farmers probably store more carbon dioxide (CO2) than they use,” said Colin Laroque, an environmental scientist in the USask College of Agriculture and Bioresources. He noted that since the Dirty ’30s, shelterbelts have been used to protect crops from wind, prevent soil erosion, and help retain moisture, which increases crop yield. But now, field shelterbelts are being removed to make room for larger agricul-
tural equipment and more crop production. What some farmers may not realize is that the trees, roots, and soil of shelterbelts sequester enormous amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere, Laroque said. His team estimates that a total of more than 21.3-million tonnes of “carbon dioxide equivalent” (CO2e) is stored in Saskatchewan’s 60,000 kilometres of shelterbelts. That represents about $639 million in total economic value under the federal $30/tonne CO2e pricing system. “Landowners are eliminating shelterbelts on their land without basic knowledge of the implications of eliminating them,” said Laroque, an expert in climate analysis. “We saw the need to better inform landowners, particularly as carbon and carbon taxes have become more important topics in Canada.” The free online app was developed by a large multi-disciplinary team of climate scientists, economists, soil scientists, and computer scientists led by Laroque, who was granted $1.4 million by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in 2018 as part of an effort to reduce greenhouse gases
in agriculture. In its latest climate change action plan, the Saskatchewan government is proposing to pay farmers for storing carbon, not just charging agricultural producers for emitting carbon into the atmosphere. The new app helps landowners calculate how much carbon will accumulate in trees planted in shelterbelts under changing climatic conditions and determine how much their shelterbelts are worth in carbon offset value under the carbon tax system. It also includes a planning tool that shows the best type of trees to grow in various areas of the province and provides users with planting guidelines to ensure their new trees thrive. “With our new shelterbelt decision support system app, landowners can see the economic and environmental benefits of shelterbelts under a carbon pricing system. It may persuade many to keep their shelterbelts, rather than remove them,” Laroque said. The researchers calculate that a quarter-section-long (0.4 of a kilometre) shelterbelt of caragana, or shrub planted today would be worth roughly $1,900 by 2050
under a $30 per tonne CO2e tax. A three-row farmyard shelterbelt surrounding a homestead with caragana, white spruce, and green ash would be worth about $5,300 in carbon offset value by 2050. And a five-row farmyard shelterbelt surrounding a homestead with caragana, white spruce, green ash, Manitoba maple, and hybrid poplar would be worth about $11,700. “Each of these shelterbelt examples are common in Saskatchewan and may be worth even more under the $50 per tonne CO2E tax expected in 2022 in
Saskatchewan,” said Bryan Mood, Laroque’s post-doctoral fellow, who began working on the shelterbelt project a decade ago when he was an undergraduate. “Farmers feel they are doing their part for the environment by building shelterbelts, and they benefit from the fact this offsets the carbon they are using. It would be fantastic if this type of app could be available in every province.” Based on years of scientific knowledge gathered by researchers, the app conveys the information in a way that is easy to navigate and understand from
the user’s point of view. “We have worked on measuring how common shelterbelt tree species have been growing across southern Saskatchewan since they were planted,” said Laroque. “Using that information, we looked at how these species may grow in the future using climate projections across different regions of the province, and more importantly, how the trees in each zone will store carbon through time.” To access the app, visit: www.shelterbelt-sk. ca. For more information, email: shelterbelt@usask.ca.
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Page 2 - The Battlefords, Thursday, July 23, 2020
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Commentary - The world still needs to be fed Essential fertilizers ride the coronavirus storm By Julia Meehan
Managing Editor, Fertilizers, Independent Commodity Intelligence Services
The domino effect of the coronavirus, as it has spread across the globe, has so far had a limited impact on the fertilizer industry. However, the full effects of the global pandemic are starting to show in some sectors owing to cashflow problems caused by decomposing crops, such as fruit and vegetables. China, having been the epicentre of the pandemic, is starting to get back to normal and production rates have increased for all fertilizers. The nation is the largest fertilizer consumer in the world, on average consuming close to 50m tonnes/year. It is also a key exporter of urea. When lockdown began in China, the impact was huge in terms of cuts in production owing to a shortage of labour. Problems with transportation, by both
rail, road and sea, also had a big impact up and down the fertilizer chain resulting in stock piling up. The biggest impact for China was on phosphoric acid which is used to produce phosphate. Fertilizer facilities in Hubei province account for up to a third of the country’s total capacity. Because of this, China turned from the largest exporter of diammonium phosphate (DAP) to a net importer. But as China started to ease its way out of lockdown, the flow of all fertilizers has recovered very quickly and life is getting back to normal again. Urea was less impacted in China with Hubei province only accounting for around 3 per cent over China’s total capacity. As the pandemic spread across nations, many countries started to feel the full impact of the deadly virus at a time when fertilizer application
was at a seasonal high, particularly for the northern hemisphere. Indeed, during March, demand for all fertilizers was healthy and the value of feedstocks and nutrients held steady and in some instances firmed. There was pressure on pricing in April-May but the fertilizer sector most certainly did not experience the sharp and dramatic price falls seen in related markets such as gas, oil and petrochemicals. In June, sentiment turned and most fertilizer prices increased. As the virus took hold as it moved across the global, agricultural and industrial sectors learned lessons from China and many were given government support. The transportation of fertilizers across European boarders continued but with strict measures in place to protect truck drivers and the workforce. France, which is the largest fertilizer user in
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Europe, moved through the months of Spring with largely no impact on supply or demand, although some cracks are starting to appear now. Cash flow problems are emerging for some farmers and the wet start to 2020, following by a dry April and May, has damaged crops. Germany too has seen crops rotting, largely because of the coronavirus. The closure of cafes, bar and restaurants which consume large quantities of French fries has led to a 60 per cent drop in demand for potatoes, for example. Similar to Europe, the pandemic is now raging across Latin America just as the fertilizer season gets into full swing. Demand in the past weeks has been healthy for Latin America, with large volumes of fertilizer moving to Brazil and Argentina. The fertilizer sector has fared better during the global pandemic, compared to the
petrochemical and energy sectors, in terms of production. Fertilizer makers have benefited from cheap feed and energy costs meaning that even marginal producers have continued to operate, and the markets have not felt any shortness of availability. There has been some concern about new capacities due to come on stream in 2020 creating oversupply. Some of these projects are likely to be delayed or pushed back to 2021 because of the fact that the health and safety of workers is paramount. Discussions about the impact of IMO 2020 and Brexit on the fertilizer market have been virtually wiped out by the coronavirus and its impact, or rather lack of, so far into the pandemic. The potential for a sharp rise in bunker fuel prices because of IMO 2020 regulations has not been realised because of the dramatic fall in fuel oil costs.
There appears to have been be no serious demand destruction across the fertilizer sector since the first case of the virus outside China was confirmed on 13 January 2020. For many producers, cooperatives, wholesalers and farmers it has been business as usual. But the outlook remains uncertain, with much talk and concern about of a second wave and what this might mean to already broken economies. Currency fluctuations, political unrest and huge levels of unemployment in both developed and developing nations will inevitably have an impact in the months and years ahead. Regardless of all of these factors, the world still needs feeding. And considering that up to 50 per cent of the food we eat would not be available without fertilizers, this is an industry that will remain robust and continue to be deemed essential.
Hugh Nerlien
MLA- Kelvington-Wadena (306) 278-2200 nerlien.mla@sasktel.net
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Fred Bradshaw
MLA - Carrot River Valley (306) 768-3977 fbradshaw.mla@sasktel.net
Delbert Kirsch MLA – Batoche
Larry Doke, MLA
(306) 256-3930 batochemla@sasktel.net
Cut Knife - Turtleford Constituency (306) 893-2619 larrydoke@sasktel.net
FARMER
Serving the producers of the Northwest
RancheR
A community newspaper published Monthly . Owned & Operated by Prairie Newspaper Group LP a division of GVIC Communications Corp. 892 - 104th Street, North Battleford, Saskatchewan S9A 1M9 Telephone: 306-445-7261 • Fax: 306-445-3223 E-mail: newsoptimist.news@sasktel.net We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada.
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The Battlefords, Thursday, July 23, 2020 - Page 3
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Free trade can prevent hunger caused by future shifts in climate patterns Submitted by International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis An international team of researchers investigated the effects of trade on hunger in the world as a result of climate induced crop yield changes. The conclusion is encouraging: international trade can compensate for regional reductions in agricultural production and reduce hunger when protectionist measures and other barriers to trade are eliminated. Climate change has consequences for agriculture worldwide, with clear differences between regions. Expectations are that sufficient food will remain available in the Northern hemisphere, but in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia, falling crop yields may lead to higher food prices and a sharp rise in hunger. According to the authors of the new study published in Nature Climate Change, further liberalization of world trade can relieve these regional differences. Food deficiencies can, for instance, be reduced if regions like Europe and Latin America, where wheat and corn thrive, increase their production and export food to regions under heavy pressure from global warming. In other words, international trade could allow us to make the most of regional differences in climate change impacts. The researchers’ recommendations outlined in the paper are based on 60 scenarios that took into account different forms of trade policy, along with climate change varying from a 2°C to a 4°C warming of the Earth, with 2050 set as the horizon for each scenario. Under the cur-
Import tariffs present major barrier to international trade in food rent level of trade integration, for example, climate change could lead to up to 55 million people undernourished in 2050. Without adaptation through trade, global climate change impacts would however increase this by around 33% to 73 million additional undernourished people. “Our study shows that a seemingly negligible decrease in global average per capita food availability – by -3 per cent – would lead to a huge increase – 45 per cent – in the population at risk of hunger. This is because of the inequalities in access to food within individual countries. Ignoring these inequalities would lead to a severe underestimation of climate change impacts,” explains study coauthor and Acting IIASA Ecosystems Services and Management Program Director, Petr Havlik. The results further show that import tariffs present a major barrier to international trade in food as they increase the cost of importing basic food crops like wheat, corn or rice. Around a fifth of the worldwide production of these grains is traded internationally. That makes good trade agreements very important in the battle against hunger. The early 21st century saw a major liberalization of the international market, which caused the average import tariffs on agricultural products in Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia to drop by a third. The research
indicates that this liberalization makes global food provision less vulnerable to climate change and that further reduction and phasing-out of tariffs can intensify this positive effect. There are also other barriers. In some countries, the logistical aspect is a sticking point. Roads are sometimes poor or ports are not equipped for loading and unloading large container ships, while countless complicated trade procedures can drive up the effective cost of trade. The authors therefore argue that a global food strategy must go hand in hand with improvements to trade infrastructure. The study highlights that where barriers to trade are eliminated, around 20 million people will still endure undernourishment due to climate change. While this number is high, it is a vast improvement on the 73 million people that would potentially be exposed to hunger without the suggested measures.
In the more mild climate scenarios, an intensive liberalization of trade may prevent even more people from enduring hunger owing to climate change. Yet a liberalization of international trade may also involve potential dangers. The researchers warn that if South Asian countries would, for example, increase rice exports without making more imports of other products possible,
they could be faced with increased levels of undernourishment within their own borders, and that a well thought-out liberalization is needed to avoid such collateral effects. “Sadly enough, we see that in times of crisis, countries are inclined to adopt a protectionist stance. Since the start of the current corona crisis, around ten countries have closed their borders for the
export of important food crops,” says study lead author Charlotte Janssens, a guest researcher in the IIASA Ecosystems Services and Management Program and a researcher at KU Leuven. “In the context of climate change, it is highly important that they avoid such protectionist behavior and instead continue to maintain and utilize the international trade framework.”
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Page 4 - The Battlefords, Thursday, July 23, 2020
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Round Two
The goats are coming back By Mo Cranker
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Medicine Hat News
There’s nothing like a good sequel and while it may be tough to pull one off, Return of the Goats is bound to be a good one. The super team of goats first came to the Hat on June 26 with the goal of tackling leafy spurge around Police Point Park. After more than a week at the park, the goats were able to clear quite a bit of the weed. “They should be back in about a month and a half, depending on the company’s schedule,” said parks technician Keziah Lesko-Gosselin. “The goats did a pretty good job in the open areas of the park and got to work on some of the side trails as well. “I’m going to be heading to the park for before and after pictures – from what I’ve seen, they’ve done a great job.” After one go at the weeds, the goats did well, but the job is not finished. “It’s going to take a couple visits for them to clear out the park,” said Lesko-Gosselin. “They need a few tries at the park to get to the weeds as best they can.” This type of weed control is called target browsing, and it offers the goats a chance to eat a weed they love to eat. While it’s fun to see the goats working at the park, the method of controlling the weed is highly effective, says Lesko-Gosselin, because the goats pass the seeds after they’ve consumed them.
After Police Point is finished, Lesko-Gosselin says she would like to see the goats tackle other parts of the city. “I think Echo Dale would be a really good location for this,” she said. “I think some of the environmental reserve areas would
really benefit from this as well. It’s really difficult for us to do weed control in those spaces.” “I think they’d be great for just about any park in the city.” When the goats return, people will once again be allowed to go out and see
them from a distance. Lesko-Gosselin is encouraging people to take photos of the goats and post them on social media, and to tag the city in them. “If you like the goats and want to see them come back, let us know,” she said.
Round One
Let the spurge buffet begin! By Mo Cranker
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Medicine Hat News
For a week or so this month, Police Point Park was home to the city of Medicine Hat, Alta.’s newest bed and breakfast. The only catch was that you had to be a goat to stay and eat. The park was hosting around 200 goats with the goal of fighting leafy spurge, an invasive weed that is common in the area. “This is a weed control method called target browsing,” said city parks technician Keziah LeskoGosselin. “This is a really common weed and goats love to eat it. “This is the most natural way you can control weeds.” The city contracted the services of Creekside Goats, which is based out of Magrath., to take care of the park’s weeds. Owner Robert Finck says the goats love their job. “Leafy spurge is high in protein,” he said. “It has a milky substance that burns the mouths of most
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animals, but goats love it. “Once they get a taste of it, that’s all they want.” The goats were to tackle different areas in Police Point Park over the course of 7-10 days. Finck says the animals are efficient as can be. “When goats eat seeds, they don’t pass them,” he said. “Goats grind the seeds up in their stomachs and that means they don’t spread them. “God made one animal capable of eating rough, nasty, tough forage and eliminate it – goats were made for this.” Lesko-Gosselin says there are environmental benefits to this method of getting rid of weeds. “This is great for soil conditions, really environmentally friendly and it’s one of the most long-term effective ways of dealing with these weeds,” said Lesko-Gosselin. “Leafy spurge is really hard to control, but the goats really do a number on it. “The goats can also easily get to areas humans struggle to get to.” Lesko-Gosselin says it is important to take care of the weed. “It’s really aggressive and it takes over where our native vegetation could take over,” she said. “It spreads through seed dispersal and underground as well – it’s just really undesirable.” This is the first time
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says target browsing is becoming popular in Alberta. “We’re in a number of cities doing this type of work,” he said. “The
goats love this, the city will love this and people coming down love seeing the goats. “It’s a win-win for everyone.”
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The Battlefords, Thursday, July 23, 2020 - Page 5
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1996
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Page 6 - The Battlefords, Thursday, July 23, 2020
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Commentary
NFU says Seeds Canada amalgamation plan sidelines independent seed growers By Cathy Holtslander NFU Director of Research and Policy
In 2018, five seed industry groups collaborating under the name Seed Synergy published a White Paper, setting out their vision to increase seed companies’ revenues and cut their own costs at the expense of farmers, public plant breeders, and consumers. They aim to change Canada’s seed regulatory system to prevent farmers from freely using their own seed, ensure agribusiness corporations control seed breeding, and replace public-interest quality control measures with “buyer beware” mechanisms. The proposed Seeds Canada mega-group is a means to this end. Leaders of the Seed Synergy groups – the Canadian Seed Growers Association (CSGA); Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA); Canadian Seed Institute (CSI); Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada
(CSAAC); and the Canadian Plant Technology Agency (CPTA) – propose to create Seeds Canada by combining the five organizations’ regulatory, service and lobbying functions under a new governance structure. From July 15 until August 27, 2020 they are asking their respective members to vote yes or no to dissolving the individual organizations and rolling over their functions into this new entity. The change requires support of a two-thirds majority in each of the five organizations. Farmers who are pedigreed seed growers and members of one of the provincial seed growers associations can vote for or against this amalgamation. The outcome will have an enormous impact on the future of independent seed growers and our seed system. Seed growers need to take a close look at the proposal’s details and consider how the changes would affect their future, and future of the farmers who are their customers.
The amalgamation proposal will transfer regulatory powers to Seeds Canada. For decades, the CSGA has been responsible for enforcing government regulations for pedigreed seed production under the Seeds Act, Canada’s original consumer protection legislation, which was designed to protect farmers from unscrupulous seed sellers. The proposed Seeds Canada structure would give the seed corporations on its Board legal authority over delivery and enforcement of these and other seed-related regulations. The choice of name, Seeds Canada, appears intended to enhance its legitimacy by encouraging the assumption that it is a government agency like Health Canada. Seeds Canada’s proposed bylaws outline the new organization’s membership types, voting rights and board composition. Its structure would sideline seed growers nationally and provincially while promoting seed in-
dustry corporations. Seed growers and grain farmers would suffer the most if this comes to pass. The 15 appointees to Seeds Canada’s first Board of Directors would include at least one member from each of the seven Regional Seed Associations and at least four from the “value chain” representing seed developers, growers, seed trade and seed testing – companies like Bayer, BASF, Limagrain, Syngenta, Pioneer and Corteva. Future elections will reduce the board size to 11 and allow these “value chain” representatives to take any unfilled regional seed association spots. To maintain voting rights in Seeds Canada, provincial seed growers’ associations would have to restructure their membership criteria within three years to include “value chain representatives” and to remove any requirements that make membership mandatory for pedigreed seed growers. These conditions would mean provincial associa-
tions would no longer represent all their province’s seed growers, and that other, non-farming seed businesses would become voting members. In the proposed Seeds Canada structure, only members that are businesses deriving revenue from the seed sector would be entitled to vote, and there would be one vote per membership. Provincial seed growers’ associations would get one vote per association. Membership in Seeds Canada would be voluntary, and membership fees will rise within a few years. Higher fees would be another barrier to independent seed growers’ participation, further minimizing their voices. If the amalgamation goes ahead, Seeds Canada will demand immediate change to seed-related laws and regulations through its permanent Public Affairs and Advocacy Committee when the planned Seeds Act Regulations review takes place. CropLife Canada, the lob-
by group for the biotech and pesticide industry, would be on this advocacy committee through a formal agreement with Seeds Canada. Canada’s agriculture is seed-based, and farmers are greatly concerned about the proposed changes. No one can deny the importance of seed – not only to farmers and agriculture, but also to food security and society at large. The Seed Synergy groups are positioning themselves to not only influence, but replace the public regulator. The implications of our seed system being controlled by agri-business corporations are serious. If Seed Synergy’s amalgamation plans succeed, the independent seed grower will soon be a thing of the past, and democratically accountable public regulation process will be turned inside out, with self-interested corporations regulating farmers instead.
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The Battlefords, Thursday, July 23, 2020 - Page 7
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Call the factory to find your local dealer.
TEL:
403-784-3518 | www.rennmill.com
Page 8 - The Battlefords, Thursday, July 23, 2020
Regional News-Optimist
w w w. n ew s o p t i m i s t . c a
Flooring SALE BATTLEFORDS
CENTRE
Sun’s Out Savings are in! STONE COMPOSITE VINYL PLANK FLOORING KANGA BACK CARPET
2
$
as low as
29
SQ. FT.
OUTDOOR CARPET 6 colours to choose from
1
$ 29 SQ. FT.
start ing at
SHEET VINYL FLOORING as low as
99
¢
SQ. FT.
OUTDOOR TURF 3 colours to choose from
99
¢
SQ. FT.
2
$
69
SQ. FT.
LAMINATE FLOORING as low as
1.
$
69
SQ. FT.
DROP & GO VINYL PLANK 5 ML
2
$
79
SQ. FT.
DON’T PAY FOR UP TO 6 MONTHS or 0% INTEREST FOR UP TO 24 MONTHS Sale ends 5:00 p.m. August 5, 2020
We are your Insurance Specialists. We are ready to serve you on all your Insurance needs.
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Summer Hours
Monday - Saturday 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. SUNDAY & HOLIDAYS 12:00 - 5:00 p.m.
battlefordsflooring@sasktel.net Battlefords flooring centre www.battlefordsflooringcentre.ca