Gnn131112 by Farm Business Communications

Volume 39, Number 17 | NOVEMBER 12, 2013

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PRACTICAL PRODUCTION TIPS FOR THE PRAIRIE FARMER

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Ergot on the rise in Western Canada Ergot levels have been increasing since 2010. Ergot infection could mean downgraded quality or even rejection

Grasses at the field edge are a significant source of the ergot bodies that come in on rain and wind and infect the crop. PHOTO: DR. VIKRAM BISHT

BY ANGELA LOVELL

ccording to the 2013 producer harvest samples collected and analyzed by the Grain Research Lab (GRL) at the Canadian Grain Commission, 18 per cent of Canadian Western Red Spring wheat samples and 10.7 per cent of the Canadian Western Amber durum samples received from across Western Canada by mid-October were downgraded due to ergot. According to GRL statistics, ergot incidence and damage has been increasing since 2010, with the most consistently high levels being seen in Alberta over the last few years. About two per cent of red spring wheat samples from Alberta were downgraded for ergot in 2009, increasing to 16.8 per cent in 2010, 27.8 per cent in 2011 and 15.5 per cent in 2012. In Saskatchewan, ergot incidence on red spring wheat changed from seven per cent in 2009 to 4.8 per cent in 2010, 18.3 per cent in 2011 and 8.4 per cent in 2012. In Manitoba, 7.7 per cent of red spring wheat samples were downgraded for ergot in 2009, 8.1 per cent in 2010, 15.5 per cent in 2011 and 3.9 per cent in 2012. “Ergot incidence appears to be trending higher in Alberta, but in Saskatchewan and Manitoba there is no clear-cut trend,” says Dr. Vikram Bisht, provincial plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives. “Whenever you see more rains you will have more issues; it’s just a matter of timing. This was reflected by higher downgrades in 2011. Hot and dry June and July in 2012 could be responsible for lower ergot in 2012 in Manitoba.”

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ERGOT SPORES Ergot is a fungal disease. Incidence is highly dependent on wet weather conditions during the two stages of the disease cycle — early spring and at the flowering stage. Rye is the most susceptible to ergot, followed by triticale, wheat and barley. Prolonged wet soils in spring and early summer promote germination of ergot bodies, which have usually over-wintered in the soil from previously harvested crops or in grasses along field edges. They they can also be introduced by infected seed. Ergot bodies (sclerotia) rarely survive more than one year in the soil. The germinating sclerotia produce tiny mushroom-like structures called apothecia, which produce infective ascospores that become wind-borne. When these spores land on the plant florets they penetrate the ovaries of early flowering plants such as wild grasses, fall-sown cereals, or early-sown spring crops. Within five days of the floret being infected, the second stage in the disease cycle occurs, which is known as the “honeydew stage.” If wet, cloudy and cool weather extends the period of flowering, it will increase the window of infection for the spores to enter the florets. “This year we had frequent rains during the brief period when nights were cool and this extends the period of flowering,” says Bisht. “When the period of flowering is extended you have honeydew on the grasses and the rains and wind carry the spores to new areas, new fields; and that is how it spreads.” These weather conditions can also increase populations of insects such as aphids, thrips, midge and leaf hoppers, which are attracted

to the sticky, sweet exudates during the honeydew stage and can help spread the infection. Once the ovary of a developing seed is infected it enlarges and is replaced with a hard ergot body. Poor fertility and copper deficiency have also been linked to incidences of ergot infection. Both can cause delayed flowering which can cause the floret to remain open longer and be exposed to infection longer. Ergot infection alone does not usually lead to significant yield loss, but can result in the grain being downgraded or in severe cases, rejected at the elevator. There is a low tolerance for ergot in cereals because the chemicals (mycotoxins) it produces are highly toxic to animals and humans and are not removed by processing. A potential reason for the increase in prevalence and severity of ergot, say plant pathologists, may be shorter crop rotations. A typical rotation has become canola-cerealcanola-cereal. A one-year break away from cereals may not be sufficient to allow for the natural destruction of ergot bodies in or on the soil. Tighter rotations may also have increased the levels of ergot bodies in grassy areas adjacent to cereal fields. Abundant rainfall over the past few years has promoted the growth of volunteer cereals and seeded grasses in fields and headlands which may also have enhanced the production of resting bodies and inoculum.

MANAGING ERGOT No cereal varieties are truly resistant to ergot and research has shown little difference in susceptibility across varieties or classes. Many growers will talk about

Harvest being a particularly susceptible variety, but says Dr. James Menzies, phytopathologist with Agriculture and AgriFood Canada’s Cereals Research Centre in Winnipeg, the fact that ergot seems to occur more often in this variety is probably more due to the fact that Harvest is a dominant variety grown on many acres. “Ergot incidence is sporadic and because of the number of acres of Harvest grown it will definitely hit Harvest in many places,” says Menzies. “So people think that Harvest is most susceptible. Researchers feel this may not be true because without some replicated trials it is impossible to say that one variety is more susceptible than another.” In U.S. research, where different wheat varieties were inoculated with ergot, every one of them got the disease. “That indicates that there is no real resistance,” says Menzies. “Escaping the disease is therefore one of the best ways growers can try to manage this problem.” With no ergot resistant varieties yet available and no fungicide treatments currently registered for the disease, prevention is the best defence and crop rotation is probably the best management tool available to producers at present. “If a producer is growing an ergot-susceptible cereal one year, next year he should maybe grow a pulse or oilseed or something to break the disease cycle,” says Bisht. “The length of the crop rotation should be at least two years to break the cycle. If you have wheat and canola and then you plant something else and then have wheat, then I think you’re breaking the cycle very well, even though

In This Issue

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Wheat & Chaff ..................

Features ............................

Crop Advisor’s Casebook

Columns ........................... 18 Machinery & Shop ............ 27 Cattleman’s Corner .......... 43

Seeding special

SCOTT GARVEY PAGE 27

Canada’s outstanding young farmers LEE HART PAGE 38

FarmLife ............................ 51

/ grainews.ca

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Wheat & Chaff STAMPEDE

BY JERRY PALEN

LEEANN MINOGUE

inally, our crop is all in the bin. But at the end of October, some of our neighbours in southeast Saskatchewan were still out in their fields, bringing in the last of their late crops, like soybeans, corn, and flax.

SHOWTIME

“Slow down, Elmo! This load of hay is worth more than you!”

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Now that harvest is over, it’s time to think about the winter show and meeting season. Whether your favourite big show is Agribition in Regina from Nov. 11 to 16 (now with a two-day Grain Expo), or you prefer to wait for the afterChristmas line-up — Manitoba Ag Days in Brandon (Jan. 21 to 23), the Western Canadian Crop Production Show in Saskatoon (Jan. 13 to 16), or FarmTech in Edmonton (Jan. 28 to 30) — these shows are a great way to get a hands-on look at new machinery and learn about the latest research, marketing and political developments. The commodity group meetings that go along with the Crop Production Show in Saskatoon will be a little different this year. Rather than holding separate meetings at the Saskatoon Inn during the week, the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission, Saskatchewan Oat Development Commission and the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission are hosting a joint two-day program of market outlooks, research and agronomy.

The event is called CropSphere, and will be at TCU Place Arts and Convention Centre in downtown Saskatoon. Register online for $150 before January 6 (see www.cropsphere.com) or at the door for $200.

BUT NOT EVERYONE’S A FARMER Last year I met up with my friend “Jill” at the Crop Production Show at the Saskatoon Inn. Jill had a room at a hotel a few blocks from the Saskatoon Inn. On her way from her hotel to a morning meeting, she noticed a welldressed man maybe 20 years older than her, standing by the lobby doors. Being a friendly, helpful farm girl, of course Jill stopped to ask him, “Can I give you a ride to the show? My car’s already running.” His eyes got big. His mouth fell open. “Umm… No. I don’t think so,” he stammered, looking around to see if anyone was listening. Then a cab pulled up in front of the hotel and the man got out the door as quickly as he could and hopped in the taxi. In hindsight, Jill said, “I guess he wasn’t a farmer in the city for the Crop Production Show. I don’t think he even knew it was on. I wonder what kind of show he thought I wanted to take him to?”

SUMMER HOLIDAYS Every farm family knows it’s not easy to get away in the summer. Sure, you can book something. But if you plan your getaway for a day that turns out to be the best day to spray for wheat midge, you’ll have to hope you don’t lose your downpayment. Far-flung summer vacations are just not in the cards for us these days. But that’s OK — there are all

kinds of things close to home that we haven’t done yet. This summer we checked one of those things off our list when we drove southwest to Ogema, Sask., to check out the museum and take a ride on the Southern Prairie Railway. Once this rail line brought settlers and all of their belongings west to a new home. Now it takes tourists on day trips down the former Canadian Pacific Rail branch line to see an old-style elevator at Horizon, Sask. Tour guides in old-timey costumes took our tickets, told us the history of the train, and guided us through the elevator. During the elevator tour, I was standing next to one of my relatives, Raymond Pretty, who has farmed at Talmadge, Sask., all his life. He stayed quiet while the guide told us how the elevator worked, and explained how grain trucks had to be hoisted up to be emptied, in the days before truck boxes could be lifted up. “You could probably give this tour yourself,” I said. “Yep. I suppose I could,” Raymond said.

IN THIS ISSUE We are proud to once again feature profiles of the nominees for Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmer. Lee Hart has taken it upon himself to profile these hard-working examples of rural Canada’s best, and will attend the awards ceremony in Regina in November. Read all about them on pages 36 to 42. Scott Garvey has put together a seeding special in the machinery section on pages 27 to 35. Hopefully there will be something that interests you. † Leeann Minogue

Fax to 204-944-5416 Email leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.com Write to Grainews, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1

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Ask for hearts When you renew your subscription to Grainews, be sure to ask for six Please Be Careful, We Love You hearts. Then stick them onto equipment that you, your loved ones and your employees operate. That important message could save an arm, a leg or a life.

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Find us on Twitter: Leeann Minogue is @grainmuse Lisa Guenther is @LtoG Lee Hart is @hartattacks Scott Garvey is @machineryeditor

PHOTOS: LEEANN MINOQUE

The view from the back of the train hasn’t changed a lot over the years. A group of Ogema farmers bought a CP branch line in 1999 to save it from abandonment. Now that line is the key to a successful tourist business that creates local jobs and brings tourists to Ogema to learn more about our heritage . In the bottom right photo: Raymond Pretty, Lynne Pretty, Danell and Jerry van Staveren, and Danell’s father Edward Pretty (Lynne’s husband) are standing in front of the Horizon elevator after the tour. Danell and Jerry’s kids, Pieter and Adrienne (in front), ejoyed the train ride and our picnic at the museum grounds.

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

grainews.ca /

Wheat & Chaff Farm safety

Don’t wait for an emergency A

long time ago on a farm somewhere in Canada, two firefighters lost their lives trying to extinguish a blaze raging inside what they thought was a farm shed. Unbeknownst to the emergency workers, that shed was the farm owner’s workshop, and contained compressed gas cylinders. When they threw open the shed doors to douse the flames inside, a backdraft caused the seals on the cylinders to melt, unleashing pressurized oxygen (a flame enhancer), and acetylene (a highly flammable gas). The resulting explosion destroyed the workshop and cost them their lives. Farms are full of hazards, and critical information that emergency workers could use to safety and quickly respond to everything from a barn fire to a machinery injury could save lives. So if you haven’t put together an emergency preparedness plan for your farm, or you plan hasn’t been updated since the price at the pumps was $0.75 a litre, it’s time to dust off your Material Safety Data Sheets and get to work. An emergency preparedness plan is designed to prepare anyone living or

working on a farm to respond to an emergency situation. Farm emergencies range from more obvious dangers like fires, floods, and adverse weather, to more farm-specific dangers such as chemical spills associated with fertilizers and pesticides, explosions connected with fuel, manure, or other hazardous materials resulting from a workplace mishap. A farm emergency preparedness plan should begin by listing all individuals currently trained to respond to emergencies. Who is trained in CPR? Who knows what to do in the event of a chemical spill? This will help a family member, farm worker or supervisor identify the best person available to respond in those critical first few minutes. Identify emergency response procedures. What steps should staff or family members take to respond effectively? In certain situations they may need to move to a safe location to ensure their own safety before helping others or informing their supervisor. What emergency resources do you have on hand and where are they located? Do an inventory of emergency tools such

as first aid kits, fire extinguishers, spill kits, communication devices, emergency contacts, and yes, even home address information including directions to help guide emergency services personnel as quickly as possible to your farmstead. If emergency services can’t find you, they can’t help you. Who is usually on your farm? List them. List their emergency contact and any medical conditions they may have. In an emergency, you don’t want to overlook chronic conditions that might impact a response or forget anyone in a panic. Draw maps of your farmstead and fields. Identify all buildings or significant features such as water sources, drainage channels, powerlines and gas shutoff lines. List all dangerous goods such as poisonous, corrosive, flammable, or explosive materials and identify a safe meeting place and the location of safety equipment. These maps could help orient emergency personnel to your farm. Make sure you have proper documents available for all hazardous materials and machinery on your farm. Material Safety

Data Sheets will list the proper handling procedures associated with a pesticide or chemical that could be critical in the event of a spill or fire. If emergency personnel need to extricate an individual from machinery, an operator’s manual could help them dismantle the appropriate parts. Store these documents in a convenient location, but not so close to their hazard that they will be inaccessible in the event of an explosion, fire, rollover, or other disaster. Remember, when preparing for an emergency, minutes count. Talk to your emergency responders as you develop your plan. Find out what information they need to respond to an emergency on your farm. Prepare, communicate, and review your plan with anyone working or living on your farm. It could save a life. To get started, download a sample emergency preparedness plan form from the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association’s website at: http://casa-acsa.ca/sites/default/ files/2.6%20Emergency%20Plan.pdf. † Canadian Agricultural Safety Association

Weather Lore

Agronomy tips… from the field

Wheat marketing

s the dust settles after the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) changes, it is apparent that wheat marketing will transform to be even more dynamic than canola marketing. Certainly, there’s plenty of market opportunity out there. So how can you capitalize on such opportunities in the near term? Here are a few pointers. Understand and respond to market demand. The protein premium is an obvious indicator of where the demand for some classes of wheat is going. For example, recognizing that there was no protein premium this past year, some farmers grew feed wheat and benefitted from yields of over 100 bu./ac., while not getting “penalized” for growing lower-protein varieties. Watch for market sig-

You might be from the Prairies if...

photo contest

GIVE US YOUR BEST SHOT Colette Thurston sent us a couple of photos. This one was taken at her family farm (Gordon Thurston’s farm). Colette says, “We have a thrashing bee every year, but to get to thrash you have to get the grain into bundles first. It’s a great day to spend with my dad, as we both love old equipment and it makes you appreciate the new equipment that we have nowadays.” We only have room to print one, but Colette also sent us a second photo — a photo she took at her boyfriend’s family farm. She wrote, “He’s the swather man and I was waiting for him for date night.” I wondered how the “swather man” had time to take her out on a date. Then I read on. Colette and her boyfriend Blair Ford (whose family farm is west of Wainwright, Alta., had their date on the swather). Send your best shot to leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.com. Please send only one or two photos at a time and include your name and address, the names of anyone in the photo, where the photo was taken and a bit about what was going on that day. A little write-up about your farm is welcome, too. Please ensure that images are of high resolution (1 MB is preferred), and if the image includes a person, we need to be able to see their face clearly. Leeann

ing around the moon, Rain (or snow) is coming soon A halo or ring around the moon is caused by moonlight shining through ice-laden cirrus clouds. Cirrus clouds are the early harbingers of an approaching low pressure system, often showing up at least 1,500 km ahead of the centre of the low. Rays of moonlight are bent or refracted as they pass through the ice crystals that make up these clouds and the result is a haloed moon. When the clouds are thin, the halo a dim. As the storm moves closer the clouds contain more ice crystals and the halo becomes brighter. The brighter the halo, the nearer the rain or snow. This precipitation predictor works even better in winter because winter storm systems are better developed, travel faster and live long. †

nals. U.S. markets are leading indicators of global market trends. For example, keep an eye on the commodity futures market, traded via the Chicago Board of Trade, to see how grain prices are moving and how global supply and demand are shifting. Grow more than one variety of wheat. Growing more than one variety lets you smooth out market risk and even take advantage of an unexpected upswing. We’re already seeing a greater willingness among farmers to try new classes of wheat. Think of the feed wheat growers mentioned above! † This agronomy tip is brought to you by Justin Daymond, Agronomic Service Representative for Syngenta Canada Inc. Justin is a qualified CCA and CCSC agronomist. Besides working for Syngenta Canada, Justin’s hobbies include farming near Cypress River, Manitoba.

Moon halos

You have fallen asleep at the wheel knowing there are no curves on the road for at least half an hour.

Shirley Byers’ book “Never Sell Your Hen on a Rainy Day” explores over 100 weather rhymes and sayings. It is available from McNally Robinson at: www.mcnallyrobinson.com.

/ grainews.ca

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Cover Stories Crop production » CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

around the edge of the field, as this is where the spores come in from roadside grasses, and where insects are most active. “Usually the disease is coming in from the edges of the field,” says Bisht. “If a few metres of the field edge is harvested first and kept separate from the main crop then the chances of downgrading the whole field will be lesser.” If significant levels of ergot are observed in the crop, farmers can delay swathing or straight cutting the crop. Ergot bodies become very loosely attached to the cereal heads and windy conditions that result in movement of the crop can shake the ergot bodies to the ground. Seeding at higher rates can also be beneficial. “When you plant at a higher seeding rate you are reducing tillering and compacting the duration of flowering and because of that the main head gets infected, but no more new heads coming later will be affected by the honeydew stage,” says Bisht. “The secondary spread will thereby be reduced because you’re not extending flowering.” If a farmer knows there is likely some ergot in the seed, increasing the seeding depth may prevent the ergot bodies from reaching the surface and germinating, adds Bisht. Good germination and use of a balanced fertilizer program so that the cereal crop is uniform in development will help plants avoid infection. Copper can be added to help control ergot, but will only be effective if soils are deficient in copper. Farmers can also try to plant all their cereal crops at the same time, so they flower over a narrower time period, which will help prevent the spread of the disease from one field to another. Infected grain can be cleaned out as ergot bodies tend to be large and easily cleaned from the seed lot, but

ergot on the rise in western canada you are not taking care of all the inoculum that may be present, but most of them will have lost their viability within two years.” It’s also a good idea to avoid planting spring cereals next to winter cereals to avoid creating a green bridge for the disease. Winter wheat affected by viral diseases can prompt management decisions that favour spread of the disease. “Under normal circumstances when farmers have planted winter wheat in the fall, they will not plant another crop in that field that year,” says Bisht. “The following year they will plant something like canola. But sometimes winter wheat has to be cultivated under because it develops wheat streak mosaic virus. Because the producer had canola last year, he needs to have another wheat crop, so he will plant spring wheat in that field. When he does this the ergot bodies can infect the new spring wheat crop very easily.” Because grasses around field margins, in headlands or along roadways can provide a host for the ergot bodies, mowing then before they flower will help reduce the first stage of infection in the spring. No seed treatments are effective against ergot, so it’s advisable to use clean, certified seed to prevent the disease from spreading to clean fields. In seed that is two years old the viability of ergot sclerotia may be reduced but even those that cannot germinate are still toxic and should not be used as feed. It is possible to reduce the potential for ergot at harvesting time. Ergot levels are typically higher

1 6 6 6 D u b l i n Av e n u e , W i n n i p e g , MB R 3 H 0 H 1 w w w. g r a i n e w s . c a PUBLI SHER

Lynda Tityk Associate Publisher/ Editorial director

John Morriss

Edi tor

Leeann Minogue field Edi tor

Lisa Guenther Cattleman’s Corner Editor

Lee Hart Farml ife Edi tor

Sue Armstrong photo: dr. vikram bisht, mafri

photo: mike shillinglaw, aafc, winnipeg

Machinery EDITOR

Left: This photo shows the first stage of ergot infection. Right: The second stage of the ergot disease cycle is known as the honeydew stage.

Scott Garvey

the process, which is often done with a gravity table or colour sorter, can be expensive and the producer will have to decide if the potential downgrade at the elevator makes it economically worthwhile to clean a particular lot of grain or seed.

characterize its resistance to ergot. It’s been used in crosses by Dr. Fox in the CWRS wheat breeding program at AAFC’s Cereal Research Centre in Winnipeg, Man. It is hoped that, in time, some amber durum and red spring varieties with good resistance to ergot will be commercialized for production. “A number of people are working to develop some ergot resistant lines, but I don’t know if any are near registration trials at this point,” says Menzies. “I hope that in the near future we will have some lines registered that have some resistance to this pathogen, but this is hard to predict. Lines must have more positive attributes than just ergot resistance. If the breeder develops an ergot resistant line but has very low yield, it is unlikely to be commercialized or make much of an impact on the prairies.” †

Desi gner

Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www.angelalovell.ca.

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Help may be on the way There has been little research into ergot, but wheat and barley breeders are looking for varieties with some resistance. A durum line, “9260B-173A,” was observed to have very good resistance to ergot. Studies are underway to characterize the genetic basis of this resistance and find molecular markers for use in plant breeding programs. This line is also being used in the durum breeding program of Dr. Singh at the Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre, AAFC, in Swift Current, Sask. Another wheat line, “Kenya Farmer,” is also being studied to

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EXTENDED OUTLOOK FOR THE PRAIRIES Weather Forecast for the period of November 3 to November 30, 2013

Southern Alberta

Peace River Region Nov. 3 - 9 Often fair but expect heavy snow as disturbances move through. Windy at times. Temperatures vary from mild to cold.

Nov. 3 - 9 Often fair but expect heavy snow mixed with rain. Windy at times. Temperatures vary from mild to cold.

Nov. 10 - 16 Unsettled on a few days with blustery winds and occasional snow, possibly heavy in a few localities. Cold in the north.

Nov. 10 - 16 Unsettled on a few days with blustery winds and occasional snow, possibly heavy. Cold in the north, thawing at times in the south.

Nov. 17 - 23 Clear, cold days alternate with unsettled milder days with intermittent heavier snow and drifting. Windy at times, producing higher windchills.

Nov. 24 - 30 Brisk winds and drifting on a few days this week along with high windchills. Fair, but snow on a couple of days, heavy in spots.

Nov. 24 - 30 Brisk winds and drifting on a few days this week along with high windchills. Fair, but snow on a couple of days, heavy in a few areas.

-7 / 4 Grande Prairie 28.6 mms

-9 / 3 Edmonton

NEAR NORMAL

16.1 mms

28.2 mms

-3 / 5

30.4 mms

Banff

-7 / 7 Red Deer 14.8 mms

-5 / 8 Calgary

Forecasts should be 80% accurate, but expect variations by a day or two because of changeable speed of weather systems.

11.6 mms

-5 / 9 Medicine Hat 19mms cms Lethbridge 14.8 16.3 mms 26 cms -3 / 9

Nov. 10 - 16 Unsettled and changeable this week as fair skies and milder temperatures interchange with heavier snow, colder temperatures and blowing.

Nov. 10 - 16 Unsettled this week as colder outbreaks and gusty winds bring higher windchills, occasional snow and drifting. Heavy snow in lee of larger lakes.

Nov. 17 - 23 Mostly cold but fair weather dominates, except minor warming brings snow to many areas, heavier with blowing south. Windy. Very cold.

Nov. 17 - 23 Blustery with variable temperatures trending to the cold side with higher windchills. Intermittent heavy snow on many days.

Nov. 24 - 30 High windchills on many days under blustery conditions. Drifting snow south with intermittent snow. Mostly clear and cold in the north.

Nov. 24 - 30 Fair skies alternate with heavier snow. Windy at times with drifting or blowing. Mostly cold with a few high windchill days. Clear and cold in the north.

-7 / 4 Prince Albert

16.3 mms

-6 / 6 Saskatoon 14.1 mms

16.5 mms

-6 / 2 The Pas

Precipitation Outlook For November

26.8 mms

-6 / 7 17.8 mms -5 / 9 Regina -5 / 7 Moose Jaw 11.7 mms Swift 13.6 mms Current -5 / 8 14.7 mms Weyburn 11.4 mms -5 / 8 Estevan 13.7 mms

22.7 mms

Much Above Normal Below Much above normal normal below normal normal

-4 / 5 Gimli

35.2 mms

-4 / 6 -6 / 5 Portage -4 / 6 Brandon 23.9 mms Winnipeg 14.9 mms

Melita -6 / 7

17.4 mms

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ABOVE NORMAL

-6 / 4 Yorkton

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NEAR NORMAL

-4 / 5 Dauphin

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Manitoba Nov. 3 - 9 Look for fair skies to interchange with snow. Some rain in the south. A weather system threatens with heavy snow. Mild to cold. Windy.

Nov. 3 - 9 Changeable weather with variable temperatures. Expect snow from time to time, heavy at a few localities. Some rain in the south. Windy at times.

Precipitation Forecast

-6 / 5 North Battleford

-6 / 4 Jasper

Saskatchewan

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21.2 mms

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

grainews.ca /

Features CROP PRODUCTION

Bleaching grain Fall rain can mean lower quality wheat and fewer hard vitreous kernels BY ANGELA LOVELL

n untimely rain just before harvest can cause wheat kernels to “bleach” or whiten and can lead to some loss in quality that can cause downgrading at the elevator. Bleaching of grain kernels is caused by wet conditions at or near maturity when alternate wetting and drying causes tiny fissures because the grain expands when wet then doesn’t dry back to the same size.

HARD VITREOUS KERNELS (HVK) The Canadian Grain Commission makes the important distinction that “bleaching” is not a grading factor in wheat; rather it is the percentage of hard vitreous kernels (HVK) in the sample that determines some wheat grades. Vitreousness is the natural translucence of a kernel that is a visible sign of kernel hardness. HVK are a grade determinant for the amber durum wheat class in Canada and the red

spring wheat classes in Western Canada. Both wheat classes have different tolerances for the allowable percentage of HVK. Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat must have a minimum of 65 per cent HVK to be graded as No. 1 and anything lower than that will be graded as No. 2. The tolerance levels are much lower in durum wheat, which must have a minimum of 80 per cent HVK to make No. 1, 60 per cent minimum for No. 2 and 40 per cent minimum to be rated as No. 3. HVK content is related to protein content and milling quality, which is particularly important in durum wheat. Non-vitreous kernels are produced under cool, wet conditions at or just before the grain matures and can also be caused by insufficient nitrogen fertilization. Flours milled from non-vitrous wheat will have reduced protein content and will not produce good bread. Non-vitreous kernels are not a grading factor in soft wheats because they have no impact on end use for most products,

like cookie, pastries and oriental noodles that are made from soft wheat flour. “The reason for the impact on amber durum is that when you get a non-vitreous kernel it starts to get starchy white inside instead of the usual amber colour,” says Daryl Beswitherick, program manager of quality assurance at the Canadian Grain Commission. “What happens then is that in the processing of that durum, the aim is to produce semolina and if you have the starch in there, the particle sizes will be smaller and it will turn out more like flour than semolina.” Beswitherick emphasizes that HVK is not a major down grading factor for CWRS and not all bleaching indicates nonvitreous kernels. “It’s possible to get some samples that have a very whitish look to them but once you look more carefully at the kernels they are still hard and it’s just whitish on the bran and they are still hard vitreous,” he says. “When they become very starchy they become more orange and are

in sharp contrast to the natural sample colour and are obvious non-vitreous kernels.” Determining the percentage of HVK is still a manual, visual test and is done by separating a 25-gram sample from a sieved 250 gram sample. It is then inspected for the number of kernels that have natural translucence. There has been research in Canada and Australia into development of machine vision systems to classify individual wheat kernels as either HVK or non-vitreous but to date no system has been commercially employed. HVK was originally implemented as an indicator of protein content for wheat, but once elevators were equipped to do their own protein testing it was no longer needed and was eliminated as a grading factor in other classes of spring and winter wheat because it doesn’t generally affect the end use quality for these classes.

LATE RAINFALL The larger concern with late rainfall on wheat is related to other problems that can result such as pre-harvest sprouting, which can cause lower test weights, lower 1,000 kernel weights and other quality issues. “When there is an indication that sprouting has occurred in the kernel, even if there is no actual sprout visible,

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there will be enzyme changes that negatively affect seed quality and viability,” says Mitchell Japp, provincial cereal crop specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. Japp says that there are sporadic reports this season of problems with some bleached grain in the main durum growing areas of south central and east central Saskatchewan due to fall rains, but doesn’t think it’s likely to be a widespread problem. There really isn’t much that can be done once the rain stops except trying to get the grain harvested and dried down as soon as possible to prevent further bleaching or other problems such as mold or sprouting, says Japp. He does suggest that farmers, especially those growing durum wheat in regions prone to late summer or early fall rains, should consider a variety that offers some resistance to pre-harvest sprouting. Whether it’s referred to as bleaching or not, the fact remains that HVK is still a grading factor for certain classes of wheat. “They still have to meet end use specifications so there are grading specifications that they have to meet and this is one of them,” says Beswitherick. † Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www.angelalovell.ca.

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Features Grain marketing

Protein lower than last year Harvest samples show wheat protein lower than last year By Angela Lovell

est results from the Canadian Grain Commission’s 2013 Harvest Samples Program are showing a lower average protein content for western Canadian red spring wheat than last year. “This year the quality is the same but the protein is down a little,” says Twylla McKendry, program manager and head of crops section, analytical services for the Canadian Grain Commission’s Grain Research Lab (GRL), which offers the program to farmers across Western Canada. “In 2012 average protein was 13.9 and this year it’s 12.8.” That could be for a number of reasons, says McKendry, but weather is likely a part of the picture, as well as the mix of varieties that farmers are growing from year to year. The Harvest Sample Program (HSP) gives producers unbiased information about the grade and quality of the wheat they are growing, says McKendry. About 7,000 farmers in Western Canada already participate in the program, but there’s plenty

of potential to grow the program and get more detailed data, she says. “We’ve been out there promoting the program since 2004 at agricultural fairs like Agribition so that farmers can sign up right away at our booth or they can go to our website and sign up online, it’s easy and completely free,” says McKendry. Samples of grain submitted for the HSP are tested and analysed for protein content and other quality and functional properties by the CGC and the protein data is released every Tuesday as samples are received until the program ends on November 1. The quality test results include analyses of whole grain, flour and dough parametres for red spring wheat.

Protein and quality data In 2012 the CGC began publishing protein and quality data on its website for 10 crop regions in Western Canada. “Our reasoning was because of variations in soils, climates and the different varieties being

grown, regional data was important,” says McKendry. “There are varieties grown in Manitoba that we don’t see in Alberta and vice versa. Farmers tend to grow what works well for their particular soil and climate.” This regional data allows farmers to see what’s happening in their area with different varieties and compare their own results with what other producers in their region are generally getting and to perhaps help them decide on future management plans. In response to farmers’ requests to be able to compare regional results from previous years, the GRL has added historical regional data this year. “Over the winter quite a few people asked for previous regional data and since we had that information in our database, we generated 10 years of data to compare to in their specific regions,” says McKendry. Data from the HSP is also essential to grain buyers and end users and is an important marketing tool for Western Canadian wheat and other

crops. Harvest and export quality reports are published annually on the CGC website for wheat, beans, canola, chickpeas, flax, lentils, malting barley, mustard, peas and soybeans. “We combine samples that are the same and make composite samples which we then do a complete analysis on,” says McKendry. “We will mill it, bake it, if it’s durum, we’ll make pasta or noodles out of it, the whole gamut.” Data from the analysis is published on the CGC website and some of the GRL research scientists participate in new crop missions to different countries like Japan and visit some of the bigger customers for Canadian grains and provide them with the data so the buyers, mills and other users can see that they are getting consistent Canadian quality from year to year. “The customers want consistency,” says McKendry. “It’s essential because for their processes, for their milling and for their baking, they need to have consistent grains. If the farinograph results are this, they want to be able to look back and see

what it was the previous year and lots of times when they get the wheat shipments they’re doing their own testing to see if they are getting the same results.” The HSP has additional value for the CGC because it allows it to better assess the performance and functionality of individual varieties. “We get pure, not blended varieties,” says McKendry. “By getting samples direct from producers we know we are getting Harvest or Carberry or Glenn or whatever they’re growing. So we can do additional research on that variety.” The Harvest Samples Program has been running in some form since 1927 and producers have been submitting harvested samples from their farms since the 1990’s. To read the CGC’s full report on wheat quality, go to the CGC website (www.grainscanada.gc.ca), and type “quality data 2013” in the search box. † Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www.angelalovell.ca.

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Features GRAIN MARKETING

Fall barley markets Feed and malting barley prices have stabilized, but significant price increases don’t seem likely BY BOB CUTHBERT

Editor’s note: The numbers and forecasts included in this article were prepared on October 21. Market changes may have occurred between then and now. he 2013-14 world barley production has bounced back from 2012-13 and is forecast at 142.3 MT, a 10 per cent increase from last year’s 129.5 MT. The EU’s crop is up 5.0 MT to 60 MT and is of generally good quality. The EU’s granted export licenses are 4.0 MT to date — double their exports this time last year. Australia has received beneficial rains which should result in its crop

reaching 9.0 MT. However, there are further rains forecast and harvest is just beginning, so the quality of their crop is yet to be confirmed. Argentina is expected to produce an average barley crop of 4.5 to 4.7 MT. Conditions have not been ideal as a significant portion of the grains area has been dry. Trade of Argentine barley has been limited due to the political uncertainty around export policy in terms of tariffs and license quotas. Argentine farmers have also been resistant to the recent lower values but that can change when the harvest is complete and it’s time to move the crop. Western Canada has produced a 2013 crop with record yields. Total

barley production is now forecast at 9.7 MT, a 23 per cent increase from 2012.

BARLEY PRICES Malting and feed barley values have been under pressure since July in North America and elsewhere, although EU feed values are relatively firm today (due in part to the strong euro) at US$245 to US$250 f.o.b. The good quality crops in EU and Canada are pressuring the malting/feed spread. Current EU two-row malting values are about US$265/tonne f.o.b., which is just a $20 premium to feed. In the past, this spread has in fact been as narrow as $15/tonne.

In Canada, the malting/feed spread has exceeded $1/bu. ($46/tonne) until recently, but we are now seeing it closer to $0.85/bu. It will be further pressured toward $0.50/bu., in line with the offshore spread. The spread for 2014 contracted barley will likely be at a more traditional $35/tonne. Lethbridge cash feed trades have been holding steady at $180 to $185/tonne. This is down $100/ tonne from $280 one year ago. The f.o.b. Vancouver equivalent is about US$220 to US$225/tonne f.o.b. Local feeders are expected to fill feedlots which may firm prices somewhat (by $10 perhaps) through mid-winter. Corn grain and DDGs are not competitive into Lethbridge, but there is plenty of barley and the West Coast capacity constraints will keep a lid on any barley rally. We were rather spoiled last year as Canada had a decent crop while prices spiked due to the heat and drought in the U.S. Midwest. Last winter, many analysts encouraged

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farmers to sign production contracts for malting barley at $6 to $6.50 per bu. when available. Then in July, we said that $5.50 bids should be booked. Then $5 in August. The writing was definitely on the wall. While some farmers may have unrealistically wanted the previous year’s values, most were concerned that the lateness of the crop and the cool mid summer weather did not bode well for harvesting malting quality barley. We were then blessed with hot dry weather, which advanced the crop so that most of it was harvested with good quality results. We are now seeing malting barley bids below $4/bu. in Saskatchewan. Australian new crop No. 1 grade malting barley is currently quoted at about $262 f.o.b. which works back to about $3.90/bu. in westcentral Saskatchewan. This will be Canada’s main competition on the Asian malting barley market. If they harvest a good quality crop, Aussie malting offers can go lower. Aussie feed quotes are near US$240 f.o.b. (a $22/tonne spread to malting) and a premium to our domestic feed. However, Canada’s ability to maximize offshore sales of feed and malting will be limited by rail and Vancouver terminal capacity constraints. U.S. demand may somewhat temper the downward price pressure for Canadian malting values in the U.S. drawing area. U.S. malting barley imports are projected at 500,000 tonnes.

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Quality of western Canadian barley is generally good with high plump. However, the protein is below average. Demand is generally for a minimum 11 per cent. There is a lot of nice barley out there with protein below 11 per cent which may not be selected for malting. As well, the supply of Meredith exceeds demand and country bids are discounted to Metcalfe and Copeland accordingly (by $0.25/ bu. or more). The preference in offshore markets is still for Metcalfe first and Copeland second. There has been some limited acceptance of Meredith in China but time will tell as to whether this demand will grow. Other newer varieties such as Bentley, Kindersley, Merit 57 and Major have had some domestic acceptance with Bentley and Kindersley showing the most promise. As Metcalfe and Copeland are replaced with new varieties, there may not be any one dominant variety. The industry will need to work to promote new varieties to gain acceptance by our customers, rather than companies just promoting the variety(s) in which they have a vested commercial interest. In summary, feed and malting barley prices have stabilized somewhat. Harvest pressure has passed. But any significant upside appears unlikely given the large barley stocks. For pricing targets in west central Sask, feed bids near or slightly above $3/bu. and malt near $4/bu. are likely the best that can be hoped for. Domestic feed barley values are actually now lower than offshore (EU and Aussie) values. However, our rail and terminal capacity limitations will restrict our ability to export and arbitrage higher offshore values as all the other crops are also vying for a piece of this capacity. † Bob Cuthbert is CWB’s director of barley trading and sales. He’s been marketing barley for 24 years.

/ grainews.ca

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Features GRAIN MARKETING

Marketing with lower crop prices Falling crop prices may be a marketing challenge. Here are things to consider as you take your crop to the market this fall BY NEIL BLUE

ast year was a bonus year for most western Canadian crop producers. Because of the drought in the U.S., crop prices during the last crop year were much higher than they would have otherwise been. In 2012 western Canadian crop quality was generally good, and demand was strong relative to available supplies. In contrast, this crop year is shaping up to be more of a marketing challenge. World production of wheat, rice, feed

grains and oilseeds is forecast to exceed demand, leading to stocks building. Large Canadian production will test the capacity of the handling system, and our crop prices have dropped significantly into the harvest period. A bright spot is that, with the exception of lower average protein levels for wheat, Canadian crop quality is good.

WHERE TO FROM HERE? Here are a few things to consider this fall.

1. Your crop First of all, assess the crops that you have on hand to sell. You may have taken representative samples as your crops were put into storage. Otherwise, obtain samples by probing your stored grain. Take these representative samples to your buyers to get their opinion on grade. You may wish to send representative samples to the Canadian Grain Commission for their assessment. With the information on grade, moisture, dockage and other characteristics relevant to marketing each crop,

you can then gather market information relating to what you have to sell. Depending on the grade factors of your crops this year, you may consider improving a crop’s quality via cleaning or a separation, by drying, or by blending. 2. Cash flow needs Yo u m a y h a v e f o r w a r d contracted some of this year’s crop during the growing season to secure delivery opportunities and meet some cash flow obligations. Complete an updated assessment of your operation’s cash flow needs for the next several months. If

you need cash flow, but decide to hold crops in storage for improved prices, consider using the Advance Payments Program to provide a tax-deferred source of cash flow of up to $400,000, the first $100,000 of which is interest free. In Western Canada, this program is administered by the Canadian Canola Growers Association. 3. Pricing and delivery alternatives Review your contact list of crop buyers. Consider all your alternatives, including line companies, processors, feed mills, local feed-

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

grainews.ca /

Features ers, accessibility of producer car loading, cash grain brokers and direct exporting. For each prospective buyer on your short list (which may differ from your neighbours’ lists), find out the pricing alternatives that they provide. These pricing alternatives may include spot sale, types of target pricing, deferred delivery contracts, post delivery deferred pricing and, for crops with a futures market connection, basis contracts, options on futures, business speculation and other combinations. Do your best to determine security of receiving payment for each buyer. This security factor may include obtaining references and checking on payment insurance availability, whether that be through the Canadian Grain Commission or another source, as provided by some cash grain brokers. 4. Market prospects

Gather information to form your own opinion on price outlook and delivery prospects for each of your stored crops. Some of this information is free, provided through your buyers, radio, internet and print media. You may also choose to subscribe to one or more sources of feebased market information or contract a marketing advisory service. U.S. crop price prospects will again greatly influence our price outlook. Buffering the effect of large crops in Canada and the U.S. is the small beginning stocks for most crops. U.S. and Canadian feed grain production appears to be abundant. Small forward cash price premiums for feed barley are reflecting that situation. However, Canadian crop producers are in generally good financial shape, and have the ability to force price stability or improvement by withholding product via unorganized

consensus. Higher protein wheat is commanding a demand premium in both delivery opportunity and price, and that may continue through this crop year. Canola crusher expansions have led to a firm domestic demand base, and export demand for raw seed and canola products remain strong. U.S. soybean demand will again be front-loaded and oilseed prices will be subject to the weather and production prospects of South America, albeit at lower prices than last year. Canola also has the marketing advantage of a functioning futures market, providing for direct pricing as well as market signals. Those current signals reflect abundant supply, reflected in a strong carrying charge (that is, a premium for deferred canola futures) close to full commercial storage plus interest charges. This compares to the inverse or low carry futures market

that we experienced last crop year. Canola basis levels (cash minus futures price) have weakened into harvest. Watch for basis strengthening as a signal of improvement in the supply/demand relationship for canola. Pea prices have improved somewhat after harvest, and again this year are relatively strong for green peas. Dry bean, canary seed and rye crops have tight forecast carry-over at the end of this crop year, and therefore are subject to price improvement as the crop year progresses.

IN THE LONGER TERM We know from the U.S. droughtreduced crop of 2012 how price projections can quickly change in this era of strong and increasing crop demand. However, it is not too early to be looking forward to

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pricing for next crop year, considering the potential for a record South American crop to be produced in the spring, and the impact of a 2014 U.S. crop strongly favouring soybean over corn production. Information is power and that is certainly true for crop marketing. The base for your marketing decisions is knowing your costs of production per unit so you can target and recognize profitable selling prices for your operation. You then need to know your product, and the choices that you have for pricing and delivery. Interpreting market outlook is an ongoing task. By combining information from your trusted sources with your experience in dealing with your buyers, you will be better able to make sound marketing decisions. † Neil Blue writes from Vermillion, Alta. Contact him at 780-853-6929.

/ grainews.ca

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Features Grain marketing

Crop forecasting in Canada Stats Can’s crop production estimates can have a big impact on prices. Find out how they come up with these numbers By Andrea Hilderman

tatistics Canada (StatsCan), a federal government department, conducts the farm surveys that obtain information about crop production, seeded areas, harvested areas, expected yields and production in Canada.

Stats Can surveys The surveys are fielded in a series of six data collection periods and the information is released at pre-scheduled, strategic times during the calendar

year. The intention behind the timing of the surveys and the reporting periods is to provide publicly available and accurate estimates of seeding intentions, seeded and harvested areas, production, yield and farm stocks of the principal crops in Canada at a provincial level. StatsCan gathers information on wheat, oats, barley, rye, flaxseed, canola, corn for grain, soybeans, sunflower seed, dry beans, dry field peas, lentils, mustard seed, canary seed and chickpeas. Area, yield and production data are released in March, June, July, September and November.

Stocks estimates are available at the end of December, March and July/August. The collection period for each survey starts about four weeks prior to the release of the results and may last from six to 10 days depending on the size of the survey. The survey size differs by month, as shown in the table. The survey is mandatory. Generally by the end of the collection period 80 per cent of the questionnaires are fully completed. Estimates are available on Statistics Canada’s key socioeconomic database (CANSIM) that also contains a large range

of other publicly available statistics the agency collects.

Satellite imaging StatsCan also hosts a free web mapping application that provides weekly cropland and pasture condition reports across Canada and the northern U.S. called the Crop Condition Assessment Program (CCAP). Satellites carrying Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) record images of the entire Earth’s surface twice a day at a one kilometre resolution. This detector has been found

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useful for vegetation monitoring to produce Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) images. NDVI images work on the theory that healthy, thick vegetation will absorb more visible light than bare soils. Since 2010 there has been a further enhancement using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometre (MODIS). MODIS operates at a spatial resolution of 250 metres, a significant enhancement. The MODIS sensor can to show vegetation conditions (NDVI) at a higher resolution with more accuracy than the AVHRR imagery. The Remote Sensing and Geospatial Analysis Section (RSGA) within the Agriculture Division of StatsCan is responsible for this data collection and has built an online interactive mapping interface. Image products show vegetation conditions on a pixel by pixel basis, while map products illustrate the predominant vegetation condition by regions down to areas as small as townships. This type of data collection allows more frequent updates of the crop condition and potential yield, well in advance of StatsCan traditional crop surveys. There was talk over the summer about the possibility of StatsCan changing the way it develops its estimates. Jeffrey Smith, director of Statistics Canada’s Agriculture Division says StatsCan is comparing survey results with estimates derived from satellite imagery combined with administrative and meteorological data. Smith says, “Any change would only be entertained for the September survey, an early harvest survey, and while we might reduce costs by making this change, the bigger impetus to consider a change is to reduce the reporting burden on farmers while they are busy with harvest.” If a change is to be made, the decision will be made in March, 2014 and would impact the September, 2014 survey. “Satellite imaging data alone would not be sufficient to make estimates,” says Smith. “The use of other sources of data is required.” † Andrea Hilderman has her master’s degree in weed science and is a member of the Manitoba Institute of Agrologists. She writes from Winnipeg, Man.

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STATS CAN SURVEY SIZE Time period

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Always read and follow label directions. AgSolutions, and HEADLINE are registered trade-marks of BASF Corporation; AgCelence is a registered trade-mark of BASF SE, all used with permission by BASF Canada Inc. HEADLINE should be used in a preventative disease control program. © 2013 BASF Canada Inc.

March

13,500

June

25,000

July

15,000

September

11,700

November

19,000

December

10,500

Source: Statistics Canada 110200809_HDLN_BIN_GN_v3.indd 1

Client:BASFCAN

2013-10-23 9:06 AM

Publication: Grain News

Approximate Survey size

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

grainews.ca /

Features Grain marketing

USDA crop estimation process The U.S. government combines a farmer survey with an on-site yield estimate By Andrea Hilderman

roduction forecasts and estimates are a vital part of the business of marketing crops. The value of traded grains can move substantially from one day to the next on the basis of weather: drought, floods, frost, colder than normal, wetter than normal or other factors. Crop estimate reports can also cause large price swings. Last summer, an August corn crop estimate put out by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) caused consternation when corn yields were estimated down by 1.3 per cent — a huge drop that sparked an immediate rally in the market. That same report also showed a 4.3 per cent drop in estimated soybean yield, an even greater shift from previous reports than the corn shift. The soybean market reaction was also substantially greater. The move in the market was large enough that it caused confusion and even comments that USDA had perhaps changed its process in making crop estimates, but that was not the case. “The August 2013 crop estimates were set in the identical way as past August numbers,” explains Don Frahm, senior vice president and chief economist at Informa Economics Inc. Frahm is based in Memphis, Tennessee and has almost 40 years of experience in the business.

two thousand yield plots randomly chosen in the major states for a particular crop. These yield plots are within farmers’ fields. During the growing season, enumerators go out to these locations and make specific counts which are used to make yield estimates. “The objective yield process focuses on a simple equation — fruit weight times the number of fruit minus harvest loss equals yield,” explains Frahm. “Towards the end of the season this is a very accurate measure of yield, but very early in the season when the enumerators have to rely on estimates of numbers of fruit and fruit weight dominated by past year’s averages, it’s not as useful.”

There are always mutterings on blogs and in coffee shops that production estimates are self-serving: keeping commodity prices low, keeping food prices cheap or to impact subsidies to farmers. Frahm does not agree with this. “In my experience after almost 40 years in this business, the USDA estimation process is 110 per cent objective,” he says. “It is a great error for a farmer to think the USDA estimates are not objective and intended to accomplish some market reaction. But just as farmers cannot accurately predict their yield until the crop is harvested, so too the same sort of preliminary character applies

to USDA yield estimates early in the season. From our experience, there is a very large step toward quantifying actual production in the third report in the estimation season, so the October report for corn or the July report for winter wheat.” Where do companies like Informa Economics Inc. fit into the picture when it comes to estimates of production and yield, and what is the value proposition for their clients? “We think there are flaws in the process USDA uses, but certainly not in their intent. At Informa Economics we do things a bit differently,” says Frahm. “Additionally, we are free to share our opinions on events hourly, weekly or however often we deem

Andrea Hilderman has her master’s degree in weed science and is a member of the Manitoba Institute of Agrologists. She writes from Winnipeg, Man.

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The USDA process The USDA has a prescribed path that it follows each month in estimating major field crops. “USDA produces estimates for corn, for instance, starting in February. From February to July, the estimates are purely analytical, calculated with no direct information of the crop in the field,” explains Frahm. “Come August, there’s a change in process. The National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS), an agency within USDA, starts collecting direct information about the crop from producers and other sources to produce yield estimates.” NASS goes on to produce estimates in September, October and November, with the last estimate coming in early January for corn. NASS’s estimates are in real time. Season-ending stocks are estimated at the end of the season; September stocks are estimated September 1 and so on. NASS estimates winter wheat production in May, June, July and August. “The process NASS undertakes is a very regimented, scheduled public process and if there were any changes to be considered or implemented there would be a lot of forewarning to the industry,” says Frahm. “The information generated by NASS improves significantly as the estimation season progresses. They use a two-pronged approach and marry the data together to come up with their reports,” says Frahm. The two independent approaches include a survey of several thousand farmers, with samples from various farm sizes and locations. The second approach is NASS’s Objective Yield Estimate. This involves about

The esimates

necessary, but the USDA is locked into once monthly communiques in their regimented process.” Because of the fall government shutdown caused by political stalemate, the USDA and other government departments were on furlough in October. The October 11 corn report did not come out as planned. “Not only did the report not come out, there is information being lost that would be used to produce the October estimates, and also information being lost that would be used in the November estimates. Specifically, the grain samples have to be gathered from the objective yield plots prior to the farmer going in and harvesting the field, and that is not happening as enumerators are on furlough,” explains Frahm. “We don’t know yet how that will impact the accuracy of the estimates in the reports to come, but it will have impact.” †

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Features GRAIN MARKETING

Grain companies and production data Like farmers, grain companies use government production forecasts to help determine where markets are going BY ANDREA HILDERMAN

rain companies and marketing firms use a variety of sources of information to estimate crop production and yield as well as beginning and ending stocks and predicted seeded areas for the next crop year.

GETTING THE INFORMATION Depending on a company’s resources, it might have access to internally produced information as well as information that is publicly available. Internal information might include reports from field staff about local crop conditions, yields and local weather events. Some companies conduct their own surveys. This information is added to publicly available data like United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Statistics Canada (StatsCan) farm surveys, Canadian Grain Commission quality data and other sources. “This is where it comes

down to people like me gathering and analysing all this information to produce internal estimates of production, stocks and future acreages,” says Bruce Burnett, weather and crop specialist at CWB. StatsCan’s reports on field crops are the most extensive survey of Canadian production, with 29,000 farms surveyed in their largest survey fielded in November. “People can and do argue about the StatsCan surveys,” says Burnett. “Some quibbling over the numbers no doubt happens, however, these are the numbers determined by the most comprehensive survey conducted and are globally accepted. They are the numbers the market responds to and are important in price discovery.” Any anecdotal evidence or commentary has no statistical merit, it’s merely conjecture or opinion and it is best to use it very cautiously. The last StatsCan report was inordinately important because the USDA report did not get published as a result of the gov-

ernment furlough in October. It’s also one of the few global reports on production and it did confirm for the world that Canadian crop is, as was anticipated, a bumper crop.

“You’ll never count every kernel.”

— Bruce Burnett “The data from StatsCan or USDA is needed for two main reasons,” explains Burnett. “They drive future price movements and they drive the process of selling the grain and exporting it, the logistics.” For Burnett at the CWB and for other organizations, the absolute precision of the numbers is not as important as the trends. “You’ll never count every kernel,” says Burnett. The real reason for the process is to set up

for the next year’s crop — this is the real value in the forecasting process from the standpoint of a grain company. “It may be that in an extremely tight stocks situation the absolute numbers are more important, but in a normal year or a year like this year where production of Canadian wheat was through the roof and U.S. corn had a reasonable growing season,” says Burnett, “from a marketing perspective we know that U.S. stocks will build up and there is enough corn to satisfy demand. The only outstanding question to be answered now is the size of that surplus.”

THE MARKET In Burnett’s opinion the market pays an inordinate amount of attention to the early nonsurveyed reports from USDA, reports that are almost purely analytical and have no measured estimates from the field incorporated. That is why the August USDA report is always eagerly anticipated, being the first in the

series that actually has some of that crops year’s field data incorporated into the picture. Farmers see market movements or swings that occur when reports are released and Burnett recognizes that their motivations are different to that of a grain company. It can be frustrating to miss out on big spikes in the market or feel like you have little to no control over what the crop returns to the farm. “Grain companies are even more risk adverse than farmers, I’d bet,” says Burnett. “But that aside, farmers need to have a marketing plan in place for their crop and recognise there may be volatility around the time reports are released. Sometimes you can use that volatility to your advantage and sometimes not, but you can and should analyze the reports to determine if you need to adjust any part of your marketing plan as a result. “ † Andrea Hilderman has her master’s degree in weed science and is a member of the Manitoba Institute of Agrologists. She writes from Winnipeg, Man.

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Features Soil management

Zone till great for wet clay soils Farmers looking for a row-crop solution between tillage and no-till could consider zone tillage By Rebeca Kuropatwa

one tillage is the practice of cultivating a band of soil about 21 cm (eight inches) wide, while leaving the areas between these tilled zones as no-till. Zone tillage has been around since the early 1990s. Over the last five to 10 years, this tillage system has gained in popularity. Dr. Craig Drury, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Harrow, Ont., research station, and his colleagues have been studying the effects of different tillage systems for 20 years. No-till works very well in some medium and coarse textured soils and in some climatic regions. In high clay content soils in Canada’s humid regions, cool and wet soils may delay row crop planting. This results in lower crop emergence rates and may also lower plant populations. “When low emergence and reduced populations occur, yields and amounts of crop residue returned to the soil may be lower than when conventional tillage is used,” says Drury. “In such situations, zone tillage is an excellent compromise. It can improve seedbed conditions and also maintain many of the benefits of no-tillage.”

One example Drury noted is in the case of corn with 76 cm (30 inch) row spacing. The tilled zone is only 28 per cent of the whole area, with the majority of the soil (72 per cent) left as no-till.

The benefits According to Drury, zone tillage has been found to reduce fuel consumption and labour costs compared to conventional tillage. “Zone tillage uses only about 6.7 litres per hectre compared to 21 l/ha for conventional moldboard plowing,” he said. That’s a difference of 14.3 l/ha, or almost six litres per acre. “Using a mouldboard plough at a depth of six, seven inches differs widely with the no-till system, but zone till combines the two nicely — leaving 72 per cent of the field. This offers a warmer and drier seed bed plus all the benefits of no-till carbon management.” While no-till produces a soil surface with very high carbon content, conventional till has the opposite effect, mixing the carbon into deeper depths, while some is lost via mineralization. Drury and team have found zone till treatment of surface soil fairly similar to that of no-till

systems, except the carbon levels at lower depth are similar to conventional till. “When you add up the carbon stored in the entire profile, we found 11 to 12 per cent more carbon storage with zone till than with either no-till or conventional tillage,” he said. Although both conventional till and zone till systems produce similar crop yields, the overall carbon balance is higher in zone tillage as carbon sources are slower to break down. “Our carbon inputs are the same (plant residues),” said Drury. “Our carbon dioxide losses tend to be lower and, as a result, we’re gradually building up carbon in soils with the zone till system.”

Nitrogen In a 13-year southwest Ontario clay soil field study, zone till increased soil carbon storage by 11.2 per cent compared to no-till and by 12.5 per cent compared to conventional till. Drury and team found that, with zone tillage, there is lower penetration resistance as well as improved aeration. Since denitrification occurs under anaerobic soil conditions (that is, where there are saturated soils with little or no oxygen), zone tillage’s improved physical

conditions reduce nitrous oxide emissions. “In particular, zone tillage resulted in 17 to 20 per cent lower nitrous oxide emissions compared to no-tillage and 38 to 44 per cent lower emissions than conventional tillage in two threeyear field trials,” said Drury. The cost of fertilizer is on the rise, especially when it comes to high nitrogen-demanding crops. “When you start losing it through gaseous nitrous oxide emissions (biological de-nitrification) or by nitrate leaching, it’s both an economic loss as well as an environmental problem,” explained Dr Drury. When nitrogen was applied at planting alone, it had 33 per cent greater nitrous oxide emissions than when it was added as a sidedress application, especially with conventional till. Nitrogen, of any source, consistently emits less nitrous oxide when used in zone tilled fields than when used with conventional or no-till, whereas zone till averaged 44 per cent fewer nitrous oxide emissions than conventional till, and more than doubled the reduction achieved by no till over conventional till. “I firmly believe zone tillage is a viable practice and am now looking at what we can do to

Zone tillage can improve seedbed conditions and maintain many of the benefits of no-tillage. make it a more efficient system wherein more nutrients go into the crops, environmental losses are reduced, and farming practices make more efficient use of inputs,” said Drury. “I believe zone tillage will continue to grow in popularity for row crop production in clay loam and clay textured soils. The improved soil quality, high yields, reduced nutrient losses, and improved fuel efficiency are some of the benefits that make zone tillage a management practice that should be considered. “There are several companies manufacturing zone tillage equipment and it may also be possible to modify existing equipment.” † Rebeca Kuropatwa is a professional writer in Winnipeg, Man.

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Features Casebook

Crop Advisor’s Solution

Crop Advisor’s casebook

SOIL TEST TO ENSURE CROPS AREN’T DOWN FOR THE COUNT

GREAT EXPECTATIONS, LOW YIELDS

By Kathy-Jo Lepp

hen Glen discovered a number of different crops, including barley, flax and wheat, lodging on his farm he called me in to investigate the cause. Because there had been no recent major wind or rain events, Glen was puzzled by the random patches of plants lying down in his fields. Glen owns a 1,600-acre mixed grain and cattle farm near Kenton, Man., where he grows wheat, canola, peas, flax and barley. It was mid-July when I examined the lodged crops, which appeared to be suffering from weak stems. In fact, there were kinks in the lower stems of all the damaged plants. When I asked Glen for details on these fields he said they had been too wet to grow any crops the previous year. At that time, he’d applied fertilizer at his usual rate; however, “last year’s fertilizer went untouched,” he said. Glen added that he’d applied anhydrous ammonia in the fall as well as his regular fertilizer application this past spring. Instead of boosting plant health and development, Glen’s cumulative fertilizer application efforts damaged the crops in those fields. Tissue tests of the damaged plants revealed high levels of nitrogen and low levels of potas-

sium. Ratios of nutrients such as nitrogen to potassium are important to maximize yield and quality, sometimes equally as important as the actual levels of each nutrient. The combination delivered a one-two punch to Glen’s crops: potassium-deficient plants have weakened stems, poorly developed root systems and delayed growth. In addition, a high level of nitrogen in the soil contributes to increased yield potential, crop height and head filling, making plants top-heavy. Lodging is common in either situation and a combination of the two meant portions of Glen’s crops were down for the count. Regular soil testing ensures nutrients aren’t over or under applied, especially in exceptional circumstances such as a poor or no crop year. Using soil test results to make fertilizer application decisions could eliminate nutrient application errors. For example, if a producer doesn’t get much of a crop one year, there will likely be nutrients left over in the field that can be used in a subsequent year. A good nutrient management plan should always target a balanced nutrient supply. Despite the lodging, Glen’s crops were still there; however, they were likely difficult to swath. † Kathy-Jo Lepp is a sales agronomist for Richardson Pioneer Ltd. in Brandon, Man.

Casebook winner

he winning entry for this issue issue of Casebook came from Lloyd Fink, who farms at Montmartre, Sask. Thanks for sending in your diagnosis, Lloyd. We’ll be renewing your Grainews subscription for a year and sending you a Grainews cap. †

Leeann Minogue

By Vern Hiebert

allas had a goal. Each year he diligently applied fertilizer in hopes of increasing his canola yields; however, his target of 40 to 50 bushels per acre was continually thwarted. “I apply lots of nitrogen every year, but my crops don’t yield up in the end,” Dallas said. It was September 2012 and once again his expectations had been dashed with canola yields of 30 bu./acre. Dallas owns a 3,600-acre mixed grain and cattle operation near Hanley, Sask., where he produces barley, canola, peas, oats and wheat. According to Dallas, the crop had looked great all year, but the yields were poor compared to the stand. Harvest was complete when I visited Dallas’ farm so I examined the stubble left in the field. It was a clean field with no weed issues, ruling out competition as a factor. There were no bare patches — plant establishment had been good, revealing seed quality had also been fine. Rainfall had been average for the area and no insect damage had been reported during the year. I reviewed Dallas’ field and farm practices from scouting and producer reports. Of particular interest to me was the canola fertilizer program.

Vern Hiebert Dallas had applied fertilizer at a rate of 120-20-0-10 that season. Soil tests would confirm it, but I felt fairly confident I knew what was taking the steam out of Dallas’ yields. What is behind Dallas’ disappointing canola yields? Send your diagnosis to Grainews, Box 9800, Winnipeg, Man., R3C 3K7; email leeann.minogue@ fbcpublishing.com or fax 204944-5416 c/o Crop Advisor’s Casebook. Best suggestions will be pooled and one winner will be drawn for a chance to win a Grainews cap and a one-year subscription to the magazine. The best answer, along with the reasoning which solved the mystery, will appear in the next Crop Advisor’s Solution. † Vern Hiebert is an area marketing representative for Richardson Pioneer Ltd. in Saskatoon, Sask.

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

grainews.ca /

Features NEW SEED

RoundUp Ready 2 coming soon

ley, wild buckwheat, yellow foxtail, biennial wormwood and common milkweed. “TruFlex Roundup Ready canola will offer farmers the ability to maximize yield potential, experience unprecedented weed control and provide increased flexibility by allowing a wider window of application and the ability to spray higher rates of Roundup to be able to spray the right rates at the right time,” says Jesse Hamonic, Monsanto’s canola trait marketing lead. TruFlex Roundup Ready canola will be commercially available across a broader acreage in 2015. It is currently pending export market approvals. “In the interim, we look forward to showing farmers our new technology in stewarded field trials across Western Canada next summer,” says Hamonic. †

Monsanto set to launch two new products in 2015 BY MELANIE EPP

that early-season weed control because of that residual. This allows roughly a two to three bushel advantage relative to the existing technology.” Western Canadian farmers will appreciate dicamba’s ability to control kochia. “This is important because there have been reports of glyphosate-resistant kochia in Western Canada.” “Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Xtend provides farmers with the opportunity to add dicamba as a second mode of action either pre-plant or in-crop that improves weed control, increases yield potential and is part of a good weed resistant management strategy,” says Nailor. Monsanto is waiting on approval from China and the completion an

environmental impact assessment in the U.S. “We won’t release ours until they have approval in the U.S.,” he says. The initial launch will be in germplasm that is probably not best suited for Western Canada. But by 2016 Monsanto plans to have a broader offering. Monsanto is in no rush to transition out RR1 technology, but expects a three to four year transition.

ROUNDUP READY CANOLA It’s been nearly 20 years since the first biotech trait in canola was introduced in Western Canada. TruFlex Roundup Ready canola will offer enhanced weed control for annual and perennial weeds, including dandelions, foxtail bar-

Melanie Epp is a freelance writer who specializes in writing web copy for small businesses. She is based in Guelph, Ont., and can be found online at melanierepp.com.

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onsanto has received regulatory approval to introduce its Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans, which has been stacked with dicamba. The technology itself hasn’t changed, so the product’s growing season will remain the same — for now. “It’s the germplasm that goes with the technology,” says Monsanto Canada’s corn and soybean lead, Mike Nailor. “We expect that those soybeans will be made available across Western Canada starting probably in 2016. The only difference between maturities in the East and maturities in the West is that it just takes a little bit longer

to breed that technology into earlier germplasm.” The Roundup Ready 2 Xtend is the addition of dicamba on the Roundup Ready 2 Yield platform. Dicamba provides an extra mode of action for broad leaf control. Nailor says the new product will offer not only increased yields, but more flexibility. “Today, typically, farmers would either till or spray down their field with Roundup and then go in with an in-crop application of Roundup,” he says. “As farmers increase the land that they’re working, this becomes trickier. What is key, not only in soybeans, but in all crops, is that early-season weed control. By adding dicamba in your pre-plant application, you get

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Columns FARM FINANCIAL PLANNER

Transferring ownership Farmers ready to retire want to transfer ownership to children, create their own future income BY ANDREW ALLENTUCK

couple we’ll call Herb and Martha, both 71, have done well with their grain farm, currently 2,800 acres, in south central Manitoba. It has taken them half a century of work to accumulate the land and to build their business, but today, with combined assets of $5 million including $2 million retained earnings inside their farming corporation, their problem is passing on their business to their children. One son, now 38, has his own farm and equipment but farms co-operatively with his parents. Another son, 36, and his wife have a separate farming corporation not far away. Only their daughter, 39, is working off farm with no wish or plan to be a farmer. The problem is to create a way to transfer the farm, machinery and associated property while minimizing taxes Farm Financial Planner asked Don Forbes, a farm financial planner with Don Forbes Associates/Armstrong & Quaile Associates Inc. of Carberry, Manitoba, to work with Herb and Martha to structure their retirement income. Herb and Martha’s immediate goal is to retire with $100,000 pre-tax income extracted from the operating company in a tax-efficient fashion. They also want to devise a way to transfer their estate to their children and grandchildren.

giving each child a fair share of the parents’ farming business could be as follows: There are two ways to achieve the division of assets: First, by using cash from the farm’s retained surplus or second, by using an estate freeze and reorganization of the farming corporation into common and preferred shares, Mr. Forbes notes. In the first case, the parents can take $1 million from their retained earnings or have the corporation pay out a taxable dividend this year. This is a good time frame, for Old Age Security begins to be clawed back after net taxable income reaches $70,954 in 2013. When net taxable income

hits the 2013 value of $114,640, OAS, $6,660 in 2013, is totally clawed back. In 2013, the $1 million would be split into several investment accounts. $80,000 would go to Herb’s RRSP, $80,000 to Martha’s RRSP, $25,500 to Herb’s unused TFSA space and $25,500 to Martha’s unused TFSA space. Then $50,000 can be held in trust for grandchildren and $538,000 left in a conventional investment account. If any of this money is needed for farming operations, it could be diverted back to the farming corporation as a shareholder loan, Mr. Forbes suggests. The loan would then be paid back to Herb and Martha on a tax-free basis.

In 2014, money from the $538,000 investment account can be used to purchase additional TFSA investments in the amount of $5,500 for Martha and Herb. The RRSP purchases will, of course, defer taxes, though Herb and Martha must begin taking money from the Registered Retirement Income Funds when they are 72. The second case is an estate freeze. The operating company is reorganized so that the common share value is converted to an equal value of preferred shares. The new common shares would be sold to the farming children, entitling them to any increase in the value of the farming cor-

E C N A FORM

A POTENTIAL DIVISION Given the size of the farming operation and its substantial value in land and retained earnings, some complexity in the transfer process is inevitable. A potential division of assets which would accomplish the goal of

Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers

poration. The parents’ preferred shares are frozen in value with an option to redeem preferred shares over time. Redemption could be $200,000 per year for five years. It would be important to ensure that 90 per cent of all assets in the operating company be invested to generate active business income, Mr. Forbes cautions. Excess cash would have to be transferred out to meet this requirement. In future, if this plan is used, corporate salaries would be replaced with dividends. On an after tax basis, this would mean that $135,000 of current salary would be replaced by $200,000 of corporate dividends. In each

S L A E R H E IG C

PER

Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship® (ETS). Monsanto products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. This product has been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from this product can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for this product. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Roundup Ready® crops contain genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides. Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Acceleron® seed treatment technology for corn is a combination of four separate individuallyregistered products, which together contain the active ingredients metalaxyl, trifloxystrobin, ipconazole, and clothianidin. Acceleron® seed treatment technology for canola is a combination of two separate individually-registered products, which together contain the active ingredients difenoconazole, metalaxyl (M and S isomers), fludioxonil, thiamethoxam, and bacillus subtilis. Acceleron and Design®, Acceleron®, DEKALB and Design®, DEKALB®, Genuity and Design®, Genuity Icons, Genuity®, RIB Complete and Design®, RIB Complete®, Roundup Ready 2 Technology and Design®, Roundup Ready 2 Yield®, Roundup Ready®, Roundup Transorb®, Roundup WeatherMAX®, Roundup®, SmartStax and Design®, SmartStax®, Transorb®, VT Double PRO®, YieldGard VT Rootworm/RR2®, YieldGard Corn Borer and Design and YieldGard VT Triple® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. Used under license. LibertyLink® and the Water Droplet Design are trademarks of Bayer. Used under license. Herculex® is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC. Used under license. Respect the Refuge and Design is a registered trademark of the Canadian Seed Trade Association. Used under license. ©2013 Monsanto Canada Inc.

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

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Columns case, income tax per year would be about $35,000 in the transition years, 2013 and 2014. Then income would subside to retirement levels. In 2015, Herb and Martha would have substantial retirement income composed of two Canada Pension Plan monthly benefits equaling $24,300 per year, total Old Age Security benefits for Herb and Martha of $13,200 per year, combined Registered Retirement Income Fund payments of $21,417, approximately $2,000 of dividends and $8,800 interest income. The total, $69,717, would be fairly stable for the next eight years and supportable thereafter. The values are in 2013 dollars. After about $4,000 each in tax credits and assuming splitting of pension income and a 10 per cent average tax rate, the couple would have $6,230 per month to spend. This would be basic retirement income. It could be increased by income from rental of farm land

to produce $40,000 per year of pre-tax revenue for the couple. Extracting rent from the farming corporation would reduce retained earnings and thus the potential growth of value of common shares. Taking rental income would thus be a generational transfer issue to be weighed by Martha and Herb and their children.

The two benefits would account for 54 per cent of the couple’s retirement income. Dividends paid by the restructured corporation would be dependable, assuming the good financial health of the farms. Required distributions

Herb and Martha’s retirement income would be fairly stable and partially indexed

EVALUATING THE OPTIONS The two plans can produce similar retirement income results for Herb and Faye, but they do it in different ways. Plan 1 is an asset division that leaves a good deal of cash on the table. Plan 2 reorganizes the income of the farming corporation. Herb and Martha’s retirement income would be fairly stable and partially indexed. Government pensions — OAS and CPP — are guaranteed and rise in concert with the Consumer Price Index.

Delaying any purchase of annuities until interest rates have risen, as they will, and buying annuities slowly, with, say, 10 per cent of available RRSP/RRIF capital every five years would preserve most capital in the couple’s hands to

of RRIF capital would start at 7.48 per cent of RRSP/RRIF capital at age 72, rise to eight per cent at 76 and nine per cent at age 80. Taxes would tend to rise. The couple could purchase annuities with some of their RRSP capital. Annuities pay bond interest, some equity investment returns and provide tax-free return of capital

do with as they like. Annuities structured to pay on a last to die basis would be a lower tax solution for the couple, would raise after-tax income over time, but would remove some capital from the couple’s eventual estate. The potential use of annuities should be discussed by Herb and Martha. The tax and income advantages

need to be weighed with the fact that money once handed over to an insurance company running an annuity is lost to the estate which then receives only income. Moreover, annuity agreements tend not to have ways of compensating for inflation. However, blended into the retirement plan for only a part of their RRSP capital, annuities would both stabilize income and remove some investment risk. When one partner dies, the other will lose the ability to split income and will therefore lose both one OAS and one CPP benefit. The effect will be to raise the survivor’s personal income and to put him or her in a higher bracket. The tax burden can be covered with a joint and first to die term life insurance policy, essentially paying a modest sum today for a larger sum tomorrow. † Andrew Allentuck’s latest book, When Can I Retire? Planning Your Financial Life After Work, was published in 2011 by Penguin Canada.

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fter reading the last “Farm Financial Planner” column, a Saskatchewan reader emailed me to raise some questions. When she and her husband created their farm corporation, they rolled in some of their land, but not all. During the process, she learned quite a bit about legal and tax issues. This reader noticed that, in the column, Don Forbes advised a farm couple to sell land held by their corporation to take advantage of the capital gains exemption. However, farmland held by a corporation is not eligible for this exemption. After reading her comments, Don Forbes provided us with some more information. “On reflection we should have provided greater clarity in the original paragraph in that the farm couple had a mixture of both 320 acres personally owned farmland which was being sold now to provide retirement income and 1,280 acres of corporate owned land which they were retaining but would be sold at some future date.” “The sale of personally owned farmland would qualify for the Farmland Capital Gains Tax Exception while corporate owned farmland would not. If they were fortunate to find a buyer of their company shares in the future, then they could qualify for the similar $800,000 Small Business Share capital gains exemption.” Thanks to our commenter, for being such a careful reader, and thanks to Don for providing us with more information about this case! When planning your own retirement, never forget that it’s the small details that make the difference, and be sure to consult an expert. † Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews.

/ grainews.ca

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Columns UNDERSTANDING MARKET BULLS AND BEARS

Post-harvest marketing Now that your crop’s in the bin, find out how to get a price for it that will keep you sleeping well at night BRIAN WITTAL

arvest is done. Now what’s the next thing you should be focusing on, marketing wise? The grain is in the bin and you still have some of it unpriced. When should you price it? How can you better protect yourself price wise if futures values continue to erode?

THE CURRENT SITUATION First you need to evaluate the world and/or local markets and try to understand where the supply is, where the demand is, which is

greater and where you fit into the picture. You need to know the quality of your grain, so you know if it will meet market demand. Is your quality above average? For example do you have high protein wheat that may allow you to extract an additional premium out of the market? If your quality is only average or below average you may need to look for ways to improve it by blending, which means negotiating with a grain company to take your grain. With this year’s wheat crop being larger than average and the majority of it average quality (No. 1 or No. 2, low protein) there is a lot

of grain that needs to move. That means those who wait to sell could be waiting six to eight months to deliver their grain. Logistically, our transportation system cannot handle a crop of this year’s volume in 12 months so some of it will end up staying on farm. You need to figure out how much, if any, grain you are willing to store until next year. If that’s not an option, you need to look at marketing your grain sooner than later to ensure it will move before next harvest. As mentioned in my previous column, this is where watching futures spreads and basis levels will tell you what buyers and grain compa-

nies want for grain and when they need it. Spreads and basis levels will incent you to deliver now or hold your grain and deliver at a later date.

CASH FLOW NEEDS Next, you need to review your cash flow needs to ensure you are selling grain at the appropriate time. Let’s say you need cash for year end, either to pay some bills or prepurchase fertilizer for year end tax benefits. Preparing to sell grain months in advance of when you need the cash allows you more time to watch the markets to extract the best price possible. The trick is to match your

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cash flow need with their need for grain so that you can get the best futures value, the best spread and the narrowest basis. Let’s say it’s July and you need cash for December, so you’re watching futures prices closely for Nov./ Dec. delivery. For this example we are referring to either canola or wheat, as those are the crops where you have the ability to use options contracts. Futures are up and the basis is historically narrow, so you will net out a nice per acre profit based on your fixed cost and an average yield. You decide you want to protect that profit and — as every farmer is an eternal optimist — you believe markets will go higher. What is your best pricing risk management strategy? If the basis is what you consider narrow, lock that in. That establishes your delivery period. Now, as for the futures, you have a couple of choices: 1. Lock in the futures and then purchase a call option so that if the futures go higher you will extract that additional value from the market with the option. 2. Buy a put option and leave the futures unpriced for now. This allows you to follow the market and limit your downside risk. The put option will protect you if the futures values falls below your strike price and it also allows you to watch the futures markets for an extended period of time so that if the futures do go higher you can lock it in when you want. Now, what if you consider the basis too wide in July, but the futures value is still attractive? You need to deliver grain in November to get cash to meet your December cash flow needs, and the only way you can do that is by locking in a basis or a futures contract with the company to secure a delivery period. If the basis is too wide, don’t lock it in (you must lock in the futures to establish a delivery period). Now that you have locked in the futures you can give yourself some additional pricing flexibility by buying a call option to give you the potential to capture any upward movement in the futures prices. The key is “what does the option cost?” and “what do you think there is for upward movement potential in the futures over the life of the option contract?” Does it make sense to spend the money to buy the option, or are you better off to keep that premium money in your pocket and be happy with the price you locked in? That is always the question that is the hardest to answer: What will the markets do? The better question to ask yourself is: “Are you happy with the price you locked in?” If you do purchase the option contract, can you live with the price you have locked in minus the premium cost for the option contract as your minimum price if the markets don’t move and your option expires worthless? The difference between greed and risk management is what are you willing to spend to protect yourself and establish a floor price as opposed to letting it ride and see where the markets will go. There is a cost to establishing a pricing comfort level (floor price) but there is also a lot less risk for you, which should help you sleep better at night. † Brian Wittal has 30 years of grain industry experience, and currently offers market planning and marketing advice to farmers through his company Pro Com Marketing Ltd. (www.procommarketingltd.com).

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

grainews.ca /

Columns SOILS AND CROPS

Soil and land Modern management and agronomic practice can overcome differences in soil type and quality LES HENRY

anagement with superior agronomic practice is playing an ever increasing role in how hard the trucker has to work in the fall. Many years ago I gave a talk at a national soils meeting in Guelph, Ontario. We had just

Topo map

n October 17 I had a phone call from Joe, a reader from Prairie Home Colony near Wrentham, Alta., southeast of Lethbridge. Joe requested an update on my Land Prices article of a few years ago, which I will do this winter. But before I returned Joe’s call, I did my homework. I looked up the colony on Google Earth and the topographic map, just for fun. The topo map struck me as a great example of the “soil and land” theme. North of Etzikom Coulee is pockmarked with sloughs everywhere but south of the coulee there are very few sloughs. These topo maps are available free at www.geogratis.gc.ca, but the actual link is ftp://ftp2. cits.rncan.gc.ca/pub/canmatrix2/. I find it hard to get what I want on that site. The link shows 250 (1:250,000 scale) and 50 (1:50,000 scale). Click and you get the NTS map list. If you are not familiar with NTS system find someone who is. It is a great resource — old enough to be good! The Google Earth map is from May 15, 2009 and shows the “doughnuts” north of Etzikom Coulee. The doughnuts are usually very good silt loam soils, but the sloughs can be a real drag some years. It is a rare day that I do not open Google Earth if at my computer. Also a great resource. For a serious look at the area the next step would be the Soil Maps — also available on an air photo base with a few mouse clicks. †

finished nitrogen and irrigation studies with canola. The canola yield was increased several fold by the combination of water and nitrogen. That led me to question how important our soil productivity ratings really were. I got roasted in the local press — heresy for a soil scientist to say such a thing. But, many years later it has all come true in spades. In early studies of soil productivity we used cereal variety trials to tell us what the soil could do all by itself. The rating system used by

This map shows the area north of Etzikom Coulee. the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency was based primarily on inherent soil productivity and the system served the industry very well. There were economic considerations for things like “Miles to Market,” which was the distance from the farmstead to the local elevator. This is no longer relevant, but a new system with current ter-

minal locations could be derived. However, this has not been done. When buying land in Saskatchewan, multiples of “Old Assessment” were used as the standard of comparison. I see that being used now also, but be careful. The relationship is not as close as it was in the past. The gold standard in soils in

Saskatchewan was Regina/Sceptre heavy clay in the prairie region and Melfort silty clay loam in the Parkland. But, with our current agronomy there is little difference between Regina heavy clay and Elstow loam. The huge moisture

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

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/ grainews.ca

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Columns OFF-FARM INCOME

How I sold calls on Dryship stock In this column, Andy Sirski explains how he made an incredible return on shares in Dryship BY ANDY SIRSKI

’ve followed Dryship (DRYS) for years and owned shares off and on. Back in June the shipping index, Baltic Dry ($BDI) started to work its way up and so did shares of shipping companies, including DRYS. I was out of the stock but some readers held shares during the time the price dropped to around $2 per share. Some sold calls, some sold puts and averaged their cost down. I watched. At $3.09 I started buying, and until the middle of October I owned 6,700 shares in my personal RRSP account and 1,000 shares in another account. I had sold calls on all of them with a strike price of $3 for October 18, and collected roughly $0.29 cents per share. Since the shares were well over the $3 strike price, they were going to get exercised and taken from me. But I saw an interesting opportunity and took it. Here is what I did. In the account with 1,000 shares, I bought the calls back, bought another 1,000 shares then sold calls on all 2,000 shares. My account with 6,700 shares has a more interesting story. When I saw an opportunity to buy calls back and sell them for more money in the future, I tried to figure out how many more shares I could buy. I wondered if BMO would let me run the RRSP account into the red for a hour or so. If they would, I figured I could buy about 1,300 new shares for $3.50, then sell calls on all 8,000 into January 2015 and collect $1 or more per share. That would pay for the cost of buying back the calls on the 6,700, shares plus the cost of buying the other 1,300 shares. Sadly, BMO wouldn’t let me do that. I had to get to the same spot in three steps. But now I have 8,000 shares in that account, worth roughly $3.50 (as I write), about $28,000 all together, when I started with only $20,700. Being an optimist, it seems quite reasonable for those shares to rise to $4, and that account to get to $32,000 ($4 x 8,000). That would be a gain of 11,300, or 54 per cent in 14 months.

MY RRSP In 2015 I turn 71 and will need to convert that RRSP into some kind of registered retirement fund that can pay me cash for some years to come. Actually, the rule is that in the year I turn 71, I have until the end of that calendar year to convert the RRSP into a retirement fund that starts paying money early the next year. My RRSP was stuck at $12,000 for years because I never put money into it. I knocked it down to $4,000 during the bear market of 2008, drove it up to $12,000 on the recovery, then up to $24,000 when Consolidated Mining (CLM) doubled. Then the Chinese silver company (SVM) took the value down to $18,000 because I wasn’t watching the account. Now, after DRYS, the account was at $20,700.

I had sold calls on the 6,700 shares of DRYS for $0.29 or $1,900. The calls cost $0.51 cents to buy back, or $3,443 with commissions. I tried to buy 1,300 new shares but the broker stopped the order. He said I had to have cash in the account to buy more shares. Besides, he said, I had 6,700 shares to sell calls on so why not do that first. So I did. (I also had about $260 in cash in the account.) I sold a call for January 2015, strike price $4, and collected $0.98 per share: $6,472. That paid off the cost of buying the calls back and left me with around $3,600 in cash. So I bought 1,000 shares for $3.49 ($3,479). Then I sold a call on the 1,000 shares for $947 and

next bought another 300 shares and of course sold calls on them for the same January 2015 date at strike price $4. I collected $0.98 at that $4 strike. I could have sold the $3.50 strike and collected about $1.30. Since I read that DRYS should make a profit in 2014, I figured the shares could go up another $0.50 to at least $4. This is called investing with an educated hope. It really is speculation. It took me three buys and three sells, but I did end up with 8,000 shares of DRYS all fully paid for. Of course the last 1,300 were paid for with market money from selling calls. If the shares get above $4 before January 2015 I likely will

buy the calls back and sell the shares so I think it is sort of safe to think the account could be worth something close to $32,000 by 2015. I’m quite sure that at that time I should be able to find some investment such as selling covered calls that makes at least 10 per cent annually so that account could be paying me around $250 a month for many years. That beats having a $12,000 account that pays 100 bucks a month.

STRATEGY IDEAS If $20,700 worth of shares boosted the account by almost $8,000 for 14 months, can I do this as an investment strategy? Theoretically if $20,700 can

make $8,000 then six times that, $124,200, could bring in almost $50,000. Right? If I could do one of these deals every two months over the course of a year that $124,200 could bring in $48,000, which is about 38 per cent per year. That would be a good sideline income for a working person or a nice add on for a retired guy or gal. But there are a couple of problems. First, there is no guarantee that DRYS will stay at this price. Second, it’s not easy to find shares that can pay $0.98 cents on $3.50 (28 per cent) for 14 months. Still, if you can find stocks with a low downside risk and bring in 15, 18 or 22 per cent per year, nothing wrong with that.

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

grainews.ca /

Columns THE BIG RISK Over the years I have noticed something. Often when the premiums from selling calls are so good it makes me wonder, the shares are ready to drop. Is this the case with DRYS? Well the premium certainly was generous when I sold those calls on October 17 or 18. But guess what happened on October 21. Yes, the shares dropped from around $3.45 to $3.08. My paper cost is $2.33, so I’m not worried about losing money yet. But all of a sudden that $8,000 profit has shrunk. All is not lost. I can still buy that Jan. 2015 call back for $0.20 less than I sold it for and sell a call at a lower strike price, say $3, and pick up more cash. That is my fall back plan. I will watch. Back to finding other stocks with big premiums. You would likely have to sell calls on U.S. stocks, since most Canadian stocks don’t have options more than six months out. But if they paid 12

per cent for six months the idea could still work. Out of curiosity I checked on Barrick Gold — priced at $19.07. Selling calls to Jan. 2015 at $19 would bring in $3,400 which is 17 per cent which is a long ways from 38 per cent. Still good, I suppose, but much lower than DRYS is paying at this time. Do keep in mind that DRYS has dropped in price. First Majestic (FR) or (AG) would pay around $4,600 on $20,000 worth of shares. That’s 23 per cent. Again, a long way from 38 per cent but not so bad. $20,700 could buy 1,300 of FR shares as I’m writing on Oct. 20, and the premium for January 2015 is $4 per share, which would be $3.20 net — which is $41,00 or 19 per cent. So on that $124,000 it could be much easier to make $23,500 than $48,000. In other words, it looks like collecting something over 30 per cent a year selling covered calls 14 months out is rather rare. You could look at selling calls

for six months out twice a year. So, given that there seems to be a big risk when the premiums are high as they were with DRYS, it might be wiser and safer to sell calls on stocks that pay a lower premium and have more safety or less risk built into the price. Of course I could have worked more safely by selling calls for $3 strike right off the bat and that is always something to consider. And my last fall back might be to buy that call back on DRYS, sell the shares and lose a penny or three and move the money into another stock that pays a smaller premium. Nothing says that another stock can’t drop either. I will watch and let you know how this trade works out.

OTHER SHARES Bombardier (BBD.B): I have owned BBD.B shares patiently since shares were $4.06. My average cost is $4.74 because I bought more as the price went up. Shares

touched $5.11 a couple times and dropped again to around $5.75. I collect a dividend of 2.5 cents per share every quarter — about 2.5 per cent a year. On October 21 shares finally broke out and closed at $5.30. If shares do roll over and drop I might sell a call at least on some. As stocks head for the in season for industrials (near the end of October) this industrial might do well. Bonavista (BNP): I’m looking to buy some shares in BNP. The dividend is $0.07 paid monthly. Earnings are predicted to go from about $0.20 per year to about that much per quarter. But the shares went to their 50-day moving average and dropped, so I’m waiting a bit longer. Davis + HENDERSON (DH): This company helps businesses run their business. It bought a U.S. business this past summer which is supposed to be accretive, that is, help make money for DH right off the bat. Shares were around $24 at the time and

I was waiting for a bit of a pullback, which did happen but only down to $26. The shares bounced back up so I guess I will buy a few hundred shares and buy more whether the price goes up or down. As the market heads for the in season for industrials (near the end of October) this stock might do well. TOURC (TOG): This stock went from being a growth to a dividend payer. I started buying at about $1.60. Shares reverse split one for five so that put the cost at about $8 and I bought more shares as the price went up some. Again on Oct. 21 shares touched $10 and change and started to drop so I sold out at $9.88. I gained well over $1 per share which is over 12 per cent for about three months. † Andy Sirski is more or less retired. He gardens, plays with granddaughters and manages his family’s investments. Andy also publishes a newsletter called StocksTalk where he explains what he did with his investments and how they turned out. To read StocksTalk free for a month send an email to sirski@mts.net and Andy will personally sign you up.

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

SOIL AND LAND

Growing Confidence

holding capacity of heavy clay soil was a life saver when half the land was left in fallow but is no big advantage in our continuous cropping systems. Poor soils are still poor soils — very sandy, and especially salty soils are still something to sell in the winter time. And, in today’s grossly overheated land market it is happening just as it did in the 1990s.

LAND AND SOIL

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Soil productivity is what the individual soil will produce with no consideration to the “lay of the land.” With 80-foot seeders, 120-foot sprayers and 40-foot combines some really good soil might not be such good land. Going around 20 sloughs in a quarter section was a pain with small equipment but is a real serious headache with modern large equipment. GPS and special equipment can minimize overlap of seed and inputs, but the inconvenience and inefficiency remains. Buyers from Alberta may not be familiar with the “pothole country” that is so common in Saskatchewan. In much of Alberta the glaciers did a “once over lightly” and good drainage is more common. When buying land be very careful. There is much more involved than just inherent soil productivity. Assessment values are still a useful guide because they are based on cultivated acres in a quarter section and it does deal well with saline soils. And, farmers of today are narrowing the gap between good and fair soils with management that obliterates the inherent differences. Still might be heresy for a soil scientist to say, but there it is! † J.L.(Les) Henry is a former professor and extension specialist at the University of Saskatchewan. He farms at Dundurn, Sask. He recently finished a second printing of “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water,” a book that mixes the basics and practical aspects of soil, fertilizer and farming. Les will cover the shipping and GST for “Grainews” readers. Simply send a cheque for $50 to Henry Perspectives, 143 Tucker Cres, Saskatoon, SK, S7H 3H7, and he will dispatch a signed book.

/ grainews.ca

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Columns HART ATTACKS

Musings on the senate and baptism Lee Hart is rethinking his dream of being appointed to the Canadian senate LEE HART

have to admit I am re-thinking my lifelong dream to be appointed to the Canadian Senate. I may have to settle for just being a governor general or perhaps being knighted. I don’t know what is going on inside the red chamber but me thinks it is a very fishy situation. I might be proved wrong, but I am supporting Senators Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin in this mess. Critics might charge “oh here is another big, celebrity media person circling the wagon around

his own kind,” but honestly I find it very hard to believe that the two got appointed to the senate and then immediately began planning how to fudge expenses to rip off the taxpayer. There are plenty of other options here: 1. They did nothing wrong. 2. They made honest mistakes. 3. They got some bad advice on how the system works and then made honest mistakes. Here is a government system that can scrutinize people’s activities to the degree they can cut some poor schmuck in Swan River, Manitoba, off unemployment because he made an extra 50 bucks moonlighting. Yet there was no administrative assistant processing senate expenses who couldn’t have said, “I don’t think this is a claimable expense?”

Ya, sure they both got sucked into partisan politics during their journalist careers and that is unfortunate. Everyone has weak moments in life we may not like to admit. I confess I had a Liberal candidate in my living room one time, and the place is still creepy. I only go in there during daylight hours. Okay, Duffy and Wallin got involved in politics, got plum appointments, and probably felt they were contributing to the greater good by using their celebrity to help raise funds for the Conservative Party… not to mention all the important decisionmaking that goes on in the Senate. Work, work, work. Despite the glitz and glamour of it all, I really doubt they would forsake their 40-year careers as high

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profile political watchdogs for the sake of fudged expenses. Granted the money involved is not chicken feed, collectively it’s several hundred thousand dollars. But extolling the virtues of the government of the day is a costly business. And then there is Prime Minister Stephen Harper in this whole issue. I give him credit on many matters, but there is something a bit shifty about him. And his hair is always way too neat. I could see him throwing any number of people under the bus, if it would benefit his political career. I always remember a line written by long time columnist Allan Fotheringham in Maclean’s Magazine many years ago — probably during the Joe Clark era — where he said “The Tories are the only politi-

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cal party in Canada that eat their young.” And there is something about this whole Senate scandal that has me thinking Harper and the boys are bellying up to the table. It will no doubt cost a lot of money for an inquiry and who knows how successful that will be, but this is one political scandal where I anxiously await the truth.

I SURVIVED BAPTISM Recently reading the reports of the baptism of Britain’s newest prince, Prince George, caused me to recall my own baptism… and yes I do remember it. I know no one camped out in front of Colquhoun United Church to catch a glimpse of the Hart family entering the sanctuary. And I know my forehead was not dabbed with water from the River Jordan. At best it might have been well water from Colquhoun church hall just down the road. There was no running water in the church itself. I don’t even know if the United Church in those days had any source of holy water, so they might have just collected a cup of water from the downspout off the church roof. I remember my baptism because I was six at the time. It was never an issue in my mind, but I remember asking my mother a few years ago why they waited so long to have me baptized and she really didn’t know. “I guess we just forgot,” I believe was her answer. And when you have a crazy household of three kids who wouldn’t forget to baptize “the baby?” I guess, my mother. There was no ceremony involved in my baptism. My mother might have warned me, “after church today we are going to get you baptized.” I didn’t know what it meant and for some reason my immediate thought was that it wasn’t a good thing. I had never seen anyone baptized but my suspicion was that it was something painful — like getting a needle. Not only did I have to sit through a 15-hour sermon that was all Greek to me, but then they were going to jab me with something afterwards. I needed a strategy. So I remember immediately after the church service I went and hid. There weren’t a lot of places to hide in that one-room church, but I made myself scarce. My mother eventually found me in a corner somewhere, or I might have been hiding out back near the woodshed that held the winter fuel supply for the church’s wood stoves but she dragged me into the entry way on the left side of the church where stood Reverend Bugden. Thank God, I saw no syringes. Five minutes later after a few words and a gesture on my forehead I was good to go. “Hey, that wasn’t bad at all.” So now, whenever I am asked, I always highly recommend getting baptized as one important step on the sometimes rocky road to eternal salvation, unless you are hooked up with one of those churches that likes to tip you backwards into a lake and get you fully submerged for a couple seconds. If that’s the case, try and plan it for a really hot day. † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Columns CAN’T TAKE THE FARM FROM THE BOY

Lessons learned the hard way The path to growing great crops starts with ALPINE G22

His first summer back on the farm, Toban Dyck’s learned a number of lessons from hands-on experience TOBAN DYCK

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he headlands always take longer than expected, but I finished in time for the evening concert we had tickets for. I let the tractor idle for a few minutes to cool it down before turning the key. And then it was over. The 2013 farming season is done. Our garden has been put to bed, the machinery stowed, and our minds are beginning to shift as they do when the weather starts to plummet. But, while it’s still fresh, I’d like to impart some wisdom, from lessons leaned the hard way, and from lessons learned the even harder way. I’ve learned enough about farming this year to be dangerous; enough to stay afloat in out-ofmy-league conversations on agricultural issues I know only by name; enough to know that I don’t know much at all. But also enough to know this farming thing is very interesting, and as sophisticated as you want to make it. At base, it’s food. And, in its more complex iterations, the practice of farming is the perfect blend of cerebral and physical exercise. In good years, it’s also the perfect blend of toil and reward. I visited our local CaseIH dealership more than most other establishments in the area this season. Driving a combine at 20 miles per hour on slim, rural roads is good, even fun at times, but it doesn’t handle like our Jetta. And I made the six-mile roundtrip from a field south of town to the dealership about three times in as many days. Maybe twice, I can’t remember. The observation: Don’t sweat what you can’t control. We had cause to be very discouraged. The clean grain auger gave out and seized, a few straw chopper blades broke off, and the combine fan bust apart. The fan chewing itself up was not a pleasant sound to start the rotor to, and you can’t stop it fast enough. I did not cause these malfunctions. The dealership did not cause them. And my dad did not break his own machine. Things happen. They happen at inopportune times, and they happen to everyone. I’ve witnessed the over-heated farmer delivering broken equipment to the dealership. This is pleasant for no one, and it’s even less effective.

THE GARDEN We planted 38 tomato plants in our garden this year. Our garden was huge, a result of our eyes being significantly hungrier than our stomachs. This proved a twofold lesson: We will not plant so many tomatoes or cucumbers

PHOTO: TOBAN DYCK

Their garden was bigger than their stomachs. With 38 tomato plants, Toban and his wife had more than they could use. next year. I topped our compost with roughly 1,000 rotting tomatoes the other day, and that’s after we froze a bunch whole, made salsa, ketchup, and too many toasted tomato sandwiches to count. The other lesson was in preservation. We had to buy a new shelving unit for all the mason jars that have entered our house this year. Top shelf: relish. Middle shelves: salsa, hot peppers, pickles. Bottom shelf: apple juice, chokecherries, and chili sauce. The observation: When starting a garden where space is not a limiting factor, talk to someone with experience before purchasing seed. And, preserve what you can. Mine your family for great canning recipes.

THE CAR Rural living and Jetta TDIs are not good bedfellows. Our car has been beaten and battered by the country roads. It limps along now. The poor thing scrapes along crowns, hangs up on the hint of a snowdrift, and does not fit properly in gravel-road tracks. This is a lesson we are in the throes of learning. We have a larger car now, and are putting our TDI for sale. This is sad for both of us. We have driven to many far-off places with that piece of German engineering, and have spent very little on fuel doing so. This will change with our new ride, but such is rural living: big vehicles and lots of driving. I’m concerned already about retaining all I have learned this year, most of which was the physical elements to farming: How to properly service and use equipment, etc. I’m happy to not be on my own just yet, and I look forward to sitting down with some literature on agronomy and farm business. Oh yeah, and continuing the search for land to rent. Got any? † Toban Dyck is a freelance writer and a new farmer on an old farm. Follow him on Twitter @tobandyck or email tobandyck@gmail.com.

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

grainews.ca /

Machinery & Shop INSIDER OPINION

Air seeders should still be tool of choice for seeding canola, says manufacturer According to the president of a Canadian seeding equipment manufacturer that offers both air seeders and planters, canola growers shouldn’t walk away from air drills BY SCOTT GARVEY

ecently, there has been a lot of discussion among Prairie farmers about the potential advantages of seeding canola with a planter. Many have tried it, and there are some ongoing trials looking to evaluate the differences between using that implement and an air seeder. But Pat Beaujot, president of Saskatchewan-based Seed Hawk, an air seeder manufacturer, thinks air seeders should still be the implements of choice for canola seeding. At first glance it may seem Beaujot could have a bias because his firm was founded to manufacture and sell air seeders, but his company is now working with its Swedish partner, Väderstad, to offer that firm’s high-speed planters to western farmers who grow row crops. So he does stand to gain no matter which way the trend goes. And offering that dual line of equipment may actually give him a unique perspective. Here’s what he had to say when Grainews asked him to

weigh in on the planter-versusair seeder debate. “We sell planters now too,” says Beaujot. “Planters are designed for seeding row crops and they’re well designed for what they do. But I’m kind of coming at this from is it the right thing for a farmer to do to buy a planter to seed canola?”

POTENTIAL ISSUES Beaujot has heard the debates and doesn’t see an advantage in using a planter for canola. “I think it can be done with some success,” he explains. “But I’m still questioning the thinking behind it. There’s still the issue of how are you going to get your fertilizer on with a planter? The question I ask is if Seed Hawk came out with a double-disc opener for seeding canola that didn’t have fertilizer placement capacity, how many do you think we’d sell? Yet, people are looking at planters to seed canola.” “Are you going to fall band fer-

» CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

Pat Beaujot is president of Saskatchewan-based Seed Hawk, an air drill manufacturer. In October, Seed Hawk was acquired by Väderstad, a European agricultural equipment manufacturer from Sweden.

“ WE’VE ALMOST CUT OUR HARVEST TIME IN HALF WITH THE FLEXDRAPER®.” Bill Aulie, Rouleau, SK Fits Most Current Model Combines Trademarks of products are the marks of their respective manufacturers and/or distributors

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/ grainews.ca

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Machinery & Shop INSIDER OPINION » CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

PHOTO: SCOTT GARVEY

Should farmers give up the one-pass seeding efficiency of an air drill for the precise singulation capability of row planters when seeding canola?

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tilizer? I think the research supported side banding is even better than fall banding, and farmers have moved toward more efficient fertilizer use. If they have to go back and put fertilizer on and then seed, what is the extra cost of that?” He doesn’t buy the idea that planters offer more accurate seed placement. “There was some research done a few years ago in Manitoba that compared canola plant counts from a planter compared to an air seeder,” he says. “But I looked at the details of that research and most of the air seeders were not independent depth control air seeders. Certainly a planter would get a much better plant count than any of those machines. I don’t think that research is valid today because most farmers are seeding canola with air seeders that have independent depth control.” Modern air seeders with independently-linked openers can give planters a run for their money on placement accuracy he believes. “I don’t think we’d come out too far apart. Certainly they (seeds) wouldn’t be spaced apart perfectly like a planter would, but we’d get the plants per square foot as good as the planter would.” Some farmers who’ve chosen to experiment with planters have included evaluating very low seeding rates, which can be done accurately with a planter because they can singulate seeds. But Beaujot notes today’s air drills are capable of seeding at very low rates, too, even lower than what is commonly applied. But like many agronomists, he cautions that no matter what implement farmers use to seed canola, there is a risk to crops seeded at minimum rates if bad weather or pests become a problem. “Some guys selling planters are telling farmers they can cut way down on seeding rates, but I think you have to be careful with that,” he says. “There are a lot of things that can affect your plant count in a hurry. It came to a point where we had some (people) going down to about two pounds per acre to get the ideal seven plants per square foot with a Seed Hawk. But then we came to, I think it was, 2008. We had an early spring and farmers seeded canola early. Then we got a bunch of frost and lost a lot of plants. So our recommendation now is to keep the rate around that four-, 4-1/2-pounds-per-acre range, depending on the seed.” “If you’re right on the edge of the minimum plant count, which you can do with a planter or a Seed Hawk, you save a lot of

www.seedmaster.ca

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

grainews.ca /

Machinery & Shop

Using a planter

d i t o r ’ s n o t e : To d d Botterill, of Botterill Sales at Newton, Man., deals with many farmers who are buying or looking at planters. Lately I’ve been inundated with a wide range of questions about planters. Farmers’ questions range from basic (“What is a planter?”) to detailed (“What difference would I see with a 0.2 mm hole size change in a meter plate?”). At both ends of the knowledge scale, interest in planters is high.

1. Why buy a planter? New interest in planters seems to be driven primarily by high seed costs. Research shows a very precise seeding system will generally provide farmers with higher potential yields, but investing in a planter, which can offer accurate seed metering and placement, is

only worthwhile if seed cost savings outweigh the higher cost of these machines. This began to happen with soybeans when RoundUp Ready plants came out. Now the same thing is happening with canola. Initially, standard air seeders weren’t the most accurate at placing seed at a consistent depth. Long frames running over contours created uneven seed depth. The back row of shanks often left less soil on top of the seed than the front ranks. Why seed this way? The equipment was simple and cheap, easy to maintain, and seed was cheap. Then we saw the growth of the air drill market. Then the precision hoe drill. Each implement was more precise than the last, but also closer to the cost of the planter. When the airseeder was first developed you were looking at a $10

sweep and a $10 boot on a cultivator. Now, with many openers costing $150 per row and the cost of the precision hoe drills, it can be easier many farmers to pencil in a profit after the cost of a planter.

2. Who needs a planter? Planters aren’t for everyone, but some operations are good potential candidates. First: very large farms. These operations already run several seeding tools, have multiple tractors and farm enough acres that canola seed savings can add up to serious money. These operations can look at replacing one or two of their drills with a planter, and use it just to plant canola. They may also use the planter for other crops such as soybeans or corn. A planter allows these farms to be more efficient, and also expand crop rotations. Second: expanding farms. I’ve talked to several farmers that have added more acres and need a larger seeding tool. For example, they

money on seed, but you’re taking on a lot of risk to losing some plants to flea beetles and frost.”

Knife-style openers The knife-style openers Seed Hawk and other brands of air seeders use create an advantage in promoting early germination, says Beaujot, something that’s important on the prairie. “When we started Seed Hawk we looked at the disk and knife openers that were out there. We saw the disc openers don’t warm the soil up enough in our cold conditions in the spring to get good germination. And the maintenance on discs is more than on knife openers.” Beaujot says knife openers can also seed into moisture deeper down in the soil without placing canola too deep, something the discs on a planter can’t do. “In dry conditions, you may have to seed an inch and a half deep to get down to moisture,” he explains. “With a knife opener we create a seed trench, so we can seed only three-quarters of an inch and still get to that moisture. I think people forget that sometimes.” And planters tend to weigh much more per foot of working width that an air seeder. “If you want a no-till planter you have to have a lot of weight there for those discs to cut,” Beaujot says. “That’s a waste of fuel to me (to pull). I’d rather put that weight into the cart and have more cart capacity than have that weight on the drill.” For those growers who are adding corn or soybean crops to their rotations, Beaujot thinks buying a smaller planter just for those crops makes more sense than buying one to use for them and canola as well. “I don’t think farmers here are going to switch whole hog into corn and beans,” he says. “I can see corn coming, and there’s money to be made. But I think it will require slightly different thinking for corn. We’re working with Väderstad on an eight-row planter that will go faster than a standard planter using a smaller tractor. That planter will probably satisfy guys starting to grow corn for a long time.” † Scott Garvey is machinery editor of Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

Ask about the 2013 model and its many new features and schedule a free demo!

have a 50-foot air drill and are contemplating moving to a 70- or 84-foot drill. In an ideal spring, a larger drill will allow them to cover more acres. But in a wet spring, they may have trouble seeding with such a large machine. Third: smaller farms. These farmers like the ability to save money on canola seed, but are also trying to get higher yields from more exact depth control and increased crop choices.

3. What about canola? With the increase in canola seed costs, the ability to reduce seeding rates while increasing germination rates has been driving interest in planting canola. Some research is showing higher germination behind planters than air drills. Initial speculation is that increased seed damage from the air system on an air drill is causing this difference. On a planter seed is typically poured from the bag into a hopper above the row

unit. If a bulk fill system is used on a planter there are no manifolds, just a straight shot directly to the row unit. Since that air system is only moving seed and not fertilizer, the air systems can be dialed down, reducing seed velocity and potential damage. A planter can efficiently meter out three pounds of canola per acre (about 180,000 seeds per acre), singulate the seed and space it accurately across the field at a consistent depth. In the last couple of years, we have seen a huge increase in the acres of soybeans and corn in Western Canada. Although they are relatively new in many areas there have been some great results so far. This change in crop mix, along with increased seed costs, will continue to drive farmers’ interest in planters. † Todd Botterill has been in the farm machinery business since 1994, In 2009 he took over the family business, which now wholesales tillage implements across Western Canada for several different companies. He currently lives in the original family farmyard. Contact him at todd@botterillsales.com.

/ grainews.ca

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Machinery & Shop Seeding equipment innovation

Award winning drill incorporates new technology Some of the features on the Great Plains Centurion drill, which is designed for European fields, may find their way onto North American models By Scott Garvey

“

photos: scott garvey

Left: Some of the award-winning features on Great Plains’ new Centurion drill, which is intended for European markets, may find their way onto North American models. Right: To test the seed meter calibration, an operator can direct seed flow from the meter directly to a collection bag at the end of this tube.

a n

i m p o r T a n T

here are some really nice technological features on this machine,” said Daniel Rauchholz, president of Great Plains International, as he sat at a table inside the Great Plains display at Ag Connect Expo in Kansas City in January. He was discussing the features on the firm’s new Centurion small-grains drill. But the Downtown Convention Centre in Kansas City is a long way from the European farm fields the Centurion was designed to work in, so why exhibit it at a show in the U.S. Midwest? “The main reason we showed it here is because of the international nature of the show and because we

a n n o u n C e m e n T

To Western Canadian Growers Seed Hawk owes our success to the growers and dealers who share our vision. Today, we want to make an important announcement to all Western Canadian farmers. As of October 15, the Swedish agricultural equipment manufacturer Väderstad has increased its stake in Seed Hawk from 49 to 100 percent ownership. This will allow Seed Hawk to expand its operations in Langbank, Saskatchewan, even more than we had planned. The company will continue to be known as Seed Hawk, and our dealer and farm customers will work with the same Seed Hawk team they are familiar with. When Väderstad was considering investing in a North American factory, the Seed Hawk management felt strongly that there was no better place to do it than Langbank, Saskatchewan, where our current manufacturing plant is located. But to make an investment of that magnitude, Väderstad wanted controlling interest in the company. When my partner Brian Dean and I looked at what having an even larger factory expansion in Langbank could do for our employees, our community and our province, we felt the best decision was for us to sell. It was very important to Väderstad that Brian Dean and I maintained active, hands-on roles in Seed Hawk. So the two of us will keep doing what we do best – strategic product and market development. We will both be part of the Board of Directors at Seed Hawk, and I am pleased to continue as the company’s spokesman. We are also pleased to announce that Peter Clarke, formerly our General Manager, is now President and CEO of Seed Hawk. He will be an ideal leader in this exciting new part of the Seed Hawk story. This is a winning combination for the future. Seed Hawk and Väderstad have always shared a passion for agriculture and a vision of innovation that is relevant to farmers and the agriculture industry. The deal with Väderstad will allow significant growth at the plant in Langbank, both in manufacturing capacity and in job opportunities at Seed Hawk. We have a great relationship with the Väderstad owners and we know their long-term thinking means that they will continue to build a very strong company in Langbank. We look forward to many more growing seasons with you. Thank you,

PAT BEAUjOT

Founder & Director, Seed Hawk Inc.

To find more information and watch interviews with Pat Beaujot, visit SeedHawk.com

won a Silver Innovation award for it,” he added. “You could see some technology spin off of it. We’ve patented some nice things on it.” Innovation awards are handed out at each biannual Ag Connect Expo, and winners are chosen as “the best of the best” of ASABE’s (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers) AE50 design awards over the previous two years. The Centurion garnered an Innovation award in the Silver category. The Centurion is the first new product designed by the company since it purchased U.K.-based Simba, another implement and seeding equipment manufacturer, in 2010. Despite the fact that the company doesn’t expect to sell the Centurion in North America, some of the features it offers may find their way onto other products designed for the U.S. and Canadian market. “The hopper is sitting on weigh cells, so you always know how much grain you have in the hopper,” Rauchholz explained. The drill’s controller also uses data from those cells to maintain even weight distribution across the working width of the toolbar. “You can transfer some of that weight to the wings and program it so there is always even down pressure across the width of the machine,” he added. That helps ensure a consistent seeding depth. When the hopper starts to run low on seed, the tractor operator doesn’t need to worry about contacting a helper to bring another load of seed and fertilizer, the Centurion does that automatically. “We have a text message feature, so the guy coming to fill the drill will get a message,” he continued. “You can program that in.” The unique design of the hopper is elongated so that it can be filled with a front-end loader if necessary. Underneath it, the meter is capable of using three different, quick-change rollers, so it can reliably handle very large or very small seeds. “You can be very precise with canola or small-seeded crops. We have a special roller for those. And you can plant very shallow.” When doing calibration tests, Great Plains’ engineers have added a feature that makes that process a lot simpler process. With the pull of a lever, all seed passing through the meter can be redirected to a special outlet for collection in a bag, making it easy to get a measured sample. “With the weigh scales, you also know, is my seeding rate accurate to what my calibration is,” said Rauchholz. “You’re adding another check and balance.” None of the lines to seed blockage sensors are exposed on the Centurion. They’re all routed inside the machine for durability. “We want to try and protect them from the elements,” he added. The drill has section control capability. And it also allows the operator to shut off flow to individual openers for farmers who practice controlled traffic field operations. As for when these features will appear on North American drills, stay tuned. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

grainews.ca /

Machinery & Shop New equipment

Great Plains offers new canola meter Planter manufacturer, Great Plains, has introduced a new, improved meter design to appeal to canola growers By Scott Garvey

eeding equipment manufacturer Great Plains, which is based in Salina, Kansas, recently announced an upgraded metre design for its planters that is intended to appeal to canola growers who may be considering buying — or already own — a planter. It introduced a new, large diametre seed disc that will allow its Air-Pro line of meters to singulate and plant canola. “The newly designed canola seed disc offers a true competitive advantage with an 11-inch (27.94 cm) diametre and 250 cells,” reads the company’s press release. “Accuracy is greatly increased as the meter wheel turns at a low r.p.m.”

Along with the new canola disc, the Air-Pro line of meters will get some overall improvements. “Static cling can be detrimental to successful metering so, in response, Great Plains increased the amount of specially formulated anti-static material in its Air-Pro Meter brushes when developing this new disc for canola singulation,” the press release continues. “The patented Clear-Shot Seed Tube maintains its obstruction-free ‘dead drop,’ but the seed tube material has been changed to be even more transparent, allowing the sensor greater monitoring capability.” “Changes to the brushes and seed tube not only allow for canola singulation, but also improve performance for other small seeds, such as milo,”

says Mike McClure, the company’s engineering manager. “Any seed used at low rates that is prone to static cling will benefit from these changes to the Air-Pro Meter.” Air-Pro Meters are available on all Great Plains planters. “On some models, the Yield-Pro Planter’s 25 Series row unit is capable of row spacings as narrow as 9-1/2 to 10 inches (24.13 to 25.4 cm) — which is especially significant for canola,” adds McClure. If you already own a Great Plains planter and want to upgrade it, a retro-fit canola field kit is available that includes the new brushes and seed tube. †

photo: great plains

Great Plains now offers a canola disc and improved design on its Air-Pro meters that better accommodates small seeded crops.

Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

Farm machinery

Seed Hawk sold

äderstad, a Swedish agricultural equipment manufacturer, has acquired Seed Hawk. Seed Hawk is a manufacturer located in Langbank, Sask. There are about 250 employees at Langbank, which will continue to be the company’s head office and primary production site. Seed Hawk began partnering with Väderstad in 2006. “Since the beginning of the co-operation, Väderstad has been impressed by Seed Hawk’s spirit, inherent power, innovations and potential for growth. Since 2006 Seed Hawk sales have increased 700 per cent,” said Christina Stark, Väderstad’s CEO in the corporate press release. The acquisition will lead to longterm investment in the Langbank factory, and more job opportunities will be created to enable Seed Hawk to grow. “When Väderstad was considering investing in a North American factory, Seed Hawk management felt strongly that there was no better place to do it than Langbank, Sask.,” said Pat Beaujot, Seed Hawk’s founder in the release. “However, in order to make an investment of that magnitude, Väderstad wanted controlling interest in the company. When my partner Brian Dean and I looked at what having an even larger factory expansion in Langbank could do for our employees, our community and our province, it just made sense for us to sell. We know Väderstad will continue to build a very strong company in Langbank, as they think very long term.” The current general manager, Peter Clarke, will become president and CEO. Väderstad sold $330 million of equipment to farmers in 40 countries in 2012. Since 1992, Seed Hawk has been building precision seeding systems to better equip farmers and improve agricultural practices. Seed Hawk manufactures state-of-the-art, zerotillage seeding systems that are sold in Canada, the U.S., Australia, and Eastern and Western Europe. †

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Machinery & Shop SEEDING TECHNOLOGY

Twin-row planters offer benefits in northern climates Corn growers on the Canadian prairie may find twin-row planters can boost their yields BY SCOTT GRAVEY

nyone looking to purchase a planter for the first time may feel a little overwhelmed at what’s currently available. There is certainly a very wide range of models and options to choose from. According to University of Illinois professor and researcher, Dr. Fred Belows, Canadian farmers may want to seriously consider selecting a planter equipped with twin-row openers. Belows PHOTO: SCOTT GARVEY A University of Illinois researcher says twin-row planters was a guest speaker at Case IH’s newmay offer an advantage when growing corn in northern product launch in Denver, Colorado, climates like the Canadian Prairie. in August. He spoke to members of the

media about his research on corn and soybean production. Ironically, Below’s failure to realize yield gains with twin-row planters in Illinois revealed they could offer advantages in a cooler region like the western Canadian prairie, because this area sees barely enough corn heat units during the summer to grow longer-season crops like corn. The close proximity of the two rows of corn plants held excessive levels of heat during the overnight period in Below’s test fields, which was detrimental to yields in the U.S. midwest where daily temperatures are generally higher and the number of available heat units throughout the season is greater.

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The temperature increase comes from crowding more plants into a smaller space in the field. “I had an infrared photograph and the temperature within the twin row is three degrees hotter at night than the standard (single) row,” explained Below. “It (the twin row) holds temperature. If the night time temperature stands above 73 F (about 22.7 C), kiss a bushel (of yield) goodbye for every night that happens.” But across the Prairie where even newer corn varieties just barely get enough heat units throughout the season, carrying over higher temperatures through the night may actually help crops reach maturity and yield higher. “There’s high temperature within that 7.5-inch band,” added Below. “I have seen fantastic twin rows in Minnesota or North Dakota where the high temperature helps. Up north it would work.”

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Generally, Below believes planting corn in narrower rows will be the key to boosting yields all across North America, because it allows for stands with higher peracre populations. “I think the future is in 20-inch rows,” he said. “When I talked about the need for narrower rows to increase plant population, twin rows would be another way.” The twin row also helped maximize water availability to plants in Below’s research. “Corn plants act as funnels to funnel water down the stem,” he said. “With twin rows it was fantastic.” And applying fertilizer to feed plants in twin rows was also easier. “A 7.5-inch twin row on 22-inch centres gives the ability to band right down the centre,” he said. And getting adequate rates of fertilizer to plants right from the start has proven critical in his research. “Apparently plants sense their fertility earlier than we realized and they make irrevocable growth decisions,” he said. “It’s all about rapid growth right from the start, because you can never make up for lost yield (from delayed growth starts).” But there are also some misconceptions among producers on what benefits a twin row offers. Minimizing lodging problems is one of them. “Contrary to popular belief, twin rows do not hold each other up when they lodge,” said Belows. For an online look at some of Dr. Below’s research, visit http:// cropphysiology.cropsci.illinois.edu/ about/staff.html#. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

grainews.ca /

Machinery & Shop SEEDING EQUIPMENT

Versatile increases air cart capacity New, 600-bushel air cart offers three-compartment design and improved, easier-to-use features BY SCOTT GARVEY

“

he number one thing we did was make it bigger,” says Trevor Jubinville, Versatile’s product marketing manager for seeding equipment. “We took what we had and made it bigger.” With the introduction of a new, three-compartment air cart for 2014, the company’s line grows to three models, with the existing 315 and 400, and now the much larger 600 bushel model, which is available with a small-product canola tank that boosts the actual cart size to 634 bushels. “We use a 4:1 reduction in the metre drive (on the canola tank) so we can get down to the ultra low application rate,” adds Jubinville. “We’ve gone with the hydraulic drive Raven Omni-Seed system. It’s hydraulic drive for guys that want variable rate and field mapping capability.” To move seed and fertilizer from the tank to the drill, all three carts use a single fan. Jubinville says that simple design has proven to provide ample air flow for double shooting on drills with working widths up to 70 feet. That feature along with most of the others integrated into the new cart are the result of farmer feedback. “We can go up to 70 feet and double shoot an eight run system still running a single fan,” says Jubinville. “That’s what the farmers have asked for. They’re happy with the single fan as long as there’s enough air to doubleshoot the product.” One of the other features customers wanted to see changes to was the cart’s loading auger. So the new, 600-bushel cart also offers an upgraded version that can be operated with a wireless controller, and it can load all three compartments without repositioning the nurse truck. “What a lot of farmers told us is it’s his wife, daughter or sister up on the top of the air cart, Jubinville says. “They were saying, hey, we need that auger to be able to be run by a girl 5 feet 2 inches, 110 pounds not a big, burly lumberBY DAN PIRARO

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jack. They read us the riot act when we were going to redesign that auger.” Jubinville believes the current auger upgrade answers all of those criticisms. “We took this back to guys who ran the prototype. One of them rated it eight out of 10. The other rated it nine out of 10.” No matter who ends up filling the cart’s compartments, they’ll find it much easier to get up on top to open the fill hatches. The new cart also has a redesigned stairway.

“It’s more of a staircase than it is a ladder,” Jubinville says. Underneath the carts, rear duals are standard to improve floatation, and the front axle uses an Ackerman steering design to prevent ridging during headland turns. “Duals are standard; there’s lots of floatation,” he explains. “Any of the farmers who’ve used these carts love them. They’re really happy with the size of tires we’ve put on them.” † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

PHOTO: VERSATILE

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Machinery & Shop Seeding equipment

Adapting planter design A Prairie retailer and distributor team up with manufacturers to create a unique seeding implement designed specifically to meet western needs By Scott Garvey

“

e always want to keep advancing,” said Kellen Huber, owner of shortline retailer Tri Star Farm Service at Regina, as he described the modified Monosem planter with attached Morris 650 air cart on display at Canada’s Farm Progress Show in June. “There are new (seeding) ideas and new products coming to the table,” he added. And his experimentation with planters, adapting them to common western Canadian farming SFM13-10_02-8.125x10-GN.qxd practices, is certainly bringing a few more.

In an effort to combine the precision seeding strengths of a planter with Prairie farmers’ desire for onepass seeding, Huber was instrumental in getting engineers to fuse a Morris air cart to a Monosem planter. This past spring, the first two units configured this way went to work in Saskatchewan fields seeding a variety of crop types. The blended implement design is also meant to create a planter able to meet the demands of prairie oilseed growers, but still give them flexibility to seed other crops like corn and soybeans. Traditional planter use has 9/26/13 PM fertilizer Page 1 in a required 12:40 applying separate field pass. Huber’s modi-

fication makes that unnecessary. The Morris air cart feeds granular fertilizer to the planter, supplying both a separate starter course in the seed row and additional runs for mid-row placement. It also keeps the individual hoppers on each row opener topped up with seed. “Basically what we’re doing is placing our fertilizer in-row and as well as mid-row,” he continues. “And the cart also becomes a (seed) nurse to the planter.” “The reason why I chose a Morris cart is because they were able to do a triple-shoot system for us,” Huber says. “Now we have the option of changing tanks to dif-

ferent air streams. Their (Morris’) meter technology is working really well with our metering system on the planter. The other thing is the twin fans on the back of the cart. We can get our airflow without damaging the seed going into the planter boxes. But we also get enough air pressure to do the mid-row and in-row (fertilizer placement).”

Manufacturer support Huber says he chose to graft the Morris air cart to a Monosembrand planter, one of the lines his company retails, because of the support he was able to get

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from the manufacturers and their willingness to experiment with this system. “Monosem is an old enough company, but they’re still looking to penetrate the market,” he explains. “So they’re willing to do more. They keep evolving.” “When we came to the (Canada’s Farm Progress) show last year, the biggest thing everybody was asking for was a one-pass system,” said Brian Seeker, territory sales manager for Monosem. “So we talked about it before I left. Throughout the year we got Morris to work with us on the distribution system for dry fertilizer. But a lot of the work was done by the guys here.” The demonstration unit Tri Star displayed at Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina in June was one of the two the company used in field trials this past spring. Huber was satisfied with their performance and had them available for sale at the show. Both use a 40-foot toolbar with row openers on 15-inch spacings. That provides a closer row spacing intended to appeal to canola growers. The same unit can be used by producers who want to plant corn by simply raising every second opener and planting on a 30-inch spacing. The Monosem toolbar used by the demonstration units is essentially unchanged from the company’s standard design, except for the addition of a heavy-duty hitch to pull the air cart. “We spent a lot of time designing a hitch big enough for the size of carts you guys have up here (in Canada),” adds Seeker. “The system for delivering the fertilizer, we had to do a little work on. Morris spent a lot of time on this project, too, helping us match the two together.” Eventually, Huber hopes to have similarly-configured models available in 60-foot working widths, and is even considering wider 80-foot versions. Future planters equipped this way will also be mated to a Morris cart. “We were really happy with the accuracy of the fertilizer that came out of the Morris (metre),” adds Seeker. Huber says he and those he has worked with on the concept have considered the idea of getting row spacings down to 10 inches, but then planter becomes very heavy because of the high weight of row units. So, it becomes a trade-off: narrower row spacings or wider working widths. With a planter there is a limit to how big you can realistically go and still have both. Both Huber and Seeker say they believe the Monosem planter designed to work with the Morris air cart exactly fits a market need. “I think it’s a real good fit for what the farmers are wanting to do,” says Seeker. “The biggest thing up here is guys want to do one pass. They want to minimize stopping. So we’re trying to match the accuracy of the planter, the singulation capability, the spacing on the ground with the fertilizer capacity.” † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

Ad Number: SFM13-10_02-8.125x10-GN

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

grainews.ca /

Machinery & Shop

PHOTO: KELLEN HUBER

PHOTOS: SCOTT GARVEY

Top: Retailed and developed in part by Tri Star Farm Services of Regina, the 40-foot Monosem planter units mated with a Morris air cart combine the seeding accuracy of a planter with one-pass seeding practices. Bottom Left: Engineers at Monosem added a heavy-duty tow hitch to the rear of a standard 40-foot toolbar to accomodate the Morris cart. Bottom Right: Seed flows to the row-opener hoppers, while fertilizer is delivered to both the seed row and for mid-row placement.

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers

OYF nationals back in Regina Once again successful young farmers from across the country will be celebrated at a national awards ceremony BY LEE HART

bout 150 alumni as well as Outstanding Young Farmers (OYF) nominees for 2013 are meeting in Regina, Sask., this week as part of the national awards program to select Canada’s OYF for the year. The seven regional nominees — farm couples representing B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and

Atlantic Canada — will be put through their paces during the week of November 12 to 17 as they are judged on a wide range of criteria including their farm business plans, production practices, environmental stewardship and family and community involvement. After interviews and presentations two couples will be named at the November 18 awards banquet as Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2013.

“The event is back in Regina this year for the first time in 14 years,” says Kris Mayerle of Tisdale, Sask., co-chair of the national event. He and his wife Rhonda were OYF winners in 2008. Garry and Bonnie Meier of Ridgedale, Sask., 1993 winners are also hosting committee co-chairs. When the Outstanding Young Farmers program was launched in 1980 the OYF national awards event was

held in conjunction with the Canadian Western Agribition — this year running November 11 to 16. Later a decision was made to take the national awards on the road each year, alternating between Eastern and Western Canada locations. Along with the judging sessions, nominees and alumni will be involved in social events, will all have time to visit the Agribition show, and will participate in tours of Regina attractions as well as area agricultural operations. The OYF program is sponsored nationally by Agriculture and AgriFood Canada, Bayer CropScience, CIBC and John Deere Limited. † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@ fbcpublishing.com.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

B.C. growers add value Troy and Sara Harker believe in helping other farmers BY LEE HART

hat’s good for other Okanagan growers is good for Harker’s Organics is how Troy and Sara Harker view the role of their diversified organic farming operation in south Central B.C. If they can help other growers find a market and add value to their products that also helps strengthen the Harkers’ own farm retail, wholesale food distribution, and fruit winery operation at Cawston, B.C., a small community on the southern edge of the Okanagan Valley. “Yes our focus is on our farming enterprise, but it’s also about sustaining production of local foods,” says Sara Harker. “It is a very symbiotic relationship as we work with other growers and help them market and add value to their products, it also helps our farm business. It helps us all build sustainable operations.” Sara and Troy are fifth generation producers on the diversified 30-acre organic farm, which was started by Troy’s great-great-grandfather, William James Manery in the 1880s. Each generation has added something to the operation, and when the 30-year-old fifth generation returned to the farm in 2006 they brought their own ideas and energy as well. The Harker’s were named B.C.’s

Outstanding Young Farmers earlier this year.

FIVE DIFFERENT ENTERPRISES “The whole farm is really five different entities,” says Sara whose background is in restaurant management and food service. At the core of the operation is a 30-acre organic farm producing a wide range of vegetables and fruit, and that connects to a wholesale food distribution enterprise that includes their own products as well as products from 30 other growers. A third entity is a restaurant delivery service. Fourth is an on-farm retail market and fifth is a fruit winery. Troy’s grandparents started the on-farm fruit and vegetable retail business and his parents, Bruce and Kathy Harker, who are still quite involved in the business, launched the wholesale food packing venture. When Tory and Sara joined the operation they launched the restaurant delivery service and fruit winery. Other family members are also involved in the farm business. The farm has 12 acres of organic vegetable production, with the rest of the land devoted to a variety of fruit orchards. Part of that production goes into the wholesale food packing and distribution service. Along with 30 other growers, the Harker’s supply produce to a number of retailers under the Harvest Moon brand.

The farm, through Farm to Fork Delivery, also supplies 30 restaurants in nearby Osoyoos (about 30 minutes away) and Kelowna (about 90 minutes away) with fresh produce daily. Most of that product is from Harker’s Organics “picked in the morning and delivered the same day,” says Sara. The on-farm retail market again carries a wide range of fruits and vegetables in-season produced on the farm, with a season that runs from cherry harvest in the spring until Halloween.

A CO-OPERATIVE EFFORT

B.C. organic fruit and vegetable producers, Troy and Sara Harker and their children Kaydence, eight, and Akaya, four.

Sara had the lead interest in starting the now award-winning Rustic Roots fruit winery not just as another enterprise, but also to add value to locally produced fruit. “A good example of how we work together to create a win-win situation for everyone happened in 2008,” she says. “There was another local farm family that by chance had their summer apples, peaches and plums all ripen at the same time and they didn’t have the manpower available to pick the plums. They were just going to let them fall. So we got involved and picked some 3,000 pounds of plums that we made into wine, which went on to be named the best fruit wine in Canada that year. And we paid the grower the same

price for the plums as he would have got on the fresh fruit market. It’s an example of how we can all work together to build sustainable farming operations.” While the fruit and vegetable business is somewhat seasonal, Harker says there is little downtime. They start their own vegetable crops in a 1,200 square foot greenhouse on the farm. Crops are set out in the spring, the fruit stand runs from early summer to Halloween, the winery is open until Christmas, they are packing and shipping apples from January to April, and the restaurant service and winery open in April. At peak season they have 48 employees. The Harkers are also busy raising their daughters Kaydence, eight, and Akaya, four.

“We certainly have a lot of ideas for the future as we need to grow and keeping adding value to the business,” says Harker. Adding a bistro to the winery and developing an area near the winery to host weddings are two plans in the “near future.” She would also like to add cider production. “The focus is on adding value and making a very sustainable farm business so there is something here and attractive for the sixth generation,” she says. “We have our two daughters but there are eight grandchildren in total in the sixth generation so we want the farm to still be here and successful if they are interested.” Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary, Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

grainews.ca /

Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers ALBERTA

Diversifying an Alberta farm Edmonton farmers have built a diversified business “

f you’re not growing you’re falling behind,” is an appropriate motto for how Michael Kalisvaart has managed his Edmonton, Alta. area farm over the past 20 years. When it became clear the economics just weren’t behind the long-time, family-run farrow-tofinish hog operation, he launched out in the mid-1990s to build a straight grain and oilseed cropping operation. Along with his wife, Karen Jansen, and the support of his parents and other family members, Kalisvaart has built a successful and diversified farm business, which this coming year is expanding to about 10,000 acres. They were named Alberta’s Outstanding Young Farmers earlier this year. “In the past few years we have made growth an important pillar of our business plan,” says Kalisvaart who operates Kalco Farms at Gibbons, just northeast of Edmonton. The farm, which is growing by about 2,000 acres next year, produces spring wheat, yellow peas, oats and canola. Along with Michael and his brother Dan, the farm has three fulltime employees. At peak periods such as harvest they’ll have as many as 12. “Part of the growth is to build capacity and optimize the equipment and facilities we already have,” he says. “And we’re also looking for greater scale so we can keep two more people working year round.” Kalisvaart has adopted a Lean Farming strategy and views the farming operation as a manufacturing system. Lean production is centered on creating more value with less work. As a small example, Kalisvaart analyzed the time it took for normal field operations. By reducing travel time and changing practices he saved a few minutes each time they had to fill the air seeding equipment in the spring. Those few minutes each time added up to an hour per day, which over a 20-day seeding season means he can seed an extra 800 acres with one machine. Along with expanding the land base, another focus is to improve farm infrastructure. “The largest area of improvement in our operation would have to be the construction of our central grain storage loading and unloading facility,” he says. The farm was operating with 75 different grain bins, at six separate locations. That has all been centralized to one grain storage facility with capacity for 9,000 tonnes of various crop commodities. “It is a quick loading and unloading system, and we have the ability to move grain around easily which then allows us to blend various qualities to improve value,” he says. All grain is stored in one yard, the cycle times of trucks at harvest have been reduced by 50 per cent and sampling for quality and moisture is immediate and organized.” He also a grain bagging system. Building a farm shop with proper office facilities was another important efficiency move. “We

have a central location to operate our business out of that allows for hiring of non-family employees and provides everyone with space to work through the winter,” says Kalisvaart. “By centralizing, we have cut down on driving time between homes for bathroom breaks and for retrieving office paperwork. We have reduced the confusion among our suppliers and sales people as to where to deliver and meet.” The farm’s leased equipment lineup is traded and replaced every year, ensuring not only new and reliable machinery, but also the latest technology. Along supervising farm operations, Kalisvaart looks after all marketing and crop budgeting plans. He has worked with “the best crop consultant in Western

Canada,” Emile deMilliano, for a number of years on production practices and inputs. The farm was also an early investor in Providence Grain, a producer-owned grain company with grain handling and retail outlets in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Kalisvaart, who is chairman of the board of directors, says his involvement with the company has given him greater insight into marketing and the whole agriculture industry. While his wife Karen Jansen has an off-farm career, she and Kalisvaart are actively involved in community associations and projects, as well as raising their three children, Anna,17, Marijke, 14, and Tim, 11. While the children are a bit young to be making definite career choices, they are

Alberta grain farmer Michael Kalisvaart and his wife Karen Jansen and their three children Anna, 17, Marijke, 14, and Tim, 11, were named Alberta OYF regional nominees for 2013. very familiar with the agricultural industry. Their oldest daughter has summer jobs around the farm and all are involved in producing natural pasture-raised poultry as a business. “It is an excellent way for them to make a few extra dol-

lars, and it also gives them hands on experience of understanding what farming is all about,” says Kalisvaart. † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

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21572_01A FCC_Dykstra_8.125x10.indd 1

10/17/13 12:19 PM

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers SASKATCHEWAN

Joint ventures help Saskatchewan farmers grow the business Chad and Darlene Krikau have built business partnerships to build their Saskatchewan grain and oilseed farm BY LEE HART

LOOK AT THE OPTIONS

stablishing business partnerships with other farmers has been an important element for Chad and Darlene Krikau over the past seven years as they have built their central Saskatchewan grain and oilseed farm. While it is nice to own everything yourself, the reality is that farm economics don’t always support the notion of owning every acre or every piece of equipment from Day 1. “As farmers we tend to have this independent streak,” says Krikau who along with his wife and family operate Stream Stick Farms at Waldheim, just north of Saskatoon. “And personally I prefer to own too, but it has to make economic sense. You look at the numbers and farm cash flow and you have to look at your options to make the business viable and sustainable.” The Krikaus were earlier this year named Saskatchewan’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2013. Born and raised on family farm in the Waldheim area, Krikau began his own farming operation in 1995. He first rented 110 acres from his father to get things started and has gradually expanded with mostly rented land. Today they crop about 2,600 acres of canola and wheat, with some barley and oats depending on the markets, and soybeans are beginning to creep into the rotation.

But with rented farmland and limited equipment Krikau looked at his options without taking on considerable debt. “One of the most important steps in our farm business was developing a partnership with a farm neighbour who use to be one of my customers when I was a sales agronomist with Wendland Ag,” says Krikau. “He needed some labour and I needed some help with machinery so we decided to work together.”

“You can’t stand still.”

— Chad Krikau The relationship has continued and grown for the past six years. Krikau provides labour as needed for his neighbour but has use of equipment for which he pays custom rates. They also work together on sourcing land. Through his relationship with the neighbour, Krikau was able to rent more land and grow his farm business. Another important development about two years ago, again in a business arrangement with his neighbour and another farmer who was retiring, Krikau was able to buy land and a farmyard. “We had been farming rented land and living right in Waldheim,

but then this opportunity came along with a retiring farmer who had about 4,000 acres and a nice farmstead,” says Krikau. “So the three of us working together were able to come up with a arrangement, where my neighbour was able to buy part of the farm and Darlene and I were able to buy the farmstead and about 480 acres of land.” The deal also included two important pieces of machinery — a field sprayer and swather — that helped Krikau complete the line of equipment needed to farm. “I know 2,600 acres isn’t a large operation by today’s standards, but it is a viable operation and we now have a solid line of equipment we can manage ourselves and we don’t have to worry about finding custom work to help us pay for it.” Developing a business relationship with other farmers to share resources has helped the Krikaus develop a profitable and sustainable farm operation. While he says he hopes to be able to buy more land in the future, the system is working with mostly rented land acquired through threeyear and ideally even longer-term leases.

A TEAM EFFORT It is very much a team effort on Stream Stick Farms as Darlene is actively involved in day to day operations. A teacher by training, she has stayed home from the classroom to raise their two

Saskatchewan grain farmers Chad and Darlene Krikau and their children, Liam, 6, and Kalyna, 3, are Saskatchewan’s OYF regional nominees for 2013.

children Liam, six, and Kalna, three. And as time permits, she’s involved with field work as well, for exampling, handling most of the seeding during the 2013 season. Krikau is also working to improve overall production. While he has been following primarily a cereal/ oilseed rotation he is looking for a third crop such as soybeans to add to the mix. “We just had a trial field of soybeans this year,” he says. “It has potential but I think it still needs some improvement in genetics to be better suited to our growing conditions. But I can see soybeans becoming an integral part of our rotation over the next few years. “ While saturated soils haven’t been a major issue, Krikau says he has about 100 acres in total that are prone to hold too much moisture, so he is treating those areas with vertical tillage equip-

ment in hopes of breaking up any hard pan layers to improve water infiltration. Continuing to grow the farm business through more business arrangements is the plan ahead for the Krikaus over the next few years. “Our main objective is to keep the farm solvent and profitable, but reality is that you can’t stand still,” says Krikau. “We need to grow the business and right now we are looking at some other joint ventures that will hopefully allow us to farm more acres and improve our efficiency. Sometimes we can get hung up on our independent thinking, but if we don’t look at some joint venture projects, we could miss out on some real opportunities.” † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

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Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers MANITOBA

Manitoba nominees focus on enterprise economics For Tyler and Dorelle Fulton, knowing what parts of their business make a profit is the key to success BY LEE HART

yler and Dorelle Fulton say it’s a sharp pencil that help keeps their southwest Manitoba cow-calf beef operation in the profit picture. They’ve separated the farm business — managed in a joint venture with Tyler’s parents — into four different enterprises. They monitor the profit potential of each enterprise throughout the year and adjust management as needed. “We analyze each enterprise to ask ‘is it or is it not making money, or could it be managed better and what do we have to do to change that?’” says Tyler. “Our focus has been on optimization our resources and our profits.” Fulton cited a recent example where market research in 2012 showed the value of hay was skyrocketing in drought stricken parts of the U.S. He decided to pull yearlings off his alfalfa and grass-blend forage pastures on their Birtle, Manitoba farm. He sold the 850-pound yearlings, and later harvested a cut of high quality alfalfa hay he was able to market into the U.S. While cattle prices are improving, the hay netted a higher return than the extra pounds of beef.

NEW ZEALAND INSPIRED The Fultons, who returned to active farming in 2006, were the winners of the 2013 Manitoba regional Outstanding Young Farmer’s competition. Actually it was just Tyler who was returning to the family farm. Dorelle is a Winnipeg-raised accountant — a city girl — who on a trip with Tyler to New Zealand agreed that farming might be an option. Although Tyler was born and

raised on the farm, after graduating from the University of Manitoba with an ag business degree he worked for about 10 years as risk management specialist for Manitoba Pork and most recently H@MS Marketing Services (the name is a stylized version of “hams”). After he and Dorelle married they took a holiday to New Zealand. “We had some connections there and met some farmers and we were so blown away by their business spirit that we were both inspired,” says Tyler. “We came home from that trip with the motivation to come back to the farm at Birtle, join my parents, and see what we could accomplish.” Today the Fultons produce hay and pasture on about 4,400 acres, run a 450 head cow-calf herd, and also a backgrounding operation. The four business enterprises include the land, cattle, hay sales and pasture — each of those has a ledger account. With Dorelle’s training as an accountant they can track the profit and loss potential of each enterprise. “Our objective is to allocate resources to the enterprise that will produce the highest profit,” says Tyler. Their basic business plan is to obviously, first calve out the cow herd, wean the calves in the fall and typically background them over winter, and then put them out on pasture the following year. Those yearlings could be marketed as 950 lb. feeders ready for a finishing feedlot. “Depending on the year and market conditions we really have three different options,” says Fulton. “We can market the calves right after weaning, we can market them as light feeders in March, or as heavy feeders in August or September.” The

majority of their feeder cattle are marketed into the branded Spring Creek natural beef program, based in Alberta. Along with producing pasture and winter feed for their own cattle, the Fultons have also developed a strong local and export hay market over the years. Producing mid-size square bales averaging 750 to 800 pounds, they have developed a market for high quality hay for all classes of livestock ranging from horses to alpacas, with their largest export market being quality alfalfa hay sold into the Wisconsin dairy market.

A REAL GAME CHANGER One of the biggest changes in recent years which had a positive effect on all enterprises involved switching to corn for winter grazing for the cowherd. Before corn the cattle overwintered through bale grazing. The herd later this fall will be heading into the third season of 120 acres of grazing corn, which will provide 90 to 100 days of winter feed. “Switching to grazing corn has really been a game changer for our operation,” says Fulton. “It is rarely you make one management or production change that has that impact.” Their enterprise analysis shows corn grazing reduces their winter feeding costs by as much as 40

Manitoba beef producers Tyler and Dorelle Fulton and their six-year-old twins Evan and Mae are the 2013 Manitoba OYF nominees. per cent, compared to a bale grazing system. Mature cattle will go from pasture to corn grazing around November 20. Except for a modest alfalfa supplement, they over-winter on corn until about mid-February. It is an intensive winter grazing system with the cattle moved daily to a fresh stand of corn. Looking ahead, Fulton says they will have to make a decision on where the hay market is going. “We may cut back on hay sales and opt to increase the cow herd,” he says. While his ongoing part time consulting role with H@MS Marketing Services is specific to the hog industry, it does provide a good overview of the whole livestock and feed sector. “An overriding objective as we

look to the growth of the farm is to make sure it is both environmentally and economically sustainable,” says Fulton. “We want it to still be here and an option for the next generation.” While Tyler focuses on the management and production aspects of the farm, Dorelle is also brings her accounting skills into key aspects of the farm business, and she also focuses on raising their six-year-old twins, Evan and Mae. Tyler and Dorelle are also actively involved in many community projects, associations and boards, including the school board and library board, respectively. † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers Ontario

Ontario farm operates around a country store Dana and Adam Thatcher have grown their livestock enterprise over the past six years By Lee Hart

t may not be quite as simple as “build it and they will come,” but Dana and Adam Thatcher, Ontario’s Outstanding Farmers, have found if you produce high quality and healthy meat products customers will find you. The Thatchers, who converted their one-time Western Ontario hog operation into a diversified livestock enterprise complimented with an on-farm meat retail outlet, say the business has steadily grown over the past six years partly because of quality and partly because consumers like buying directly from a producer. “Our farm is out in the country, we’re not on a major highway, but people come from all over,” says Dana who, along with husband Adam, operates Thatchers’ Farms at Rockwood, near Guelph. As their website says, “Our products are all raised on our farm, in Eramosa Township. Our meat products are completely free of hormones and additives. We believe that our products are a healthy choice for your family. Buying locally here at our farm allows our customers to experience exactly how their food is grown. “It has been really rewarding

just to see how the business has grown,” says Thatcher. “We started out with a small 200 square foot shop attached to the house and now we have a 2,000 square foot country store, butcher shop and bakery.” They are drawing regular customers from Guelph and nearby communities. Many drive an hour from Toronto and Mississauga. While Adam’s family had farming connections, he and Dana are first generation owners of Thatchers’ Farms. They were in the hog business for a while, but with “hog prices going down, and feed costs going up,” Dana says they decided to make a change in 2007. “We got rid of the hogs and decided to raise sheep, produce lambs and sell meat,” she says. They started small, added other classes of livestock on their 440 acre operation, contracted a butcher to work on a part time basis and sales and the business grew. Today they have about 600 head of sheep, including 250 head of ewes. They also raise beef, hogs, chickens and turkeys. Adam lost a workshop when the country store moved into the 2,000 square foot building in the yard which today houses the store, a butcher shop with a full time butcher and a bakery. Along with a full range of

fresh and deli meat products they also carry milk, cheese, yogurt, honey, eggs and related grocery items. Along with the farm store they also operate a stand at the weekly Guelph farmer’s market. “I don’t know if there was one particular change, but as the business started to grow we realized it wasn’t just the two of us anymore,” says Thatcher. “We had full and part time employees and our whole focus centered around moving our entire farm production through the country store.”

Year round production The sheep lamb three times a year, and they have year round processing of all types of livestock. They truck animals to a local abattoir for processing; carcasses are delivered back to the butcher shop where the farm butcher cuts and wraps meat all week. Adam focuses on the production side of the operation, while Dana manages the store. “Probably the biggest learning curve we had was learning how to manage the farm business and our personal life,” says Thatcher. “I am a school teacher who quit my job five years ago to work on the farm. And I am not a farmer. I had to learn that dinner isn’t always served at 5 p.m. and silage and

Ontario livestock producers Adam and Dana Thatcher along with their children, Sophie, 5, William, 4, and Thomas, 2. hay happens when it needs to. We also have three young children so it was about learning to manage all that was happening on the farm, but also having time to raise the family.” Their family includes Sophie, five, William, four, and Thomas, two. Thatchers’ Farm and country store appears to be well established; Dana says they are looking at the next phase of development. “We definitely need to be looking ahead about where we go from here,” she says. Agritourism is one logical step being considered. “We would like to incorporate

an education component into the farm business,” she says. “We would like to get involved in school tours at the farm. I would like to someday see a barn or some facility setup as a demonstration classroom. “One of the things that is really cool about farming and having a country store is that you get to put a face to the consumer who buys your products,” she says. “We feel it is important to make that connection.” † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

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Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers NOVA SCOTIA

Dairy farmers focus on making the most of what they have James and Amanda Kinsman are focusing on efficiency and profitability at their Nova Scotia farm BY LEE HART

ames and Amanda Kinsman might have more land or more dairy quota on their Christmas wish list, but since no one appears to be making any more of either in Nova Scotia they’re just doing their best to be as efficient and profitable with what is available. The Berwick, Nova Scotia dairy farmers would really like to expand their dairy herd, but with the industry so stable in the Atlantic province, dairy quota is very hard to come by. To grow the farm, another option is to produce more cash crops, but in the heart of the vegetable growing Annapolis Valley, it is also a challenge to find more land for economic corn, soybeans and wheat production. The Kinsmans, along with their two young children, operate a 190 head dairy and produce forages and cash crops on about 1,800 acres as Windcrest Farms. The couple were named Atlantic Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmer regional nominees earlier this year. Limited opportunities for e x p a n s i o n h a v e f o rc e d t h e Kinsmans to focus on optimizing yields and production with what they currently have. “We’re driving production on the dairy side and driving yields on the cropping side,” says James. “I am a very go-forward type of person — very growth minded, so it is a bit frustrating to be limited. There is very little quota available to expand the dairy and we’re

buying and renting land as it becomes available, but it is a very competitive market here. It would be nice to think one day we can use all the production off the land we have to put through the dairy herd, but I am not sure if that will happen in my lifetime or not. But it is what it is.” James was born and raised on the family dairy farm. He attended Nova Scotia Agricultural College and worked off farm before coming back to full-time farming in 2003. Amanda is a school teacher, and along with helping with the farm when possible, also focuses on raising the couple’s three-yearold twin daughters, Alexis and Brooke.

NEW FACILITIES One of the biggest improvements to the farm in recent years was building a new dairy barn and milking parlor in 2008. “Our old facilities were full and cramped and we had average production,” says Kinsman. “So building the new facility was a big step forward.” The Kinsman’s have doubled the size of their dairy herd since 2008. They have a Coverall shelter for the loose-housing area for the dairy herd, which is attached to a double 10, rapid exit, herringbone milking parlor. The herd is milked three times a day. “We have room to expand the herd to some extent with the facilities we have, but everything was also built so the barn could be extended on one end and the parlor could be extended on the

other,” says Kinsman. “We hope someday we will be able to grow the dairy herd, and expand the barn as needed.” The farm has about 1,800 acres of deeded and rented land. About 1,000 acres is in cash crop production, while the balance produces forage and silage for the dairy herd.

“Our focus is on increasing production and profitability.” — James Kinsman

FOCUS ON PRODUCTION With the combination of improved facilities and management fine-tuning, milk production has increased significantly over the past five years. Herd average production today is about 42 litres of milk per cow per day compared to about 28 litres in the old barn. Switching to milking three times a day two years

Nova Scotia dairy farmers James and Amanda Kinsman and their threeyear-old twin daughters, Alexis and Brooke, are the 2013 OYF Atlantic Canada nominees. ago also contributed to improved production. Kinsman says milking three times a day increases production by about six to seven litres per cow. “It takes a bit more feed, they eat a bit more, but it also produced one efficiency I wasn’t expecting,” he says. “Our power bill actually dropped by about $100 per month. We milk at 4 a.m., 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. which are off peak hours, so our power rates are lower during those times.” Kinsman isn’t sure how much more improvement he can expect in milk production either through feed management and herd genetics although that’s always on his radar. He is focusing on improved calf and heifer management in a bid to build the better dairy cow. “We’re paying close attention to our calf management,” he says. “We work to improve the growth of those pre-weaned calves so they are leaner and taller at two months of age. If the heifer calves have good growth, then

that produces a larger heifer, and hopefully she becomes a more productive dairy cow. “We’re pushing the growth of the calves a bit more and then the growth of the heifers a bit more. We’re targeting heifers to calve at 22 months of age rather than 24 months and if she has the growth hopefully she’ll produce more milk in that first lactation.” Kinsman hasn’t give up on expansion plans, but says he has to be realistic. “I wish I could say the plan is to double the dairy operation over the next five years, or crop another 1,000 acres but it is not a reasonable goal,” says James. “In reality the opportunity just isn’t there right now to significantly increase the dairy herd or our cash crop operation. So while we need to be watching for opportunities, our focus is on increasing production and profitability of what we have.” † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

Canada’s Annual Ag Outlook Conference

February 24 & 25, 2014 The Fairmont Winnipeg

Take control of your marketing The Wild Oats Grain Market Advisory provides: • news and statistics that affect prairie markets • analysis making sense of the market action • specific strategies for marketing wheat, durum, oats, malt and feed barley, canola, flax, lentils, peas, mustard and canary • detailed farmgate prices for each of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba • futures and options quotes

Wild Oats, every Tuesday, keeps you on top of the markets without drowning you in market noise. It’s one page of news, one page of analysis and marketing strategies and two pages of numbers. The cost is $295 a year. Delivery is by internet, fax or mail. Subscribers can call for personal marketing advice at any time. Subscribe even if you have another marketing service, and it’s good. You can’t have too many opinions on the market. Terry Young, who farms at Lacombe, Alberta: “Wild Oats works for me.” To subscribe call 1-800-567-5671 or on-line at Canadagrain.com

Get detailed outlooks for all the crops we grow in western Canada. Speakers include: Every farmer has been a marketing genius for the last two years. 2012 saw a good crop and the best prices we’ve ever had. 2013 saw the best crop ever grown in western Canada and still decent prices. You’ll have to sharpen your pencil for 2014 however. Two years of good prices have farmers around the world producing to the max. Making money will be a challenge in 2014. Arm yourself with information on the market outlooks for the various crops we can plant in western Canada. Wild Oats Grainworld 2014 will provide you with detailed outlooks from traders who handle the crops.

- Canola - Tracy Lussier, Dreyfus - Feed Barley – Jim Beusekom, Market Place Commodities - Durum – John Griffith, CHS - Red Spring Wheat – Trevor Letkeman, Parrish & Heimbecker - Oats – Randy Strychar, Ag Commodity Research - Soybeans – Karl Skold, Bunge In addition, hear Charlie Mayer on the value of farmers, an international panel of grain customers, a review of where the seed industry is headed and Dennis Gartman, publisher of the Gartman Letter, on financial policy. Join us at the Fairmont Hotel at the corner of Portage and Main in Winnipeg. Early-bird registration is $400 and includes all sessions and meals. Register at wildoatsgrainworld.com or call 1-800-567-5671.

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers Quebec

Quebec dairy producers focus on quality cattle Luc Gervais and Kim Brunelle are planning to expand for their 84-head milking herd in Quebec By Lee Hart

Quebec dairy farmers Luc Gervais and his wife Kim Brunelle, along with their daughters Meggy, 15, Magalie, 12 and Charlotte, seven, are the 2013 Quebec OYF regional nominees.

anagement finetuning and expanding the dairy herd are ahead for Luc Gervais and his wife Kim Brunelle on their long-time family dairy farm in south-central Quebec. Renovations to the dairy barn a few years ago was an

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important step in the growth of Ferme Germec Inc. located at Herouxville, a small farming community about 140 km northwest of Quebec City. But Gervais, who farms with brother Daniel and cousin Francois, plans to make further improvements in coming years. Gervais and Brunelle were earlier this year named Quebec’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2013. Gervais was born and raised on the family dairy owned at the time by his uncles. He completed a college degree in Farming Operation Business Management, and worked off farm for a number of years before returning to the farm 12 years ago. Gervais, his brother and cousin bought the operation in 2010. Today they manage an 84-head milking herd. They have 100 mature cows in total along with about 80 head of calves and heifers being raised as replacements. Feed for the cattle is produced on about 450 acres of both deeded and rented land. Recent improvements in dairy facilities included expanding the free-stall barn, adding tunnel-type ventilation and improving over all cow comfort. Those improvements along with on-going improved genetics and proper feed management allowed them to increase milk production from about 10,000 kilograms per cow per year to about 12,240 kilograms per head per year in a two-times a day milking program. Focusing on quality cattle their purebred herd classification shows seven excellent, 29 very good, 42 good plus and nine good. Looking ahead, as they focus more on improving genetics of the purebred cattle, Gervais plans to buy more quota to expand the herd. As well, he feels to get a better handle on herd management and milk production he would also like to change facilities to have the milking herd in a tie-stall barn. They also hope to build a facility to improve heifer management. Along with keeping up on the latest field and dairy production technology, Luc is also actively involved in taking courses and attending conferences to improve overall crop and dairy herd management. Kim has an off-farm career and helps out with farming as needed. Together they are both involved in community and association activities and of course are actively involved in raising their three daughters, Meggy, 15, Magalie, 12, and Charlotte, seven, who all have a passion for gymnastics. † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

grainews.ca /

Keepers & Culls Consider adding kale to the grazing menu LEE HART

raeme Finn says he believes kale, also known as forage rape, is a viable feed option for grazing cattle, and something he can snack on as he is walking across the pasture. Finn, who ranches in south-central Alberta just north of Calgary, seeded about seven acres of forage rape this year. It was part of a demonstration trial organized through the Foothills Forage and Grazing Association. They are always looking to try new ideas. What Finn seeded in the corner of a 130-acre field of an oats/barley blend that will be used for swath grazing later this year, is technically called forage brassica, which is a cross between a turnip and kale, generally referred to as rape. “It is a crop that is commonly grown in New Zealand and is used for both grazing and also for swath grazing,” says Finn. “I see it as having a really good fit for someone who is short of pasture — it appears to be a very good alternative to seeding an annual cereal crop. And it could also be great if someone is looking for a high-protein crop to put weight on yearlings, or even for a dairy operation looking for highprotein pasture.” Samples collected from the forage rape stand in September had about 16 per cent protein compared to the nearby stand of oats/barley blend with 9.6 per cent protein. Finn estimated the cost of establishing the stand at about $25 per acre for the seed and another $21 per acre for the seeding operation. He had swathed the forage rape in September and there had been

good regrowth by mid-October. It even withstood some fairly heavy frosts, and was still green and vibrant on a -5 C morning after the first snowfall of the season. For the demo plot, Finn seeded a blend of two pounds of Winfred forage rape with seven pounds of Crusader fall ryegrass, with seed available through Pickseed. If he was growing it again, he says he would probably increase the amount of forage rape seed in the blend. With a straight stand of either crop the recommended seeding rate is four pounds of the forage rape seed and 15 pounds of the annual ryegrass. The forage rape/ryegrass blend was direct-seeded into stubble June 11, with about 70 pounds of broadcast-applied nitrogen applied a few weeks after seeding. “It could have been grazed about 50 days after seeding,” says Finn. “In this case we didn’t put cattle on it, but swathed it in September to simulate grazing. Swath grazing is an option, or it could just be used as a fast-growing forage crop that is grazed once earlier in the season and then again later in the fall.” While there were good growing conditions in the Airdrie/ Crossfield area this past summer, Finn says forage kale is also quite drought tolerant. The forage rape demonstration plot will be included in Finn’s usual swath grazing program later this fall. The 130 acres of oats/ barley blend were also swathed in September. The field will be divided into 20-acre paddocks, and grazed by about 200 head of dry cows over winter. “I have used the swath grazing for a number of years, and we rarely have to start a tractor in winter to do any feeding,” says Finn. From summer pasture the cow herd moves onto the swath grazing in November, which most

Left: Graeme Finn says forage rape (kale) appears to grow well and has a fit for high-protein pasture . Top Right: Forage rape has good frost tolerance and stays green and palatable even in the snow Bottom Right: Forage rape is expected to be the feature attraction when cattle hit this swath-grazing pasture years carries them through until February or March. “The cows do very well on the oat/barley swaths but I know when we turn them into this part of the field that forage rape will be the first thing they lick up,” says Finn. “It is a sweet-tasting crop that is very palatable — it will be the first to go.”

WEDER STILL IN THE COUNTRY While long-time Alberta purebred Angus breeder Christoph Weder has moved his ranch headquarters to Hudson Hope, B.C., he says he still has his roots in Alberta. Weder says Spirit View Ranch still has its operation at Rycroft, Alberta as well and they are still in purebred cattle business. Weder also heads up Heritage Angus Beef, which markets naturally raised Angus beef.

SUCH A LEGACY Morris Schwartz is on his deathbed, knows the end is near, and is with his nurse, his wife, his daughter and two sons.

“So”, he says to them: “Bernie, I want you to take the Beverly Hills houses.” “Sybil, take the apartments over in Los Angeles Plaza.” “Morris Jr., I want you to take the offices over in City Centre.” “Sarah, my dear wife, please take all the residential buildings downtown.” The nurse is just blown away by all this, and as Morris slips away, she says, “Mrs. Schwartz, your husband must have been such a hardworking man to have accumulated all this property.” Sarah replies, “Property? The schmuck has a paper route!”

NEW INSURANCE FOR MANITOBA FORAGE CROPS The Manitoba Forage & Grassland Association (MFGA) says it’s pleased with the new AgriInsurance forage package for Manitoba forage producers. MFGA has been working with partners and Manitoba Agricultural » CONTINUED ON PAGE 43

COMING EVENT CANFAX CATTLE MARKET FORUM: The second annual Canfax Cattle Market Forum is set to run the evening of Nov. 26 and all day Nov. 27 at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino on Deerfoot Trail in Calgary. There are several good speakers lined up to give an overview of beef markets in Canada and other parts of the world. Perhaps one of the most interesting talks will be given by Colin Woodall, vice-president of the National Cattleman’s Association in the U.S. who is speaking on “The Fallacy of COOL.” It will be interesting to hear what he has to say about country-of-origin labelling issue. For more details or to register go to the Canfax website at: www.canfax.ca. Cost of registration ranges from $200 to $250 depending on whether you are a Canfax member. †

BEEF PROCESSING

New life at former Rancher’s Beef

n American investor, who’s also had a 47-year career in the beef packing industry has bought the long-closed Rancher’s Beef packing plant at Balzac, just north of Calgary with every intention of making it a profitable beef processing facility. Rich Vesta of Fort Collins Colorado, who worked his way through the business from a meat cutter to a top executive of one of the largest meat-processing companies in the world, says after renovations and upgrades he plans to be processing cattle under the Harmony Beef name by early in 2014. “I’ve been in the meat business all my life — started as a meat cutter when I was 14,” says Vesta, former CEO of JBS North American beef division. “I’ve owned food retail, owned and managed packaging plants across the U.S. I know every aspect of this business and have always made money — sometimes I didn’t make a lot of money, but I always made money.

“I wasn’t ready to retire and when I found this gem of a facility here in Alberta I knew it could make money too. It is a state-of-the-art facility. I don’t want to sound flippant, but often raising the money for a project like this is the easy part. The challenge is to know how to manage and operate the facility and market your product.” Joining Vesta in the management of the family-owned company is his son Jeremy, a risk-management specialist and former grain trader with Bunge, now learning the meat packing business.

NEW NAME, NEW TECHNOLOGY Vesta says an $18-million retrofitting will be underway over the coming months — mostly to introduce new technology to the existing infrastructure, Vesta says Harmony Beef will be up and running by June 1, 2014, with about 125 workers processing up to 775 head of cattle per day.

The initial six to nine months of operation will simply concentrate on getting everyone trained and any kinks out of the system. Vesta says while he plans to supply any local markets he can, the main focus will be on a global marketplace with branded beef products, all produced in the largest EU-approved packing plant in Canada. “I am not here to compete with the existing meat packing plants, because we won’t be producing commodity beef,” says Vesta, who now has a home in nearby Airdrie. “It took me a while to realize it myself, but Alberta and western Canadian ranchers produce some of the highest-quality beef in the world.

IN HINDSIGHT REALLY BAD TIMING The original $40-million Rancher’s Beef plant, backed by 50 investors, was launched in 2005 as a producer-owned facility aimed at shoring up the Alberta beef

industry in the wake of the 2003 BSE crisis. But burdened by debt, a period of high Canadian dollar, limited markets, high labour costs, regulatory issues and a number of other local challenges, the business began bleeding money almost immediately and closed 14 months later. Rancher’s Beef president Rick Martinez said in a 2007 radio interview as the plant was shutting down, “If you threw a dart at the wall you couldn’t have picked a worse time to open a facility in the beef industry. The margins were at 10-year lows.” The bankrupt plant and 140acre site valued at $75 million was bought through a courtordered sale by Alberta-based Sunterra Beef in late 2007 for an undisclosed amount, although it never did operate as a beef plant again. Vesta’s company, Vesta Holdings, bought the facility from Sunterra for an undisclosed amount, with the sale to be finalized by Nov. 1, 2013.

Rich Vesta and his son Jeremy are overseeing renovations of Harmony Beef, the old Rancher’s Beef packing plant that should be back in operation in early 2014. Vesta says the name Harmony Beef has particular significance. “That is our plan, to be here and operate in harmony with all aspects of the industry,” says Vesta. “With the technology we are incorporating in the plant we want to operate in harmony with the environment, and also be in harmony with our employees, our suppliers and our customers.” †

/ grainews.ca

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Cattleman’s Corner BETTER BUNKS AND PASTURES

Straw can be used in overwintering beef rations PETER VITTI

ccording to StatsCan, western grain farmers and just about anyone driving across the Prairies, this year’s harvest of cereal crops was phenomenal. With millions of bushels of grain picked up by thousands of combines, tonnes of straw are being thrown out their back ends. Whether it is baled in round or big square bales, a bountiful crop of grain straw can be easily used as an alternative and economical forage source for overwintering beef cows.

The best candidates for feeding straw in winter diets are mature early- to mid-gestation beef cows, which only need to maintain a post-weaning body condition of 2.5-3.0 (re: 1= thin, 5 = obese). These pregnant cows have respective first- and second-trimester nutrient requirements of about 50-53 per cent TDN dietary energy, nine to 10 per cent protein, 0.25 per cent calcium, 0.20 per cent phosphorus and a good complement of essential trace minerals and vitamins. These requirements are only achievable with wellbalanced straw diets until the last three months before calving or the onset of colder temperatures, when significantly more nutrients (higher energy) are needed.

The first limiting factor of straw is its high fibre content that quickly fills the cows’ rumen and is slowly digested by ruminal microbes. For example, cereal straws (such as barley, wheat and oats) contain about 70-85 per cent NDF-fibre (44-48 per cent TDN energy) and four to six per cent protein compared to fair quality mixed-grass hay of 55-65 per cent NDF-fibre (52-58 per cent TDN energy) and 11-12 per cent protein.

STILL NEED BALANCED RATION The implication of feeding lowenergy and low-protein straw to beef cows measured against feeding better-quality grass hay is two-fold: 1. A big beef cow is only able to consume about 25-30 lbs. of straw (gut-fill), and

Feedstuff Barley straw Grass hay Barley Corn distillers grains 14 per cent cow pellets 32 per cent beef supp. 2:1 cattle mineral Total intake (lb.) Cost ($/hd/d)

$/lb. $ 0.023 $ 0.035 $ 0.080

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2. Their resident rumen microbes can only digest 60-65 per cent of that amount of straw per day. As a result, big pregnant beef cows with some fat cover can handle about 50 per cent of their dry matter consumption from straw and the other 50 per cent of the diet should be complimented with more nutritious supplements. Here are samples of wellbalanced straw-based diets for

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1,200 – 1,400 lbs. pregnant beef cows that might be fed from late October to end of December: The feeding costs ($/hd/d) of most of these straw-based rations fall slightly below $1.50 per cow per day, and some are slightly more costly than the predominant grass hay diet (#6). The actual feed ingredient prices of these diets may vary from farm-to-farm, but the chart illustrates what feedstuffs can be used related feeding costs.

BARLEY AND OTHER OPTIONS

As shown above, barley is the main grain used as supplemental energy for many straw-based cow diets. Its quality is often based on kernel plumpness, bushel weight and the occasional laboratory protein analysis. When barley fed in Mountain any beef151Y Peak is Dot Iron SAVcommon Iron Mountain 8066 X SAV 004 Predominant 4438 diet, the recommendaBW: +2.8 WW: +52 YW: +97 M: +19 BW: 80 205 WT: 815 365 WT tion is to grind it into coarse hammered kernels to improve digestibility. In the last few years, commercial screening pellets and corn distillers’ grains have also been used as barley substitutes, particularly when barley prices are relatively high. But realize not all grain screenings are created equal and may consist of various levels of actual grain kernels, oilseeds (such as canola), weed seeds and also cereal stems, pods, chaff and dust. Fortunately, most of these ingredients are ground and heated (weed seed viability is destroyed), before the feed is made into pellets. Corn distillers’ grains have many similar quality issues compared to grain screenings when used as a barley substitute or protein supplement. Failure to use grain and grain byproducts concentrate along with straw can lead to some dire consequences, such as abomasum impaction. Severely “plugged up” cattle can die within a week without treatment (such as a dose of mineral oil). This can largely be avoided by assuring that the straw-fed beef cows are meeting their energy and protein requirements and have access to adequate fresh clean water at all times. Most people with experience in feeding cereal straw to beef cows avoid such trouble. They realize no matter how much straw is available, it doesn’t provide the same nutrition as grass hay. It must be supplemented with the right type and amount of other feedstuffs to meet requirements of early- and mid-gestation cows. As cattle get closer to calving the herd needs to be moved to a higher plane of nutrition. † Peter Vitti is an independent livestock nutritionist and consultant based in Winnipeg. To reach him call 204-254-7497 or by email at vitti@mts.net.

BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF

Get more from your vaccines Vaccine management cornerstones for farm and feedlot

Hands up if you’ve ever had an animated conversation about the value of vaccines. Ever wondered why costs are what they are or what the newest technology will offer? Or, as a seller, how best to explain why these products are worth it? At some point nearly every producer, vet or animal health professional has had this discussion. While they may disagree on some things, one thing both buyer and seller can agree on is that once you’ve bought the product, don’t waste it with poor handling. Dr. Roy Lewis has been a practising vet for many years. Now with Merck’s technical services, he’s picked key things for producers to focus on to get full value from vaccines. Protect the product. You’ve spent good money on product so make sure it’s protected, says Lewis. Vaccines, especially modified live virus products, can’t be frozen and/or heated, and they should be protected from ultraviolet light. Lewis recalls producers who came to pick up vaccines prepared with an insulated container. “We hear problems of vaccine efficacy,” he says, “but many times it is a matter of how they have been handled between the time they were bought and when they were administered to the animal.” Mix small batches. Only rehydrate the amount of product you will use within an hour. Don’t mix up large batches ahead. Once rehydrated, products only have a shelf life of a few hours.

Watch disinfectants. Modified live vaccines are fragile. If you disinfect with alcohol between uses this can render the vaccine useless. Don’t mix products. Label syringes and keep vaccines apart. For example, blackleg vaccine contains formalin. If you accidently fill that same syringe with a modified live virus vaccine, a small amount of formalin will destroy all the vaccine in the syringe. Double check volumes. Overdosing wastes product and underdosing will not produce the desired effect. Spread out injections. Producers have gotten the message of injecting subcutaneous and in the neck, says Lewis. But they need to make sure they spread the vaccine out. In many cases they find a sweet spot and inject vaccines too close to one another. That’s the same as mixing product in the syringe. Keep injections about a hand’s breadth apart and have a consistent pattern, like high then low. If you have the manpower, inject in opposite sides of the animal. Keep current Some of the most powerful technology in beef production today comes as vaccines. It’s a field moving quickly so it pays to ask your veterinarian about the latest products and information, says Lewis. Don’t assume that what you did last year is still the best option today. Ask each year what will work and know clearly why you are using it. Just another way to get full value from your vaccine investment.

Keeping vaccine out of sunlight can help prolong its effectiveness.

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Merck Animal Health, operating in Canada as Intervet Canada Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. MERCK is a trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. Copyright © 2011 Intervet International B.V., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. All rights reserved.

REV-XS Grain News QSHere.indd 1

13-06-13 16:26

/ grainews.ca

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Cattlemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corner ANIMAL HEALTH

Managing bullers in a feedyard ROY LEWIS ANIMAL HEALTH

ortunately, bullers are mostly a rare, sporadic occurrence in western Canadian feedlots and backgrounding operations. When dealing with these cases bear in mind the economic loss to the entire pen from frequent riding. Because the incidence is so sporadic no hard research has been done as to exact cause but several factors are suspected. Many facts have been gleaned from direct observation as to cause and effect of chronic bullers. Each feedlot can experience unique buller problems, which is why a customized plan to deal with it should be developed between you and your feedlot veterinarian. Bullers seem to have a higher incidence in larger crowded pens. We almost never see the condition in small pens of 10 to 15 head, which is why removing bullers to the chronic pen,is often a curative solution.

SOME SUSPECTED CAUSES Crushing or abscessation resulting in inconsistent absorption of implants has always been implicated in the past. A great deal of time and effort has been spent in teaching feedlot processing crews as to proper technique. A number of implant guns now have retractable needles and one (Revalor gun) has a simple metal hoop which pushes the ear away, making it virtually impossible to crush implants. Crews use alcohol- or disinfectant-impregnated rollers to clean needles quickly between usage and one implant even has the antibiotic Tylan incorporated into it. This has been proven to reduce abscessation and improve gains because of more consistent absorption of the required product into the circulation. Every year it is best to review implant technique as sometimes shortcuts are made in the interest of speed. Common sense things like not implanting through manure, dirt and debris and using the proper location (middle third of the ear for all implants) are critical. Inconsistencies in feeding times and crowding lead to bored cattle and the propensity to initiate riding. Be consistent in feed-

ing, maintain functional watering bowls and allowing as much room as possible may prevent the flare up of riding behaviour. Larger feedlots often implement three-times-a-day feeding. This minimizes digestive upsets and ruminal acidosis but a secondary benefit is reducing bullers. Bunk management is critical for various reasons but keeping the buller problem to a minimum is one. There has been a higher incidence in the Holstein breed but this may reflect past husbandry practices with calves being individually housed for the first few weeks of life. Stags or intact bulls are one of the single most causes of numerous problems in the feedlot, not the least of which are bullers. They initiate lots of riding. Conversely when they are castrated they may become the target of riding.

CONSIDERABLE IMPACT The numbers would be shocking if we knew the weight loss and injuries the stags cause in the feedlot. All feedlots try and avoid the purchase of stag and intact bulls but there are always some cases to deal with. Make sure they are castrated properly and most processing crews check closely for staggy animals. Deal with them as

soon as possible as the best time for reintroduction is when the pen is being processed, moved or reimplanted. Reintroducing animals from the chronic pen or adding new arrivals is best done when the whole pen is being disrupted such as reimplantation time or during a storm. The idea is to slip animals into the pen unnoticed and not having the new cattle stand out as being different. Some feedlots over the years have tried masking the supposed hormonal smell with a different smell like a perfume oil. However, my experience is this only peaks the cattleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural curiosity even further and riding behaviour may start.

GUARDS DO WORK Some feedlots have constructed buller guards so harassed animals can find some relief by running under them. This works for social bullers, which are less dominant. This does not improve the bulling rate but the guards may prevent injury. If the same cattle are always found under these guards they still should be pulled as feed and water consumption are greatly altered. True bullers which totally stand to be ridden should be pulled and in most cases remain

in the chronic pen for the rest of their days. These true bullers will do well in a small pen and can live out their days comfortably eliminating all the chaos they cause in a full large pen Watch for the unusual such as hermaphrodites (intersexes), freemartin heifers (which may look like steers including having a sheath). These cattle can initiate riding behaviour. Pens of heifers not on MGA (progesterone product to reduce cycling) will of course cycle regularly. The problem here is differentiating normal cycling behaviour from excessive cycling you might get with a cystic animal. Watch for excessive abrasions over the back or apparent knuckling in the back legs that would indicate back problems. These animals should be pulled allowed to convalesce and may or may not return to the home pen. As with everything in the feedlot good observation skills and attention to detail will minimize bullers and reduce the decreased weight gain or injury they cause to the rest of the pen. â&#x20AC; Roy Lewis is a Westock, Alberta-based veterinarian specializing in large-animal practice. He is also a part-time technical services vet for Merck Animal Health.

raising livestock:

More about being a Cattleman, less about being a cowboy.

Canadian Cattlemen invites you to subscribe to our free enews service. Stay up to date on the latest news from the livestock industry, from your region and across the nation. Visit our website for details.

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NOVEMBER 12, 2013

grainews.ca /

Cattleman’s Corner THE MARKETS

Higher cattle market won’t last forever MARKET UPDATE

Sept.

July

May

Mar.

Jan. 2013

rent feeder cattle in the feedlot are about $120/cwt. Therefore, the feedlot sector should experience positive margins over the next two to four months. Feeder cattle prices have been slowly climbing throughout the fall period as the feed grain prices trended lower. Barley prices are now consolidating after harvest and will likely remain relatively stagnant until spring. Therefore, feeder cattle values will be highly correlated with the fed market over the winter period. Replacement cattle are expected to continue climbing into December. It is important to note the June live cattle futures are trading at a $6 discount to the April contract. In January and February, feeder cattle prices

Nov.

Sept.

July

The U.S. fed-cattle market is near record highs and the Canadian market is also on the high end of the long term price range. In the past, the higher prices tend to stem demand sharply because consumer income does not increase at the same pace. Alberta break-even prices on cur-

select

choice

May

HIGH END OF MARKET

210 205 200 195 190 185 180 175 170 165 160

Mar.

This will be the year when cowcalf producers need to pencil out if they should sell their calves or place them in a custom feedlot. The feedlot sector needs to experience a period of positive margins after the past year and this will limit the upside potential in the feeder market. U.S. third-quarter beef production was actually above last year, which kept wholesale beef prices under pressure. However, fourth-quarter beef production is expected to show a year-overyear decline of nearly 300 million pounds. This will be the first time this year the industry experiences a significant drop in beef production. In mid-October, fed cattle prices in the U.S. Southern Plains traded near record highs of $129/ cwt to $131/cwt while at the same time Alberta prices were hovering at $121/cwt. For the first quarter of 2014, U.S. beef production is also expected to be down by 300 million pounds in comparison to the same period in 2013. Exports will be down marginally but most of the decline in consumption will come from the domestic market. Retail prices will move higher

U.S. Wholesale Beef Prices Jan 2012 to Oct 2013 Monthly Average

Jan. 2012

eptember and October were periods of seasonal low demand. The U.S. government shutdown along with lower consumer spending resulted in softer restaurant traffic and tempered retail demand. However there are a number of factors that should continue to cause higher prices for fed and feeder cattle. The holiday season causes consumers to spend more on food, which supports beef prices. At the same time, the overall economic situation looks positive in regards to employment figures and disposable income. A year-over-year decline in fourth-quarter beef production should cause wholesale beef prices to ratchet higher. The deferred live cattle futures appear to be incorporating a risk premium due to the uncertainty in production. Stronger packing margins will spill over into higher fed-cattle values and result in positive feeding margins. Abundant feed grain has lowered the risk for cattle feeding and feeder cattle price will continue to adjust to the change in the feed grain complex. Therefore, overall, the market for fed and feeder

KEEP OR SELL?

given the lower supply situation and the market will ration demand. Retail beef movement and restaurant consumption will depend on the consumers’ willingness to pay higher prices. Looking at past years, consumers will spend more on food in November and December. Therefore, I’m expecting wholesale beef prices to ratchet higher so choice product reaches the previous high of $205/cwt. Fed cattle values are expected to move an additional $3 to $5/cwt from current levels given the projection on the wholesale market. The accompanying graph shows in the past, these higher wholesale prices were relatively short lived. Moving into January and February, North American consumers want to lose the 15 pounds they added to their frames in November and December which generally results in lower beef demand. The fed cattle market has potential to be quite volatile in the first quarter of 2014 for this reason.

US$ / cwt

JERRY KLASSEN

cattle remains price positive but producer need to be on guard how the markets are reacting to the changing variables.

have potential to come under pressure because feedlots will anticipate lower fed prices from May through August. Cow-calf producers should not count on higher values after December. Despite the year-over-year decline in beef production and historically low supplies of feeder cattle, be realistic with price potential. A commodity is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. If the wholesale beef market cannot sustain stronger prices, don’t expect the cattle market to stay near historical highs for long. † Gerald Klassen analyzes cattle and hog markets in Winnipeg and also maintains an interest in the family feedlot in southern Alberta. For comments or speaking engagements, he can be reached at gklassen7@hotmail.com or call 204 899 8268.

/ grainews.ca

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Cattleman’s Corner ANYONE CAN START FARMING

The great pigs-on-pasture experiment DEBBIE CHIKOUSKY

igs were the first farm animal species we tried raising. We had pigs around 1995 when the price of hogs was up. Then the price of grain went up and the price of pigs went down. I’m sure you get the picture. Since then we have discussed it many times. Partly because we have never enjoyed pork the same since, but mainly because I firmly believe their real worth on the farm lays not so much in meat production but in their ability to work up old fields. Our youngest son usually raises pastured poultry but this year decided to try his hand at raising a few weanlings. The idea was to keep one for us and market the rest for freezer pork. Our local provincially inspected plant is equipped to process pigs. The first stage of the project was to access weanlings. There aren’t many small hog farmers anymore but we were successful. They arrived on the farm the end of April at about 50 pounds. We kept them in our empty henhouse for the first month. We lined it with puck board so the pigs couldn’t chew through the walls. From our earlier experience we knew they greatly enjoyed chewing wood. To minimize boredom we also gave them a basketball. That also minimized destruction. By the time they had discovered how to get their noses into the cracks in the floor their outdoor pen was ready and the weather was warm enough for them to be outside. We decided to feed the pigs differently than we had in the past. Years ago we had them in a stationary pen and fed them chop. This time they were going to be in a portable pen (pig trac-

tor) enabling them to dig and eat fresh greens. In the warm months we have an abundance of whey, buttermilk and skim milk, which is a favourite food of pigs. My son made porridge out of pea screenings, kitchen and garden scraps along with a vitamin/mineral supplement from the feed store. During canning season the pigs quite willingly ate all our scraps. We were rewarded for making them happy with amazing digging machines.

PORCINE PASTURE RENEWAL We chose our goat and sheep pasture for our hog-rearing experiment. It was originally seeded in the 1960s so when just about nothing grew this year we really weren’t surprised. This ground was rootbound and compacted. The first few weeks the pigs had to be on the same piece of ground for more than one day. Their pen was 10X20 feet and was built on old hydro poles for runners. Information from Manitoba Agriculture advised it would take seven pigs per acre to overturn all of the pasture in a season but our portable pen was only big enough for four animals. An acre is 43,560 square feet. The pen is 200 square feet. So, we calculated we would have to move the pen 218 times to turn over an acre. What we didn’t expect was that four pigs once they hit about 100 pounds would need to be moved more than once a day. This was a wonderful surprise because that meant we might actually succeed in turning over an acre between May 1 and first snow. The other thing we found is that pigs are more than happy to dig out large rocks. To entice them to dig out the boulders my son would pour extra water around it to get the ground soft. Then he would let the pigs go to work. Within about 24 hours they would have the rock loosened enough that he

PHOTOS: DEBBIE CHIKOUSKY

Top: Keith Chikousky, left and his dad Gary hold a couple of the weaners that spent the summer gaining weight and tilling land. Bottom Left: The portable pen was moved along each day leaving a patch of black dirt behind. Bottom Right: They called it the “Pig Tractor” — a large portable pen that held finishing hogs on pasture. could easily pop them out with the loader and tractor. The design of the “pig tractor” needs to be tweaked a bit for next year to enable better turning. Another point we missed was that we started at the near end of the pasture instead of the furthest point. So, the animals might not want to pass over the newly seeded area to get to the rest of the pasture next spring. Next year we

will start at the far end where we winter feed cows and let the pigs turn over all that ground for us. Not only are they extremely good at it they seem to enjoy it. When they hear my son coming with their slop they make the happiest pig noises we have ever heard. This experiment has been a success so far. What was unexpected was how watching a creature live its life just as it was intended could

be so heartwarming. We plan to spread rotted manure on the area worked over this year and continue the pasture-rearing program from where they left off. We look forward to enjoying pork this winter, as well as the added growth to our pasture next summer. †

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 48

Forage and grassland producers can learn more about the improved forage insurance package by contacting their local MASC office or visiting their direct program link at www. masc.mb.ca/forages. The deadline to sign-up is March 31, 2014.

The event kicks off with an optional tour Dec. 9 of area grazing, feeding and forage-processing operations. During the conference there will be several presentations: Laura Rance, editor of the Manitoba Co-operator is speaking on the future of forages in a fabricated world; Pascal Badiou with Ducks Unlimited is speaking about the importance of grasslands and wetlands on the Prairies and there will be panel discussions on forage research and forage opportunities and much more. For more information visit www.canadianfga.ca. †

KEEPERS $ CULLS

CATTLEX offers a complete Order-Buying service and covers all Manitoba and Eastern Saskatchewan Auction Marts. CATTLEX buys ALL classes of cattle direct from producers. CATTLEX is interested in purchasing large or small consignments of Feeder Cattle, Finished Cattle, Cows and Bulls. For more information and pricing, contact any of the Cattlex buyers: Andy Drake 204-764-2471 or 204-867-0099

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Services Corporation (MASC) for a number of years in the reformation of a forage and pasture package that would address producer needs including coverage for the high cost of production in dairy and cash hay, says Jim Lintott, MFGA president. The program includes: select hay insurance, basic hay insurance, which both include a hay disaster benefit; a harvest flood option; enhanced quality options (for producers with alfalfa hay); and a flood restoration benefit..