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Farmer brews up big business in rural Alberta

The recently completed Ribstone Creek Brewery still has plenty of room to expand brewing capacity. Photo: Jennifer Blair

By Jennifer Blair af staff / edgerton

D

on Paré’s plan to build a brewery in the heart of rural Alberta came about the way many grand ideas do: Over a few drinks with old friends.

“One of the fellows had acquired a building in Edgerton, and while we were having a rum one evening, we decided, ‘What could we do there to rejuvenate things and bring a little value-added to the community?’” said Paré, a Chauvin-area farmer and president of Ribstone Creek Brewery.

FOOTAGE:

Vice-president Chris Fraser had seen some craft breweries along his travels, and as soon as he suggested it, the four co-founders — Paré, Fraser, CEO Cal Hawkes, and CFO Alvin Gordon — knew they had hit upon the right idea.

“Nothing quite gets people’s attention like when you say the word ‘brewery,’” said Paré.

Fraser began to research the logistics of building a brewery in Edgerton (90 kilometres southwest of Lloydminster), and during the course of a conversation with a supplier of brewery equipment in the states, the group’s lack of experience soon became apparent.

“They basically said to him, ‘You really don’t know what you’re doing, do you?’ And we had to admit that we didn’t,” Paré said.

The supplier put the group in touch with brewmaster and former owner of Bear Brewing David Beardsell, who jumped at the opportunity.

“So we started the brewery from the five guys,” said Paré. “One guy who really knew a lot about beer and making it, and four guys who just wanted to get a business going.”

Almost one year after Ribstone Creek brewed its first batch of beer, the brewery has already had

to expand once to meet growing demand for its lager.

“It was a nice problem to have, when your demand outweighs your production,” said Paré. “But unfortunately, it does hurt you, because people complain they can never get a hold of your product and it makes your sales a little more difficult down the road.”

Anticipating demand is an ongoing challenge.

“The learning curve has been very steep on how to predict the future and know what you’re going to need.”

“Nothing quite gets people’s attention like when you say the word ‘brewery.’”

Don Paré

see BREWERY } page 7

Egg farm video said to be ‘not representative’ } PAGE 3

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The co-founders of Ribstone Creek Brewery have brought a value-added business back to the village where they grew up

Desire

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news » inside this week

inside » Canadian Angus youth win world Two Albertans in New Zealand competition

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

livestock

crops

columNists

Genomics is proving its worth

Cultivating better mycorrhizae

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Breeding a bigger and better dandelion

Photo: thinkstock

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old on before you fill the sprayer tank next spring — German scientists say they have found a new source of rubber to make tires — dandelions.

The German research organization FraunhoferGesellschaft and tire manufacturer Continental say they’ve officially started a five-year joint project to commercialize the manufacture of tires from dandelion rubber. The first prototype test tires are scheduled to be tested on public roads over the next few years.

The researchers have been growing several hectares of a high-biomass dandelion variety particularly rich in rubber, which they say matches the quality of the conventional product from rubber trees.

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October weather wasn’t really so bad

16

Carol Shwetz Roundworm in horses can be tricky to treat

The paint was shot, but…

Stolen tractor starts after a year in manure

Daniel Bezte

Cattle ready up to 45 days sooner

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Fungi act as extensions to the roots

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brenda schoepp The beef industry can learn from A&W

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U of A researchers build a better battery out of eggshells Quick-charging batteries made from eggshell membranes could also solve a growing problem in Canada’s egg industry

By Jennifer Blair af staff / red deer

Y

our morning omelette may hold the solution to your quick-dying smartphone battery.

University of Alberta researchers David Mitlin and post-doctoral fellow Zhi Li have developed a fast-charging supercapacitor using eggshell membranes — a plentiful egg industry byproduct.

“We sell the liquid egg whites and the yoke to food processors, and we have no use for the eggshells,” said Li. “But we have the technology to separate the eggshell membranes from the physical hard shell.”

The membranes have a unique structure that allows them to hold three times the electrical charge of a battery, making them ideal for use as a supercapacitor.

“It’s similar to a battery because it stores energy, but it’s different from a battery because it can charge very quickly,” said Li. “You can charge it in 30 seconds or, in some cases, even five seconds. That’s impossible for a battery.”

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PHOTo: thinkstock And like a battery, these egg-powered supercapacitors can be used in electronics, vehicles, and yes, even smartphones.

“If you have an iPhone, your battery is dying in one year or two years, but if you have a supercapacitor, it will probably last you more than 10 years,” he said. “That’s amazing for some applications.”

If it all works out, it’ll be great news for egg farmers, too, said Jenna Griffin, industry development officer for the Egg Farmers of Alberta.

“The market for shell eggs has been declining over the years,” she said. “There’s been a trend toward more processed and liquid egg products.”

While there are some lowvalue markets for eggshells, many processors simply send them to the landfill. But making batteries could use a fair number of them.

“If you do some back-of-theenvelope numbers, you can see the practicality of what they’re doing,” said Griffin.

“There’s somewhere between 150 million to 200 million

dozen eggs broken in Canada, and from that byproduct, they can make about seven million batteries.”

Every year, supercapacitor production in the world nearly doubles to meet the growing demand for better power sources. But this is the first supercapacitor built using eggshell membranes, said Li. “There is a market for supercapacitors, and there are supercapacitors available,” said Li. “But there is no commercial capacitor available utilizing this kind of functionality.”

While Mitlin and Li have not yet commercialized their findings, they said they hope to scale up production as funding becomes available.

Until then, Li will continue exploring the energy potential of other agricultural products and byproducts.

“There’s tons of biomass grown by farms or farmers, and each of them has a special structure,” he said. “Eggshells are just an example. There’s lots of things we’re interested in that are grown by farms or farmers.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Shocking video ‘not very representative’ of egg farms Producer said to be ‘dismayed’ by incidents in his barns that were secretly filmed by an animal rights activist and broadcast on CTV

BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF STAFF / RED DEER

I

nhumane treatment isn’t the norm on egg farms in Alberta, says a Stony Plain-area egg farmer in the wake of an undercover video scandal that has shocked consumers and producers alike. “(The video) was disturbing and certainly not very representative of what happens on egg farms here in Alberta or even across Canada,” said Susan Schafers, who is also a director on the Egg Farmers of Alberta board.

The CTV program “W5” aired a documentary last month showing secretly filmed footage of two Alberta egg farms taken by animal welfare group Mercy for Animals Canada. The video shows crowded conditions, rough handling of chicks, and severe damage to plumage. Following the release of the video, Egg Farmers of Alberta formed an investigative team to address the issues at KuKu Farms and Creekside Grove Farms, both located near Edmonton.

“The producer that was affected was very dismayed by what actually happened on his farm,” Schafers said. “He has been so co-operative

and so compliant. He has made all the changes necessary.”

Ed Pajor, professor of animal welfare at the University of Calgary, agreed the practices seen on the video are not normal.

“For the most part, I think what we saw was examples of some of the worst-case scenarios rather than what might be considered typical,” he said.

“There are challenges involved with working with biological systems, and although producers do their best to address some of those, when you have hundreds of thousands of animals, you’re going to have problems that arise.”

Proper management practices play an important role in preventing those problems, said Schafers.

“It doesn’t matter what kind of housing system you have, if you don’t have good management on the farm, you could always run into problems.”

On Schafers’ farm, the barns are checked three to four times a day for air and water quality, temperature levels, and cleanliness. Every cage is inspected to ensure that all the birds are alive and well, and if a bird is sick or injured, it’s separated from the flock to recuperate safely.

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

Generally, those same processes are followed on the average Alberta egg farm, but as with any routine, complacency can become a risk, said Schafers.

“There’s so many different things that you have to do on a daily basis,” she said. “It does become routine, and often, you need a bit of a refresher on how you have to do that.”

Right now, Egg Farmers of

Alberta has a voluntary animal care program, with yearly audits, that has 100 per cent producer participation. But new measures are being considered, including a shift toward enriched egg-laying cages.

Earlier this year, the organization approved a resolution to begin the transition away from conventional cages. So far, producers seem to be embracing the change.

“We have close to 20 per cent

of producers in the province who already have alternate housing styles other than the conventional cage,” said Schafers, adding no conventional systems have been installed since 2012. “We do recognize that conventional cages have some limitations.”

It’s a good move, said Pajor.

“There is lots of evidence that the enriched cages are better for the welfare of the birds,” he said.

The egg industry’s new codes of practice should also reduce some welfare concerns.

“The new codes of practice that are being developed, which will have specific recommendations and requirements in them, will really be aimed at addressing some of the major issues,” he said.

Even so, enforcing the voluntary codes will be difficult without further work by the egg industry.

“We’re looking at developing an animal care assessment framework, a way of assessing animal welfare on the farm,” said Pajor.

“It’s that next step that’s going to be necessary in order to demonstrate that producers are actually following the practices that are out there.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

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NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

EDITOR Will Verboven Phone: 403-697-4703 Email: will.verboven@fbcpublishing.com

Reporters Alexis Kienlen, Edmonton (780) 668-3121 akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

Trade deal could have been worse for the dairy industry

Jennifer Blair, Red Deer (403) 396-2643 jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

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Director of Sales & Circulation

Americans and New Zealanders will soon want more Canadian quotas to join their trade club

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By will verboven

Alberta Farmer | Editor

A

lone amongst the cheerleading for the new Canada/EU trade agreement was an angry broadside from the Canadian dairy industry. It feels sold by the doubling of quota for tariff-free EU fine cheese imports. The dairy producers feel it will drive small Canadian artisanal cheese producers out of business under a flood of additional EU fine cheese imports.

It could impact such cheese producers in Alberta, but most artisanal production is in Ontario and Quebec. To dodge the political repercussions from producers in those provinces and particularly from the Quebec government, the federal government will be offering compensation to those affected.

That could set a precedent, especially if the compensation involves producers and not just processors. More on that later.

On the one hand it must have been disappointing for the dairy industry, which has spent millions over the years lobbying provincial and federal governments to remain steadfast in their support for supply management (SM), including stiff tariffs on imported dairy products. The industry’s lobbying power is legendary, with not a single government or opposition party anywhere in the country stepping out of line.

At the trade discussion level it has gone toe to toe with groups like the Canadian AgriFood Trade Alliance, which sees SM as a hurdle to more open markets. Both groups have competed furiously to get the attention of Canadian trade officials to influence trade issues their way.

I would suggest that even though the dairy industry protests the agreement, it actually came out a winner — at least for the time being.

The agreement could have been a lot worse for the Canadian dairy industry. For instance, quotas and tariffs could have been eliminated completely on dairy products.

I expect the dairy industry, at least unof-

ficially, probably agrees with that perspective. I suspect the EU understood the political quagmire Canadian officials were in with SM and cut them some slack, but you can expect they will be back for more quota in the future.

The reality is that cheese is about the only (maybe some yogurt) high-value dairy product that the EU can export to Canada.

It’s not really feasible to ship fluid milk from the EU to Canada. Such lack of feasibility is probably why the poultry industry was cut out of the agreement, along with lack of interest by the EU poultry industry.

The overall long-term impact of increased quota may well be less than some of the inflammatory predictions. Those purchasing imported fine cheeses will probably buy more if there is a significant reduction in the retail price. But most Canadians consume commercial-grade cheddar, mozzarella and processed cheeses, and that’s unlikely to change even though the EU commercial cheese quota was also increased. Commercial cheese in Canada is produced by a few giant processors and they are not going to give up any market to EU interlopers without a fight. Besides the EU has high production costs at both the producer and processor level so even tariff-free commercial product will have a hard time competing.

The concern for cheese producers is whether subsidies will give Europeans a critical advantage over the Canadian industry. Very little is said in the Canada/ EU trade agreement as to how such subsidization is going to be dealt with between the two parties. The EU is notorious for its hidden farm and processor subsidies that lower their cost of production. The existence of myriad EU ag subsidies is no longer in question. Their own documents show such subsidies consume over 40 per cent of the multibillion-dollar EU budget.

The problem is that in its eagerness to get the EU to ratify the deal, Canada may not want to robustly deal with EU subsidies. No EU member will give up its farm subsidies just to sign a trade deal with Canada.

What the dairy industry needs to be concerned with in the bigger picture is how this agreement will set a precedent for trade relations with other countries. It’s almost guaranteed that the U.S., New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and a stampede of other countries will all be clamouring for free trade agreements with the EU. When that happens much of the export benefits of the Canada/EU agreement will in time be cancelled out. The precedent may well get worse for the Canadian dairy industry.

As Canada continues to increase quota and decrease tariffs on EU cheese imports, one can expect that the U.S. and New Zealand will sooner or later want equal and better access to the Canadian market.

Those two dairy exporters are a much bigger threat to Canadian producers than the EU. Both countries are major producers and processors of the same commercial cheeses that are produced in Canada and they can produce them a lot cheaper. That threat may come soon as Canada wants to become part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Both countries are members of that trade group and they will be extracting (more dairy access?) a price out of Canada to join.

Lastly, the Canadian government has said it will be providing compensation to the dairy industry for any losses they incur from increased EU cheese imports. That may seem fair on the surface, but it sets a precedent that may come back to haunt the industry in the future. Such a compensation program, if successful, may become the forerunner of a future program that will see the government begin to buy out dairy and poultry quotas in order to dismantle supply management in Canada. Scoff as one may at such a prediction, but Australia carried out a buyout program to end a somewhat similar dairy supply management system.

The poultry and dairy industries may want to shift their lobbying locomotives into high gear. The EU deal was just the first curve on the road, and the SM drama may have just begun.

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Ritz is probably relieved to lose CFIA

G

overnment ministers usually like the power of their office and any loss of responsibility can seem like a demotion of sorts. But I suspect the recent transfer of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) from Agriculture Canada to Health Canada probably came as a relief to federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.

The transfer was done quietly and involves mainly its food safety inspection services. Other responsibilities such as economic and trade issues, animal health and plant protection services were left with agriculture. The transfer of CFIA to Health Canada seems appropriate and is a better fit, since Health Canada was already involved with food safety policy. The Public Health Agency will also fall under Health Canada.

It seems logical to have all human food safety-related responsibilities under one minister. However, when the next food safety calamity happens, the minister of health may not appreciate the transfer

as much as the agriculture minister. The minister of health will now have to face the inevitable barrage of criticism from opposition parties and public service unions about the latest threat to food safety.

Demands will now be made that the health minister must resign whenever a food inspection failure occurs.

I understand the concept of ministerial responsibility, but it always baffles me as to why a minister’s resignation will somehow resolve whatever problem has happened under their watch. But I digress.

When that political pressure happens Minister Ritz will feel some sympathy for a besieged health minister, but he would sure not miss the uncomfortable spotlight.

The advantage of having a health minister in charge is that there would no longer be a perceived conflict of interest. Ag ministers always had to tread a fine line as to whose interests they were protecting — growers, processors, retailers or consumers. All were both beholden to and represented by

the Ag Department. During the BSE crisis, clearly the minister of the day had difficulty defending many of the agency’s actions to the livestock industry. Some questionable CFIA decisions had serious impacts on beef exports, because they seemed more political than technical.

One of the problems agriculture ministers faced with the CFIA was that it tended to operate as if it was beyond the minister’s control. It didn’t help that from past experiences government politicians wanted to stay far away from food safety issues, since they usually had bad political consequences. When that happened the CFIA seemed to operate with impunity.

Now the health minister will have the honour of riding herd on this prickly agency and Minister Ritz can now go back to protecting the interests of the Canadian agriculture industry and helping develop new markets for Canadian food products.

That alone makes the CFIA transfer worthwhile.

5

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Biotechnology — whose voice should be heard?

Biotech pioneers won this year’s World Food Prize, but the ‘Frankenfood’ debate still rages on in North America

By Laura Rance

editor, manitoba co-operator

I

t was hard not to smile when one of our African colleagues on a CropLife International tour at the World Food Prize event in Des Moines, Iowa asked a presenter to address rumours that clothes made from genetically modified (GM) crops will make a man bald and impotent.

After all, after nearly 20 years of growing GM crops, the “Frankenfood” angle on the debate in our part of the world is long over. Or is it?

The latest Prevention magazine, a mainstream publication targeting aging baby boomers, contains a four-page advertorial sponsored by a company selling organic products. It coincides with campaigns for mandatory labelling in several U.S. states and makes pretty convincing pitch through an “all-star panel of GMO experts — a passionate filmmaker and father, a concerned mother and food activist, a registered dietitian, and the founder of an independently

run organic food-manufacturing company.”

The filmmaker, who is making a film called “GMO OMG,” discusses the “systematic corporate takeover of and the potential loss of humanity’s most precious and ancient inheritance: seeds.” The registered dietitian worries that there is no long-term health data and promotes a GM-free diet, for which labelling would be necessary.

The mother/food industry analyst said labels would make it easier to trace whether allergies are related to conventional soybeans or the GM varieties. And the founder of Nature’s Path, the corporate sponsor of the advertorial, opines that everyone has the right to know what’s in their food.

Who do you think the average consumer is going to believe — corporate scientists (some of whom happen to be bald) who say there is no proof GMOs do any harm, or dietitians, mothers and filmmakers who say there is no proof that they don’t?

All this explains why CropLife International invited 40 journalists from 23 countries to attend

tours and World Food Prize events in Des Moines, Iowa, all expenses paid. (We participated in the tour, but paid our own travel and accommodation.)

The tour was well organized and informative, although it goes without saying we heard a lot about how biotechnology will help double production to feed nine billion people by 2050 and the important role journalists play in countering misinformation spread by “activists.” In other words, giving a voice to those who oppose GM crops is tantamount to condemning the world to perpetual hunger and environmental degradation.

But the outrage over this year’s choice of World Food Prize recipients isn’t limited to the ragtag cluster who demonstrated at the event.

It includes scientists, authors and food-security advocates, many of whom challenge the focus on a single technology to solve a problem as multi-faceted and complex as world food security.

My science versus your science

The latest World Food Prize

laureates tried to stake out the moral high ground with statements that biotech crops have been proven unequivocally safe. Yet a coalition of 90 scientists, physicians and academics — including a former World Food Prize winner — countered with a statement saying no such consensus exists. Both proponents and opponents accuse each other of incomplete or outright “bad” science.

So much for “science-based decision-making.”

From this desk, we’ve seen no compelling evidence that the traits on the market today have resulted in harm to humans or livestock. We’ve seen the amazing capacity of biotechnology tools to accelerate crop improvement, with or without GMOs. On the environmental front, we’ve seen this technology compound the existing problem of resistant weeds, because it further consolidates weed control around herbicide solutions. It further consolidates the food system period.

But mostly, we’ve been criti-

cal of the biotech industry for failing to recognize that ultimately, it is food buyers — not farmers — who are its customers. That failure has resulted in the backlash, the ongoing push for labelling and the extraordinary proposition that people living in the world’s hungriest places aren’t at all sure that they help in this way.

We’ll say this again. The customer is always right, even though not always rational. The only way of determining value in a market-driven economy is by what people can be convinced to buy. Thus, food marketing is more about perception than it is about science. If it were purely based on science and nutrition, there would be only one brand of yogurt, one type of bread and no need for big-box stores.

World Food Prize winner Robb Fraley, Monsanto’s chief biotechnology officer, had some insightful comments. He suggested that maybe the industry finally gets it. But it has a lot of catching up to do. laura@fbcpublishing.com

Canada needs more basic science, says new institute head An interview with Roger Beachy, executive director and chief executive officer of the Global Institute of Food Security

By Lisa Guenther staff

The University of Saskatchewan recently established the Global Institute of Food Security, and appointed Roger Beachy as executive director and chief executive officer. Over the last 40 years, Beachy has held several positions with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other research organizations. He also helped develop the first genetically modified food crop, a tomato resistant to viral disease. I recently interviewed Beachy on his reaction to the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network report on sustainable agriculture and food systems, released Sept. 18.

What do you see as the biggest risk to Canada if we don’t adapt our agricultural systems?

I expect that there will be an increased shift in the rich countries like Canada to a greater focus on nutrition and wellbeing. And paying attention to those things will give us a little better handle on what markets we should grow for. And then the commodities that are pres-

ently produced here in Western Canada I think will need to be fitted for specific markets that may or may not be specifically in the health markets.

In the Prairies, I think (we should focus) as much as possible on the grains that we grow that are nutrient rich. Pulses, for example, like chickpeas and lentils and so forth. They have high dietary value and really carry a lot of good things in them.

Now, the question I guess is what does that mean for exports? And maybe we need to be as informed as possible about what our customers want. In other words, not just push out into the market what we can make.

It’s sort of a given that over the years we produce what we’ve produced best, whether it’s wheat or barley or canola, and just push it out. What I’m saying is that getting the information back from not just the person who buys it, not just the grain handler, but what does he sell into? And what markets does he receive into?

Go beyond.

Who are our competitors in other international markets?

Wheat will come from Ukraine

so how do we make sure that we maintain the wheat market in China in the face of wheat imports or wheat challenge from Ukraine and Russia?

And do you think we’re starting to do that?

I think so, at least I sense that there is a greater emphasis on that side. Our trade missions that go from Canada are listening and trying to make sure that those (markets) stay open and that we know what we’re looking for.

What are the roles of the public and private sector in improving food security?

Private-sector (companies) are not well suited for discovery science. They’re well suited for the translation of fundamental science, basic science, into knowledge that then makes a product or a seed variety, whatever it is.

Sometimes discovery for discovery’s sake, sort of blue-sky science, is good and we must have some of that.

But another proportion of university-funded research would go to the basic sciences that would, say, discover how plants use water, so sometime we’ll have a good handle on

drought tolerance… or how do they pick up minerals and elements in the soil. That could be translated then into the use of better applications of fertilizer.

It’s a fine line between discovery and translation. And often — too often — the public thinks that the companies are doing all this research, so why should we fund plant sciences or agriculture sciences in universities? Because companies don’t fund that fundamental stuff. They don’t do the fundamental stuff. They’re not geared for it. So that’s a very important (role) university sciences play.

What does the rest of the agriculture industry need to do to adapt?

We need to know what science can bring to the table. We need to know what the consumer wants and is willing to accept of the new variety. Because it has drought tolerance it might have a flavour or a different look or it might have some characteristics that then take some adaption by the baking industry. So we need to know all the pieces between gene discovery and trait discovery and utilization.

And we have to know what the consumer will buy. And I

think the smartest thing we can do is engage the broad community in these discussions very early on.

When it comes to meeting global food security challenges in Canada, what are our strengths?

I think what we have is good fundamental sciences. I don’t think there’s enough science in Canada. I think we need to have more investment in the space.

But I think the co-operation between the growers and the checkoff funds and the universities is as good here as any place in the world I’ve seen it.

And if you have that in combination with the support of provincial government, you have a real capability of maintaining active, vibrant research and an involved producer sector that helps in deciding what’s done and is informed enough to look forward to markets and sees what the big longer-term plan is.

And with that, we ought to be collaborating across the provinces to see what’s best for the region. Not be competitive but look at what each can do. And you’re a small enough community, you can make this happen.

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NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Analysis: Canada/EU agreement not a done deal yet Canadian farm group’s enthusiasm for big export gains may be premature

BY WILL VERBOVEN AF EDITOR

W

hile agricultural industry organizations have been sending out press releases extolling the benefits of the Canada/EU free trade agreement, the agreement is far from a done deal. It’s only a memorandum of understanding. A formal agreement needs to be ratified within two years. That’s plenty of time for inserting more details into a final version. History tells us that this trade deal in the end may well just reassert the status quo, and not significantly expand trade with the EU in agricultural products.

Reality check

The reality is that Canada needs this trade deal more than the EU. This may come as a surprise to many, but the EU is already well supplied with virtually every agricultural and food product. There is no market in the EU that is waiting to be filled by Canadian products. All a trade agreement will mean is that Canada will be competing more with other suppliers, both domestic and foreign, in the EU market.

The first hurdle is that the agreement has to be ratified by all 28 EU members. They may still want concessions on any more Canadian imports before they sign on.

More beef access will be the real test. France and Ireland have spent the last 50 years successfully thwarting increased beef

imports from North America and will surely challenge this deal. Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. all supply beef to the EU. It would be doubtful that Canada would get preferential beef access over those traditional suppliers. An increase of 60,000 tonnes of beef access seems significant, but won’t be much when the EU gives their other foreign suppliers a proportionally equal increase in beef quota.

Pork access

New Canadian pork access of 90,000 tonnes seems significant, but the EU market is essentially self-sufficient in pork. Tariff-free Canadian pork could compete with EU pork as hog producers over there face high production costs with imported feedstuffs, onerous environmental regulations and expensive humane handling practices. You can expect EU pork producers to demand regulations that will

equalize environmental standards and handling practices for imports. The EU will want to pass judgment on feed additives (i.e. ractopamine) that are used to produce Canadian pork. EU pork production is also shifting eastward to lower-cost EU countries. Those countries will want to see some pork import restrictions before they ratify any new trade agreement.

Regulatory restrictions

Cereals, oilseeds and pulses may see some increased exports mainly with flours, oils, fibres and proteins. But trade issues, such as GM, remain. They may ban food products that contain any residue of pesticides or herbicides that are banned in the EU. As with meat exports, the EU will have to grant any increase in Canadian access on an equal basis to their other foreign suppliers. Most EU members grow some cereals, oilseeds or pulses; there would be pressure from many to restrict

Will your community be next?

Other suppliers will want deals

Trade opportunities for increased ag exports to the EU will exist if regulations are truly fair. However, increases may be modest and hard fought for, as the EU

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Canada has agreed to longer drug patent protection to the EU pharmaceutical industry. That would see many brand-name drugs remaining expensive longer. That extension could include animal health drug products. That would impact the livestock and poultry sector. Will increased meat exports to the EU offset increased costs from more expensive EUsourced animal health products?

The EU hormone-added beef ban already reduces Canadian beef competitiveness in the EU market by 15 per cent.

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any further unfettered access by foreign suppliers before any of them sign on.

market is already well served by domestic suppliers and big foreign marketers like the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil. None of those countries are going to concede market share to Canada through a free trade agreement. They will be demanding their own agreements with the EU. When that occurs the ag export trade business to the EU may well be back to Square 1 for everyone.

The biggest challenge to the Canada/EU agreement is the impending free trade discussions between the EU and the U.S. This agreement could well undo any of the benefits of the Canada/EU agreement, since the EU would see more value in increased trade with the U.S. than with Canada.

The problem is that Canada, unlike the U.S., has no big stick in these discussions which would see our officials agreeing to concessions to get an agreement soon.

Also, will this agreement deal with EU farm subsidies?

Lastly, lest we forget that free trade agreements are not always what they seem. The North American Free Trade Agreement has not stopped the U.S. from unilaterally imposing (direct or indirectly) restrictions, barriers and tariffs on Canadian beef, pork, wheat, potatoes, apples and a host of other products. Almost all those actions were due to political pressures from various groups and sectors in the U.S. economy after the deal was signed. It sets a bad precedent for any final Canada/EU agreement.

11/1/13 12:56 PM

or the sixth time in seven years, Monsanto Canada has been selected as one of Canada’s top 100 employers in Mediacorp Canada Inc.’s annual survey of Canadian businesses.

The listing ranks employers based on a nationwide survey, an extensive application process and analysis of compensation levels, work/life balance, training opportunities, workplace facilities and company benefits. This year 3,250 employers applied for the process.

In a release, Monsanto president and general manager Mike McGuire said agriculture is an exciting industry to be a part of, but it is not always top of mind when people think about jobs or their careers.

“We want to change that perception and encourage people looking for a rewarding field of employment to consider agriculture as a career choice. This recognition certainly helps in that regard.”

Among the reasons cited for the award were: • Maternity and parental leave top-up payments to new mothers or adoptive parents and a generous subsidy for fertility drugs, up to $15,000; • A variety of flexible work arrangements including shortened and compressed work week options, telecommuting and reduced summer hours; • Encouraging employees to be active in their local community by providing paid time off to volunteer; • Location at the University of Manitoba’s SmartPark alongside other research and technology companies; • Tuition subsidies of up to $10,000; • Retirement planning assistance and a defined contribution pension plan; • Initial three weeks of paid vacation, as well as paid time off during an office shutdown at the end of December.

Off the front

Albertafarmexpress.ca • November 11, 2013

BREWERY } from page 1 Their lager takes six weeks to ferment.

“It’s like looking into the future and saying, ‘How much beer should we have on hand on this date?’” Paré said.

Right now, the brewery can produce 7,000 litres of beer weekly, but their small canning line, run once a week by volunteers, produces only around 5,400 (355-millilitre) cans a week. Paré said he hopes to double production eventually, and release seasonal beers, once the brewery has more full-time staff.

“Very often, a brewery is started by one brewmaster who has a dream of building a brewery, and we have four guys who are working on it, and we’re all doing stuff all the time,” he said. “I don’t know how one person could ever manage it.”

Finding the time to build a successful business has been a challenge for Paré and his partners, who each have busy day jobs.

“I basically told the guys I cannot come in to help during the month of harvest,” said Paré, who grows wheat, canola, and barley on his 1,500-acre farm in east-central Alberta. “I kind of

Washington state sues lobbyists over campaign against GM labelling Opponents of labelling GM foods have spent more than $13 million

vacated myself, and we had to rely on other people to do it.”

Though Paré has some experience with growing malt barley, Ribstone Creek sources its malt from Calgary.

“Saskatchewan and Alberta are probably the premier places in the world for growing malt barley, so we use Canadian product.

Where the malt exactly comes from depends on the kind of malt you want for your beer.”

As a farmer, Paré said he felt it was important to bring a valueadded business that uses barley grown and processed in Alberta to the small community where he grew up.

“The goal was to start this business in a small community and try to ensure that it’s going to stay here and bring something to the community,” he said. “It’s a great attention-getter for the village. We have people coming for tours that are just so fascinated this little brewery is sitting right in town.

“That awareness — that you’re way out in the middle of nowhere and you can make beer and it’s good beer — is just a very fascinating thing to see.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

7

Ribstone Creek Brewery president Don Paré (centre) guides visitors through the recently completed Edgerton brewing facility. Photo: Jennifer Blair

Other fungicides help protect yield potential.

This increases it.

By Carey Gillam reuters

A

lobbying group for major U.S. food manufacturers has violated campaign finance laws in its attempt to block a measure that would require labelling of genetically modified foods in Washington state, according to a lawsuit filed by the state’s attorney general.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson alleges that the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) illegally collected and spent more than $7 million while shielding the identity of its contributors. Overall, opponents of ballot initiative 522, set for a public vote on Nov. 5, have spent more than $13 million to convince voters that labelling foods made with genetically engineered crop ingredients is a bad idea.

GMA, which has more than 300 companies as members, said in a statement that it was surprised by the lawsuit because it has taken “great care to understand and comply with all state election and campaign finance laws.”

The Yes on 522 campaign, which has spent $5.4 million backing a labelling law, said it was heartened by the lawsuit.

“They don’t want to tell us who is funding the No on 522 campaign — just like they don’t want Washington consumers to know what is in their food,” said Elizabeth Larter, spokeswoman for the Yes campaign.

There are a lot of decisions to make when it comes to getting the most out of your crop. But there’s only one fungicide that goes above and beyond controlling disease in canola by helping increase yield potential. We’re talking, of course, about Headline® fungicide. Not only does it help control yield-robbing diseases like blackleg, it also delivers the unique, proven benefits* that we call AgCelence®. The evidence? Greener, larger leaves and stronger stems that ultimately result in higher yield potential**. To find out how Headline can take your canola to new heights, visit agsolutions.ca/headline or contact AgSolutions® Customer Care at 1-877-371-BASF (2273). *AgCelence benefits refer to products that contain the active ingredient pyraclostrobin. **All comparisons are to untreated, unless otherwise stated.

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8

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Year-round virtual farmers’ market allows Alberta producers to peddle their wares online The Green Pantry works with nearly 40 Alberta producers to offer fresh vegetables, frozen meats, dairy products, grains and cereals, and more

BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF STAFF / RED DEER

C

onsumers looking for a closer connection to central Alberta producers can now do so with a few clicks of a button, thanks to a Lacombe-based online marketplace.

The Green Pantry is “like a virtual farmers’ market,” said cofounder Susan Crump.

“It’s a place for you to get your local food,” said Crump. “But instead of only being able to get it once a week at a farmers’ market, you can go online and order your product any time you want to.”

The Green Pantry (www. thegreenpantry.ca) offers fresh vegetables and fruits, frozen meats, dairy products, grains and cereals, and pulses. Crump and partners Sheryl Rae and Colleen Woods work with nearly 40 producers, primarily from central Alberta.

“Most of it would be from within 50 miles of Lacombe, but we have gone a little bit farther afield to get a specific product that isn’t grown or produced around this area,” she said.

An example would be dried beans grown in southern Alberta.

offers products that are hard to find in the grocery store; including bison, elk, and hormone- and antibiotic-free beef.

“Most of our meats are hormone free and antibiotic free, and quite a bit of it is pasture raised as well,” she said. “That’s certainly an attraction for some of our customers.”

Her customers want a more direct connection with farmers, she added.

“They want to have that relationship because they feel more comfortable knowing that it was

grown potentially down the road and how it was grown.”

Local is also a big draw.

“A lot of people are interested in supporting that local concept as well, whether it’s farmers in your area or shops in your town.

I think people like the idea that that keeps the money in the community.”

For farmers, the service offers a new market without the marketing legwork.

“Farmers have a hard enough job just doing all the things they have to do to produce their food,”

said Crump. “We thought we could take on a bit of that burden and do some of the marketing for them. It can take a huge amount of your time.”

Crump and her partners are no strangers to farming. Crump was an agrologist with Agriculture Financial Services Corporation and now does project administration for the Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund, while Rae is the executive director of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture.

Woods is a registered nurse.

But even with her strong rural

ties and farming background, opening The Green Pantry has been “a real eye-opener,” said Crump.

“When we first started this business, I certainly knew some of the products that were grown around this area, but my eyes have really been opened at how much and what variety of food is grown in central Alberta,” she said. “It’s just a testament to the fact that we can live pretty much off the food that is grown around this area.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

“Farmers have a hard enough job just doing all the things they have to do to produce their food.”

SUSAN CRUMP CO-FOUNDER OF THE GREEN PANTRY

Green Pantry has close to 400 customers registered on the site, and fills between 40 and 60 orders every week, delivering them to Lacombe, Red Deer, Stettler, Sylvan Lake, and Rocky Mountain House.

“It varies a little week to week,” Crump said. “Some people order every week pretty consistently, and other people will come on once every two or three weeks or maybe even just once a month.”

As an on-demand service, producers pick or package only what is ordered every week, resulting in less than one per cent food wastage.

“Most of our stuff is picked Wednesday night or Thursday morning, and it gets to the customer by Thursday night. You just can’t get any fresher than that,” said Crump.

While the biggest demand is for field-grown and greenhouse vegetables, The Green Pantry also

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Alberta Vegetable growers produce more than 15,000 tonnes of vegetables a

Harvesting Russet potatoes near Coaldale, Alberta with the Perry’s

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Latest AgriProfit$ newsletter for Alberta Cattlemen

Articles on cattle market outlook, and a rundown on this fall’s ‘Cow/Calf-enomic’ workshops AGRI-NEWS

T

he latest AgriProfit$ newsletter for Alberta Cattlemen is now available.

“The feature story in this issue is Chris Panter’s annual market fundamentals and outlook article,” says Dale Kaliel, senior production economist, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Edmonton. “Chris reviews some of the short- and intermediate-term signals we’re seeing in the marketplace and how these might play out in terms of production and profit opportunities. With this in hand Chris then bridges over to some potential marketing strategies for producers to consider.”

Kaliel says the issue also contains some shorter articles as well.

s annually.

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

“There’s a rundown on this fall’s ‘Cow/Calf-enomic’ workshops. I’ve added a link to the ARECA website for producers to check on events being offered by their local forage and applied research associations, and

there’s also a plug for producers to sign up to the AgriProfit$ business analysis program.”

The issue closes out with Kaliel’s regular “So What” column, this time on beef returns on investment.

“I’ve dug into the AgriProfit$ data base to pull out some longterm financial performance trends relating to Alberta beef operations,” explains Kaliel.

“I’ve presented 17 years of profitability levels for cow herds and supporting enterprises.

The article focuses on how to calculate and use return on investment as a guide for making profit-driven business choices.”

Producers enrolled in the AgriProfit$ program are automatically on the AgriProfit$ Newsletter mail list and will receive a copy of the newsletter in the mail. Contact Kaliel at 780-427-5390 or at dale.kaliel@ gov.ab.ca to be added to the mail list. The newsletter is also posted on Alberta Agriculture’s website.

The months of toil and tending.

The weeks of watching – and waiting.

The checking, the spraying. The praying. And it all comes down to a few short weeks of long days – and longer nights – to wrest from this land a bounty that is not only the envy of the world, but will help feed much of it. To the over 60,000 Alberta Land Warriors – the growers and producers – many of whom we’re lucky enough to call ‘customers’, and even more lucky to call ‘friends’, we have just this to say on the heels of another incredible harvest.

Thank you. Again.

Long Love This Land.

WHAT’S UP Send agriculture-related meeting and event announcements to: will. verboven@fbcpublishing.com November 12/14: Introduction to Risk Management, iHotel, Red Deer. Call: Heather 780781-2840 November 13: ABC & AWC Region 2 Meeting, Community Centre 9:00 am, Acme. Call: Cole 403219-6253 November 13: Building Food Safety, Ag Centre 9:00 am, Airdrie. Call: Krista 800-6612642 November 14: Alberta Wheat Commission, Community Hall, Rycroft. Call: Kristina 780-7185023 November 14: Building your CSA, Red Deer County Office 9:00 am, Red Deer. Call: Ordella 780-643-6693 November 14/15: Green Industry Show & Conference, Northlands Expo, Edmonton.

Call: Valery 780-489-1991 November 15: ABC & AWC Region 5 Meeting, Community Hall 9:00 am, Westlock. Call: Kristina 780-718-5023 November 19: Canola Growers Fall Meeting, Pomeroy Inn 9:00 am, Grimshaw. Call: Rick 780678-6167 November 19: ABC & AWC Region 3 Meeting, 9:00 am, Memorial Centre, Lacombe. Call: Kristina 780-718-5023 November 19/20: Advanced Agronomy Conference, Executive Royal Inn, Leduc.

Call: Jacqueline 780-416-6046 November 20: Canola Growers Fall Meeting, Recreation Complex 9:00 am, Falher. Call: Rick 780-678-6167 November 20: Peace Country Beef & Forage Meeting, GPRC Campus 10:30 am, Fairview.

Call: Monika 780-523-4033 November 21: ABC & AWC Region 4 Meeting, Centennial Library 10:00 am, Vegreville. Call: Cole 403-219-6253 November 21: Canola Growers Fall Meeting, Norseman Inn 9:00 am, Camrose. Call: Rick 780-678-6167 November 21: Alberta Wheat Commission Region 2 Meeting, Civic Centre, Strathmore. Call: Kristina 780-718-5023 November 21: Canola Growers Fall Meeting, Stonebridge Hotel 9:00 am, Grande Prairie.

Call: Rick 780-678-6167 November 26: Alberta Wheat Commission, Holiday Inn, Lethbridge. Call: Kristina 780718-5023 November 26/27: CANFAX Cattle Market Forum, Deerfoot Inn, Calgary. Call: Canfax 403236-7529 December 9/11: Canadian Forage & Grasslands Assoc.

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NEWS » Markets

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

More Brazil soy for biodiesel

Large Ukraine export program

Brazil may raise the biodiesel blend required in diesel fuel as early as January, a change that could result in up to 10 per cent more of an expected record soybean crop getting crushed into meal and oil, industry sources say. Raising the blend from the current five per cent to seven per cent, a move long advocated by soy crushers, would relieve pressure on state-run oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA, which has been forced to import diesel fuel to make up for a domestic refining shortfall and sell it at a loss on the local market. — Reuters

Ukraine hopes to export a record monthly volume of 3.5 million tonnes of grain in November and maize will dominate, Agriculture Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk said Nov. 5. Ukraine exported a total of 10.02 million tonnes of grain as of Nov. 4. Prysyazhnyuk said that the ministry would encourage exports and saw no grounds to limit further sales.

“Our winter crops are in very good condition thanks to perfect weather. The harvest (of winter wheat in 2014) could exceed the previously expected 15 million tonnes,” he added.

U.S. markets rangebound pending new USDA estimates Canola futures also remain aimless in the meantime

PHOTO: thinkstock

By Terryn Shiells

C

anola futures on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform moved lower during the week ended Nov. 1, though the market bounced around on both sides of unchanged throughout the week.

Spillover pressure from the losses in Chicago soybeans, the advancing U.S. soybean harvest and expectations of a record-large South American oilseed crop were bearish.

The large Canadian canola supply situation also continues to overhang the market, as many traders still believe that the crop is larger than Statistics Canada’s record-large estimate of 15.963 million tonnes. How big the 2013-14 Canadian canola crop turns out to be won’t be confirmed until Dec. 4, when StatsCan releases its next production report.

However, general weakness in the value of the Canadian dollar, as it

remained below the US96-cent mark during the week, was supportive, as was spillover support from the gains seen in outside vegetable oil markets.

But overall, canola futures were lacking direction during the week amid a lack of fresh news. Though there are still fundamentals at play, most of them have already been priced in, or are close to being priced in.

Canola futures should continue in a choppy, directionless pattern until some fresh news is released — namely the Nov. 8 world agricultural supplyand-demand estimates (WASDE) report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Until then, any gains will be seen as good selling opportunities — and losses as good buying chances.

The Nov. 8 report will be USDA’s first in two months, as there was no October data released due to the U.S. government shutdown. Because the market was missing the October information, even more importance will be placed on the Nov. 8 data.

Traders in the U.S. are also waiting for the upcoming WASDE report before making any big moves, so Chicago corn and soybeans and all three wheat futures should also continue in a rangebound pattern overall until it is released.

Chicago soybean futures moved sharply lower during the week, with much of the selling linked to the advancing U.S. soybean harvest and expectations of a record-large South American soybean crop.

There is still a little bit of uncertainty surrounding how big the U.S. crop will be, due to the missing USDA October report, but yields and production estimates should be confirmed in the Nov. 8 report. Pre-report expectations are calling for a 3.298-billion-bushel soybean crop, which is up from USDA’s previous estimate of 3.149 billion bushels.

Some traders expect that the U.S. corn crop will be larger than 14 billion bushels this year, which is why

the Chicago corn futures continued their downtrend slide during the week.

USDA’s current estimate calls for a 13.843-billion-bushel corn crop.

All three U.S. wheat futures moved lower during the week, as traders didn’t see any reason to keep prices up at recent highs amid a lack of fresh news. Oversold price sentiment and speculative selling were also bearish for wheat futures.

The upcoming USDA report will also be important for U.S. wheat futures, as it will help shine some light on how big the global wheat crop will be.

There have been reports of problems for wheat crops in the Black Sea region, Argentina and Australia recently. The report should show how much of an impact those recent problems will have on global wheat production.

Terryn Shiells writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

11

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Alberta cereal commissions open joint office The two commissions will share office space as well as seven administrative staff af staff / calgary

L

ong time producer organization the Alberta Barley Commission (ABC) has joined forces with the brand-new producer group the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) in opening a joint office in Calgary.

“It seemed like a natural fit to come together in a collaborative partnership and share resources to be more cost effective for our producers,” says Doug Cornell, general manager for the AWC. “We are two organizations that are working for the same purpose and the same members.”

The two organizations will have some of their own dedicated staff — the ABC has seven full-time employees and the AWC has six.

Both organizations will share seven administrative employees.

“Our organizations have very similar goals and priorities,” says ABC general manager Lisa Skierka.

“Working out of the same office allows us to co-ordinate resources

while ensuring that we are an effective voice for the farmers we represent.” This is the first time that two Alberta marketing commissions have entered into such a joint administrative partnership.

It has already been extended into other areas — some of this year’s regional meetings will be combined ABC/AWC events to make it more convenient for producers to attend.

The joint office will also house the office of the Barley Council of Canada, which is the national organization representing barley growers. The council’s affairs are being managed by the ABC. A national wheat industry group is being organized but its head office has not yet been determined.

The new joint office is located in the Deerfoot Atrium in NE Calgary. Those adjacent buildings are already a hub of producer and industry agency and organization offices, including Alberta Beef Producers, Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and Canada Beef Inc.

Official opening of the joint Alberta wheat and barley commission offices Oct. 25, (l-r) Brian Otto, Barley Council of Canada chair; Kent Erickson, Alberta Wheat Commission chair; Jason Kenney, minister of employment and social development and minister for multiculturalism; Gary Stanford, AWC director; Kevin Sorenson, minister of state; Matt Sawyer, Alberta Barley Growers chair. Photo: supplied

Prairie wheat bids continue downward trend

By Terryn Shiells

commodity news service canada

C

ash bids for western Canadian spring wheat continued to move lower during the week ended Nov. 4.

Average spot bids for CWRS 13.5 per cent protein across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta came in at around $219 per tonne ($5.95 per bushel) based on pricing available from a cross-section of delivery points — which compares to $226 per tonne ($6.14/bu.) the week prior. Basis levels were unchanged at an average discount of $45 relative to the futures.

Average Canada Prairie spring red (CPSR) values were at $195 per tonne ($5.32/bu.), down from $205 per tonne ($5.59/bu.) a week earlier. Average basis levels widened to a discount of $73 compared to futures, from $71 the week prior.

U.S. wheat futures continued to move lower during the week.

Good conditions for the U.S. winter wheat crop and weakness in CBOT corn futures were also bearish.

The December spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted Nov. 4 at US$7.1925 per bushel, down 17.25 cents from the previous week.

Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures, which are now traded in Chicago, are more closely linked to CPSR in Canada.

December Kansas City wheat lost 21.5 cents over the week, settling Monday at US$7.2875 per bushel.

Durum prices were up slightly, as the market was recovering from recent sharp losses. Average spot bids increased by $1 per tonne, to $201 ($5.47/bu.).

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NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Corn prices continue to trend lower — posting a three-year low A record U.S. corn crop and tripling of carry-out stocks is putting pressure on prices By david drozd

C

orn on the nearby weekly futures contract has lost 50 per cent of its value since rallying to a record high of $8.43-3/4 in August 2012.

Cash prices are closer to $3.50 per bushel — a price not seen since July 2010.

Pressuring the market is the United States Department of Agriculture’s estimate of a record 13.84-billion-bushel U.S. corn crop and a 1.86-billionbushel carry-out for the 2013-14 crop year. This certainly alleviates the tight ending stocks situation experienced during the 2012-13 crop year when supplies were drawn down to 661 million bushels.

The last time the U.S. had a corn carry-out similar 8/26/11 to this SEC_CAR11_T_MC.qxd year’s forecast was in 2009-10,

when the ending stocks were 1.7 billion bushels. During that period, the nearby futures contract traded between $4.20 and $3.20 per bushel.

Some are surprised prices have declined to current levels, especially farmers who may be growing corn for the first time.

Last year’s record-high prices resulted in corn being one of the crops having the highest return.

This inspired first-time growers to try their hand at producing a crop of corn this year.

Others may not have been surprised by the downturn given the reversal pattern that materialized on the monthly nearby futures candlestick chart, at the market’s high, 15 months ago.

CBOT corn monthly nearby Chart as of October 30, 2013

Introduction to candlestick charting

Candlestick charting provides 4:23 PM Page 1

an insight into market activity that is not readily apparent with the conventional bar-type charts. When you see a black candle you know the sentiment is bearish. When the candle is white, it is bullish.

The Japanese are regarded as the true pioneers of market technical analysis. They began trading forward rice contracts (Futures) in 1654 and by the year 1750 had developed quite a refined system for analyzing the markets.

These same techniques have evolved over 2-1/2 centuries into an amazingly powerful modern-day charting method called candlestick. The Japanese method of charting is called candlestick because the individual lines resemble candles.

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Setting the pace.

Basic construction of a candlestick line

The daily line shows the open, high, low and close. The thick part or candle is called the real body. It highlights the range between the open and close. If the close is above the open, then the body will be white. When the real body is black this simply means the close was below the open.

The lines above and below the real body represent the high and low ranges for the period and are called shadows.

A long black body illustrates a bearish period in the market with an opening near the day’s high and close near the day’s low.

A long white body is the opposite of a long black body and shows technical strength with an opening near the low and a close near the high in a wide range period.

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Spinning tops are lines with small real bodies. The small body represents a tight range between the open and close.

Spinning tops are regarded as neutral in most situations.

However, when combined with other patterns they can be very significant, such was the case when the harami developed at the top of the corn market.

Harami lines

The harami line is similar to an inside day used in bar chart analysis. However, this interpretation suggests a waning in momentum and a possible trend change. As illustrated in the accompanying chart, the short black body of the harami must be contained by a long real white body preceding it.

A reversal pattern of any kind is more significant when it not only occurs at a market high, but when it appears on a longterm chart such as a monthly or weekly chart.

Having a basic understanding of candlestick charting is an invaluable tool for being alerted to the major turns in the market.

Send your questions or comments about this article and chart to info@ag-chieve.ca.

David Drozd is president and senior market analyst for Winnipeg-based Ag-Chieve Corporation. The opinions expressed are those of the writer and are solely intended to assist readers with a better understanding of technical analysis. Visit Ag-Chieve online at www.ag-chieve.ca for information about grainmarketing advisory services, or call us toll free at 1-888-2743138 for a free consultation.

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Fighting fires when the water source is frozen DuPont program has provided a range of equipment to rural fire and rescue departments

BY HELEN MCMENAMIN AF CONTRIBUTOR / TABER

A

grant from DuPont’s FIRE program is helping the Taber Fire Department buy equipment to help them fight fires in situations where access to water is difficult.

The volunteer firefighters handle fires and other emergencies over a mainly rural area, as well as the town of Taber. In rural areas, farms may have a dugout or pond and during the irrigation season, the canals offer an accessible water source, but only from early May to the beginning of October.

“That’s the worst time of the year for fires, especially grass fires,” says Taber fire chief Mike Bos. “We’ve had fires in mid-winter and early spring. Everything is dry, there’s ice on ponds and dugouts. There’s always limitations, but with no water, sometimes there’s not a lot we can do. If we have to stand there and watch a house or a barn burn, that’s very demoralizing.”

Each of the department’s three fire trucks hauls 1,000 gallons of water, but that doesn’t go far when the crew is facing a grass fire or a blazing building. The crews need to be able to bring a truck close to a water source to pump enough water. Generally they need to put a truck within 10 or 20 feet of the water, but debris, rocks, ice even long grass can delay them.

“If we have to stand there and watch a house or a barn burn, that’s very demoralizing.”

The FIRE program is a new initiative for DuPont Pioneer, started in July this year, aimed at helping out rural volunteer fire departments. The company has had a community investment program for some time, and occasionally supported emergency services through that, now FIRE is dedicated to the emergency services sector. “Many of our customers and our sales people are volunteer firefighters,” says Melani Rich of DuPont Pioneer. “Emergencies where volunteer firefighters are called out impact the lives of farmers, who are our customers.”

Rich says the program has provided a range of equipment, as it isn’t just firefighting equipment that’s needed.

“Some groups asked for ‘jaws of life’ to extricate people trapped in

vehicles, one group asked for help buying a trailer to help them get their rescue sled and toboggan to hard-to-reach places, another needed gas-detection equipment.

We provided the High River hospital with new wheelchairs after all of theirs were lost in the floods.”

Chief Bos and his volunteers feel the fire eductor will really help their community. “We’ve been pretty fortunate lately,” he says.

“We’ve had some field fires, but the Hutterites have really been on the ball and other farmers seem to be getting the message too, to be prepared. If they see things getting dry, have the disker set up and ready to go and have water ready and available if possible. “Awareness and being prepared make a real difference. The first five minutes of a fire are critical,” he said.

Winter can be the most difficult time of year to fight grass fires.

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

JOINT 2013 REGIONAL MEETINGS TAKE PART IN REGIONAL MEETINGS FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ABOUT CROPS AND THE COMMISSIONS THAT WORK FOR YOU. NOVEMBER 2013 MONDAY

11

TUESDAY

12 Alberta Barley – Region 3, Alberta Wheat – Region 3 Lacombe Memorial Centre

WEDNESDAY Alberta Barley – Region 2 Alberta Pulse – Zone 2 Acme Community Centre

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19 Alberta Pulse – Zone 3 Westlock Community Hall

Alberta Barley – Region 1 Alberta Wheat – Region 1 Holiday Inn, Lethbridge Alberta Canola – Region 5 Westlock Community Hall Alberta Canola – Region 7 Lacombe Memorial Centre

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26

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FRIDAY Alberta Barley – Region 5 Alberta Wheat – Region 5B Westlock Community Hall

15 Alberta Wheat – Region 2 Strathmore Family Centre

Alberta Barley – Region 4 Vegreville Centennial Library Alberta Canola – Region 2 Stonebridge Hotel, Grande Prairie

TABER FIRE CHIEF

Soon, thanks to funding from DuPont’s Funding Initiative for Rural Emergencies (FIRE), the Taber Fire Department will be able to move water from considerable distances with greater lifts.

The department is purchasing a water jet eductor from a U.S. company. The machine, which weighs about 45 lbs. without its hoses, has no moving parts and works on the kinetic energy of water via the venturi effect and does not need to be primed. Water is pumped through a 2.5-inch hose into the eductor and through a nozzle. This creates suction around the nozzle, pulling in water that is discharged with considerable force. According to the company’s website, the five-inch discharge hose can be as much as 250 feet long.

Chief Bos and his crew don’t have their machine yet, but they’re looking forward to training with it to find what it will do and how best to use it. “It can put out up to 670 gallons a minute,” he says. “The big question is how much flow does it lose over a height and distance. We’ll be doing a lot of training on a new way of doing things with the TurboDraft eductor. We’ll still carry some water to any fire, but we’ll probably dedicate one truck to getting water.”

Alberta Wheat – Region 5A Rycroft Community Hall

Alberta Canola – Region 3 Falher Recreation Centre

Alberta Canola – Region 1 Pomeroy Inn, Grimshaw

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Alberta Canola – Region 11 Norseman Inn, Camrose

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21 Alberta Pulse – Zone 5 Norseman Inn, Camrose

Alberta Canola – Region 6 Best Western Inn, Stony Plain Alberta Canola – Region 8 Rosebud Centre

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Alberta Barley – Region 6 Alberta Pulse – Zone 4 Sexsmith Community Centre Alberta Canola – Region 4 Royal Canadian Legion, Vegreville Alberta Canola – Region 12 Seniors Recreation Centre, Oyen

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DECEMBER 2013 Alberta Canola – Region 9 Lethbridge Lodge

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03 Alberta Pulse – Zone 1 Taber Legion Hall

Alberta Canola – Region 10 Marwayne Hall

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04 Alberta Wheat – Region 4 Vegreville Social Centre

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14

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Argentine farmers plan new protests against a weakened Fernandez Soybean exports are taxed 35 per cent to ensure domestic supplies

By Nicolás Misculin buenos aires / reuters

A

rgentine farm groups are threatening an agricultural sector strike if the government does not show signs of modifying policies that soybean, wheat and corn growers say are killing their profits.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez’s allies took a beating in mid-term elections Oct. 27, shrinking her majority in Congress, ending chances of a constitutional change to allow her a third term and kicking off the contest to succeed her in 2015.

Adding to the political uncertainty in Latin America’s No. 3 economy, Fernandez had surgery last month to remove

blood that had pooled on the surface of her brain after falling and knocking her head. The mid-term defeat could increase Fernandez’s vulnerability to a potential farm strike.

The grains sector has long objected to Fernandez’s interventionist policies, including export curbs on corn and wheat, meant to ensure ample domestic food supplies, and foreign exchange controls that have put U.S. dollars out of reach for most businesses and savers who shun the weakening local peso.

“There is no time to wait. We need to deepen our actions and if conditions are right call a farm strike,” Eduardo Buzzi, head of the Argentine Agrarian Federation, or FAA, told Reuters.

Growers also say their profits are being killed by the 35 per

cent tax that the government puts on soybean exports while inflation, clocked by private analysts at 25 per cent, jacks up operating costs.

Buzzi’s federation, which represents small-scale growers, played a key role in the massive 2008 farm strike that shook the government of Fernandez, then in her first term. Prompted by a farm tax increase decreed by the fledgling president, the 2008 protest brought Argentine grains production to a halt.

The country is the world’s No. 1 exporter of soymeal animal feed and soyoil, used in the booming biofuels sector.

Argentina is also the third-biggest global supplier of soybeans and corn.

Big farming companies are renting less land in the South

American country and U.S.based company Mosaic, one of the world’s top fertilizer manufacturers, is selling its local manufacturing site.

The pullout by Mosaic follows years of complaints by farmers about falling profits, which limits their ability to buy fertilizers and other inputs.

“If the government continues to ignore our complaints, a strike is sure to follow,” said Ruben Ferrero, head of the powerful Argentine Rural Federation, or CRA. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts Argentina’s 2013-14 soy crop at 53.5 million tonnes, with the South American country’s wheat harvest seen by the USDA at 12 million tonnes and corn at 26 million tonnes.

NEWS Viterra announces two elevator projects in Alberta Viterra says it will invest more than $34 million into two elevator projects in Alberta.

The first is the construction of a new grain terminal near Grimshaw. The concrete facility will have a 104 rail car loading capability and approximately 30,000 tonnes of grain storage.

Preliminary site work is planned to start this fall.

The second project is the expansion of Viterra’s terminal in Grassy Lake. Storage capacity will increase by 14,000 tonnes to 36,500 tonnes, along with operational improvements to increase logistical flexibility and efficiency.

This is the latest in a series of infrastructure improvements by Viterra. In May, the company announced that it is investing more than $20 million to upgrade four of its Saskatchewan grain terminals at White Star, Humboldt, Waldron and Ituna. It has also recently completed similar expansions at Gull Lake, Sask. and Fairlight, Sask.

Kellogg to cut workforce and trim production

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reuters Kellogg Co., the world’s largest maker of breakfast cereals, said it would cut about seven per cent of its workforce by 2017 and also trim production capacity, after reporting another quarterly decline in sales in its cereals business.

The company’s cereals business, which includes Special K, Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies, has been battling stiff competition from General Mills and privatelabel cereal brands. Increasing popularity of yogurt, frozen egg sandwiches and other breakfast items has also hit the business.

Sales at Kellogg’s U.S. morning foods business, which includes cereals, fell 2.2 per cent in the third quarter ended Sept. 28.

The job cuts are a part of a four-year cost-cutting program, called Project K, that the company launched Nov. 4. The program includes consolidating factories and product lines, moving them closer to its regional hubs.

Kellogg had about 31,000 employees globally at the end of 2012.

The company also said it would invest in building its cereal brands and developing its business in emerging markets.

Project K follows a threeyear initiative, K-Lean, that Kellogg had launched in 2009 to save $1 billion in annual costs. However, the company’s quality control weakened due to too many job cuts, leading to product recalls.

Between 2009 and 2011, Kellogg recalled packages of cereals, cookies and protein bars.

15

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Lentil prices remain competitive for Prairie growers

Ejection Seat

Current prices are remaining steady as harvest pressure has subsided

By Brandon Logan

commodity news service canada

A

large crop and competitive prices for lentils has many Prairie growers optimistic as they begin to market their crop over the next 10 months, said Bobby Leavins, operations manager for Rayglen Commodities in Saskatoon, Sask.

According to Statistics Canada, Western Canada’s lentil production is pegged at 1.709 million tonnes, which would make the 2013-14 crop the second biggest in the past decade.

“I think growers are pretty happy,” he said. “Everyone’s got a different situation, but I think for the most part, growers are fairly happy with the crop they produced and now it’s just another 10 months ahead of us of marketing this crop.”

Saskatchewan Agriculture’s final crop progress report for 2013 said yields averaged 1,730 pounds per acre, which is significantly higher than the 10-year average of 1,237 pounds per acre.

“I think yields were above average this year,” Leavins said, noting that harvest is basically complete across the province. “The difference this year is so many areas had a pretty decent crop across the board. No, I don’t think we’re going to be swimming in the stuff, but there’s definitely going to be enough to meet demand.”

When speaking of global demand for the Canadian product, India is always a big player, as it is the main importer of Canadian pulses.

However, with the weak value of their rupee and expectations of a large Rabi crop, India’s demand for Canadian lentils could be much lower this season.

“They (India) haven’t really been that aggressive (in buying) so far,” Leavins said. “I think they’re pretty confident in what they’re going to produce.”

Leavins said current lentil prices are remaining steady as harvest pressure has subsided.

“Reds have strengthened and greens have remained flat,” he said. “Large greens remain flat, but small greens have fallen off a little bit more since harvest.”

As of Oct. 31, Prairie Ag Hotwire had f.o.b. farm No. 1 Crimson lentils topping out at 20 cents per pound, No. 1 Laird lentils pegged as high as 20 cents per pound, and No. 1 Eston lentils worth as much as 18 cents per pound.

Austin Quiring of Strathmore, Alberta takes a dramatic dismount from his bull while riding at the Rockyford (Alberta) 56th annual rodeo.

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16

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Rains jumpstart Argentine corn planting

WeatherFarm adds features

Strong rains in the Pampas Grains Belt at the beginning of November boosted Argentine corn planting, setting the stage for upcoming soy seedings as well. A dry spell was snapped by Oct. 31-Nov. 1 storms that dropped 250 millimetres of rain in areas including Cordoba and southern Santa Fe provinces. “The situation changed significantly, especially for corn. The showers reactivated planting,” said Leonardo De Benedictis, meteorologist at the Clima Campo consultancy. “Soy planting has not yet begun in the central Farm Belt, but the moisture brought by the recent rains will help a lot when seeding starts,” he said. — Reuters

WeatherFarm.com, which is now operated by a partnership between Weather INnovations and Glacier FarmMedia, has added new features to its website, which has real-time temperature, wind direction and speed, humidity and dew point for more than 600 stations across Western Canada. The “Analyze weather” feature provides that information, plus heat units and growing degree days, for the past five days. There’s also a local forecast for your area, and you can generate daily maps showing temperature and precipitation for the three Prairie provinces.

October weather wasn’t really that bad

If you look at numbers for the month, they were pretty close to average

by daniel bezte

I

n September, most regions across Alberta saw temperatures that were a good 2 C to 4 C above the long-term average.

Central and northern regions were fairly dry as well, making it a very nice September for those areas. Over southern regions temperatures were probably the warmest, but along with warmer temperatures came a little more precipitation, with the Calgary area seeing nearly 45 mm of rain during the month. Overall though, September was pretty darned nice!

Then came October… it must have had terrible weather, right?

I am calling for temperatures to be above average in southern and eastern regions of Alberta, with western regions seeing below-average temperatures and northern regions seeing near-average temperatures.

In reality, it probably wasn’t as bad as you thought. Only the last few days of the month were kind of terrible, but overall, it really wasn’t that bad. October saw a bit of a see-saw in temperatures, with highs climbing into the mid-teens for a few days and then dropping off into the single digits for a day or two before swinging back up into the mid-teens. This pattern continued right through to the last few days when a strong storm system brought the first real taste of winter to most regions, either in the way of snow and cold temperatures or just cold temperatures.

When all of the numbers were added up it turns out that the Edmonton region recorded a

mean monthly temperature of around 4.2 C, which is pretty much bang on with the long-term average. Farther south in the Calgary region it was understandably a little milder, with a mean monthly temperature of 5.7 C — also nearly right on the long-term average. So, overall, October, even with the cold end to the month, saw near-average to even slightly above-average temperatures in pretty much all regions.

October’s pattern of precipitation saw above-average amounts in the northern regions along with the west-central and southern regions. Calgary was in this wetter-than-average region and recorded around 25 mm of precipitation, which is nearly double the amount usually expected in October. The zone stretching from the Peace River region southeastward into the southeast corner of Alberta saw below-average amounts. Edmonton recorded only around 12 mm of precipitation, which is about 50 per cent of October’s long-term average for this area. Elsewhere, amounts were right around average.

November forecasts

Now let’s see what the different November forecasts are calling for. According to Environment Canada, November 2013 will see below-average temperatures along with near-average precipitation for all regions, except the northeastern region which will see above-average amounts. The best chances for below-average temperatures will be in the western regions.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac is calling for above-average temperatures and near-average precipitation. Over at the Canadian Farmers Almanac, it is less optimistic. It is calling for wellbelow-average temperatures with the mention of cold conditions several times, along with above-average amounts of snow.

Finally, here at Alberta Farmer, I am calling for temperatures to be above average in southern and eastern regions of Alberta, with western regions seeing below-average temperatures and northern regions seeing near-average temperatures.

There are some hints at colder weather moving into all regions during the second half of the month, but the overall trend over

This issue’s map shows the precipitation across Alberta during the 30-day period ending on Oct. 29, compared to the long-term normal. A good portion of agricultural Alberta saw average to slightly above-average precipitation during October. The extreme northern region along with western parts of the central and southern regions were wetter, with some areas seeing well-above-average amounts. The Peace River region extending southeastwards through Edmonton was drier with some areas seeing low to very low precipitation. the last week or so is towards milder conditions, with the exception of the far west.

Precipitation is always the toughest thing to predict for any month and November is probably one of the hardest months as we transition from fall into winter. With that in mind, it

currently looks as if November will see below-average precipitation as the pattern does not look to be that active over the next couple of weeks. If we do see a transition to cold weather for the second half of the month, these transitions are usually accompanied by a day or two of stormy

weather which could bring significant amounts of precipitation, but that’s a lot of “ifs” so I will just stick with my original forecast.

Next issue we’ll take a longer look ahead and see what the different forecasters are calling for the rest of the winter.

17

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

ACPC DIRECTOR NOMINATION RESULTS

Researcher examining the role of microbe in helping crops grow Fungi has symbiotic relationship with plants, obtaining sugars from them and transporting nutrients and water from the soil to them in return

BY HELEN MCMENAMIN

AF CONTRIBUTOR / LETHBRIDGE

T

here are billions of bacteria in every teaspoon of soil, but for the most part all those microbes are a black box that’s responsible for all the biological activity in soil.

Now, an Agriculture Canada scientist has been researching one soil fungus phylum — the Glomeromycota — and found an amazing variety of species each with a different habitat and activity in the soil.

She compares them to the weed populations that coexist with particular crops and farming systems.

They were called VAM fungi, now the official term is arbuscular mycorrhizae because some lack vesicles, but all have tree-like (arbuscular) branches and form mycorrhizae in plants. They have a symbiotic relationship with plants, obtaining sugars and possibly other substances from them and transporting nutrients and water from the soil to the plant. The fungus is made up of very fine branches or hyphae, some of which penetrate the much larger root hairs of a plant while other hyphae spread through the soil and absorb nutrients and moisture.

Chantal Hamel is trying to understand the complex

ecology of mycorrhizae in Prairie soils. Mycorrhizae have been found in soil around most crops, other than crucifers such as canola and mustard. They act as extensions of the plant’s roots, pipelines to deliver moisture and nutrients from a greater volume of soils than the roots. But, she says, the community of mycorrhizae seems to depend more on the soil than the crop.

Organic boost

Hamel has found higher mycorrhizae populations under organic systems and says the lower nutrient levels in organic soils boost populations of the fungi.

“A hungry plant loses more sugars into the soil around its roots than a plant with good supply of nutrients,” says Hamel. “As well as enhancing mycorrhizal activity, the sugars stimulate decomposition and mineralization to make nutrients more available to the plant. Nitrogen use efficiency is higher in organic fields.”

Sugars secreted by plant roots stimulate mycorrhizal hyphae to intrude into roots to set up the symbiotic relationship between plant and fungus. Along with delivering water and nutrients, the fungus provides some stress resistance to the plant, acting almost like a vaccination and helping the plant’s defence mechanisms turn

on quickly when the plant is attacked by disease or some other stressor. The old idea that tillage destroys the mycorrhizae is not entirely true, says Hamel.

“In Western Canada, tillage is no more than eight centimetres. That has very little impact on mycorrhizae.

In other areas, where farmers till deeper, with more aggressive implements, mycorrhizae are suppressed.”

The diversity of mycorrhizae species is greater under native grass than under annual crops. The most abundant and diverse populations Hamel has found are in ditches — it seems they have an environment that supports cropland species and native grassland communities. Also, some species are more abundant in spring, then others take over later in the year.

Not all beneficial

Not all species of mycorrhizae are equally effective at helping plants. Most are beneficial, but a few reduce plant growth. Hamel’s team found one species was abundant in every cultivated field they looked at in Saskatchewan. She thinks it’s probably an invasive species, like a weed species.

The type of crop also affects the value of the fungus to the plant.

“Wheat seems to have evolved without taking

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Four directors have been elected by acclamation for the Alberta Canola Producers Commission (ACPC). The nomination deadline was November 1, 2013. Three directors will now serve their second three-year term. Directors are eligible to serve two consecutive terms. Kelly McIntyre of Fairview was elected in Region 1, Daryl Tuck of Vegreville in Region 4 and Terry Young of Lacombe in Region 7. Joining the board for his first term will be Stuart Holmen of Dewberry. He replaces Todd Hames, who is currently serving the last year of his second term.

A photo of AM fungi as it grows inside a root of wheat.

It enters a cell and branches profusely (dark cells are colonized) to create a large plant-fungus interface through which mineral nutrients are exchanged for sugar. AM fungi are soil fungi that connect to plant roots after seed germination. PHOTO: SUPPLIED advantage of mycorrhizae,” says Hamel. “We sometimes see a drop in growth when it’s associated with the fungus. Perhaps wheat’s extensive network of fine roots delivers nutrients so efficiently any extra delivered by the fungus doesn’t justify the cost in sugars lost to the mycorrhizae. Peas are the other extreme — they have relatively few roots and support more vigorous mycorrhizal populations.”

Hamel and her team have found differences among crop genotypes. Some genetic lines of wheat rich in nitrogen and potassium do better with mycorrhizae, with higher levels of potassium and nitrogen in leaves when the plants are grown with mycorrhizae.

Potassium makes photosynthesis more efficient by boosting transport of nutrients and carbohydrates produced in leaves.

As soil fungi go, mycorrhizae are very big — each individual can be 200 to 800 microns, big enough to see on a glass — and they grow fast, but they are very difficult to identify. They don’t grow in culture and researchers haven’t found the sexual stage that scientists use to identify fungal species.

“We have so much to learn about soil fungi,” says Hamel. “Plant pathologists are so busy with leaves and the fungi on them, but we know very little about what’s happening under the ground.”

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18

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Recommended malting barley varietal list released There are several up-and-coming varieties that could become dominant players in the future STAFF

T

he Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre has released the list of recommended malting barley varieties for the upcoming crop year.

The recommendations are based on the varieties expected to be selected by grain and malting companies for both domestic and export markets for the 2014 harvest, the centre says in a release.

Four two-row varieties, AC Metcalfe, CDC Copeland, CDC Meredith, and CDC PolarStar, are expected to represent 80 to 85 per cent of the anticipated selections.

There are five up-and-comers, Newdale, Major, Bentley, Merit 57 and CDC Kindersley, that will represent 15 to 20 per cent of the

selections next year and could become dominant varieties in the future, it says.

Recommended six-row varieties are Legacy, Tradition and Celebration.

The list is published on behalf of the members of the CMBTC, and other companies that have provided their input. CMBTC members are Alberta Agriculture, Alberta Barley Commission, Alfred C. Toepfer Canada, the CWB, Canadian Grain Commission, CANTERRA SEEDS, Cargill AgHorizons, Fedoruk Seeds, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Manitoba Liquor Control Commission, Molson Coors, Parrish & Heimbecker, Richardson International, SABMiller, Saskatchewan Agriculture, Prairie Malt Limited,

the Public Malt Barley Breeders, SeCan, Syngenta Canada and Viterra.

“I would once again like to thank all of our members as well as the industry for helping us put together this list as it is important information for the producer, aiding them in making their seeding decisions for the coming year,” said CMBTC managing director Rob McCaig in a release.

“With the changes made to marketing of Canadian malting barley the generation of this list was a challenging collaborative effort between all parts of the malt barley value chain,” he said. “With these changes the list becomes even more important in providing the farmer with a clear indication of the

requirements of the domestic and international maltsters and brewers.”

The recommendations are based on feedback CMBTC members received through contacts with domestic and international maltsters and brewers as well as test malting and brewing results from the centre’s pilotscale malthouse and brewery.

“The list clearly indicates the increasing acceptance of our new Canadian barley varieties by the international and domestic barley users,” McCaig said.

The CMBTC, which started in August 2000, is an independent, non-profit organization funded by members of the malting barley and malt industry. For more information on this year’s list go to: www.cmbtc.com.

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

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W

hen it comes to omega-3 fatty acid, the dose may make the poison, say researchers at Oregon State University.

“Overall, we support the dietary recommendations from the American Heart Association to eat fish, particularly fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, lake trout or sardines, at least two times a week, and for those at risk of coronary artery disease to talk to their doctor about supplements,” OSU associate professor, Norman Hord said in a release.

Flaxseed, either consumed directly or as a feed supplement for meat and eggs, is also a source of omega-3s Studies have shown that omega3s are associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the OSU researchers say that excess consumption of omega-3 supplements on top of dietary sources can lead to inflammation such as colitis and reduced immune response.

They say an increasing amount of products, such as eggs, bread, butters, oils and orange juice, are being “fortified” with omega3s. Hord said this fortified food, coupled with fish oil supplement use, increases the potential for consuming these high levels.

“We’re not against using fish oil supplements appropriately, but there is a potential for risk,” Hord said. “As is all true with any nutrient, taking too much can have negative effects. We need to establish clear biomarkers through clinical trials.”

19

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Prairie mustard outlook — high yields and stable price prospects Exports should remain fairly steady, which should in turn keep spot prices steady for the near term

BY BRANDON LOGAN

COMMODITY NEWS SERVICE CANADA

H

igh yields and good prices are making for a good season for Prairie mustard growers.

“Prices in the spot market have stayed in the 38- (Canadian) cent area for yellow and brown mustard, so I think that indicates that by no means have we got a lot of extra mustard out there,” said Walter Dyck, mustard buyer with Wisconsin-based Olds Products.

“Considering their yields, and the fact that a lot of them did contract a portion of their production at higher prices than 38 cents, I think it was an excellent year for growers.”

According to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s final crop progress

report for 2013, yields average 1,300 pounds per acre, which is substantially higher than the 10-year provincial average of 777 pounds per acre.

Dyck added that there are some crops in southeastern Saskatchewan that still need to be harvested, but for the most part, the majority is combined and good in quality.

“The little bit of harvesting that still needed to take place was happening out here the last few weeks,” he said. “Some of it is being taken off a little bit on the wet side, but it’s that time of the year to just bring in the last little bit.”

Dyck said Canadian exports should remain fairly steady, which should in turn keep spot prices steady for the near term.

“Canada’s export market is

very stable, so around 120,000 to 125,000 tonnes of mustard exports are expected,” he said. “I think for the near term, it seems like 38 cents will buy the mustard that’s needed for the short term.

“For the long term, we’ll have to wait and see what happens with other commodities as we get into 2014. I don’t see too much happening with prices unless we have some significant moves in other commodities.”

Looking ahead to the 2014-15 crop, Dyck said competitive prices will be needed for growers if they want to increase acreage. FarmLink Marketing Solutions released its 2014-15 acreage estimates last week and next season’s crop is pegged at 330,000 acres, down from 340,000 acres in 2013-14, and far below the five-year average of 426,000 acres.

Saskatchewan Agriculture says mustard yields average 1,300 pounds per acre, substantially higher than the 10-year provincial average of 777 pounds.

“Regardless of the high yields this year, acres weren’t that high,” Dyck said. “In fact, they were just slightly up from the previous year, so we have to have a very serious contract price out there (for 2014-15).

As of Oct. 25, Prairie Ag Hotwire had f.o.b. yellow mustard valued at 38 and 39 cents per pound, brown at 36 to 37 cents per pound, and the oriental variety at 27 to 29 cents per pound, with all prices being steady for the past month.

BRIEFS New chair for Canadian Agricultural Safety Association

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Bilodeau has been involved with the Winnipeg-based organization for 15 years and has served as the board’s vicepresident for four terms.

“I hold farm safety close to my heart. It is deeply rooted for me both personally and professionally,” said Bilodeau, who replaces outgoing chair Dean Anderson, of Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Prevention Services.

Other board members are Tara Huestis, (farm safety specialist, Workers Compensation Board of P.E.I.), Lauranne Sanderson (department head, Dalhousie University Agricultural Campus), Billy Woods (farmer, Torbay, Nfld.), Charan Gill (CEO, Progressive Intercultural Community Services, B.C.), and Niels Koehncke (acting director, Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture, Sask.).

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NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

New hope in the search for Ug99 stem rust resistance Canadian scientists have discovered a trio of genes that resist devastating disease AAFC RELEASE

I

t’s estimated that 90 per cent of global wheat varieties are at risk of contracting a devastating stem rust disease, Ug99.

Discovered in Uganda in 1999, it has already affected crops from Africa to Western Asia – and it’s spreading.

While the disease hasn’t reached North America yet, a team of Agriculture and AgriFood Canada (AAFC) scientists have made a breakthrough discovery in the international effort to control the disease by identifying and isolating three new genes with high levels of resistance not previously used in wheat breeding.

Tom Fetch, who leads the AAFC team, said many wheat varieties across the globe became sus-

ceptible because they only contained one gene with resistance that was overcome by Ug99.

“The goal is to use genes in combination to create a multi-gene stack of resistance,” he said.

In the past year, AAFC has sent seed of the resistant Canadian varieties to wheat breeders in the United States and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to develop improved local varieties in affected areas and in developing countries that are most at risk.

This research goes beyond enhancing the security and protection of Canada’s food supply; international collaboration like this will help meet the global challenge of doubling food production over the next 40 years to meet the demands of a growing population.

The discovery of the genes marks a huge step in controlling Ug99 and is a significant return on investment. The Government of Canada committed $13 million in 2009 to reduce the vulnerability of Canadian farmers to stem rust diseases of wheat.

Since then, AAFC scientists have identified resistance in Canadian wheat lines, but also ensured new varieties have at least two effective resistance genes, and collaborated with an international effort on all aspects of wheat rust research – from pathology to variety development and distribution.

AAFC is one of 23 prominent research organizations around the world participating in the Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat project.

Earnings well below analysts’ expectations

BY ROD NICKEL, REUTERS

C AAFC’s Tom Fetch said many wheat varieties across the globe became susceptible because they only contained one gene with resistance that was overcome by Ug99.

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Maple Leaf Foods posts loss from continuing operations

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anadian food processor Maple Leaf Foods on Oct. 30 reported lower-than-expected results for the third quarter, hurt mainly by weakness in its meat business.

Excluding special items, the company, which is undergoing a major restructuring, posted a loss of one cent per share, compared with a year-earlier profit of 13 cents.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of eight cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters.

The Toronto-based company, one of Canada’s biggest pork processors and bakers, said revenue slipped 2.5 per cent to $1.15 billion.

Analysts had forecast $1.2 billion.

Shares of Maple Leaf fell 1.5 per cent to $15.07 in early trading.

Maple Leaf’s results missed expectations mainly because of poor performance in the meat division, said analyst Robert Gibson of Octagon Capital.

“This is a very challenging period of transition for the Maple Leaf organization, as the short-term impact of volatile protein market conditions, combined with the significant cost of change, has been material,” chief executive officer Michael McCain said in a statement.

Maple Leaf is carrying out a multi-year program to upgrade its meat operations by modernizing some plants and shutting down others as it seeks to boost profits and better compete with U.S. rivals.

Third-quarter net income from continuing operations fell to $14,000, or a loss of two cents a share to common stockholders.

The company posted earnings of $11.4 million, or six cents a share, a year earlier on that basis.

Maple Leaf has begun an auction for its 90 per cent stake in Canada Bread Co. Ltd. It targeted Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo, one of the world’s largest bread makers, and private equity firms, as potential buyers, according to several people familiar with the matter.

In August, Maple Leaf struck a deal to sell its Rothsay rendering business to Darling International Inc. for $645 million.

Canada Bread also said earlier that it would sell its fresh pasta business Olivieri to Spain’s Ebro Foods SA for $120 million.

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Maple Leaf is carrying out a multi-year program to upgrade its meat operations by modernizing some plants and shutting down others as it seeks to boost profits and better compete with U.S. rivals.

21

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

CME defends end-of-day settlement rules Open-outcry traders say the new rules make the pits irrelevant

By Tom Polansek chicago / reuters

C

ME Group Inc. chief executive Phupinder Gill on Nov. 1 denied that the exchange operator changed its settlement rules to give electronic grain traders an advantage over veterans of the Chicago trading floor, who have sued the company, saying its new rules are killing their business.

Gill testified as the trial opened in a lawsuit filed by traders who work in the open-outcry pits on the Chicago Board of Trade’s 140-year-old agricultural trading floor. They sued CME in June 2012 to halt new end-of-day settlement rules that factored in transactions executed electronically, where most of the volume takes place.

Prior to the change, CME had a century-old tradition of settling futures prices for crops like corn and soybeans based on transactions executed in the pits. CME, the largest U.S. futures market operator, owns the CBOT. The settlement methods were changed “to reflect where the activity took place,” in electronic markets, Gill said in response to a question by the plaintiffs’ attorney on the first day of a trial over the rules in Chicago.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees CME and the CBOT, expressed concerns about the practice of basing end-of-day settlement prices solely on open-outcry activity, he told Cook County Circuit Court Judge Jean Prendergast Rooney.

Open-outcry traders have argued CME should not have implemented the new methods without a vote of approval by a majority of certain holders of CBOT memberships.

The lawsuit represents the last stand for traders on the floor, who traditionally did much of their business at the close of trading and say the new procedures are making the pits irrelevant.

Anthony McKerr, a plaintiff in the case and a trader in CBOT’s corn futures pit, testified that his income had dropped more than 80 per cent because of the revised rules.

Before the change, floor traders had already seen business dwindle during the past seven years as a vast majority of trading has migrated to electronic platforms.

Lawyers for CME said it did not need members to vote on the settlement rules. And the new methods did not encourage customers to trade in electronic markets as opposed to the pits, said Al Hogan, a lawyer representing the exchange operator.

One trader testified that his income had dropped more than 80 per cent because of the revised rules. PHOto: REUTERS

India to cut wheat price to boost exports Government stocks more than triple the target

I

ndia may soon cut the floor price for exports of wheat from government warehouses by 13 per cent, government sources said on Oct. 15, which could boost shipments and put downward pressure on benchmark prices in Chicago.

The move could come after state-run trading firms in the world’s second-biggest wheat producer after China earlier this month received bids lower than the minimum rate for overseas sales, the sources said.

Government warehouses are awash with wheat, with stocks at 36.1 million tonnes as of Oct. 1, substantially higher than a target of 11 million tonnes. The government also has an extra three million tonnes of wheat as strategic reserves.

The cabinet in August allowed three government-backed trading companies to export two million tonnes of wheat at a floor price of $300 per tonne plus taxes. But in the first round of export tenders, two exporters received bids lower than $300 a tonne. That poor response

has prompted the government to consider cutting the price.

“We could soon lower the price as we do not want to be seen as too rigid, but at the same time let me tell you that there is a good deal of demand for Indian wheat,” a government official involved in the decision-making process said.

The government could lower the price to $260 a tonne, said another government source.

Traders do not find the price of $300 a tonne viable.

“It is the need of the hour to reduce the price of $300 a tonne, because it is neither workable nor competitive,” said Tejinder Narang, an adviser at trading company Emmsons International.

India primarily exports wheat with 11 per cent protein content. For buyers in the Middle East, Indian wheat costs $325 a tonne c. & f., while the same variety from the Black Sea region is available at $275-$280 a tonne c. & f., traders said.

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22

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Alberta’s greenhouse industry prepares for retailers’ tougher environmental standards A new three-year project will not only help greenhouse operators reduce their carbon footprint but give them a new marketing tool

BY TONY KRYZANOWSKI AF CONTRIBUTOR / CALGARY

A

lberta’s greenhouse industry is upping its environmental game in anticipation that large retailers such as Wal-Mart are going to demand higher green standards from its suppliers.

A recent study by Alberta Agriculture’s horticultural branch identified the measurement of a greenhouse’s carbon footprint as a priority.

In response, and with support from the Growing Forward 2 program, industry has partnered with Alberta Agriculture on a program to measure and establish benchmarks for water, energy, materials usage, and waste. With those benchmarks in hand, individual greenhouse owners will be able to make comparisons and identify where there is room for improvement.

“For most of Alberta’s greenhouse industry, in the short term, this will not impact on any of their sales or production management systems,” said Toso Bozic, Alberta Agriculture agroforester and bioenergy specialist.

“But as time goes on, there will be more pressure from large retailers to see their records on water, material, wastes and energy use.

Our industry may face challenges to meet their requirements.”

In addition to satisfying retailers’ demands, it’s hoped the three-year study will also identify ways for greenhouse operators to boost productivity and profitability, he said.

But it’s a complex area.

“I think many times growers don’t understand what ‘green’ means,” said Mohyuddin Mirza, education director with the Alberta Greenhouse Growers Association. “So I think it is important to give them a definition of what it means to be more green and more sustainable, and how this matches up with the green and sustainability ratings of retailers.”

By documenting and reducing their carbon footprint, local vegetable growers in particular will be able to compare themselves with foreign competitors such as Mexico and give consumers an additional reason to buy Alberta produce, he said.

The project will also allow operators here to compare energy, water, and materials consumption, as well as labour costs and waste management practices to those of foreign greenhouse operators — and then consider adopting superior methods and technology. As a starting point, Alberta Agriculture and the greenhouse

“As time goes on, there will be more pressure from large retailers to see their records on water, material, wastes and energy use.

Our industry may face challenges to meet their requirements.”

TOSO BOZIC

growers association are surveying the entire Alberta greenhouse crops industry. The association will survey produce, bedding plant, and tree seedling sectors for its benchmarking study.

The greenhouse industry is diverse, and some sectors already using advanced energy, water, and waste management systems that reduce their carbon footprint, Mirza said.

In addition to meeting the demands of retailers, the project may help the industry develop what may be considered ‘green’ products that could open more retail doors because of this valueadded proposition, Bozic said.

The project team will also contact large retailers and ask what they require regarding the environmental footprint of their suppliers. At present, it appears there are no fixed standards and it is left to individual companies to set their own standards and goals, said Bozic. The team will also help industry to develop a Best Management Practices guide, as well as benchmarking tools for improving water, material, waste, and energy efficiency.

Alberta’s greenhouse growers are being challenged to become greener to keep the doors open to retail customers. PHOTO: SUPPLIED BY AGGA “We want to provide hands-on, practical information through various sessions and tours,” said Bozic.

Once the benchmarks are established, greenhouse operators will be encouraged to invest in more efficient heating, lighting and waste management systems.

They will also be asked to evaluate the reliability and efficiency of their equipment to see if changes and further investment makes financial sense. Finally, they will be asked to review whether adopting more environmentally friendly technology could lower their labour costs.

The Alberta Agriculture team will also point individual greenhouses toward various government grants that could provide financial assistance to help them reduce their environmental footprint. One possible program is the On-Farm Energy Management Program of the Growing Forward 2 initiative. Alberta Agriculture is holding two greenhouse industry workshops (in Edmonton on Dec. 3 and in Medicine Hat on Dec. 5) to introduce the project and share some of the initial survey results.

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23

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Jerusalem artichoke has feed and biofuel potential for Alberta One study rates the crop as comparable to corn silage in feed value

BY ALEXIS KIENLEN AF STAFF / EDMONTON

I

t’s not from Jerusalem, it’s not an artichoke and up till now many have considered it a weed. But Jerusalem artichoke could now offer new opportunities for Alberta producers, says Jan Slaski, senior researcher at Alberta Innovates Technology Futures in Vegreville.

“This crop can be a truly multipurpose crop because you can extract value from every single part of the plant,” Slaski told the Opportunities in Agriculture Symposium at the University of Alberta.

Jerusalem artichoke is native to the Great Plains and can be found as far south as Georgia and as far west as the Saskatchewan border.

The crop was domesticated in Europe after its introduction in the 17th century. Ten years ago, Slaski brought European cultivars to the Vegreville research station. He said they have good agronomic properties, but retain some advantageous natural properties such as frost resistance.

Slaski collected 42 genotypes from cultivars developed in Europe, Asia and Africa, found six that were ideal for Alberta growing conditions, and obtained the rights for these cultivars in both North and South America.

Three of the cultivars are early maturing which produce excellent tubers, while the other three are late-maturing forage cultivars that produce fewer tubers. However, the forage cultivars produce between 25 and 30 tonnes of dry matter biomass per hectare. “In good years, we are getting 50 tonnes of dry matter biomass per hectare in 90 days every year in perennial cultivation,” Slaski said.

Jerusalem artichoke tubers from different cultivars worldwide.

Tuber propagation

Jerusalem artichoke is a cousin of the common sunflower. The difference between the two is that Jerusalem artichoke develops small flowers that do not set viable seeds.

“Many cultivars in Alberta do not set off flowers at all, because they cannot complete the life cycle,” Slaski said.

Unlike sunflowers, Jerusalem artichokes develop tubers, which are sometimes used as a vegetable. Tubers can easily survive Alberta’s cold winter temperatures, allowing for perennial cultivation. They contain inulin rather than starch. Inulin, which is also stored in the stems, is a dietary fibre that can be used for industrial use, in medicine and in processed foods. It also has potential for use as biofuels and biopolymers.

“When I first learned about Jerusalem artichoke, it was known as the best feedstock for

Jan Slaski, researcher at Alberta Innovates Technology Futures research station in Vegreville, stands with a crop of Jerusalem artichoke.

PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

the production of fuel ethanol,” said Slaski.

He has collaborated with a team from Olds College to extract purified inulin from different artichoke tubers and stems. A company called Novagreen has commercialized the technology and will be creating a plant in the Killam area to extract inulin from Jerusalem artichoke.

High yields

Jerusalem artichoke is a high-yielding plant that in Alberta can grow about four metres tall in less than 90 days. The plant develops roots that stretch deep into the earth, reaching water in layers not normally

accessed by shallow-rooting crops like cereals.

It can also be used for phytoremediation or land reclamation. Tubers of some cultivars of Jerusalem artichoke are set on long underground stems which form a net-like structure that can stabilize soil.

“It’s also a great plant form for molecular farming because it transforms fairly easily, has been used several times and there is lots of interest. It generates huge volume of biomass where genes were inserted or farmed in this crop,” Slaski said.

The crop was commonly used in Europe before the Second

World War, but was abandoned afterward. Slaski thinks it fell out of favour due to poor postharvest storability. Tubers have a thin skin, which resulted in crop losses during storage.

Jerusalem artichoke can be used to feed cattle, pigs, horses and sheep. Slaski said one study rated the crop as comparable to corn silage in feed value. His team conducted studies that determined the plant has excellent non-digestible fibre, digestible nutrients, a good calcium-to-phosphorus ratio and protein balance.

“The amount of digestible energy for cattle is four times higher than typically used material in Alberta,” he said. “We’re talking about barley silage and barley greenfeed, for example.” akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

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24

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

China and others quietly binged on U.S. grain during government shutdown Corn and soy net exports were sharply above trade estimates during the 16-day blackout CHICAGO / REUTERS

C

hina and other big grain importers embarked on a corn and soybean buying spree during the U.S. government’s 16-day shutdown last month, taking advantage of a lapse in mandatory reporting of their deals, data showed Oct. 31.

Figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which had halted collection of required weekly grain

export sales information during the shutdown, showed purchases in the three weeks to Oct. 24 had far outstripped analysts’ expectations, despite weeks of market chatter about unusually large purchases.

“It does play out the notion that when nobody is watching, the Chinese will be in to buy,” said Citigroup futures specialist Sterling Smith.

Sales of corn and soybeans for the three-week period both topped 4.5 million tonnes, exceptionally

high even on a pro rata weekly basis. A slump in prices that took benchmark U.S. corn prices to their lowest in three years probably also spurred buying.

All sales to export U.S. grain must be reported to the USDA on a weekly basis, and larger one-off deals must be reported daily. This system was instituted following the 1972 “great grain robbery” in which the Soviet Union quietly arranged a series of big export deals that drove up U.S. prices.

But that system went on hold during the shutdown. Only on Oct. 31 was the USDA able to release tabulated sales made during the three weeks up to Oct. 24, publishing the data in a single batch rather than as three separate weeks.

Topping 4.5 million

Net export sales of soybeans for the current marketing year (201314) totalled 4,742,000 tonnes, well above the high end of a range of estimates at three million tonnes.

China, the world’s largest buyer of soybeans, bought nearly half of the soy (2,112,300 tonnes), and there was a large sale of 550,800 tonnes to an unknown destination. Mexico, Russia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Japan also bought large volumes.

Corn sales likewise were huge at 4,555,500 tonnes for the current marketing year, nearly twice as large as the high end of 2.5 million in the range of trade estimates.

*Source: 2012 Field-Scale Canola Performance Trials Always follow grain marketing and all other stewardship practices and pesticide label directions. Details of these requirements can be found in the Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers printed in this publication. ©2013 Monsanto Canada, Inc.

25

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Feed supply looks good heading into winter Alfalfa yields of 1.5 tonnes, or more, per acre were reported across the Prairies

BY BRANDON LOGAN

COMMODITY NEWS SERVICE CANADA

A

good year has allowed Prairie producers to replenish forage supplies.

“For the most part, yields were average to above average,” said Daphne Cruise, regional crops specialist for Saskatchewan Agriculture. “It looks like we’re still fairly average in terms of quality.”

Alfalfa and alfalfa/brome hay, which make up the majority of forage crops in Saskatchewan, averaged 1.7 tonnes per acre —

far above the 10-year average of 1.2 tonnes per acre, she said.

The big crop was desperately needed.

“A lot of producers, by the time it came to putting cattle on pastures this past spring, had quite decreased stocks, and in some cases, depleted stocks,” said Cruise.

“I think going into the winter, it sounds like everybody has enough hay, but I don’t think there’s a lot of surplus out there.”

Manitoba is also reporting adequate to above-average feed supplies, according to Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives.

In the Interlake, yields for alfalfa were 1.75 tonnes per acre for the first cut, 0.66 tonnes per acre for the second cut, and 0.25 tonnes for the third and final cut. Alfalfa/ grass and tame hay yielded 1.5 tonnes per acre on the first cut and 0.66 tonnes per acre on the second cut. Native hay was one tonne per acre for the only cut and greenfeed was two tonnes per acre for its only cut.

It’s the same story in Alberta, said Ken Ziegler, forage specialist with Alberta Agriculture.

“Overall, we’ve had good yields and no hungry pockets throughout the province,” he said. “Many

years there would be districts that have timely rains and good yields, while another district a few hours away would have missed the rains and their yields would be less than what would be considered acceptable. We didn’t experience that here this year.”

Most producers in Alberta saw two or three cuts, leading to strong supplies for producers heading into winter, he said.

“This would certainly take care of any carry-over deficiencies,” he said. “I think we’re in a good position. Another factor playing in is the cost of grain. Grain is plentiful and cheap this year, so that’s cer-

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tainly going to be an alternative for livestock producers to top up as need arises.”

Many cow-calf producers across the Prairies are in good shape for winter feed.

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NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

does your yield measure up?

U.S. farm kids have mixed views on Zilmax Some youth prefer to win without the extra help beta-agonists supply

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Young Hereford steers are shown at the prospects competition at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, Texas October 2, 2013. PHOTOS: REUTERS/MIKE STONE

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or more than a century, ranchers and their kids have paraded cattle around the dusty show ring at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, in a rite of passage that is part farm economics, part rural theatre.

Today, with U.S. auction prices for champion cattle topping $300,000 a head and hefty scholarship cheques for winners at stake, the competitive pressures are intense. It’s no wonder animals with names like Beast or Chappie get the farm version of luxury spa pampering — shelter from summer heat, baths with pricey shampoos and careful coiffing with electric razors.

Many also get muscle-building livestock drugs added into animal feed. While performance-boosting drugs are banned today in most human sports competitions, Zilmax and other drugs of a type called beta-agonists are federally approved and generally allowed on the livestock-show circuit.

For many contestants the secret weapon of choice is Zilmax, a controversial feed additive sold by Merck & Co. Zilmax-based feeds can give show kids an edge in the headline competition for marketready steers and heifers, say show sponsors and competitors. They add thicker meat where judges like it most, between the 12th and 13th ribs, where rib-eye steaks come from.

Merck temporarily suspended Zilmax sales in the United States and Canada in August, soon after the largest U.S. meat processor, Tyson Foods Inc., stopped accepting Zilmax-fed cattle for slaughter over animal welfare concerns. After Merck last week said it was preparing to return Zilmax to the market, food giant Cargill Inc. declared it would bar Zilmax-fed animals from its supply chain until it was “100 per cent confident” those issues are resolved.

But in cattle shows at state and county fairs across the Farm Belt, Zilmax remains popular. Existing stockpiles of Zilmax-based show feeds circulated at fairs this fall.

So, too, did products made with Optaflexx, a rival drug by Eli Lilly & Co.’s Elanco Animal Health group that is based on ractopamine, also a beta-agonist.

Ractopamine has not been tied to the animal welfare issues seen in cattle this year.

“If it’s legal, you use all of your options,” said Justana Tate, 17, a Texas state fair competitor, her championship belt buckle gleaming as she stroked her snorting steer to calm him.

Tate is a Zilmax fan. “I think it’s a fabulous product,” she said.

Muscle-building staple

Many of the fresh-faced kids who compete at cattle shows have seen beta-agonists on their family farms or feedlots. Full-strength Zilmax, when added to feed weeks before slaughter, can add about 30 pounds of muscle to the average 1,300pound steer.

When those children begin competing, some reach for medicated show feeds, which are readily available at rural feed stores and via the Internet, say competitors and show organizers.

In some cases, manufacturers distribute free samples of medicated feed to youth development groups 4-H or Future Farmers of America, said Richard Sellers, the American Feed Industry Association’s vice-president for nutrition and feed regulation. The practice is legal — and pragmatic.

“You want them to buy feed when they grow up,” Sellers said.

Winners’ circles and drug tests

At the Texas state fair, champion steers routinely fetch six-figure prices at auctions held just after winners’ belt buckles are handed out. The same goes for the recent American Royal livestock show in Kansas City, Missouri, or the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado, in January.

Slaughterhouses and agribusiness firms often buy the winning steers and market heifers to burnish their brands and encourage youngsters’ farming careers. After that, the animals are slaughtered.

The zeal at livestock shows can run so hot that there have been drug abuse allegations in the past, though Zilmax has not been implicated.

Some parents and cattle ranchers want beta-agonist use banned at shows. Arizona rancher Harvey Dietrich, co-founder of advocacy group Beef Additive Alert, said the shows are fuelling a culture of shortcuts.

But Daryl Real, vice-president

Kaley Kelley of College Station, Texas shows her Charolais steer in the prospects competition at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, Texas October 2, 2013. of the Texas state fair’s agriculture and livestock department, shrugs off concerns. The FDA allows Zilmax in beef cattle heading to grocery stores, he reasoned, so contestants should learn to use it, too.

Real said most contestants use Zilmax responsibly: Even in Texas, judges don’t want steers to be too big.

“I liken it to the way I like whipped cream on a dessert,” Real said. “A little bit goes a long way.

You can have too much whipped cream and ruin the dish.”

Some young competitors say they’d rather win without Zilmax.

Ten-year-old Saige Martin of Hereford, Texas, raised her steer Corndog free of beta-agonists, said her father, show cattle breeder Brian Martin.

Corndog’s closest competitor was a 1,318-pound cross-breed steer named Rojo, and 16-yearold Caitlen Doskocil of Holland, Texas, used a ractopamine feed “to stout him up,” said Caitlen’s father, Doyle Doskocil. The family’s supply of a Zilmax-based feed had run out, he said.

Inside the Texas state fair show ring, Corndog — named after the popular American snack because of his colouring — towered over Saige, whose cool smile masked her jitters. A judge slowly circled the steer and ran his hands over the back, feeling for a thick padding of muscle.

Corndog was named Grand Champion steer. At auction, he sold for $110,000, a fair record.

Saige got a $30,000 cheque for her college fund — after Corndog passed his drug test.

27

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Tractor starts after year-long burial in manure pile Farm operator pled guilty in December last year to a charge of possession of property obtained by crime

BY DAVE BEDARD AGCANADA.COM

F

or a few days in the summer of 2012 it may have been the most famous tractor in Western Canada, though it would never pull an implement again.

But a southern Manitoba equipment dealer who bought the 2009 Case IH Steiger 485 says the unit, long since dismantled for parts, could possibly have been put back in use — even after it languished for months completely buried in manure.

When it was reported missing on Dec. 21, 2010 from Leo’s Sales and Service in the RM of Rosser, just northwest of Winnipeg, the Steiger Quadtrac was valued at about $300,000.

Needless to say, the tractor had depreciated by the time it was found in early June last year. RCMP from Fisher Branch — about 150 km north of Rosser — followed a Crime Stoppers tip to a farm in the RM of Fisher, southwest of the town.

RCMP said they took out a search warrant, hired an excavator and, over the next couple of days, found the tractor “buried underneath a 12- to 15-foot manure pile on the property.”

RCMP photos of the dig were widely circulated. The tale of the tractor’s discovery made nationwide news and was the secondmost viewed story on AGCanada. com in 2012.

The photos show a tractor in which the cab’s glass broke under the weight of the burial. “The pile of manure was like a sponge to water,” and water had collected in the unit’s major cavities, Gerald Grandmont of Leo’s later recalled.

Needless to say, the tractor had depreciated by the time it was found in early June last year.

The tractor’s insurer had already settled with Leo’s for the unit after it had disappeared, he said, thus the insurance company owned the recovered tractor. It was put up for salvage tender, thus wouldn’t be put back into service, he added.

Still started

However, the 534-horsepower tractor could conceivably have run again, according to Bernie Chabot of Chabot Implements of Elie, Man., which bought the

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Steiger from the insurance company for parts.

Service staff at the dealership hooked up a battery to the unit and were able to restart it, Chabot said. Two offers came in to buy the tractor whole, he said, but in any case it turned out to be worth more as parts. The engine, transmission and rear end and other major components were all salvaged and sold.

“We thought (the damage) would be worse than that,” he said, noting a bit of rusting.

“Even the interior of the cab wasn’t that bad,” Chabot said.

“We put the seat in a payloader we have here.”

Probation

Don’t expect answers to the lingering questions, though: How did the tractor end up in Fisher?

And why was it then buried in manure?

Julian Friedrichs, 25, who operated the farm where the tractor was buried, pled guilty in December last year to a charge

of possession of property (value over $5,000) obtained by crime.

Friedrichs’ former commonlaw wife, Christin Peter, 23, was also charged in 2012 with possession of the stolen property and was not convicted, according to RCMP. Provincial Court Judge Cynthia Devine gave Friedrichs a conditional discharge with 12 months’ probation and 25 hours of community service, based on a joint recommendation from Crown and defence lawyers, and also ordered him to attend counselling.

Crown attorney Kathleen Tokaruk told the court Friedrichs admitted knowing the tractor was on his property and that it was stolen, but he has denied stealing it.

Defence lawyer Greg Gudelot said Friedrichs — who emigrated from Germany to Canada years earlier, bought the rural property and had tried since then to farm — “reluctantly” agreed to a request to keep the tractor there.

Lawyers at the December court hearing did not name anyone as having made such a request.

“I don’t know if he’s necessarily aware of why it was put there” in the manure, Gudelot told the judge, adding the tractor was never used on the farm and was buried “continuously” from when it arrived there.

“It doesn’t appear... that you’ve benefited in any way from having the tractor on your land,” whether through farm use or resale, Devine told Friedrichs during sentencing.

She noted he had “faced some financial disaster” on the farm and was in the process of “trying to pick up (his) socks.” The lawyers noted Friedrichs had no prior arrests or criminal record.

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28

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Consumer acceptance remains elusive for biotechnology sector World Food Prize laureates say better methods are needed for communicating science to the general public

BY LAURA RANCE

CO-OPERATOR EDITOR / DES MOINES, IOWA

T

he greatest challenge feeding the world’s growing population is not about the science needed to boost production, it is convincing the public to accept it, scientists receiving the 2013 World Food Prize said here last week.

The three scientists honoured as pioneers of genetically modified crops spent much of their time defending the two-decadesold technology against concerns they say should have been laid to rest long ago.

“Looking back at the beginning of this science, I don’t think I could ever imagine it would have had the impact and adaptation that it has had today,” said Robb Fraley, Monsanto’s executive vice-president and chief biotechnology officer. “And I never thought in the early stages that we would still be talking about acceptance and the consumer challenges we are talking about today.”

He noted genetically modified crops developed by his company and others have an “impeccable” safety track record and been embraced by farmers in more than 30 countries all over the world.

“The beauty of the science is taking all of this advancement in biology and genetic engineering and putting it in a seed. Every farmer in the world knows what to do with a seed. The barriers to adoption are very, very low and the ability to reap benefit is high,” he said.

However, it continues to face opposition from consumers, activist groups and politicians.

“We need to make people understand the technology has been tested and the safety has never been compromised.”

What’s more, the technology has transformed plant breeding, taking it to the molecular level, as gene mapping makes it possible

Robb Fraley (l to r), Mary-Dell Chilton and Marc Van Montagu discuss public perceptions of biotechnology at a World Food Prize forum. for scientists to select for specific traits, he said.

“I am optimistic that the tools that we have in biotechnology are incredible. From the science perspective we’re seeing just the tip of the iceberg by way of new opportunities,” he said.

But at the same time as the world is called upon to double its food supply, producing more in the next few decades than it has in its entire history to feed an estimated 9.6 billion people by 2050, the backlash continues against one of the technologies that can help make that happen.

Three receive award

Fraley joined Marc Van Montagu, the founder of the Institute for Plant Biotechnology Outreach in Belgium, and Mary-Dell Chilton, founder of Syngenta Biotechnology Inc. in accepting the annual award recognizing individuals who have contributed to global food security.

Biotech proponents celebrated the World Food Prize Foundation’s decision to honour three of its own as a much-needed boost

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to the industry’s credibility. But the decision was condemned by organizations that continue to challenge the safety of genetically modified crops and worry about corporate control of the food chain. The Occupy the World Food Prize movement, which is critical of biotechnology, was among the 30 or so organizations holding side events concurrent with the three-day-long Borlaug Dialogues.

Van Montagu said he accepts that there is a segment of the population that based on personal beliefs, will never accept the technology. “There are people who believe in horoscopes; there are people who believe that spaceships come here; that is not problematic,” he said.

“But it becomes problematic if it becomes a power structure that really destroys our society — because that is what is really going on,” Van Montagu said. “If you cannot use science in society anymore because of these crazy beliefs, then there is a problem; I would even say there is a war going on that is much more serious than we were thinking before.”

He said the anti-GM campaign in Europe has effectively made it impossible for researchers to even study GM crops. “It is a very clever way that everything has been paralyzed.”

Yet the sector has not found an effective way to communicate the science to the general public in a manner it accepts. “If we cannot solve the communication problem, it will all be lost,” he said.

The backlash against science is not limited to biotechnology.

John Ruff, former president of the Institute of Food Technologists, said despite all the progress made in safely preserving food, there is a growing movement in society against science altering food, even if it is making it safer.

“There is a growing cry that anything that is processed is bad for you,” he told a seminar on postharvest losses. “We don’t want science in our food, we want something freshly grown.”

“I would argue that that is the biggest single threat to the survival of mankind.”

Labelling counterproductive

Chilton said while voluntary labelling of non-GM crops is

PHOTOS: LAURA RANCE

Protesters outside the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in Des Moines, Iowa. an option that already exists for organic and non-GM growers, the push to require labelling of foods containing GMOs would be counterproductive. Like calories and nutritional content, labelling implies there is something different about the product that pertains to people’s health or nutrition.

“I think it would be the death of the technology in a real sense if we have obligatory labelling,” Chilton said.

Fraley said that as scientists, they failed to realize how emotional the debate would become.

“Looking back, I would say that as a company and as an industry we are science based and I think we believed that the science would be adequate to address the safety and some of the public concerns that we see today,” he said. “It hasn’t been.

“We have always viewed ourselves as a company that produces and improves seeds that help farmers. Farmers have been our complete focus as a company as our key customers,” he said, noting it is working now to better understand the roots of consumer concerns.

“Over the last year we’ve spent a lot of time engaging in conversations and really listening sessions with hundreds of groups, NGOs (non-government organizations), people in the food industry, housewives and moms to talk about how to do it differently,” he said. “The key thing that struck me is that while we considered ourselves to be a seed provider, the rest of the world

views us as the first step in the food chain,” Fraley said.

He said the key will be reaching out to consumers in ways that haven’t been tried before.

“We are going to have to engage and act differently,” Fraley said.

“We don’t have the conversation through press releases, it’s going to have to be more personal and we’re going to have to be much more effective in how we outreach using social media and really where we put our energy.

And that’s going to be a really big part of the change that we need to make as a company and as an industry.”

Bigger picture

Several of the conference’s main speakers emphasized that while production-enhancing technologies, including biotechnology, are important, part of the backlash is related to the focus on them as the sole solution to world hunger.

“It is important to emphasize that the is enough food to feed everybody, but availability does not ensure access,” said Jomo Kwame Sundaram, a senior official with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Yemi AkinBamijo, the executive director for the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, said up to 60 per cent of what is already produced in Africa doesn’t reach the marketplace. Dealing with postharvest losses alone would dramatically boost food availability, he said. laura@fbcpublishing.com

29

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

It’s a highly nutritious and long-season forage, but can kale handle winter?

A kale-ryegrass combination offers grazers extended grazing opportunities in the fall and a summertime forage option, too

BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF STAFF / RED DEER

G

razers growing kale for forage will soon see how the crop handles an Alberta winter.

“It’s supposed to handle the cold really well and still stand. We got -10 here the other day and heavy frost, and she’s still going,” said Crossfield-area grazer Graeme Finn at the recent Foothills Forage and Grazing Association crop tour.

Finn has grown brassicas in his native Australia, and he’s keen to know if kale, a member of that plant family, grown with a ryegrass for forage will work in Alberta’s climate.

“It hasn’t got a lot of bulk, but it’s got huge feed value,” he said.

“This would work really well for rotational grazing.”

Brassica crops were used in a number of feeding trials in the 1980s, said Grant Lastiwka, an Alberta Agriculture livestock/ forage business specialist. At the time, they weren’t able to compete with the higher-yielding cereals that were available, but the results may be different this time around, he said.

“We’re looking at it again with some new cultivars and a little bit of a fresh face to see where it fits into our industry,” said Lastiwka.

One of the benefits of a brassica grown with a ryegrass is the extended grazing opportunity, as both maintain their quality and continue to grow late into the fall.

The mix has 16 per cent crude protein and high energy levels.

“What we’re seeing there in that combination is truly a nice fit for calves to really give them

Kale is an increasingly popular vegetable for humans, but some varieties have animal feed potential as well. PHOTO: THINKSTOCK some excellent fall performance when they’re off their mothers and to help keep the costs down as we graze them later into the fall,” Lastiwka said.

Mosaic thirdquarter profit plunges

And because kale will regrow, it offers grazers a summertime forage option as well. In his trial, Finn seeded in mid-June to see how the kale will overwinter, but

had he seeded in May, he might have been able to get two or three grazings out of it over the summer, according to Lastiwka.

“Grazing earlier in the year could have been a good opportunity to have a high-quality forage in the middle of the summer and then have it regrow so that we can get more grazing days out of it in the late fall, when its quality truly is a resource that other forages don’t have as much of,” said Lastiwka.

Overwintering in the plants could be “problematic,” said PGG Seeds agronomist John Snider, who is conducting trials of some brassica genetics in Alberta.

“These are temperate plants, but I wouldn’t have brought them up here if I didn’t think they had a chance.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

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A delayed U.S. crop harvest has pushed back autumn fertilizer use

BY ROD NICKEL REUTERS

M

osaic Co. reported sharply lower third-quarter earnings Nov. 5 as prices of its potash and phosphate fell with buyers taking a cautious stance, and the U.S. fertilizer company said prices may remain weak into 2014.

Mosaic in September cut its third-quarter sales and price outlook for potash and phosphate because crop nutrient markets softened after the July 30 breakup of Belarusian Potash Co. (BPC), which triggered a price slide.

A delayed U.S. crop harvest also pushed back autumn fertilizer use, said Mosaic chief executive Jim Prokopanko.

He said North American demand looked strong for the rest of 2013, but pricing might be challenging in 2014.

With potash prices weak, Mosaic might curtail production at its high-cost Carlsbad, New Mexico, mine, depending on where prices move, but is also potentially interested in buying other North American potash assets, Prokopanko said in an interview.

“We’re always interested in expanding top-line growth. At the right valuations, those kind of combinations might prove of interest,” he said when asked about Mosaic’s potential interest in U.S. producer Intrepid Potash Inc. or a Canadian potash mine under construction by Germany’s K+S AG.

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30

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Developing a new agriculture product — and making a profit Alberta Agriculture offers a business coaching service for those developing new farm products Agri-News

A

n Alberta Agriculture specialist says that, when developing a new farm product, there is a process that is important to follow to ensure the investment makes money.

“No matter what business idea you decide to pursue, thinking through the development process makes business growth a smoother process,” says Jan Warren, new venture coach, Alberta Agriculture, Lethbridge. “And by finding out what regulations affect developing a new ag product, and the proper safe and market requirements, you can develop a future for your family.”

Warren says there are four steps that should be followed when starting a new venture.

Design a distinctive business idea

What value or unique features do you bring to your customer, and how will you sell to your customer needs?

Who will buy, and what municipal, food safety, and marketplace and labelling regulations might arise in the places you intend to sell?

Consider your competition, and work with any commodity group

information that might impact your sales. Search for supportive groups such as Alberta Farm Fresh producers Association, Farmers Market Associations and organizations related to where you want to sell.

Review the costs of production and delivery options and related costs to make sure there is profit in this idea. Review the marketing plan and the steps necessary to comply with the regulations.

munication. Keep the spirit of constantly asking.

The management team should be a reflection of the skills you are weak in. Organization team members should be a well-rounded team of marketing, production, bookkeeping etc. When key partners are connected to the resources and supplies you are more likely to succeed at your chosen activity.

Build a strong management team

Consider facility structure; plan to include support for production and deliveries, IT systems and financials.

Plan your production layout to allow for future growth and development of revenue streams.

Most valuable key in any organization is good open, honest com-

“No matter what business idea you decide to pursue, thinking through the development process makes business growth a smoother process.”

Product technology or operations

Develop your strategy

Will you require a carefully developed image designed to reach out, communicate and promote your product or service?

Develop your strategy for the sales and marketing team to get and maintain the customer base you will need. Build in the costs of marketing to help you grow business.

“Developing a new valueadded agriculture product B:10.25”ability to seek depends on your out all the information you need T:10.25”

There are several steps in developing a new product, says an AARD new venture coach. PHOto: thinkstock in the early stages,” says Warren.

“You can access the publication Starting and Growing a Business – Business Considerations on Alberta Agriculture’s website for more links to the rules and regulations you need to know.

“As well, Alberta Agriculture provides a business coaching service for those developing new farm products,” adds Warren.

“Strengthen your opportunity’s success by contacting a new venture coach for links to regulations, resources, and a network connecting you to others with a similar interest.”

For more information on starting new agriculture-related business opportunity, call 403-3103276 toll free and ask to speak to a new venture coach.

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31

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

CCA seeks producers to test drive BIXS Version 2

keeping an eye on the flock

System provides carcass data back to producers CCA release

B

IXS, the voluntary Internetbased database designed to capture and exchange data linked to an individual animal’s unique electronic ID tag number, is looking for test drivers for its latest version.

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association is offering early access to a limited number of producers to test drive the software before its official release.

BIXS 2 reflects the experience gained off building, delivering and operating the first version of the Beef InfoXchange System (BIXS).

The CCA contracted Arcurve, a Canadian-based software firm, last summer to develop the next version of the BIXS. Working with the BIXS management team Arcurve’s progress has been steady and it’s now time to pretest the new BIXS 2 software with beef producers.

The new version is significantly easier to use and a completely different platform with a great new look and feel. BIXS 2 houses superior functionality with quick and flexible import/export tools including a Beef Record Universal Translator (BRUT) to enable different herd and feedlot management software to ‘speak BIXS.’ There’s also the Sourcer Utility, which enables cross-segment sourcing based on individual animal or carcass data or health and management protocols.

Volunteers are needed to help the BIXS team test and refine the application leading up to the first of a series of releases this quarter. Specifically, the BIXS team requires users who: • Have used herd management software for some time, and who are willing to use BRUT to export test data for BIXS. Testing a variety of herd management programs ensures BIXS will be ready to receive data from many different sources.

Paul Rishaug works his young border collie Nell on a flock of sheep at his farm in Millarville, Alta. Just a young dog, Nell is still in training.

Photo: Wendy Dudley

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32

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Canadian Angus youth win world championship Three national teams competed in New Zealand, including two Albertans Staff

Y

outh teams representing Canada at the 2013 PGG Wrightson World Angus Forum in New Zealand have returned home with both champion and reserve champion titles.

The Canucks with team members Jared Hunter, Didsbury, Alta. (captain); Patrick Holland, Montague, Prince Edward Island; Melissa McRae, Brandon, Man.; and Michael Hargrave, Maxwell, Ont., brought home the world champion title along with NZ$10,000 prize money.

“I am so honoured to have been selected to represent Canada on this prestigious trip and winning it is truly unbelievable,” said Melissa McRae, winning team member in a release. “I want to thank all the sponsors, organizers and volunteers for making this my best trip ever! Also to congratulate all the other competitors for welcoming us Canadians and for all their hard work!”

The reserve champion world title was also awarded to a Canadian team, Team B- squarED, consisting of captain Erika Easton, Wawota, Saskatchewan; Ty Dietrich, Forestburg, Alta.; Kaitlynn Bolduc, Stavely, Alta.; and Matthew Bates, Cameron, Ont.. Bates was also announced the high individual for the entire contest, scoring highest in the most challenges as an individual.

The third team of outstanding youth representing Canada was The Eh Team and included Sean Enright, Renfrew, Ont., as captain; Stacey Domolewski, Taber, Alta.; Chad Lorenz, Markerville, Alta.; and Breanna Anderson, Swan River, Man. The Eh Team brought home honours for champion Team Presentation.

Team members travelled to Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand, Oct. 9 for a five-section contest including general knowledge, parading (presentation, showmanship and sportsmanship with an Angus animal),

The Canucks champs: (l to r) Michael Hargrave, Ont., Patrick Holland, Maritimes, Melissa McRae, Brandon, Man. and Jared Hunter, Didsbury, Alta. stock judging, animal preparation (clip an animal for show) and agri-sports (hands-on team

challenge involving day-to-day tasks).

The teams’ travel was sponsored

by the Canadian Angus Foundation and the Canadian Angus Association.

Monsanto to offer weather data analysis The company has acquired Californiabased Climate Corp.

By Carey Gillam reuters

M

onsanto Co., the world’s largest seed company, reported a deeper quarterly loss Oct. 2 as seed sales slipped, and its 2014 profit forecast fell short of Wall Street estimates.

Gross profit as a percentage of net sales was unchanged at 42 per cent, but expenses rose to 35 per cent of net sales from 34 per cent a year earlier.

Monsanto also said it was acquiring a climate data sciJOB ID: ence company6297_1G as part of a longterm growth plan. The acquiDATE: sition of San Francisco-based OCT. 30, 2013 Climate Corp. for $930 million will dilute CLIENT:fiscal 2014 earnings SYNGENTA CANADAa share, the by about 14 cents company said.

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Alberta Barley launches new website

U.S. ethanol plants reopen

Alberta Barley has launched its new albertabarley.com website, featuring up-to-date information and resources for barley farmers. “Our new website is a one-stop shop for our members,” says Alberta Barley chairman Matt Sawyer. “The latest updates on our research projects and market development initiatives are just a click away.” The new website will also be the new home for Barley Country, which has now moved to an online format.

U.S. ethanol plants that have been shut for as many as five years are now coming back online as a record U.S. harvest has pushed down corn prices and improved profit margins for makers of the biofuel. Cargill on Nov. 4 said it restarted a plant in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and Noble Group Ltd. said it will soon restart an Indiana ethanol plant that was shut for a year.

Another facility that was idled for five years in Ohio came back online last month. Ethanol margins are the highest since late 2009 . — Reuters

New animal care codes may only intensify scrutiny of livestock sector

Food-service industry feeling the heat, too, says Tim Hortons official

Open housing for pigs and roomier cages for chickens aren’t cheap, nor are they likely to be the end of production changes

By Alex Binkley

af contributor / ottawa

W

ithin days of the wrap-up of this year’s National Farm Animal Care Council conference, news reports surfaced about a disturbing case of abusive treatment of layer chickens at two Alberta farms.

The controversy over the secretly filmed scenes shown on CTV’s “W5” was a reminder of the “strong emotions surrounding animal abuse,” said Jackie Wepruk, the council’s general manager.

It also drove home the importance of completing the codes, she said, noting work on the layer industry code won’t be finished before funding expires at the end of the year.

“So then we will be waiting in line to see if we can get the funding,” said Wepruk. “We have no idea when it might come through.”

The “W5” program showed hens, including dead ones, crowded in cages and chicks being killed by being hit against hard surfaces. The Egg Farmers of Canada called the practices shown in the video an “aberration,” CBC reported.

Reaction

But experts at the conference had warned that reacting to such incidents after the fact isn’t enough. They said the industry has to be proactive and step up efforts to talk to Canadians about what it is doing to promote humane treatment.

“We need to engage Canadians in an open, positive and honest conversation, like we’re sitting across from one another over coffee,” said Crystal Mackay, executive director of Farm & Food Care Ontario.

“Farming and food are not typically among the top-ofmind issues keeping consumers up at night. But their attitudes and perceptions related to agriculture do have an increasing impact on what they buy.”

But many producers are concerned about who will

foot the bill for changes aimed at reducing public concerns about animal welfare.

Manitoba Egg Farmers have banned the installation of conventional cages after Dec. 31, 2014. While enhanced housing provides birds with more space, perches, scratching surfaces and private nesting boxes, they cost 20 to 25 per cent more. Hog producers face even higher costs — an extra $820 to $1,155 per sow — for group housing and reduced use of gestation crates. Add in additional labour and training costs, and it’s estimated the change could cost the Canadian pork industry $500 million.

Who pays?

Should those costs fall entirely on producers?

“How much of it is a public good and how much should commodity groups be expected to pay for?” Wepruk asked.

The new codes, along with an Animal Care Assessment Framework are “tremendous achievements,” said Dan Weary, an animal biology professor at the University of B.C. But they also raise the bar, Weary told conference attendees.

“Canada is a world leader in the development of animal care codes and with that comes both rising expectations and new opportunities around farm animal care,” he said.

That’s why the codes need to be considered “a work in progress,” added Caroline Ramsay, the co-ordinator for the assessment framework, a tool for objectively determining whether the codes are benefiting animals.

“With them in place, we have to start asking where we go next,” she said. “Farm groups will have to think about the future now that this framework is in place and anticipate where the pressure for change will come from.”

The assessment framework is expected to be ready next year, and livestock groups will be required to use it. The pro-

cess will be closely watched, she predicted.

“It’s likely the rest of the food chain will be pushing for an assessment of the effectiveness of the care programs,” said Ramsay.

Intense scrutiny

Scrutiny of the livestock industry is not only intensifying, but taking the sector on to new ground.

The livestock industry is under a lot of pressure from “the rest of the world” to get better at measuring animal pain, said University of Calgary professor, Ed Pajor, an expert in animal welfare and behaviour.

There are procedures for animals such as dehorning and castration to reduce suffering, but researchers are trying to accurately measure pain in livestock and looking at how it can be reduced further, if not eliminated, he said.

“Have we done everything possible to make the process animal welfare friendly?”

Pajor asked conference attendees.

Among the alternatives under study is gene editing, which could produce animals requiring fewer stress-creating procedures. Pajor noted the EU wants to end castration of male pigs using current techniques by 2018.

“Pain mitigation in livestock production will be more important in the coming years,” he said. “That will include less stress for animals at weaning. We need more research on this and that will take time.”

In the meantime, farmers must look for ways to reduce animal stress, he added. “It would be a dangerous strategy for the industry to do nothing until more research can be conducted,” said Pajor.

“Agriculture is already regarded as being slow to change. Agriculture has to change to avoid animal welfare activists. Producers will be heavily scrutinized.”

— with files from Shannon VanRaes

Restaurants such as Tim Hortons need to prove to their customers that they are buying ethically raised products.

By Alex Binkley

af contributor / ottawa

T

he food-service industry is under pressure from shareholders, consumers, and activists to get behind improved animal welfare practices, says Tim Faveri, director of sustainability and responsibility for Tim Hortons.

“Every quick-service chain like ours is hit with animal welfare resolutions at annual meetings and in the social media,” Faveri said at the recent National Farm Animal Care Conference.

To respond to those demands, his sector needs proof that animal care codes are making a difference down on the farm.

“Farm animal care today is part of a growing focus on corporate social responsibility and sustainability in the foodservice sector,” he said. “One of the most important aspects of this is being clear and transparent with the customer. We interface with the customers and we have to be able to tell the story about where our products come from.”

Faveri acknowledged farmers and food suppliers are already suffering from audit fatigue on welfare and environment issues.

But his advice was to get used to it.

“This is about a journey — not a destination,” he said. “It has to be a journey of continuous improvement.”

He praised the Canadian livestock sector for developing new animal care codes, saying the animal welfare debate between farmers and consumers is not highly polarized here compared to the U.S. He also said the food industry has to be careful not to let all the certification costs fall on producers.

But passing on those costs will be a challenge, said Susie Miller, director general of the Sector Development and Analysis Directorate at Agriculture Canada.

“Consumers are willing to only pay so much more for their food,” she said.

Nevertheless, the livestock industry has to “keep moving” on developing the codes and showing that they are working, Miller said.

“They have to be transparent and keep up with the science being developed around animal welfare,” she said.

“And you have to keep working at the credibility of the codes. Nothing worth doing is ever easy. Change takes time, costs money, and requires commitment.”

34

NEWS CFGA hires new executive director Ron Pidskalny of Edmonton has been appointed as the new executive director of the Canadian Forage & Grassland Association (CFGA), succeeding the retiring Wayne Digby.

Pidskalny has more than 25 years of business experience, and has been an adviser to the Canadian government on the International Plant Genetics Treaty.

He has served on the board of governors of the Agricultural Institute of Canada and is past western director of the Canadian Society of Agronomy. Recent assignments include working as senior project manager for the Canadian National Transplant Research Program.

The CFGA office, which was previously in Brandon, Man. will now be located in Edmonton. www.canadian fga.ca

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Provinces urged to follow Alberta and Ontario in setting up farmer-run helplines

By Alex Binkley

af contributor / ottawa

A

lberta and Ontario have established farmer-run helplines for struggling livestock producers and their accomplishments indicate similar services are needed across the country, says the man who runs the Alberta operation.

“Every province should have one of these,” Darrell Dalton, interim registrar of the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association, told the National Farm Animal Care Conference.

Alberta Farm Animal Care was launched in 1993 by 17 livestock groups and the vet college at the University of Calgary. Its board

has representatives from all livestock groups plus vets and provincial agriculture officials.

Its ALERT line allows people to confidentially report situations when they fear livestock aren’t being properly cared for, instead of calling the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

“When a report is received, we get volunteer producers in the area to pay the producer a visit,” said Dalton.

“They find everything from farmers in financial distress to having mental problems. A lot of times we can help the producer, but if there are dying or distressed animals, we have to turn the situation over to the SPCA.”

Ontario started its Farm Animal Care Helpline through Farm & Food Care, said Kristen Kelderman, the organization’s animal care co-ordinator.

It offers a similar service, calling in the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals only as a last resort, she said. But it can’t deal with every incident, she added.

“The helpline does not have the mandate or resources to respond to the estimated 1,400 farm animal calls answered by the OSPCA every year,” she notes.

Dalton said his organization tries to intervene before farms “become wrecks,” and has vets who are willing to work with struggling producers who aren’t clients.

“They don’t heal the animals but help educate the farmer,” he said.

The Alberta group is also working on a euthanasia project that is an alternative to an inspector or police officer shooting a distressed animal with a revolver.

It has purchased 25 special euthanasia devices with Growing Forward 2 money while the province has acquired 25 for the use of “vets accredited for emergency slaughter.”

These kinds of services should be seen as a public good and be eligible for government funding, Dalton said.

“The biggest barrier to expanding this program is funding,” he said.

Bayer and Kansas State University team up on hybrid wheat staff Bayer Crop Science and Kansas State University (K-State) have signed a wheat germplasm and technology licence agreement to promote the further improvement and development of hybrid wheat.

“Hybrid wheat is a difficult technical challenge, but the payoff will be in a substantial potential for increased yields for growers,” Ernie Minton, associate director of research for K-State Research and Extension said in a release.

K-State’s Wheat Genetic Resource Center (WGRC) will help identify traits that are potentially useful for hybrid wheat production and that are naturally available in their extensive collection of grass species which are closely related to cultivated wheat. Bayer will work with K-State researchers and scientists to develop a trait-discovery pipeline for efficient hybrid wheat crop production using K-State’s genetic stocks.

The agreement allows Bayer CropScience to license K-State’s germplasm and related intellectual property rights.

“Wheat is an ancient crop that has gone through much change and continues to undergo change. With this agreement, our expertise in wheat genetics and genomics, combined with Bayer’s global expertise and wheat leadership, will help one of the world’s most important crops to advance,” John Floros, dean of the College of Agriculture said in the release.

As part of the collaboration, K-State also will establish an endowed chair for wheat genetics research and breeding. The endowed chair will be named for Bikram Gill, university distinguished professor of plant pathology and director of the Wheat Genetic Resource Center.

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Albertafarmexpress.ca • november 11, 2013

U of A develops ‘game-changing’ precision feeding system for broiler breeders A prototype precision feeding system could increase broiler breeder chick production by up to 10 per cent

By Jennifer Blair af staff / red deer

P

A U of A researcher aims to provide precise feed requirements for each bird. PHOTo: thinkstock

recision agriculture may hold the answer to a growing problem in Canada’s broiler hatching industry.

“Every year, the broiler gets faster and heavier, and every year, the competition for feed increases,” said Martin Zuidhof, associate professor of poultry systems at the University of Alberta.

“What we’re seeing in the industry now is a huge challenge to distribute feed equally to the birds within a flock.”

Drawing on the principles of precision agriculture, Zuidhof has developed a prototype feeding system that gives “the right bird the right amount of food

at the right time. That’s precision agriculture, and that’s the approach I’m taking with broiler breeders now.”

Developed in 2011 by a team of electrical, mechanical, and agriculture engineers, Zuidhof’s prototype precision feeding system evaluates each bird in real time to determine whether it’s too heavy or too light, and then makes a feeding decision accordingly.

“We’re collecting data at a resolution that we just dreamed about before,” he said. “We can then decide who gets fed and record how much every bird is eating. It’s a tremendous data set from a research perspective.”

Combined with an automated feeding system, the data will help reduce competition for

feed and improve flock uniformity, which is measured by the percentage of birds within 10 per cent of the mean. Typically, having 80 to 85 per cent of birds within 10 per cent of the mean body weight is a sign of good flock uniformity — but Zuidhof wants to top that.

“The hatching producers chuckled into their sleeves, I think, when they heard me say that I’d like to achieve 100 per cent flock uniformity,” he said.

“I have a very small pilot flock, but I’m at 100 per cent (of birds that are) within five per cent of the mean.”

But achieving flock uniformity isn’t the main goal.

“We’re not actually targeting uniformity for its own sake, we’re after chick production,” Zuidhof said. “We’ve come up with a hypothesis that a very stable metabolism will yield great dividends in terms of egg production and chick production from breeders.”

Evidence of this can already be seen in countries where labour is cheap and flocks are managed more closely — some get 30 to 40 more chicks per hen than here.

“We’re talking at least a 10 per cent increase in chick production, which is huge. This is a game-changing technology, if we can get it to work commercially.”

Not commercial yet

T:10”

Commercial application of the technology is a ways off. In January, Zuidhof’s team will begin a 60-week trial comparing his precision-fed broilers to conventionally fed birds, followed by on-farm research trials. Once the smaller-scale studies are complete, the technology will be tweaked for a commercial trial.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if, in two years, we have a trial going on a commercial farm,” said Zuidhof, adding that scaling the technology for a commercial operation will present challenges.

“There are a hundred ways that we could do it. We could replace the entire feeding system in a barn, but I don’t think that’s the way we’re going to go initially. I can’t see anybody wanting to do that without some major subsidy for the equipment.”

A partial implementation, targeting either the males or the smallest birds in the flock, will work best, he said.

“I think that’s a very reasonable way to implement this system initially. We’re looking at different ways where we can make a substantial difference without the risk of 250 units all going down at the same time.”

So far, Zuidhof’s team has encountered few problems with the prototype, which is intended to run entirely on its own for the whole 60-week period the birds are in the barn. Zuidhof hopes that, once perfected, the simplicity of the system will resonate with producers.

“It just makes so much sense,” he said. “When you get information in real time and can act on it, that’s really the principle of precision agriculture, and that’s what we can do beautifully with this system.”

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news » livestock

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

U.S. beef plant controversy

Judge blocks horse slaughter suit

U.S. federal investigators are scrutinizing the finances and a federal immigration program behind funding for Northern Beef Packers, an idled plant in Aberdeen, South Dakota. According to an Associated Press report, the probe is linked to possible financial misconduct by the state’s economic development office. Richard Benda, a top official at the agency and Northern Beef’s former loan monitor, was found dead from a gunshot wound on Oct. 22. The plant has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

A U.S. federal judge on Nov. 1 tossed out a Humane Society of the United States lawsuit seeking to block inspections of horses destined for slaughter, potentially clearing the way for the resumption of equine killing for human consumption. The suit alleged that the Department of Agriculture failed to carry out environmental reviews before it gave approval to three companies involved in horse slaughter. Congress effectively banned horse slaughter in 2006 by saying the USDA could not spend any money to inspect the plants. Without USDA inspectors, slaughterhouses cannot operate.

“They don’t seem to kick out at you, say when you’re milking them, unless they’re severely provoked…”

Genomics is proving its worth, says Cattleland Feedyards researcher Strathmore company is bringing cattle to market up to 45 days sooner by using genomics to find feed-efficient cows

The potential to gain is all hidden under the skin, says a feedlot researcher.

By Alexis Kienlen af staff / edmonton

D

espite all the talk about genomics, many in the cattle industry are confused by what it all means.

But the bottom line is pretty simple, says William Torres, researcher at Cattleland Feedyards in Strathmore.

“Cattle all gain different — you don’t know what is underneath the skin,” Torres told attendees at the recent Livestock Gentec conference.

“All you’re doing is guessing where they are going to be 150 or 200 days from now. If you use genomics, you’re taking the guessing game out of the equation.

You’re going to more accurately manage and predict how the cattle are going to perform.”

Torres is bull evaluator, cattle manager, and researcher with Cattleland Feedyards, operated by the Gregory family. Its for-profit research facility is home to North America’s largest bull test centre

and Torres has managed about 38 contract research projects involving about 65,000 head since joining the company in 2008.

Much of that research involves genomics and residual feed intake, also known as net feed efficiency.

“It is defined as the difference between an animal’s actual feed intake and what is expected for feed requirements — you know, what you think it’s going to eat and what it actually ate,” he said.

Since feed efficiency is a heritable trait, genomics can be used to select better animals.

“If you point out to producers the difference in amount of feed consumed and then you start translating that to dollars, that’s when you start getting people’s attention,” he said.

how much each one eats and how often they come to feed.

Although Cattleland has eight pens with 40 nodes, each test takes about 100 days and producers must book a year in advance to get a cow into the facility.

“So less management, less manure, and less headaches because I can get them to market faster.”

Tracking consumption

At Cattleland, researchers use the Alberta-developed Grow Safe System, which uses a second electronic identification tag to record feeding data. Since only one animal can eat from a bunk at a time, the system tracks both

William Torres

On the genomics side, Cattleland works closely with Saskatoon’s Quantum Genetics to track leptin production in cattle.

The hormone, present in fat tissue, acts on the brain to regulate food intake and body weight.

In cattle, there are three leptin variants: CC, CT and TT. Cows with the CC version are lean animals that have low body weight, TTs are the ones that put on fat and are more desirable, and those with CT are in between.

The difference is huge — Cattleland has found TT animals will reach the same end point about 45 days sooner than CC animals.

“That’s 45 days less feed and 45 days less on earth,” said Torres. “So less management, less manure, and less headaches because I can get them to market faster.

“The other thing is that we know what the yield is going to be and we can predict what the grade is going to be. So we were able to work out better prices with the packing plant and we

got paid a little bit more and then passed that back on to our producers, who were bringing us these animals.”

The leptin trait affects weaning weight, milk production, accumulation of back fat, yield grade, quality grade, and feed intake. TT animals have more back fat at the end of spring and prior to weaning, which relates back to a good body score condition and fertility.

“We use what is called a Q-sort system designed for feedlots,” Torres said.

Cattleland staff also measure back fat while using the system, and also consider the age and sex of the cattle as well as the hide colour. The system sorts the animals into four different groups. Animals in each group are given different feeding regimes and marketing dates.

“This increases the carcass value and we know how to feed the cattle more efficiently,” said Torres. akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

37

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

It pays to optimize feed efficiency in the grow-finish herd PEET ON PIGS } Attention to detail can make a big difference

BY BERNIE PEET

B

ecause feed cost represents the largest proportion of the overall cost of production, efficient use is key to profitability.

Feed efficiency is influenced by many factors — including diet formulation, availability of amino acids, the feed manufacturing process, pig health, and barn management, Steve Dritz, from Kansas State University, said at the recent Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop.

“Decisions to optimize feed efficiency range from global decisions such as choosing the optimum sire line to management at the barn level that includes environmental and feeder management among others,” he said.

Feed efficiency or feed-to-gain ratio is simply the amount of feed used to produce one unit of weight gain, but it is important to ensure comparisons with industry data are made on the same basis, said Dritz. “The accepted way to calculate close-out feed efficiency in a production system is total feed delivered divided by the start weight minus the sale weight,” he said. “However, this doesn’t include dead pig weight.

Accounting for dead pig weight

will lead to a better feed-to-gain ratio. However, the improvement is not directly linked to a better economic outcome.”

He also noted feed efficiency is dependent on weight range because feed-to-gain ratio worsens as pigs get heavier. This means that when comparing farm data, the start and finish weights should be adjusted to be the same, using a formula, in order to make a fair comparison. “Another area to understand when measuring feed efficiency is the influence of dietary energy density,” said Dritz. “Dietary energy will influence growth rate and feed intake and consequently feed per unit of gain. Therefore, many production systems are calculating feed efficiency as calories per unit of gain.”

Also, since different ingredients influencing dietary energy density will also affect carcass yield, a further refinement is to calculate caloric efficiency per unit of carcass gain, he added.

Proper diet formulation

Various aspects of diet formulation will impact feed efficiency, but one important factor is ensuring an adequate supply of amino acids.

“The use of 20 grams of standardized ileal digestible (SID) lysine per kilogram of gain appears to be a

reasonable estimate of the lysine requirement of finishing pigs,” Dritz said. “Thus, once a growth curve and feed-intake curve are obtained from pigs within a production system, the lysine requirement curve can be estimated with reasonable accuracy.

“The next step is to ensure that other essential amino acids are at a minimum ratio relative to lysine.

Although the order can vary with different dietary ingredient mixtures, typically the first five limiting amino acids for most practical diets are lysine, threonine, sulphur amino acids, tryptophan, and valine. Due to increasing economical availability of crystalline lysine, threonine, and methionine, tryptophan is commonly the limiting amino acid in practical diet formulation.”

Work at Kansas State suggests that a minimum ratio for tryptophan to lysine of 18.5 per cent is required for finishing pigs. Quality feed manufacturing starts with optimizing grain particle size, Dritz stressed. “A general rule of thumb is that feed efficiency improves 1.2 per cent for each 100-micron decrease in particle size, worth approximately 75 cents to $1 per pig,” he said. “From a practical standpoint, we recommend 500 to 600 microns as measured with

a 13-high sieve set without a flow agent for grain fed in meal form.

Smaller particle sizes can be used in finishing pigs providing flowability is maintained or when diets are fed in pellet form.”

In addition, he said, when using pelleted diets, smaller particle sizes will improve pellet mill throughput. Another consideration is to ensure adequate mixing of diets, especially with low inclusion products such as synthetic amino acids and phytase.

Frequent monitoring of mixers to evaluate coefficient of variation is essential, Dritz said.

Barn management influences efficiency

The stockperson can have a major influence on feed efficiency, he noted.

“After pigs enter the barn, daily chores that influence overall feed efficiency include individual pig treatment and timely euthanasia, ensuring water and feed availability, feeding the appropriate diet, managing the air quality and environmental temperature, properly adjusting feeders and handling pigs in a positive manner,” he said. “Removing a portion of the pigs from all pens during initial marketing can result in feed savings while maximizing weight

produced from the facility. Withdrawing feed prior to market also can result in feed savings.”

Dritz emphasized the importance of feeder design in minimizing feed wastage, which can be a drain on feed efficiency.

“On a yearly basis, feeders in the grow-finish barn are each dispensing $12,000 or more of feed,” he said. “When selecting feeders for finishing pigs, we follow four principles: The adjustment mechanism should be easy to use and durable, the width of a single feeding space should be a minimum of 35 centimetres, the depth should be at least 25 centimetres, and there should be trough dividers to give some degree of protection to the pig while feeding.”

The dividers force the pig to stand at right angles to the feeder to eat, resulting in decreased rooting and pig-to-pig interaction.

“Ultimately, optimizing feed efficiency is a multi-faceted process that requires commitment from all levels of production and continuous re-evaluation to ensure that best practices are in place,” Dritz concluded.

Bernie Peet is president of Pork Chain Consulting of Lacombe, Alberta and a director of U.K.-based Pig Production Training Ltd.

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38

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

The relevant roundworm is one of the pasture’s mainstays HORSE HEALTH } Heavy or resistant infestations are particularly hazardous to foals but can be tricky to treat

BY CAROL SHWETZ, DVM

M

easures taken to lessen the burden of equine Ascarids, also known as roundworms, are wrought with pitfalls due to the tenacious nature of the roundworm, its increasing resistance to chemical dewormers, and the naive population of horses it targets.

Roundworms are typically a problem in young horses, especially foals, weanlings and yearlings, where it can take advan-

tage of inexperienced immune systems. Adult horses develop a good immunity and thus rarely have a problem. However, they do retain enough worms to continually shed eggs onto the pastures.

Due to the particularly hardy nature of the roundworm egg, pastures can accumulate an unusually high number of Parascaris eggs over the years. Eggs can remain infectious in the environment for several years even under the harshest of conditions. The egg also possesses a

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sticky coating which enables it to travel on a horse’s hair coat and remain on buildings, fences and feeders.

It is likely that foals become exposed very early in life as they nuzzle their dam during nursing or snuff around in their newfound environment.

The adult roundworm is large and easily visible to the naked eye. It can be 20 to 30 cm in length and resembles a large earthworm. Ascarids live in the small intestine where the female is a prolific egg layer, laying up to 200,000 microscopic round eggs a day. The eggs are passed out in the feces and remain in the environment until ingested.

When ingested, the eggs hatch into the larval form and continue with their life cycle migrating through the lining of the intestinal wall into the internal organs.

Once the larvae reach the lungs, they are coughed up and swallowed back into the digestive tract where they mature into the adult roundworm. Considerable damage can occur in the liver or lungs as a result of larval migration. Heavy burdens of adult roundworms in the gut have the ability to block the intestinal tract and trigger life-threatening colic. This colic can also be triggered by a deworming treatment when the paralyzed worms fall away from the intestinal lining and create an impaction.

Young horses harbouring the migratory phase of the parasite often exhibit signs of respiratory distress, including fever, coughing and nasal discharge. In addition to respiratory illness and varying degrees of colic, common symptoms of roundworm infestation are poor body condition, depression, loss of appetite, anemia, failure to thrive and gain weight, a rough hair coat, pot-belly, and diarrhea.

Roundworm infestations become common when foals are raised on the same pastures year after year. Therefore the soundest course to reduce infestation

The roundworm is often referred to as the “spaghetti” worm. in young stock is accomplished by raising foals on different pastures from year to year. It is also advisable to segregate yearling and two-year-olds from mares with foals. Deworming expectant mares 30 days before foaling further reduces the new foal’s exposure to parasites.

In addition to pasture hygiene, a strategic deworming program involving all horses out at pasture is often necessary. Parasite resistance to chemical dewormers is becoming an extremely important problem. Levels of resistance have been documented to ivermectin, moxidectin and more recently pyrantel.

Resistance has not yet been confirmed in benzimidazole drugs. The label on this class of drugs will show the active ingredient to be either fenbendazole, oxfenbendazole, or oxibendazole. Currently it appears to be the best choice for Parascaris treatment on many premises.

Deworming is generally started when foals are seven to eight weeks old, and treatment is performed at regular intervals until the foal is about one year old.

Extra care is taken when young stock becomes heavily infested.

Decision-making can become increasingly complicated as levels of infestations rise, a foal’s health declines, and resistance is discovered. Deworming heavily infected foals with a potent dewormer may cause shock or obstruction to the bowels.

As a result veterinarians generally recommend a double course of fenbendazole. The first dose at half-strength has been shown to kill a proportion of the worms, partially reducing the worm burden. A followup higher dose is then given a week or two later to remove the remainder.

Veterinarians are usually asked to intervene when resistance to chemical dewormers becomes apparent and/or when young stock becomes heavily infested. Decision-making takes into account farm history, age and health of animals infested, deworming schedules, and fecal egg count analysis.

Carol Shwetz is a veterinarian specializing in equine practice at Westlock, Alberta.

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39

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

The beef industry has lessons to be learned from A&W

STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP } As Canada’s beef industry defends itself, Australia is moving beef into our market

BY BRENDA SCHOEPP

T

he beef industry has been in shock at the decision by the Canadian-based A&W hamburger chain to source, via Cargill, grass-fed beef through three main outfits in the world. Terribly insulted, the message from the industry has been to assure consumers that all beef is good and safe to eat. That is fine, but A&W would have been responding to consumers’ interest in the move to access grass-fed beef.

Perhaps the discussion should have focused on the shock of how out of step the beef industry is with the consumer. Or how important it is to be in continuous conversation with all our vendors to ensure we are promptly meeting their needs.

They will come back if they fail to source the beef they need. But as I toured the vineyards in South Australia and Victoria, I also stopped to see a fellow farmer’s cattle herd. Sue & Stu Sharmann are in the Pasturefed Cattle Assurance System launched by Cargill and Teys to brand grass-fed cattle in Australia. Sue manages the “Certi-

fied Pasturefed” cattle that will go into the same system as the grass-fed cattle from Alberta and the U.S. to produce burgers for A&W and other vendors.

Teys, an Australian company, owns fully integrated beef systems and distributes product through Cargill. The goal is to supply grass-fed beef to North America, which Teys has been able to achieve. Although there is an abundance of cattle in Australia they have not been differentiated in the marketplace until now, the Pasturefed program allows for differentiation and certification. So as Australia moves ahead and sells beef to our burger chain, we continue to debate the action based on the burden of proof.

Preaching to the choir

The burden of proof or the evidence to shift the conclusion away from the decision has been embraced by the industry. I fear that the beef industry may be preaching to the choir — those who don’t worry about the source of the beef. The marketplace is so huge and diverse that standing on one soapbox and hanging on to one story is highly outdated. The Canadian industry may think it is enti-

tled to its way, but if the trade to Europe really materializes, what will it ship if not grass-fed or hormone-free beef? It is not up to us to challenge the buyer.

The other camp may lay claims that hormone use is related to cancer and such but that evidence is weak at best and the hypothesis unproven.

In this case there is little for folks like A&W to defend themselves with. But these national and international decisions are not made lightly, or without specific evidence to support the change. There may not be scientific evidence to support the switch, but there may be overwhelming consumer research that does. That type of research would be proprietary.

As an independent I have long asked and begged the beef industry to consider that there is room for all players and all producers and that their individual initiatives should be supported in principle. It was those that dared to be “different” that now have the contracts that the rest of the industry could only hope for. And the message in consumer preference and in trade is clear — “We are not interested in your (beef industry’s) defensive response — we

Stu Sharmann stands beside grass-finished cattle that are sold under the Certified Pasturefed program in Australia.

PHOTO: BRENDA SCHOEPP

are in the business of doing good business.”

Leading the debate on consumer preference and consumer trends in workshop settings, I have challenged my audience to really think hard about how a consumer processes information. Look at the discussion on “pink slime” — a term developed by a USDA meat inspector which in short order and through a few minutes on YouTube cratered the entire U.S. ground beef market for quite some time. The burden of proof was on manufacturing to switch the consumer

from their position, which they could not. Currently we have a serious discussion going on in the egg industry after the release of undercover videos in Alberta.

The burden of proof is on the egg industry to turn the tide of public opinion back to supporting their industry. This is a difficult task in the face of live footage.

In the transparent world that we live in, and with the technology and communication capabilities that we have, the beef industry has no justification in being out of step. We cannot nor will not all produce grassfed beef nor is anyone asking us to. But the move by A&W with all the certification, processing and distribution in place prior to the announcement clearly demonstrates that we did not respect the changes happening with consumers and in that we were caught totally unprepared.

Case closed.

Brenda Schoepp is a Nuffield Scholar who travels extensively exploring agriculture and meeting the people who feed, clothe and educate our world. A motivating speaker and mentor she works with young entrepreneurs across Canada and is the founder of Women in Search of Excellence. www.brendaschoepp.com.

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40

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Panel raps lack of action to curb drug use in U.S. livestock Panel members include ranchers, public health experts, the former dean of a veterinary school and former U.S. agriculture secretary Dan Glickman

BY CHARLES ABBOTT REUTERS

U

Antibiotics are routinely added to poultry feed, not only to prevent and treat illness but to promote growth. PHOTO: ISTOCK

.S. regulators and livestock producers have failed to curb the use of antibiotics in livestock despite concerns that excessive use in meat production will reduce the drugs’ effectiveness in humans, said a panel of experts.

“Meaningful change is unlikely in the future,” concluded the 14-member panel, assembled by Johns Hopkins University, in a report released on Tuesday.

The release marked the fifth anniversary of a landmark 2008 Pew Charitable Trust report that called for an end to the sub-

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therapeutic use of antibiotics by livestock producers, as well as an end to practices such as tiny cages for laying hens.

Congressional hearings followed the release of that report, and the livestock industry went into damage-control mode.

Antibiotics are routinely sprinkled into U.S. cattle, hog and poultry feed, not only to prevent and treat illness but to promote growth. Agriculture accounts for 80 per cent of antibiotic sales, according to the limited records available.

The Johns Hopkins’ report said “additional scientific evidence has strengthened the case that these (non-therapeutic) uses pose unnecessary and unreasonable public health risks” of allowing bacteria to develop resistance to antibiotics.

“There has been an appalling lack of progress,” said director Robert Lawrence of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, which produced the report. He said lack of action

by Congress and federal regulators and the “intransigence of animal agriculture industry” had made the problems worse.

The panel that wrote the Johns Hopkins report included ranchers, public health experts, the former dean of a veterinary school and former U.S. agriculture secretary Dan Glickman.

Its chairman was former Kansas governor John Carlin.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has altered its guidelines to say antibiotics should be used only under the guidance of a veterinarian for prevention, control or treatment of disease, the Johns Hopkins report said there was a loophole. Drugs can be approved for disease prevention on the proviso that they are not being used as part of livestock production.

“This means that while antimicrobial approvals may change... antimicrobial use may not,” said the report.

An FDA spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

A livestock group, the Animal Agriculture Alliance, said in its own report — released to coincide with the Johns Hopkins study — that the FDA guidelines will assure medically important antibiotics are used by farmers and ranchers only to combat disease.

Richard Raymond, a former agriculture undersecretary for food safety, said in the alliance report that antibiotics are part of an array of biological tools for livestock producers.

Raymond listed them along with beta-agonists, a type of feed additive that helps animals gain weight faster, and man-made bovine hormones which are used to boost dairy production.

U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co. suspended U.S. and Canadian sales of Zilmax, the leading beta-agonist, on Aug. 16 following concerns about cattle who appeared to be sore footed or were having difficulty walking after being fed the additive.

41

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

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Published by Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 WINNIPEG OFFICE Alberta Farmer Express 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 Toll-Free in Canada 1-888-413-3325 Phone 403-341-0442 in Winnipeg FAX 403-341-0615 Mailing Address: Box 9800, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 3K7 • •

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42

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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43

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Various

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FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous 1999 CAT 460 1,400 sep. hrs, rake up $81,000; 1998 AGCO 9755, 530/int electronic, 18spd p/s, 3096/hrs, 4 remotes, 540 front weights, duals, $44,500; 2005 MacDon 922, 16-ft DK, $14,500; 2000 MacDon 972, 25-ft DK, DS, pick-up reel, $16,500; Bergen swath mover, $3200.

(403)665-2341, Craigmyle, AB. 2009 EZEE-ON 7750 SERIES 2 Airdrill, 10-in spacing, double schute, stealth openers, 5-in rubber packers, 36 1/2-ft, cw/tow behind 3315 cart, $125,000 OBO; 2008 JD 4895 self-propelled swather, w/30-ft of honeybee header, $97,500 OBO; JD 1509 9-ft tandem disc, $7,000 OBO; 1997 JD 9400 4-whl drive tractor, 12-spd w/hi&low, $128,000; Conserva-pak 56-ft air drill, w/4400 tank, $150,000 OBO. Phone:(780)386-2220 or Cell(780)888-1278.

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130+ Bulls All Bulls will be HD 50K tested

Cereal – Various

If interested, please send an 8lb sample* to the following address: Attn: Sandy Jolicoeur Bioriginal Food & Science Corp.

102 Melville Street Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7J 0R1

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Bioriginal Food & Science Corp., based in Saskatoon, is actively buying Organic Flax from the 2013 crop year.

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44

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

PEDIGREED SEED Specialty – Various

Bioriginal Food & Science Corp., based in Saskatoon, are looking to contract Borage acres for the upcoming 2014 growing season.

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45

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

FEDS FUND ROYAL WINTER FAIR

BASF APPEALS CHEMICAL BAN

Parliamentary Secretary Pierre Lemieux on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz on Nov. 5 announced a Government of Canada grant of up to $405,000 for the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. A government release said the funds from the AgriMarketing Program will enable the fair to attract more international buyers through the promotion of the event and its showcase of highquality Canadian agriculture and agri-food products. They will also enhance the International Business Centre, a top destination for the agriculture and livestock genetics industry.

German chemicals group BASF has launched a legal challenge against the European Commission’s ban of BASF’s insecticide fipronil, imposed in July on concern its use as seed treatment is linked to declining bee populations. BASF has filed legal action with the General Court of the European Union because “valid scientific studies and evidence were not properly taken into account,” BASF said in a statement. The ban follows similar EU curbs imposed in April on neonicotinoids, and reflects growing concern in Europe over a recent plunge in the population of honeybees. — Reuters

Flaxseed may reduce blood pressure, early findings show The Winnipeg-based trial found significant reductions but researchers say more studies are needed

BY SHEREEN JEGTVIG NEW YORK / REUTERS

E

ating a bit of flaxseed each day might help lower high blood pressure, a new study suggests.

Researchers said it’s too early to swap out blood pressure medication for the fibre-filled seeds just yet. But if future studies confirm the new results, flax might be a cheap way to treat high blood pressure, they added.

Flaxseed is well known as a plant source of omega-3 fatty acids, fibre and lignans, a type of antioxidants.

But so far, its effect on high blood pressure, or hypertension, has been better studied among animals than humans.

“This is the first demonstration of the cardiovascular effects of dietary flaxseed in a hypertensive population,” Grant Pierce told Reuters Health in an email.

Pierce is the senior author on the study and executive director of research at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

One in three American adults has high blood pressure, considered 140/90 millimetres of mercury (mm Hg) and over, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Having high blood pressure increases a person’s risk of heart disease and stroke.

The condition costs the U.S. billions of dollars each year, Pierce said.

“It is the No. 1 reason for a person to visit a physician in the U.S. today,” he said. “Understanding how to reduce blood pressure has become, therefore, a critical challenge.”

His team’s results were published in the journal Hypertension.

Linseed oil and flaxseeds.

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

The trial included 110 people who had been diagnosed with peripheral artery disease, in which plaque builds up in arteries in the leg. Patients with the condition often have high blood pressure.

The participants were randomly assigned to either a flaxseed or comparison group.

People in the flaxseed group ate a variety of foods like bagels, muffins and pasta that contained 30 grams — about one ounce — of milled flaxseed every day for six months.

Those in the comparison group were given foods that tasted similar, but didn’t contain any flaxseed.

The researchers had participants

increase their dose of flaxseed gradually so they could become accustomed to the fibre load.

Still, one in five participants dropped out of each group during the trial. Some of that could have been due to stomach pain from the extra fibre, Pierce said.

People who had an initial systolic blood pressure — the top number in a blood pressure reading — of at least 140 mm Hg saw that figure drop by 15 mm Hg, on average, after six months of taking flaxseed.

Their diastolic blood pressure — the bottom number — also fell by seven mm Hg. Blood pressure did not change among people with hypertension in the comparison group.

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“These decreases in (blood pressure) are amongst the most potent dietary interventions observed and comparable to current medications,” Pierce said.

There was no flaxseed-related benefit for people with normal blood pressure, however.

Flaxseed costs about 25 to 50 cents per ounce.

The new study was partially funded by the Flax Council of Canada. It wasn’t originally designed to study blood pressure, which means the results have to be interpreted with more caution.

“The study results are indeed surprising — it is actually hard to imagine such huge reductions in blood pressure with flaxseed mixed in foodstuffs,” Dr. William B. White told Reuters Health in an email.

White, from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington, is also the president of the American Society of Hypertension.

He was not involved in the new study.

He also expressed some concern that measuring blood pressure changes was not the initial reason for doing the study. And he said the way blood pressure was measured — during a single office visit — isn’t as accurate as checking it at multiple points throughout the day.

“The results are preliminary — there is not enough information to justify people taking flaxseed for the control of hypertension. A larger, more controlled trial with out-of-office blood pressure would be needed,” White said.

According to Pierce, a new study is underway.

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ALWAYS FOLLOW GRAIN MARKETING AND ALL OTHER STEWARDSHIP PRACTICES AND PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Details of these requirements can be found in the Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers printed in this publication ©2013 Monsanto Canada, Inc.

46

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Feed barley prices could see further lows Some lower-grade wheat could also be competition in the local feed market

By Brandon Logan

Commodity News Service Canada

L

ethbridge barley saw a slight bump in prices the last few weeks, but Jim Beusekom, grain broker at Marketplace Commodities in Lethbridge, said that prices could see further lows depending on the price movement of other feed markets.

“Through the second half of October, we’ve seen the market rally just slightly in Lethbridge,” he said Nov. 5. “Prices moved upwards about $5 a tonne. That’s our grand rally, or about as close as we can get to a rally this year.”

“We might actually see corn competitive in Lethbridge against feed barley...”

Jim Beusekom Marketplace Commodities

Beusekom said the boost was due to growers holding back on selling after they finished harvest activities.

“Following harvest, it’s pretty normal that farmers like to hold back,” he said. “Actually, I wouldn’t even say they’re holding their grain back.

After you’re done harvest, probably the last thing a farmer does the day after he parks his combine is start to load trucks.”

According to the Alberta Canola Producers Commission, Lethbridge barley during the week of Oct. 28 was priced at $185 per tonne.

“Lethbridge is trading in the $180- to $185-per-tonne range right

now,” said Beusekom. “That’s what feedlots are paying. Farmers can defer their sales to January, February, or March and pick up $3 or $4 a tonne. They can also defer into the spring time and pick up $7, $8, or $9 a tonne if they go out quite a ways.

There’s a little bit of incentive for them to store it.”

However, the wild card in terms of near-term pricing is the U.S. corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade. Beusekom said if the Nov. 8 USDA report is bearish for corn, it could cause Lethbridge feed barley to decline as well.

“If the Nov. 8 USDA report comes in bearish for corn, and we see corn prices continue to drop, it may actually warrant a drop in feed barley,” he said. “We might actually see corn competitive in Lethbridge against feed barley, and if that happens, in order for barley to keep findinghomes, it’s probably got to drop.”

Canadian wheat could also challenge Lethbridge barley for a spot in the feed market.

“The other thing that is noteworthy is that the wheat market is also under pressure, as it has broken some of its support levels, and has started to come back down quite a bit,” Beusekom said, noting cash prices are down as much as 40 to 60 cents a bushel. “Some of the lower grade wheat should start to compete against feed barley and that could start happening really any time.”

Looking ahead, Beusekom said he can’t predict how low prices could possibly go, but said any movement will likely be volatile.

“The only thing we can predict is that the markets will be volatile,” he said. “The highs will be higher than what people think and the lows will be lower than what people think they’d be.”

“Don’t be surprised if we still haven’t seen a low in these markets.”

It may be worthwhile to keep barley in the bin for a few months. PHOTo: thinkstock

Churchill sets monthly record during a busy shipping year Final tally for grain shipments expected to exceed 600,000 tonnes, with Richardson International surpassing CWB as top customer

By Phil Franz-Warkentin commodity news service canada

C

hurchill is nearing the end of a busy grain-shipping season, with the tonnage moving through the northern port expected to come in well above the previous year.

“We’ll be wrapping up in the next 10 to 12 days,” Darcy Brede, president and chief operating officer of OmniTRAX, said late last month.

More than 500,000 tonnes of grain and oilseeds had moved through the port as of the end of October, and the final tally should exceed 600,000 tonnes, said Brede. That compares to 460,000 tonnes last year and the five-year average of about 550,000.

October’s shipments of 270,000 tonnes would likely set a monthly record, he added.

Wheat accounted for most of the grain loaded during the season, with some durum and canola also moving, said Brede.

Following the demise of the Cana-

dian Wheat Board’s single desk in 2012, Ottawa set up the $25-million, five-year Churchill Port Utilization Program to encourage shipments.

Five companies used the port this year, and while the CWB is still a major customer, Richardson International was the biggest shipper this year, said Brede.

“The logistics are a little more intense because there are more customers,” said Brede. “But when it comes to operations, we love problems like that.”

Aside from grain movement, the shipping season also included three vessels loaded with resupply shipments for the northern territory of Nunavut, said Brede.

Potential exports of crude oil are still being investigated, he said, and many potential customers have expressed interest as the port has good access to the European market, said Brede. Stakeholder meetings are currently taking place, and a test shipment will likely take place in 2014. A test run originally set for this fall was postponed in order to allow for further consultations.

47

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Veteran Ontario producer shares tips that can help you save time on your sheep operation Anita O’Brien says saving a few minutes here and there during the day really adds up over the course of a year

BY ALEXIS KIENLEN AF STAFF / LEDUC

A

good handling facility for sheep is well worth the investment, says veteran sheep producer Anita O’Brien.

“Handling facilities don’t have to be fancy, just effective,” O’Brien said at the recent Alberta Sheep Breeders Association conference.

The producer, who runs 425 ewes on her pasture-based operation in Ontario, estimates her facility saves her 45 minutes a day — or nearly 40 hours over the course of a year.

For example, having a digital scale allowed her to increase the number of lambs she can weigh to 170 per hour from 80, said O’Brien, a former sheep and goat specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture who has been working with sheep for 25 years.

Having a visible permanent mark on sheep also saves time when handling them, she said.

A good facility goes hand in hand with an effective cull strategy in creating an efficient operation, she said.

Detailed records allow her to identify poor performers, such as ones that have parasite problems and need to be dewormed several times a year. O’Brien uses pregnancy scans and culls every ewe that does not get pregnant or raise a lamb. Ewes are also culled for age, broken teeth, inadequate udders, or the inability to maintain body condition.

Ear notches are used to mark cull sheep.

“Once that’s done, I don’t check the records to know if she was a good ewe in the past,” said O’Brien. “She’s a cull today.

This makes it easier and allows you to not get involved in the emotions. This sounds heartless and ruthless, but it works for our system.”

The reasons for culling are recorded to highlight potential problems in the flock. Ewes that need extra help at lambing time are bred to terminal sires, so their genetics are not kept in the flock.

“All those lambs off of her are going to the market,” she said.

Ewes are broken into ideal group sizes for lambing, and O’Brien synchronizes her ewes

and lambs out over shorter, tighter time periods.

“One of our big expenses in our breeding system is what we’re paying for rams,” she said. “I strongly believe one of the easiest ways of managing lambing time labour is to pull the rams out. Set it out for what works for you, and then be committed to pulling the rams out of the ewes so you don’t have stragglers for weeks and weeks after lambing should be over.”

Rams on her operation are usually left with ewes for two cycles or approximately 34 days.

This translates to a lambing period of 40 days, making management throughout the rest of the year easier as lambs can be in much tighter groups, she said.

To save time and labour, O’Brien tries to restrict the use of feeding pails in her operation, and she recommends raised feeding floors or feeders that are easily accessible from a barn alley. Communal hay feeding that covers four lambing jugs or small areas are also efficient.

An automated watering system, preferably one that provides ewes with constant access,

Anita O’Brien, sheep producer and former sheep and goat specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture. PHOTO: ALEXIS KIENLEN is a good investment and saves labour, particularly at lambing time. O’Brien matches forage storage to the flock size and picks bale sizes that best suit the needs of the flock. Her ani-

mals stay on pasture for as long as possible. Lastly, she said she is a big believer in using herding dogs to save labour. akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

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Talk to your DEKALB® dealer today, or visit DEKALB.ca ALWAYS FOLLOW IRM, GRAIN MARKETING AND ALL OTHER STEWARDSHIP PRACTICES AND PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Details of these requirements can be found in the Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers printed in this publication. ©2013 Monsanto Canada Inc.

48

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

U.S. feedlot cattle placements rise as feed costs declined The supply has been declining and is now at the lowest level for the month in 15 years

BY THEOPOLIS WATERS AND MEREDITH DAVIS CHICAGO / REUTERS

T

he number of cattle placed in U.S. feedlots in September increased one per cent from a year earlier, a government report showed Oct. 31.

Analysts attributed the rise to lower-priced corn, which reduced the cost of fattening cattle in feedlots. Also, higher prices for slaughter-ready cattle improved margins and drew more animals into feedlots.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture showed September placements at 2.025 million head, up one per cent from 2.004 million a year earlier. Analysts,

French feed producers eye new subsidy

BY SYBILLE DE LA HAMAIDE PARIS / REUTERS

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reform meant to promote animal feed production in the European Union could cut France’s reliance on costly and mostly genetically modified soybean imports by a third, depending on who receives the aid, growers said.

When EU leaders agreed on reforms to the 50-billion-euro(C$70-billion-) a-year Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) in June, these included the prospect that member states could use up to two per cent of output-related subsidies for farmers to boost output of vegetable proteins.

It remains unclear whether and how the bloc’s other 27 members will apply this measure but President Francois Hollande said France would use it as part of a wider plan to help livestock farmers who are struggling with rising feed costs.

Feed producers argue part of the subsidies should go mainly to them as their group funds research on improving yields.

“A realistic protein plan, which would lead to a French area of protein-rich crops of 800,000 hectares, would boost domestic output by 1.2 million tonnes of soymeal equivalent, or 30 per cent of the current deficit,” said Gerard Tubery, head of French oilseed and protein growers group FOP. Remember that story you wanted to read again from a few months back?

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on average, expected a 1.2 per cent increase.

Although up from last year, September placements were the second lowest for the month since USDA began the current data series in 1996. USDA reported the feedlot cattle supply as of Oct. 1 at 10.144 million head, down eight per cent from a year earlier. Analysts, on average, expected a 7.3 per cent drop.

The supply has been declining and is now at the lowest level for the month in 15 years. The number of cattle marketed to packers in September was up six per cent from a year earlier at 1.695 million head.

Analysts viewed the report as neutral to mildly bullish for Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures.

“There was not much difference between the estimates. It is pretty neutral for the market,” said Ron Plain, University of Missouri livestock economist.

The September marketings were encouraging, which were slightly higher than trade expectations, he said.

The increase in cash prices during the last two weeks in September and improved feedlot profitability as corn became more affordable attracted cattle into feedyards, said Allendale chief strategist Rich Nelson.

The placement data suggests the trend of low placements will continue into the first half of 2014, which should help support deferred CME live cattle futures, he said.

The placement data suggests the trend of low placements will continue into the first half of 2014.

49

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Food and agriculture groups join call for faster regulatory harmonization The Canadian Manufacturing Coalition says a 2011 initiative has made ‘little or no progress’ on harmonizing U.S. and Canadian regulations

BY ALEX BINKLEY

AF CONTRIBUTOR / OTTAWA

D

Despite good intentions from the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, the two countries are still going in their own directions on regulations. PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

espite the backing of President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a cross-border initiative to harmonize Canadian and American regulations has made paltry progress, says the Canadian Manufacturing Coalition.

Announced with considerable fanfare by the two leaders in 2011, the Regulatory Cooperation Council has made “little or no progress,” the coalition says in a letter to Robert Carberry, assistant secretary of the council’s secretariat.

“Out of the thousands of regulations that affect companies manufacturing and selling products in each country, only a handful have been aligned to allow for

a product to be designed, manufactured, approved, and sold in both countries through a single process,” the letter states.

Among the 27 national industry associations that signed the letter are the Canadian Meat Council, BIOTECanada, the Canadian Animal Health Institute, Food and Consumer Products of Canada, the George Morris Centre, the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association and the Association of Farm Equipment Manufacturers.

The concerns have previously been delivered privately to the council, said Mathew Wilson, vice-president of national policy for Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.

“The conversation is ongoing,” he noted. “The regulators in both countries control the agenda and some are more open

to change while others are not interested.”

Business leaders from both countries have pointed to the regulatory streamlining that Australia and New Zealand have accomplished as a model for the North American neighbours to emulate, he said.

When the council was created, it was given 29 priority areas to work on, and it should commit to wrapping those up during the next year, the letter says. It also calls for the federal cabinet to press for speedier progress on an issue that has been an irritant to business since the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement was signed a quarter of a century ago.

“Despite the FTA, and deeply integrated industries and supply chains, regulators did not align to meet modern business realities in the vast majority of instances,” the letter states.

Gene may raise cancer risk from meat Another gene said to increase benefits from fruits and vegetables STAFF

A

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common genetic variant that affects one in three people significantly increases the risk of colorectal cancer from the consumption of red meat and processed meat, according to a study presented Oct. 24 at the annual American Society of Human Genetics 2013 meeting.

According to a release from the University of Southern California, the study also reveals another specific genetic variation that appears to modify whether eating more vegetables, fruits and fibre actually lowers colorectal cancer risk.

“Diet is a modifiable risk factor for colorectal cancer. Our study is the first to understand whether some individuals are at higher or lower risk based on their genomic profile,” lead author Jane Figueiredo of USC said in the release.

“But we are not saying that if you don’t have the genetic variant that you should eat all the red meat you’d like,” Figueiredo added. “People with the genetic variant allele have an even higher increased risk of colorectal cancer if they consume high levels of processed meat, but the baseline risk associated with meat is already pretty bad.”

The researchers speculate that the digestion of processed meat may promote an immunological or inflammatory response that may trigger tumour development.

The researchers said that for those with another genetic variant, eating fruits and vegetables may provide even higher-thannormal protection against colorectal cancer.

50

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Expert says save yourself grief by getting to know what makes sheep tick Gord Schroeder says sheep are intelligent animals and their behaviour becomes a lot less frustrating when you understand what triggers their actions

Expert says sheep producers can’t afford to be without a biosecurity plan

BY ALEXIS KIENLEN AF STAFF / LEDUC

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BY ALEXIS KIENLEN AF STAFF / EDMONTON

S

heep aren’t stupid — just misunderstood.

The woolly animals are as intelligent as pigs and cows, and if you understand how they relate to stimuli, they’re much easier to manage, Gord Schroeder said at the recent Alberta Sheep Breeders Association conference.

“If you’re working with sheep and you want them to do something, change the environment,” said Schroeder, executive director of the Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board and a 28-year veteran of the sheep industry.

“When they are doing something, they are responding to something. You need to figure out what the response is and what they want.”

Sheep are highly social, so ones that isolate themselves from the flock may have health issues.

Knowing their flight zone and understanding their instinct to move towards other sheep makes herding less stressful for both animal and shepherd. Chutes should be designed so they only see others moving forward in front of them, and sheep will avoid areas that are in shadow or poorly lit.

“The easiest way to move sheep is to put your chute in a direction

“If you’re working with sheep and you want them to do something, change the environment.”

An effective handling system can save labour and stress. that is facing the outside lit area,” said Schroeder. “They will work much better that way.”

Sheep respect solid barriers, and will not jump plywood or panels. They bunch up to protect themselves, so it’s best not to have corners in chute systems or alleyways, and they don’t like it when the flooring texture changes, so it should be consistent, said Schroeder, who said he finds gravel or straw bedding is superior to concrete flooring.

“If it changes, they will stop moving or balk,” he said. “Every

PHOTO: ©THINKSTOCK

GORD SCHROEDER

time something changes in your chute system, they will stop and examine it before they continue to move.”

When grazing sheep on grass, Schroeder uses an electric fence about 18 inches high, decorating it with ribbons to pique the sheep’s curiosity. One touch is usually sufficient as they have good memories, he said.

Other factors to consider is that sheep have excellent hearing and are therefore very sensitive to loud noises, and they have lousy depth perception, so even a puddle can

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SASKATCHEWAN SHEEP DEVELOPMENT BOARD

make them balk as they’re not sure how deep it is.

If a newborn lamb needs to be warmed in a bath, then Schroeder always places the animal in a plastic bag so its mother will recognize its scent. A mother can be tricked into adopting an orphan by smearing a stool from one of her lambs on the orphan’s rear end, and then preventing the ewe from smelling the tail of her own lamb for a couple of days. After two days in an extension pen, she will usually accept the orphan because of the similar scent. akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

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Keynote presenters include: Dr. Martin Parry Rothamsted Research – Harpenden, UK Drew Lerner World Weather Inc – Kansas City, MO Other highlights include: Dr. Ross McKenzie Orville Yanke Award Recipient – Lethbridge, AB Kelly Taylor Comedian – Prince Albert, SK Plus many more including: Dr. Don Huber Merle Good, Dr. Shelley Hoover, Dr. Jan Slaski, Dr. Chantal Hamel, Ken Coles, Nevin Rosaasen, Scott Meers, Dr. Surya Acharya & MORE

Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers 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 individually-registered 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.

nadequate biosecurity hits you in the pocketbook.

“Infectious diseases limit the profitability and productivity of sheep,” Chris Clark, assistant professor of large-animal medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, said at the recent Alberta Sheep Breeders Association conference.

“It’s one of the biggest limiters to the number of lambs you can market at the end of the year.”

Sheep diseases have farreaching impacts over an extended period of time, resulting in a need for intensive management strategies.

Many sheep diseases are not only highly contagious and can reduce the lifespan of ewes, but impact flocks for a long time and require intensive management strategies to overcome, he said.

“You have to remember that ewes are at their most fertile and productive from about ages four to six,” Clark said. “If you’re losing a bunch of ewes earlier in their lifespan, you’re losing them before they hit the most productive portion of their life.”

Sheep diseases fall into two types — those that live only in sheep and those that persist in the environment.

Environmental ones are harder to control, but can be limited by taking care of the flock, good management, nutrition and using other products, like vaccinations, when necessary, he said.

“Biosecurity is really about working out what diseases are in your flock and putting efforts into making sure the diseases that you don’t have, never come through your door,” Clark said. “We can’t avoid parasites completely, but we can certainly keep them under control.”

Biosecurity is not universal and producers will need to tailor their plan to their operation, he added. akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

Chris Clark, assistant professor of large-animal medicine at the University of Saskatchewan.

For further information visit: www.farmingsmarter.com Contact: Jamie at 403-381-5118

PHOTO: ALEXIS KIENLEN

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51

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Alberta feedlots snapping up high-tech rapid-feed analysis equipment Though there are still a few bugs to work out, the speed of NIRS technology and its potential for cost saving has made it a hit with feedlots

BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF STAFF / RED DEER

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rants for rapid-feed analysis machines are still available for Alberta livestock producers and feeders, but they’ll have to apply soon.

Thanks to $750,000 in funding from the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency producers can buy Near Infrared Reflectance Spectrometry (NIRS) equipment for their farms at a reduced cost.

So far, 28 applications have been approved, which leaves enough funding for eight to 10 more machines.

“The NIRS equipment grant provides some cash dollars up to 50 per cent for people to buy NIRS equipment,” said Rob Hand

of Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund, which is administering grants.

“And it’s not all spent. Even though there’s 28 machines out there, there’s still 10 machines that we have funds for.”

The same technology is used in grain terminals to detect moisture and protein, but was too pricey for most livestock operations in the past. But with costs coming down, this type of feedanalysis technology is in reach of those who couldn’t afford it before, said Marylou Swift, research scientist with Alberta Agriculture.

“We now have industries that have purchased the equipment, and they can get an energy digestibility on their grain, as well as starch content, fibre content,

protein content, and moisture content,” she said. “Beef feedlots have been a big uptake of this technology.”

The technology is very useful in determining uniformity feed rations. Oil content in distiller grains and energy content in barley grains can vary by as much as 20 per cent, making it hard to know exactly what’s going into the feed.

“It’s better to know what you’re dealing with,” said Swift. “We went to look at one company, and they brought in truckloads of wheat that varied anywhere from 11 to 16 per cent. That has a huge impact on animal performance.”

The real benefit, however, is its speed.

“You take a sample, you run it through, and 30 seconds later,

“It’s better to know what you’re dealing with.”

MARYLOU SWIFT

you can tell how much oil, starch, protein, and moisture is in that sample,” she said. “And you can use this to reformulate your rations or make purchasing decisions on suppliers.”

Compared to wet chemistry, NIRS is “instant technology,” but its speed comes at a price.

“You have to actually calibrate it, and it requires some exper-

tise to develop these calibration equations,” said Swift. “You have to have somebody — and that somebody right now is me — who can collect samples and put them all together and develop calibration equations. And then you have to maintain them.”

Right now, making and maintaining calibrations is the “biggest headache” involved with using NIRS technology, says Swift.

“Using them on farm is no challenge at all. It’s just maintaining these calibrations and getting them to where they’re stable. We’ve been at that for a while now, so I think we’re getting pretty close to that situation.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

Horsemeat found in canned beef at two U.K. retailers The product was canned in Romania earlier this year LONDON / REUTERS

A

batch of canned sliced beef containing horsemeat has been removed from the shelves of retailers Home Bargains and Quality Save, Britain’s Food Standards Agency said Oct. 31.

Routine tests by local government trading standards officers in Lincolnshire, eastern England, found the product, which was manufactured in Romania in January this year, contained horse DNA at a level of between one and five per cent.

“Horsemeat is not identified in the ingredients list and therefore it should not have been present in the product,” the agency said in a statement.

The beef tested negative for the drug phenylbutazone, or ‘bute,’ the anti-inflammatory painkiller for sporting horses which is banned for animals intended for eventual human consumption as it is potentially harmful, the agency said.

A scandal broke around Europe in January when traces of horse were found in frozen burgers sold in Irish and British supermarkets, including those run by market leader Tesco.

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52

NOVEMBER 11, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Supply management officials wary of trade deal with Europe Only dairy producers are affected, but other supply-managed commodities say it sets a bad precedent

BY ALEXIS KIENLEN AF STAFF / LEDUC

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armers in supply management should be concerned about the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, industry leaders say.

Alberta Milk chairman Tom Kootstra said he has met with Premier Alison Redford and Agriculture Minister Verlyn Olson to brief them about just what the proposed trade deal with Europe involves.

“I can assure you that they too do not understand all the details or the implication it has specifically on dairy to date,” Kootstra said at a regional producers’ meeting.

The deal would allow 30,000 tonnes of European cheese to be able to enter the Canadian market — more than double the cur-

rent amount. Most of that is “fine cheese,” but that’s not defined, he said. Including supply management in the deal marks a sharp turn from earlier agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, said David Hyink, vice-chair of Alberta Chicken Producers. “This is the first time the government has taken a piece of supply management and used it as a negotiating tool,” he said.

“If this is the way that they are going to operate in future trade deals, as an industry, we got to respond to that. We have to find a way to speak clearly with government and know their intentions on this.”

The components of the deal involving pork and beef were completed weeks ago, so the deal was not dependent on cheese for tradeoff, argued Kootstra. However, the

Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was becoming more involved in the discussions and the decision was made to agree to the EU’s request for greater dairy access, he said.

“It appears that the PMO’s office facilitated the compromise to get the CETA deal,” he said, adding he’s still waiting to see more specific details of the agreement.

Canada does have access to

export cheese into the EU, but Kootstra says this has more of an impact on processors rather than producers.

The Dairy Farmers of Canada estimates the deal could result in a loss of the equivalent of 275 Canadian farms and 21,000 cows, and is asking the federal government how it intends to respond.

“We have heard compensation

“We have heard compensation mentioned for impacted sectors a few times, but have no idea what this means or what is required.”

TOM KOOTSTRA CHAIR OF ALBERTA MILK

mentioned for impacted sectors a few times, but have no idea what this means or what is required,” said Kootstra.

The proposed trade would also see changes to the importation for milk protein isolates, with over-quota tariffs on milk protein isolates from the EU eliminated.

There is also a compromise on so-called “geographic indicators” of cheese names. Processors that are currently making Feta, Asiago, Fontina, Gorgonzola, and Muenster can keep using the names of these cheeses as long as they are already in business when the deal is ratified. In the future, however, no other processors will be able to use these cheese names without adding modifiers such as “style,” “type,” or “kind.” akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

New Odessa terminal sign of ‘growth’ in Ukraine grain exports

“We know this farm like no one else.”

GENEVA / REUTERS

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ouis Dreyfus Commodities has entered into a joint venture agreement with Brooklyn Kiev LLC to develop and manage a multicommodity terminal in Odessa as it expands in one of the world’s top grain exporters.

While Louis Dreyfus is already active in shipping grains from the Black Sea — a region which accounts for about a quarter of global wheat volumes — the terminal will help it to compete with rivals such as Bunge, which already has an export facility there.

Glencore has also sought to increase its presence in the Black Sea region and last year bought a 50 per cent stake in a Russian export terminal alongside Ukrainian agricultural producer Kernel.

Louis Dreyfus said that once completed in around August 2014, the terminal will have total grain storage capacity of about 240,000 tonnes.

“The substantial growth in Ukrainian grain production and exports, which is expected to continue in the coming years, driven by higher yields, increasing corn crops and more efficient farming operations, requires efficient export channels,” said Jean-Marc Foucher, chief executive of Louis Dreyfus Commodities for Europe and the Black Sea.

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