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D E C E M B E R 9, 2 0 1 3

It was a faba-ulous year for growing broad beans Acreage of the pulse crop doubled or tripled this year, with good prices and yields making it a big money maker

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M

ark Olson has finally found the perfect standing field pea.

“It’s called faba bean,” said Olson, pulse crops unit head at Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

“People have struggled with the harvestability of field pea for a number of years, especially in those areas where there’s a lot of moisture. Faba bean is a crop that seems to really thrive on moisture and can yield really high, as we’ve seen this year.”

Alberta yields averaged between 50 to 60 bushels this year, and getting another 10 or 20 bushels wasn’t uncommon.

“Some of our farmers on irrigation have even had yields touching on 125 bushels an acre,” said Olson. “At $8 or $9 a bushel, that gets people pretty excited.”

And more producers got in on the fun as faba bean acreage rose sharply from the estimated 5,000 acres grown last year.

“We’re thinking there’s a minimum of 15,000 to 16,000 acres of

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news » inside this week

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inside » French GMO study withdrawn Critics say researchers’ sample size too small

DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

livestock

crops

columNists

Measuring feedlot price risks

Targeting 180-bushel barley

22

Safe deposit box with a view Staff

L

and remains a “safe deposit box with a view” for the ultrawealthy, according to the publication 2013 Land Report 100, an annual survey and ranking of the largest private landowners in the United States.

It says that in 2012, the country’s top 100 landowners cumulatively increased their private holdings by 700,000 acres to a total of 33 million acres, nearly two per cent of U.S. land mass.

Liberty Media chairman John Malone tops the list with 2.2 million acres, edging out CNN founder Ted Turner, who has more than two million.

Rounding out the top five in order were the Emmerson family, Brad Kelley and Canada’s Irving family.

The report says this year Stan Kroenke elevated his position from No. 10 to No. 8 after his recent purchase of the historic Broken O Ranch, described nationally as “one of the largest agricultural operations in the Rocky Mountain West.” Kroenke also owns the 540,000-acre Q Creek Ranch, the largest contiguous ranch in the Rocky Mountains.

New additions to the top 100 list included No. 28, Dan and Farris Wilks, billionaire brothers who recently purchased more than 400 square miles of land, mostly in the eastern half of Montana.

The Wilks brothers, oilfield services entrepreneurs, own the prized N Bar Ranch in Montana, which is known for its wildlife and fishery resources.

Another new addition is No. 96, Arthur Nicholas.

The co-founder of Nicholas Investment Properties owns Wyoming’s historic Wagonhound Land and Livestock, an AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeder.

The report can be downloaded at http://fayranches. com/b l o g / 2 0 1 3 / 1 0 / 0 1 / 2013-land-report-100sponsored-fay-ranches.

16

Some weather gadgets for Christmas

brenda schoepp

31

Restraining the drive to succeed

Pricey calves affect profits Feed prices are down, but calves are scarce

Daniel Bezte

Bernie Peet

12

Dealing with currency and futures variations

28

Plant growth regulators show promise

17

Revolution in China’s pork industry

29

Province pledges to include Albertans in developing regional land use plans So far, two of seven regional plans are complete and work on the other five will get underway in earnest in the coming two years

By Alexis Kienlen af staff / edmonton

M

any landowners are confused and mystified by Alberta’s land use planning process, but the province is committed to being transparent and working with the public, says a top government official.

To date, two of seven regional plans have been developed and the government will implement a monitoring, knowledge, and information system to help improve planning, decisionmaking and data sharing with the public as planning work continues, said Bev Yee, assistant deputy minister for Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, and co-ordinator for the Alberta Land Stewardship Act. But regional plans are complex creatures, Yee said at the recent Alberta Milk producers organization annual general meeting.

“There was one resounding theme that came back from Albertans, in recognition of the fact that we’re a growing province and that we’re going to continue to grow.

Albertans wanted to have a plan to determine how we’re going to manage that growth.”

Bev Yee Alberta Sustainable Resource Development

“Regional plans set the direction for the region, so all other levels of planning must align,” she said. “Municipal and watershed planning in a region needs to align with the regional plan. If they don’t align, changes will be made.”

In addition to considering, regional economic, social and environmental development, the plans must establish desired outcomes and objectives; consider how neighbouring regions might be impacted in terms of shared resources (such as water); take into account provincial strategies (for both resources and matters such as waste strategies); and consider their impact on other players, including the oil and energy, agriculture, recreation and tourism sectors. And the plans must also include methods for implementing them in measurable, tangible ways and consider specific locations, she said.

All of the plans take in many players, including the oil and energy sectors, agriculture, recreation and tourism.

Clear message

The initial planning process ran from 2005 to 2008, and public consultations at that time sent a clear message to government, said Yee. “There was one resounding theme that came back from Albertans, in recognition of the fact that we’re a growing province and that we’re going to continue to grow,” she said. “Albertans wanted to have a plan to determine how we’re going to manage that growth.”

As a result, the province created the Land Use Framework policy, which encompasses land use planning for the entire province, and established seven regions for land use planning, aligning them with the seven major watersheds in the province. In

Bev Yee, assistant deputy minister for Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, and co-ordinator for the Government of Alberta’s Land Stewardship Act. Photo: Alexis Kienlen 2010, the framework became the basis of the Alberta Land Stewardship Act. “Regional planning recognizes that all regions are different,” said Yee. “The issues we see in the South Saskatchewan are very different from the issues we see in the Lower Athabasca region.”

The act is designed to foster conservation and stewardship.

“In Alberta, people are pretty serious about their attachment to land and the passion they have for the land,” she said.

The province also created a land use secretariat, and regional advisory councils with multi-stakeholder representation. Another key strategy was to create mechanisms for measuring cumulative effects on air, water and biodiversity.

“This one is really important

because we have a fixed land base,” said Yee. “Our population continues to grow and our economic activities continue to grow, but our land base is finite and it will not grow.

Promoting the efficient use of land in order to reduce the footprint of human activity on the landscape is critically important.”

The Lower Athabasca Regional Plan was completed in August 2012 and a draft plan South Saskatchewan region was completed in October and is now under review. Terms of reference for the North Saskatchewan will be established in spring 2014 and work on Lower and Upper Peace Regional Plans has begun.

Planning for the Upper Athabasca and Red Deer regions will begin in 2015. alexis.kienlen@fbcpublishing.com

3

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

CWB plan to buy elevators renews questions about contingency fund Some farm leaders worry money they believe to be farmers’ is funding privatizing the federal government’s grain company

CWB’s planned purchase of grain handling and port terminal assets from the Soumat arm of Toronto’s Upper Lakes Group Inc. has renewed calls for the wheat board’s contingency fund to be paid to farmers.

By Allan Dawson staff

C

WB Ltd. is buying handling facilities, but some farmers are wondering who’s paying the bill.

CWB announced last month that it would purchase Mission Terminal, Les Élévateurs des Trois-Rivières and Services Maritimes Laviolette for an undisclosed amount. Some have concerns that the former Canadian Wheat Board’s contingency fund, which farmers claim as theirs, will bankroll the government-owned grain company’s privatization.

The contingency fund was created in 2001 to backstop the now-defunct Producer Payment Options. Surplus earnings from hedging and related activities were used to offset hedging losses.

The deal, to be completed by year’s end, is being financed through CWB retained earnings and non-government guaranteed borrowing, CWB president and CEO Ian White said in an interview.

Federal legislation requires CWB Ltd., created when the Canadian Wheat Board’s marketing monopoly ended, to either privatize by 2018 or wind down.

Some farm leaders, including

Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) president Doug Chorney, worry the contingency fund is being misused.

“They (federal government) should be paying for this (purchase), not farmers,” Chorney said in an interview. “That’s an opinion I’ve heard a thousand times from all farmers I’ve talked to.”

“We’re certain that money is not farmers’,” White said in an interview. “I know that farmers felt that was their money but in actual fact it was never their money. It wasn’t quite right to be saying at the time that it was their money. There was always a view put around that the CWB was farmer owned, but in effect the CWB was farmer controlled by a board of directors. The ownership was always ultimately with the government.”

According to former farmerelected wheat board director Stewart Wells, the contingency fund belongs to the farmers.

“Every cent of that money was made because of grain sales made for farmers,” Wells said. “It was made in the normal operations that the wheat board had marketing grain from western Canadian farmers. Period.”

Grain Growers of Canada president Stephen Vandervalk said his personal view is that the money is farmers’.

“There was a precedent for that because they (wheat board) did give some money back... when they had too much (in the fund),” he said. “It’s pretty hard for them to say it’s their money when the one year they did give it back (to farmers).”

That was in 2005 when the fund exceeded the $60-million cap by $7.5 million. Later the cap was increased to $200 million.

However, Vandervalk said he is so pleased the government ended the wheat board’s marketing monopoly, he is willing to forgo the contingency fund money.

“I contend overall most farmers are happy with the final outcome and we want a strong competitor out there in the CWB and

“We’re certain that money is not farmers’. I know that farmers felt that was their money but in actual fact it was never their money.”

Ian White

to do that they need some export capability because they’re struggling to get into the West Coast,” Vandervalk said.

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association holds a similar view, said president Levi Wood.

“If we can’t get equity out of the CWB it’s important to note that at this point as farmers we’re benefiting from an open market as well as having the CWB being a strong competitor in the market,” he said.

Varied assets

Mission Terminal’s assets include a 136,500-tonne-capacity grain terminal at Thunder Bay that handles about 1.5 million tonnes of grain a year. It owns a 5,800-tonne-capacity primary elevator at Alexander, Man. Mission Terminal has equity in three producercar loading facilities: White Mud Trading Co. at Frontier in the southwestern corner of Saskatchewan, Willows Grain Co. at Willows, Sask., and the Boundary Loading Group of four facilities on the Boundary Trails Railway line in southern Manitoba.

Mission Terminal has equity stakes in five short line rail operations: the Great Western Railway, Great Sandhills Railway and Long Creek Railway in southern Saskatchewan and

the Boundary Trails Railway Co. and Lake Line Railway in Manitoba.

Les Élévateurs des TroisRiviéres (ETR) has a transfer elevator on the St. Lawrence River, which handles about six million tonnes of grain a year and can also handle alumina (aluminum oxide) and fuel coke.

Services Maritimes Laviolette provides stevedoring and related services for ETR. “This is a very good fit for us,” White said of the purchase.

“It’s part of what we hope to have as a network of assets across Canada. It provides us with a growth opportunity.”

The companies the CWB is buying will operate as sub sidiaries under existing management and staff, including Adrian Measner, the Canadian Wheat Board’s former president and CEO and now head of Mission Terminal.

In September the CWB announced it would give farmers $5 of equity in the future privatized CWB for every tonne of grain sold to the current CWB. White said because of the high cost of creating a new grain company, the CWB will also seek capital from sources other than farmers. allan@fbcpublishing.com with files from Dave Bedard

4

DECEMBER 9, 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

Straw men give new hope for cattle and beef sector

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

PRODUCTION director Shawna Gibson Email: shawna@fbcpublishing.com

Director of Sales & Circulation

Kim McConnell, John Kolk and David Andrews have impressed even cynics with their thoughtful, focused and determined approach

Lynda Tityk Email: lynda.tityk@fbcpublishing.com

CIRCULATION manager Heather Anderson Email: heather@fbcpublishing.com

national ADVERTISING SALES James Shaw Phone: 416-231-1812 Fax: 416-233-4858 Email: jamesshaw@rogers.com

classified ADVERTISING SALES Sharon Komoski Phone: 1-888-413-3325 Fax: 204-944-5562 Email: sharon.komoski@fbcpublishing.com

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PUBLISHER Lynda Tityk Email: lynda.tityk@fbcpublishing.com

Associate PUBLISHER/ editorial director John Morriss Email: john.morriss@fbcpublishing.com

president Bob Willcox Glacier FarmMedia bwillcox@farmmedia.com 204-944-5751

The Alberta Farmer Express is published 26 times a year by Farm Business Communications.

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By will verboven

Alberta Farmer | Editor

I

f you haven’t heard about the straw man beef industry strategy by now, you will over the next year.

That’s because the three straw men — Kim McConnell, John Kolk and David Andrews — have demonstrated steely determination to make sure this project to strategically revamp the beef sector does not die.

They recently managed to do what most could not — gather together virtually the entire cattle and beef industry establishment at not one but two meetings, one each in Toronto and Calgary. Those folks included leading representatives from the beef-processing and retail sectors. That’s quite a feat considering the historically fractious nature of the industry, which seems to come together only when there’s some calamity, such as BSE. But then again, many would say the industry is already walking towards a possible beef-marketing calamity. That’s what the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute report on the future of Canadian beef marketing implied and it served as the catalyst to start the straw man process. To get the ball rolling, Gordon Cove, the CEO of ALMA, craftily provided some initial funding for the process.

The three straw men were then convinced — or maybe it was cornered— to lead the usually headstrong cattle industry to better pasture. Considering what’s at stake, this effort may become a stroke of genius as long as the straw men don’t expire from aggravation.

First, a bit of historical perspective to temper any outbreaks of uncharacteristic overenthusiasm for what seems like just another “save the industry” exercise. Those long in the tooth know the sad history of beef industry studies, reports, strategic plans and pie in the sky — all of them valiant efforts, but quickly consigned to dusty shelves. That goes for industry summits, roundtable discussions and assorted other talk fests that petered out once whatever urgency caused them to erupt fizzled out.

All of which caused some grizzled veterans at this straw man event to exclaim that it all seemed so “familiar” to previous industry revival events.

However, even cynics had to be impressed with what the straw men have managed to put together. It wasn’t just a hazy outline either — sure, the strategy had the usual recipe of goals, visions, values and missions — but proposals were put together by prominent stakeholders organized into focused committees. This draft of the strategy was just the first step, and a final version is scheduled to be ready before the end of the year.

The input and participation in the strategy’s development has been a lot more extensive than many had expected — every sector had some involvement, which bodes well for the next steps. I suspect the straw men know from experience that the first step in these types of exercises has every danger of becoming the last step. So they’ve come up with 10 targeted recommendations, each with a timeline, to move the process along.

To see if they were on the right track they put some of them to an electronic vote by meeting participants, a clever way to get personal stakeholder involvement in the process.

It didn’t take long for some bumps in the road to arise: Concerns were expressed this initiative would develop into another industry organization that would inevitably step on the turf and egos of existing groups. The funding proposal stepped into the usual minefield of checkoffs, with primary producers having to cover all the costs — that caused the expected grumbling from those producers at the event. Not surprisingly, a proposal for a checkoff to be paid by processors and retailers went over rather well.

Clearly funding will be a wrestling match.

A proposal to establish a central depository for genetics, marketing and carcass data was met with favour, but problems with the present BIXS program caused many to wonder if it was really possible. The creation of a new non-organization (Council of Beef Leaders) seemed to be viewed favourably, too, but unless it is deemed to be a council

of equals from the start, the usual industry turf battles and political sniping is sure to break out.

From this old war horse’s perch, I sense there is considerable goodwill for this initial strategy, but pitfalls lay ahead. Having clear recommendations and timelines bodes well for real action. The next step will be for producers and the industry to get their respective organizations into the harness to pull the strategy forward. That’s easier said than done — there may be a place for governments to apply discipline or offer incentives to the stubborn in order to get some co-operation and progress.

Producers will want to see some concrete results from this exercise and real soon.

Perhaps a pilot project on something from within the strategy or recommendations can be launched that producers can get their teeth into and that matters to them directly.

Without some immediate success to point to, the battle to access more funding for a strategy through checkoff will never get off the ground.

In the meantime, funding has to be made available to keep this all rolling. The last thing this exercise needs is for it to be stalled for lack of cash. Past experience shows when momentum is lost, interest is lost and the whole effort soon fades away. Creating a collaborative cattle- and beef-marketing system would probably be a first in the world, so the industry is going down a new trail and will need strong guides for quite a while.

By accident or design (I suspect the latter), the straw men made a strategic decision to open up the consultation process by holding meetings open to anyone connected to the industry. I would suggest continuing such meetings as it’s going to put ongoing pressure on the leadership to consider the best interests of the overall industry and not get bogged down in the vested interests of their respective sectors.

If battle-scarred veterans can see some optimism in this industry strategy exercise — then there is hope. Perhaps history may not repeat itself after all. Good work, straw men.

www.albertafarmexpress.ca or email: subscription@fbcpublishing.com At Farm Business Communications we have a firm commitment to protecting your privacy and security as our customer. Farm Business Communications will only collect personal information if it is required for the proper functioning of our business. As part of our commitment to enhance customer service, we may share this personal information with other strategic business partners. For more information regarding our Customer Information Privacy Policy, write to: Information Protection Officer, Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Ave., Wpg., MB R3H 0H1 Occasionally we make our list of subscribers available to other reputable firms whose products and services might be of interest to you. If you would prefer not to receive such offers, please contact us at the address in the preceding paragraph, or call 1-800-665-0502.

The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Alberta Farmer Express and Farm Business Communications attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists and Alberta Farmer Express and Farm Business Communications, cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and the editors as well as Alberta Farmer Express and Farm Business Communications assume no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader for this publication based on any and all information provided.

The battle over GM labels drags on, but most consumers couldn’t care less

A

Washington state referendum requiring mandatory labelling of food products containing genetically modified ingredients was recently defeated, albeit by a somewhat narrow margin.

Millions were spent by both sides in the campaign to convince voters of the benefits or not, of GM labelling.This battle has raged across the U.S. for years with the no side winning. The rationale for and against GM labelling has been well documented, but it has boiled down to ideology and ulterior motives with the consumer/voter probably more confused than enlightened.

I would suggest two trends have developed and perhaps the issue is becoming irrelevant to consumers/voters — time has a habit of creating that inevitability.

The inconvenient reality for the pro GM labelling side that a growing majority of manufactured food products either have some GM ingredient or are exposed to them

at some point in the manufacturing or consumption process. That reality would mean that if GM labelling became mandatory it would have to be almost universally applied.

I suspect most folks don’t read product labels and if GM contents were included those who did read them would become blind to the wording. Sort of like the universal wording “vitamin enriched.”

The other reality is that with so many GM products on the market, finding a product without them would be difficult and more costly — neither of which appeals to the vast majority of consumers. That would negate the underlying intent of the pro folks who presume consumers would rush out to find non-GM food products once they were shocked to do so by the mere sight of a GM food label. But like organic, fairtrade, free range and other such labels, this only motivates a minority with money to spend on lifestyle foods. In my large working-

class area of Calgary, the food business is dominated by giant big-box chains and the lifestyle food sections are minuscule. Consumers in the neighbourhood buy on price and volume, and most wouldn’t know what GM was if they tripped over it. Nor would they care.

I give full credit to the science companies that have battled for the no label side. Such help was needed in the early days, otherwise we would have ended up with the GM paranoia situation that developed in Europe.

But maybe the time has come for the no side to change its tactics and embrace universal GM food labelling. I suspect it will have little impact on consumer buying practices. For the pro labelling side, such a step may actually not be all that helpful as it would dry up their campaign and fundraising business from this issue.

It could be a classic case of “be careful what you wish for.”

5

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

No greener pastures for beef producers in Europe CETA may lead to a complete restructuring of the beef industry and higher prices for meat in Canada

By Ryan Lijdsman / Troy Media

T

he phrase “game changer” is bandied around to describe everything from public policy to hockey players. And while the Canada-EU free trade agreement actually is a “game changer,” it will not be the saviour of the beef industry.

It may, in fact, lead to a complete restructuring of our beef industry, eliminate smaller producers and force Canadian consumers to pay high EU prices for their meat.

Beef sells in the EU for up to triple the price in Canada, mainly due to higher production costs both for transportation and to adhere to EU regulations. To attain those higher EU prices, Canadian exporters will also end up with those higher production costs.

Following the foot-and-mouth and BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) crises, the EU

refocused its quality control system from the end product to one that provides full transparency from farm to fork, including environmental standards of production and animal welfare.

Growth hormones are banned and a strong emphasis is put on process controls throughout the food chain.

The opposite is true in Canada, where growth hormones are standard and quality control is sector based with a focus on the end product. Producers use the Canadian Cattle Identification Program (CCIA) to tag their animals and verify age and birth place. CCIA is an industry-initiated and established system designed solely to contain and eradicate animal disease and is not mandated by law.

At the feedlot and processing plant, animal identification and premises identification (PID), is used to enable animal traceability and determine, in the case of a disease outbreak, which animals came into contact with each other.

Again, animal welfare, feed con-

siderations and life cycle quality control are not mandated.

Fundamental changes will be required if Canadian suppliers expect to compete with the EU’s largest beef supplier, Brazil, and other international suppliers for the EU market, including raising livestock without hormones.

In fact, Brazil has a competitive advantage because of its highquality, low-production costs, and its early buy-in to infrastructure changes required by the EU. For Canada, doing so will translate into both a slower growth cycle and more feed and direct costs of up to $50 per head. There will also be much higher indirect costs because of the need to join and adhere to the mandated CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)-administered program and “to provide evidence to the certifying veterinarian that Canadian beef products are derived from animals that have never been treated with any growth-enhancing products during their raising period.”

Producers must enrol their calves in the CFIA program within six months of birth and the cattle must be raised under special requirements that include specific feed and space requirements which must be certified by an approved CFIA veterinarian.

The cattle will also need to be segregated from other non-EUdestined cattle, checked at intervals for the presence of implanted hormones and slaughtered separately at the beginning of a shift.

Meat identity and traceability are maintained at all times.

What sounds good in Ottawa and in Brussels doesn’t always make sense on the back 40. Canadian producers could achieve EU standards but it will mean a complete and costly transformation of an industry, from producers, feed suppliers, feedlots, meatprocessing facilities and exporters. In addition, Canadian consumers will have to be willing to pay higher prices for their beef or accept a two-tiered system where

high-grade beef goes to Europe and a lower quality and rejected beef stays in Canada.

The fact is, despite enjoying most-favoured-nation (MFN) status for EU beef exports, Canada has never filled its current quota and has only four facilities that are approved to process the high-quality, grain-fed prime cuts the EU demands.

Combined, Australia, U.S., New Zealand, and Uruguay — which also enjoy MFN status — only fill about two-thirds of their quota.

The market is simply not big enough to absorb more supply unless new sales come at the expense of other suppliers, one of whom, Brazil, enjoys a distinct advantage.

We need to ask ourselves: are we prepared to do all of this for a market that we do not, and never will, have a competitive advantage in?

Ryan Lijdsman is a Canadian-based international business consultant. www.troymedia.com

We need at least four cell providers, but two railways are OK Apparently grain companies reporting a weekly shortfall of between 1,000 to 2,000 cars isn’t evidence of poor service

By John Morriss editorial director

J

ust as there’s good stress and bad stress, there’s good excitement and bad excitement. There’s the good excitement you get when watching the Grey Cup, especially if you’re a Riders fan.

Then there’s the other kind of excitement (as in riled up) you got watching this year’s Grey Cup commercials about how the Harper government is stomping on those big bad cellphone companies.

Th i s f o l l o w s t h e s p e e c h from the throne, in which we were told the government would defend citizens against those evil cable providers.

Isn’t it nice to know that a “conservative” government that preaches the virtues of free markets and staying out of citizens’ business will pass an act of Parliament to let you subscribe to the Space channel without having to pay the full three bucks a month to get Spike, History and Bravo as well? And then use your tax money to tell you about it?

If you were a grain farmer watching the Grey Cup, it might have occurred to you that it seems odd that the Harper government has one attitude toward competition in the cellphone business, but another toward the railways.

Speaking to the Grain Industry Symposium in Ottawa last month, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said he hasn’t seen any evidence that the railways aren’t performing. Apparently the grain companies reporting a weekly shortfall of between 1,000 to 2,000 cars isn’t evidence.

However, “I’ve asked (the grain companies) to keep me up to speed on what’s working, what’s not working, so I can flow it through to Transport Canada and directly to the railways to make sure they understand that we are watching.”

The reference to flowing through Transport Canada directly to the railways is particularly telling. Mr. Ritz may not be aware that in certain quarters, the joke is that Transport Canada is other-

wise known as the railways’ unofficial lobbying office in Ottawa.

The minister is also a fan of removing the revenue cap on grain shipments, which would be the railways’ final victory in a long-running campaign to get absolutely everything their way. Perhaps it’s ancient history now, but some of us remember when the railways hinted if not outright promised that if the government got rid of the Crow rate, they might be able to afford to improve service.

The railways also said they could improve efficiency by getting rid of all those old wooden elevators and all those branch lines.

So let’s go back to 198384, when there were 3,000 elevators, not 300, and most of the cars were boxes, not hoppers. In the final week of that year, Thunder Bay took off 9,672 cars, and Vancouver unloaded 3,000-plus. Back then, 5,000 unloads would have been a disaster. Today it’s considered a good week.

So the railways got what they wanted. The Crow is

gone. The boxcars are gone.

The branch lines are gone.

The wooden elevators are gone. The wheat board is gone. But the railways are shipping half as many cars as they did 30 years ago. Their solution to improve things — and one apparently shared by Minister Ritz — is to get rid of the revenue cap so they can charge even more.

Did we mention that the revenue cap is set at a level to guarantee a profit, and is adjusted for inflation?

The theory behind this, by the way, is that by allowing the railways to charge more in total, they could raise rates at some points to encourage more efficiency in the system.

When there are four elevators in Western Canada — one per railway at the foothills of the Rockies and at the ManitobaOntario border — perhaps the system will be sufficiently efficient from the railways’ point of view.

The wholesale deregulation of the system over the past 30 years was marked by a number of reports, many prepared with helpful sup-

port from the railways’ lobby office in Ottawa… er, Transport Canada. One of the last, by retired Supreme Court Justice Willard Estey, supported continued deregulation. However it’s somehow been forgotten that he also made another recommendation to encourage competition, which was that the rail system be deregulated in the same way as telecommunications, and that there be joint running rights. In other words, anyone could start a railway and run it on CN and CP tracks.

Well, that didn’t happen, but the current government ad campaign tells us that it wants at least four cellphone companies competing in every region of the country — and sharing cell towers.

In kowtowing to the railways, the Harper government is only carrying a tradition followed by previous Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments. But never have we seen such a stark ideological contrast. You must have the choice of four cell companies, but two railways are enough.

6

Off the front

FABA BEANS } from page 1 faba beans produced in 2013,” he said. “Some of the people who are actually buying the crop feel it could have been as high as 30,000 acres. It’s at least double, maybe triple, over 2012.”

Acreage could double again, Olson said, although the head of one company that has made headway marketing Alberta faba beans internationally isn’t sure that level of growth is sustainable.

“I’m hoping we stay somewhere around this level,” said Chris Chivilo, owner of Parkland Alberta Commodities in Innisfail. “I think 30,000 up to maybe a maximum of 50,000 acres is marketable at this time.”

This year, a little over half of the samples Chivilo saw made food grade. But demand for the edible market was filled in early November.

“For the edible market, we’ve pretty much missed the boat now if guys haven’t sold,” said Chivilo.

“Most of the demand was booked in September or October, and typically, there’s not much of a market after that for the exports.”

However, there’s a steady demand in the feed market, he added.

“The feed market is there all year, so timing isn’t as critical if you’re moving for feed.”

Producers thinking about growing faba beans next year also need to start thinking about marketing next year’s crop, said Chivilo, who recommends looking for production contracts in January.

“A production contract would be ideal,” he said. “It’s basically risk free for the farmers. If they get hailed out or froze out, the company that offers the contract shares the risk.

“I would highly recommend doing that no matter who they do it with, at least for a portion of their production. Don’t grow them without knowing what you’re going to do with them.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

december 9, 2013 • Albertafarmexpress.ca

Pathologist urges faba bean growers to be on alert for disease Aggressive root rot pathogens could cross over from faba beans to field peas, creating a potentially disastrous situation

By Jennifer Blair af staff / acme

M

ore acres mean more disease pressure, and faba bean growers are being urged to be on the lookout for two diseases.

“Faba beans appear to be an emerging crop once again in the province, and any time acres of a crop increase, we’re alert to see what’s going to happen with them,” provincial plant pathologist Michael Harding told a recent joint meeting of Alberta Pulse Growers and the Alberta Barley Commission.

“If there’s more faba bean stubble out there, more acres adjacent to one another, and more faba bean in rotation, what’s that going to do to some of these diseases? It will be interesting to see.”

The two diseases to keep watch for are chocolate spot (a fungus formally known as botrytis) and root rot, he said.

“These are the usual suspects, and they tend to cause significant losses in some fields each year,” Harding said.

Chocolate spot

Chocolate spot is a common pathogen in Alberta and it’s “not going to go away,” he said.

“It’s going to be here year in and year out, and the environment is going to be one of the factors that will really drive this.”

Characterized by reddishbrown lesions that often turn black, chocolate spot spreads in warm, moist conditions, and severely reduce yields. Because

it’s seed-borne, using high-quality, high-vigour seed is important, said Harding.

“If the seed lot has a lot of botrytis on it, we could be introducing more severe problems than would normally exist,” he noted.

Seed treatment can also help.

“Fungicidal seed treatments can help minimize the effects on seeds, but fungicidal seed treatments won’t rescue heavily infested seed lots,” said Harding, adding there are no fungicides specifically labelled for chocolate spot in faba bean.

He recommends a four-year crop rotation and using highquality seed to reduce the risk of a serious outbreak.

Root rot

Root rot has also caused problems in faba beans over the past growing season.

“With root rot, we’ve got those usual suspects that are always present in our Alberta soils, like fusarium and rhizoctonia, and they will cause similar symptoms and similar problems in faba beans as those in pea,” said Harding.

Because it’s a soil-borne disease, you have to choose your rotation carefully.

“There are at least three or four diseases that could build up as a result of having peas and faba beans in close rotation,” he said.

“With root rots, any time you have a crop in there that will host these really aggressive root rot pathogens, those will pass over from faba beans to pea.”

Although growing peas on faba beans is less risky than growing

Characterized by reddish-brown lesions that often turn black, chocolate spot spreads in warm, moist conditions.

Photo: Alberta Agriculture

peas on peas, don’t take chances, Harding said.

“It’s still a high-risk situation when you’re growing crops that share that disease-causing organism,” he said. “To have peas in close rotation with faba beans would be potentially disastrous for the root rot situation.”

Burying your trash

Burying crop residue is one way producers can reduce some types of faba bean diseases — although not root rots.

“The organisms that are causing root rot are surviving under the soil regardless of whether there’s a lot of crop residue there,” said Harding. “You’re not really adding to the root rot problem by burying trash, but you’re not preventing it either.”

Foliar diseases like chocolate spot, however, can spread rapidly in the right conditions if crop residues aren’t buried.

“If you leave those infected residues sitting on the surface of the field and then bring a susceptible crop in, all you need is some wetness and you’re going to have a bad disease problem,” Harding said.

While burying crop residue helps, a four-year crop rotation is really the cornerstone to any strong disease management plan.

“If I was going to create a foundational principle for managing diseases, burying crop residue wouldn’t be the foundation,” said Harding. “Crop rotation would be the foundation.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

Lentils claimed effective in blocking high blood pressure Manitoba researchers say lentils can reverse the changes that occur in blood vessels as a result of high blood pressure Pulse Canada release

C

anadian researchers have found that lentils can lower blood pressure and reverse declines in blood vessel health. The study, conducted in rats, showed that adding lentils to the diet can effectively block the increase in blood pressure that occurs with age. The findings also indicate that eating lentils can reverse the changes that occur in blood vessels as a result of high blood pressure.

“These are amazing results, since they provide a non-pharmacological way of treating diseases associated with blood vessel dysfunction,” said Dr. Peter Zahradka, one of the study’s lead investigators.

University of Manitoba scientists Drs. Carla Taylor and Zahradka conducted their research at the Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine, which operates out of the St. Bon-

iface Hospital Research Centre.

Drs. Taylor and Zahradka were selected to present their research at the American Heart Association conference, one of the most prestigious gatherings of cardiac

specialists, held in Dallas, Texas in November.

The investigation is a continuation of two studies published earlier this year. One study was a clinical trial that indicated eating

legumes, specifically a mixture of beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas, can improve blood flow to the legs of persons with peripheral artery disease, a condition that is closely linked to coronary heart disease

and cerebrovascular disease. The second study showed that lentils were effective in blocking high blood pressure.

“The most notable finding of the latest study was the fact that lentils could alter the physical properties of blood vessels so that they resembled the vessels found in healthy animals,” said Dr. Zahradka. The studies were funded through grants from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Strategic program. Additional studies are proceeding in animals. Human studies will still be needed to confirm these findings.

“Lentils could be part of a simple, cost-effective dietary strategy to improve cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Julianne Curran, director of Nutrition, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs for Pulse Canada. Canada is the world’s largest producer and exporter of red and green lentils.

7

Albertafarmexpress.ca • december 9, 2013

Meat industry singled out for new penalties The penalties are used to sanction infractions outside of court

By Alex Binkley

af contributor / ottawa

T

he Canadian meat industry was surprised by an out-ofthe-blue announcement by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that it is being singled out for a financial penalty regime for food safety infractions.

Jim Laws, president of the Canadian Meat Council, says the agency had said the administrative monetary penalty system (AMPs) would be introduced to the entire food industry at the same time after consultations on its implementation and operations. AMPs are used in other sectors regulated by government to impose penalties on businesses and consumers when the government wants to avoid the expense of taking people to court.

“So we’re surprised that the CFIA has moved more quickly to implement this system on us,” Laws said.

His group has fully participated in consultations with CFIA on a new regulatory regime to implement the provisions of C52, the Safe Food for Canadians Act, passed earlier this year by Parliament.

“We’re looking forward to discussing with government on how the system will be applied to us. We want a fair and efficient administrative monetary penalty system for meat products.”

Laws said the move is especially frustrating for the industry because it has been waiting for years for the government to implement changes in agreed-to meat container labelling regulations.

The new food safety law included a clause that enabled the government to bring in an AMPs program

for processors of all food categories.

“Consumers want a strong and reliable food inspection system on which they can depend to provide safe food. Introducing these new penalties demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that Canada’s stringent food safety requirements are being followed,” Health Minister Rona Ambrose said in announcing the change.

She said the AMPs could provide CFIA inspectors “with an additional enforcement option when working with the meat industry.

For example, they may be applied if a company withholds information, such as a positive E. coli test result, or records that are needed as part of a food safety investigation, or if a company is regularly identified for not complying with requirements.”

Argentina govt. forecasts wheat crop at 8.5 million tonnes

PHOTO: LAURA RANCE Martine Dubuc, chief food safety officer and CFIA vice-president, said AMPs “provide an additional option for dealing with the small number of food producers that fail to follow federal food safety regulations.”

The government is planning to have the new food safety act come into effect in 2015. It has yet to put any of its proposed regulations into the Canada Gazette, which gives them official status.

Let your flag leaf fly.

Estimate well below USDA forecast of 11 million buenos aires / reuters

A

rgentina’s 2013-14 wheat crop should come in at 8.5 million tonnes, compared with 8.2 million tonnes in the previous season, the Agriculture Ministry said Dec. 3 in its monthly crop report.

“Conditions in the southern half of Buenos Aires province — the largest producing area — allow for the forecast of good yields,” the government report said.

Rains arrived rather late in the rest of the country, but coincided mostly with key development stages of the wheat crop, which could make up — at least in part — for inconvenient winter weather, the report said.

The government’s corn plantation forecast for 2013/14 remained unchanged at 5.7 million hectares (14.1 million acres), while the soy crop area rose slightly to 20.7 million hectares from 20.65 million hectares forecast in October.

The wheat estimate is well below that of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which sees an Argentine wheat crop of 11 million tonnes this season. The USDA recently marked the wheat crop forecast down from a previous 12 million tonnes.

Argentine farmers are avoiding wheat planting to skirt export curbs that the government puts on wheat and corn. Growers say the curbs, meant to ensure ample domestic food supply, hurt profits by killing competition among buyers who bid for their crops.

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8

DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Ag Canada good at big disasters, but not small ones Auditor general says AAFC seldom meets its own targets for delivering assistance under Agri-Recovery

BY ALEX BINKLEY

AF CONTRIBUTOR / OTTAWA

A

griculture Canada is good at delivering financial help to farmers caught in large-scale disasters but rather tardy in assisting in smaller incidents, says Auditor General Michel Ferguson.

“Providing quick assistance to agricultural producers is a key goal of the AgriRecovery program,” Ferguson says in his fall report to Parliament. Timeliness is important to getting farmers back in operation and was one of the key reasons the federal-provincial program was established.

“While Agriculture Canada has delivered assistance to producers for large disasters within their targeted timeline, those producers impacted by disasters

Brazil approves three farmland sales to foreigners The announcement clears up uncertainty

with smaller total payouts often wait more than a year for financial help.”

The odd situation raises questions about how adequately the department manages Agri-Recovery, Ferguson says.

For starters, it seldom meets “a 45-day target for assessments necessary to deliver quick, targeted assistance to get producers back in operations.” In one-third of the instances, Agri-Recovery took an average of 15.5 months to make payments. Its goal is 10.5 months.

“We found that the department did not have an adequate process to monitor timeliness, lacked real-time identification of delays, and did not monitor the timeliness of initiatives in the assessment phase,” Ferguson said. “The department does not ensure that it gets the information it needs to assess the timeliness of payments.”

As well, the department has not done

enough research to determine whether Agri-Recovery is assisting producers in a timely fashion, he added. Nor does it have appropriate performance measures to assess how well Agri-Recovery helps producers recover. It doesn’t even “have a streamlined process for smaller initiatives even though they should be simpler to administer than large disasters.”

“Natural disasters impose significant economic and social consequences on individual farmers and the agricultural industry,” Ferguson said. “Those consequences include production and revenue losses and, in the case of some disease outbreaks, border closures that can have far-reaching effects.”

Agri-Recovery was established to fill gaps in existing government programming, and to provide quick, targeted assistance to agricultural producers so as to facilitate their return to business as rap-

“We found that the department did not have an adequate process to monitor timeliness, lacked real-time identification of delays…”

MICHEL FERGUSON

idly as possible. Since the launch of AgriRecovery in December 2007, federal and provincial governments have committed $1.2 billion to 37 disaster relief initiatives across Canada.

You don’t just feed the holiday sp You raise it.

SAO PAULO / REUTERS

Brazil has authorized the sale of farmland to foreigners for the first time since 2010, when the country’s attorney general imposed limits on foreign land control in one of the world’s top producers of agricultural commodities.

The three properties approved for sale are located in the states of Goias, Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais, the government’s land reform agency, Incra, said in a statement.

Sector observers said the announcement cleared up uncertainty over how the government is evaluating the sale of smaller properties to non-Brazilians.

“At least we have a protocol now.

It’s slow but it’s functioning,” said Kory Melby; an agricultural consultant based in Goias who is originally from the United States. He is an agent for one of the purchasers.

Sale of properties larger than 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) requires approval from Congress.

Brazil, as one of the world’s few countries with room for large-scale expansion of farmland, could be the top global exporter of soybeans again this year after producing what is expected to be its second consecutive record crop.

Although the 2010 regulations made foreign investors more cautious, they did not prevent them from investing in Brazil’s fertile farmland. Many have been teaming up with Brazilian nationals to buy properties, or have been leasing rather than purchasing.

Neighbouring Argentina has also imposed restrictions on foreign ownership of farmland, but found in a survey published in July that less than five per cent of land is owned by foreigners. That is well below the 15 per cent limit established last year.

Alberta produces enough milk annually to make 2.5 billion litres of eggnog .

Alex feeds his calf at Silver Top Dairy’s operation near Claresholm

CASHFLOW І FINANCING І CLOSE TO HOME І AG KNOW-HOW ™ Trademarks of Alberta Treasury Branches.

9

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

U.S. pork producers paying the price for trying to cover up PED Canadian pork industry is taking proactive measures to prevent porcine epidemic diarrhea from entering country, and limiting its spread if it does

BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF STAFF / CALGARY

‘Shoot, shovel, and shut up’ didn’t work for American pork producers in the fight against porcine epidemic diarrhea, and it won’t for Canadian ones either, says a top swine biosecurity official. “(The Americans) found out the first case got hidden, and it got spread because it’s so infectious,” Lucie Verdon, national biosecurity co-ordinator at the Canadian Swine Health Board, said at a recent Alberta Pork meeting.

“They’re doing their best now, but it’s already spread to 19 states. This is why Canada is more on the proactive side.”

There have been no reported cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) in Canada, but producers are on high alert for the disease, which is spread through feces and has swept across the U.S. this year. Infected pigs suffer severe diarrhea and vomiting in pigs of all ages, and is almost always fatal in suckling piglets. There is currently no vaccine.

TGE on steroids

Early symptoms of PED are similar to those of transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGE) — but the disease is far worse, said Verdon.

“PED is like TGE on steroids,” said Verdon. “It’s like having a ton of TGE on one sick pig. It’s very contagious.”

Although not a reportable disease, the outbreak could become a trade issue if it spreads to Canada, even though meat from infected pigs is safe to eat.

“One of the keys to opening the market in Canada is our health status, and this is another disease that could be a trade barrier,” said Verdon. “It could be, sadly, non-science based, but we know that the Europeans have done it in the beef sector. This is something we don’t want.”

The Canadian pork industry has developed a response plan to limit the spread of the disease should it cross into Canada.

“We’re aiming for biocontainment of the first case.

We’re going to try to limit the spread.”

No mandatory quarantine

Alberta’s plan for controlling the spread of the disease is “very different” from H1N1, said Julia Keenliside, veterinary epidemiologist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

“This time, we’re prepared ahead of time, and we have a plan on how to communicate,” she said.

Producers should contact their veterinarians immediately if they suspect a PED infection. Once a case is reported, all producers and processors in Alberta will be alerted immediately so they can increase biosecurity measures.

The pork industry is also working with processors to allow producers to continue shipping their pigs even if they test positive for the disease.

spirit.

“There’s no mandatory quarantine, nobody’s shut down, and nobody’s stopped from shipping pigs.”

JULIA KEENLISIDE

“We don’t want anyone to have to stop shipping pigs if this disease comes here. We can organize those pigs to go on a Friday afternoon when the plant’s cleaned out to try and reduce the spreading of it through the plant.

“There’s no mandatory quarantine, nobody’s shut down, and nobody’s stopped from shipping pigs.”

Huge advantage over U.S.

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As we take the time to share time together - and celebrate the incredible bounty that Albertans produce, we know that our ‘daily bread’ is but one small aspect of the daily work and efforts (even Christmas morning) of those Alberta families who not only cherish what they do – but where they’re doing it. We share your passion and your pride.

Long Love This Land.

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But the hope is that Canada’s proactive measures will continue to keep the disease out of the country, Keenliside said.

“We have a big advantage over the U.S. They didn’t know it was coming. It was in seven states before they figured out they had it,” she said. “It’s been there six months, and we’ve kept it out so far. I think that’s a testament to how good our biosecurity is.”

But containment will only be possible if producers report the disease when it first hits their farm.

“If you do what I call the three S — shoot, shovel, and shut up — you can tell yourself there’s a fourth S, and that’s going to be me saying, ‘S--t,’” said Verdon.

“If you don’t tell, it’s going to be spread. The Americans tried to do it and it didn’t work, and that’s how they lost it.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

WHAT’S UP Send agriculture-related meeting and event announcements to: will. verboven@fbcpublishing.com December 9/11: Canadian Forage & Grasslands Assoc.

AGM, Olds College, Olds. Call: Corie 204-254-4192 December 10: Using Biomass Conference, Chateau Louis Hotel, Edmonton. Call: Jeff 780-643-6732 December 10: Canola Growers Fall Meeting, Marwayne Hall 9:00 am, Marwayne. Call: Rick 780-678-6167 December 10: UFA Grain/Canola Storage Seminar, Exhibition Grounds 9:45 am, Camrose.

Call: Jenn 403-570-4503 December 11: Alberta Wheat Commission Region 4 Meeting, Social Centre Vegreville. Call: Kristina 780-718-5023

NEWS » Markets

10

DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Ukraine exports on a tear Ukraine’s grain exports jumped to a record monthly high of 4.2 million tonnes in November versus the previous record of 3.4 million tonnes reached a month earlier, Ukrainian grain lobby UAC said. The volume included 3.4 million tonnes of maize. The former Soviet republic exported 1.5 million tonnes of maize in October. Ukraine, which plans to raise its grain harvest to at least 61 million tonnes this year, sees exports of 32.5 million tonnes this season. The grain harvest totalled 46.2 million tonnes in 2012 and exports reached 22.8 million tonnes in 2012-13. — Reuters

China to soak up Australian wheat crop A bumper Australian wheat crop will help feed increased demand from China, traders said Dec. 3, after the government’s forecaster unexpectedly raised its estimate of the upcoming harvest to the third biggest on record. China had bought more than two million tonnes of Australian wheat by September, an official China think-tank said, although some traders estimate sales at between three million and four million tonnes.

Official figures are not released for Australian wheat sales to China and traders are reluctant to discuss specific deals as Chinese buyers prefer to operate away from the market spotlight. — Reuters

Weaker loonie couldn’t break tight range on canola Crop issues in Argentina supported U.S. wheat values

Photo: thinkstock

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

I

CE Futures Canada canola contracts held within a very narrow range during the week ended Nov. 29, but finished with small losses in the most active nearby contracts despite gains in CBOT soybeans.

Canola remains right in the middle of a well-established range, with the January contract facing very solid support to the downside at around $490 per tonne and resistance the other way at $500. It will likely take some sort of outside influence to break values out of that range, as the large supply situation remains a burdensome influence on the upside but good demand is lurking at the lows.

Weakness in the Canadian dollar, which dropped by nearly a cent relative to its U.S. counterpart during the week, was supportive for canola. However, soyoil futures dropped to the low end of their recent trading range and the net

impact on crush margins was relatively neutral.

U.S. markets were shut down Thursday, Nov. 28 for Thanksgiving and only opened for a shortened session Friday.

The holiday kept some participants to the sidelines and led to some choppy activity overall.

Supposedly there is an old saying among grain traders that “the bulls get Thanksgiving and the bears get Christ-

U.S. soybean exports are running well ahead of the previous year’s pace...

mas.” The first part of that adage held true for soybeans this year, with nearly all of their gains coming Friday. Good weekly export demand provided the trigger for the rally in beans, but there was some uncertainty over how long the advances may hold up.

U.S. soybean exports are running well ahead of the previous year’s pace, although much of that buying interest has come from China. In the past, China has been a bit of a wild card in the market and has been known to cancel purchases if it can get a better price by doing so.

For the grains, Chicago and Kansas City wheat futures moved higher during the week, while Minneapolis futures were unchanged in the most active months and corn settled slightly lower.

Issues with Argentina’s wheat crop were somewhat supportive for the U.S. futures, as the country’s government pegged production well below other official estimates at only 8.5 million tonnes.

Chart-based buying kept wheat underpinned as well, as the Chicago futures managed to move above nearby resistance.

On the other side, global wheat supplies remain large and the International Grains Council raised its projection for the world wheat crop in 2013-14.

The gains in wheat and soybeans were a little supportive for corn, but the record-large U.S. crop kept corn prices under pressure for the most part.

The March contract in Chicago held within a narrow 10-cent range during the week, just above three-year lows of US$4.20 per bushel. A move below that point could trigger additional speculative selling, although steady export and domestic crusher demand should provide some support.

Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

11

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

Spring wheat prices continue to slide down a slippery slope market outlook } Prices have been pressured since a

‘tweezer top’ developed in July 2012 By david drozd

W

heat prices drifted lower through November, taking back the 65-cent gain experienced during the seasonal rally into October.

Spring wheat futures prices at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange have slid to a three-year low of $6.93-1/4 per bushel, a price not seen since October 2010.

Prices have been under pressure since a Tweezer Top developed in July 2012 with the market topping out at $10.35 per bushel.

A Tweezer Top is a technical formation that indicates a change in trend and it materializes when a market posts the same high in two consecutive periods. This pattern is illustrated in the MGEX weekly nearby chart accompanying this article.

Since then, the market has been putting in lower lows and lower highs and this price action has subsequently evolved into a downtrending channel.

Downtrending channel

During the course of a trend and all the fluctuations which compose it, there is a well-observed characteristic for prices to closely follow a sloping straight line path. During a period of falling prices, this path is determined by a line drawn across the highs of the reactions. When an emerging trend can be identified and fol-

lowed to its conclusion, it translates into opportunity. The use of trendlines is a valuable tool for accomplishing this.

In a falling market, for a trendline to be both valid and reliable there should be at least three points of price contact, each of which coincides with a rally high, and each topping out at a progressively lower level. Beyond the minimum of three contact points, the more times a trendline can check a price advance in a bear market, the more valuable it becomes as a trend indicator.

There are five reaction highs depicted in the channel I’ve illustrated in the accompanying chart.

Similarly, the longer the trendline continues without being penetrated, the greater becomes its technical significance.

In a downtrend, the channel’s upper boundary is the downtrend line. It is drawn across the highs. The lower boundary is the return line and it is drawn parallel across the lows of each progressively lower decline.

One should be on the alert, studying the price activity during the course of a trend. If prices start to display an inability to reach the return line, this could prove to be an important first indication that the current trend is waning.

Market psychology

Price activity that lends itself to trendline and channel con-

China will gradually let market decide grain prices Government interventions have driven up cheaper imports beijing / reuters

C

hina will gradually let the market decide grain and other major crop prices instead of the government setting levels that have driven up cheap imports of commodities including cotton, sugar, rice and corn, the China Economic Times reported.

China’s agricultural price incentives triggered traders to import in large volumes over the past two years, and in 2012 its cotton and sugar imports hit the highest ever. Its corn and rice imports this year are also likely to hit new record highs.

China is the world’s largest cotton buyer.

Beijing has since 2004 set floor prices for rice and wheat, and stockpiled corn, soybeans, sugar and cotton at fixed prices to protect farmers’ margins and encourage output.

“Grain prices have come to the stage to be decided by the market,” the China Economic Times cited Fang Yan, head of rural department of the

National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), as saying. “(The existing policy) has supported domestic grain prices to rise only but not fall, which is against the basic rule of value,” Fang told a conference, the newspaper reported.

China’s leaders pledged to let markets play a “decisive” role in the economy when they unveiled a reform agenda for the next decade earlier this month.

But Beijing may take a slow approach for staple grains such as rice and wheat, and “will gradually allow the market to decide prices of major agricultural prices,” Fang said.

During the shift, government authorities will still be looking into target prices on major crops plus more subsidies and insurance incentives to help boost farmers’ income, she said, without elaborating.

Industrial officials had earlier expected Beijing to scrap a controversial scheme to stockpile cotton as early as next year, but concern over grain and food security could drag on grain price reform.

SPRING WHEAT drifting lower

struction reflects a particular sequence of behaviour. As a new downtrend begins to emerge, sell orders materialize but many are at a limit price above the market.

In the normal ebb and flow of the market some of this selling is satisfied when prices bounce.

However, a portion of the offers are too high to be filled and when prices again begin to move down, some of these sellers jump in for fear of missing the move.

The balance of unfilled selling will continue to trail the market in hopes of catching a price reaction. Most of these sellers will gradually lower their offers as the market declines.

Some profit-taking and short covering emerges on price bulges and as this occurs the offers which had trailed the market are gradually being absorbed. When the price finally does turn up for real, trendlines will be broken because the selling has totally dried up or the volume of buying simply overpowers what little selling remains.

After a period of downward movement, one must be on the alert for any subtle changes in this repetitive process, as they will show up clearly on the price charts. When price declines begin to fall short of

the lower channel boundary, it is a clue that the existing price trend may be waning or at least getting ready to consolidate.

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 grain-marketing advisory services, or call us toll free at 1-888-274-3138 for a free consultation.

12

DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

A Texas feedlot. Until September, U.S. feedlots had seen 29 consecutive months of losses.

FILE PHOTO

Pricey calves threaten U.S. feedlot return to profitability Drought last year whittled the national herd to its lowest level in more than 60 years

BY THEOPOLIS WATERS CHICAGO / REUTERS

A

sharp drop in feed corn prices caused by the huge U.S. harvest last month has put the nation’s cattle feedlots in the black for the first time in more than two years.

But analysts warn those profits could soon disappear as the prices they pay for scarce lightweight calves remain near record high.

Feedyards and packing plants, such as Cargill Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc., are drawing from a shallow pool of cattle after multi-year droughts in the country whittled the herd to its lowest in more than 60 years.

The Denver-based Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC) calculated that feedlots in October, on average, made about $39 per head on cattle sold to meat companies. That compares with a loss of $21 per head in September, which was the 29th consecutive month of losses.

Feedlots last month saw less red ink on their books largely because farmers

reaped a bountiful fall harvest, which sank the price for corn, the main ingredient in livestock feed, to its lowest in three years.

In October, the price for 651- to 700-lb. yearling steers at the benchmark Oklahoma City National Stockyards Company peaked at their highest ever at $174 per hundredweight (cwt), according to stockyard sources.

Those prices have since come down to an average of about $169 per cwt last week, based on USDA data. That price reduction coincided with costs for slaughter-ready cattle that pulled back from last month’s record high of $132 per cwt to roughly $130 to $131 last week.

Feedlots made money on feeder cattle that they purchased four to five months prior to them surging in October, said the Denver-based LMIC’s director Jim Robb.

Even with the decline in the costs for feedstuffs, cattle feeding returns will be tempered by record-high feeder cattle values, said Robb who forecast a likely return to losses by feedyards as soon as December of this year.

“We have ratcheted up feeder cattle prices to such high levels that we won’t

see that euphoria for placing cattle in feedlots in the months ahead,” Robb said.

Armed with less-expensive corn, feedyards continue to snatch up available feeder cattle to offset surplus feeding pen space. They are also guided by the belief those animals will be worth even more as ranchers restock herds amid tight supplies.

“With roughly 10 million cattle on feed in feedlots that can hold more than 1,000 head, you’re only using about 60 per cent of bunk or feedlot capacity,” said Elaine Johnson at CattleHedging.com in Denver, Colorado.

“You’ve got a lot cheaper corn than you used to and most feedlots are selling cattle with a little profit, which has ignited competition to fill the feedlots.”

John Nalivka, president of Sterling Marketing Inc. in Vale, Oregon, said that, even though corn prices have come down well below a year ago, feedlots have had to invest the margin opportunity in feeder cattle as those supplies have tightened, likely resulting in little or no profit gain.

Nalivka calculated feedlot break-

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“You’ve got a lot cheaper corn than you used to and most feedlots are selling cattle with a little profit, which has ignited competition to fill the feedlots.”

ELAINE JOHNSON

evens for the young cattle currently being placed on feed in the low to mid$130s. These break-evens compare with the upper $120s for cattle that are now being marketed and is the result of record prices paid for feeder cattle and calves, he said.

“It’s a hustle to make as many of these $100-per-head margins as possible before the hammer comes down again, and it will,” Nalivka added.

13

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

French wheat exporters look to specify protein content Exporters fear loss of traditional markets to new suppliers in the Black Sea region

By Valerie Parent paris /reuters

F

rench wheat producers and traders agreed Dec. 3 to start specifying protein content in all commercial contracts as an incentive to address what has become a weakness for the European Union’s top wheat exporter.

Protein content is a basic measure of wheat’s suitability for making bread and a key requirement for importers of the food staple in Africa and the Middle East.

The lowest level of protein for years in this summer’s French wheat harvest intensified a debate about declining crop quality and its potential threat to exports. The absence of clear quality-based pricing on the French market is seen as one of the reasons for slipping protein levels.

The proposal approved under the aegis of grain sector associa-

Richardson Pioneer donates $300,000 to three Prairie communities Falher will get funds to renovate playground

tion Intercereales calls for physical market contracts to state the protein content of the wheat being marketed.

Wheat contracts in France already have to specify certain quality criteria such as moisture levels or the maximum amount of broken grains, but any mention of protein is currently at the discretion of the parties involved.

Although the plan stops short of the kind of wheat quality scale used in other exporting countries for determining prices, the French sector hopes the move will lead to a greater price difference between lower- and higher-protein wheat.

“The aim is to put a price on protein and, in the longer term, to bring back up average protein levels,” Hervé Le Stum, director of Intercereales, said.

The agreement is voluntary but Intercereales said it will ask the government to make this compulsory for transactions as of the

2014-15 marketing season that starts on July 1.

More differentiated prices would reward farmers for investing in techniques, like seed selection and high-precision fertilization, that favour increased protein, trade representatives say.

Average protein content in this year’s French harvest was 11.2 per cent, the lowest since at least 2009 and scarcely meeting the minimum requirement of major export clients.

Poor growing weather in the past year and climate change more generally have played a part in the protein drop. But there is now a consensus that the market has overlooked protein in a highyield production model in recent years.

The focus on volume has proved successful in raising French exports at a time of booming demand from emerging countries. The country now ships about 10 million tonnes

French bakers may not be concerned about protein content, but export customers are. PHOTo: thinkstock of wheat annually, nearly a third of its harvest, outside the EU in one of France’s rare trade surpluses.

But traders worry that this export model is being strained by the rise of Black Sea suppliers like Russia and Ukraine that can match French quality at a lower cost.

This has made French exporters nervous about losing core markets like Algeria and Morocco, while also making it more difficult for them to get a foothold in Middle Eastern countries like Iraq and Jordan that buy high-protein wheat.

Growing today for tomorrow.

Farming, the biggest job on earth.

Staff

F

alher is one of three Prairie communities selected to receive a $100,000 grant from the Richardson Pioneer Century Gifts Program.

The Peace-area town will use the funds for renovation of the Falher Honey Capital Playground.

It joins Minnedosa, Man. and Whitewood, Sask., as the applicants chosen from the 145 proposals received since the program was announced in the spring.

While the Richardson Pioneer Century Gifts Program was created to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Richardson Pioneer, Canada’s largest, privately owned agribusiness, the company regularly donates more than $1 million each year to support community initiatives and organizations through the Richardson Foundation, the company says in a release.

“At Richardson, we are proud of our long history of supporting communities across Western Canada,” said president and CEO Curt Vossen. “A key part of our success has been the strength of the communities in which our customers and employees live and work and we will continue to look for opportunities to invest in projects and give back to those communities.”

The population is increasing, but farmland isn’t. So the pressure is on for farmers to maximize yields and produce high-quality crops to meet the needs of a growing planet. This is why BASF is working with farmers to create chemistry that will increase the yield and quality of crops. With help from BASF, it’s in the farmers’ hands.

To learn more about BASF’s commitment to sustainable agriculture, check out our videos at agsolutions.ca/sustainability.

©2013 BASF Canada Inc. All Rights Reserved.

110201429_GS_SOY_AFE_v1.indd 1

NEWSPRINT - 240 ink density

2013-10-29 1:16 PM

14

DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Buyers are in the driver’s seat for the next while Transportation logistics remain a challenge in meeting international demand

By Jennifer Blair af staff / red deer

T

here’s a big crop on the Prairies, but it’s the same story for many other exporters and buyers are back in the driver’s seat, says an analyst for the FarmLink market advisory service.

“It shifts our decisions when we think about when to sell and how to market that crop,” Jonathon Driedger told the All Crops Breakfast in Red Deer in early November.

“We’re dealing with a great big crop, and a great big crop results in lower prices,” said Driedger.

“At least with canola, there’s a home for it, and a lot of that home is right in our own backyard.”

The demand for canola will also be partially driven by the price of other oilseeds, particularly soybeans.

“Canola isn’t an island unto itself,” he said. “We might have good demand, but we also have to keep that price competitive relative to soybeans, which are being helped by a relatively firm soybean story through the first half of the year.”

Driedger believes that canola prices will hold “relatively firm,” but high ending stocks will make it hard for the market to rally.

“We’re looking at about two million tonnes left over at the end of the year, which based on extremely strong demand isn’t necessarily debilitating in terms of prices, but it shows that even with record demand, we’re just going to have more canola around at the end of the year,” he said.

For next year, FarmLink is forecasting a record 22 million acres of canola in Canada.

“We think that the economics are just going to dictate that you guys are going to grow an awful lot of canola next year,” said Driedger. “I can be bullish on canola acres, but I don’t know if I can be bullish on canola prices.”

Wheat outlook stronger

Wheat has more of a “neutral outlook,” said Driedger. “I certainly wouldn’t describe it as bullish, but it’s not necessarily that bearish in terms of wheat prices.”

Higher global production has not offset a tight wheat market in the U.S. And while demand is good overall, the ending stocks are larger than they appear, Driedger said.

“If you look at these ending stocks for 2013-14 and you actually wrapped our carry-out on top of that and look at it from a North America perspective, suddenly it seems a little more comfortable than maybe it appears.”

Canada in particular will have a large carry-over.

“Our expectation is that we’re going to have a lot of wheat left in Western Canada,” said Driedger. “As we come into the end of spring and into summer, we think there’s going to be quite a bit of wheat left in the bins, partially because prices for wheat as we look into next year are going to be lower.”

Even with high ending stocks and lower prices, there will be some bright spots in the market.

“We do see a little bit of a better outlook for some of the higher protein, in particular, and higher grades,” he said.

Certain classes will also fare better. As the trend toward more Canada Prairie Spring (CPS), soft white spring, and winter wheat acres continues, hard red spring acres will likely take a hit, according to Driedger. “The hard red spring is probably where the biggest loss of acres will be.”

Peas unpredictable

Like wheat, peas will also likely see a supply buildup, depending on export demand.

“Last year was extremely tight, but if we look at a carry-out that gets up towards just shy of 700,000 tonnes, if India were to come in and buy upwards of 300,000 or 400,000 tonnes, it’s

not unthinkable if we can get it there,” said Driedger. “That has a dramatic impact on ending stocks and what it means for prices.”

Demand for peas in India is hard to predict, however.

“India consumes about 18 million tonnes of pulses, and it grows over 14 million tonnes, so if it really wants these peas and the demand is there, the potential for India to buy more than we expect is there,” he said. “It’s a wild card and one that’s hard to forecast.”

But even though international demand for Canadian peas is strong, transportation logistics remain a challenge.

“They can want it all they want, but if we can’t actually physically get it there because logistics are strained, that’s a risk,” said Driedger.

bad, the reality is it takes time to rebuild herds,” he said. “We don’t see a lot of reasons why we should see any kind of sharp move higher in feed barley prices.”

Driedger isn’t ruling out the possibility of the export market being a potential outlet for feed barley because of its ease of processing, but competition with the Black Sea region often poses a challenge. “Feed barley’s one of those things where, every couple of years, there’s an opportunity to step in and move a lot of it, but the math has got to work. The potential is there, but I’m not sure I would hang my hat on it.”

The upside for malt barley prices is also limited for the coming year, partially because of this year’s large, high-quality barley crop. “When the quality of the barley crop is really good, there isn’t a whole lot of incentive for buyers to give a premium for malt because they can find it anywhere.”

For the coming year, growers will need to focus on their margins and manage risk to get a good return, but it will take time to whittle supplies down.

“It just takes time to work those supplies down,” Driedger said.

“There’s no quick fixes. You don’t create demand overnight.”

Barley bearish

Feed barley prices have been grinding lower as a result of large supplies of other feed grains, Driedger said. “It’s hard to paint a real bullish outlook for feed barley.”

Lower livestock numbers are also impacting the price of feed grains, and it will take time to rebuild herds and feed consumption.

“Even if our cattle prices look strong and some of the outlooks for the livestock markets aren’t

jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

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GREAT GORP PROJECT Triathlete creates home-grown energy bar » PAGE 44

The pros and cons of applying in dry soil » PAGE 17

OCTOBER 11, 2012

Communications breakdown added to emergency Firefighting made more dangerous without communications

By Lorraine Stevenson CO-OPERATOR STAFF

V

olunteer firefighters racing to reach fire-threatened Vita last week passed hundreds of vehicles headed the other direction and wondered what they were headed into, said veteran firefighter Alain Nadeau.

“I’ve been doing this for 33 years and this was the scariest I’ve seen,” said the weary La Broquerie fire chief on Friday after an exhausting week.

The air was so smoke filled around the southeastern village “we could barely breathe,” he said.

SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | VOL. 70, NO. 41

GOT SEED?

By Daniel Winters CO-OPERATOR STAFF / MELITA

R

ising corn acres and severe drought in the Midwestern United States may crimp supplies of popular corn seed varieties for the com-

ing year.

“It’s really short,” said Ron Rabe, a Dekalb agronomist, who gave a brief talk on corn production in Manitoba at a recent WADO field tour.

Derek Erb, who farms near Oak Bluff and sells Pioneer Hi-Bred corn

|

$1.75

MANITOBACOOPERATOR.CA

Corn seed might be tight next spring Rising demand and dismal growing conditions in the drought-stricken United States may limit supplies seed, said farmers looking to secure seed for next spring should act quickly to secure their supplies, even if it means placing orders earlier than usual.

Pioneer Hi-Bred’s top varieties, which include D95 and D97, account for roughly half the acres seeded in the province. Erb said that with the harvest and quality testing still underway in some areas, it’s difficult to estimate how much corn seed will be available for next year.

One thing’s for sure, waiting until Ag Days in January to secure supplies will

be too late. “I would pretty much bank on that,” said Erb. Dry conditions throughout the province have seen the corn harvest arriving about a month earlier than usual, and seed orders have started coming in sooner than usual too.

Even with the possibility of a shortage of corn seed, Erb doesn’t expect the price of Pioneer’s supplies to rise much more than it has in recent years.

Rob Park, of RJP Seeds in Carman, who deals in Hyland seed varieties, See CORN SEED on page 6 »

15

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

More downside risk than upside potential for corn prices?

USDA export forecast depends on U.S. capturing 90 per cent of world import demand increase

BY DARYLL E. RAY AND HARWOOD SHAFFER

I

n the week after the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) November 8, 2013 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, corn prices initially rose, only to begin a week-long decline.

The immediate response can be attributed to U.S. corn production numbers that were slightly below trade estimates while the utilization numbers were above the levels in the September WASDE report — there was no October report because of the government shutdown.

In 2009 a year-ending stockto-use ratio of 13.9 per cent resulted in a season average price paid to farmers of $3.55, while the USDA projects a midrange price for the 2013 crop to be nearly $1 higher ($4.50) on a stocks-to-use ratio that is higher as well — 14.6 per cent.

This alone suggests that there is more downside price potential for the current corn crop than the other direction.

While a year ago corn crop prices and crop insurance protection levels were well above the cost of production, for many if not most corn farmers, the Friday, Nov. 15, 2013 nearby futures closing corn price of $4.22 is likely below the full cost of production.

In this situation, a slight increase in the final production number or a modest decrease in utilization could have serious consequences for corn farmers and by extension other crop farmers if the prices of the other crops follow corn on a downward path.

All it takes is a 100-millionbushel increase in the yearending corn stocks for the 2013 crop to increase the stock-to-use ratio to 15.3 per cent. An increase of this size or greater could easily be in the offing and send price downward.

The USDA is projecting that corn exports will essentially double from 731 million bushels shipped out of port in the 2012 crop year to 1.4 billion bushels for the current crop. For that to happen, the U.S. would have to capture 90 per cent of the increase in worldwide corn exports, even as the non-U.S. production of grains — including corn and other feed grains — is projected to increase by five per cent.

Closer to home, the USDA projects that feed and residual utilization will increase from 4.3 billion bushels in 2012 to 5.2 billion bushels in the 2013 crop year. While the residual portion is hard to quantify, feed is less problematic.

With the high corn prices of recent years, cattle numbers are down, continuing a decline that began in 2008. Lower cattle numbers means fewer cattle making their way to feedlots to consume corn and DDGs. Even with lower corn prices, it will take several years to rebuild the cattle herd to the point it is significantly increasing its use of feed.

Dairy use of feed has been on a decline since 1984.

While swine numbers are currently projected to increase in the next 13 months, there are clouds on the horizon. In the past couple of months, the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) has begun to take its toll on the U.S. swine herd, reducing the number of pigs per sow in infected herds.

Steve Meyer, in an article “PEDV may thwart pork’s chance to grab beef market share” on the National Hog Farmer website writes that his best guess in that second-quarter 2014 hog numbers will be “near or just below those of 2013.”

That would leave the heavy lifting in corn feed demand to poultry, and poultry produces more pounds of meat per pound of feed than either cattle or

swine. So with a 498,000-tonne increase in poultry production and a feed conversion rate of 2:1, we will need about one million tonnes or 40 million bushels — out of the 900 million additional bushels the USDA projects for feed and residual utilization in the coming year — of corn to feed the extra chickens.

Everything considered, there seems to be more downside risk than upside potential for corn prices in the months ahead.

Daryll E. Ray holds the Blasingame Chair of Excellence in Agricultural Policy, Institute of Agriculture, University of Tennessee, and is the director of UT’s Agricultural Policy Analysis Center (APAC). Harwood D. Schaffer is a research assistant professor at APAC. www.agpolicy.org.

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16

DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Good weather boosts Aussie crop Australia raised its forecast for wheat production during the 2013-14 season by seven per cent Dec. 3, as favourable weather across the west coast boosted production.

The Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) forecast wheat production at a bumper 26.213 million tonnes, up from its previous estimate in September of 24.467 million tonnes. The bureau put Australian canola production in 2013-14 at 3.41 million tonnes, having previously forecast output at 3.31 million tonnes. — Reuters

U.S. wheat crop concerns A cold snap which was forecast for late last week was raising concerns about part of the U.S. winter wheat crop.Temperatures were expected to drop below 0 (F) Friday and Saturday, and the wheat crop in northwest Kansas and west-central Nebraska could be harmed by the bitter cold, MDA Weather Services said. Some snow cover elsewhere was expected to help protect the crop. MDA said crop weather remained satisfactory in nearly all of South America with a few pockets of concern seen, and the vast majority of the crop area in South America is doing quite well.

All I want for Christmas is a weather station Don’t expect a basic wireless station that costs less than $20 to last forever

by daniel bezte

W

ith pretty much all of Alberta looking and feeling like winter, thoughts are now turning towards Christmas. So, while there’s still time, here is a quick look at some different weather gadgets out there that the weather enthusiast you know just might like under the tree!

As usual, I will look at different price points, but this year I think I’ll try to stick a little closer to home by looking at what some of the local stores have in stock.

For those of you interested in getting yourself or someone else started with a computerized or digital weather station, but not sure if this is for them or yourself, and you don’t want to spend too much money, there are a few relatively cheap stations available locally. If you look around at your local hardware store you will probably see some kind of La Crosse weather station available. La Crosse has been making weather stations for years now and for the most part they work as advertised. I have owned a couple of simple indoor/outdoor wireless La Crosse weather stations and they do the job of letting you know what the outdoor temperature is from the comfort of inside your home. I bought both of the stations on sale for only about $10, so the fact that they worked for two to three years before giving up the ghost is not a bad deal. I guess that is the key point with basic wireless stations that cost less than $20: don’t expect them to last forever.

The next types of stations you will find locally are priced in the $50 to $125 range. If these are simply indoor/outdoor wireless weather stations that also provide you with a forecast, then I would say they are not worth the extra money. You should be able to find a simple wireless indoor/ outdoor temperature station for around $20 (see above). The extra they want for the station trying to provide you with a forecast is just not worth the money.

You will find that most of the time the forecasts provided by the station are not even close to being accurate.

I have seen a few weather stations that give you wireless indoor/outdoor temperatures, wind speed and even rainfall in the $125 range, but I have never seen one in person, nor have I talked to anyone who has tried one. On a personal level, I get a little nervous about spending this kind of money on a weather station that may only last a year or two. I feel if you are thinking about spending this kind of money on a weather station, you are better off biting the bullet and going for a well-built station that has a good warranty and will likely last for five years or more. Before we take a look at a couple of these types of stations, here are a few more interesting weather knick-knacks that are available if you look around.

Something relatively cheap that almost anyone will like is a simple but easy-to-read large outdoor circular thermometer.

These thermometers can be mounted just about anywhere and can be read from a pretty good distance away. Just be careful to mount them so the sun does not shine on them directly. In the winter this will just give you an unusually warm reading; in the summer this could not only give an incorrect reading but end up ruining the thermometer!

Another good item in the $20 range is an old-fashioned-style rain gauge. While there are some stand-alone digital rain gauges around, at this price point I personally wouldn’t waste my money on them. These oldfashioned graduated cylinderstyle rain gauges are usually very accurate, and if you spend a little extra they can serve a dual purpose of being a lawn or garden ornament as well as a good conversation piece.

Now on to the big-ticket item: the full-blown home weather station. Once again there are full-featured weather stations available for the home that are priced in the $100 to $150 range.

Chaney, La Crosse and some of the low-end Oregon Scientific stations are in these price points.

Now, I’m not saying these stations are bad, as I have not had the opportunity to try one personally, but with the knowledge and experience I have with

much-higher-end stations, just be prepared for some limitations with these. If you are looking for a full weather station that can be connected to your computer and even allow you to post your weather data to the Internet, here are a couple of stations that I would recommend.

I am a little biased in this area as I have been using Davis weather stations for 15 years.

Currently I am on my second weather station and the only reason I changed was that I wanted to upgrade my station.

With that in mind, the best value, I think, for a full weather station is the Davis Vantage Vue wireless weather station that retails for around $350. The next step up is the Davis Vantage Pro 2 weather stations. The basic cabled model starts around $450, with the wireless station starting around $500. The nice thing with this station is you can add extra sensors such as wireless solar, UV, soil moisture and even leaf moisture sensors, mak-

The best value, I think, for a full weather station is the Davis Vantage Vue wireless weather station. photo: vantagevue.com ing this a truly fully functional farm-based weather station. All of these features do end up costing with each addition, coming in around $200 to $250. The nice

thing is that you can add them one at a time when you can afford them.

With those ideas in mind — happy shopping!

This issue’s map shows the total precipitation across the Prairies over the 30-day period ending Nov. 27. Southern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and pretty much all of Manitoba saw below-average amounts during this period. Central and northern agricultural Saskatchewan saw well-above-average amounts during this time, as did much of central Alberta.

17

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

 INVESTING

FEDS FUND GRAIN GROWERS

Bin-busting research pushes barley yields past the 150-bushel mark

Roundup Ready ® is a registered trademark used under license from Monsanto Company.

All purchases are subject to the terms of labelling and purchase documents.

The DuPont Oval Logo is a registered trademark of DuPont. ®, TM, SM Trademarks and service marks licensed to Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited. © 2013 PHL.

The federal government has announced $100,000 in funding to the Grain Growers of Canada (GGC). “This investment will allow the industry to strengthen wheat exports and develop new and emerging markets for our wheat, says Gary Stanford, vice-president of the GGC and director with the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC). “New marketing changes mean that farmers have an opportunity to sell many classes of wheat to the world and there are a number of new marketing opportunities on the horizon for Canadian wheat,” he said in a release. The funds will allow AWC and the GGC to take producers to end markets and meet the buyers.

The Barley 180 research project focused on plant growth regulators, nitrogen and fungicides in a bid to grow 180 bushels an acre

BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF STAFF / ACME

T

hey didn’t reach their goal, but researchers in the Barley 180 project came pretty

close.

“We just said, ‘OK, let’s see if we can hit 180 (bushels per acre).’ And we hit 156,” said Steve Larocque of Beyond Agronomy, an agronomic services company in Three Hills.

The Agricultural Research and Extension Council has been running barley trials on four locations since 2011.

“We saw 15 to 20 per cent yield increases with the work we’re doing with inputs,” Larocque said at a recent Alberta Barley Commission regional meeting.

“Plant growth regulators, nitrogen rates and fungicides are the three things that we’re focusing on now that will probably give us the biggest bang for our buck.”

Plant growth regulators

Larocque’s primary focus was on plant growth regulators (PGRs).

“You already hear a lot about them,” Larocque said. “Well, you’re going to hear even more about them and the opportunities that they bring, especially with barley.

“It’s not a guaranteed recipe for no lodging, but we’re really

encouraged by PGRs and their ability to shorten the crop and keep it standing.”

Larocque tested two products — Ethrel and Cycocel. Both regulate hormones in the plants, helping them grow fatter instead of taller, but Larocque will be using Ethrel going forward, even though it’s tricky to use.

“The finicky part about Ethrel is it has to be applied when the awns are just starting to emerge.

Not later, not before.”

That’s not a big issue in a trial, but applying it on a large scale is a different story.

“The difference between awns emerging and awns emerged under the right conditions is maybe a couple of days,” said Larocque. “How do you take a product that’s so finicky at timing and scale that out to 800 or 1,500 acres? It’s doable, but risky.

“PGRs are what we call a ticking time bomb. If used improperly, you can hurt yield.”

Larocque said he had to sign a waiver before using the two products, but the results are promising. At the trial at Crossfield in 2011, saw a yield increase from 133 bushels per acre to 156, with a five bu./ac. increase in 2012 and an eight bu./ac. increase in 2013.

“There’s really good promise in it,” Larocque said. “I’m not going

to say there’s no risk involved, but it’s something we need to figure out how to use going forward.”

Split nitrogen applications

The results of split applications of nitrogen have been less definitive.

“We thought we’d go with a split application of nitrogen because we didn’t want so much up front,” said Larocque, who applied 100 pounds initially with another 60 to 70 applied later as a top dress.

“But what we’re finding is a tremendous amount of variability in response from top-dressed nitrogen in barley,” he said.

At the Morrin site, heavy rains following application in every year except 2012 resulted in a 20-bushelper-acre response. But at Crossfield, the same methods only added one more bushel per acre.

“You can really knock it out of the park one year, but in another area, with another variety, even if your timing’s perfect, it’s still not responding,” said Larocque. “Split applications do work, but streaming it on like we have been, it’s far too variable to count on.”

Fungicides

Fungicides play “an absolutely crucial role” in the whole package, said Larocque.

“Yes, they help control disease, but the right fungicides can actu-

Steve Larocque sees more use of plant growth regulators in future. ally keep the plants greener longer so they’re able to utilize that additional nitrogen.”

In 2013 at Crossfield, there was a yield increase from 108 bu./ac. to 116 bu./ac. with the PGR alone and to 123 bu./ac. with the fungicide alone. When combined, the yield increased to 126 bushels per acre.

“We bumped it up an additional three bushels by combining the three,” said Larocque, adding the average yield in the area is around 80 bushels per acre.

And while the project didn’t achieve its lofty target, it showed major yield increases are possible, he said.

“At the end of the day, it’s not realistic to go for 180 across the farm,” said Larocque. “But maybe it is realistic to go for 120 or 130. That 180 target is going to happen once in a while, but 130 I think we can do.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

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18

DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Menzies says he won’t lobby former government colleagues New CropLife head says he will focus on dealing with other countries, farm groups and the food industry

BY ALEX BINKLEY

CONTRIBUTOR / OTTAWA

F

ormer cabinet minister Ted Menzies brushes off accusations that he intends to use his political connections as president and CEO of CropLife Canada to influence former colleagues.

Menzies recently resigned as MP for the southern Alberta riding of McLeod to succeed Lorne Hepworth, a former Saskatchewan agriculture minister, who retires next year. CropLife represents Canada’s manufacturers

and distributors of agricultural chemicals and seed.

“The law is quite clear,” Menzies said in an interview. “I can’t lobby my former colleagues or any of the departments I was connected with for five years and I won’t.”

Any presentations to ministers or government regulators will be done by CropLife’s directors or staff. The CropLife directors represent top-level companies “that know the industry has to be promoting safe and sustainable production of food,” he said.

“They understand the pressure from consumers and farmers for

safer foods, environmental sustainability and better agricultural chemicals.”

Menzies plans to focus on the agri-food industry’s preoccupation with producing enough food to safely feed a global population expected to reach nine billion by 2050.

“If I can contribute, why shouldn’t I?” he said. “Would people criticize me for leaving politics if I spent the rest of my life retired in Florida or Phoenix?”

First elected in 2006, the former president of the Western

Ted Menzies is also the former president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers and the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance.

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minister of finance in the Harper government before announcing last spring he wouldn’t run in the next federal election. He was dropped from cabinet in the summer shuffle, and said he was then approached to take on the CropLife presidency.

John Bennett of Sierra Club Canada was among the critics who said Menzies’ hiring was a brazen attempt by the pesticide industry to buy influence with the Harper cabinet.

“Because of dangerously weak federal ethics and lobbying rules, Menzies is allowed to become president and CEO of a federally regulated organization that lobbies the federal government regularly,” Bennett said in a release.

“Whether or not Mr. Menzies technically does any lobbying, his position as president and CEO of CropLife clearly opens government doors and provides valuable insight on the internal workings of the Harper government,” Bennett said. “Are we supposed to believe Mr. Menzies will lock himself in his new office and not take calls or check his email?”

Menzies said CropLife officials were well aware of the lobbying prohibition he faced when they approached him about the job.

“They understood I could carry on the leadership of the organization and deal with other countries and farm groups and the food industry. That’s what I want to do. Help the membership find ways to feed a hungry world.

There are a lot of challenges out there that I can work on.”

While he may be unable to talk to federal ministers and officials, Menzies will be able to meet provincial agriculture ministers and university officials about developments in Canada.

There’s no restriction on what he can do internationally. CropLife Canada is part of federation of agriculture supply organizations operating in 91 countries and Canada has a lot to contribute in terms of technological developments, he points out.

Menzies said the emergence of new crop commissions and research organizations in Western Canada opens a whole new field for collaboration within the agri-food community. “We’re looking forward to working with the new commissions and encouraging new crop-variety research.”

The development of glutenfree wheat is just one of many possible innovations that could create new crops and possibilities for farmers, he said.

19

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

Saudi millers wrap up 11 months in Winnipeg Fee-for-service programming helps Cigi fund other programs, while also drawing people to Manitoba

BY SHANNON VANRAES STAFF

A

group of millers is taking home a host of new skills, after trading sand dunes for snowbanks to study in Manitoba.

Eleven wheat processors from Saudi Arabia have spent the last six months learning all aspects of milling and wheat processing at the Winnipeg-based Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi).

“For me I can relate what I’ve learned to my work in the laboratory… so this helps me look at problems and ask, ‘How can I solve this problem?’” said Mohammad Alhammad who, like his fellow students, works for the Grain Silos and Flour Millers Organization of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Winnipeg institute first bid on a request for proposals from the government-operated millers’ organization a few years ago, and has been welcoming groups of grain processors from the Middle Eastern kingdom ever since. The current group headed home last month, but next June another dozen participants will arrive.

“In terms of our broad goals Cigi does many things, and one of the things we do is fee-for-service programming,” said Rick Morgan, manager of business development at Cigi. “So a program like this isn’t particularly tied to increasing the sales of Canadian grain, but the money we make on it enables us to do other things that are related to our research and marketing efforts we do on behalf of Canada’s grain crops.”

“For me I can relate what I’ve learned to my work in the laboratory… so this helps me look at problems and ask, ‘How can I solve this problem?’”

MOHAMMAD ALHAMMAD

While classroom sessions are part of the agenda, so are trips to farms, mills, rail lines and grain elevators.

Industry experts are also brought in to provide instruction and handson training.

“They get milling training, they get maintenance training, electrical training, mechanical training, learn about looking after the mill and they spend time in our analytical lab looking at results, doing analysis on flours, as well as spending time in the bakery,” Morgan said.

“We want them to have the whole picture.”

Participants also take home a new language. For six months before the program begins, they study English in alternate Canadian cities.

farms, we don’t have that where we are from, there we have small areas for farms,” he said, adding Saudi Arabia’s arid climate can make growing cereals difficult without intensive irrigation, which threatens groundwater reserves.

In recent years the Kingdom has moved to phase out wheat production in an effort to conserve water.

According to a report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Saudi Arabia’s wheat crop could decline as much as 10 per cent this year, dropping to 700,000 tonnes from 780,000.

The country’s goal is to eliminate domestic wheat production by 2016. However, the nation will continue to process its wheat imports domestically.

“Saudi Arabia does buy some Canadian wheat and will probably continue to do so, but a program like this isn’t specifically tied to that,” Morgan said. But he added it’s always nice to send people home with knowledge of Canadian field crops. shannon.vanraes@fbcpublishing.com

Mohammad Alhammad (l) and Waleed Alzahrani have spent the last six months at Cigi.

PHOTO: SHANNON VANRAES

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Of course, an entire year away from home and family can be tough, Alhammad said.

A test batch of Arabic bread at the Cigi test bakery stirred both homesickness and appetites.

“We smelled the aroma and we ate all the product,” he said smiling.

For Waleed Alzahrani, a mechanical engineer, the year provided many new experiences, including seeing Prairie grain farms.

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DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

In win for Big Oil, U.S. proposes biofuel mandate cut The EPA is seeking a 16 per cent cut in renewable fuels goal versus the 2007 mandate

BY TIMOTHY GARDNER WASHINGTON / REUTERS

T

he Obama administration has proposed slashing federal requirements for U.S. biofuel use in 2014, bowing to pressure from the petroleum industry and attempting to prevent a potential fuel crunch next year.

The Nov. 15 decision was the first cut to renewable fuel targets written into a 2007 law, and was seen as a clear win for oil refiners and a loss for biofuel producers.

It followed a prolonged lobbying blitz on both sides of the issue.

The plan follows the Environmental Protection Agency’s warnings that the country was approaching a point where the so-called Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) would require the use of more ethanol than can be blended into gasoline at the 10 per cent level that dominates the U.S. fuelling infrastructure.

Refiners have said this “blend wall,” if left in place, would force them to export more fuel or produce less gasoline, leading to shortages and higher prices at the pump.

In response, the EPA proposed to cut overall use of renewable fuels, made mostly from U.S. corn and to a lesser extent from

soybeans, grasses, crop waste and Brazilian sugar cane, to a range of 15 billion to 15.52 billion gallons.

Within that range, the agency proposed a specific goal of 15.21 billion gallons, which is more than 16 per cent less than the 18.15 billion gallons contained in the law that governs the RFS, and below this year’s 16.55 billion gallons.

The proposed goal matches the number contained in a draft that was leaked and circulated in October.

U.S. gasoline demand had been expected to rise every year when Congress passed the law in 2007, but it peaked in 2008 and has been anemic since, partly because fuel efficiency of U.S. cars and light trucks has risen steadily.

“This unanticipated reduction in fuel consumption brings us to the point where the realities of the fuel market must be addressed to properly implement the program,” a senior administration official told reporters in a teleconference about the proposal.

The impending blend wall problem had led to a surge in prices for ethanol credits, known as renewable identification numbers or RINs, from a few cents a year ago to almost $1.50 at mid-year.

The surge had threatened to push up gasoline prices as the extra RINs costs for refiners would have been passed on to consumers.

60-day public comment period.

After that ethanol backers could unleash legal challenges to soften or reverse the changes.

Corn falls to new lows

Raw corn is shown as it is unloaded for processing at the Lincolnway Energy plant in the town of Nevada, Iowa, Dec. 6, 2007. The U.S. is moving to lower required biofuel use, which is lowering demand for corn and soybeans used to produce it. PHOTO: REUTERS/JASON REED The proposed change in advanced biofuels implies a corn ethanol mandate of 12.7 billion to 13.2 billion gallons, down from the previous 2014 mandate of 14.4 billion gallons.

“We are astounded by the proposal released by the administration today. It reflects an ‘all of the

above, except biofuels’ energy strategy,” said Fuels America, a coalition of alternative energy producers.

The group termed the blend wall a fictional narrative, “created by the oil industry to stifle competition.”

The EPA expects to release a final rule next spring after a

Biofuels stocks were mixed following the announcement.

Chicago corn futures fell to new lows for the day, down 1.1 per cent at $4.21-3/4 per bushel, although the impact was muted because the Nov. 15 announcement was similar to the leaked proposal from October. Prices this month hit their lowest point in more than three years. The price of soybeans, used to make biodiesel, dropped 2.5 per cent.

Biofuels backers were livid at the announcement.

A representative for Archer Daniels Midland Co., one of the largest ethanol producers, said companies had invested in renewable fuel projects “on the basis of firm legislative commitments” and across two presidential administrations, Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

A lower mandate to produce corn-based ethanol could cost grain growers at the farm gate. Livestock producers, by contrast, were jubilant at the prospect of lower feed prices, but called on lawmakers to do more.

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

Stress relief: Bayer says ‘plant health compound’ boosts yields Exact nature of the product is still a secret but it is neither a pesticide nor a fertilizer

By Allan Dawson staff / banff

I

t sounds almost to good to be true — spring wheat yields averaging 6.5 per cent higher when treated with what Bayer CropScience calls a “plant health compound.”

Bayer has yet to disclose the exact nature of the experimental product, but says it boosts yields by reducing plant stress.

The results are based on 19 trials in North America conducted in 2011 and 2012 with more than 80 per cent of the data points showing a positive yield response, says Kelly Patzer, Bayer CropScience’s cereals development manager.

“This is big,” Patzer told invited agronomists and reporters attending Bayer’s “The Science Behind” conference Nov. 26 to 28.

“Just to put that into perspective... if we were looking at this from a plant-breeding perspective with conventional plantbreeding technology this represents at least a decade of yield improvement,” he said.

“This is from a single seed treatment. To do this reliably this is enormous in the big scheme of things so there is potentially big opportunity here.”

In an interview later Patzer described the experimental plant growth compound as “unique,” and “unprecedented,” so much so it’s unclear how it will be regulated because it’s not a herbicide, insecticide, fungicide or fertilizer and therefore falls outside the regulatory mandate of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency.

“So it’s really paradigm shift,” Patzer said. “What’s really interesting about it is what we are essentially aiming to do is increase crop efficiency — increase yield — by removing abiotic stress. So it’s essentially getting more with the same resource, which is really exciting when we talk about productivity and resource management.”

Abiotic stresses come from the environment and include temperature extremes, drought and high winds — stresses farmers can’t currently combat with chemicals.

Commercialization

Patzer said it’s unclear how soon this experimental product will be commercially available.

“But clearly this is not in the too-distant future,” he said.

“We are preparing all the evaluations that would normally be required to register a new product — all the environmental work as well as the research work on how it behaves in the plant and of course all the toxicology work will be done,” Patzer said.

“There is such an opportunity here for industry and growers that we would be remiss if we didn’t pursue this. Exciting times ahead.”

Experiments with foliar applications of the plant health compound have also boosted yields, he said. The product will likely be available in a tank-mixable form or as a co-pack allowing farmers to apply it when spraying conventional pesticides, as well as a seed treatment.

Bayer’s research is so new patents are still pending.

Canada is leading the research, and as it turns out, its farmers will likely reap the most benefits because of the harsh environment crops are grown in, Patzer said.

“These materials relieve abiotic stress and limitations on crop yield and by dealing with

“This is a tool to help us get more out of our production system in our current environment.”

Kelly Patzer

those we have the most to gain and in fact that’s what we’re seeing with our research,” he said.

“We see a proportionately better

benefit in Canada than in some of these other key producing areas.

“And in fact what it will do is help our growers close some of those yield caps that we see when we compare to say, northern Europe.

“This is a tool to help us get more out of our production system in our current environment.”

Officials from Bayer CropScience also discussed their work on new canolas that are resistant to clubroot, less prone to pod shattering and tolerant to sclerotinia. allan@fbcpublishing.com

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DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Journal withdraws controversial French Monsanto GM study Hundreds of scientists criticized French research paper for having a small sample size

By Kate Kelland london / reuters

T

Another researcher says the strain of rats used in the study is highly susceptible to tumours after 18 months with or without genetically modified organisms in their diets.

he publisher of a controversial and muchcriticized study suggesting genetically modified corn caused tumours in rats has withdrawn the paper after a yearlong investigation found it did not meet scientific standards.

Reed Elsevier’s Food and Chemical Toxicology (FCT) journal, which published the study by the French researcher GillesEric Seralini in September 2012, said the retraction was because the study’s small sample size meant no definitive conclusions could be reached.

“This retraction comes after a thorough and time-consuming analysis of the published article

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and the data it reports, along with an investigation into the peer review behind the article,” the journal said in a statement.

“Ultimately, the results presented — while not incorrect — are inconclusive, and therefore do not reach the threshold of publication for Food and Chemical Toxicology.”

At the time of its original publication, hundreds of scientists across the world questioned Seralini’s research, which said rats fed Monsanto’s GM corn had suffered tumours and multiple organ failure.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a statement in November 2012 saying the study by Seralini, who was based at France’s University of Caen, had serious defects in design and methodology and did not meet acceptable scientific standards.

Within weeks of its appearance in the peer-reviewed journal, more than 700 scientists had signed an online petition calling on Seralini to release all the data from his research.

In its retraction statement, the FCT said that, in light of these concerns, it too had asked to view the raw data.

Seralini “agreed and supplied all material that was requested by the editor-in-chief,” it said.

The journal said that, while it had received many letters expressing concerns about the validity of the findings, the proper use of animals and even allegations of fraud, its own investigation found “no evidence of fraud or intentional misrepresentation of the data.”

“However, there is a legitimate cause for concern regarding both the number of animals in each study group and the particular strain selected,” it said.

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Seralini, who works in Caen with a group called CRIIGEN, the Committee for Research and Independent Information on Genetic Engineering, said the journal’s criticisms of his work were “unacceptable.”

“Were FCT to persist in its decision to retract our study, CRIIGEN would attack with lawyers, including in the United States, to require financial compensation for the huge damage to our group,” he said in a statement.

Other scientists, however, welcomed the journal’s decision, although some said it had come too late.

“The major flaws in this paper make its retraction the right thing to do,” said Cathie Martin, a professor at John Innes Centre. “The strain of rats used is highly susceptible to tumours after 18 months with or without GMO (genetically modified organisms) in their diets.”

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

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DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Dual fungicide applications lead to big bump in wheat yield Provincial agronomy researcher tested 48 management practices in test plots this summer and says fungicide application had the biggest impact on wheat yields

BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF STAFF

L

ooking for higher wheat yields? Then consider upping the budget for fungicide.

That’s the advice of Sheri Strydhorst, an agronomy research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

This past summer, Strydhorst evaluated 48 different management practices to determine the economic benefits of stacking agronomic practices for maximum wheat yield. Only fungicide application had a significant impact.

“Supplemental nitrogen didn’t significantly affect yield, nor did the growth regulators, but the fungicide really had the most profound impact,” she said.

The research was conducted

Luring corn rootworm beetles to a bad end Mutant corn could yield new ways to curb ‘billion-dollar bug’ STAFF

P

urdue and University of Illinois researchers say they may have identified a unique way of combatting corn rootworm beetles — planting a corn variety that is especially attractive to them.

The researchers have discovered a novel corn mutant which lacks the normal defence mechanism against the beetles. This could allow a “push-pull” strategy of luring them to a specific location where they can be controlled.

“Once you can get them where you want, you can use efficient, cost-effective ways of controlling them, either by directly targeting and eliminating them or by keeping them away from your main crop,” said Christian Krupke, Purdue assistant professor of entomology.

A Purdue release says western corn rootworm causes more than $1 billion damage a year in yield losses and control costs in the U.S., earning it the nickname “the billiondollar bug.”

The rootworm larvae chew on the roots of corn plants while the adult beetles eat the silks and pollen. Current control measures include crop rotation, transgenic corn plants and insecticides. But a rise in continuous corn systems, increased rootworm resistance to transgenic plants and changes in rootworm behaviour have rendered these management strategies less effective.

Western corn rootworm beetles strip tissue from the leaves of mutant corn.

PHOTO: PURDUE UNIVERSITY/ANOOP SINDHU

on small plot sites at Lacombe, Willingdon, and Barrhead.

Yields at Barrhead ranged between 106 to 148 bushels per acre. Applying Headline fungicide at flag leaf boosted yields by 20 bushels over the check, while Prosaro fungicide applied at head emergence added 21 bushels.

But the “real winner,” Strydhorst said, came from applying both.

That treatment increased yields by 30 bushels an acre.

“That was the real big winning management practice at Barrhead, and we saw the same trend at Lacombe, just with slightly different yield numbers.”

At Lacombe, yields ranged between 102 and 151 bushels an acre. Headline applied at flag leaf added 23 bushels compared to the check, and Prosaro applied at head emergence added 25 bushels.

“But when we applied both Headline and Prosaro, there

was a 33-bushel-per-acre yield increase,” said Strydhorst.

There was a major boost to the bottom line, too.

“At Barrhead, with those yield increases that we’re seeing with the dual fungicide less the cost of applying it, we’re seeing a return of $111 per acre,” said Strydhorst. “At Lacombe, because we did have the slightly higher yields, the return was $144 per acre. It’s a really wonderful return with these dual fungicide applications.”

Varietal difference

But results varied on the four wheat varieties that were tested, she added.

“We certainly need a lot more data here because if certain cultivars don’t respond to the different management practices, it’s obviously not worth putting the input costs into those particular varieties. We definitely

Agriculture and Rural Development’s Bill Chapman watches Sheri Strydhorst speak about the effect of fungicide on stripe rust occurrence during a plot tour in Willingdon this summer. PHOTO: ALBERTA WHEAT COMMISSION have some work to do there,” said Strydhorst, who plans to continue the research in 2014.

This type of intensive management also requires a solid understanding of growth staging and plenty of field scouting.

“We’re making that first fungicide application that’s truly effective around flag leaf, during the last week of June,” she said.

“So (in) the middle of June, you have to be out in your field, really looking at things.”

Producers should consider if the crop has good yield potential and whether there is a high probability of disease.

And when that crop is ready, producers will need to be ready too.

“I think you have to give up your fishing trips in June and July if you’re going to do this kind of work, because you need to be there and have that sprayer ready.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

25

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

Professor says supply management is the best system for dairy production University of Waterloo history professor says his study of free market systems convinced him they inevitably hurt producers and lead to bailouts

BY ALEXIS KIENLEN AF STAFF / EDMONTON

C

The consumer might see lower prices, but producers would suffer if supply management was scrapped, says a University of Waterloo professor.

ount Bruce Muirhead as a major fan of supply management.

The history professor and associate dean at the University of Waterloo told attendees at Alberta Milk’s recent annual general meeting that supply management is the best system in the world for dairy production, and good for consumers, too.

“Australia, the EU and the U.S. overproduce milk at a phenomenal rate — there aren’t enough markets for it,” said Muirhead.

“Prices generally have to be heavily subsidized by taxpayers, or they have other support mechanisms to keep farmers from going bankrupt.

In Canada, we have none of that.”

Muirhead conducted a study funded by the Norwegian government that compared the dairy production models of Canada, the U.S., Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Norway.

“I knew about supply management because I had worked on dairy farms when I was much, much younger,” he said. “But I never knew about the specifics.

When I got involved with the project, I hit upon supply management as a method of organizing dairy supply, which seemed to me to be a bang-on method.

“If there’s any way that you can rationalize farming and make it include the farmer, the consumer and the processor in the equation of price determination, that’s a system that is absolutely superior.”

He noted that since supply management was established in the 1970s, the number of milk processors has shrunk dramatically and a small number of very large processors now dominate the market.

That’s also the case in Australia, and that country shows a free market can fail farmers, he said. Milk in that country is often sold as a loss leader and so many dairy farmers are losing money, the Australian government is contemplating how it might regulate milk prices, said Muirhead.

“Prices generally have to be heavily subsidized by taxpayers, or they have other support mechanisms to keep farmers from going bankrupt. In Canada, we have none of that.”

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Prominent critics of supply management — such as National Post columnist Andrew Coyne and the Globe and Mail’s John Ibbitson — argue from an ideological, rather than factual, point of view, he said.

“They want to dismantle it because they think that the consumer would benefit from having the private sector operate the system,” he says. “They have an inherent dislike of any sort of regulation because of their ideological predisposition, I guess.”

The consumer might see lower prices, but producers would suffer if supply management was scrapped, he said.

“Consumers aren’t the only ones in this equation. There are producers and processors as well. And if you don’t have a producer, you don’t have a product,” he says.

Moreover, most Canadians aren’t calling for an end to supply management, he said.

“As it stands now, milk is reasonably priced as compared to other places, and as Canadians, we spend relatively little of our after-tax income on food. People are really happy with how the system operates,” he said. akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

26

DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

New German government to curb maize growing for bioelectricity It will pursue more use of waste products to reduce competition for land with other crops hamburg / reuters

G

ermany’s new grand coalition government will curb the cultivation of maize (corn) for bioelectricity production, the new coalition showed on Nov. 26.

Under the agreement, the new government will limit any expansion of bioenergy production to use only waste or leftover materials as feedstock.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) agreed a coalition contract that puts Germany on track to have a new government in place by Christmas.

German farmers cultivate large volumes of maize for electricity, often selling to power utilities from on-farm generators and benefit from high feed-in tariffs introduced

to stimulate Germany’s switch to renewable energy.

But the huge expansion of maize cultivation, mostly outside official harvest figures, has generated criticism about a one-sided agricultural policy.

“We recognize the reservations of the majority of the population against agricultural genetic technology.”

Using more waste for biopower would protect nature, prevent maize dominating the countryside and reduce competition for land with other crops, the coalition agreement said.

GM labelling

The agreement also confirmed the new government would seek tougher regulations in the European Union for labelling meat from farm animals fed on genetically modified (GMO) crops.

“We recognize the reservations of the majority of the population against agricultural genetic technology,” it said.

“We will seek an EU labelling duty for products from animals which have been fed with genetically modified plants,” it said, confirming a draft coalition agricultural policy document seen by Reuters Nov. 25.

A cornfield in front of wind turbines at the western town of Fuechtorf. photo: REUTERS/Ina Fassbender

MERS virus found in camels in Qatar

With Fuse fungicide, it doesn’t stand a chance.

The virus is linked to human spread doha/london / reuters

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cientists have found cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in camels in Qatar, health officials said Nov. 28, fuelling speculation that camels might be the animal reservoir that allowed the virus to infect and kill humans.

The SARS-like coronavirus, which emerged in the Middle East last year and has killed almost 40 per cent of the around 170 people so far infected, was found in three camels in a herd in a barn also linked to two human cases of MERS infection.

“The three camels were investigated among a herd of 14 camels, and the samples were collected as part of the epidemiological investigation,” Qatar’s Supreme Council of Health said in a statement.

It added that the two confirmed human cases linked to the barn had since recovered.

Scientists around the world have been seeking to pin down the animal source of MERS virus infections since the first human cases were confirmed.

British researchers who conducted some of the very first genetic analyses on MERS last September said the virus, which is from the same family as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, was also related to a virus found in bats.

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27

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

Take it easy hauling trailers

RCMP in Kitscoty report that on Nov. 24 they responded to an accident on Hwy. 897 near Township Road 494 where a pickup truck towing a horse trailer had slid off the road and rolled in a ditch, causing the trailer to come to rest on top of the pickup. Three people were found in the vehicle and one had to be extricated by fire services using the “jaws of life.” He was transported with non-life-threatening injuries to Edmonton

by STARS air ambulance. No charges were anticipated due to the hazardous road conditions at the time of the incident.

Photo: RCMP

staff

A

new national foundation will promote post-secondary agricultural education to Canadian high school students.

The Canadian Agri-Business Education Foundation (CABEF) will award six $2,500 scholarships annually to students enrolling in a post-secondary agricultural degree or diploma program. They will be awarded in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, with an additional scholarship available for students from other provinces or territories.

Applicants will be considered on academic standing, past and current leadership attributes, and on an essay entitled “Why I am pursuing a career in agriculture.”

This scholarship program mirrors a successful initiative in the U.S. called the Agri-Business Educational Foundation (ABEF), whose goal is to assist students interested in a career in agriculture.

“Our U.S. counterparts have seen this program make a big difference there,” said CABEF president Larry Hertz. “We’re looking forward to similar success in Canada.”

Officers include Larry Hertz (AdFarm), vice-president Jennifer Christie (John Deere), executive director Mary Thornley (Mary Thornley Management), and directors Rod Delahey (The Marketing Den), Justin Funk (Agri Studies), Daniel Lamoureux (La Terre de chez nous), and Rod Merryweather (FP Genetics).

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28

news » livestock

DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Alberta Beef Producers elect delegates

Settlement in school lunch meat recall

Alberta Beef Producers has announced a new slate of delegates for the coming year. Zones five and eight had elections, with the remaining seven zones electing delegates by acclamation.

Elections were held during the Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) meetings across the province in October and November. Zones four and seven have vacancies. A full list can be seen by visiting the ABP website www.albertabeef.org and viewing the Grass Routes Weekly newsletter for Nov. 22.

Several California companies and individuals tied to the largest beef recall in U.S. history agreed to settle charges of animal cruelty and the slaughtering of sick cattle for food, including beef supplied to the National School Lunch Program. The settlements end a federal fraud lawsuit begun in February 2008 by the Humane Society of the United States, which had obtained a video that appeared to show inhumane cattle treatment and improper inspections of sick cattle at a Chino, California, plant run by Westland Meat Co.

If we don’t measure risk, how can we manage it? – Travis Hickey

Cattle feeders measure marketing and production risks for improved profitability More money on the line means taking greater marketing risks for today’s cattle producers

Today, a one per cent change in live cattle futures represents around $18 a head and a move of one cent in the Canadian dollar is about $20 a head.

By Jennifer Blair af staff / calgary

P

roducers need to remove emotion from the equation to manage risk in feeding cattle.

“When we talk about risk management, there are so many things that contribute to our risks as cattle feeders,” Travis Hickey, general manager of cattle strategies for Western Feedlots, said during a panel discussion at the recent Canfax Cattle Market Forum.

“Can we truly measure the risks we take as cattle feeders in a repeatable fashion that removes the emotion?”

His key yardsticks are volatility and variance, Hickey said.

“If we look at the actual realized volatility and compare that to projected or implied volatility over time, it’s a pretty interesting study.”

Hickey compared 2013 live cattle figures, representing an 11 per cent change in price,

to figures from 1986 and 1996, where prices fluctuated up to 15 per cent.

“We like to think of the volatility we see in the marketplace today as exceptional and unprecedented,” he said. “I would argue it’s probably not.”

Tracking with options

One of the systems Hickey uses to project volatility is implied volatility using at-the-money option prices.

“Right now, that’s telling us we’re at about an eight per cent implied volatility. Three or four years ago, that implied volatility was like 19 per cent,” he said.

“The market’s telling us today, in a fashion that’s not based on emotion, we’re probably going to see less variation moving forward than what we’ve seen in the past two to three years.”

But that doesn’t mean there’s less risk.

“There might be less variance around that mean, but the value we have laid out there is

higher, so the risk is actually higher.”

Today, a one per cent change in live cattle futures represents around $18 a head. A move of one cent in the Canadian dollar is about $20 a head — very different from even 10 years ago.

“Even though the variance isn’t different, the dollars that we have laid out there are so much greater that a small change hits home a lot harder than a small change did 10 or 15 years ago,” said Hickey.

Production risks

Production risk is another variable that can be difficult, to quantify, but key to making money, he said.

“What we need to do is focus on the variables that have the biggest impact on our profitability and spend less time worrying about the things that don’t really impact the bottom line, even though they’re easy to quantify.”

Hickey cited average daily gain as an example. For one

low-risk class of animals, an average daily gain between 3.44 and 3.78 pounds contributes almost $8 per hundredweight difference in cost of gain.

“If you incorporate the variation in daily dry matter intake and layer that on top of what the variation is in average daily gain, you just significantly increase the true risk you have in production,” he said.

“That’s looking at a variable like average daily gain, which I would argue probably has pretty little amount of sensitivity and contribution to the overall profitability of the yard.”

Producers assume buying quality cattle will reduce their production risk, but that doesn’t always happen, he said.

“It could, as long as we’re fairly valuing the attributes that are true predictors of yield grade and quality grade, which isn’t always the case.”

Hickey compared two animals from his tracking system. The first was a Canada AAA grade animal that had a yield grade of two on

a five-point system and sold at $210 on the rail. In that animal, the actual value contribution of the yield grade and quality grade to Western’s bottom line was only about three per cent of the total value of the animal.

“How much are you willing to spend chasing that three per cent, and how much time and effort are you putting in to managing the 97 per cent?”

The second animal was Canada A grade, with a yield grade of five.

“On that animal, the yield grade and quality grade discounts, in this case, represent 13 per cent of the value. Again, what are we doing as cattle producers and where are we focusing our energy?”

Whether the risks are market based or production based, producers need to measure them effectively in order to manage them, he said.

“If we don’t measure risk, how can we manage it?” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

29

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

China’s pork industry reflects economic revolution peet on pigs } China is making the transition from backyard herds to larger modern operations

By bernie peet

I

have just come back from my fourth visit to China inside 18 months and am now beginning to understand the structure of the pork industry in this rapidly evolving and fascinating country.

The scale of change in China has to be seen to be believed and is witnessed by myriads of construction projects, from high-rise apartment blocks and industrial buildings to shopping malls and new roads.

In the pork industry, the transition from traditional “backyard” production to large-scale industrial farms, often within integrated companies, has been taking place at a speed that can only be defined as revolution, rather than evolution.

China has a slightly smaller land area than Canada, with 9.6 million square kilometres, compared to Canada’s 9.9 million. But Canada’s 34 million population is eclipsed by the 1.4 billion people in China, roughly 20 per cent of the world’s population.

While the government’s “one child” policy has contained population growth compared to many western countries, that is still a lot of mouths to feed. It is hardly surprising that a key part of the national government’s policy is to ensure that its people have access to affordable staple foods such as rice and pork. In fact, it intervenes directly to control the supply of pork and consequently the price, through a variety of means such as increasing or decreasing imports and purchasing pork as a pricesupport mechanism.

Half the world’s pigs

Estimates of the number of pigs in China vary, but are in the region of 455 million, or half the world’s pig population. Sow numbers totalled just over 50 million in September 2013. The number of hogs slaughtered each year is not so easy to quantify, with the National Bureau of Statistics of China giving a figure of 698 million for 2012 and the Ministry of Commerce saying 355 million. The discrepancy is likely due to the large numbers of hogs that are slaughtered on farm or by small-scale butchers, which is difficult to quantify. Assuming the higher figure is correct, this is equivalent to an average of just 14 pigs marketed per sow per year.

Average carcass weight is relatively low at 76 kg, but anticipated to rise to 80 kg by 2015.

Meat consumption in China has risen more than fourfold since economic reform started in the late 1970s and now stands at 37 kg of pork, 13 kg of poultry and nine kg of beef and sheepmeat per capita.

Although pork is still the most popular meat, its share of total meat consumption has fallen from 80 per cent in 1985 to 64 per cent in 2012. Growth in pork demand has now slowed to a rate of one or two per cent per year.

The rapidly changing structure of the pork production and processing sectors has been the most important development over the last 20 years. There has been a massive exodus of backyard producers, which are being replaced either by independent specialist producers or large-scale, often integrated operations. This reflects China’s urbanization, whereby people have left villages in the country to get jobs in the cities.

The modernization of the pork industry has been supported by the government because it wants the industry to become more professional and efficient, while improving food safety. A per-sow subsidy was initiated in 2007, withdrawn in 2010-11, then reintroduced again at a rate of 100 yuan ($15) per sow.

In addition, there are a variety of incentives, grants and tax breaks that encourage structural change.

Official statistics show that the percentage of pigs produced on backyard farms — those marketing less than 50 pigs per year — fell from 73 per cent in 2002, to 34 per cent in 2010.

Herd size increasing

Independent “professional” producers — typically those with 10 to 100 sows — have taken up the slack and still represent the majority sector in the industry. Herd size is increasing as the industry consolidates, but there are still a lot of farms with 20 to 30 sows. Breeding herd productivity averages about 13 to 14 pigs weaned per sow.

Large-scale, or “commercial” farms are defined as those producing more than 3,000 pigs per year, and this sector is expanding the most. A number of major processors have established their own farms to create vertically integrated systems, often sending pigs

Bernie Peet’s trainees practise their farrowing skills.

A worker feeds gruel to recently weaned piglets at a farm in southern China. from their own breeding units to contract finisher farms, which they also supply with feed. These companies are developing rapidly, building new farms which utilize North American or European technology and genetics.

However, while the newer farms provide excellent facilities, productivity is constrained by a shortage of skilled and experienced staff. Typically, these farms are weaning about 20 pigs per sow, so have a lot of potential for improvement. Over the past 18 months, I have been working with two integrated companies to train staff in modern pig produc-

tion techniques, and also teaching them to deliver training in production skills to workers on their farms. While many of the staff are well educated, they lack knowledge about pigs and the processes involved in production, and so are not equipped to achieve the performance levels we expect in the West. However, the production companies are very aware that this is an issue and are now starting to address it, opening up the opportunity to improve performance significantly in the future.

Finally, a word about economics. Since 2006, hog prices have increased considerably, partly

because the development of largescale operations failed to keep up with the reduction in backyard producers. Also, diseases such as PRRS, Circovirus and PEDv have led to large production losses and tight pork supplies, notably in 2008 and 2011. While high feed prices bit into margins in 2012-13, currently producers are making good profits, with the hog price at $3/ kg carcass weight, double that of 10 years ago.

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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A typical barn in southern China, with open sides and hand-adjusted curtain ventilation.

30

DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Which is better: big cows or little cows? It depends Heavier-milking, bigger cows are more efficient in some situations, while moderate, lighter-milking cows are more efficient in others

BY KARIN SCHMID BEEF PRODUCTION SPECIALIST, ALBERTA BEEF PRODUCERS

M

arketing cows because they are open, calved late or their conformation is breaking down are easy decisions. Marketing cows or retaining heifers based on productive efficiency definitely requires more thought.

Biological efficiency is not always the same as economic efficiency. In a cattle production system, efficiency is often a combination of those two. How we optimize efficiency will depend on: • The genetic potential of the cow herd, • The environment in which the cattle are raised, and • Marketing strategy.

Selection for the type of cattle that perform best in the feedlot (i.e. produce the most beef in the shortest period) may not produce the ideal replacement animals in a grazing environment, yet selection for improved growth rates has increased average mature cow weights from 1,000 lbs. to 1,400 lbs. over the last 30 years. Almost all producers underestimate the size of their cows, unless or until they weigh them.

Maintaining herd performance records can take some of the guesswork out of defining which cows are efficient producers. Adjusted 205-day weaning weights remove

the age bias and are quite useful in a tight calving period. However, during long, drawn-out calving seasons (which are inherently inefficient), adjusted weaning weights will tend to favour light, late-born calves which may or may not continue to grow the way the adjustment predicts.

Bigger cow, more feed

Determining cow productive efficiency by using weaning weight as a percentage of cow body weight is definitely biased towards smaller cows, and not a true measure of efficiency. A 1,100-lb. cow weaning 60 per cent of her body weight weans a 660-lb. calf. A 1,400-lb. cow that weans at 50 per cent of her body weight is weaning a calf that is 40 lbs. heavier. Heavier cows tend to wean heavier calves, and a heavier cow will bring more at auction when it is time to ship her.

But a heavier cow means increased maintenance requirements for feed, and the same amount of pasture will carry fewer big cows than smaller cows. This is not a linear relationship, however.

Increasing cow weight by 27 per cent (from 1,100 lbs. to 1,400 lbs., assuming a high lactation level for both weight classes) only increases maintenance requirements by 20 per cent. For that reason, 78, 1,400lb. cows require about the same amount of feed for maintenance as 93, 1,100-lb. cows.

The total feed energy required increases as cows get bigger, but the amount of energy required

per lb. of body weight actually decreases, making a 1,400-lb. cow 5.5 per cent more efficient than a 1,100-lb. cow, assuming similar milk production. Perhaps obviously, cows with higher genetic potential for milk production will have increased maintenance requirements, but also produce a heavier calf at weaning.

Pencilling it out

What needs to be pencilled out is whether the potential increases in weaning weight and salvage value from larger, heaviermilking cows offset the costs of increased feed and decreased carrying capacity. The answer here depends almost entirely on the environment (quality and quantity of forage resources), cost of supplemental winter feed, and marketing strategy.

In the table, we can see that heavier-milking, bigger cows are more efficient in some situations, while moderate, lighter-milking cows are more efficient in others. A similar table can be found in the latest Beef Improvement Federation Guidelines.

Environments such as the shortgrass parts of the country favour small to moderate cows without extreme milk production, while the Parkland region tends to favour larger, heavier milking cows. An early Agriculture Canada study illustrates this point. In Brandon, Man., a fertile area where feed resources were abundant, heavy milkers

were the most profitable cows.

However, in the Manyberries, Alta. area, where feed resources were more limited and the environment more stressful, light to moderate milkers proved to be the most profitable.

Feed efficiency is one trait that has the ability to dramatically influence the type of cows you match to the environment.

A big cow may eat the same as a smaller cow while raising the same-size calf and maintaining the same reproductive cycle and body condition. The way that cows utilize feed (especially in pasture or forage situations) has not been studied to the same extent as feed efficiency in feeder animals.

A project funded by the Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) intends to provide a reliable method of measuring feed efficiency in replacement heifers by compar-

ing residual feed intake (RFI) measurements in confinement and on pasture, while also quantifying the relationship of RFI with first-calving fertility and productivity.

Another project funded by ABP and the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) under the second Beef Cattle Industry Science Cluster aims to demonstrate how to build a feed-efficient cow herd without sacrificing reproductive performance and maintaining or improving progeny carcass traits. Results are expected in 2016.

There is more to cow efficiency than size, and while bigger is not always better, it might be in some situations. Selecting cows that are the best fit for their environment, available resources, and your marketing strategy will optimize production efficiency and improve profitability.

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Larger cows may be better in the Parkland area, and smaller ones in drier shortgrass regions.

Factors to consider in choosing cow size • What do my cows actually weigh?

• Are the bigger cows weaning heavier calves? How much heavier?

• What price would they bring at auction?

• How much more are the bigger cows eating? What does this cost in winter feed?

• Is my environment better suited to larger or smaller cows in terms of pasture resources in an average year?

• Assuming my environment is suitable, how many more smaller cows could I stock

on my pasture if I got rid of the bigger cows?

• Approximately what would those calves from the smaller cows weigh at weaning and what price would they bring at auction?

• Is the income from the larger cows’ calves higher than the cost of feeding them during the winter and higher than projected income from more light calves?

• What’s the difference in salvage value between my bigger market cows and smaller market cows?

31

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

Rushing from one task to another takes its toll on family life straight from the hip } The drive to succeed brings rewards, but they shouldn’t

come at the expense of your family or personal development

By brenda schoepp

L

isa Genova’s inspirational book, Left Neglected, is the story of a young executive who suffers brain damage in a car accident caused by searching for her cellphone. As a result, she has no feeling on her left side and only slight feeling on her right. The book tells of her struggle to be connected to herself and to once again feel whole.

Genova’s work resonated with me on many different levels and was the perfect read after living the laid-back lifestyle of New Zealand. In Alberta, where we are busy working ourselves to the point of extinction, there is a constant pressure to perform.

I have lived that life and died that death. In living that life I gave up the first words, the first steps, the first dates, and first births for “the industry.” And although many of those years were tough and rewarding as a single parent and struggling entrepreneur, if I had a chance to do it over, I would have lived my life differently.

I would have asked a mentor to guide me and a business coach to train me. I would have built my business around my family, not on my little family. And I would have learned that there would not be a dire consequence in saying “no.”

When the going got tough and I got going, it would have been a team effort rather than a fragmented series of trade-offs that eroded precious family time and connections.

In dying that death and living again, I had a second chance even after learning to walk, talk, read and count accurately again. And that is why a book like Left Neglected is so close to my journey and such a testament to what we are capable of overcoming in our lives. In this story, the main character Sarah is fighting to regain herself from her handicap. A poster on the wall always intrigued her and she read it as a clenched fist with the word ATTITUDE in bold.

When she was facing the fear of her limited abilities in going home from rehab, a caregiver reminded her of how lucky she was. How fortunate that she was not killed in the car accident or that her children were not in the car. How lucky she was to know herself and her family and to be able to articulate her feelings and needs. She took one last look at the gym that she was taking therapy in and saw the poster on the wall. To her amazement, there was not a clenched fist in the poster but two hands clasped together with the word GRATITUDE in bold.

A change in perspective revealed a new meaning to Sarah that she could carry into her life. There are days when we zip through life on attitude, but would it not be better to live days a little more slowly in gratitude? We could go farther faster, but what about the journey? We could jam our children into anther event or sit down with them and play cards or

Lives can be richer if you take more time for friends and family. photo: thinkstock sort those cows one more time or zip around the dance (or kitchen) floor with our beloved.

We might even take one-tenth of our time for our personal growth and building family and community relationships and maybe — just maybe — we would be richer for the change.

The good life is an individual measurement and a private choice. But if you find yourself reliving close calls rather than lovely moments; facing your days in complete exhaustion rather than taking in your surroundings with joy; or find yourself hating your job, your farm or your family, then perhaps it

is time to step back before the inevitable crash as you are looking for something and be grateful for what is working on your left side!

I often think of my dearest friend Lynn, who we lost this summer. She loved life and was forever cheerful and happy. She would laugh and tease and was always appreciative of a visit.

She could bring sun into anyone’s day. What she could not do was walk or feed herself.

What she could not do was read a book or get dressed. What she could not do was send an email or control the temperature in her room, snuggle under a blanket when she was cold, or see her grandchildren. But as she lay in her bed, day after day and year after year, she lived her life with gratitude and would tell you with all sincerity that hers was a good life.

Sarah and Lynn remind us that our lives are short, beau-

tiful pieces of history. We can choose to work ourselves to extinction or write the script.

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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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.

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DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Horse hay quality is in the eyes of the beholder The overall health and appearance of your horse tells you a lot about the quality of its feed

BY CAROL SHWETZ, DVM

H

ay is one of those products that does not come with a label, feed tag or guaranteed analysis, yet what is in “it” or even what is not in “it” are valuable questions when meeting your horse’s dietary needs. Since forage comprises the largest volume, and at times, all of your horse’s diet, hay assessment is a worthwhile exercise.

Seemingly simple parameters such a how the hay “looks,” “feels” and “smells” can be surprisingly effective at assessing its quality. Hay with the best combination of desirable physical characteristics will generally be of good nutritional value. Although numbers generated by forage test stations are valuable and at times necessary, they play a role of secondary importance to the physical qualities of hay.

Understanding the physical nature of hay enables horse owners to match ideal hay with horse type and demands.

Typically the nutritional needs

of individual horses will be better suited towards certain forage species.

Timothy grass hays may fall short of meeting the nutrient requirements of high-production life stages, but is an excellent hay for horses that require bulk in their diet. Timothy, alfalfa, orchard grass, fescue, brome and clover all have easily recognizable physical characteristics and distinct nutrient profiles. Weeds and noxious plants will also have readily distinguishable characteristics. Their identification in a hay crop is equally important.

Stage of maturity

The stage of maturity when the plant is harvested will be of next importance to the horse.

As a plant matures towards seed formation, its growth pattern changes from leaf production to stem formation. Hays cut shortly after emergence of seed heads, are “soft” to the touch and leafy. They are relatively high in protein content, nutrient dense and of good palatability. Early-maturing hay may be ideal for growing

horses and lactating mares, yet may not be the best choice for horses requiring less nutrients. These horses are better matched to mid- to latematuring hays. Metabolically challenged horses, sedentary horses or horses in light work thrive on coarse mature hays.

The colour of hay reveals its plant type, stage of harvest, and its growing and storage conditions. The natural green colour is preferred as such indicates absence of rain damage, weathering, moulds and heat damage. Hay rained on or weathered will turn pale. A little rain soon after cutting does little harm to hays and may even be favourable to some horses as up to 30 per cent of a hay’s sugars can be washed away with the rain.

Ideally hay is baled when its moisture content is 15 to 17 per cent. Hay put up with a higher moisture content is at risk for heating and provides ideal growing conditions for mould. Although mould can show itself as patches of darker discolouration, it is not always visible.

Follow your nose

A sharp, musty, and/or metallic odour will alert one to mould.

Learn to recognize the ‘right’ weight range for a bale of hay.

Hay baled too dry will be very light and have leaf shatter and/ or crumble when touched or disturbed. Its nutritional value will be limited.

These bales will often be very dusty. When a single bale is ‘very’ heavy to lift it may have been baled too moist and is now heating, breeding mould, and caramelizing/degrading the sugars and proteins. Once again your sense of smell will alarm you. Avoid dusty and mouldy hays as both cause damage to the horse’s respiratory system.

Horse owners are encouraged to have their hay further analyzed by a laboratory when the quality of the hay is of concern, rations require balancing or supplementation or when a nutritional problem is perceived.

Fortunately most hay dealers will eagerly provide a laboratory analysis for their hay.

If not, many local agriculture

extension services or feed stores offer analysis services.

One might also consider sending a sample to EquiAnalytical Laboratories (HYPERLINK “http://www. horsechannel.com/redirect. aspx?location=http per cent3a per cent2f per cent2fwww.equianalytical.com” www.equianalytical.com).

Sampling requirements, numbers provided and interpretative support offered to horse owners varies significantly between laboratories. Equine nutritionists and veterinarians are additional resources available to interpret results generated by forage-testing stations. The services of specialty labs may also be necessary when the levels of trace mineral and vitamins are in question.

Remember to include the health and appearance of the horse(s) as feedback when assessing forage quality. Ultimately this is the true determinant of forage quality.

Carol Shwetz is a veterinarian specializing in equine practice at Westlock, Alberta

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33

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

Cows fall through roof

Jan Slomp new NFU president

BBC reports that a fibre artist in Cornwall, England escaped injury when two cows dropped through the roof of her workshop. The cows fell through a skylight after breaking through a fence in a nearby field. “I heard a terrific crash. I ran outside thinking a tree had come down,” Sue Marshall told the BBC. “Then I noticed a hole in the roof and a cow looking at me through the door.” After she herded the cow out, the second cow came through, smashing the loom bench where she sits to weave. “Each one miraculously missed my loom,” she said. “Goodness knows what would have happened if I had been sitting at the bench,” Marshall said. Both cows were unharmed.

Jan Slomp of Rimbey, Alta. was elected by acclamation as president of the National Farmers Union at its 44th annual national convention in Ottawa, Nov. 27-30, succeeding Terry Boehm.

Ann Slater of St. Marys, Ont. was acclaimed as first vice-president (policy). Coral Sproule of Perth, Ont. was acclaimed as second vice-president (operations). Joan Brady of Dashwood, Ont. was acclaimed as women’s president and Marcella Pedersen of Cut Knife, Sask. was elected as NFU women’s vice-president. Alex Fletcher of Victoria, B.C. was acclaimed as youth president and Lisa Lundgard of Grimshaw, B.C. was elected NFU youth vice-president.

Live in the past. Reject new ideas.

Watch community die A marketing strategist warns local leaders of what comes from rejecting change and acting ‘dumb’ so less is expected of them

People want to genuinely love the place they live, Alberta marketing strategist tells municipal leaders. PHOto: thinkstock

By Lorraine Stevenson staff / brandon, man.

A

ll small-town coffee shops should have a designated “be happy” section, says Chris Fields.

Coffee shop critics with all their “nattering and chattering” are part of what’s killing rural communities, says Fields, a senior marketing strategist with the Alberta-based Twist Marketing Firm, and author of 13 Ways to Kill Your Community, a guide to helping municipal leaders identify ways to make the places they govern stronger.

“Coffee shops are horrible places for that. They’re the bane of rural existence.

It’s where all the, ‘this can’t work’ and, ‘that can’t work’ talk goes on,” the marketing strategist told about 900 municipal leaders at the Association of Manitoba Municipalities annual meeting here last month.

Headquartered in Calgary, Fields’ firm helps towns and cities across Canada and the U.S. become better places to live and more attractive to investors and tourists.

His presentation, equal parts entertaining humour, sarcasm and rebuke spoke of how local councils likewise wreck com-

munities, when they shoot down new ideas, resist change, and “act dumb so people ask less of you.”

Fields criticized government in general, and local government in particular, for their tendency to hunker down to manage and maintain, rather than set vision and new direction for their communities.

Local-level government is best positioned to do the bold, original, creative stuff people want for the places they live, because it’s government closest to people, said Fields. Trends that bode really well are the buy-local movement and an emerging ‘creative class’ across all of North America — people who are seeking real meaning and engagement with the places they live.

“My argument is we’re the closest thing for people to be able to achieve meaning in these places,” Fields said.

But what local councils do is ignore youth, put up roadblocks to business, live in the past, and reject change — contributing to the community-killing culture of naysayers that dominates the local coffee shop.

“Government has become a very efficient operational services provider, and not much more,” he said. Too much time is spent producing incomprehen-

sible reports and plans that are basically “jumble puzzles” no one would even attempt to read, he said.

“It’s where we’re really lacking. You’re investing all of this energy in strategic planning but, by the way, there are 47 plans. A councillor in Stony Plain, west of Edmonton six months ago said to me,’We have so many goddamned plans I don’t know what we’re doing.’”

A council fails to engage the public in what they’re up to at their peril. His firm has surveyed people about how they perceive municipal-level government in general and logged words such as “boring.” When asked how confident they were in their current representatives a third replied they “don’t know.”

Voter apathy

It leads to the dismally low voter turnout in municipal elections, he said, citing a 25 per cent voter turnout in Alberta during its recent elections.

“And how many people do you have at your council meetings these days?” he asked AMM convention delegates. “One? Two? Are they even alive back there?”

He challenged community leaders to take a lesson from history, when political life was a high calling, and town lead-

ers a century ago were building places of beauty and aspiring to leave a legacy to serve generations to come.

It is about government setting direction, and providing services at a price people are willing to pay, he said, noting it’s the setting direction part that is failing, he said.

“You need to be asking yourselves what plan are you producing that creates that emotional engagement with your community,” he said. Sixty-nine per cent of Canadians don’t live in the town they were born, and seven per cent live in a place they first visited as a tourist.

“Think about this as a matter of communities,” he said. “When I work with communities on their brand, I ask these questions: Why do you matter, to a visitor, to regular folks, to an investor?”

Their citizens are craving a place to live that matters. It’s government’s job to imagine a community that’s different and better than what they currently have.

“We all secretly want to love where we live,” he said. “A barometer of whether we’re happy or not tends to relate to where we live.” lorraine@fbcpublishing.com

34

DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

U.S. farm sector bracing to ‘sober up’ from boom in 2014 The only question is whether it will be a hard landing or a soft one

By Christine Stebbins chicago / reuters

A

fter more than six years of unprecedented boom in the U.S. farm economy driven by a government-backed drive for biofuels, record-low interest rates and rising food exports, American grain farmers and their bankers are bracing for change.

U.S. farmers have just finished harvesting their largest corn crop in history — taking the steam out of a long bull market. In November the Obama administration also signalled that renewable fuels were losing political favour as the Environmental Protection Agency proposed cutting the amount of corn-based ethanol oil refiners must blend into U.S. fuel supplies.

The EPA news sent the corn market to its lowest in three years, with prices trading near $4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, compared with record levels above $8 in the summer of 2012 in the midst of the historic Midwest drought.

Incomes shrink

A growing number of farm bankers and economists interviewed at a Chicago Federal Reserve conference and the American Bankers ag meeting in Minneapolis this month warned farmers to brace for change in the coming year. Grain farmers will see their income shrink even as costs to produce crops stay high.

Farmland rents and seed costs are among the biggest costs that may resist declines in the face of falling crop revenues, but fertilizer also remains pricey, they said.

Additionally, during the yearslong grain boom many farmers paid

A harvester machine clears a field of corn in late autumn in Thurmont, Maryland. With corn prices falling, economists are predicting leaner times ahead for farmers photo: REUTERS/Gary Cameron cash for farm machinery and land at record-high prices — which kept their debt low but cut the amount of cash on hand.

So far, interest rates are staying low for refinancing or fresh debt, working in farmers’ favour. But debt pressures remain intense in some pockets of the Corn Belt among many younger and more aggressive farmers who hopped on the boom.

So distress sales of assets or even foreclosures and bankruptcies look inevitable as a “down” cycle returns to grain prices, farming experts say.

“The year 2014 will be the sobering-up period,” said Michael Swanson, an economist and senior vice-president with Wells Fargo, the largest private lender to U.S. agriculture.

Cost of production gap

He said pockets of distress in the northern Midwest were evident.

Last year in Minnesota there was a $2.75-per-bushel gap in the cost of production between the best and worst growers in the state, Swanson said.

“Four-dollar corn would be bust for the high-cost producers and a burden for the low-cost producers,” he said. “We will see a lot of stress with $4 corn, which will transform the market.”

David Kohl, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at Virginia Tech, noted: “You have a group that is very efficient and doing well, but we’re starting to see stress in that lower-affluent economic producer.

“It’s going to be interesting to see this play out this fall and winter.”

Hard or soft landing?

Other farm bankers and economists at the Fed conference agreed that stress is here or on the way in grain country, with the debate only on whether there will be a hard or soft landing. Most forecast a soft landing, with limited distressed sales of assets like land or farm foreclosures due to over-leveraged balance sheets. Few saw analogies to the 1980s, when thousands of over-leveraged farmers lost their farms as interest rates spiked.

Purdue economist Michael Boehlje told the conference there were four major booms in U.S. farm history — including the last six years of the biofuels boom, when plantings and prices both rose to records. What followed those booms, he said, were two

busts and one soft landing. The two busts were marked by profound declines in export demand.

“The bust years were triggered by a cut-off in exports,” Boehlje said, noting that U.S. exports remain strong and biofuels’ corn demand, though it may not grow at the same rate, will still take up to 40 per cent of the U.S. crop.

“I’m expecting a soft landing,” he said.

A key economic indicator of the health of the farm economy is the value of farmland.

Quarterly surveys released in November of more than 400 farm bankers in the Grain Belt confirmed that farmland auctions are showing a steady to weak tone for the first time in five years. Doubts centre on 2014 crop revenue, but other key variables are also fuelling worry. The status of crop insurance in the absence of a new Farm Bill was the best example.

“The decline in commodity prices is going to have an influence on real estate. Where we end up is hard to say,” said Curt Covington, senior vice-president at Bank of the West. “Say you had 20 per cent decline in real estate prices, most farmers’ balance sheets are pretty well protected because there isn’t a lot of real estate debt.”

But if he is not overly concerned about a land bubble popping, cash flow is another matter.

“My biggest concern is not leverage, it’s liquidity — how much working capital is in the balance sheet?” Covington said.

“Traditionally, Midwest farmers don’t carry a lot of working capital on the balance sheet.”

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he Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) has announced that Gilles Bélanger is recipient of the 2013 CFGA Leadership Award.

Bélanger is a Quebec-based research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in the area of physiology and agronomy of forage crops.

“Dr. Bélanger’s contribution to improving the productivity and adaptation of forages in Eastern Canada has been outstanding,” said CFGA chair Doug Wray.

The CFGA said Bélanger has significantly contributed to the development of innovations related to growth and quality of forage crops, winter survival of perennial crops, potential impact of climate change to forage crops, diagnostic methods of nitrogen and phosphorus deficiency, potential of perennial crops for biomass production on marginal lands and the benefits of legume-grass mixtures.

He has been instrumental in the development of cropping practices to increase the level of non-

structural carbohydrates in forage crops, to produce forages for dry cows, and to improve the digestibility of forage crops while maintaining their yield and persistence.

He developed the first model of growth and nutritive value of timothy (CATIMO), and plants-based diagnostic tools for phosphorus and nitrogen in forage grasses.

Bélanger will be presented with the award Dec. 10 at the CFGA conference in Olds, Alta.

Gilles Bélanger is a Quebec-based research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Supplied photo

35

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

Analysis: Perky EU wheat prices may turn around U.S. market U.S. traders may be focusing too much on local supply and not enough on the world market

BY GAVIN MAGUIRE

U

REUTERS

.S. winter wheat futures have languished near their lowest levels in more than a year following a healthy start to the young U.S. winter wheat crop and a general easing in global supply balances due to strong production in Canada, the EU and elsewhere.

But strong import demand in such places as China and Egypt lifted EU wheat values to near a seven-month high last week in what could be a sign that the global wheat market is finally primed for a recovery as focus shifts to demand from supply.

Too much focus on U.S. factors

In recent months U.S. grain traders have been looking at an array of U.S.-centric market barometers for signs on wheat price direction.

Throughout the past summer, updates on the scope and health of U.S. spring wheat production were closely tracked alongside updates on cash price dynamics across a number of major U.S. demand locations.

In addition, changes to U.S. supply-and-demand forecasts were monitored in monthly crop updates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Throughout the past summer, updates on the scope and health of U.S. spring wheat production were closely tracked.

This mix of information seemed to justify the broad downturn in wheat values for most of 2013 to date. An exception was in October, when wheat briefly bounced higher as a sudden surge in U.S. export business caught several short-biased traders by surprise.

Even the late-October pullback in prices made sense as U.S. export sales dropped off just as winter wheat sowings were completed in a timely fashion amid broadly friendly field conditions.

But the recent upturn in European wheat values reveals that traders now need to start looking further afield for guidance on wheat price potential, especially now that the U.S. supply-side story is starting to wind down and overall market focus is shifting to overall demand potential.

Europe leading the way, but…

Europe, due to its status as one of the world’s largest wheat growers, as well as its location on the doorstep of major wheat consumers in North Africa and the Middle East, has been widely expected to take centre stage in global wheat trade for the next several months.

It also has been widely expected that the relative abundance of wheat from the region — production is projected at its highest level in five years — would act as a weight on prices for the foreseeable future

as traders struggled to off-load excess supplies to choosy buyers.

But instead of heading lower, European wheat values have pushed higher in recent weeks as a combination of robust importer demand and a clogged logistical supply chain throughout France and other export locations pressured buyers to lift their bids in order to secure supplies.

The result has been a widening in the price spread between benchmark European (MATIF) wheat futures and Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures to more than $25 per tonne from around $5 at the beginning of November.

This is the widest premium for MATIF wheat over Kansas wheat since the midst of the 2013 U.S. winter wheat harvest in late spring, and reveals how urgent the cur-

rent consumer demand is for grain supplies.

But more importantly, this differential is now close to the cost of shipping grain from the U.S. to North Africa, and so renders U.S. prices highly competitive relative to European supplies even though E.U. exporters are located far closer to many of the world’s top end-users.

If the MATIF wheat premium relative to Kansas wheat proves to be sustainable for more than a few days, consumers will likely turn to the United States for supplies they are unable to pull out of the E.U. And this in turn could prove to be the trigger for a more enduring rally in U.S. wheat prices than has been seen of late.

The author is a Reuters market analyst.

The opinions expressed are his own.

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

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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 BiotechnologyDerived 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. Genuity and Design®, Genuity®, Roundup Ready® and Roundup® are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC, Monsanto Canada, Inc. licensee. ©2013 Monsanto Canada Inc. Proven® Seed is a registered trademark of Crop Production Services (Canada) Inc. CPS CROP PRODUCTION SERVICES and Design is a registered trademark of Crop Production Services, Inc.

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DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Chinese state media kick into high gear to ease GMO food fears Winning acceptance won’t be easy in a country gripped by food scares

BY DAVID STANWAY AND NIU SHUPING BEIJING / REUTERS

C

hina’s state media are working overtime to persuade the public that genetically modified food is safe, apparently softening up the population for a policy switch to allow the sale of such food to ensure its 1.35 billion people have enough to eat.

In the past 30 years, China’s urban population has jumped to about 700 million from under 200 million, driving up demand for meat and staples such as rice that scientists say only GMO can satisfy.

Imported GMO soybeans are already used as feed for animals but winning acceptance for the more widespread use of GMO may be a hard sell in a country frequently in the grip of food scares — just this year over baby milk powder and chemicals in chickens, for instance.

GMO food faces opposition even at the top levels of Chinese bureaucracy, with a senior national security official likening it to opium.

But state media is taking up the fight. The Communist Party mouthpiece, the People’s Daily on Nov. 11 rejected rumours that eating GMO food could alter human DNA, and news agency Xinhua ran

an investigation last week debunking tales that GMO corn consumption had reduced sperm counts.

Zhang Qifa, known as China’s “father of GMO rice,” recently criticized the Ministry of Agriculture for refusing to approve strains that have cost billions of yuan in research over the past decade.

Beijing granted safety certificates for its first genetically modified rice in 2009 but has so far refused to authorize commercial production until the public is onside.

The certificate for Zhang’s pestresistant “Bt” rice will expire next year, meaning researchers have to reapply, a process that could take years.

“Right now, China’s GMO rice production has ground to a halt...

I personally think we have missed opportunities to develop,” Zhang said, adding that GMO commercialization wasn’t a matter for the public and should begin without delay.

Huang Dafang, a researcher with the Biotechnology Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, was unimpressed with the media campaign. “We have not seen any signs of progress, only the continuation of the debate.”

Scientists have been at pains to show that GMO is already part of the food chain: China is the world’s top importer of GMO soybeans, used as feed, and also imports

An employee works at a chicken-processing factory in Hefei, Anhui province. Rising food prices and concerns over grains security have caused a shift in Chinese regulators’ attitude towards genetically modified crops. PHOTO: REUTERS/STRINGER GMO corn from the United States and elsewhere.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has forecast China’s rice imports would reach a record high of 3.4 million tonnes in 2013-14 and researchers say China is facing a growing food gap that can only be properly addressed through the use of GMO. But while policy-makers have expressed optimism about GMO crops and scientists have long urged the government to allow new strains of GMO rice, Beijing will not move until it is sure the

risks are minimal and that, crucially, the public is behind it.

A new kind of opium

The debate hasn’t been entirely one-way, with influential researchers still urging caution, especially when it comes to staples like rice and wheat.

“Many have said there are no risks to GMO food but the risks may not even be discovered in three or five years but actually over three to five generations,” said Jiang Changyun, research director at the Industrial Devel-

opment Research Institute, who wants the government to improve food labelling so that people can decide themselves whether to eat GMO or not.

The debate has moved into the realms of national security, with Peng Guangqian, deputy secretary-general of the National Security Policy Committee, likening GMO food in August to a new kind of opium being forced upon China by western companies.

Writing in Global Times, a tabloid backed by the People’s Daily, Peng said companies such as Monsanto and DuPont were dumping GMO products on China.

Wang Xiaoyu, an official at the Heilongjiang Soybean Association, said GMO soyoil consumed in southern parts of the country was linked to high cancer rates.

However, another worry, he conceded, was that imports of cheap GMO soy had led to a fall in local production, since many planters were unable to compete.

Huang of the Biotechnology Research Institute complained that the scientific debate had been hijacked.

“GMO is a scientific matter and should not be debated at the social level. If China’s Three Gorges dam and nuclear power were decided by public debate, neither would have been established,” he said.

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Albertafarmexpress.ca • december 9, 2013

The statistics prove it — winter has arrived in Alberta One thing is for sure — there will be moisture for spring germination Agri-News

F

rom Nov. 13 to 24 at least three major snowstorms swept across the province.

The hardest-hit agricultural areas were found in a large band extending from Grande Prairie to Red Deer, with many areas experiencing up to a foot or more of new snow. High mountain areas saw even greater accumulations with some stations recording upwards of 75 mm of precipitation, or nearly three feet of new snow.

“The 11 days leading up to November 24, 2013, saw appreciable amounts of precipitation in most areas south of Peace River and north of the Trans-Canada Highway,” says Ralph Wright, manager of Agro-meteorological Applications and Modelling Section, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “A large area west of Edmonton, lying between Whitecourt and Lacombe, received upwards of 50 mm, bringing total snowpack accumulations in these areas to well-above normal for this time of year.”

Winter is here in full force with snowpacks in many areas north of the Trans-Canada Highway near normal to well-above normal.

The areas with low soil moisture

Winter is here in full force with snowpacks in many areas north of the Trans-Canada Highway near normal to well-above normal. photo: thinkstock reserves are already getting a good start for the spring melt.

“While the full force of winter is upon most of us, take heart in the fact that the days will be getting longer in four weeks,” comments Wright.

Interesting facts

On Nov. 19, 2013 high in the mountains, the Lost Creek South

station located near the continental divide, west of Stavely, recorded more than 45 mm of precipitation over a three-hour period, which is nearly two feet of snow. On that same day, the total precipitation measured was 73 mm or about three feet of snow.

Out on the plains between Nov. 15 and 17, the Battle River Headwaters station, located just south-

west of Pigeon Lake, recorded 33.7 mm of precipitation. That’s over one foot of new snow. As of Dec. 2, since Nov. 14, this station had recorded 54.7 mm of precipitation which is equivalent to about two feet of new snow. In comparison, the normal precipitation accumulations for the entire month of November is just over 20 mm or about eight inches of snow.

Maps corresponding to this moisture update can be found on the Moisture Situation Update web page. Additional maps can be found on the ACIS website.

Near-real-time hourly station data can also be viewed or downloaded.

Data has about a two-hour lag and is displayed in MST (add one hour for daylight savings time).

China may reject more GMO corn Variety is already shipped to Japan and EU is expected to get China approval soon

By Niu Shuping and David Stanway beijing / reuters

C

hina, one of the world’s largest corn importers, is likely to reject more U.S. shipments of the grain after they were found to contain a genetically modified variety not approved by Beijing, traders said.

That has sparked fears that other cargoes could be turned away, with some traders and buyers warning that uncertainty over the discovery could prompt

a sharp decline in new Chinese orders for U.S corn.

“We are completely lost and have no idea how to deal with the situation,” said one executive with a major animal feed mill.

“Not all corn cargoes were blocked for entry, but it is a messy situation.”

An initial U.S. corn cargo was rejected in mid-November due to the discovery of the same variety, Syngenta AG’s Agrisure Viptera, at a time when U.S. corn exports to China have been soaring as Beijing grapples with record-

high domestic corn prices and rising demand for food.

Traders have said that the variety, also known as MIR 162, is set to be approved by China soon. It is already shipped to destinations such as top corn importer Japan, South Korea and the European Union.

Slowing Chinese demand would drag further on global prices that have dropped around 40 per cent so far this year on expectations of a bumper U.S. harvest.

One cargo of about 60,000 tonnes in the southern province of Fujian was

found to be tainted with MIR 162, traders said on Tuesday.

The same GMO strain was found in another 49 containers, equivalent to 1,225 tonnes, at the port of Shenzhen, they said. It was Shenzhen’s quarantine authority that last month rejected one cargo of the grain from the United States containing MIR 162.

“Since this is the same GMO in the latest discovery, the shipments may have to be blocked for entry,” said one trader.

The U.S. supplied nearly 94 per cent of China’s corn imports in the first 10 months of 2013.

China already allows imports of 25 different GMO corn varieties and is considering adding other commonly cultivated kinds to the list, including Agrisure Viptera, which has been pending approval for about 18 months.

Designed to offer enhanced protection against crop-damaging insects and widely grown in the U.S., it was expected to get the green light later this year or in 2014, according to traders.

A bulk corn shipment from Argentina was cleared for import earlier this year despite it containing traces of MIR 162.

The latest possible rejection comes as Beijing gets into full swing stockpiling its domestic corn harvest in the major growing provinces in the northeast, aiming to shore up domestic prices and help farmers.

Beijing is offering subsidies to feed mills in buying domestic corn due to tight storage capacity. Domestic demand has been weakening, while the country, the world’s second-largest corn consumer, is expected to harvest a record crop this year.

38

DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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39

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • DECEMBER 9, 2013

FARM MACHINERY Grain Handling

BUILDINGS

FARM MACHINERY Parts & Accessories

BUILDINGS

1999 CAT 460 1,400 sep. hrs, rake up $79,000; 2005 MacDon 922, 16-ft DK, $13,500; 2000 MacDon 972, 25-ft DK, DS, pick-up reel, $15,500; Bergen swath mover, $2,800; Road King ground loastock trailer, 8 x 42.5-ft, will haul 25 cows, $13,000.

(403)665-2341, Craigmyle, AB.

AGRI-VACS

Tired of shovelling out your bins, unhealthy dust and awkward augers?

Walinga manufactures a complete line of grain vacs to suit your every need. With no filters to plug and less damage done to your product than an auger, you’re sure to find the right system to suit you. Call now for a free demonstration or trade in your old vac towards a new WALINGA AGRI-VACS

BUYING HEATED/DAMAGED PEAS, FLAX & GRAIN “On Farm Pickup” Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252

BOW VALLEY TRADING LTD.

FARM CHEMICAL SEED COMPLAINTS

WE BUY DAMAGED GRAIN

We also specialize in: Crop Insurance appeals; Chemical drift; Residual herbicide; Custom operator issues; Equipment malfunction; Yield comparisons, Plus Private Investigations of any nature. With our assistance the majority of our clients have received compensation previously denied. Back-Track Investigations investigates, documents your loss and assists in settling your claim.

Licensed Agrologist on Staff.

For more information Please call 1-866-882-4779

BUYING:

CARBIDE DRILL POINTS & openers for air drills.

VW Manufacturing Ltd Dunmore (Medicine Hat) (403)528-3350 US: Loren Hawks Chester, Montana (406)460-3810 www.vwmfg.com

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Various

ENGINES ASSORTED DEUTZ & OTHER Diesel engines.

KMK Sales, (800)565-0500, Humboldt, SK.

Versatile 875 JD 4250 FWA, 280 loader JD 4440 Loader Available JD 2950 Complete with loader JD 7700 FWA loader JD 4230 JD 4020 Complete with loader JD 2550, FWA ST 250 Stagger, tires 20.8 x 38 new Mustang 2044 Skidsteer, 1300 Hrs. Clamp on Duals, 20.8x38-18.4x38 158 & 148, 265, 740.280, JD loaders

Available at:

Agro Source Ltd. Dawson Creek, BC

(250) 782-4449

FARMING www.dseriescanola.ca

IS ENOUGH OF FARMING

Available at:

FARM MACHINERY

Andrukow Group Solutions Inc.

FARM MACHINERY Haying & Harvesting – Baling WANTED: JD 7810 c/w FEL & 3-PTH; sp or PTO bale wagon; JD or IHC end wheel drills. Small square baler. (403)381-3907

FARM MACHINERY Combine – Various

Provost, AB

(780) 753-3150 www.dseriescanola.ca

Big Tractor Parts, Inc.

A GAMBLE...

Geared For The Future

STEIGER TRACTOR SPECIALIST

COMBINE WORLD located 20 min. E of Saskatoon, SK on Hwy. #16. 1 year warranty on all new, used, and rebuilt parts. Canada’s largest inventory of late model combines & swathers.

1-800-667-4515 www.combineworld.com

Available at:

Thorhild Coop Association

Combine ACCessories

Thorhild, AB

(780) 398-3975 AUTO & TRANSPORT

FARM MACHINERY Combine – Accessories

Advertise in the Advertise in the Alberta Farmer Alberta Farmer Express Express Classifieds, Classifieds, it’s a a Sure Sure Thing!

Thing! it’s

AUTO & TRANSPORT Trucks 2003 GM 1500 PICK-UP, 5.3 V8, auto trans., complete w/topper. Good winter starter, excellent condition. Phone:(403)886-4285.

1-888-413-3325 1-888-413-3325

AUCTION SALES Auctions Various

AUCTION SALES Auctions Various

SHIELDS

Providence Grain Group Inc.

Fort Saskatchewan, AB

(780) 997-0212 www.dseriescanola.ca

Barb Wire & Electric High Tensile Wire Spooler

www.dseriescanola.ca

A ISGAMBLE...

ENOUGH OF

www.dseriescanola.ca

Available at:

FINANCE, TRADES WELCOME 780-696-3527, BRETON, AB

(780) 336-3180

1-877-250-5252

www.milliganbiofuels.com

ACREAGE EQUIPMENT: CULTIVATORS, DISCS, Plows, Blades, Post pounders, Haying Equipment, Etc. (780)892-3092, Wabamun, Ab.

Viking, AB

“ON FARM PICK UP”

CALL 1-866-388-6284

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.

Andrukow Group Solutions Inc.

• Competitive Prices • Prompt Movement • Spring Thrashed

Buying Tough, Heated, Green, Canola, Freight Options, Prompt Payment Bonded and Insured

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Various

Available at:

HEATED & GREEN CANOLA

CANOLA WANTED

When you go with steel you get the right deals!

Call toll free 1 (877) 525-2004 or see us online at www.pioneeronesteel.com STEEL STORAGE CONTAINERS, 20-FT & 40-ft 1-866-517-8335, (403)540-4164, (403)226-1722

BUSINESS SERVICES Crop Consulting

1-877-641-2798

$28,418

Tillage & Seeding

Pioneer One Steel Buildings

BUYING SPRING THRASHED CANOLA & GRAIN “On Farm Pickup” Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252

Wheat, Barley, Oats, Peas, etc.

Green or Heated Canola/Flax

NEW WOBBLE BOXES for JD, IH, MacDon headers. Made in Europe, factory quality. Get it direct from Western Canada’s sole distributor starting at $1,095. 1-800-667-4515. www.combineworld.com

40’ X 60’ X 16’ RIGID FRAME STEEL BUILDING

Fergus, ON: (519) 787-8227 Carman, MB: (204) 745-2951 Davidson, SK: (306) 567-3031

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Grain Wanted

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous

AUCTION SERVICE LTD. General Auction Services since 1960

FARM, RANCH, REAL ESTATE & COMMERCIAL

Email: john@shieldsauctionservices.com • Phone: 403-464-0202

RECONDITIONED COMBINE HEADERS. RIGID & flex, most makes & sizes; also header transports.

Ed Lorenz, (306)344-4811 or Website: www.straightcutheaders.com Paradise Hill, SK.

FARM MACHINERY Sprayers

JD 9400, 9420, 9520, 8970 JD 9860, 9760, 9750, 9650, 9600 JD 9430, 9530, 9630 Case STX 375, 425, 430, 450, 480, 500, 530 CIH 8010-2388, 2188 combine CIH 435Q, 535Q, 450Q, 550Q, 600Q pto avail.

JD 4710, 4720, 4730, 4830, 4920, 4930 SP sprayers JD 9770 & 9870 w/CM & duals CIH 3185, 3230, 3330, 4430, 4420 sprayers

RED OR GREEN 1. 10-25% savings on new replacement parts for your Steiger drive train.

2. We rebuild axles, transmissions and dropboxes with ONE YEAR WARRANTY. 3. 50% savings on used parts.

1-800-982-1769 www.bigtractorparts.com FARM MACHINERY Sprayers

CIH 9380 Quad w/ PTO and New motor 9280 Power Shift New Michelin Tires 9280 12 speed with 80% rubber 4720 JD Sprayer w/ boom track autosteer, 4700 90 ft very clean Fendt 920 low hrs GOOD SELECTION OF JD & CASE SP SPRAYERS AND 4WD TRACTORS

“LIKE MANY BEFORE, WE’LL HAVE YOU SAYING THERE’S NO DEAL LIKE A KEN DEAL” • Phone: (403)526-9644 • Cell: (403)504-4929 • Email: kendeal@shaw.ca

Adapter available to unroll new barb wire off of wooden spool

- Hydraulic Drive (roll or unroll wire) - Mounts to tractor draw bar, skidsteer or bobcat, front end loader, post driver, 3pt. hitch or deck truck (with receiver hitch & rear hydraulics) - Spool splits in half to remove full roll - Shut off/ Flow control valve determines speed - Works great for pulling out old wire (approx. 3--5 minutes to roll up 80 rod or 1/4 mile) The Level-Wind Wire Roller rolls wire evenly across the full width of the spool automatically as the wire is pulled in Ken Lendvay (403) 550-3313 Red Deer, AB email: kflendvay@hotmail.com Web: www.levelwind.com

RON SAUER

MACHINERY LTD. (403) 540-7691 ronsauer@shaw.ca

8570 JD 4WD Tractor 18.4 x 38 duals, 3 hyd., 3200 hours, premium unit, steer ready, shedded .... $75,000 895 Versatile 4WD Tractor - 30.5 x 32 M & 24.5 x 32 duals, 6,000 hrs., clean unit, runs great ................ $29,500 B 275 IHC Diesel Tractor, 3 pth, pto, runs good ......$4,250 31’ Flexicoil B Chisel Plow Extensions Included, extends to 41’, 3 bar harrows, excellent condition.............. $12,500 Flexicoil 6 Run Seed Treater .............................. $2,000 Wanted Flexicoil 39’ 5000 Air Drill, 9 or 10” spacing, 4” or 5.5” rubber packers ............................................ Call 134’ Flexicoil S68XL Sprayer, 2007, suspended boom, auto rate, joystick, rinse tank, triple quick jets, auto boom height, electric end nozzle & foam marker............. $39,500 100’ 65XL Flexicoil Sprayer, complete with windguards, elec. end nozzles dual tips, markers ........................ $5,500 30’ 8230 CIH PT Swather, PU reel, nice shape, . $10,000 25’ 8225 CIH PT Swather, PU reel, nice shape .... $9,500 25’ 1200 Hesston PT Swather, bat reel, good .... $5,500 30’ 4600 Prairie Star PT Swather, bat reel, good ....$5,500 30’ 1900 Premier PT Swather, bat reel, good .... $5,500 10 Wheel MATR (Italy) Trailer Type V-Hayrake, hyd. fold, as new.................................................. $5,000 14 Wheel Enorossi V-Hayrake extra contour wheels, as new .............................................................. $11,500 8 x 1200 Sakundiak Auger, 25 HP Koehler, Hawes mover, clutch, nice condition .............................................. $12,500 7 x 1200 Sakundiak Auger, 18 HP Koehler engine, looks and runs good..................................................$3,500 8 x 1400 Sakundiak Auger, 25HP Robin, Hawes mover, clutch, excellent condition ....................................... $12,500 8 x 1400 Sakundiak Auger, 25 HP Koehler, Hawes mover, clutch, reversing gear box, lights, spout, Wheatheart sweep ................................................ $14,000 New E-Kay 7”, 8”, 9” Bin Sweeps .........................Call Jiffy Feed Wagon, like new, hardly used, shedded .....$9,250 8” Wheat Heart Transfer Auger, as new............ $1,500 New Outback MAX & STX guidance & mapping ...In Stock New Outback E-Drive, TC’s .................................In Stock New Outback E-Drive X, c/w free E turns ............In Stock New Outback S-Lite guidance ................... In Stock $900 New Outback VSI Swather Steering Kit...........In Stock New Outback E-Drive Hyd. kit, JD 40 series ........ $1,000 Used Outback E-Drive Hyd. kit ...............................$500

**NuVision, Sakundiak & Farm King Augers, Outback GPS Systems, EK Auger Movers, Belt Tighteners, Bin Sweeps, & Crop Dividers, Kohler & Robin Subaru engines, Degelman, Headsight Harvesting Solutions, Greentronics Sprayer Boom Auto Height, Kello-Bilt Discs**

40

DECEMBER 9, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Wanted

PEDIGREED SEED Cereal – Various

• Sprayed foam insulation • Ideal for shops, barns or homes • Healthier, Quieter, More Energy Efficient®

Available at:

W. Buis Holdings Limited (403) 867-2436 www.dseriescanola.ca

Round up the cash! Advertise your unwanted equipment in the Alberta Farmer Express classifieds.

ORGANIC

www.selectholidays.com

Available at:

Prompt Payment

Beaver Creek Coop Association Ltd. Lamont, AB

PAUL MOWER 403-304-1496

(780) 895-2241

DAVE KOEHN

403-546-0060 LINDEN, ALBERTA CANADA

www.dseriescanola.ca

Medicine Hat Coop Ltd.

�

Medicine Hat, AB

Great profit potential based on yield, prices and low input costs.

Attractive oil premiums and free seed delivery and on-farm pick-up.

Dunvegan Ag Solutions Inc.

306-229-9976 (cell) 306-975-9295 (office) crops@bioriginal.com

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

Rycroft, AB

www.dseriescanola.ca

Prairie-Wide Display Classifieds

(780) 765-2865

MORE OPTIONS TO SAVE YOU MONEY

www.dseriescanola.ca

Buy one province, buy two provinces or buy all three.

Great rates whatever you choose

TIRES

Stretch your

(403) 528-6609

New 30.5L-32 16 ply, $2,195; 20.8-38 12 ply $795; 18.4-38 12 ply; $789; 24.5-32 14 ply, $1,749; 14.9-24 12 ply, $486; 16.9-28 12 ply $558, 18.4-26 10 ply, $890. Factory direct. More sizes available new and used. 1-800-667-4515. www.combineworld.com

Available at:

Flexible contracting options available as well.

For more information, please contact Carl Lynn P.Ag. of Bioriginal at:

ADVERTISING DOLLAR!

*Please state the Variety & Quantity for Sale

For more information, please contact Sandy at:

306-975-9251 306-975-1166 purchasing@bioriginal.com

1-800-661-4326

Competitive Rates

Available at:

�

Bioriginal Food & Science Corp., based in Saskatoon, is actively buying Organic Flax from the 2013 crop year.

Select Holidays

ALL GRADES

Bioriginal Food & Science Corp., based in Saskatoon, are looking to contract Borage acres for the upcoming 2014 growing season.

�

ORGANIC Organic – Grains

NOW BUYING OATS!

*Portion of tours may be Tax Deductible

Foremost, AB

1-800-587-4711

40 FULL BLOOD & PB Simmental cow herd, all papered, horned & polled. 40-yrs of selection for productivity & temperament. Call Chalk Hill Simmentals, Norman & Lila Weiss:(403)638-4269.

India ~ Feb 2014 Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand ~ Mar 2014 China ~ March 2014 Ireland & Scotland ~ June 2014 Ukraine ~ June 2014 Australia/New Zealand ~ 2015

FEED GRAIN WANTED! ALSO buying; Light, tough, or offgrade grains. “On Farm Pickup” Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252

The Icynene Insulation System®

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Simmental

AGRICULTURAL TOURS

BUYING ALL TYPES OF feed grain. Also have market for light offgrade or heated, picked up on the farm. Eisses Grain Marketing 1-888-882-7803, (403)350-8777 Lacombe.

HEAT & AIR CONDITIONING

LIVESTOCK

TRAVEL

TIRES

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Feed Grain

WANTED: NH BALE WAGONS & retrievers, any condition. Farm Equipment Finding Service, P.O. Box 1363, Polson, MT 59860. (406)883-2118

www.penta.ca

SEED / FEED / GRAIN

1-888-413-3325

Go public with an ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifieds. Phone 1-888-413-3325.

FEDERATION TIRE: 1100X12, 2000X20, used aircraft. Toll free 1-888-452-3850

Contact Sharon

Toll Free: 1-800-782-0794 Email: sharon.komoski@fbcpublishing.com

We know that farming is enough of a gamble so if you want to sell it fast place your ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifieds. It’s a Sure Thing. Call our toll-free number today. We have friendly staff ready to help.

1-888-413-3325.

SASKATCHEWAN

ALBERTA

SPECIAL EDITION Manitoba Ag Days Taking place Jan. 21, 22 & 23, 2014

at the Brandon Keystone Centre

The Manitoba Co-operator is presenting a great opportunity for you to feature your business, products or booth at Manitoba Ag Days in the Jan. 10th edition.

The Manitoba Ag Days Show is a winter indoor exposition of agricultural production expertise, technology, and equipment held in Brandon every January. The Show attracts exhibitors and visitors from across Canada and North Central United States and provides an annual opportunity for producers to comparison shop for everything they need for their agricultural operations.

DEADLINE: JAN. 2nd · ISSUE DATE: JAN. 9th Contact your Manitoba Co-operator Sales representative to book your space today!

Terry McGarry Ph: 204-981-3730 Fax: 204-253-0879 Email: trmcgarr@mts.net

SEE YOU AT THE SHOW!

RISKS AND REWARDS OF FALL

GREAT GORP PROJECT Triathlete creates home-grown energy bar » PAGE 44

The pros and cons of applying in dry soil » PAGE 17

OCTOBER 11, 2012

Communications breakdown added to emergency Firefighting made more dangerous without communications

By Lorraine Stevenson CO-OPERATOR STAFF

V

olunteer firefighters racing to reach fire-threatened Vita last week passed hundreds of vehicles headed the other direction and wondered what they were headed into, said veteran firefighter Alain Nadeau.

“I’ve been doing this for 33 years and this was the scariest I’ve seen,” said the weary La Broquerie fire chief on Friday after an exhausting week.

The air was so smoke filled around the southeastern village “we could barely breathe,” he said.

SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | VOL. 70, NO. 41

GOT SEED?

By Daniel Winters CO-OPERATOR STAFF / MELITA

R

ising corn acres and severe drought in the Midwestern United States may crimp supplies of popular corn seed varieties for the com-

ing year.

“It’s really short,” said Ron Rabe, a Dekalb agronomist, who gave a brief talk on corn production in Manitoba at a recent WADO field tour.

Derek Erb, who farms near Oak Bluff and sells Pioneer Hi-Bred corn

|

$1.75

MANITOBACOOPERATOR.CA

Corn seed might be tight next spring Rising demand and dismal growing conditions in the drought-stricken United States may limit supplies seed, said farmers looking to secure seed for next spring should act quickly to secure their supplies, even if it means placing orders earlier than usual.

Pioneer Hi-Bred’s top varieties, which include D95 and D97, account for roughly half the acres seeded in the province. Erb said that with the harvest and quality testing still underway in some areas, it’s difficult to estimate how much corn seed will be available for next year.

One thing’s for sure, waiting until Ag Days in January to secure supplies will

be too late. “I would pretty much bank on that,” said Erb. Dry conditions throughout the province have seen the corn harvest arriving about a month earlier than usual, and seed orders have started coming in sooner than usual too.

Even with the possibility of a shortage of corn seed, Erb doesn’t expect the price of Pioneer’s supplies to rise much more than it has in recent years.

Rob Park, of RJP Seeds in Carman, who deals in Hyland seed varieties, See CORN SEED on page 6 »