Mbc131212 by Farm Business Communications

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE?

GRAIN MOVEMENT

Try lentils, say Manitoba researchers » Page 21

Better, but is it good? » Page 3

DECEMBER 12, 2013

SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | VOL. 71, NO. 50 |

MANITOBACOOPERATOR.CA

$1.75

UPOV ‘91 coming through ‘Agricultural Growth Act’ Besides stronger plant breeders’ rights Bill C-18 proposes changes to feed, fertilizer and advance payments legislation By Allan Dawson CO-OPERATOR STAFF

anada has started the process of implementing UPOV ’91 — a stronger form of plant breeders’ rights that Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says will encourage more private-sector plant breeding See UPOV ’91 on page 6 »

Lorne Peters stands in front of photos of early Manitoba Co-operative Honey Producers Ltd. members, including his father Pete Peters.

PHOTO: SHANNON VANRAES

HOW SWEET IT IS: Honey Co-op turns 75

From processing honey in a Victorian warehouse in downtown Winnipeg, to marketing worldwide, Manitoba’s honey co-operative has grown into an international business By Shannon VanRaes Publication Mail Agreement 40069240

CO-OPERATOR STAFF

t may have been 75 years ago, but Edwin Hofer still remembers the excitement of delivering honey to the then newly formed honey co-operative at its imposing Bannatyne Avenue processing facility. “I would go into the old plant with my dad on Bannatyne… we took the honey in pails at that time, there was no machinery then — we did everything by

BULK UP NOW. earN UP tO

hand,” said Hofer, who continues to keep 100 hives on Deerboine Colony despite being on the cusp of his 82nd birthday. He was recognized for his 64 years of continuous honey delivery earlier this month during a luncheon celebrating the Manitoba Honey Co-op’s 75th anniversary. Hofer is the longest-running active member of the organization, which was founded in 1938. It was in January of that same year that 350 members of the Manitoba Beekeepers’ Association unanimously

voted to establish a co-operative honeyprocessing and -marketing association during a meeting at the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg. By April of 1938, the province had granted the group its charter under The Companies Act, and the Manitoba Co-operative Honey Producers Ltd. was officially formed. Members bought one share each in the fledgling co-operative for a cost of $1. “The reason the co-op was formed… See HONEY on page 6 »

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

INSIDE

Did you know?

LIVESTOCK

Eating healthy costs about $1.50 more per day

Measuring feedlot cattle risk Less price variation seen moving forward

CROPS Winter wheat acreage seen stable Area is starting to move east from Manitoba

FEATURE Land use changes alter climate MCDA speakers discuss unintended consequences

CROSSROADS Prairie cookbook history Online display chronicles cooking and housekeeping

4 5 8 10

Editorials Comments What’s Up Livestock Markets

Grain Markets Weather Vane Classifieds Sudoku

Researchers suggest policies to offset the higher cost of nutritious food

he bad news is that it costs more to eat healthy. The good news is that it’s not by much, and it could be more than offset by a reduction in the cost of health care. Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers writing in the Dec. 5 issue of the British Medical Journal said they conducted an analysis of 27 existing studies from 10 highincome countries that included price data for individual foods and for healthier versus lesshealthy diets. Healthier diets — for example, those rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts — were compared to those rich in processed foods, meats and refined grains. Based on consumption of 2,000 calories per day, the USDA recommended daily amount for an average adult, the healthier diets cost about $1.50 more per day. The researchers suggested that unhealthy diets may cost less because food policies have focused on the production of inexpensive, high-volume commodities, and production, distribution and marketing capabilities that favour sales of highly processed food products.

Junk food: cheaper in the short term, but expensive later on. photo: thinkstock

“While healthier diets did cost more, the difference was smaller than many people might have expected,” Dariush Mozaffarian, the study’s senior author said in a release. “Over the course of a year, $1.50/day more for eating a healthy diet would increase food costs for one person by about $550 per year.

“This would represent a real burden for some families, and we need policies to help offset these costs. On the other hand, this price difference is very small in comparison to the economic costs of diet-related chronic diseases, which would be dramatically reduced by healthy diets.”

READER’S PHOTO

11 16 26 30

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

Grain movement: better, but is it good? Despite massive rationalization of elevators and branch lines, railway movement is slower than 1994 By Allan Dawson co-operator staff

griculture Minister Gerry Ritz says the railways are doing an “adequate” job moving a record western Canadian crop, and the chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) last week issued a press release backing him up. But historical data, including from the CGC, show the railways aren’t moving much more grain than a year ago or even 19 years ago, despite huge gains in system efficiency. That’s why the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) and some farm groups say the railways can do better. WGEA executive director Wade Sobkowich says the railways don’t invest in surge capacity because they don’t have to. He says that since the railways don’t compete, they know they will eventually move the crop without spending more money. And unlike when the railways were regulated under the Western Grain Transportation Act (WGTA), they don’t face the threat of a $720-million penalty for lacklustre performance. Industry sources said last week 25 ships were waiting for grain at Vancouver with demurrage charges of $12,000 to $20,000 a day. Last week the railways’ websites reported since Aug. 1 grain companies had ordered more than 23,000 cars that have yet to be spotted, and the shortfall grows weekly. “We are getting about 60 per cent of what we ask for overall and

that is on average three weeks late in spotting,” said one grain company official, who asked not to be named. “Vancouver rail movement is sold out through to March and most of April. This is based on the assumption of lousy railway performance.”

Just feels slow?

The CGC, which maintains statistics on grain shipments, last week issued a statement hinting that poor rail service is an illusion. “This year, producers in Western Canada saw record yields,” chief commissioner Elwin Hermanson said. “So while our data shows that grain is moving to export at a faster pace, this year, it feels like it’s taking a lot longer to empty the bins.” The CGC said wheat and canola shipments were 31 and 28 per cent respectively higher than the five-year average. Sobkowich said that was a misleading benchmark because rail service was poor most of that time. And while wheat and canola exports in 2013 are up almost 10 per cent from last year, total exports are up just two per cent. History also shows the railways performed just as well in 1994. During the first quarter of the current crop year Canada exported 7.4 million tonnes of the seven major grains. In 1994, 8.7 million tonnes were exported during the same period. There were more than 1,400 mostly wooden country elevators versus 342 mostly high-throughput elevators today. “Those figures tell the story,” Sobkowich said. “Look at all the

“So while our data shows that grain is moving to export at a faster pace, this year, it feels like it’s taking a lot longer to empty the bins.” Elwin Hermanson CGC

changes in the last 20 years... and we’re not moving more than in the past.” Grain companies don’t expect the railways to move a record crop in one year, he said. “There is a limit, we understand that. But we don’t think we’re asking too much of the railways.” CP Rail has sidelined 450 locomotives, 10,000 cars and laid off 4,000 employees, according to Sobkowich.

Railways counter

“We have moved more grain in Canada over the last 90 days during the heavy harvest period... than ever before...,” CP spokesman Ed Greenberg said in an email. “Volumes are 18 per cent higher than our five-year average. CP’s grain loadings are about 20 per cent higher than our five-year average and our performance to the West Coast remains strong,” he said. CN spokesman Jim Feeny confirmed CN is moving about the same number of cars as last year. The problem is a big harvest. “It is physically impossible for

Western grain export and receipt comparisons Wheat +

As of Week 17 2012*

Week 16 2013

% change

canola exports

6.82 m mt

7.47 m mt

+9.6%

Wheat+

5-year avg.

Week 16 2013

% change

canola exports

6.53 m mt

7.47 m mt

+14%

10-year avg.

Week 16 2013

% change

6.1 m mt

7.47 m mt

+22%

Aug.1-Oct. 30/94

Aug.1- Nov. 24/13

% change

7.5 m mt

7.47 m mt

-0.4%

As of Week 17 2012

Week 16 2013

% change

10.23 m mt

10.46 m mt

As of Week 14 2012

Week 13 2013

% change

8.24 m mt

8.18 m mt

-0.7%

Aug.1-Oct. 30/94

Aug.1-Oct. 30/13

% change

8.7 m mt

7.45 m mt

-14%

Week 14, 2013

% change

7.72 mt

+4.75

Wheat+ canola exports Wheat+ canola exports Exports 10 crops Exports 10 crops Exports 7 crops

Grain receipts at West Coast. As of Week 13, 2012** Thunder Bay, Churchill 8 crops

7.37 m mt

* Week 17, 2012 best correlates with Week 16 of 2013 ** Week 13, 2012 best correlates with Week 14 of 2013 Source: Canadian Grain Commission, Grain Transportation Agency, necessary calculations.

According to Canadian Grain Commission statistics the railways are moving grain faster to market than last year, but figures also show the railways moved grain just as fast 19 years ago when the system was a lot less efficient than it is now. file photo

the supply chain to handle it all at once,” Feeny said. “We are doing the best we ever have done in our history.”

Retribution?

Keystone Agricultural Producers president Doug Chorney says it’s not good enough. He contracted to deliver soybeans in October and hasn’t moved a tonne. Just as he was about to, the train scheduled for his elevator was abruptly cancelled. He suspects it might have been after a grain company official complained about rail service. “Grain companies are afraid to speak out because of the fear of retribution and that’s exactly what’s happening,” Chorney said. “There’s too much power concentrated in their hands.” Chorney said he hopes when rail legislation is reviewed in 2015, amendments are introduced to force the railways to do better.

Gary Stanford, the new president of the Grain Growers of Canada, also sees the 2015 review as opportunity to improve rail service. Under the Western Grain Transportation Act, in place between 1984 and 1995, the federal government subsidized Prairie grain shipments by about $720 million a year. But if railway service was poor the government could withold the payments — a hammer that no longer exists. As the industry was discussing rail deregulation in the mid-1990s Peter Thomson, then head of the Grain Transportation Agency, often said: “A little bit of competition will do away with an awful lot of regulation. The question one would raise is, is there sufficient competition to do away with regulation?” According to Sobkowich, the answer some 20 years later, is no. allan@fbcpublishing.com

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Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (MAFRD) is conducting free EFP workshops. When you attend these workshops, you will be guided through an EFP workbook and learn environmentally-friendly methods of: • crop and pest management • manure storage and handling

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CORRECTION

For workshop locations, dates and times visit your local Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development GO Office, or go to manitoba.ca/agriculture.

A story titled How to Kill Your Community published Dec. 5 erroneously cited Chris Fields as author of 13 Ways to Kill Your Community. The authors are Doug Griffiths and Kelly Clemmer. EnvrmntlFrmPlningAdMBCoop201rev.indd 1

13-11-20 3:26 PM

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

OPINION/EDITORIAL

Keeping the farm organizations in line “

ardly a day goes by” may be an overused phrase, but not when it comes to the frequency of news releases from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada — we received 13 for the month of November. There’s nothing wrong with governments communicating with citizens, and some of the releases are pure business, such as brief notices of appointments to the board of John Morriss Farm Credit Canada. Editorial Director But more of the releases relate to the Harper government’s steady dribbing and drabbing of funding announcements, which are intended not only to gain publicity but maintain the divide-and-conquer strategy for farm organizations. We don’t want to embarrass any particular organization by using an example because they all play the game. You can visit the AAFC news release page yourself to see the pattern, which goes something like this: “Canada’s ruby red rutabaga industry is poised to make new inroads into the export market thanks to an investment of $100,000 announced today by Agriculture and AgriFood Minister Gerry Ritz at the annual meeting of the Ruby Red Rutabaga Association…” The release will continue with a few manufactured quotes from Mr. Ritz, some (probably also manufactured) statistics about the importance of ruby red rutabagas to the Canadian economy, the name of the program under which the “investment” (it’s never a grant) was made, and of course a reference to that program being part of Growing Forward 2. The release will also contain manufactured (with the help of the minister’s staff ) complimentary quotes from the president of the association, which can be as blatant as, “This is another example of the results Minister Ritz has obtained for the Canadian ruby red rutabaga industry.” As of last Friday there had been eight such releases since the beginning of November, with announcements totalling more than $4 million. This of course was money that was already budgeted, and which may have been announced before. On one hand you can’t fault the red rutabaga president for taking part in this charade, because what choice does he or she have? AAFC has probably slashed if not eliminated red rutabaga research and the association has had to get a checkoff to do some itself. If it wants to get AAFC to kick in some matching money (though less than it spent before), it has to play ball, including saying nice things in the government press release. When money isn’t involved, this process is a bit more unseemly. For example, when the Canada-EU trade agreement was announced, there was a volley of releases from farm organizations praising the deal to the rooftops. The facts that the details hadn’t been finalized and that negotiations would take another two years somehow weren’t mentioned. Speaking of unseemly, the relationship between the minister’s office and the Grain Growers of Canada is getting a little too obviously close, though in this case we’re not sure who’s controlling whom. Late last Friday the minister’s office announced he would hold a press conference on Monday in Winnipeg, which was obviously to announce Canada signing the UPOV ’91 international seed treaty. On Sunday morning, the Grain Growers issued a release with letter to the minister calling for him to sign UPOV ’91. What a coincidence. The message is clear. Farm organizations know that if they don’t support the government with rapid-fire compliments, they’re not going to be allowed in the game. This process of the government pulling the farm organization’s PR strings has been ongoing for some time, but last week things were ratcheted up to a new level. As we noted last issue, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz doesn’t accept grain company claims that the railways aren’t performing. Mr. Ritz is entitled to his opinion, but he is not entitled to enlist a supposedly independent Crown agency to do it for him. Every week for decades, the Canadian Grain Commission has issued a publication with statistics on grain movement. Never in our memory has the CGC issued a press release commenting on its contents — until last week. “This year, producers in Western Canada saw record yields. So while our data shows that grain is moving to export at a faster pace, this year, it feels like it’s taking a lot longer to empty the bins,” CGC chief commissioner Elwin Hermanson said in the release. It’s embarrassingly obvious that either Mr. Ritz or someone in his office phoned Mr. Hermanson and strongly suggested if not ordered the commission to issue this release. This is highly inappropriate. The CGC is supposed to operate independently in the interests of producers and the industry, not defend politicians. john.morriss@fbcpublishing.com

‘Straw man’ beef industry process merits continued support Getting the often-fractious beef industry participants to talk By Will Verboven EDITOR, ALBERTA FARMER

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 gather together virtually the entire cattle and beef industry establishment at meetings in Toronto and Calgary. 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. 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. It didn’t take long for some bumps in the road to arise. A proposal to establish a central depository for genetics, marketing and carcass data was met with favour, but problems

OUR HISTORY:

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 are sure to break out. 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 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. 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 rolling. The last thing this exercise needs is to be stalled for lack of cash. 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. The straw men made a strategic decision to open up the consultation process by holding meetings open to anyone. 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.

December 1927

he Co-operator’s predecessor publication The Scoop Shovel was an “organ” for the Manitoba Pool Elevators, and the December 1927 issue was eager to report MPE’s surplus of $148,000, which was returned to local associations. This cartoon was by MPE’s public relations manager Ed Russenholt, who later became CBC television’s first weatherman. He ended each broadcast by drawing a heart with chalk around Manitoba on the blackboard weather map and giving the forecast for the “Heart of the continent,” and was responsible for making the term famous. Among the advertisements that month were for Vita Gland Tablets (guaranteed to make loafing hens lay within three days), a Babson cream separator ($29.95; payments as low as $2 per month) and a Max submarine tank heater (supplied with two lengths of galvanized pipe and coal rake).

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

COMMENT/FEEDBACK

Demonstrating good animal care important A horrific case of abuse cannot be seen as the norm for cattle production By Cam Dahl

Letters

nimal care issues in the Manitoba beef industry were in the news lately, with a guilty plea entered in a court case stemming from incidents in 2011. The details of the case are horrific, with more than 60 cattle dead from starvation and an almost equal number found close to death. MBP deplores these actions. Those who abuse animals in this way should be subject to the full weight of the law. Unfortunately, these cases, while they are rare exceptions, have occurred and will occur. Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) will not attempt to defend or explain away animal abuse. When incidents happen, the Chief Veterinarian’s Office should take every measure to ensure that animals are protected and that those involved are held accountable for their actions. These rare cases are not a demonstration of how beef cattle are raised in Manitoba. Individual cases like this should not tarnish the industry’s strong reputation on animal care issues held by the vast majority of the 8,000-plus families raising beef cattle in Manitoba. The beef producers I work with on a daily basis care deeply about the welfare of the animals under their care. In fact, most producers have chosen to raise cattle because of the care they have for animals. The public does not often see the care and attention that cattle pro-

These rare cases are not a demonstration of how beef cattle are raised in Manitoba. Individual cases like this should not tarnish the industry’s strong reputation on animal care issues held by the vast majority of the 8,000-plus families raising beef cattle in Manitoba.

ducers give, on a daily basis, to their animals. Media outlets don’t cover producers getting up at 4 a.m. in the middle of a blizzard to check their herd, or the efforts taken to help a calf that is born in the middle of a -40 night. Unfortunately, most members of the public only get exposure to beef production when the media covers unacceptable incidents that end up in court. Beef producers need to communicate with the public to ensure that everyone understands that the court cases are rare exceptions that do not exemplify beef production in Manitoba. This is a key reason why the industry has developed a Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Beef Cattle. The code is an important tool for explaining our animal care practices to the public and public policy-makers and demonstrating our practices to customers and our trading partners. The beef Code of Practice has recently been modernized through the National Farm Animal Care

We welcome readers’ comments on issues that have been covered in the Manitoba Co-operator. In most cases we cannot accept “open” letters or copies of letters which have been sent to several publications. Letters are subject to editing for length or taste. We suggest a maximum of about 300 words. Please forward letters to Manitoba Co-operator, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, R3H 0H1 or Fax: 204-954-1422 or email: news@fbcpublishing.com (subject: To the editor)

Council (NFACC). A revised code was released on Sept. 6. The NFACC beef code development committee is a group that includes beef producers, governments, scientists, veterinarians, animal welfare enforcement groups (e.g., SPCAs), the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, and our customers like restaurants and retail food distributors. Some people may think that this broad representation on the committee is odd. Why are restaurants, retail distributors, SPCAs, and the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies all around the table when the industry is codifying the right and humane way to raise cattle? They are th e re b e c a u s e i t i s critical to the beef industry that civil society and our customers accept and agree with the final outcome. And they have agreed. The revised code represents a consensus of these diverse groups. The process for revising the code was open and transparent with approximately

The NDP made a commitment to Manitoba farmers in 2011 to eliminate the education tax from their farmlands, then it broke that promise. Farm families continue to pay more into the education system than other Manitoba families, since they need to own or lease land to do business. That’s not a fair way to fund education. Instead of living up to its commitment to eliminate the tax, the NDP capped the education tax rebate on farmland at $5,000. Non-Manitobans who own land here now receive no education tax rebate at all. This puts all farm families at a disadvantage. This results in higher costs to do business for all farm families in Manitoba. Either families will pay more in taxes than they were promised, or the rent on land they lease will rise to make up for higher education taxes. By breaking its promise, the NDP will reduce the amount rebated back to farmers by $6.2 million. That’s a tax increase of $6.2 million on farm families across Manitoba. Ian Wishart, MLA for Portage la Prairie

Cam Dahl is general manager of Manitoba Beef Producers

WTO’s small victory saves it from irrelevance Harmonizing regulations such as on GMOs a more complex task By Ethan Bilby reuters

Rebate cap costs farmers

400 individuals and organizations providing feedback on the earlier draft versions of the document. This of course includes MBP; we made our own submissions on behalf of the beef producers of this province. I encourage every beef producer in Manitoba to read the revised code. It is not onerous. It is practical and takes into account modern production practices. The code is based on science, incorporating scientific research aimed at gaining a better understating of what causes cattle stress and pain and how to mitigate this. The code is available on the NFACC website www.nfacc.ca. Producers can also contact MBP and we will send you a hard copy. In the past, the beef industry may have shied away from talking about animal care issues and how producers raise their cattle. We c a n n o t d o t h a t a n y m o re because the public — our customers — are increasingly interested in knowing how cattle are raised. More and more people are asking the question: “Where does my food come from?” We need to provide clear answers to this question. Beef producers have a good story to tell about animal welfare and the attention given to cattle under our care. The Code of Practice is an important tool to help us tell that story.

he World Trade Organization has saved itself from irrelevance. The Geneva-based talking shop limped into negotiations in Bali on life support, and emerged in a still-serious but stable condition. The latest deal to simplify customs rules lacks the drama of previous rounds. But after more than a decade of fruitless discussion, it suggests there is still a global appetite for lowering barriers to trade. Just getting its 159 members to sign up should restore some confidence in the WTO. That will boost its credibility as a forum for resolving international trade disputes. But the Bali package is more than just a face-saving deal. Easing the passage of goods through borders is a boon to rich and poor countries alike. Customs account for between two to 15 per cent of the cost of products, according to the OECD. Simplifying rules could boost the world’s annual GDP by close to $1 trillion, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics, or about 1.4 per cent of last year’s output. Yet the ability of lone countries to hold the WTO hostage is problematic. Indian objections removed part of the deal

that would have eliminated some farm subsidies. While subsidies have fallen in the European Union and the United States, they are on the rise in emerging economies. The WTO’s supporters point to the lack of new barriers erected after the 2008 financial crisis, when protectionist instincts were greatest. However, more subtle forms of protectionism, such as state bailouts, government procurement rules and consumer protection regulations, can have the same impact. The next challenge will be to harmonize regulations — like restrictions on genetically modified food — that keep producers from one country from reaching consumers in another. That is a more complex and more political task than lowering tariffs. Moreover, the WTO is no longer the only game in town. In the last few years, the United States, EU, China and other Asian nations have launched a series of overlapping and at times competing discussions outside the WTO’s multilateral framework. Though the Bali agreement has given the organization a reason to carry on, it still faces an uphill struggle to show it can be relevant in future negotiations. Ethan Bilby is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

FROM PAGE ONE HONEY Continued from page 1

UPOV ’91 Continued from page 1

“A lot of businesses never get to that point, and it’s a great honour that we’re still growing at this time in our history… the future actually looks bright from where we’re sitting today.”

was because of issues with highmoisture honey fermentation — they had trouble marketing a quality-consistent product,” said Lorne Peters, whose father was a founding member of the marketing organization. “So the co-op came into being at a time when there was frustration among producers, and they thought there was a better way… the co-op was formed to try and overcome those kinds of issues and it has grown from there,” he said.

RON BACON

United action

However, not everything went smoothly as the co-op launched into action, or at least tried to. Canvassers were sent into the countryside to sign up apiarists in the spring of 1938, but the response was not what they hoped for as some balked at the $1 cost per share. Ads ran in local publications, urging honey producers to join. “Whether it is a game of baseball, or a great war, the surest road to success and victory is by united action. Each individual may be putting forth his greatest effort, but only by combining all those efforts in the same direction, can the game or the war be won,” reads one notice in an attempt to entice producers to jump on board. But by 1939 things had picked up as the Manitoba Honey Producers hit on a new tactic to raise capital — selling bee packages donated by what the board of directors called “southern bee package men” in return for shares in the co-operative. Today the Manitoba co-operative has 163 members and has long outgrown its four-storey processing plant in Winnipeg’s Exchange District. In the late 1950s, the co-operative made

the decision to build a new plant, and later moved into its current location on Roseberry Street where it continues to expand through the Bee Maid company, formed in 1954 when Manitoba and Saskatchewan agreed to market their honey jointly. The Alberta Honey Producers joined in 1961 and in 1970, the Manitoba co-op purchased the assets of the Saskatchewan organization. “The 75th is a real milestone,” said current Manitoba co-op chairman Ron Bacon. “A lot of businesses never get to that point, and it’s a great honour that we’re still growing at this time in our history… the future actually looks bright from where we’re sitting today.” But that doesn’t mean the co-operative doesn’t have its challenges. Although it supplies honey to companies like Starbucks, Sobeys, Target and Costco, as well as to stores across the globe, it all comes back to the bees. “There are certainly challenges with maintaining our bees, keeping them alive with all the environmental issues

and how farming practices have changed,” said Peters, who has about 1,000 colonies in the Kleefeld area. “We lost over half our bees this spring, and so what does a farmer do when you walk into your barn and half your herd is dead, so to speak? You’ve got to find ways to rebuild.” Bacon agrees that flagging bee populations could hold Bee Maid and the Manitoba cooperative back, but notes the organization doesn’t wade into the heady issues around bee health or bee imports. “We’ve got beekeepers on both sides of the debate in this organization, so our policy is to remain neutral on bee-related problems and activities, and focus on marketing and increasing honey consumption,” the chairman said. Hofer is also looking to the future, hoping his two grandchildren follow in his footsteps and become the fifth generation in his family to take up beekeeping. “It’s just in my blood, I love working with bees,” he said. shannon.vanraes@fbcpublishing.com

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December 15th, 2013

January 22nd, 2014

and is also expected to see farmers pay breeders more in royalties. The changes are part of Bill C-18, the Agricultural Growth Act, introduced in the House of Commons Dec. 9. Bill C-18 not only proposes to amend the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act, but also the Feeds Act, Fertilizers Act, Seeds Act, Health of Animals Act, Plant Protection Act and the Agriculture and Agri-Food Ad m i n i s t ra t i v e Mo n e t a r y Penalties Act. All fall under the purview of the Canadian Fo o d In s p e c t i o n A g e n c y (CFIA). The bill also amends the Agricultural Marketing Programs Act (AMPA) and Farm Debt Mediation Act (FDMA) under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. “The Agricultural Growth Act is good news for Canadian producers because it will increase farmers’ access to new crop varieties, enhance their trade opportunities and reduce the red tape burden,” Ritz said Monday when announcing the legislation at Canterra Seeds in Winnipeg. Ritz said he hopes the bill will be law by the start of the new crop year Aug. 1, 2014, but added it depends on the will of Parliament. Last month Ritz signalled his intention to implement UPOV ’91, while speaking at the Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA). Since then Grain Growers of Canada and several commodity organizations have written Ritz encouraging him to adopt UPOV ’91. UPOV (the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants) was established in 1961. It was founded to protect plant breeders’ rights and by doing so “encouraging the development of new varieties of plants, for the benefit of society,” according to its website T h e G r a i n G r ow e r s o f Canada wants UPOV ’91 adopted “as soon as possible,” president Gary Stanford said in a letter to Ritz Dec. 6. “We think UPOV ’91 will help pave the way for much greater investment in the development of new seed varieties for Canadian farmers, which will be needed to meet the greatly increasing global demand for food.” The Alberta Wheat Commission supports UPOV ’91, but with some provisos. The AWC says farmers must be able to save seed. It also wants Ottawa to continue funding pre-breeding genetic research.

Farmers and the public’s stake in the development of cereal germplasm the past 100 years also needs to be recognized, AWC said in a Nov. 18 letter to Ritz. The CSTA, which represents most of the private seed companies in Canada welcomed Ritz’s announcement, said president Peter Entz, who is also assistant vice-president seed and traits for Richardson International. “ We are optimistic that this will create the level of investment in plant breeding and development that will take variety development to the next level,” he said in an email. The National Farmers Union (NFU) opposes UPOV ’91. “We absolutely don’t need it,” said past NFU president Terr y Boehm. “Our plant breeders’ rights legislation conforms with all of our international trade obligations. This is simply a mechanism to extract more dollars out of the farmers’ pockets. Full stop.” Ritz told reporters farmers will be able to save and plant their own seeds under UPOV ’91.

Cash advances

The bill also proposes changes to the cash advance program. Farmers will be able to fill out application forms once every five years instead of annually, cutting red tape, he said. And more farm products will be eligible for interest-free loans of up to $100,000, including breeding stock. The Feeds Act, Fertilizers Act, Health of Animals Act and Seeds Act will be expanded to include international scientific research when approving new agricultural products, reducing red tape, CFIA said in a release. CFIA will get stronger tools to protect Canada’s plants and animals. For example, CFIA will be allowed to order non-compliant agricultural products immediately out of Canada. Penalties for non-compliance are being increased. Amending the Feeds Act and Fertilizers Act will allow for licensing and registration of fertilizer and animal feed operators and facilities that import or sell products across provincial or international borders. This will align legislation with key international trading partners, help Canadian feed and fertilizer industries maintain their export markets and provide a more effective and timely approach to assuring products meet Canada’s stringent safety and other standards.

Contact the office for additional details 888-416-2965 E-mail info@cyff.ca – www.cyff.ca Visit: cyff.ca/annual-conference-meeting/ for additional details

SPONSORS

“We think UPOV ’91 will help pave the way for much greater investment in the development of new seed varieties for Canadian farmers” GERRY RITZ

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

Farmers learn how to better defend pesticides, GM use KAP president Doug Chorney says the ‘Confident Conversations’ workshop gives producers the tools to counter misinformation By Allan Dawson CO-OPERATOR STAFF

hether it’s A&W’s noadded-hormones burger or banning lawn herbicides, it seems the public is increasingly suspicious of chemicals in their food. To help train farmers to counter those fears CropLife Canada, which represents pesticide and genetically modified crop makers and the Grain Growers of Canada, held a workshop in Calgary Dec. 1. Keystone Agricultural Producers’ president Doug Chorney participated and was

NEWS

Damaging cold hits five per cent of U.S. HRW Wheat Belt REUTERS / Temperatures got cold enough last weekend to have damaged crops across five per cent of the U.S. Plains hard red winter Wheat Belt, with west-central Nebraska the hardest hit, an agricultural meteorologist said Monday. “I would say five per cent (of the belt) saw some winterkill. As far as any major winterkill, I would say one per cent or less,” said Don Keeney, a meteorologist for MDA Weather Services. Low temperatures in west-central Nebraska ranged from roughly -5 F to -10 F (-20 C to -23 C) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings, Keeney said, cold enough to hurt dormant winter wheat. Snow cover in the area was thin, meaning that crops could be hurt by temperatures falling to -3 F or -4 F for a period of at least four hours, he said. The extent of damage from winterkill cannot be assessed until spring. Another U.S. forecaster, the Commodity Weather Group, estimated that sub-zero F temperatures in northwest Kansas and southwest Nebraska prior to light snow led to some winterkill in about 15 per cent of the belt on Saturday. The core of arctic cold air was expected to shift into the Midwest for the next several days, Keeney said, but soft red winter wheat crops there are protected by snow in areas that will get the coldest, preventing a significant threat of winterkill.

so impressed he wants the rest of KAP’s executive to attend the workshop called “Confident Conversations.” “It was an interesting experience to go through,” he said. “I think it’s good for farmers who want to talk about what they do on their farms.” The four-hour workshop involved role playing and different scenarios a farmer might encounter, Chorney said. “The purpose of the workshop is just to help you prepare better for that,” he said. “There’s no silver bullet, obviously. It’s just a building block.” Farmers are taught how to

defend their use of pesticides and GM crops in a factual, but sensitive way, trying to avoid offending people who oppose their use, he said. Chorney agrees the customer is always right. If a consumer doesn’t want food produced by “mainstream agriculture” he or she can buy organic. “What’s hurtful is being led down a path that suggests there’s something wrong with all the food they’re buying currently,” he said. Many people say they want organic food, but few people buy it because of the higher cost, he said.

“Organic products have to come at a higher cost all the time,” Chorney said. “We’re really taking food out of people’s mouths if we deprive them of regular non-organic food because a lot of people would never be able to afford to eat properly.” According to Chorney the Manitoba government’s planned ban of “cosmetic” herbicides reinforces the notion that pesticides, even w h e n u s e d p ro p e r l y, a re harmful. If it’s too dangerous to spray dandelions in their lawn how can it be safe on their food?

Chorney said he’s disappointed the Manitoba government is endorsing a new process to certify the sustainability of Manitoba-grown food so government institutions can then buy it. “I have a problem with that,” he said. “When policy-makers somehow suggest that the mainstream food supply is unsafe and they have to do some other level of scrutiny beyond what we’ve got in place this is an example of the thin edge of the wedge.” allan@fbcpublishing.com

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

DFA program needs review

“(W)e have to ensure we don’t have another flood that threatens our community like that. But we can’t do it unless we have the federal government and the provincial government at the table to help us first.”

Money needs to flow more quickly, and protective measures should be compensated: AMM By Lorraine Stevenson co-operator staff / brandon

isaster Financial A s s i s t a n c e ( D FA ) funding needs to flow to affected communities more quickly, and how it’s allowed to be spent needs review, municipal officials said last week. Re p re s e n t a t i v e s a t t h e A s s o c i a t i o n o f Ma n i t o b a Municipalities convention here last month said they were frustrated by delayed DFA payouts, and policies that prevent communities from doing more than repairing recurring flood damages in the same locations. Changes to the program are badly needed since floods are more frequent, said Brandon Mayor Sheri Decter Hirst. Brandon has

unpaid claims dating back to 2011, even as there were m o re d a m a g e s t h i s p a s t summer from torrential ra i n s t h a t f l o o d e d b a s e ments. Decter Hirst said the province and federal gover nment need to step up and help with flood mitigation now so communities get the resources they need not only to fix what’s damaged but take preventive action for the future. “We had one of the worst natural disasters this city has ever faced in 2011,” she said. “And we have to ensure we don’t have another flood that threatens our community like that. But we can’t do it unless we have the federal government and the provincial goverment at the table to help us first.”

Flooding is not a one-in100-year event anymore, and overland flooding is now a major concern as much as rising rivers, she added. “It seems to be a pattern developing where every second year we have people who are being forced out of their homes because of high water,” she said. The concern is widespread among Manitoba municipalities. Delegates supported a resolution from Brandon calling for a review of current policies for DFA programs, and for increasing funding to these programs, plus two others calling for a mitigation program so communities can prepare for “worst-case scenarios.” AMM president Doug D o b r ow o l s k i s a i d m a n y municipalities want to do

more than just repair what’s damaged, but DFA compensation policies only cover repairs of roads and bridges to their original state. Policy changes are needed so communities can build, upgrade a n d m a k e i m p r ov e m e n t s that make them more resilient long term. Ultimately, that will save money, said Dobrowolski. “Under the current policy all you can do is put it back to what it was. You can’t improve it. That’s a big concern. Let’s fix it once and for all and then spend money for other things.” Another concer n is the proposal that municipalities use their gas tax revenues as a revenue source for flood mitigation. “It (flood mitigation) should be a sepa-

Sheri Decter Hirst Brandon mayor

rate program altogether,” he said. Dobrowolski said given events of the last three years, municipalities have already begun starting to worry what may come their way in the spring of 2014. lorraine@fbcpublishing.com

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WHAT’S UP Please forward your agricultural events to daveb@fbcpublishing. com or call 204-944-5762. Dec. 11-12: Manitoba Agronomists Conference, 172 Agriculture Building, 66 Dafoe Road, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. For more info visit www.umanitoba.ca/afs/ agronomists_conf/. Dec. 11-12: Manitoba Seed Growers Association annual meeting and trade show, Victoria Inn, 1808 Wellington Ave., Winnipeg. For more info visit www.seedmanitoba.ca/news.html or call 204-745-6274. Dec. 12: Hog Days, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Keystone Centre, 1175-18th St., Brandon. For more info visit www.hogandpoultrydays.com/ hogdays.html or call 204-9376460. 2014 Jan. 6-8: Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmers Association annual workshop and trade show, Holiday Inn Riverside, 2200 Burdick Expwy. E., Minot, N.D. For more info visit www.mandakze rotill.org or call 701-223-3184. Jan. 8-9: St. Jean Farm Days, St. Jean Baptiste. For more info call 204-746-2312. Jan. 14-16: Red River Basin Commission’s Land and Water International Summit, 1635-42nd St. S., Fargo, N.D. For more info visit www.redriverbasincommission.org. Jan. 29-31: Keystone Agricultural Producers annual meeting, Delta Winnipeg, 350 St. Mary Ave., Winnipeg. For more info call 204697-1140 or visit kap.mb.ca. Feb. 4-5: Manitoba Beef Producers 35th annual general meeting, Victoria Inn, 3550 Victoria Ave. W., Brandon. For more info visit mbbeef.ca. Feb. 24-25: Wild Oats Grainworld 2014 conference, Fairmont Winnipeg, 2 Lombard Pl., Winnipeg. For more info visit wildoatsgrainworld.com. Feb. 25-27: Canola Council of Canada annual convention, San Antonio, Texas. For more info visit www.canolacouncil.org.

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T:17.4”

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

Opportunities and challenges follow demographic changes Immigration is feeding the Canadian population, but agribusiness needs to figure out what is feeding immigrants By Shannon VanRaes co-operator staff / calgary

he face of Canada is changing — or more correctly, the faces of Canada are changing. “Canada is rapidly moving from being a white country to becoming a brown country,” Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Global Public Affairs, told attendees at the recent GrowCanada conference in Calgary. And that’s something that should get those in agriculture and agribusiness thinking, he said. “What are you doing for these consumers?” Bricker asked, noting in recent years 300,000 new immigrants have been arriving in Canada annually, only three per cent of whom are refugees.

Jean-Phillipe Gervais, chief agricultural economist for Farm Credit Canada speaks at the GrowCanada conference in Calgary. Photo: Shannon VanRaes

Forty years ago the most immigrants came from the Un i t e d K i n g d o m a n d t h e United States. Now the Philippines, followed by India and China, are Canada’s leading sources of new citizens.

Push model over

Jean-Phillipe Gervais, chief agricultural economist for Farm Credit Canada, agrees it’s important to determine what products and even staple foods are wanted by newcomers. “We need to talk about the c o n s u m e r, b e c a u s e q u i t e frankly the supply chain model is totally different that what it was 20 years ago and even 10 years ago,” Gervais said. “Before we had a push model... ‘this is what I have on the farm right now, I’m gonna bring it to

the market, I’m gonna ask what it’s worth... and the processors, the buyers are gonna take it to the consumer.’” Not so today. Now the marketplace is seeing a pull model. “The consumer is really making known what their preferences are, and retailers are relaying this to processors, and processors to farmers and producers,” he said. And those preferences often depend on the types of food common in their country of origin. Given that immigration is heavily weighted towards Asian and South Asian countries at the moment, Bricker notes this will have a particular effect on the dairy industry.

Dairy challenges

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Even a quick Google search can demonstrate the issue faced by milk producers,” Bricker said. “I typed in ‘Asian cuisine and cow’s milk,’ you know what came up? Nothing. Why? Asian cultures do not consume milk as a beverage.” Increasing, cultural diversity is also changing the tastes of established Canadians of British and French descent as people try new foods and discover they enjoy them. However, Canada’s population isn’t just getting more diverse, it’s also getting older. Bricker notes that by 2015, Canada will have more senior citizens than youth, something else that doesn’t bode well for Canada’s dairy industry. “We realize now that most calcium needs and other things that an elderly population will consume, are found in substitute products,” said Gervais. “Dairy is going to go through some really important industrial changes, — I mean that domestic consumption is going to change and they will have to react; I think they have started to realize that.” Bricker said these demographic changes will also lead to opportunities, such as developing alternatives for Canadians who now prefer rice. And with women living five years longer on average than men, meeting their needs could prove lucrative as well. “So anyone in the commercial grocery sector — what are you doing for elderly women living alone?” asked Bricker. “They are going to be a very interesting consumer segment to focus on.” But even with boomers tipping the scales in purchasing power, generation Y can’t be ignored either. Ger vais noted that that younger demographic has its own tastes and trends that affect food choices, including a growing interest in organics. But overall, more needs to be done to determine where future growth will be in the food market and how farmers can meet consumer needs, he said. “I don’t think we know exactly what our aging population and a more ethnically diverse population in Canada is going to really want,” Gervais added.

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shannon.vanraes@fbcpublishing.com

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

LIVESTOCK MARKETS Cattle Prices Winnipeg

December 6, 2013

Additional snowfall bogs down cattle logistics

Steers & Heifers — D1, 2 Cows 62.00 - 68.50 D3 Cows 57.00 - 63.00 Bulls 82.00 - 87.00 Feeder Cattle (Price ranges for feeders refer to top-quality animals only) Steers (901+ lbs.) 110.00 - 135.50 (801-900 lbs.) 125.00 - 144.50 (701-800 lbs.) 130.00 - 156.00 (601-700 lbs.) 142.00 - 161.00 (501-600 lbs.) 150.00 - 171.50 (401-500 lbs.) 160.00 - 181.00 Heifers (901+ lbs.) 100.00 - 128.00 (801-900 lbs.) 110.00 - 131.00 (701-800 lbs.) 115.00 - 130.00 (601-700 lbs.) 125.00 - 157.00 (501-600 lbs.) 130.00 - 155.00 (401-500 lbs.) 140.00 - 164.00

Heifers

Alberta South 127.50 126.75 64.00 - 77.00 58.00 - 70.00 — $ 133.00 - 145.00 138.00 - 152.00 142.00 - 156.00 145.00 - 164.00 154.00 - 174.00 168.00 - 189.00 $ 120.00 - 132.00 125.00 - 137.00 127.00 - 139.00 130.00 - 144.00 134.00 - 153.00 141.00 - 162.00

($/cwt) (1,000+ lbs.) (850+ lbs.)

Futures (December 6, 2013) in U.S. Fed Cattle Close Change December 2013 131.65 -1.45 February 2014 132.90 -1.20 April 2014 133.75 -0.95 June 2014 128.27 -0.35 August 2014 126.70 -0.37 October 2014 128.90 -0.45 Cattle Slaughter

Feeder Cattle January 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 August 2014 September 2014

A weakening loonie encourages U.S. cattle buyers Brandon Logan CNSC

Ontario $ 100.08 - 132.93 110.60 - 131.25 50.86 - 76.12 50.86 - 76.12 66.89 - 91.33 $ 142.95 - 165.78 137.60 - 165.01 129.03 - 166.27 127.67 - 174.10 134.12 - 180.74 146.08 - 195.05 $ 125.24 - 140.49 123.28 - 144.50 116.25 - 146.98 117.96 - 151.11 121.11 - 156.50 126.39 - 164.36

(901+ lbs.) (801-900 lbs.) (701-800 lbs.) (601-700 lbs.) (501-600 lbs.) (401-500 lbs.) (901+ lbs.) (801-900 lbs.) (701-800 lbs.) (601-700 lbs.) (501-600 lbs.) (401-500 lbs.)

Close 164.12 164.42 165.30 165.90 166.87 166.50

Change -1.20 -0.73 -0.70 -0.90 -0.50 0.25

Cattle Grades (Canada)

Week Ending Previous November 30, 2013 Year Canada 56,992 44,540 East 14,314 12,358 West 42,678 32,182 Manitoba NA NA U.S. 555,000 639,000

Week Ending November 30, 2013 783 24,060 16,152 825 1,068 13,397 132

Prime AAA AA A B D E

Previous Year 472 18,409 12,423 654 688 11,054 14

Hog Prices Source: Manitoba Agriculture

(Friday to Thursday) ($/100 kg) E - Estimation MB. ($/hog) MB. (All wts.) (Fri-Thurs.) MB. (Index 100) (Fri-Thurs.) ON (Index 100) (Mon.-Thurs.) P.Q. (Index 100) (Mon.-Fri.)

Current Week 169.00 E 156.00 E 159.08 160.30

Futures (December 6, 2013) in U.S. Hogs December 2013 February 2014 April 2014 May 2014 June 2014

Last Week 165.76 155.14 155.07 157.64

Close 82.52 88.67 92.15 98.10 99.50

Last Year (Index 100) 161.94 150.44 151.05 152.04

Change -3.28 -1.80 -1.65 -0.35 -0.67

Other Market Prices Sheep and Lambs $/cwt Ewes Choice Lambs (110+ lb.) (95 - 109 lb.) (80 - 94 lb.) (Under 80 lb.) (New crop)

$1 Cdn: $ .9405 U.S. $1 U.S: $1.0663 Cdn.

COLUMN

(Friday to Thursday) Slaughter Cattle

Slaughter Cattle Grade A Steers Grade A Heifers D1, 2 Cows D3 Cows Bulls Steers

EXCHANGES: December 6, 2013

Winnipeg (head) (wooled fats) — Dec. 4 report not received yet —

Chickens Minimum broiler prices as of May 23, 2010 Under 1.2 kg................................... $1.5130 1.2 - 1.65 kg.................................... $1.3230 1.65 - 2.1 kg.................................... $1.3830 2.1 - 2.6 kg...................................... $1.3230

Turkeys Minimum prices as of December 15, 2013 Broiler Turkeys (6.2 kg or under, live weight truck load average) Grade A .................................... $1.910 Undergrade .............................. $1.820 Hen Turkeys (between 6.2 and 8.5 kg liveweight truck load average) Grade A .................................... $1.895 Undergrade .............................. $1.795 Light Tom/Heavy Hen Turkeys (between 8.5 and 10.8 kg liveweight truck load average) Grade A .................................... $1.895 Undergrade .............................. $1.795 Tom Turkeys (10.8 and 13.3 kg, live weight truck load average) Grade A..................................... $1.810 Undergrade............................... $1.725 Prices are quoted f.o.b. farm.

Toronto 69.55 - 97.86 119.84 - 154.25 165.76 - 181.42 164.03 - 186.14 157.35 - 248.42 —

SunGold Specialty Meats 15.00

By Eric M. Johnson

Eggs

Goats Winnipeg (head) (Fats) — — —

Toronto ($/cwt) 100.53 - 247.46 — 107.64 - 234.62

Horses <1,000 lbs. 1,000 lbs.+

Winnipeg ($/cwt) — —

Toronto ($/cwt) 3.92 - 35.09 17.91 - 39.38

robin hill

Final scheduled auctions of 2013 Ashern

Dec. 18

Brandon

Dec. 19

Gladstone

Dec. 17

Grunthal

Dec. 17

Killarney

Dec. 16

Ste. Rose

Dec. 19

Virden

Dec. 18

Winnipeg

Dec. 20

“We didn’t see as much snow (in the Virden area), but I know it was bad in Portage la Prairie and east,” he said, noting the lower volume did ease transportation concerns. “The eastern cattle probably sat in our yard a little long for an extra day, but I think everything is all cleaned out. With the smaller volume this week, our trucks can handle it a little better.” With Christmas less than three weeks away and a new year on the horizon, Hill is optimistic about the outlook for Manitoba’s cattle market in 2014, especially for the feeder cow market. “I think things are going to be really good in the feeder trade,” he said. “We’re going to see less volume just because we are selling some of our spring volume already. That’s why some of the numbers have been as high as they have been. I think we’re in for some very positive turns here in the new year.” Brandon Logan writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

briefs

Americans warned against ‘cannibal sandwiches’

Minimum prices to producers for ungraded eggs, f.o.b. egg grading station, set by the Manitoba Egg Producers Marketing Board effective June 12, 2011. New Previous A Extra Large $1.8500 $1.8200 A Large 1.8500 1.8200 A Medium 1.6700 1.6400 A Small 1.2500 1.2200 A Pee Wee 0.3675 0.3675 Nest Run 24 + 1.7490 1.7210 B 0.45 0.45 C 0.15 0.15

Kids Billys Mature

attle volumes across Manitoba’s auction yards were slightly down during the week ended Dec. 6, said Robin Hill of Heartland Livestock Service at Virden, adding that the slight decline in numbers should continue with the holiday season quickly approaching. “ I t ’s g e t t i n g a l i t t l e c l o s e r t o Christmastime, so volumes were just a little lower,” he said, pointing to a noticeable decline in the number of feeder cattle this week. “The ‘fall run’ is slowing down, but not ending. We still had (roughly) 1,960 feeders there this week, but that’s probably 800 to 1,000 fewer than the week before. We had lots of butcher cattle coming though.” With lower-volume feeder cattle this week, prices were steady, Hill said, while the butcher market saw a slight decline. “Feed prices were fully steady this week,” he said, adding that a weak Canadian dollar was helpful for interest from U.S. buyers. “On the good quality, there’s lots of support from western, eastern and southern feedlots. The butcher trade has slipped with all the volume coming, so we probably saw cows slip probably a cent and a half this past week.” The Canadian dollar opened the week valued at US94.16 cents, before dropping below the 94-cent mark for the first time since September 2010. The loonie closed the week valued at US93.84 cents, which should keep U.S. buying interest strong heading into the second-last week of auctions before the holiday break. Transportation has been a big factor all fall with the large volumes of cattle seen across the province, but this week there was a new challenge as a large portion of southern Manitoba received a good amount of snow. While the Virden area wasn’t affected as much as others, Hill said the snow did delay some cattle from being moved out of auction yards.

“The butcher trade has slipped with all the volume coming, so we probably saw cows slip probably a cent and a half.”

Reuters

Residents in the upper U.S. Midwest should ditch their seasonal tradition of eating “cannibal sandwiches” made of raw ground beef, health officials warned, citing multiple outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. Gobbling up raw ground beef spread on sandwich bread or crackers with onions and other seasoning led to more than 50 cases of foodborne illness in 1972, 1978 and 1994 in Wisconsin, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote in a report released last week.

Raw beef “cannibal sandwiches” have also been linked to at least four cases, and possibly more than a dozen, of sickness tied to E. coli bacteria in the central region of Wisconsin over the 2012 winter holiday season, the CDC said. The bacteria can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps and, in the most severe cases, kidney failure. “Despite ongoing outreach efforts addressing the dangers associated with consuming undercooked or raw ground beef, this regional holiday tradition continues to be associated with outbreaks,” the CDC said. Jubilant amateur chefs can be seen in web videos dining on blood-red beef chunks dusted with pepper, topped with onions, packed with capers, and piled onto sandwich bread with cheese and mustard.

Looking for results? Check out the market reports from livestock auctions around the province. » PaGe 15

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

GRAIN MARKETS Export and International Prices

column

Stunning yields put crush on canola contract values StatsCan’s latest crop report also weighed on wheat Terryn Shiells CNSC

anola contracts on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform moved significantly lower during the week ended Dec. 6, hitting fresh contract lows in the process. The January contract broke below the key support level of $480 per tonne, which sparked chart-based selling that built on itself. The main focus during the week was Statistics Canada’s final production report of the year, which was released on Wednesday (Dec. 4) and showed a shockingly large Canadian canola crop. StatsCan estimated Canadian farmers produced 17.96 million tonnes of canola in 2013-14, up from its previous estimate of 15.96 million and last year’s 13.87 million tonnes grown. The canola production figure shocked traders, who thought StatsCan would only show a crop around 17 million tonnes in the report. The larger crop was seen as due to an increase in average yields for canola. StatsCan reported the average Canadian canola yield was a record 40 bushels per acre, up from its previous estimate of 36.9 bushels per acre. The 2012-13 average yield for canola was 28.1 bushels per acre. The larger Canadian canola production figure, paired with expectations that Canada’s commercial grain-handling system won’t be able to move the huge crop this year, has traders expecting a big carry-over into next year, to the tune of three million tonnes or more. The larger carry-out means canola prices will likely be under pressure in the long term, even into next year, as there will still be large supplies even if there are weather problems during the 2014 growing season. With nearby canola futures now below key support levels, they have the potential to move even further down into the $440- to $450-pertonne range, but only if soybean futures start to move lower. During the week, Chicago soybean futures posted losses, with reports of excellent weather conditions for the upcoming possibly recordlarge South American bean crop weighing on values. Rumours that China is going to start cancelling U.S. soybean orders were also bearish, and could spark a sell-off in the market going forward. Traders will be watching the progress of the South American soybean crop closely going for-

Last Week

All prices close of business December 6, 2013

Week Ago

Year Ago

Chicago wheat (nearby future) ($US/tonne)

234.43

240.67

319.36

Minneapolis wheat (nearby future) ($US/tonne)

244.81

252.34

342.14

Coarse Grains Chicago corn (nearby future) ($US/tonne)

166.43

163.48

295.87

Chicago oats (nearby future) ($US/tonne)

236.19

236.84

233.92

Chicago soybeans (nearby future) ($US/tonne)

487.96

491.08

532.00

Chicago soyoil ($US/tonne)

890.38

886.85

1,097.43

oilseeds

For three-times-daily market reports from Commodity News Service Canada, visit “Today in Markets” at www.manitobacooperator.ca.

ward, and the better the weather, the lower the prices for soybeans in the U.S. Chicago corn futures moved higher during the week, with some of the price strength linked to strong demand from the U.S. ethanol sector. Oversold price sentiment and technical buying were also supportive. But the long-term outlook for U.S. corn futures remains bearish, due to the large U.S. corn crop which is expected to be pegged as being even bigger than 14 million bushels in the Dec. 10 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. South American weather has been positive so far for the corn crop, and if that continues, U.S. corn futures could test the US$4-per-bushel level.

Supplies pressure wheat

Wheat futures on the Minneapolis, Kansas City and Chicago trading platforms moved lower, with increasing global supplies behind the weakness. Both Canada and Australia released reports which showed larger 2013-14 wheat crop production during the week. StatsCan’s Dec. 4 production report showed a surprisingly large 2013-14 Canadian wheat crop of 37.53 million tonnes, up from the October estimate of 33.03 million and the 27.21 million tonnes grown in 2012-13. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences reported that country’s 2013-14 wheat crop should total 26.2 million tonnes, up from its previous estimate of 24.5 million. Traders of U.S. wheat futures will continue to monitor world production, U.S. weather for the winter wheat crop and export demand for U.S. wheat going forward.

Winnipeg Futures ICE Futures Canada prices at close of business December 6, 2013 Last Week

Week Ago

December 2013

barley

152.00

March 2014

154.00

May 2014

155.00

Canola

Last Week

Week Ago

January 2014

471.90

490.60

March 2014

481.80

500.00

May 2014

491.00

507.50

Special Crops Report for December 9, 2013 — Bin run delivered plant Saskatchewan Spot Market

Lentils (Cdn. cents per pound)

Other ( Cdn. cents per pound unless otherwise specified)

Large Green 15/64

22.00 - 23.00

Canaryseed

Laird No. 1

19.50 - 22.00

Oil Sunflower Seed

Eston No. 2

14.00 - 17.75

Desi Chickpeas

23.00 - 23.75 — 20.90 - 22.00

Field Peas (Cdn. $ per bushel)

Beans (Cdn. cents per pound)

Green No. 1

Fababeans, large

10.80 - 12.50

Medium Yellow No. 1

6.05 - 6.85

—

Feed beans

—

Feed Peas (Cdn. $ per bushel)

No. 1 Navy/Pea Beans

44.00 - 44.00

Feed Pea (Rail)

No. 1 Great Northern

60.00 - 60.00

Mustardseed (Cdn. cents per pound)

No. 1 Cranberry Beans

64.00 - 64.00

Yellow No. 1

37.75 - 38.75

No. 1 Light Red Kidney

55.00 - 55.00

Brown No. 1

35.75 - 37.75

No. 1 Dark Red Kidney

60.00 - 60.00

Oriental No. 1

27.30 - 28.75

No. 1 Black Beans

38.00 - 38.00

No. 1 Pinto Beans

35.00 - 36.00

5.00 - 5.50

No. 1 Small Red Source: Stat Publishing

No. 1 Pink

SUNFLOWERS

— 40.00 - 40.00

Fargo, ND

Goodlands, KS

19.95

18.95

32.00* Call for details

—

Report for December 6, 2013 in US$ cwt NuSun (oilseed)

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

Spot Market

Confection Source: National Sunflower Association

briefs

EU rapeseed crop to rise next year: analyst French crop seen as 800,000 tonnes higher paris / reuters / Rapeseed production in the European Union is expected to rise to 21.3 million tonnes in 2014-15, up 2.4 per cent from 20.8 million this season, as higher yields outweigh a drop in sowings, Frenchbased analyst Strategie Grains said. The average yield in the next rapeseed crop would reach 3.2 tonnes per hectare (57 bu./ac.) against 3.1 tonnes in this year’s harvest, offsetting an expected fall in area to 6.6 million hectares from 6.7 million, the analyst said in a monthly oilseed report.

The rise in EU output would be supported by a rebound in France, where the crop is seen 800,000 tonnes higher at 5.1 million tonnes. The 2013 French crop fell about 20 per cent on the year after crops faced poor weather throughout the growth cycle. Strategie Grains had estimated last month that the oilseed area in the EU would fall in the next harvest because of a decline in margins for growers, as well as more attractive margins for wheat compared with rapeseed. For the current 2013-14 season, the supply-and-demand situation for rapeseed in the EU was tight, in contrast to ample global supply fuelled by a big Canadian crop, the analyst said.

The difference between EU and world prices should widen to encourage more imports into the bloc, it said, adding however, that the export pace out of Canada was very slow.

ICE canola sets daily volume record New StatsCan forecast seen as reason for heavy activity commodity news service canada Canola contracts on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform posted record daily trade volumes on Dec. 4, the IntercontinentalExchange Group said.

There were 51,805 canola futures contracts traded on the Winnipegbased electronic market on Wednesday, which topped the previous daily record of 49,165 contracts set on June 9, 2010, ICE said. ICE data shows total open interest in canola rose by about 9,000, to 217,146 contracts, hitting its highest level in just over a year. Market participants said the majority of the volume was tied to intermonth spread activity, with over 43,000 of the contracts traded linked to spreading. Statistics Canada released updated production estimates on Wednesday, pegging the country’s 2013-14 canola crop at a record 17.96 million tonnes. Positioning following the data was the major feature behind the big volumes, according to traders

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

LIVESTOCK H USB A N DRY — T H E SC I E NC E , SK I L L OR A RT OF FA R M I NG

MEASUREMENT:

The key to risk management in cattle operations More money on the line means taking greater marketing risks for today’s cattle producers

By Jennifer Blair STAFF / CALGARY

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.”

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

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,

Travis Hickey says there is probably going to be less variation in cattle prices than we’ve seen in the past two to three years. FILE PHOTO

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

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

U.S. pork producers paying the price for trying to cover up PED

briefs

Canadian pork industry is taking proactive measures to prevent porcine epidemic diarrhea from entering country, and limiting its spread if it does

Staff / The Manitoba Forage Council is now the Manitoba Forage & Grassland Association. “As the MFGA moves ahead in an expanded role on the landscape, the board felt that the inclusion of Grassland better served this transition as we continue to work with producers, industry, conservation and government partners as well as the general public in the showcasing of Manitoba’s forage and grasslands and their positive impacts,” chairman Jim Lintott said in a release. The association has some new staff too. Wanda McFadyen, and administrator with extensive experience working for agricultural associations and programs, has been named executive director. Duncan Morrison, a Winnipeg-based marketing and communications consultant specializing in sustainability, wise land use decisions and conservation, has been hired as outreach co-ordinator. The association’s new website address is: mfga. net.

By Jennifer Blair staff / calgary

hoot, shovel, and shut u p’ d i d n’t w o r k f o r 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 coordinator 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, w h i c h i s s p re a d t h ro u g h 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 f a t a l i n s u c k l i n g p i g l e t s. There is currently no vaccine.

TGE on steroids

Early symptoms of PED are similar to those of transmis-

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

sible 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 ver y contagious.” A l t h o u g h n o t a re p o r table 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, nonscience based, but we know t h a t t h e Eu ro p e a n s h a ve 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.

Vitamin E supplements may improve beef Researchers developing guidelines for optimum concentration in rations Staff

No mandatory quarantine

Alberta’s plan for controlling the spread of the disease is “very different” from H1N1, said Julia Keenliside, veterinar y 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 c a n i n c re a s e b i o s e c u r i t y 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. “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. “ T h e re’s n o m a n d a t o r y quarantine, nobody’s shut down, and nobody’s stopped from shipping pigs.”

Huge advantage over U.S.

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 b e p o s s i b l e i f p ro d u c e r s 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

CO M P LETE H ER D DCOMPLETE ISP ER SAL Sa t u r d a y D ecem HERD b er 21 st - 1 :00 p .m . DISPERSAL H ea rtla nd Livest ock V ird21sten, B Saturday December - 1:00M p.m. Heartland Livestock Virden, MB

itamin E supplements in cattle feed can improve the shelf life of ground beef and may provide human health benefits, says Mike Dugan of Agriculture and AgriFood Canada. In a research project funded by the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA), Dugan’s initial findings show that supplementing vitamin E in cattle diets improves the colour of the meat and the trans fatty acid composition. “The trans fatty acid composition is one of the most important improvements with increased levels of vitamin E,” Dugan said in an ALMA release. “There is more and more research pointing towards trans fatty acids not all having the same health effects. It is, therefore, important to be able to optimize the composition of ruminant-derived trans fatty acids which may be able to help reduce some risk factors associated with diabetes, obesity and heart disease.” The research showed vitamin E helped maintain ground beef

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

New name and new staff for forage council

CO M P LETE H ER D D ISP ER SAL Sa t u r d a y D ecem b er 21 st - 1 :00 p .m . H ea rtla nd Livestock V ird en,M B

Vitamin E helps ground beef maintain its colour for longer.

colour, but had limited effects on steak or ground beef taste and texture. “At the optimal concentration, vitamin E will help in the production of a more visually appealing ground beef that enjoys a longer shelf life and superior taste profile. We are also looking towards supplementation in combination with other antioxidants to further enhance the trans fatty acid profile,” Dugan said.

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

Dairy quota purchases tied to quality Provides an incentive to improve quality instead of just staying within existing standards

Dairy farmers’ meeting hears quota cuts mean loss of $60,000 per 100-cow dairy

By Ron Friesen co-operator contributor

f you’re a dairy farmer in Manitoba and you want to buy more quota, you’d better have a clean record for milk quality first. Dairy Farmers of Manitoba has implemented a new policy tying producers’ ability to buy quota on the monthly quota exchange with their milk quality history. Dairy farms with one or more milk quality infractions within a 12-month rolling period are not allowed to buy daily quota until those infractions have been cleared from their records. Infractions include: a somatic cell count above 399,000, a bacterial count above 120,000, too much water in the milk, antibiotic residues and failure to comply with the national CQM on-farm food safety program. DFM began the first phase of the Quota Participation Program last May. The second phase became effective December 1 following approval from the Manitoba Farm Products Marketing Council. QPP is seen as a way of slowing down growth in the size of Manitoba’s 314 dairy farms, as well as stabilizing the price of quota, which has topped $30,000 per kg of butterfat in the past. It currently stands at just under $29,000/kg. But the program’s main purpose is to give producers an incentive to improve their milk quality instead of just staying within existing standards beyond penalty levels, said David Wiens, DFM chair. “The focus needs to be on well-managed farms that are producing the best-quality milk,” Wiens said during a break in the DFM annual meeting in Winnipeg last week. “We want to ensure there is continued improvement in this area, as well as with other areas.” While QPP penalizes producers with milk quality infractions, it rewards those with good milk

By Ron Friesen co-operator contributor

C Dairy Farmers chair David Wiens says new policy gives fresh incentives for high milk quality. photo: ron friesen

quality, depending on the standards they meet. DFM has four milk quality categories: Gold, Merit, Standard and Infraction, with different criteria for each one. Under Phase 2 of the program, dairy farms which have no infractions within a 12-month rolling period and meet Gold category criteria are allowed to purchase an unlimited amount of daily quota on the monthly exchange. Farms with no infractions meeting Merit criteria may buy a maximum of 40 kg. Farms in the Standard category (no infractions but below Gold and Merit criteria) may purchase up to 20 kg. However, farms with one or more infractions may not buy quota until their milk quality infractions are cleared from their 12-month rolling infraction records. They are still allowed to sell quota, though. Wiens said DFM developed QPP based on discussions with producers at the December 2012 annual meeting and the District Milk Committee Forum in February 2013. Manitoba is the first province to implement such a program. Wiens said other provinces are looking at it with interest but have not said if they intend to follow suit.

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Dairy farmers call CETA a giveaway

1 800 728.6440

anada’s milk producers warn that increased cheese imports under the recent Canada-Europe free trade agreement will cost them millions of dollars and result in sharp cuts to production quotas. Dairy Farmers of Canada says the higher imports will displace domestic cheese sales and produce lost milk revenues of $150 million a year. That’s roughly equivalent to $60,000 for a 100-cow dairy, according to David Wiens, DFC vice-president, speaking at the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba annual meeting in Winnipeg last week. If the trade deal is implemented over seven years as planned, it will mean an overall quota cut of 2.27 per cent and cumulative revenue losses of $595 million, DFC estimates. The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), tentatively announced in October, contains sweeping tariff reductions and increased market access on a wide range of commodities, goods and services. Ca n a d a’s b e e f a n d p o r k producers have hailed the agreement, which gives them increased access to the lucrative EU market. But dairy farmers say they feel Ottawa sold them down the river to get the deal, which enables the EU to sell Canada an additional 17,700 tonnes of cheese duty free. That includes 16,000 tonnes of high-quality cheese and 1,700 tonnes of industr ial cheese for non-retail use. Canada already admits 2 0 , 4 1 2 t o n n e s o f c h e e s e, t w o - t h i rd s o f i t f ro m t h e

If it’s made in Canada, it can’t be called Parmesan under the proposed Canada-EU trade deal. photo: thinkstock

EU, without duty. The additional imports will increase total cheese access to 38,112 tonnes. He said the main hurt will come from an increased bite into Canada’s domestic cheese market, which has seen strong growth in recent years and in which the industr y has invested heavily. “It is quite a damper on what was a very bright spot in terms of our market growth in Canada,” Wiens, who is also DFM chair, told the meeting. “We were very disappointed to see the results of this.” Wiens said he was “shocked” by the 17,700-tonne figure, which was close to the 20,000 tonnes the Europeans were rumoured to be demanding earlier during the negotiations. “We gave up a lot and we don’t know why,” he said.

Disputes government claim

Wiens took time during his presentation to counter

f e d e ra l g ov e r n m e n t a r g u m e n t s t h a t C E TA w i l l n o t a f f e c t d a i r y p ro d u c e r s a l l that much. Ottawa claims the new access adds up to only four per cent of Canada’s cheese consumption and CETA will allow more Canadian dairy goods into Europe in return. Wiens said the 17,700 tonnes equal up to a third of the fine cheese market in Canada and market growth alone will not absorb that additional amount. He also said Canada cannot export cheese to the EU, regardless of CETA. The cost of producing and processing milk is higher in Canada than in the EU, where producers get 40 per cent of their income from farm payments. Canada would have to sell dairy products to Europe at below cost to compete. The World Trade Organization has previously ruled any export f r o m C a n a d a s o l d b e l ow domestic price is considered subsidized and subject to penalties. This puts Canada’s milk and dair y products at a price disadvantage, says DFC. Wiens also noted CETA will not allow future Canadian cheeses to use European geographic indicators, such as feta, Parmesan and Gorgonzola. The measure does not affect current users of these names in Canada. So f a r, C E TA i s o n l y a n agreement in principle. Ottawa and the provinces have to officially ratify it, as do EU member nations. Producers at the DFM meeting said provincial leaders should be told CETA is not a good deal for dairy farmers and Canadian cheese makers. “We have to stand together on this matter,” one producer said. Wiens said DFC is trying to hold discussions with the f e d e ra l g ove r n m e n t a b o u t mitigating the damage to the industry. There has been talk of compensation but Wiens said it must be more than just a one-time payment. “It’s not about a cheque in the mail,” he said.

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

LIVESTOCK AUCTION RESULTS Weight Category

Ashern

Gladstone

Grunthal

Heartland

Brandon

Virden

Killarney

Ste. Rose

Winnipeg

Feeder Steers

Dec-04

Dec-03

Dec-04

Dec-02

Dec-05

Dec-06

No. on offer

2,500

1,382

1,132

1,425

3,441

948

1,584

685

n/a

Over 1,000 lbs. 900-1,000

n/a

103.00-139.00

120.00-135.00

n/a

125.00-138.00

n/a

127.00-138.00

800-900

140.00-148.50

130.00-150.00

130.00-146.00

134.00-148.00

130.00-148.00

130.00-147.50

140.00-152.50

700-800

140.00-168.25

140.00-159.00

138.00-151.00

140.00-154.00

142.00-154.00

144.00-157.00

135.00-155.00

148.00-158.00

600-700

150.00-178.50

150.00-166.50

145.00-158.00

150.00-166.00

146.00-163.00

150.00-168.75

155.00-177.50

155.00-166.50

500-600

155.00-186.50

160.00-181.50

150.00-176.00

155.00-174.00

155.00-168.00

158.00-174.00

165.00-183.00

160.00-188.00

400-500

165.00-192.00

170.00-198.00

170.00-192.50

170.00-190.00

169.00-193.00

170.00-190.00

165.00-194.00

175.00-203.00

300-400

n/a

175.00-206.00

180.00-235.00

175.00-195.00

180.00-206.00

175.00-210.00

170.00-198.00

185.00-225.00

900-1,000 lbs.

100.00-120.25

n/a

110.00-130.00

n/a

115.00-130.00

123.00-132.75

n/a

115.00-134.00

800-900

117.00-131.00

110.00-123.50

115.00-130.00

120.00-130.00

124.00-135.00

123.00-134.00

120.00-131.00

125.00-137.00

700-800

108.00-125.00

120.00-139.50

120.00-134.00

122.00-133.00

126.00-136.00

125.00-141.00

128.00-137.00

133.00-146.00

600-700

130.00-154.75

130.00-155.50

130.00-146.50

128.00-138.00

131.00-146.75

135.00-145.00

140.00-169.00

142.00-157.00

500-600

136.00-157.75

140.00-155.00

132.00-151.00

138.00-153.00

134.00-151.00

137.00-150.00

135.00-168.00

150.00-162.00

400-500

149.00-169.00

145.00-171.00

140.00-164.00

145.00-165.00

141.00-162.00

145.00-165.00

140.00-167.50

155.00-170.00

300-400

n/a

155.00-184.00

150.00-170.00

140.00-170.00

148.00-170.00

n/a

137.50-172.00

160.00-185.00

314

1,382

124

1,425

3,441

948

301

165

Feeder heifers

Slaughter Market No. on offer D1-D2 Cows

62.00-68.00

n/a

63.00-69.00

61.00-66.00

45.00-57.00

58.00-68.50

60.00-67.00

D3-D5 Cows

48.00-60.00

n/a

53.00-62.00

56.00-60.00

n/a

50.00-57.00

57.00-64.00

Age Verified

68.00-71.75

n/a

63.00-71.00

60.00-66.00

n/a

Good Bulls

80.00-85.00

n/a

72.00-80.00

78.00-83.25

78.00-87.00

n/a

78.00-83.00

Butcher Steers

n/a

105.00-112.00

106.00-113.00

n/a

n/n

Butcher Heifers

n/a

104.00-111.00

105.00-111.50

n/a

Feeder Cows

n/a

70.00-78.00

n/a

70.00-85.00

Fleshy Export Cows

n/a

62.00-67.00

n/a

Lean Export Cows

n/a

52.00-59.00

n/a

* includes slaughter market

(Note all prices in CDN$ per cwt. These prices also generally represent the top one-third of sales reported by the auction yard.)

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

WEATHER VANE

Weather now for next week.

Get the Manitoba Co-operator mobile app and get local or national forecast info. Download the free app at agreader.ca/mbc

“ E V E R Y O N E T A L K S A B O U T T H E W E A T H E R , B U T N O O N E D O E S A N Y T H I N G A B O U T I T.” M a r k Tw a i n , 18 9 7

Arctic high pressure dominates Issued: Monday, December 9, 2013 · Covering: December 11 – December 18, 2013 Daniel Bezte Co-operator contributor

his time last week I was saying that we’d either have dodged a big snowstorm or we’d be digging out from one. As it turned out, it was a little bit of both. Western regions pretty much missed out on the storm as it tracked southwestward through Alberta and southern Saskatchewan. The storm then curved back to the northeast and brought some significant snowfall to southeastern areas. What we didn’t miss out on was the cold arctic high pressure that moved in behind the storm system — and just our luck, the arctic air ended up being colder than expected! For this forecast period it looks like the cold weather will continue. With arctic high pressure dominating the region we’ll be seeing plenty of sunshine and cold temperatures with little in the way of any snow, at least for the first half of this forecast period. The first area of arctic high pressure will move across the region during the first half of this week. This will be followed by another arctic high on the

weekend. We might see slightly warmer temperatures on Friday, along with the odd flurry as energy from a storm system off of the West Coast tries to push eastward ahead of the arctic high. This second region of high pressure looks as if it will take a more easterly track. Should this happen, it will keep the coldest air to our east, over Ontario. This will also allow energy and moisture from the Pacific to move into our region, bringing a chance for some snow late on Sunday and into Monday. The weather models then show another area of low pressure from the Pacific sliding through our region around the middle of next week, bringing with it another chance for some light snow. This will be followed once again by more arctic air. The good news is that the longrange models are starting to hint at mild air moving in just in time for Christmas. Usual temperature range for this period: Highs, -18 to -2 C; lows, -28 to -11 C. Daniel Bezte is a teacher by profession with a BA (Hon.) in geography, specializing in climatology, from the U of W. He operates a computerized weather station near Birds Hill Park. Contact him with your questions and comments at daniel@bezte.ca.

WEATHER MAP - WESTERN CANADA

7 Day Accumulated Precipitation (Prairie Region) November 28, 2013 to December 4, 2013

0 - 3 mm 3 - 7 mm 7 - 10 mm 10 - 13 mm 13 - 16 mm 16 - 20 mm 20 - 23 mm 23 - 26 mm 26 - 30 mm 30 - 33 mm 33 - 36 mm 36 - 39 mm 39 - 43 mm 43 - 46 mm 46 - 49 mm 49 - 53 mm 53 - 56 mm 56 - 59 mm Extent of Agricultural Land Lakes and Rivers

Produced using near real-time data that has undergone initial quality control. The map may not be accurate for all regions due to data availability and data errors. Copyright © 2013 Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada Prepared by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s National Agroclimate Information Service (NAIS). Data provided through partnership with Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and many Provincial agencies.

Created: 12/06/13 www.agr.gc.ca/drought

This issue’s map shows the total amount of precipitation that fell across the Prairies during the seven days ending Dec. 4. From the map you can see the track of the winter storm that affected different parts of the Prairies during this period. Heavier amounts of snow fell across western and southern Alberta as the system moved southeastward across that province and into the central U.S. The storm then curved to the northeast and brought measurable snow to south-central and southeast regions of Manitoba.

Christmas relatively storm free Winnipeg booked the lowest of the low temperatures, dropping to -47.8 C on Dec. 24, 1879 By Daniel Bezte CO-OPERATOR CONTRIBUTOR

ith Christmas and the holiday season just around the corner my thoughts, at least partly, turn to snowstorms. That’s right, snowstorms. At this time of the year I always have a secret hope or wish that there will be a big snowstorm over Christmas. I’m not sure why I have these feelings. I know that a big storm at this time of the year would cause all sorts of problems and hardships, but deep down inside I guess I just wish that I could be stuck at home for a few days. No pressure to go anywhere because you can’t, plenty of food available, family around you, and new presents under the tree. A perfect time to be forced to sit back and just relax… at least until you have to dig yourself out! Every couple of years I like to look back to remind myself of what past Christmases or holiday weather have been like. In the past I have looked into December snowstorms, and in particular, Christmas snowstorms, but this year I tried to dig a little deeper and have expanded my look to cover all major centres across the Prairies. Unlike most reports you hear nowadays, I have included weather records that go right back to the late 1800s. Some feel these records are either inaccurate or

no longer relevant, but people took the weather just as seriously as some of us do today and I feel most of these old records are reasonably accurate. Here I’ve included a table that shows the maximum and minimum temperatures recorded in °C, along with the maximum snowfall for Dec. 24, 25 and 26 for Winnipeg and Brandon in Manitoba; Regina and Saskatoon in Saskatchewan; and Edmonton and Calgary in Alberta. If you examine the table you’ll see that if you are looking for a place on the Prairies to experience a really warm Christmas, Calgary would be the place for you. While all of the other centres have seen some nice warm Christmases in the past, not one of the major centres comes close to Calgary’s record highs. The year 1999 was a really warm one across the entire Prairies, with record-warm temperatures set in every major centre except Saskatoon that year. If you want a chance at seeing some really cold weather during this period, you could pick pretty much any place, as all have seen Christmases colder than -35 C, although Winnipeg comes out the winner here with a bonechilling -47.8 C on Christmas Eve in 1879! Interestingly, when you examine the precipitation records for

these three days you’ll notice the Christmas period has been a relatively dry, storm-free period, but there are a couple of exceptions. Winnipeg did see a heavy dump of 30.5 centimetres of snow on Boxing Day back in 1916, but the record for the biggest Christmas snowstorms has to go to Edmonton. Back in 1938, Edmonton recorded over 25 cm of snow on Christmas Eve and then a further 18 cm of snow on Christmas Day, for a total of 43 cm of snow! Christmas Eve 1938 started off nice in Edmonton, with temperatures climbing to around +4 C before the snow moved in. By Dec. 28 the temperature had plunged, with overnight lows falling into the low -40 C range. This same storm tracked southeastward across the Prairies bringing record one-day snowfalls to Saskatoon, Brandon and Winnipeg. While I’m sure there have been plenty of stormy days near Christmas across the Prairies, very few really big storms have occurred. In the present long-range forecast this year, we may have a chance of changing this, as the weather models try to bring in energy from the Pacific starting about a week before Christmas. Whatever weather you do end up with, I hope it is what you wanted; if not, then remember the season and try to make the best of it!

PRAIRIE WEATHER RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 24-26 (Degrees Celsius, cm of snow) High

Year

Low

Year

Precip

Year

Dec. 24

3.9

1953

-47.8

1879

15.2

1929

Dec. 25

5.4

1999

-40

1879

9.4

1938

Dec. 26

4.4

2011

-38.9

1883

30.5

1916

4.4

1953

-41

1983

5.1

1938

Winnipeg

Brandon Dec. 24 Dec. 25

7.2

1999

-40

1902

15.2

1938

Dec. 26

4.8

2005

-39.4

1891

7.6

1976

Dec. 24

1999

-40.6

1884

9.7

1950

Dec. 25

6.1

1943

-39.4

1933

7.1

1959

Dec. 26

6.1

1898

-39.3

1990

13.5

1916

Dec. 24

6.9

2011

-37.8

1917

12.7

1938

Dec. 25

4.5

1895

-38.9

1933

7.6

1922

Dec. 26

4.4

1928

-41.7

1934

9.9

1959

Dec. 24

10.4

1999

-41.7

1880

25.4

1938

Dec. 25

8.9

1987

-39.4

1880

17.8

1938

Dec. 26

1999

-38.3

1880

21.1

1955

17.6

1999

-36.1

1983

5.1

1937

Regina

Saskatoon

Edmonton

Calgary Dec. 24 Dec. 25

14.8

1985

-35

1886

10.2

1923

Dec. 26

13.8

1999

-35.6

1886

10.2

1923

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

CROPS

While plantings fell in Manitoba this year, they are up in Saskatchewan and Alberta By Allan Dawson CO-OPERATOR STAFF

Good demand

“The grain companies were fighting over it (winter wheat) at the start of the crop year,” Davidson said. “They paid good prices. In many cases people got more for their winter wheat than they did for their spring wheat.” Recent snow should insulate and protect many of Manitoba’s winter wheat fields, he said. It came with high winds, but the snow stuck where there was stubble and now it’s hard. “I think the snow is there for the winter and it’s just going to build from here,” Davidson said. “I’m hoping everything is set and now we’re just waiting for March.”

estern Canadian winter wheat plantings this year are unchanged from 2012 at 1.15 million acres, but there was a shift in where they were planted, says Jake Davidson, executive director of Winter Cereals Canada. According to Statistics Canada Manitoba farmers planted around 435,000 acres of winter wheat this fall, down from 600,000 acres last year, Davidson said in an interview last week. “But I’m not disappointed because it could come out the same as this year as far as harvest if we don’t have any massive (acreage) losses,” he added. A dry fall in 2012 resulted in a poor winter wheat stand and was followed by a cold winter. As a result about a third of Manitoba’s winter wheat was ripped up this spring. Normally only four or five per cent of Manitoba’s winter wheat crop doesn’t get harvested, Davidson said. While winter wheat plantings are down here, they are up 165,000 and 30,000 acres to 525,000 and 195,000 acres in Saskatchewan and Alberta, respectively. Winter wheat has lots of agronomic advantages. The timing of its life cycle throws off weeds, insects and diseases. It can also take advantage of wet conditions in early spring.

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Prairie winter wheat acreage stable for 2013

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H USB A N DRY — T H E SC I E NC E , SK I L L OR A RT OF FA R M I NG

2013 western Canadian winter wheat plantings are unchanged from last year, however, where they are being grown has shifted from Manitoba to Saskatchewan and Alberta.

There are some changes concerning winter wheat farmers should know about. Starting Aug. 1, 2014, CDC Falcon, Manitoba’s most popular winter wheat, will move to the Canada Western General Purpose class from the Canada Western Red Winter. The change could result in lower prices for Falcon versus winter wheats approved for flour making. However, in the new open market the class change might not reduce Falcon values as much as first expected as farmers and grain companies are free to negotiate prices. If the specifications are right, some buyers may still buy Falcon for milling.

The Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation has also changed insurance coverage for winter wheat. The Stage 1 indemnity (from the time of fall seeding until June 20 the following year), based on 50 per cent of a farmer’s coverage, is gone. Farmers will still be eligible for a reseeding benefit of 25 per cent if their winter wheat fails before June 20. But until now farmers could get 75 per cent of their coverage. Winter Cereals Manitoba will hold its annual meeting at the Selkirk Inn in Selkirk, Man., March 12, 2014.

“The grain companies were fighting over it at the start of the crop year. They paid good prices. In many cases people got more for their winter wheat than they did for their spring wheat.”

JAKE DAVIDSON

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

Land use changes can alter climate, says MCDA keynote speaker

Land use changes affect hydrology, which destabilizes climate and leads to abnormal weather patterns By Daniel Winters

effect of the polar sea ice, temperatures could skyrocket,” said Sandford.

co-operator staff / brandon

hose who doubt that human activity can affect global climate — or for that matter, turn Lake Winnipeg into a toxic green soup — should brush up on their history. In his keynote address at the recent Manitoba Conservation Districts Association annual conference, Bob Sandford, the EPCOR chair of the Canadian Partnership initiative in support of the United Nations’ Water for Life decade, explained the linkages between climate change, hydrology, and eutrophication. “Civilizations that existed long before fossil fuels knew the consequences of sweeping land-use changes. They learned the hard way that if you dramatically alter the landscape through deforestation, agricultural transformation or urbanization, you alter the hydrology of a given region,” said Sandford. “If the land is altered and its hydrology changed, the climate invariably changes too.” Sandford cited statistics for Manitoba from 1831 to show h ow m u c h h u m a n s h a v e changed the landscape. At that time, there were just 2,152 acres under cultivation. Now, there are 18.8 million acres of farmland of which 13.5 million are in annual crops. He also noted that over that same period, farming practices have changed from oxendrawn stoneboats filled with scarce manure to synthetic fertilizers that arrive by the truck- and trainload. One unintended consequence of the changing face

Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers

‘Atmospheric rivers’

Bob Sandford, EPCOR chair of the Canadian Partnership initiative in support of the United Nations’ Water for Life decade, speaks at the recent Manitoba Conservation Districts Association annual conference. Photo: Daniel Winters

“It was the stuff of science fiction. Fires and floods of a magnitude seldom experienced before on the same river basin in the same year.” Bob Sandford

of agriculture — both locally and globally — has been the eutrophication of fresh water supplies to the point that it has been added to the top 10 list of pressing environmental crises today. Blue-green algae blooms aren’t just a problem for urban beachgoers and fishermen, he added. They are formed by cyanobacteria, dubbed the “cockroaches of the aquatic w o r l d” f o r t h e i r t e n a c i t y, which produce toxins that can kill livestock. Cy a n o b a c t e r i a ov e r t h e maximum guidelines have been detected in 246 water

bodies across Canada, and with a warming climate and increased nutrient run-off, they are becoming more widespread and more toxic, he said.

Water management

Greg McCullough, a research scientist at the University of Manitoba, cited recent studies that indicate a need for better upstream water management, not just restricting nutrients. His research has shown that repeated flooding leads to not only higher volumes of phosphorus in the additional water,

but also much higher concentrations of the nutrient. “It’s getting wetter, and we’re getting more floods, and that flooding is dissolving more nutrients off the land,” said McCullough. Upstream water storage in preser ved or restored wetlands could alleviate flood surges and therefore protect Lake Winnipeg from further eutrophication, he said. Climate change is causing increased rainfall, said Sandford, which can be traced back to “weakening and meandering” in the jet stream caused by a melting Arctic ice cap that now allows subtropical storm fronts to penetrate farther north. That means the loss of the polar ice cap, which serves as a kind of “thermal helmet” that stabilizes the global climate, would leave the planet vulnerable to “warming shots right to the head.” “If we lose the refrigerating

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More frequent floods are blamed for washing more nutrients into Lake Winnipeg, causing extensive algal blooms.

Rising temperatures mean more severe storms, because for every degree rise in global temperatures, the water-holding capacity of the atmosphere increases by seven per cent. Destabilized historical weather patterns could give rise to more “atmospheric rivers,” which are narrow bands of extremely concentrated water vapour spun off from ocean weather systems that penetrate deep into continental areas. Containing many times more water than even the Amazon or Mississippi rivers, the recently discovered weather phenomenon has been linked to massively destructive storms such as the one that flooded Calgary last summer. But while Canada’s attention was fixed on Alberta’s woes, a far more alarming situation was developing in Russia, said Sandford. A weakening of the European jet stream created a “heat dome” over northern Siberia that led to hundreds of wildfires in July that were so hot they melted the permafrost, which released methane to further fuel the firestorm. Then in August, three atmospheric rivers collided over the region and flooded one million square kilometres in just four days. “It was the stuff of science fiction. Fires and floods of a magnitude seldom experienced before on the same river basin in the same year,” said Sandford. Such phenomenon are likely to continue as a “new normal,” he added, noting that the Mauna Loa Observatory this summer recorded atmospheric CO2 levels in excess of 400 parts per million, up from 320 ppm in the 1960s.

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

Terry Boehm steps down after four raucous years heading NFU The Saskatchewan grain farmer had many issues to deal with, including internal ones in the NFU By Allan Dawson CO-OPERATOR STAFF

erry Boehm says his four years as National Farmers Union (NFU) president were “tumultuous.” The grain farmer from Colonsay, Sask. stepped down at the NFU’s 44th annual meeting in Ottawa last month. Jan Slomp, a Rimbey, Alta., dairy farmer, was acclaimed the NFU’s new president. Boehm said one of the biggest blows came when the federal government ended the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly — the last vestige of the century-old co-operative grain movement. While fighting to save the board, Boehm was grappling with internal matters, including staff changes and an Ontario government tribunal decision to not allow the NFU to register as an accredited farm organization eligible to receive checkoff funds. That cost the NFU thousands of dollars in lost membership revenue and legal bills. In October the Ontario Superior Court of Justice overturned the tribunal’s decision. “We came out of that strong and united,” Boehm said in an interview. “After a judicial review the tribunal was admonished very hard by the judge and ordered to accredit us. All the objections raised... were all false so I feel quite vindicated. But that consumed a lot of time and effort.” Despite the setbacks the NFU, created as a pan-Canadian farm organization by an act of Parliament in 1969, survived and remains true to its members’ goals, Boehm said. “We are steadfast in our d e m o c ra t i c s t r u c t u re a n d in our analysis,” he said. “We have never wavered or been coopted in anything whether it’s intellectual property rights or trade agreements. “It’s the product of an organization that has always understood who it represents and that’s farmers.”

Stands alone

The NFU stands alone among Canada’s farm groups in opposing the Canada-European Trade Agreement known as CETA (Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement). According to Boehm it’s because, unlike other organizations, the NFU has closely analyzed leaked drafts of the proposed accord and concluded the deal will undermine Canadian sovereignty. Among other things, it will prevent favourable treatment for local food production over imports. The deal contains “draconian” intellectual property rules, which will penalize suspected violators before they are proved guilty, according to Boehm. “Any alleged infringer before the merits of the case are heard shall be subjected to the precautionary seizure of their movable and immovable assets (and) the freezing of bank accounts... “ he said. The same applies to any third party alleged to have assisted in the infringement. “A farmer accused of having a patented gene in his crop could

be prohibited from seeding or harvesting,” Boehm said. “A seed cleaner could see his assets seized if he’s part of one of these so-called alleged infringements.” CETA is a complex agreement, which will have a negative impact on all of Canada, not just farmers, according to Boehm. “To my great disappointment no other farm organizations have read the leaked drafts, they haven’t looked at the agreement... they’ve not done the analysis and they jumped on the cheerleading bandwagon without any idea that this agreement will destroy the sovereignty of our country and our ability to manage our economy in our own interests.” There are lots of battles ahead for the NFU including preserving Canada’s crop variety registration system and the cap on the total amount the railways

can earn shipping western Canadian grain.

Opposes UPOV ’91

The NFU will also try to block the federal government from ratifying UPOV ’91, an international treaty that gives plant breeders more powers to collect revenues from the seeds farmers buy. While proponents say it will encourage more private plant breeding, the NFU argues UPOV ’91 will enrich multinational seed companies at farmers’ expense. While the United States and many other countries have signed UPOV ’91, others including Brazil, Argentina, Italy and Belgium have not. About two-thirds of the world’s nations haven’t signed any of the previous UPOV agreements, Boehm said. Boehm, who served as NFU vice-president for six years before becoming president, will continue to follow trade, seed and intellec-

tual property issues closely for the NFU, he said. The NFU couldn’t save the wheat board and it’s unlikely it will stop Canada and the EU trade deal, but that doesn’t mean the NFU shouldn’t try, Boehm said. Even slowing down such changes benefits farmers, he said. “The farm movement built organizations to rebalance the power in the farm economy,” he said. “They include the Canadian Grain Commission, the wheat pools, the Canadian Wheat Board, the variety registration system, the Canada Grain Act, the Crow rate. All these things have been attacked or dismantled, but nevertheless we always did, I think, a good job of arguing our case for retaining these things or improving them. “We can rebuild and maybe even rebuild a better structure.”

NFU acclaims, elects new executive Jan Slomp new NFU president Jan Slomp of Rimbey, Alberta was elected president of the National Farmers Union (NFU) by acclamation, at its 44th annual convention in Ottawa, November 27 to 30. Ann Slater of St. Marys, Ont., was acclaimed as first vicepresident (Policy). Coral Sproule of Perth, Ont., was acclaimed as second vicepresident (Operations). Joan Brady of Dashwood, Ont., was acclaimed as NFU women’s president. Marcella Pedersen of Cut Knife, Sask., was elected as NFU women’s vice-president. Alex Fletcher of Victoria, B.C. was acclaimed as NFU youth president. Lisa Lundgard of Grimshaw, B.C. was elected NFU youth vice-president.

allan@fbcpublishing.com

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

BRIEFS

YOU CAN TELL THAT IT’S COLD

Argentina wheat crop seen at 8.5 mln tonnes

The low sun filtered through morning ice fog leaves little doubt about the temperature last week.

PHOTO: SHARLENE BENNIE

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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.

BUENOS AIRES / REUTERS Argentina’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 201314 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.

Feds fund Canola Council of Canada Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has announced funding of $15 million for research led by the Canola Council of Canada. An Agriculture Canada release said the research will build on earlier funding of $14.5 million that included preliminary research suggesting canola oil may be helpful in fighting obesity and cardiovascular disease. Agriculture Canada researchers will also collaborate on other research including new uses of canola in animal feed diets, ways to maximize production and resistance to stresses, strategies for pest management and disease resistance as well as improving the economic and environmental sustainability of canola production. Speaking to the Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) fall board meeting, MP Earl Dreesen (Red Deer) last week announced $100,000 in funding for the GGC to undertake market development and promotional activities. An AAFC release said the GGC will use the funding to educate foreign industry associations and buyers about Canada’s regulatory system that ensures wheat quantity and quality.

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

High blood pressure? Try lentils Manitoba researchers say lentils can reverse the changes that occur in blood vessels as a result of high blood pressure Pulse Canada release

A mixture of beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas, can improve blood flow to the legs.

Australia signs trade deal with Korea, Canada still talking Import tariff on beef lowered but still higher than for U.S.

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

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Reuters / staff

anada and South Korea are still talking free trade, but Australia has sealed a deal. Australia and South Korea have signed a free trade agreement (FTA) that will eliminate tariffs of up to 300 per cent on Australia’s major exports, notably agricultural products and resources, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Dec. 5. Earlier last week the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association reported that free trade talks between Canada and South Korea, stuck on the back burner for months, had resumed with what appeared to be renewed interest in a deal. On Dec. 4 the Yonhap news agency, quoting the South Korean government, reported that trade ministers of South Korea and Canada had agreed to work toward early conclusion of a bilateral free trade agreement. The two met at World Trade Organization talks in Bali, Indonesia, last week. “Minister Yoon Sang-jick and Canadian Minister of International Trade Ed Fast noted that there had been significant progress in negotiations for the Korea-Canada FTA,” Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. The U.S. and South Korea signed a free trade agreement last year, and Australia’s beef farmers had become increas-

“Minister Yoon Sang-jick and Canadian Minister of International Trade Ed Fast noted that there had been significant progress in negotiations for the Korea-Canada FTA.”

indicated eating legumes, specifically a mixture of beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas, can improve blood flow to the

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ingly concerned about losing market share to the U.S. It offered a 5.3 per cent lower tariff than Australian beef and veal. The tariff on U.S. beef would be eliminated over 15 years. “The deal is significant for beef,” Matt Linnegar, chief executive officer of the Australian National Farmers Federation told Reuters from Indonesia. “The differential between Australia and the U.S. stands at about five per cent... but it would have been eight per cent next year without the deal so we would have been at an increasing disadvantage.” The tariff on Australian beef will also be removed in 15 years. Until then Australian beef will face a higher tariff than shipments from the United States, but farmers said they will remain competitive.

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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 nonpharmacological 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. Boniface Hospital Research Centre. Drs. Taylor and Zahradka were selected to present their re s e a rc h a t t h e A m e r i c a n Heart Association conference,

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. T h e s t u d i e s w e re f u n d e d 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.

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

WTO reaches first-ever global trade deal Customs agreement said positive, but little movement on agriculture By Randy Fabi Reuters

he World Trade Organization reached its first-ever trade reform deal on Saturday to the roar of approval from nearly 160 ministers who had gathered on the Indonesian island of Bali to decide on the make-or-break agreement that could add $1 trillion to the global economy. “For the first time in our history, the WTO has truly delivered,” W TO chief Roberto Azevedo told exhausted ministers after the talks which had dragged into an extra day on the tropical resort island. “This time the entire membership came together. We have put the ‘world’ back in World Trade Organization,” he said. Canada’s International Trade Minister Ed Fast on Friday described the Bali agreement as “a promising package that includes market access in agriculture, gains for least-developed countries and an important trade facilitation agreement that will improve the movement of goods across international borders.”

Trade skepticism

But there was skepticism how much had really been achieved. “Beyond papering over a serious dispute on food security, precious little progress was made at Bali,” said Simon Evenett, professor of international trade at

the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. “Dealing with the fracas on food security sucked the oxygen out of the rest of the talks.” The talks had begun under a cloud because of an insistence by India at the outset that it would only back an agreement if there was a compromise on food subsidies because of its massive program for stockpiling food to feed its poor. India, which will hold elections next year, won plaudits at home for taking a stand on behalf of the world’s poor. An eventual compromise was greeted with jubilation by Trade Minister Anand Sharma. While India had insisted on a permanent exemption from the WTO rules, the final text aimed to recommend a permanent solution within four years. “Much of the focus was on shielding public stockholding program for food security in developing countries, so that they would not be challenged legally even if a country’s agreed limits for tradedistorting domestic support were breached,” the WTO said in its release. The deal slashes red tape at customs around the world, gives improved terms of trade to the poorest countries, and allows developing countries to skirt the normal rules on farm subsidies if they are trying to feed the poor.

Brazil farmers contemplate a second soy crop

Low corn prices prompt ideas of double cropping beans By Gustavo Bonato sao paulo / reuters

armers in Brazil’s largest agricultural state, Mato Grosso, may plant a second annual crop of soybeans instead of corn starting in January, after harvesting the main crop. Se c o n d - c ro p c o r n a n d advances in tropical agricultural technology have nearly doubled Brazil’s annual corn output in 10 years. But faced with leftover stocks and low prices, farmers are contemplating a different strategy this season. “I still don’t know how much it will be, but secondcrop soy is a reality,” said Laercio Lenz, the president of a local growers’ association in Mato Grosso’s Sorriso municipality. Prices for December corn contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade are down 36 per cent from their peak in September 2012, when drought struck the world’s top corn exporter, the United States. After a record corn crop in Brazil last season, mostly due to the second harvest, prices in remote areas like northern Mato Grosso are not compen-

Almost time to plant again: a soybean field in Brazil photo: thinkstock

60-kilogram bags per hectare this season. Farmers can plant seeds harvested in the first crop and don’t need to invest as much in fertilizer, but they may need to spend more on pesticides. Planting soy several times in a row without rotating crops could bring on new pests in a country that has a history of Asian soy rust and has struggled to control the Helicoverpa caterpillar this year. No one has an official estimate of how much extra soy could be planted, but Aprosoja has heard estimates of around one million hectares (2.5 million acres), compared with 8.3 million hectares planted for the main crop.

sating for high shipping costs to ports. In these regions farmers are serious about planting more soy, even with Brazil looking to harvest a record crop of above 88 million tonnes early next year. “I’m hearing about this every day,” said Nery Ribas, technical director at soy producers association Aprosoja. But second-crop soy can be a risky bet, analysts said. “Productivity falls to around 40 bags per hectare, although costs also fall,” said Leonardo Sologuren, director at Minas Gerais-based Clarivi consultancy. Brazil’s crop supply agency Conab expects Brazil’s first crop of soy to yield about 50

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. 9th 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

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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

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. See GRASS FIRES on page 6 »

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

GOT SEED? By Daniel Winters CO-OPERATOR STAFF / MELITA

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

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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 »

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

NEWS

THAT MEANS IT’S COLD

Organic milk is better, say U.S. researchers Study says milk also beats fish for beneficial omega-3 fatty acids STAFF / Milk is good for your heart, and organic milk is even better, say researchers at Washington State University. In a study published Dec. 9 in the online journal PLOS ONE, the research team said that organic milk used in their test contained significantly higher concentrations of hearthealthy fatty acids compared to milk from cows on conventionally managed dairy farms. While all types of milk fat can help improve an individual’s fatty acid profile, organic whole milk does so even better, the researchers said in a release. In a study testing nearly 400 samples over an 18-month period, conventional milk had an average omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of 5.8, more than twice that of organic milk’s ratio of 2.3. The researchers said this far-healthier ratio of fatty acids in organic milk is brought about by a greater reliance on pastureand forage-based feeds on organic dairy farms. The release said the consumption of more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fatty acids is a well-known risk factor for a variety of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, excessive inflammation, and autoimmune diseases. The higher the ratio of omega-6 to omega3, the greater the associated health risk. Western diets typically have a ratio of about 10 to one to 15 to one, while a ratio of 2.3 to one is thought to maximize heart health. The team also compared the fatty acids in dairy products to those in fish. “We were surprised to find that recommended intakes of full-fat milk products supply far more of the major omega-3 fatty acid, ALA, than recommended servings of fish,” said co-author and WSU research associate Donald R. Davis. Conventional milk had about nine times more ALA than fish while organic milk had 14 times more, he said.

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

Analysis: Perky EU wheat prices may turn around U.S. market

THE LAST OF THE CROP

U.S. traders may be focusing too much on local supply and not enough on the world market By Gavin Maguire 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

Headline:

We know corn

Type Area:

Colours:

Publication:

Manitoba Cooperator

Size:

6 x 6.625

Resolution:

This ruffed grouse perched outside the window was enjoying the last of few berries IO: MBC 2013Insertion from a Schubert chokecherry on cold winter day lastBleed: week. PHOTO:NA LENORE BERRY 002,003,004,005 Dates:

CMYK 300 ppi See Dates on insertion orders

we know corn

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. spr ing 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. 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 shortbiased 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

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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 a l s o h a s b e e n w i d e l y 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 fores e e a b l e f u t u re a s t r a d e r s 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 wide n i n g i n t h e p r i c e s p re a d between benchmark European (MATIF) wheat futures a n d Ka n s a s C i t y h a rd re d 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 current 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.

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

Manual helps farmers develop a human resource strategy Provides advice on hiring, training and retention co-operator staff

he provincial government has developed a manual to help farmers find and keep skilled workers on their farms. Human Resource Man agement for Farm Business was developed by Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Development (MAFRD) and Employment Manitoba in consultation with Manitoba farmers to help farmers customize a hiring and retention strategy when employing both family and non-family members. Wendy Durand, a business development specialist with MAFRD, said the resource evolved from Keystone Agricultural Producers, in which farmers expressed a need for help with human resources issues

Bothwell wins cheese awards

Manitoba cheese maker wins three awards in competition Staff

or the seventh time in eight years, Manitoba’s Bothwell cheese took top spot in the Marble Cheddar category at the 86th Annual British Empire Cheese Show in Belleville, Ont. The company also took first place in the American-style category for the third time in five years with its Monterey Jack and second place in the hard cheese category with its new Smoked Parmesan. The British Empire Cheese Show has been held since 1927, and is billed as Canada’s largest display of Canadian and international cheese. It’s presented by the Central Ontario Cheese Makers Association. “Winning this particular competition is significant,” Bothwell Cheese president and CEO Ivan Balenovic said in a release. “Because we’re judged by our peers who truly understand and appreciate excellence in cheese.” Bothwell Cheese, located in southeast Manitoba, has been in business for 77 years. It produces and distributes more than 25 varieties of cheese throughout Canada.

PHOTO: supplied

related to hiring, training and retention. They were also looking for a manual that can be customized to a specific farm operation’s needs. Durand presented the manual to farm women at the recent Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference in Portage la Prairie. A first section of the manual is a business self-evaluation that helps spell out a business identity while prioritizing staffing needs, including the technical skills and the work ethic you want your staff to have. “Before you can even begin to hire you need to have a full understanding of the staffing needs of the business, and the specific skills sets you require,” said Durand. “A self-evaluation gives you the information you need, and that kind of analysis can really help cut down on costly mistakes.”

Other sections will help develop a recruitment strategy, guide in the process of hiring, and lay out procedures for orienting and training new staff. There are also sections focused on maintaining effective communication, including handling conflict, and motivating and rewarding employee performance. The manual was developed with the specific needs in mind of businesses where family members work together, with sections that focus on the needs and issues that arise when family work together. Online business resources covering employment standards, standard operating procedures systems, SAFEfarms, Wo r k e r ’s C o m p e n s a t i o n and other resources are also included in the guide. A human resources strategy

“Before you can even begin to hire, you need to have a full understanding of the staffing needs of the business, and the specific skills sets you require.” Wendy Durand MAFRD

is part of a farm’s overall business plan and can have a direct and positive impact on the business by helping you become an employer of choice, Durand said. “A warm referral from a trusted source may be the source of your next employee,” she said. The manual is found online

at: http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/business-and-economics/business-management/ human-resources.html. English printed versions are available at all MAFRD GO offices. French language version is available electronically upon request. lorraine@fbcpublishing.com

“On this farm, we’re the experts.” Sean Gorrill – FCC Customer

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12/13-21572-2A MC

By Lorraine Stevenson

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

FARMER'S

MARKETPLACE Call to place your classified ad in the next issue: 1-800-782-0794

Selling?

FAX your classified ads to: 204-954-1422 · Or eMAiL your classified ads to: mbclassifieds@fbcpublishing.com

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Sheep Wanted LiVeSTOCK Swine Swine Auction Swine For Sale Swine Wanted LiVeSTOCK poultry Poultry For Sale Poultry Wanted LiVeSTOCK Specialty Alpacas Bison (Buffalo) Deer Elk Goats Llama Rabbits Emu Ostrich Rhea Yaks Specialty Livestock Various Livestock Equipment Livestock Services & Vet Supplies Miscellaneous Articles Miscellaneous Articles Wanted Musical Notices On-Line Services ORGAniC Organic Certified Organic Food Organic Grains Personal Pest Control Pets & Supplies Photography Propane Pumps Radio, TV & Satellite ReAL eSTATe Vacation Property Commercial Buildings Condos Cottages & Lots Houses & Lots Mobile Homes Motels & Hotels Resorts FARMS & RAnCheS British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba Pastures Farms Wanted

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SeeD/FeeD/GRAin pedigreed Cereal Seeds Barley Durum Oats Rye Triticale Wheat Cereals Various peDiGReeD FORAGe SeeDS Alfalfa Annual Forage Clover Forages Various Grass Seeds peDiGReeD OiLSeeDS Canola Flax Oilseeds Various peDiGReeD puLSe CROpS Beans Chickpeas Lentil Peas Pulses Various peDiGReeD SpeCiALTy CROpS Canary Seeds Mustard Potatoes Sunflower Specialty Crops Various COMMOn SeeD Cereal Seeds Forage Seeds Grass Seeds

TRAiLeRS Grain Trailers Livestock Trailers Trailers Miscellaneous Travel Water Pumps Water Treatment Welding Well Drilling Well & Cistern Winches COMMuniTy CALenDAR British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba CAReeRS Career Training Child Care Construction Domestic Services Farm/Ranch Forestry/Log Health Care Help Wanted Management Mining Oil Field Professional Resume Services Sales/Marketing Trades/Tech Truck Drivers Employment Wanted

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

AUCTION DISTRICTS Parkland – North of Hwy 1; west of PR 242, following the west shore of Lake Manitoba and east shore of Lake Winnipegosis. Westman – South of Hwy 1; west of PR 242. Interlake – North of Hwy 1; east of PR 242, following the west shore of Lake Manitoba and east shore of Lake Winnipegosis. Red River – South ofHwy 1; east of PR 242.

The Pas

Birch River

AUCTION SALES Auctions Various

AUTO & TRANSPORT Semi Trucks & Trailers

BE AN AUCTIONEER. (507)995-7803 www.auctioneerschool.com

2006 WESTERN STAR 4900 Mercedes 450 HP, 10 SP Eaton Autoshift, 12000-lbs Front, 40000-lbs Rear, 22.5-in Aluminum Wheels, New 20-ft Cancade Grain Box, Remote Gate & Hoist, 1,045,311-kms. $65,000.00

AUTO & TRANSPORT AUTO & TRANSPORT Auto & Truck Parts

Swan River Minitonas

1998 FORD LX 1/2-TON FWD, reg cab, 4.2L engine, 4-spd auto., safetied, $3,690 OBO; 1995 Ford Explorer XLT, loaded, 4-spd auto, 4L engine, no rust, $1,890 OBO; New Equinox black 1,250g tank, Retail:$616, Price $410, 2-yr warranty; New Honda motors, 13-hwp, 20-hwp, or 24-hwp w/warranty, phone for prices. Merry Christmas, A&T Sales. Phone:(204)822-1354 or (204)823-1559.

Durban

Winnipegosis

Roblin

Dauphin

Grandview

Ashern

Gilbert Plains

Fisher Branch

Ste. Rose du Lac Russell

Parkland

Birtle

Riverton Eriksdale

McCreary

Lundar Gimli

Shoal Lake

Langruth

Neepawa

Hamiota

Gladstone

Rapid City

Reston Melita

Carberry

Brandon

Killarney

Elm Creek

Sanford

Ste. Anne

Carman

Mariapolis

Pilot Mound Crystal City

Lac du Bonnet

GREAT PRICES ON NEW, used & remanufactured engines, parts & accessories for diesel pickups. Large inventory, engines can be shipped or installed. Give us a call or check us out at www.thickettenginerebuilding.ca Thickett Engine Rebuilding. Ph (204)532-2187, Russell MB.

Beausejour

Winnipeg

Austin Treherne

Westman Boissevain

Stonewall Selkirk

Portage

Souris

Waskada

Interlake

Erickson Minnedosa

Virden

Arborg

St. Pierre

242

Morris Winkler Morden

Altona

Steinbach

Red River

AUTO & TRANSPORT Semi Trucks & Trailers

TRIBUTES / MEMORY FOR SALE: JD 2130 - 3pt, re-built engine w/146 loader, painted; JD 2750 -MFWD, 3pt, 245 FEL, painted; JD 2950 -MFWD, 3pt, painted, w/265 FEL; JD 4250 -MFWD, powershift w/o FEL; JD 4440 Quad,fact duals; JD 4450 -2WD,3pt,15 spd; JD 4640 -2 WD, 3pt, 3 hyd, Quad shift; JD 7610 MFWD, 3pt, P.Q. w/LHR, 2 hyd,s , w/740 loader,grapple, 5000 hrs; 8 front weights w/bracket. All tractors can be sold with new or used loaders. Mitch’s Tractor Sales Ltd. St. Claude, MB. Call: (204)750-2459. mitchstractorsales.com

ANTIQUES

2005 FREIGHTLINER COLUMBIA Mercedes 450 HP, 13 SP, 3:90 Gear Ratio, 12000-lbs Front, 40000-lbs Rear, 22.5-in Aluminum Wheels, 244-in Wheel Base, 1,184,389-kms. $18,000.00 2005 IHC 9900I Cummins ISX 475 HP, 13 SP, 3:73 Gear Ratio, 12000-lbs Front, 40000-lbs Rear, 22.5in Aluminum Wheels, 244-in Wheel Base, 72-in Mid-Rise Bunk, 1,409,137-kms. $19,000.00 2005 IHC 9900I Cummins ISX 500 HP, 18 SP, 3:73 Gear Ratio, 12000-lbs Front, 40000-lbs Rear, 22.5in Aluminum Wheels, 244-in Wheel Base, 72-in Mid-Rise Bunk, Four-Way Differential Locks, 1,428,989-kms. $29,000.00

BUILDING & RENOVATIONS Doors & Windows

2007 IHC 9900I Cummins ISX 500 HP, 18 SP, 3:58 Gear Ratio, 12000-lbs Front, 40000 lbs Rear, 22.5in Aluminum Wheels, 244-in Wheel Base, 72-in Mid-Rise Bunk, Three-Way Differential Locks, 1,356,565-kms. $37,000.00 2007 WESTERN STAR 4900SA Detroit 515 HP, 18 SP, 3:91 Gear Ratio, 12000-lbs Front, Super 40000-lbs Rear, 22.5-in Aluminum Wheels, 209-in Wheel Base, Four-Way Differential Locks, New Rebuilt Engine, 759,564-kms. $40,000.00 2008 PETERBILT 388 Cummins ISX 450 HP, 13 SP, 3:55 Gear Ratio, 12000-lbs Front, 40000-lbs Rear, 22.5-in Aluminum Wheels, 244-in Wheel Base, 63-in Mid-Rise Bunk, Three-Way Differential Locks, 1,005,456-kms. $39,000.00 2009 KENWORTH T800 Cummins ISX 525 SP, 4:10 Gear Ratio, 12000-lbs Front, 40000-lbs Rear, 22.5-in Aluminum Wheels, Wheel Base, Four-Way Differential 866,438-kms. $59,000.00

HP, 18 Super 196-in Locks,

2009 PETERBILT 388 Cummins ISX 450 HP, 18 SP, 3:55 Gear Ratio, 12000-lbs Front, 40000-lbs Rear, 22.5-in Aluminum Wheels, 244-in Wheel Base, 63-in Mid-Rise Bunk, Three-Way Differential Locks, 1,145,366-kms. $49,000.00 2010 PETERBILT 388 Cummins ISX 550 HP, 18 SP, 4:10 Gear Ratio, 12000-lbs Front, Super 40000-lbs Rear, 22.5-in Aluminum Wheels, 244-in Wheel Base, 63-in Mid-Rise Bunk, Three-Way Differential Locks, 779,362-kms. $65,000.00 2012 PETERBILT 386 Cummins ISX 450 HP, 13 SP, 3:90 Gear Ratio, 12000-lbs Front, 40000-lbs Rear, 22.5-in Aluminum Wheels, 206-in Wheel Base, Three-Way Differential Locks, Wet Kit, 168,566-kms. $79,000.00

ANTIQUES Antiques For Sale

2006 VOLVO 630 D12 465 HP, 18 SP Autoshift, 4:30 Gear Ratio, 14600-lbs Front, 46000-lbs Rear, 22.5-in Aluminum Wheels, 240-in Wheel Base, 927,814-kms. $27,000.00

MULVEY “FLEA” MARKET. Osborne & Mulvey Ave E. Wpg. Sat-Sun-Hol. 10:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. 40+ vendors. A/C. Debit, Visa, M/C. Table/Booth rental info:(204)478-1217. mulveymarket.ca

FOR SALE: 1989 MACK truck model R688ST, 350 engine, Eaton 8LL trans, 22.5 tires 60%, wet kit, A/C, not safetied, $9,000 OBO. (204)648-7136

OVER 200 VEHICLES LOTS OF DIESELS www.thoens.com Chrysler Dodge (800)667-4414 Wynyard, SK.

AUCTION SALES U.S. Auctions

ANTIQUES Antique Equipment WINTER PROJECTS FOR SALE: IH W4; IH WD6; IH Farmall M; IH Farmall H; JD AR styled; JD 70 DSL, PS; JD R; JD 1929 D 2-SPD; Oliver 77 row crop, arrow front; Oliver 880 DSL; MH 44 DSL row crop; MH 55 DSL; Fordson Major DSL. (204)745-7445

AUTO & TRANSPORT Vehicles Various

Arnolds Equipment, Inc.

AUCTION SALES

Absolute Dealer Realignment Auction

AUCTION SALES Manitoba Auctions – Westman

OPENING: Monday, December 9 CLOSING: Wed., December 18 & Thurs., December 19

NEW YEARS DAY ANTIQUE & Collector Auction Wed., Jan. 1st, 2014 11:00am Features: Estate of Beth Roy- Life Long Collector of Fine Antiques. Sale at Donogh Antique Warehouse 4-mi South of Brandon, MB. Includes 1/4 cut oak china cabinets; S-curve Roll Top Desk; sofa & settee sets; Lions paw oak centre pedestal table, oak mirrored hall seat; matching pr. oak stacking bookcases; cyl Victorian desk; more tables, high-boy, dressers & much more. Royal Albert “Silver Birch” china service for 12; also cranberry glassware, Satsuma, crystal; very unique lamps include 4 parlor hanging lamps; Some collection of Native memorabilia; brief example of the fine antiques from this special Estate listing. Info contact Donogh Antiques (204)727-1088 or (204)729-1212. Check website www.mrankinauctions.com Murray Rankin Auctions (204)534-7401, Killarney, MB. “Merry Christmas & Safe Holidays to All”

AUCTION SALES Manitoba Auctions – Interlake

PREVIEW: Monday-Friday, 8AM - 5PM LOADOUT: Monday-Friday, 8AM - 5PM, beginning Dec. 20.

Complete Loading Details Online at IQBID.com CNH financing available at customer qualified rates on all auction units pending customer credit approval. For more information on the CNH financing contact Mark at 952.334.4978.

NOTICE this is an

ABSOLUTE AUCTION

ALL LOTS SELL with NO RESERVES

McSherry Auction Service Ltd

! AUCTION SALES Manitoba Auctions – Red River

Winkler, MB • 1-204-325-4433

NOW BOOKING SPRING & SUMMER 2014 FARM AND OTHER AUCTIONS Professional Full Service Auction Company. For No Obligation Auction Consultation See our website: www.billklassen.com or call 204-325-4433 cell 6230

BILL KLASSEN AUCTIONEERS

Serving Manitoba, Saskatchewan, NW Ontario & Alberta....Since 1937 • Quality Commercial/Agricultural/Residential Overhead Doors & Operators. • Aluminum Polycarbonate Doors Available. • Non-Insulated and Insulated Sectional Doors Available. • Liftmaster Heavy Duty Operators. • Mullion Slide Away Centre Posts. • Commercial/Agricultural Steel Man Doors and Frames. • Your washbay door specialists. • Quality Installation & Service. • 24 Hour Service. • Replacement Springs & Cables.

Phone: 204-326-4556 Fax: 204-326-5013 Toll Free: 1-855-326-4556 www.reimeroverheaddoors.com email: kurtis@reimeroverheaddoors.com FOR SALE: 12-FT H x 16-ft W insulated overhead door w/track & hardware. $1,500. Phone: (204)364-2252.

BUILDING & RENOVATIONS Roofing

PRICE TO CLEAR!! 75 truckloads 29 gauge full hard 100,000PSI high tensile roofing & siding. 16 colours to choose from. B-Gr. coloured......................70¢/ft.2

Multi-coloured millends.........49¢/ft.2

Ask about our blowout colours...65¢/ft.2 Also in stock low rib white 29 ga. ideal for archrib buildings BEAT THE PRICE INCREASES CALL NOW

FOUILLARD STEEL SUPPLIES LTD. ST. LAZARE, MB. 1-800-510-3303

BUSINESS SERVICES BUSINESS SERVICES Crop Consulting

FARM CHEMICAL SEED COMPLAINTS 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

CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT 1980 Caterpillar D7G Crawler Tractor Engine recently overhauled, undercarriage redone 2 years ago, tracks redone, showing 4,965 hours, all bills of service available. Reason for selling: upgrading. Call Gilbert for more info (204)745-8029 $65,000

BUILDINGS

ENGINES

AFAB INDUSTRIES IS YOUR SUPERIOR post frame building company. For estimates and information call 1-888-816-AFAB(2322). Website: www.postframebuilding.com

855 CUMMINS, 7000-MI on complete overhaul plus new injection pump, water pump, turbo. 335-HP decompression start. Asking $6000. Phone Don (204)767-2334 evenings.

CONCRETE FLATWORK: Specializing in place & finish of concrete floors. Can accommodate any floor design. References available. Alexander, MB. 204-752-2069.

FARM MACHINERY

FOR SALE: 1 FUTURE steel building X frame model, dimension 110-ft. long x 40-ft. wide x 21-ft. high, all steel building, asking $55,000. (204)867-2436, (204)868-1212.

To All Our Clients & Friends From Across Western Canada

We would like to thank all our clients, auction attendees and friends for a great 2013. We look forward to many auctions in 2014

BUILDING & RENOVATIONS Doors & Windows

FARM MACHINERY Fertilizer Equipment FERTILIZER SPREADERS: 4-TON $1,500, 5-ton $4,000, 6-ton $6,000, 8-ton $7,000-8,000; Vicon 3-PH spreader $450; Valmar 240 $1,500; Valmar PT $5,500; Small Valmar $700. Phone: (204)857-8403.

FARM MACHINERY Grain Bins BIG BINS & FLOORS at old prices, 20,000-56,000bu. bins holding prices until spring. NEW MOISTURE CABLES! Call Wall Grain for details (204)269-7616 or (306)244-1144 or (403)393-2662. CUSTOM BIN MOVING Book now! Fert Tanks. Hopper Bins/flat. Buy/Sell. Call Tim (204)362-7103 or E-mail Requests binmovers@hotmail.com

FARM MACHINERY Grain Dryers

(30) 2WD Tractors (15) MFWD Tractors (6) 4WD Tractors (28) Combines (10) Corn Heads (25) Bean Heads (8) Forage Harvesters (60) Skid Steer Loaders (25) Skid Steer Loader Attachments

(35) Lawn Mowers (15) Rounds Balers (2) Mergers (2) Hay Rakes (9) Planters (9) Discs (10) Chisel Plows & Rippers (4) Field Cultivator

(18) Mower Conditioners/Haybines (5) Sprayers (8) Gravity Wagons (2) Grain Carts (3) Manure Spreader (3) Stalk Choppers Numerous Tires/Rims/ Weights

NEW MC DRYERS IN STOCK w/canola screens 300-2,000 BPH units. Why buy used, when you get new fuel efficient & better quality & control w/MC. Call Wall Grain for details (204)269-7616 or (306)244-1144 or (403)393-2662.

From Everyone at

SUKUP Grain Dryers For Sale: 1 or 3 ph, LP/NG, canola screens. Discount pricing now in effect. Call for more info (204)998-9915

FARM MACHINERY Grain Elevators

1-855-326-4556 CONTRACTING Custom Trucking

80-FT. BUCKET ELEVATING LEG w/3 phase 10-HP electric motor. Phone (204)886-3304.

CONTRACTING Custom Trucking

ARNOLDS EQUIPMENT, INC.

For information, contact the following Sauk Rapids, MN - Sean 320.251.2585 Alden, MN - Brad 507.874.3400 Glencoe, MN - Peter 320.864.5531 Mankato, MN - Randy 507.387.5515 Willmar, MN - Jason 320.235.4898 Kimball, MN - Eric 320.398.3800 St. Martin, MN - Sharelle 320.548.3285 or for more information contact Eric Gabrielson at Steffes Auctioneers, 320.693.9371 Steffes Auctioneers Inc., 24400 MN Hwy 22 S, Litchfield, MN

Eric Gabrielson MN47-006, Ashley Huhn MN47-002, Randy Kath MN47-007

320.693.9371 | SteffesAuctioneers.com | IQBID.com

We are a family owned farm that has had generations of experience in land and poultry farming. Also with experience in transporting livestock feed. We would like the opportunity to serve the farming community in Southern Manitoba by transporting your bulk grain goods at competitive prices!

Please Call Chad Giesbrecht

204-371-5399

Box 13 R.R. 1 • Ste. Anne, Manitoba • R5H 1R1

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

FARM MACHINERY Combine – Various

FARM MACHINERY Parts & Accessories

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Various

FOR SALE: KUHN ROTOSPIKE tiller w/crumbler, 9-ft. 6-in. wide, 3-pt., 1000 PTO, 2-SPD gear box, great for breaking land up, $6,000 OBO. (204)648-7136

Geared For The Future

JD 1770 16 ROW 30-in. planter, 1 season on discs, new chain & bearings on drive shaft, liquid fertilizer, $46,000. (204)746-4555.

STEIGER TRACTOR SPECIALIST

TracTors

WATROUS SALVAGE WaTRoUs, sK. Fax: 306-946-2444

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.

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – John Deere FOR SALE: 1979 JOHN Deere 4440 tractor w/148 loader w/8-ft bucket, duals (shedded, good shape) Phone: (204)748-1024.

Combine ACCessories

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – 2 Wheel Drive

FARM MACHINERY Combine – Accessories

STEVE’S TRACTOR REBUILDER specializing in JD tractors in need of repair or burnt, or will buy for parts. JD parts available. Phone: 204-466-2927 or cell: 204-871-5170, Austin.

NEW & USED TRACTOR PARTS NEW COMBINE PARTS

1-800-982-1769

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous

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

HEADER TRAILERS & ACCESSORIES. Arc-Fab Industries. 204-355-9595 charles@arcfab.ca www.arcfab.ca

Big Tractor Parts, Inc.

BOURGAULT 42-FT 9200, CP, Harrows, $21,000. Call (204)825-8121.

The Real Used FaRm PaRTs sUPeRsToRe Over 2700 Units for Salvage • TRACTORS • COMBINES • SWATHERS • DISCERS Call Joe, leN oR daRWIN (306) 946-2222 monday-Friday - 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous

www.bigtractorparts.com

30-FT WHITE TANDEM DISC, new front blades, also a New Holland 116 Haybine. Phone Jack: (204)526-2857. Holland, MB.

FARM MACHINERY Snowblowers, Plows SCHULTE SDX960 C/W HYD deflector, like new, $6,950. Phone (204)436-2049 matt_tkachyk_sons@mymts.net

3 PTH FARMKING SNOW blower, in good condition, $1,800 OBO. Phone:(204)745-3009. Evenings.

SOLD FARM & RETIRED

Large Inventory of new and remanufactured parts

ONLY A FEW PIECES LEFT

PRICED TO SELL!

FARM MACHINERY Parts & Accessories

Harvest Salvage Co. Ltd. 1-866-729-9876 5150 Richmond Ave. East BRANDON, MB. www.harvestsalvage.ca New, Used & Re-man. Parts

Tractors Combines Swathers

STEINBACH, MB. Ph. 326-2443 Toll-Free 1-800-881-7727 Fax (204) 326-5878 Web site: farmparts.ca E-mail: roy@farmparts.ca FARM MACHINERY Salvage

FYFE PARTS

GOODS USED TRACTOR PARTS: (204)564-2528 or 1-877-564-8734, Roblin, MB.

1-800-667-9871 • Regina 1-800-667-3095 • Saskatoon 1-800-387-2768 • Winnipeg 1-800-222-6594 • Edmonton

MURPHY SALVAGE New & used parts for tractors, combines, swathers, square & round balers, tillage, press drills & other misc machinery. MURPHY SALVAGE (204)858-2727 or toll free 1-877-858-2728.

“For All Your Farm Parts”

www.fyfeparts.com Hit our readers where it counts… in the classifieds. Place your ad in the Manitoba Co-operator classifed section. 1-800-782-0794.

Call our toll-free number to take advantage of our Prepayment Bonus. Prepay for 3 weeks and we’ll run your ad 2 more weeks for free. That’s 5 weeks for the price of 3. Call 1-800-782-0794 today!

John Deere 1830 41 Ft Air Seeder with 1910 Seed Cart

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Air Drills 36-FT JD 730 DOUBLE Disc w/1900 TBT Cart, $34,000; JD 787 TBT Cart $12,500. Can Deliver. Call Brian:(204)856-6119 or (204)685-2896. MacGregor, MB.

Seeded approx 5000 acres

John Deere TRACTOR 8360 R, 1104 Hrs, FWA

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Air Seeders

John Deere Guidance System

8800 BOURGAULT 40-FT AIR Drill, Poly Packers, Harrows, 8-in Spacing, 3225 TBH Cart, $32,000. Call (204)825-8121.

2013 Harriston 8 Row Potato Planter– “NEW”

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Various

Never Used 36” spacing, Rear GPS Steering Axle

BOOKING SPECIALS for all makes of Harrow Tines: Mounted, Standard Draw Bars & Heavy Harrows. Ex: 9/16x26-in. straight 100+ $21.95/each. 3/8x15-in. bent (Riteway, Morris, Herman) 100+ $8.60/each. Special ends Dec. 31st, 2013. March 2014 delivery. Call Fouillard Implement Ltd. (204)683-2221.

Contact: 204-834-3704 home | 204-476-0480 cell

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

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

GOT SEED? By Daniel Winters CO-OPERATOR STAFF / MELITA

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

$1.75

MANITOBACOOPERATOR.CA

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous

LIVESTOCK Cattle Auctions

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Simmental

BELT ELEVATOR, 80-ft long w/undercarriage, PTO driven, excellent cond, $7,500; 5 tanks for liquid fertilizer storage, choice of 15,000-gal. or 20,000-gal. capacity. Hutch cleaner w/unload auger. Phone Morris:(204)746-8851. FLAT DECK TRAILER 8X24, Pinto hitch, 4-whl dbl axle, $2,500; Manure bucket w/grab fork, $1,000. Phone:(204)444-2997.

LAZY RAINBOW RIVER RANCH has for sale complete herd of 130 heifers, 77 second calvers, 43rd-5th calvers. $1200-1500. Phone (204)372-6945. PUREBRED & COMMERCIAL SIMMENTAL heifer, bred w/A.I. dates. Also 2-yr old polled Simmental bulls. Bruce Firby (204)867-2203, Minnedosa.

Bred Cow & Heifer Sale

Bred Cow Sale

Thursday, December 19, 11 am Highway #1 West, Whitewood, Sask.

GRAINVACS BRANDT 4500, $7500; Rem 552, $3000; Rem 2500HD, $9500; Walinga 510, $950; 8x30 auger, $900; New 9-ft 3-PTH blade, $950; 10ft box scraper, $2250; 12-ft, $2450; 12-ft Leon front blade, $3500; 10-ft Leon blade, $2000; 150-bu Snowco feeder cart, $750; Sudenga weigh-wagon digital scale, $3500; Haybuster bale shredder, $6000. Phone (204)857-8403. GRAVITY WAGONS NEW 400-BU, $7100; 600-bu, $12,000; Double compartment type & tarps available used. 750-bu Parker, $14,000; JM750, $14,500; Parker 500, $6000; Parker 616-bu, $10,500; Kilbros 375, $3000; 250-bu Daicon, $2500; Grain carts 450-1100-bu large selection priced to sell. Phoenix Harrow, $9500; Mixmills Artsway, $1500; Henke 36-in rollermill, $5000; Champion rollermill 20-in, $2000. Phone (204)857-8403. PLOWS MELROE AUTORESET 8-18, $3000; 8-16, $3000; 7-18, $3000; 8-16 w/coulters, $4500; White 5F rollover, $3500; I-H 5-16 Semimount, $750; 3-PH JD-4-16, $1000; JD 3F 3-16, $850; JD drainage V-Plow, $1500; VFT rotary pitcher, $1250; Degelman 14-ft rock rake, $7500; Haybuster L-106 picker, $2500; Case 450 skidsteer, 1260-hrs, $18,000; Tractor cab, $600; Phone (204)857-8403. QUONSET NEW IN CRATE, 35x52x18, $20,000; JD dozer blade w/guard fits 8970 16-ft. 6 way, $15,000; MF 860 & 20-ft. straight cut, $7,000; Ford 5000 w/loader, $7,500; Vac sewer tank & pump, $14,000; Rotex SR7 power parachute 300-hrs, for parts, $3,000; Tree Farmer skidder $4,500; Bison head squeeze, $4,500; 2004 Rumble Bee short box, $11,500; Stock trailer, 43-ft. 3, 12,000-lb. axles gooseneck, no price. OBO. Downsizing! (306)236-8023. SNOWBLOWERS: LORENTZ HEAVY DUTY 8-ft $1,700, JD 7-ft $1,500, 8-ft single auger $1,000, 6-ft V-type $250; Skidsteer NH 865LX $12,900; 6x16 bumper pull stock trailer $3,000, 6x16 GN $3,500; Powder River squeeze chute $1,600; 10-in skidsteer tracks $750; Tractor cab $600; Balzer forage wagon front conveyor $3,000; Harsh 350 Auger feed cart $5,000. Phone:(204)857-8403.

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Wanted WANTED JD 530 MODEL, row crop; Also looking for an International Super WD6. Phone Gordon (204)268-2392. WANTED: SCALE FOR WEIGHING cattle and/or round bales. Phone (204)548-2932 or (204)648-7383.

HEAT & AIR CONDITIONING HOT WATER HEATING SYSTEM w/baseboard unit & convector, oil-fired boiler, recent circulation pump. Also octagon poker table, 60-in across. Contact (204)385-2877.

The Icynene Insulation System® • Sprayed foam insulation • Ideal for shops, barns or homes • Healthier, Quieter, More Energy Efficient®

www.penta.ca

1-800-587-4711

IRON & STEEL FREE STANDING CORRAL PANELS, Feeders & Alley ways, 30ft or order to size. Oil Field Pipe: 1.3, 1.6, 1.9, 1 7/8, 2-in, 2 3/8, 2 7/8, 3 1/2. Sucker Rod: 3/4, 7/8, 1. Casing Pipes: 4-9inch. Sold by the piece or semi load lots. For special pricing call Art (204)685-2628 or cell (204)856-3440. FULL LINE OF COLORED & galvanized roofing, siding & accessories, structural steel, tubing, plate, angles, flats, rounds etc. Phone:1-800-510-3303, Fouillard Steel Supplies Ltd, St Lazare.

LIVESTOCK LIVESTOCK Cattle Auctions

REGULAR BUTCHER & FEEDER SALE Every Friday 9AM

NEXT BRED COW & HEIFER SALE

For more information and pictures check out www.whitewoodlivestock.com or phone 306-735-2822

• DISPERSAL FOR STORLIE FARMS

of 70 Char X, Red Angus X cows bred Red Angus, herd health program, mid March calving.

• DISPERSAL FOR WAYNE & YVETTE

PAULSON of 130 Char X Red Angus X cows bred to Red Factor Char bull...last week of March calving. • Plus others

GRUNTHAL LIVESTOCK AUCTION MART. LTD. Hwy #205, Grunthal • (204) 434-6519

Season’s Greetings

from the owners and staff

“Where Buyers & Sellers Meet” For more information call: 204-694-8328 Jim Christie 204-771-0753 Scott Anderson 204-782-6222 Mike Nernberg 204-807-0747

www.winnipeglivestocksales.com Licence #1122

Saturday, December 21st at 1:00 PM Heartland Livestock Virden, MB

WANTED: ALL CLASSES OF feeder cattle, yearlings & calves. Dealer Licence# 1353. Also wanted, light feed grains: wheat, barley & oats. Phone:(204)325-2416, Manitou.

Offering: 280 head, Herd bulls, mature cows, bred heifers, bull calves and heifer calves. for more info contact Jay Good 403-556-5563 or Bruce Robinson 204-764-2413 or 204-365-7379

GRUNTHAL, MB.

REGULAR CATTLE SALES every TUESDAY at 9 am last sale Dec 17th

Sales Will Resume: Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Sales Agent for

HIQUAL INDUSTRIES

We also have a line of Agri-blend all natural products for your livestock needs. (protein tubs, blocks, minerals, etc)

For on farm appraisal of livestock or for marketing information please call

Harold Unrau (Manager) Cell 871 0250 Auction Mart (204) 434-6519 MB. Livestock Dealer #1111

WWW.GRUNTHALLIVESTOCK.COM

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Angus 20 PB ANGUS COWS & heifers for sale. You pick out of 40+; culls already gone. Don (204)422-5216, evenings. Check out: ridgesideredangus.com

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Black Angus FOR SALE: REGISTERED BLACK ANGUS bulls low birth weight, very quiet, hand fed, no disappointments, EPD’s & delivery avail. Amaranth (204)843-2287. FOR SALE: REGISTERED BLACK Angus heifers, bred to calving ease Black Angus bull, to start calving in April. Also Registered polled Hereford heifers bred to Hereford bull. Call Don (204)873-2430

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Red Angus HAMCO CATTLE CO has for sale a strong group of Red Angus bred heifers, A.I.’d & bull bred to calve Feb, Mar, & April 2014. Contact Albert, Glen, or Larissa Hamilton (204)827-2358 or (204)526-0705 or David Hamilton (204)325-3635.

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Charolais PB BULLS & HEIFER calves born Feb & Mar. Also 1 1/2-yr old bulls. Phone Jack: (204)526-2857. Holland, MB.

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Hereford FOR SALE: REGISTERED POLLED Hereford Heifers, bred to calving ease Hereford bull, to start calving in April. Also Registered Black Angus heifers bred to Black Angus bull. Call Don (204)873-2430

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Simmental 140 SIMMENTAL & SIMMENTAL Charolais cross heifers. Bred Red Angus, home raised, start calving March 25. Full herd health program. Fisher Branch (204)372-6492 or (204)372-8801. 31 RED FACTOR SIMMENTAL heifers, bred to proven light birth weight (75lbs) black bull. To start calving Mid-April. Got all vaccinations, Ivomec’d & preg-checked. $1,600/each for the lot. Riverbank Farms, Ray Cormier. Phone:(204)736-2608. FOR SALE: 30 HEAD of PB & percentage Simm heifer calves, weaned since Sept 23rd, vacc & Ivomec’d, weight 725-800-lbs. Boynecrest Stock Farm (204)828-3483 or (204)745-7168 Stephenfield, MB.

Ashern Auction Mart will be holding a bred cow sale on Sat., Dec. 14, 2013 at 1:00p.m. Already Consigned: 45 Black/black baldie cows from Ed Bottrell bred Black Angus-Start calving Mar.1; 30 mixed cows from Liz Wagner bred black-Start calving Mar.1; 29 mixed cows from Randy Kolomaya bred Red Angus-Start calving Apr.1; 25 Red & Black heifers from Charles Amy bred black- Start calving Mar.15. Other consignors welcome. For more info, please call: Bud:(204)768-0018 or Kirk:(204)768-0019

LIVESTOCK Cattle Wanted

AGENT FOR T.E.A.M. MARKETING Please visit our website for more information and catalog www.transconlivestock.com Or give us a call at 403-638-9377

LIVESTOCK Cattle Various 20 GOOD QUALITY BLACK & Red Angus X bred heifers for sale. Start calving March 12th, 2014. Bred w/easy calving Black Angus bull. (204)379-2408. 25 BRED HEIFERS Simm Angus X, exposed from May 1st-July 3rd to Red or Black Angus bulls, full vacc & Ivomec. Norman Lussier (204)345-8492, Lac du Bonnet. 2 CHAR X COWS w/2, two week old calves, $1,200 OBO; 6 Char X cows. Phone (204)825-8354 or (204)825-2784. 30 BRED YEARLING HEIFERS, Red & Black Angus X, exposed July 1st to Aug 15th to easy calving Angus bulls, $1,500 each. Phone (204)278-3372, (204)485-1490. 500 BRED HEIFERS, REDS, Blacks & Tans, start calving April 5th, 2014. Had all shots, preg checked, Ivomec, pelvic measured, weigh approx 1100-lbs. (204)325-2416, Darlingford. 65 BRED HEIFERS, BLACK Angus, Angus Hereford cross, some Red Angus. From our own range calving herd, bred to calving ease, Black Angus & Angus Hereford cross bulls. Start calving mid-Feb. All shots, Ivomec. $1,200. (204)873-2525 evenings, Clearwater. FOR SALE: 15 RED Angus cross Simmental heifers, bred to Red Angus bull, due to calve March/April. Heifers are 1000+ lbs & very deep bodied. Call (204)746-0377 or (204)347-7490, St Malo. FOR SALE: 18 ANGUS Cross cows & heifers, bred to easy calving Black Angus bulls. To start calving May 15. Asking $1450. Phone (204)758-3374, St Jean. FOR SALE: RED ANGUS & Red Angus Cross bred heifers, bred to easy calving Red Angus bulls, March/April calving. Phone: (204) 873-2530 or (204) 825-8419.

TIRED OF THE HIGH COST OF MARKETING YOUR CATTLE?? 800-1000 LBS. Steers & Heifers Rob: 528-3254, 724-3400 Ben: 721-3400 Don: 528-3477, 729-7240

Contact: D.J. (Don) MacDonald Livestock Ltd. License #1110 LIVESTOCK Sheep For Sale PUREBRED CLUN FOREST RAMS for sale. Born March. Ready to breed this fall. All breeding lines from Imported British Genetics. For more information about our Cluns go to www.oakwoodgrange.ca $250-$300. Phone:(204)722-2036. (Virden area) YOUNG EWES, 100 SUFFOLK Dorset cross, 25 Katahdin Dorper cross, $125 each or trade for bred cows/heifers or lite calves. Call Rick (204)646-2157.

Horses LIVESTOCK Horses – Donkeys 3, 2013 MAMMOTH JENNY’S for sale, 2 black, 1 blond. Call Don:(204) 422-5216.

Swine LIVESTOCK Swine Wanted

WANTED: BUTCHER HOGS SOWS AND BOARS FOR EXPORT

P. QUINTAINE & SON LTD. 728-7549 Licence No. 1123

Specialty LIVESTOCK Livestock Equipment ALTERNATIVE POWER BY SUNDOG SOLAR, portable/remote solar water pumping for winter/summer. Call for pricing on solar systems, wind generators, aeration. Carl Driedger, (204)556-2346 or (204)851-0145, Virden. FOR SALE: 2 NEWLY rebuilt Bobsleighs w/2.5-in wide runners for horses, $1000 each OBO; 1 smaller Bobsleigh, newly built, $500; 1 single horse cutter, almost new, $300. Call Leon (204)866-4141. FOR SALE: BALE KING 3100 Bale processor, excellent condition, will do partial trade for JD-4240 or JD-4040 w/loader. HAY FOR SALE: 1400-lb ALFALFA/Brome round bales. Phone:(204)733-2436, Ochre River. KELLN SOLAR SUMMER/WINTER WATERING System, provides water in remote areas, improves water quality, increases pasture productivity, extends dugout life. St. Claude/Portage, 204-379-2763.

12V. or Hydraulic Electronic Scale Opt.

1 877 695 2532 www.ezefeeder.ca

THANK YOU To all our Customers & Happy Holidays!

1-888-848-6196

www.realindustries.com MUSICAL FOR ALL YOUR MUSICAL instruments & accessories, shop Hildebrand Music, Portage La Prairie Mall. (204)857-3172. Large variety of student & professional instruments, famous name brands, new arrivals weekly, strings, sound equip, keyboards, percussion, band & wireless.

ORGANIC ORGANIC Organic – Grains M&M ORGANIC MARKETING: Now buying milling oats & these feed grains: oats, flax, soybeans, peas. Phone:(204)379-2451.

Bioriginal Food & Science Corp., based in Saskatoon, is actively buying Organic Flax from the 2013 crop year. 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 *Please state the Variety & Quantity for Sale

For more information, please contact Sandy at:

306-975-9251 306-975-1166 purchasing@bioriginal.com

Season’s Greetings From Everyone At

Holiday Hours: December 25 Closed • December 26th Closed • January 1st Closed th

Purebred Black & Red Simmental Heifers

There will be no paper published on December 26th. Next issue is January 2nd 2014.

Wednesday, December 18 @ 1:00 pm This will be the last sale of 2013! Gates Open: Mon.-Wed. 8AM-4PM Thurs. 8AM-10PM Friday 8AM-6PM Sat. 8AM-4PM We have 7 to 10 local buyers and orders and 7 to 8 regular order buyers on our market.

Complete Herd Dispersal

***Please take note this is a Thursday sale**** last sale of 2013. Cows must be in for preg testing by Wednesday at 3 PM.

Friday, December 20 @ 1:00 pm

NEXT SHEEP & GOAT SALE

LIVESTOCK Cattle Various

Bred heifers. Excellent breeding. For more info call Mel Johnston (204)242-2423 or Tracy Vestby (204)227-8750 SIMMENTAL & SIMMENTAL RED Angus heifers bred Black for February calving. Phone (204)748-1366

Have a Safe Holiday Season & Happy New Year

See you in 2014!

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

save! Renew early and

REAL ESTATE Land For Sale

PERSONAL MISSING A GREAT RELATIONSHIP? CANDLELIGHT MATCHMAKERS can help. Confidential, Photos & Profiles to selected matches, Affordable, Local. Serving MB, SK, NW Ontario. Call/Write for info: Box 212, Roland, MB, R0G 1T0, (204)343-2475.

FARM LAND FOR SALE BY TENDER Sealed, written tenders for property in the RM of Pembina will be received by:

SELBY LAW OFFICE

351 Main St., PO Box 279 Manitou, MB. R0G 1G0

PETS

PROPERTY

Parcel 1: NW ¼ 2-4-9 WPM Excepting firstly: Mines and Minerals Excepting secondly: Water Pipeline Plan 797 MLTO (being approximately 159 acres)

PETS & SUPPLIES AUSTRAILIAN SHEPHERD PUPS FROM working trial champion lines, Hangin Tree & Las Rocosa breeding. Available to farm & ranch homes, ready to go w/vaccinations & vet exams. Phone (204)859-2167 or klkrave@gmail.com

Parcel 2: SW ¼ 2-4-9 WPM Excepting firstly: Mines and Minerals Excepting secondly - Water Pipeline Plan 797 MLTO (being approximately 156.5 acres) including four (4) steel bins, all on cement and 40’ x 60’ quonset with cement floor

Border Collie Pups: Out of good working parents. Over 20 years breeding - pups guaranteed. www.riverhillsranchltd.com Pam McIntyre (204)365-0372

REAL ESTATE

TENDERS CLOSE: December 18, 2013.

REAL ESTATE Cottages & Lots LAKEFRONT COTTAGE AT LAKE of the Prairies: 1,104-sq.ft, w/full finished walkout basement. 3bdrms, 3-bths, Vaulted ceiling. Low maintenance exterior, Deck, Infloor Heat & FA furnace. Built 2013. $395,000.00 Karen Goraluk, Salesperson. Northstar Ins. & Real Estate. (204)773-6797. www.north-star.ca

Renew your subscription to the Manitoba Co-operator for 2 years BEFORE we mail your renewal notice, and we'll extend your subscription by 2 additional months. That's 26 months for the price of 24. OR - Renew for one year and receive 13 months for the price of 12!

LAKEVIEW COTTAGE AT LAKE of the Prairies: 864-sq.ft w/3-bdrms, 1-bth. Deck, Great View, Well, Septic holding tank. $155,000.00. Karen Goraluk, Salesperson. Northstar Ins. & Real Estate. (204)773-6797. www.north-star.ca

Call, email or mail us today!

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CROP LAND - N 1/2 & SW 1/4 of 27-12-16W in the RM of North Cypress. Rick Taylor (204)867-7551 HomeLife Home Professional Realty Inc. rtaylor@homelife.com www.homelifepro.com FOR SALE: WOODSIDE 160-ACS fenced pasture w/1982 built bungalow, 1056-sq.ft, efa, $164,000. 2) PLUMAS 1,156-sq.ft. 2+ BDRM MODERN HOME 4.17-ACS, ca c vac, WORKSHOPS & MORE! 2) ARDEN 5-acs 2+ bdrm renov. Home dbl garage. Also 2-ac lot only $8,000; 4) 1 section of pastureland NE of GLADSTONE, fenced & dugouts, $269,000; 5) GLADSTONE, 157-acs Lakeland, fenced, arable. older home, outbldgs, $360,000. 6) Acerage w/3-bdrm home w/trucker’s shed 72x36, in OBERON, $229,000. Phone Liz:(204)476-6362 or John:(204)476-6719. Gill & Schmall Agencies. GRANT TWEED Your Farm Real Estate Specialist. Developing a successful farm takes years of hard work. When it’s time to sell there are many factors to consider. I can provide the experience & expertise to help you through the process. To arrange a confidential, obligation free meeting, please call (204)761-6884 anytime. Website; www.granttweed.com

Payment Enclosed ❑ Cheque

READY TO MOVE HOMES -1,320-sqft, 3 bdrm, master bedroom has ensuite & walk-in closet, main floor laundry, kitchen has island & corner pantry. $75,000. Call MARVIN HOMES INC: (204)326-1493 or (204)355-8484. Steinbach, MB www.marvinhomes.ca

REAL ESTATE Farms & Ranches – Manitoba

ATTACH YOUR MAILING LABEL HERE

*Taxes included

REAL ESTATE Houses & Lots

For further information contact Larry J. Selby at Phone:(204) 242-2801 Fax: (204) 242-2723 Email: selbylaw@mts.net

REAL ESTATE Farms & Ranches – Wanted GOOD QUALITY GRAIN & Cattle Farms wanted for Canadian & Overseas Clients. For a confidential meeting to discuss the possible sale of your farm or to talk about what is involved, telephone Gordon Gentles (204)761-0511 www.homelifepro.com or Jim McLachlan (204)724-7753, www.homelifepro.com Home Professional Realty Inc. GRAIN & CATTLE FARMS wanted for both overseas & Canadian buyers. Call me to discuss all options & current farmland market prices. Rick Taylor: (204)867-7551. rtaylor@homelife.com Homelife Realty, Brandon, MB. REQUIRE FARMS FOR LOCAL & European buyers grain land with or without bldgs, sheep farms, cattle ranches, suburban properties, or just open land, acreages, houses, cottages. Call Harold (204)253-7373 Delta R.E. www.manitobafarms.ca

REAL ESTATE Land For Sale LARRY & PHYLLIS HENRY of Ste. Rose du Lac, MB intends to sell private lands: NE 31-24-12W, NE 30-24-12W, SW 32-24-12W to John & Deana Martin & Katherine Lansdell who intend to acquire the following agricultural Crown land leases: Sec 7-23-11W, S1/2 18-23-11W, W1/2 20-24-12W Sec 29-24-12W, S1/2 31-24-12W, NW 31-24-12W, W1/2 31-24-12W, NE 18-23-18W, W1/2 12-25-31W by Unit Transfer. If you wish to comment on or object to the eligibility of this purchaser please write to: Director, MAFRI, Agricultural Crown Lands, PO Box 1286, Minnedosa MB R0J 1E0; or Fax (204)867-6578. QUARTER SECTION NEAR GRANDVIEW, MB.: 163-acs, pasture w/rolling hills, mix of spruce, poplar trees, 20-acs of hay. Very scenic, Good hunting, $95,000.00. SE 8-25-25 W1; Karen Goraluk, Salesperson. Northstar Ins. & Real Estate. (204)773-6797. www.north-star.ca ROY FORSYTH OF EDDYSTONE, MB intends to sell private lands: NE 01-25-13W, SW 06-25-12W, SW 08-25-13W to John & Deana Martin & Katherine Lansdell, who intend to acquire the following agricultural Crown land leases: SW 05-25-12W, N1/2 10-25-13W, SE 18-25-12W, Section 11-25-13W, Section 35-24-13W, NW 13-25-13W, NW 07-25-12W, S1/2 13-25-13W, NW 01-25-13W, E1/2 14-25-13W, Section 02-25-13W by Unit Transfer. If you wish to comment on or object to the eligibility of this purchaser please write to: Director, MAFRI, Agricultural Crown Lands, PO Box 1286, Minnedosa, MB R0J 1E0; or Fax (204)867-6578.

LAND FOR SALE BY TENDER Completed Tenders & a $20,000 Deposit of the Tender Price are invited to be received up to 12:00pm (noon) on December 17th, 2013 (the “Deadline”) on the property described below, which Tenders & Deposits shall be received at: Brown & Associates Law Office Box 1240, 71 Main St Carman, MB R0G 0J0 Attention: Mona Brown or Nichole Hiebert Phone: (204)745-2028 Property for sale: All or any of: S 1/2 of NW 1/4 22-8-3W (80 acs) W 1/2 of SW 1/4 22-8-3W (80 acs) (together, the “Land”) -Located in the Rural Municipality of Grey -No buildings Conditions of Tender 1. Completed tenders, in the form prepared by Brown & Associates Law Office, must be received by the Deadline to be considered. 2. Each Tender must be accompanied by a certified cheque, money order or bank draft, payable to Brown & Associates Law Office (in trust), in the amount of $20,000. 3. Highest Tender or any Tender need not necessarily be accepted. 4. The Possession date & the due date of the balance of Tender Price shall be the 23rd day of December 2013. 5. Tender forms & further information with regard to the Land are available at the above referenced address & telephone number. 6. The deposit of $20,000 will be forfeited if a successful Tenderer does not finalize or complete the terms of the Agreement of Purchase & Sale. 7. The maker of any Tender relies entirely upon his/her personal inspection & knowledge of the Land, independent of the representations made by the vendor or the solicitor & agent of the vendor. The Land will be sold “as is” & the bidder is solely responsible to determine the value & condition of the Land, Land quality, Land use, environmental condition & any other information pertaining to the Land. Advertise your unwanted equipment in the Classifieds. Call our toll-free number and place your ad with our friendly staff, and don’t forget to ask about our prepayment bonus. Prepay for 3 weeks and get 2 weeks free! 1-800-782-0794.

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

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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

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. Earlier this month 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. Soybeans, wheat and other crops have eased from a year ago, along with corn, the grain bellwether, with almost 100 million acres planted in the United States, the world’s largest corn grower and exporter.

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 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.

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

“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

“My biggest concern is not leverage, it’s liquidity — how much working capital is in the balance sheet? Traditionally, Midwest farmers don’t carry a lot of working capital on the balance sheet.” Curt Covington

Senior vice-president at Bank of the West

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, which represents up to 90 per cent of grain farm assets and is the basis of loan collateral and the wealth effect in farm country. Prices of prime grain land have doubled or even tripled in the last five years as farmers rushed to plant fence post to fence post and feed the ethanol pipeline even as export demand to China and others soared. Quarterly surveys released this month by the Kansas City, Chicago and St. Louis Feds 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.” Sam Miller, head of agribusiness for BMO Harris Bank, was cautiously optimistic about a soft landing. “ We’ve h a d s o m e re a l l y g o o d years for grain producers. All good things have to come to an end or at least adjust. Seems like we’re in that period,” he said. “Supply has changed. But if you look at exports, they’re robust.”

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

Keep or cull — is a beef cow ever too ornery? Cattle that are very aggressive and easily put in a defensive mode should be sold By Kris Ringwall BEEF SPECIALIST, NDSU EXTENSION SERVICE

aving worked cattle for years and too many sheep to count, one develops a feel for the rogue cow or calf. Maybe it is just a quick look or an intense stare. There also are those animals that you know are not going to have a good cohabitation experience. It happened quickly: The cow was the last one in the chute and already had made several attempts to leave. The handling facility was solid, so leaving was not an option. She had tried to double-stack the chute. In other words, she tried pushing past the restraining gatekeeper and joining the cow already in the chute. I heard three direct hoof impacts on the chute wall prior to her arrival in the c h u t e. He r i n d i s c r i m i n a t e k i c k s we re n o t accidental

because they were defensive in nature. Finally, having the privilege of being the last cow of the day, she arrived in the chute and was diagnosed pregnant. Keep or cull her was the question. That question, oddly enough, would be debated in many cattle circles. For those with adequate help, which includes agility in the job description, they might consider keeping the cow. For those who are more doit-yourself types, the answer would sway toward culling her. Maybe the answer comes from the business partner. Cull her would be the answer i f yo u a s k t h e e m e rg e n c y response team. If you ask the night calving crew or mom and the kids, the answer is to cull her. Then ask yourself: Why is she still here?

An explanation

The other day, the Dickinson Research Extension Center

c re w w a s p r o c e s s i n g t h e freshly weaned calves after I had been up to ultrasound the cows for pregnancy, including the cow with a temperament. One bull calf, with an obvious attitude, was restrained and processed through the chute. During the process, the calf started to shake with obvious signs of distress. The calf was processed and released

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just like all the other calves. The question was asked: What are the chances that the calf belonged to the cow that gave us so much difficulty earlier in the day? Sure enough, that was her calf. Granted, not all behaviour is that obvious. However, ornery cattle are just that, ornery, so they have no business being in the cattle popu-

On your gifts of…

Manitoba Co-operator

Bull selection

nds or r family, frie fo t if g t a re g nd sa t this form a rator make u e o p ll -o fi o st C u a J b g is easy! ll free The Manito nd the givin - Call our to A R ! O st . li e r g u a o p y e 82-0794 th anyone on ne: 1-800-7 e bottom of o h th p t e a th ss r re e v d e ad m you o c. 22 mail it to th e details fro th ll a t e g r Before De % l e ’l d e r w O d n a r e or numb to 23 Co-operat anitoba regarding M m information al on ti blishing.co di u ad cp For any iption@fb cr bs su l: ai s e-m subscription

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o-operator Manitoba C n Ave, 1666 Dubli MB Winnipeg, R3H OH1

lation. They don’t need to be here. Is behaviour or temperament passed from one generation to the next? Absolutely. Can producers select for mild-mannered cattle? Absolutely. Can producers control the destiny of their herd’s attitude? Absolutely. Should the centre castrate the bull calf w i t h a n o bv i o u s a t t i t u d e ? Absolutely. Although the centre castrates all the bull calves, even as a steer, bad attitudes possibly can mean bad feeding exper iences. The question often asked is what to look for in an animal with a bad attitude. The answer is there. Cattle that routinely challenge the producer for space should be sold. Cattle that are very aggressive and easily put in a defensive mode should be sold. Cattle that are overreactive to the chute environment should be sold. Having ultrasounded several thousand cows, nervous, highstrung cattle are obvious. One obviously can feel the tense, nervous cow. A cow may be very rigid on the outside, but literally shaking on the inside, so she needs to go.

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SAVE ON YO OWN RENEWUR AL!

With the upcoming bull sale season, ask questions on bull attitude and, for heaven’s sake, d o n’t b u y t e m p e r a m e n t a l bulls. Bulls that challenge the fitting, handling or sales crew or, in the worst-case situation, the buyers, never should be sold as intact bulls. Bulls with an attitude can be neutered and placed in the feedlot well before sale time. Even cows that are overprotective at calving should be sold. All the data in the world is negated once a cow or bull is identified as dangerous to be around. However, some will disagree and some will mildly agree. There is that mysticism about conquering the wild and taming the untamable. We can do it at all cost and that is the way it is. Only the strong survive. That being said, the stories make good reading but are much better as fiction than non-fiction. If the truth be told, the industry does not need cattle with an attitude. However, there is no one better than a cattle producer at finding a reason to not part ways with a favourite critter but, as a producer, you are never one of the herd. Only two things exist in a herd: dominance and defence. In a normal herd, the producer is dominant and there is an understanding that no cow, bull or calf will question that. Likewise, defensive plays also are prohibited. The herd understands that and, as a producer, you totally control who enters and remains in the herd. Attitude is a heritable trait. The bad can go and the good can stay. Practise good bull selection and strong temperament culling within the cow herd. If you do that, life will be better. Kris Ringwall is a North Dakota State University Extension Service livestock specialist and the Dickinson Research Extension Center director

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 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 STAFF / EDMONTON

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. 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.”

“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.” BRUCE MUIRHEAD

University of Waterloo history professor

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

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

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The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

COUNTRY CROSSROADS CON N EC T I NG RU R A L FA M I L I E S

Digital exhibit brings history of Prairie food to your homes Items selected from the University of Alberta’s Bruce Peel Special Collections Library show the history of cookbooks in Western Canada

Published in 1950 by Manitoba Department of Agriculture Extension Service, Potatoes: Facts and Recipes was one of many free publications produced at the time by provincial and federal departments to encourage homemakers to use local products. IMAGES COURTESY OF BRUCE PEEL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

By Lorraine Stevenson CO-OPERATOR STAFF

ompiling a food history is complicated — it has to include culture, economics, politics, gender roles — and of course, recipes for chiffon pie. “Culinaria — A Taste of Food History on the Prairies,” a new digital exhibit by the University of Alberta, has it all. Co-curator Caroline Lieffers says she’s certain others will be as delighted as she has been by what they discover. The documents come from U of A’s library’s extensive collection of western Canadian-focused, food-related publications. Lieffers began looking at them while studying for her master’s degree in history. “I was studying the history of cooking and housekeeping, and I found stories that were just fascinating, and so rich and wonderful, and I wanted to bring them to a larger audience and make them more public and accessible,” said Lieffers, who is now a research and collections assistant at the university. The digital exhibit created with cocurator Kristine Kowalchuk includes titles like The Saskatchewan Homemakers’ Kitchens c. 1955 and the United Farm Women of Manitoba Cook Book 1929 plus

about 80 other items chosen for how they reflect food history in Western Canada. These are documents that make the history of food really interesting to learn — and personal, says Lieffers. “It’s the history of everyday life,” she said. The website is organized into four categories. A “business and branding,” section of the site features titles such as the 1918 Robin Hood Flour Cook Book: Recipes by Mrs. Rorer, and the 1915 Five Roses Cook Book from the Lake of the Woods Milling Company. These are cookbooks part of a huge genre of marketing material that influenced people to use companies’ products, says Lieffers. “They’re fascinating because they show you how these manufactured goods found their way into people’s homes, and how people were taught to use them.” Also found in this section are titles such as Saskatchewan farm woman Mrs. Mary Berkner’s Country Cook Book: With Special Recipes for Making Cookies and an Improved Method of Making SugarBeet Syrup, and a 1928 Canadian National Railways; Dining Car Menu for Little Folks with a charming poem about “where all things good in the way of food are served by the CNR.”

Cookbooks that reveal the multi-ethnic settlement of the Prairies include titles such as a 1945 Ukrainian-English Cook Book, written in Ukrainian and including recipes for mushroom “catsup” and a home remedy for lockjaw, and Das neue Nordwesten Kochbuch with wild meat recipes and a GermanEnglish glossary to help housewives of the day place orders with the grocer. Home economics textbooks that instructed generations of Prairie-raised kids about nutrition and proper table manners are included in a section on “health and education.” Here is where Rural School Lunches describes a 1918 Alberta Department of Education program for introducing hot lunches in rural schools because “most children brought a cold lunch to school and ate it haphazardly throughout the day.” A category devoted to “war, politics, and social engagement” shows how Prairie women have been involved in community building over the decades, says Lieffers. “That was one of my favourite ones to put together,” she said. “It brings out these examples of how women used cookbooks as a way to be active in their communities, even before they had a chance to vote.” This is where you can find The Alberta Home Maker produced by the Social Credit Women’s Auxiliaries of Alberta around 1947. It contains recipes for Debt Free Fruit Cake and Scripture Cake — deciphered by first looking up the appropriate Bible verse. You can also see the contents of the 1929 United Farm Women of Manitoba Cook Book with its Manitoba Telephone System ad declaring the telephone as “the unfailing friend on the farm.” Other gems on the site include a 1923 report from the Alberta Dairyman’s Association, Oleomargarine and its Relation to Canadian Economics calling for the renewal of the margarine ban temporarily lifted in 1917 during the First World War butter shortages. There’s Starting a Farm in the Bow River Valley, Southern Alberta, Canada, published around 1909, by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company Colonization Department to promote its three-million–acre irrigation block, a project begun east of Calgary to lure farmers west during the dry spell of the 1890s. Cooking the Co-op Way pays homage to the extensive Prairie retail co-operatives which eventually formed Federated Co-operatives Limited. Lieffers, an Edmonton resident with family across the Prairies, says those who view the site are sure to feel the same personal connection to the materials that she did. “That’s what I love about this exhibit. It can really resonate with people. It’s a way of making history a really intimate and personal experience.” Lieffers urges trying a recipe or two to get your own taste of Prairie food history. “The story of food doesn’t just live in cookbooks. It’s in our kitchens and out in communities and our families and our memories. Everyone is part of this story.” lorraine@fbcpublishing.com

Cookbooks such as this Robin Hood Flour Cook Book: Recipes by Mrs. Rorer, published around 1915, helped market Robin Hood flour for domestic use and make it iconic in Canadian baking.

The Ukrainian English Cook Book, published around 1945 by Winnipeg’s Ukrainian Bookstore and Press, follows a traditional household cookbook style by including both culinary recipes and instructions for preparing home remedies.

Culinaria: A Taste of Food History on the Prairies can be viewed online at: http://omeka.library.ualberta. ca/exhibits/show/culinaria/intro. For those closer to Edmonton, visit “Collecting Culinaria,” another public display until Feb. 7 at the University of Alberta’s Bruce Peel Special Collections Library. It includes the cookbooks and household manuals donated to the University of Alberta from the estate of cookbook collector Linda Miron Distad. If you would like to direct questions or comments to Lieffers she is reached at caroline.lieffers@ualberta.ca.

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

COUNTRY CROSSROADS

RecipeSwap

Send your recipes or recipe request to: Manitoba Co-operator Recipe Swap Box 1794, Carman, Man. ROG OJO or email: lorraine@fbcpublishing.com

A $5 shopping spree And other thoughts of Christmas past

Lorraine Stevenson Crossroads Recipe Swap

once spent the grand sum of $5 on Christmas presents. That was a lot of money to an eight- or nine-year-old in the 1960s. I remember feeling rich, and heading “uptown” to Hillman’s Hardware and Lawrence’s Solo Store in Newdale, to search for gifts for my family and friends. Five bucks covered it. I don’t remember what I bought, but everyone got something. I do remember giving my dad a package of gum and my sister a comb. Ever tried wrapping a comb? What stands out in your own memories of other Christmases? My own are of how simple the Christmases of my parents’ era seemed. Most of our presents were ordered from the catalogue. We had a few decorations — a tree, outdoor lights strung under the eavestrough, cards strung across doorways, a plastic wreath around the kitchen clock. There was a Christmas concert to go to, with a fat, snow-dusted Santa jingling at the back of the hall, and a church service, with candles softly illuminating the familiar faces. We watched TV Christmas Eve. I remember the thrill of CKX weatherman Ron Thompson interrupting his forecast to say radar had just detected an object moving down from the North Pole. Christmas was gathering and visiting time, and special treat time. There were sugar cookies and shortbread, and my grandmother’s Christmas pudding with dimes and nickels tucked into it. We had Coca Cola in the fridge once a year and this was it. A Christmas orange really was a Christmas orange, because they weren’t available any other time of year. Our fondest food memories originate at Christmas. Mine is Mom’s minced meat slice, baked on cookie sheets. I was baking one just like hers when the scent of mince brought to mind that $5 shopping spree. Food reminds us of where we come from, who we were, and still are. Which is why we all keep coming back to Mom’s recipes at Christmas, when bought substitutes would probably do. We are stirring up memories along with all those puddings, cakes and Christmas cookies.

Here’s a few recipes using honey as a main ingredient for cookies, candies and a nut mix.

Holiday Honey Ginger Bread

Holiday Honey Caramels

7-1/2 c. all-purpose flour 1 tbsp. baking soda 2 tbsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. nutmeg 1/2 tsp. salt 1-1/2 c. (3 sticks) butter 1-1/2 c. brown sugar 1 tsp. lemon zest 3/4 c. Bee Maid liquid honey 3 eggs

1 c. butter (no substitutions) 2 c. honey 2 c. whipping cream 1 c. brown sugar 1 tsp. vanilla extract Finely chopped almonds, optional

Sift dry ingredients together; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar and zest. Add honey in a steady stream and mix until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time; mix well. Add dry ingredients, a cup at a time; mix well. Divide dough in two, flatten into disks, and wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll. Roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters into desired shapes. Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until beginning to brown. Makes 4 dozen 4-inch-large gingerbread men. Source: The National Honey Board

Honey-Peanut Butter Protein Energy Balls 1-1/4 c. old-fashioned oats 3 tbsp. shredded coconut 1/2 c. sliced almonds, finely chopped 1 tbsp. hemp seeds, shelled (optional) 1 scoop whey protein powder 1/2 c. honey 1/2 c. dried apricots, chopped 1/2 c. peanut butter

In a medium bowl add the oats, coconut, almonds, hemp seeds and protein powder. Stir until well distributed. Add the honey, apricots and peanut butter and stir well. Put mixing bowl into the refrigerator for about 20 to 30 minutes. Then roll into rounded balls. When chilled, they can last about 5 days. Yield: 2 dozen. Preparation time: 50 minutes including chilling time Source: The National Honey Board

Line bottom and sides of 9-inch square pan with plastic wrap; set aside. Melt butter in medium-size heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add honey, cream and brown sugar; mix well. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture comes to boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling, stirring frequently, until candy thermometer registers 250 F to 255 F, about 45 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla; pour into prepared pan. Let cool completely in refrigerator before cutting into individual caramels with very sharp knife. Roll in chopped nuts or coconut, if desired, and wrap each individually in clear plastic wrap. Store, tightly wrapped in refrigerator up to one month. Caramels will be soft at room temperature and firm if kept chilled. Serving suggestion: Drop one into a cup of hot coffee or tea or enjoy this delicious treat on its own. Yield: 30 caramels. Prep time: 15 minutes. Cooking time: 50 minutes. Source: The National Honey Board

Honey Roasted Bridge Mix 1/2 c. honey 2 tbsp. butter or margarine 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided 4 c. mixed nuts 2-1/2 tbsp. superfine sugar

Combine honey, butter and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in saucepan; bring mixture to boil and boil 2 minutes stirring constantly. Pour honey mixture over nuts and mix until nuts are coated. Spread on foil-lined cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Bake at 325 F for 10 to 15 minutes or until nuts are glazed and lightly browned. Do not allow nuts to burn. Cool 20 to 30 minutes; remove from foil. Combine sugar and remaining cinnamon; toss with glazed nuts to coat.

TIP: For gift giving: Pack in airtight decorator tins. Yield: 4 cups. Source: The National Honey Board

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

COUNTRY CROSSROADS

Ornamental pepper plant Dress this up and it can add a Christmas feel to your décor By Albert Parsons Freelance contributor

ne plant that has become fashionable the last few years, and that begins to appear in retail shops and garden centres in October is the ornamental pepper. Usually the peppers on these plants are orange, yellow or red to tie into the autumn/Thanksgiving season. Later in the early winter, the shops usually offer plants that have red peppers to add to their Christmas plant offerings. Many of these decorative peppers have small fruits — they are not the large bell peppers but rather mainly hot ones including chili peppers. One has to be somewhat cautious when handling these plants so that if the fruits are touched with bare hands or worse yet, if the said hand accidentally wipes an eye, burning may result. Some plants have round fr uits instead of the more typical pointed ones, which I think look like miniature Christmas balls and certainly one of these plants makes a great centrepiece or decoration for a side table. Ornamental pepper plants are about 15 to 20 cm tall and they are quite bushy because the growers have pinched the plants as they developed,

causing them to branch out. The fruits form after small, w h i t e, s t a r- s h a p e d f l ow ers have appeared in the leaf axils. By the time the plants are marketed, however, there is usually no evidence of these flowers and the plants are bearing fruits and not flowers. In the shops and garden centres, the plants may have various colours of fruits indicating that they are at different stages of development. Like the peppers we grow in our outdoor gardens, they start off green and change colour as they mature. The small peppers gradually turn from green to yellow, orange or red, depending on the variety. This plant likes sun and heat so give it as much light as possible — placing it in front of a south-facing window would be a good way to give it enough direct sunlight. If located in a low-light location, the plant will quickly deteriorate. If you treat it as a very short-term holiday decoration, perhaps just over a two-week period, you really don’t have to worry about light levels as you will be disposing of the plant before it has a chance to deteriorate to any extent. Check the plant periodically for aphids — they are susceptible to aphid attacks so also check carefully for any sign of these pests before you pur-

chase the plant. Ornamental peppers prefer an evenly moist soil. Watering the pot over the sink and allowing excess water to drain out of the drainage holes ensures that there is no build-up of salts in the soil. Keeping the soil too wet will result in yellowing leaves and fruit drop so let the soil surface dry out somewhat before watering again. The planting medium will have enough nutrients in it from the greenhouse’s fertilizing program so you won’t need to fertilize. This is a seasonal plant that is usually treated as a disposable plant — when it becomes unattractive, which generally occurs when the fruits wither and fall off, discard it. If given lots of light and proper care, it should last for at least a couple of months. Luckily, these unique, colourful plants are not expensive. The great amount of enjoyment we get from the colour and interest they add to our indoor spaces during the early winter makes them a bargain. If you intend to add your ornamental pepper plant to your holiday décor, and if it did not already arrive “dressed for the holidays,” display it in an attractive Christmas container. Albert Parsons writes from Minnedosa, Manitoba

PHOTO: ALBERT PARSONS

Don’t let holidays become hazardous Extra supervision needed during festive season for children and pets By Julie Garden-Robinson NDSU Extension Service

uring the holiday season, houses can be filled with potential safety issues for pets and children. Ornaments and decorations can pose choking hazards for young children, so holidays are times that require extra supervision or careful placement out of reach. If you have children of different ages receiving toys, remember that they are age specific and supervision is needed as everyone explores his or her new toys. Sometimes the packaging may include small pieces that could pose choking hazards. Candles and Christmas trees can pose fire hazards. Matches, lighters and candles need to be kept away from children and candles should be extinguished if no one is in the room. Fresh Christmas trees can become dry and pose a fire issue. Be sure to keep the tree well watered and away from a fireplace or heat sources and unplug the lights when you leave or go to bed.

Christmas has several potential safety issues for pets and children. photo: thinkstock

Holidays usually involve special foods and often cooking for groups of people. However, many people are not accus-

tomed to cooking for larger groups. Remember the rule: Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Use slow cookers as

warming units for “hot foods” and nest the bowls of “cold food” in ice to maintain their temperature. When prepar ing holiday treats, avoid tasting raw cookie dough, tempting as it is. If you decide to make your own eggnog or custard-style ice cream during the holidays, be sure that you use a recipe that heats the eggs to 160 F (71.1 C) to kill any salmonella that might be present. Store-purchased eggnog uses pasteurized eggs. Characterized by fever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, salmonellosis can put a damper on holiday festivities. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly with warm water and soap before and after food preparation. Don’t double dip the tasting spoon because no one enjoys saliva as a “secret ingredient.” Be sure to use a food thermometer to measure the temperature of cooked food. When you set up a buffet, keep hot liquids, such as selfserve pots of hot cider, away from the edges of counters. Children might pull them off.

If you decide to pop a cork of champagne on New Year’s Eve, be sure to guard your eyes. According to the Amer ican Academy of O p h t h a l m o l o g y, e y e i n j u ries can occur if you do not follow some safety rules. Be sure to chill the sparkling wine to about 45 F (7.2 C), don’t shake the bottle and hold it at a 45-degree angle away from you and any bystanders. Put a towel over the top and hang on to the cork. The holidays can be a stressful time, with too many things to do and not enough time to accomplish everything. Take some deep breaths, go for a walk or put on some music and take a break. No one will remember if you only made five kinds of treats instead of eight. Focus on the things that matter. Julie Garden-Robinson, PhD, R.D., L.R.D., is a North Dakota State University Extension Service food and nutrition specialist and professor in the department of health, nutrition and exercise sciences.

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

COUNTRY CROSSROADS

Cowgirl loves goat-tying challenge Success comes from initial practice on stuffed gorilla By Darrell Nesbitt Freelance contributor

oat tying in the sport of rodeo often has competitors practising on a dummy goat or a real four-legged bleating kicker, but that wasn’t the case for a St. Lazare cowgirl who went out on a limb to learn the event. With a number of runs u n d e r h e r g r a s p n o w, Gabrielle Fouillard shares that goat tying is fun and challenging, but she was no doubt nervous when she was accidently listed as a competitor at her first Manitoba High S c h o o l Ro d e o A s s o c i a t i o n (MHSRA) rodeo. “I learned how to goat tie off of YouTube,” said Fouillard. “Frantically trying to figure out how to tie the darn thing and without anything that resembled a goat in reach, I practised on a large stuffed gorilla!” But by going ape, the 16-year-old daughter of Marc and Delores Fouillard, stood proud when she got her first point in the goat-tying event. “It was really cool to look at the points and to see my name.” Today, the family has two nanny goats, which keep everyone amused.

Two horses

The cowgirl lifestyle became an intricate part of her life at the age of 12 when her aunt took her to riding lessons at Saber Quarter Horse Ranch in Stockholm, Sask. It was here where Ellen Thompson taught her how to ride. Fouillard has been hooked ever since, competing on two horses including Lucy, her aunt’s quarter-horse, and her own registered paint Feather. “The first year I was a member of the association, I didn’t compete in any events, so I guess you could say my first full year of competing was over the course of 2012-13,” said Fouillard, a Grade 11 student at École SaintLazare. “Along with goat tying, I also compete in breakaway roping, barrel racing and pole bending.” Since being involved in rodeo, Fouillard said she has learned a lot of responsibility. From looking after my horse at home to preparing for an event, it’s challenging but also a great way to meet a lot of new and wonderful friends. The high school rodeo fall season came to an end in Brandon in October, so Fouillard is now focusing on another passion — figure skating four times a week. And much like rodeo it involves travelling, twice

Gabrielle Fouillard barrel racing at this fall’s Russell rodeo. PHOTO: DARRELL NESBITT

in Birtle, once in Russell and once in Foxwarren. She also teaches Canskate in Birtle and Foxwarren, and plays volleyball.

Family support

While she is the only one to ride a horse in her immediate family, that’s not to say family support isn’t there.

“My parents run their own business — Fouillard Carpets Ltd. — and grain farm as well. I also have two brothers and an older sister,” Fouillard said. “Cheering may not be from the stands at every rodeo, however, I know deep down their enthusiasm for my cowgirl lifestyle is shared. “I have learned that you don’t have to be raised on a farm

to have fun and compete in the great spor t of rodeo,” Fouillard said. “Life skills, respect, responsibility and sharing the competitive edge, are all part of learning the ropes. As is not taking everything too serious – win, lose or draw.” Fouillard’s favourite rodeo competitor is bareback rider Bobby Mote. “He’s amazing to watch! Check him out on YouTube or his website, www. bobbymote.com.” Encouragement goes a long way in sport, and Fouillard is grateful for Brady Fawns for sharing tips with roping, her aunt, Raquel Fouillard who introduced her to riding and a passion for horses, Kevin Bridgeman for the use of his arena in the winter and sharing his knowledge, cousin Gage Fouillard who is always close by with a high five, and of course her parents. Looking to graduation in the summer of 2015, this athletic student plans on attending university with an interest in the dental field. Until that time, she is very proud and feels very privileged to be a member of the MHSRA. Darrell Nesbitt writes from Shoal Lake, Manitoba

Easy weekend projects Want a change but not a big project? Read on Connie Oliver Around the House

ometimes you’re in the mood to make a decorating change but not for a long-term commitment to a project. The following easy weekend projects might be just what the decorating doctor ordered.

• Paint

As you’ll note in the photograph, a little bit of paint can go a long way to updating a bland room. Painting small splashes of colour does not involve a lot of preparation or time so it can often be completed in a day or two. A key colour was pulled out of the bedding in this bedroom and used to create focus at the head of the bed and to enhance a partial wall. Simple artwork in co-ordinating colours and a secondary accent colour of gold finishes this casual bedroom update. Other rooms that can benefit from a similar paint treatment are the bathroom, guest room, kitchen, foyer or rec room. The most effective way to use splashes of colour are on focal points like the head of the bed, above a fireplace, over a sofa or at the end of a long hallway. Kids’ rooms can be updated with fun geometric designs, large letters or simple animal characters. In the

kitchen, consider painting a feature colour on the centre panel of recessed cabinet doors, or on the wall around white cabinets to set them off. Stairways can be dramatically updated with colour by painting either the stairway wall, the risers of wooden stairs or the banister and spindles. Painting dated bookcases, entertainment units and small furniture items can give life to any room. Play with primary colours in a child’s room or nursery to create a fun environment. Brighten up a dim closet with a fresh, light colour or freshen up closet doors with colourful paint if they are flat and plain in appearance. Paint mismatched picture frames to create a cohesive photo display. Then create a new wall display by hanging a grouping of these photos on a colourful painted backdrop in a square or rectangular shape. In the bathroom, a dated vanity, framed mirror or storage cabinet may benefit from a coat of fresh paint. Use a good primer and paint that is made for use in the bathroom to ensure a durable finish.

• Move furniture

Changing a furniture arrangement in any room can give it an instant lift. Relocate pieces to other rooms to truly provide a fresh look. Consider placing your bed on an angle if space allows and place a large houseplant or decorative screen behind the headboard.

• Rework wall displays

Once the furniture has been rearranged you may need to reorganize your wall displays. Again, consider moving items to other rooms to create an entirely new feel to the space.

• Lamps and lighting

Updating light fixtures can make a huge difference in the look and feel of any room. As well, give tired lamps a new lease on life by updating the shades or adorning existing shades with trimmings, paint or fabric covers. If the lamp base is paintable, why not paint it in a wonderful new colour?

• Fabric

A bit of fabric can also go a long way. Frame it, make new toss cushion covers, make new curtains and/or table linens or use it to recover a small footstool. A quick trip to any thrift store is bound to be fruitful when searching for great fabric remnants.

• Odds and ends

There are so many fun and affordable wall treatments on the market now that can instantly change the look of a room. Decals in any design from the Eiffel Tower to sports scenes can easily be affixed on the wall. Decals intended for windows and mirrors can also be added to a room. Larger wall treatments like murals, while more costly, should certainly be considered when updating your home

A little bit of paint can go a long way to update the look of a room. PHOTO: COURTESY SICO PAINTS

over a weekend. Wallpaper is also an easy update for feature walls. A few new items that can also make a difference are things like a new kitchen clock, new spice storage containers and canisters, new light switch plates, new door hardware, new cabinet hardware, a new mailbox or a new welcome mat. Completing one or two of these easy projects over a few weekends can add up to an updated, refreshed look. Connie Oliver is an interior designer from Winnipeg

The Manitoba Co-operator | December 12, 2013

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