Gnn140204 by Farm Business Communications

Volume 40, Number 3 | FEBRUARY 4, 2014

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PRACTICAL PRODUCTION TIPS FOR THE PRAIRIE FARMER

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Farmers tweak rotations to reflect markets Farmers contacted for the February Farmer Panel are making changes to get the most from a falling market in 2014

For many farmers, wheat in the $5.50 to $6 bushel range doesn’t pencil out well at all. PHOTO: JOYCE BARLOW

BY LEE HART

hile the high rolling wheat, barley and canola prices of the past couple years are into a market slump in 2014, that doesn’t mean western Canadian farmers are making major changes to their cropping plans this coming year. Some adjustments, yes, as they

consider crops with lower inputs, or bring back specialty crops they haven’t grown for a few years. Some say after pushing rotations hard for a few seasons, the market slowdown is giving them a chance to get proper or at least better rotations back on track. For some, wheat in the $5.50 to $6 bushel range doesn’t pencil out well at all. For others, canola in $9.50 to $10.50 bushel price range

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still offers an acceptable, albeit not exceptional, return. Here are what farmers contacted for the February Farmers’ Panel had to say about their cropping plans for 2014:

DUSTIN WILLIAMS SOURIS, MAN. Realizing it will take a while for excess wheat and canola sup-

plies to work through the system, Dustin Williams says he will be cutting back on both wheat and canola acres in 2014. Williams, who farms at Souris, Manitoba says with higher prices he has been pushing canola rotations in the last couple of years. “We have been bumping the acres to pay the bills, but I think we’re also seeing a bit more disease pressure out there, so cutting back a bit may be a

In This Issue

good thing,” he says. “We can work toward a more realistic rotation.” As he scales back on wheat and canola, Williams says he plans to bring sunflowers back into his rotation, and grow more oats and flax. “Unfortunately as wheat and canola have fallen off, many of the other commodities have too,” he says. “While prices are dropping,

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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

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

Crop Advisor’s Casebook

Columns ........................... 18 Machinery & Shop ............ 29 Cattleman’s Corner .......... 34

Herbicide-resistant weeds and pulse crops KARI BELANGER PAGE 6

Alfalfa seed production

FarmLife ............................ 39

LINDSAY GRIFFITH PAGE 12

We would like to provide complimentary cardale seed to CFGB growing projects

204-825-2000 www.seeddepot.ca

New “Straight Cut”

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Wheat & Chaff STAMPEDE

BY JERRY PALEN LEEANN MINOGUE

CROPSPHERE 2014

“How come the dog doesn’t want to come inside anymore?”

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U.S. subscribers call 1-204-944-5568 or email: subscription@fbcpublishing.com If you have story ideas, call us. You can write the article and we’d pay you, or we can write it. Phone Leeann Minogue at 306-861-2678 Fax to 204-944-5416 Email leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.com Write to Grainews, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1

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n early January our local Viterra grain sales rep sent out a mass email to all area farmers: As most of you know over the last few weeks the prices have dipped. We do have signup limits on many of our commodities and in many cases we are not signing any new contracts until April. Red Winter and Red Spring wheat have signup limits until new crop September 2014. On Jan. 17 he sent a follow up email to let us know they wouldn’t be taking any oats until fall, and no soybeans until June. We all know this situation isn’t just local and it’s not just Viterra. In an email discussion with some of the Country Guide and Manitoba Co-operator writers about falling grain prices and transportation nightmares, writer Gord Gilmour asked me, “How are farmers coping with the stress?” My sarcastic answer was, “Exercise and eating right. And nagging their spouses about new shoes.” (As commodity prices fall, my husband has started pricing so-called “luxury items” in terms of bushels of wheat. As in, “Those shoes cost 14 bushels of wheat! Are you sure you really need those shoes?”) I’m sure an answer to Gord’s question that’s closer to the truth is that farmers who haven’t sold enough grain to make their winter payments are looking for options. Lenders are taking note. On Jan. 16, Farm Credit Canada (FCC) sent out a press release to let farmers know they’re aware of the situation: FCC is contacting more than 16,000 farmers potentially impacted by delays in grain delivery and will explore options to address their individual needs. The press release suggested that farmers who haven’t already done so consider applying to the federal Advance Payments Program (APP) for a cash advance. I called Rick White, the general manager of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, one of the commodity associations that deliver the APP program. (Through this program, farmers can borrow up to $400,000, $100,000 of which is interest free.) Cash advances received through the APP based on inventories on hand now must be repaid by Sept. 30. Farmers who based their cash advance on a plan to deliver oats to Viterra at Weyburn but haven’t signed a contract yet will be wondering exactly how they’re going to manage that. I asked Rick what happens when you miss the deadline. If you miss the Sept. 30 repayment deadline, you lose

PHOTO: LEEANN MINOGUE

Grainews field editor Lisa Guenther and editor Leeann Minogue were in Saskatoon for CropSphere and the Crop Production Show in January. Lisa posed with Saskatchewan Roughriders Chris Getzlaf and Ben Heenan at a BASF customer appreciation dinner during the week.

the interest-free component. They’ll add back interest from the date you first got the cash advance, at the CIBC prime interest rate. If you can’t sell as much grain as you had planned, you might be tempted to use another source of cash to repay the loan. (Recent inheritance? Cashing in your Apple shares?) Unfortunately, if you repay a cash advance with cash that’s not associated with a grain sale, you will have to pay interest. If you can sell some grain, another option is to choose to repay your cash advance at a higher-than-usual rate. Most farmers repay loans at a 50 per cent rate — that is, when you deliver grain, half of the sale goes toward repaying the cash advance. You can change that, and use the entire sale to repay your cash advance. This would allow you to repay the loan with half as many actual deliveries. Rick also suggested that if you can wait until April 1 to apply for your cash advance, you could get a loan based on next year’s plans rather than this year’s inventory. Then, you’d be able to keep the money until September 2015. FCC is not the only lending institution that may be willing to negotiate loan repayments for farmers with cash flow issues. Robb Ritchie, the RBC Royal Bank’s manager of public affairs and communication for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Northwest Ontario said by email: We want to assure our clients that we recognize the cash flow challenges many of them are facing and are fully committed to working with each one on an individual basis through this difficult period. While you may be able to renegotiate your loan payments with FCC or your bank, AAP administrators such as the Canadian

Canola Growers are delivering a federal program and don’t have leeway to make exceptions for individual farmers.

IN THIS ISSUE Falling commodity prices are leading farmers to change seeding plans. You’ve already seen Lee Hart’s Farmer Panel on Page 1 — he’s interviewed several farmers about their seeding plans. Columnist Bobbie Bratrud is also making plans for spring. She’s shared some of the numbers she’s pencilled out on Page 24. (Sneak preview: profit estimates are not as great as last year.) Also in this issue, you’ll find the first submission from another new columnist, Sarah Weigum, a young seed grower from Alberta. She’s written her own introduction on Page 25.

CORRECTION In the January 6 issue of Grainews we ran a story about new fungicides on the market. We used the wrong name for a BASF fungicide. Here’s what I wish we’d said: Priaxor DS, launched by BASF in 2013, controls several key diseases in peas, lentils and chickpeas. It is comprised of active ingredients from Group 11 and 7, giving it multiple modes of action against disease. Priaxor DS includes the same active ingredient found in Headline, plus the new active ingredient Xemium. BASF says Priaxor DS also offers AgCelence, its name for what it says is a unique characteristic which also provides increased photosynthesis, nutrient utilization, and stress tolerance. Leeann

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

grainews.ca /

Wheat & Chaff Farm safety

Snow loads on rooftops

inter has not been particularly kind to Canadians this season. Whether it’s mammoth accumulations of snow, punishing winds, plunging temperatures or wild weather swings that leave you bundling up to your eyebrows one day and pulling out the lighter jacket the next, mother nature has been flexing her muscles lately, ensuring Canadians in most of the country keep an eye to the sky, or in some cases to the snow on their roofs. In fact, farmers should take some time to assess snow loads on the roofs of their farm buildings. Heavy snow burdens combined with uneven snow drifts and various freezethaw cycles may be putting undue strain on rooftops. If the roof of a barn, shed, storage facility or other farm building fails, the damage to person and property could be catastrophic. The amount of snow a roof can withstand is determined by many of factors, including the pitch of the roof, the depth and spacing of rafters and trusses, the

Weather Lore

Achy Joints

shape and location of the snow drift, the depth and density of the snow, and the duration of the snow accumulation. While most roofs should be built to withstand normal snow loads, take special care to assess each section of roof carefully. From the exterior, how deep is the snow in places? Are there valleys that have collected an exorbitant amount of snow? Do you have multiple roof levels with shorter/ shallower sections that have been catching large amounts of snow from the taller/ steeper sections? Is the snow light and fluffy or wet and heavy? How long has it been there? Is your roof exposed to the wind and more vulnerable to every changing snowdrifts? If you can, check the roof interior. Are the rafters bent by the weight of snow? Have you heard unusual sounds of strain coming from the roof? Are doors jamming unexpectedly? The answers to these questions can help you assess the situation and determine if snow clearing is necessary. Once you have made a decision to remove

the snow, you’ll need to conduct a risk assessment based on your clearing method. If you can, remove the snow from the ground. Use a roof rake, taking care to ensure your work area is clear. Remove the snow from the bottom upwards to avoid unmanageable snow volumes. Work your way around the roof rather than clearing one side first, or work with a buddy on the opposite side of the roof. These methods will help prevent uneven snow loads. Be cautious of clearing too close to the roof surface, and don’t scrape or chip at snow, as this could damage the roof. If the snow can only be cleared while on the roof, assess surface conditions. A steep pitch is more dangerous than a shallow one; a metal roof is more slippery than a roof with singles; and ice is more treacherous than snow. If you are still undeterred, take all necessary precautions for safety. Wear appropriate footwear. Don’t work alone. Instead, work with at least one buddy so you can remove the snow carefully and evenly from both sides of the roof. Ensure your snow clearing area is

You might be from the Prairies if...

Canadian Agriculture Safety Association — www. casa-acsa.ca.

Agronomy tips… from the field

Lower rotation risks

owered barometric pressure usually precedes a precipitation event of some sort. As the pressure changes, our bodies are able to adjust to the changes of pressure in the air which surrounds us and the air inside of us by allowing body fluids to absorb or give up gases. This equalizes our internal pressure but the process can trigger migraines or cause old injuries to pain us. When your joints all start to ache, Rainy weather is at stake. †

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

free of people or animals. Consider having a third person act as a spotter from the ground level, using cell phones to communicate back and forth and call for help if needed. Use a snow rake to clear the snow but be aware of overhead powerlines. Be cautious of overexertion and use safe ladder practices to climb onto and dismount from the roof. Lastly, consider purchasing a professional fall-restraint system before you get started. Home-made or jury-rigged harness systems may not protect you from a fall and could result in serious injury. Some building supply stores and many safety equipment retailers carry roofing kits, which for a few hundred dollars include a safety harness, shock absorbing lanyard, rope and safety anchors. If you aren’t confident about your ability to venture onto the roof and clear the snow safely, call a roofer with the necessary equipment and experience instead. Like many other tasks on the farm, you must assess the risks to determine the best course of action and then put a plan in place for carrying out that task in the safety way possible. Doing so will help you keep a sure foot, and a safe roof over your head. †

You consider 23 years between professional sports championships acceptable.

photo contest

GIVE US YOUR BEST SHOT Dorothy Kent of Nanton, Alberta, sent us this photo. Dorothy told us, “My husband, Vance has been farming since he was 10 years old. First with his dad and then later for himself in between serving as a paramedic with the City of Calgary for over 30 years. “We sold our farm and moved into town but that hasn’t stopped my husband from working as a farmhand, seeding in the spring and harvesting in the fall. It only goes to show: ‘You can take the boy off the farm but you can’t take the farm out of the boy.’ “Vance enjoys farming and I have come to accept that during these times I am what I referred to as a ‘grass widow.’ “Our children rode on our combine each year both taking turns doing rounds with my husband and now we have passed this on to our grandchildren. The photo is one of my all-time favourites. It shows my middle granddaughter Peyton and the twin boys Ryker and Keesyn in 2012. “Times have changed and equipment has gotten bigger. They were all able to ride together and watch in fascination as the grain rose in the hopper behind the cab.” Great photo, Dorothy! We’re sending you a cheque for $25. Send your best shot to leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.com. Please send only one or two photos at a time and include your name and address, the names of anyone in the photo, where the photo was taken and a bit about what was going on that day. A little write-up about your farm is welcome, too. Please ensure that images are of high resolution (1 MB is preferred), and if the image includes a person, we need to be able to see their face clearly. Leeann

rain prices may have you thinking about pushing your fields with canola-on-canola or cereal-on-cereal rotations. If so, here’s a look at some of the agronomic consequences of pushing your rotation and how you can offset some of the risk. First, with tight rotations, there’s the temptation to use the same herbicide mode of action year after year, opening the door for the potential of resistance to develop. Even if you don’t rotate your crops, be sure to rotate your chemistry groups and to balance the use of different chemistries across your farm. Second, each crop places a different nutrient burden on the soil. For instance, we know that canola drains sulfur from a field. Repeatedly growing a crop in tight rotation amplifies that burden. Most growers already soil test, but it’s doubly important with short rotations. Last, reducing the time between similar crops will lead to an increase in soil-borne diseases. If you are planning on using bin-run seed in a short rotation, be sure the seed is tested for seed-borne diseases such as fusarium and common root rot. Whether you are using bin-run or certified seed, always plan for a seed treatment. No doubt, rotating your crops is the most agronomically beneficial practice there is. But economics often trumps agronomy. We need to be smart and proactively plan for this reality. † This agronomy tip is brought to you by Ryan Lorenz, Agronomic Service Representative for Syngenta Canada Inc.

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Cover Stories Farmer panel » CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Farmers tweak rotations to reflect markets canola still pencils out as having one of the better returns, but we will cut back just to take some of the risk off the table.”

Fred Greig Reston, Man. As a pedigreed seed producer Fred Greig expects some movement away from wheat and canola in 2014. “I thought it was shaping up to be a wheat, canola and soybean year, but the recent drop in markets has changed things,” says Greig of Avondale Seed Farm at Reston in southwest Manitoba. “Boy, what a difference six months can make.” He says farmers are starting to show more interest in flax and peas “and other crops that are a little cheaper to grow. I think people will be spreading out their choices a bit more this coming year in case a market does bounce up they will be able to grab the opportunity.” He says interest in barley has been very quiet, which may mean some farmers will be growing more oats than barley. On his own farm he keeps about the same rotation with cereals, oilseeds and pulse crops, but may move acres around in each class — seed more flax than canola, for example — if the market looks favourable.

close to his usual four-year rotation with a few adjustments. Procyk, who produces grains, oilseeds and pulses on his farm near Fillmore, south of Regina says he expects to have some increase in soybean acres, keep lentils about the same, keep some wheat in the mix just for rotation purposes, grow a few more acres of flax and likely cut back on canola. “Some years we grow malt barley and I haven’t decided what to do with that yet, depending on prices this year,” he says. “So I am not planning any big changes — more of the same, with a few adjustments.” With reasonable moisture last fall, and good snow cover this winter he expects good conditions at least to get the crop seeded but in his experience, “it is hard to make or lose any crop at this time of year.”

the idea, he will be growing some flax in 2014. “I’ve been dead set against it, but it turned out to be very profitable when we were making our plans so we will be growing some of that,” he says. “We were able to lock in a decent price with a decent margin.” He’s not planning to grow any barley, and with the wheat he’ll have to decide what type to see. Soft white wheat has been a good crop, but he already has some carryover in the bin. “I’m not sure if I will be growing more and then just hold it until the price improves,” says Gust. “Or maybe we’ll grow some durum and perhaps store it until the market improves. These are some of the details about rotation we still have to make.”

Gerrid Gust Davidson, Sask.

With the fertilizer in the ground last fall, Ed Schmidt says he is sticking with his usual crop mix and rotation for 2014. Schmidt, who farms with his wife Linda near Manning in the Alberta Peace River Region, says he plans to seed canola, barley, peas and wheat this coming year. They did clear more land so will be seeding a few more acres. “The fertilizer is on so everything is planned,” he says. “We were dry again last year, but have lots of snow right now. We should be good to get the crop seeded, but hope we get some rain afterwards.”

Aside from the winter wheat that is already in the ground, Gerrid Gust says the rest of his seeded acres can swing 10 to 15 per cent either way as they approach seeding. Gust, who farms with family members at Davidson in central Saskatchewan, says they aren’t planning any major changes to their cropping plans this coming year. “We’re not really in the dire straights like we were two or three years ago where we were growing some crops back to back,” says Gust. “We’re using some better agronomy with rotation.” He says the canola, wheat and lentil acres are adjusted a bit each year depending on markets and growing conditions “but we don’t try to get too creative and follow a pretty standard rotation,” he says. Although he’s not crazy about

Rick Procyk Fillmore, Sask. Rick Procyk hasn’t made final decisions yet on the 2014 crop, but he expects he will stick pretty

Ed Schmidt Manning, Alta.

Jody Klassen Mayerthorpe, Alta. Last year’s big canola crop is forcing Jody Klassen to grow more wheat in 2014, although he isn’t really keen on the idea.

Klassen, who farms at Mayerthorpe, north of Edmonton, says he usually pushes his canola acres, simply because canola has been the most profitable, but he draws the line at growing back-toback crops. “We maxed out our canola rotation last year, so will be growing more wheat this year, even though the market is telling us we shouldn’t,” says Klassen. “Canola is usually my most profitable crop and that is usually followed by peas.” “I will be growing as many acres of canola this year as I can, because even with the lower prices it still shapes up as a profitable choice. At these wheat prices I don’t think I can make money, but I will keep it in there for rotational reasons.” Klassen says about 60 per cent of his acres will be seeded to wheat in 2014, another 13 per cent in peas and about 27 per cent in canola. Last year it was just about the reverse with 60 per cent canola, 20 per cent peas and actually he grew 20 per cent of the farm in barley. “Usually we don’t grow barley unless we are pushed for time,” he says. “We were planning to grow wheat last year, but then we got rain when we were about two-thirds the way through seeding. By the time we could get back on the fields it was early June so we harrowed in the rest of it with barley.” On the wheat side this year, he’ll be growing two-thirds hard red spring and then he plans to try the new AC Conquer wheat, a midge-tolerant CPS variety. “It is a little longer-season variety for our area, but I just want to give it a try,” says Klassen. † Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

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EXTENDED OUTLOOK FOR THE PRAIRIES Weather Forecast for the period of February 2 to March 1, 2014

Southern Alberta

Peace River Region

Feb. 2 - 8 Often bright and cold, but slight moderation in the south brings heavier snow and drifting on a couple of days.

Feb. 2 - 8 Bright and cold, but slight moderation in the south brings heavier snow and drifting on a couple of days. Continued very cold. Flurries.

Feb. 16 - 22 Often sunny, but snow falls on 2 or 3 days, chance heavy in places. Windy at times. Continuing cold in the north. Feb. 23 - Mar. 1 Cold overall, although some thawing occurs in the south. Often sunny but with snow, chance of rain in the south on 2 to 3 days.

20.5 mms

Feb. 9 - 15 Generally cold and fair, but minor thawing in the south brings some snow.

Feb. 16 - 22 Often sunny, but snow falls on 2 or 3 days, chance of heavy in places. Windy at times. A bit milder in the south, cold in the north.

Feb. 16 - 22 Variable weather. Milder southeasterlies bring minor thawing to the south, along with some heavier snow and drifting on a couple of days.

Feb. 23 - Mar. 1 Cold overall, although some thawing occurs. Often sunny but with snow, chance of rain on 2 to 3 days. Cold in north with occasional heavier snow.

Feb. 23 - Mar. 1 Temperatures on the cold side in spite of minor thawing in the south. Sunny skies alternate with heavier snow and drifting in the south. Chance of rain.

Manitoba Feb. 2 - 8 Bright skies and cold temperatures dominate on many days, but slightly milder air brings some snow and drifting around mid week. Feb. 9 - 15 Variable this week, as clear skies and cold temperatures exchange with slightly milder air and periodic snow along with some blowing snow. Feb. 16 - 22 Temperatures fluctuate with some highs near zero. Windy. Occasional heavier snow and blowing in the south. Feb. 23 - Mar. 1 Cold overall under bright skies but a couple of milder, blustery days bring some heavier snow and drifting snow to the south.

-17 / -5 Edmonton

NEAR NORMAL

-18 / -7 North Battleford

-12 / 0 Jasper

17.4 mms

-11 / 0

23.9 mms

Banff

-16 / -4 Red Deer 14.7 mms

-12 / -1 Calgary 9.9 mms

-13 / -1 Medicine Hat 10.3 19mms cms Lethbridge 13.0 mms 26 cms -11 / 1

-23 / -12 The Pas

-23 / -9 Prince Albert

12.8 mms

-19 / -9 Saskatoon 12.9 mms

13.6 mms

15.4 mms

NEAR NORMAL

-21 / -9 Yorkton

-21 / -9 Dauphin

-22 / -11 -19 / -8 16.2 mms 16.1 mms Gimli -17 / -6 Regina -15 / -5 Moose Jaw 13.0 mms 20.8 mms Swift 14.7 mms -19 / -9 -21 / -9 Portage -21 / -8 Current -18 / -7 Brandon 19.6 mms Winnipeg 16.2 mms Weyburn 15.6 mms 14.8 mms 13.4 mms -17 / -7 Estevan Melita -21 / -8 14.8 mms

14.2 mms

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Precipitation Forecast 16.8 mms

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

Feb. 2 - 8 Often bright and cold, but slightly milder air brings some snow and blowing on a couple of occasions to the south. Settled with flurries and cold in the north.

Feb. 9 - 15 Seasonal to milder with some thawing in the south on a couple of days. Sunny, apart from snow and drifting on a few occasions. Cold and flurries in the north.

Feb. 9 - 15 Seasonal to milder with some thawing in the south on a couple of days. Sunny, apart from snow and drifting on a few occasions. Cold. Flurries.

-17 / -6 Grande Prairie

Saskatchewan

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Precipitation Outlook For February Much Above Normal Below Much above normal normal below normal normal

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

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

grainews.ca /

Features Insect management

Integrated pest management Integrated techniques offer farmers a bigger toolbox for pest control By Julienne Isaacs

ntegrated pest management (IPM) involves a range of pest control methods. According to Pierre Petelle, vice-president of chemistry for CropLife Canada, IPM is “a process that uses all necessary techniques to suppress pests in an effective, economical and environmentally friendly manner.” In IPM, “pests” are broadly defined as weeds, insects and diseases. IPM techniques can include prevention methods such as planting certified weed-free seed and cleaning equipment, cultural methods such as selecting resistant varieties and optimizing seeding rate, mechanical methods such as cultivating between rows, and using chemical control only where necessary.

ing is the first step in IPM, and arguably the most important. “It always starts with scouting, monitoring, knowing what you have, understanding the life cycle (of the pest) and when it’s doing the damage, and when it’s susceptible to a control measure — that will give you that window of control that’s most economical and effective,” says Bell. Particularly with insects, thresholds should be established which measure the degree of pressure the crop can withstand. Bell defines the “economic action threshold” as the point at which the number of pests is going to result in more damage than the cost of controlling them. A farmer using IPM would use a variety of methods to

ensure pest levels stay below that economic action threshold before utilizing chemical control. Most farmers are careful about the number of chemical inputs they utilize and have already adopted IPM strategies such as scouting and crop rotation. “Farming is a very risky business and the ones that are doing it are very good businessmen. They’re intelligent and focusing on doing everything right, because the margin of error is so small,” says Bell. According to Ron Bonnett, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and CFA’s representative to the Pest Management Regulator y Agency Advisor y Committee, the widespread adoption of IPM is due both to con-

cerns over resistance and the need for managing costs. “IPM is based on the principal that there’s no one tool you use. You use a combination of conventional and new tools with the goal of controlling pests so you can get a highquality product at the lowest cost,” says Bonnett. “The key is making sure that Canadian farmers remain competitive, and controlling costs is critical.” In general, Canadian farmers are ahead of the curve in their use of a wide variety of pest control methods, but this does not mean they can rest on their laurels. As resistance becomes an increasing concern across the country, with fewer options for chemical control com-

ing through the regulatory pipeline, growers will have to amp up their IPM efforts to stay competitive. “There’s always more to be done. Certainly farmers are stewards of the land and stewards of the agricultural environment, and they’re very concerned about being able to hand healthy and productive soils and financially healthy farms to the people who come after them. It takes constant diligence to do that,” says Bell. “That’s one thing about growers — they’re always looking to the future and thinking in a multigenerational way. They’ve got the future in mind.” † Julienne Isaacs is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer and editor. Contact her at julienne. isaacs@gmail.com.

Chemical control Petelle believes chemical control is an important component of any grower’s “toolbox” of control methods, but correct usage is key. “We always reiterate that people should follow the label directions, including rate, frequency of applications and rotations of different active ingredient families or chemical classes,” he says. “If you’re growing herbicide tolerant crops and are rotating your crops, you should also consider what chemicals are being used. For example, you can find Roundup-Ready traits for many crops but you’re always using the same herbicide, putting heavy selection pressure on any weeds.” Weed, insect and disease resistance to chemical control is becoming an increasing concern for growers across the country, and Petelle sees it as a “lighteningrod” that is re-engaging the IPM discussion. Growers can no longer expect products to serve as cure-all solutions to pests. “Relying on the next silver bullet to come along — this is not a realistic expectation,” says Petelle. “We all have to work together to make sure that we’re using the products in the most appropriate way so we minimize resistance.” The registration of completely new active ingredients takes a decade from start to finish and can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. New products are subject to complex regulatory processes, so as old products become less effective or are removed from the market, there are fewer options for growers looking to rotate chemicals. “We don’t have a whole suite of products to replace (old products) with, so it’s essential that we make sure new products have as long a duration as possible so growers can benefit as long as possible. We don’t want to see resistance develop in just a few years,” says Petelle.

Knowledge is key A major component of IPM is knowledge-gathering, understanding pest pressures and developing economic action thresholds, all of which takes place before pests become a problem. According to Dave Bell, a New Brunswick agronomist, monitor-

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Features Crop production

Herbicide resistant weeds and pulse crops Researchers are providing options to control the most challenging Group 2 herbicide-resistant weeds in pea and lentil crops By Kari Belanger

he use of Group 2 herbicides for controlling broadleaf weeds in pulse crops has been widespread across the Prairies primarily due to the limited number of in-crop herbicides registered for use on pulses. As a result of the pressure placed on the weed spectrum by this reliance on Group 2 herbicides, weeds have developed resistance to this group at a faster rate than others, says Ken Sapsford, a research assistant in the department of plant sciences at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources. Group 2-resistant weeds, in particular kochia, cleavers and wild mustard, are becoming a significant issue for Prairie farmers. “What we’ve done by going to the very good but one mode of action is we’ve allowed weeds to mutate that much quicker,” says Sapsford. Compounding the problem is a steady decline in the discovery of new modes of action since the 90s. “We’re not seeing new products or modes of action coming into the market anymore… A new silver bullet isn’t coming down the pipe. We must work with what we have and the only way to keep those herbicides working effectively is by using multiple modes of action,” he says. For the past few years, Sapsford and fellow researcher Eric Johnson, a weed biologist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Scott Research Farm, have been evaluating different modes of action on herbicideresistant weeds in pulse crops. From those studies, Sapsford and Johnson have discovered a number of options for growers to prevent, manage and control the most problematic Group 2 herbicide-resistant weeds in pea and lentil crops.

spring, which controls about 50 per cent of the cleavers, followed by Viper in-crop, which provides suppression, should bring growers back into the control level, says Sapsford. “You have three modes of action working to control your broadleaf weeds. If we had started with that we probably wouldn’t have near the resistant weed populations we do now,” he says. Another option to suppress cleavers in peas is to apply Edge, a Group 3 herbicide, along with heavy harrowing in the fall, says Johnson. He also suggests increasing seeding rates as part of an integrated weed management plan for improved weed control. “For peas,

we like to see 80 plants per square metre or higher, which will help by making the crop more competitive,” says Johnson.

Putting the kibosh on kochia Group 2-resistant kochia continues to challenge farmers growing lentils, peas and chickpeas in brown and dark brown soil zones. Authority is very effective for controlling Group 2-resistant kochia in pea and chickpea fields. However, controlling the weed in lentils is another matter. “At the present time, we do not have an in-crop control for Group 2-resistant kochia in len-

studies are completed. For now, he says seeding at least 130 plants per square metre may improve weed control in lentils. Research on Cadet, a Group 14 post-emergent herbicide, for control of Group 2-resistant kochia in lentils, and even peas, is promising, says Johnson. “We’re looking at it as, perhaps, a tank mix partner with Solo,” he says. Although yield is not affected when Cadet is applied to lentils in-crop, some crop injury, particularly to the leaves, occurs. Determination of formulation, rates and timing is ongoing, says Johnson, and the development of Cadet-tolerant lentil varieties could be on the horizon.

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Conquering Cleavers Group 2-resistant cleavers have become a significant issue for producers growing peas in the black soil zone. Help is at hand, says Sapsford, in the form of the Group 14 herbicide Authority, which provides excellent control of Group 2-resistant cleavers in soils with less than six per cent organic matter, although it is not yet registered to control cleavers. When applied to soils with higher organic matter content — greater than six per cent — in the black soil zone, Authority provides around 50 per cent control of cleavers at the recommended rate as it becomes tied up with the organic matter, says Sapsford. Viper herbicide, a combination of Basagran (Group 6) and Solo (Group 2), has cleavers listed under suppression on the label and, depending on the year, says Sapsford, “does a very good job to an average job on cleavers.” The answer for producers growing peas in the black soil zone with higher organic matter levels may be a combination of Authority followed by Viper. Studies indicate applying Authority in the

tils,” says Sapsford. He also warns Authority should not be applied to any lentil varieties because it will cause injury. Although the application of Authority on lentils may become reality in the future as work on the development of tolerant varieties is ongoing at the Crop Development Centre in Saskatoon, Sask. The application of Edge in the fall to suppress kochia in lentils continues to be one control option, says Johnson. In addition, integrated weed management strategies, such as higher seeding rates, is another way growers can improve in-season weed control. Rate recommendations will be forthcoming, says Johnson, once

Visit SyngentaFarm.ca or contact our Customer Resource Centre at 1-87-SYNGENTA (1-877-964-3682). Always read and follow label directions. The Syngenta logo is a registered trademark of a Syngenta Group Company. © 2014 Syngenta.

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Features plants per square metre may help curb wild mustard populations, says Johnson. It is also important to note that Authority may work well on Group 2-resistant kochia in peas and chickpeas, but it does not control wild mustard in these crops, says Sapsford.

A word on wild oats

photo: eric johnson

photo: ken sapsford

Left: High populations of Group 2-resistant wild mustard in lentil fields. Right: Group 2-resistant cleavers in peas.

Wrestling wild mustard Group 2-resistant wild mustard is proving troublesome for producers growing peas, chickpeas and lentils in brown and dark brown soil zones. Lentil growers, in particular, located near the Rosetown area of southern Saskatchewan are finding high populations of

Group 2-resistant wild mustard in their fields a major challenge, says Johnson, also noting that control options are limited. One of the few in-crop herbicides available to growers to control Group 2-resistant wild mustard in lentils is Sencor (Group 5). However, growers often express concern about the injury to their

crops from its application, says Johnson. He recommends split applications at reduced rates to mitigate herbicide injury. Although still in the early stages, research to improve the tolerance of lentils to Sencor is ongoing, he adds. A Group 2 herbicide, such as Solo or Odyssey, should also be applied, notes Sapsford, because

Sencor will not control other broadleaf weeds present in the field, such as wild buckwheat. He also warns Sencor cannot be mixed with Solo or Odyssey because it will cause the Sencor to heat up, causing more injury to the lentils. Once again, increasing lentil seeding rates to a minimum of 130

Group 2-resistant cleavers, kochia and wild mustard may be the major broadleaf weed issues affecting pulse crops today. However, examination of major herbicide-resistant weeds would not be complete without mentioning Group 1- and/or Group 2-resistant wild oats. Producers applying Group 2 herbicides, such as Solo or Odyssey, must mix in a Group 1 product if Group 2-resistant wild oats are present in the field, warns Sapsford. In addition, at least two modes of action should be targeting each weed species. “As a producer you must be aware of what weeds each mode of action is targeting so that you ensure you’ve got multiple modes of action hitting specific weeds,” says Sapsford. “It doesn’t help if you mix a wild oat herbicide with a broadleaf herbicide — you have two modes of action, but they’re not hitting the same weeds. It’s like one mode of action on each weed species.” Researchers are close to adding another mode of action to control wild oats. Pyroxasulfone, a soil-applied Group 15 herbicide, inhibits germination by working on weed shoots. Peas are tolerant to the herbicide while lentils exhibit some tolerance. In addition, pyroxasulfone shows some broadleaf weed activity, controls cleavers in soils with lower organic matter content and controls Japanese and downy bromegrass. Pyroxasulfone is already registered for use on some crops in Eastern Canada and could be registered in cereals within the next year or two in the West with pulses to follow, says Johnson.

Changing it up: revisited At one point, says Sapsford, researchers thought using one mode of action one year and another the next was a good resistance management practice. Opinions have since changed. “That was better than doing nothing at all, but it’s not as good as using multiple modes of action within the same year,” says Sapsford. “For a weed to develop JOB ID: 6306 1D resistance to one mode of action FEB 4, 2014 developing is muchDATE: easier than resistance to two or three modes CLIENT: SYNGENTA CANADA of action that same year.” AD – CG There PROJECT: are noROInew modes of action coming down the pipe in PUBLICATION: GRAIN NEWS the near future. However, careful consideration of all options at DESIGNER: JEFF ANTON hand will aid in the prevention or ( ) MECHANICAL ( ) PDF/X management of herbicide-resistant weeds. FINAL SIZE: 17.4" X 10" “We can easily become crea240% tures of UCR: habit, and we continue to use what has worked in the CLIENT SERVICE past until it quits working,” says Johnson.PROOFREADING “I think the best thing producers do is discuss their ARTcan DIRECTION weed control programs with their PRODUCTION agronomists or their retailers and (consider) options for dealing with their weed issues and what they can do to delay the onset of resistance.” † Kari Belanger is a freelance writer writing from Winnipeg, Man. 14-01-15 3:57 PM

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Features Crop production

Controlled traffic farming As machinery gets bigger, that extra weight seems to take a toll on crop growth. Controlled traffic farming may offer a solution By Lisa Guenther

ontrolled traffic farming uses tramlines to separate crop production zones and traffic lanes, Peter Gamache explains. “In practice, that means all implements have a particular span or multiples of (the tramline) and all wheel tracks are confined to specific traffic lanes.” Gamache is leading a threeyear project examining the effects and economics of tramlines on five different sites. The project is scheduled to wrap in December, but Gamache hopes to continue the research to get a wider range of weather conditions and study longer-term effects on soil.

Benefits of controlled traffic farming Gamache says they’re seeing consistent signs of better water infiltration rates, and he thinks soils will keep responding to traffic removal and compaction. “So that’s a plus because it can handle some of those extremes better. And over time we hope to see even just an ability to hold water better as well.” Tramlines cut overlaps and increase field efficiencies, Gamache says. Farmers that have more than one seeder or combine have an easier time when they move to another field because the data is already in the guidance and yield maps. “So you move into the field, and — Bang! — you’re up and running because everyone really knows what they need to do. They know what swath to take, what direction to travel, all those kinds of things.” Traction is better on tramlines as well, helping farmers deal with adverse conditions. Some farmers have been able to get into the field a day or two earlier than neighbours during spring seeding, Gamache says. The farmers working with Gamache are using Real Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS. The system’s enhanced accuracy opens the door to more reliable on-farm research. “You know you’re not sort of missing a foot or two or three here because you’re wandering around the field or whatever. Plus you don’t have the unknown effect of random traffic.” Gamache isn’t the only one who sees benefits for on-farm research. “They make on-farm research a breeze because then you just know which tramline your plots are in. You just follow them out and then you can get your protein sample or whatever you want to do on that plot,” says Josh Fankhauser, who has a mixed farm near Claresholm, Alta. Fankhauser and his family had about 7,000 acres of dryland and irrigation under controlled traffic this year. He’s used a penetrometer to test for soil compaction and compaction isn’t a problem on his farm. Fankhauser attributes this to regular Chinooks. “So we get a lot of frost action in the shadow of the foothills here

where in a lot of other regions they might not.” Fankhauser was inspired by his European brother-in-law, who has been using tramlines for years to avoid crop trampling. Crop trampling was an issue on Fankhauser’s farm, too. “On one pivot, I was on a field… eight times last year and eight times again this year. Now I’m always driving in the same

he’s getting more yield because he’s applying the right rates at the right time, and cutting crop damage. He adds it makes decision making easier. “If you’re wondering about a fungicide application or whatever, you used to have to pencil in the cost of trampling into that.” Gamache’s project analyzed the economics of controlled traffic farming, based on entire

of the field. He expects to see more negative values from that field, but he wants to see if the controlled traffic zone of the field improves relative to the high-yielding check.

Practical considerations Fankhauser says machinery operators needed a little bit of training, but it worked well once they were trained.

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track and I never worry about (crop loss).” Tramlines also allow Fankhauser to do inter-row seeding and to continue spraying even if the GPS goes down. Fankhauser stuck with a John Deere 2600 display this year, which uses WAAS and GLONASS signals for guidance. Overall the system works well, especially for spraying. “(Readjusting) doesn’t seem to be a big deal unless you come back two or three days later. Then it matters. It seems you adjust once, then you do the field, then you leave.” Fankhauser doesn’t have his yield maps back yet, but he thinks

plot yields. Plots ranged from 40 acres to over 300 acres, and included a check. Gamache and his team used the present value of gross margins to measure the net benefits of controlled traffic farming. In 2012, three out of five sites showed a net economic benefit to the tramlines. One site was a negative, and in one, they didn’t have a check, so there was no way to compare. The net benefit ranges from $25 to $80 per acre. In the site with the negative response, Gamache later realized they had unintentionally placed the check in a high-yielding part

He also had to keep an eye on the tramline kits to keep them running. “There’s little motors and little moving doo-dads that you’re always trying to keep clean. Tramlines don’t like peas. I learned that. The tramline kit, it just seizes up as soon as you start running peas through.” Tramlines up the management and pre-planning, Gamache says. Matching equipment widths to the tramline width is one aspect of that. “You need ratios of either two to one or three to one,” says Gamache. Gamache says the biggest concern he hears from farmers is that they might be stuck with a 30-foot drill. In Gamache’s

project, one farmer now uses a 60-foot drill, while another will purchase an 80-foot drill to go with his 40-foot header. Gamache cautions that although implements might be advertised as a specific width, they do sometimes come up short. “Part of the thing is you’ve got to go out and actually measure rather than taking the dealer’s or the manufacturer’s word for it.” For farmers new to tramlining, Fankhauser suggests starting with the sprayer because it does the most applications. If sprayers or seeders aren’t calibrated properly, they won’t drive perfectly straight, making the tramlines less effective, Fankhauser adds. In the planning stage, farmers should also think about water drainage and how to travel most efficiently through the field, Gamache says. Residue management is also a challenge. “When you’re in a tramline system, it kind of ups the ante more because for the most part you’re always traveling in exactly the same place, you’re spreading exactly the same way every year. You’re not going to be harrowing at a 45 degree angle,” says Gamache. Thirty foot header widths are usually manageable when it comes to residue management, Gamache says, but 40 feet is more difficult. Farmers are also concerned about pulling large machinery without dual tires on tractors, Gamache says. In his project, three out of five farmers have switched to tracked machines. Fankhauser uses wide tires in the spring while seeding, and switches to narrow tires later in the year. When setting guidance lines, Fankhauser likes to use A-plus headings, such as A-plus zero or A-plus 90, straight north-south or east-west. “Because then, if something happens and your AB lines that you have saved in your computer gets lost or something doesn’t transfer right, all you have to do is pull into the field, park your machine on your tramline… and tell it to make new lines from wherever you’re sitting at either zero or 90 degrees, and you go.” Farmers also ask Gamache how well the tramlines hold up under all the traffic. The tramlines the sprayer travels in are more likely to punch out or rut. “It’s usually that wet spot or low area. So we know we’re going to have to come in and renovate those.” Farmers can phase in to controlled traffic systems. And if farmers partially transition to a controlled traffic system, they can still function with the same equipment in a random system, Gamache says. Guidance systems are already moving farmers towards controlled traffic systems, Gamache points out. “The step into controlled traffic isn’t that huge.” † Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa. Guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

grainews.ca /

Features GRAIN MARKETING

Bin there, done that Kim Althouse believes it’s time to update Western Canada’s grain marketing and transportation system BY KIM ALTHOUSE

hen I entered the grain trade some 40 years ago at 21 years of age, I was always the youngest guy in the elevator! As they say, “there has been a lot of water under the bridge since then.” As a kid I loved the machinery, the sound of a diesel engine as it purred away rolling the fresh tilled soil up the shank. It is with some pride, and some regret, that I like to say I spent puberty on a 4020 John Deere. My favourite piece of equipment was the combine. The first one I ran (at 11) was a Cockshutt 528. We graduated to bigger and more efficient combines. I have often wondered why anyone would have actually wanted to sit — or more likely stand — at the wheel of an open combine in the heat, dust and bugs of August and biting cold (and dust) of late October. I see now why my grandfather and uncles told me I was the best combine operator. They didn’t want to do it. Pretty crafty. As the land was rented, then sold, I still managed to find a seat in a combine for nearly all of the last 50 years and am amazed at how far things have come. From that fragile little dusty beast to the huge grain gobbling high tech behemoth I now get to operate. Pretty cool actually.

one who participated in a futures market was a speculator trying to make money from their grain, and that was evil. No one explained that the players in a futures market were assuming risk and providing liquidity as they set prices based on things like supply and demand. Not hope and emotion. I think how absolutely fortunate for western Canadian farmers that the transition to an “open market” was carried out the same year as the worst drought in 60 years gripped the U.S. Midwest. But, $10 wheat and $14 canola elevated every farmer in Western Canada to the status of a marketing genius. Now, after growing the best crop in

history we find that we do not have the marketing skills we thought we had. It reminds me of the joke about three farmers going to heaven. They soon became bored with the good life and asked God for some good bottom land that they could farm. God agreed, and soon they had produced the best crop they had ever seen. When harvest was complete they explained to God that they were thankful for the bountiful crop but would now like to sell it. God looked at them in astonishment and said, “Sell it? There are no grain buyers in heaven.” That is probably how the buyers feel now as well: this is definitely

not heaven. Even if they were to make it to heaven they could not buy the crop because they could not ship it. They are trying to deal with a clientele that has been broadsided by circumstance and what they thought was good fortune. A community ill prepared to work with the system. Free advice is usually worth just what you pay for it, but here’s mine anyway. Study the history of grain marketing, learn the intricacies of the futures market(s), understand derivatives of those markets and how they can be applied to your situation. Know your cost of production so you know when to sell profitably and use the tools avail-

able to mitigate risk. If you can’t be bothered to do this, hire a professional. It will be money well spent. Here we are in 2014. The exact problems exist today as they did 20, 30 or 50 years ago. If you were reading the January 12, 1985 (or 1975 or 1995) edition of the Western Produce there would likely be a prominent story about how grain was not moving from Western Canada. There would be finger pointing at the railways, the grain companies, the terminals, the unions, the CWB and anyone else without the good sense to keep their head down. Each of the players would try to explain how much this was costing them and the Farmer’s Union or other grower associations would come up with a number that it was costing the collective farming community. History forgotten soon repeats itself. I you ask me, which you won’t, I’d say something is broke and has been for some time. † Kim Althouse is a market coach with AgriTrend at Tisdale, Saskatchewan. He is also the president of www.eGrainCanada.com.

PROTECT ThE

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How do you know when it’s broke? Where am I going with this? There’s a saying, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” But, how do you know when it’s broke? Here’s my answer. When you have reengineered, modified, had discussions in committees and focus groups and discussed ad nausea in coffee shops and it still doesn’t work, it’s probably broke. What I am talking about is the way grain is marketed and transported in Western Canada. It is tantamount to still trying to harvest a crop with a broken down old Cockshutt 528 that has been patched and pieced together just to keep the thing running. As long as it limps along, technically it is not broke. Then, we tell each other what a great job we’ve done so we’ll keep doing it, kind of like my Grandpa and uncles did to me. The Canadian Wheat Board was put out of its misery August 1, 2012 when somebody realized it was broken. It had served a useful purpose through some years but had become a giant bureaucracy intent on inflicting punishment on those who could not see the benefit of single desk selling, which also meant single desk buying. Here is its legacy. Three or four generations of farmers have farmed their whole careers not understanding how grain was actually bought and sold in a free market. They were told that any-

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Features Crop production

Crop Advisor’s casebook By Craig Ramsey

n late August I received a call from Ross, a wheat and canola farmer with a 2,500-acre spread in Shoal Lake, Man. This year, Ross had introduced soybeans into his crop rotation for the first time, but he’d noticed some of the plants in his 50-acre test field appeared to be dying off early. He wondered about possibly doing a tissue test to find out what was happening. I paid Ross a visit, and he took me out into his soybean field to show me exactly what he meant by his plants experiencing a premature demise. Ross pointed out whole plants that had appeared to die in early August, and there were widespread patches within the soybean crop that looked to be in all-around poor health. Some parts of the plants had browning leaves, there were signs of wilting, and I could also see some small white lesions on numerous leaves and stems. “I think it might be some kind of nutrient deficiency,” Ross said, but he could only speculate on what nutrient might be lacking and why. It was a good guess, even though Ross was a responsible grower and he had obviously taken good care of his crop. He had planted his soybeans in mid-May into canola stubble, using an air seeder with a 10-inch spacing and applying seed at a rate of approximately 230,000 seeds per acre. The soybean seed had been treated with liquid inoculant and a dry inoculant was also used at seeding.

SOYBEANS DYING EARLY

According to Ross, the crop had experienced excellent germination. He had ensured soil tests were done in the spring and the results didn’t show any signs of poor fertilization, so I didn’t think lack of nutrients could be to blame. Previously, Ross had grown glyphosate-tolerant canola in the field. This crop had been sprayed with the same glyphosate he’d treated the soybeans with, which helped to rule out residue issues from the sprayer tank. However, I did notice some of the canola was still standing from the previous crop. Something was obviously sucking the life out of this soybean crop. It wasn’t poor soil fertility or the result of issues involving seeding or pesticide spraying, but we were both stymied as to the cause. Soybeans were a new crop to me as well as Ross. What could be the culprit? If you think you know what’s behind Ross’s wilting soybean plants, send your diagnosis to Grainews, Box 9800, Winnipeg, Man., R3C 3K7; email leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.com or fax 204-944-95416 c/o Crop Advisor’s Casebook. Best suggestions will be pooled and one winner will be drawn for a chance to win a Grainews cap and a one-year subscription to the magazine. The answer, along with reasoning that solved the mystery, will appear in the next Crop Advisor’s Solution File. † Craig Ramsey is a sales agronomist with Richardson Pioneer Ltd. in Shoal Lake, Man.

Casebook winner

Top left: Agronomist Craig Ramsey. Top Right: Some parts of the plants had browning leaves. Bottom left: There were small white lesions on numerous leaves and stems. Bottom right: The plants were experiencing a premature demise.

he winning entry for this edition of Casebook was faxed in by Joe Mandel from Standard, Alberta. Joe, thank you very much for entering! We’ll be renewing your Grainews subscription for a year and sending you a Grainews cap. † Leeann Minogue

Crop Advisor’s Solution FUSARIUM ROOT ROT RESPONSIBLE By Spencer McArthur

n early July, Greg, who grows wheat, barley, flax, canola and peas in rotation at his farm in Balgonie, Sask, said his crops were generally looking excellent due to warm weather during the growing season and some timely precipitation in June — with the exception of one pea field. “I’ve noticed patches of yellowing and stunted peas, and lately the patches have grown and become more pronounced,” Greg explained When I visited Greg’s farm, I could see for myself that within these pea patches, the foliage had turned from dark green to pale yellow, plants were noticeably stunted, and leaflets were wilting downward and inward. I evaluated potential causes. I was able to rule most of them out because the patches were only showing up in the southern parts of the quarter section, whereas the peas in the north portion of the field were healthy and vigourous. It was when Greg got into the specifics of the field history that I got my biggest clue. “This field has only been farmed as a full quarter for a few years now — before that it was split into 80-acre pieces,” Greg explained. We had walked to the middle of the field and I could clearly see there was a distinct line and change in plant health where the quarter had been split in half. “This is the first year that peas have been planted on this north piece,” Greg said, “and the south piece has always had peas in my rotation.” Those details led me to suspect a soil-borne disease was the culprit, and when I dug up the roots of the unhealthy plants I got my answer — fusarium root rot! The rooting system of the affected plants had turned a reddish brown to black colour, and when I cut a cross-section of the root there was a red discolouration of the vascular system — a telltale sign of

a fusarium infection. As the disease progressed, the rooting system had deteriorated which had interfered with nodulation and nutrient uptake. Eventually the plants had become stunted and had yellowed, and that’s when Greg began to notice the patches in his field. The source of infection for fusarium root rot is through longliving resting spores within the soil. Infection occurs throughout the growing season as roots spread through the soil profile and come into contact with these resting spores. In Greg’s case, resting spores were only located in the south 80 acres of his field, which explains why his peas in the north part of the field were unaffected — Greg had never planted peas on the north 80 acres; therefore, there was no source of inoculum. Fusarium root rot is most severe when conditions are warm and moist, and can further intensify in compacted soil or when soil fertility is low. Fungicide seed treatments can help manage the disease by preventing early infection, but are only effective over the life of the seed treatment. Rotating away from legumes for four to five years will help reduce resting spore populations but will not eliminate them from the field completely. Other species of fusarium can survive in the soil for more than 10 years, so dealing with resting spores is definitely a long-term project. There is no rescue treatment for infected plants once the rooting system has been infected and compromised; therefore, management of the disease in-season is limited. In Greg’s case, we decided a long-term absence of peas on this field would be needed to reduce resting spore populations. And next time, he’ll be using certified seed and a fungicide seed treatment to get his crop off to the best possible start. † Spencer McArthur is a Sales Agronomist for Richardson Pioneer Ltd. in Balgonie, Sask.

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Features GRAIN MARKETING

Getting paid for the oil Canola growers are talking about “component pricing”— getting paid for your canola based on the amount of oil in the seed BY REBECA KUROPATWA

ome canola growers have been considering the possibility of “component pricing” for their canola, that is, receiving payments based on the oil content of the canola they deliver. Oil is what the crushers want. Should they pay more for canola seed that contains more of it?

CANOLA OIL CONTENT Canola oil content varies from year to year, and from farm to farm. According to Brett Halstead, vice-president of the Canadian Canola Growers Association and member of the SaskCanola board, the average canola oil content was 45 per cent in 2013 compared with 43.5 per cent in 2012. The 2011 average was slightly higher than 2013 — 45.20 per cent oil. Halstead said his farm’s oil con-

tent was actually down this year compared to last year — 42.5 per cent this year, compared to 46.5 per cent last year. “Generally speaking, Manitoba has lower oil content,” said Halstead. “Saskatchewan is in the middle and Alberta’s is a little higher. Generally, in the Prairies, we’ve been gradually increasing the oil level. “In Canada, we see a wide range in oil value averages. The low end of that average was 38.3 per cent this year and the high end was 50.4 per cent, so there’s quite a range.” Halstead has given some thought to the concept of being paid for canola based on oil content. This is something that is done in Australia. “Australia typically had an extremely low oil level, so they had to do something to get plant breeding to produce better oil levels and to get farmers to do whatever they could,” Halstead said.

Australia has gone from 30 per cent oil content to currently around 38 to 40 per cent. There is also a narrower range, as compared with oil content in Canadian canola.

Oil content varies from year to year “As a farmer, I’d like to think a similar system can work here and help compensate us more directly, like, say, a protein premium on wheat would,” said Halstead. “We know a little bit more about how to affect protein. We’re still not sure how to affect the oil content. It seems like it’s so much more environmental, but that doesn’t mean there should or

shouldn’t be a system to compensate the grower. “On the flip side, we don’t want a system that would be negative to farmers. Premium payments typically also have discounts on the other side of the scale. When you have 38 per cent oil, they’re going to want to pay you less, too. This year, we’re a little higher oil. Next year, we might not be.” Another important factor that came to light this year, said Halstead, is a transportation backlog. Growers are bound by the limited available rail transportation, hampering their ability to market their crop. “In 2012, we had less production and huge demand for a product, and the transportation system could move it when we sold it,” said Halstead. “Farmers got their premium for their oil back, because all export sales for seed would be made based as a certain per cent whatever the importer wanted. If the importer said he wanted 42 per cent oil and you delivered them more, you’d get a premium. If you delivered him less, you’d get a discount from the grain company.” The issue this year, according to Halstead, is not necessarily whether or not we get paid for the oil. The problem is one of transportation logistics. “If I want to and sell some more canola next month or today, I might have to wait until May or June to sell it because it’s booked up that far ahead,” said Halstead. “So, if I want to sell it tomorrow or next month, I just better hope somebody will take it. It’s almost like I have no power. It’s not whether I’m getting a premium because I have higher oil or not. “When the system is working right, when it’s competitive, and when the transportation and logistics system isn’t plugged up, we’re likely getting compensated a portion or most of it.” “I don’t have all the answers,” said Halstead. “We’re trying to get more answers on this to see if and how adding an oil premium would work and to see if it would benefit farmers. As a farmer, if it would, I’m all for it.”

GROWING MORE OIL Some new varieties that have hit the market contain a higher oil potential. For any new variety to be accepted today, it needs to have a minimum oil level. This leads Halstead to believe that varieties are gradually improving.

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“I’ve tried to do everything, agronomically, the best I can, allowing for quite a bit of seed colour change — which I think is the main thing farmers can do to affect their oil,” said Halstead. Environmental factors, such as heat and sunlight, that occurs during filling, flowering, and, in particular, pod filling, can affect the oil level — though, these factors, producers have little or no control over these factors. This is where producing oil in canola is currently different than producing protein in wheat. There are proven agronomic methods that farmers can use to influence protein levels. “This may also be applicable with canola, but that’s an unknown right now,” said Halstead. “When trying to achieve higher protein, there’s so much in your agronomic program you can control, like beating diseases and proper plant. With oil, we don’t know if we can do that. It seems to be about 90 per cent or more environmental.” According to Véronique Barthet, PhD, program manager of the oilseeds section at the Grain Research Laboratory of the Canadian Grain Commission located in Winnipeg, crop growing conditions are very important. “This year, crop growing conditions were stellar, with low temperatures, ideal precipitation, ideal harvest conditions, and a warm September with no frost,” said Barthet. “These are perfect growing conditions for canola.” The year 2013 saw a record high, as high as in 2011, except that in 2013, there were record highs in both oil and in overall crop quality. “This means more canola qualified for the top grade than in 2011,” said Barthet. Barthet suggested there are many things growers can do to achieve higher oil content, such as getting the right seed for your area, and fertilizing properly. “It takes energy for the plant to make oil, so whatever is going to divert its metabolism is going to reduce the oil content,” said Barthet. “If you don’t have the right fertilization, there won’t be enough energy to make the oil. If it’s too cold or too hot, the enzymes won’t work at optimal efficiency — so, again, low oil. And, when it comes to disease and insects, plants need to get enough energy to fight them.” †

t SaskCanola’s annual general meeting in Saskatoon on January 14, the sole policy resolution to come to the floor was a about component pricing. The resolution was brought forward by Gerrid Gust, a Davidson farmer. It called on the SaskCanola board and staff to explore the positives and negatives of component pricing and bring information back to Saskatchewan canola growers. Although some farmers were concerned that being paid for canola on the basis of oil content would add another marketing risk that farmers can’t control, the resolution passed. †

Leeann Minogue

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Features ALFALFA PRODUCTION

Alfalfa seed production Growing alfalfa for seed can require intensive management, but can be rewarding. Learn the basics of alfalfa seed production BY LINDSAY GRIFFITH

ncluding alfalfa in a crop rotation can bring a number of agronomic benefits. Prairie farmers grow alfalfa for both forage and seed. Randy Toman, a farmer near Guernsey, Sask., began growing alfalfa for seed production over a decade ago. With lighter land well suited to forage and legume production, alfalfa was a good fit for his operation. Adding alfalfa also served to extend Toman’s crop rotation. With fewer farmers in the area producing seed than forage, Toman faced less competition and had the added benefit of

income from the leafcutter bees he added to pollinate the alfalfa. Similar reasons drew the Mennies into the business in the 1970s. “Farming was a bit of a struggle back then,” says Bob Mennie, production manager of Mennie Bee Farms Inc., near Parkside, Sask., “so we gave this a shot.” Toman says, “Getting contracts to produce (alfalfa) seed is fairly easy now,” as alfalfa seed acreage has declined. Of the three prairie provinces, Saskatchewan sees the highest alfalfa seed acreage. In 2010, about 100,000 acres of alfalfa seed was produced in Saskatchewan, nearly 75 per cent of total Canadian alfalfa seed acreage.

GROWING ALFALFA SEED Choosing the right field is important. Alfalfa favours lighter, sandier soil, and flatter fields will see a more even maturity, as with other crops. More rolling land has the benefit of seeing a decent crop more consistently, as the hollows may produce more in drier years and the hilltops in wetter years while uniform fields are more inclined to yield well or yield poorly overall, depending on the weather conditions of each particular year. Because of the limited chemical products registered for use on alfalfa, weed control is

vital. “There are a few chemicals registered for alfalfa that do a pretty good job on most weeds,” Mennie says, but it can be difficult to rotate chemical groups to avoid developing resistance. A good, clean field prior to seeding is key. “If you start with a clean piece of land, it’s much easier to maintain it rather than try to clean it up when it’s in alfalfa,” says To m a n . P r o b l e m a t i c w e e d s include sweet and red clovers, cleavers, wild oats, various grasses, kochia, night-flowering catchfly and Canada thistle. Crop rotation is key. Keeping a field out of alfalfa production

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for two to four years is typically enough time to clean up weed problems. The most common insect pests in alfalfa are lygus bugs, alfalfa plant bugs and aphids, with alfalfa weevil increasing in prevalence. It can be more difficult to control insects when the field in question is near to a field seeded to alfalfa for haying. Leafcutter bees are released once the alfalfa begins to bloom. Spraying fields before this point is often enough to control the insects. “Once the bees have been released,” Toman says, “it is usually cost prohibitive to put on any kind of insecticide because you risk damaging a significant number of bees.” However, sometimes a late hatching or infestation of insects can necessitate a second or even third application once the bees are out in the field. According to Mennie, “when the right chemical is sprayed at night, there is minimal bee loss.” Fungicides can usually control plant disease with relative success. However, in wetter years, alfalfa can grow very lush and forms a thick, dense canopy, meaning it can be difficult to control disease. “Burning the crop residue in the spring can make a huge difference for disease (control),” says Mennie, as does “light cultivation to break up the residue.” The worst diseases include black stem rot, sclerotinia and botrytis. As a legume, alfalfa can fix nitrogen. But alfalfa is also perennital — the number of production years varies, but it typically between three and five. It is important to keep up an adequate fertility program to ensure that the soil has enough nutrients to sustain the crop for as many years as it is kept in rotation. The number of production years varies but is typically between three and five years. Alfalfa needs to be inoculated with a species-appropriate inoculant to induce nodulation on the root system of the plant and increase its ability to fix nitrogen. “The bacteria may already be in the soil, especially if alfalfa has been there before,” says Mennie, “but (inoculant) is very inexpensive,” so it is best to apply it to ensure that the bacteria are present in high enough numbers to induce good nodulation. Even when seed from seed is purchased coated with an inoculant, it can be good to apply additional inoculant. Alfalfa can be seeded with or without a companion crop during its establishment year. The companion crop may be seeded at the same time as the alfalfa, as is done on the Toman farm. Their particular setup involves seeding alfalfa with canola, using a triple shoot on the seed drill to seed two rows of canola between every row of alfalfa. Alfalfa has a small seed like canola, and therefore seeding depth is shallow, about one-half to one-quarter inch deep. Alfalfa is seeded in 36 inch rows.

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

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Features Alternatively, the companion crop can be seeded at a different time, at right angles to the alfalfa. Seeding alfalfa with a companion crop limits weed control options with registered chemicals. The cover crop competes with the alfalfa for water and nutrients and, in some cases, can increase disease pressure. For these reasons, the Mennies tend not to use companion crops and seed alfalfa on a 12- to 24-inch spacing at a rate of 0.74 lbs./ acre. If they do use companion crops, they choose less competitive crops like flax and peas The Tomans still see a return their first year from companion cover crop.

Harvesting alfalfa Alfalfa seed is considered dry at about 10.5 to 12 per cent; moisture levels greater than 13 per cent means the seed must be dried before storage. Harvest usually falls towards the end of the season, after most of the other crops have been harvested. Yields typically range anywhere from 200 to 400 lbs./acre. Most farmers straight cut their crops after desiccating and let it dry down in the absence of a killing frost. Swathing alfalfa is rare. “Alfalfa can be very bushy in the swath, and because it has to be swathed fairly close to the ground, it has a high risk of blowing in the wind,” Toman says. The crop threshes hard, requiring a fast rotor speed and tight concave opening. The seed is quite small. It can be difficult to initially find the right balance between wind speed and keeping the sieve settings as tight as possible without plugging the return system or blowing the seed out the back of the combine. Alfalfa seed is a high value crop and should be treated as such, with diligent checking to ensure there is no spoilage. While alfalfa doesn’t require any special storage, the volume is small. “Keeping varieties separate can seem to waste space,” Mennie says. “Some small hopper bins are ideal for storing alfalfa.”

andrea toman, guernsey, sask.

Most alfalfa seed growers straight combine their crop after desiccation. Blue leafcutter bee shelters can be seen in the backround.

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Benefits of alfalfa There are several benefits to growing alfalfa. 1. Alfalfa only needs to be seeded in its establishment year, so there is less pressure on farmers during seeding in subsequent years. 2. Alfalfa spreads out the harvesting period. 3. In drier years, established alfalfa will thrive because its extensive root system enables it to scavenge for water unreachable to traditional crops. “We see the alfalfa seed as a bit of a safety net against drought,” Mennie says, noting that in wetter years, “it will hold its own as far as return.” 4. The diversified income for those who raise and sell their own leafcutter bees is also beneficial. Both the alfalfa seed and leafcutter bee markets are doing well at present. Alfalfa seed production does have fairly high management requirements, particularly if the seed grown is certified seed, but the hard work can reap rewards. † Lindsay Griffith is a U. of Sask. M.Sc. crop science student, freelance writer, and farmer at Bangor, Sask. She can be reached at miss. lindsay.griffith@gmail.com.

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Features Alfalfa production

Using alfalfa to solve pitfalls When canola and wheat prices are falling, consider the benefits of alfalfa By Rebeca Kuropatwa

erennial legumes, especially alfalfa, bring benefits to a cropping system that can override initial concern many growers may have when it comes to the economics of the practice. Around the world, some countries are concerned about the lack of local available water for growing their own forage. “There is a growing trend for longer-term commitments when purchasing forages and alfalfa of perennial legume by other countries,” said Lastiwka. This can provide Canadian grain and oilseed producers with a more economically viable alternative crop. Growers can also seed their stand into a perennial legume, have custom representatives come in and harvest it, and get a better price per acre and per tonne for forage legume. “This is happening and it’s a trend we feel is on the rise,” said Lastiwka.

cide resistance issues by looking at a number of alternatives, such as a perennial crop like alfalfa. “When that was looked at with wild oats, excluding wild oats herbicides for three years, done at eight locations across Canada (from Alberta to Quebec), they found alfalfa as an alternative, along with a double seeding rate of winter cereals, allowed for cutting silage — providing effective wild oat management without wild oats herbicide,” said Lastiwka. This system dramatically reduced selective pressure of wild oat resistance to herbicides and helped growers delay wild oats resistance evolution. Lastiwka looked at existing fertility opportunities with a perennial

legume. “Even with a very short rotation with perennial legumes, it’s surprising, within the two or three year crop production system, how much nitrogen can be harvested and made available to resulting crops on that land,” he said.

Nitrogen release The University of Manitoba’s Dr. Martin Enns found with a no-till approach, the release of nitrogen is slower than when the alfalfa stand is cultivated under. According to Enns’ study, the slow release of nitrogen with notill can last up to seven years (with some based on nitrogen coming out of the roots). “He also felt some was due to the root chan-

nels,” said Lastiwka. “Also, the root system improved the productivity longer, potentially up to 10 years — doing well with this good highway in the soil to travel.” Alfalfa can go as deep as 20 feet into the soil. The majority of the effect alfalfa would have on the soil would be below the cultivated line, but, in many situations, the soil is only cultivated about three feet deep. “Work done by Bruce Coulman and Paul Jefferson in Saskatchewan show that our hay fields have been dropping over time, part of which they felt was due to very good prices for cereals and oilseeds resulting in many producers letting their stands get older with lessened quality,” said Lastiwka.

“We’re seeing a higher price paid for forages, in general, because of a market and lack of acres. But, having legume stands seeded doesn’t mean you have to harvest it yourself or that you won’t have opportunity to market it, as long as you’re doing it right.” Lastiwka advised consulting with all parties involved in advance to determine what they are looking for, what they will pay for it, and even if they will harvest it for you. “Productivity of alfalfa forage stands are related to their management and that is a very important factor,” said Lastiwka. “The more skilled the management, the more the potential.” † Rebeca Kuropatwa is a professional writer in Winnipeg, Man.

Perennial legumes A perennial legume provides an opportunity to bring a very different type of plant into a crop rotation system. This can break disease cycles of existing cereal and oilseed crops. It may also address some herbicide resistance issues and cut fertility costs, as alfalfa can fix its own nitrogen. On the negative side, annual crop diseases seem to be on the rise. “We worry about general diseases that can occur with a short rotation that survive through the two years between oilseed crops — like fusarium, aster yellows, skull, net blotch, black leg, club root and even insect issues,” said Lastiwka. “When we look at breaking that rotation with a perennial legume, we make an inhospitable environment for those diseases and insect issues.” Work done by Neil Harker at Lacombe showed the opportunity of breaking some wild oat herbi-

Other legume options

f you’re looking for a perennial legume, alfalfa fits a broad spectrum of needs across Canada and does well in various circumstances. However, it is not the only option. • Sweet clover is biannual, so it will only be around for two years and is best grown as a silage crop. • Red clover is geared more to low PH soils with more acid-tolerate needs, and it does not dry very well. • Sainfoin is also being looked at as a more broad fit, like alfalfa, but this will not meet criteria for producers until possibly the year 2017. Both sainfoin and alfalfa are non-bloating plant, providing the opportunity for two cuts (though more research is needed on sainfoin). †

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Features Alfalfa production

Leafcutter bee production Many alfalfa seed growers raise their own leafcutter bees to pollinate their crops and earn some extra cash By Lindsay Griffith

eafcutter bees are the bee of choice when it comes to pollinating alfalfa. They are aboveground nesters and good pollinators, which favour alfalfa nectar. According to Bob Mennie, production manager of Mennie Bee Farms Inc., near Parkside, Sask., leafcutter bees are “easy to handle and tend to stay close to where the shelters are.”

Managing the bees Bees are put out into the field when the alfalfa has five to 10 per cent bloom, to ensure that the

bees have food. This usually happens around July 1. Bees released too early will stray from their shelters to search for food. The bees moved to the field are about 75 to 90 per cent hatched. They will live out their life cycle, then the farmer will retrieve the next generation of bees at the end of the season. In general, there will be one and a half to two times as many new bees, in the larval form. Bees in the field are fairly selfsufficient. Checking the shelters weekly for wildlife or wind problems is a good management practice. Toward the end of the season, Mennie says, “Getting

the nesting block out of the field and into the safety of the processing building as soon as the bees have finished working is a good idea.” Crop insurance requires 20,000 bees per acre; this is the benchmark for good alfalfa pollination. Flying fewer bees per acre tends to increase bee production, but more bees per acre means more crosspollination and therefore better seed production. The number of bee shelters per field varies depending on each farmer’s individual setup. Smaller plastic shelters may be placed at rates of about one shelter per 2-1/2 acres, as on the farm

of alfalfa seed producer Randy Toman of Guernsey, Sask. The Mennies use large shelters of their own design — one shelter can cover 15 to 25 acres. Fewer shelters means the Mennies have a lower cost per acre for shelters as well as increased efficiency. The number of nesting blocks per shelter depends on the size of the shelter. The plastic shelters are lightweight and can be stacked inside each other as one would stack chairs. Metal and wood shelters are more expensive, but may last longer than the plastic ones. Setting up shelters is fairly straightforward, requiring a couple

of people and either a trailer or a tractor with a front end loader to move the shelters to the field. “Efficiency is the name of the game in the bee business,” Mennie says. Labour is expensive and difficult to find. The two popular types of nesting material available are wood or polystyrene blocks. Polystyrene blocks are cheaper, lighter, reasonably simple to treat for disease or sample for sale, and are easier to work with, making them the current industry standard. However, they are more prone to damage than wood blocks. Of the bees put out in the field, about 35 per cent are females. In a typical polystyrene nesting block, there are 3,540 tunnels. On the Mennie farm, there are approximately five nesting blocks per acre, and each female has about two to 2-1/2 tunnels to fill over the season. At the end of the season, these tunnels are filled with the cocoons built from the alfalfa leaf material the bees collect.

Pest and disease control Two species of small, parasitic wasps target leafcutter bees. While there are insecticides that can be used in the incubators to control these pests before the bees hatch, Randy Toman, a farmer from Guernsey, Sask., says there is no chemical control for parasites in the incubator after hatching. The best defence against parasites in the field is good management: proper assembly and installation of nesting blocks and replacing damaged blocks. “There’s a backing that goes on the back of the nests that prevents parasites from getting in,” Toman says. “It’s very important to have your nests put together properly before you take them out to the field. That’s a major control.” Disease-wise, moisture means mould. The alfalfa leaf material collected by the bees contains millions of naturally-occurring mould spores, so the faster the cocoons are dried, the less mould there will be. Mould affects bees’ overall health and virility. Sterilization is the simplest way to control mould. The fungal chalkbrood disease can be even JOB ID: 6306 1C more devastating than mould to bee populations. The DATE: FEB 4, 2014simplest way to control this disease is to avoid CLIENT: SYNGENTA CANADA purchasing bees of poorer quality or from areas known PROJECT: ROI AD –to MKhave disease, and to thoroughly clean any PUBLICATION: GRAIN NEWS used equipment purchased so the chalkbrood sporesJEFF areANTON not brought DESIGNER: onto the farm. ( ) MECHANICAL ( ) PDF/X The sterilizing agent paraformaldehyde is a gas mould FINAL SIZE: that 17.4" X kills 10" spores. It can be used on the 240% collectedUCR: cocoons at the start of the season as well as on the used CLIENT SERVICE nesting material and equipment, includingPROOFREADING harvest equipment and the incubators used to hatch the ART DIRECTION bees. A bleach solution can also be PRODUCTION used. Wood nesting blocks can be heat treated. Once the nests are brought in from the field, they should be dehumidified by blowing fans

» continued on page 17 14-01-15 3:54 PM

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Features BIOFUELS

Next generation biofuels In this second part of a two-part series on biofuels, Anglela Lovell considers next generation biofuels and the future of biofuels BY ANGELA LOVELL

he petroleum industry is perfectly aware that the golden days of cheap oil aren’t going to last forever. Although there’s still a lot of oil in the world it’s getting harder and costlier to access. Most of the really good pure oil, called sweet crude, which is easily refined into products, keeping production costs down, is running low. “The oil that remains is deeper in the ground and it’s of poorer quality, meaning it has more sulphur and other stuff in it, so it’s more expensive to extract and in more difficult places to get at,” says Dr. David Levin, associate professor at the University of Manitoba’s department of Biosystems Engineering. “That oil could be two kilometres under the Gulf of Mexico or in the oil sands of Alberta, where it’s all mixed with sand and the cost of getting it and refining it is very high. As an example, oil from the Alberta oil sands is not profitable unless the cost of a barrel of oil is over $65. When the price of oil went down to $58 or $60 there was a crisis in Alberta and people

had to lay off workers because it wasn’t worth them extracting the oil, but now it’s around $90, it’s worth it again.” Some of the remaining oil reserves are also in or close to sensitive ecosystems, where there can be stiff environmental opposition to their development, prompted by recent disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The petroleum industry has already recognised that at some point it is going to be better to use renewable sources of oil that can be converted into the same kind of fuels that we use today but from biological sources. This is what is referred to as next generation or “drop-in” fuels. “If we can make oils from biomass and then put them through the existing refining processes we are going to end up with fuels that are more or less identical to what are derived from petroleum and then you don’t have to change vehicle engines or the infrastructure,’ says Levin. “This is what they call drop-in fuels; fuels that have the same chemical structure and the same chemical properties as petroleum-derived

fuels but from biological sources. The new effort in biofuels is to make drop-in fuels by modifying the biological chemicals to make them the same as petroleum derived fuels.”

“Nobody has a winner yet.” — Dr. David Levin

It can be done — it’s a problem of scale. Demand exists, even today, for alternative fuels, especially in the aviation industry, which suffers from fluctuating prices and now faces carbon taxes on planes flying to Europe. The U.S. Airforce recently announced that it is close to being able to produce jet fuel derived from algae and British Airways is planning to turn landfill waste into jet fuel for its aircraft fleet.

FOOD VERSUS FUEL As the world population grows, the debate rages over how ethical

it is to use grain to produce food rather than feed for livestock and food for humans. It heightens when grain growing regions of the world suffer from floods or droughts, pushing up prices that eventually translate into higher food costs. It’s one of the reasons driving research into cellulosic biofuels that can be produced from non-food crops and agricultural waste products. It has also been suggested that more use should be made of marginal land, which is unsuitable for food crops, to grow mixed species of cellulosic biomass crops for biofuel production. A study by researchers at Michigan State University estimated this untapped resource could provide up to 5.5 billion gallons of ethanol in the U.S. Midwest. “We estimate that using marginal lands for growing cellulosic biomass crops could provide up to 215 gallons of ethanol per acre with substantial greenhouse gas mitigation,” say the study’s authors. It would reduce greenhouse gas emissions if existing vegetation or perennial crops could be utilised, would provide additional revenue for farmers from low

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value land and would maintain highly productive agricultural land for food production.

HOW “GREEN” ARE BIOFUELS? There is still a lot of discussion around the environmental impact of biofuels. Many experts argue that greenhouse gas emissions involved in the production of biofuel crops, their transportation to processing facilities and the energy intensive production of the fuel, negates any benefits from reduced emissions from green-fuelled car exhausts. Other studies have shown that greenhouse gas emissions are only reduced if waste plant materials, which would have decomposed anyway and added to carbon emissions, are used to produce the fuels or if perennial plants or existing vegetative cover are used. The Swiss R&D institute, Empa has performed “ecobalance” studies in 2007 and again in 2012 to assess exactly how “green” biofuels really are. In both studies Empa concludes “many biofuels based on agricultural products indeed do help to reduce the

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

grainews.ca /

Features emission of greenhouse gases, but lead to other environmental pollution, such as too much acid in the soil and polluted (overfertilised) lakes and rivers.” As an example nitrogen fertilizers emitted into the atmosphere in the production of heavy feeders such as corn crops increase nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural lands, which already account for 68 per cent of all nitrous oxide in the U.S. annually. On the other hand some perennial crops that are among the frontrunners as potential biofuel crops, such as miscanthus, have been shown to reduce the amount of nitrogen which escapes into the environment. A four-year University of Illinois study that compared miscanthus, switchgrass, and mixed prairie species to typical corn-corn-soybean rotations, showed each of the perennial crops were highly efficient at reducing nitrogen losses, with miscanthus having the greatest

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

Leafcutter bee production

yield. Perennial grasses also have been shown to lower atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions.

The future of biofuels Several plants are touted as the next “wonder” crop for biofuel production. Miscanthus, camelina, reed canarygrass, napiergrass, giant reed and sorghum are just some of the many plant species that are being considered as potential biofuel crops. There are suggestions that biofuels could also be made from weeds such as stinkweed (also known as pennycress) and perennial prairie grasses such as switchgrass. In British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario there is more emphasis on woody biomass from fast growing willows and poplars for cellulosic biofuel production. There is huge potential for cellulosic ethanol production on the Prairies, where there is an abundant supply of biomass in the

form of crop residue such as wheat straw, oat straw and hulls. It is estimated that agricultural residues in Manitoba could produce around 1.1 billion litres of bioethanol annually. The key is the development of localized processing capability and the development of a cheap and easy way to scale up production to a commercial scale. A huge national network called BioFuelNet is currently engaged in biofuel research across Canada to try and help make that happen. Over the next five years Centres of Excellence, involving universities and government research facilities from coast to coast, will work on 69 projects. At the University of Manitoba, Levin heads up the Prairie component, which is concentrating on using microorganisms to convert agricultural biomass into drop-in type biofuels. Other centres are looking at different production methods. The one that currently predominates

in the biofuel industry is a thermo-chemical process that uses heat and pressure, but it’s energy intensive and raises the carbon footprint of the resulting fuel. The microbial method, says Levin, requires much lower energy inputs and has a better energy balance and lower carbon footprint. “There is also much more control over the type of molecules that are being produced and that microbial conversion of sugars or glycerol are coming from renewable sources such as agricultural industry by-products and making fuels that are equivalent to petroleum based fuels but from a biological source,” he says. “It’s a very green technology and the potential is huge for Manitoba if we can demonstrate that we can grow these organisms on a larger scale that would be needed for an industrial application and extract the molecules to make the fuels and demonstrate that they can work as well as petroleum.”

Similar work in the U.S. used the microbe Ceriporiopsis subvermispora, known as a white rot fungus, to break down different parts of corn stover. Researchers were able to extract up to 30 per cent more sugar from the leaves and 50 per cent more from the stalks and cobs than other methods. The jury is still out on which of these many potential feed stocks will ultimately be commercially viable. “There’s all kinds of ideas and technologies and options out there that are worth exploring, but nobody has a winner yet,” says Levin. One thing that’s certain is that biofuels are going to be a vital component of the energy mix in the future, and farmers have a hugely exciting role to play in making sure the lights stay on. † Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www.angelalovell.ca.

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over the nests in preparation for harvest of the bees. At this point, they are kept at about 18 to 21 C to ensure that the larvae have had enough time to spin their cocoons inside the leaf cocoons. The Mennies allow at least two weeks for this to occur, after which they harvest the bee larvae and store them in cardboard boxes at about 4 C and as low a humidity as possible. “(The larvae) can’t get too cold or they’ll freeze, and if they get too warm they’ll start to incubate,” says Toman. Come spring, the larvae are incubated for 22 to 24 days. Incubation typically starts in the first week of June. In the incubators, the humidity is kept relatively high as the bees develop and the temperature is kept around 30 C. At the end of this period, all of the males and about 80 per cent of the females have hatched, and the incubation trays are taken to the field and put into the shelters. When the lids are taken off, the hatched bees fly out.

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Selling excess bees Farmers who maintain their own bee populations keep enough bees for pollination in the coming year and sell the excess. While most bees are sold into the U.S., other markets include the hybrid canola market and Eastern Canada’s blueberry industry. “There is some red tape exporting (bees) to the United States,” says Mennie. Bees are sold by the gallon — about 10,000 bees. While price per gallon varies, last year’s top price was about $100/gallon. Farmers interested in growing alfalfa for seed but not interested in getting into leafcutter bee production can look into custom pollination. Information is available through the Alfalfa Seed Commission (Alberta), the Manitoba Forage Seed Association, or the Saskatchewan Leafcutters Association. †

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Lindsay Griffith is a U. of Sask. M.Sc. crop science student, freelance writer, and farmer at Bangor, Sask. She can be reached at miss. lindsay.griffith@gmail.com. 6173-1C Syngenta Sierra 2.0 Ad_Grainews.indd 1

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Columns SOILS AND CROPS

The beauty of the harvest Finally, “next year” came for Prairie farmers in the form of a fantastic harvest LES HENRY

he 2013 crop was “next year” for the majority of Canadian Prairie farmers. Almost all farmers reported pleasant surprises when the combines started to roll. Saskatchewan alone produced 38.8 million tonnes of products that go through a grain auger — exceeding the government target for 2020 of 36.6 million tonnes. Bureaucrats like to pretend they can see the future and make targets to feed the hungry hordes they think will buy our crops. I have little faith in any such star gazing. All those predictions fail to recognize Rule 1 of Farming: Mother Nature is in charge. Our 2013 record harvest with perfect weather makes for many

stories about the bushels that could be rubbed out in a short time. Watching the combines roll, the grain cart chase them around the field and the semis and B trains haul it to the elevator are sights of great beauty. I thrilled to watch neighbours with three big yellow combines and a grain cart keep several B trains busy hauling directly to an elevator 20 miles away. The equipment and technology has seen huge advances in the past century but the “Beauty of the Harvest” is timeless. Long hours, huge stress but in the end satisfaction like none other.

TIMES GONE BY In 1926 at Milden, Sask., my grandfather Jerome Henry and dad Lou Henry said goodbye to the threshing machine and bought a shiny new Massey Harris 15-foot combine with a wagon hitch in place of a hopper. I am sure the

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY: LES HENRY

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY: JOE PENDER

Top: Jerome Henry’s wagon hitch combine, 1928. Middle: Joe Pender’s father, Louis Pender, operated this equipment on the Anderson farm near Rosetown, Sask. Bottom: Joe Pender, showing off the combine his father bought brand new in 1939.

excitement was great when that advance came along. A continuous “dump on the fly” — until the wagon was full. Then the full wagon was unhitched and an empty hooked up. I visited recently with Joe Pender who many will remember as a Master Farmer from Meath Park, Sask., and distributor of Gandy Fertilizer applicators. He showed me a picture of some threshing equipment his father operated near Rosetown, Sask. It’s a 1928, a 20-foot Holt combine, dumping “on the fly” into a one ton truck. In 1954, at age 14, I took dumps on the fly from a Massey 27 combine with a one ton Fargo truck and thought we were quite advanced. Joe Pender also showed me a photo of a 1939 combine with a great story. It’s a five-foot Allis Chalmers PTO combine pulled by a Farmall M tractor. Joe still has that tractor and combine along with the original invoice and operator’s man-

ual. It only cut one crop. Anyone want a good used combine? The Allis Chalmers combine had a 15-bushel hopper with a small unloading auger. His dad combined 450 acres of wheat with that combine that year at Meath Park, northeast of Prince Albert, Sask. The “trucker” used a team of horses and two wagons. The wagon held three hoppers so Joe’s dad could fill a wagon while the hired man took the loaded wagon to a bin. He used a grain scoop to put the grain in a bin! Joe was nine at the time and rode along with the hired man and even had a ride on the platform of the combine. Joe said it was a good crop. Saskatchewan Agriculture stats quote average wheat yield for RM 490 to be 35 bushels/acre in 1939. Even if we use a conservative 30 bushel yield x 450 acres, that’s 13,500 bushels of wheat. That is 900 hoppers of combining and 300 loads of wheat

for the hired hand to shovel — imagine the muscles. It was a perfect harvest year. Prince Albert weather records show very little rain in September and October of 1939. At 15 acres per day it would have been 30 days of very hard work. But the “Beauty of the Harvest” with the five-foot combine only lasted one year. The good crop meant a bigger combine could be purchased. Times change, machines change but the “Beauty of the Harvest” lives on in the hearts of all real farmers. It will be a sad day when this old scribbler cannot crawl up the ladder and rub out a few bushels. † J.L.(Les) Henry is a former professor and extension specialist at the University of Saskatchewan. He farms at Dundurn, Sask. He recently finished a second printing of “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water,” a book that mixes the basics and practical aspects of soil, fertilizer and farming. Les will cover the shipping and GST for “Grainews” readers. Simply send a cheque for $50 to Henry Perspectives, 143 Tucker Cres, Saskatoon, Sask., S7H 3H7, and he will dispatch a signed book.

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

grainews.ca /

Columns Farm financial planner

Financial plan for secure retirement For successful farmers with a tax problem, farm incorporation is the best solution By Andrew Allentuck

n central Manitoba, Barb, who is 53, and Matt, 57, are second generation farmers. Matt took over the farm from his father three decades ago and, today raises wheat, oilseeds and hay on 1,200 acres. He has another 900 acres of pasture for his 125 beef cows. The problem today is that with commodity and livestock prices soaring, the couple has an unexpectedly high taxable income. Their accountant estimates they will have $225,000 of taxable income for 2013. That will incur a total tax bill of $85,000. Worried about paying that tab, Barb and Matt approached Don and Erik

Forbes of Don Forbes Associates/ Armstrong & Quaile Associates Inc. in Carberry, Manitoba. The goal: examine the tax problem and set up a corporation.

The situation Barb and Matt have two children, neither of whom has expressed an interest in farming. Matt wants to continue farming for the foreseeable future until age 60. Then he would like to sell his cattle but continue the grain farming operation to his age 65. Limited by lack of RRSP contribution space and eligible deductions to claim against their taxable income of $225,000, incorporation is the better choice, Don

Forbes suggests. Through incorporation, the immediate tax payable would drop from $85,000 to $10,000 payable personally plus $3,000 of employer contributions to the Canada Pension Plan on the assumption that Barb and Matt each draw $30,000 salary per year. That would leave about $160,000 in the corporation to be taxed at the 11 per cent Manitoba tax rate. The total tax would then be $30,800 for personal and corporate taxes. That would not eliminate $54,200 of tax payable under a proprietorship, but it would defer it to a later date, Don Forbes says. The $160,000 less $17,600 taxes due would be left in the corporation as retained earnings. That

$142,200 of retained earnings can be used for working capital or for debt reduction or as down payment for additional land or equipment, Don Forbes says. For the best long term opportunity, Barb and Matt should keep their debt-free, personally owned farm land in joint title so that they can take full advantage of the $800,000 farm land/corporate share capital gain superexemption. They are eligible for $800,000 each, for a total of $1,600,000. They can roll over all inventory, equipment, cattle, line of credit debt and 320 acres of farm land with a mortgage, Erik Forbes says. By excluding personally owned farm land when rolling all the farm assets into the corporation, Barb and Matt can have more flexibility in exploiting their capital gains exemption. They can then sell off pieces of land as they choose. The permanent $800,000 capital gains exemption for small business shares applies only when the shares are sold to a qualified buyer. This reduces the pool of potential buyers if Barb and Matt want to extract as much equity as possible out of farm assets without tax. Barb and Matt should continue to make the most of their RRSP space. By age 65, Matt will have $310,000 in RRSP assets and by 61, Barb will have $360,000 of assets. Each can convert the RRSP into a Registered Retirement Income Fund that will pay each person $24,000 per year before tax.

For now

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The plan for now is to sell the cattle herd in 2016 when Matt is 60. $200,000 of estimated proceeds will be taxed at the corporate level, then paid out at $20,000 per person per year. This money would be deposited into a Tax-Free Savings Account the future proceeds of which would be tax-free. Any surplus can be deposited to their non-registered investment account. At age 65, Matt will cease active farming and rent out the 1,200 acres of crop land at any estimated $50 per acre net rent per year for a total of $60,000 of rental income to be split between himself and Barb. They should continue to maximize their AgriInvest accounts to access the offsetting government contributions. In these accounts, 1.5 per cent of eligible sales after tax are deposited and matched by federal government grants. At age 65 and after all proceeds of the cattle sale have been paid out in dividends, they should close the

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account. That will allow the taxable government portion to be added to their annual incomes. At 65, Matt should apply for Canada Pension Plan benefits of about half the maximum 2014 benefit of $12,460 per year and Old Age Security — $6,618 per year. At that time, Barb can apply for similar benefits with a reduction of six per cent per year for each year prior to age 65 at which benefits are initiated. The argument for taking benefits at 65 and not sooner rests on the fact that CPP is indexed. The immediate penalty is substantial and the future cost is immense. Only if Barb or Matt had a very limited life expectancy after 65 would it make sense to cash in at 60, Erik Forbes adds. The couple will have substantial retirement income. They will have $180,000 before tax when Matt is 65. After tax, they will have about $143,000. $60,000, will be rent from the farm land. $48,000 will be RRIF income and the balance will be payments from OAS and CPP. Their assets will have grown to about $5 million. It is a substantial sum for a couple with little off-farm asset management experience to handle. At present, their financial assets are a muddle of speculative technology and resource funds, high management fee stock funds, and balanced funds managed by several companies. Their average fees approach 2.5 per cent per year which, for $770,000 of assets under management, cost them nearly $20,000 per year. The fees are embedded in the funds and not specifically tax-deductible. Over time, Matt and Barb can withdraw money from the funds — most allow 10 per cent to be cashed out each year without any penalty — and invested with an advisor of their choice for a fee which would be 1.0 to 1.5 per cent per year. That would save them about half their present embedded management fees and some of the fees attributable to non-registered investments would be deductible from taxable income. “This couple has done remarkably well with their farming operations,” Don Forbes says. “Their challenge now will be to migrate their assets and to nonfarm financial assets and to keep both their capital intact and their income up. With good advice and a restructuring of their financial assets, they will have an estimated pre-tax income of almost $143,000 Matt is 65. After tax, they will have about $93,000, which is twice when they will need to support their present way of life.” Their surplus income over needs can buy long term care insurance, though with their capital there is some doubt that it would be costefficient. After all, they have the money to buy whatever care they need not provided by government health services. They can have lovely vacations. They will also have the privilege of aiding their two adult children in their 30s — neither of whom has expressed an interest in farming, or good causes. Call this a success story. For a free Farm Financial Planner analysis of your retirement or succession issues or offfarm investments, contact andrew. allentuck@gmail.com. † Andrew Allentuck’s latest book, “When Can I Retire? Planning Your Financial Life After Work,” was published in 2011 by Penguin Canada.

/ grainews.ca

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Columns OFF-FARM INVESTING

Stocks for a more carefree portfolio Some of the strategies Andy Sirkski uses to simplify portfolio management ANDY SIRSKI

usually have uncommitted cash in my accounts. Today I will write about some of the strategies I plan to use to put that cash to work. Also, birthdaywise, I moved into a new decade this year so I want to simplify my affairs a bit.

OWN STOCKS THAT PAY DIVIDENDS AS MORE SHARES Recently I wrote about four stocks that earn a nice monthy dividend and let me buy more shares with the dividend at a discount of five per cent with no brokerage fee. I now own enough shares of Bonavista (BNP) and Parkland (PKI) to bring in enough cash each month to allow me to buy four to six shares per month. You need to buy shares, then call your broker to ask him or

her to convert the dividends into more shares. The other two companies that I know that offer the same deal are Pembina Pipeline (PPL) and Interprovincial Pipeline (IPL). For now I will stay with the two stocks I own but I might buy a few more shares as money becomes available and/or the price is right.

WEEKLY CALLS I’m selling weekly calls on a batch of about $54,000 worth of shares in

Ford (F). Since early November I’ve sold calls for about $1 per share. Over 10 weeks, that’s about $0.10 per week. Those shares should bring me about $5 per share which, on a $17 stock, is pretty good. As well, I collect a dividend of 2.5 per cent, which should be another $1,200 a year. If all goes well that account could become a perpetual money machine that could outlive me. And I have no management fees, which would usually cost between $1,000 and $2,000 a year.

SELLING CALLS I filled my small RRSP with 8,000 shares of Dryship (DRYS), sold a call for January 2015 with a $4 strike price, and took in $0.96 per share in premiums. I started with enough money to buy 6,700 shares. I sold calls, bought more shares, sold calls on them. There are now 8,000 shares in that account. That company has a gaggle of ships. It recently received a new ship with a deep ocean drill-

ing rig on it and has another one to come in a year or so. This company has a lot of debt so it might be outside some investors’ risk tolerance. That account should be worth $32,000 by January 2015, for a gain of around 40 per cent over 14 months. By the end of 2015 I need to arrange taking money out of that nest egg. I think the $32,000 could earn me 10 per cent per year quite easily. It could be another perpetual account with no management fees. I could put more money into that RRSP and raise those numbers by 50 per cent or so For the brave, as of January 7, January 2015 calls with a strike price of $4 are bringing in a net of $1.08, which is around 25 per cent for a year. A good chunk of my stock market portfolio is invested in the above strategies. That still leaves me with cash that I can use to buy more shares and sell calls on them. I had 10,000 shares of Input Capital (INP) that cost $1. I sold them for $1.70 a year later when I was learning weekly calls and spreads. Now that I have those two strategies under my belt I likely will buy INP shares again. The company lends money to farmers and collects canola as payment. Now INP is selling canola from the 2013 harvest and lending money out for next year. Plus it raised a bunch of millions earlier this year which will raise its lending capacity, raising the amount of canola it should collect a year from now. I like Western Forest Products (WEF), a timber/ lumber producer with no pine trees on the West Coast. I also like Davis & Henderson (DH) which prints checks but mostly helps business set up technology that monitors business transactions. I also started to buy shares in AutoCanada (ACQ) which has no options, pays a dividend of $0.84 per year and whose business is expected to grow at 30 per cent a year. Disney is quite appealing but has come up quite a bit so might need a rest. Those shares split three for one many years ago when shares were $75. Now the price is back up to $76 but it did take 15 or 20 years.

GOLD AND SILVER As I write on January 7 we are two days away from the labour statistic report that normally is published on the first Friday of the month but this year was delayed due to the holidays. Since November 2012, the week of labour stats has become known as smack down week when gold and silver prices drop. Big investors apparently put gold up for sale and pull their bids, causing prices to drop. I will be watching to see if this pattern is repeated. After the Chinese New Year there is almost no fundamental reason for the price of gold to rise. That is why for the last 38 years or so the price of gold and silver has trickled (or crashed) as we head for June. I don’t see why that pattern should stop this year. I would expect weak prices for gold and silver until after June. I have been wrong before. I own shares in FR because it is a low cost silver producer with all of its mines in Mexico — friendly to mines. Silver has industrial uses, and is so cheap it is not being recycled, so silver used in techie stuff ends up in the garbage dump. †

www.fmccrop.ca

Always read and follow label directions. FMC and Authority are trademarks and Investing in farming’s future is a service mark of FMC Corporation. ©2014 FMC Corporation. All rights reserved. F101-032481 2/14

Andy Sirksi is mostly retired. He plays with his granddaughters, travels a bit, gardens in summer and manages his family’s portfolio. He also publishes an electronic newsletter called StocksTalk. To read it free for a month send an email to sirski@mts.net. F101-032481-02_AuthorityAd_Casket_Grainnews.indd 1

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

grainews.ca /

Columns UNDERSTANDING MARKET BULLS AND BEARS

Cyclical market patterns What can we learn from cyclical patterns in the markets, and how we can use those cycles to our advantage BRIAN WITTAL

hrough my many hours of reading various market analysis reports over the past number of years there is one particular pricing trend pattern that I would like to bring to your attention. I’m referring to a very simplistic two-year repeatable trend pattern that seems to continually manifest itself in the grain markets. A two-year pattern of up, then two years down and then two years sideways and repeat. Now, each leg in this pattern is not always exactly two years (24 months) in duration, but over many years that is what the average duration works out to be. With that in mind and when you add to that the recent performance in the world grain markets over the past 12 months I think we can safely assume we are heading into year two of the downward trend, which will likely be followed by a two year sideways trend. I am not one to live and die by the charts, but I do believe that there is some very relevant and useful information that you can take from charts and use to your advantage.

money, then prices make a hard correction downward and we start all over again! This is one very simplistic explanation of what may be a part of what is driving this kind of a chart trend, but it helps you to see that this is a somewhat perpetual pattern that exists. You should be able to use this information to your advantage when making business and marketing decisions on your farm.

ON THE FARM Let’s say you are looking at your overall farm business plan and trying to decide when you

should look at expanding your operations by buying or renting more land and machinery. Well now that you know the consistency of this three-stage six-year cyclical chart pattern you can better plan to move ahead with expansion plans at a more strategic time such as when the charts show they are heading from the sideways into the up stage of the cycle rather than starting your expansion while in a two-year down trend. Deciding if you should be renting more land or keeping the rented land you have is always a tough decision. With this kind of chart information you at least

have some historical information that is telling you how prices are likely going to trend for the next two to four years. With that you can pencil out real fast whether or not you can profitably farm the rented land paying the current rental rates that you are. If those numbers aren’t in your favour, you need to decide if you should continue to rent this land and or renegotiate the rental rate. If that is not successful then you need to decide if you should surrender the land back to the owner which would reduce your chances of taking a loss on it and reduce your cash flow needs having to pay cash rent up front.

If the cycle is telling you that you are heading in to the second year of a down trend which is usually followed by a two-year sideways trend do you want to be laying out all that cash rent and potentially be looking at taking a loss on those acres for the next two to three years when margins going to be so tight? Maybe you are better to turn back the land and save yourself some work and wear and tear on your machinery for a year or two until the cycle starts to point to better times ahead. Then review your business plan again at that time as land rental rates may also have dropped during that time of low prices which would certainly be to your advantage going forward. Food for thought! † Brian Wittal has 30 years of grain industry experience, and currently offers market planning and marketing advice to farmers through his company Pro Com Marketing Ltd. (www.procommarketingltd.com).

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CHART TRENDS No doubt the reasons behind why these markets seem to follow this trend are many and varied. They are somewhat random and a little bit by chance all at the same time. One year of above average yields can substantially build up world stocks of grains and send markets into a down trend really fast, as we are all well aware of this year. The end result of that is that the growers are going to look at shifting acres out of the least profitable grains for the next few years, while the buyers/processors/feeders are going to look at how they can take advantage of lower priced grain by expanding their business and increasing their production and sales. This expansion would usually take anywhere from two to four years, which would account for the down and sideways arms of the pattern. It seems then that just as the buyer/processor gets his sales and production ramped up, the growers’ acres and production have been reduced enough over the past two to four years to create a supply shortage and a greater demand for the grain that is available, thus pushing prices higher for approximately another two years. As prices go higher growers seed more acres of those crops for the profitable returns which eventually leads to overproduction and an imbalance in supply and demand once again. At at some point the buyers/processors start to back out of the markets because they are not making any

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“ Once the soybean crop has emerged, there are no weed control options. You must get control of these resistant weeds before the crop emerges.”

Drawing a Line in the Soil: Options to control glyphosate-resistant Canada fleabane in soybeans Many Ontario producers and agronomists have noticed a considerable amount of Canada fleabane in the fields this year, and no wonder. Not only does fleabane spread quickly over great distances, but glyphosate-resistant biotypes are also being confirmed in more counties across southwestern Ontario each year. And it continues to spread. In terms of weed resistance, glyphosateresistant Canada fleabane is potentially the biggest threat to eastern Canadian growers, and it is particularly problematic for soybean growers due to limited control options in-crop. However, there are several ways to manage glyphosate-resistant fleabane in your fields. Distance is no defence. If glyphosateresistant fleabane has been identified two counties over, it could be on your farm by next year, or it may be there already. Depending on its size, one fleabane plant can produce tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of seeds.

To compound the problem, some glyphosate-resistant fleabane biotypes are also resistant to Group 2 herbicides. Once the soybean crop has emerged, there are no weed control options. You must get control of these resistant weeds before the crop emerges. Your best option to manage fleabane in soybeans is tillage. But if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re counting on tillage to take out those weeds, the plants must be completely uprooted or buried. The next best option is using a herbicide containing the active ingredient saflufenacil, such as Eragon or Optill, with your pre-plant burndown. Another pre-plant option is 2,4-D Ester, but you must wait seven days after application before planting soybeans. A diverse crop rotation will also help prevent or manage the spread of glyphosate-resistant fleabane. However, by treating all fleabane on your farm as if it is glyphosate resistant, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re already managing it. To read the complete story, visit asktheexpertnetwork.ca. Leanne Freitag, Regional Agronomy Manager

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/ grainews.ca

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Columns FIELD NOTES

What to grow next year With falling prices it’s harder to pencil in profits. On Bobbie Bratrud’s farm, this will mean some hard cropping decisions

Gross Margin Evaluation 2014 as of Jan. 1, 2014

$250 $209.60

$200

$188

$187

$182.00

$167.50

$186 $148.28

$/ACRE

$150 $119.08

$100

$119.08

$112.63

BOBBIE BRATRUD

$79.60 $57

$58

$56

$52

$50

$37.50 $18.28 -$10.92

$-$50

-$10.92

-$17.37

Red Lentils

LG Lentils

Soybeans Conv

Soybeans

Chickpeas

Winter Wheat

HRS Wheat

Durum

Canola

Flax

Gross Margin

$188

$209.60

$187

$182

$167.50

$186

$119.08

$112.63

$148.28

ROI

$58

$79.60

$57

$52

$37.50

$56

-$10.92

-$17.37

$18.28

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reparing and planning for next year is an ongoing process on our farm. It’s a big winter activity that keeps getting honed and altered as we get closer to spring. I joke that we often have more marital disputes around crop planning than anything else. As harvest wraps up we all have the knee jerk reaction of “we’ll never grow that crop again” as we are fighting with flax straw or our eyes are crossed from too many acres of shaving the ground while straight combining lentils or soybeans. Usually as a couple of weeks or months pass so does the memory of the short lived pain of growing some of these different crops. And the process begins to develop the crop plan for next year. On our farm the first step in completing the crop plan is updating our spreadsheet with probable prices and average yields, to compare each crop’s profitability. One of the major benefits of farming in Southeast Saskatchewan is that, agronomically speaking, we can successfully grow many different crops. We have multiple choices of cereals, oilseed, and pulse crops that we can grow which can help diversify the risk. We operate an average-sized farm, so in my view one of our big advantages is our ability to farm our acres a bit more intensely. This allows us to grow a bigger crop basket which helps to minimize both production and pricing risk. I typically need fingers on both of my hands to list of the crop we grow each year. The past couple of years have been a nice treat in that when profitability of all crops were compared, most showed good potential returns. As long as average crops could be grown, virtually all crops contributed to overall farm profit. This was a nice change in that it allowed our farm to streamline the crops grown to improve logistical efficiency as well as to help correct some rotations that had been cheated in the past due to economics and a couple of really wet years. Many farms over the past couple of years have successfully made their crop plans based on three to four different crops, which in our area aided logistics during a couple of compressed seeding windows.

NEXT YEAR On our farm it looks like that is about to change for the upcoming year. The fall in many commodity prices along with an increase in many costs such as land, equipment, and some vari-

able input costs have forced us to sharpen our pencils regarding crop choices. We are anticipating diminished returns for many crops, when projecting average crop yields. It is looking like we will be growing more crops next year, somewhere near six is the plan right now. Some of the traditionally small acre crops that we grow, such as flax, are looking to see a larger portion of the acres than usual. We are also looking at continuing to grow soybeans, as over the past couple of years we have grown more comfortable producing them. We view soybeans as a good addition to our rotation to take the place of some of our cereal acres. We have some winter wheat in, and if it establishes in the spring, it will make up a good chunk of our cereal acres. Most other spring seeded cereals all look very disappointing in our spreadsheet compared to lower input crops such as lentils, soybeans or flax. A while back we locked in some fall flax, canola, and soybean sales, which penciled out not too bad, ensuring grain movement and cash flow at that critical time of year. We see balancing good marketing decisions at the same time as managing cash flow to be a major challenge going forward. Since that time pricing and logistic outlooks of many crops have continued to decline and will be a major consideration on many farms. The continued falling price of many commodities makes firming up decisions a moving target. This may force us to continue to have more flexibility than usual in cropping plans right up to seeding time. On our farm, many of the crops that pencil out the best are those with lower variable costs to grow. Lentils, we traditionally have grown reds, look to be leaders and will continue to be a big part of our acres. Other crops such as soybeans and flax will potentially count as more acres than usual, while canola looks to remain flat, and cereal acres are looking to decrease. There are many farms that, due to many different reasons, will choose to continue to maintain the number of crops that they seed. This certainly can be desirable to maximize efficiency and logistics throughout the year. On our farm, with fewer acres, we need to maximize return per acre as margins become slimmer. We will plan for more crops and the challenges that go along with that, from multiple drill cleanouts and calibrations, sprayer cleanouts to more complex harvest management. We view this diversification as one advantage a smaller farm has when margins may be reduced. Now to hope and plan for an average growing season and yields and prepare and brace for all of the changes and challenges to come. † Bobbie Bratrud farms with her husband Mark near Weyburn, Sask. They also run Bratrud Ag Advisory Services (www.bratrudag.ca).

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

grainews.ca /

Columns OPEN FIELD

Introducing “Open Field” Open field Grainews welcomes new columnist Sarah Weigum into the pages of the paper. Here’s a chance to find out what we’re getting into SARAH WEIGUM

have been coerced into writing this column. Well, not exactly, but neither did I jump to it gleefully. Editor Leeann Minogue emailed me last October while I was working on my final instalment of the fababean trilogy and asked if I was interested in a regular agronomy column. I’ve been a publishing work since I was 12, but I’ve never fancied myself a columnist. I like to ask other people questions and report, but before writing about my experience growing fababeans for the first time in 2013, I hadn’t written much in my own voice. I avoided giving Leeann a straight answer, but she emailed me column suggestions and kept writing things like, “When you write your column...” until I relented. Before launching myself into the great opinionating hinterland, I thought I’d let readers know a bit about me. I have been a writer since I started my first novel in Mrs. Stankievech’s Grade 3 classroom. I wrote about a girl named Annabelle and her 12 siblings in my largest handwriting so as to have a longer story than Joelle Koch, who, two rows back, was my nearest literary competitor.

the combination of plants and soil work and I like to know how to make this combination pay, but I don’t live for the day when I get my soil and tissue sample results. To be honest, sometimes I have to think really hard about whether the P in N-P-K-S stands for phosphorus or potassium (I’m 99 per cent sure it’s phosphorus, but that’s only because I’m on good terms with Google). Even though I feel like I am constantly running to keep up with both the basic and complex facts of agriculture, I do love acquiring knowledge and I love the process of using that knowledge to make decisions. I like sitting around the

table with my dad at lunch and discussing the pros and cons, the knowns and the unknowns. I really like the grey areas in this field and that sometimes, as a farmer, you have to make the best decision with the limited knowledge you have at the time and act on it, hoping for the best. I like that there are people everywhere in agriculture — in research labs and out in their fields with check strips — who are trying to make things a little less grey, all the while uncovering new complexities. What I lack in strong opinions about agronomy, I hope to make up for in love of the process of learning how things work on the farm.

EXPLORING AGRONOMY One reason why I hesitated when Leeann asked me if I wanted to do a column on agronomy is that I’m really not an agronomy geek at heart. I like to know how

public perception of modern agriculture; passing on the family farm; and being a young, female farmer. Some of my pet issues are not agronomic, but I see the life of a farmer as an integrated whole and sometimes I have to back away from the fertilizer blend sheet and deal with other farmrelated issues so that I can have a clear mind to make the best agronomic decisions. I’m looking forward to a new way of exploring these decisions by sharing them on the printed page with Grainews readers. † Sarah Weigum grows pedigreed seed and writes at Three Hills, Alta. Follow her on Twitter: @sweigum.

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I really like the grey areas in this field I grew up on a seed farm at Three Hills, Alta., but stayed on the writerly track throughout high school and university, completing a degree in English literature and writing for various publications. I worked for a Member of Parliament in B.C. then moved to Ottawa where I learned a lot about networking, never imagining it to be a skill that would one day be integral to my life in agriculture. I also never imagined that one day my life would include driving tractors, shovelling bins, marketing seed and discussing input purchases. However, one fateful fall when I was between jobs, I took my parents up on their offer to hire me for harvest. I didn’t switch my high heels for Carhartt’s immediately, but the seed was planted. In 2011 I returned to farm with my parents full time. One final thing I never imagined was that coming back to the farm would lead to more writing work than I had done in a few years, but here I am — farming, writing and enjoying both immensely.

As I mentioned, I grow seed alongside my parents. If I have an intelligent thought about agriculture it’s due largely to their influence. Along with our retail seed business, we export fall rye seed to South Korea. The things that keep me up at night (besides wondering if some South Korean import officer woke up on the wrong side of the bed) are: new seed variety development; market development for these varieties; communicating the importance of certified seed and bringing customers to my farm; treating seed; promoting healthy crop rotations (including fall rye and pulses!); funding for agriculture research;

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Columns CAN’T TAKE THE FARM FROM THE BOY

Meanwhile, back at the farm Toban Dyck learns the hard truth: farm yards do not look after themselves while farmers drink margaritas on southern beaches TOBAN DYCK

get it now. I finally understand why my parents are happy knowing someone is living on the farm while they’re away. My wife and I went on a hot holiday this year and returned to a yard that hadn’t seen people in nearly two weeks. Things demanded my attention immediately — things I had to learn on the fly, and things I had to call other in for. I learned

something: keeping a farm is very different than keeping a city property. We returned from Nicaragua to a failing septic system and frozen drainpipes in our guest bathroom. My reaction was childish. It was late, and after two days in transit, all my mind could conjure was the irrational fear that this problem would cost a mortgage to fix, and would put us in the poor house. The systems that allow a farm to function can fail, and when they do they are not usually the responsibility of the municipality. They are mine. Of all the machines, motors, and

things currently using electricity on the farm that could possibly stop working, I would be able to diagnose a handful and fix even less. Joe, from a local plumbing outfit, came down the next morning and fixed the problem in under two hours and for under $150. Great. Done. Now on to the next thing.

CLEARING SNOW Our half-mile long driveway had been cleared while we were away, but now the entire eightacre yard needed to be opened. The trucking company sched-

uled to pickup our last load of soybeans would arrive any minute, so it needed to happen fast. Would the tractor start? I plugged it in as we past the workshop on the way to our house. I also had to plug in our tandem, as they were a few bushels of soybeans in there. They all started. I had no reason to think otherwise, but these relatively simple tasks were the most mentally taxing things I had to do in the previous week and a half. Eating and sitting on the beach do little to keep you mentally sharp, it turns out. Truckers love clean yards. And I love to hear that we have one.

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So, I spent a few hours clearing snow, ensuring the driver had options for turning around near our bins. It was worth it to see the yard come to life again with its own version of bustle. Machines were functioning for the first time a while, all the vital services had been checked, and our dog was back from her holiday next door. One thing remained for me to do: Activate and turn on the waste-oil burner my father invented. He has sold many plans for this device, but the one I was to fire up was the first one he built from scratch. It is a Rubik’s Cube; just as formidable. Years ago, at a formative age, I decided that no matter how hard I tried, I would never understand how this thing works. This sentiment remains true today, though there are slivers of hope that I may someday overcome this. All the oil-soaked pumps, belts, hoses, pipes, taps, tanks, radiators, etc., that together make up this thing that until recently I assumed ran on magic, take up a sizable chunk of a large workshop.

All is working as it should The furnace, when operating at its full potential, heats this shop and my parents’ house. It’s brilliant, really, and I was pumped to have been given the green light to run it this winter. All I had to do was get this thing going. My father’s tutorial was simple: Plug in pre-heater, turn on pump, then flick the breaker. Bingo. This was fine. My childhood promise to never understand this thing could not compete with such a simple operating procedure. But, he said, if that doesn’t work, here is an infinitely long list of possibilities to troubleshoot. Boom. Deer in headlights. So far, all is working as it should. I love tinkering, and despite my tone suggesting the contrary, my troubleshooting is getting better. But these are things I never had to do in the city. I would never have had a waste-oil burner in Winnipeg or Toronto. Clearing snow did not require a tractor and take a couple hours to complete. Thinking ahead, and staying on top of all the organs keeping a farm and farmyard alive is important. And I’m slowly learning how all the pieces work and fit. Returning home is more than unlocking and turning up the heat. It’s spending a few days outside, inspecting, checking, and getting your hands dirty. And I shouldn’t be a farmer if I don’t enjoy getting my hands dirty. It felt nice to run the tandem, even if it will be a while until we really need it. † Toban Dyck is a freelance writer and a new farmer on an old farm. Follow him on Twitter @tobandyck or email tobandyck@gmail.com.

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

grainews.ca /

Machinery & Shop NEW PRODUCTS

3-in-1 welders

There are three welders in Tweco’s new machine SCOTT GARVEY

.S.-based Tweco, a division of Victor Technologies, thinks it has the ideal solution for those who can’t justify the expense of buying three different welders. Tweco’s new Fabricator line of welders put MIG, TIG and Stick capability into one affordable machine. The Fabricator line includes four different models with varying outputs. Tom Wermert, Tweco’s brand manager, thinks the Fabricator 211i model, which is rated at 210 amps, best suits the needs of most farm workshops. “For a farmer, to do everything he wants to do, the 211i would be the ideal machine for his shop,” he says. “With the 211i, he can weld up to 3/8-inch thick steel on a single pass. He can weld the thicker materials he comes across, like hitches and things of that nature.” The 211i can operate on either 115 or 230 volts, but its output is limited when running on the lower voltage. When connected to 230 volts it requires an outlet with a 30 amp breaker. “Its portable,” adds Wermert. “You can throw it in the back of a pickup truck and run it off a generator.” If you plan on running the 211i off a generator, you’ll need one with a 4.5 KVA output to use it at the 115 volt setting. To run it on 230 volts, the generator will need to kick out 7 KVA to get full output. The 211i retails for US$1,500. Tweco’s Fabricator welders are fully integrated systems, incorporating a built-in gas solenoid valve and wire feed system for MIG welding. They all accept four-inch or eight-inch spools of MIG wire. The 211i & 252i will also accept 12-inch spools. But why bother getting a welder than incorporates all three processes? “It gives the farmer many,

PHOTO: TWECO

Tweco’s new Fabricator line of welders incorporate MIG, TIG and Stick functions in one machine. many options for all the things he runs up against on the farm,” Wermert explains. Having access to MIG, TIG and stick welding is ideal, because each process has its limitations and advantages. MIG (sometimes referred to as gas metal arc welding or GMAW) is ideal for welding thinner materials, like sheet metal. It’s also fast and easy to use. But if you want to use it outside the workshop, that might be a problem. Wind can blow the shielding gas away from the arc as you work, creating brittle, porous welds. However, if you use self-shielding flux-cored wire, no gas is required, that will solve the problem. When the welder is equipped with an optional spool gun, MIG is the ideal process for welding aluminum. TIG can be used to make very good looking welds. It is also suited for welding stainless steel. “The advantage of using Stick is an operator can join (thicker) material with multiple passes,” notes Wermert. “He can switch to a stick electrode and make multiple passes on that joint and get super penetration and not worry about cold cracking, where he might have that problem if he was using the MIG process.” The 211i will accomodate up to 5/32 electrodes when stick welding. “(Using the Stick process) you can do hard facing of plow tips

or (loader) buckets,” he explains. “You can do some very aggressive, heavy stick welding. Also the operator can switch to stick and do cast iron repair using a nickel or special alloy rod.” Learning to use MIG or TIG isn’t that hard. In fact, they’re easier to master than Stick welding. “MIG is the easiest,” says Wermert. TIG is the second easiest and Stick is the hardest. With the Stick-electrode process, you not only have to travel at the right speed, you have to hold a consistent arc length. So, you have to push the electrode in (as it burns down) to keep a consistent arc length. With the MIG process all you have to do is pull the trigger, move the torch and travel at the right speed.” “With TIG, all you’re doing is creating an arc between the material and the tungsten electrode. You then take the TIG rod and dip it into the molten puddle to add filler material. If you’re doing fusion work with TIG, like corner joints, you don’t even have to add any filler.” “With our machines, when you open the door, there’s a big chart. All you have to do is pick the material and the wire you have on and it tells you where to set the dials on the machine. There’s no guesswork involved at all.” † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@ fbcpublishing.com.

How to pick the right electrodes

etting up a welder with the proper electrodes is key to doing a good job. For all three welding processes, MIG, TIG and Stick, there are multiple electrode choices. When using MIG for regular mild steel, which is the most common application on the farm, selecting ER 70S-6 welding wire is the best choice. “For mild steel the best choice would be ER 70S-6,” says Tom Wermert, brand manager for Tweco, a welding equipment supplier. “Probably 90 per cent of all mild steel wire today is that grade.” To use MIG on aluminum, there are a couple of options to consider, but one stands out as the best choice there as well. “There are two popular types,” says Wermert. “One is 4043 the other is 5356. 4043 is the best

choice. It gives a cleaner, better weld. 5356 is used more in higher-strength structural aluminum work. A farmer wouldn’t need that.” For welding mild steel using the TIG process, Wermert recommends ER 80S-D2. When it comes to Stick welding, be sure to use an electrode that is correct for the current type (AC or DC) and the welding position they’ll be used in. Some electrodes are rated for all positions, flat, horizontal, vertical, overhead. 6011 and 6013 are general purpose electrodes that are useful for farm repair work, because they perform well on rusty base metal. They can be used in all positions and will work with both AC and DC current. 7014 rods have iron powder

in their coating which increases the amount of filler metal they deposit. That can be useful for fabrication projects. These allposition rods also are fine with both AC or DC in either polarity. They produce nice, easily cleaned beads with less spatter. When storing stick electrodes, it’s important to keep them in a dry place, preferably sealed in their original container or wrapping until needed. Any that have become damp should not be used, because moisture can be released as steam from the heat of the arc and compromise the strength of the finished weld. Stick electrodes that have been subjected to moisture can be dried out by placing them in an oven and baking at 250 F (121 C) for several hours. †

learn how to become new holland smart at nhsmart.com/jordanK

Scott Garvey

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1/16/14 5:04 PM

/ grainews.ca

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Machinery & Shop PROJECT CJ3A

Frame-off restoration, part 1 We kick off a complete vehicle restoration project, starting with a full disassembly and clean up BY SCOTT GARVEY

ere, in the Machinery and Shop section of Grainews, we regularly detail different kinds of equipment repairs, and we’ve even gone as far as taking a step-by-step look at how to give a farm truck a

major facelift. But in this new series, we’re going to take that idea a step further. This time we’re taking a pretty comprehensive look at how to bring back something close to original showroom quality to an old machine by doing a “frame-off” restoration, tearing it down to its basic components and rebuilding it.

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The body has to come off the frame

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This is the first article in a series that will follow that project all the way from teardown to final paint. To demonstrate the process, we’re working on a 1952 Willys Jeep. Why a Jeep? Well, in the 1950s, the Jeep was marketed to farmers as a one-of-a-kind, combination pickup truck and tractor. There were even PTO and three-point hitch options available for it, although this old Jeep was never equipped with either — as far as we know. While the Jeep never really could compare to a dedicated farm tractor and it couldn’t do what a pickup of the day could, it was — and still is — a heck of a lot of fun to drive. And the little “flat fender” Jeep has a lot in common with other older farm machinery. Its systems are pretty basic and easy to understand. And with its simple design, the steps involved in bringing it back to life are typical of any restoration, whether it’s an old truck, classic farm tractor or antique implement.

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GETTING STARTED To really do a good job of restoration, the body has to come off the frame, hence the term “frame-off.” The Jeep’s simple body design only has six major sections: two fenders, grille, hood, windshield and body tub. They can all be separated and are light enough to be lifted off by hand. To make things even simpler, the Jeep was a non-runner when it arrived and had no electrical system in place, so there were no wires to remove. If there had been, we’d probably just cut and tear them out. Sixty-plus-year-old electrical systems are a fire waiting to happen. Although the Jeep’s simple design made for a really straightforward teardown, getting all those old nuts and bolts to come apart wasn’t easy. In fact, we used up about four cans of penetrating oil and spent hours in a pains-

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

grainews.ca /

Machinery & Shop

PHOTOS: SCOTT GARVEY

Left: Looking good with a new coat of paint, the restored frame is ready for suspension and axles. Middle: Once disassembly was completed, the frame was pressure washed to remove six decades of grime. Right: Looking good with a new coat of paint, the restored frame is ready for suspension and axles. taking disassembly process significantly slowed down by extensive rust and corrosion. But that’s pretty typical of a restoration. Once we had the Jeep stripped down, it was time for a thorough frame cleaning to find out exactly what problems needed to be addressed. It’s tough to evaluate components when they’re covered with decades of dirt and grease build up. A small tractor with a bale spear attachment on the front-end loader made an ideal substitute for a forklift to move the frame to a pressure washer for a good scrubbing. After that, the frame made the trip back to the shop for a date with a sandblaster (we used glass-bead media, not sand), which took the frame down to bare metal. An angle grinder with a flap disc was also put to use preparing the surface on some parts. As expected, we found previously unnoticed trouble spots once we could make a detailed inspection. One frame rail was damaged above a rear spring hanger, which required welding. And the transmission support crossmember bolts had been replaced previously with some that were too small. As a result, it was loose. Finding gerryrigged or substandard repairs is also typical in a restoration. With the necessary repairs properly made, it was time to protect the frame from further rust and make it look respectable again. To do that, we started with a pair of chemicals from Eastwood (eastwood.com) designed specifically for auto chasis restorations. The first, Eastwood’s Rust Converter, was brushed on (it can be sprayed, too). It lays flat, even when brushed, so there are no visible brush lines. Next, the Rust Encapsulator product was sprayed over top to further resist rusting and act as a primer for chassis paint. However, the Rust Encapsulator can be used as a top coat if you want to leave things at this stage. And it has a pretty nice look on its own. It left a matt black finish on the frame. Strictly speaking, though, chassis should have a slightly different semi-gloss look. After all those hours spent turning the Jeep into a big pile of rusty parts during the disassembly phase, it was good take the first step toward rebuilding it. Next time we tackle the axles.

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Machinery & Shop Product evaluation

Putting penetrating fluids to the test

We compare four common brands and rate their effectiveness in a Grainews workshop test By Scott Garvey

t was clear from the beginning of Project CJ3A (which debuts in this issue) that disassembly of that 61-year-old Jeep was going to be difficult. It had to be fully dismantled at the start of its restoration, but decades of corrosion buildup was battling our efforts to separate nuts from bolts. We knew getting this thing taken apart was going to require a lot of penetrating fluid. That meant it was the perfect opportunity to compare a few different penetrating fluid brands in the process and see how they rate. We picked four common brands and pitted them against each other — and a lot of rust — in a Grainews’ workshop trial to evaluate their performance. We tried Loctite’s Freeze and Release, John Deere-branded fluid purchased from a local dealership parts department, 3-in-One Professional and the old standby, WD-40. However, trying to scientifically measure the effectiveness of penetrating fluids used on a real-world

project isn’t easy, because who really knows how much rustier one seized bolt on an old vehicle is than the one beside it. Despite that, using a full can of each brand during the challenging Jeep teardown left us with a definite opinion on their effectiveness. So, here is how the four different brands stacked up

The results Starting with the fourth-place fluid, we rated WD-40 last in this group, but that placement deserves a little explanation. As a penetrating fluid, WD-40 seemed to be the least effective. However, its stable lubricating ability was excellent in helping stiff nuts turn off much easier once they were freed from their stuck position. Penetrating fluids tend to evaporate quickly, but not WD-40. And those stable properties also make it very useful as a long-lasting coating, which is ideal for protecting bare metal surfaces from developing new rust problems during the time they remained disassembled. So even though we put it in

fourth place, it’s something we want to make sure we always have on hand in the workshop. The 3-in-One Professional did pretty well at penetrating, but our test results rate it third best in this group. Second best was the John Deerebranded fluid, which was reasonably impressive. It’s a pretty capable product and reasonably priced. The clear winner in this test, though, was Loctite Freeze and Release. It nearly always freed rusted nuts in just a couple of minutes, much faster than the other brands. Adding a little heat in really tough cases almost guaranteed the nut would break loose. Eventually, we realized if the Freeze and Release and a little heat didn’t work after two quick tries just go straight to the cut-off tool, because the bolt and nut had become virtually inseparable. Do you have a favourite penetrating fluid or a never-fail trick for freeing rusted parts? Let us know and we’ll pass your tip on to Grainews readers. Email your comments to Scott Garvey. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

photo: scott garvey

We compared these four, common penetrating fluids to see how they performed in a Grainews workshop test.

Reader feedback

hen we published our review and real-world workshop comparison of four different penetrating fluids online at our website, Grainews.ca, we heard back from many of you. Although we heard a variety of different comments, several of those who responded gave a big thumbs up to the same brand of fluid, so we thought we’d pass that recommendation on to all Grainews readers. Sea Foam Fast Acting Deep Creep got high marks from a few people, and it was the brand most often mentioned favourably in responses. It’s available at several different auto parts retailers. We found

it on the shelf in Regina for about $12. According to the company’s website, and the instructions on the can, Deep creep is designed to work best when applied to a part that has just been heated. The company says its unique fluid formula is designed not to immediately evaporate under the high temperatures created when a part is heated, unlike several other brands, which seem to just disappear in a puff of smoke. We put that high-temperature claim to the test, and we found that Sea Foam really did seem more stable than some other brands when sprayed on hot parts. † Scott Garvey

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

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Machinery & Shop Canada’s Farm Progress Show

MIG and Stick welding require different techniques Grainews field editor Lisa Guenther and an expert from Miller Electric look at the basic differences between running a bead with a MIG and Stick welder By Lisa Guenther

o be honest, growing up on a farm I was a lot more interested in the animal side of things than the iron. So this year’s Canada’s Farm Progress Show gave me a chance to educate myself a little about all that big, high-tech machinery. And, thanks to Justin Elliott, one of the experts at Miller Electric’s show display, I even got to try my hand at welding. I’d never welded a thing in my life before this. If you watch the video of Justin and me welding (www.grainews.ca/videos), this will be very apparent, as I keep referring to “midge” welding instead of MIG welding. But Justin was a great teacher, and I did pick up a few basics.

would have created an arc. And I ing out the weld creates a more had to constantly remind myself even weld, as the molten metal not to grab the hot metal with my doesn’t build up in the middle. For my first weld, it was “not bare hands. Yikes. I found MIG welding a little bad at all,” Justin said. Since I’ve returned home from easier than Stick welding (or I think I did, anyway. I really can’t the show I’ve been trying to contell which bead was better in vince my husband that I can help the end). Basically, I angled the him restore his 1961 Ford Falcon gun at 45 degrees, and tried to by welding whatever needs to be go slow and steady. I welded “a welded. He’s not convinced that straight stringer,” while Justin my skills are up to snuff. Maybe my dad will let me pracweaved, making his bead wider and allowing it to “wash out on tice on his old machinery. † both sides.” SFM14-01_03-8.125x10-GN.qxd 12/28/13 AM editor Page Lisa Guenther8:31 is a field for 1 Grainews. Google tells me that wash- Contact her at Lisa.Guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

photo: scott garvey

Field editor Lisa Guenther spent time learning the differences between MIG and Stick welding from Justin Elliott at Miller Electric’s display at the 2013 edition of Canada’s Farm Progress Show.

MIG versus Stick

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First, Justin explained a few of the differences between MIG and Stick welding, which is sometimes referred to as arc welding. MIG welding has a gun that continuously feeds out a consumable wire electrode. When the wire touches the base metal, the circuit is complete and the wire burns off, Justin said. But with Stick welding, the electrode needs to be manually placed in the stinger. Stick welding offers an advantage when trying to repair old rusty steel. “Stick welding’s a lot easier (for) a lot of farm equipment. A lot of dirty, rusty, painted materials. It’s a lot easier to work with as far as the cleanliness of the material,” said Justin. Technique differs for MIG and Stick welding. “A typical rule for welding is ‘if there’s slag, you drag,’” said Justin (slag is the crust-like covering that forms over a weld bead and has to be chipped off with a hammer). Therefore, you drag the electrode backward while stick welding, and push the gun forward when MIG welding. I had a bit of trouble keeping the stick tight to the bead while Stick welding, because the electrode burns down and becomes shorter. When I was finishing running a bead, I almost set the stinger on the table, which Justin pointed out

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Cattleman’s Corner PREDATOR CONTROL

Alberta approach working to reduce Aussie predation losses BY KIM NIELSEN

.C. Fields famous quote “It ain’t a fit night out for man or beast!” is a good introduction to an article on livestock predation. In the midst of Canadian winter, some folks are near to, or into, calving season, facing the extra challenges of dealing with the cold, stock health and lurking predators. When I first came to Australia in December 2008 participating in the Clearwater County, Alberta hosting program, I worked for the Australian Department of Primary Industries, Farm Services. As a pest management officer I was quite surprised my experience with livestock predation in Alberta had such interest here. Amazed at the breadth of predators a Canadian livestock producer could potentially face from foxes, coyotes and up through the large carnivores wolves, black bears, grizzlies and mountain lions, my Australian work colleagues were in awe as I recalled livestock losses I had investigated involving all of these predators. Their interest and the “what’s in it for us” piqued when I outlined the direction taken in Clearwater County in addressing livestock predation from a prevention perspective. Engaging producers to self-manage large predators rather than relying on government was relatively new thinking in Australia.

ONE PREDATOR This surprised me because in Australia they are really only talking about one predator, the wild dog — a result of a domestic dog gone feral or having crossed with a dingo. Wild dogs have for many years been a significant issue for livestock producers in the northeast corner of Victoria and southeast corner of New South Wales. State governments became saddled with the responsibility for wild dog control a long time ago and conducted control work on Crown land bordering private. Victoria, as an example employed 23 trappers costing $3 million annually in 2008. A cost effectiveness review didn’t support continuing the program as it was. Figures for 2012-13 showed 499 dogs trapped. Quick math pegs the

cost at $6,000 per dog! (Based on 2008 program costs). All the work among the dog trappers is centred on population reduction on Crown land butting up against private farmland. Reporting was merely about the number of dogs trapped and relied only on anecdotal landowner reports on livestock harassment and predation, perceived or real. I s h a r e d h o w A l b e r t a ’s Agricultural Service Boards were more directly involved in confirming the loss was actually caused by a predator, as opposed to feeding on an already-dead animal. This was the criterion for compensation for losses caused by coyotes, an agricultural nuisance under the Agricultural Pests Act under the Alberta Livestock Predation Indemnity Program. I mentioned that in analyzing predation data from hundreds of investigations we found many of the losses were predisposed to predation due to poor mothering, hypothermia, scours and other causes. After the Alberta program was discontinued, the Clearwater County Agricultural Service Board took a further step away from direct involvement and also discontinued the issuance of 1080 bait (poison bait — sodium monofluroacetate). This service was replaced with workshops on livestock predation prevention. The Wild Dog Control Management Committees I addressed in Australia in a couple of presentations were very interested in looking at this shift in direction.

WORKSHOP IDEA TESTED Before I retired from Clearwater County in 2011, one of the Australian dog trappers came to Alberta to review some of the prevention concepts. He returned with a lot of ideas for revamping the wild dog program. It was met with scepticism and resistance, similar to when Clearwater County submitted the resolution asking the Alberta government to discontinue the Livestock Predator Indemnity, but he trialled the workshop idea with great success. The Australian workshop had a particularly popular component, like ours did, on marksmanship. Packing a rifle in the corner of the tractor cab is a very effective tool

PHOTOS: KIM NIELSEN

Top: Kim Nielsen, former Clearwater County ag manager, front left, with members of the Australian Dog Control Management Committee. Bottom left: A wild dog trapper sets a rubber trap in Australia Bottom right: One wild dog down as efforts continue to control the predator in Australia. and knowing you can hit a beer can at 200 yards is even better. Another aspect of the workshop explained many predators are opportunistic creatures that single out weak animals, quickly led to farmers sharing ideas of prevention from herd health issues, to fencing, to guard animals. I recall some chuckles when I mentioned using donkeys in herds of cattle or sheep as guard animals but five years later I was very pleased to see an article in the Australian farm paper, Weekly Times in December 2013 about a sheep farm in New South Wales where donkeys had been a huge success in preventing wild dog predation.

Eighteen donkeys were used at a ratio of two donkeys per 1,000 sheep on three of the farm’s properties running a total flock of 9,000 sheep. In addition they had trapped and shot eight dogs in the last eight weeks. Australian livestock producers use 1080 bait for wild dogs extensively, which poses a risk to domestic dogs as well and restricting the use of another effective guard animal such as the Maremma dog. The Australian dog trapper who tried the workshop concept upon his return to Australia in 2010 shared another milestone in engaging landowners more effectively in wild dog manage-

ment than perhaps the Victorian government could do. Several community groups under the well-known Landcare umbrella have joined to bait wild dogs and hire their own trappers. This compliments what the Victorian department is currently doing on adjacent crown land but the direct action on private land is paying dividends in getting a better handle on the exact losses and undoubtedly as well the causes. † Kim Juul Nielsen, retired Manager of Agricultural Service, Clearwater County, Alta is a summer time resident of Alcheringa, Dunkeld, Victoria, Australia and is Canadian summer time grazier of 4-Clover Ranch, Rocky Mountain House, Alberta.

THE MARKETS

Cattle market momentum is a surprise With record-high prices, consumer demand remains a question mark JERRY KLASSEN MARKET UPDATE

nce in a while I have to eat my words from the previous market commentary. I was expecting a softer tone to the cattle market after the holiday season

due to softer consumer spending but the opposite has occurred. Alberta fed cattle prices reached $134/cwt in the first half of January, up nearly $10/ cwt from a month earlier. The higher move in Alberta followed the U.S. market where fed cattle in Nebraska touched $140/cwt on a live basis. Strength in the fed cattle market was supported stronger choice wholesale beef prices which were trading at all-

time highs of $214/cwt while select was quoted at $211/cwt. The cattle market clearly has momentum and the enhanced feeding margins have caused a similar jump in feeder cattle. Break-even values for Alberta feedlots are about $123/cwt so profits are now edging over $100 a head and there appears to be renewed enthusiasm in the feeder

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

U.S. QUARTERLY BEEF PRODUCTION (MILLION POUNDS) Quarter

2010

2011

2012

Est 2013

Est 2014

6,251

6,411

6,283

6,172

5,830

6,547

6,559

6,475

6,517

6,235

6,768

6,737

6,584

6,608

6,225

6,741

6,492

6,571

6,420

6,030

Total

26,307

26,199

25,913

25,717

24,320

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

grainews.ca /

Keepers & Culls Coming Events HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN LLOYD A two-day conference on holistic management (HM) is coming up in Lloydminster, Sask. Feb. 10 and 11 at the Lloydminster Agricultural Exhibition grounds. Some great speakers are lined up, along with solid producer panel talking about their experience with HM. Cost of the annual conference is $200 per person. And for more information and to register visit the West Central Forage Association website www. westcentralforage.com or call (780) 727-4447.

From one extreme to the other LEE HART

am often reminded what a “feast or famine” weather world we have and of course the Internet and email makes it all that more immediate. One day in later January I had

Write, E-mail or Fax Contact Cattleman’s Corner with comments, ideas or suggestions for and on stories by mail, e-mail, phone or fax. Phone Lee Hart at 403-592-1964 Fax to 403-288-3162 Email lee@fbcpublishing.com Write to CATTLEMAN’S CORNER, PO Box 71141 Silver Springs RPO, Calgary, Alta. T3B 5K2

a short email from columnist Debbie Chikousky in Manitoba advising the first lamb of the season had been born on their farm at Narcisse, in the Interlake district north of Winnipeg, and it was cold — in the -25 to -28 C range. A day or so later I had another email from columnist Kim Nielsen, who pastures cattle on his farm in Alberta in summer, and spends the rest of the year at his place at Dunkeld, Victoria, Australia. It is hot and dry in Australia and they’ve had a nasty bushfire season. At the time, Nielsen said they had four days of +40 C, (I begin to wilt after 25 C) many lightning strikes in the area, and in fact with one fire creeping closer they had to evacuate their home for a day before

temperatures cooled to the mid 20 C range. (And before the fires raged, Nielsen said they were able to get a 130-bushel/acre oat crop harvested, which was good). And here I am in good, old Calgary where we’ve had a pretty decent January and actually through the second and third week of January a good stretch of Chinook-like conditions — temperatures ranging from 0 C to 15 C... so really it is hard to complain. I hope the roads are good and it’s not too bad where you are. Here are a few events on the left you may want to attend.

FORAGE EVENTS MANITOBA The Manitoba Forage and Grasslands Association has organized three workshops led by well-known pasture management specialist Jim Gerrish to be held in Miniota, Melita and Mather, Feb. 11, 12 and 13, respectively. Running from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in each community the agenda will cover tips for getting the most out of your pastures, building solar panels, moisture conservation, biodiversity, winter grazing and other topics. For more information visit the association website at: www.mfga.net or contact Michael Thiele at (204) 365 6334 or by email at: mthiele@mymts.net

PRECISION AG ALBERTA Geared primarily for the crop production side of farming, the Precision Ag 2.0 conference will be held at the Deerfoot Inn in Calgary Feb. 10 to 12. There are several good speakers on the agenda as well as a trade show on precision agriculture technology. For more information visit the conference website at: www. precision-ag.ca

FUTUREFARE 2014 IN JUNE Free registration is now open for the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency’s (ALMA) FutureFare to be held this year at the Edmonton Marriott at River Cree Resort June 16 and 17. Although the final agenda is yet to be released the theme of the event is “Feeding the Demand.” With a focus on consumer demands, topics will include animal and food safety, sustainable production practices and livestock and meat research. More information is available on their website at:http://www. futurefare.ca

Wednesday, February 19, 2014 10:00 - 4:00pm Pre-Conference Sessions | Hosted by ACFA - Employee Retention & Recruiting Strategies - Genomics @ the Feedlot: Money Maker or Time Waster? 6:30pm Tradeshow Welcome Reception & Fun Night - A Night at the Races! Sponsored by Welcome to the 2014 Alberta Beef Industry Conference! This year’s conference theme is Creating Shared Value, Our Social Licence to Operate and it is a reflection on the beef industry’s commitment to animal care, animal health and the environment. The session topics will reflect how each facet of the beef industry provides leadership in the areas of safety, health and environmental stewardship. Session descriptions and speaker biographies are available on the conference website. Please visit:

www.abiconference.ca If you have any questions, please contact the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association at 403-250-2509 or me directly at 403-9902792. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you there! Stacy Byer Conference Coordinator

Thursday, February 20, 2014 9:00 - 10:00am Opening Ceremonies & Keynote Address A Social Licence To Operate. What Does That Really Mean? 10:00 - 10:30am Tradeshow Coffee Break 10:30 - 11:00am Risk & Reward: Currency Market Outlook & Best Practices for Hedging 11:00 - Noon Animal Care: Today & Tomorrow - Beef Code of Practice - Canadian Feedlot Animal Care Assessment Program Noon Tradeshow Luncheon 1:00 - 2:00pm The Real Story on Antimicrobial Resistance 2:00 - 2:30pm Driving Farm Safety Forward: Our Commitment 2:30 - 3:00pm Tradeshow Coffee Break 3:00 - 4:30pm Sustainability Roundtable 5:30 - 6:30pm Tradeshow Cocktail Reception 6:30 - 9:00pm Taste of Alberta - Tuscany Ballroom Friday, February 21, 2014 8:00 - 8:30am Natural Resources Conservation Board & You 8:30 - 9:30am Agricultural Water Use in Alberta 9:30 - 10:30am An El Nino May Be Brewing But Will It Effectively Change North America Drought Patterns? 10:30 - 11:00am Tradeshow Coffee Break 11:00 - Noon Global Cattle Market Outlook Noon Conference Ends PLEASE NOTE: THE SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

Attention Exhibitors! The Alberta Beef Industry Conference is the largest conference of its kind in Canada, and it remains a fantastic opportunity to connect with an influential purchasing group, consuming millions of dollars in goods and services each year. The 2014 ABIC will put your firm in front of potential clients and set the stage for strong dialogue between you and the attendees. For more information visit us online at www.abiconference.ca

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Cattleman’s Corner ANYONE CAN START FARMING

”Repurposed” materials can be practical and fun DEBBIE CHIKOUSKY

he current theme in urban life seems to be repurposing. To rural folks this isn’t at all new. In fact, looking back at my childhood, recycling has always been alive and well down on the farm. In this theme our family would like to share a few of the livestock supplies that we built out of what some might consider junk. Some of these projects are not born out of lack of money. To be completely honest they usually come from lack of planning. Many farmers can relate with the recurring theme of our farm. We all of a sudden realize that we need something and it is either not available for two weeks, or what you could purchase ready made isn’t quite like what is needed. So, what does a farmer do? We build it of whatever supplies are at hand because we are too busy to go to town.

A LAMB CREEP FEEDER A good example of this would be our lamb creep feeder. We, as a rule, do not creep feed. Therefore we were not prepared to creep feed our winter lambs last February. Then we started to realize, quite quickly actually, if we wanted them to use their shelter we had to entice them into it. Food is a wonderful item to lure small animals with. But right in the middle of lambing was not the time to be building a creep feeder. So, we repurposed a ready-made mineral feeder for the lambs creep feeder and it worked excellently. It held about 50 pounds of grain at a time and easily mounted in a three-sided calf shelter. We hung it at lamb level on a cattle panel, which was angled across a corner of the shelter to keep the ewes out.

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 36

CATTLE MARKET MOMENTUM IS A SURPRISE market. After the prolonged cold spell through December, auction market volumes are increasing and early in the year, feeder cattle were $5/cwt to $8/cwt higher compared to December. Feed grain prices in Western Canada continue to grind lower and with the recent strength in fed cattle, the feeder market appears to have further upside potential over the next month.

INVENTORIES U.S. cattle on feed inventories as of Dec. 1 were down five per cent from year-ago levels while November placements were down three per cent in comparison to November 2012. The market is contending with a tighter supply scenario and the colder tempera-

This absolutely would not work with goats though. Does would easily figure out how to crawl through a cattle panel but ewes just behaved and stayed out of the creep area.

JUG HANGERS Then there was the problem of not being able to hang the gates (or panels that open) on our lambing jugs. These are small, usually portable pens erected just prior to lambing. Jugs provide a safe and private place for ewes to birth, as well as a comfortable and protected area where the lambs and ewes can bond to each other. We had the panels, but my husband just couldn’t find the perfect size or strength of hangers to serve as a hinge to fit his own mental image of what was needed. So, he made them out of two lag bolts welded together at right angles to form an “L” shape (bottom left photo). One side of the lag bolt was screwed into an anchor post, leaving the other bolt upright. He then cut a length of metal tent pole to slide over the top of the upright lag bolt as a sleeve, drilled a hole through it, and wired it to the galvanized stock panel creating a hinge (bottom right photo). The panel can be swung like a gate, and lifted off the hanger as needed. They didn’t break last year so we are already one step closer to be ready for lambing!

PHOTOS: DEBBIE CHIKOUSKY

FEEDER IDEAS

Top left: PVC pipe cut in half, with ends attached make good troughs for feeding milk to goats. Top right: Old fluorescent light shrouds make a trough for feeding poultry. Bottom left: Two lag bolts welded to make panel hangers. Bottom right: A piece of metal tubing slid over the top of the hanger, attached to the stock panel with wire, makes a good working hinge.

Over the years another thing we are continually building is feeders for small animals and poultry. Those we have utilized many things for. Last year we were pulling out old fluorescent light fixtures in our kitchen and my son and I thought they would make excellent troughs without much work. All we had to do was add ends (top right photo). He traced the shape onto halfinch boards, and then used a mitre saw to cut them out. They

were attached to the fixtures by drilling a pilot hole through the metal, positioning the wooden end, and then nailing them together. If they need to be more stable a wooden cradle can also be made to support them. Another trough we needed was one to feed milk to our young goats in. For these we actually had to buy supplies. We got six-inch diameter PVC pipe and cut it in half lengthwise (top left photo). We allowed about four inches per

goat and made the pipe the appropriate length. We used food-grade materials for the glue, pipe and ends. To secure them in the pen we used broken rake teeth and pegged them into the ground. The idea was to have one end poke through the fence enough to be able to pour the milk in and the kids feed at the trough. They worked but we did have a problem with the goats crowding to the front and not utilizing the whole length of the trough. Due to being

made of PVC material, they wash out very well. The men and women that pioneered the Canadian countryside were much better at making do with what they had than we will ever be, but it is fun to try. All you have to do is let your imagination loose and a great many useful items can be born out of things other people would consider clutter, reaffirming the old phrase “necessity is the mother of invention.” †

tures may have enhanced prices due to delayed marketings and lower beef supplies in the pipeline. The USDA recently lowered its estimate for first-quarter beef production while raising the second-quarter supplies. There appears to be a tight supply situation in the short term. During the first full week of January, the U.S. weekly slaughter was down nine per cent from last year and for the week ending Jan. 12, beef supplies were down 18 per cent. It is early in the year and again, cold weather may have tempered movement of live cattle to slaughter but it will take a couple weeks for the pipeline to reload to comfortable levels. Feedlot inventories in Alberta and Saskatchewan have been running about 15 per cent above last year. Exports of fed cattle have declined due to the changes in COOL so the industry is expecting the Alberta slaughter pace to increase over last year. For the first week of January, the Canadian

slaughter was only 37,137 head but expectations are for a jump to about 45,000 to 50,000 head per week later in month and early February. The weaker Canadian dollar is starting to have a larger influence on fed cattle prices and wholesale beef values, which is a positive for the market.

dency for consumer spending to increase in March. It is my opinion the fed cattle market is incorporating a risk premium due to the uncertainty in production. However, if this premium can hold into February, then the market will have concrete demand supporting the price structure as consumer spending generally surges in March. In the short term, the market could remain quite volatile at these historical high prices. Retailers will have to experiment how the consumer will respond to the jump in prices and restaurants generally take more time to increase values on the menu. The feeder market is expected to slowly trend higher into the March timeframe. There is a strong correlation between the fed and feeder market during the first quarter as this is usually the highest prices for fed cattle. Positive feeding margins and softer barley prices will continue to support feeder cattle in Western Canada. Given the higher

prices of U.S. feeder cattle, I’m expecting a sharp increase in feeder cattle exports during the first quarter of 2014. The accompanying chart shows beef supplies increase in the second quarter and there is a strong seasonal tendency for the fed market to trend lower from April through July. Therefore, feedlots and backgrounding operators buying feeder cattle over the next couple of months have to be careful. The barley market is expected to remain under pressure for the remainder of the crop year but corn prices have likely stabilized for the time being. In late March, the USDA will release the seeding intentions report and a year-overyear decline in U.S. corn acres is expected which could temper the upside in the U.S feeder market. †

TRENDS The U.S. economy appears to be improving but consumer spending remains uncertain. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 per cent in December, down from 7.0 per cent in November. This number was somewhat disappointing because the labour force is shrinking and the number of jobs added to the economy was lower than anticipated. Equity markets continue to trade at record highs and U.S. GDP is expected to grow by 2.5 per cent during the first quarter. If the fed market can hold up through February, there is a seasonal ten-

Debbie Chikousky farms at Narcisse, Man.

Gerald Klassen analyzes cattle and hog markets in Winnipeg and also maintains an interest in the family feedlot in Southern Alberta. For comments or speaking engagements, he can be reached at gklassen7@hotmail.com or call 204 899 8268.

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

grainews.ca /

Cattleman’s Corner BETTER BUNKS AND PASTURES

Protein and energy demands jump after calving PETER VITTI

Of all of the nutrients, dietary energy is by far, her single largest nutrient requirement.

COWS HAVE PRIORITIES

hile some cows are fortunate to freshen in a draftfree barn, others drop their calves outside on straw pack, in a pole barn or open drylot. Regardless of where they calve, most cows return or remain outside to not only brave the arctic cold, but must meet the challenges of nursing a new calf and prepare for a new breeding season. Therefore, a proper TLC (tenderloving-care) nutrient program is needed in order to keep them milking and get them successfully pregnant with next years’ calf. For the next 90 days after calving, the TLC nutrient requirements for a typical lactating beef cow are the highest for any time of the year. Compared to late gestation, once a cow calves her energy needs increase by about 50 per cent, protein needs increase by about 20 to 25 per cent and the need for minerals and vitamins nearly doubles.

A post-partum mature cow milking about 10 litres per day requires about 58 to 60 per cent total digestible nutrients (TDN) of dietary energy, while a first-calf heifer will require about a 62 to 63 per cent TDN, due to their natural lower feed consumption and body growth. Most of this energy intake in both cases is prioritized; body maintenance (including keeping warm) takes precedent, followed by lactation, growth and finally reproduction. It is also important to remember all cows calving out in January to March may need 20 to 30 per cent more energy in their diets just to stay warm.

THIN COWS DON’T PERFORM Widely accepted research shows thin beef cows with poor energy status BCS of 2.0 (or less) have trouble returning to estrus within 90 days of calving to be rebred, compared to those counterparts with adequate 2.5 to 3.0 BCS. Thin first-calf heifers have also been

ALTHOUGH THERE ARE LITERARILY HUNDREDS OF POST-CALVING DIETS THAT COULD BE FED UNTIL GRASS STARTS TO SPROUT, HERE ARE HALF-DOZEN TLC EXAMPLES: Feedstuff

$/lb*

Alf/grass hay - 14 per cent protein

$ 0.07

Grass hay – 9 per cent protein

$ 0.06

Barley silage

$ 0.025

Barley

$ 0.070

14 per cent cow pellets

$ 0.080

40 per cent beef supp

$ 0.20

2:1 cattle mineral

$ 0.500

#3 20

25 25

4.5 9

7.5

1.5

0.20

0.25

0.20

Total dry intake (lb)

29.90

29.45

30.35

30.78

29.45

30.55

Cost ($ /hd/d)

$ 2.41

$ 2.33

$2.38

$ 2.32

$ 2.45

$ 2.42

*Ingredient costs will vary from farm to farm.

shown to be particularly vulnerable to poor reproduction due to the energy demands of milk production and growth. Aside from the highest energy demands for the year, protein and minerals/vitamins are important in the post-partum cow diets. A protein shortage in the post-partum diet will likely depress milk production. Dietary protein is not only involved in actual milk synthesis, but is a basic constituent of milk (re: 3.0 per cent protein, DM basis). And a lack of protein in the ration can lead to decreased rumen microbial activity (decreased fermentation and digestibility of forages and other feeds), reduced total feed intake, poor body growth in replacement heifers and visible weight loss. A post-partum cow with a 2.5-3.0

BCS that is milking well should receive about 10 to 11 per cent protein in her diet. Similarly, macro-minerals, traceminerals and Vitamins A, D and E play a wide range of metabolic roles in the beef cow body from vital biological reactions to milk production in the udder to stimulation of healthy follicles and the fertilization process. All essential post-partum TLC nutrient requirements should be achieved with practical diets comprised of a foundation of homegrown/good quality forage; often augmented with energy concentrates (re: grain or high-energy grain byproducts) as well as with added high protein feedstuffs. Similar late-gestation beef rations should be aimed at maintaining current cowherd BCS, producing

The 2014

milk and a successful return to active reproduction. Although there are literarily hundreds of post-calving diets that could be fed until grass starts to sprout, above are half-dozen TLC examples: These typical post-partum beef cow diets show supplementation of dietary energy or protein is necessary when the respective nutrient demands of the lactating cows are not met by feeding forages, alone (re: minerals/vitamins supplied by commercial 2:1 cattle mineral). And avoid feeding lowquality forages in any beef diet that fails to meet all post-calving requirements. † Peter Vitti is an independent livestock nutritionist and consultant based in Winnipeg. To reach him call 204-254-7497 or by email at vitti@mts.net.

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FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Cattleman’s Corner ANIMAL HEALTH

Be alert for common young calf problems ROY LEWIS ANIMAL HEALTH

very calving season, veterinarians are called on to examine calves with a multitude of problems. Some are herd management related but many are individual problems of no concern to the rest of the herd. Most cases fall into a few broad categories. Each category has a much different treatment regime. With calves, clinically we need to differentiate between whether the condition involves the lungs (pneumonia), intestines (scours), navel (omphalophlebitis) or a multitude of miscellaneous conditions.

CONFUSING SYMPTOMS The two main diseases scours and pneumonia often are treated much differently and may not be as easy to tell apart as one thinks. Scours may initially present as a very dopey, heavy-breathing calf. The calf may be quite acidotic and is attempting to blow off the acid through an increased respiratory rate, fooling you into thinking it has pneumonia. A calf born selenium deficient may have heart issues if the heart muscle is affected. The lungs will

start to fill with fluid because of the heart failure and again respiratory rate will be increased. While specific antibiotics have been developed for pneumonia they often are not the same ones we use to treat scours. Also the best initial treatment for scours is to give replacement fluids, as it is dehydration that kills the calf. Many causes of scours are viral in nature against which antibiotics don’t work. You can see making the distinction between which organ system is involved can be a difficult and one your veterinarian may even struggle with at times.

OFF TO A GOOD START As mentioned many times before, we can never stress enough the importance of good-quality colostrum in giving calves a head start in life. Their ability to fight off disease challenges is much greater. Many cases of pneumonia, scours and septicemias (bloodborne infections) can be attributed to not receiving adequate colostrum, so try and ensure the colostrum is received in the first six hours of life. The navel area is another area to pay close attention to, as it is a common source for entry of infectious organisms. Again we need adequate colostral uptake. Watch the area for signs of swelling and an arched back and tucked-up calf.

If you palpate the navel area and it is painful that is a telltale sign infection is present. Backwards calves or those derived by C-section have their navels rip off short and are much more susceptible to navel infection. At our clinic any calves born by C-section we purposely separate the navel by hand further down the cord so the calf has a decently long navel cord when it is born. Some producers if they have a problem will even give metaphylactic antibiotics at birth under the supervision of their veterinarian to counteract navel ill. If the navel infection spreads internally it has a good chance of landing in the joints and a severe arthritis ensues. Be sure to differentiate between navel infection and a simple hernia, which may require surgery.

LAMENESS ISSUES Lame calves are another common condition with young calves. Again you need to differentiate whether it is arthritis from a navel infection, trauma causing a sprain strain or trauma causing a broken leg. Each condition requires different treatment. The navel infection must be treated with drugs, which will get into the joints, the sprains are usually just left to convalesce and the broken legs need immediate attention by your veterinarian. If breaks are caught soon enough and are lower on the legs

the chances for recovery are very good. The lower the break the better. Fast growing young calves heal and put down bone very quickly so in three to four weeks we often have a complete recovery. Cows will commonly step on calves during heat, so having creep areas where calves can separate themselves from the cow herd will pay dividends in fewer calf injuries. Creep areas are also very good at getting calves started on creep feed so preventatives for coccidiosis such as deccox can be added to the feed. Calves are naturally inquisitive so products such as diatomaceous earth give calves something to lick rather than dirt, roughage and stagnant water where their odds of picking up something harmful is much greater. Cryptosporidiosis another diarrhea disease of calves’ spreads very similar to coccidiosis so management changes to prevent one may help in prevention of the other. Talk to your veterinarian about prevention for these two diseases especially if they have been previously diagnosed on your farm.

INTESTINAL ISSUES Older calves become stronger and more resistant to picking up the common calf hood diseases such as scours or pneumonia. The four- to eight-week age is where the intestinal accidents and stomach ulcers develop. These conditions were gone into detail in a previous article but suffice it to say they are generally individual fluketype cases. It is probably most important to have a postmortem done on sudden deaths to rule

PHOTO: FILE

White powder on the nose of this calf shows it has been licking from a tub of diatomaceous earth, a natural product that helps control parasites. out infectious causes, which could spread to herdmates. Otherwise know if it was one of these fluke intestinal conditions you really have no control over. This spring try and differentiate these different categories of problems with young calves. You will then be treating the right problem and your success rate will improve and if contagious possible steps can be made for prevention of further cases. Always check with your veterinarian to make sure you are diagnosing things properly and this will keep you abreast of new treatments and/or management practices. † Roy Lewis is a Westlock, Alberta-based veterinarian specializing in large-animal practice. He is also a part-time technical services vet for Merck Animal Health.

RANCHER’S DIARY

Breezy recovering from eye-cancer surgery HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

DECEMBER 20

week ago our vet took a biopsy of the growth on Breezy’s left eye. The results came back as cancer. The eye must come out. We are helping her adjust ahead of time to being blind on that side. Carolyn sewed two layers of denim onto the left side of a fly mask for Breezy. She seems to be adjusting pretty well. The weather and roads were good when Michael and Nick came home. They met in South Dakota — Nick coming from college in Iowa and Michael from his truck-driving job in North Dakota. They made it home late last Thursday night. Andrea took Lynn to his doctor’s appointment in Missoula that day for a checkup. It will soon be a year since he had the stents put in his heart.