Afe140217 by Farm Business Communications

Telling the story about modern farm practices

Graphic artist documents ‘Prairie sentinels’

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As storm clouds gather, farmers urged to batten down the hatches Experts say current grain prices are normal, knowing your cost of production critical, and hope is not a marketing strategy By Alexis Kienlen and Glenn Cheater af staff/ edmonton

t was standing room only at every FarmTech market outlook session, and the faces told the tale: anxious-looking producers leaning forward, hanging on every word, searching for rays of hope as the storm clouds roll in. But the message was blunt — there will be no quick bounce-back from the steep fall in grain and oilseed prices. “This is normal,” said Errol Anderson, a commodity broker and president of ProMarket Communications. “You say, ‘I’m getting taken to the cleaners’ — and you are. But markets are savage.” It was the same ‘face the facts’ message at the presentations by FarmLink Marketing Solutions. “If you’ve only been farming for a few years, that’s horrifying,” said Brenda Tjaden Lepp, chief analyst and co-founder of the Winnipegbased company. “But most of us realize that’s just the way it goes... for the most part, that’s how farming has always been.” Her message was no surprise for Lee Markert, who grows wheat, barley, peas and oats for seed on

his pedigreed seed farm north of Vulcan, as well as commercial crops such as canola. “I had an idea going in what I was going to hear and it was pretty much what I heard,” he said. “We’ve got quite a challenge

PEDv WATCH

ahead of us in getting all this grain moved.” Markert counts himself lucky on some fronts. Although he grew more commercial grain than normal last year, he was able to contract some canola in the fall. He

expects to move some in March and some by July. “We’ve been quite fortunate that deliveries on the canola side have been pretty well up to date,” he said. An open-market supporter,

Markert turned to the CWB’s pool to sell his low-protein hard red spring wheat. It graded No. 1, and will be delivered by end of July. “Our cash flow is tightened a little bit,” he said. “In that case, we were at the mercy of the market. We didn’t have what the market wanted, so this is our best option for a net return.” It’s a fiscal juggling act that will stretch out for this growing season and likely far beyond. But Markert says he knows farmers who are in dire need of cash to pay the bills, noting the Canadian Canola Growers Association has been pushing record numbers of cash advances while Farm Credit Canada is offering advances of up to $400,000 (with the first $100,000 interest free). “From the cash flow side of things, we are in OK shape,” said Markert. “We had opportunity to take advantage of a bit of a basis premium locally here and we moved a little bit of canola just this last week. That will give us a little bit of cash flow, and we’ll move a little more in March and that will help us get the crop in.” The message from the marketing experts at FarmTech was to be nimble and take advantage of selling opportunities.

see GRAIN PRICES } page 6

Alberta pork producers on alert } PAGE 10

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FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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NEWS

Irish scientists develop rapid animaldoping test STAFF Scientists at Queen’s University Belfast and the Irish Equine Centre say they are developing a new way to test for illegal drugs used in animals. The tests could be used for banned growth promoters, hormones and antibiotics used on animals destined for the food chain as well as those involved in sport. In a release, the scientists say it will be the first animal-doping test to work by detecting and monitoring the known biological effects of a banned substance, rather than the presence of the substance itself. It also has the potential to revolutionize animal drug testing by enabling the screening of large numbers of animals more quickly and efficiently than is currently possible. “Current testing methods focus on detecting the presence of illegal substances in animals. These tests are expensive, time consuming and have failed to keep pace with black market developments in producing, distributing and administering banned substances,” said Dr. Mark Mooney of the university’s Institute for Global Food Security. “By identifying the unique biochemical fingerprints that banned substances leave behind in an illicitly treated animal’s blood or urine, we will be able to quickly identify horses or cattle that have been treated with an illegal drug,” he said. “Despite being banned for over 20 years, the use of illegal growth promoters, hormones and antibiotics is believed to still occur across parts of Europe and further afield,” said Professor Chris Elliott, the institute’s director. “The criminal gangs that operate the global trade in illegal animal drugs have developed the means of avoiding detection by conventional testing methods and new ways to detect this illicit trade are urgently required.”

UNDERSTANDING FACTORS FOR SOW LONGEVITY

TEAM PLAYERS DO THEIR BEST TO SUPPORT OTHERS

CAROL SHWETZ

Alberta Pork has battle plan for PEDv

Canada’s reputation tarnished, says Pulse Canada CEO

PROBIOTICS, PREBIOTICS AND HORSES

California grapples with kitchen grease thieves Thieves are siphoning it from storage tanks to sell for biofuel BY SHARON BERNSTEIN SACRAMENTO, CALIF./ REUTERS

BRENDA SCHOEPP

FIGHTING ANTIWHEAT HYSTERIA Stick to the facts, says nutritionist

BERNIE PEET

alifornia is trying to find new ways to catch thieves who steal used cooking grease from restaurants in hopes of making money by selling it to companies that turn it into alternative biofuels. Citing a rise in such thefts, state Assemblyman Chris Holden said Jan. 30 he had introduced a bill in the state legislature to allow California Highway Patrol officers to pull over the typically unmarked pumper trucks that thieves use to carry such oil and demand to see paperwork proving that it is theirs. “The theft of used cooking oil (Inedible Kitchen Grease or IKG) from restaurants is on the rise in California,” the state Department of Food and Agri-

culture says on its website. “It has become a major crime in our cities and counties.” Like copper, the state says, the grease has value as a commodity, and is often sold by restaurateurs to make extra money. Legitimate haulers also try to turn a profit by agreeing to remove the waste from restaurant sites and sell it to rendering companies, which turn it into usable fuel such as biodiesel. As currently written, Holden’s bill would provide for penalties of up to $10,000 for those convicted of stealing the grease, which the state Department of Food and Agriculture says is worth about $600 per truckload. Food and Agriculture officials run a hotline — complete with a $500 reward — that citizens can call if they suspect thieves are slipping away with someone else’s goo.

Stealing kitchen grease was one of Homer’s get-rich-quick schemes in a 1998 episode of “The Simpsons.”

ME AND MY SHADOW

A loggerhead shrike casts a blue winter shadow as it takes flight from a fence post, in the foothills west of Priddis, Alberta.

PHOTO: WENDY DUDLEY

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

How to answer those tough agricultural questions from your urban neighbours Farm advocate Cami Ryan says start by talking to family and friends, speak about your values as well as the facts, and tell a story By Alexis Kienlen af staff / edmonton

icked off by GM-free Cheerios and A&W trumpeting the beef in its burgers is hormone free? Then you’ll hate the Chipotle Scarecrow. The scarecrow is the hero in a Tim Burton-style animated video depicting a bleak smoke-spewing factory where caged cows are extruded into a “beef-ish” product and robots inject chickens with a green liquid that instantly puffs them up to twice their size. The video, viewed nearly12 million times, is part of a marketing campaign by Chipotle Mexican Grill, which has 1,500 restaurants worldwide. There’s also a mobile game in which the winsome Chipotle Scarecrow goes on quests to “bring real food back to the people.” Farmers are right to be concerned by this type of portrayal of their business, said Cami Ryan, a research associate at the University of Saskatchewan who calls herself an “innovation-in-ag junkie.” “This matters to us, because we want people to understand what we do on the farm,” said Ryan, who lives near Okotoks and is an avid blogger on ag issues. But having conversations about agricultural practices isn’t easy, she told FarmTech attendees. She offered a number of suggestions on how to be an effective advocate for agriculture. First, start with those near to you, rather than trying to sway ardent critics. “The most important conversations you have are the ones you have with your children, your nieces, your nephews and your grandchildren,” she said. Second, step off the soapbox. “You need to talk with someone, not at them. It’s about the relationship first.”

The over-the-top take on modern farming in a YouTube video put out by Chipotle Mexican Grill has been viewed nearly 12 million times. Farmers should also reach out to networks of people who are already talking about agriculture. Don’t try to tackle a lot of issues in one conversation, and search for common ground when it comes to values. “Be brave and be confident, because you know more than you think you do,” she said. “Work to improve your argument, do a bit of research, choose your words wisely, and lead with your values. Tell your story and follow up with the facts.” It’s hard to get people to pay attention to science, but remember that strident ag critics don’t speak for the majority. “Social networking and social media have become the tools for the loud voices operating on the fringe and have completely amplified the whole problem,” said Ryan, whose Twitter handle is @ DocCamiRyan.

Stay calm, stick to the facts, and tell your story, says communications expert By Jennifer Blair af staff / edmonton

&W’s Better Beef campaign holds a lesson for farmers — although they might not like it, says a communications expert. The fast food chain’s ad campaign touting its switch to hormone-free beef has been “massively successful,” Shawn Brook, president of Issues Ink, told FarmTech attendees. “Their job is to sell hamburgers, and this makes them sell hamburgers,” he said. “What makes it wrong is that we haven’t been out there telling people what the truth is.” But farmers won’t win these PR battles if they go in “with the belief that the grocery-buying public is stupid,” he said. “The reality is they’re incred-

ibly smart people. Incredibly educated folks have those beliefs,” he said. “(And) those ‘idiot’ urbanites are hungry for information.” The best approach is to have “positive, proactive conversations with more people,” and to stick to the facts, even if people on the other side of the issues don’t. “Our credibility is too critical to us to allow that to happen.” Choosing fact-based core messages based on individual stories and personal passions will engage consumers in the right kind of conversation, said Brook. “If you can… build the conversations around that, you become a pretty powerful storyteller and a pretty powerful ‘agvocate’ in our business.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

“Most of what you hear that is derogatory is probably a small portion of the population, but this is their megaphone and it causes problems.” And recognize that “there’s a whole new competitor out there,” she said. “There is a lot of money going out into activist initiatives and you need to pay attention to that.…

We need to respond to it as an industry.” Blogs along with Twitter, Flickr, Instagram, and Facebook have been important sources of information for many people and farmers should be present in those forums. “I think when you’re connecting and you’re online participating, you’re telling a

story in a way,” she said in an interview. “I think we’re starting to get better and starting to do more and I think the real plus in all of this is what the farmers do. “They’re working the front lines. These are the guys who have to get out there and tell their stories.” akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

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FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

EDITOR Glenn Cheater Phone: 204-782-0497 Email: glenn.cheater@fbcpublishing.com twitter: @glenncheater

Reporters Alexis Kienlen, Edmonton 403-668-3121 Email: akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

This time it was different — just like all the other times

Jennifer Blair, Red Deer 403-396-2643 Email: jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

PRODUCTION director Shawna Gibson Email: shawna@fbcpublishing.com

Director of Sales & Circulation

After much talk about unlimited demand, the world’s grain bins are again full to overflowing

Lynda Tityk Email: lynda.tityk@fbcpublishing.com

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

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his line in a recent Reuters story certainly put things in focus. “Ukraine is likely to be the world’s second-largest grain exporter in the 2013-14 season with the shipment of more than 30 million tonnes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.” We’d seen the figures before, but considering that Ukraine and its former Soviet partners used to be Canada’s largest grain customer, putting it that way still comes as a bit of a jolt. At times in the 1980s, the Former Soviet Union was importing 50 million tonnes of grain a year. This year it will export that much. The FSU’s massive entry into the world market and the “Great Grain Robbery” of 1972 sparked a price rise to unprecedented levels. The wheat price of $6 per bushel then equalled $27 today. The resulting prosperity sparked much optimism that good times were finally here, and here to stay. It was “different this time.” Well, for a couple of years anyway, and soon things were back in the doldrums, with grain price wars and a series of ad hoc “Special Grains Payments” and programs with four-letter acronyms — WGSA, GRIP, NISA, CAIS, etc. The doldrums were periodically interrupted by a short crop somewhere in the world, and then a brief price rally — 1980, 1985 1993, 1996, 2006 and then in 2012-13. During each of those blips we heard this — “The world’s population is growing. It’s getting more affluent, so people will eat more meat. They aren’t making any more land.”

All true, to a point. But we’ve been hearing that same line in speeches for 40 years now, and those who were around will remember that in the 1960s and 1970s, the big concern was “feeding the starving millions” in India. That brings us to another bit of recent news, which is that India’s wheat exports are at 6.5 million tonnes so far for this crop year, and there is plenty of room to export more. And which country was the world’s largest beef exporter last year? India. The latest variation on the “It’s different this time” was that it was “A new paradigm,” accompanied by the statistic we’ve heard so many times in the last couple of years — that the world has to double food production to feed nine billion people by 2050. That may or may not be true, but the Indian example shows that part of the goal will be met by countries feeding themselves. A year ago at this time, crop farmers were in an upbeat mood, with a combination of a big crop and record (nominal) prices. Today, despite a record crop, the atmosphere is subdued at best. Farmers are having trouble finding any crop that will “pencil out” this year. Meanwhile they’re in a cash flow crunch, with a combination of low prices, slow transportation and a wide basis. Imagine the pickle farmers would be in if they had a small or low-quality crop.

‘New paradigm’

So it wasn’t different this time — again, which raises the question of how farmers and the industry should react next time there’s a price spike which gets everyone excited about a “new paradigm.” That’s a tough one. Those who are asked to give presentations at farm

meetings don’t want to be a wet blanket, especially if they have something to sell or money to lend. “Now listen everyone, times are good now, but we know these price spikes always fizzle after a year or two, so you had better keep your money in your jeans.” Who wants to be the one to say that? And who wants to raise some of the tough questions about where Western Canada fits in supplying future world grain demand? What if U.S. winter wheat yields, currently averaging under 40 bushels per acre, start to approach those in Europe, currently over 100 bushels? What if genetic modification allows European wheat to produce high protein? Now that most Canadian exports are being handled by the same companies that operate in the Former Soviet Union, U.S., South America and Australia, what are the implications for Western Canada, especially since it has the highest transportation costs? This is not to say that western Canadian farmers can’t adapt to future challenges, as they have done so well in the past. But they will be able to adapt much better if they have a long-term view which realistically considers their inherent strengths and weaknesses. Farm organizations, particularly the ones emerging from changes to the wheat board, need to think about this, not just breeding for more yield. “The world is going to take every bushel we can produce” is no basis for an industry strategy. Next time that you hear that it’s different this time, remember — it won’t be. john.morriss@fbcpublishing.com

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Wind energy plan not compatible with environment Residents encourage others to make views known on the SSRP By Carole Ferguson and Eileen McGlynn, Pincher Creek

he Watertown “corridor” south of Pincher Creek is not being recognized as an area worthy of environmental protection. The destruction of this pristine and valuable landscape will be forever and irreversibly damaged by industrial wind power development. The Alberta Government plans to enact the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan (SSRP) by the end of 2014. It establishes a government-appointed board to control land-use planning which overrides the rights of local municipal governments and landowners on both Crown and private land. The primary focus of the SSRP is economic development strategies and objectives; two of which are removing barriers to renewable energy development and promoting power infrastructure that supports linkages to markets.

Take a drive along Hwy. No. 3 and north between Pincher Station and Brocket and experience industrial-scale wind development and the visual impact, noise, flicker and disturbing vibrations and consider the impact of 24/7 exposure. This is not compatible with wildlife and the natural beauty of our area, families, community values, tourism, recreation, quality of life, fair land values and much more. A few local landowners profit while the majority pays a high price and endures unjust negative impacts. The Alberta Government remains committed to its Green Energy agenda to meet CO2 emission reduction targets. Wind power is not green energy. It is an inefficient and unreliable source of power which requires fossil fuel backup and hundreds of kilometres of transmission infrastructure. How many hundreds of wind towers and kilometres of transmission lines will it take? Will all land south of Vulcan be sacrificed for carbon credits? This does not qualify as a public

good. Gas-fired power produces cost-efficient, reliable power with less resulting CO2 emissions and far less negative impacts. Wind developers and power companies are in business to make money and maximize profits for investors while generous government subsidies distort common-sense economics by providing strong incentives to build, with no limits. Neither serve the best interests of the people or the environment. Are we to become victims of government agendas and corporate power or can we, as a community, become informed and stand united to protect one another as residents and landowners in a community, as protectors of the environment and stewards of the land? Public consultations on the SSRP close Feb. 28. Contact your MLA, mayor or reeve for information on how this legislation will impact you and the future of this area. Get involved. Ask for a copy or complete the SSRP workbook online at www.landuse. alberta.com.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Let’s get the facts right on CWB transformation The real scandal is how former directors wasted farmers’ money By Jeff Nielsen, former CWB elected director Olds, Alberta

he Friends of the CWB (FCWB) is attempting to redefine history, court decisions and the various acts of Parliaments. The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) Act of 1998 outlined a corporation with farmers making up the majority of the board of directors. Several lawyers paid by the CWB, clearly defined to these directors, “the CWB and its assets and liabilities belong to the Government of Canada.” Some ideologically driven individuals have blatantly misrepresented this to western Canadian producers. The FCWB continues to deny the Supreme Court of Canada

ruling refusing to hear an appeal of Justice Perlmutter’s decision. Concerning the democratic voting argument in the CWB Act, Perlmutter states, “The wording of s. 47.1 refers to the addition or subtraction of particular grains or types of grains from the marketing regime.” Justice Daniele TremblayLamer’s Nov. 29, 2013 ruling striking down FCWB’s $17-billion class-action suit states “the government cannot be said to have acted wrongfully by enacting the (Marketing Freedom) Act and there has been no deprivation of property. Losing the single desk to changes in the CWB regulatory scheme is not enough in itself to claim a loss of a property interest.” In terms of CWB property or assets, funds for renova-

tions of the building and refurbishment of the rail cars (which extended the life of these depreciating assets) came from remortgaging these assets. Any value would simply be the difference between market value and the amount of the mortgage, which is most likely, very little. Purchase of the lakers was a decision of the board of directors. The federal government refused to approve financial support. Even when lawyers defined clearly that the CWB, its liabilities and assets were owned by the Crown, the majority of elected directors decided to use the pool account to purchase these ships. The contingency fund allowed the CWB to build a reserve to backstop programs. The CWB earned more from

Producer Payment Options after payments to farmers, which was deposited into the contingency fund, according to the act. These retained earnings were not pool account funds. These assets were not taken from farmers; farmers who signed on to the programs were paid in full. The Government of Canada invested close to $350 million to allow the new CWB to fulfil its obligations including staff changes, pension funding, and contractual agreements. This ensured that no monies were taken from farmers during the transition to a voluntary corporation. Any suggestion of misappropriation of farmers’ money lies squarely on some directors who abandoned their legal responsibilities like the duty of care and duty of loyalty owed

to the CWB and its marketing of grain. This is the real scandal. These directors are responsible for the millions of dollars of farmers’ money wasted attempting to prove their superiority over the Government of Canada which created the CWB Act. I did not want to be associated with what I viewed as a misappropriation of farmers’ money. These decisions were at the heart of why I resigned. Some might like to recoup costs from those who held back change, but most, including myself, want the new CWB part of a competitive grain industry. The real justice is the people challenging change have to use their own money now. They do not have access to farmers’ money to fund their political battle.

Perception can become reality — which is why we need to understand our critics Glyphosate foe Don Huber has become a darling of critics of modern agriculture, even though he’s never offered proof for his accusations By Ken Coles

general manager, Farming Smarter

etflix got me hooked on the popular television show “Mad Men.” To be honest, it was kind of boring for the most part, but I ended up watching the first six seasons in a month or so. Being a genXer, it was intriguing to get a glimpse into a time when I was not alive. Did everyone really smoke that much? Was it really OK to drink at work??? I also loved watching the ad men come up with their creative spin to market whatever product their clients were selling, and how Don Draper could captivate his clients with clean, articulate and empowering pitches. We in the ag industry could learn from this fictional ad man. Good science needs to be marketed creatively and should be compelling. After all, what’s the point of doing all the good work when no one buys what you’re offering? And sadly, in agriculture there are many examples of how public perception and reality are as far apart as our coast lines. Take glyphosate. This magical herbicide has singlehandedly revolutionized cropping systems around the world. It’s the most used and studied herbicide on the planet with the majority of

results strongly demonstrating its safety and benefit. So why then are people lining up to hear Don Huber speak? Huber is a retired plant pathologist from Purdue University with a long and distinguished CV who became an overnight sensation three years ago. That’s when he sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack claiming he had evidence of a newly discovered “micro-fungal-like organism” linked to glyphosate. He claimed — although he’s never provided any studies or even any data — this mysterious organism is causing an increase in plant diseases and abortions and infertility in livestock. As a salesman, Huber is nothing like Don Draper. His presentations are overloaded with confusing data to the point where my brain wants to explode. His interviews and online videos remind me of the drab and deadly dull school teacher in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” And still people want to hear him — despite an increasingly vocal group of scientists dedicated to debunking his message and “bad science.” Somehow Huber’s sales pitch is working. Or maybe it’s because our’s isn’t. In the “Mad Men” era, medical doctors actually promoted smoking in advertising. Maybe that’s when the

public started becoming skeptical about men of science. Whatever the reason, we need to understand why Huber’s message finds such a receptive audience, and why so many people mistrust the agricultural sector. That’s why I invited Don Huber to come to Lethbridge and speak at the Farming Smarter conference in December. When a winter storm kept him and several other speakers from attending, I polled the crowd on which ones they most wanted us to bring back at a later date. Eighty per cent wanted to hear Huber. So I invited him back for our AGM on Feb. 27. Hopefully, Mother Nature allows him to come this time. I’m all for hearing what he has to say and I’m sure I can learn something from him. I’ve already had discussions with some plant pathologists about maybe doing some field studies to see if there are any disease implications from glyphosate use. We don’t want bad science to blunt our scientific curiosity. After all, we now have glyphosate-tolerant kochia in southern Alberta despite being told it could never happen. So it pays to keep an open mind. And of course, I’d like to see for myself if Don Draper and Don Huber share anything more than the same first name. The truth is farmers really care about glyphosate and are afraid what may

Ken Coles happen if they lose it. But knowledge is our strongest weapon. By thinking critically, and studying both the science and those who crusade against it, maybe we can close some of the gap between perception and reality. Ken Coles can be reached at ken@farmingsmarter.com. For more information on Farming Smarter events and its research, see www.farmingsmarter.com

OFF THE FRONT

GRAIN PRICES  from page 1 “If you can move your grain, move it,” urged Anderson. “There is so much grain that is looking for a home — any windows that open up (will) get filled up quickly,” said Jonathon Driedger, FarmLink’s senior analyst. “Sitting on your hands and hoping for things to get better isn’t an answer to our problems.” It’s critical to be realistic, added Tjaden Lepp. “Emotions have no place here,” she said. “This is a mathbased business. Math and emotions don’t care about each other. The market doesn’t care that you wish you sold more 2013 crop because now you’re worried about profitability.” Tjaden Lepp and Anderson frequently apologized for being so blunt, but none was needed as far as Gordon Reynolds was concerned. “What I appreciated about both presentations is that they didn’t sugar-coat anything — it’s not going to be rosy in grains and oilseeds,” said Reynolds, an agronomist and marketer for Dale Thacker Specialty Crops, a family-owned business near Bow Island. The farm, owned by Dale and Natalie Thacker, has 3,400 acres of irrigated land, and 2,600 of dryland. The couple and their sons grow spring wheat and canola, but the primary focus is essential oils along with dill and spearmint for specialty markets. So it was no surprise Reynolds agreed with Tjaden Lepp’s call to check out specialty crops and see if they are viable. “We see opportunities in some of those specialty crops,” he said. “There are still some upsides in

FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

the specialty crops and even some of the pulse crops.” This year, the farm will be adding three new crops — hemp, flax and faba beans — to the rotation to replace some wheat acres. “We’re big on rotation as it is,” Reynolds said. “Farms that have smaller rotations are really going to be challenged to be in the black. You don’t like to see any one of your crops carried by the rest of the basket, but sometimes that does have to happen.” Hybrid seed canola, presuming it makes hybridity, is another bright spot, but Reynolds said he can’t see how a crop like wheat is going to work. “It’s going to be pretty tough to hit the break-even on spring wheat at current projected prices and projected input prices,” he said. With prices for most grains and oilseeds down 30 to 40 per cent from a year ago, going over the numbers is depressing work. But this is not a time to put off that task, said Charlie Pearson, provincial crop markets analyst with Alberta Agriculture. “It is a year when farmers are going to have to warm up their pencils to look at all the crops,” he said. “All the crops have come off to some extent, so all farmers are going to have to do some pretty hard-core calculations as to which crops work best for them.” Farmers need to look closely at cost-of-production estimates, decide how intensively they want to farm, and adjust inputs accordingly, he said. “Farmers will have to adapt to these new sets of prices as best they can,” said Pearson, who predicts that, barring a weather wreck somewhere, producers

“I had an idea going in what I was going to hear and it was pretty much what I heard. We’ve got quite a challenge ahead of us.” LEE MARKERT PRODUCER, VULCAN

will be looking at the same grain prices a year from now. If there’s a silver lining, it’s low interest rates, said Reynolds. Farmers will find ways to lower costs and find efficiencies, but debt leaves them totally exposed, he said. “If you’re leveraged at all, and those interest rates take off on you, there is absolutely nothing you can do. It’s totally out of your control then. It’s a matter of hoping you don’t have to turn over the keys and walk away.” However, interest rates are low and cash advances mean unsold grain is not a financial millstone. But as farmers look at their full bins and hear about empty grain vessels racking up demurrage bills in Vancouver’s port, the blood pressure shoots up. “If you talk to farmers right now, there’s a whole bunch of angst and anger out there,” said Pearson. “Price isn’t even the main issue this year. It’s finding someone who’s willing to take it.” akienlen@fbcpublishing.com glenn.cheater@fbcpublishing.com

The market forecast? Grim and grimmer

t’s not happy news, but here is the market forecast delivered to FarmTech attendees by Jonathon Driedger, senior analyst with FarmLink Marketing Solutions.

Canola

The rise in American soybean prices has pushed up canola in recent years, but it’s now becoming an anchor as U.S. farmers are expected to plant more soybeans and less corn and wheat this spring, he said. As well, exports and crush numbers are not growing as fast as expected, so estimates of the carry-out from last year’s bumper harvest are being revised upwards. Basis levels for canola have gotten worse in recent years — which is the market’s way of saying there’s an oversupply. Consider longer canola rotations, said Driedger.

Peas

China has been driving the export market for peas and making up for lagging demand from India. But be cautious, Driedger said. Demand is relatively flat right now, and there’s a strong possibility it could stay this way. He expects a build in the pea carryout, but said it is hard to predict. Keeping a constant watch for marketing opportunities will pay off for those with peas to sell, he said.

Barley

Canada’s share of the global barley market has been declining for years. “The story of barley is similar to oats and wheat. We’re just going

to end up having too much of this stuff around,” he said. Feed barley prices will only improve if there is a run on corn or dried distillers grains, he said, but the price outlook for corn is flat to somewhat bearish. “Feed grains are something where it is easy to substitute for something else. There are a lot of substitutes around and abundant substitutes. There aren’t a lot of reasons why feed barley should go much higher.”

Wheat

Oversupply may be too modest a term when it comes to wheat. “Of all the ones that are kind of ugly, wheat takes the cake here. We’re having record exports of wheat this year, but we just have so much of it and we just won’t move it all. That’s the challenge.” In four of the past five years, the carry-over was about 4.5 million tonnes, but it’s expected to be double that by the end of this crop year. That mountain of wheat won’t disappear in a hurry. “There will be a drop in acres next year and even if we return to average yields instead of the jawdropping yields we had this year, we’re still going to end up with an enormous amount of wheat,” Driedger said. Further increases in exports will help, but not solve the problem. “We might be able to export more in the next crop year, but we’re really just chipping away at the pile.” akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

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Albertafarmexpress.ca • February 17, 2014

Soybean oil falls to a 3-1/2-year low, weighing on canola values The downturn in soybean oil prices occurred four months prior to the downturn in canola By david drozd

n the past 12 months, soybean oil futures values have slid 31 per cent, which in part has contributed to a 36 per cent decline in canola futures prices. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is estimating Canadian farmers produced a record 18 million tonnes of canola in 2013 and is forecasting a record threemillion-tonne carry-out for the 2013-14 crop year. Meanwhile, there are private analysts predicting canola ending stocks could be 20 to 30 per cent higher than this. Regardless of the final tally, this year’s bumper crop has created logistical challenges in moving this record volume of grain to market, which is pressuring basis levels and weighing on cash prices. Global production of wheat, rice, corn and soybeans is also forecast to be record high this year and as a result commodity prices are trending lower. Chart patterns provide early indications of a change in trend. The monthly nearby soybean oil futures chart provided not one, but two reversal patterns that alerted traders to an impending downturn in prices. The first occurrence was when a twomonth reversal materialized on Sept. 30, 2012 and soybean oil was 52.18 cents per pound. This was followed by a second twomonth reversal, which developed on Feb. 28, 2013 when soybean oil was 48.82 cents per pound. As illustrated by the downtrending channel in the accompanying chart, soybean oil has been sliding lower for the past 12 months, with values slipping to a 3-1/2-year low at 36.91 cents per pound. The downturn in soybean oil prices occurred four months prior to the downturn in the canola market. On June 30, 2013, canola was $609.80 per tonne when a two-month reversal materialized on the monthly nearby canola futures chart, signalling an end to the bull market rally. On the first month, the market advances to new highs and closes very strong. The following month, prices open unchanged to slightly higher, but cannot make additional upside progress. Quantity selling appears and prices begin to erode. By month’s end, the market drops to around the preceding month’s low and closes at or near that level.

Market psychology

The two-month reversal is a sudden change in sentiment. On the first month the longs are comfortable and confident as the strong market reinforces the expectation of greater profits. The second month’s activity is psychologically damaging. It is a complete turnaround from the preceding month and serves to shake the confidence of many who are still long the market. The immediate outlook for prices is abruptly put in question, so longs respond to weakening prices by selling in order to cut their losses. Following the two-month reversal, futures prices on the

long-term monthly nearby soybean oil and canola charts broke a major line of support (A) in June 2013, with prices trending lower ever since. The canola futures market has lost $230 per tonne or $5.25 per bushel in the past eight months. Farmers who recognized these reversal patterns, which occurred at key areas of resistance on the charts, were able to take advantage of these sell signals by locking in prices before they collapsed. Reversal patterns that materialize on the long-term charts carry more weight than the formations that develop on the short-term charts. As a producer, it is imperative you have an understanding of when the major trend is about to change. Studying the long-term charts is one of the best ways to do this.

Canola producers can benefit from monitoring the soybean oil market, as reversal patterns at areas of resistance are a key component in alerting producers to a change in trend, which subsequently impacts the price of canola. Send your questions or comments about this article and chart to info@ag-chieve.ca.

nearby SOYBEAN OIL CHANGE IN TREND

David Drozd is president and senior market analyst for Winnipegbased Ag-Chieve Corporation. The opinions expressed are those of the writer and are solely intended to assist readers with a better understanding of technical analysis. Visit Ag-Chieve online atwww.ag-chieve.ca for information about our grain-marketing advisory service and to see our latest grain market analysis. You can call us toll free at 1-888-274-3138 for a free consultation. online at www.ag-chieve.ca.

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NEWS » Markets

FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Russian wheat prices weaken

Egypt has enough wheat to June

A sharp sell-off in the ruble in recent weeks, culminating in the currency hitting its lowest against dollar since March 2009, has made the country’s wheat less expensive for importers. The country’s price index for 12.5 per cent protein wheat on a free-on-board basis edged down to US$279 a tonne last week, the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) said. It said it was unable to provide quotations for southern ports, because grain flows had been severely hampered by winter storms and ice. — Reuters

Egypt’s strategic stock of wheat is enough to last until June 15, Supplies Minister Mohamed Abu Shadi said last week. Government officials have said storage capacity is vital for Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, to make better use of its domestic wheat production. Farmers are often forced to store their harvest in makeshift open-air plots set up on roadsides. The state has been making heavy wheat purchases in recent months and building supplies for its 21-billionEgyptian-pound US($3-billion) annual program to provide loaves of bread to millions of Egyptians at a subsidized price of less than 1 U.S. cent each. — Reuters

Rail jams continue to weigh on canola futures South America’s soybean harvest will add pressure By Terryn Shiells

anola futures on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform moved lower during the week ended Feb. 7, as logistics problems moving the crop out of Western Canada continued to be bearish. Confirmation of large Canadian canola supplies also put downward pressure on the market. Statistics Canada reported record-large canola stocks of 12.6 million tonnes as of Dec. 31, 2013 on Feb. 4. The Canadian dollar also saw a bit of a recovery, climbing back above the US90-cent mark, which discouraged some buying in the market. Overall, canola futures continued to trade in the same range they’ve been in for the past month, and will likely continue in a rangebound pattern for the next couple of months. Analysts expect nearby canola futures to trade in the $420- to $436-per-tonne area until the size of next year’s Canadian canola and U.S. soybean crops becomes clearer. Prices could move lower than that range, but won’t likely move higher as there’s not much helping to underpin futures. The one thing positive for canola prices is the record-high crush margins seen in recent weeks — but crushers can’t buy the supplies because of the

backlog in Canada’s grain-handling system. One theory is that crushers aren’t able to receive the canola because of the slow grain movement. Another theory is they don’t have room to crush any more, because they can’t move what they have already processed out of their facilities. Continued sentiment that canola is undervalued compared to other oilseeds is also supportive, but once soybeans start to turn lower, canola futures will also come under pressure. Chicago soybean futures were up sharply during the week, with strong export demand and easing concerns about Chinese cancellations helping to support prices. However, once the South American soybean harvest is in full swing, and cheaper supplies are available from the region, U.S. prices will drop. Corn futures are also expected to drop

once the crop from South America starts to enter the supply chain, though they are well supported by strong export demand for the U.S. commodity for the time being. Minneapolis, Kansas City and Chicago wheat futures had an up-and-down week but all finished higher compared to a week ago. Short-covering following recent sharp declines helped push prices up. Weather scares in the U.S. during the first part of the week were supportive, as were signs of strong export demand for U.S. wheat products. But the large global supply situation continues to overhang the market, and will limit any upside going forward. Improving growing conditions in the U.S. will also likely temper any rallies, as sufficient snow cover fell in some U.S. growing regions during the week.

For three-times-daily market reports from Resource News International, visit “ICE Futures Canada updates” at www.albertafarmexpress.ca.

Looking ahead

The next focus for all of the commodity futures markets will be on the size of the 2014-15 North American crops. For canola, it will be interesting to see how many acres are seeded — and how much is produced. The larger the crop, the longer it will likely take to solve the logistics issues plaguing many western Canadian growers this year. Corn and soybean traders will keep a watchful eye on estimates for the upcoming U.S. crops, as that will give a direction to the markets once the picture is clearer. Wheat markets will be watching both Canadian wheat and U.S. estimates for the 2014-15 growing season. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has already released estimates for acreage and crop production for 2014-15, while Statistics Canada’s first planting intentions report won’t be released until April 24. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will release its first estimates for planted area during its Agricultural Outlook Forum conference in Arlington, Va. on Feb. 20-21. Terryn Shiells writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Obama signs sprawling U.S. Farm Bill Monsanto Small cut in food stamps for the poor was a major point of contention By Roberta Rampton

east lansing, michigan / reuters

n a large barn smelling faintly of horses, President Barack Obama signed the US$956 billion Farm Bill into law on Feb. 7, comparing the five-year law to “a Swiss Army knife” because of the variety of ways it can support jobs in America. “It multi-tasks,” Obama said, describing how the law supports not only farmers and ranchers but poor families on food stamps, researchers working on biofuels, and businesses developing and exporting new products from rural America. Obama signed the bill — which the Congressional Budget Office says will save $16.6 billion over 10 years compared to current funding — at Michigan State University, the oldest land-grant university in the nation. Using a different measure, lawmakers have estimated the savings at $23 billion (all figures US$). Michigan is the home state of Senator Debbie Stabenow, chairwoman of the U.S. Senate agriculture committee, who was on hand for the signing along with a small group of Democratic lawmakers and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The White House invited 50 lawmakers, including Republicans involved in the yearslong negotiation process that produced the final bill. But in a sign of ongoing tensions with Obama, no Republican lawmakers attended. The president noted the compromises involved in the legislation, which runs to over 350 pages, and called the bill, passed with bipartisan support, “a good sign.” He also urged lawmakers to keep the momentum going and pass bills to reform immigration laws, extend unemployment insurance, and raise the minimum wage. The Farm Bill cut funding for food stamps to the poor by about $8 billion over 10 years, or about one per cent — a measure decried as too harsh by anti-poverty groups and too generous by Republicans, who sought even larger cuts. Obama has made addressing the gap between rich and poor a major policy focus for his administration this year. USDA’s Vilsack said there

would be changes in the way his department delivers food stamps, but downplayed the impact of the cuts, carved out by cutting benefits to recipients who are also enrolled in a federal heating assistance program. “I would expect and anticipate not a significant impact on the overall availability” of food stamps, he said. Some 47.4 million Americans receive food stamps, according to USDA’s most recent figures. The CBO’s analysis of the Farm Bill assumes a $90-million reduction in food stamp

funding for 2014 — which would amount to about $2 per recipient, if cuts were spread equally — rising to $800 million in 2015. The bill ended nearly $5 billion in annual automatic payments to farmers and landowners, long criticized as a waste of taxpayer money, and consolidated a variety of overlapping conservation programs. The bill also expanded a crop insurance program for farmers and left a host of other farm supports intact. It contained provisions on everything from farmers’ markets to funding

into research of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer. “The last five years have been the best five years in agriculture in the history of the country,” Vilsack told reporters travelling with Obama, noting farm income has been at record highs as exports surge. “Obviously we want to continue that momentum, and that required the passage of a farm bill,” Vilsack said. Obama announced his administration would do more to work with small rural businesses to connect them with potential investors and export markets.

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gri-food giant Olam International has ended its year-and-a-half-long foray into the Canadian grain-trading business. The Singapore-based foodprocessing and commodity supply firm announced Jan. 2 it has shed its 50 per cent stake in Lansing Olam Canada, its ag commodity trading joint venture with U.S. grain-marketing firm Lansing Trade Group. Lansing Olam trades grains in the four western provinces and maintains its head office in Hamilton.

Monsanto acknowledges some continuing market hurdles, but says attitudes are changing

EVERY CROP NEEDS A SUPERHERO.

Olam sheds stake in Canadian grain trade agcanada.com

bringing back Roundup Ready wheat

“Our exit from Canada will allow us to concentrate our resources on the rest of our grains businesses in line with the company’s refreshed strategy,” KC Suresh, president of Olam’s global grains business, said in a release. Olam’s break from Lansing Olam is structured as a share repurchase deal worth US$5.4 million. The operation will continue in Hamilton with Kansasbased Lansing as its sole owner. The two companies launched their joint business in July 2012, just ahead of the deregulation of the Canadian Wheat Board’s single marketing desk for Prairie wheat and barley, for “merchan-

dising Canadian grains and oilseeds to meet the food and feed demand in North America” and other markets overseas. Olam and Lansing had said at the time their complementary

Olam’s break from Lansing Olam is structured as a share repurchase deal worth US$5.4 million.

strengths would give them “a strong platform to establish a meaningful position in the liberalized western Canadian grains marketplace.” Lansing, which previously maintained trading offices in Winnipeg and Chatham, last summer took over southwestern Ontario grain handler and processor Thompsons Ltd. in a joint venture with U.S. agri-food firm The Andersons. Olam, which operates directly in over 65 countries and processes products including cocoa, coffee, cashews, sesame, rice, cotton and wood, has no other Canadian operations.

onsanto said Jan. 8 it was making good progress on the development of a herbicide-tolerant wheat, pushing what would be the world’s first biotech wheat a step closer to market. Monsanto, a leading developer of biotech corn, soybeans and other crops, has long tried to bring to market a genetically altered wheat that tolerates spraying of glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. “The grain industry and the wheat industry... have remained very interested and supportive of biotech advances,” Monsanto chief technology officer Robb Fraley said in a conference call. “A wheat farmer is also generally a corn and soybean farmer and they understand the benefits of the technology.” Fraley said while Monsanto continues to make advances, it is still “several years away” from a biotech wheat product launch. Biotech wheat is not commercially available despite several companies having researched it for a number of years. Monsanto shelved an earlier version of an experimental herbicide-tolerant wheat, under its Roundup Ready brand, in 2004 amid widespread market concern foreign buyers would boycott U.S. wheat if it were genetically altered like corn and soybeans. Controversy erupted again in May when the U.S. Department of Agriculture said an Oregon farmer had found the Roundup Ready genetically engineered wheat growing in his field, despite the fact the experimental grain should have been destroyed or stored away. South Korea and Japan immediately temporarily halted purchases of U.S. wheat after the announcement, due to fears the unapproved biotech wheat might have contaminated U.S. wheat supplies. Monsanto has acknowledged some continuing market hurdles, but said attitudes were changing. In addition to its wheat developments, Monsanto said it was progressing on work to make crops more drought hardy, and more pest and disease resistant. It was also working on a new combination of biotech crops and herbicide chemistry to control weeds that have become resistant to its Roundup herbicide.

news » livestock

FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Taiwan accepts UTM beef

Horse industry gets federal boost

Taiwan has agreed to accept Canadian bone-in beef and other products from cattle under 30 months of age, Canada’s agriculture and international trade ministers said Feb. 5. Taiwan is the latest country to ease trade restrictions placed on Canada in 2003 after an outbreak of BSE. Prior to the restrictions, Taiwan was Canada’s fifth-largest export market for beef, worth $19.8 million in 2002. Canada currently ships to Taiwan only boneless beef from cattle under 30 months, worth about $1.4 million in 2012.

The federal government is giving Equine Canada (EC) $483,650 to promote Canadian-bred horses in export and domestic markets. The goal is to help breeders compete effectively and successfully in the international marketplace, a federal release says. EC will lead missions to, and host visitors from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China and South Africa to enable Canadian and foreign stakeholders to meet face to face. To capitalize on the large number of international visitors expected to attend the Pan Am Games in Toronto in 2015, EC will also hold a Pan American Showcase featuring Canadian horses.

Alberta pork producers on high alert after PEDv reaches Ontario Most of Alberta’s pigs are slaughtered here or in Western Canada, which reduces the risk but also means all four provinces need to stay free of PEDv By Alexis Kienlen af staff

(Editor’s note: At press time, the number of cases in Ontario had reached double digits, but the outbreak had not spread to Western Canada.)

any of Alberta’s pork producers were gathered at the Banff Pork Seminar when news broke that porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) had been found on a farm in Ontario. But there was also good news — Alberta Pork has a battle plan in place and the province’s 350 commercial producers have a couple of things working in their favour. “We are a third of Ontario’s industry and produce a third as many pigs,” said Dr. Egan Brockhoff, a swine veterinarian and owner of Prairie Health Services during a recent ‘telephone town hall.’ “So we have fewer animals and less movement. Only about three per cent of our hogs actually go to an assembly yard in Alberta.” Moreover, about 70 per cent of pigs are slaughtered within the province’s borders, with most of the remainder going to other western Canadian plants. That’s

“We have to remember that the virus can be on our footwear or hand-held cellular phones. And so as we come in contact with contaminated areas, we have to be very careful about how we are decontaminating ourselves before we go back to our pigs.” Dr. Egan Brockhoff swine veterinarian

PHOTo: thinkstock an advantage because trucks transporting pigs to slaughter are a major risk factor in spreading the illness, which is contracted via fecal/oral contamination. However, it also means that if the virus comes to Western Canada, producers in all four provinces will be at risk. Another advantage is that most of Alberta’s herds are free from porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) and are vaccinated for porcine circovirus, both of which impair immune function. “We have a strong pig in Alberta, we do not tend to mix pigs and certainly we’re not mixing pigs from different sources,” said Brockhoff. Alberta Pork quickly rolled out its action plan, centred on keeping producers well informed, and urging them to plug any holes in their biosecurity procedures. The organization is sending weekly email updates, holding biweekly conference calls dubbed telephone town halls, and holding in-person monthly meetings throughout the province. January meetings in Lethbridge, Red Deer and Grande Prairie attracted more than 400 participants. Alberta Pork’s board has also set up a $100,000 reserve fund to address PEDv. During a January telephone town hall, producers

were reminded how easily the disease spreads. “We have to remember that the virus can be on our footwear or hand-held cellular phones,” said Brockhoff. “And so as we come in contact with contaminated areas, we have to be very careful about how we are decontaminating ourselves before we go back to our pigs.” While the disease doesn’t represent a threat to food safety or human health, an outbreak “could be devastating to the pork industry and an individual pig farm,” he said. “PEDv is endemic in the United States,” added Dr. Julia Keenliside, a veterinarian epidemiologist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “It is not going away — it’s here to stay. I’m wondering if Ontario is also approaching that point. We shall see.”

PEDv facts

Infection spreads through a herd in two to four days after exposure. Infected pigs often suffer severe diarrhea and vomiting, and young animals often die. Older pigs have some natural immunity and usually survive, but because of the way immunity develops, it’s likely the disease will reoccur in that herd. Moreover, after an infection, there are often abortions and reduced conception rates.

“When a farm is hit by an outbreak of PED virus, it can take months for production to return to normal,” said Brockhoff. Any producer who sees a pig with diarrhea needs to call their vet immediately. PEDv is a provincially reportable disease and must be reported to the Chief Provincial Veterinarian of Alberta within 24 hours by calling 1-800-524-0051. Anyone who reports the disease will have support from veterinarians and Alberta Agriculture. “This is our main concern — if we can catch the first case or cases, we can slow the spread,” said Keenliside. Funding is available through AgriStability and Growing Forward 2 to compensate for loss of income as well as biosecurity improvements. Producers are also being urged to talk to their vet about ways to protect their herds. “This is the best way to prevent the virus from entering our Alberta farms,” said Brockhoff. Every delivery and point of contact can result in a risk of contamination. Truck washes, provincial processor abattoirs, and assembly stations all represent a risk. Trailers, trucks, footwear and the clothes a producer wears need to be disinfected after every point of contact. Producers also need to report

animal movements, whether the pigs are going to slaughter or to another farm. “Pigs really do move and it is the movement that makes it difficult to control the spread of disease such as PEDv,” said Keenliside. The traceability system in Alberta tracks about 90 per cent of pig slaughter movements, and Keenliside said she hopes officials can get this number to 100 per cent. All markets, buying stations and anything related to transportation is a potential source of infected fecal matter. Producers need to have clear protocols for washing and disinfecting transport trailers, and entering and exiting their barns. Protocols for proper biosecurity are available through Alberta Pork, Alberta Agriculture and veterinarians. PEDv was first discovered in Europe in the 1970s, moved to Asia in the early 1980s and migrated to the U.S. by May 2013. More than three million pigs in the U.S. have been infected. A vaccine has been developed in the U.S. and Ottawa is allowing vets to import it. Although an estimated 800,000 doses have been used, field data is still being gathered, and early signs show that in naive herds, it can only reduce losses, not eliminate infection. akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Understanding factors affecting sow longevity peet on pigs } A speaker at the Banff Port Seminar analyzes the

differences between two farms with different average longevities

By bernie peet

igh replacement rates for first- and second-parity sows have skewed current parity structures on many sow farms towards younger, less productive females, Dr. Billy Flowers of North Carolina State University told the recent Banff Pork Seminar. He said that as a result, herd productivity is being limited because females are culled before they reach their peak periods of reproductive efficiency. Current research by Flowers and his team involves comparing conditions and management practices on two similar farms, one with high and one with low sow longevity. While the study is not complete, it has already revealed several factors which are thought to be related to the levels of sow longevity. The comparison involves two, 2,400-head commercial sow farms that receive replacement gilts from the same gilt multiplication system, which eliminates any effect on longevity of management prior to delivery. “The definition being used for sow longevity is the proportion of sows that produce six litters,” Flowers said. “The high-longevity farm typically has 26 per cent of its sows reach their sixth parity,

while only 12 per cent of sows produce six litters on the lowlongevity farm.” Although the results are preliminary, there are some interesting trends developing between the high and low sow longevity herds. “After sows were rebred after their first lactation, the high-longevity farm still had 78 per cent of the gilts in production while the low-longevity farm only had 58 per cent,” Flowers said. “The majority of this difference appears to be related to the proportion of gilts and first-parity sows that were bred — 98 per cent of the gilts that were delivered to the high-longevity farm were bred and entered production compared with only 83 per cent of their contemporaries on the low-longevity farm.” Farrowing rates for first-parity sows were comparable for both farms, he said. There was only a four per cent loss of sows from weaning to rebreeding on the high-longevity farm compared with a 12 per cent loss over the same time frame on the low-longevity farm. This trend continued during the rebreeding of sows after weaning their second litter. “It appears that factors related to breeding in general and how sows are managed during lactation play significant roles in dif-

ferences between the two farms in terms of sow longevity,” Flowers suggested.

Age of detection boars

One difference between the two farms that is likely related to differences in culling of young females is the age of boars used for estrus detection and how they are managed. “ The high-longevity farm uses 14-month-old boars and collects them periodically after heat checks. In contrast, the low-longevity farm uses boars that are older than 24 months without ever collecting them,” Flowers said. “Boars on the highlongevity farm appear to have increased libido and both the sows and gilts show enhanced standing reflexes compared with the low-longevity farm. This, in turn produced higher mating quality scores.” Bred females consistently show more intense initial standing reflexes and accept semen better on the high-longevity farm, Flowers said. Examination of the ovaries of gilts culled because they were never bred indicated that they did ovulate at some point but their estrus was not detected. “Routine collection of boars used for detecting estrus appears to have a positive effect on

behaviours associated with high levels of libido and stimulation of estrus behaviours in gilts and sows,” Flowers said. Another difference between the two farms is that, on the high-longevity farm, a single person is responsible for breeding all the gilts and, after breeding, moving them to their gestation stalls. On the low-longevity farm, these tasks are performed by different members of the breeding barn staff. The researchers note that movement of gilts into gestation stalls takes less time on the high-longevity farm. A subsequent behavioural test, which measures a pig’s interaction with farm staff, showed that there were fewer, but longer, interactions between the person managing gilts on the high-longevity farm, indicating less fear. “The significance of these observations remains to be determined; however, it is tempting to speculate that if they are representative of animals that are calm while being handled by workers, then this could have benefits not only in breeding, but during farrowing and lactation as well,” Flowers said. Sows are assisted fairly aggressively during farrowing on the high-longevity farm compared with the low-longevity farm. “It is interesting to note that the

high-longevity farm has fewer sows with a retained placenta or dead piglets and fewer sows that experience transient decreases in feed intake during the lactation period,” Flowers said. “It will be interesting to see if these trends continue. If they do, then it would be tempting to speculate that, in this production system, failure to assist sows leads to increases in retained piglets, which, in turn, could affect their feed intake temporarily later in lactation.” Decreases in feed intake between five to seven days have been shown to change important physiological aspects associated with resumption of reproductive activity of sows after weaning, including their subsequent fertility, he notes. As the study continues, and the sows move into later parities, it is expected that more differences in management that can be linked to longevity will emerge between the two farms. “Hopefully, this information will provide a blueprint of sorts that production systems can use to develop their own management checklists for improving sow longevity,” Flowers said. Bernie Peet is president of Pork Chain Consulting of Lacombe, Alberta, and editor of Western Hog Journal.

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FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Team players do their best to support others in times of need STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP  Helping a young farmer work through a hypothetical

disaster shows the value of having a committed and engaged network

BY BRENDA SCHOEPP

ot all of us are all star players. I love basketball and although a decent shot, I am far from the star of the team. In setting up the person to make the shot, I always had to ask myself: Where should I be when I don’t have the ball? In agriculture, we are often met with challenges that leave us scrambling, perhaps caught with a foul or holding the ball too long. These little setbacks may seem overwhelming at times. Team players understand it is their responsibility to do their best regardless of who gets the point. I recently facilitated a group of young farmers through a hypothetical disaster at their farms. The case studies required everyone’s participation and that participation came with a responsibility to engage, empower and help find solutions for the struggling farmer. What would your response be to a neighbour caught hitting a cow or a neighbour misrepresented in the media? Let’s see how teamwork can help turn the tide and create preventive processes and protocols to mitigate risk. Sandy (not her real name)

Team players understand it is their responsibility to do their best regardless of who gets the point.

had a dream of starting a vegetable and berry farm with her partner. She has never farmed before but is passionate about the possibilities and about growing food in a sustainable manner. Her location is good

as her little farm sits on a main road. She has started by cultivating and planting some varieties so she can learn about the production end. I asked her to tell her story in 60 seconds and she did with clarity. As a team we talked about those areas in her story that were not clear and encouraged her to remove “want to” and “would like to” with “I am” and “I do” sentences. So rather than say, “I want to grow vegetables that are good and hope that I will have a roadside stand,” the statement would be more like, “I grow delicious vegetables that are produced in a sustainable way and sold fresh to you at my roadside stand.” It was very exciting to have everyone engaged in the process and Sandy felt really good about her farm because she saw herself living the dream. Of course, like any basketball game, someone dropped the ball. In this case, we had created a situation where a customer bought product and claimed they were sick from it. The once engaged team sat back quietly — just like the cold shoulder you give the player who dropped the ball. My job was to bring them back to support the farmer and to help her ensure the situation could not repeat itself. The strongest attribute of a leader is to take responsibility for the situation. Sandy did so by acknowledging the fruit was from her farm, but took it one step further by asking for any leftover product for testing. At the advice of her team, she then had the batch tested for any possible contamination. In the meantime, the media was accusing her of mishandling the product. This led to a statement which clearly outlined her production practices. It had to be worded carefully though. Responding by saying, “I don’t use raw manure,” opens the gate for a media frenzy as that can easily be taken out of context. Working through a statement such as, “I provide organic nutrients in a sustainable manner,” is a closed-end statement and does not leave the farm gate open for further harassment.

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

Through the stress of that exercise, she also had the opportunity to engage with the rest of her team who set her up to score. In the end, she had a quality assurance program that had documented and auditable protocols and processes and a biosecurity program that included handwashing on site for her and her customers, a fact sheet on handling vegetables and fruit, and a “no trespass protocol” to keep snoops out of the growing fields. The production and presentation protocols were so tight that the risk was transferred entirely to the buyer. So if the customer chooses to leave their purchase sweltering in the car for the rest of the afternoon, Sandy

could not be held responsible for the product. What started out as a collective “you dropped the ball” attitude from the team turned into collective intelligence and problem solving. This left Sandy, the new farmer in the room, confident she could approach her fellow farmers for advice because they all bought into the leadership model. A model which says we are accountable at all times and we are prepared because preparedness mitigates risk. We are kind and generous, wanting to see our fellow farmer succeed because we alone cannot carry the ball and because agriculture benefits us all. We lead by inspiration and

not by condemning someone who is on a losing streak and at all times we conduct ourselves from a place of core values and beliefs. As a team, we radiate confidence in ourselves and even on the day when we do not score, are always asking — for the betterment of our team, community and industry — where do I need to be when I don’t have the ball? Brenda Schoepp is a Nuffield Scholar who travels extensively exploring agriculture and meeting the people who feed, clothe and educate our world. A motivating speaker and mentor she works with young entrepreneurs across Canada and is the founder of Women in Search of Excellence. www.brendaschoepp.com

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Patience pays with grass-finished beef Retail-level profits for 30-month-old beef more than double that of 18-month-old beef BY DANIEL WINTERS STAFF / BRANDON, MAN.

n the grass-finished beef business, keeping a yearling an extra year is worth the wait. In fact, one could hardly afford to do otherwise, because those extra 12 months can mean the difference between profit and loss, Jim Lintott told a presentation on grass-fed beef production at Ag Days. Lintott, a grass-finisher and marketer from Oakbank, Man. used a detailed production cost analysis spreadsheet developed by retired provincial forage specialist Fraser Stewart to show “actual, not made up” numbers from his farm. They show the total cost of finishing, processing, and marketing a forage-only beef animal at 18 months stands at $1,112 per head. At 30 months, the number is only slightly higher at $1,275. But on the other side of the ledger, there’s a huge difference when comparing the retail value of the two because the extra beef on the older animal is where the lion’s share of the profits come from. Even though the older animal weighs only 175 pounds more, carcass yield at 30 months is 67 per cent, compared to 46 per cent at 18 months for an 800- to 1,000-pound animal. That means cut-out meat for the older animal amounts to 432 lbs. versus 250 lbs. for the younger. “An animal at 18 months is immature, and has a higher boneto-mass ratio,” he said. Lintott pegged the on-the-rail price for the younger animal at $2.25/lb., mainly due to the higher chance that it would grade only AA, while a 30-month animal “almost always” fetches 10 cents more per pound at AAA. At 18 months, the retail margin for the producer comes to $647, while the 30-month-old amounts to $1,543 — almost $900 more — after the $300 cost of wintering the dam is factored in for both. “It’s all about the difference in the yield on the carcass,” said Lintott. Selling 18-month-old grass-finished animals at typical live weight, wholesale prices wouldn’t be worth the extra effort, he said, and if he didn’t have a retail market available, he would have to use a separate, lower-cost production system for those animals.

reflect sales of vacuum-packed, frozen individual cuts sold at the farmers’ market. Much of the difficulty in finishing animals earlier is due to the slower pace and higher cost of fattening animals on forages in the dead of winter without highenergy rations such as barley. On his ranch, commercial fertilizer used to maintain the energy values and yields of annual ryegrass is a major expense, but ranchers with access to cheaper alternatives such as lower-cost hog manure may enjoy an advantage. “The total is skewed because a younger animal requires higherquality feed all the way through its life,” he said. “You can’t just take out the grain.” Lintott, who often buys slaughter animals from other producers, doesn’t hesitate to buy even older animals up to 36 months, so long as they are well finished. Ken Vaags, who admits that his “designer cow” experiment in grass-fed beef production is still

a work in progress, is intrigued by the possibility of marketing older animals, even up to 42 months old. After a lifetime of believing that in finishing cattle, “younger is better,” he recalled being “floored” by an article in the Stockman Grass Farmer that reported that the highest-priced beef in France comes from a fouryear-old steer. “That just blew all my categories,” said Vaags. “The next-highest price is for a four-year-old heifer that has had one calf.” Besides tasting “beefier,” the older animals also finish easier on forage, he added. He was initially nervous about potential eating quality issues with 3.5-year-old animals, but so far the beef has been well received by his growing customer base. “When I give them the choice, they want the 42-month-old,” said Vaags. daniel.winters@fbcpublishing.com

Jim Lintott produces and markets grass-fed beef at Oakbank, Manitoba.

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Marketing is key

The difference lies in the marketing. Lintott sells grass-finished strip loins and rib-eyes for $17.79 per pound and tenderloin for $21.19/lb. “I can’t keep it in stock,” said Lintott, who added that the prices

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FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Probiotics, prebiotics and horses horse health } It is important to understand that grass and

hay are the most important prebiotics for horses By carol shwetz, dvm

hen supplements or products containing live micro-organisms are fed to horses the products are called probiotics, and Latin names like Lactobacillus, Acidophillus, Entercoccus, Bifidobacterium, and Saccaromyces will appear on the product’s ingredients label. While prebiotics have a similar intention to probiotics they do not contain the actual microorganisms, rather substances which have been extracted from fermentation vats where selected microbes have been grown. They are indicated to help “feed” the beneficial intestinal microflora. Although the

U.S. cattle supply sinks to 63-year low Ranchers expected to start holding back heifers for breeding

mechanism of action for probiotics and prebiotics is poorly described, it is thought they support or enrich the populations of beneficial microbes in the horse’s hind gut and thus improve digestive health. The health of horses is highly dependent upon a thriving population of essential microbes in the hind gut that produce enzymes necessary to digest or break down plant fibre. Their presence is absolutely crucial to the horse, as horses themselves lack these vital enzymes. Byproducts of the fermentation process provide the horse with energy and micronutrients. When in good numbers, these microbes provide as much as 70 per cent of the horse’s energy and synthesize enough B vita-

mins and vitamin K to meet the horse’s needs. In exchange for this energetic and nutritional advantage billions of bacteria, yeast and protozoa are housed in the warm, moist confines of the horse’s hind gut and are provided with a steady supply of fibrous “plant food.” It is important to understand that grass and hay are the most important prebiotics for horses as plant fibre is the ideal food source for hind gut microbes. Any departure from a steady influx of an all-forage diet is detrimental to beneficial populations of microbes and thus the health of the horse. The health of these essential microbes is ultimately dependent upon this very specific food source.

Many events in the life of a domestic horse can upset the delicate balance of the hind gut. These include an abrupt change in feed, high-grain diets, processed feeds, weaning, vaccination, deworming, stress from training and travel, changing companions, or a course of antibiotics. Illnesses such as colic, laminitis, inappetence, diarrhea, fatigue, illthrift, skin and hoof problems, behavioural and performance changes are often rooted in feeding and management practices which are detrimental to the health of a horse’s hind gut. Each horse develops a highly individualized microbial population specific to their own diet, their own environment and their own biochemistry. They

are virtually “supplemented” with a variety of micro-organisms while ingesting their feedstuff. Simply adding more of the ‘good’ bacteria, even if we knew for sure which ones these were, will be limited by the health of the hind gut first and foremost. When hind gut health is not optimal the application of probiotics and prebiotics may offer temporary benefit until hind gut health is restored. If a horse is healthy, and has a healthy lifestyle, they will have a healthy hind gut and will inherently be able to support their own population of vibrant microbes. Carol Shwetz is a veterinarian specializing in equine practice at Westlock, Alberta.

Call it increasing stock in the family business…Alberta style.

By Theopolis Waters Reuters

he U.S. cattle population dropped to its lowest level in 63 years as the lingering impact of years of drought took its toll on feed costs in the first half of 2013, analysts said in response to a government yearly cattle report Jan. 31. However, corn and hay prices receded as the drought eased during the last six months of 2013, which encouraged ranchers to hold back heifers for breeding, analysts and economists said. Still, the report confirms that cattle and beef prices will hover at, or near, record highs through 2015, they said. “There is nothing in the report to cause us to doubt we’re going to have a lot of record prices for both cattle and beef in 2014 and 2015,” University of Missouri livestock economist Ron Plain said. The USDA’s annual cattle inventory report showed the U.S. cattle herd as of Jan. 1 at 98 per cent of what it was a year earlier, or 87.73 million head, the smallest herd since 1951. USDA’s beef cow replacement category, a clue to herd rebuilding through heifer retention, was up two per cent rather than the three per cent that had been projected. The 98 per cent cattle inventory result appears bullish, although the beef cow outcome at 99 per cent was slightly larger than average trade forecasts, said Allendale Inc. chief strategist Rich Nelson. “A larger cow herd than expected was offset by a smaller retention of young heifers, which rather cancel each other out. I call it a neutral report,” Nelson said.

And with 2.3 million head of beef cattle and heifers across Alberta, that’s a lo Eric & Maureen Smith of Mappin Simmentals welcome two new purebreds into the herd.

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Albertafarmexpress.ca • february 17, 2014

In one end and out the other — feeding your horse without hurting your land Horse owners can reduce their environmental impact — and save a bit of money — by adopting some easy feeding strategies for their horses By Jennifer Blair af staff / red deer

ome horse owners may pooh-pooh environmentally friendly feeding practices, but the risk that “road apples” pose to ground- and surface water is real, said an equine researcher from the University of Florida. “You know that what you feed in the one end will eventually come out in the back end,” Lori Warren said at the Horse Breeders and Owners Conference earlier this year.

a lot of stock .

Every day, an average-size horse produces 14 kilograms of manure and eight litres of urine and during the course of a year, that waste will contain 44 kilograms of nitrogen, eight kilograms of phosphorus, and 22 kilograms of potassium. And all of those unutilized nutrients come directly from a horse’s diet, said Warren. “Horses are inefficient at absorbing everything we give them,” she said. “Any excesses that we feed over what his requirements are will end up in the manure.”

So horse owners need to think about the environment when in the feed store, she said. “If we know what goes in the horse eventually comes out, we know that we can control what we’re putting in the horse in the form of his diet to control what’s coming out.”

Too much

Phosphorus is one of the minerals of “key concern” in water quality, especially in its soluble form. “It’s also a nutrient that the horse needs in his diet every day,” said Warren.

Almost every type of feed has phosphorus in it, but horses are able to absorb less than one-half of the phosphorus they take in. Finding the right balance depends on the horse and looking at its entire feeding regime. “It’s not too difficult for most mature horses to be able to easily meet their phosphorus requirements just with forage.” So horse owners should reconsider the amount of high-phosphorus feed, like wheat bran, they use, as well as any mineral supplements that include phos-

Just arrived and already famous—that’s Alberta Beef in a nutshell. It’s the result of generations of Albertans like you who pour time, money and most importantly, heart and soul into raising cattle that are the envy of the world. It’s a business, that’s for sure. But it’s more than that too. Much more. You don’t just follow the herd—you raise it. Which is why we’re there with you from birth day to sale day, every step of the way.

Dr. Lori Warren shares three simple strategies for environmentally friendly feeding at the Horse Breeders and Owners Conference in Red Deer. PHOTo: Darrell Dalton phorus. Feeding high-calcium legumes can also reduce the amount of soluble phosphorus in the manure. “It’s a really neat way we can counteract some of the phosphorus if we can’t cut back on what we feed,” she said.

Tailored diets

Nitrogen also impacts water quality, and the biggest source of nitrogen in a horse’s diet is protein. “It’s very common for horses to be fed double or even triple the amount of protein that they require,” said Warren. “Proteins, like minerals, are not 100 per cent digestible, so some of that’s going to come out in the feces.” I n m a n y c a s e s , o v e r f e e ding protein is “unavoidable” because of the feed the horse is given, she said. A sedentary horse, for instance, requires 630 grams of protein, and 10 kilograms of timothy hay — which may be enough to meet a horse’s caloric intake — has roughly 1,000 grams of protein. “Automatically, just with this hay, I’ve overfed protein.” Reserving alfalfa hay for horses that have higher protein requirements, including growing or active horses, can reduce protein overfeeding in the average horse. “We can reduce (nutrient) output by really tailoring the diet and getting closer to what the animal actually needs,” said Warren.

Match feed to horse

Horses that are sedentary or doing light work need less protein and minerals than active ones. “(Their requirements) are pretty easy to meet with some of the basic ingredients we typically find in equine diets,” she said. “We don’t have to seek out a lot of fortification or supplementation for those guys.” Brood mares or growing horses, on the other hand, may require supplementation. “It makes more sense to focus on providing the correct feed for that specific horse than randomly feeding whatever happens to be on sale that week.” The same applies to hay, she said. “Horses with high nutritional requirements should get highernutritional-quality hay.” Ultimately, horse owners and their lands stand to benefit from this type of precision feeding, said Warren. “In the long run, not only will it help the environment, it will also help your pocketbook.”

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jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com 14-01-06 9:45 AM

FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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Albertafarmexpress.ca • February 17, 2014

Insect forecast maps online Alberta Agriculture’s insect forecast maps are now online at http://www.agric.gov. ab.ca/app21/loadmedia. Insect management specialist Scott Meers says the biggest new insect issue is wheat midge in the Fahler area, as well as in a smattering of other areas in central and southern Alberta. He says bertha army worm seems to be tapering off but there are concerns about the fringe areas of last year’s outbreak. Grasshoppers are also “a bit of a concern” in some areas of the Peace and others. There are also maps for cabbage seed pod weevil, diamondback moth, pea leaf weevil and wheat stem sawfly.

Rail delays put canada four million tonnes behind its grain export program targets Producers are incurring extra costs while grain vessels sit empty in port, waiting for rail deliveries By Jennifer Blair af staff / edmonton

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acklogs in the grain-handling system aren’t just hurting growers’ bottom lines — they’re also tarnishing Canada’s reputation as a reliable supplier, according to the CEO of Pulse Canada. “We have to stop talking about railway statistics or country elevator statistics, and start talking about our reputation in markets around the world,” Gordon Bacon said at the Alberta Pulse Growers’ annual general meeting in late January. “We’re telling customers to go somewhere else for grain because we’re not seen to be a reliable supplier of getting grain to market on time.” The statistics paint an alarming picture of how Canada is falling behind in its exports, he said. At the end of the past month, the country elevator system was at 90 per cent of its working capacity, while stocks at terminal elevators were 29 per cent lower than at the same time a year earlier. “We have this real imbalance where there’s nothing in the terminals and the country elevators are full of stocks,” said Bacon. Unloads are 18 to 22 per cent lower than the railways had forecast. “The railways’ planned allocation versus their actual delivery has been reduced,” said Bacon. “We’re about

40,000 cars below what railways had planned to deliver, and we’re continuing to slip.” In the Port of Vancouver, 15 of 22 “active anchors” in late January were grain vessels, and because all the anchoring spots in the port were taken, there were another 13 grain ships anchored off Vancouver Island. The demurrage costs for those ships will ultimately come out of producers’ pockets, Bacon said. Overall, Canada was “about four million tonnes behind” its planned export program, he said. “Probably for the first time in history, a vessel left Thunder Bay empty before the ice came because there wasn’t grain to load in it,” said Bacon. “These are all symptoms of problems that we have to address.” In November, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Minister Gerry Ritz said he thought the railways were doing an “adequate” job of moving grain to markets. But days after Bacon spoke, the federal minister sounded a different note and ordered the railways to report on their performance monthly instead of every three months. “To win and maintain our markets, Canada must not only be competitive on price and quality, but also on service and deliverable reliabilities,” he told reporters at a news conference in Winnipeg on Feb. 3. “Our government knows that action is needed now.”

PHOTo: thinkstock In late January, Ritz also chipped in $1.5 million in matching dollars for a multi-sector collaboration to improve supply chain efficiency and reliability. Pulse Canada is spearheading the initiative, with support from the Grain Growers of Canada, the Canadian Canola Growers Association, Western Grain Elevators Association, and Inland Terminals Association of Canada. “We have an issue, and we have to do something about it,” said Bacon. “That’s where the program that we’re working on starts to come in.” The funding will be used to develop a performance measurement system to understand where variability is occurring in the rail system.

“Performance measurement tells you where the problems are and whether the actions you’re taking are making any difference,” he said. “You can’t manage what you’re not measuring.” Bacon said he also wants the railways to state how much grain they can guarantee will be moved between now and Aug. 1. “Don’t talk to me about planned allocation. I want to know how much will be delivered.” If the railways can’t clear the backlog before this year’s harvest, producers could be in for a tough year, he said. “If it’s not moved, you’re going to be left with grain on the farm and cash flow issues and everything else that flows from there.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

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FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

To spray or not to spray — it’s more than the numbers Deciding what, when, how and even if to control pests is a complex decision By Helen McMenamin

af contributor / lethbridge

It’s tough to see bertha army worms chewing on canola, but is it cheaper to let them have their share rather than spraying to control them?

o spray or not to spray? There are published economic thresholds to help you decide, but Nevin Rosaasen suggests making your own calculations. Rosaasen, a research economist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, says every crop has different potential and every farm has its own unique combination of short- and long-term economic and environmental considerations. In a presentation at the Farming Smarter Conference in Lethbridge, Rosaasen used an example from his family’s farm. His brother

had found bertha army worm larvae — more than 11 per square metre — in a canola field. According to Alberta Agriculture figures, it pays to spray if it costs less than $8 per acre and canola sells for $12 a bushel. “Each bertha army worm cuts yield by .058 bushels (3-1/2 pounds),” Rosaasen said. “For my dad, that’s all he needs to hear. He says, ‘Nuke those suckers.’ “My brother has a different opinion. He says, ‘I hate to apply insecticides, I want the option to father healthy kids. How do you put a value on your health?’” There’s also the value of the beneficial insects. “What’s the yield penalty from losing native pollinators in the crop? What about the preda-

tors and parasitoids?” Rosaasen asked. “A dragonfly can eat its own weight in insects in 30 minutes. And, this isn’t the only crop we have to consider — the wheat across the road likely has wheat midge in it — dragonflies can fly over there if we don’t kill them.” But Rosaasen said it’s difficult to come up with firm numbers on the value of beneficial insects, though yield benefits from being close to honeybee hives have bees estimated as high as 47 per cent. He also compared the cost and benefit of different insecticides. He said the least-toxic product to control bertha army worm costs more than twice that of commonly recommended insecticides, but it acts by coating plants with a toxin that only affects insects that feed on the crop.

Crunching the numbers

Rosaasen also thought about the effects of not spraying. “Why not let ’em eat?” he asked. He also considered the potential impact of a yield hit from bertha army worm on their yield history and premiums for crop insurance. With this information, the Rosaasens went back to considering whether spraying would pay. Their operating costs for spraying include variable costs — fuel, labour of the sprayer operator and the water hauler and others. Fixed costs include a share of the sprayer and associated equipment. This was measured against the “sunk costs” — money already invested. “Fertilizer, seed, herbicide — all the inputs and work you’ve put into a crop to bring it to this point in the year are gone and can’t be recovered,” Rosaasen said. “That number reminds you of what you’re protecting.” Armed with a complete figure JOB ID: for spraying, Rosaasen looked -1 A at the complete6229 cost of spraying and chemical DATE:for the conJAN 20/FEB and 17/ ventional insecticide the 17/his APR brother 14 eco-product. HeMAR and guessedCLIENT: they might have twice as many dragonflies SYNGENTA CANADA and parasitic wasps to keep wheat midge PROJECT: under control with the eco-prodAXIAL BRAND AD 2014 uct and weighed that against its PUBLICATION: higher cost. FARMER EXPRESS They ALBERTA also looked at the cost of aerial spraying compared to DESIGNER: doing the DC job themselves. The high-clearance sprayer tramples ( ) MECHANICAL ( ) PDF/X some crop, in their case two per cent. That of a FINAL SIZE: percentage 8.125” X 10” 40-bushel crop gave the spray 240% plane a UCR: slight advantage, as long as the application CLIENT SERVICEwas timely. That can be especially important forPROOFREADING pre-harvest intervals and forART fungicides. The timing DIRECTION of fungicide application against PRODUCTION fusarium head blight has almost as big an impact on the bottom line as the decision to treat. Including seemingly extraneous production impacts may seem dubious, but formalizing the process can lead to some surprising decisions if you have definite numbers, Rosaasen said. Based on all those factors, he and his brother decided on the more expensive but environmentally friendly insecticide, and sprayed themselves, ensuring a timely application to control the berthas.

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Clogged elevators, full bins and cash flow needs prompt seeding rethink It looks like lots of canola and wheat again, but producers are also looking at faba beans and other crops they can deliver quickly By Jennifer Blair af staff

f you still haven’t finalized your cropping plan for the year, you’re not alone. The “vast bulk” of Alberta’s acreage is still “up in the air,” said Harry Brook, crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “People are taking a look at their cropping plans and looking at where they can make some price cuts.” Brook expects to see wheat acreage rise, as well as lots of canola. However, with canola prices having plunged from $13 a bushel a year ago to the $8.50 range today, some producers are “rethinking their strategy,” he said. “You look at all the crops, and there’s nothing that’s a standout for profit,” said Brook. SeCan seed sales have been slow this year as producers contemplate an “interesting year,” said SeCan marketing representative Trent Whiting. An inability to move last year’s bumper crop quickly is the culprit, he said. “We’ve got a backlog of grain to move on the Prairies, and farmers are reluctant to book seed when they’ve got bins full of grain,” he said. “Everybody needs cash flow.” Despite strong interest in pulses, canola and flax, with slower sales in barley and oats, Whiting said he doesn’t see a huge shift in acres happening this spring.

Stamp is also seeing more interest in faba beans and flax this year. Again, clogged elevators appear to be an issue as producers factor in the ability to move the crop. “They’re not sure they can get delivery space with a good basis on their other crops,” said Stamp. Faba beans and flax are largely able to bypass the rail system because there are processors in Canada and the northern U.S., making them appealing for producers who want to avoid major terminals. “I think people are generally interested in crop types that don’t necessarily go in the same delivery channels that canola and cereals might so that they can bypass some of the delivery backlog that may

continue into the next year,” Stamp said. Some seed growers are already sold out of faba beans, so producers who haven’t booked their seed should do so soon, especially if they’re looking for in-demand varieties. “If they haven’t done it, they should do it before the end of January,” said Stamp. “Otherwise, they may not get the new varieties.” Whiting agrees. “In most of the newer varieties, seed supplies are good, but they’re not great,” he said. “The longer you wait in making your decision, the more likely it is that you’ll have to settle for something rather than get what you really want.” T:8.125”

jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

SOME SEED REPS STAND BY THEIR PRODUCTS. WE PREFER TO GET WAIST-DEEP IN THEM.

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“The longer you wait in making your decision, the more likely it is that you’ll have to settle for something rather than get what you really want.” Trent Whiting

“I think, for the most part, we’re going to be along the normal trends,” he said. However, he also forecasts a “crunch” in March and April. “Guys will make decisions very late this year,” said Whiting. The situation is different at Stamp’s Select Seeds in Enchant. Bookings are up, with producers wanting to have their seed supply secured, said seed grower Greg Stamp. “People seem to be making decisions faster this year than last year,” he said. “It seems like people know what they want to do, at least on some of their acres, and they’re making commitments.” The cropping choices seem to be shifting, too. “Last year, you couldn’t find soft wheat or CPS wheat, and now, all the inquiries are about hard red spring wheat and high protein,” he said.

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FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Lower prices and higher costs a recipe for trouble Farmers have options to ‘Betty Crocker’ farming, but they don’t like hearing them BY ALLAN DAWSON STAFF

fter several years of good yields and good prices the party is over for western Canadian farmers, unless they change tact, according to University of Manitoba agronomy instructor Gary Martens. “I’m predicting 2014 will be a financial disaster — total disaster — because the prices (for crops) are crashing right now,” he said in an interview Jan. 9. But the problem isn’t just lower prices, it’s higher production costs, some of which farmers caused themselves, Martens said. Strong crop prices and bumper crops since 2008 have boosted farm profits, prompting farm-

ers to bid up land prices and rents. In the meantime, crop prices have plunged as supplies exceed demand. Until now, excess corn and wheat stocks in the U.S. were sopped up by the thirsty ethanol market. But American ethanol subsidies have peaked, Martens said. “And based on that I am predicting minus (profit) numbers for crops across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta if we farm the same way we have,” he said. “If we farm the Betty Crocker way with lots of inputs, expensive seed, expensive rent and lots of nitrogen fertilizer and lots of fungicides, that’s not going to fly this year.” There are things farmers can do, but it means farming differently — a message, Martens said

he would deliver to the CropSphere conference in Saskatoon. “It’s stuff they don’t want to hear — more diversity in their agriculture, integrating crops and livestock, grow some of their own nitrogen,” he said. “These are not new ideas but they’re ideas that will save you money. And we haven’t been doing them because we didn’t need to. We may have to. Farmers have a bit of a bank account. They can afford one loss, but they can’t farm this way forever.” Many market analysts have said world grain prices would continue to fluctuate but in a new higher range. Some called it “a new paradigm.” “I used to believe it, but not anymore,” Martens said. allan@fbcpublishing.com

University of Manitoba agronomy instructor Gary Martens says farmers are going to have to change practices to contend with lower crop prices and higher production costs.

CN Rail Q4 profit stung as winter chill adds to costs

UFA Fuel Quality Assurance Program

At UFA, we take fuel quality seriously. Keith Tully Technical Sales Manager Petroleum Products The performance of your equipment relies on a high quality fuel. Whether you’re running agricultural, off‑road, construction or industrial equipment, your mileage, power, and fuel economy are by‑products of the fuel you choose. And when it comes to serving our members and customers, UFA is committed to provide the best quality gasoline and diesel products available on the market today. Our quality control starts with obtaining fuel, from the major fuel suppliers in Western Canada. We require our providers to meet our high standards that exceed Canadian standards. Then, across our network, we have implemented the UFA Fuel Quality Assurance Program, which allows for detailed and thorough fuel quality monitoring. This program means peace of mind for our fuel patrons. Our program standards require us to continually monitor and benchmark our fuel, and that of our competitors, including the following criteria – density, cetane number, cloud point, water/ moisture, sediment and fuel lubricity.

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But both CN and CP recorded significantly higher earnings

Ensuring our fuel aligns to the highest standards of this criteria is how we assure our fuels meet and exceed recommended criteria for optimal equipment performance.

BY SOLARINA HO TORONTO / REUTERS

In addition to our Fuel Quality Assurance Program, we regularly sample from our storage tanks and delivery vehicles. We have water/particulate filters on all of our Cardlock dispensers. High standards in our day‑to‑day operations helps you know that the quality products we source find their way to you in the purest state possible.

anadian National Railway reported higher quarterly earnings Jan. 30, saying its full-year volumes and revenue hit record highs, but the results were tempered by extreme winter weather in December. CN raised its quarterly dividend by 16 per cent. “The extreme cold weather brought us higher labour and higher purchased services and material costs in December, which at this point I would probably estimate to be approximately $15 million,” said chief executive Claude Mongeau. The company’s operating ratio, a key measure of efficiency in the industry, rose 1.2 points to 64.8 per cent during the quarter. The higher the ratio, the less efficient the operation. CN’s revenue for petroleum and chemicals jumped during the quarter, helped in part by higher freight volumes and market share gains. Despite strong grain export demand, revenue growth in that segment was only three per cent due to the cold weather. Net income in the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose to $635 million, or 76 cents per share. This compares with a net income of $610 million, or 71 cents per share, during the same period a year earlier. Canadian Pacific Railway earlier posted record quarterly results despite also taking a hit from extreme winter weather in December. CP also forecast its adjusted earnings would climb by at least 30 per cent in 2014 with revenue growing by six to seven per cent from 2013.

These controls and measures are in place at all of our UFA Petroleum locations. So no matter where the road takes you, or what work needs to get done, you can count on UFA to deliver only top quality fuel to provide optimal power and performance that you expect from your equipment. If you want to learn more about UFA Fuel Quality, see our fuel quality video at: www.youtube.com/user/UFACooperativeLtd. And if you want to know more about the UFA Fuel Quality Assurance Program at your UFA Petroleum location, talk to your local agent today. The performance of your equipment relies on top quality fuel. For optimal power, efficiency and smooth engine performance you can count on UFA Petroleum.

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2/7/14 2:09 PM

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Plant diseases to look for in 2014 Provincial officials say the story for 2013 was of extremely localized disease outbreaks and the one for this coming year could be the arrival of new threats By Helen McMenamin

af contributor / lethbridge

ast year underscored the need for timely scouting for crop diseases. “Disease patterns matched the weather,” provincial pathology researcher Mike Harding said at last month’s 2014 Irrigation Update conference. “Different conditions led to serious disease issues in one area and virtually none just 20 miles away.” For example, cereal leaf spot diseases were widespread especially in spring wheats, less common in winter wheat, but most cases were not severe. In central Alberta, foliar diseases occurred in most barley and wheat crops, and was serious in some fields. The key to control is checking early, said Harding. “If you see any of the leaf spot symptoms early, before flag leaf or before the canopy is completely closed, you want to protect that flag leaf with a fungicide,” he said. Ergot was also quite common last year, but not as bad as 2012, said Harding. It was another problem that happened in limited situations. The best protection is the old standby, rotation. But producers who spot the problem can leave grain standing so the wind shakes the ergot bodies out of the heads before combining. They can then mow

grass around fields as it heads or combine and bin grain from headlands and other areas close to wild grasses separately from the rest of the field. If all else fails, colour sorting the infested grain can up the grade. Root rot in pulses, especially peas, came up in both Harding’s presentation and one from Ron Howard, another plant pathology researcher with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. The Lethbridge Research Centre surveyed 145 fields and found root rots in 98 per cent of them. Many affected plants had no aboveground symptoms, but others showed yellowing. Affected roots are discoloured, with no nodules and secondary roots are pruned off. “Some crops were hammered,” said Harding. “Symptoms were the worst in east-central Alberta and lowest in the south. Around the perimeters of waterlogged spots were the worst areas.” Fusarium head blight is established in the irrigation area, but there was a big increase in grain samples downgraded by Canadian Grain Commission for fusarium-damaged kernels in central Alberta and along the Highway 16 corridor. Howard and Harding worked with seed-testing labs to establish how much of this was actually caused by Fusarium graminearum and found increased levels of the fungus on grain and seed from central Alberta.

“Fusarium head blight isn’t a new disease,” said Howard. “It affects most cereals, cutting yield and quality, and causes stalk and ear rot in corn. We’ve had it all over Alberta. But it’s becoming more common — partly because it thrives in warm, moist conditions, but (also because) the new 15A-DON strain is more aggressive and more toxic.” Stripe rust was less of a problem than might have been expected, especially after 2012 when it spread all the way to Manitoba, possibly from spores that overwintered in winter wheat rather than blowing directly from the Pacific Northwest. Stripe rust thrives with cool nights and 2013 had relatively few of those. Clubroot is spreading fast. A province-wide survey identified 418 new infections for a cumulative total of more than 1,500 infected fields found since 2004. But the number is likely significantly higher, Howard and Harding said. In a wet spring such as 2013, the germinating spores can swim in the soil moisture to infect new plants, including weeds. It’s still spreading south, north and east from the Edmonton area. The good news is that there are no reports that clubroot resistance in canola is breaking down. Blackleg in canola is present in most fields, but often goes unrecognized or misdiagnosed, said Harding.T:10.25”

“Many people aren’t looking for it,” he said. “Get a good set of clippers and check. You could be losing yield.” Howard warned of diseases that could spread or be accidentally imported into Alberta. The province is developing a real-time database to alert producers to both new diseases and established ones that are on the upswing. Dwarf bunt has been found in the south Okanagan where it’s quarantined. The bunt has the characteristic oily fish smell, but the spores are highly allergenic and flammable — so much so that smut dust is explosive. Verticillium wilt is a disease of canola and other broadleaf crops that Howard described as “scary.” The Verticillium fungus that attacks canola is a very aggressive species that’s endemic in Europe. “Other species of this fungus do well in our environment and we have no resistant canola varieties,” he said. Pulse crops’ honeymoon could be over. They are susceptible to fungal foliage blights that have become quite prevalent in Saskatchewan. Howard advised to watch for them as well as root rots. A new insect to Alberta, the potato psyllid, could have a dramatic impact on the potato industry. The psyllid carries ‘zebra chip’ bacteria, which

causes dark stripes in the flesh of tubers rendering them unsalable. Zebra chip has spread from Mexico to the southern U.S. and is slowly moving northward. Dan Johnston of the University of Lethbridge is leading a Canada-wide survey for zebra chip and potato psyllids, and is working with plant pathologists and entomologists on a project to exclude the disease and protect southern Alberta’s potato industry. “The province was relatively free of the disease, but we began to have sporadic outbreaks of the disease between 2010 and 2013,” said Howard. “We found the problem was mainly due to a new tomato strain of the disease that came into Alberta on infected transplants for home gardens. We had an aggressive awareness campaign to get home gardeners and market gardens to dispose of diseased plants in ways that prevent spores from drifting to commercial potato crops.” Howard urged all producers and agronomists to be vigilant for new diseases, and to be careful of imported plant parts, cuttings and seed. Wildlife, including birds and insects can also transport new disease organisms, as well as farm equipment and vehicles and also tourists who may have travelled to infected areas.

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FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Irish cattle chow down on Canadian corn Three-quarters of corn exports this year have headed for Ireland By Rod Nickel and Valerie Parent

winnipeg, manitoba/paris / reuters

Favourable ocean freight rates from Eastern Canada have corn headed to the Emerald Isle. PHOTo: thinkstock

anada’s bountiful corn harvest is flowing across the Atlantic into feed rations for Ireland’s cattle herd, even as exporters struggle to move other crops through the bottlenecked Canadian transportation system. Canada, which was a net corn importer until recent years, reaped a record 14.2-milliontonne corn crop in 2013. Most of the crop stays where it is grown in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba to fuel ethanol plants run by Husky Energy Inc., GreenField Ethanol and Suncor Energy Inc.

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But from August through December, the first five months of Canada’s 2013-14 crop marketing year, exporters shipped about 185,000 tonnes of corn, with nearly three-quarters of that headed for Ireland, according to the Canadian Grain Commission. “With the (corn) price increase over the past few years, we’ve seen acres go up in Canada, and we’ve gone to (being) an exporter now,” said Mark Cumberbatch, corn trader at private Canadian grain handler Parrish & Heimbecker. Most Canadian corn sales to Ireland are for feeding cattle in the world’s fifth-largest beef exporter, he said. Canada’s total corn exports this year are already large compared with volumes in most years of the past decade. They could fall short, however, of 2012-13 shipments, which totalled more than 600,000 tonnes due to brisk sales to the United States after its severe drought. Corn is abundant this year, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasting record global production. Freight rates for moving crop across the Atlantic have been competitive at times with rates from the Black Sea region, giving Canadian sales to Europe an extra push, Cumberbatch said. Greater corn supplies than the domestic market can handle have also added fuel to exports, he said. While corn, grown largely in Eastern Canada, is flowing freely, crops like wheat, canola and barley grown in Western Canada have been harder to move. Record Western Canada crops and frigid weather have overwhelmed railways trying to move them from the Prairies to Pacific Coast ports, leaving country elevators and farm bins full. Eastern crops generally don’t travel as far to ports, leaving them less reliant on railways than western wheat and canola, Cumberbatch said. The St. Lawrence Seaway provides access for eastern crops to the Atlantic Ocean, although the Great Lakes are closed for shipping during winter. Canadian corn also looks appealing to European buyers because of problems in Ukraine. Freezing weather causing ice on roads in Ukraine has delayed deliveries of corn, also called maize, and prompted many buyers to turn to rival exporters, including the United States and Canada. “Ukrainian maize prices have risen a fair bit and French maize is nowhere near competitive,” said a European corn trader, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Buyers are going to look at whatever’s cheapest. It’s possible 300,000 to 400,000 tonnes of Canadian maize will be imported by the EU this season, coming in through Ireland, Britain, Scandinavia, Rotterdam and maybe even Spain.” If Canadian farmers continue to grow big corn crops, shipments to Europe may become more common, Cumberbatch said. The Canadian transportation system is usually reliable, unlike systems in some other countries, he said.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Is the freeze-thaw effect a myth? Chilling news for heavyweights, but Alberta farmer says RTK-guided tramlines offer a solution BY DANIEL WINTERS

STAFF, MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA

hat if the notion that the freeze-thaw action of icy winter weather gives Prairie farmers a free pass on soil compaction problems turns out to be wishful thinking? If so, the implications should be enough to send a chill down a big-iron-loving farmer’s spine. “We often say that we don’t have to worry about soil compaction, because Mother Nature is going to fix it for us,” Marla Riekman, a land management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development told the recent annual workshop of the ManitobaNorth Dakota Zero Tillage Association. “Maybe she does, and maybe she doesn’t. It depends on where you are, and how deep we’re talking.” The freeze-thaw effect for breaking up compacted layers has been a part of the established farm orthodoxy for decades, but Riekman cited a bundle of new research that suggests that the freeze-thaw effect only works in the top two to six inches. When looking down farther to the nine-inch depth, the real heavy lifting in heavy clay soils may depend more on wet-dry cycles that cause cracks to form. “We freeze deep, sure, but it’s actually the multiple freezethaw events that actually break

up the compaction, not just a single frost,” she said. Evidence of the long-lasting impact of soil compaction can be found in wagon ruts dating from the 1870s that can still be seen criss-crossing the Prairies. “You’d think that if freeze/ thaw works, that after 100 years you wouldn’t be able to see that trail,” said Riekman, who added testing on one of them showed a 50 per cent reduction in air and water infiltration in the tracks even though it was only used for three years.

Prevention

Helping Mother Nature out in the case of soil compaction is largely a case of preventing it in the first place, she added. Soil compaction can be caused by excessive or untimely tillage as well as wheel traffic. Telltale signs are roots that reach out horizontally instead of straight

“You’d think that if freeze/thaw works, that after 100 years you wouldn’t be able to see that trail.”

down, ponding after heavy rains and crops that flop over due to poor root development. In theory, avoiding field work when the soil is wet is the key to preventing compaction. But in practice, farmers are under enormous pressure to get seed in the ground, wet or not. But Riekman said contrary to popular belief, the unsightly ruts that form when the soil is extremely wet don’t result in serious compaction because the water in the pore spaces of soil particles prevents their closure. The real damage occurs when the soil is moist. At such times, the larger pores can be flattened because they are filled with air. It’s easy to believe there’s no serious impact at such times, because the “lips” that the tire tracks create are barely visible. “This is where I get yelled at because I know that we are not able to stop this. But this is when we need to limit activities as much as we can and limit the weight,” said Riekman. Tests at the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute found that properly inflated duals were more effective at reducing compaction than 24-inch and 36-inch rubber tracks, but overinflated duals were the worst offender, she said.

Stick to the tracks MARLA RIEKMAN

Steve Larocque, an Alberta farmer and owner of Beyond Agronomy, an independent consulting firm, believes that he has the solution.

Alberta farmer Steve Larocque explains how zero tillage and controlled traffic farming has reduced compaction and increased water infiltration rates in his clay soil. PHOTO: DANIEL WINTERS Larocque said that he has seen dramatic improvements in water infiltration rates on his 1,000-acre farm on heavy clay soils north of Calgary after switching to a controlled traffic, RTK-based, no-till system with inter-row seeding. “If you look at the equipment we run now and have run for decades, it’s 30,000 to 60,000 pounds on four tires,” said Larocque. Instead of randomly travelling all over the field and leaving telltale tire tracks that “retard” crop growth and affect yields, he has gone to great lengths and

even extensive modifications to match up his axle and equipment widths so that the tires only travel on the same paths, or “tramlines,” year after year, with a 30-foot drill, a 30-foot combine and a 60-foot sprayer that all run on 121.5-inch centres. By restricting wheel traffic to the same ruts, he has cut the compacted area down from anywhere from 40-50 per cent of his land to just 17-20 per cent. After several years of avoiding random wheel traffic, he has seen improvements in soil quality and tilth, but the most dramatic impact has been in terms of water infiltration rates. “It offers a more resilient system. When the heavy rains come, you can absorb a lot more water and a lot faster,” he said. Increased infiltration rates prevent roots from drowning out. Also, no hardpan layer means that in dry years, the roots can reach down deep to tap extra supplies of moisture. In his area, where an average year sees only 12 inches of rainfall, subsoil reserves are often the key to good late-season crop development. Controlled traffic farming also helps with highly precise interrow seeding in tall stubble, he added. With less compaction, his seed openers seldom drift from side to side, and the soil flows around them “like butter,” he said. daniel.winters@fbcpublishing.com

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FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Healthy soil the key to healthy profits, say no-till presenters Soil health-themed workshop aimed at encouraging no-tillers to work towards maximizing the soil’s biological potential BY DANIEL WINTERS

STAFF / MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA

on Stika says farmers always give the same answers when asked what they want from their soil. “They want it to grow crops, infiltrate water and supply nutrients,” the USDA soil scientist told last week’s annual workshop of the Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmers Association. “But what if we managed it to its fullest potential, then what could it do? Then how efficient and profitable could we be?” Stika asked. Achieving that requires looking at soil as a living ecosystem made up of not just silt, sand and clay, but also the microscopic critters that are equal in mass to two cows per acre. “Ninety per cent of what you expect the soil to do is based on what lives in the soil,” said Stika. Changing management practices — or being nice for a change — is the simplest way to do it, he said. “It’s like if you took someone and every morning shoved them head first down a flight of stairs and didn’t give them breakfast,” said Stika. “How much work could they get done with one arm in a sling, an eye swollen shut, and limping?” It’s basic economics. Increased profit margins are the result of higher productivity without the need for additional inputs.

Park the tillage tools

Parking the tillage tools is a good first step towards “creating quality microbial habitat.” As proof, he cited research from North Dakota State University that shows avoiding soil disturbance under long-term no till offers a free 50-pound nitrogen credit for every crop year. “That’s 20-some bucks a year on how many thousands of acres? You’re starting to talk some serious money here,” he said. Most plants leak out between 30-50 per cent of the sugars they create via photosynthesis via their roots to feed those two underground “cows.”

Planting diverse crop rotations and cover crops provides a more nutritious diet for the first level of the nutrient-cycling soil food web. When the biological system thrives, it results in better water infiltration rates, improved phosphorus availability via fungal networks in the soil, and reduced disease pressure by fostering balanced “predator-prey” relationships between the soil organisms.

Soil terminology

Academics, crop consultants and farmers all use different terminology to describe healthy soil, but it all boils down to aggregation, organic matter and soil biology, said Abbey Wick, a soil health specialist from North Dakota State University. The most obvious indicator of soil health is aggregation, or clumping into units large and small. But “functionality” — the presence of living roots, bugs, bacteria and fungi — is where the payoff comes in terms of waterholding capacity, erosion resistance and crop yields. Wick said aggregates create pore spaces for roots to develop into, and crops that can reach further into the soil profile always perform better than those that are restricted. Air spaces between soil aggregates supply oxygen to soil flora and fauna that recycle crop residues into mineralized, plantavailable nutrients, allow the soil to warm up more quickly in spring and drain off surface water to prevent surface ponding, Wick said. Earthworms create aggregates through their digestion, and protozoa and nematodes “graze” on bacteria and fungi to release the nutrients bound up in their cellular biomass. “This is something I find fascinating: within an aggregate, you have different microbial functions than you do on the exterior,” said Wick, adding that the “food web” or “grazing” that occurs in the soil is important for soil health and therefore crop yields. Kris Nichols, a USDA soil microbiologist based at Mandan’s

Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, said that a growing plant can have all the chemical nutrients it needs in the soil, but without the micro-organisms to make them available it is like a shipwrecked survivor surrounded by “water, water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink.” “That’s the role that microorganisms play: to make that stuff plant available so that we don’t have to add those nutrients to our soil systems,” said Nichols. In her presentation, she made a case for rethinking the soil-testing process. Currently slanted towards “in-out” chemistry, Nichols argued that such a narrow focus neglects the importance of soil biology’s symbiotic relationships, as well as physics and even geology in crop production. “What I’m trying to explain is that we don’t know it all. In fact, we don’t know very much at all,” said Nichols. Cutting-edge science shows

that soil productivity is based on “multi-layered interactions” that are very difficult to measure. Understanding what goes on in the soil is akin to exploring an alternate universe, but the need for new perspectives that go

beyond “bench-top chemistry” is being driven by the changing dynamics of global economics, energy and nutrient input availability, she added. daniel.winters@fbcpublishing.com

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Living aggregate? Or just a dead lump of dirt? esting soil health doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. In fact, testing whether soil is “alive” or “dead” can be as simple as child’s play, said Jon Stika, a soil scientist with the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation service. In his presentation, Stika had two volunteers drop two seemingly identical dry lumps of earth into water. The “dead” lump disintegrated almost immediately, while the “living” one held its shape even after being submerged the entire afternoon. The samples were taken from two spots in a field of fine, sandy loam that lay just 50 feet apart. The only difference was land management.

Soil scientist Jon Stika (l) demonstrates the erosion-resistant qualities of a “living” soil aggregate compared to an ordinary clump of “dead” dirt. PHOTO: DANIEL WINTERS

The weaker one had been subject to frequent tillage, no crop diversity, and no residue cover, which combined had created what Stika called a “really hostile habitat for soil biology.” The other was taken from sod that has always been covered with a diverse mix of perennial plants that had created a “really wonderful place to live” for soil microbes. The experiment, said Stika, shows that run-off, ponding, erosion and poor water infiltration are all just fingers pointing to poor soil aggregation caused by degraded soil health. daniel.winters@fbcpublishing.com

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Kids shouldn’t be left to cover Mom and Pop’s tax bill Succession planning is complicated, but with professionalism and respect, equity can be transferred before anyone needs to actually buy the farm BY SHANNON VANRAES STAFF

Cedric MacLeod.

PHOTO: SHANNON VANRAES

oung agriculturists looking to return to the family farm will face challenges — high input costs, soaring land prices, labour shortages and transportation concerns, just to name a few. But the biggest challenge for many fresh-faced farmers is how to work with their parents to establish a succession plan, said Cedric MacLeod, of the New Brunswick-based MacLeod Agronomics. “There’s profitability in the industry — the challenge is how do we get that equity turned over; how do we get Mom and Dad to engage in an active process that allows us to move these assets,” MacLeod told a young farmers’ forum at last week’s Keystone Agricultural Producers meeting in Winnipeg.

The first step? Good, regular communication. “Have business meetings, have an agenda, keep minutes, make notes,” he said. Everyone has heard the horror stories, said MacLeod, regaling the assembled youth with tales of sons and daughters who worked for years, only to find that they had earned no stake in the farm, no equity and no guarantee of inheritance. “If it’s not written down, it didn’t happen,” he stressed. If you’re working on the farm, putting in crops, harvesting, and making management decisions, MacLeod said that should be considered sweat equity — something that should count towards the long-term transfer of equity and assets. This should also be a way to reduce the amount of capital required to take over an operation when the time comes, he said. While many new farmers talk about having problems accessing capital, the planning specialist said the real problem may in fact be access to equity. But gaining access to the family farm still has to be a respectful process, one that recognizes the hard-won expertise and years of long hours put in by previous generations. And if things don’t go your way at every business meeting? “Don’t sulk, don’t drag your feet on your way out the yard... hold your head up,” MacLeod said.

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Not all responsibility falls on the next generation, however. MacLeod said that those in the baby boomer generation need to prepare as well, and can’t expect their children to finance their tax bills or their retirement. “You are not your farm, you are people who have wives and husbands and children, and that is your legacy — not just the farm,” he said. “Your farm is just a vehicle to produce profit, so treat it that way.” That means the older generation can’t put every penny back into the farm either, some has to be put aside for retirement. Wealth management is as important as wealth creation, the business adviser said. “When all is said and done, you’re going to want to have some money in your back pocket that you don’t have to drag it out of the farm and pay a bunch of tax on,” he said. It’s a message that resonates with young farmers like Fiona Jochum, who is enrolled in an agricultural diploma program at the University of Manitoba. “Planning is such a huge thing now, on lots of farms there are multiple generations running the operation, and it can be really difficult,” said the 19-year-old, whose family operates a 4,000acre grain farm near St. Francois Xavier. Jochum would like to finish university and then spend some time working in and exploring other aspects of the agriculture industry before returning to the family farm.

But she’s confident in her family’s succession plan. “My dad actually went through the diploma program I am in, and as soon as he came out of the program the farm went through a whole succession plan and turned into a corporation and now he’s the manager,” she said, adding that although her grandfather has officially retired, he still enjoys helping out. That’s something that MacLeod said is important — finding new roles for founding generations, so that succession isn’t equated with leaving the farm entirely, or worse yet, death. “If Dad loves driving the combine, then he should keep driving the combine,” he said. Mark Owen has been farming for three years, along with his family, on their operation near Graysville, and agrees that all generations need to be incorporated in future plans. “I think that a lot of people kinda forget about the fairness factor for the older generation — having that respect for them is pretty important,” said the 22-year-old university student. “They built these farms.” But fairness can be complicated, especially when there are siblings involved.

“You are not your farm, you are people who have wives and husbands and children, and that is your legacy — not just the farm.” CEDRIC MACLEOD

“They come back and they want their share, when it’s been you that s t u c k a r o u n d a n d worked the 20-hour days to get the crop in and take it off,” MacLeod said. “You cannot be responsible for financing the buyout of your siblings, fair is not equal.” However, that doesn’t mean siblings are cut out of the inheritance, it just means it will take more planning, more communication and possibly some outside expertise to make it work. Owen has one brother, but he isn’t interested in returning to the farm and they already have a succession plan in place that takes that into account. “I feel fairly confident in our succession plan that we’ve got going... it’s going really well,” he said. The final message MacLeod left the young farmers with is that the time to start looking at succession is now. “Your challenge is to identify the right process to get that equity over time,” he said. “And you want to do it while there is still time.” shannon.vanraes@fbcpublishing.com

FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Twitter the newest weapon in the war against crop pests An innovative farm tool uses Twitter to give producers breaking bug news and tips, as well as allowing them to ask questions and provide insect updates from their areas

atch out for cabbage seed pod weevil if you farm south of the Trans-Canada, and producers in the western and southern-central parts of the province should be on the lookout because bertha army worms may be marching in your direction. Those were two of the takeaways from the first 2014 #ABbugchat — the Twitter hashtag of an innovative farm tool created by insect manage-

ment specialists Scott Meers and Shelley Barkley, who work in Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development’s Brooks office. Using the social media network not only allows the duo to present the latest news on pest infestations and treatments, but also gives Twitter users the chance to ask questions, provide insect updates from their farms, share photos, and discuss management options. The event is held every

Wednesday at 10 a.m. during the growing season (typically from the start of May to the end of August), but Meers and Barkley held a session in midJanuary to highlight the release of the 2014 forecasts maps for eight common pests. (The maps are available at www.agric.gov. ab.ca — type ‘insect maps’ in the search box and click on the link titled ‘Alberta Insect Pest Monitoring Network.’) They followed up with ‘interactive’

sessions at FarmTech, mixing a traditional presentation with live tweeting. The map for cabbage seed pod weevil (CSPW) caught the interest of several participants in the mid-January session. The bug, which dines on canola and mustard, arrived in the province in 1995, but so far has defied expectations by sticking close to chinook country. “How far north could this come?” asked a producer

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and agronomist from central Alberta. “CSPW modelling shows it should really like central Alberta, but so far it really has not established itself there,” replied Meers. He also noted that although pea leaf weevil damage in the south was lower last year, there could be a flare-up this year. Along with producers south of the Trans-Canada, farmers in Wheatland, Newell and Cypress counties are being warned to be on the lookout. Big bad bertha also attracted a lot of attention. “BAW (bertha army worm) outbreak is over in the Minburn, Two Hills area I think, but may have moved to western and southern-central Alta.,” tweeted Meers. Attendees at the FarmTech sessions wanted to know how many checks in a field are needed when scouting bertha. The literature recommends 10 checks per field, with three being the absolute minimum, replied Meers. Twitter followers were given a link to his how-to video for scouting for bertha army worms (go to www.youtube.com and search for ‘meers bertha’). The high-definition video, shot last year, details Meers’ scouting method, which involves a vigorous shaking of plants and then giving the worms a couple of minutes to become active and show themselves. The provincial Agriculture Department organized an extensive bertha army worm monitoring program in 2013, which saw a network of pheromone-baited traps placed in 285 locations across the province. The traps yielded high to very high moth catches across central Alberta, but many farmers didn’t have to spray because there were low numbers of worms, or their population collapsed because of viral and fungal disease. There were also high counts in traps located in southern Alberta last year and that may indicate a population buildup, Meers tweeted. The province provides bertha traps for free and is always looking for more farmers to widen its monitoring network. Info on obtaining the traps (along with a video on how to assemble one) will be available in March on the web page of the 2014 bertha army worm forecast map, or by phoning 310-FARM or emailing bugs.r.us@gov.ab.ca. Grasshoppers also made the ‘keep a close watch’ list. Meers noted warm fall weather would have both increased the number of eggs laid and their development. Heavy rainfall early in the season will reduce those numbers if it occurs when the newly hatched nymphs are in their first instar (or growth stage).

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Drought-hit Australia culls cattle, clouds beef-supply outlook The downsizing coincides with decline in U.S. cattle herd to smallest in six decades BY NAVEEN THUKRAL AND COLIN PACKHAM SINGAPORE/SYDNEY / REUTERS

drought in Australia has forced ranchers in the world’s third-biggest beef exporter to cull cows, stoking fears of a global beef shortage in coming years with the U.S. herd at its lowest in six decades. The slaughter of animals and effect of the drought could boost beef supply in the short term, but spells longer-term shortages due to the reduced breeding stock. “The big problem that we are going to have in the next 12 to 18 months is that progeny that would have been born today won’t be there,” said Brad James, Rabobank’s manager for the Northern Territory and the key beef-producing state of Queensland, which is home to around half the country’s 28 million head of cattle.

‘Drought-affected cows can’t calve’

The shortfall for a country that accounts for almost a fifth of the global trade in beef could drive up prices at a time when demand is rising in many emerging countries, where increasingly affluent middle classes are developing a taste for high-protein western diets and fast food like hamburgers. Analysts see Australian cattle prices climbing by up to about 50 per cent this year. If they are right, that would further fuel Chicago live cattle futures already hitting record highs. Queensland has recorded less than half of the normal rainfall in the last three months, draining water reserves and stunting grass growth in pastures double the size of France. It is the second straight year the state has suffered poor rains.

For the week ending Jan. 24, cattle slaughter in Australia rose 40 per cent year on year to reach a record high of 161,712 head, according to industry data firm National Livestock Reporting Service. Last month, industry body Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) projected cattle numbers would drop to 27.25 million head by July — the end of the 2013-14 marketing year — but warned that fall could be steeper if the drought persists.

“Drought-affected cows can’t calve.” BRAD JAMES RABOBANK

Distress sales by ranchers dragged prices to their lowest in more than three years, with Australia’s benchmark Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) falling to A$2.78-1/2 kg on Jan. 22. But analysts expect prices to rebound once concern over the future dearth of cows registers with the market, especially as some will look to restock parts of their herds when the drought eventually breaks. Luke Mathews, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said the EYCI could rise “well above” A$4 a kg by the end of 2014. Concerns over the outlook for Australian beef supplies come at a time when the U.S. cattle herd has dropped to its smallest in over 60 years as the global livestock industry grapples with a decline in feed grain production that pushed corn and soybean prices to all-time highs in 2012.

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FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

A yearling moose beds down in the same pasture shared with horses, south of Pincher Creek in southern Alberta. The horses continued to graze, paying no attention to the visiting bullwinkle. Photo: Wendy Dudley

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Alberta Wheat Commission 2014 board AWC release

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The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) announced its 2014 board of directors at its annual general meeting at FarmTech. Kent Erickson was re-elected as chair and Henry Vos as vice-chair. In late 2013, elections were held in Regions 1 and 5. Both Lynn Jacobson and Gary Stanford were elected by acclamation in Region 1, and Henry Vos and Warren Sekulic were elected by acclamation in Region 5. The 2014 AWC board of directors are: Region 1: Lynn Jacobson, Enchant; Gary Stanford, Magrath Region 2: Ron Nerland, Morrin; Kevin Auch, Carmangay Region 3: Terry Young, Lacombe; Kent Erickson, Irma Region 4: Greg Porozni, Mundare Region 5: Henry Vos, Fairview; Warren Sekulic, Rycroft director-at-large: Kevin Bender, Bentley At the AGM, AWC chair Kent Erickson recognized retiring director Ron Heck, who served a one-year term in Region 5, and Rick Istead, who served as the interim general manager. Istead was instrumental in getting AWC started and worked hard in the first operating year to help the board and staff establish core programs. Erickson then closed the AGM by thanking all of the directors and regional reps for their time and effort spent working with AWC. Following the 2013 Regional Meetings, AWC also added a number of new regional representatives to the organization. Region 1: Andrew Kirschenman and John Hopkins, Region 5: Albert Wagner and Otto Rottier and Region 4: John Wozniak. Elections will be held this fall in Regions 2 and 4. Those growers interested in joining the AWC board can speak to a director in those regions to learn more about the nomination process. For more information about AWC, visit www.albertawheat.com.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

‘Paternal’ western firms can’t solve Africa’s farming problems, says Zambia The Zambian agriculture minister says Cargill can’t be part of Africa’s solution By Maha El Dahan abu dhab / reuters

aternalistic thinking from western firms will not solve Africa’s agricultural problems, which need to be addressed from African viewpoints, Zambia’s agriculture minister told a global forum. Four out of five panellists who debated the issue at the two-day agricultural forum in Abu Dhabi were non-Africans. South African Johan Steyn, managing director of Cargill Inc. Middle East and Africa, was the only one from the continent. “One of the challenges that Africa has is that the world thinks it can think for us,” Minister Robert Sichinga said when the floor of the forum was opened to questions.

“Please, for goodness sake, move away from this paternalistic attitude of thinking that you can think for us.” Sichinga said that, while Steyn was from South Africa, he was representing Cargill, and “with all due respect, there is no way Cargill can be part of a solution.” The minister took issue with the unlisted U.S. firm, one of the world’s biggest agricultural commodities companies, paying farmers in Zambia low prices for their cotton crop. Steyn later told Reuters that Cargill was working with small-scale farmers in Zambia and helping with seeds, chemicals and fertilizers to help them develop their businesses. Farmers had grown cotton in hope of receiving high prices for their crop on the back of sharp gains in the 2011-12 season but

when world prices dropped by around 46 per cent after harvest, farmers received less than they hoped for their cotton. “But then we started seeing more farmers grow maize and we support all that production whether it is cotton or maize or other crops,” Steyn said. “It is just a growing phase in which small-scale farmers are learning how to be part of the global economy.” Sichinga also criticized the forum’s focus on high-tech solutions for agriculture that were The world’s first lab-grown beef burger during a launch event in west irrelevant to Africa. “Who will pay for this technol- London August 5, 2013. PHOTo: reuters ogy and equipment and salaries that are needed for researchers University who is the scientist able to use now the new burger not to migrate to other countries?” behind laboratory-grown beef, made out of stem cell technolhe said. meat grown from stem cells that ogy? Is that what you expect of The forum included presen- cost 250,000 euros and five years someone in a village with less than tations by Mark Post, a profes- of research to produce. primary education to undertake?” sor of physiology at Maastricht you sure that we can be “Are Sichinga asked. T:8.125”

Feb. 28 is the deadline to insure hay land and pasture More stations have been added to the monitoring network

Started farming: 1975 Crop rotation: durum, lentils, oilseed, peas Favorite TV show: W5 Most hated weed: Narrow-leaved hawk’s-beard Loves most about farming: Balance between work and play Best vacation: Mazatlan Guilty pleasure: Golf PrecisionPac® blends: DB-8454, PP-3317

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ebruary 28 is the deadline for Alberta farmers to insure their pasture and hay land. John Kresowaty of Agriculture Financial Services Corporation ( AFSC) says that new this year is the addition of 12 new weather stations to the provincial network used to determine payouts on perennial insurance programs for hay and pasture. “We now have 238 weather stations across Alberta that measure pre cipitation and other weather data,” Kresowaty said in an Agri-News release. Farmers who take moisture deficiency insurance on their pasture or include it as a rider on hay insurance select up to three weather stations. If accumulated moisture at these stations falls below normal over the growing season, a claim is triggered. Kresowaty says hay insurance also insures against yield losses caused by perils such as hail, flood, insects, disease, lightning, winterkill and wildlife damage. Most producers who insure hay and pasture stay in the program every year, says Kresowaty. “The premium discounts they earn likely influence that decision,” he says, noting a continuous participation discount, an experience discount for low claims on hay insurance, and an early payment discount can add up to a reduction of 60 per cent or more on hay insurance premiums. For more information farmers can contact their local AFSC branch or the AFSC call centre at 1-877-899-AFSC (2372).

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For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit precisionpac.dupont.ca or call 1-800-667-3925 to find a certified PrecisionPac® herbicide retailer near you. As with all crop protection products, read and follow label instructions carefully. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont™, The miracles of science™ and PrecisionPac® are registered trademarks or trademarks of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. E. I. du Pont Canada Company is a licensee. All other products are trademarks of their respective companies. Member of CropLife Canada. © Copyright 2014 E. I. du Pont Canada Company. All rights reserved.

FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Small Canadian communities not ready for climate change: study The highest proportion of communities with climate action plans are in Canada’s Prairie provinces University of British Columbia release

ramatic differences exist in how Canadian communities are preparing for the effects of climate change, says a UBC professor who helped prepare a report by the National Municipal Adaptation Project (NMAP), a team of university researchers assessing how Canada’s municipal governments are planning for climate adaptation and resiliency. “The good news from our survey is that Canada’s major cities recognize the importance of adaptation and are moving ahead,” says Kevin Hanna, an associate professor of geography in the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences at UBC’s Okanagan campus, and one of the project’s leaders. “The bad news

is that many small communities are not there yet, and they may be the most vulnerable.” While all Canadian cities with populations greater than 500,000 have climate plans, 65 per cent of small towns (5,000 people or less) have no climate change plan – even though roughly half have

The good news from our survey is that Canada’s major cities recognize the importance of adaptation and are moving ahead. Kevin HannA

experienced damage from flooding or extreme rainfall in the last decade, the report finds. The highest proportion of communities without climate action plans are in Canada’s Prairie provinces (62 per cent), the report finds. B.C. has the highest number of local governments with climate action plans, followed by Ontario and Quebec. The report finds that provincial policy has significant influence on local planning. “Provincial policy support is critical, not only for adaptation planning, but also for reducing carbon emissions and developing alternative energies,” Hanna says. “With its carbon tax, B.C. has also been a policy leader on climate change. However, it is unclear whether B.C. will keep the carbon tax.” V i e w t h e r e p o r t a t : www. localadaptation.ca.

Flooded homes in High River, Alta. in June 2013. PHOTo: Reuters

EU executive set to back new GM crop, member states divided Britain backs GM crop; France opposed, Germany abstains By Barbara Lewis Brussels / Reuters

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uropean Union ministers hit deadlock Feb. 11 on whether to let a new strain of genetically modified (GM) maize be grown on EU soil for human consumption, clearing the way for the bloc’s executive arm to approve the crop automatically. European Commission endorsement of insect-resistant Pioneer 1507, developed jointly by DuPont and Dow Chemical, would end a decade-long debate. Ministers and diplomats from 19 of the 28 EU countries opposed approval, but under the bloc’s weighted voting system, that was not enough to reject the crop. Instead, the commission is now legally obliged to approve it, European Health Commissioner Tonio Borg said. He said he could not specify when, although EU rules state the commission must decide “without undue delay.” He said extensive research had shown the crop, whose developers first applied for authorization in 2001, was safe. DuPont Pioneer said in a statement that the EU had “a legal obligation to itself, to its farmers and scientists and to its trade partners” to support the approval of safe new agricultural products. EU authorities have only ever approved two other GMO crops: a maize type and a potato. The potato was later blocked by a court. France has vehemently opposed the new GM maize. Britain has backed it, arguing that Europe risked becoming “the museum of world farming.” Germany said last week it would abstain.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Argentina rains may damage soy

Obama, Hollande call for climate deal

Argentina’s developing soy crop is in good condition, a forecaster said Feb. 10, but recent heavy rains have led to waterlogged fields and fears of damage if dry weather does not return soon. “There are locally flooded areas and we are in need of a couple of clear days to give the soil and plants a chance to dry out,” Stella Carballo of state research firm Instituto de Clima y Agua said. “For now the soy continues to do well, but the problem is going to be if it continues raining.” The ample rains follow on from a hot, dry December and early January, which damaged early-planted corn. — Reuters

The presidents of the United States and France called for a global pact to fight climate change in a joint op-ed published last Monday, the first day of a visit to Washington by French leader Francois Hollande. He and Barack Obama urged more clean energy partnerships to create jobs, as well as support for developing countries as they shift to low-carbon energy. “As we work toward next year’s climate conference in Paris, we continue to urge all nations to join us in pursuit of an ambitious and inclusive global agreement that reduces greenhouse gas emissions through concrete actions,” they said.

Alberta gets off to a mild start for the year Late February or early March could see a shift as the western ridge breaks down by daniel bezte

fter a brutally cold December, I think it’s safe to say that most Albertans were looking forward to warmer January weather, even though in the back of our minds we knew that January is usually the coldest month of the year. January started off where December finished, with brutally cold weather, along with some snow. Temperatures on Jan. 5 bottomed out near the -40 C mark around Edmonton, with the Calgary region dropping into the mid -20s. Then temperatures warmed up, and for the most part never really got cold until the last couple of days in the month, making January 2014 an extremely warm month for pretty much all of Alberta. The mild weather was the result of a persistent ridge of high pressure over the West Coast that edged eastward during January to cover Alberta. Under this ridge temperatures were allowed to soar, with the Calgary region reporting only eight days with temperatures below the freezing mark. Farther north, in the Edmonton region, temperatures were also mild, with Edmonton reporting 14 days with temperatures above the freezing mark. While this January wasn’t close to the record warmth that occurred in January 2001, it was still pretty warm. All regions that I checked came in with above-average temperatures for the month. Usually, when monthly temperatures are above or below average they come within 1° or 2° of average. If there is a really warm or cold month then we see monthly temperatures 3° or 4° above or below the average. Well, Edmonton’s mean monthly temperature for January was -8.0 C, which is a rather remarkable 5.5 C above average. The Calgary region was even warmer. Calgary reported a mean monthly temperature of -3.1 C which is almost 6 C above average. I would say that easily makes up for the 2° to 3°

below-average temperatures Alberta saw during December. Precipitation during the month was fairly light thanks to the same ridge of high pressure. A good portion of southern, eastern and northern agricultural Alberta saw belowaverage amounts. The only area that saw near- to aboveaverage amounts was along the foothills. The Edmonton region recorded about 14.2 mm of water-equivalent precipitation during the month, which is nearly 15 mm below the long-term average. The Calgary region was one of the few relatively wetter areas, with the city reporting around 14.0 mm of precipitation — a few mm above the long-term average for the month.

Rating the forecasts

If we try to summarize the month based on the data from these two locations and looking at the precipitation map for the month, I would say that January was much warmer than average and most regions were drier than average. Were any of the long-range forecasts correct? Both Environment Canada and the Old Farmer’s Almanac called for below-average temperatures along with aboveaverage precipitation. The Canadian Farmers’ Almanac called for near-average temperatures and precipitation and I had called for below-average temperatures with near-average amounts of snow. That means none of us were right, but the nod has to go to the Canadian Farmers’ Almanac, which was the only one that was even close. That leaves us with February and into early March’s forecast. According to EC, this period is going to be colder than average across pretty much all of southern and Central Canada. On the precipitation front, they are calling for near-average amounts, with a slight chance of above average over central Alberta. Looking at the Old Farmer’s Almanac forecast it looks like the cold weather is going to continue for at least another month or two. It also looks like we might be in for a big storm sometime

For this issue I have included a couple of maps that are produced by the University of Alabama in Huntsville. These maps show global temperature deviations from average for December and January. You can easily see how most of the planet saw average to above-average temperatures during these two months. It is also easy to see that the coldest region compared to average conditions was located over North America. in February as it is predicting well-above-average amounts of snow. The good folks over at the Canadian Farmers’ Almanac are calling for below-average temperatures during this period as they mention cold or very cold weather a lot. They do not mention much about precipitation until the last couple of days of February, so I would have to say below-average amounts, unless they are also thinking that a big storm will hit late in the month.

Finally, here at Alberta Farmer, I’m going to call for near-average temperatures along with near-average precipitation. It looks like we might be undergoing a shift in our weather pattern around the middle of the month as the western ridge breaks down and a much more typical late-winter pattern develops. Should this pattern shift occur, the second half of the month will see nearto above-average temperatures.

Along with bringing in milder weather, we will also see an increased chance of storm systems coming up from the west or southwest. These storm systems are often associated with the potential to bring significant snowfalls, especially to southern regions of Alberta. Whether a big storm system will develop and then actually affect this region is anyone’s guess, but the potential is definitely there.

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame accepting nominations

Community-Supported Agriculture Forum

The Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame is accepting nominations to honour individuals who have made significant contributions to Alberta’s agriculture and agri-food industry. Every two years, up to three Albertans are recognized. Since its inception in 1951, the hall of fame has inducted 126 such individuals. The deadline for nominations for 2014 inductees is April 30. The awards ceremony will be held in October 2014. For more information contact the Ag Info Centre at 3103276, or visit the hall of fame web page.

A Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) forum will be held in Olds on Feb. 26. Topics include packing, pricing, distribution, marketing and staffing. Participants are encouraged to bring ideas and an open mind and be prepared to dig deep into their individual CSA model as well as the regional CSA network. Special guests include Brenda Frick of Resilient Solutions Consulting and Dick Pearson of Seeds to Greens. There is no cost to attend but pre-registration is required by Feb. 19, 2014. For further information contact Melisa Zapisocky at 780-644-2404.

HEARTLAND Science-based organization fights anti-wheat hysteria ‘Wheat belly’ and gluten-free diets are all the rage, and a new bestseller recommends cutting carbs to ward off dementia, Alzheimer’s and depression we’re surrounded by science and we’re fact based,” said Lowry. af staff / edmonton “It’s a funny area because it’s not just nutrition or cereal science. hat do you say to some- It’s not just human medicine. one who has read the I’ve never seen an issue that cuts bestseller Wheat Belly across so many disciplines.” and believes wheat is the new evil? Despite popularity of variStick to the facts, says Christine ous ‘wheat belly’ diets as well Lowry, a dietitian and policy ana- as gluten-free products, a host lyst with the Healthy Grains Insti- of studies have shown eating tute — a year-old organization set whole grains reduces the risk up “to dispel myths around whole of cardiovascular disease, diagrains.” betes, colorectal and prostate “We’re really making sure that cancer. Studies have also found we’re surrounded by science and people who eat whole grains are we’re fact based,” Lowry told more successful in controlling FarmTech attendees. their weight. Although its membership conAnd while celiacs must avoid sists of bakers, millers and farm gluten, only one to two per cent groups such as the Alberta Wheat of the population suffers from Commission, the institute only this condition. Another small provides information vetted by an segment — possibly as much as independent scientific advisory six per cent of the population — council, composed of three nutri- show signs of gluten sensitivity. tion experts from the universities But no one knows because there of Toronto, Saskatchewan and St. are no clear clinical guidelines Catherine (in St. Paul, Minn.) for12:49 diagnosis. For1 example, SEC-AUST11-T_AFEx.qxd 10/14/11 PM Page “We’re really making sure that h e a d a c h e s a r e o n e s y m p By Alexis Kienlen

Produced by: SeCan Product/Campaign Name: CDC Austenson Date Produced: October 2011

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tom but there could be many other causes. And excluding whole grains from your diet can be bad for you, said Lowry. “The unsupervised adoption of a gluten-free diet can have adverse health effects because it is low in fibre and certain nutrients,” she said. But Lowry warned that people who have decided to shun whole grains often rely on unsubstantiated information. Although wheat has been a staple food for centuries and has earned the moniker ‘the staff of life,’ many believe today’s varieties are nutritionally different even though “there is no evidence that selective breeding of wheat has had detrimental effects on the nutritional properties of wheat,” she said. The good news is that farmers remain a trusted source of information, she said. “The farmer seems to be someone who everybody trusts and so

in years to come, we will utilize the farmer as the person who is delivering the messages from the Healthy Grains Institute,” she said. The institute has fact sheets (available at www.healthygrains. ca) to help farmers spread the truth about grains. It also ran a campaign during the recent release of a new anti-grain book Grain Brain (subtitled The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, And Sugar — your Brain’s Silent Killers), which argues a nearly carbohydrate-free diet can prevent or greatly lower the risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s and depression. “We need to know the science behind the allegations (being made) against grains,” said Lowry. “It’s very easy to make the allegations. It’s harder to have to go back and look at the science and substantiate it. That takes a bit of time.” akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

CDC Austenson

Christine Lowry, nutrition and policy analyst and registered dietitian, spoke about the benefits of grains at FarmTech 2014. PHOto: alexis kienlen

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FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Agrim Centre takes shape in Rimbey From RAS

he landscape is changing in the town of Rimbey as the multimillion-dollar Agrim Centre begins to rise. Construction on the multi-use agricultural facility began in July, and with the steel frame now in place, residents can see the scope of what the 60,000

square feet of space will offer the community. “We’ve got funding secured up to the lockup stage,” explained Rimbey Agricultural Society president Tim Edge. “We’re entering the next push of fundraising, so we can get the building finished on the inside, and ready for use within a year. So far, the building is on time and on budget.” Boosted by a $125,000 grant

from the provincial government’s Community Facility Enhancement Program, momentum for the project is on the upswing. Rimbey’s own World Livestock Auctioneer Champion Danny Skeels is one of those who sees the potential impact of the Agrim Centre. “It could be a big draw, because there just isn’t anything like it farther west,” said Skeels, who sells dozens of purebred sales each

year. “Bull shows, trade fairs, cattle sales – I think there’s big opportunity to expand and keep the place busy. People are realizing the Agrim is the biggest thing to hit Rimbey in years,” said Edge. “Lockup of the building could be within the next six months. We want to have the funds in place so everything can keep rolling on towards the finish line.” www.agrim.ca

Canada wheat, canola stocks pile up after bumper crops The canola stockpile is at a record high at nearly 12.6 million tonnes By Rod Nickel

winnipeg / reuters

Outside of centre still under construction.

Heavy equipment needed for steel work on centre. PHOTos: Sue Miller

Changing Weather is Changing Farming. Better Get Ready. The growing season of 2013 was one for the record books. We had it all: too wet, too dry, too cold, too hot. Although variability in the weather cannot be changed, we can learn to better manage under these conditions. Conservation of water and soil is vital to your success in all kinds of weather. The 6th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture in Winnipeg, Manitoba, will present new ideas on all these topics and more. Be there June 22-25, 2014, for innovative solutions for challenges facing today’s agriculture. Weatherproofing agriculture is one of three major themes for the conference, along with Growing More with Less and Sharing Innovation Success Stories.

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anada’s canola stockpile swelled to a record high, and wheat supplies were the biggest in 20 years by the end of 2013, Statistics Canada said Feb. 4, after farmers reaped bumper crops. Huge stockpiles came as no surprise after ideal weather helped farmers produce unprecedented wheat and canola harvests last year that grain handlers and railways have struggled to move to port. StatsCan pegged canola stocks at Dec. 31 at 12.597 million tonnes, up 55 per cent year over year, and allwheat supplies at 28.381 million tonnes, an increase of 38 per cent. Durum stocks climbed 36 per cent to 5.342 million tonnes. StatsCan’s estimates looked mostly in line with expectations, said Dave Reimann, market analyst at Cargill Ltd.’s grain-marketing services division. “The outcome is still the same, that we’re going to be facing big (supplies) by the end of July, and it’s going to be a plugged pipeline for the months to come,” he said. Canada is usually the world’s second- or third-largest wheat exporter and the biggest shipper of canola. A backlog of more than 40,000 railway cars since Aug. 1 has resulted in some grain handlers accepting few or no new crop deliveries from farmers until spring. Farmers who live near the Canada-U.S. border have avoided some of the bottlenecks by transporting crops to buyers in the United States, said Brian Voth, senior market coach at Agri-Trend. Canola in particular is flowing to U.S. crush plants in Washington and Minnesota, Voth said on a conference call organized by Minneapolis Grain Exchange. Statistics Canada pegged barley stocks at 6.695 million tonnes, up 27 per cent and oat supplies at 2.871 million tonnes, a rise of 40 per cent. Soybeans bucked the trend of a huge increase in supplies. Soy stocks edged up 2.4 per cent year over year to 2.65 million tonnes. Stockpiles were limited by the steady flow of soybeans from Ontario and Manitoba into the United States, Voth said.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

DuPont adds weather, new trading to precision farming program DuPont is racing rival Monsanto to capture market share in precision agriculture tools By Carey Gillam reuters

Stretch your ADVERTISING DOLLAR!

Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reminds cattle owners to provide supplemental feed and water By Alexis Kienlen af staff

ave Prichard says it’s the worst thing he’s seen in a lifetime of farming — 17 dead cattle on his summer pasture. “It was not a very nice scene,” said Prichard, who has his own polled Herefords and registered red Angus on his ranch near Killam, about 70 kilometres southeast of Camrose. The cattle belonged to his neighbour, Noah Kennedy, and appear to have broken through a fence to get onto Prichard’s property. Dead cattle were found on both Kennedy’s and his properties on Jan. 26, and removed on Feb. 4, said Prichard. The Alberta Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals isn’t commenting on the case.

“All I can tell you is that the SPCA did respond to concerns for cattle in the Killam area,” said spokesman Roland Lines. “We have launched an investigation into the situation, and the investigation is still underway.” Prichard also didn’t want to comment further on the matter, but he earlier told CTV he suspects the animals came onto his property searching for food and shelter.

The Alberta SPCA covers the entire province outside of Edmonton and Calgary (which have humane societies) and receives about 2,000 calls every year from people concerned about the welfare of both livestock and companion animals. Calls about cattle account for about 10 per cent of annual calls and many come in the late winter months. “As we get further into winter,

“It’s just more difficult for cattle at this time of year and we do tend to see a rise in the calls.”

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there is always the risk that a producer has not supplied enough supplemental feed for the cattle,” said Lines. “Especially with some of the weather that we’ve had lately, even if there was some graze under the snow, as the snow becomes hard packed and crusted over with ice, it becomes increasingly more difficult for cattle to survive on that. It’s just more difficult for cattle at this time of year and we do tend to see a rise in the calls.” Most calls about cattle are about lack of feed or water. Cattle cannot survive on snow, Lines said. There are only nine Alberta SPCA officers, so public calls help alert the organization to animal welfare concerns. Anyone who suspects animal neglect or abuse can call 1-800-455-9003.

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uPont Pioneer, the agricultural seed unit of DuPont, said Feb. 4 that it signed a deal with DTN/The Progressive Farmer to provide weather and market information to farmers, along with new grain-trading capabilities, all accessed through mobile devices. “Our customers are running small businesses. Production in the field is really important as well as the business side. So this is just another step to being able to address key needs,” said DuPont Pioneer director of services Joe Foresman. Foresman said financial terms of the deal are not being released. DuPont Pioneer customers will have access to an exclusive network of weather stations, including those positioned on growers’ farms, for real-time local information, as well as environmental conditions in other regions and forecast data, said Foresman. DuPont and DTN also will combine technologies from both companies to offer farmers electronic grain-trading capabilities, officials with both companies said. The announcement comes three months after DuPont inked a deal with farm machinery company Deere & Co. that provides farmers a wireless transfer system for their data. DuPont is racing rival Monsanto Co. to capture market share in the burgeoning “precision agriculture” arena, turning farm-related data into new profit streams by incorporating analytics on an array of data points, including soil types, fungicide application timing, weather patterns and pest management. Monsanto on Nov. 1 completed its nearly $1-billion acquisition of The Climate Corp., a weather data and modelling technology company. That followed Monsanto’s purchase in 2012 of Precision Planting Inc. DuPont and Monsanto officials both say the future of farming and increased food production will be closely tied to sophisticated analyses of data to inform farmers on what types of seed work best in certain fields; where in a field they might want to plant more seed, or less; where they might have better moisture; more need for chemical treatments; and what type of weather events they might expect. DuPont Pioneer “mapped” about 20 million acres from 2012 to 2013, filling a database that can churn out “yield maps” for customers and provide about 1.5 million acres of variable seeding prescriptions, officials said.

Dead cattle found on ranches near Killam

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FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

IT’S ALL ABOUT PERSPECTIVE Cattle may be king, but in this high country south of Twin Butte, Alta., it appears that the mountains rule the landscape. Photo: Wendy Dudley

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Drought forces California farmers to idle cropland The price of California farm goods, including fresh fruits and vegetables is likely to rise

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rought-stricken California farmers facing drastic cutbacks in irrigation water are expected to idle some 500,000 acres (200,000 hectares) of cropland this year in a record production loss that could cause billions of dollars in economic damage, industry officials said. Large-scale crop losses in California, the No. 1 U.S. farm state producing half the nation’s fruits and vegetables, would undoubtedly lead to higher consumer prices, especially for tree and vine produce grown only there. But experts say it is too soon to quantify the effect. Coming off its driest year on record, California is gripped in a drought that threatens to inflict the worst water crisis in state history, prompting Governor Jerry Brown last month to declare a state of emergency. He urged citizens to reduce their water consumption by 20 per cent voluntarily. California water managers later said the drought would force an unprecedented cut-off in state-supplied water sold to 29 irrigation districts, public water agencies and municipalities, barring an unexpected turnaround. Irrigation deliveries to another group of agricultural districts served by the state are expected to be reduced by half, and an even larger group of farmers who get water from the federally operated Central Valley Project are likewise bracing for sharp cutbacks this year. “We’re in a dire situation that we’ve never been in before,” said Paul Wenger, president of the California Farm Bureau Federation. The state’s network of reservoirs that collect run-off of rain-

fall and snow melt from the Sierra Nevada mountain range — the state’s biggest source of fresh water — is badly depleted. So too are the underground aquifers that have provided farmers reserves when water was otherwise scarce. Democrats and Republicans in the state are sharply divided on how to deal with the crisis, and there is also division within the ranks of each party. At the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives, an emergency bill by several California representatives that would roll back environmental protections for fish in the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in order to allow more water to be pumped out in dry years passed on Wednesday roughly along party lines, 229-191. The bill, which will be immediately sent to the U.S. Senate, has been harshly criticized by Brown, who called it “unwelcome and intrusive.” But supporters say environmental regulations caused the water shortages in the first place by limiting the amounts that can be pumped out of the delta when fish are threatened in drier years. “It is unacceptable that vital water supplies are being forced out to the ocean instead of going to our cities,” said Representative Kevin McCarthy, who represents agricultural and desert areas north of Los Angeles. “The issue demands immediate attention and today’s vote represents House Republicans’ commitment to putting California families over fish.” Livestock producers are facing their own drought-related difficulties, including scant winter rain they rely on to grow grass for grazing their herds, industry officials say. Beef producers are being forced to ship much of their stock back east, while dairy producers face higher costs to purchase hay and feed.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

U.S. to launch ‘climate hubs’ to help farmers face climate change Climate hubs will act as information centres to help farmers handle risks By Jeff Mason

washington / reuters

resident Barack Obama’s administration is setting up seven “climate hubs” to help farmers and rural communities adapt to extreme weather conditions and other effects of climate change, a White House official said. The hubs will act as information centres and aim to help farmers and ranchers handle risks, including fires, pests, floods and droughts, that are exacerbated by global warming. The hubs will be located in Ames, Iowa; Durham, New Hampshire; Raleigh, North Carolina; Fort Collins, Colorado; El Reno, Oklahoma; Corvallis, Oregon; and Las Cruces, New Mexico, the official said. Additional “sub hubs” will be set up in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico; Davis, California; and Houghton, Michigan. The hubs are an example of executive actions Obama has promised to take to fight climate change. The president has made the issue a top priority for 2014 and has the authority to take many measures that address it without congressional approval. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the “Regional Hubs for Risk Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change” at a White House briefing, the official said. “For generations, America’s farmers, ranchers and forest landowners have innovated and adapted to challenges,” Vilsack said in a statement. “Today, they face a new and more complex threat in the form of a changing and shifting climate, which impacts both our nation’s forests and our farmers’ bottom lines,” he said. Environmentalists want big economies such as the United States and China to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that scientists blame for heating the planet, but they have urged policy-makers around the world to take action as well to help communities adapt to rising temperatures now. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the effects of climate change have led to a longer cropgrowing season in the Midwest, a fire season that is 60 days longer

than it was three decades ago, and droughts that cost the United States $50 billion from 2011-13. The Obama administration is expected to announce new rules later this year limiting carbon emissions from existing U.S. power plants, a major polluter. The president is also under pressure from environmentalists to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport crude oil from Canadian oilsands in Alberta to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Climate activists argue the project would exacerbate global warming because of the carbon emissions involved in extracting the oil. Proponents say the project would create jobs and boost U.S. energy security. A State Department report released last week played down the project’s impact on climate change.

New “climate hubs” will help U.S. farmers deal with droughts and other weather-related disasters related to climate change. PHOTo: thinkstock

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FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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TOUGH WEEDS, MEET EXPRESS . ®

Crank up the rate all you want, glyphosate alone still misses a number of hard-to-kill weeds like narrow-leaved hawk’s-beard, flixweed, stinkweed, dandelion and volunteer canola. With hotter-than-hot systemic activity, DuPont™ Express® herbicides don’t just control weeds, they smoke them from the inside out, getting right to the root of your toughest weed challenges with performance that glyphosate alone can’t match. It’s no wonder Express® goes down with glyphosate more than any other brand in Western Canada! Visit expressvideo.dupont.ca to see Express® in action – torching tough weeds like dandelion and volunteer canola right down to the roots, so they can’t grow back.

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Albertafarmexpress.ca • february 17, 2014

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MULTIPLE MODES OF ACTION TAKE GLYPHOSATE TO THE NEXT LEVEL How to manage the threat of weed resistance before it manages you.

rairie farmers depend on glyphosate for agronomic practices such as pre-seed, chemfallow and post-harvest herbicide applications. Recent years, however, have seen an increase in documented cases of weed resistance, with glyphosate a key concern. What can growers do?

EFFECTIVE NON-CROP USE OF GROUP 2 HERBICIDES

UNDERSTAND WHY RESISTANCE OCCURS

For pre-seed weed control, DuPont scientists recommend a pre-seed burn-off treatment of Express® (Group 2) or PrecisionPac® NC-00439 or NC-0050 (Group 2) with glyphosate (Group 9). This is particularly effective if the crop rotation includes a crop such as Roundup Ready® canola and weeds that are not effectively controlled by glyphosate alone.

Weeds become resistant when they’ve had too much of a good thing. Practices that work well one year become less effective over time, if there’s no break in routine. For example, glyphosate alone will not control glyphosate-resistant kochia and may increase the risk of glyphosate resistance occurring in other weed species. Faced with Roundup Ready® volunteers and hard-to-kill weeds not controlled by glyphosate alone, growers have found that adding in DuPont™ Express® brand herbicides helps control these weeds and manage the threat of resistance.

Group 2 herbicides are a highly effective tool to control weeds. Like other herbicide groups, they should be mixed with herbicides from other groups in the same spray to manage resistance.

Because Group 2 and Group 9 herbicides have activity on many of the same weeds, growers get multiple modes of action working for them. In certain situations, adding a third mode of action such as dicamba, 2,4-D or MCPA (Group 4) may be advisable when there are weeds resistant to multiple groups. Express® brand herbicides significantly improve control of tough weeds such as narrow-leaved hawk’s-beard, flixweed, stinkweed, dandelion and volunteer canola, compared to glyphosate alone. This approach also helps proactively manage weed resistance.

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DuPont Crop Protection is working with growers and retailers to protect the use of all the best crop protection tools available. As growers seek ways to manage weed resistance while maintaining profitable crop protection, DuPont is with you all the way.

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MANAGE RESISTANCE ON YOUR FARM Crop rotation and complementary weed control

A field should have a rotation of at least three crop types. Consider also weed control methods such as higher seeding rates, planting clean seed, mowing out suspected resistant weed patches before they go to seed and using herbicides according to label directions.

Multiple modes of action

Herbicides are categorized into 17 groups, based on how they target a weed. For example, Sulfonylurea (Group 2) herbicides control weeds by inhibiting an enzyme essential to their growth. “If at all possible, producers should use mixtures of herbicides that use multiple modes of action in the seeding year,” says Ken Sapsford, University of Saskatchewan. “It’s one further step to help stop resistance from developing.”

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Glyphosate plus Heat®

Glyphosate plus Express® SG

Source: Controlled growth room environment, 29 days after application, Dr. François Tardif, Peter Smith, University of Guelph, Plant Agriculture Department, January 2013.

To see Express® brand herbicides in action, please visit expressvideo.dupont.ca Questions? Ask your retailer, call 1-800-667-3925 or visit express.dupont.ca The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont™, The miracles of science™, Express® and PrecisionPac® are registered trademarks or trademarks of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. E. I. du Pont Canada Company is a licensee. All other products mentioned are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective companies. Member of CropLife Canada. ©Copyright 2014 E. I. du Pont Canada Company. All rights reserved.

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FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

1-800-665-1362 • abclassifieds@fbcpublishing.com

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• Advertising copy deviating in any way from the regular classified style will be considered display and charged at the display rate of $34.30 per column inch ($2.45 per agate line). • Minimum charge $34.30 per week. • Illustrations and logos are allowed with full border. • Advertising rates are flat with no discount for frequency of insertion or volume of space used. • Terms: Payment due upon receipt of invoice. • Price quoted does not include GST.

Published by Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 WINNIPEG OFFICE Alberta Farmer Express 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 Toll-Free in Canada 1-800-665-1362 Phone 403-341-0442 in Winnipeg FAX 403-341-0615 Mailing Address: Box 9800, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 3K7 • •

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AGREEMENT The publisher reserves the right to refuse any or all advertising for any reason stated or unstated. Advertisers requesting publication of either display or classified advertisements agree that should the advertisement be omitted from the issue ordered for whatever reason, the Alberta Farmer Express shall not be held liable. It is also agreed that in the event of an error appearing in the published advertisement, the Alberta Farmer Express accepts no liability beyond the amount paid for that portion of the advertisement in which the error appears or affects. Claims for adjustment are limited to errors appearing in the first insertion only. While every endeavor will be made to forward box number replies as soon as possible, we accept no liability in respect to loss or damage alleged to a rise through either failure or delay in forwarding such replies, however caused, whether by negligence or otherwise.

(2 weeks prior)

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TRAIlERS Grain_Trailers_ Livestock_Trailers_ Trailers_Miscellaneous_ Travel_ Water_Pumps_ Water_Treatment_ Welding_ Well_Drilling_ Well_&_Cistern__ Winches_ COMMUNITy CAlENDAR British_Columbia_ Alberta_ Saskatchewan_ Manitoba_ CAREERS Career_Training_ Child_Care_ Construction_ Domestic_Services_ Farm/Ranch_ Forestry/Log_ Health_Care_ Help_Wanted_ Management Mining_ Oil_Field_ Professional_ Resume_Services_ Sales/Marketing_ Trades/Tech_ Truck_Drivers_ Employment_Wanted_

MAiL TO: Alberta Farmer Express, Box 9800, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 3K7 FAx TO: 403-341-0615 PhOnE in: Toll-Free in Canada 1-800-665-1362 OR (403) 341-0442 in Alberta

NAME_ ___________________________________________________________ ______PHONE_#_______________________________ ADDRESS_____________________________________________ ______TOWN_____________________________________________ PROVINCE____________________________ _____POSTAL_CODE__________________________

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advertising deadline Wednesday noon

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CAUTION The Alberta Farmer Express, while assuming no responsibility for advertisements appearing in its columns, exercises the greatest care in an endeavor to restrict advertising to wholly reliable firms or individuals. However, please do not send money to a Manitoba Co-operator box number. Buyers are advised to request shipment C.O.D. when ordering from an unknown advertiser, thus minimizing the chance of fraud and eliminating the necessity of a refund where the goods have already been sold. At Farm Business Communications we have a firm commitment to protecting your privacy and security as our customer. Farm Business Communications will only collect personal information if it is required for the proper functioning of our business. As part of our commitment to enhance customer service, we may share this personal information with other strategic business partners. For more information regarding our Customer Information Privacy Policy, write to: Information Protection Officer, Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1. Occasionally we make our list of subscribers available to other reputable firms whose products and services might be of interest to you. If you would prefer not to receive such offers, please contact us at the address in the preceding paragraph, or call (204)-954-1456. The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Alberta Farmer Express and Farm Business Communications attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists and Alberta Farmer Express and Farm Business Communications, cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and the editors as well as Alberta Farmer Express and Farm Business Communication assume no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader for this publication based on any and all information provided.

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

LIVESTOCK/POULTRY/PETS Pets & Supplies

AUTO & TRANSPORT Vehicles Wanted

FOR SALE: REGISTERED BORDER collie stock dogs. Contact Bill Reeder: (403) 653-7661 www.billreederrodeohorses.com

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Grain Wanted

FARM MACHINERY Parts & Accessories

FERTILIZER

BOW VALLEY TRADING LTD.

WE BUY DAMAGED GRAIN

SEED/FEED/CROP INPUTS Specialty Crops Various

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Richardson Pioneer

Fairview - 780-835-3003

precisionpac.ca

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Crop Production Services Inc.

Vermilion - 780-853-4711

Wheat, Barley, Oats, Peas, etc. Green or Heated Canola/Flax

1-877-641-2798

BUYING:

HEATED & GREEN CANOLA • Competitive Prices • Prompt Movement • Spring Thrashed “ON FARM PICK UP”

precisionpac.ca

1-877-250-5252

herbicides NEW WOBBLE BOXES for JD, IH, MacDon headers. Made in Europe, factory quality. Get it direct from Western Canada’s sole distributor starting at $1,095. 1-800-667-4515. www.combineworld.com

Spraying EquipmEnt FARM MACHINERY Sprayers

FARM MACHINERY Combine – Accessories

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Farming is enough of a gamble, advertise in the Alberta Farmer Express classified section. It’s a sure thing. 14-01-10 1:56 PM 1-800-665-1362.

Great proﬁt potential based on yield, prices and low input costs.

FARM/CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT

Baling Equipment WANTED: JD 7810 c/w FEL & 3-PTH; sp or PTO bale wagon; JD or IHC end wheel drills. Small square baler. (403)394-4401

BUILDING & RENOVATIONS BUILDING & RENOVATIONS Concrete Repair

CANOLA WANTED

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Richardson Pioneer

Magrath - 403-758-3162

precisionpac.ca

BASF KNOWLEDGE HARVEST -- Join growers from your area to watch live plant demonstrations, speak to experts about what is new with biologicals & get for managing herbicide resistance from 562 PPAC Classified strategies 2014 AB.indd 19 industry leaders. Hear from acclaimed visionary & financial analyst Richard Worzel about the future of agriculture. Register now at www.agsolutions.ca/knowledgeharvest

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

CALL 1-866-388-6284

When you go with steel you get the right deals!

Pioneer One Steel Buildings

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Crop Production Services Inc.

Sexsmith - 780-568-6060

precisionpac.ca We know that farming is enough of a gamble so if you 14-01-10 1:56itPM want to sell fast place your ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifieds. It’s a Sure Thing. Call our toll-free number today. We have friendly staff ready to help. 1-800-665-1362.

Call toll free 1 (877) 525-2004 or see us online at www.pioneeronesteel.com FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Various

AUTO & TRANSPORT

Network

MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTS/SERVICES

precisionpac.ca

AUCTION SALES Saskatchewan Auctions

We also specialize in: Crop Insurance appeals; Chemical drift; Residual herbicide; Custom operator issues; Equipment malfunction; Yield comparisons, Plus Private Investigations of any nature. With our assistance the majority of our clients have received compensation previously denied. Back-Track Investigations investigates, documents your loss and assists in settling your claim. Licensed Agrologist on Staff. For more information Please call 1-866-882-4779

14-01-10 1:56 PM

Crop Consulting

FARM CHEMICAL SEED COMPLAINTS

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Crop Production Services Inc.

Delia - 403-364-3735

precisionpac.ca

On NEW & USED Rollers

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FARM MACHINERY FARM MACHINERY Haying & Harvesting – Various

CALL DAVE

ALL SIZES

Call (403)545-6340 • Cell (403)580-6889

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

D&H EQUIPMENT

machinerydave@yahoo.ca BOW ISLAND, ALBERTA

FARM/CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT

Combines Various

Crop Production Services Inc.

Trochu - 403-442-2700

precisionpac.ca FARM MACHINERY Sprayers

562 PPAC Classified 2014 AB.indd 32

herbicides

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Tillage

Winter Discounts SEARCH

herbicides

1994 Peterbilt 377 N14 Cummins 460-HP, 18-SPD, 60-in. sleeper mid roof, American Class interior, 11R24.5 tires, new front tires, 4,400 US gal stainless steel tank, 285-in. wheelbase, tandem (204)534-0070

Tillage & Seeding

CARBIDE DRILL POINTS & openers for air drills. VW Manufacturing Ltd Dunmore (Medicine Hat) (403)528-3350 US: Loren Hawks Chester, Montana (406)460-3810 www.vwmfg.com

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Feb 25th Lethbridge - Feb 27th Portage la Prairie Grain Wanted March 4th Regina - March 6th Saskatoon 562 PPAC Classified 2014 AB.indd 33 14-01-10 1:56 PM March 11th Yorkton - March 13th Edmonton BUYING HEATED/DAMAGED PEAS, FLAX & GRAIN “On Farm Pickup” Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252 AUTO & TRANSPORT Semi Trucks & Trailers

2 PPAC Classified 2014 AB.indd 35

40’ X 60’ X 16’ RIGID FRAME STEEL BUILDING

$28,418

Crop Production Services Inc.

AUCTION SALES Saskatchewan Auctions

14-01-10 1:56 P

Bonded and Insured

BUYING SPRING THRASHED CANOLA & GRAIN “On Farm Pickup” Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252

Westlock - 780-349-4525

562 PPAC Classified 2014 AB.indd 26

herbicides

ANNOUNCEMENTS

herbicides

BUILDINGS

CHEMICALS

Flexible contracting options available as well.

306-229-9976 (cell) 306-975-9295 (ofﬁce) crops@bioriginal.com

precisionpac.ca

www.milliganbiofuels.com

Attractive oil premiums and free seed delivery and on-farm pick-up.

For more information, please contact Carl Lynn P.Ag. of Bioriginal at:

Provost - 780-753-2355

BUILDINGS

562 PPAC Classified RECONDITIONED 2014 AB.indd 36 COMBINE HEADERS. RIGID & 14-01-10 1:56 PM Buying Tough, Heated, Green, flex, most makes & sizes; also header transports. Canola, Freight Options, Ed Lorenz, (306)344-4811 or Website: www.straightcutheaders.com Paradise Hill, SK. Bioriginal Food & Science Corp., based Prompt Payment

in Saskatoon, are looking to contract Borage acres for the upcoming 2014 2 PPAC Classified 2014 AB.indd 23 growing season.

Richardson Pioneer

2009 SpraCoupe 4660 80-ft. booms, 400-gal tank, three sets of tires, crop dividers, automatic, trimble autosteer, raven rate control, teejet overlap control, tow hitch, 800-hrs, also have custom made trailer for hauling sprayer, water & chemical, semi pull, $90,000. Call with any questions (204)534-0070

Combine ACCessories

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

JD 9400, 9420, 9520, 8970 JD 9860, 9760, 9750, 9650, 9600 JD 9430, 9530, 9630 Case STX 375, 425, 430, 450, 480, 500, 530 CIH 8010-2388, 2188 combine CIH 435Q, 535Q, 450Q, 550Q, 600Q pto avail. JD 4710, 4720, 4730, 4830, 4920, 4930 SP sprayers JD 9770 & 9870 w/CM & duals CIH 3185, 3230, 3330, 4430, 4420 sprayers

COMBINE WORLD located 20 min. E of Saskatoon, SK on Hwy. #16. 1 year warranty on all new, used, and rebuilt parts. Canada’s largest inventory of late model combines & swathers. 1-800-667-4515 www.combineworld.com

FARM MACHINERY Sprayers

14-01-10 1:56 PM

CIH 9380 Quad w/ PTO and New motor 9280 Power Shift New Michelin Tires 9280 12 speed with 80% rubber 4720 JD Sprayer w/ boom track autosteer, 4700 90 ft very clean Fendt 920 low hrs GOOD SELECTION OF JD & CASE SP SPRAYERS AND 4WD TRACTORS

“LIKE MANY BEFORE, WE’LL HAVE YOU SAYING THERE’S NO DEAL LIKE A KEN DEAL” • Phone: (403)526-9644 • Cell: (403)504-4929 • Email: kendeal@shaw.ca

FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Various Degelman 10 ft. Snow Pusher Blade JD 7400 FWA, 740 Loader with 3 pth hitch JD 2950 Complete with loader JD 7200 FWA, 740 Loader with 3 pth hitch JD 4230 loader available JD 4020 c/w loader & new motor JD 2550, FWA ST 250 Steiger, tires new 20.8 x 38 2012 CAT 272D Skidsteer, 800 Hrs Clamp on Duals, 20.8x38-18.4x38 158, 148, 265, 725, 740, 280, JD loaders FINANCE, TRADES WELCOME 780-696-3527, BRETON, AB

Where the stories go. Network

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous

RON SAUER

herbicides

846 Versatile 4WD Tractor - new 18.4 x 38 dualled tires, gear drive, like new ............................................ $30,000 Degelman Dozer Frame MF 4000 Series 4WD .$1,000 B 275 IHC Diesel Tractor, 3 pth, pto, runs good ......$4,250 31’ Flexicoil B Chisel Plow Extensions Included, extends to 41’, 3 bar harrows, excellent condition.............. $12,500 Flexicoil 6 Run Seed Treater .............................. $2,000 134’ Flexicoil S68XL Sprayer, 2007, suspended boom, auto rate, joystick, rinse tank, triple quick jets, auto boom height, electric end nozzle & foam marker............. $39,500 100’ 65XL Flexicoil Sprayer, complete with windguards, elec. end nozzles dual tips, markers ........................ $5,500 30’ 8230 CIH PT Swather, PU reel, nice shape, . $10,000 25’ 8225 CIH PT Swather, PU reel, nice shape .... $9,500 25’ 1200 Hesston PT Swather, bat reel, good .... $5,500 30’ 4600 Prairie Star PT Swather, bat reel, good ....$5,500 30’ 1900 Premier PT Swather, bat reel, good .... $5,500 10 Wheel MATR (Italy) Trailer Type V-Hayrake, hyd. fold, as new.................................................. $5,000 14 Wheel Enorossi V-Hayrake extra contour wheels, as new .............................................................. $11,500 10 x 40 Sakundiak Auger, 38 HP Kohler, E-Kay Mover, Power Steering, Belt Tightener, Slim Fit, Lights, Remote Throttle, FAB-TEC spout, only done 3 loads, CNT ............................................ **In Stock** $20,000 8 x 1200 Sakundiak Auger, 25 HP Koehler engine, Hawes mover, clutch, nice condition, CNT ....................$9,950 7 x 1200 Sakundiak Auger, 18 HP Koehler engine, looks and runs good, CNT ..........................................$3,500 8 x 1400 Sakundiak Auger, 25 HP Robin engine, Hawes LIVESTOCK mover, clutch, spout, excellent condition, CNT...............$9,950 8 x 1400 Sakundiak Auger, 25 HP Koehler engine, Hawes Cattle – Red Angus mover, clutch, reversing gear box, lights, spout, excellent condition, CNT.............................................$9,950 8” Wheatheart Sweep, like new .............................. $650 41 REGISTERED RED ANGUS BULLS 562 PPAC Classified 2014 AB.indd 30 New E-Kay 7” Bin Sweep .............**In Stock** $1,785 Quiet, Easy Calving, Low to Moderate New E-Kay 7”, 8”, 9” Bin Sweeps .........................Call Birth Weights, Good Growth, E.P.D’s available Jiffy Feed Wagon, like new, hardly used, shedded .....$9,250 8” Wheat Heart Transfer Auger, as new Guaranteed Breeders (Vet Checked & Semen *Tentatively Sold - New Owner Please Call Ron......... $1,500 Tested). Excellent Bulls for Heifers or Calves. New Outback MAX & STX guidance & mapping ...In Stock Cleveley Cattle Company (780)689-2754. New Outback E-Drive, TC’s .................................In Stock New Outback E-Drive X, c/w free E turns ............In Stock New Outback S-Lite guidance ............ **In Stock** $900 LIVESTOCK/POULTRY/PETS New Outback VSI Swather Steering Kit...........In Stock New Outback E-Drive Hyd. kit, JD 40 series ........ $1,000 Livestock Equipment Used Outback E-Drive Hyd. kits..............................$500

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

If interested, please send an 8lb sample* to the following address: Attn: Sandy Jolicoeur Bioriginal Food & Science Corp. 102 Melville Street Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7J 0R1 *Please state the Variety & Quantity for Sale

For more information, please contact Sandy at:

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

United Farmers of Alberta

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Big Tractor Parts, Inc. Geared For The Future

STEIGER TRACTOR SPECIALIST

RED OR GREEN 1. 10-25% savings on new replacement parts for your Steiger drive train. 2. We rebuild axles, transmissions and dropboxes with ONE YEAR WARRANTY. 3. 50% savings on used parts.

PUMPS

precisionpac.ca

14-01-10 1:56 PM herbicides

ACREAGE EQUIPMENT: CULTIVATORS, DISCS, Plows, Blades, Post pounders, Haying Equipment, Etc. (780)892-3092, Wabamun, Ab. QUONSET NEW IN CRATE, 35x52x18, $20,000; JD dozer blade w/guard fits 8970 16-ft. 6 way, $15,000; MF 860 & 20-ft. straight cut, $7,000; Ford 5000 w/loader, $6,500; Vac sewer tank & pump, $14,000; Rotex SR7 power parachute 300-hrs, for parts, $3,000; Tree Farmer skidder $4,500; Bison head squeeze, $4,500; 2004 Rumble Bee short box, $11,500; D5H Cat 34 pads; pair of sheep shears. OBO. Downsizing! (306)236-8023.

Network

562 PPAC Classified 2014 AB.indd 27

“NO WEIGH LIKE IT”

Richardson Pioneer

Lamont - 780-895-2353

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Crop Production Services Inc.

Brooks - 403-362-2626

Crate scales stationary & portable

Platform Scales Several sizes to choose from (no electrics)

REAL ESTATE Farms & Ranches – Manitoba GRAIN FARM 5682

4600 acre grain farm, productive land located in Western Manitoba Contact: Sheldon Froese 204.371.5131 sheldon@canadianfarmrealty.com Contact: Stacey Hiebert 204.371.5930 stacey@canadianfarmrealty.com

PERSONAL

2597 acre farm,good grain land and cattle facilities. 45 minutes from Brandon Contact: Henry Carels 204.573.5396 henry@canadianfarmrealty.com

GRAIN FARM 5653

AVAILABLE BACHELORETTES

562 PPAC Classified 2014 AB.indd 28

Hopper Feeders w/Scale, 3pt., trk. mt. or trailer, hyd. motor or electric

Bale scales

Looking for someone you cannot wait to see again!

Network

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562 PPAC Classified 2014 AB.indd 31 14-01-10 1:56 PM ON-LINE Stretch your advertising dollars! Place an ad in the classifieds. Our friendly staff is waiting for your call. 1-800-665-1362.

SERVICES

3534 acre grain farm, 20 minutes north of Winnipeg Contact: Stacey Hiebert 204.371.5930 14-01-10stacey@canadianfarmrealty.com 1:56 PM Contact: Dolf Feddes 204.745.0451 dolf@canadianfarmrealty.com

GRAIN FARM 5609

2710 acre grain farm, 6 miles from the city of Brandon Contact: Henry Carels 204.573.5396 henry@canadianfarmrealty.com

306-445-2111 NORTH BATTLEFORD, SK. www.eliasscales.com

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WANTED: NH BALE WAGONS & retrievers, any condition. Farm Equipment Finding Service, P.O. Box 1363, Polson, MT 59860. (406)883-2118

GRAIN FARM 5325

Mary is 43 with one son Zack who is 12. He is the love of my life and we are very active. Mary is divorced, she is upbeat, positive, active with her son, outdoor activities, horse-riding, fishing, football, and movie nights. I have a great desire to retire on a farm. I have a large family, we are all very successfully and have great careers. My mother instilled in me how important it was for me to have a career but I would have been happy to be farmer’s wife like my grandmother. I want to share that with a loving man who truly wants me in his life. I love knowing that I belong to a man who loves me as much as I love him.

Barb Wire & Electric High Tensile Wire Spooler

2888 acre grain farm, excellent bean production. South East Manitoba Contact: Stacey Hiebert 204.371.5930 stacey@canadianfarmrealty.com

GRAIN FARM 5308

1120 acre grain farm, near Deloraine, MB. 348,000 bushels of grain storage, beautiful 2700 sq ft home Contact: Sheldon Froese 204.371.5131 sheldon@canadianfarmrealty.com

www.CanadianFarmRealty.com

info@CanadianFarmRealty.com

Adapter available to unroll new barb wire off of wooden spool

The Level-Wind Wire Roller rolls wire evenly across the full width of the spool automatically as the wire is pulled in Ken Lendvay (403) 550-3313 Red Deer, AB email: kflendvay@hotmail.com Web: www.levelwind.com

14-01-10 1:56 P

GRAIN/CATTLE FARM 5639

precisionpac.ca

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Wanted

- Hydraulic Drive (roll or unroll wire) - Mounts to tractor draw bar, skidsteer or bobcat, front end loader, post driver, 3pt. hitch or deck truck (with receiver hitch & rear hydraulics) - Spool splits in half to remove full roll - Shut off/ Flow control valve determines speed - Works great for pulling out old wire (approx. 3--5 minutes to roll up 80 rod or 1/4 mile)

Search news. Read stories. Find insight.

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ELIAS SCALES

www.bigtractorparts.com

1999 CAT 460 1,400 sep. hrs, rake up $76,000; Bergen swath mover, $2,500; Road King ground loadstock trailer, 8 x 42.5-ft, will haul 25 cows, $11,500. Call:(403)665-2341, Craigmyle, AB.

Richardson Pioneer

Remember that story you wanted to read again from a few months back?

1-800-982-1769 FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous

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LIVESTOCK

**NuVision (Spray Air) & Meridian-Sakundiak Augers, Outback GPS Systems, EK Auger Movers, Belt Tighteners, Bin Sweeps & Crop Dividers, Kohler, Robin Subaru, Generac Engines, Headsight Harvesting Solutions, Greentronics Sprayer Boom Auto Height, Kello-Bilt Discs**

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Vulcan - 403-485-2749

Airdrie - 403-948-5913

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Bioriginal Food & Science Corp., based in Saskatoon, is actively buying Organic Flax from the 2013 crop year.

MACHINERY LTD. (403) 540-7691 ronsauer@shaw.ca

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SCALES

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For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Sturgeon Valley Fertilizer

Legal - 780-961-3088

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Stretch your 562 PPAC Classified 2014 AB.indd 29

1-800-587-4711

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1-888-916-2824

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www.penta.ca

She is 46 divorced with two children and is a dental hygienist. 5’5, 139lbs a non smoker, social drinker. Close to her family & children who want to see me happy in love again with wonderful man. My life is simple and I guess I am a homebody, my children are growing up fast and they have their friends, so its just me and the dog on the couch Saturday evenings.

1-800-665-1362

SPRING SPECIAL PROMOTION, CANADIAN built by moduline, 20x76 Temora, $99,900; 16x76 Oasis, $79,900; 16x60 Tuscan, $69,900. www.affordablehomesales.ca, affordablehomesales@sasktel.net 14-01-10 1:56 PM (306)496-7538 1-888-699-9280, Go public with an ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifieds.

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For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Richardson Pioneer Lavoy - 780-658-2408

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562 PPAC Classified 2014 AB.indd 25

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 17, 2014

PEDIGREED SEED Oilseed – Canola

TRAVEL

AGRICULTURAL TOURS Japan/Russia ~ May 2014 Ireland & Scotland ~ June 2014 Ukraine ~ June 2014 Yukon/NWT ~ July 2014 Iceland/Greenland ~ July 2014 Mid-West USA ~ October 2014 Australia/New Zealand ~ January 2015 Kenya/Tanzania ~ January 2015

Buy and Sell

anything you need through the

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TIRES

Advertise in the Alberta Farmer Express Classifieds, it’s a Sure Thing!

Select Holidays 1-800-661-4326

www.selectholidays.com Richardson Pioneer

Dunmore - 403-527-6600

WINCHES

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2 PPAC Classified BUYING 2014 AB.indd 24 ALL TYPES OF feed grain. Also have 14-01-10 1:56 PM market for light offgrade or heated, picked up on the farm. Eisses Grain Marketing 1-888-882-7803, Lacombe. FEED GRAIN WANTED! ALSO buying; Light, tough, or offgrade grains. “On Farm Pickup” Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252

FARMING IS ENOUGH OF A GAMBLE...

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562 PPAC Classified 2014 AB.indd 20

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Camrose - 780-679-5230

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A MIDDLE-AGED COUPLE RUNNING a 200 head Stirling - 403-756-3452 562 PPAC Classified cowherd 2014 AB.indd NE of 21 Edmonton are looking for a young

Contact Sharon

Looking for a hand around the farm? Place a help wanted ad in the classifieds. Call 1-800-665-1362.

Email: sharon.komoski@fbcpublishing.com

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person or couple to assist w/the responsibilities of operating a successful cow-calf operation. An excellent opportunity to develop your own herd & experience a way of life. To schedule a personal interview, please phone (780)656-5665.

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562 PPAC Classified 2014 AB.indd 22

Richardson Pioneer

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TENDERS

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Oyen - 403-664-2620

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If you want to sell it fast, call 1-800-665-1362.

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