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Volume 40, Number 7 | MARCH 11, 2014

$4.25

PRACTICAL PRODUCTION TIPS FOR THE PRAIRIE FARMER

www.grainews.ca

2014 rebate roundup

Corporate pricing programs on your spring inputs change every year.

Here’s our annual listing of the major companies’ latest offerings

PHOTO: ISTOCK

BY GERALD PILGER

M

any major chemical companies have simplified their rebate and reward programs for western Canadian farmers this year. Most companies have built their programming around farmer loyalty to one brand, and designed programs with bigger discounts for bigger farms.

ARYSTA LIFESCIENCE Arysta LifeScience offered an Early Purchase Offer on Everest 2.0. If you bought an Everest 2.0 Smartboy (10 specially packaged jugs of Everest 2.0) prior to Jan.

31, 2014 you received an instant discount of $1,200 per Smartboy.

Arysta is also offering an opportunity to save on its new grass and broadleaf burn-down herbicide Inferno Duo. If you purchase between Feb. 15 and March 31, 2014 you’ll get an instant discount of $0.50 per acre ($40 per canister).

These are the only two purchase programs Arysta offers. Instead, Arysta LifeScience says, its marketing strategy is to simplify the game by offering best-in-class products with competitive pricing.

BASF BASF has simplified its western Canadian AgSolutions Rewards

program for 2014. To qualify you must purchase at least two qualifying BASF products. The list of pesticides which can be used to qualify can be found on the BASF website at www.agsolutions.ca. The website also has a calculator so you can predetermine your reward savings.

Once you are qualified, you earn a rebate on purchases of most BASF products. The percentage rebated is based on the total number of acres to which qualified products are applied. If you apply at least 400 acres of qualifying products you’ll earn a three per cent rebate on herbicides, six per cent on Headline and Caramba fungicide, 12 per cent on Lance fungicide and 12 per cent on BASF seed treatments.

For growers with more acres, these rates increase incrementally to a maximum of five per cent rebate on herbicides, 10 per cent on Headline and Caramba, 16 per cent on Lance and 16 per cent on BASF seed treatments. As an additional bonus, qualifying acres are doubled when calculating the rebate on fungicide purchases.

Only products purchased between Oct. 1, 2013 and Sept.

30, 2014 are eligible for rebates, and you must register by Nov. 30, 2014. Register through your retailer, through your BASF representative or by calling BASF AgSolutions Customer Care at 1-877-371-2273.

BAYER CROPSCIENCE Bayer CropScience is expanding its BayerValue program for the 2014 growing season. This program provides savings based on your total purchases of Bayer CropScience products between Oct. 1, 2013 and Sept. 30, 2014.

There are a number of components to the BayerValue program.

First, there is an incremental rebate on qualifying Bayer CropScience products. Purchase $20,000 to $59,999 of Bayer Products to earn a three per cent rebate on Infinity, Velocity M3, Tundra or Varro herbicides, and a five per cent rebate

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

In This Issue

Publications Mail Agreement Number 40069240

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

2

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

5

Crop Advisor’s Casebook

24

Columns ........................... 25 Machinery & Shop ............ 36 Cattleman’s Corner .......... 42

Rotate to slow resistance KARI BELANGER PAGE 6

BULK UP NOW. EARN UP TO

FarmLife ............................ 47

Plant growth regulators

ANDREA HILDERMAN PAGE 20

$1.00/ACRE MORE.

High-performance cereal herbicides. Convenient BULK UP savings. Even more Grower Dividends. Calculate your Dividends at dowagrodividends.ca today.

Deadlines March 20, 2014

TandemTM, SimplicityTM, Liquid AchieveTM, AttainTM XC, OcTTainTM XL, FrontlineTM XL, PrestigeTM XC, StellarTM

REWARDING HIGHER PERFORMANCE

Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow. 02/14-22626-02 GN

® TM

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MARCH 11, 2014

Wheat & Chaff STAMPEDE

BY JERRY PALEN

LEEANN MINOGUE

F

arm news is grim. Falling prices. Plugged elevators. Sick pigs. Looming droughts. Imagine the news without recent record production and low interest rates.

It will soon be time for another grim farm activity. Yard work.

I’m sure many Grainews readers love yard work and are great at it.

I am not one of them.

On our farm, a lot of the yard work defaults to me simply because my husband is so busy in the spring.

DON’T HIT THE TREE

“It’s a gourmet moment; instant oatmeal and instant coffee.”

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“Whatever you do,” Brad said, “don’t run over that new tree I just planted.” Then my husband drove out of the yard on his way to the field, leaving me behind to mow the grass.

I was fuming as I stomped out to the shed to get the tractor. Did he think I was an idiot? He was just lucky I had time for any yard work at all before it started to rain.

If we got the system the Weather Channel was calling for, we’d be living in this overgrown yard for at least a week before there’d be another chance to mow it down.

Like most Grainews readers, we have a lawn bigger than the average Japanese rice field. Add in bins and sheds to trim around, a garden, miles of evergreen trees, some perennials and a small flowerbed, and it’s all I can do to keep up with the yard. Spring is the most frantic time. Everything needs trimming, pruning, planting, or cutting. Our grass can sense when Brad’s busy in the field —it grows at doublespeed then, just to taunt me.

I won’t pretend I do all the yard work, or even my fair share. But while Brad’s still getting his crop in the ground, I try to pick up the slack.

My husband had a lot of nerve, giving me tips about mowing the lawn. I’d been doing it for years.

How could I possibly hit Brad’s new tree? I’d watched him plant it in the backyard the day before, while I was planting squash and lettuce in the garden. I knew how carefully he’d dug the hole, transplanted the tree, put in stakes to hold it up, then added fertilizer before he lugged the hose over to water it.

And never mind the importance of the tree. I don’t destroy anything with lawn tractors on purpose.

The new tree is taller than me, it’s not like I wouldn’t see it from the tractor.

Our lawn mower is a bit larger than an average riding mower, mounted on a small John Deere tractor. I put the tractor it in gear and headed for the lawn, still grumbling. “Does he seriously think I’m going to his new tree?”

Okay. To be fair to my husband, it wouldn’t be the first time I’d hit a tree.

But not a big tree.

I’ve never hit an evergreen with the lawn mower. I haven’t even grazed one with the rototiller in the last few years — not since they’ve grown bigger. And everyone knows that a little disruption to a small tree only helps it root more solidly.

That one that didn’t make it was likely the runt of the litter. Every tree in a row of 50 can’t grow to full height.

Sometimes, our mower can be tricky to turn. And that little caragana at the end of the north row was barely a twig. It wasn’t going to make it anyway.

Rhubarb does not count as a tree. And why did Brad’s grandmother plant rhubarb on the edge of the lawn anyway? Surely it should have been in the garden.

The ornamental shrub in front of our house does not count as a “tree.” And besides, it’s still alive.

Just a different shape.

Nobody can say I hit the bush at the side of the house. (I may have backed in a little tight last summer, and had to text Brad to come and help me drive out so I wouldn’t hit the TV antenna, but the result was still me not hitting anything.)

I was still angry with Brad when I finished mowing the front yard.

With absolutely no damage, I might add.

I roared around to the back.

Mowing our back yard is more challenging than the front.

Between the picnic table, the trampoline, a birdhouse on a tower, some decorative trees and the sandbox, there’s a lot of tight turns. And if you don’t get as close as possible to everything, it’s that much more work on foot with the weed whacker later. And the way those clouds were darkening overhead, there wouldn’t be time for weed whacking in the near future.

Ha. Cleared the trampoline. No trouble with the picnic table.

Ha. Avoided the birdhouse.

Then, ha, around the sandbox for one last pass. There wasn’t much space between the sandbox and the new tree. I put the tractor in neutral and shifted into a lower gear to slow down.

Ha. I’ll show him.

I let the clutch out. Slow… slow…. slow… Until, bang! The clutch popped and the tractor bucked ahead like a wild bronco on two wheels.

Right over Brad’s new tree.

IN THIS ISSUE This time of year, there are so many mailouts about spring price programming that our mailbox overflows. The woman at the post office has to wrap up our extra mail in a rubber band and keep it behind the counter. Then we have to show up at the post office between 8 a.m. and noon on a weekday to get our mail. This hassle leaves me unimpressed with input price promotions. Until we get the rebate cheques.

On our cover, you’ll see that Gerald Pilger has studied all of this year’s pricing promotions so you don’t have to. This should help you find the one that works for you — even if you don’t have time to drive to the post office during business hours. † Leeann

Cancer fundraiser

M

anitoba farmer and equipment manufacturer Mark Devloo has come up with a novel fundraiser in support of breast cancer research.

Devloo, who farms with family members at Somerset, Man., also manufactures a mud scraper that mounts over the packer wheels on air seeding systems to keep wheels clean under wet soil conditions (see them at www.rotomudscrapers.com). He’s already sold two sets of pink mud scrapers to farmers, with $5 from the sale of each scraper being donated to breast cancer research.

“When my Mom had breast cancer several years ago, my brothers and I and all the nephews shaved our heads as part of a fund raiser for research,” says Devloo. “Now I am able to support the research effort in another interesting way.”

Devloo sold the first set of pink scrapers to Jim Rogers of North Battleford, Sask. who will mount 85 rotating mud scrapers on a Seed Hawk drill. A second set of the pink scrapers has been sold to Tory Campbell of Coadale, Alberta for his 42-foot wide Morris Contour 2 drill.

With these two sales Devloo is already donating $685 to breast cancer research. † Lee Hart PHOTO: DEVLOO

MARCH 11, 2014

grainews.ca /

Wheat & Chaff Farm safety

Overcoming language and cultural barriers with seasonal workers

E

ver feel like your instructions are lost in translation? If you employ seasonal migrant workers on your farm, cultural differences, language proficiency and literacy can make communicating health and safety requirements seem like climbing a mountain. But as a farm operator, there are strategies you can employ to help ensure the safety and well-being of your workers, whether they live in the next town over or overseas.

The first step is to recognize that there are cultural differences.

For example, safety standards, such as the Right to Refuse Unsafe Work, may not exist in their country. Some of your workers might not understand the need for safety precautions, or may view safety steps as optional or a waste of time. Communicate and enforce health and safety requirements, and make it clear that health and safety practices are a condition of employment.

Some male migrant workers may be reluctant to take direction from female supervisors, or may feel it is okay to make comments about a woman’s physical appearance that may not be appropriate in a Canadian work-

place. Make it clear that workers are to treat female employees with respect, and are to follow instructions from female supervisors without incident.

As an operator, you assign job responsibilities based on an individual’s experience and capabilities. Be aware that migrant workers may establish an internal “pecking order” that is at odds with your existing supervisory relationships.

Certain individuals may try to use language skills to increase their status. However, they may misinterpret instructions, putting your workers at risk of injury. Do not allow supervisors to use migrant peers as interpreters. And take the time to define who is in charge and who will be giving directions.

Many migrant workers may be tempted to burn themselves out or moonlight with another operation to send more money home to their families. And yet, provincial labour regulations may require you to limit their hours of work. Explain what the limits are, why they are in place, the importance of breaks, and how working tired increases the risk of injury and should be avoided.

Few people like to admit that they’ve made a mistake or don’t

understand something. Migrant workers may be even more embarrassed by this out of fear they will be “sent home.” Make it clear that it is okay if your workers don’t understand and require further clarification. Observe their work and provide constructive feedback in a non-threatening way until you are confident they can perform the task appropriately.

Think of a time when you were in another country. How relieved were you when you found someone who understood just enough English or French to help you out? Don’t get frustrated or raise your voice. Migrant workers aren’t hearing impaired. Speak slowly, simply and politely, avoid slang and jargon, learn key phrases in their language, use exaggerated body language to convey information, and identify or hire a staff person who can speak their language fluently.

While we might take it for granted that most people can read and write, this isn’t necessarily the case. Not only may your workers be unable to understand instructions in your language, but they may also be unable to understand instructions in their own language.

Even if your instructions are trans-

lated, they may not be understood due to variations in dialect. And yet, in many jurisdictions across Canada, regulatory standards require employers to ensure that specific health and safety documentation — such as Material Safety Data Sheets, labels and signage — is accessible to all workers.

So integrate the use of pictures, demonstrations, short video clips or other visual techniques into your safety instructions and determine if written safety information is available in other languages.

And make sure a staff member is available to interpret that information for workers who need it.

Migrant workers provide a vital service to Canadian farmers. At the same time, farmers provide migrant workers with economic opportunities that they might not have access to in their own countries. Take time to research the language and culture of your migrant workers. Show respect for their culture and encourage employees of different backgrounds to interact and get to know each other better. Improving crosscultural understanding not only strengthens relationships between employers and workers, but it also helps to ensure the health and

Weather Lore You might be from the Prairies if...

W

Shirley Byers’ book “Never Sell Your Hen on a Rainy Day” explores over 100 weather rhymes and sayings.

It is available from McNally Robinson at: www. mcnallyrobinson.com.

GIVE US YOUR BEST SHOT Wanda Millard sent us this photo of Julianna (seven) and Conner (five) standing in their Dad’s canola crop southeast of Livelong, Sask. The picture was taken while they were out on the back roads, searching for Saskatoon berries. Jay and Wanda Millard farm close to 3,000 acres along with Jay’s parents in the Livelong/Fairholme area.

In the picture, Conner is waiting somewhat patiently for the crops to ripen so he can get into the combine with his Dad. Thanks for sending this in, Wanda. We’ll send you a cheque for $25.

Send your best shot to leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.com.

Please send only one or two photos at a time and include your name and address, the names of anyone in the photo, where the photo was taken and a bit about what was going on that day. A little write-up about your farm is welcome, too. Please ensure that images are of high resolution (1 MB is preferred), and if the image includes a person, we need to be able to see their face clearly.

hen the wind’s undecided which way to blow And clouds roll and pitch, expect rain or snow.

Wind direction can be a helpful tool in do-it-yourself weather forecasting. Westerly winds generally go with clear skies, while winds from the east or the south might bring clouds and precipitation.

But even when the wind can’t decide which way to blow it can still tell us something. The vacillation of the wind is a result of unstable air, a situation in which clouds form and a rain or snow storm is likely. †

Leeann

Your golf cart has snow tires

Agronomy tips… from the field

The truth about wild oats

T

Glen Blahey, Canadian Agriculture Safety Association — www.casa-acsa.ca

Photo contest

Wind direction, who knows?

hey may be overly familiar, but what you don’t know about wild oats can drain money from your bottom line. This weed literally steals from cereal crop yields.

John O’Donovan of the Alberta Environmental Centre was one of the first to flag the destructive power of this weed. He found that as few as eight wild oats per square metre could reduce wheat yields by eight per cent if the wild oats emerge before the crop.

safety of everyone who works or lives on the farm.

For more information on this topic, visit agsafetyweek.ca/producer-tools and browse through over 20 free resources designed to help producers make their farms safer. This article was produced in support of the Canadian Agricultural Safety Week 2014 Let’s Talk About It! campaign, which encourages farmers to engage in conversations about safety.

CASW is brought to you by the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, with support from the Government of Canada through Growing Forward 2, long-time corporate sponsor Farm Credit Canada, Ag for Life, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, CHS, Imperial Oil and Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited. †

Kirk Howatt at North Dakota State University demonstrated the importance of early wild oat control. If wild oats emerge at the same time as the wheat crop and are removed at the three-leaf stage, yield loss ranges from eight to 15 per cent. Waiting to spray wild oats until the five-leaf stage will increase losses to as high as 25 to 35 per cent.

Lost nitrogen accounts for part of these yield reductions. Jeff Schoenau at the University of Saskatchewan found that a popula-

tion of wild oats left in an emerging crop for four weeks can strip the soil of 45.2 kg/ha (40.3 lb./ac.) of nitrogen. That’s roughly 25 to 50 per cent of the nitrogen used in growing a wheat crop.

So when you see wild oats in your fields, you can appreciate the reasons for getting after them early with either a pre-seed burn-off, and/or an in-crop herbicide application. † This agronomy tip is brought to you by Richard Marsh, B Ag, CCA, cereal and oilseed crop specialist for Syngenta Canada Inc.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Cover Stories Farm management » CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

2014 rebate roundup on Proline, Prosaro, Propulse and Folicur EW fungicide purchases.

You can qualify for a $1 per acre rebate when using Decis insecticide and a $1 per acre rebate on purchases of Raxil Pro, Raxil MD, Trilex Evergol and Evergol Energy.

Purchase $60,000 to $119,999 of Bayer products to increase your rebate on herbicides to four per cent and on fungicides to six per cent. The top increment is for purchases of $120,000 or more — the herbicide rebate jumps to five per cent and fungicide rebate to seven per cent.

The second component is an early booking offer for InVigor hybrid canola. If you booked a minimum 300 acres of InVigor by Jan. 31, you received an additional five per cent rebate on Infinity, Velocity M3, Tundra and Varro herbicides, as well as Prosaro, Folicur EW and Propulse fungicides. The rebate increased to eight per cent on Proline fungicide.

The third component is the Cereal Winter Sale. Book a minimum of $12,000 (based on standard retail prices) of specific Bayer CropScience cereal herbicides by March 10, 2014 for a five per cent rebate on those herbicides.

The fourth component is the Cereal Saver. Purchase a minimum of 480 acres of products from at least two of the three cereal categories: cereal/pulse seed treatments, cereal herbicides, and cereal/pulse fungicides. The Cereal Saver qualifies you to receive an additional three per cent off cereal herbicides and cereal/pulse fungicides. You will also receive an additional $1 per acre back on qualifying cereal/ pulse seed treatments.

The final component is the Puma Advance Full Rate rebate.

Instantly save $1 per acre on Puma Advance purchases.

If you participated in the 2013 Bayer Value Program you will automatically be re-enrolled for 2014.

If you were not registered last year, contact the Bayer CropScience Rebate Fulfilment Interaction Centre at 1-888-283-6847 before May 1, 2014 to register.

Dow AgroSciences Dow AgroSciences is continuing to offer the Dividends program it introduced in 2011. Rewards are calculated as a dollar per acre payment. The amount of the payment depends on the mix of Dow AgroSciences products used.

Dow AgroSciences categorizes its products into four groups. The first group of cereal grass and one-

Tundra

pass products includes Tandem, Simplicity and Liquid Achieve. You must use a minimum of 320 acres of any one or combination of these three herbicides to qualify for a rebate. As was the case last year, 320 acres of Nexera will also qualify you for the Dividends program.

Once qualified, you earn rebates by matching qualifying acres with purchases of a Dow AgroSciences cereal broadleaf product (the second group of products) and/or a canola and special crop product (the third group). In the 2014 program, Tandem automatically qualifies for the $1 per acre reward without requiring matching acres from other categories. Liquid Achieve is not eligible for a rebate, but can still be used as a builder to qualify other products for a reward.

Dow AgroSciences glyphosate products are the fourth group category and if purchased, increase any reward you’ve qualified for.

Dow AgroSciences is also continuing the Bulk Up component of the Dividends program. Purchases of bulk packaged PrePass before Feb. 20, 2014 will increase the reward by up to $0.50 an acre. Rebates also increase if you purchase bulkpackaged OcTTain XL, Attain XC, Frontline XL, or Stellar, Tandem, Simplicity, Liquid Achieve and/or Prestige XC before March 20.

If you participate in both components of Dividends, you can save up to $5 an acre on Dow AgroSciences purchases. There is a Dividends calculator at www.dowagrodividends. ca to help you figure it all out.

If you have not previously completed an offer form giving Dow AgroSciences permission to collect the information they need to calculate this rebate, you must do so before Nov. 30, 2014.

Dow AgroSciences product purchases between Dec. 1, 2013 and Nov. 30, 2014 qualify for the Dividends program.

For further information, call the Dow AgroSciences Solutions Centre at 1-800-667-3852.

DuPont DuPont FarmCare Connect Grower Program is a joint offering from DuPont Pioneer and DuPont Crop Protection in 2014.

Unlike the FarmCare program offered last year, you no longer need to enrol. You’re automatically enrolled when they purchase a qualifying product: 140 acres of D-Series or Pioneer brand canola hybrids, or 140 acres of Pioneer brand corn, soybean, or sunflower, or a minimum of eight jugs of DuPont Vertisan or four jugs of DuPont Acapela fungicide.

The combined total purchase of these products plus a long list of other DuPont pesticides and

Pioneer branded seed determine the rebate you’ll earn on a number of DuPont burn-down herbicides, in-crop herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. A complete list of these builder and rebate eligible products can be found on the DuPont FarmCare Connect website. Search for “farmcare” at www.dupont.ca Rebates range from four per cent if you purchase a minimum of $10,000 worth of qualifying and builder products all the way up to 12 per cent for total purchases over $150,000 You can save even more with the Matching Acre Bonus component of the 2014 FarmCare program. A purchase of at least 320 acres of Acapela, Assure II, Express Pro, Express SG, Precision Pac NC-0050, Precision Pac NC-00439, Precision Pac DB-858, Triton K, or Vertisan earns a $1 per acre rebate on matching acres of DuPont cereal broadleaf brands.

For more information call 1-800667-3925 or visit www.farmcare.ca.

Mana Canada MANA Canada says it strives to create simplicity in agriculture, both in its products and business approach, and therefore provides quality products without forcing growers to sign up for mandatory bundling or complicated rebate programs. Rather than provide a cash back program, MANA Canada says its promise is to work with their customers to create the best return on investment.

Monsanto Monsanto is again offering a 100 per cent replant guarantee on DEKALB canola and corn seed planted after April 15 and DEKALB soybean seeded after May 1. If you have to reseed, Monsanto will provide replacement seed. You must reseed to the same crop using DEKALB brand seed. Application for reseeding must be made to seed retailers before June 20, 2014.

Monsanto is offering interest free financing until fall 2014 on all DEKALB seed through Agricard and John Deere Financial.

Western Canadian growers who tank mix Roundup Transorb HC or Roundup Ultra 2 with Heat or Distinct will receive $0.50 per acre for all acres where this tank mix is applied.

Details of both these herbicide offers are available at www.

JustTryMe.ca.

Nufarm Nufarm has two “business made easy” offers for Western Canada in 2014. The first is a performance guarantee on its new burn-off prod-

uct Blackhawk. If you are not satisfied with the burn-off after using Blackhawk, Nufarm representatives will inspect the field. If they deem Blackhawk did not perform as stated on the label, Nufarm will provide an in-crop broadleaf product that will get the weeds Blackhawk missed on up to 640 acres where Blackhawk had been applied.

Nufarm is also introducing Enforcer, a new in-crop broadleaf product for the control of kochia, cleavers and wild buckwheat in cereals. As an introductory special, Nufarm is offering a 50 per cent savings on the first 80 acres of this product purchase (based on the suggested retail price of Enforcer). The savings will rebated via gift card.

Both these offers require registration. Do it online at www.nufarm.ca or call 1-800-868-5444.

1 6 6 6 D u b l i n Av e n u e , W i n n i p e g , MB R 3 H 0 H 1 w w w. g r a i n e w s . c a PUBLI SH ER

Lynda Tityk Associate Publisher/ Editorial director

John Morriss

Edi tor

Leeann Minogue fiel d Ed ito r

Lisa Guenther Cattleman’s Corner Editor

Lee Hart Farm life Edito r

Sue Armstrong Machinery EDITOR

Scott Garvey Pro duction Di recto r

Shawna Gibson Des igne r

Syngenta Syngenta has made it easier to take advantage of the Syngenta Partner Program for 2014. To qualify, purchase a minimum $15,000 of eligible Syngenta products. New products added to the Partner Program for 2014 include Vibrance Maxx for pulses, new canola varieties SY4114 and SY4135 and the new wheat variety SY433.

Rebate percentages are calculated by totalling the purchases of most Syngenta crop establishment, crop management, crop enhancement and harvest management products. The Partner Program Calculator and the Rules and Regulations can be found on the Syngenta website, www.

SyngentaFarm.ca.

A total purchase value of $15,000 in Syngenta products earns you a three per cent rebate, and this increases incrementally.

Earn up to a nine per cent savings for purchases of $250,000 or more. Syngenta seed (canola, cereals, sunflowers, corn and soybeans) is not eligible for savings but seed purchases are used as builder products to increase the rebate percentage rate.

Syngenta has improved its Crop Enhancement Bonus this year. If you qualify for the Partner Program, you can earn an additional $3 per acre rebate on Astound, Quilt and Fuse fungicides when matched with acres treated with Traxos, Sierra 2.0, Broadband or Axial products. You can further match those fungicide acres with acres treated with Seedcare products such as Cruiser Maxx Vibrance Cereals, Vibrance Maxx, Cruiser Maxx Vibrance Beans, Apron Advance and Vibrance XL. New this year is the Cruiser Maxx Vibrance Beans Bonus. If you qualify for the Partner Program, you can earn an additional five per cent on all purchases of Cruiser Maxx Vibrance Beans.

If you participated in the 2013 Partner Program, you are automatically registered for 2014. If not, call the Syngenta Customer Resource Centre at 1-87-SYNGENTA (1-877964-3682) to register.

UAP UAP explains that it keeps things simple with competitive net pricing — no hassles and no rebate forms. † Gerald Pilger farms at Ohaton, Alta.

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 1-800-665-0502.

Steven Cote MARKETING/CI RCUL ATION Dir ector

Lynda Tityk

Circul at ion manag er

Heather Anderson president

Glacier farmmedia

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MARCH 11, 2014

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Features FARM MANAGEMENT

Lentil acres up; chickpeas down Although transportation issues continue to dominate discussion, Marlene Boersch is positive on lentil markets for 2014

BY MELANIE EPP

M

arlene Boersch, cofounder of Mercantile Consulting Venture in Winnipeg, Man., expects to see an increase in lentil production this year, but a decrease in chickpea acreage. While both saw good production in 2013, a lack of movement in chickpeas could mean decreased acreage. On the other hand, good prices, strong movement and an oversaturated wheat market, could lead to an increase in lentil acres.

LENTIL MARKETS In terms of lentil production in Canada, last year was a pretty good year, says Boersch. “We think we had about a 1,700 pound yield,” she says. “Some people think even up to 1,750. And so we managed to produce a 1.8 million ton lentil crop.”

Boersch, who thinks we’re fortunate that the pulse market is not oversupplied, says we’ve seen good things in export markets. With the carryout, we probably have 2.1 million tons available, she says.

thinks that the numbers indicated at a recent crop production show are inaccurate. “Perhaps they had only looked at bulk shipments,” she says. “But if you include container shipments, it’s a very good start, particularly for red lentils.”

In total, Boersch says somewhere around 380,000 tons of red lentils have already been shipped, with that number being a little lower for green lentils.

“If we can keep shipments up — and I don’t think you can talk about markets this year without bracketing it with some concerns around transportation — I think 1.6 million tons is in grasp, certainly, if you can keep any speed

forward, and that should give us a fairly contained carryout of about 250,000 tons. If we can perform, we’re looking at a fairly good year.”

Overall, Boersch thinks there will likely be an increase in lentil acres. Prices multiplied by expected yields work fairly well relative to other crops, she says.

“And also because lentils are well priced relative to wheat. The problem with wheat is that we will see a very heavy burden in terms of carryout and I think that it might lead people to grow a crop that they can move. I don’t think that it’s out of the question that we have, say a 15 to 18 per cent increase in lentil acres.”

That number would put Canada close to the 2.8 million acre range.

Carryout shouldn’t be an issue if shipments stay on track.

“We should have, say, two million to just over a two million-ton crop,” says Boersch. “And again, I should think that exports should be around 1.6 million tons.”

CHICKPEA MARKETS When it comes to chickpeas, the outlook isn’t as positive. In fact, Boersch thinks that we’ll see a decline in chickpea acres this year.

“The problem is that movement has been very, very difficult,” she says. “Not many people are spend-

ing a lot of time on chickpea marketing, and year-to-date into the end of November we only saw about 9,000 tons moved. That’s behind schedule.

“It makes me worried a bit about this year,” she continues.

“When you see such low movement numbers, I think people will be hesitant to plant larger acres.

So I think we’ll see, say, 140,000 to 150,000 acres in the coming year, which would be a fair reduction, actually, from the 200,000 we’ve seen this year.” † Melanie Epp is a freelance writer who specializes in writing web copy for small businesses. She is based in Guelph, Ont., and can be found online at melanierepp.com.

Lentils are well priced relative to wheat “The reason that it’s not more burdensome is that last year we managed to draw down the carryout that we had been carrying around with us, so to speak, for the last three years,” she says.

“This is really changing things.

“Most of the carryout in the world actually was in Canada, so we have a much cleaner slate,” Boersch continues. “I think we will do 1.6 million tons of exports.”

While some people expect to see 1.7 million, Boersch doesn’t want to be too aggressive in terms of numbers given this year’s transportation issues.

“It’s no secret that our problems are affecting all crops,” she says.

Official shipment numbers, which are only available to the end of November, show some 604,000 tons as being shipped.

“That’s actually a very good beginning,” says Boersch, who

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MARCH 11, 2014

Features Crop protection

Diversify rotations to slow resistance Diversify canola-wheat rotations to save profit margins and slow weed resistance, before it’s too late

By Kari Belanger

S

cientists warn that a serious threat to sustainable crop production in Canada continues to grow. Surveys indicate the number of western Canadian fields containing Group 1 and Group 2 herbicide-resistant weeds has jumped dramatically.

In addition, glyphosate-resistant kochia continues to spread rapidly in the west, while glyphosateresistant giant ragweed, Canada fleabane and common ragweed carry on making inroads in the east. Researchers believe wild oats, green foxtail and cleavers will be next to develop resistance to glyphosate.

“Weed resistance to herbicides is one of the biggest emerging sustainability issues on the Canadian Prairies,” says Neil Harker, a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Heavy reliance on simple, cost-effective herbicide-tolerant systems and chemistries with a single mode of action has resulted in high selection pressure for herbicide-resistant weeds and their burgeoning populations across the country.

In the foreseeable future, an easy fix in terms of new modes of action is not in the cards, says Harker. Although new modes of action entering the market were common throughout the ’70s and ’80s, there have been no new modes of action available to producers for the past two decades — and there are none, at present, in the pipeline. In addition to the preservation of the chemistries currently available, it’s time to look at other weed control options, says Harker.

“Rotation plays a big role in the weed resistance problem,” he says. “What we really need is more diversity.” However, diversifying into other crops in the canolawheat rotation may be a hard sell to producers as it means they will have to grow the most profitable crops less often, says Harker.

Yet, bitter as this pill may seem at first, it is this long-term vision that could keep Canadian producers from travelling down the costly road glyphosate resistance has taken our neighbours to the south.

Worst case scenario In Arkansas, cotton production has dropped from one million acres to less than 300,000 due to glyphosate-resistant weeds and low cotton prices. “Farms were getting larger and larger, now they’re getting smaller because producers were forced out of the easy systems and they’re not in expansion mode anymore,” says Harker. “Producers wish they hadn’t gone to the cheap, simple systems because now the money they saved in the five or six years where they continuously planted glyphosate-tolerant crops has already been lost in the three years of resistance they’re experiencing… People have lost farms and people have left agriculture because of it.”

Weed management costs could skyrocket and control options and profit margins narrow for Canadian producers if weed resistance isn’t addressed, warns Harker.

“Farmers have to decide between short-term profit and long-term vision,” he says.

“Right now weed management isn’t usually the biggest cost in farming… If farmers lose their simple, cheap herbicides to resistance, all of a sudden weed management becomes a much higher cost… that’s certainly been the case in the mid-southern United States where prices have gone up more than two to three times what weed control used to be in (areas like Arkansas).”

Rotation management Innovative and diverse rotations, such as adding perennial forages into the canola-wheat cropping system, squeeze out

photos: courtesy of neil harker

Left: Neil Harker is a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Right: Adding perennial forages, such as alfalfa, into the canola-wheat rotation controls weeds without increasing selection pressure for herbicide-resistant weeds. weeds without adding any selection pressure for herbicide-resistant weeds. For example, wild oats don’t germinate well in the spring with an established alfalfa stand above them. “Because you’re cutting the alfalfa at least twice, neither wild oats nor many other weed species can produce viable seed under those conditions,” says Harker.

Adding winter cereals at double the normal seeding rates to the canola-wheat rotation is another good option for putting summer annual weeds at a disadvantage.

Very few farmers who grow winter wheat, winter triticale and fall rye need to apply wild oat herbicides, says Harker. “Not only do those producers have less cost in wild oat herbicide, they have zero selection pressure for wild oat resistance.”

If feedlots are nearby, another crop to introduce to the canolawheat rotation to decrease wild oat populations is early-cut barley silage at twice the normal seeding rate. Early silaging takes place a week and a half earlier than normal, and the treatment prevents viable weed seed production.

Data from eight sites across Canada indicate wild oat control through diversification of the traditional canola-wheat rotation by including competitive winter cere-

als, alfalfa or early-cut silage can be as good as herbicide application at the full rate. “There were sites where those treatments without any wild oat herbicide for three years were as good as the full rate herbicide treatment for three years; the latter treatment exerting tremendous selection pressure for resistance,” says Harker.

Glyphosate-resistant kochia continues its swift spread throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan, and “it’s almost a certainty within a couple of years we’re going to have it in Manitoba,” says Harker.

“Glyphosate-resistant kochia could be one of those weeds that changes the way people have to do things,” he says.

In general, most glyphosateresistant weeds are found in the countries growing the most glyphosate-tolerant crops. The United States, Brazil and Argentina contain more than 80 per cent of the world’s glyphosate-resistant crop acres, which totalled approximately 330 million acres in 2009.

There are 112 known instances of glyphosate-resistant weeds worldwide — 77 per cent of which are found in those three countries.

Weed resistance is forcing some countries to develop new and innovative weed management tools. For example, the Harrington

Seed Destructor, already in use in Western Australia, grinds weed seeds into a powder. “In Australia they are desperate to get rid of some of their most prominent resistant weeds… Basically, it kills every seed that comes out in the chaff. It’s hooked up to the chaff part of the combine, and once the chaff comes out, it goes into the mill and destroys viable seeds.

It’s better than 99 per cent effective on two of their most resistant weeds: rigid ryegrass and wild radish. They’re not spreading around those weeds with the combine and drastically reducing the soil weed seed bank,” says Harker.

As the popularity of growing summer annual crops continues across Canada, so will the increase and advancement of summer annual weeds and selection pressure for weed resistance will continue to rise. Harker says the time to take advantage of alternative weed control methods is sooner rather than later.

“We don’t want to wait too long.

By the time you’re in the situation some American and Australian growers are in, it’s quite late to do something about it. There are signs there is serious weed resistance trouble ahead,” he says. † Kari Belanger is a freelance writer writing from Winnipeg, Man.

Five tips for controlling weeds in canola

A

t the top of Angela Brackenreed’s list of key weed management tactics are tried and true practices familiar to all growers, but this Canola Council of Canada’s agronomy specialist stresses these strategies, however familiar, deserve serious consideration when fighting weeds.

1. Scouting is key for any agronomic issue in production, says Brackenreed. “If you’re not in your field on a regular basis, you just don’t know what’s going on and you’re bound to have surprises. It’s key to weed management,” she says.

2. Diversify by utilizing different herbicide modes of action, use effective tank mixes that have overlapping activity on targeted weeds and try to add some diversity to your cropping plans.

3. Canola needs a clean field early in the growing season, says Brackenreed. “Canola needs to get off to a good start to reach its full yield potential. It needs a clean field and good seedbed conditions… often the weeds can get a jump on it.” Producers

should consider weed control throughout the year, not just in the spring. Assess the weed spectrum in each field and determine whether a fall weed control application is required or if it can be left until the spring. “For perennials you should be trying to target a fall application. Timing can be difficult and sometimes it’s not possible,” she says.

4. Weed control is not just about the weeds — it can also help you with disease management, says Brackenreed. To minimize the pathogen load in your canola, it is important to control weeds — such as stinkweed and shepherd’s purse — that can act as a bridge for certain diseases in your non-canola years.

5. Keeping a log for each individual field on all production issues, including problem weeds, is an important practice. For example, farmers can keep track of weed species, where they’re located in the field, and weed control methods that have and have not worked. † Kari Belanger

photo: angela brackenreed

Angela Brackenreed is an agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada.

MARCH 11, 2014

grainews.ca /

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Features Precision agriculture

Variable rate irrigation The high cost of variable rate irrigation has limited farmer adoption. But there are times when it can be useful

By Lisa Guenther

V

ariable rate irrigation can boost water use efficiency and may bump yield. But there are wrinkles to iron out before the technology is widely adopted.

Variable rate systems include an electronic control panel, a pivot positioning system (usually GPS), and sprinkler control valves.

Farmers upload prescriptions to the control panel, which then applies water accordingly.

Each major sprinkler manufacturer has a variable rate option, says Dale Tomasiewicz, irrigation agronomist with Canada-Saskatchewan Irrigation Diversification Centre.

Tomasiewicz and his colleagues use the technology for their research plots.

Irrigators can also control lateral speed as a simplified version of variable rate, Tomasiewicz says. By varying speed, farmers can vary water application. Management zones will be the full length of the pivot, from the edge to the centre.

“That can be helpful, to some extent, depending on how the variability within your field lays out,” says Tomasiewicz.

Why try VRI? Tomasiewicz says there are a couple of situations where variable rate irrigation is useful. Horticulturists with several fields under one pivot could avoid pie-shaped management zones. Variable rate technology also avoids overwatering from overlapping pivots.

The technology also addresses field variability. For example, potato growers could avoid overwatering draws and low spots, cutting disease.

“So if you could adjust your watering in those different areas, overall you would probably save water. But also improve yield and reduce diseases,” says Tomasiewicz.

The system could be adjusted after a heavy rain to drop water application in low-lying areas. “Or you may have poor crop growth areas that don’t need as much water,” says Tomasiewicz.

There may be more benefits to variable rate irrigation with highvalue crops such as potatoes.

Farmers with high water costs might save money by switching to the new technology.

Before ponying up for a system, farmers should look at the variable on each field and do the math, Tomasiewicz says. “And see if the cost of the system, which is still fairly high, is going to be more than covered by the benefits in each field.”

Few farmers have adopted the technology at this stage. “And I think that’s probably good because all the i’s have not been dotted in terms of telling growers how to use them and developing those prescriptions… for how much water should go on each part of the field,” Tomasiewicz says.

In 2012 and 2013 he ran projects studying variable rate irrigation instruments and water prescriptions.

Before variable rate irrigation can be a game changer, “I would have to think that if I’m going to spend $40,000, it better be not just avoiding puddles in my field, but it has to start paying for itself,” says Harms.

“So if you could start using water as a driver to start bringing up some of those poorer spots, well then it starts making sense,” Harms adds.

Variable rate system costs aren’t the only hurdle irrigators need to jump. Farmers also need information to use the system to its full potential, Harms says. This

includes soil water status and how much water has been applied to different field areas.

Tomasiewicz compares variable rate irrigation to variable rate fertilization. But farmers must decide how much water to apply each time they irrigate. And ideally they’d use a custom prescription every time.

And while applying variable water rates seems obvious, developing prescriptions isn’t easy.

“You look out in the field, the low areas are wet. The high areas are dry.

Well, put more water on the higher areas,” says Tomasiewicz.

“But after you do that a couple times, that’s not the situation anymore. So you need information. And the best information,

of course, is real time soil moisture information. But to get that very frequently at many locations within a field is challenging.”

In 2012, Harms tested equipment that required him to manually download information from each sensor. “And then it quickly became apparent that, well this was nuts.

And it really was in a form that I couldn’t use.” Harms says it took three days to gather and process the data.

Last summer Harms used six CWS655 soil-water probes and six tipping bucket rain gauges that sent information to a data logger at the pivot point. The data logger then forwarded data to the Brooks office.

“Every day I was getting what the status in that field was,” Harms says.

The consultant could then use the data to prescribe water applications.

The catch? The extra software and hardware cost $12,000 in addition to the basic variable rate irrigation system. Farmers would also need a computer guru to make the system work, says Harms.

Along with the in-field sensors, farmers will need to shell out for maintenance, upgrades, field-mapping, and consultant costs. The more management zones under one pivot, the higher the costs.

Harms says he can’t see the technology going very far until the dealers spend as much time on the management aspect as they have on the equipment development aspects.

“I can sit here on my smart phone and see what my pivots are doing at any time of the day… Now you have to start incorporating that management aspect of the VRI systems into that,” says Harms.

Though the technology hasn’t been widely adopted yet, Tomasiewicz says there is keen interest in the irrigation industry.

“I think it’s something that people see as something that’s going to happen with time. It’s just a matter of how quick.” † Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews.

Contact her at Lisa.Guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Features SEED AND SEEDING

The certified seed hype There’s a lot of hype around farmers using certified seed. Some agronomists believe it’s well worth the extra cost

BY ANDREA HILDERMAN

C

ertified seed use is all but 100 per cent in canola, the second biggest crop in Western Canada (after wheat).

Yet certified seed use in wheat in Western Canada hovers around 20 per cent. In durum, it’s even lower at around 16 per cent, according to the Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA). Why the big discrepancy between wheat and canola?

“The primary reason for the low rate of use of certified seed is likely due to the fact farmers have the right to save and use

their own production for seed on their own land,” says Rod Merryweather, the new chief executive officer at FP Genetics.

“Many farmers buy certified seed of a variety once and then use farm saved seed over the next few years.”

The situation is very different in canola or corn. Because both are hybrids it means that yield the following year is much lower. “Farmers also have to sign technology use agreements when they purchase canola or soybean seed,” explains Merryweather. “This explicitly prevents farmers from keeping seed for further use.”

USING CERTIFIED SEED Dan Owen is the agronomy manager at Hudye Soil Services who operate in Norquay, Kamsack and Sturgis, Saskatchewan. Owen is a relatively recent immigrant from the U.K. where certified seed use in cereals is much higher than here on the Prairies, estimated at just under 60 per cent, according to data from CSTA. “I have no vested interest in certified seed in terms of selling it,” says Owen. “But I advise all my customers to use certified seed or at a minimum, only use farm saved seed for one year past certified.”

Owen and others believe that while seed germination may not be negatively impacted year-overyear in farm saved seed, vigour certainly will be. “Getting the crop to pop out of the ground fast, vigorously and evenly is the best strategy toward maximizing yield potential,” says Owen. Both Owen and Merryweather also point to farm saved seed losing the attributes of the variety, as it becomes contaminated with other varieties. “Seed growers fields are inspected annually for offtypes, volunteers and so on,” says Merryweather. “The variety has to be true to type each and every inspection.” Owen concurs saying

farmers really can’t be sure what they are seeding if they are using farm saved seed.

Certified seed brings with it certain standards for cleanliness, germination and overall purity.

“2014 presents a great opportunity for farmers to invest in certified seed,” says Merryweather.

“Seed growers, like other farmers, had a tremendous crop that is high quality.”

Merryweather also notes that the incremental investment in certified seed over farm saved seed is worth it for the extra yield potential and disease resistance. “New varieties are yielding 10 to 20 per cent more than the checks,” says Merryweather. “These are tried and tested for a number of years now and as well as increases in yield, our wheat breeders have advanced the needle on disease resistance.”

Large farmers tend to either use certified seed or have a plan in place to multiply up seed for their farm in a very deliberate way. “The issue with growing farm saved seed year-over-year is it will eventually become less and less true to variety,” says Owen. “Properties that were deliberately chosen by the farmer for his particular situation may deplete in farm saved seed over time.”

COSTS OF FARM SAVED SEED Farm saved seed is certainly not free. It still needs to be cleaned, tested and treated, as well as the farmer foregoing the commercial sale, not to mention the logistical challenges of getting all this done.

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“For the additional $5 or $6 per acre cost of using certified seed, the extra yield and better disease resistance giving higher quality grain alone will make up this cost,” says Merryweather. “It really is a false economy to start the crop with anything less than the best possible seed. All the seed treatments, micro-nutrients and other expensive inputs cannot make up that difference. In my opinion, certified seed is an investment that will lead to the best returns for farmers.” † Andrea Hilderman has her master’s degree in weed science and is a member of the Manitoba Institute of Agrologists. She writes from Winnipeg, Man.

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MARCH 11, 2014

grainews.ca /

9

Features CROP NUTRITION

Using synchrotron technology to manage nitrogen The newest technology tools at national research centres aren’t just for curing cancer or sending astronauts to Mars

P

roviding more relevant soil testing that would give farmers more detailed information about fertility management options is one of the goals of some high-tech research underway at the Canadian Light Source (CLS), one of the research facilities at Canada’s National Synchrotron Research Facility at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Sask.

“We’re working towards producing more robust and more relevant soil testing,” says Dr. Adam Gillespie, a post-doctorate scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Ottawa, who is involved in the research. “We’re aiming towards giving farmers the tools that they can use to assess how a particular piece of land is going to respond to nitrogen fertilizers and different kinds of nitrogen fertilizers with different crops and help them take a long view on their land, so they could plan for say 10 years of rotations.”

MANAGING NITROGEN The study is one of the first to use a synchrotron to look at how management effects the nitrogen and carbon in the soil. The first step, says Gillespie is to assess if adding nitrogen to an agricultural soil changes the chemical makeup or the structure of the organic matter that was in the soil to begin with.

“If you look at soil you can tell some of it was once rocks and the rest of it was once plants.

They degrade and it becomes what we call organic matter. But we still have a lot of trouble describing what organic matter really is because it’s very complicated material and from place to place it can be really different. We wanted to know whether fertilizer additions are going to affect the decomposition of organic matter and whatever the leftover material is after decomposition has taken place.”

To do that Gillespie and his colleagues from AAFC, the University of Saskatchewan, St. Francois Xavier University, Lakehead University and CLS used synchrotron technology that generates bright light and can be used to characterize the chemical or physical materials.

“If you shine light through a prism it makes a rainbow, that’s what we can do with a synchrotron light and then we can separate out the rainbow and pick a single colour,” says Gillespie.

“What the single colour lets us do is study very specific parts of a sample’s chemistry. So for example, I’m interested in nitrogen, so I know that nitrogen absorbs an

THE SEED PLACEMENT

BY ANGELA LOVELL

YOU TRUST

Researcher Adam Gillespie hopes to begin testing western Canadian soils as part of the next phase of the study.

X-ray at a specific colour. If I filter everything else out and just use that one colour then I can actually study only the nitrogen chemistry but in a regular soil sample. I don’t have to do anything to it except dry it. With any environmental sample you’re really trying to get it as close to field conditions otherwise it loses its relevance, so this allows an effective analysis of the soil sample.”

The synchrotron allows researchers to distinguish the plant residues and microbial by-products in the soil organic matter. Although results are very preliminary, Gillespie found that when nitrogen was added, the amount of plant residues present in the organic matter were lower than if no nitrogen was added. “They are more decomposed,” says Gillespie.”It makes sense because microbes are just like people, they need nitrogen to make protein and so when you add a little bit more supplemental nitrogen then you’re giving them that boost to go ahead and carry out their business.”

Not only was there a change in decomposition when nitrogen was added but with more nitrogen added there was also more nitrogen accumulation in the organic matter. “So even though you add some nitrogen the microbes use it and transform it into material that eventually becomes bound up in the organics, which was interesting,” says Gillespie. “It will be available but it’s more of a longer term pool now. It takes the microbial community some time to release that from the organic matter. It could represent a situation where you’re stock-piling a bit of nitrogen for later.”

Different types of nitrogen application from manure, pulse crops and synthetic fertilizer were also assessed. Manure had the highest level of decomposition; the pulses and fertilizer decomposed

the material at roughly the same rate. Gillespie didn’t study why this was the case but suggests it may have something to do with how different nitrogen types affect the composition of the microbial community or how the nitrogen moves once it gets put on the field.

If it gets moved off field through leaching, rain or off-gassing some nitrogen may be lost.

FUTURE RESEARCH Gillespie emphasizes that the research done to date at AAFC’s research farm in Ottawa has only been done using local soils and on a corn/soybean rotation. He is hoping to begin testing western Canadian soils as part of the next phase of the study. “I suspect that the overall theme will remain the same and there will be details that will be different, but I think that we’ll certainly see that adding nitrogen will probably mean more thorough decomposition and a bit of stockpiling for later,” says Gillespie.

The synchrotron is a very large and ex pensive machine that cost $173 million to build and is housed in a building the size of a junior hockey team’s arena that contains many different experimental facilities researching across many disciplines from medicine to computing and now also agriculture.

“I’m glad that people are getting an idea that these advanced analytical facilities can be used for something like agriculture because I think we often think of them as only curing cancer or sending something to Mars,” says Gillespie. “We tend to forget that agricultural research is done in really high tech labs as well.” † Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www.angelalovell.ca.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Features Farm management

Playing “farm Vegas” with crop inputs With no officials in charge of inspection, farmers must take responsibility for their own product testing

By Lisa Guenther

F

armers are going to have to validate new products themselves, as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency doesn’t require efficacy testing anymore, according to an agronomist.

And although ponying up for such products can seem like a gamble, Norm Flore told FarmTech delegates there are ways to even the odds.

“Do your own testing where you can. Just don’t check the depth of the water with both feet,” Flore said during his presentation, titled Are You Playing Farm Vegas with Inputs. Flore is the agronomic services manager at Crop Production Services Canada.

Flore has a simple rule when it comes to on-farm research.

“If you’ve got 10 per cent confidence in a product making you some money, you better only do 10 per cent of your acres. Or 10 per cent of one field. If you’ve got 50 per cent confidence, do half a field.”

While there are no certainties when it comes to inputs, some are less risky than others.

“It’s a little bit like playing…

Texas Hold ’Em. If you’re dealt two kings, you’re pretty confident that you’re going to get some money

out of this round. That’s kind of like putting on nitrogen.”

Some newer products don’t have a lot of research to support them yet, in Flore’s opinion, but that doesn’t mean they should be dismissed. “We need to have some of these future-thinking things going on. And I think we do need some growers to be testing these products.”

But farmers should be cautious with new groups of products, and make sure they’ve got a good hand before doubling down.

Phosphate inoculants Sometimes research can deliver surprising results.

Flore and Dr. Rigas Karamanos researched wheat response to phosphate at 52 sites. They found a 65 per cent probability of phosphate application bumping wheat yield by two bushels or more.

Flore also used a phosphate inoculant at the same sites. “For this product to get the same two bushel response, it is only a likelihood of 10 per cent,” said Flore.

The inoculant did work at times, but Flore couldn’t pin down what triggered it. “I would have thought wherever we got a really good phosphate response– and this is a phosphate inocu-

lant–the phosphate inoculant should work. Unfortunately we couldn’t figure out where to direct the efforts and recommend this product.”

Nitrogen efficiency enhancers Used randomly, nitrogen efficiency enhancers are only likely to be profitable about 10 per cent of the time, Flore said. “This is like promoting snow tires to everybody in the world. You’d only hit the mark 10 per cent of the time. But if you know the climate in Canada, you’re going to be right 80 to 90 per cent of the time.”

Before using these products, farmers should ask themselves if they’re losing nitrogen between fertilizer applications and early bolting or late tillering/elongation stage.

“The reason I pick this timeframe is because by this point and time the crop has probably already had 75 per cent of the nitrogen consumed,” Flore said.

Nitrogen efficiency enhancers are worth looking at when broadcasting or banding early in the fall. These products could also fit for farmers wanting to B:10.25” place more nitrogen in the seed row or who T:10.25” are growing corn

under irrigation or in areas with lots of rain.

Farmers thinking about using nitrogen efficiency enhancers should ask the salesperson where the product fits in the nitrogen cycle. “And if they come back to you with a dumb look on their face or go ‘What’s the nitrogen cycle,’ maybe be a little cautious,” Flore said.

Micronutrient seed dressings Farmers eager to try micronutrient seed dressings would have no problem finding an agronomist to help with onfarm research. “We love working with growers who want to try things,” said Flore.

Products in this category contain varying amounts of micronutrients, but Flore said they always contain quite a bit of zinc. Zinc plays a key role in germination, and Flore said that is probably why the nutrient is featured in so many seed dressings.

There isn’t a lot of unbiased research on micronutrient seed dressings. Flore said the best data so far comes from the Indian Head Agricultural Research Foundation (IHARF), which tested two micronutrient seed dressings in 2010 and

2011. Flore said IHARF’s researcher hasn’t demonstrated a response to micronutrient seed dressings.

“The research raises a little bit of caution for me,” he said.

Flore has also tried out micronutrient seed dressings in sideby-side trials, and he hasn’t seen a visual response. Until there is unbiased, replicated research, Flore is cautious about betting on micronutrient seed dressings.

“I’m not closing the door. I’d love to work with growers who want to play with these products a little bit and try them. I think that’s great.

But not at the expense of good old macronutrients, good old fungicides, fungicidal seed treatments, good genetics. Make sure that’s taken care of before we venture into something along this line.”

Micronutrient fertilizers Micronutrient fertilizers, applied to the soil, are worth a wager if a deficiency is diagnosed first, Flore said.

Usually awareness of a micronutrient shortage starts with a plant visual symptom, which should be complemented by soil and tissue testing, Flore said. Soil types and cropping history can also provide clues.

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11

Features But Flore cautioned against relying on one indicator to diagnose micronutrient deficiencies.

“We know that if you have a copper deficiency, you can get ergot. There’s no question. But not all cases of ergot out there are because of copper deficiencies.

They’re there because of the environment.”

FOLIAR FERTILIZERS A typical foliar fertilizer can contain micro or macronutrients.

Applied at five pounds per acre, it might provide one pound of nitrogen and phosphate per acre, of which only about 10 per cent will be absorbed through the leaves, Flore said. Leaves are designed for photosynthesis, not nutrient uptake, he explained.

“I hope I don’t see any of you at lunch time just holding onto your potatoes hoping to get some nutritional value out of that. Because that’s kind of what it’s like with foliar applications,” said Flore.

Given that canola consumes 7.5 pounds of nitrogen a day at the season’s peak, Flore questioned the value of macronutrient foliar fertilizers. Farmers would burn the crop if they applied enough foliar macronutrients to benefit the crop, Flore said. And foliars can also gas off if applied in dry weather.

But foliar micronutrients are a whole different card game.

“It’s very efficient. I’ve seen a foliar copper application do a 20

bushel response in wheat. But the deficiency has to exist,” said Flore.

Flore recommended farmers who suspect a deficiency apply a foliar micro to half a field and watch for a response.

NO MAGIC TO EFFICIENT PHOSPHATES There are several phosphate fertilizers that are touted as efficient.

They might be formulated as liquids or orthophosphates, but the basic claim is that farmers can get away with lower application rates.

Flore said the products do work at a reduced rate, but it has little to do with the actual product. “It’s an artifact of your past management practices.”

Farmers who have been applying full phosphate rates for years can gamble on lower application rates, no matter which product they use. “A partial rate of phosphate is a partial rate of phosphate,” said Flore.

Rather than looking at phosphate efficiency, Flore recommended picking a product based on the farm’s operation and budget.

But just as gamblers can’t beat the house edge in the long run, farmers can’t short soil on phosphate for more than two or three years, in Flore’s opinion. And using products labelled as phosphate efficient won’t change that.

“There is no magic here for these phosphate products.”

Farmers should look at the crops planned for their rotation

in the next few years, estimate how much phosphate those crops will remove, and simply put it back. Flore suggested always putting 15 pounds in the seedrow. “That does 95 per cent of the work for phosphate. The rest you’re putting on is just maintaining the soil.”

The remainder needs to be added at some point in the rotation, whether it’s banded in one big shot or broadcasted, said Flore. Farmers can also boost phosphate rates with crops such as wheat.

HOMOGENOUS PRODUCTS Homogenous fertilizers are similar to regular fertilizer, but each pellet contains a uniform percentage of nutrients. Flore didn’t see much benefit with homogenous macronutrients over blended fertilizers, but he does see potential with micronutrients.

For example, Flore thought there would be a benefit in a homogenous fertilizer with one per cent zinc. “But it goes back to — show me a zinc-deficient soil.”

When it comes to which inputs to ante up on, Flore suggested farmers start with the basics, such as seeding rates, genetics and nitrogen. And management practices such as early seeding and early weed removal help, too.

“I know it’s not fancy, it’s not sexy, it’s not new. But it works,” said Flore. †

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Lisa Guenther is a field editor for Grainews.

Contact her at Lisa.Guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

CROP RESEARCH

The bean genome Researchers have puzzled out the genomes of crops such as soybeans. Now they’re turning their attention to the common bean

BY LISA GUENTHER

A

lthough beans are a specialty crop in Canada, they are a vital part of the global diet, Dr. Frédéric Marsolais says.

Beans are high in protein, fibre and complex carbohydrates. They’re also a source of antioxidants and several nutrients.

“It became apparent that having access to a genome sequence for this crop would be very important, very useful,” he says. Marsolais is a researcher with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, specializing in protein chemistry.

Marsolais is collaborating with Canadian colleagues at Agriculture and Agri-food Canada and universities in Guelph, Windsor and London to plot out the common bean genome. The researchers are now in Year 3 of the four-year project. They’ve scanned individual bits of the genome, called sequences, and are now stringing them into chromosomes.

The common bean has a relatively simple genome with 11 chromosomes, Marsolais says. “It is a species that is relatively close to soybeans.”

The soybean evolved with a duplicated genome, and so it contains double the genetic information of the common bean. But the common bean is a good model to study soybeans in some ways, Marsolais says. And sequencing the genome will have other benefits.

“Through this genome project, one of the benefits of having the sequence of the bean genome will be the ability to locate the loci and to develop molecular markers and sort of tag the important genes that determine our beneficial traits. And be able to move them more rapidly into improved varieties,” says Marsolais.

Tagging those locations will make it easier for plant breeders to develop new varieties. For example, relying on visual inspection is a complex, costly way to breed resistance into plants. Relying on molecular markers would simplify the breeding

work, though researchers would still validate the disease resistance, Marsolais says.

“It will not only enhance the speed of breeding, but the precision.”

One trait scientists are looking for is common bacterial blight resistance. Common bacterial blight is a deadly disease for dry beans — Agriculture Canada pegs yield losses at up to 40 per cent. Though researchers haven’t finished assembling the bean genome, they have found two locations on the genome responsible for blight resistance.

Marsolais and his colleagues have also started mapping genes related to flavonoids. The flavonoids have antioxidant benefits, such as working against cancer.

Flavonoids also influence seed quality and colour.

“This is relatively complex. There are several dozen genes involved,” says Marsolais.

Scientists are also studying how bean genotypes affect storage proteins in dried beans, Marsolais added.

“What is the impact on nutrition and functional properties of the bean protein for end use in food? This is another very important aspect of beans and of our project.”

Ontario industry and federal and provincial government agencies have funded and supported the Canadian team. And although the research has been focused in Ontario, it will be used in federal breeding programs in Manitoba and Alberta as well.

Canadian scientists aren’t the only ones puzzling out the bean genome. Marsolais says there is international momentum building around bean genomics.

“There have been parallel efforts in the United States and in Central America, South America and Spain. Each group is focusing on different characteristics of beans and different genotypes of beans.

There is quite a bit of genetic diversity in beans.”

“So there should be world-wide benefits to bean genomics research beyond Canada.” † Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa.Guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Features FARM MANAGEMENT

Crop production costs Grain prices are down from last year, but growers may be able to benefit from lower input costs

BY JULIENNE ISAACS

G

rain prices are not what they were last year.

According to Derek Brewin, associate professor of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at the University of Manitoba, Canada boasted a record-high canola crop this year, and crops were good across North America, which has depressed prices to some degree.

“Prior to 2007, the best wheat price we ever had was $7 per bushel and $3.50 was common,” says Brewin. As of the beginning of February, farmers were getting $4.50 per bushel of red spring

wheat on the open market at a Winnipeg elevator, and $8.50 per bushel of canola.

In Saskatchewan, in-store grain prices recorded early in February were lower than the same time last year at $117.09 per tonne for CW feed wheat, compared to $264.11 a year ago.

For canola, where a year ago in-store prices were recorded at $625.65, early in February they were listed at $373.89.

But for a true sense of prices you have to take a long-term, historical view, says Brewin.

Despite recent price drops, in a historical sense wheat prices are still good, and canola prices are relatively good.

INPUT COSTS When grain prices are low, growers tend to see lower input costs, or have the choice either to use cheaper inputs than usual. Fertilizer use, in general, tends to correspond closely to prices, according to Brewin.

“One thing to remember is that some chemical prices, and fertilizer prices especially, tend to go up when the grain prices are good,” he says, “and they might not come down as much when grain prices are down.

They haven’t done that recently.

If planting costs were to stay high while grain prices came down, that would be hard on the farmer.”

Brewin has plenty of experience

talking through these issues. Every year he works through costs of production issues in his agricultural economics classes, and helps students establish farm plans that take price fluctuations into account.

According to Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development’s (MAFRD) Guidelines for Estimating Crop Production Costs for 2014, average costs (including operating costs, fixed costs and labour) for wheat, this year, are estimated at $306.38 per acre, where costs for growing Invigor canola are estimated at $360.70 per acre.

Normal gross revenue per acre is estimated at $264.80 for wheat and $351.45 for Invigor.

While fuel costs are always high and must be taken into account, the two biggest cost increases for farmers in recent years, according to Brewin, are in fertilizer and land.

With regard to land, costs have increased to such an extent that buying land is prohibitive for young farmers just starting out.

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Brewin believes farmers take a certain amount of risk in calculating how much fertilizer to use based on prices. When grain prices are better, he argues, using more fertilizer is a calculated risk that makes sense.

“There can be rational reasons to put more fertilizer on,” he says.

“It’s not over-applying, but is a risky thing to add if you don’t get the growing conditions to make use of it.”

“You’re willing to take the risk when the prices are so good that any yield gain will pay off.” †

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But the bigger problem, for most farmers, is fertilizer. Recently, fertilizer costs have increased dramatically from previous price levels — much more so, comparatively, than they have for weed control products, explains Brewin.

Manitoba’s guidelines for crop production costs estimate that nitrogen will cost $37.79 per acre of wheat, and $47.23 per acre of canola, in 2014. By contrast, weed control costs are estimated at $23.32 per acre of wheat and $11.17 per acre of Invigor.

According to Brewin, once high-tech chemicals go off-patent, prices of weed control products tend to drop to match. This was the case with glyphosate, which you can now buy for an exponentially lower price. “I don’t think chemical costs form the bulk of the problem — I think it’s fertilizer prices,” says Brewin. “Some of the best weed control is actually fairly cheap now.

“Farmers were pouring on the fertilizer when prices were good. When prices go down they hold back.”

In Alberta, fertilizer prices have dropped along with grain prices. According to the Statistics and Data Development Branch of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, bulk urea prices this year, as of January 31, were much lower than they’ve been in two years. Early in 2012, urea cost just over $625 per tonne.

Last January prices hovered just under that number. This January, bulk urea prices have dropped under $575 per tonne in Alberta.

“When prices go down they hold back.”

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MARCH 11, 2014

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Features Crop nutrition

Worth considering organic matter Different crop residues will convert to usable nitrogen at different rates.

Learn about C:N ratios

By Rebeca Kuropatwa

W

hen it comes to getting nitrogen out of your organic matter, some organic matter is more valuable than others.

The rate at which nitrogen is released and available for crop use is determined by the carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N). “Some residues, like wheat, barley, or any cereal-type of residue tend to have very high C:N ratios, so their breakdown is much slower,” said Len Kryzanowski, research scientist with Alberta Agriculture. “The amount of nitrogen a crop would get from the residue within a particular year may be quite small.

“Other residues, like cover crops or legumes, have a much lower C:N ratio, resulting in a greater amount of nitrogen and a speedier breakdown.” For example, he says, “If you’re dealing with pea stubble, pea straw, residue, and such, you could save quite a bit of nitrogen. Depending on what yield you have, you could potentially save up to 30 or 40 pounds of nitrogen for that crop.”

The ratios

Pea residue has a C:N ratio of 30:1, which is much lower and, as a result, will decompose faster; the nitrogen should be released for crop use sooner.

Kryzanowski says about 10 to 15 per cent of the nutrients will be released from cereal straw by the next crop year, and about 35 per cent from pea residues.

“Crop residue has other benefits connected to this cycle, and it’s important for maintaining and enhancing soil quality,” said Kryzanowski. “The addition of crop residues to soil adds organic matter that will improve soil structure, water infiltration, and crop root

development. However, too much residue can impede seeding and fertilizer application by plugging and hair-pinning field equipment.”

To best estimate how much residue you have and calculate what it will supply for your crop, you could have your specific residue tested, or rely on the generic values.

Too much residue Sometimes too much residue can tie up added fertilizer, reducing yield potential for the next crop. This can happen when micro-organisms use the

additional nitrogen fertilizer to process straw.

“It’s very tricky to try and estimate how much fertilizer you need to apply in regards to a high residue-type situation,” said Kryzanowski.

“A lot of times, it may not be worth trying to take the residue nitrogen into account just because of the complex nature of what’s happening biologically in the soil.

Kryzanowski recommended exercising caution when beginning to change up your fertilizer plans based on crop residue. † Rebeca Kuropatwa is a professional writer in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

C:N RATIO ESTIMATES

Crop Residue

C:N ratio

Wheat straw

80:1

Oat straw

70:1

Pea straw

29:1

Mature alfalfa hay

25:1

Legume hay

17:1

Young alfalfa hay

13:1

Source: This data comes from the USDA Natural Resources Conversation Service, 2011.

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Cereal straw’s C:N ratio is 80:1, a relatively high ratio.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Features Crop nutrition

Synergy and the four Rs To get the most from your fertilizer plan, consider the relationships between variables

By Kari Belanger

I

t’s important to evaluate all four Rs of fertility collectively when considering the nutrient requirements of your crop. Changing any one R — right time, right place, right rate and right source — can profoundly alter the management of the others, says Dan Orchard, an agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada.

“Adhering to the four Rs as closely as possible will help with the efficiency, environmental issues and, ultimately, the economics of your farm,” says Orchard. “Once you compromise one, it can sometimes change the importance of the others. They’re all synergistic with each other.” The dynamics of all four Rs should be considered when making decisions about fertility, he notes.

Not understanding the long-term effects of compromising one or more Rs can put a producer’s crop — and profits — at risk.

For example, the right source may be ammonium sulphate but elemental sulphur is the only product available. “The farmer has already sacrificed the right source if he needs ammonium sulphate and can’t get it. He must now pay more attention to the right place and right time because elemental sulphur should be broadcast in the fall and not incorporated. He’ll also have to increase his rate if he’s not already on the elemental program in order to get the amount of sulphur the crop needs,” says Orchard.

“All of a sudden sacrificing one R really upsets the whole applecart.

Sometimes you need to go back to the drawing board when you have to sacrifice one of the Rs,” he says. Such is the case for phosphate, which can be tricky to put in the right place — growers may have to adjust rates to compensate if placement is compromised. “If there’s no way for your equipment to seedplace that 20 pounds of phosphate that’s recommended, you’ll have to up your rates because the right place isn’t there anymore and the rate has to increase,” says Orchard.

He also warns producers to watch their rates of seed-placed phosphate as higher rates could put seed safety at risk. “We hear many agronomists and growers say they don’t necessarily agree with the messaging of only 20 pounds of actual phosphate with the seed. They’ve been getting away with two to three times that rate and not seeing a problem. I understand that can happen when moisture conditions are really good, and with certain openers and equipment, but I challenge them to make sure they’re not burning the seed,” says Orchard. Generally, plants burned by fertilizer do not emerge and other factors, such as seeding too deep, frost or pests, are blamed.

Four Rs in action Orchard recalls an instance when he was asked to provide advice on

plot work being done on 2,000 acres of canola. Twice the number of canola plants had emerged in an area accidently seeded without seed-placed fertilizer when compared with the rest of the field.

“They were burning about 50 per cent of the seed,” says Orchard.

“The plants that did make it out of the ground had ample fertilizer and the farmers were still getting average to above average yields…

They then realized they wanted to get the best of both worlds. They wanted to not burn the seed and to get all of that fertilizer there somehow. It’s sometimes surprising how many plants should be there when everything is managed properly.”

A popular trend across the Prairies is to apply most of a fertilizer blend in the band and the remainder with the seed.

Phosphate will be beneficial for the seed if levels are low in the soil. However, there is little to gain from potash being placed with canola seed, which is not the case with other crops, such as cereals, says Orchard. “It is much less likely in Prairie soils for canola to respond to seed-placed potash when compared with cereals. (Canola) can mine it better, is not as demanding early on and potash doesn’t have the disease suppression benefits like it does with cereals. It depends on the crop. The four Rs all intertwine and they vary with every situation in every crop. In this situation, the right place isn’t with the seed for canola,” says Orchard.

Be cautious the rate being applied with the seed is not too high. Placement may be too close to the seed, says Orchard. “We need some separation at those higher rates,” he says.

One nutrient your crop may require at higher rates is nitrogen.

“If you’re in an area that doesn’t receive as much rainfall as the next, it may be too risky for you to put on these high rates and you’ll choose not to for financial reasons,” says Orchard.

B:13.167” photo: courtesy of dan orchard

Changing any one of the four Rs of fertility can profoundly alter the management of the others, says Dan Orchard.

T:13.167” S:13.167”

BayerCropScience.ca/Varro or 1 888-283-6847 or contact your Bayer CropScience representative.

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Next best options Weather and equipment may limit a producer’s ability to adhere to the four Rs. “If you’re out there combining and you’re planning on banding fertilizer in the fall and it snows, you’ve got to sacrifice your timing,” says Orchard. “It’s not like we can always follow the four Rs optimally every single time because there will be limitations, but you have to realize the trade-offs you’re making.”

When compromises must be made, the next best option may be the only alternative. “You might not have the ability to put it in the right place. Your default should be the next best place,” says Orchard. When the next best place is for the fertilizer to be broadcast, the producer can then evaluate the rate, source and

timing. “You need to either compensate with some of the other Rs or understand the drawbacks of breaking that R.” From the various forms of sulphur to coated, slow-release fertilizers, understanding the available products, how they work, their intended uses and their final application purposes is crucial, says Orchard. “There are a lot of products being put on because a producer is going over the field anyway and it’s only four or five bucks; might as well put it on. But it doesn’t matter when you put it on or what product you use or how much you use or where you put it if the crop doesn’t need it.”

Consideration of the dynamics between the four Rs could make increasing the efficiency and economics of your farm.

FS:6.3335” F:6.5835”

New free online tool to estimate nutrient removal BCS.10182718.Varro.10

T

2-13-2014 2:10 Nutrition PM he International Plant Institute has released a CALMCL-DMX7993 new tool to estimate crop nutrient removal. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Blac Marsha Walters The tool estimates crop nutrient removal of nitrogen, SPEC ORIGINALLY GENERATED: Oli phosphorus100% (expressed as PNone 2O5), potassium (expressed as SAFETY: None TRIM: 13.167” x 8 K2O) and sulphur for a broad13.167” list xof8”field crops. Results are calculated Helveticain Neue (Bold; Trueor Type), Helvetica Neu based on user-selected yield goals and can be displayed metric U.S./Imperial units. Compatible with all computer and mobile devices, the tool is available free of charge at http://ipni.info/calculator. †

Kari Belanger

“Evaluate all four Rs together and how they interact with every situation. It will vary from field to field and day to day. It’s important not to close your eyes, pick a product and put it on whenever

it’s convenient for you. It’s more important to evaluate the synergies and benefits of all four Rs being the best you can make them.” † Kari Belanger is a freelance writer writing from Winnipeg, Man.

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167”

MARCH 11, 2014

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Features FARM PROFILE

Ochap Farms has best year yet Ochapowace First Nations’ Ochap Farms Ltd. is investing in people and building a farm in southeast Saskatchewan

BY LISA GUENTHER

S

helley Bear is the first to admit she didn’t know a lot about farming.

“I knew you put the crop in the field in the spring and you took it off in the fall,” Bear

and I know I’ve had my successes in business, so I figured I’d build on what I knew in business,” Bear said.

Ochapowace has a proven track record in business, Bear said. The First Nation has a sand and gravel company that generates rev-

and had seen what we wanted to do, they were more than happy to come and help us,” said Bear.

Ochapowace hired these farmers as custom contractors to help with everything from seeding to harvest to transportation.

It took about a year to get everything in place before the First Nation could begin farming, Bear said.

“Actual farming operations commenced in 2010 and from there it was smooth sailing,” Bear joked.

“Anyone that knows farming knows it’s never smooth sailing.”

manages 56,000 acres, including the original reserve lands, and land acquired from 1992 on.

Back in 1992 Ross Allary, a councillor handling the lands portfolio, envisioned buying as much prime farm land as possible.

167”

CHALLENGES AND CHANGES

“And that’s what he did. He went out with his land claims committee and just started buying land,” Bear said of Allary, who is the current chief. The land turned out to be a good investment. Parcels costing $200,000 at time of purchase have more than tripled in value.

The First Nation was able to use the land to secure a line of credit for inputs.

Ken Bear, an agrologist and University of Saskatchewan graduate, took on the farm manager job. He put together crop production plans, focusing on canola, oats, and barley.

The First Nation had also banked good will with neighbours, including farmers who’d leased land from Ochapowace.

“When they looked at our plan

B:8”

told delegates at the inaugural enue for the First Nation. Along F:6.5835” Indigenous Agriculture Summit, with Band Farms Ltd., the official held in conjunction with name of Ochapowace’s farm, the Canadian Western Agribition in First Nation also manages a comNovember. munity pasture on 19,000 acres BCS.10182718.

Bear is the director of economic of land. Ochapowace Pasture rro.104REV1.indd development at Ochapowace FirstGrainews holds an average of 2,500 liveInsertion Date: February 25, 2014 Nation. In 2009, then-Chief Denton stock, including patron animals Black Bayer CropScience George and other First Nation memand the First Nation’s own cattle PAGE:bers 1 set about establishing a 9,000 and 10182718 bison. .167” x 8” Bleed: Nonefarm. acre Ochapowace had other ica Neue LT Std (65“Instead Medium; OpenType) of renting out these resources on hand as well. lands to non-First Nations farmers, “We have a lot of people. We have the plan was to develop our own access to a lot of prime land and we Production Contact Numbers: 403ourselves.

261 7161 403a261 7152 people and start farming have recognized government that With this vision, Ochap Farms Ltd. our people respect,” said Bear. was established,” said Bear.

Ochapowace has just over 1,600 members, of which about 500 live on reserve. Nearly half are 29 years RESOURCES old or younger.

“One thing that I did take The First Nation sits in the southwas some knowledge in business. east corner of Saskatchewan, near And I know I’ve had my failures Broadview. Ochapowace Lands

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Ochapowace faced flooding their first farming year. Lack of machinery and farming expertise cost them, too.

“We were spending over $600,000 a year on custom contracting,” said Bear. Trucking grain to the elevator ate at the bottom line, too.

Band Farms also took a look at its “land demographics,” Bear said. “When the original plan was put in place, there was land 50 miles this way, a half a section over here.

“So we’re paying for all those costs of those custom workers driving in between all these little parcels of land.”

Band Farms leases land from

Harvest was better than expected Ochapowace Lands. They are separate entities, and the farm pays the going rate now, Bear said. But Ochapowace Lands did work with the farm to centralize its land base, allowing workers to drop drive times.

Farm decisions were initially guided by a board of directors, but that responsibility shifted to the chief and council.

“They had the authority to make the decisions immediately that needed to be made… And at the end of the day the chief and council are the ones that have to be accountable to the people,” said Bear.

INVESTING IN PEOPLE Bear said believing in the First Nation’s own people was an important part of the renewed approach.

“We’ll train our people. We’ll get them more involved. And then… they will work at making our Band successful, our First Nations successful. And not only that, make themselves successful.”

In fall 2012, potential farm employees started learning about crop production and machinery operation at local community colleges. Once they completed their courses, Ochapowace members had jobs waiting for them with Band Farms.

Band members also accessed programs such as Inroads to Agriculture to get their Class 1A licenses so they could haul grain.

Bear said they also looked at cutting custom contracting costs.

“We made a conscious choice to utilize our (AgriInvest) dollars and we purchased equipment that would reduce the amount of resources that we’re spending on custom work.”

The First Nation’s first major equipment purchase was an air seeder. A custom contractor trained one of Band Farms’ workers on the air seeder, and the two of them seeded Ochapowace’s land.

“When he finished seeding the lands that he was supposed to seed from our farm, he was actually contracted by outside farmers to seed their lands as well,” Bear said.

Asked how Ochapowace motivated their employees, Bear said they paid their employees what they were worth, meaning they don’t underpay employees.

They also looked to members whose parents were farmers on Ochapowace as a labour source.

Bear said these workers were very committed and made good role models.

“They would actually sleep in their trucks overnight at seeding time because they were so determined to get the crop into the ground.”

Along with the agricultural training, Ochapowace required its employees to take a Dale Carnegie course on personal development, Bear added.

For the first time, Band Farms employed its own members in every farm operation, from seeding to hauling grain to the elevator.

Investing in employees also allowed the farm to cut custom contracting and trucking costs drastically.

Offsetting custom contracting costs allowed Band Farms to buy more farm equipment, including two tractors, grain carts and extractors. A sprayer and second air seeder are in the works, too.

The First Nation will also be able to help its members who are farming independently, Bear said.

BUMPER CROP In 2013, Ochapowace seeded canola, barley, and oats into just over 8,300 acres. Good growing conditions and experience made it Band Farms’ most successful year so far.

Expecting a bumper crop, Band Farms bought plenty of grain bags and put existing grain bins to good use. But harvest was better than expected, and Bear was still phoning around for more grain bags in November.

Bear has learned about farming in the last few years. She can identify field crops and during the growing season and harvest she gets up early to check the weather.

“So I really actually got very involved with the farm so next year I might be on the tractor. We’ll see.” † Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews.

Contact her at Lisa.Guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Features Crop production

New wheat research Ontario research looks at links between seeding date and rate, and the impact of fungicides on nitrogen needs By the Grain Farmers of Ontario

M

aximizing yield, quality and profit for Ontario wheat producers is the goal of research being conducted

by Peter Johnson, provincial cereal crop specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Ministry of Rural Affairs (OMAF and MRA).

Johnson continues to evaluate new production techniques and their economic impact to create the most profitable wheat production system.

Seeding rate and planting date Research by Johnson and his team has clearly shown that there is a relationship between the seeding rate required and the planting date. When planting is two weeks early, use 25 per cent to 35 per cent less seed. In fact, if you plant early and use a high seeding rate you will actually reduce yield from an increase in plant to plant competition, an increase in the potential for snow mould, and reduced standability.

For ultra-early planting, Johnson recommends one million seeds per

acre. However, if you are planting ultra-late (November), research has shown that two to 2.4 million seeds/acre are required to ensure high yields. Johnson is re-testing these rates to ensure this still applies to new wheat varieties that have become available.

Starter fertilizer Starter fertilizer is another key.

Surprisingly, potash does not make a difference if applied to winter wheat in the fall; however, it does benefit spring wheat.

Research has shown that sulphur or zinc applied in the fall does not

increase yield. Johnson explains that wheat has a very low demand for zinc and probably never needs to be applied. But sulphur does need to be applied in the spring.

Johnson says that he is increasingly seeing a response to sulphur in the spring. An interesting aspect of his research is that they have yet to come up with a predictive test to determine if sulphur is needed in a particular field. What has been established is that 10 pounds of sulphur applied in the sulphate form in the spring is enough to overcome any sulphur deficiencies. These are preliminary results from 2012 trials and Johnson and his team will look at the 2013 data to see if the results hold true under the different environmental conditions seen this year.

Nitrogen and fungicide Nitrogen rates and the interaction between nitrogen and fungicide is a key finding for Johnson.

Their studies have shown 90

pounds of nitrogen is the correct application rate if you are not using fungicide.

However, if you are managing your fields at a higher level with both nitrogen and fungicides, then your rate needs to be 120 pounds on soft red or soft white wheat, or even as much as 150 pounds. On Hard Red Winter wheat, 150 pounds of nitrogen (up to 180 pounds on some locations) is the most profitable.

Yield potential, residual nitrogen and wheat variety all impact optimum nitrogen rate. Johnson says the only way to tell what will work best on your farm is to try different rates yourself. During their trials, two-thirds of producers have made more money with 150 pounds of nitrogen, and one-third were stalled out at 120 pounds.

Johnson continues to investigate nitrogen sources on wheat.

He recently completed a fouryear project that showed no yield advantage to Environmentally Stable Nitrogen (ESN) over urea.

However, ESN included in a blend increased protein levels in Hard JOB ID: Red Winter 6173-1C wheat. This could DATE: have a significant positive economic impactOCT for22producers with HardCLIENT: Red Winter wheat that is just SYNGENTA CANADA level required below the protein for a quality premium.

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Johnson ing good happens to the wheat UCR: 240% kernel after it is physiologically CLIENT SERVICE mature (30 per cent moisture).

Harvesting at higher moisture PROOFREADING results in better quality and more profitART forDIRECTION the grower.

Johnson understands that this PRODUCTION practice may seem counter-intuitive to many farmers due to the cost associated with drying. However, every rain that occurs while you are waiting for the wheat to dry in the field drops the test weight one pound per bushel. Fusarium and toxin levels in the grain can increase (Fusarium growth continues over 19 per cent moisture), falling number drops, and yields can be reduced. These factors are all important from a quality perspective and can have a major impact on profitability.

Johnson’s work continues to develop a production system of optimum management to keep wheat a viable crop in Ontario and growers profitable. †

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17

Features CROP DEVELOPMENT

Six ways to reduce early season seed stress While not all factors can be controlled, there are ways to reduce early season stress on your crops

BY REBECA KUROPATWA

“

T

here are many ways to reduce early season stress on emergence, starting with planting date,” says Aaron Miller, an agronomist with DuPont Pioneer.

Here are six.

based on soil conditions and weather outlook by monitoring soil temperature at planting depth, delaying planting until soils reach 10 C.” If the near-term forecast predicts a warming trend, Miller said, “You could start planting when soil temperature is close to 5 C.”

if nighttime temperatures dip close to freezing.”

2. PLANTING CONDITIONS It is important to ensure soil is not too wet or too dry at seeding time.

“Planting when soils are too wet can lead to compaction and

1. PLANTING DATE “While planting early offers potential benefits, it also presents some challenges,” says Aaron Miller.

“A well prepared seedbed along with the right temperature (close to 10 C) and adequate moisture are most important when determining when to plant,” says Miller. However, if soil conditions are too cold or wet for planting, crops potentially face more emergence stresses.

A critical way to protect against stand and yield loss is to “choose a planting date

“Residue over seed furrow can reduce soil temperatures.”

— Aaron Miller

On the other hand, if the near-term forecast predicts a cold spell, Miller advises, “Stop planting for a few days to allow emergence to begin at moderate temperatures.

“With lighter soils planted early, be aware of potential for large temperature swings that can affect emergence, especially

poor emergence,” says Miller.

“Conversely, soils that are too dry can have spotty emergence, leading to poor emergence and an uneven plant stand.”

3. RESIDUE SPREADING When planting in a field with high amounts of residue,

Miller advises harrowing or tillage to spread straw. “This will improve trash clearance and seed-to-soil contact.”

Miller says managing residue will speed up soil warming and drying during the critical planting season. “Welldrained, low-residue fields typically warm up faster and allow for more rapid emergence and seedling growth.”

“Pioneer research has documented that residue over seed furrow can reduce soil temperatures, leading to delayed emergence and possible stand loss.”

Residue can translate into additional challenges for crop emergence and homogeny.

Some of these challenges, according to Miller, are “uneven germination and emergence, the promotion of seedling disease by harbouring disease pathogens favoured by excess water and colder soils, and uneven planting depth and poor seed-to soil contact, leading to uneven emergence and possible appearance of runt plants.”

4. SEED SELECTION When it comes to choosing hybrids, Miller advises selecting certified seed with high germination and stress-emergence scores. This will help reduce risks associated with planting in cold-stress conditions.

“Selecting a hybrid with the right trait package for high-residue environments too is key.”

Pioneer assigns stress emergence scores to help farmers choose products for early planting or fields with a history of cold stress challenges.

“Choosing hybrids with higher scores for these traits helps reduce genetic vulnerability to stress brought on by cold soils and high residue environments.

5. SEED TREATMENTS When it comes to planting early, Miller suggests considering seed treatment options.

“Early season insects are often a problem in early planting and high residue conditions — more so if seedlings are weakened by cold or overly wet soils.

“Insecticide seed treatments have proven very effective at protecting stands in stressful environments,” Miller says.

“They protect against seedling disease by reducing insect feeding and depriving pathogens of points of entry.”

6. ROTATION MANAGEMENT In the end, Miller says, “a good rotation remains one of the best ways to manage crop disease pressure.” † Rebeca Kuropatwa is a professional writer in Winnipeg, Man.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Features CROP PRODUCTION

Barley 180 project Agronomists and researchers working on the Barley 180 project are looking to boost barley yields to 180 bushels per acre

BY REBECA KUROPATWA

W

hen Steve Larocque learned that New Zealand farmers have pulled in barley yields of 180 to 200 bushels per acre, he decided to give it a try in Alberta.

Larocque runs Beyond Agronomy, an independent crop consulting business at Three Hills, Alta., and farms 1,000 acres just north of Drumheller, Alta. He grows wheat, barley, canola, peas and fava beans and has been operating his farm with a controlled traffic system since 2010.

At the start of his work on increasing Alberta barley yields, Larocque got together with Alan Hall, from the Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund (ACIDF).

Larocque and Hall discovered that in the late 1980s/early 1990s, some experiments with very small plots with intensive agronomy packages successfully yielded just over 180 barley bushels per acre, just south of Drumheller. In Vauxhall, 205 barley bushels per acre were harvested, from small fields seeded with varieties like Harrington (a two-row malt barley variety not known for its high yield).

“The challenge was to replicate this from a small plot where you have a homogenous soil type and a homogenous elevation to an 80 acre field with variations,” said Larocque.

BARLEY 180 With help and funding from the Alberta Barley Commission and the Alberta Research Extension Council Association, the Barley 180 Project started in 2011.

With two agronomists and five sites in the first year, the project reaped 156 bu./ac. on black soil and 141 bu./ac. on dark brown soil.

With these results, Larocque said, “We thought, wow here we go.”

As they fine-tuned the agronomics and figured out which inputs were providing the greatest benefit, they tried out some fungicide treatments inside of the high yield, leaving an area unsprayed.

“Doing that in 2012 was a big challenge, as it didn’t rain,” said Larocque. “Yet, we still did 100 to 120 bushels, which was still great considering we only got four, five, or maybe six inches of rain.”

In 2013, there was excessive rain, 12 inches in four weeks, but, they still achieved 100 bu./ac.

Through all the trial and error, Larocque and team sought a recipe with the biggest economical benefit — eventually narrowing it down to nitrogen and fungicides combined with plant growth regulators.

“Although many things are important, nitrogen, fungicides and plant growth regulators are the areas we focused on, to see how we could get the biggest benefits,” said Larocque.

“If we applied all the nitrogen up front — 180 to 200 pounds of nitrogen — it’s higher risk and a tremendous expense put into that crop. But if you’re willing to take

that risk, it’s not a bad idea. This is how we set the record, by banding all the nitrogen up front.

“But,” Larocque says, “if you apply that much nitrogen up front, you really have to come in with a growth regulator, because you’re going to push all sorts of vegetative growth and weaken the stems.” Without a growth regulator, barley plants that generate yields this high will just fall over.

GROWTH REGULATORS Growth regulators have been the most remarkable aspect of the project for Larocque.

“One of my frustrations with barley used to be, in certain areas where I could put 100 pounds of nitrogen but no more, it would just lay flat, fall over,” said Larocque.

“Growth regulators have really helped keep a 156 bushel barley crop standing, which is just phenomenal.”

Larocque and team have been trying the products Ethrel (from Bayer) and Cycocel (from BASF).

To date, Ethrel (with the active ingredient Ethephon) has shown the most benefits.

However, Larocque and team have found Ethrel’s application timing to be “finicky” as it has to go according to a particular growth stage. “It has to go at the late flag just before the spike emerges from the boot — no later, no sooner,” said Larocque.

“This makes it a difficult product to scale out onto big acreages.

But, it’s $5 to $6 per acre and can sometimes shorten a crop for six to 10 inches, depending on the variety.

Larocque says growth regulators are known to be risky. It they are applied at the wrong time, or the weather doesn’t co-operate, they can reduce yield by 20 or 30 per cent.”

From Larocque’s prospective, growth regulators are worth the risk, especially when applying such high rates of nitrogen combined with high plant densities.

The risk of the plants falling over and reducing yield is greater than that of dropping yield due to poor application timing.

As for fungicides, Larocque and team use them in a preventative manner to keep the plants healthy and alive longer. “By keeping plants green and intact longer, they are healthier and it delays senescence (the onset of those plants dying off),” said Larocque.

The plants continue producing photosynthesis and can use all the applied nitrogen.

Extra nitrogen, growth regulators and fungicides work well together. “Combining all three practices doesn’t equal three,” said Larocque. “It’s actually ‘one plus one plus one equals seven,’ because when you combine fungicide with a high nitrogen rate, you get a greater yield response than with individual nitrogen or fungicide. Then you put on the growth regulator to ensure the plants stay upright, so you can harvest and have a winner.”

TRY THIS AT HOME Here are three tips for trying this at home.

1. Larocque recommends starting out with a split nitrogen application mixed in with a couple of fungicide applications and an on-time growth regulator.

Since most farmers considering this probably already use fungicides, this will only add a couple of extra trips to the field — one to apply nitrogen and one to apply growth regulator.

2. Make sure to find and book your growth regulator ahead of time. Supplies may be limited.

3. Set up an agronomy program and keep it simple, beginning with the added applications of nitrogen and then a growth regulator, and then just go for it. Be sure to watch your timing and late flag hit it

PHOTO: STEVE LAROCQUE

Steve Larocque believes growth regulators, split-application nitrogen and fungicides are the three keys barley crops yielding 180 bushels per acre. with the growth regulator and see where you end up.

Larocque believes this system has great potential anywhere in the world, as long as producers keep in mind their particular potential. If you farm in a dry area, where 80 bushels per acre is a really good yield, you may want to fertilize to push for 100 bushels.

In this case, you may not need a growth regulator or you may only want to use it at a lower rate.

The aim is to find ways to increase yield regardless of location or conditions, so farmers can bring their barley yields up by 15 to 20 per cent. † Rebeca Kuropatwa is a freelance writer in Winnipeg, Man.

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19

Features CROP PRODUCTION

Mixing corn hybrids to increase yield There may be advantages to mixing corn hybrids, but it’s not recommended practice in Manitoba

BY REBECA KUROPATWA

T

here are advantages to mixing hybrids, such as lengthening the period of pollen availability to potentially decrease the risk of poor pollination from moisture stress during flowering and promoting cross pollination toward larger kernels and higher grain protein. However, it has not yet been determined whether or not planting them across neighbouring fields offers similar advantages.

As with any practice, there are challenges that need to be met through advances in precision agricultural technologies, but many believe that, one day, mixing hybrids within fields will could become common practice.

CROP STRESS According to Dr. Bao-Luo Ma, a crop physiologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research

Centre in Ottawa, within every growing season, crops are inevitably exposed to stress, both biotic (stress caused by living creatures like fungus or insects) and abiotic (stress caused by the environment, like cold, heat, crowding, weeds or water or nutrient deficiencies.)

Bao-Luo Ma’s research focuses mainly on corn crop responses to abiotic stress. Theoretically, Bao-Luo Ma sees mixing corn hybrids within a field increasing the diversity and adaptability to both types of stress. “Slightly early or delayed growth stages of one hybrid could help it avoid insect damage, pathogen infestation, effects of drought, flooding, nutrient deficiency, shading, etc. at critical stages of crop development, compared to other hybrids in a mixed-culture or monoculture field,” says Bao-Luo Ma. “This would result in overall greater grain yields of mixed culture fields than those of the monoculture fields.”

But mixing corn hybrids will

not always produce greater yields than would mixing monocultures. “Mixing corn hybrids could often result in the same or even lower yields than monocultures if the conditions weren’t right for mixing cultures or if the wrong hybrids were chosen,” said Bao-Luo Ma.

“Mixing varieties would get really tricky.”

— Morgan Cott

Bao-Luo Ma advised, first and foremost, knowing your field. Mixing hybrids could be more profitable where there are more differences within the field. “Mixed culture may be more promising in fields with expected large spatial variability, coarse-textured soil, and con-

tinuous rain-fed monoculture with a history of higher risk of diseases and insect damages.”

“As well, all hybrids should have high productivity potential with similar plant height, but should have different specific traits.” Some hybrids may be more tolerant to drought, nutrient, crowding or resistant to root or foliar diseases. In a mix, some hybrids may be more suitable for heavy textured soil, have stronger root/stalk strength, or fast dry-down rates — a variety of traits can make mixing hybrids more profitable.

PRECISION AGRICULTURE As new hybrids become available, it is important to conduct frequent tests to optimize agronomic measures. Testing small areas in many locations before implementing change over the whole farm is very important.

According to Dr. Jiali Shang, who conducts research in remote sensing at AAFC, since the 1950’s, several studies conducted in the U.S. and Canada to evaluate the potential increase in yields of hybrid mixing have shown little or no yield benefit — but, with advances in precision agricultural technologies, mixing hybrids within fields is receiving more attention. “Under the control of precision farming, we’re able to alter the variables of many factors influencing the crop yield and obtain different yield results,” said Shang.

With precision agriculture, it is important that varying hybrid plantings and seeding rates within a field are in accordance with varying soil conditions and properties. “Precision seeding technology, for example, allows for the planting of ‘defensive hybrids’ and ‘high yielding’ hybrids at varying seeding rates, according to the differences in yield potential across a field,” said Dr. Bao-Luo Ma. By measuring the yield results of mixing crop hybrids using precision farming technologies, farmers and researchers can know what affects the productivity of mixed crop hybrids and ultimately improve the mix.

“Growers should pay attention to kernel shape and maturity of the selected hybrids for mixing culture,” said Bao-Luo Ma. “Planter setting of seeding rates for round shape kernel is differBY DAN PIRARO

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ent from that of long grain shape hybrids at the same seeding rates.

“Keep in mind that if the difference in anthesis (flower blooming time) or physiological maturity between hybrids in the field is five days or more, kernel moisture content in the mixing could be exceeding the desirable range (below 20 per cent) for combine harvest. This could influence the quality of kernels (broken kernels) and cost of drying.”

More improvements of corn hybrids and the development of agri-technology will help improve productivity, reduce production costs and increase environmental sustainability.

MIXING IN MANITOBA Morgan Cott, field agronomist with the Manitoba Corn Growers Association at Carman, Man., is not aware of any farmers in Manitoba who mix hybrids — besides those planting both Bt and non-Bt varieties (which help combat European Corn Borer infestations).

“Mixing varieties would get really tricky, as many have different points of maturity,” said Cott.

“Even if you have two varieties with the same specification for corn heat units required, they may not ripen evenly.” This could be especially true for farmers using hybrids from different companies.

Cott advises farmers not to mix varieties that need different heat units, due to the risk of varying maturity.

“At planting, if you have different varieties of different CHUs or not, you may have different types of seed — round versus flat,” says Cott. “At pollination, different varieties may pollinate at different times. At harvest, you’ll find the biggest struggle. A producer following this practice will have to wait until the later variety matures. If he begins harvest when the early variety finishes, the later variety will be too wet and he’ll run into higher drying times and costs.

Assuming the two varieties are the same maturity, there will still likely be different moistures at the same time of harvest. It all depends on the hybrids chosen and how fast/slow they each dry down.”

According to Cott, much work is still needed to improve corn on the Canadian prairies, by way of shortening their maturity times while increasing yields in these varieties.

“We’re extremely lucky here, in Manitoba, to be able to take advantage of all of the advances in corn in the recent past — enabling us to grow a successful crop in the Red River Valley and surrounding areas, pushing outwards in all directions.

It won’t be long before you should be able to grow a grain corn crop in southern Manitoba and not run the risk of it being frozen before maturity.”

In 2012, Manitoba had 273,000 acres of grain corn and 75,000 acres of silage corn. In 2013, provincial corn acreage increased to about 342,000 acres of grain corn and 86,000 acres of silage corn. The majority of harvested grain corn is sold to Minnedosa’s Husky Energy plant for ethanol and feed. † Rebeca Kuropatwa is a professional writer in Winnipeg, Man.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Features CROP PRODUCTION

Intensify production by regulating growth Plant growth regulators can give you higher yields, with lower crop height

BY ANDREA HILDERMAN

P

lant growth regulators (PGR) are not a new technology. They are commonly used in other areas of the world with high intensity cereal management systems, where high levels of nitrogen fertilizer are being used and lodging is a threat to yield and quality.

Data from the U.K. Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs indicates that 89 per cent of winter wheat acres have a PGR applied at an average of 1.7 times per crop. For winter barley and winter oats, use is a little lower at 77 and 78 per cent respectively.

PGRs shorten plant stems and increase resistance to lodging. “Research in the EU and by

Alberta Agriculture shows that small changes in plant height can have a strong influence on lodging resistance,” explains Phil Bernardin, technical representative with Engage Agro, a supplier of pest control products for horticultural, specialty, and other unique markets in Canada. “We see an opportunity for PGRs on the Prairies and that is why we are pursuing registration of our PGR product, Manipulator.”

In cereals, PGRs reduce stem elongation, and so plant height. There is also evidence that stem wall thickness is increased as a result. There are two types of PGRs that can impact plant height — those that work on ethylene and those that inhibit gibberellin biosynthesis. “Our product, Manipulator, is an anti-gibberellin,”

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says Bernardin. “By reducing gibberellin biosynthesis it interrupts plant signals involved in stem elongation. That then results in reduced crop height of four to six inches.”

“Small changes in plant height can have a strong influence.”

— Phil Bernardin

The hypothesis is that when crop height is reduced, more nutrients, water and energy are available for grain production and the shorter, stronger stem is more resistant to lodging. “If farmers can reduce lodging in their crops, then they are increasing yield potential,” says Bernadin. “They are also reducing their risks of uneven maturity and loss of grain quality as well as making harvesting a lot easier.”

“The key to getting effective control of stem elongation with a PGR is having the right PGR formulation,” says Bernardin. “It’s not simply a matter of running the EU for-

mulations through some trials and hoping to get them registered. Conditions in western Canada are substantially different — temperature in particular.” Formulations have to be developed that will work at temperatures down to 1 C. “Another issue with PGRs has been crop safety. By having various softeners in the formulation the window of application is opened up and crop safety has been improved,” explains Bernardin.

IMPORTANCE OF APPLICATION TIMING Application timing depends on the active ingredient and the type of PGR. Manipulator is best applied at the start of stem elongation (five- to sixleaf stage) for excellent results but very good results are also achieved at typical herbicide timing or the three- to four-leaf stage with one tiller.

Research results from Indian Head Agricultural Research Foundation in Saskatchewan and from various sites in Alberta are showing consistent height reductions in wheat as well as reduced incidence of lodging.

Additionally, research co-oper-

ators have found that yield is increased even if lodging isn’t a factor.

Bayer CropScience has a PGR registered for use on cereals in Western Canada called Ethrel.

Timing of application of Ethrel is so critical that cereal producers are required to sign a liability waiver before they can access the product. “Ethrel has a very narrow window of application in cereals which is why we require the liability waiver,” explains Al Eadie, market development manager with Bayer CropScience in Calgary. “It is primarily used in horticultural crops in Canada.”

Syngenta is working on a product for cereals in Canada. “We are collecting information now on our product in Canada,” says Allen Terry, biological assessment manager with Syngenta. “We have used a product called Moddus globally for a number of years but a product fit in Canada will need to be better suited to the Canadian climate, as well as ensure the window of application is optimal for crop shortening.” Syngenta expects it will have a product registered in the next three to five years. † Andrea Hilderman has her master’s degree in weed science and is a member of the Manitoba Institute of Agrologists. She writes from Winnipeg, Man.

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any plant functions, like many human functions, are controlled by hormones, more properly called phytohormones. Phytohormones operate in a complex but organized way to ensure that the growth, development and functioning of plants is regulated by responding to various signals from both the plant itself and its environment. We are all familiar with the way sunflowers follow the sun throughout the day. This is called phototropism and is a result of phytohormone activity, auxin in this case. Another obvious example of phytohormones at work is leaf drop in deciduous trees in the fall in response to shortening day length and cooler temperatures.

There are five major phytohormones: auxin, cytokinin, gibberellin, abscisic acid and ethylene. The auxins, gibberellins and cytokinins act as growth stimulators whereas abscisic acid and ethylene act as growth inhibitors.

PGRs work by interrupting or altering the balance of phytohormones to change the plant structure or architecture. PGRs exploit phytohormones and plant biology to modify plants to strengthen stems, alter plant architecture and manage ripening of fruits. † Andrea Hilderman

PHOTOS: ENGAGE AGRO

Harvested wheat plants from treated (l) and untreated (r) with PGR Manipulator at a site at Crossfield, Alberta. In this trial, the application of Manipulator resulted in a 22 per cent plant height reduction (approx. 23 centimetres) and a seven per cent increase in yield.

A view of a trial field at Snowflake, Manitoba. The untreated side (l) lodged whereas the treated (r) side did not lodge.

MARCH 11, 2014

grainews.ca /

21

Features TILLAGE

Is soil compaction affecting your yield potential?

If farmers want to continue to increase yields, they may need to pay more attention to the condition of the soil, says an agronomist

BY SCOTT GARVEY

“

W

e’re subsoiling soils all over this planet.

People have been doing it for tens and tens of years, successfully,” said Elston Solberg, senior agri coach and president of Agri-Trend Agrology, during a field day near Liberty, Saskatchewan. “It’s going to be a big part of agriculture in Western Canada as sure as I’m standing here.

Because in every field we walk on, at least 80 per cent has at least two compaction layers that are man made, and they might even have one or two that God made.”

Although soil compaction is something many in agriculture here in the west still aren’t convinced exists to any great degree, Solberg said in his work across the prairie he has found there really is a problem, and it is very widespread and significant enough to limit yields. Most western farmers will need to address compaction sooner or later, he believes.

As many farmers attending the field day walked through the stubble field where a variety of deep rippers, strip-till and minimum tillage implements were awaiting their turn at demonstration runs, a few took the time to poke around the field to look for any compaction with one of the penetrometers provided by Tri Star Farm Services of Emerald Park, Saskatchewan, the dealership that organized the event. The results surprised many. There were areas of very high density across a field that had just grown an impressive wheat crop.

“It’s tough to convince farmers who are getting the best yields they’ve ever had that there’s a problem,” explained Kellen Huber, owner of Tri Star. “But we’re finding compaction everywhere.”

Huber’s short-line dealership retails a variety of tillage implements, so he does stand to gain from increased sales if producers start buying deep rippers. But he and Solberg are among a growing number in the industry who are seriously looking at compaction as a significant factor in limiting future yield growth. To back up his claims, Huber has even organized test plots in a variety

PHOTO: TRI STAR FARM SERVICES

The short stand of corn in the centre of this image is growing on a test strip left in the centre of this field in southern Saskatchewan. A deep ripper was used to remove soil compaction everywhere in this field other than on this strip. of Saskatchewan fields to demonstrate compaction does exist in the West and prove the value of removing it through proper deep ripping.

TAKING THE READINGS On another day and in another field where Tri Star had planted one of those test plots, I walked through a corn stand with Huber and a penetrometer. We stopped to probe the soil in several places and found there were high soil density readings in that field as well. In fact, some readings on the penetrometer went well into the extreme range, despite the fact there was a pretty good stand of corn above the surface.

“It’s going to be a big part of agriculture.”

— Elston Solberg

“We dug out a couple of roots balls and you can see the roots go down a little way then they go straight out to the sides,” said Huber. “Because of compaction.”

Roots that don’t penetrate soils very deeply could leave plants vulnerable in years with limited rainfall. And they prevent crops from accessing nutrients deeper in the soil profile.

The prevailing wisdom on the prairie for a long time has been that the freeze-thaw cycle will take care of any field compaction. But Solberg says it would likely take Mother Nature about five years to fully remove the compaction layers he’s found in most fields. And annual cropping with large-capacity farm machines is putting more into the soils each year. So most fields require additional efforts to help the natural process along.

Despite his findings and personal experience, Solberg says many in the industry still aren’t buying the idea compaction is a factor limiting yields in the west. As he speaks at events like Tri Star’s field day, he still sees resistance to the idea that finding and removing compaction will be essential to producers’ abilities to enjoy continued annual yield growth into the future.

“One of the things I’ve talked a lot about in the last couple of years is the concept of the future is already here; it’s just not evenly distributed,” he said wryly, suggesting those producers who’ve tackled compaction are reaping the benefits. “When I was working on my masters degree I can remember standing in a crowd and being told by a farmer, ‘Young man, direct seeding ain’t never going to work.’ Now it’s everything. Today, tillage isn’t going to work, except it’s being used all over the planet.” † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Features CROP NUTRITION

Working for a greener revolution Scientists are looking at novel ways to maintain yields with drastic cuts in nitrogen application

BY SHIRLEY BYERS

H

e wasn’t around for the Green Revolution, but Dr. Krzysztof Szczyglowski is doing his part to expedite a Greener Revolution.

Better crop varieties and high inputs of chemical fertilizers were key tenets of the Green Revolution of the 1960’s and 70’s and the results were impressive.

Huge quantities of food were produced and millions of lives were saved all over the world.

In 1970, Norman E. Borlaug, an American plant pathologist won the Nobel Peace Prize for starting the “Green Revolution.”

But there was a price to pay.

High inputs of nitrogen and phos-

phorous fertilizers lead to nutrient enrichment of the environment. “A certain proportion — roughly 50 per cent of nitrogen or phosphate will be uptaken by our crop plants but the rest will constitute the contamination either of water or air... The environment is unable to deal with that. What it creates basically is a negative impact,” says Szczyglowski On bodies of water this excess of nitrogen phosphate creates algae blooms and toxic water that cannot properly sustain life.

It’s responsible for dead zones in oceans. The amount of fossil fuel required to produce nitrogen fertilizers is another concern. But the planet’s need for food continues to increase.

“The problem is we need to

maintain the productivity because we need to produce food… One way would be to increase fertilizers. But the bottom line is we cannot continue to increase the fertilization of our soil or even maintain it on this current level because of the impact on the environment,” says Szczyglowski.

In laboratories around the world scientists are working on a solution to the dilemma.

One project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated 10 million dollars to a research project to investigate whether it is possible to initiate a symbiosis between cereal crops and bacteria that would help cereals access nitrogen from the air as legumes do. Other scientists are looking for a protocol that would

prevent the nitrogen in fertilizers from leeching into the environment, allowing plants to use more of it for their growth.

From his lab, Szczyglowski says, “We are not trying to invent anything. We are just looking at what nature has already invented. And nature has invented legumes: peas, soy etc. Legumes learned about 60 million years ago how to have a conversation with a very friendly soil bacteria, rhizobium, which is present in all types of soil.

They have the ability to uptake atmospheric nitrogen — the atmosphere is about 78 per cent nitrogen — and reduce nitrogen to the chemical form which can be used by the host plant. Other plants can’t do that.”

It PAYS to Study Ag CABEF offers six $2,500 scholarships to Canadian students enrolling in agricultural or agri-business related programs.

Legumes build what Szczglowski calls housing apartments for the rhizobium bacteria, root nodules that allow that beneficial bacteria to go inside the root. Once there they will take the atmospheric nitrogen and reduce it to nitrogen fertilizer which can be used by the host plant. It’s an effective process of fertilization without industrial fertilizer.

“And this is the main preoccupation of my lab, exactly what we are doing; we are trying to generate knowledge, basic understanding of why legumes are able to do this and other plants, our main cereal crops like corn or wheat, why those plants are unable to do so.”

Initially it was thought that legumes possessed characteristics unique to them, enabling them to communicate with the nitrogen-fixing bacteria. But it turns out those same genetic components are present in other crop plants and used by those plants to speak to another microorganism — mycorrhizal fungi which delivers phosphate to plants.

“We are not trying to invent anything.”

— Krzysztof Szczyglowski

In 2007 Szczyglowski showed that activation of a single gene in legumes can lead to formation of nodular structure which regulates the building of the housing apartments. That gene is also present in plants such as corn or wheat. “We want to tweak it so it will do the same thing in corn or wheat as it is doing in alfalfa or other legumes,” he says.

When that happens it will mean that the use of chemical fertilizers could be significantly reduced while crops continue to thrive, beginning a greener revolution.

How soon might that be?

Scientists are optimistic that it could be within our lifetime, says Szczyglowski. “Lifetime may mean a breakthrough could come within the next month, or within the next 20 years.” † Shirley Byers is a freelance writer based in Saskatchewan.

Deadline for applications: March 1, 2014

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BY DAN PIRARO

Bizarro

MARCH 11, 2014

grainews.ca /

23

Features Farm management

South African view From an African farm to the Canadian Prairies

By Elise Thomsen

P

ieter Erasmus, a South African farmer, and his family moved to Canada last June to work on Dale Mainil’s farm north of Weyburn. The two countries are at nearly opposite ends of the earth, but there are still many similarities in farming practices.

“You still have to get the plant in the ground to grow it, so a lot of the stuff is similar,” said Erasmus with a chuckle.

“Farming is more similar here to back home,” he said. Many families, including other farmers, are leaving South Africa and immigrating to Australia or New Zealand, where the farming practices and crops can vary greatly. Erasmus, who also did a previous work exchange in North Dakota, knew that farming on the northern prairies was not so different from what he was accustomed to. That was one of the reasons the family chose Saskatchewan for their new home.

“Smaller farms tend to fall away,” said Erasmus of South Africa, but the trend is also seen in Canada. Farmers in both South Africa and Canada sometimes rent land and the daily operation of the farms runs very similarly according to Erasmus. Still, there are some agricultural differences between South Africa and Canada.

Corn and soybeans are the main crops in Standerton, the town in South Africa where the Erasmuses lived, and the growing season in South Africa is October to February. In October, farmers wait for two inches of rain to fall before seeding and harvest starts in February.

Erasmus said the growing season in South Africa is continually getting shorter with the new varieties of corn and soy being engineered. He remembers when the growing season used to be seven to eight months, but it is now five or six months long.

Some of the faster growing varieties are making their way onto the Canadian prairies.

“In South Africa, we don’t use drills. We only use planters,” he said. He had also never used anhydrous ammonia before.

The soil in South Africa tends to be more sour and lime must be regularly applied.

“We do more ground samples.” South Africa farmers submit ground samples for inspection roughly every 30 days of the growing season. The soil is analyzed and the farmers receive recommendations for improving the soil conditions.

“We don’t swath anything,” said Erasmus of farming in South Africa, but said he understands the value of swathing and thinks it is good practice for the crops grown here.

Another difference related to harvest can be attributed to Canada’s shorter growing season and cold climate.

“Here it’s so touchy for frost,” said Erasmus, noting that farmers harvest quickly in Canada and store the crop, sometimes with fans to help it dry. “We waited for stuff to dry on the fields (in Africa).”

The fields in South Africa are all

fenced and most are oddly shaped, not square. The fields are oddly shaped because the land was parcelled out as it was settled, and early settlers did not make square fields.

Every field is fenced because nearly every farmer also has cattle and the fields and after the fields are harvested, the stubble is left for the cows to graze and the cows are moved from field to field as the stubble is eaten.

Erasmus said farmers hired more labourers in South Africa than is typical here. His neighbour in South Africa had a 10,000-acre farm with 2,000 head of cattle and he said there were about 50 people working full-time on that farm.

Even on Erasmus’ own farm, which was smaller, he still had a handful of full-time staff. Farm

staff in South Africa usually live in their own homes on the farm for which they work.

Despite speaking a common language, Erasmus said there were still some linguistic differences for him and his family when they moved to Canada. Two examples related to farm technology were the terms for wrenches and crescent wrenches. In South Africa, they are called spanners and shiftys.

Erasmus sold his family farm, which had originally was purchased by his ancestors in 1886, and moved to Canada to seek a better life for his family.

He received the equivalent of $600 per acre and said that was a good price in South Africa.

Before they moved, their friends teased them about moving to

Pieter Erasmus and his family left South Africa for Saskatchewan. such a cold country. “We really got sick of the ‘you’re going to die of cold’ comments.”

“At the end of the day, we moved for the children,” said Erasmus. He and his wife, Caroline, have two daughters, Nikola who is seven and

Mariesa who is three. They feel their children will have a better chance at a successful future in Canada.

This article was originally published in the “Weyburn Review.” It is reprinted here with permission. † Elise Thomsen writes for the “Weyburn Review.”

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MARCH 11, 2014

Features CROP PRODUCTION

CROP ADVISOR’S SOLUTION

CROP ADVISOR’S CASEBOOK

CANOLA CROP DAMAGE PUZZLING

BY DEAN MCDERMOTT

CASEBOOK WINNER

R

ichard called me one August morning in 2013 to say he wasn’t too happy with his canola crop.

“There’s something wrong with the home quarter. I was checking yesterday to see if it was ready to swath and it looks like the canola hasn’t set seed,” he said. “You’d better come and have a look.”

Richard operates a mediumsized farm near Carrot River, Sask., in the northeast corner of the Saskatchewan grain belt, where moisture usually isn’t a problem.

In the past, he has grown a variety of crops on his 2,000 acres, but in recent years Richard had shortened his rotation to focus on canola and wheat with an occasional field of peas and oats.

When I arrived at Richard’s canola field, he was already standing by with his swather, getting ready to cut the crop. I started off by asking Richard a few questions to get a sense of what was going on in this field.

When asked about his fertility and herbicide program, Richard said his fertility package was 12025-10-24, and that he’d used a tank mix of Liberty Link and clethodim herbicides. Richard said he’d scouted for insects and found lygus bugs at early bloom, but they hadn’t reached sufficient threshold numbers to warrant using an insecticide.

No fungicide had been applied on the crop, either.

I then asked Richard when he first detected a problem. It was when he was checking for colour change in the canola pods for swath timing that Richard noticed blanks on the stems where there should have been pods. There were also some odd-looking flowers that were closed up and brown.

After checking the plants with the missing pods and having a look at the damaged flowers myself, I did some pod counts on a sampling of plants through the entire field to get a handle on the

WHEAT STREAK MOSAIC VIRUS RESPONSIBLE

T

Dean McDermott is an area marketing representative with Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Carrot River, Sask.

his issue’s Casebook winner is Ken Giebelhaus of Vegreville, Alta. Ken sent us a great diagnosis. In return, we’ll be renewing his Grainews subscription for a year and sending him a Grainews cap. Thanks for entering, Ken! † Leeann Minogue

Richard’s canola crop looked like it hadn’t set seed. There were missing pods and damaged flowers. extent of the problem. The damage was very unusual, but I had a pretty good idea what was causing the problem.

“Well, Richard,” I said. “There is good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?”

Do you think you know what caused the problem with Richard’s canola? If you do, send your diagnosis to Grainews, Box 9800, Winnipeg, Man., R3C 3K7; email leeann.minogue@fbcpub-

lishing.com or fax 204-944-95416 c/o Crop Advisor’s Casebook. Best suggestions will be pooled and one winner will be drawn for a chance to win a Grainews cap and a one-year subscription to the magazine. The answer, along with reasoning that solved the mystery, will appear in the next Crop Advisor’s Solution File. † Dean McDermott is an area marketing representative with Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Carrot River, Sask.

E C N A FORM

S L A E R H E G I C

H

PER

BY STEVE LEAVITT

B

ack in June 2013, I received a call from Gord, a farmer near Stirling, Alta. with 15,000 acres of wheat, durum, peas, barley and canola. There was an issue with one of his durum wheat fields, which was exhibiting poor plant stand and yellowing of some of the plants, mostly in low lying areas of the field. Some plants in the 320-acre field were dying off altogether.

Gord thought the problem could be associated with one of the herbicides he was using.

However, this particular field was the only one affected — Gord’s other 2,500 acres of durum had the same fertility package and herbicides applied and they were exhibiting no symptoms, even in the lower-lying areas of those other fields. This, plus the fact that the damage in the affected field wasn’t throughout the field but limited mostly to low-lying areas, made it unlikely to be a herbicide issue.

I asked Gord about the history of the affected field. During the previous season he had grown Roundup Ready canola, and the year before that he had planted winter wheat. I immediately thought the problem might be a disease issue associated with one of these past crops. I had heard of wheat streak mosaic on some wheat crops in the area, so I zeroed in on that as a possible cause.

I took some pictures of Gord’s affected durum wheat and compared them to other photos of durum with wheat streak mosaic.

They were a perfect match. Gord’s durum showed the classic signs of the mosaic virus — yellow streaks and blotches giving the plants a green and yellow mosaic-like colour pattern.

There were suspected cases of the wheat streak mosaic virus

in the region’s winter wheat crop two years earlier. The disease is caused by tiny worm-like mites only 1/100th of an inch long. The mites carry the virus from other infected plants, and the virus enters the leaves and spreads to all parts of the plant.

It is often worse in low-lying areas of a field, which tend to have higher soil moisture that helps the virus thrive.

There wasn’t much Gord could do, as the disease had already progressed. Sadly, the affected field only yielded 40 bushels per acre compared to the unaffected fields, which yielded 70 bushels per acre.

“What can I do to prevent this in my wheat next year?”

Gord asked me. The advice I gave him was to grow canola the next year, but there was still a risk of the mites surviving to a subsequent growing season and carrying the virus with them.

I instructed Gord that shortly before seeding, he should destroy any volunteer wheat in or near fields in which wheat was to be seeded. It isn’t necessary to bury the stubble, but only to destroy the growth, I said, adding he should perform all cultivating operations a week or two before seeding. “Do not rush it and upset your cutworm control program,” I advised.

Also, I said he should seed winter wheat between Sept. 1 and 15, as later seedings are safest from mosaic infection.

I informed Gord that when a winter wheat crop is so severely infected with mosaic that it must be destroyed in early spring, spring wheat can be safely seeded in the same field if all infected plants are killed off. If all infected plants aren’t killed off completely, then growers should consider growing barley, oats or canola. † Steve Leavitt is a regional sales agronomist with Richardson Pioneer Ltd. in Stirling, Alta.

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MARCH 11, 2014

grainews.ca /

25

Columns GUARDING WEALTH

Becoming a competent investor There are several sources of financial advice for beginning investors, or investors looking to learn more

BY ANDREW ALLENTUCK

A

s a columnist for Grainews and Financial Post, I am frequently asked what it takes to learn to invest in stocks, bonds and other financial assets.

There is a core of knowledge that every investor needs.

BOOKS Inspirational personal finance books. The Wealthy Barber is the best of this breed, but this is investing lite. The books say if you skip lattes and invest coffee money, you can be rich.

Much of it is true, but this will not help you to judge risks in stocks, calculate bond returns or judge mutual funds by their management cost and asset characteristics. You need to know valuation methods and risk assessment, accounting and statistics. Skip the inspirational stuff.

Financial technique books.

This group cleaves into two schools: the fundamentalists and the technicians.

Books on fundamental value come in many flavours, from searches for stocks by such ratios as price to earnings. Much of this material is good, but each book’s theory must be tested.

You can learn a lot of valuable things, but much of this material has a critical flaw. Most authors say they mine data to develop their theories. Those theories are predictive models that link several variables. The best fit of leading indicator and subsequent stock value becomes the theory. Then the theory is backtested against the same database. The author of each theory says it works, which is not surprising given that it’s the same data from which the theory was developed.

A different stream is deductive from first principles, not inductive from fitting trends to each other. The best of the deductive genre is Benjamin Graham’s The Intelligent Investor edited by Jason Zweig. It is the fundamental work in the field of investment analysis.

FUNDAMENTALS Technical analysis follows wiggly stock, bond, commodity or other price patterns, tracing out lines of price movements by the hour, day, week, month, etc. There are numerous variations from patterns that incorporate daily or other price ranges, moving averages, moving averages of convergence and divergence, and another tracery which attempts to link sun spots to stock prices and plot all of that on graph paper.

The time intervals tend to be days and weeks, for over periods of decades most stocks and averages rise. There’s less to analyze in the long run.

For short periods of days and weeks and sometimes months, technical analysis presumes to incorporate everything known about a stock or a commodity.

The downfall is that new information changes the line, so what was known is no longer the whole story.

There are said to be 100,000 asset indexes published every day. It is absolutely certain that some of the time, one can find a relationship between, say, the price of pork bellies and the daily moves of a Chinese auto parts stock. There is no meaningful way to relate these two things. Any theory which seeks to extrapolate a trend based on one or the other is doomed to fail. Now that you know what technical analysis is, consult it, as many profes-

sional investors do, but give it wide berth.

Macroeconomics. Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a mathematician, scholar, and sometime options trader, has said that macroeconomics is a “fantasy.”

Those who believe in it delude themselves that it has value, he says. One can modify his view and take macroeconomics with a grain of salt. The serious investor needs to take a course or read a few good books on macroeconomics to get an understanding of central banks, how taxes affect output and consumption, and what makes up gross domestic product. This is essential information for the investor.

Accounting. If you are going to read financial statements, you need to know why an income statement is not a balance sheet, how costs can be capitalized, how shady managers can manipulate earnings, how companies can shift costs and earnings to make the most of tax opportunities in various jurisdictions and how noncash items like goodwill are incorporated into accounts.

Mathematics. You need algebra to calculate ratios and extrapolate the present to the future. You need a little calculus to test propositions that sales will grow at an accelerating rate and make you rich.

Math can show you how to graph two variables on a plane, three as a surface moving in a three dimensional space, and four, five, 10 or 20 variables that you cannot visualize.

Statistics. The best way not to be lied to by statistics is to know how they work. Normal bell curves are not characteristic of financial markets.

Instead, the distributions are call log normal, Poisson and other names, each of the about

80 curve shapes reflective of different data distributions.

Learning this discipline is a must for investors.

Capital markets. You need to know how bonds relate to stocks, how stocks can be structured as common or preferred issues, the workings of stock options such as puts and calls, how bonds are ranked by quality, bond rating and default probabilities, how stocks and bonds trade, how commodities trade, and price patterns set or limited by asset characteristics.

If you see a stock trading at 100 times next year’s earnings, your sceptical antennae should bristle. The stock has become a kind of fashion investment statement and is ready for a crash. If a stock is trading a just two times forward earnings, it may be because investors think it of little value. If someone wants to sell you a bond with what he says are “investment grade” characteristics and a 20 per cent annual interest rate, you should know that somewhere, somehow, there’s a scam. Learn how markets work and you’ll not be bait.

Economic history. The stories of great traders, the winners, the losers, fabulous ripoffs like the 17th century tulip bubble, histories of central banking, origins of paper money, the invention of inflation-adjusted bonds in 13th century Venice and more are fascinating and very instructive. As the Spanish philosopher George Santayana said in The Life of Reason, a five-volume book published in 1905, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” † Andrew Allentuck is author of several books on economics and finance including “Consumer Choice, Bonds for Canadians” and “When Can I Retire: Planning Your Financial Life After Work.”

A brief reading list: Macroeconomics: Campbell R. McConnell has written several economics textbooks published

by McGraw Hill. It’s a place to start.

Accounting: Howard Schilit and Jeremy Perler, How to Detect Accounting Gimmicks & Fraud in Financial Reports. It’s hilarious, instructive and indispensable.

Mathematics: Mark Ryan, Calculus for Dummies. As digestible as the subject can be.

Statistics: Robert A. Donnelly Jr., The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Statistics. Cheap and easy going.

Capital markets: Benjamin Graham, The Intelligent Investor, ed. Jason Zweig. The classic book on the subject brought into the 21st century by a fine financial journalist. This is a must.

Economic history: Charles R. Kindleberger, Manias, Panics and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises. This is a superb work, often cited by other authors and analysts. See also, Jeremy Siegel, Stocks for the Long Run, 4th ed., 2007. Siegel, a widely respected professor of finance, demonstrates that stocks, if held for periods of decades, have handsome and even dependable long run returns. † Andrew Allentuck

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MARCH 11, 2014

Columns SOILS AND CROPS

Old enough to be good

SOAKING UP THE SUN

A discussion of flowing wells and plant disease reveals that sometimes the simplest answer is the best answer LES HENRY

Y

ou might think this old fossil is losing it — flowing wells have nothing to do with plant disease.

But I have recently stumbled on some dear old gems on both topics. Both remind us that we must look back once in a while to find answers to current questions. It is also an appeal to make sure that good old information is scanned and placed where future generations will retrieve it with a few mouse clicks.

1. FLOWING WELLS Robert Van Everdingen A couple of years ago Riverhurst, Sask., irrigation farmer Gordon Kent asked me what I knew about the effect of Lake Diefenbaker on deep aquifers in the area. They had checked the pit of a well not used for years and found the well to be flowing. The question was “Could the recent flowing well conditions be related to the presence of Lake Diefenbaker?”

I did not know the answer but knew where to find an old report that might. It was “Observed changes in groundwater regime caused by the creation of Lake Diefenbaker, Saskatchewan, 1972”

by Robert Van Everdingen. The work that was done for that report had the well in question as part of the study. The Van Everdingen report concluded that the well in question would flow in about 20 years.

I had three copies of that report on file. One went to the farmer, one to the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency in Moose Jaw and I still have one. The Water Security Agency is now in charge of Lake Diefenbaker and Gardiner dam.

They did not have the report.

The Van Everdingen report was a product of the federal government’s then Inland Waters Directorate.

Inland Waters produced many excellent reports on groundwater in Western Canada which are indeed “old enough to be good.”

Inland Waters morphed into “Fisheries and Oceans” and no such work is now being done.

There are good reasons why Fisheries and Oceans’ presence in Western Canada has been diminished.

2. PLANT DISEASE Henry Youle Hind (1823-1908) Now, this is really getting silly.

What could an old crock who died in 1908 possibly know about plant disease? Read on.

Henry Youle Hind was a Professor of Chemistry and Geology at the University of Trinity College in Toronto. At the same time as Palliser was exploring the West, Hind was commissioned to do scientific work in some of the areas we now farm. His “Narrative of the Exploring Expedition of 1858 of the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan” runs to 472 pages and is a masterpiece.

But it is his 1857 “Essay of the Insects and Diseases Injurious to the Wheat Crops” that is of interest here. Before I tell you about plant disease I should mention that Hind had a full chapter devoted to “The Wheat Midge — Its Origin, Progress, Description, Habits, Parasites and Remedial Measures for its Destruction or Extirpation.” When continuous wheat replaced summer fallow in northeast Saskatchewan in the 1970s entire wheat crops were lost completely to wheat midge before it was “rediscovered.”

Chapter 6 of Hind’s essay was entitled “Rust-Smut — Pepper Brand — Ergot.”

It was Hind’s theory that mists and fogs rich in ammonia were the environmental conditions most favourable to the development of fungal diseases of wheat.

In today’s world I was able to download a digital copy of Hind’s essay and the following quote is a direct cut/paste: If the supposition be correct that “Rust” is mainly occasioned by the concurrence of mists or fogs in July and August, rich in ammonia, stimulating the growth of the sporules in the stagnated juices of the plants; and that the active agent in inducing the sudden appearance of that destructive parasite is really ammoniacal vapours, we have a remedy at hand which promises, when properly and carefully applied, if not entirely to check, at least so far to arrest the growth of the parasite as to claim a general trial, especially as its effects would probably prove equally availing in arresting mildew. What we require is an available absorbent of ammonia and its volatile compounds, not an absorbent which will destroy this valuable plant food, but one which possesses the property of inducing it to assume another form, perhaps equally available as a fertilizer, although of much slower action.

Recent observations show that powdered charcoal answers these requirements. Charcoal not only absorbs ammonia to an immense extent, but it also oxidizes it to nitric acid, and thus renders it temporarily inert, but not unavailable to future fertilization.”

Documents were very wordy in those days.

He went on to say that a salt solution would also work — that is, the NH3 would precipitate as NH4Cl (Ammonium Chloride).

The disease that has me terrified is Fusarium Head Blight. In 2012 FHB in wheat was a huge problem in our area, and many areas. Even Carberry wheat (most tolerant) that had been sprayed for FHB still had heavy infestations. Spraying did help — as evidenced by folks who left check strips and could easily see the difference. But, the disease was still a problem. In 2013 FHB was almost non-existent. Almost everyone sprayed wheat for FHB but there was little visible problem even without spray.

So, what was the difference in the years? My rain record for July 2012 and 2013 are very much the same. 2013 was actually more 2.6 inches, 2012 was 2.1 inches. A cursory examination of Saskatoon Relative Humidity data shows a period in 2012 (July 15-17) when

relative humidity never fell below 85 per cent even in midday. 2013 had no such period.

SIMPLE ANSWERS Our current mindset is to get out the sprayer and deal with the problem. At $9 wheat that is much easier to stomach than wheat at $5 per bushel.

My point is that we need to take a look at what Henry Youle Hind said in 1857 and see what simple answers might be staring us in the face if we had the facts.

And, we need to learn something about ammonia in the atmosphere. A quick Google search shows that there is data, but most of it from other jurisdictions. I noticed in 2012 that the worst infestation was in the very best soil/water conditions with ample rich topsoil. Perhaps NH3 in the atmosphere is high in such places. It is certainly worth some research effort.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF LES HENRY

Even Grainews columnists deserve vacations. Les and Inga have been enjoying some time in Maui. In this picture, they’re lunching at the Plantation Golf Course at Kapalua, Maui. You can see the ocean and the island of Molokai in the distance.

By the way, I originally stumbled on Hind’s essay in the University of Saskatchewan when looking for something entirely different. We still need libraries.

Editor’s note: Les Henry is completely right! We need libraries. In fact, thanks to a library, you can read Henry Youle Hind’s reports at home, on the Internet. At http://onlinebooks. library.upenn.edu, search for Youle

BUILT FOR

Hind. You’ll find links to several of Henry Youle Hind’s reports. † J.L.(Les) Henry is a former professor and extension specialist at the University of Saskatchewan. He farms at Dundurn, Sask. He recently finished a second printing of “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water,” a book that mixes the basics and practical aspects of soil, fertilizer and farming. Les will cover the shipping and GST for “Grainews” readers. Simply send a cheque for $50 to Henry Perspectives, 143 Tucker Cres, Saskatoon, Sask., S7H 3H7, and he will dispatch a signed book.

BARLEY.

MARCH 11, 2014

grainews.ca /

27

Columns OFF-FARM INCOME

Selling is an important as buying In this instalment, Andy Sirski describes a strategy for making money in rising or falling markets ANDY SIRSKI

I

nvesting looked easy after I made very good profits with Microsoft and Gillette back in 1995-96. Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) doubled and with Gillette (G), the Canadian dollar dropped so my shares went up 50 per cent.

Investing sure looked easy. A currency crisis in 1998 and a bear market in 2000 brought me back to reality. After those two events left me with only a small share of the profits, I decided that I needed to get some tools or information or both that would help me make money with stocks.

I have seen many stocks that were market darlings at one time, then they dropped dead, or were

so badly wounded that they are alive but worth just a fraction of their old high prices.

After my easy wins and after giving up some very nice profits, I decided I had to learn how to make money with stocks in a rising or flat or falling market. After all, good hockey players can skate backwards just as well as forward, so why do I have to wait for a bull market to make money?

Back then I had very few tools to help me think. Sure I could find stocks in the media and some worked and some did not. And yes I could have bought some newsletters but I knew they weren’t perfect. I studied a bunch of decent newsletters for 10 years and somehow the word “sell” didn’t show up often even as once good stocks dropped big time. Besides I wanted to learn, and I always figured that sooner or later God would lead me to the proper information. I

believe it has happened. I think I was 70 per cent there a year ago and am now about 85 per cent along the path to make money in falling, flat or rising markets. I don’t want to think that I am 100 per cent, but I’ve come a long way.

A lot of investors don’t appreciate charts I now have a system that will help me find stocks that fit almost any criteria we choose. I can find groups of stocks that have a high probability of falling, being flat or rising. Then I can use those stocks accordingly.

I hold the shares that have a high probability of rising. I can sell covered calls on shares I own, especially shares that trade in a range. I can do bull puts spreads on rising stocks I do not own and bear call spreads on falling stocks I do not own. And I can buy calls on stocks that have a high probability of going up rapidly, or buy puts on stocks that have a high probability of falling rapidly.

I sometimes act too slowly because I do have a life outside of investing and I intend to keep it that way. So I goof up now and then and lose money because I was busy in my other life.

I have learned that good investing means buying good stocks right and selling them right whether it is to lock in a profit or cut losses short.

CHARTS AND PROBABILITIES A lot of investors don’t appreciate charts. I have learned how to set up four to six indicators on Stockcharts. I like to start with stocks that have good fundamentals, watch how they behave on my charts and wait until they are in a rising or falling trend and work with them accordingly. And if things change from bull to bear I want to sell out to either lock in a profit or a small loss. Plus I can switch strategies and make money as the good shares drop in price.

I like to sell when the daily price crosses the 10-day moving average going down.

When I set up my charts I usually enter the 10-day moving average (10 dma). I am amazed at how often the simple 10 dma chart shows me almost the same sell signal as more sophisticated charts.

The problem is that I might get whipsawed with the 10 dma, but at least I’d be out of the market with most of our money. Selling right helps me keep more money even if I miss some extra gains now and then.

Charts are a picture of what big money is doing with a stock, not what people are saying. Even good stocks drop through the 10 dma. When that happens we don’t know how low they can go. Why should I own them during that time? But I can make money with the shares as they drop and I don’t have to own them so it’s good to be able to find a group of them.

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Here’s how I want to manage my portfolio: We all know stocks go up and down, often with the seasons and often with what is going on in the sector. My main goal is to find stocks in several categories. One group has weekly options and a low probability of dropping in price so I can sell covered calls on them to bring in around $1,000 a week. With a low probability of the share price dropping, I can hold the stock and sell calls with reasonable confidence.

I might miss out on some capital gain but I’m prepared to make that trade off. I want to find a group of these stocks so if one stock’s calls get exercised I can buy another one. This strategy could fit many investors.

With these same stocks I can do bull put spreads in separate transactions and I don’t need to own those shares in that account. This part is not for everyone.

I also want to find a group of stocks that have a high probability of dropping in price. I will do bear call spreads on them without owning the shares. I could also buy puts on them and still not own the shares. Stocks that came into that first (going up) group in say November could easily move into the second (going down) group in May. Again, this is not for every investor. My goal is to make about $1,000 a week with spreads and I don’t really care if it is with bull puts (rising stocks) or bear calls (falling stocks).

Next I test the stock according to at least three indicators.

By the time I’ve screened these groups of stocks with the three indicators I should have a list of good stocks with a high probability of not dropping, are coming to their in season time of year and likely near one side or the other of a bottom. Then I usually buy in stages, say one third at a time.

If a stock looks like it might go up in a hurry I wouldn’t sell calls on it. For example if gold and silver drop going into June, I hope to buy stocks at their low and let them run as they come into their in season time. I might put a stop loss under those stocks and raise the stop loss now and then if the price of shares keeps rising. I might also buy calls on these stocks, but that is not for everyone.

This selection system should also lead me to a group of good stocks that I do not own but that have a high probability of dropping in price, so I can do bear calls spreads on them and or buy puts. This group would include good quality stocks that are out of favour but still let us make money with them as they drop if we know what to do with them.

With this combination I should be able to make money several different ways in flat, rising or falling markets.

I write about all this stuff in great detail in my newsletter StocksTalk and of course I’m always ready to chat with readers. † Andy Sirski is mostly retired. He gardens in summer, travels a bit and plays with his granddaughters. He manages his family’s portfolio and publishes an electronic newsletter called StocksTalk. If you want to read it free for a month email Andy at sirski@mts.net.

28

/ grainews.ca

MARCH 11, 2014

Columns UNDERSTANDING MARKET BULLS AND BEARS

Exploring the wide basis Farmers are getting quotes of record high basis levels. Find out how this has happened BRIAN WITTAL

T

he last few months have brought the worst possible sequence of events from a grain producers’ perspective. A bumper crop that at first had everyone smiling. Then a harsh winter with (in some places) snow like we have not seen in over 25 years, followed by logistics disruptions which have throttled the entire grain handling system down to a crawl.

From all of this, grain producers are now facing the widest basis levels they have ever seen because of the back log of grain in the country and vessels waiting at port to be loaded. Last report in midFebruary said the system is about two months behind and that there were 55 vessels waiting to be loaded on the West Coast.

What has happened?

THE GOOD OLD DAYS Back to 2012 with tight world supplies and high commodity prices. Canadian producers are feeling good about their situation with decent crops and even better prices. You really didn’t even

need a pencil to do any marketing because prices were so good you made a profit whenever you sold. These type of years make marketing very easy and things were overlooked. Too many times I heard comments like “marketing is easy” or “I don’t have time to worry about that.” This is where I believe many farmers lost focus of the importance of paying close attention to costs of production and disciplined marketing.

Put an even larger world crop in 2013 on top of the decent crop of 2012 and in a matter of 12 months we have built up an excess of production worldwide. Now, add to this pile the potential for a bumper crop in South America where harvest is just under way and you have a situation where world buyers are very comfortable and in no hurry to pre-purchase any more grain than they need for the time being as they see the potential for prices to fall further and they want to buy as cheaply as possible.

From this we have seen a 20 to 35 per cent reduction in futures values for most grains over the past six months.

That is hard enough to swallow

without now having to face historically high basis levels on top of lower futures values.

THE HIGH BASIS For the transportation and logistics of any products shipped out of Canada through the west coast ports to go smoothly, many elements must come together seamlessly. When sales are made and vessels are booked six months or a year in advance, it is easy for things to go wrong and throw off the whole schedule.

Unfortunately, that is what has been happening this year.

Sales have been made and vessels booked to arrive for pickup and the terminals have space to receive the grain for shipping, but a snow storm or two or six over a two-month period disrupts rail traffic service to the coast leaving the terminals with very little if any grain to ship forcing vessels to wait at anchor offshore and buyers scrambling to find alternate supplies to cover their needs until this issue is resolved.

From all of this comes the reasons for the historically wide basis levels producers are facing.

Grain companies are not able to get the grain that they have bought from you out to port and onto a vessel on time so they are incurring additional costs for storage, interest, and or demurrage because of these delays.

The continued poor weather which is backlogging the entire system is not letting up so grain companies are very reluctant to make any new sales for short term delivery. They fear they will not be able to meet contract obligations so they don’t want to buy any more grain for nearby delivery. The only way to stop producers from delivering is to make the price very unattractive, so they widen the basis out to force producers to hold onto the grain until later.

Because this situation has not improved, grain companies are continuing to widen basis levels even more and out into the deferred months as well, in the hopes that the transportation issue will resolve itself so they can start buying grain again.

Now that some producers who haven’t marketed any grains need cash some grain companies are pulling their bids off all together

and refusing to buy any more grain at this time, as it puts them at too much financial risk. Grain companies don’t get paid for the grain they sell until it gets to the buyer. So if they are not shipping grain, they are not getting paid which means they have less cash flow available to buy grain from producers.

All this just continues to build up the stocks on hand that we will end up carrying into the next crop year. This will leave us with more grain to move next year. We better hope we have a mild winter next year and no transportation problems or we will be in for a repeat of this year.

With excess inventory and a transportation system that is so weather dependent and unreliable in the winter, buyers are not going to be looking to Canada as a preferred supplier any time soon and the prices they will offer will no doubt be a discount to world price because of the unreliability of delivery. † Brian Wittal has 30 years of grain industry experience, and currently offers market planning and marketing advice to farmers through his company Pro Com Marketing Ltd. (www.procommarketingltd.com).

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MARCH 11, 2014

grainews.ca /

29

Columns Farm talk

Knife to a gun fight Grain marketing has changed. Farmers need to be ready to deal with the new reality

By Kim Althouse

H

ave you ever heard the expression “Never take a knife to a gun fight?”

It’s good advice. Unless you are armed with as good a weapon as your foe you are most likely to face defeat, or at least a good thrashing.

That lesson was not lost on western Canadian farmers through the years they endured the one sided monopoly of the Canadian Wheat Board. If any one came to the fight better armed, it was the old CWB. In fact, they had all the weapons, rocks, spears, arrows, knives, swords and guns.

That changed on August 1, 2012, and hopefully the old CWB has been replaced by a new and enlightened CWB ready to compete for western Canadian grain.

Western Canadian farmers’ world changed that day in August of 2012. As midwestern U.S. farmers looked out over their drought pillaged crops, Canadian farmers revelled in their new-found freedom to sell their grain to whomever they pleased whenever they pleased at record high prices. Marketing was easy. We had the production and the world wanted it.

Seemingly, at any price.

Then comes 2013 and we grew a crop and a half. No one I have spoken to since harvest has suggested that they grew anything less than the “best crop I ever grew.”

Then the question, “Now, how do I sell it?”

In the past, grain companies were ravenous to direct grain into their facilities knowing that the old CWB would pay them well for the pleasure of handling the monopoly’s grain. Rates were fixed at the beginning of every crop year, assuring profitability. At least as long as your grading competitiveness did not get out of hand.

A fleet of white trucks left the elevators every morning in search of producer’s grain. Bright young grain co-ordinators, farm service representatives or some such other terms used to dignify the job of asking farmers for their business.

I bet you’ve noticed things have changed. You now sit across from your buyer, eyeball to eyeball, trying to do the best you can from the crop and a half you grew. You just brought a knife to a gun fight.

Your buyer has been trained in the futures markets, he knows not just that there is something called a basis but can tell you with some authority what constituents make up the total basis he is quoting. He knows that the western Canadian grain-handling system is plugged from back to front and that his capacity to handle grain has been reached at the current time and well into the future. You hear something you thought you would never hear as a farmer: “I can’t buy your grain.” That may be partially true, what he meant was, “I can’t buy your grain at the old basis levels where I was just getting by, but if you accept the much wider basis I could try and see what we can do” You squirm a bit in your chair and realize he just took a shot and

your knife has shrunk to a pen knife from its former Crocodile Dundee stature.

Get a gun “So, where do I get a gun?” you say. “If you are so smart, what would you have done?” you add.

On that fateful August day in 2012 I would have realized that my position had changed. I was now in charge of my own marketing.

Not just to get a higher price but to compete with my brethren as I had never learned to compete. Now I had to move from a farmer to a purveyor of the finest quality of farm production delivered in good condition in a timely fashion to a

customer who is inundated with producers whose production was identical to mine, so I had to be different. I would learn the way that business was done in the real grain world and adapt to that world.

I would take the time to determine the real unit cost of production and what levels I need to sell at to meet my profit goals. I would try to begin to understand that the bushel or tonne was really the only true way to calculate costs and profitability.

I would learn that every penny I spent would come from the bushel or tonne and if I were to remain sustainable I need to include the young fella’s new sled or the cost of my daughter’s university educa-

tion somewhere in the equation as well as the money drawn for living and personal expenses. I would try to evaluate what crop my customers would be asking for in the future and not grow what I’ve always grown because it is easy or I was good at it.

I would learn to manage risk, not be threatened by it. I would start to think of myself as the CEO of a multimillion dollar agricultural production business and shrug off and refuse to hide behind the “farmer” label.

I would be determined, in my next meeting with my grain buyer, to bring a gun to the gunfight. Or, I might hire a gun. My gunfighter would be someone willing to work with me in establishing the goals and profitability models needed to thrive in the brave new world.

My gunfighter would be a market coach who would prepare a plan based on capturing profits when they presented themselves and selling in increments to cover my cash flow needs.

I would not look at my market coach’s fees as an added expense that is better saved. I would look at it as a cost of doing business and a way to improve my bottom line, the same as good seed or fertilizer or pesticides, and I would include his fees in my per bushel (or tonne) production cost calculations.

Unless there is a crop failure somewhere in Western Canada’s future, or new handling capacity is built or the railroads and terminals move grain from the country and get it on a boat on time, this will be the new normal.

Even another crop failure in the U.S. is not going to alleviate the Canadian problem. We will watch with horror as strengthening grain prices due to lowered world stocks are eroded away by basis levels that are a result of the chronically constipated system.

Arm yourselves for the inevitable. It won’t be pretty. † Kim Althouse is a market coach with AgriTrend at Tisdale, Saskatchewan. He is also the president of www.eGrainCanada.com.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Columns OPEN FIELD

Putting the farm “on trial” Farmers are always experimenting. Here are Sarah Weigum’s thoughts about different ways of doing research SARAH WEIGUM

L

ast summer I travelled to Indian Head, Sask. where I had the pleasure of visiting the Bell Farm historical site. The Bell Farm is probably Canada’s first megafarm, topping out at 53,000 acres in the late 1800s. In 1887, a portion of this farm was sold to create the Dominion Experimental Farm, now known as the Indian Head Research Farm.

Over a century later, formal research is migrating back to Prairie farms. While farmers have never quit experimenting — leaving a fungicide check strip, planting different varieties sideby-side, swathing part of a field and leaving the other to straightcut — some farmers are starting to work closely with industry companies or agronomists to do complex and well-managed trials that include multiple varieties or treatments. If you have had any inclination to run a trial on your own farm, read on for some thoughts on the matter.

THE FARMER Neil Bertsch has worked with Bayer CropSciences since 2009 doing canola variety trials as

well as fungicide trials on his farm near Drumheller, Alta. For the canola trials he supplies the fertilizer and fungicide when required. Bayer supplies the seed and applies herbicide since the plots use three different chemistry groups.

The plots on Bertsch’s land have included between eight and 13 varieties of canola and require about 30 to 40 acres in the centre of a field. Bertsch seeds each variety twice, making a drill width’s pass for at least 1,000 feet to do a plot.

“Most plots take us three to four hours to do,” said Bertsch.

Loading the seed tank that often takes time but Bertsch said Bayer sends two staff members to the field at seeding time to make the process as smooth as possible. Another challenge posed by seeding plots is the extra travel in the field with the tractor and drill which causes compaction.

When the crop is mature, Bayer makes sure a uniform area of each plot is swathed and brings the weigh-wagon to measure the yield. From his view in the tractor cab, Bertsch is impressed by the work put into the trials.

“Every plot is treated extremely fair and every effort is made to make them the same,” said Bertsch. Fairness means fungicide must always be sprayed perpendicular to the plots to ensure the same amount of

wheel tracks throughout. Or, in the case of fungicide trials, even the plots that aren’t sprayed get driven though to mimic the damage. It’s also important to find a field without a lot of variation in soil type or low spots that might drown out.

While doing trials has required a time commitment from Bertsch, he sees the benefits of having research on his front step.

“Don’t be scared to try a trial.”

— Neil Bertsch

“You get to see what works in your area,” said Bertsch. Along with yield data, he also observes how the crop performs throughout the year and how easy it is to harvest. He has the added perk of seeing new varieties before they are commercially available.

Bertsch encourages producers considering an on-farm trial to ask the company lots of questions, but in the end, his advice is: “Don’t be scared to try a trial.”

THE AGRONOMIST Kelly Boles is my agronomist at Three Hills, Alta. and he started working with clients to

do field-scale trial five years ago. Some projects originate when crop protection and seed companies approach him looking for co-operating growers. Others, like recent high-yield wheat and barley trials begin as collaborative efforts with his crop consultant colleagues. And sometimes a trial is born out of producers’ desire to determine where the next dollar is best spent.

“The sales push coming from the crop enhancement industry is a barrage,” said Boles. “Farmers have to filter through it and we’re helping them do that.”

The 2013 high yield cereal trials compared fungicide, plant growth regulators, different seeding densities, different fertility levels, different methods of applying fertilizer and a combination of these treatments. Boles supported participating farmers by advising when to apply products, researching the compatibility of co-applied products, and analyzing the return on investment.

On-farm trials give producers local, quantified data to help them negotiate the many product claims in the marketplace.

They also help producers understand the actual time commitment of these management practices. Having an agronomist on the team provides an independent, third-party verification of the yield data, explained Boles. Through Boles’ consulting work, the trials benefit other farmers in the region, as the results enable him to better advise other clients.

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High-yield trials take a lot of time and product. Fortunately for the farmer doing the trial, there’s some relief from highend input costs. For Boles’ clients and other farmers participating in the high yield trials around Alberta in 2013 up to $110 per acre for 80 acres was available through the Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund (ACIDF) to pay for extra inputs. Along with five wheat and barley yield trials, ACIDF also funded five controlled traffic farming trials around Alberta.

According to Alan Hall, project hunter with ACIDF, the organization began funding on-farm research trials around 2010. New areas in agriculture needed research, but cash and time-strapped government research stations lacked the resources to delve deeper into the issues.

“There is kind of a crunch right now for agronomy research with slow cutbacks from governments,” said Hall. Enter fieldscale trials, which are cheaper to fund than the small plots and reduce the workload on scientists and their teams. Another benefit, Hall explained, is that more growers are likely to adopt a management practice if they see it succeed in a field as opposed to a small-scale trial.

Farm-based trials require

some compromise as the protocols have to be manageable for producers and their equipment, said Hall. The number of treatments that can be tested in a growing season are more limited in the field than at the research station. In the future, Hall thinks small plot trials and field trials will compliment to each other, as each level of research studies the variables they can best measure.

THE COMPANY REP Brian de Kock, market development specialist with Dow AgroSciences, knows a thing or two about on-farm trials.

He helps co-ordinate up to 60 grower strip trials each summer with Dow’s hybrid canola varieties going head-to-head with top competitor varieties.

“If you do a small plot you can have extreme variation in yield and maturity,” said de Kock, explaining why Dow started doing field-scale trials in 2009.

“Our experience is that doing small scale trials don’t align with grower experience.” On-farm trials give companies like Dow more credibility by providing more accurate marketing claims.

As de Kock explained, the results from individual trials and provincial aggregates have aligned closely with the data collected from other farmers growing Dow hybrids.

Dow publishes the results of individual trials online, giving farmers who don’t do their own trials the opportunity to compare how varieties performed on their neighbour’s field.

De Kock looks for experienced trial growers, as well as farmer with commitment to following protocols. It helps when the farmer works with family as opposed to a lot of hired help because it allows all stakeholders to be involved early in the process. He also looks for “someone who wants to learn more and see the data for their own benefit on their own farm.” Typically, he stays away from “mega-farmers” — those with over 20,000 acres.

“There’s a risk that the trial might not get completed because they have so much on their plate,” said de Kock. Along with being in the field for seeding and harvest, Dow staff scout the trials throughout the growing season and make recommendations on fungicide and insecticide applications as well as swath timing. They can also revise the plot measurements if, for example, part of the field is drowned out.

So there you have it, four people involved in agriculture, four experiences with field trials.

If you’re not ready to take the plunge yourself, at least take the time to find someone in your community who’s doing practical research and ask him or her some good questions. † Sarah Weigum grows pedigreed seed and writes in Three Hills, Alta. Follow her on Twitter: @sweigum.

MARCH 11, 2014

Checking-in on the farm The best way to know for sure your farm family and employees are safe is to make sure you check on them regularly

BY SHANYN SILINSKI

C

ommunications are critical for safe farm operations. One often overlooked aspect of farm communications is check-in strategies. Farms are getting bigger, they are getting more equipment and doing more value added operations to increase profitability. Even smaller farms are doing their best to stay competitive and that can mean working alone or working in situations where you are nearby but not within earshot or visual range of another person.

There are two key parts of any check-in strategy: who is checking-in, and who are they checking-in with.

Husbands and wives, parents and children, employers and workers — all need a strategy for checking-in, and steps to follow if check-ins are missed. Make sure you know who is checking-in with whom.

A check-in strategy has little room for assumptions. This is especially true when you have a number of people working on your farm.

It is our practice that one person is the designated check-in person.

When we’re working with equipment, in the shop, fencing or working with livestock we have set check-in times and alternate times. Cell phones are a big help with this as you can text someone and they can text you back to let you know they are okay. It is wise, however, not to let technology become a replacement for actually setting eyes on a person to make sure things are okay.

If you watch the news, read on-line or even listen to the radio the majority of farm accidents happen when someone is working alone. And almost every story has a friend or family member saying, “If only someone had checked on them sooner.”

The time invested in creating a check-in strategy, and actually using it, is an investment in safety, in production and in overall farm well-being.

In an age of social media we are getting more and more accustomed noting where we are and who we are with. Encourage younger farmers to use this new habit to check in on one another. Spouses, parents, siblings and neighbours can all play a part in safety.

Let’s take a look at three checkin scenarios that have really happened.

Scenario One: in the yard: My husband likes to work in the shop.

What he goes out to do isn’t always what he ends up doing.

Sound familiar? If I am in the yard working, in the house or even going to town for errands, we have an agreement to check in every hour or so. If I am home I physically go out and see. This is a great time to bring a drink if the

weather is hot or the work is hard.

I text when I am leaving town, so if I don’t arrive in the correct time frame he knows to call or text me, or come looking.

Scenario Two: down the road: Working in a field that is nearby but not right in the yard requires a bit more co-ordination. Know the job being done and how long it should take and talk about when the check-in should happen.

Often the check-in text or call comes, and your hands are full.

Don’t put off letting your check-in partner know you’re okay as soon as you safely can. If two or more are missed in an agreed upon time frame then an in-person check should be done.

Scenario Three: phone a friend: Whether he works 10 minutes from home or 10 hours away, we try to touch base at least once a day. Farming is a dangerous job, and knowing someone is safe is important. Not all employers are

Writing a farm safety program There are lots of economic, practical and common sense reasons to write a safety plan for your farm

BY SHANYN SILINSKI

Y

ou’ve seen the farm safety folks at the farm trade shows and farm events. They’re the loneliest booths there. And they’re a resource that is very under utilized by farmers.

In a perfect world, safety would be first.

But too often it is “safety third” on our farms. While, like emergency planning, safety planning is not mandated, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great idea.

It is easier than ever to write a simple and effective safety plan for your farm. Most provinces and many ag organizations offer great free tools and resources.

This isn’t “big brother.” This is smart, safe farming. If you are a fan of number crunching you could do some research and factor in the following: • Cost of downtime due to injury.

• Cost of downtime due to equipment breakage.

• Profit loss due to loss of condition on crops or livestock due to downtime.

The investment in a good farm safety plan that could prevent any of those cost factors pays off almost immediately. The great thing about doing a farm safety plan is you can do it on a rainy day, a stormy winter day or during a break at a farm show.

SAFE WORK PROGRAMS You know your farm better than anyone, and that makes you the best person to assess it. One of the popular acronyms for safety in farming and industry is SAFE Work.

SAFE: Spot the hazard by identifying dangers that could cause injury or health problems.

To be effective the system must enable workers to bring forward concerns about hazards.

Assess the risk associated with each hazard. This will help determine high hazards that require immediate action to correct.

Find a safer way to carry out the task(s) where the hazards have been identified.

The best method is to eliminate the hazards. If this isn’t practical, you must control them.

Everyday workers, contractors, suppliers and visitors are valuable sources of information about hazards and risks in the workplace. This information comes from the “SAFE Farms Manitoba Handbook.”

The most important part of a farm safety plan happens after you write it. Using it.

Get your workers and family to use it.

Ensure it is current and relevant to your farm. When you encourage a culture of safety on your farm, a safety plan is a natural extension of that.

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vigilant, and often are not aware of the dangers their workers face.

If you cannot physically check on someone because of distance, have someone check on them for you if you have not heard from them.

I used to be shy about asking a co-worker or foreman to do this, but it is every worker’s right to have a safe work place and it is an employer’s job to help create a safe work environment.

There are times when you know a neighbour is working on their equipment or in their field. Be a good neighbour and stop by to check on them. It only takes minutes for an accident to happen, and waiting for help to come can have tragic results. Over the years farmers have been trapped inside combines, balers, haybines and under equipment in fields visible from the road. Almost universally, the lament of friends and family was that they wished someone had thought to check on them.

As a farm family you want to know your family and friends are safe on the farm. Making safety a habit is good business, and shows you care. † Shanyn Silinski is a writer, speaker, rancher, farm wife, mom, photographer and advocate.

She has written about farm safety and emergency planning for print and online readers for a number of years. Follow her on Twitter: @ MysticShanyn or find her on Facebook.

THE BENEFITS Some benefits of a farm safety plan: • Prevention of accidents and injuries.

• Preparedness for severe weather and other events.

• Understanding risk.

• Understanding how to mitigate risk.

• Safeguarding workers, equipment and livestock.

• Increasing worker input into workplace practices.

• Preventing of costly downtime due to breakdowns and injuries.

• Building a culture of safety that can become generational.

• Acknowledging due diligence on the part of workers and owners.

One benefit that you may not have considered is protection from liability in instances where due diligence is called into question. When you can demonstrate your due diligence you have demonstrated you care about both your business and your workers. Ask your local agriculture representatives for more information and cultivate safety on your farm. † Shanyn Silinski is a writer, speaker, rancher, farm wife, mom, photographer and advocate. She has written about farm safety and emergency planning for print and online readers for a number of years. Follow her on Twitter: @ MysticShanyn or find her on Facebook.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Safe grain handling We know the dangers of augers and PTOs. But we also need to be prepared for drowning in dry grain, or dust fires

By Shanyn Silinski

G

rain farming has its share of potentially deadly hazards. There are some obvious ones and some you may not think about.

Augers, PTOs and bin cleaners Almost everyone has seen a video or knows of someone who has been caught by an auger or PTO shaft. We tell our children to stay away from them.

We know the cautions by heart: don’t wear lose or torn clothing, don’t step over augers or moving PTO shafts, don’t attempt to unplug augers while operating, don’t remove guarding for moving parts. Keep equipment in good working order.

Auger and PTO accidents are two of the most common accidents on farms. Newer augers have better guarding that does not impede grain flow, but no guard can do its job if it is not in place or is not being used properly.

Asses your equipment for safety: • Are guards in place and in good working order? Can they be replaced or repaired?

• Do you have a clear idea of the danger zone around augers and PTO shafts?

• Have you taken steps to reduce the risk of injury?

• Can you safely turn off the auger or PTO? • According to statistics from Canada, the U.S. and Australia most PTO accidents happen at low speeds, or while the shaft is slowing down. This would indicate impatience as a factor. Slow down.

Bin cleaners and augers pushed into bins are meant to operate without people inside the bins. If you are shovelling inside a bin ensure the following steps are taken: • The auger feed end is properly guarded.

• The bin cleaner is not engaged while workers are in the bin.

• There is ventilation in the bin for breathing and visibility.

• Everyone is clear of augers and cleaners before they are turned on.

Augers are run by PTO via tractor or by electricity via a gas powered motor. Both types rely on belts to drive the augur. Belts are not always guarded, depending upon

the age and type of auger. Ensure that any guards are in place and in good working condition. For belts that are not guarded ensure that approaches to the auger motor are done from the off side to the belts.

One of the most overlooked safety points on an auger are the wheels. They should be properly blocked so that they do not roll either filling or unloading.

Grain baggers and extractors Grain baggers and extractors bring a unique set of safety concerns, besides the actual PTO hazard for filling and extracting.

Grain bagging requires the use of a tractor, which moves as the grain is dumped into the filler and pushed into the grain bag. Unlike most PTO operations with people on the ground the tractor is in motion. Ensure someone is always in the cab during grain bag loading. Ensure all guards are in place on the grain bagger and the bag is filling evenly. Do not walk or stand near the tractor or bagger during fill operations.

Consider grain baggers and extractors similar to any grain

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transfer process with some specific additional hazards. Those include handling the bagging roll, the extraction and filling PTO and auger roles and the physical hazards of the equipment for causing injury. It is essential that you and your staff, family and friends be fully oriented to their safe use.

drainage holes below the level of the person to allow grain to move out and away from them. Call emergency services for assistance as quickly as possible.

The best way to avoid dry drowning is to stay away from stored grain.

Dry drowning

Grain dust is highly explosive.

If you are dealing with a fire near bins or a combine and you are moving grain keep people well away from the dust. The finer the grain dust the more explosive it is. Don’t assume this is a risk only at large grain elevators.

Here’s how this works. Dust fills the air with a lot of burnable surface. Any ignition can potentially cause an explosion including open flame, static, an electric arc, defective wiring, friction, matches or a lighter. A flame can move quickly through the dust in the air and lead to additional fires and cause serious injuries.

Be sure to have proper ventilation around grain dust, and reduce ignition sources wherever possible.

You may not think of exploding grain dust or dry drowning when you survey your farm yard, but they are real and present hazards.

Assess your farm for safety hazards and discuss your plans to address them. †

Though often overlooked, dry drowning in grain is a real hazard and one that is frequently deadly when it occurs. It only takes three to four seconds to be pulled down into grain, and only 20 seconds for an adult to be completely covered.

After that it only takes minutes to suffocate. With children it is tragically much faster.

It is impossible to pull, dig or climb out of deep grain where you don’t have a handhold, or can’t touch bottom. If the grain is taller than you, falling on you or past your waist you are in danger of suffocation.

Unless you have a safety harness and confined space training do not enter grain storage that is deeper than knee deep.

Grain acts much like dry quicksand where it pulls heavier things, like people, down quickly. Do not assume that this danger is only present in grain bins. Any place where grain is stored is a potential hazard, including grain piles (which can fall), crusted grain (which can collapse), or trucks and carts.

If someone does become trapped in grain do not use an auger to move the grain. Cut V-shaped

Exploding grain dust

Shanyn Silinski is a writer, speaker, rancher, farm wife, mom, photographer and advocate. She has written about farm safety and emergency planning for print and online readers for a number of years.

Follow her on Twitter: @MysticShanyn or find her on Facebook.

MARCH 11, 2014

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Big farm communications As farms grow in acres, they also grow in complications — especially when it comes to communications

BY SHANYN SILINSKI

Y

ou might think communications are communications, regardless of the size of the farm operation. You are basically right — communications foundations stay the same. But some variables change when you add people and acres to the equation.

Safety requires good communication for many reasons, but these are big three: 1. Where: where are your people?

2. Who: who is working where, on what?

3. When: when did they last check in?

Large acre grain farms have unique communications challenges.

One of the biggest challenges in Western Canada is limited radio or cell phone coverage. Many farms are choosing to use cellular phones rather than two-way or CB radios.

This may appear to be a cost saving, and convenient option, but there are severe limitations.

Unlike their powered and mounted counterparts, cell phones require charging. This means the phone is limited for use.

Most cell phones are not made for farm use. You can purchase an Otter Box or other covering to protect against dirt, water and impact. This provides extra protection but can limit use of some features.

In Western Canada we still have some areas of extremely limited cellular reception. These areas aren’t limited to remote areas, but can even be found within sight of major centres.

This impacts use of cell phones for email, web browsing, phone calls and messaging. Texting uses a slightly different system so it can be available when calls or Internet are not.

The benefits of cellular phones for communication in the age of the smart phone are wide and positive. Users can take photos and videos — useful for troubleshooting or ordering parts. Accessing online manuals or tech support is advantageous. They can be used for social networking and marketing if you are using your autosteer

and GPS in a large field (the flip side is the distraction of having so much in-cab entertainment).

These are just tools, however, and whether they are low or high tech they depend on their human operator.

WHERE, WHO, WHEN Where: When you have widespread acres you can have during busy times (seeding, spraying, harvest) people in many places doing many things. Knowing where they are at is crucial. Communicating during their day or shift allows you to manage things from a higher elevation, rather than having to go field-to-field.

Who: Is Bob running the air seeder or the filling the cart? Did he run to town to get fertilizer or was he in the shop? It’s impossible to “eyeball” everyone when your fields are far apart. Have an operations manager to track who is scheduled for what job during the day.

When: When did you hear from them last? Set a check-in time and account for everyone. Ideal times for this are when you’re filling seeders or sprayers, changing fields, servicing equipment or eating a meal.

Here’s an example: Have a quick tailgate meeting before the day starts if you are starting from the yard or a field base. Ensure everyone is ready for their day, and knows their jobs and locations. If someone starts without coming to the morning meeting, make sure you check with them as soon as you can.

When choosing a supervisor or operations manager find someone who knows the farm operation, farming in general and is familiar with the area. Joe might be your buddy that you trust but if he doesn’t know the industry or the area or equipment can you expect him to do the job well?

Make sure your communication strategy is communicated to all your staff and family, encourage them to use it and use it yourself. Know your where, who and when. † Shanyn Silinski is a writer, speaker, rancher, farm wife, mom, photographer and advocate.

She has written about farm safety and emergency planning for print and online readers for a number of years. Follow her on Twitter: @ MysticShanyn or find her on Facebook.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Night safety If you’re working in the dark, you need to know exactly who else is in the field, and exactly where they are

BY SHANYN SILINSKI

T

rue story: I was combining at night and all of the sudden there was a truck right in front of my combine in the field. I almost couldn’t stop in time. It was my boss checking on how the harvest was doing. With his lights out, parked next to the swath.

Can you spot the night safety hazards in that story?

1. Parked at night, in a field, with no lights on.

2. Parked next to an uncombined swath.

3. Parked by the next swath to be combined.

Night safety in fields is important as many farms work long hours to fit harvest into small weather windows.

in the way of moving equipment such as tractors and grain carts, trucks, combines and swathers.

When opening a field decide where your staging area will be. It is a good idea to keep field approaches clear for traffic — farm traffic and emergency vehicles that may respond to an accident or fire.

Discuss night operations with your workers and family. Make sure that the rules are clear and easy to follow. Use your technology such as cell phones and two-way radios to let operators know someone is in the field and for what reason.

Unless someone is broke down, plugged up or unloading they should move out of the active working area of the field.

HARVEST STEPS AND STRATEGIES

SEEDING AND SPRAYING STRATEGIES

Have a staging area, where people know to park. It could be where the service truck is parked. Make it close enough to the work being done to be useful, but far enough away to not be

Seeding and spraying have much less field traffic than harvest time, and yet each has specific safety issues.

Seeding needs a set staging area for filling seeders and fertilizer tanks, servicing

and parking service trucks. Make sure this area is close to the field approach but does not block it.

Be aware of things like drift during spraying so that you are not parking in a chemical shower.

EQUIPMENT Ensure your equipment has adequate lighting for night operations. Your operators should have a 360 view around their equipment and a safe zone of light around them for servicing, loading or unloading.

Make sure everyone has a working flashlight with extra batteries. If it’s rechargeable, make sure the charger is with the flashlight.

Ensure everyone wears a reflective vest when they’re outside their equipment. If the vest is unsafe for unplugging or working on equipment, then have clothing with reflective strips sewn on it. If you aren’t in your machine you need to be visible to others.

Have alternate communication strategies in field. Four-way flashers or flashing headlights are excellent signals and can be easily seen.

Have a weather radio. It is much harder to spot severe weather at night and your workers need time to move the equipment and seek shelter should it approach.

Mark your field hazards with reflectors, especially hard-to-spot hazards like irrigation stand pipes, low spots, old fences or rock piles. Let your operators know about

these hazards — give them all a daytime tour before they start night operations.

OTHER NIGHT HAZARDS Other night hazards come with the limited visibility, such as dust, which can make lights ineffective and reduce the line of sight to mere feet.

Animals are an extra hazard at night, both wild and domestic. Be alert to movement at the edge of your lit area, and be prepared for night hunters to take advantage of your driving prey out for them.

Night time can be disorienting for even experienced operators. After a few hours of working within a cone of light it is good to take a break. GPS can prevent field wandering but if you see another worker showing signs of fatigue encourage them to take a break.

It may seem like production will suffer if you take breaks, but the reality is health and safety steps help preserve and increase productivity.

Don’t be a dangerous night walker — if someone is walking in the field ensure they know to wear a reflective vest and are using a flashlight.

When servicing, loading, unloading, repairing or unplugging at night be extra vigilant and ensure that everyone is visible and accounted for before engaging and moving again. † Shanyn Silinski is a writer, speaker, rancher, farm wife, mom, photographer and advocate. She has written about farm safety and emergency planning for print and online readers for a number of years. Follow her on Twitter: @ MysticShanyn or find her on Facebook.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Breaking through the barriers Assumptions about culture and communications barriers can cause problems

By Shanyn Silinksi

L

anguage barriers don’t just happen between people speaking different languages, they also can be present between generations or regionally. When you are working on a farming operation with people from different linguistic backgrounds and different regions, be aware of potential dangers and challenges.

More and more frequently workers from other countries are working on Canadian farms. The presence of different cultures, traditions and language origins can add complex ity to any farming operation.

The first step in successful communication across language barriers is beating assumptions. Don’t assume that what you are saying will be understood by everyone, or that it will make sense to someone without your experience or knowledge

Assumptions As the farm owner, farm operator or business partner it is your job to know your farm intimately.

Don’t assume your workers, or even your family, have the same knowledge level.

Beat assumptions by having clear directions, clear descriptions of things like bins, equipment and locations. Be clear as well on tasks and the steps required to do them safely and properly.

A local mature and experienced farmer hired a young farm worker who had grown up on a neighbouring grain farm.

There was an assumption that the young worker had operated equipment at a higher level than he actually had. This led to unsafe operations, equipment breakage, down time and hard feelings. The employer felt cheated; the worker felt unprepared by his employer for the job.

If the manager had set aside his assumptions and simply asked, “Do you know how to do X? Can you show me?” the answers would have cleared up all the assumptions.

The young man did grow up on a grain farm, but he had not learned to run the auger. Their grain truck was an automatic, yours is a standard.

Beat assumptions by talking to your workers, whether they are from down the road or from another country. Be an active and respectful listener. Be willing to walk them through the tasks their job requires to assess how well they can do the job, what barriers they have to overcome to be proficient and what hazards are present.

more than just humorous “city” and “country” differences.

A cultural barrier encountered frequently is male workers, used to being in an all male workplace, having female supervisors. For religious or other reasons, having a female supervisor or employer may be a culture shock for some.

Respect and clear communication of expectations and roles is the key to addressing this.

Age differences can be a challenge for workers who are culturally conditioned to having age rather than experience as the deciding factor for seniority. A well-educated, trained supervisor

who is younger than a mature worker can encounter a communications challenge.

Other cultural differences impact how we view work ethic, dress and eat. The best way to cross those barriers and build a safe and open workplace is to communicate. Take time during safety meetings, coffee and meal breaks to share stories, ask questions and remember to be respectful.

Respect that, for example, some cultures don’t feel that a firm handshake and direct eye contact is respectful. Indeed, it may be seen as an insult within their culture.

Language barriers Not all language barriers come from communication between cultures or ethnic groups with English as a second language.

Even among those who grew up speaking English there are words and terms that are not universal.

Try sharing something with an Aussie or someone from England!

English is one of the most difficult languages to learn, even if you both speak it!

Be clear about the working words for the farm. Is it a pen or a paddock? Is it a truck or a lorry? Not everyone has your level

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of knowledge about crops, equipment or your farm. Be clear when communicating. Take the time to show what you mean. Label things, provide instructions and don’t be offended if you need to take some time for extended orientation for safe and productive operations.

There is a reason you chose to hire this person. Make the investment worth it by taking the time to help them be the best worker they can.

Start with respect, leave your assumptions at the door and be willing to learn. You might find that they are not only bringing themselves to work, but some new knowledge and ideas as well! † Shanyn Silinski is a writer, speaker, rancher, farm wife, mom, photographer and advocate. She has written about farm safety and emergency planning for print and online readers for a number of years.

Follow her on Twitter: @MysticShanyn or find her on Facebook.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Machinery & Shop Machinery history

The combine that never was, part two White’s 9550 was to be its first rotary pull-type combine. Moving it from concept to prototype pushed engineers to come up with new solutions

By Scott Garvey

T photo: dave houston

Pictured outside the company’s Brantford offices in 1984, the 9550 prototype was ready to start field trials.

o retain a foothold in the pull-type combine market in the 1980s, White Farm Equipment needed to create an all-new model with rotary threshing technology. The 9550 was to be that model. It would “out spec” International Harvester’s 1482, which dominated the pulltype market in Western Canada at the time.

That meant it would be a very big machine for the era.

“The combine was designed to be powered by a tractor with a minimum rating of 150 horsepower, but it was also recognized that 180 to 200 horsepower would

be required to make use of the maximum combine capacity,” says Murray Mills, a former engineer who worked at White Farm Equipment’s combine engineering offices in Brantford, Ontario, in the 1980s. “A large tractor was also needed to handle the weight of this machine, especially when the 225 bushel grain tank was full. In fact, it was soon determined that brakes would be required for a machine of this weight to prevent the tail wagging the dog.

“Oh, It was heavy,” agrees Dave Houston, who was project engineer on the 9550. “Loaded, I think it weighed over 30,000 pounds.”

There were some in the company who thought the 9550’s size and

weight made it impractical to produce. “It was just too big,” he adds.

Compared to the model 8650, the conventional pull-type combine White was already selling in Western Canada, the 9550’s size was impressive. “(The 8650) weighed about 12,000 pounds without pickup and required a tractor with 100 horsepower or more at the PTO for power,” says Mills. “Fully loaded with 150 bushels of wheat and with a pick up installed the weight would be about 22,000 pounds. The 9550 rotary, in comparison, weighed about 21,000 pounds empty with header and pickup, so loaded with 230 bushels of wheat would weigh close to 35,000 pounds.”

White’s plan for rotary combines

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Creating the 9550 was part of White’s five-year strategic plan to offer a full line of rotary combines to the market by 1986. There would be three self-propelled models, the 9720, 9520 and 9320. And there would also be the 9550 pull type, which would have the same specifications as the mid-sized 9320 selfpropelled.

To save design costs and make for efficient production, engineers wanted to build the self-propelled 9520, on which the 9550 would be based, in a way that allowed it to share 20 per cent of its parts with other machines already in production. They could save even more money by carrying that idea on to the 9550, having it share as many parts as possible with the 9520.

One of them would be the header.

“Many of the pull-type combines at that time were fitted with offset headers to narrow the footprint of the tractor-combine combination and consequent drag on sidehill operation,” says Mills.

“This, however, not only required a special header for PT combines but often resulted in feeding problems in heavy swath conditions.

White engineers decided to use a centre-feed header. This allowed the use of the same 13-foot pickup and direct-cut and grain headers used with the SP combines.”

The new White combine line was to incorporate some cuttingedge advances, as well.

“The other main feature of this combine design, in addition to the rotary threshing and separation, was the hydrostatic rotor drive,” explains Mills. “This feature allowed the operator to clear a slugged rotor by rocking the rotor back and forth while sitting in the tractor seat. The machine was fully monitored and controlled by a system of sensors and controls wired to a monitor box in the tractor cab.”

To test the combine’s design and get ready for production, White engineers built several test stands and one field-ready prototype 9550.

But doing so involved much more than putting a hitch on the 9520’s existing threshing mechanism.

“That’s the way it started out,” recalls Houston. “That’s basically the way you start. You take the self-propelled, put a new frame and hitch on it, and away you go. The 9520 was a smaller version of the 9720. The basic similarity was it

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Machinery & Shop

photo: dave houston

photo: ray bianchi

Left: Designing a suitable grain tank became the key element in the evolution of the 9550 prototype. Engineers had to use a different design than what was created for selfpropelled models. Top right: The 9550 used a centre-feed header, to share components with the self-propelled 9520 and reduce production costs. Bottom right: The 9550 pictured in a field near Swift Current, Saskatchewan, along with two 9720 combines. had a grain tank with saddle tanks on it (to expand its capacity). But the problem was these saddle tanks were difficult to work around. They were portions of the grain bin that extended down on both sides of the main frame. So we eliminated them. The other thing I knew from experience on the 9720 was the factory on Mohawk street had a difficult time producing them.

“So we tried to get the (grain tank) capacity we wanted without these saddle tanks, which wasn’t the easiest, because they held quite a bit of grain, and without them it affected the combine’s centre of gravity. We were trying to get 250 bushel capacity. But without those tanks it reduced that by 20 or 30 bushels. Anyway, we (eliminated them), and the decision wasn’t made lightly.”

“The decision to redesign the grain tank reduced the commonality with the 9520 and required changes to a number of the drives,” says Mills. “Management had wanted the the family to look alike but the redesign necessitated changes in the appearance of this machine.”

“When this one came out it didn’t look the same (as the other models) at all,” adds Houston.

Nevertheless, development of the prototype moved forward and it was field tested.

“It was run here, in Southern Ontario first,” says Mills of the initial field trials on the prototype. “Then it went out west to Saskatchewan.”

But mid way through its five-year plan, White decided to abandon the proposed mid-sized, self-propelled 9520 because it offered only a small capacity advantage over the smaller 9320, not enough to justify the much higher price White would have to sell it for to meet production costs. So the decision was made to go with only two self-propelled models. That affected work on the pull-type, which, of course, was based on the 9520.

White’s plan B for the pull-type project was to start over and this time model it after the smallest of the two remaining self-propelled models, the 9320, which the company still intended to build. But that combine still only existed on paper. There was a lot of work to do before another version of the pull type could be based on it.

In the next issue we wrap up this series by revealing what went wrong with the project. †

photo: dave houston

It pays to seed smart With the John Deere 1870 Air-Hoe Drill The John Deere 1870 Air-Hoe Drill, with the exclusive Conserva Pak™ opener gives uncompromised control of seed and fertilizer placement.

What’s more, it easily adapts to changing terrain and feld conditions.

The result is uniform emergence across the feld that offers the potential for bigger yields at harvest. Want greater productivity? The 1870 lets you apply fertilizer while you seed by using two independent hydraulic accumulators per opener. Each one allows the seed and fertilizer opener to be set individually, providing positive separation and eliminating the risk of seedling damage so you can enjoy healthy yields, year after year. Whether you use, liquid, or anhydrous ammonia, the John Deere Conserva Pak™ opener has the options that ft your application needs. Visit your John Deere dealer today.

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Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Machinery & Shop DRAINAGE EQUIPMENT

Water Cannon drains sloughs quickly With a long reach, two Water Cannon models can reach into low spots in fields and move water out

BY SCOTT GARVEY

D

o you have annoying sloughs in some of your fields you’d like to get rid of? Or do you need to transfer water to a farm dugout? The people at Double A Trailers of Two Hills, Alberta, think they have the ideal machines to tackle those jobs. The company’s two Water Cannon models have a long reach and the capacity to move high volumes of water very quickly.

The smallest Water Cannon comes with a 1.9-inch nozzle that operates at 90 to 100 p.s.i., so it can shoot a stream of water about 400 feet. And it will move 1,000 gallons per minute in the process. “The suction pipe is eight inches (in diameter),” explains Ben Martens, of Double A Trailers, the company that manufactures the Water Cannon. “And the discharge (without the nozzles) is six inches.”

For those who want to simply transfer water from one location to another. This model will move about 2,500 gallons per minute through its discharge pipe when the spray nozzle is not attached.

But if that isn’t fast enough for you, the recently-introduced, higher-capacity model with twin nozzles can spray water at double the rate of its smaller brother. “We started a

second model for this year,” adds Martens. “It has a 10-inch suction, so it will do 2,000 g.p.m. versus 1,000 (through the nozzles). If you’re transferring water through a hose you can go up to 4,500 g.p.m.”

The pumps used on the Water Cannon are typically used on large field irrigation systems, so they’re capable of moving water quite a distance.

“That pump is the same one used on irrigation set ups,” explains Martens. “In those (irrigation) cases they’re often pumping a mile or so. (With the Water Cannon) some guys just want to transfer water into a creek or a dug out.”

But the spray nozzles offer farmers the opportunity to move the water sitting in sloughs to drier hilltops before seeding equipment hits the fields in the spring.

“If you can clear them (sloughs) out, you can utilize the water on hilltops, which are always drier,” he adds. “A few farmers I’ve talked with told me that makes a big yield difference.

It’s understandable. They’re normally dry and you’re putting water on them before you seed.”

With their long frames, both models of Water Cannon are designed to reach a long way into wet spots and still keep the tractor on dry ground.

“From your tractor hitch right to the back, you have 83 feet (of reach),” Martens says. “And then there is the side boom beside the

tractor, so you have another 20 feet there. You’ll get those wet spots that are really small and deep that you don’t really need to get very close to. But then there are some that cover a big area that are really shallow. Then a guy wants to back in as far as he can.”

To power the Water Cannon, expect to put some reasonably serious horsepower in front of the pto shaft. “You need (a minimum) 80 engine horsepower,” says Martens. “Most guys seem to run with 120 or 130.”

If you expect to have a tractor and Water Cannon sitting in a field and working for several hours, the company offers an optional ATV carrier. Just drive your ATV onto it, to carry it with you. Then you have transportation back to the yard.

“This year we added more options, for another $950 you get a quad carrier,” he adds.

“It’s mounted on the right side of the machine. You park your quad up on there when you go to the field.”

The smaller Water Cannon retails with a base price of $32,500. And the larger, double-nozzle version comes in at $41,500.

For more information and to watch a video of the Water Cannon in action, visit the company’s website. www.doubleatrailers.ca. †

Using a 1.9-inch nozzle, the Water Cannon can empty sloughs and broadcast the water onto fields, or it can be used without the highpressure nozzles to simply move water overland to a dugout.

Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

The Water Cannon is 83 feet long and designed to reach into shallow sloughs.

Grain Guard’s new line of 4" wide corrugated grain bins are manufactured using state-of-the-art technology and are available in diameters from 15' to 105' in flat bottom models, as well as 15' to 27' in hopper bottom models. With an established catalogue of aeration and conditioning equipment, high-quality grain storage bins are yet another solution provided by Grain Guard.

Our research and development team has put in countless hours working to improve our Classic Rocket design. Resulting in an innovative, stronger and even more reliable rocket.

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Models are available with single or double nozzles capable of broadcasting up to 2,000 gallons of water per minute at 90 to 100 psi.

MARCH 11, 2014

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Machinery & Shop MANITOBA AG DAYS

CB Highlift jack is designed for sprayers An innovative lifting system makes changing sprayer tires easier and safer

BY SCOTT GARVEY

“

W

e realized what we were doing when changing wheels on the sprayer was anything but safe,” said Clarence Sawatzke, while explaining the advantages of the CB Highlift jack at a display during Brandon’s Manitoba Ag Days. “It was dangerous,” he continued.

When Sawatzke and his partner, Barry Reimer, couldn’t find a suitable jack on the market that could lift a high-clearance sprayer the way they wanted, they ended up co-inventing the CB Highlift out of necessity.

“First, we looked at some of the products on the market and realized they were no different than what we were doing,” added Sawatzke.

“So we set out to come up with our own unit that would work for us.”

A little unexpectedly, their neighbours immediately started asking Sawatzke and Reimer to build jacks for them.

“When we built the first prototype in November of 2012, Barry came into the shop and took a few pictures of it then went to the coffee shop,” Sawatzke explained.

“A few minutes later he sent me a text asking if I could build two more. I said I can build as many as you can sell. Last year we built and sold over 100 of them.”

Today, the pair uses prairie farm shows to market their CB Highlift, which retails for $1,250.

That includes a 20-ton hydraulic bottle jack, providing enough lift capacity for any sprayer currently on the market.

CB HIGHLIFT DESIGN The CB Highlift’s unique design allows it to lift a sprayer in multiple stages if necessary, enabling it to raise a machine higher than the stroke limit of its own hydraulic jack. If a sprayer needs to be lifted a long way, the CB Highlift can be pinned in place when the hydraulic jack reaches its limit. The CB Highlift’s frame then doubles as a jack stand, while the bottle jack is moved up and reset. Once the hydraulic jack takes the weight of the sprayer again, the pins can be removed and the CB Highlift continues to lift the sprayer. This process of lifting in stages can be repeated until the sprayer is at the desired height.

The desire to have a jack that could easily raise a sprayer a long distance arose out of Sawatzke and Reimer’s own on-farm experiences, and it was a key factor they wanted to build into the CB Highlift’s design.

“We worked on a sprayer with a flat tire, where one jack stroke height didn’t lift it enough,” Sawatzke said. “What we went through was a series of blocking and jacking. It was scary. So we incorporated the ability to lockin the outer slides, making [the CB Highlift] a jack stand, allowing us to collapse the hydraulic

jack and bring it up. So you can step jack it without losing contact with the sprayer.”

That process ensures the frame of the CB Highlift continues to hold the weight of the sprayer throughout the entire lifting process, and no blocking is required. The frame was also built to provide a large contact area under the lifting surface of the sprayer to minimize the risk of slipping, and it’s mounted on wheels, so it rolls easily.

“Most sprayers aren’t clean,” he notes. “So you have a (jacking) surface that could potentially slip out

on you. When we set out to build a jack, first and foremost it had to be safe. Having a background in workplace health and safety, that was key for me. With safety in mind it had to be built heavy, but not so heavy we couldn’t use it. It had to stay functional.”

To see a YouTube video of it in action, enter CB Highlift into the site’s search function.

For more information, call 204215-0260 or email bnreimer@ explorenet.com. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

PHOTO: SCOTT GARVEY

Clarence Sawatzke (l) and Barry Reimer of Killarney, Manitoba, manufacture and sell the CB Highlift jack, which is specifically designed for use on high-clearance sprayers.

Outback MAX™ with ISOBUS Capability Outback MAX™ continues to redefine simplicity with its introduction of ISOBUS Universal Terminal and task controller functionality for automated section control, data management, and rate control with variable rate capabilities.

Connect to ISO ready implements regardless of brand/color for display and control purposes. The system features section and variable rate control within the rugged, high-definition console.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Machinery & Shop New machinery

Lemken introduces the Rubin 12 compact disc harrow Designed to work as deep as eight inches and at high speeds, it includes 29-inch disc blades

By Scott Garvey

G

ermany-based Lemken has just announced the introduction of the Rubin 12, a new compact disc harrow designed to work soil at depths from five to eight inches. Six models will be available in Canada with delivery beginning in July 2014. Farmers can opt for one in working widths of 10 to 20 feet.

“The Rubin 12 provides all of the advantages of Lemken compact discs, while allowing farmers to work the soil at deeper depths to incorporate heavy crop residue with exceptional results,” explains Ralf Bornemann, Lemken’s product manager, who oversaw its development. “By going deeper, you can do a better job of mixing soil and residue than a shank cultivator while still operating at high working speeds of six to 10 m.p.h. for greater acreage performance.”

The Rubin 12 combines multiple tillage functions in a single pass machine. An impact harrow behind the front row of discs is followed by a levelling harrow and depth-guiding rollers (that can be removed), which pack and level the soil to help prevent erosion and moisture loss.

It also offers a variety of hitch options including mounted, semimounted and trailed versions. The semi-mounted version features a Uni-wheel, which mechanically lifts the roller and reduces the weight load on the rear tractor axle when the implement is raised, allowing for easy road transport and better manoeuvrability when turning at headlands.

The Rubin 12 uses 29-inch, serrated disc blades, which the company claims are the largest currently available on a compact disc harrow. The discs are mounted to the frame individually with pre-tensioned springs

that let them ride over stones.

They use double angular ball disc bearings that need no manual adjustments or greasing.

The symmetrical positioning of the concave discs eliminates the side pulling experienced with some compact disc harrows, ensuring it pulls straight behind the tractor. That also makes for an easy-pulling design, according to Lemken, so it delivers better fuel efficiency.

The company believes the Rubin 12 will be ideal for turning over corn stubble or any other application requiring a mixing of residue and soil.

“We also see many grain, canola, pulse, and vegetable growers across Canada dealing with more and more trash who want to work the soil deeper for better residue management,” says Laurent Letzter, Lemken’s Canadian sales manager. “The Rubin 12 is perfectly suited to those types of

photo: scott garvey

Lemken’s Rubin 12 disc harrow incorporates multiple tillage operations in a single high-speed implement. It will be available in Canada in July of 2014. operations. The penetration depth and large disc diameter on the Rubin 12 are also ideal for breaking pastureland.”

This compact disc harrow also offers a hydraulic depth control adjustment that operators can set from the tractor cab to ensure consistent working depths.

“It’s true, hassle-free, hydraulic

depth control with a self-locking mechanism that maintains consistent depth without manual spacers or pins,” says Letzter.

For more information on Lemken products go online to lemken.ca. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor of Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@ fbcpublishing.com.

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Machinery & Shop TECHNOLOGY

AGCO’s Fuse Technologies strategy The company is working on its plan to create a digital infrastructure capable of integrating data from a wide variety of ag systems

BY SCOTT GARVEY

I

s the number of computers and digital systems in use on your farm continuing to grow? If it is, you’re part of a growing trend in agriculture. And the value of being able to control all those systems and transfer data seamlessly between them using a common infrastructure is likely becoming pretty apparent to you.

Lately, that need has been noticed by the major equipment manufacturers and technology providers. In response, last year we saw several mobile apps hit the market designed to provide on-the-go access to, and control of, some systems.

But perhaps most notably, John Deere’s introduction of its FarmSight strategy in 2011, which provides an all-encompassing infrastructure for farmers to control and integrate data within a wide-ranging package of Deere-produced software, has tackled the full-integration concept head on.

FarmSight gives producers a full suite of John Deere integrated software and technology capable of managing most aspects of a commercial farm that is controlled from a single platform. Combining Deere machinery and FarmSight digital management software provides a totally integrated system.

But as of last July, Deere isn’t the only one blending a fully-integrated digital strategy into its machinery fleet offering. That’s when AGCO announced it too is working on a comparable infrastructure that will give farmers looking for full digital integration another option.

Called Fuse Technologies, the AGCO platform aims to pursue a universal integration strategy, which means it will optimize digital compatibility between AGCO products and all other software from all machinery and technology brands.

The idea is it will take a common engineering approach and allow for enhanced equipment control and data sharing between equipment and products from most major manufacturers.

With Fuse Technologies, AGCO is hoping to pique the interest of those who are looking for the same level of digital integration that Deere’s FarmSight offers, but who still want to run a mixed-brand fleet.

“A lot of customers out there have been pretty candid with us,” says Matt Rushing AGCO vice president of product management Global ATS and Electronics Functional Group.

“They want to keep their options open. They don’t want to be limited to what they can buy. They want to continue working with the people they know and trust. They don’t want to be channelled into buying one brand or one colour.”

“We want to make sure the farmer out there that uses our (digital) product or services still has the ability to connect with people or products he trusts and uses,” he continues. “I think that’s a key element of what we’re trying to do.”

Within the electronics sector there have been ongoing engineering efforts to standardize ag software systems for several years now. The result is many digital systems used in agriculture are now moving toward a common

architecture, which makes is possible for AGCO to develop a platform like Fuse.

“It seems like a tall order until you start to look at what’s being done in the industry and what’s being done in technology development,” explains Rushing.

“They (industry organizations) are developing ways and standards that we can use to do this that aren’t going to make it so hard for individual OEMs and manufacturers.”

Since that “heads up” announcement from AGCO in July about its the Fuse Technologies development path, the brand made a major announcement in November. That’s when it revealed

AgCommand, AGCO’s telematics platform, could be integrated with Raven’s Slingshot system, which is the type of cross-brand integration Rushing said the company would be focusing on.

“The ability to integrate AgCommand and Slingshot will provide growers with a more seamless experience by enabling their fleet and data management tools to sync together via the AgCommand website,” reads the November press release from AGCO. A month later, AGCO announced the launch of a customer support centre called the Fuse Contact Center. It was created to assist customers with setup, calibration and operation of AGCO

®

GRAPHIC: AGCO

In July, AGCO announced its Fuse Technologies integrated digital software strategy, which it says will allow for a more integrated approach to farm management. precision agriculture and machine communication technology products. Customers can call in during hours of operation to talk to a tech expert. AGCO expects to have email and online live-chat capabilities available soon. “...We have a strategy we’re

implementing now to ensure customers can believe we’re on the right path, can start to see where we’re going and our focus on this type of technology,” says Rushing. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

Next Generation Vertical Tillage

Vertical Tillage is a popular term heard today. The Landoll VT Plus was developed with input from producers’ issues on competitive tools they were using. Ability to anchor residue, shallow working depths, mixes more soil, better weed kill across the machine, and the ability to level small ruts left by the previous operation are a few of the points that the Landoll VT Plus was designed to address. The smooth blades allow the unit to work in wetter

785-738-6613 www.landoll.com/ag

Land-144F.indd 1

conditions when needed, and will stay sharper over time when compared to fluted blades used by the competitors. Available in 14’ through 49’ working widths, the Landoll VT Plus is another new product from Landoll… The Company Who Knows You Best.

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MARCH 11, 2014

Cattleman’s Corner INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

COOL isn’t going away JERRY KLASSEN MARKET UPDATE

C

anadian cattle prices have reached historical highs over the past month and in the background of the current market environment, country-of-origin labelling or COOL continues to cast a cloud of uncertainty over the future of the Canadian industry.

The U.S. Farm Bill passed the Senate and was signed by President Obama earlier in February. The law requires meat sold in the U.S. be labelled with information on where the animals are born, grown and processed.

Earlier in November, Tyson Foods announced it would no longer buy fed cattle from Canadian feedlots given the additional costs involved in labelling. Despite that decision, the Canadian industry has not realized a sharp drop in fed or feeder cattle exports over the past few months. Thus, the current high prices.

However, it will be interesting to see how the trade for fed cattle, feeder cattle and beef products develops now the law is in place.

Keep in mind COOL was part of the 2002 Farm Bill, so it has been around for a while.

Canada and Mexico have challenged COOL at the World Trade Organization, prompting minor changes of the U.S. Farm Bill regarding COOL to level the playing field when it comes to labelling all meat products.

While WTO filings, appeals and

While country-of-origin labelling is seen as negative, it hasn’t really affected the market… not yet, anyway. retaliation threats continue from government and producer organizations, it is important Canadian producers realize the market environment and adjust to the current situation on both sides of the border.

In my view, it is almost impossible to get the U.S. to change the Farm Bill on these issues so acceptance and adaptation are key to moving forward and remaining profitable. Reading through the WTO rulings, it is an exercise in futility and patience for the average producer.

OUR STRENGTHS First, I think it is important for producers to realize the three pillars of the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency. Age verification, premises identification and movement are all part of the food safety requirements for the con-

sumer and industry protection.

These requirements are needed if there is a food recall and also for containment in case there is another problem such as BSE. Traceability back to the farm is becoming a key asset to opening new markets to Canadian beef and also expanding current market share in countries open to Canadian beef products. I’ve mentioned in previous articles that all companies are looking for ways to be more profitable, even if it means advertising “non-hormone” raised beef or some other means to persuade the consumer certain beef products are healthier or more consumer friendly than other beef products.

The earlier WTO ruling on COOL made an interesting point.

Despite a large amount of information being tracked and transmitted by producers and processors, only

a small amount of this information is actually communicated to the consumer in an accurate and understandable manner because a considerable proportion of meat sold in the U.S. is not subject to he COOL measure’s labelling requirements at all.

More recently, Washington has argued changes to the COOL have levelled the playing field for all meat sold in the U.S., making the measure nondiscriminatory while increasing consumer information. Back in 2012, the U.S. felt a small relief because the Appellate Body, (the highest court of the WTO) found providing consumers with information was legitimate but the playing field had to be level for all meat products sold in the U.S. Without going into detail and reading through a fair amount of information, the main concern over COOL is U.S. consumers will shy away from foreign-raised meat products and favour locally grown or domestically raised beef.

Another fact is the additional costs in labelling puts packers and processors at a financial disadvantage in processing or selling Canadian rather than U.S.-raised beef.

EXPORTS INCREASE It is important to look at the market facts for clarification and we may not have enough information at this point because the law has not been in effect long enough. Also, the U.S. cattle herd is contracting and the economy is expanding after a major recession, which also affects overall trade patterns and financial incentives for processing.

From Jan. 1 to Feb. 8 2014, exports of slaughter steers and heifers to the U.S. were 41,267 head, up 17 per cent from last year’s number of 35,270 head.

Feeder cattle and calf exports were 33,367 head, up 46 per cent from 22,896 head during 2013 for the same time frame. Cow and bull exports to the U.S. were 50,311 head, up 15 per cent from 43,634 head last year.

Looking at processed beef, for 2013 Canada exported 167,610 tonnes (mt) of fresh and chilled cuts to the U.S., up two per cent from 164,736 mt in 2012.

However, frozen cuts were 13,706 mt, down 23 per cent from 17,693 mt in 2012 but this is a relatively small category compared to the fresh and chilled cuts.

It appears the market is working this situation out under the current laws. I’m not saying the WTO challenge is all for naught, because it has forced the U.S. to equal the playing field for labelling of all beef products, not just for non U.S. products.

We have to remember the government’s job is to protect consumers and Canada has taken a leading role in food safety with the three main industry-led CFIA pillars. Beef production, processing and marketing are very complex but technology has allowed Canadian producers to adjust to the changing industry and consumer preferences, for any market in the world. † Gerald Klassen analyszes cattle and hog markets in Winnipeg and also maintains an interest in the family feedlot in southern Alberta.

For comments or speaking engagements, he can be reached at gklassen7@hotmail.com or call 204 899 8268.

CALF MANAGEMENT

A few tips for grafting calves HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

O

ccasionally a cow loses a calf at birth or a calf loses its mother, and you need to “graft” the orphan or a substitute calf onto another cow. Or, a cow might have twins and can’t raise both and you want to put the extra calf onto a cow that lost her own. Sometimes it’s prudent to graft an old cow’s calf (so the old cow can be fattened and sold) and put her calf onto a younger cow that lost a calf.

It can be sometimes challenging to convince a cow to adopt the substitute calf. There are many tricks a person can try, according to Dr. Mark Hilton, beef production medicine, Purdue University.

He says the most reliable way is to skin the dead calf and put the hide on the substitute.

“You don’t need the entire hide,” says Hilton. “About half to three-quarters of it will do. The important thing is to leave the tail on, since the cow will spend

a lot of time licking that end of the calf.”

The cow knows the smell of her own calf (even if it was dead at birth — if you gave her a chance to first smell and lick the body). This “smell bonding” can trick the cow into thinking the substitute is her calf.

DON’T DELAY Grafting works best when a cow loses her calf while it is very young. Her mothering instinct, due to hormonal changes during the birth process, is strongest soon after she calves, and she can be more readily convinced to accept another young calf in place of her own. If her own calf dies after it is a few days or weeks old, it is harder to trick her into taking a different calf.

“Make holes in the hide so you can attach strings or baling twine,” says Hilton. “I generally put holes in front and back of the front legs and in front of the hind legs, to tie the hide onto the calf. Leave the hide on for three to four days; generally that’s enough time to convince

the cow it’s her calf — and the hide starts stinking by then and you’ll want to take it off.”

Bring the “new” calf to the cow when the calf is hungry and eager to nurse. The sooner the calf nurses, the better, if she lost her own calf at birth. Nursing triggers release of oxytocin in the cow, which stimulates motherly behaviour. You want the cow to accept the calf before she becomes suspicious. Once the substitute calf has nursed a few times and the cow is accepting him, it is usually safe to take off the old skin.

OTHER MEASURES “If you don’t have the hide from the calf that died, there are commercial products to apply to the substitute calf to encourage the cow to lick him,” says Hilton. “I’ve only had moderate success with these or with applying syrup, molasses or salt to the calf to entice the cow to lick it.”

He says using hobbles on the cow’s hind legs to keep her from kicking the calf has proved to be the best method to get the cow

PHOTO: HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

The black hide of this cow’s dead calf is draped over a red substitute calf, all part of the process of getting the cow and calf to bond. to accept the graft calf when no hide is available. “After about a week the cow usually gives up and lets the calf nurse,” he says.

Hilton says always introduce the calf when it is hungry. Put the cow in a chute if the cow does not let the calf nurse right away and let the calf nurse while the cow is restrained.

“You can also pen the calf separately and supervise the nursing two or three times a day,” he says.

“A short gate or panel separating them is best, so the cow can reach over and nuzzle the calf if she wants.” † Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her husband Lynn near Salmon, Idaho. Contact her at 208-756-2841.

BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF

on-farm biosecurity: keep it practical A veteran vet’s advice for cow-calf producers

It’s not hard for on-farm biosecurity to get complicated. But when you’ve been around the industry like Dr. Tom Pittman of the University of Calgary, you get a clear idea of what works.

Having complicated biosecurity protocols without practising basics just does not make sense, he says. The target should be to be practical, not onerous.

The goal in most cases isn’t sterilizing, just gross decontamination.

From his years as a vet, educator and industry adviser he offers these tips to do that.

Have a boot-cleaning kit. Footbaths have their place but for most cow-calf operations they aren’t practical in freezing temperatures or muddy conditions.

And dipping boots in them doesn’t allow enough contact time to penetrate mess.

The most important thing is removing mud and manure from boots. A high-pressure washer works, but just as effective is a good brush, scraper and pail of hot, soapy water. Once cleaned, use a spray bottle to thoroughly apply a solution of household bleach as a last step.

Simplify disinfectant use. There are many good disinfectants but the best option is one that is readily available and will be used. “The more expensive the product, the more the tendency to skimp. Everyone has household bleach and will not be afraid to use it.”

Guest clothes make sense. Have extra boots and coveralls for visitors. No need to manage footbaths and washup protocols or tell people they need to clean up.

Wash your hands. “We don’t wash hands enough. If you don’t like disposable gloves, use alcohol-based hand cleaners.”

Have dedicated equipment. There are two biosecurity goals in calving season. Don’t introduce anything. “Avoid buying little calves from the auction

For footwear that has been on other premises, scrub first, then apply a solution of bleach. and know where your colostrum is coming from.”

And manage what’s on your farm.

“For example, mark and keep colostrum feeder bags separate for healthy and sick calves. Saliva and milk fats are sticky.

Clean bags with hot, soapy water, rinse and disinfect with bleach solution. Then hang to dry.”

Healthy animals first in farm chores.

Treating healthy animals first, then sick

maximizes the time between when you are last in contact with sick animals.

Clean ear tag equipment. Even small amounts of blood on tagging and tattooing equipment can transfer disease such as bovine leucosis.

Fresh needles make sense. Use detectable needles and try to use a fresh one for every animal. Good needles cost only a few cents compared to the cost of the product.

Manage bull entry. Best advice is to buy bulls with known health records and keep them separate from other bulls for a period of quarantine time.

Protect the beef showcase

“Every visitor to a farm or ranch is a chance to showcase Canada’s beef industry,” says Pittman. “The best biosecurity options allow producers to manage effectively without scaring people off.”

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REV-XS Grain News QSHere.indd 1

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MARCH 11, 2014

Cattleman’s Corner industry trends

Animal welfare remains beef industry priority

BY ANGELA LOVELL

G

rowing consumer interest in where and how livestock is raised is bringing animal welfare issues to the forefront in many different ways.

Explaining to non-farming residents and consumers the basics of proper livestock production practices is one part of the challenge, but also researching and adopting improved animal welfare practices is another important part of the job, say livestock specialists.

“There are more people on acreages and they may not come from a farming background,” says Lorna Baird, executive director of Alberta Farm Animal Care (AFAC), which operates a public ALERT line.

“We’re getting more calls from interested people who want to know basically if what they’re seeing is a regular farming practice.”

Last year the AFAC ALERT line received more than 500 calls, of which 88 cases relating to animal care were investigated and required some intervention either from the ALERT line resource team or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) — the organization charged with enforcing the Animal Protection Act in Alberta.

“The ALERT line co-ordinator (who receives the call) will figure out if it’s an informational call, and the person wants to chat about regular farming practices, or if it’s something the industry should get involved in,” says Baird. Most calls are informational, which means the ALERT line also plays an important role in educating people about animal welfare.

“The example I like to use is in the winter if somebody sees horses in the field and they’ve got snow on their back,” says Baird. “They think that’s a bad thing and they must be uncomfortable and suffering, but really it’s a good layer of insulation. That’s what we would call an informational call.”

Informing and educating the

photo: file photo

The pressure is on the Canadian livestock industry to demonstrate that all classes of livestock are being raised with healthy and humane production practices. public about animal welfare is increasingly becoming a priority for all involved in the livestock industry, as the public demands to know more about the products they see on their grocery shelves.

NEW BEEF CODE The new Beef Code of Practice released in September 2013 has several new requirements relating directly to animal welfare, which have also been influenced by public concerns.

“The Beef Code of Practice fits in to a bigger discussion about social licence and the way our industry is viewed by our peers and the public,” says Ryder Lee, manager of federal provincial relations for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA). Lee presented details of the new code at the recent Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) AGM in Brandon.

“The public allows us as an industry to continue doing what we do because we have a social licence; people accept that we raise animals where we do and how we do. This conversation is happening across the world.”

In drafting the code, four pri-

ority welfare areas were examined and reviewed by a scientific advisory committee. It reviewed research on painful procedures, feedlot health and morbidity, weaning methods and environmental and housing issues.

Painful procedures such as castration and dehorning are definitely a public concern. Effective January 2016 pain control will be required for dehorning of all animals and castration of beef cattle older than nine months must be done in consultation with a veterinarian. In January 2018, pain control will be required for castration of cattle over six months of age.

“From the public’s point of view painful procedures are a animal welfare priority issue,” says Lee. There is no doubt they are painful and there is no doubt we can do some things about them.” Lee is a member of the CCA Animal Care Committee and was involved in development of the new Beef Code of Practice.

PRODUCERS INTERESTED Manitoba producers raised concerns at their AGM about the lack of products available for pain control.

They were also concerned about the extra time and cost involved in administering them. “How long will I have to wait for the pain medication to take effect?” asked Don Guilford, a cattle producer from Clearwater, Manitoba.

The best practice for castration is still to use the ring method and to do it as early as possible, says Dr. John Campbell of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, who chaired the science advisory committee for the new Beef Code of Practice.

He explained his experiences with dehorning. Campbell administers a drug to block animal pain, “as soon as they are restrained, do all their vaccines and then dehorn them, so maybe it has 30 seconds or a minute at the most to wait. I would say 95 per cent of the ones that I block don’t struggle at all — they don’t feel any pain,” he says.

“It’s amazing how quickly it does work and it’s not a hard thing to do. I could teach it to anybody in half an hour. But it does require Lidocaine, which your veterinarian doesn’t want to just give to someone without proper training.”

Campbell admits there aren’t many options available for local anaesthetics. Currently producers

have the choice of an anaesthetic (such as Lidocaine) which blocks pain during the procedure but wears off after a couple of hours or an analgesic such as Metacam (Meloxicam), which helps control pain after the procedure for up to 24 hours. Both need to be prescribed by a veterinarian. Part of the new code requires producers develop and maintain a relationship with a veterinarian.

Campbell says there is research currently underway in Canada to look at developing new pain control products. There is also research into a possible vaccine against certain hormones that would stop testicular development.

If producers want to keep their social licence to produce beef, says Lee, they will need to get their own message across to consumers.

“The Canada Beef website is a great example of how the industry is doing a good job of providing people with information about beef and animal welfare,” says Lee. But not all information people find on the Internet is produced by Canada Beef. “They’ll find stuff on YouTube like the Meatrix,” he says. “And reality doesn’t necessarily interact with whether or not that social licence should be maintained.”

RETAIL LEADS THE WAY Lee says the retail industry is ahead of the curve in understanding consumer influence. Food safety and animal welfare issues have become part of corporate social responsibility platforms.

“It starts with sustainability and then they have intensified interest by their stakeholders — whether it’s their consumers, or activists — who pressure them to use their power on their supply chain to precipitate change and make sure things are done the way they think they should be done,” says Lee. A & W recently launched a controversial “Better Beef” campaign claiming its beef has no

» continued on page 45

welfare innovations

Piglet arm makes processing easier

M

anitoba hog barn manager Helmut Janz recently won an award for a tool he developed to improve handling for baby pigs at processing.

Janz, a barn manager for Maple Leaf in Zhoda, Man., has developed what he calls a “piglet arm” after seeing the need for a better way to process baby piglets. In barns where thousands of baby pigs are handled each year, employees were suffering repetitive stress and strain injuries as a result of performing piglet processing tasks. And hand holding squirming piglets is stressful on the animals too.

His “piglet processing arm” invention gently and safely holds the animal and allows it to be pivoted and rotated during the handling process. This makes the processing of piglets a safer task by eliminating the potential for repetitive stress and strain injuries

on the employees. For the invention, Janz was awarded the 2014 F. X. Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production by the Banff Pork Seminar.

The design of the piglet arm is simple, constructed out of six simple, standardized, easy-to-source, low-cost parts.

A universal joint similar to what is used on power takeoff shafts on tractors serves as the basis for the device. A holding plate to cradle the piglets is attached to the top of the joint and the whole unit is mounted on the processing cart.

Foam inserts on the holding plate cradle the piglet and a Velcro strap easily holds the piglet in place.

The processing arm attaches to a processing cart, and can be adjusted for employee height and used easily by both right- and lefthanded people.

With this new tool, processing tasks such as injections, tattooing,

photo: helmut janz

Working with some easy-to-source components, hog barn manager Helmut Janz developed this piglet arm which safely holds piglets for processing. castrating, tail docking and oral drenching can now all be done with the piglet in the cradle by simply swivelling the arm to the correct position. Since the piglet can be processed without being held and squeezed by staff, there is less stress on the animal and far less repetitive stress on the staff.

The arm is now used by 40 people in 20 barns across the Maple Leaf system and will be used on approximately 1.5 million piglets annually.

As well, Maple Leaf is now man-

ufacturing new custom-designed carts for their barns with two arms. Use of the carts will be a mandatory part of operating procedures because they are seen as an important opportunity to improve injury prevention.

“Innovation is the lifeblood of any industry and the F. X. Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production is an opportunity to recognize those individuals who have developed either original solutions to pork produc-

tion challenges or creative uses of known technology,” says Dr. Michael Dyck of the University of Alberta, chair of the F. X. Aherne prize committee.

The award is named after the late Dr. Frank Aherne, a professor of swine nutrition and production at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and a major force for science-based progress in the western Canadian pork industry. † Article and photos courtesy of “NewStream Farm Animal Care by Meristem” www.meristem.com.

MARCH 11, 2014

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The Dairy Corner DAIRY CORNER

Cold temps no guard against dairy mastitis PETER VITTI

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astitis flareups occur any time mastitis organisms are given the chance to enter the teat canal. While many dairy herds have had outbreaks during hot weather, a serious mastitis problem can occur any time, including during the coldest winter months of the year.

Whether dairy cows from the milkline spend their off-milking hours in an unheated free-stall barn, outside drylot or even in a temperature controlled facility, winter conditions often creep in and tend to reverse otherwise healthy teat conditions and predispose cows to pathogens that cause udder inflammation. Fortunately, dairy producers can implement a number of preventative measures and even make some small changes to the milking ration that reduces the probability of cold weather mastitis.

These proactive measures help maintain general healthy teat skin, which normally is a very tough and pliable barrier against mastitis-causing bacteria.

COLD AND DRY Cold weather associated with low humidity can quickly make teat skin dry and crack. Chapping can literary cause horizontal tears in the teat skin, which is not only painful (much like our chapped hands and lips), but allows mastitic bacteria such as staph aureus and environ-

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 44

ANIMAL WELFARE REMAINS BEEF INDUSTRY PRIORITY added hormones or antibiotics.

McDonald’s has already committed to 100 per cent Canadian beef for its hamburgers for all of its Canadian restaurants and the global company has announced it will begin purchasing verified sustainable beef by December 2016.

Producers have to be a part of the process of informing consumers they produce beef in a sustainable and ethical way, says Jeffrey Fitzpatrick-Stilwell, manager of sustainability for McDonald’s Canada, who also spoke at the MBP AGM. “We understand from our customers, from government, and from NGOs what they want from us,” says Fitzpatrick-Stilwell.

“They are very clear about what they want us to do and take action on. But the key point is we need to rely on producer expertise first and foremost. We’re not the experts on sustainable beef. It’s got to be producer-led from our perspective, so we need producers to tell us how best management practices work and why they are the best practices.”

Beef producer associations are among the many partners, which includes agri-industry companies, retailers, processors, NGOs and animal welfare and environmental groups participating in the Canadian

PHOTO: FILE PHOTO

Keeping dairy cows clean and properly bedded is an important part of reducing the risk of mastitis at any time of the year. mental streptococci to attach to the broken skin and colonize. Cows with teat sores are also thought to be more susceptible to viral udder infections such as peseudocowspox and herpes mammalitis, which occur frequently in winter.

Keep in mind chapped teats and teat sores are not an isolated problem for cows housed only outside or in an unheated loafing barn.

They can occur in cows housed in a temperature-regulated barn as well. Although, barn temperatures are significantly more moderate than those recorded outside, they still can be rather cool (ranging from 8 to 12 C) and filled with many drafts, which can easily dry teat skin, and predispose them to mastitic organisms.

Frostbite is also a serious winter threat to dairy cows housed outside in a drylot or in an unheated facil-

ity, because teats may be exposed to freezing temperatures or high windchills for a short or extended period. Teats can freeze in temperatures close to freezing with a steady 60 km/h wind. As the temperature drops, frostbite will occur as the winds diminish to a point that teats will freeze at -18 C in still air.

The degree of frostbite damage to cows’ teats ranges from a reddened and superficial skin crack, which could allow mastitis organisms to take hold or do more serious and irreversible necrotic damage to the skin, circulatory system and muscles of the teat — possibly destroying a functional teat.

MANAGEMENT TIPS Here are a few tips to preventing chapping and more serious frostbite in cows’ during the winter as

well as keeping teats in a healthy condition: • Limit the exposure of cows to the cold. It’s a matter of keeping the cows out of the cold temperatures and windchills. Drylots should have appropriately placed windbreaks and lots of thick dry bedding at all times. Unheated housing should also have layers of thick dry bedding and it should be cleaned to prevent a build-up of bacteria.

• Continue with sound mastitis prevention programs. Maintain good cleaning and dipping teat protocols as well as practice sound milking procedures. Use a “winterized” commercial teat dip that contains added emollients such as glycerin or lanolin that helps keep teats soft and flexible. Once the teat dip is applied after every milking, the individual teat should be blotted dry.

• Lower SCC with nutrition.

Zinc methionine has been shown to stimulate production of keratin, the tissue that forms a protective plug in the teat canal. The recommendation for zinc methionine to lower SCC is 50 mg/kg of the total ration. Selenium fed at 0.3 mg/kg diet (6 mg/hd/d), working with 500 iu/hd/d of vitamin E during lactation and 1000 iu/hd/d during the dry period helps reduce SCC in lactating dairy cows.

• Fight mastitis when cows are resting. Hydrated lime reduces bacteria growth in straw or wood shavings lining stalls, but this antibacterial effect lasts less than two days. Therefore, a daily application is necessary. Whether organic or inorganic bedding is used, a wellmaintained stall should have adequate bedding. Up to six inches of straw, sawdust, wood shavings or

and Global Round Tables on Sustainable Beef. That forum is trying to arrive at a definition of what sustainable beef is and develop guidelines for how it’s produced and verified.

sand should be put down and fill holes or bare spots. Stalls should be frequently groomed to remove wet spots and extra manure.

• Tackle mastitis infection problems. The rate of new mastitis infections are the highest during the first two weeks of the dry period and two weeks prior to calving. It is important to work with your veterinarian in order to identify the most effective antibiotic programs tailored for your dairy farm. Research shows mastitis infections are eliminated by four means: 1) relying on the cow’s natural immune system, 20 per cent effective; 2) lactation treatments, 30-90 per cent effective; 3) dry cow therapy, 90 per cent effective and 4) culling mastitis problematic cows; 100 per cent.

• Review the economic worth of high SCC dairy cows. Some cows are simply high SCC producers, regardless of a well-implemented mastitis prevention program. If they are high milk producers and produce a calf every year, one should evaluate her profitability to the herd and decided whether to cull her. Consider culling cows with extreme SCC counts and persistent mastitis infections.

Winter weather presents some chilling situations that compromise the teat health of milking cows on many dairy operations.

Producers can overcome this challenge by implementing some pro-active steps that help reduce possible mastitis outbreaks. By eliminating even one case of winter mastitis maintains or leads to more milk revenue. † Peter Vitti is an independent livestock nutritionist and consultant based in Winnipeg.

To reach him call 204-254-7497 or by email at vitti@mts.net.

28TH ANNUAL EDITION

PRODUCER ROLE McDonald’s experience shows producers have a huge role to play and are extremely credible with consumers. During its “Our Food, Your Questions” campaign last year McDonald’s received thousands of questions about its food supported by unscripted videos, which was part of the campaign.

One video featured Bob Lowe’s Alberta ranch showing how his cattle are raised and fed. It has gained thousands of views.

Fitzpatrick-Stilwell says the company has received a positive response from customers and others in the industry about its tray liner, which features CCA vice-president and cattle producer Dave Solverson.

“When they see a picture of a rancher standing on his farm, they know that’s where our beef comes from, that’s authentic and real to them and they are more trusting of that,” he says. “It’s much more credible to them.”

The beef industry continues to work to develop protocols and programs that can measurably demonstrate sustainability and good animal welfare practices to its customers, who are increasingly also its neighbours. † Angela Lovell is a freelance writer based in Manitou, Manitoba

Date: Sat. April 12, 2014 Place: Eionmor Stock Farm (The Morison’s) Time: Viewing of the Cattle at 10:00a.m.

Dinner @ noon, Sale @ 1:00 p.m.

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Consignors: Eionmor Stock Farm Shepalta Shorthorns

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MARCH 11, 2014

grainews.ca /

47

Home Quarter Farm Life SEEDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Women in Agriculture This empowering conference will encourage farm women to successfully fill all their many roles

A

t this point in the winter you are likely dusting off the gardening magazines, and trying to find some warm sunbeams of light to soak up the warmth and hope of spring coming. This spring, at the end of April on the 28th and 29th in Calgary there will be a Women in Agriculture Conference, “Advancing Women: Life Skills for Leadership”: the first of its kind in Canada.

Iris Meck of Meck Communications in Calgary is the catalyst for this event, and her hope is to have more opportunities in the future to empower farm women.

Go to the website www.advan cingwomen.ca to download the agenda, and see the myriad of talented women who want to encourage all of us in agriculture to be successful leaders, great networkers, and energized to fulfil the multiple roles we women in agriculture fulfil.

It is time for us all to have a learner mindset and to throw away the judger mindset of “a woman cannot do that job!”

“Running on Full: Strategies for managing the demands of multiple roles,” by Dr. Karen MacNeill is the session that I am not going to miss.

Women wear many hats and work hard to manage the multiple roles of leader, employee, volunteer, parent, partner, and friend/ family member. If not strategically managed, this juggling act can “drain the tank” and lead to health and wellness issues. Learn how to recognize the warning signs and develop tools to restore energy in order to manage the demands of multiple roles.

As a life coach, and farm family facilitator, I see many situations where young farm women are frustrated around finding out what roles work for them, and the jobs that are aligned to their skill sets and passion. If you would like a role “storyboard” for your life, email me at elaine@elainefroese. com and put “roles sheet” in the subject line. This can be your game plan for your roles of self, couple, family, farm, friends and community for the next three months.

I challenged Meck about the timing of the conference in late April and she replied that the meeting is planned after “ag show season” and before seeding. Meck is also cognizant of the considerable interest from young women entering the working world who are looking forward to a great

writing our new book Farming’s In-law Factor which is a dialogue around how to have more harmony and less conflict on family farms. Much conflict can be managed or averted when each person feels that their needs and wants are being addressed in a fair fashion.

The Advancing Women conference addresses goal setting, financial savvy, leadership, and mentorship tasks for women who want to have a stronger voice in agriculture, in their homes, farm businesses and communities. If you are in your 20s you need to come to gain a voice for your independence. If you are in your 30s, bring the baby with you, and learn how other younger moms put some

to see their leadership skills and passions “squished” by old ways of thinking.

It is time for us all to have a learner mindset and to throw away the judger mindset of “a woman cannot do that job!”

Grainews is one of the sponsors of the Advancing Women in Agriculture conference, so please take time now to check out the website at www.advancingwomen.ca.

I look forward to having tea with you in Calgary at the end of April, and hearing your story. Iris Meck is counting on you to engage with the terrific lineup of speakers she has compiled, and to hear about your success as a woman in agriculture. Sign up today! † Elaine Froese, CAFA, CHICoach is a catalyst for courageous conversations and a thought leader in agriculture. She coaches, writes, mediates, facilitates from the farm in southwestern Manitoba near Boissevain. She is the awardwinning author of, Planting the Seed of Hope, and, Do the Tough Things Right…how to prevent communication disasters in family business.

Go to www.elainefroese.com/contact to share your story. Call 1-866-848-8311 to book her to speak and empower your next ag event.

“On this farm, we’re the experts.”

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More of Canada’s farm experts choose to do business with FCC Together, we’ll create the financing plan that works for you. We get to know you, your farm and how you want to grow. If you’re ready to get down to business, talk to one of our farm business experts.

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career path. So at the end of April after university classes are over, there is a student rate to assist the young agriculture women to attend this empowering event.

There are many seasons in agriculture that we all need to learn to manage. Putting your goals as a woman first may not be your first habit, but maybe this is the time in your life to put what you absolutely NEED first, and then the farm roles will be energized when you are!

In early April I will be attending the Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara, California annual convention to upgrade my skills in conflict dynamics resolution. I have spent the last 10 months researching and

things on hold, and embrace other tasks in order to master success. If you are in your 40s, think about the lack of power and control you may be sensing, and ask, “Why am I allowing this to happen to me?”

For those of us in the 50-something category, we are looking to simplify our lives, and have quality experiences. Many of us have been community leaders for a long time, and seek out younger women to mentor into powerful leadership roles. Those of you in the 60-plus category have elder wisdom that you need to teach the younger women with your dialogue in Calgary.

My biggest concern for the future of agriculture families is the ability to embrace the unique skill sets and passions of both genders, so that everyone on the farm team is respected and fully heard. As a farm family coach I meet many young women who are highly educated and returning to the farm of their origin, or marrying into a new farm business. It saddens me

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Home Quarter Farm Life

Furniture maker adds animal imagery to pieces Country craftsman comes by his love of wood naturally

BY EDNA MANNING

J

photos: edna manning

Left: Jamie Russell working on one of his pieces. Right: A completed piece.

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amie Russell calls himself a bachelor hermit who enjoys a back-to-nature lifestyle on his acreage near Vanscoy, Saskatchewan. After a day’s work, part of his routine includes a long walk with his dog Danni and, in the winter, chopping the day’s firewood.

Russell, however, is also an internationally respected craftsman whose finely crafted furniture is known for having animal imagery incorporated into it.

The woodworker comes by his love of wood naturally. “My father was fairly competent with tools and so was his father. My father’s maternal grandparents had relatives in the cabinet business. My mother’s paternal grandfather was a highly skilled amateur craftsman in the late 19th century arts and crafts style,” he says.

When he was nine, Russell received a scout knife for Christmas. This led to a “lifetime fascination with shaping nature’s most versatile material.”

After completing high school, Russell travelled for several years before returning to Saskatoon and enrolling in cabinetmaking and millworking classes at the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST).

He went on to a three-month apprenticeship in California with two key men in the field of woodworking and furniture building who taught him design techniques, marketing strategies and structural philosophy. This, plus a grant from the Saskatchewan Arts Board set the stage for him to prepare a body of work for a one-man show.

At one point he experienced one of the challenges of many other artists — you had to gain acceptance outside Saskatchewan before you got it here.

“Up until 2005, I used to sell most of my work in the U.S. Today I’m getting the kind of work I want without running all over the continent looking for it,” he says.

Although he has branched off to a small degree doing free-form vessels, functional furniture continues to be Russell’s primary focus. “The commissions are more for straight furniture. I’ve really enjoyed reawakening that side of my skills; revisiting and refining things I’ve done before. The vessels and the sculptures are more exploratory and on a smaller scale,” he says.

Russell is the recipient of many awards and has been co-ordinating conferences and teaching at workshops across North America for many years. He was the Feature Artist at the 2013 Reflections of Nature Show, sponsored by the Saskatchewan Wildlife Art Association.

For more information, contact Jamie Russell at 306-934-0082 or email: jamierussell25@hotmail. com. † Edna Manning writes from Saskatoon, Sask.

MARCH 11, 2014

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Home Quarter Farm Life POSTCARDS FROM THE PRAIRIES

Life’s secrets, according to you…

People of the world, tell me this — if you could go back and tell a younger version of yourself just one thing, what would it be? Part Two JANITA VAN DE VELDE

H

ere forthwith are your remaining responses to what you would tell a younger version of yourself.

Work for someone who is wealthy, and get them to teach you how they got there, as long as they were ethical on their way up!

Start saving for a house NOW because when you are ready to buy, the market will be insane and houses will cost MUCH more than they do now.

That I have value, I am perfect and have worth just as I am. That I am loved.

Buy lots of real estate, as much as you can afford. Even in Regina?

YES. Especially in Regina. Trust me on this one.

You don’t need to be involved in every debate.

In 10 years, none of this is going to matter.

Get in touch with your insecurities, do not feel guilty about your youth, you were a good kid, but went awry for a decade or so, keep emotions in check and stay strong, you are a good man… you don’t have to try and impress anyone, you are an impressive, strong individual.

Be who you are, and do it as well as you possibly can. Don’t try to be the best at everything.

Be good at what you’re good at, and be happy you are good at it!

Don’t start smoking.

I’d tell my younger self to take better notes, maybe type them this time?

Stop dating losers who break your heart, hold out for a tall, handsome fella with a mullet and a Camaro — he’s the one.

Listen to your mom and dad — they know what they’re talking about… and stop rolling your eyes every time they say, “You’ll understand when you’re a parent.” Turns out they know what they’re talking about.

You’re not so bad.

Things worth doing aren’t easy.

Believe in yourself.

To my high school self? You’re not as smart as you think.

Shut your mouth sometimes!

You have great worth.

No one’s perfect, learn to love yourself for who you are. Oh, and only say things about people that you would be willing to say to their face.

I would tell myself that I have a really happy life ahead, once I get through a bunch of sh**ty years.

Stand up for yourself and live your life for YOU. Never spend more than you make.

Who cares what people think of you!

Be more serious about education, and have a stable occupation before getting married.

Enjoy the moment in front of you, and spend less time thinking about the past or worrying about the future.

Don’t bother with the serious relationships until you’re a lot older. Trust me, parts of your brain aren’t fully developed yet, so wait on that picking a spouse thing.

Learn

about

computers…

turns out they’re here to stay.

Same goes for typing. That may have proved more useful than learning Latin.

Don’t worry so much. Things generally work out the way they’re supposed to.

Keep looking in the mirror — don’t blame anybody else for anything.

Learn how to train a puppy before having kids!

Don’t worry so much!

Don’t try, DO! Change is inevitable, growth in optional. Travel if you can to help realize how many opportunities we have in this country. If you can make a difference with someone who has had some misfortunes, then help them out. It will be good for you as well.

I would tell myself to warn my high school friend about alcoholism because her father was an alcoholic, and she followed in his footsteps. She passed away.

I don’t think my younger self would listen to anything I would try and tell her.

Don’t worry so much. They are wrong — high school is not the

best time of your life. They are right — you actually will figure it out and it will all work out perfectly. Also, the “I don’t care hairdo” is easy, but you have to honestly not care about it to get it just right.

You are enough. Better things await and don’t ever let them keep you down.

Always get to the toilet at the right time.

Risk more when you are young.

School is more important that you think, and your boyfriend/ girlfriend is really not as important as you think.

What people think about you is none of your business. It’s a reflection of them, not of you.

Go to medical school. † Janita Van de Velde grew up on a farm near Mariapolis, Man. She holds a bachelor of science degree in agricultural economics from the University of Manitoba, and has worked for a financial institution since graduating. She lives in Regina, Sask., with her husband Roddy and their children Jack, Isla and James. Her first novel, Postcards Never Written, was the recipient of the Saskatchewan Reader’s Choice Award and also listed by CBC as one of the top funny books in 2009. She donates a portion of proceeds from the sale of her book to World Vision to help those less fortunate. For more information, or to order her book, visit her website at www.janita.ca.

Trying to eat healthier?

BY JULIE GARDEN-ROBINSON NDSU EXTENSION SERVICE

W

e have lots of healthrelated information coming our way but you need to consider the recommendations carefully. If you are thinking about getting healthier, the NDSU Extension Service can help you with evidence-based materials.

We are launching a brand new effort called “Nourishing Boomers and Beyond.” Although the primary target audience includes adults 50 and older, any adult can benefit from the content available on the website at http://www. ndsu.edu/boomers.

Here are 10 tips for healthier eating: • Take your time. Be mindful to eat

slowly, enjoy the taste and textures, and pay attention to how you feel. Use hunger and fullness cues to recognize when to eat and when you’ve had enough.

Remember, your brain needs at least 20 minutes to get the message that your stomach is full.

• Use a smaller plate at meals to help with portion control.

• If you eat out, choose more healthful options. Check and compare nutrition information about the foods you are eating. Look for fast-food restaurants that post nutrition facts on their menus. Better yet, preparing food at home makes controlling what is in your meals easier to do.

• Satisfy your sweet tooth in a healthful way. Indulge in a naturally sweet dessert — fruit! Serve a fresh fruit cocktail or a fruit parfait made with yogurt. For

a hot dessert, bake apples and top with cinnamon.

• Choose to eat some foods more or less often. Choose more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fat-free or one per cent milk and dairy products. Cut back on foods high in solid fats, added sugars and salt.

• Sip smarter. Drink water or other calorie-free beverages or fat-free milk when you are thirsty.

• Compare foods. Compare Nutrition Facts labels at the grocery store.

• Make treats “treats,” not everyday foods. Have a smaller piece, and limit sweet treats to special occasions. † Julie Garden-Robinson, PhD, R.D., L.R.D., is a North Dakota State University Extension Service food and nutrition specialist and professor in the department of health, nutrition and exercise sciences.

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

Fruit makes the perfect naturally sweet dessert.

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Home Quarter Farm Life SINGING GARDENER

Pictures say more than words Plus, get all the info about castor beans TED MESEYTON

T

oday it’s fewer words and more pictures. Right about now let’s say it’s time for a coffee break or tea at 2 p.m. So settle back wherever you are and from whatever you’ve been doing and join me for a time. Take a moment to get comfortable at the lunch counter or kitchen table with your Grainews in hand while I tip my hat and bid all welcome to the Singing Gardener page.

BESTOWING AN HONORARY NAME Most gardeners know it as the castor bean (Ricinus communis) but I, Ted, also think of it as our Canadian castor palm tree. Today I’ll take you on a breathtaking word and pictograph tour of a four-acre beauty spot on Island Park in my hometown where Don Pelechaty and his wife Donée reside. They call the place High Grove Villa. Nowhere else have I, Ted, seen a more magnificent display of a castor bean hedge.

FROM VICTORIA, TO DUNCAN, TO PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE Don and Donée lived on Vancouver Island for six years.

Four of those years were spent in Victoria. Their home “was at the foot of Mount Douglas, said to be the location of an extinct volcano,” according to Don. “Soil was beautiful and really good.

Thousands of daffodils were once commercially grown at the site. It was a big field that was later turned into a housing estate. Volunteer daffodils came up all over the place, even on lawns. You couldn’t stop them.” Later, Don and Donée moved to Duncan on the shore

SUE ARMSTRONG

LOVE HEARING FROM YOU Do you have a story about a farm or home-based business?

How about some household management tips? Does someone in the family have a special-diet need? Share some of your meal ideas.

Send them to FarmLife, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1. Phone 1-800665-0502 or email susan@ fbcpublishing.com. Please remember we can no longer return photos or material. † Sue Armstrong

PHOTOS: TED MESEYTON

Top Left: These stunningly beautiful and dramatic castor bean plants extend the full length of the driveway all the way toward a Japanese Tea House at the home of Don and Donée Pelechaty in Portage la Prairie, Man. Top Right: Don Pelechaty stands in front of one of his four magnificent white Roman columns made from imported solid oak wood. Completion of his Roman Temple is a work in progress. Four authentic Roman scenes will be painted on the exterior walls of the former pool using brick-red natural pigments and other organic colours. Bottom Left: This is an authentic Japanese Tea House, possibly the only one on the Prairies. Tourists will find their visit with historian Don Pelechaty a memorable one. Bottom Right: What’s next for Don Pelechaty as he ponders the great outdoors and natural scenery? They are like a health tonic, elixir and potion all rolled into one, guiding his next decision. And yes — Don does take time to socialize, garden, smell the roses, welcome tourists and feed dozens of deer that visit the exterior of his fenced-in garden area. Don calls the act of feeding someone or something a mitzva, i.e. doing something for God that you don’t have to do. of Lake Cowichan for two years, before moving to Manitoba. “Now that we are here,” Don exclaimed in his own unique way, “I like the winter and it’s going to be a glorious spring.”

DON’S EXPERIENCE WITH AND OPINION OF CASTOR BEANS “I love them,” he told me. Don started about three dozen castors indoors early last spring. Once they were planted out he discovered lots of heat, sunlight and tons of water are to their liking and also found them to be tough, very hardy and almost indestructible. From personal experience he also learned of their incredible poisonous and repelling ability. “No bug, no bird, nor deer will chew on them. Things don’t even land on them. All life just avoids them. Nothing bothers them.” He described what weeding near the plants was like. “You have to be very careful and weeds won’t even grow near them. I was always very careful when even brushing past them. They gave me kinda the whim-wam.” I, Ted, asked: What do you mean by whim-wam?

I never expected this response when he replied, “The shivers.

They’re loaded with something that causes shivering.”

I posed another question by asking: “Are you going to grow

any more this year?” while anticipating an affirmative response.

“Of course,” without hesitation came Don’s reply. “They’re so exotic looking. They’re husky and can take the wind. They have very stout stalks. The leaves are incredible. They can grow three feet square.” I, Ted, then gave my two cents’ worth by saying to Don, “Yeah, like an elephant’s ear!” Don grew two kinds in 2013.

“I had a green variety and a deep-red variety.” I, Ted, believe them to be Ricinus Gibsonii red (150 cm/five feet) tall and Ricinus Zanibariensis green, up to (240 cm/eight feet) in height. Overall, Don finds castor beans “to be a great plant and conversation piece that’s easy to propagate as an annual on the Prairies. They produce incredibly attractive seed heads that can be harvested and safely stored away for future propagation. Apart from their poisonous aspect, Don discovered each huge root system required some digging to get them out once the foliage was hit by a killing frost in fall. In Chile, South America castor beans are grown as a perennial and so I said to Don, “What about Vancouver Island and do they overwinter there as a perennial?”

His response was, “I kind of think they would. I’ve seen them in formal gardens surrounded by canna lilies as a central focal point in giant flower beds.”

A JAPANESE TEA HOUSE … is one of the treasures on the park-like grounds at High Grove Villa. Don Pelechaty who is quite a historian in his own right recalled how “the original owner of the home, the late George Hill, built it on a hill (appropriate to his name) in 1949. Hill undertook numerous projects during his lifetime. Building a Japanese Tea House in 1967 was one of them and his way to celebrate and commemorate the 100th anniversary of our nation.

The tea house is made of bamboo imported from Tokyo. The floors are made of Japanese tiles and the ceiling is finished in Japanese murals depicting scenes of culture, family life, maidens in wedding dresses and samurai sword icons. Windows are glassed and screened in. The tea house has its own telephone, a bar and other amenities. People have wondered: What’s that thing on the roof? Wonder no more, people! It’s actually a chimney that would have led down to a brazier (a pan for holding live coals) to boil water for cooking rice and make some tea. Don Pelechaty is receptive and very welcoming to visitors, giving tours in season to those seeking a bit of Japanese ambiance on the Manitoba prairie. Don pointed out that a Japanese Tea House is a pretty rare

thing in the middle of the country. “I don’t think I’ve seen or am aware of another one.”

Look for castor bean seeds on display racks at garden centres in your area or by mail from Dominion Seed House, phone 1-800-784-3037; T & T Seeds, phone 1-204-895-9962; Early’s Garden Centre, phone 1-800-6671159; or Johnny’s (U.S.) phone 1-877-564-6697. †

This is Ted Meseyton the Singing Gardener and Grow-It Poet from Portage la Prairie, Man. Castor beans aren’t the only seeds and plants considered poisonous. So are apple seeds and cherry pits (in quantity), caladiums and daffodil bulbs, delphinium seeds, morning glory seeds and Datura (a.k.a. Angel’s Trumpet both the leaves and seeds) and that is just a short list.

In the process of making commercial castor oil the poison is filtered out. Castor pomace is the residue left over once oil is extracted from the bean and handling the pomace can cause severe allergic reaction in some people. It has been added to compost heaps and planting rows due to its nitrogen content. My email address is singinggardener@mts.net.

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