Afe140414 by Farm Business Communications

RURAL STEWARDSHIP MESSAGE TO URBANITES

MIXED REVIEWS FOR RAIL LEGISLATION

Five southern Alberta ranches featured in stewardship and sustainability video » PAGE 9

Bill C-30 doesn’t spell out the service agreements grain companies want » PAGE 20 Publications Mail Agreement # 40069240

VO LU M E 1 1 , N U M B E R 8

APRIL 14, 2014

Province’s decimated cow herd may be on the mend BSE, low beef prices, and then high feed costs have decimated Alberta’s cow herd, but a turnaround is coming into view BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF STAFF

anadian cattle producers are receiving strong price signals to begin expanding their herds — but will that be enough to reverse the decline in the national herd? Canfax’s research manager Brenna Grant thinks so, but not until next year. “We are anticipating these prices that we’re currently seeing to stabilize, but the price signal for expansion will be there very strong this fall,” she said. “We’re expecting expansion to really kick into gear in 2015.” The current focus for most producers is on rebuilding “equity that was lost over the last decade,” said Grant. “Producers have been really cautious over the last five years,” she said. “There’s been a lot of better news, but it’s not necessarily good news.” Grant saw some heifer retention in 2012 when calf prices were around $1.80 per pound. Prices are now north of $2 and “that’s a really strong signal to retain some heifers.” “If we’re at the point where these high prices are here to

BIXS 2.0

stay, you want to be the one retaining heifers this year,” she said. That’s what Clay Williams plans to do. “Last year, we ran 20 head, and this year, we’re ramping up to 80 head,” said the Hannaarea producer, who farms with his parents and his wife Jesse. The young couple has been buying heifers in the spring and selling them as bred heifers since starting their operation two years ago. “We’re doing that again this year, but we’re planning to keep back enough for one or two bulls.” As a new farmer, Williams has found strong cattle prices to be both a blessing and a curse. “It’s a lot tougher to grow mostly because the price to either keep (bred heifers) back or buy them is high, and the price of land is high,” he said. “(But) you’re going to get good money for your calves in the fall.” He’s optimistic, though. “As long as the markets hold and our profit margins are good, it’s going to make it not too difficult to get into the business.”

SEE COW HERD  page 6

Clay and Jesse Williams will be keeping back some bred heifers this year so they can begin to expand their herd. PHOTO: COURTESY CLAY WILLIAMS

BEEF DATABASE FASTER, BETTER AND EASIER TO USE  PAGE 12

Avadex® is a registered trademark used under license by Gowan Company, L.L.C. PMRA Reg. No. is 25112. Always read and follow label directions. 12002 09.12

Un-sow your

Wild Oats

For more information call: Cory Bourdeaud’hui 1.204.390.2340 Javan Davis 1.306.590.8600 Jim Vancha 1.306.951.7008 Gowan 1.800.883.1844 www.gowanco.com

news » inside this week

inside » Merck wants to test Zilmax Wants to sign up 50 feedlots, but owners and packers reluctant

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

livestock

crops

columNists

BIXS 2.0 up and running

Good bugs and bad bugs

The subtleties of performance horse dentistry

New version faster, better and easier to use

Frozen pulse snack on a stick takes the cake at Mission ImPULSEible

queals and cheers rang out as a team of four University of Alberta students won first prize for their creation, the Pulse Pop, at this year’s Mission ImPULSEible competition. The Pulse Pop — made from black beans, chickpeas, coconut, peanut butter and chocolate — is a frozen alternative to the popular cake pop. “We wanted it to be very kid friendly and kind of look like a sucker or lollipop, anything on a stick that is attractive to kids,” said Stacey Seufert. “I found a recipe for a truffle that was really healthy and made out of black beans,” added teammate Anastassia Astrakhantseva. “From there, we came up with the idea that we could make a layered product with different pulses. It’s really cute and it’s a dessert, but we also made it healthy.” Chickpea crackers, a fusion perogy, and a pea butter cup were among the other entries in the six-year-old competition for innovative foods made from pulses. Most of the country’s pulse crop is exported, but the contest is a way to encourage more consumption in Canada, said Allison Ammeter, vice-president of the Alberta Pulse Growers Commission. “These students are going to go into restaurants and foodservice industries, and they’re going to have so much knowledge about how to cook with pulses,” she said. “It’s not just the students that win, it’s all the restaurants and foodservice industries that hire these students, which means farmers win.” It took several trials before the winning team — all fourthyear Nutrition and Food majors — found the right formula. “The biggest challenge was getting things to stick on a stick,” said Astrakhantseva. “That’s why our product is frozen. If we were to leave it at room temperature, the stick would fall out, because our ingredients are kind of soft.” The Pulse Pop team won $1,500 and will work with a staff member in Leduc’s Food Processing Development Centre to take their product to the commercial development stage. They will also compete in the national Mission ImPULSEible event in Saskatoon in July. A NAIT culinary arts team won second prize with a pretzel-like cracker called Besan Bites, while the Chocofruitter chickpea cookie, also created by a U of A team, took third.

Client: Salford Farm Machinery Publication: Alberta Famer Express Size: 10.25” x 3” Ad#: SFM14-03_14-10.25x3-AFE

Alberta’s winter in review

3:18 PM

af staff

eginning farmers can now learn to build an electric fence — without ever leaving the house. Farm On Foundation has created the first instalment in a series called “The Fast Farmer.” The series will use podcasts, videos, photos, instructional sheets, case studies, and other material to provide practical information in an easy-to-use format geared to younger farmers, said Ben Wilson, Farm On video production manager. “We wanted to inspire them to begin their learning online and kick-start that with a basic step-by-step approach,” said Wilson. While young producers have embraced the Internet and YouTube to learn farming techniques, it’s hard to find relevant information among all the online clutter, said Wilson. The organization, created six years ago to help young farmers, worked with the Alberta Forage Industry Network to create The Fast Farmer pilot and consulted with industry experts to get the right approach. “We knew the resources had to be step by step and ready to implement in the business right away,” said Wilson. In the pilot (available at farmon.com), Albert Kuipers, manager of the Grey Wooded

Albert Kuipers, manager of the Grey Wooded Forage Association, teaches fence-building techniques in the pilot of the new ‘Fast Farmer’ video series. Photo: courtesy Farm On Forage Association, shares his skill at building electric fences. The group hopes to work with other producer organizations to create more programs in the series. “We need help finding experts and getting them to go on camera,” Wilson said at the recent Livestock Care Conference. “We’re a small team and we don’t expect that we would do it all on our own.” It’s a win-win for producer organizations wanting to connect with young people, he added.

“To be honest, young farmers are not finding you. They may know that you exist, but they’re having difficulty because of the constraints on their time. They’re raising kids, and they have second jobs. They sometimes can’t make it to events like this or to other learning opportunities. So partnering with Farm On and putting some of these resources online is a great way to raise the profile of those producer organizations and access those young farmers.” akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

Page 1

etails.

ler for d

r dea See you

Daniel Bezte

By Alexis Kienlen

af staff / edmonton

3/18/14

It’s a bug-eat-bug world if you have beneficial insects

‘Fast Farmer’ videos offer practical how-to advice

By Alexis Kienlen

Salford_SFM14-03_14-10.25x3-AFE.qxd akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

Permaculture isn’t just for gardens

Carol Shwetz

leading-edge poultry housing ‘Furnished housing’ style features nesting areas, scratch pads and perches

brenda schoepp

SALFORD equipment is designed and manufactured to excel in a variety of field conditions, with models built for your soil productivity. Call your Salford dealer today, or visit

www.salfordmachine.com Salford, Ontario • 1-866-442-1293 Ad#: SFM14-03_14-10.25x3-AFE

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

Mountie on a snowmobile catches bumbling tractor thief Thief went on mini crime spree, destroying fences, and tree stands, before rolling tractor BY ALEXIS KIENLEN AF STAFF

t’s a Prairie version of the classic Hollywood chase — a thief who tried to escape in a stolen tractor pursued by an RCMP officer on a borrowed snowmobile. Blackfalds RCMP responded to a break-and-enter complaint at a rural address on Highway 595 east of Red Deer on the afternoon of April 2. The thief had pilfered firearms, household items and jewelry from the residence, before proceeding to another residence about three miles away, where he stole a John Deere 6400 tractor with a front-end bucket. “One person was on a bit of a mini crime spree,” said Corporal Barry Larocque of the Blackfalds RCMP detachment. The tractor’s owner watched as his tractor took off across the fields and called the RCMP. Officers were working in the area, and had three vehicles nearby. They began driving up township and range roads, and one officer spotted the tractor on secondary roads near Township Road 374 and Range Road 250. Fortunately, a recreational snowmobiler drove by, and the police officer caught a ride with him. The two men pursued the tractor as it crashed through fences and stands of trees, damaging multiple fields in the process. But it was anything but a high-speed chase. “It was crawling,” said Larocque. “We don’t have any speed estimates, but the tractor wasn’t in road gear or anything like that.” At about 6:45 p.m., the thief attempted to evade the RCMP by driving the tractor up a hill, but stalled. When he attempted to back the tractor down the hill, he lost control and rolled. The thief was uninjured, and was taken into custody. The tractor suffered extensive damage, but still ran. The RCMP didn’t know the two thefts were associated with each other until they found the stolen firearms, jewelry and household goods from the first residence in the cab of the tractor. Jesse Cecka, 25 and of no fixed address,

A thief who tried to steal a tractor rolled it on a hill near Blackfalds. The driver was uninjured, but the tractor suffered extensive damage. PHOTO: SUPPLIED has been charged with breaking and entering, theft, and theft over $5,000. It was obvious to the RCMP that the thief had no prior experience with his escape vehicle of choice. “He’s more of a city person than a country person,” said Larocque. Rural residents can prevent their own version of “COPS” by securing and locking their vehicles, and removing keys from the ignition. “I don’t know if the keys were in there or not, but taking the extra time to secure one’s property and vehicles in the rural

setting is becoming more prominent,” said Larocque. In the previous two weeks, the Blackfalds RCMP members have dealt with several vehicle thefts from rural properties. In many of these cases, the keys were left in the vehicle. “I know about this, because I grew up in Saskatchewan,” said Larocque. “But it’s a different time now, so you have to be a little more diligent and get those keys out of the ignition.”

CORRECTION Bison story photo The picture accompanying the story on bison producers in the March 31 edition had an incorrect caption. The picture was of Thomas Ackermann on his ranch.

akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

SPRAYING OFF LABEL

COSTS YIELD

Spraying herbicide on Genuity® Roundup Ready® canola, above recommended rates or outside the application window,

can cost you 3 bushels per acre or more in yield.

ALWAYS FOLLOW GRAIN MARKETING AND ALL OTHER STEWARDSHIP AND PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Details of these requirements can be found in the Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers printed in this publication. Monsanto and Vine Design® is a registered trademark of Monsanto Technology LLC, Monsanto Canada Inc. licensee. ©2013 Monsanto Canada Inc.

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

EDITOR Glenn Cheater Phone: 780-919-2320 Email: glenn.cheater@fbcpublishing.com twitter: @glenncheater

Reporters Alexis Kienlen, Edmonton 780-668-3121 Email: akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act — much ado about not much

Jennifer Blair, Red Deer 403-613-7573 Email: jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

PRODUCTION director Shawna Gibson Email: shawna@fbcpublishing.com

If market forces were allowed to work, we might not have much of an open market for them to work on

Director of Sales & Circulation Lynda Tityk Email: lynda.tityk@fbcpublishing.com

CIRCULATION manager Heather Anderson Email: heather@fbcpublishing.com

By laura rance

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

ADVERTISING sales Crystal McPeak Phone: 403-646-6211 or 403-360-3210 Email: crystal@fbcpublishing.com

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

ADVERTISING Co-ordinator Arlene Bomback Phone: 204-944-5765 Fax: 204-944-5562 Email: ads@fbcpublishing.com

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

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

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

The Alberta Farmer Express is published 26 times a year by Farm Business Communications. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Publications mail agreement number 40069240 Canadian Postmaster: Send address changes and undeliverable addresses (covers only) to Circulation Dept., P.O. Box 9800, Winnipeg, MB R3C 3K7

ISSN 1481-3157 Call

1-800-665-0502

Editor, the manitoba co-operator

t’s become clear that Ottawa remains worlds apart from the rest of the country when it comes to fixing what’s broken with Canada’s grain export system. While differences remain over the specifics, consensus grew among farmers and industry leaders gathered at a special summit in Saskatoon March 26 that there needs to be better co-ordination of rail car allocation, perhaps in the form of an independent third party such as the former federal Grain Transportation Agency. There were times when pretty well everyone in the system was mad at the GTA while it was in operation between 1979 and 1995, but that just meant everyone was getting equitable treatment. And we sure moved a lot of grain. The federal transportation and agriculture ministers dismissed this idea outright, saying they want market forces to prevail. It would seem that is exactly what has been happening and it hasn’t been working so well for farmers. In fact, if left to market forces, western grain farmers would, in short order, be without short line railroads, even more captive than before to the two national railways and quite possibly down to three grain-handling companies. Hence the government intervention, or, as the railways would suggest, interference. Bill C-30, the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act, got plenty of attention when it was rolled out, but boil away the rhetoric and all we’ve got is a politicization of what has historically been the fundamental structural problem confronting grain exports from Canada.

For a party that doesn’t like big government, the federal Conservatives sure like big government. Here we are, less than two years into a so-called open market for grain in Western Canada and we have a government-owned company purchasing and constructing grain-handling facilities in direct competition with the private sector, and legislation placing two politicians in charge of dictating to the railways how much grain they should move. True, the government’s ownership of the new CWB is temporary. It committed to carrying it for five years after it eliminated the single desk and fired the farmer-elected board of directors in 2012. As well, the board would deny it is using taxpayer support to build this network. But CWB wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the $350 million in federal funds it received to help its privatization, along with a virtual gifting of assets bought and paid for by past generations of Prairie farmers. The federal government will also argue that transportation and agriculture ministers will only impose performance targets when necessary and upon the advice of the Canadian Transportation Agency. But the search for a viable long-term strategy for western Canadian grain exports can never succeed as long as politicians focused on winning their next election are calling the shots, however well intentioned those individuals may be. Short of a strategic decision to import more people so we don’t have to export so much grain, Canada is saddled with a problem — limited capacity for moving the astounding productivity of western farmers to tidewater. That’s not to say we can’t move it;

we’ve done it before. But moving it requires a system that works like clockwork — not a discombobulated assortment of spinning gears, swinging arms and pointing fingers like we have today. The Canadian system lacks the same access to publicly funded commercial storage available to our neighbours to the south. Plus, farmers here are more dependent on exports. It would seem that the role of politicians in this matter should be about putting good governance into place, not micromanaging from crisis to crisis with politically popular decisions. The effects of the federal government’s rather blunt management of this situation are clear. The railways have been ordered to move more grain, and by jove, they’re doing it, with little regard for where specific quantities and grades need to go. That’s putting pressure on the grain companies and focusing attention on whether they have been doing everything possible to maximize system efficiencies. After all, it would appear they are profiting quite handsomely from the situation. CN CEO Claude Mongeau, perhaps with his tongue in cheek, went so far as to question why the grain companies aren’t being regulated too. In the context of this crisis, it’s a fair question to ask. The railways make a popular whipping boy when things aren’t running smoothly, just like the former CWB and before that, the GTA. We’ve taken our share of shots at the railways too, but finding someone to blame and punish isn’t the same as finding a solution. We’ve had more than 100 years to figure that out in Western Canada. When will we learn? laura@fbcpublishing.com

or U.S. subscribers call 1-204-944-5568 For more information on The Alberta Farmer Express and subscriptions to other Farm Business Communications products, or visit our web site at:

www.albertafarmexpress.ca

Canada on the verge of agricultural export bonanza A growing middle class in emerging markets is increasing demand for what we sell

or email: subscription@fbcpublishing.com At Farm Business Communications we have a firm commitment to protecting your privacy and security as our customer. Farm Business Communications will only collect personal information if it is required for the proper functioning of our business. As part of our commitment to enhance customer service, we may share this personal information with other strategic business partners. For more information regarding our Customer Information Privacy Policy, write to: Information Protection Officer, Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Ave., Wpg., MB R3H 0H1 Occasionally we make our list of subscribers available to other reputable firms whose products and services might be of interest to you. If you would prefer not to receive such offers, please contact us at the address in the preceding paragraph, or call 1-800-665-0502. The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Alberta Farmer Express and Farm Business Communications attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists and Alberta Farmer Express and Farm Business Communications, cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and the editors as well as Alberta Farmer Express and Farm Business Communications assume no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader for this publication based on any and all information provided.

by Peter G. Hall

griculture is rarely found in the “wow” segments of the media. It typically operates in the economic background, a critical but unsung sector of industry. Until some crisis interrupts its supply chain, that is. Mere rumours of food shortage are enough to incite panic; grocery store shelves empty instantly when some event sparks a stock-up of basic foodstuffs. There’s a growing sense now that this economic second fiddle could be set to take centre stage. Why the sudden stardom? It is not immediately evident in the data. Primary agriculture accounts for a mere 1.1 per cent of Canadian GDP. Add in processed food, and the total number adds up to three per cent of GDP. As a share of trade, primary and processed food adds up to 11 per cent of merchandise exports. Significant, but hardly stardom.

So what is it that is vaulting this sector up the popularity rankings? In short, the world is getting hungrier. The rise of emerging markets over the past three decades is now vaulting millions into the ranks of the middle class. China alone is graduating 40 million a year. India is somewhere between 10 million and 20 million, but its goal of 30 million annually is not far fetched. These are staggering figures, and it is just a beginning: Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, the Philippines, Vietnam and others are also aggressively adding to this income cohort. The significance of these graduates is their appetite. It grows with their incomes, and is putting what soon could be inexorable pressure on global food supply. Is our breadbasket nation participating in this bonanza? Indeed we are. Back in 2002, emerging markets accounted for 14 per cent of Canadian agricul-

tural exports; today it has grown to over 30 per cent. From 2000 to 2013, growth to OECD nations averaged four per cent, not a bad pace, but it was more than double that, at 8.8 per cent, to emerging markets. It is likely that the pace will increase. Isolating the trend to particular countries is not easy. Here, China stands alone, accounting for over a third of our agricultural exports to emerging markets, and increasing at a hefty 16 per cent each year. Beyond that, it is hard to differentiate for size and growth. The next 10 emerging markets are rising by an average of over 10 per cent per annum, led by growth to India, Russia and more recently, Indonesia. Cynics may say at this point that this trade is all in primary products, and that again, we are not adding much value to what we ship. True, 65 per cent of this aggressive trade is crop production. But of crops, animal products and processed foods, it

is the slowest-growing category. At the same time, food-manufacturing exports to emerging markets, 30 per cent of the total, are up on average by 12 per cent yearly. Animal production, just five per cent of the total, is seeing 18 per cent annual growth. These numbers have been largely unsullied by the global crisis. As the world gets back to growth, it is not hard to imagine this aggressive growth pace picking up even more. Growth alone will further boost middle-class entrants, but nextgeneration free-trade deals promise further liberalization of global agriculture. For nations like Canada that are net exporters of food, this is on balance great news, and promises even greater potential gains. The bottom line? At the dawn of the next global growth cycle, Canada’s agriculture sector is poised to reap huge gains. Peter G. Hall is vice-president and chief economist of the Export Development Corp.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

The view from here Owners responsible for what happens in barns

was upset when I turned on the news and saw the video of employees at an Ontario poultry farm using shovels and sticks to kill turkeys. I was even more upset when the news report said the four employees who were abusing these birds had been suspended. That’s putting the blame on the wrong people. We used to keep turkeys on our farm, and it’s not difficult to kill them in a humane manner. It’s the responsibility of the management to teach their employees how to properly kill a turkey and it is their responsibility to monitor what goes on in their barn.

When incidents like this happen, all of us who raise livestock are tarred with the same brush. People look at these videos and say, ‘Well, if they’re doing that with turkeys, are they doing the same on every farm?’ It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, there are always a few bad apples. But it’s wrong to put all the blame on these four workers. The people who hired, trained and oversaw them are the ones who need to be held accountable. Michael Shield Beef and lamb producer, Daysland

Glyphosate use should be questioned

’m writing in response to Ken Cole’s article: “Dispelling the myth of Big Agriculture” (March 31 edition). He says grain farmers use herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers and GMOs responsibly and claims Don Huber’s “junk science” may be measured with a baloney detector. He also mentions “most” farmers think carefully about their glyphosate use and understand you can have too much of a good thing. Then why is it I see “chemical

farmers” as I call them, moving from a five-crop rotation to a two-crop, canola-wheat rotation that is slowly turning into a one-crop canola-winter rotation? Ken mentions “too much of a good thing” and putting out the facts. My bull ?!?! detector just went off. P.S. I use several bulls in my rotation. Garry Hrycun Cattle farmer, Newbrook

Eating red and processed meat — what do scientists say? A recent perspective paper in Meat Science cautions about uncertainties in scientific evidence

eople have been advised to limit their intake of red and processed meat following reports they may increase the risk of suffering cancer in the gut. A recent perspective paper, authored by 23 scientists, publish e d i n t h e j o u r n a l M e a t Science underlines the uncertainties in the scientific evidence and the need for further research. It is possible to promote cancer by giving animals a chemical cancer challenge and a basic “standard” diet that is high in meat, but doesn’t contain any ingredients — vegetables, fibres, milk and other sources of calcium — that protect and help the gut stay healthy. In other words, the “standard” diet of the lab animals is not very comparable to that of humans. This may explain why the results seem to differ. In humans, the observed association between

red and processed meat intake and cancer is relatively small in magnitude, but consistent. So it may still present a serious public health impact. The 23 researchers conclude other foods, in co-operation with the bacteria that live in the gut, may protect the gut so any potential adverse effects of meat may become less pronounced or even fully prevented. They also note we don’t fully understand how food that we eat affects our gut and our health. To get a better grip on this complex issue, it is necessary to have improved measures of how much meat people eat, the composition of the meat, and how this affects the risk that cancer develops. The paper is published open access in Meat Science, and is entitled, “How can we approach consensus on the healthiness of red meat?”

Permaculture isn’t just for gardens STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP  Thinking

about the ecology of your land can prevent erosion, rejuvenate pastures, and accommodate both livestock and wildlife BY BRENDA SCHOEPP

recently got back from Cuba, where I earned my international permaculture design certification. Permaculture — the term was coined by two Australians in 1978 — is ecological design that is self-maintaining and is centred on three main principles — care for the earth, care for the people, and return of the surplus. The first step is thoughtful observation, which is familiar to me. I like to just think about what a paddock is trying to say when I am planning pastures. As we learn from our mistakes here at home, a new design is coming into being that is more sensitive to the functioning ecology and all movements including wildlife patterns. This follows the observation of pathways and water stops, potential erosion, sun and shade patterns and the difference in soil profiles. Little changes are always in order when we are not sure. That is why the only real fence here on the farm is the perimeter one. Everything else can be (and often is) changed. Our young helper once proclaimed that he was busy full time just moving fences and gates! Maybe so, but often I did not get the flow of the cattle or of myself just right the first time. The idea is that the land is increasingly productive in all its glory, and that goes right down to the bugs that are needed to ensure an almost eternal life cycle. There are many functions of what you see when you look at a pasture as an example. The tree provides shade and keeps the ground cool while housing other friends of nature. We are blessed with a lot of rain and snow on our farm and catchment is the next project so that there is a “well from the sky” backup system that also helps eliminate pooling or erosion. And a variety of grasses contributes to palatability. Even in our flower gardens, there are plants specific for the butterfly, the bee and the hummingbird, as well as edible flowers and those plants that protect others. Having a systems approach to our pastures allows us to ensure that there is always rebirth. We have seen this in rest and rotation. On our current farm, we were able to quadruple production and carrying capacity in four years by rest and rotation. This was not abundance of weeds, but of a variety of grasses and legumes. The challenge now is to sustain it in the good paddocks and get it going in areas that are not responding well. What we are looking for is the missing synergy in the paddock. Storing energy has always been important to us and as the technology becomes more affordable, we are looking at ways to capture energy to run our house. Using the sun to keep calves warm by cradling is helpful and we use solar power for our water pumps. Other energy is also on the farm such as wind, manure, flowing water, or even sewage. There is often an opportunity to capture that energy in a way that builds biodiversity on the land. The idea of using all waste is not that unfamiliar to many farming families. The manure goes on the field, the wash water goes on the plants, the kitchen scraps go to the compost, the newspaper lights the wood stove, the fallen tree keeps the stove going, and so it goes. This part of the permaculture model is a challenge

Canada and Cuba have a great working relationship in permaculture education. to some, but we produce little waste. I watch my children in Montreal who are charged for waste and allowed one can of recycling and one can of waste per week. This is not hard if you live alone but more difficult if the house is bustling with wee children. They do it though and also never use appliances during peak hours. It is a discipline. In permaculture, everything is integrated. Consider my yard. The slope ensures that the water feeds the plants below without being erosive. The wild plants that were growing are not pulled away but corralled so they do not become dominant. The hummingbird garden is planted where the hummingbird was first seen, the playhouse is located where the children liked to play, and the steps are made of natural rock and are a shortcut through the flowers where the dogs would always walk. It is the art of looking and then providing the habitat to avoid the conflict. We ensure our cattle access the spot that they have determined is the warmest place on the farm, even if it is not convenient for us. They know where they have to be and that choice eliminates a lot of unnecessary destruction or rebuilding. Certainly carbon comes into the permaculture discussion, but so do the edges of ecosystems. We protect our edges here by fencing off the place where there is so much biodiversity. Now that does not sound very natural I know, but I have noticed that by identifying those places as bio hot spots, there is a great variety of new plants and other life in there. After 10 years of what was once barren, even the wild blueberries are back. And we have fences around beautiful stands of trees that are just “out there” thus enticing a host of nature to live and feed along the edges. Working with the discipline of permaculture is much easier when we are talking about gardens but the challenge comes in transferring that to a grand vision and to livestock and pasture production. This is a challenge that I am excited to be part of and fully engaged in. Brenda Schoepp is a Nuffield Scholar who travels extensively exploring agriculture and meeting the people who feed, clothe and educate our world. A motivating speaker and mentor she works with young entrepreneurs across Canada and is the founder of Women in Search of Excellence. www.brendaschoepp.com

OFF THE FRONT

COW HERD  from page 1 Steep drop

New entrants have been as rare as decent profits for most of the post-BSE period. Alberta’s cow herd peaked at 2.2 million head in 2005, but the 2011 agricultural census found the herd had shrunk to fewer than 1.6 million cows — a 23 per cent decline in just a decade. The number of producers fell even faster. In 2001, nearly 29,000 farms had cows on them. A decade later, that number had plunged by nearly 10,000. A few counties lost only 10 or 20 per cent of their cattle producers, but drops of 30 to 40 per cent were not uncommon. In Kneehill County (west of Olds) 254 farms reported having cattle in 2011 versus 756 a decade earlier. Williams’ county (Special Area No. 2) lost a quarter of its producers. “We saw a lot of good ranching land getting ripped up into farmland,” he said. Williams said that “has as much to do with labour as it does money.” “The reason people are leaving ranching for farming is the amount of work required,” he said. “The effort required to calve cows and continuously monitor your cattle is greater than it is to farm comparable acres.” As people move away from the work required in ranching, herds will continue to decline, and pasture lands will continue to go to crops, he said.

“A lot of guys — us included — are having a really hard time balancing whether you keep (bred heifers) back or you sell them.” CLAY WILLIAMS

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

“Most who break land have a complete herd dispersal.” That makes it harder for newcomers like Williams to break into the business — but he’s in it for the long haul. “Although the workload is higher, my wife and I enjoy raising cattle,” said Williams. “It’s as much a lifestyle as it is anything.” While there may be an upward “blip” in cattle numbers in the July inventory report, Grant said she expects rebuilding the herd here and in the rest of Canada will be “a slow and steady climb.” “The question is how quickly will producers respond to that change in circumstances?” she said. “I really think that producers are going to be cautious, not just in Canada but in North America as a whole. This isn’t going to be something that’s super dramatic.”

BEEF

CHANGE IN PRODUCERS BY MUNICIPALITY

The brown-shaded areas show growth — and there’s none of that in this comparison of the number of cattle operations in 2001 versus 2011. (Graphic courtesy of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development)

No fast track

Even Williams, who says he “got in at the right time,” agrees it will be slow going. “A lot of guys — us included — are having a really hard time balancing whether you keep (bred heifers) back or you sell them,” he said. “If you don’t keep them, your herd is slowly decreasing in size, and you’re not growing the way you’d like to. To not sell them, you’re walking away from a significant amount of revenue.” Their off-farm jobs — Clay is a drilling engineer with Husky Energy and Jesse is a botanist with Dow — “feed that investment that’s required to grow the farm.” “It’s too tough to grow from zero to big in any amount of time, so with the second revenue, we can grow our farm a lot more significantly,” said Williams. He said he and his wife hope to move away from the bred heifer market and into the cow-calf market with the goal of eventually making a living from the ranch. “That’s the ultimate dream — to be able to farm 100 per cent,” he said. “But it takes a lot to grow a farm from nothing to that point.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

Weather.

Proofed.

Experience unsurpassed weed control this spring even in tough conditions. With Roundup Transorb® HC herbicide you get peace of mind with industry leading service and guarantees. For full details on the RiskShield® protection package, visit

Roundup.ca ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. RiskShield® and Roundup Transorb® are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC, Monsanto Canada, Inc. licensee. © 2014 Monsanto Canada Inc.

Albertafarmexpress.ca • april 14, 2014

Southern Alberta village hit hard by closure of Saputo milk-processing plant Glenwood has fewer than 300 residents and will lose 25 jobs when plant closes By Jennifer Blair af staff

village in southern Alberta is about to lose its largest employer as dairy processor Saputo prepares to close four processing plants in North America. “The term I would use to describe it is ‘shocked,’” said Kurtis Pratt, chief administrative officer of the Village of Glenwood, one of two communities in Alberta affected by the closures. “People are concerned about what (the closure) will mean. It’s probably too early to tell exactly the impact that it will have.” But it will be big. The Saputo plant, which produces powdered milk, employs about 25

people in the town of 287. And its taxes and utility payments account for almost half of Glenwood’s municipal operating revenue. “We are going to have to be re-evaluating different services and prioritizing and making decisions accordingly, whether it’s to cut services or raise taxes or some combination to make up for that shortfall,” said Pratt. Saputo refused a request for comment, but in a late-March press release said the closure of Glenwood plant, another in Wetaskiwin, and two U.S. facilities was “aimed at improving its operational efficiency.” Closing the four plants will eliminate 180 jobs in total and save the company $4.8 million annually. “Over the recent years, Saputo has maintained efforts

“People are concerned about what (the closure) will mean. It’s probably too early to tell exactly the impact that it will have.” closures are unknown, with the first scheduled for May 2014 and the last planned for December 2015. Laid-off employees will be given severance and outplacement support, with some offered to pursue additional efficien- the opportunity to transfer to cies and decrease costs while other Saputo locations. strengthening its market presGlenwood’s nearest city is an ence,” the Montreal-headquar- hour and a half away in Lethtered company stated. bridge, so attracting new busiTrim: 8.125” The exact dates of the plant ness to the town to replace Kurtis Pratt

One invasive species leads to another

Saputo’s loss will be a priority, said Pratt. “Glenwood is not really close to a major service centre, so we don’t really have the benefit of the spin-off growth… that a lot of other smaller communities do,” he said. “(The closure) will hit everybody in some way.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

R CROP SELECT YOU

Human development linked with spread of invasive plants FIELD PEAS

staff

CORN

CEREALS

Acapela

Fungicide

vement st-in-class mo s e B • n io ct te ease pro condition innovative dis exible under a variety of y more. fl • Powerful & spot and man pid uptake & a n R ta • , s w e ie d rt il e p m pro powdery nia, leaf rust, ti ro e cl S : s e s Disea

Trim: 10”

ne invasive species leads to another, says an article published in the current issue of Rangeland Ecology & Management. A release from the magazine’s publisher, the Society for Range Management, says the authors began with the idea that as people develop a rural area, they change the original habitat by introducing foreign species and spreading them, sometimes unintentionally. Their study covered three million hectares of northern sagebrush steppe in southwestern Wyoming. The authors targeted infrastructure such as roads, oil and gas well pads, pipelines and power lines and then created 1,000-metre-long sample sites extending outward from these man-made features. The authors expected that invasive species would be densest within 50 to 100 metres of the man-made features and drop steeply as the sample site became less disturbed. This pattern did appear in some cases, however, they often did not see a decline until 500 or even 700 metres out. More invasive plant species lined informal roads than other human-built features, but all roads, well pads and pipelines were surrounded by more invasive species compared with semiremote reference sites. Full text of the article “Human infrastructure and invasive plant occurrence across rangelands of southwestern Wyoming, USA” is available at www.rangelands.org.

SOYBEAN CANOLA

SEE THE DIFFERENCE, REALIZE THE POTENTIAL. DuPont Acapela is a high-performing broad-spectrum fungicide that puts you in control, delivering reliable and powerful protection under a variety of conditions. TM

Multiple disease threats? Acapela works on many important diseases, including sclerotinia, leaf rust, powdery mildew, Septoria leaf blotch and tan spot, for healthier crops and higher yield potential. ®

Inconsistent staging? Acapela features best-in-class movement properties for superior coverage. It travels across, into and around the leaf with strong preventative and residual activity. ®

Weather threatening? Spray away and count on Acapela for excellent rainfastness if you need it. ®

DuPont Acapela fungicide. It fits the way you farm. TM

Questions? Ask your retailer, call 1-800-667-3925 or visit acapela.dupont.ca

As with all crop protection products, read and follow label instructions carefully. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont TM, The miracles of scienceTM, and Acapela® are trademarks or registered trademarks of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. E. I. du Pont Canada Company is a licensee. Member of CropLife Canada. © Copyright 2014 E. I. du Pont Canada Company. All rights reserved.

DuPont Acapela

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Bold — and well organized — thieves make off with $15,000 worth of canola Grain thefts are rare in Alberta, but grain confetti, a good lock and storing high-value crops close to home can help BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF STAFF / RED DEER

bit of canola underneath the hopper bottom was the only sign something was wrong at Randy Syvenky’s grain bins on the outskirts of Edmonton. But a look inside the bin showed that more than $15,000 worth of canola had been stolen sometime in the night. “It looks like they took 40 tonnes or about 1,200 to 1,400 bushels of canola,” Syvenky said of the mid-March theft. “They brought their own equipment to move snow and brought their own grain auger and large truck. It was pretty shocking.” And the thieves knew exactly what they were after. “The canola was in hopper bottom bins, but the first two bins had seed wheat in it,” he said. “They must have been there before to see what grain they wanted, because they only chose the canola.” Because of rail backlogs, Syvenky had more canola than normal in his bins, and the theft isn’t covered under his insurance policy. “There’s a lot of farmers who are storing grain because they don’t have any opportunities to sell it,” he noted.

added in the bin to help identify the grain after a theft, and a good lock is a good idea. “We all know locks can be cut, but it’s a preventive measure.” Inexpensive trail cameras hung near the bins may not prevent a theft, but footage is almost always useful. “Footage is great,” he said. “We may not get a face, and we may not get licence plates, but at least we know a make and model (of the vehicle) and the time (of the theft).” Put grain bins in spots that are visible from the farmhouse or in a high-traffic location, Morris said.

“It doesn’t take long for a theft to occur,” he said. “It’s better to have (the bins) visible. That way, you know if somebody is around there... For a higher-value commodity, I would recommend those ones be stored close to home.” That’s a lesson that Syvenky has already learned the hard way. “We have five grain bin sites, and this site was the only site where there’s nobody living,” he said. “This particular site, we’re planning on moving the bins a half a mile to the yard.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

Grain confetti identifies grain with unique numbers, allowing it to be identified when delivered.

Caring for the earth doesn’t take It takes a lifetime.

“Now you’re also having to worry about theft. It’s just another stress that a farmer has.” RANDY SYVENKY

The thieves might find the same problem when they go to offload their stolen grain, though. Syvenky has alerted all elevators in the area about the theft, and besides, “most of the elevators are full of grain” already. “There’s not very much spot delivery on canola right now,” he said. Slow grain movement, bad weather and grain spoilage are all stresses a producer can expect, he said — but grain thieves aren’t something most prepare for. “Now you’re also having to worry about theft,” said Syvenky. “It’s just another stress that a farmer has.”

Preventive measures

Constable Sean Morris of the Fort Saskatchewan RCMP has only seen two grain thefts during his five years in the small city northeast of Edmonton. “It’s not something I have encountered on a regular basis, but it doesn’t mean it’s not happening,” said Const. Morris. There are ways to deter thieves, he said. Grain confetti can be

Celebrating Earth Day with the more than 132,000 Albertans who look af Seeding just east of Nanton, Alberta

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

ATB_Ag_EarthDay_Seeding__ABFarmerExpress_JrSpread.indd 1

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

Grassland preservation group takes message of rural stewardship to urbanites Five southern Alberta ranches featured in stewardship and sustainability video BY ALEXIS KIENLEN AF STAFF/ EDMONTON

new initiative is trying to show urbanities that grasslands are pretty cool, and running cattle on them is a good thing. “The Conservation Caravan” is a short film featuring producers from five southern Alberta ranches who talk about sustainability, land use and the importance of good stewardship. Operation Grassland Community is behind the film and is hosting screenings and dialogue in Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge. “We see a lot of negative perceptions about the beef industry and the cultivation of land to raise grain for feed, and how

“The Conservation Caravan” team travelled to five southern Alberta ranches to speak to producers about sustainability and stewardship. PHOTO: COURTESY OPERATION GRASSLAND COMMUNITY

“We see a lot of negative perceptions about the beef industry... but what is glazed over is the current stewardship that is in place.”

ke an hour.

k after “Our Earth” daily.

these link to climate change,” Mara Erickson, the organization’s communications director, said at the recent Edmonton screening, which attracted about 40 people. “Those are certainly issues, but what is glazed over is the current stewardship that is in place, and the potential stewardship that can happen through our producers on the grassland ecosystem.” Native grasslands make up only 14 per cent of the province’s landscape, but are home to 70 per cent of Alberta’s species at risk. An endangered species such as the burrowing owl benefits from living in grazed grasslands, said Erickson. “The burrowing owl can use cattle on the landscape to form its own habitat because it likes shorter grass near its burrows so it can (spot and) hide from predators,” she said. “But it also likes longer grass near where it hunts because that helps increase mice and vole and its prey population.”

MARA ERICKSON COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR WITH OPERATION GRASSLAND COMMUNITY

Meet the ultimate Earth Warriors. They’re called Alberta Farmers.

facebook/atbfinancial

There should be a reward for providing those kinds of ecological goods and services provided by ranching, she said. “As consumers, we want sustainably produced food,” she said. “But across the board and across the system, most ranchers and producers are only getting paid for the steak that is on your plate and they’re not getting paid for those ecosystem services that they’re providing.” Operation Grassland Community is a program funded by the Alberta Fish and Game Association. The 25-year-old program works with 300 farmers and ranchers in southeast Alberta to preserve native grassland and four bird species at risk: the loggerhead shrike, ferruginous hawk, burrowing owl, and Sprague’s pipit. The 12-minute video was shot last summer and features TK Ranch, Integrity Ranching, Three Triangle Ranch, Holtman Farms, and Top Grass Cattle Company. It can be found at www.youtube.com (type ‘conservation caravan’ in the search box).

@ATBAgriculture

akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

This special land in this special place is ours to nurture and care for – every single day. Because only when we do can it nurture us. Responsible stewardship of our soil, our air and our water isn’t something we can turn on and off. It comes with the job. And in many ways – is the job. Because every decision we make, as Alberta growers, ranchers or producers has a direct impact on what this land will give us back. And in the end it’s about sustaining the land – in order to sustain ourselves. For generations to come. So Long Love This Land. Every minute. Every hour. Every day.

atb.com

Stretch your ADVERTISING DOLLAR!

1-800-665-1362

3/26/14 4:10 PM

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Finally some good news for bruised and battered pork producers PEDv has pushed down hog supply and sent prices soaring BY ALEXIS KIENLEN AF STAFF

urray Markert sums up the mood of Alberta pork producers these days in a single word. “Relief,” said the Vulcan farmer when asked about recent record-high pork prices. “The money we’re getting right now will help fill in the hole that most of us dug to stay in the game.” For most, that likely means paying off bills and paying down loans, said Markert, a director on the Western Hog Exchange who runs a 750-sow farrow-tofinish operation in addition to his grain farm. Prices for market hogs have soared from about $165 an

animal in February to $250 in recent weeks. “They’ve had a period of a few weeks of extraordinary margins,” said Ron Gietz, pork specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “What they need is a really good year or two. But at the same time, if you can make returns of $100 a head or more,

that certainly helps cover the ground pretty quickly. They needed this.” The falling loonie is part of the reason for the sharp price rise, but the main driver is the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv), which has infected nearly onequarter of the U.S. swine herd. “Markets are driven by fear and there’s basically a fear

Markets are driven by fear and there’s basically a fear that there won’t be sufficient supplies to meet everybody’s requirements come the summer.” RON GIETZ ALBERTA AGRICULTURE PORK SPECIALIST

that there won’t be sufficient supplies to meet everybody’s requirements come the summer,” said Gietz. In March, American slaughter supplies dropped five per cent and experts speculate supplies could go down as much as 10 per cent compared to 2013. That’s a huge number in the hog industry. So far, only about three dozen Canadian farms have been infected, most in Ontario, with isolated cases in Manitoba, Quebec and P.E.I. Affected farms often suffer 100 per cent death losses in newborn pigs, with total losses lasting for several weeks, until the herd develops immunity. PEDv spreads more quickly in winter months, and is somewhat dependent on colder

temperatures, so the number of deaths could drop throughout the summer.

Cooling by fall

Market experts are predicting that supplies — and prices — will normalize by fall. “The overall market is still really strong,” said Gietz. “Prices are currently near the top. The prices won’t necessarily go down sharply, but they won’t go much higher.” Gietz said he expects they will be around $180 by the fall. Still, that’s a big improvement from the punishing prices seen during the past five years, which fell to as little as $100 per market hog. “There have been very few months, up until July 2013, that there was profitability. In some of those months, there were significant losses,” said Markert. The story can be told by looking at the number of pork producers in Alberta. In 2005, there were about 1,200 pork producers — now there are around 350. The vast majority who managed to stay in the business had other sources of income, said Markert. “I guess the belief was that if you hang in long enough with anything, eventually things will come around,” he said. But hanging in wasn’t easy. Every time pork producers would feel a whiff of optimism, something would change the situation. In 2009, it was H1N1 and the resulting consumer fear beat prices back down. That was followed by soaring feed costs, initially driven by America’s demand for ethanol fuel and then by drought. The soaring Canadian dollar only intensified the pain. “It’s terrible to see your friends leaving the industry,” said Markert. “It isn’t because they weren’t hard-working, industrious people. It’s just the fact that all these different things lined up and made the business very unprofitable. “It’s tough to see all those people who had their farms and their dreams wash away. It’s difficult to see someone lose something that they’ve worked for, for a whole lot of years.” akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

Meridian Manufacturing Inc. is all about solving industry issues with technology and a commitment to the highest quality. We’ve spent decades manufacturing industry-leading storage solutions that set the standard in product excellence. Our products are designed to make your job easier and safer, while saving you time and allowing you to capture valuable market opportunities. VISIT OUR DEALER LOCATOR AT WWW.MERIDIANMFG.COM

Fear that PEDv will result in market shortages have sent prices soaring, says Ron Gietz, pork specialist with Alberta Agriculture. PHOTO: COURTESY RON GIETZ

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

U.S. hog data to hit futures prices, but virus fears continue The virus has killed as many as five million pigs or eight per cent of the total herd BY THEOPOLIS WATERS AND MEREDITH DAVIS CHICAGO / REUTERS

ew data showing the U.S. hog herd is shrinking less quickly than feared is small comfort to farmers as their piglets fall victim to a fast-moving virus that has ravaged the country’s arable heartland with no cure or containment yet in sight. Latest figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) March 28 make for grim reading, taking the herd to its lowest level in seven years even though the drop was not as bad as forecast. But experts worried that the USDA data, which is given voluntarily by farmers, was not showing the full

‘Pink slime’ lawsuit survives court challenge ABC News fails to quash claims by meat processor REUTERS

BC News has failed to persuade a South Dakota state judge to dismiss a $1.2-billion defamation lawsuit by a meat processor complaining about a series of reports that referred to its signature product as “pink slime.” Judge Cheryle Gering of the Union County Circuit Court ruled March 27 that Beef Products Inc. may pursue most of its case against ABC, a unit of Walt Disney Co., and others including news anchor Diane Sawyer and reporter Jim Avila. BPI claimed that ABC harmed its reputation and cost sales by mischaracterizing its “lean finely textured beef” as “pink slime” in reports aired in March and April 2012. While not deciding whether defamation occurred, Gering let BPI pursue 22 of its 27 claims, including over alleged product disparagement and interference with business relationships.

FARMING IS ENOUGH OF A GAMBLE...

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

extent of the damage from the virus and warned that prices for spareribs and bacon could rise as the peak summer season approaches. Cases of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv), which is almost always fatal in piglets, have nearly tripled in the last three months. Some estimates suggest as many as five million pigs have died or about eight per cent of the herd. The late-March data for the three months to Feb. 28 had been expected to give a more detailed assessment of the impact of the virus, nearly a year after its first appearance in May 2013. There is no cure for the virus yet but it is highly contagious through pig manure, so farms across North America have tightened up hygiene procedures, forcing trucks to dis-

infect thoroughly and visitors to change their footwear. In measures reminiscent of scenes from foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks, farmers are putting up “PED” signs and picking up deliveries from the road, well away from pig barns. Unlike foot-and-mouth, PEDv outbreaks do not yet need to be notified to U.S. federal authorities. It is not transmittable to humans, pork is safe to eat and herds can win immunity in a matter of months. But its devastating impact on hog farming over the last year has pushed prices for pigs ready for slaughter to record highs recently of $131 per hundredweight (cwt).

Piglet numbers fall

The data from the USDA showed

the hog herd had fallen three per cent from a year ago to 62.9 million head. That was well above the average of 61.5 million that analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast. Some of the decline can be credited to severe cold weather that has hit livestock generally. But the average number of piglets surviving in a litter fell to 9.53 head, below analysts’ forecasts of 9.75 and down from a record 10.08 a year ago, confirming the virus is taking a heavy toll among youngsters. John Nalivka, president of Sterling Marketing Inc., told the same Pork Checkoff conference call that he saw carcass values for the western Corn Belt hitting an average $110 per cwt in the second quarter from $94.50 in the first quarter.

Such high prices are, however, giving farmers record profits, especially with prices for feed languishing around half last year’s levels. Nalivka reckons break-even for farmers is about $20 lower than last year. That is encouraging farmers to keep pigs longer and put more weight on them, with latest figures from the USDA showing the average pig going to slaughter weighs a record 284 lbs. up from 275.7 lbs. a year ago. And with even more profits promised later in the year, farmers are likely to invest in producing more pigs into 2015. “Expectations are prices are going to stay strong,” said Nalivka. “That really sets the tone for expansion.”

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR PRE-SEED CEREALS

Wipe out weeds with the best burndown. Bar none.

Give your cereals every chance to thrive with a pre-seed burndown from Nufarm. BlackHawk™ delivers faster, more complete weed control in a

cereal pre-seed burndown than glyphosate or Group 2 herbicides. Two active ingredients and two modes of action deliver superior resistance management. Take the BlackHawk pre-seed challenge

Satisfaction guaranteed or your in-crop herbicide is free. Visit nufarm.ca for full details.

If you’re dealing with dandelions too, clean up with KoAct™. An innovative new tank-mix option, KoAct controls perennial dandelions and glyphosate-tolerant volunteers at their most vulnerable stage with spring or fall burndown.

Contact your local retailer for more information.

Innovative solutions. Business made easy. 1.800.868.5444 Nufarm.ca Always read and follow label directions. BlackHawk™ and KoAct™ are trademarks of Nufarm Agriculture Inc. 35628-0114

1-800-665-1362 35628 NFC_PreseedCerealsAd_8.125x10_Rev.indd 1

1/31/14 12:00 PM

NEWS » LIVESTOCK

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

FAQs on BIXS 2.0

Second version of beef database launched

Is this a mandatory program? No. BIXS is strictly voluntary. Can I participate if my farm Internet connection is dial-up? Yes... but with a caveat. If your dialup connection is slow or intermittent, access to BIXS may be problematic. At this time it’s felt that a minimum dial-up connection rate of 56.6 baud uninterrupted will be the baseline. If you are on dial-up and access is problematic then accessing through a third party may be the best approach.

Wonky first version has been scrapped and creators of BIXS 2.0 say the new edition of the database is vastly improved BY AF STAFF

IXS 2.0 has been launched and is vastly superior to its ill-fated predecessor, says the national co-ordinator with the Beef Info Xchange System. “We had to make BIXS more user friendly,” said Larry Thomas. “It had to be compact, fast and on a different platform, and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association needed to own it outright.” A reliable and easy-to-use database to capture data from pasture to packing plant is considered by many to be critical to the future success of the Canadian beef sector, and was one of the key recommendations of the Straw Man Beef Industry Initiative task force. “It is imperative that the common repository be operational, efficient and sustainable,” the task force said in its December report Building a Stronger Canadian Beef Industry. The report recommended the creators of the system be given “until March 2014 to demonstrate that this database and service offering will meet the requirements of the industry.” The launch of BIXS 2.0 was quietly announced March 28, and Thomas said it is performing well. The database logs data linked to RFID tags and can include birth dates, premise ID (if the producer chooses to enter it), weight at arrival of a feedlot and departure, slaughter date, hot carcass weight, and grading information. In some cases, “tens of thousands of pieces of information” are uploaded at a time, said Thomas. BIXS 1.0 had trouble handling such volumes. That also prevented many producers who didn’t have high-speed Internet access from using the system. “That (old) process sometimes would take hours or days,” he said. “In our case (with BIXS 2.0), we’ve seen 3,000 or 4,000 head come over in 15 seconds.”

Old system discontinued

After a lengthy review, the old system was put on hiatus in December 2013. “We got it to the point where we were getting carcass data to producers linked to that CCIA tag ID,” said Thomas. “But it wasn’t fulfilling what we hoped it would,

Do I need a premise ID to participate in BIXS? At present you do not need a premise ID… however, it is strongly recommended.

BIXS 2.0 is faster, better and easier to use, says Larry Thomas, national co-ordinator with BIXS, created by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. SUPPLIED PHOTO and we weren’t getting the uptake that we needed.” Arcurve, a software company from Calgary, was hired to build the new version and did testing with some producers prior to the March 28 soft launch. The program is free and all of the old BIXS 1.0 accounts have been moved to the new system, which can be accessed by going to www.bixs.cattle.ca. Firsttime users should email info@bixs2.ca for sign-up information. There is currently data from about 460,000 animals in the BIXS 2.0 system submitted by cow-calf producers and feedlots, and about 2.8 million detailed carcass records, provided by Cargill’s High River and Guelph plants as well as the JBS plant in Brooks. The latter contains data such as ribeye marbling area, carcass score, quality grade, fat thickness, and hot carcass weight. “This is information that a lot of cowcalf producers have never seen on their animal,” said Thomas. That data holds the promise of allowing producers to select genetics and make changes in their management to produce higher-value cattle — although getting a premium is still uncharted territory. “BIXS enables better communication

between the cow-calf, feedlot, packing and distribution sectors on an individual animal basis and offers a way for producers to develop business relationships,” states the BIXS website. “As those business relationships form, premiums may indeed come. The Sourcer Utility query function built into BIXS will spur the development of these business relationships and may well pave the way to premiums being paid for animals meeting a certain spec BIXS member feedlots, buyers, packer/processors and distributors are seeking.” The system could also connect producers with buyers of premium beef, said Thomas. “If I’m a boutique retailer and I’m looking for something specific, how can I use BIXS to get in touch with those who produce it?” he said. “In other words, there’s never really been anything in the industry on a national basis anywhere, that I know of, that would enable blind query of a database in a confidential manner, that would enable me to link up with suppliers for stuff I actually need,” said Thomas. BIXS 2.0 works on most browsers. The project team is currently making BIXS 2.0 applications for iPhone, iPad and mobile Android systems.

How can I use the individual animal and carcass data I get back? A vast amount of the individual animal/carcass data and information you get back through BIXS can be scrutinized to identify opportunities or shortcomings in cow-calf and feedlot management, performance and profitability... Beef software and IT companies, some of which are partnered with BIXS, can take the analysis much deeper and evaluate trends and possibilities that may otherwise be missed were the data not captured and exchanged via BIXS. Why would I choose to upload management, health, genetic and other specific information on my cattle? It enables you to add further description of your cattle to potential buyers, differentiating unique aspects of your animals featuring specific information on your cattle, breeding program, animal health protocols, management, feedlot performance and much more. In time, the negotiated settlement of cattle trade up and down the chain will be based in large part on data on performance, health, genetics, carcass quality and more. Can I age verify my cattle through BIXS? Yes. When you enter your animal’s birth date information into BIXS, BIXS automatically forwards this information to your CCIA account. After entry of the birth date information into BIXS you can log into your CCIA account and see your animal birth date information and print off a birth certificate. Source: www.bixs.cattle.ca

y! . da ed to it er im st s l gi g i Re atin Se

*Early Bird, Group and Corporate discounts on now.

Capitalize on your opportunities and reap the benefits of your growth! Join women from Ag and related businesses as they reveal their secrets to their success.Visit advancingwomenconference.ca or phone 403-686-8407 to register. DEERFOOT INN & CASINO

•

C A L G A R Y, A L B E R T A

•

M O N D AY A P R I L 2 8 , T U E S D AY A P R I L 2 9 , 2 0 1 4

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

Livestock trailers help emergency personnel respond to crisis, save lives AFAC’s trailers installed in several counties throughout the province but another 10 are required BY ALEXIS KIENLEN

“There are 40,000 livestock on the roads a day in the province. Are accidents going to happen? Absolutely!”

AF STAFF / EDMONTON

he Alberta Farm Animal Care’s livestock emergency response trailers are saving lives. First responders in Westlock County used a trailer when a truck transporting 52 beef cattle rolled in the area. The responders, who had never attended a livestock accident before, managed to save all but five of the cattle, thanks to the trailer and their livestock emergency training. “Every county and municipality in the province wants one,” Floyd Mullaney, a contractor hired by AFAC to help develop the trailer program, said at the organization’s recent Livestock Care Conference. “There are 40,000 livestock on the roads a day in the province. Are accidents going to happen? Absolutely! They’re going to happen. And what are you going to do when you’re sitting there and you’ve got a trailer sitting on its side and cattle underneath and some of them are suffocating? What are you going to do? It’s an issue.” Each trailer contains ropes, ladders, panels and other tools for moving hogs, cattle, poultry and horses. Each stocked trailer costs about $25,000.

FLOYD MULLANEY CONTRACTOR WITH ALBERTA FARM ANIMAL CARE

A fully stocked livestock emergency response trailer costs about $25,000. Years ago, fieldman Art Preachuk created an emergency response livestock trailer for Red Deer County. Ponoka County followed suit. In 2012, the Alberta Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Strategy Steering Committee was inspired to build its own livestock response trailers. Growing Forward, and Alberta Agriculture funded the first five emergency response trailers, which were distributed to Claresholm, Medicine Hat, Westlock, Vermilion and the Alberta SPCA. The Equine Foundation of

Canada financed trailers in New Sarepta and Brooks, while Rural Crime Watch funded a trailer in the Hanna area. Coronation and Rocky Mountain House financed their own trailers. The trailers have been been placed with fire departments, and first responders who use them have received training at Lakeland College. “In the fire department, you buy a ladder truck for half a million dollars with the hope that you’ll never ever have to use it — but the day you need it, you better have it there,” said Mullaney.

“Same thing with these trailers. You order these trailers, you put them together, you get them into place, and then you hope to God you never have to use them.” The trailers have already been used in traffic accidents, rollovers and other situations. “From November 2012 to November 2013, the Alberta SPCA used its trailer for over 550 animals that it seized,” he said. Trailers were also used during barn collapses in central Alberta this winter. “Those barn collapses were on the farm where there are

supposed to be all these panels,” said Mullaney. “Come to my farm. Sure, I’ll get you panels, just as soon as I get the tractor and go dig them out of the snow. That might take two or three hours. Firemen, using these trailers, can back up, hook on and go. Everything is inside that trailer.” The province needs at least 10 more, he said. “Westlock is the farthest north and we’ve got nothing in Grande Prairie or Peace River. We’ve got some holes to fill and we’re attempting, through different funding programs, to make that happen and see where it will all shake out.” akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

Agricultural • Tanks • Plastic • Steel • Fiberglass Bulk Storage & Transport

Toll Free: 888-868-2658 Grande Prairie, AB

•

Edmonton, AB

www.marmitplastics.com

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

New York Hutterite Colony adopts leading-edge poultry housing The ‘furnished housing’ style features nesting areas, scratch pads and perches, which allow the birds to engage in natural behaviour By Meristem Land and Science

ethbridge egg farmer Levi Hofer has one eye on the present, the other on the future. Hofer is the manager of the layer flock at the New York Hutterite Colony, which is home to new state-of-the-art facilities called “furnished housing.” It’s a new style that provides a more natural open environment, with nesting areas, scratch pads and perches. The colony’s conventional egg barn was built in 1994 and was beginning to show its age. Unsure whether to repair or replace it with a new system, colony members spent more than four years researching their options. They began with their own producer association, the Egg Farmers of Alberta, which had developed recommended production standards, and then contacted representatives of the major chicken housing equipment in the province. They decided to salvage the barn structure, which would reduce costs, but require more planning. “Our ultimate goal was a system that would last 30 years,” says Hofer. “We determined there were benefits to free range, free run or enriched or furnished systems, but we decided we

Scratch pads allow chickens to engage in natural behaviour. Photos: Courtesy Egg Farmers of Alberta needed to see those systems in action to fully understand them.” They visited several Alberta operations, but had to travel south of the border to see a fur-

nished housing system because it is so new. Having chosen furnished housing, the layer barns were shut down for four months, and then gutted before installing the new system.

Working together es around power lin

The new system has required adjustments. For example, it has taken constant management to have birds properly use nesting, feeding and perch areas. At the start, for example, birds stayed in the nesting area because it was comfortable and that produced some fighting. This required adjustments to feeding and lighting to encourage birds to move out of the nesting area to the scratching area. Each adjustment takes about eight days to see the results, so it takes time to get it running well, says Hofer. But the overall performance signs are positive, he said. Hofer monitors the flock closely, even going into his barn after the lights are out with a blue flashlight to see how the chickens are doing. “They were nice and comfortable,” he says. “Every bird was on a perch for the night just as they would be in a natural environment.

“As a manager I love it because I can communicate with my flock by adjusting the tools of producing an egg — feed, water, humidity, air quality, lighting. I can talk to those birds and they can talk back to me. For example, we use the lights to mimic sunrise. The lights come on slowly and give birds a chance to wake up. They relax better that way and that ultimately produces a better egg.” The system is more expensive to install — perhaps as much as 20 per cent — but Hofer also knows it appeals to the consumer. “Keeping the consumer and the distributor happy was a very big factor in choosing and building this barn,” he says. “We need to be thinking how we can communicate with the consumer. We need the consumer to walk up to the egg shelf in the grocery store and look at the options and see choices like the furnished housing system.”

Today’s farm equipment is bigger than ever. That can mean big problems when working around power lines. Plan ahead. Call us at 1-800-668-2248, and we’ll work together to move your equipment safely.

The orange paddles reduce the amount of light coming into the egg-laying area.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

The subtleties of performance horse dentistry horse health } Dental work can have a major effect on balance, weight distribution,

gait, posture, training and back muscle development By carol shwetz, dvm

ain relief is only one aspect of equine dentistry. The ability to move the jaw properly side to side, up and down, and forward and back affects not only the ability of the horse to chew and digest its food, but it also affects the horse’s balance and biomechanics. These dynamics in turn influence the horse’s mental and emotional state. We are only now beginning to understand the complex interconnectedness of equine dentistry with the whole system. The horse’s jaw is highly innervated, providing the horse with sensory input to the central nervous system. This information lets the horse know the position of its body in space, most specifically its relationship to the ground surface. Dental procedures have the ability to affect neurological input into the body. Consequentially, dental work can have a major effect on balance, weight distribution, gait, posture, training and back muscle development. Abnormal strike, dysfunctional dental wear patterns, movement restriction, and/or any source of dental pain will be magnified when a bit is placed into a horse’s mouth. Tension patterns created in the jaw and/or temporomandibular joint from dental dysfunction will radiate down the horse’s neck and back causing muscle contraction and compensation patterns. For this reason the subtleties and sophistication of well-applied equine dentistry are most recognized and appreciated in the performance horse. Head tossing, evasive and ill behaviours, leaning on the bit, difficulty with specific gaits or manoeuvres, resistance, head shyness, sensitivity to touch, rearing, bucking, ear sensitivity, or refusal to bridle are indications that something may be amiss in the performance horse’s mouth. The equine dental abnormality referred to as excessive transverse ridging presents a good illustration of the relationship that exists between a horse’s dental arcade and a performance horse’s development. Transverse ridges are a series of enamel ridges running across the occlusal or grinding surface of the tooth. These are important and necessary in the grinding of feedstuffs. Whenever these transverse ridges become pronounced they are referred to as excessive transverse ridges/ETRs. These exaggerated enamel ridges form a series of washboard-like ridges across the grinding surface of the molar arcade which restrict both the figure eight movement of the jaw during the chewing cycle and the front-to-back movement of the lower jaw. Although normal ridging is important to the grinding function of the teeth, exaggerated ridging affects the biomenchanical function of the dental arcade. Correct function and movement of the mandible and temporomandibular/TMJ is necessary for the horse to work properly on the bit. The excessive transverse ridges or

steps will cause the horse to “lock up,” creating stiffness and tension throughout the entire body. The pressure often causes soreness in the TMJ as well. Dental work will focus on reducing the ETRs and setting up conditions that influence functional arcade movement. When longstanding, ETRs may need reduction over multiple dental visits for correction. Horses will often capitalize on well-applied dental work showing favourable improvements on their own over time as they begin to function better. The dental work nudges them in the right direction and improved function creates overall improvement on many levels. It has been my experience that the horses that develop ETRs clench their jaw as a means of

“coping” with stressors and training techniques. Interestingly enough, over time ETRs effectively disable a performance horse’s development. This is also a self-perpetuating phenomena for as the horse locks/clenches its jaw, the ridges become more well defined and the horse has even more leverage to lock. I have also found that following dentistry, a period of four to six weeks is available to the rider to reprogram and rewire the horse into new patterns of movement. If a new pattern or way of going is not offered to the horse by the rider, the horse will recreate the same abnormality or a similar variation. Carol Shwetz is a veterinarian specializing in equine practice at Westlock, Alberta.

Excessive transverse ridges form a series of interlocking enamel points across the grinding surface of the molar arcade which effectively restricts both the figure eight movement of the jaw during the chewing cycle and the front-to-back movement of the lower jaw.

WINTER BLUES

out in

GREEN PASTURES

Extra bedding, non-stop checking. Full attention, regardless of frostbite. And no rest until all heads are accounted for. An unforgiving winter was the ultimate test. But you persevered. And so did your herd. Now, ice is thawing, creek water is running, and greener pastures await. Here’s to a worry-free grazing season. UFA has everything you need to prepare your herd and pastures. Visit us in-store or online at UFA.com/Beef.

UFA.com 37757_Grazing Print Ad_AFE 8.125x10.indd 1

2014-04-02 3:05 PM

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

EL NIÑO CHANCE PUT AT 70 PER CENT

RAIN REDUCES ARGENTINE SOYBEANS

The chance of an El Niño weather event developing in 2014 now exceeds 70 per cent, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said Apr. 8, raising the prospect of damaging floods and droughts across the globe. “It is now likely (estimated at a greater than 70 per cent chance) that an El Niño will develop during the Southern Hemisphere winter,” from May-July, the bureau said. “Although the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently neutral, surface and subsurface ocean temperatures have warmed considerably in recent weeks, consistent with a state of rapid transition.” — Reuters

Heavy rain hit Argentina’s Pampas Farm Belt Apr. 5-8 causing some losses to soy yields and delaying the harvest of 2013-14 beans, local crop weather analyst Leonardo De Benedictis said. Argentina is expecting a record harvest of 54 million tonnes, but muddy conditions have impeded farm work, leaving some plants to rot in their fields. “The rain over the weekend was very strong at a time when the Farm Belt is sensitive to too much moisture,” said De Benedictis, analyst with the Clima Campo consultancy. Argentina’s biggest-ever soy crop was 52.7 million tonnes in the 2009-10 season. — Reuters

Winter in review — we got a break in January Have we paid the price, and now get a reprieve in spring and summer? BY DANIEL BEZTE

nother winter has come and gone and while most of this winter’s news seemed to be centred on east-central North America as it struggled through one of the coldest winters on record, things were not exactly peachykeen across Alberta! While winter is usually described as being the threemonth period starting in December and ending at the end of February, anyone who lives in Canada, well, at least Western Canada, knows that winter really starts at the beginning of November and ends at the end of March. So this is the period we will look at as we take a quick look back at the winter of 2013-14. The winter started off on the cool side across Alberta, with the Edmonton region reporting a mean monthly temperature that was about 2.5 C below the long-term average. Along with the colder-than-average temperatures there was also a lot of snow. This region recorded around 40 cm of snow compared to the November average of 20 cm. Farther south around Calgary it was a little milder, with temperatures coming in right around average. It was also drier, with precipitation amounts also coming in right around average. The cold weather deepened a little bit in December, with Edmonton recording a mean monthly temperature that was 3.5 C below average. In the Calgary region it was once again a little warmer, but the mean monthly temperature did come in at around 2.0 C below average. Snowfall was the big story in December as both the Edmonton and Calgary regions reported well-above-average amounts. The Edmonton region had a replay of November, with around 40 cm of snow falling during the month, while the Calgary region came in just below this with around 37 cm of snow being recorded. While it was a cold and snowy start to the winter, it wasn’t bone-chilling cold, at least when you compared it to places farther east that saw some of the

coldest temperatures on the planet when compared to what they should have been seeing. As Alberta entered what is typically the coldest month of the year, the ridge of high pressure that was bringing unusually mild temperatures to the West Coast shifted eastward a little bit. This resulted in pretty much all of Alberta seeing a nice break in the winter as temperatures soared to well-above-average values. Both the Edmonton and Calgary regions saw mean monthly temperatures in January that were between 5.5 and 6 C above the long-term average. Precipitation over the Edmonton region was below average during the month, while the Calgary region saw near- to slightly above-average amounts. Unfortunately, the mild weather didn’t stick around and most regions saw a return to below-average temperatures in February. In fact, Alberta got a pretty good taste of what its eastern neighbours had been experiencing all winter — bitterly cold temperatures. February turned out to be the coldest month of the winter with temperatures in the Edmonton region running nearly 7 C below average and the Calgary region seeing temperatures only slightly better at 6 C below average. Luckily the cold weather didn’t bring any big snowstorms with it, and as a result, precipitation was below average for the month.

being a little hesitant about it. The general weather across North America has been stuck in the same pattern since last November. This pattern has a ridge of high pressure off of the West Coast with a deep trough of low pressure over eastern

North America. There are signs that this pattern is starting to break down, but it looks like it’s not going to go quickly or easily. It looks like the remainder of April will see a battle between a new warmer pattern and the old cold pattern.

This will likely result in some big temperature swings during the month. When will this change stabilize? You’ll have to wait until the next issue when we take a look at the long-range forecast for the late spring and early summer.

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

Have we paid the price?

Overall, it was a colder- and snowier-than-average winter across a good portion of Alberta. If it wasn’t for the “vacation” from winter that occurred in January, then I think the word “brutal” could have been used to describe it, but having that one-month break right in the middle of winter helped to make it just a little more bearable. The big question that everyone is asking across pretty much all of Canada is whether or not this cold winter will continue into April, or have we paid the price and are now due for a little weather change? Looking at the current medium-range weather models I would have to say that Mother Nature looks like she wants to pay us back, but she’s

This issue’s map shows the total precipitation across the Prairies during the winter of 2013-14 (Nov. 1 to March 31). You can see that over Alberta most regions saw average (green) to above-average (blue) precipitation. Only the extreme north and southern regions saw below-average amounts. In Saskatchewan most areas saw average precipitation with a few areas in the south seeing belowaverage amounts. In Manitoba, eastern and northern regions saw average precipitation while southern regions saw below- to well-below-average amounts.

T:10.25”

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

2014 BLUE BOOK READY

Cutworms bug off when beneficial insects come calling It’s a bug-eat-bug world when you’ve got beneficial insects in your field BY JENNIFER BLAIR

Roundup Ready® is a registered trademark used under license from Monsanto Company. Pioneer® brand products are provided subject to the terms and conditions of purchase which are part of the labeling and purchase documents. The DuPont Oval Logo is a registered trademark of DuPont. ®, TM, SM Trademarks and service marks licensed to Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited. © 2014 PHL.

The 2014 version of the “Blue Book” is now available. Officially called the Crop Protection book, the 2014 edition has several new entries in its four sections (herbicides, insecticides, seed treatments and foliar fungicides), said Mark Cutts, crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. These include newly registered foliar fungicides; new seed treatment products for early-season wireworm protection in cereals and cutworm control in oilseed crops; and a limited number of new active ingredients. The Blue Book can be ordered for $12 by calling 1-800-292-5697, or a free downloadable version is available at www1.agric. gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex32.

AF STAFF

“If you spray, you kill… the pest and the predators. And then you’re back at square one.”

“Nature is awful sometimes,” says Vincent Hervet, who captured these two beetles fighting over a cutworm. SUBMITTED PHOTO

avoid having an outbreak situation in following years, you better have a good beneficial population in the field,” said Hervet. But some common farming practices reduce populations of beneficial bugs. “If you spray, you kill… the pest and the predators,” he said. “And then you’re back at square one.” Predaceous insects are attracted to fields by a ready and abundant food source, but practices like spraying and tilling destroy the bugs’ ecosystem, killing pests and predators alike. “You need to keep a certain number of pests to keep the predators.”

Give them habitat VINCENT HERVET

T:15.58”

roducers looking to cut spray costs this year may want to think about a different type of pest control. “(Predatory insects) can be really effective, with cutworms especially,” said Vincent Hervet, PhD candidate at the University of Lethbridge. Cutworms have “cyclic outbreaks” on the Prairies lasting three to four years, and right now Alberta is at the top of the cycle. That’s great news for predatory insects such as ground beetles, arachnids, and assassin bugs which feast on cutworms, and also for tachinid flies or wasps, which inject their eggs into them (the hatchlings kill their hosts when burrowing out). These beneficial bugs slowly bring down cutworm populations. Eventually the predatory bugs will do such a good job, their numbers will decline, and the cycle begins anew. “With cutworms, if you want to

Maintaining biodiversity in the field will help preserve beneficial insects, said Hervet. In addition to using insecticide only when necessary

and avoiding tilling when possible, Hervet recommends keeping flowering plants in the field, including some weeds, as a food source for newly hatched wasps and flies. “It’s important for the parasitoids to have a food source when they come out of the host,” he said. “You don’t need a 100 per cent clean field. Having some weeds is OK.” In some cases though, spraying is necessary, but producers should scout their fields carefully before making that call. “If there is significant damage, maybe your operation is at risk,” he said. “But if the damage is not significant, maybe it’s not.” It’s also good to know the economic threshold of the pest that’s causing problems, he said. “The economic threshold is either based on the number of pests per square metre or per plant.”

High Yield with

Clubroot Protection Pioneer brand 45H29 has been one of the highest yielding canola hybrids across Western Canada over the last few years. Not only does it have great standability and harvestability, it also has built-in Multi-race resistance to Clubroot. Call your local Pioneer Hi-Bred sales rep today to see how 45H29 can fit on your farm! ®

pioneer.com

For cutworms, that number is one to four larvae for every 12 inches of row, depending on the crop stage. The life stage of the pest is also a factor before deciding to spray. “Once a cutworm gets big enough, it’s not going to do any more damage,” said Hervet. “If the cutworm is small, you know there’s still a lot of damage that’s going to occur, and it may need control.” Just remember, spraying this year could lead to a bigger outbreak down the road. “By spraying, you know you’re going to kill a good number of good insects,” he said. “You go back to a situation where there’s nothing in your field… and the pests are going to come first. And you will possibly be again in a situation of outbreak because it will be some time before the beneficials arrive to control the pests.”

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Deforestation of sandy soils a greater climate threat Whereas clay soils held their nutrients after deforestation, nutrients were lost from sandy soils STAFF

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

andy soils will fare worse under climate change than clay soils, a study by Yale University scientists suggests. Researchers looked at soil samples collected from 11 distinct U.S. regions, to see the extent to which deforestation disturbs underground microbial communities that regulate the loss of carbon into the atmosphere. They found that it depends almost exclusively on the texture of the soil. “We were astonished that biodiversity changes were so strongly affected by soil texture and that it was such an overriding factor,” said Thomas Crowther, a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and lead

PRESENTED BY

Managing your farm made easy Spray Field SW2 Due March 6, 2014

✔

Used 2,000 L Insecticide Used Sprayer for 2 hrs

Spray Field SW2 50% Complete Assigned to John Due March 6, 2014

Plan

Easily schedule jobs and activities, share across your operation.

Spray Field SW2 100% Complete Assigned to John Done March 3, 2014

Assign

Track

Let your team know what, where and when jobs are scheduled.

Manage your farm in detail, from your desktop or smartphone.

FarmDock is an easy to use mobile app that allows you to plan, assign and track activities on your farm. It's simple to set up, simple to use and can be quickly customized to fit your operation.

FARMING IS ENOUGH OF

Built with input from real farmers, FarmDock tracks and reports key information across one farm operation or several. Smartphone and desktop versions allow sharing of information with everyone, on the go. Reports and reviews of activity are available in real time.

Spray Field SW2 0% Complete, Assigned to Joe Due Sept 26 , 2014

It's your farm at a glance, or a task in detail. FarmDock keeps information organized, accessible and ready for reporting. You're in charge, customize it to fit your way of doing things.

Ready for more? Start tracking your farm operation in one minute with our FREE 6 MONTH FARMDOCK TRIAL! Visit farmdock.com for more details, or scan the code to download the app.

author of the study. “Texture overrode the effects of all the other variables that we thought might be important, including temperature, moisture, nutrient concentrations and soil pH.” The study is a collaboration among Yale researchers and colleagues at the University of Boulder, Colorado and the University of Kentucky. A serious consequence of deforestation is extensive loss of carbon from the soil, a process regulated by subterranean microbial diversity. Drastic changes to the microbial community are expected to allow more CO2 to escape into the atmosphere, with the potential to exaggerate global warming. Specifically, the researchers found that deforestation dramatically alters microbial communities in sandy soils, but has minimal effects in muddy, clay-like soils, even after extensive tree removal. Particles in fine, clay-like soil seem to have a larger surface area to bind nutrients and water. This capacity might buffer soil microbes against the disturbance of forest removal, they said. In contrast, sandy soils have larger particles with less surface area, retaining fewer nutrients and less organic matter. “If you disrupt the community in a sandy soil, all of the nutrients the microbes rely on for food are leached away: they’re lost into the atmosphere, lost into rivers, lost through rain,” Crowther said. “But in clay-like soil, you can cut down the forest and the nutrients remain trapped tightly in the muddy clay.” The researchers also examined how the effects of deforestation on microbial biodiversity change over time. Contrary to their expectations, they found no correlation, even over the course of 200 years. “The effects are consistent, no matter how long ago deforestation happened,” Crowther said. “In a clay soil, you cut down the forest and the nutrients are retained for long periods of time and the community doesn’t change. Whereas in a sandy soil, you cut down a forest and the community changes dramatically within only a couple of years.”

A GAMBLE... >

Transfer Barley to Bin 2 0% Complete Assigned to John Due Sept 26 , 2014

✔

Fertilize Field SE3

✔

Service Sprayer 3432

100% Complete, Assigned to Frank Done Sept 26 , 2014

100% Complete, Assigned to David Done Sept 25, 2014

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

Ag tools from Available for iPhone and Android Mobile Phones.

1-800-665-1362

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

Producer car orders for 2014 on hold for new process

The new program will make producer car ordering seamless between crop years staff

roducer car orders for next crop year are on hold until the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) launches its new online application process, expected soon, says CGC spokesman Remi Gosselin. “If producers have already submitted an application for producer cars for the crop year 2014-15 they will resubmit their application when we begin accepting them through our new online application system,” Gosselin said in an interview April 4. “And we are no longer accepting applications at this time for 2014-15, but we’re still accepting producer car applications for 2013-14.

“If producers have already submitted an application for producer cars for the crop year 2014-15 they will resubmit their application when we begin accepting them through our new online application system.”

“We’re trying to get the demand for cars this year through before we take applications for next year.” The CGC had received only “a few” producer car applications for the 2014-15 crop that starts Aug. 1, Gosselin said. While farmers can still order producer cars for loading this crop year, there is no guarantee they will get them. “It’s based on availability through the railways,” he said. The railways have back orders for 70,000 cars from elevator companies, according to the Western Grain Elevator Association. In the past when most producer cars moved grain to the Canadian Wheat Board, car orders were cut off at the end of the crop year until the board was ready to accept them, Gosselin said.

“As part of this new online system farmers will be able to order producer cars into the next crop year,” he said. “So the system will be seamless one crop year to the next.” As of week 34 of the current crop year the CGC has received 17,783 producer car orders with 12,752 scheduled. It’s almost certain producer car shipments in the 2013-14 crop year ending July 31 will shatter the previous modern record of 14,341 set in 2011-12.

The Canadian Wheat Board was the main buyer for grain delivered in producer cars so many feared the board’s demise would spell an end to producer cars as most grain companies would decline to take delivery at port. However, producer cars are more popular this year than ever with farmers making deals with companies, including American ones, that don’t have country elevators or none near where the shipper is located.

It’s almost certain producer car shipments in the 2013-14 crop year ending July 31 will shatter the previous modern record of 14,341 set in 2011-12. file photo

INNovATIve SoluTIoNS for BurNdowN

Cleaner canola. Period. Put our pre-seed team to work in your canola field.

CleanStart® • Takes down the tough weeds that glyphosate alone leaves behind • Proven pre-seed burndown that combines Group 14 and Group 9 chemistry • Two modes of action for effective resistance management

Amitrol 240

A proven Group 11 pre-seed burndown product that reduces early weed competition.

Innovative solutions. Business made easy. 1.800.868.5444 Nufarm.ca Stretch your ADVERTISING DOLLAR!

Always read label before using. CleanStart® is a registered trademark of Nufarm Agriculture Inc. 01/14-22649

1-800-665-1362

22649_NufarmCleanStartAd_8.125x10.indd 1

1/13/14 7:42 AM

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Mixed reviews for new rail legislation to improve grain shipping Bill C-30 doesn’t spell out the service agreements grain companies want, but Gerry Ritz says they can be added through regulation By Allan Dawson staff /saskatoon

he Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act — Ottawa’s answer to the issues facing Canada’s grain export system — fell a little flat among the 240 farm and industry leaders’ meeting here last month. While government action on the issue was welcomed, many said the legislation tabled March 26 falls far short of providing the remedies shippers say they need to balance their negotiations with the railways for service. The legislation increases interswitching access in the West from 30 km to 160 km and empowers the federal transportation and agriculture ministers to impose shipping targets on the railways. It will give the Canadian Grain Commission authority to arbitrate contract disputes between farmers and grain companies over delivery contracts and promises to provide more specifics in how level-of-service agreements between shippers and the railways would be arbitrated by the Canadian Transportation Agency. However, Bill C-30 contains none of the six amendments farm groups and the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) wanted in last year’s rail bill. WGEA executive director Wade Sobkowich hopes they will be added via regulation. “It’s a fill-in-the-blanks-type piece of legislation,” Sobkowich said in an interview. “If the blanks are filled out appropriately it could be very, very good and it could be the solution we’ve been looking for if it gets worked out properly.” One idea that emerged from the industry summit organized by the University of Saskatchewan agricultural economist Richard Gray, was to create an independent entity akin to the old Grain Transportation Agency (GTA) to co-ordinate grain shipping from country elevator to vessel. (See sidebar) The proposal was rejected outright by agriculture and transport ministers, Gerry Ritz and Lisa Raitt when asked about it at their Winnipeg press conference the next day. “Another level of bureaucracy in between is really not necessary to today’s situation,” Ritz said after meeting with grain company and farm officials to discuss C-30.

Market forces

Raitt added “market forces” should be allowed to work, even

though it’s the lack of them that prompted Ottawa to introduce this legislation weeks after it used an order-in-council to force the railways to ship at least one million tonnes of grain per week to ease a growing backlog in grain shipments. As of last week, the railways were 70,000 cars behind, with 50 ships waiting for Prairie grain at eastern and West Coast export terminals. The railways blame an extraordinarily cold winter and record crops for shipping delays. Grain shippers say the railways, knowing grain is a captive, have streamlined so much they lack surge capacity. In addition to railway penalties, the WGEA wants the transport minister to extend its order of minimum-volume targets to include specific export corridors. The WGEA also wants railways held accountable for liquidated damages related to poor service and an inexpensive and quick dispute resolution process to back it. Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart said he wanted the act to increase the minimum shipments to 13,000 cars a week instead of 11,000 specified in the minimum rail shipping order that expires Aug. 1, 2016, unless renewed by the government. Ritz said the legislation will “establish regulatory power to establish greater specificity to service-level agreements as requested by shippers of all commodities.” But he was non-committal when asked later whether shippers will get the regulations they want. “That’s what these discussions are all about.”

Falls short

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association agreed the legislation falls short. “These measures do not adequately tackle the backlog in grain shipments,” WCWGA president Levi Wood said in a release. The Canadian Canola Growers Association welcomed the legislation unconditionally. “We appreciate the government’s intentions with this bill as it takes one more step toward addressing the complex and highly interconnected grain logistics challenges that we face,” association CEO Rick White said in a news release. CN and CP Rail condemned the legislation saying in separate releases it will not move grain faster. They warned the interswitching changes could hurt Canada’s economy, outsourcing grain shipping and handling to the United States.

As the federal government was tabling its new Fair Rail for Farmers Act, more than 200 people in Saskatoon were discussing ways to fix Western Canada’s broken grain-handling and transportation system. Several participants decried the fact that not a single MP and only one provincial MLA attended.

“(It) has the potential to cause great damage to the Canadian rail transportation system that is unquestionably the best in the world,” said CP chief executive officer E. Hunter Harrison. “Canada’s grain-handling system is just not built to handle this record amount of grain,” Harrison said, referring to the West’s record 73-million-tonne crop harvested last fall. The government should also regulate grain companies to ensure they have enough surge capacity to handle record crops, said CN president and chief executive officer Claude Mongeau. “It’s a sad day for Canada when the government decides to hit one sector of the economy in order to placate a vocal constituency, instead of fostering sound commercial solutions to strengthen Canada’s transportation infrastructure.” allan@fbcpublishing.com

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Transport Minister Lisa Raitt reject calls for an independent grain transportation co-ordinator modelled after the old Grain Transportation Authority. They said they want to allow “market forces” to work. photos: allan dawson

TOUGHER. EASIER.

TANDEMTM IS THE ONE.

Albertafarmexpress.ca • april 14, 2014

Calls coming for new independent grain car czar Conference hears calls for a third party to co-ordinate shipments and allocate cars among companies By Allan Dawson staff /Saskatoon

s the creation of a new car czar similar to how the Grain Transportation Agency operated two decades ago the way to keep the grain flowing smoothly to export? Speakers at a grain transportation summit here last month said someone or something needs to co-ordinate car allocations, especially when demand exceeds supply. Even CN Rail seems to agree more co-ordination is in order. “One of the biggest root causes of the challenge we face is a lack of co-ordination across the supply chain and growing pains from new grain-marketing strategies following the change in role of the Canadian Wheat Board,” CN CEO Claude Mongeau said in a March 31 release. Ian McCreary, a farmer, economist and former Canadian Wheat

Board director from Bladworth, Sask., told the March 26 summit the Grain Transportation Agency (GTA), is a model worth considering. Between 1979 and 1995, the GTA set grain-shipping targets by corridor, identified future system bottlenecks, allocated cars to shippers, provided co-ordination of unloads at port and also monitored all those activities. “It very quickly earned the respect of all the players in the industry,” said McCreary. “Everybody grumbled about the number of cars they got, but there was a level of transparency... and a process where people could feel a part of the planning exercise.” The federal government wanted a non-biased entity to ensure adequate rail capacity and split up the cars between the wheat board and non-board shippers, McCreary told the meeting, to discuss ways to improve grain transportation.

The GTA was scrapped in 1995, the same year the federal government stopped providing export subsidies on grain. There was grain transportation wreck in 1996-97, probably because co-ordination was gone, McCreary said. The industry then formed the Car Allocation Policy Group (CAPG) and the wheat board also played a major role in overseeing its grain-shipping program. But one full crop year after the board was scrapped, there is another wreck, he said. What’s lacking is an independent third-party co-ordinator that can see the whole system, rather than a piece of it, McCreary said. The current car allocation based on grain shippers’ historical shipments isn’t working for stand-alone inland grain terminals and shoreline railway operators, said Perry Pellerin of GNP Consulting Ltd., which works with both.

“We’ll be hard pressed to move what’s sold and we have stopped selling because we’ve got no hope of finishing this off,” he said. “Something has to change in this system to allow smaller shippers, independent shippers, equal access to cars and capacity. Doing it by percentage is not fair. It just doesn’t work.” Richard Gray, the University of Saskatchewan agricultural economist who organized the summit, agrees there is no mechanism for equitable allocations when demand for cars exceeds supply. “Until there’s a snafu, first come, first served... works really well. But once you get backlogged the railways really don’t have any mechanism. “I do think we need some kind of centralized authority,” Gray said. allan@fbcpublishing.com

Farmer, former wheat board director and economist Ian McCreary says the grain transportation and handling system needs an independent co-ordinator not unlike the old Grain Transportation Agency that allocated grain cars between 1984 and 1995. PHOto: allan dawson

Deadline for insuring crops is April 30 Changes to this year’s program include Straight Hail coverage and lower premiums staff

The easy, total-acre solution for key problem grasses and broadleafs in wheat. • Ease, convenience and flexibility in one-pass • Confidence in complete, total-acre weed control • Wild oats, kochia, cleavers, chickweed, hemp-nettle, more • Tandem is the tougher, easier choice Go to cerealsolutions.ca or call 1.800.667.3852.

Download the 2014 Field Guide App from the iPhone App Store or at Google Play.

® TM Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow. 0314-22013-02_35808-02 AFE

armers should be thinking of risk management as the April 30 crop insurance deadline approaches, says Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC). “Most producers will invest $200 to $300 or more per acre into their crops over the growing season, and they don’t want to risk losing that to a hailstorm or some other unexpected weather event,” AFSC spokeswoman Nancy Smith said in a press release. More than 75 per cent of Alberta farmers insured about 15 million acres of annual crops last year, with about $295 million paid out in claims. The lion’s share of payouts last year — roughly $219 million — was triggered under the Hail Endorsement rider, an option chosen by about 90 per cent of producers. Despite more than 3,700 hail claims, actual losses under the production guarantee that crop insurance provides were only $36 million — among the lowest ever, said Smith. Crop insurance allows farmers to insure up to 80 per cent of their average production on most crops. “If yields fall below that, a claim is triggered,” said Smith. “Even many farmers with hail damage harvested above-average yields last fall because growing conditions were ideal across much of the province.” The Spring Price Endorsement rider on crop insurance triggered $38.8 million in claims after commodity prices on many crops fell up to 25 per cent last

fall. That rider compensates farmers when crop prices fall 10 per cent or more between spring and fall. Other perils that triggered claims included excess moisture, which led to unseeded acres in some areas. Changes to crop insurance this year include increased Straight Hail coverage, which producers can Auto-Elect with their policy by April 30. “Previously we capped Straight Hail coverage at $150 per acre for most crops,” said Smith. “We’ve now increased coverage to $225 per acre for dryland cereals, and $325 per acre for dryland canola and chickpeas. For irrigated crops, coverage has increased to $400 per acre for cereals, and $425 per acre for canola and chickpeas,” says Smith. Farmers who Auto-Elect Straight Hail also receive a two per cent premium discount. Producers should review and ask questions about their crop insurance to ensure they understand the options and coverage choices available this year, she said. “For example with lower commodity prices, crop insurance premiums and dollar coverages will come down because the value of the crops being insured is less. Producers may want to review their coverage level and endorsements because premium costs per acre in most cases are now lower.” About 60 per cent of the cost of crop insurance premiums are subsidized by government. For more information, contact your local AFSC branch or call 1-877899-AFSC (2372).

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Brazil’s second soy crop could rain on bull parade Farmers are considering sowing soy on soy instead of the traditional soy-corn rotation BY GAVIN MAGUIRE CHICAGO / REUTERS

razilian farmers may be in the midst of harvesting the largest-ever soybean crop in that country’s history, but could still be on the verge of planting additional area to the oilseed for the country’s safrinha or second crop season. Traditionally, Brazilian growers plant corn as a second crop behind soybeans, and last produced more than 40 million tonnes off more than 22 million acres (8.9 million hectares) of planted area. But with corn prices substantially lower than where they were at the same

point in 2013, Brazilian growers are expected to scale back corn production in favour of another round of soybeans as well as cotton and other crops. This additional soy output may not only push the country’s total even higher, but could extend Brazil’s export season by several months — potentially crimping U.S. soy price potential in the process. The steady climb in secondcrop corn plantings in Brazil from around eight million acres in the 2005-06 crop year to more than 22 million last year coincided with the global rally in corn prices during that time, and highlights how growers in that country have proved to be

highly responsive to favourable price moves in recent years. But with corn values trading at more than a 30 per cent discount to last year’s levels during the opening months of 2014, Brazilian growers are expected to scale back corn-planting intentions this year, especially in areas where corn production costs remain substantially above that of other crops. Instead of corn, growers in many of the top producing areas are expected to favour soybeans above most other options, as the cost of soy production remains more affordable than the alternatives and international soy prices remain attractive.

There could be even more soybeans combined in Brazil this year. PHOTO: REUTERS

Fonterra fined over botulism food scare

Be the first to meet Alberta’s

2014 EXPORT CHAMPIONS

False alarm said to cause damage to N.Z.’s reputation for dairy products WELLINGTON / REUTERS

F The Alberta Export Awards are the province’s most prestigious awards, paying tribute to the success and innovative approaches of export companies in Alberta.

JOIN US! May 23, 2014

11:00am to 2:00pm

The Westin Edmonton

Extending across industries and including both rural and urban representation, the awards are a celebration of the contributions exporters have made to both the provincial and national economy. With over 400 delegates—many of whom hold executive leadership roles—the Alberta Export Awards provide a premier networking opportunity for attendees. Attending this event will allow you and your business to connect with leading and emerging industry decision makers within the Alberta export sector. AWARD CATEGORIES INCLUDE: Exporter of the Year • Emerging Exporter • Business Studies Student Award • Technology and Media • Services Explorer Manufacturing: Oil & Gas • Agriculture and Consumer Products • Leadership Award • Manufacturing: Other

PRESENTED BY

PREMIER SPONSORS

AWARD SPONSORS

SUPPORTING SPONSOR

Follow updates on Twitter at @cme_mec, @jwnevents or use the hashtag #ABExport

VISIT ALBERTAEXPORTAWARDS.CA TO BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY!

onterra Ltd. has been fined NZ$300,000 (C$283,000) for the way it handled the food safety scare last year about potentially contaminated products and the damage the false alarm did to New Zealand’s reputation for quality dairy products. Fonterra said in August last year that it had found a bacteria that could cause botulism in a range of products sold by a number of multinational companies. Testing later showed there had been no botulism. The scare prompted the recall of products, including baby formula, from shelves from China to Saudi Arabia, and led several countries to place a temporary ban on some New Zealand products. Fonterra said it would not contest the fines. “New Zealand’s reputation for high-quality dairy products was shaken,” Fairfax News reported Judge Peter Hobbs saying April 4. The world’s largest dairy exporter had pleaded guilty to four charges of breaching food safety laws in the way it handled possible contamination of several products with a bacteria that might cause botulism. The company faced a combined maximum penalty of NZ$500,000 for the charges. Hobbs said he noted Fonterra’s guilty plea and co-operation with authorities. “Fonterra had already accepted responsibility for the allegations made in the charges, and we respect the sentencing decision made today,” managing director people, culture and strategy, Maury Leyland, said in a statement. French food group Danone is suing Fonterra over the botulism scare, which it said cost it 350 million euros (C$527 million) in lost sales.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

There’s a reason why Alberta is Canada’s hemp leader The ‘dope’ on industrial hemp is that it’s good news for Alberta producers looking for a new crop for their rotation By Claudette Lacombe Farming Smarter There was a time in Canada’s history when homesteaders received free hemp seeds because the plant products served so many purposes. Hemp seed is a source of food and its stalks provide fibre. Jan Slaski — Alberta’s hemp expert — provided this tidbit of information when he spoke at the Farming Smarter AGM in February. His research in Vegreville now spans more than a decade, and his efforts to make hemp a viable, profitable crop had led to Alberta becoming Canada’s leading hemp-growing province over the past five years. I never thought about why hemp fell out of grace as a rope-manufacturing material. (Yes, I thought that was its only use.) However, many years ago, I lived in a southern Ontario farm community where hemp still grew wild in the ditches, decades after its days as a field crop were over. So did asparagus, but that wasn’t nearly as amusing — no one ever stopped and tried to smoke the asparagus. But that is why hemp fell out of favour after being one of the world’s longest-standing and most widely grown crops. See,

These photos of Jan Slaski in his Vegreville hemp plots were taken five days apart in July 2004, and show how quickly hemp can grow. Photos: Courtesy Jan Slaski

industrial hemp has one of those relatives you wish would stop showing up at family gatherings. So Canada banned it in the late 1930s and the UN banned it in 1961. Slaski also told us the fascinating fact that hemp grows ridiculously fast. He had flanking photos dated about five days apart. The hemp plants had grown about two feet over that time and towered over him. It occurs to me that hemp could easily replace corn mazes as a tourist attraction. In the centre of the hemp maze, you could have Lazy-Boy chairs, a big-screen TV, a beer fridge and a snack vending machine. You would make MILLIONS!

Except, of course, industrial hemp can’t give the vacant-head feeling its cousin does. I like the idea of growing more hemp for cloth. I have difficulty wearing synthetics, so I’m always looking for naturalfibre clothes and they are hard to find. Hemp fibre clothes are as varied as cotton in texture and weight. Maybe that’s because hemp provides two lengths of fibre as Slaski explained. The outside of the stalk yields longer strands than the inside — two fibres for the price of one! Rope and clothes seem obvious, but Slaski had a photo of a truck canopy made of hemp fibre. It looked just like fibreglass. Hempcrete is an insulating

B:10.25” T:10.25”

wall material and hemp is used in erosion control mats. Calgary Olympic Park uses the latter and Motive Industries Inc. in Calgary uses hemp for car bodies. They call the car the Kestrel. Alberta has some hemp advantages. Hemp is a short-day plant, which means the long days of northern summers delay the flowering and cause hemp to grow notably larger. It means Alberta farmers have excellent fibre-growing conditions and can still get the grain crop. Now I will admit that I had never thought of hemp as a grain crop even though a hippie-dippy buddy of mine introduced me to hemp heart granola decades ago. Anywho, hemp grain also provides hemp oil, hemp hearts and hemp milk… and hippie-dippy granola. Someone named Dr. Bronner uses hemp oil in cosmetics. Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap leads me to another attention grabber about hemp. You see Dr. Bronner is American and imports his hemp oil from Canada because Americans still can’t grow hemp legally. Heh, heh… you knew that crazy cousin was good for something eh? We can tie up all the markets before our neighbours even think about it! Perhaps that’s why there is a new processing plant coming for Alberta.

www.farmingsmarter.com

S:10.25”

Freedom from wild oats.

C-78-02/14-10168062-E

B:7.75”

Always read and follow label directions. Varro™ is a trademark of the Bayer Group. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.

T:7.75”

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

S:7.75”

Varro™ herbicide for wheat. Freedom from Group 1 herbicide resistance. Freedom to select your preferred broadleaf partner. Freedom to re-crop back to sensitive crops like lentils.

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

China’s government grain trader deals pose a threat to ‘ABCDs’ Analysis: China may be set to be a competitor rather than a customer for the world’s big grain trade firms By Gavin Maguire Reuters

he largest players in the global agriculture trading industry are likely to be cut out of a growing share of world crop trade following the recent move by China’s trading arm COFCO to acquire majority stakes in Nidera and Noble Group Ltd.’s agriculture businesses. By beefing up COFCO’s agricultural product origination capabilities, the Chinese government will be able to cut other third-party traders out of the lucrative purchasing and logistics portion of the supply chain. And given that China is one of the world’s largest importers of nearly all grains, oilseeds and edible oils, this development could emerge as a major threat to the core businesses of the traditional “Big 4” giants of agri-trading — Archer Daniels Midland Co., Bunge Ltd. and Cargill, and Louis Dreyfus Commodities, which are collectively known as the ABCDs.

Long time coming

As China emerged as the dominant trader, consumer and importer of agricultural staples over the past decade, expectations have risen among the trading community that the country would take steps to establish more direct origination and handling capabilities in the grain and oilseed markets. China’s chief agricultural trading arm COFCO has increased its scope and capabilities over the past few years in order to accommodate the steep increases in imported volumes of a slew of agricultural products. But it has been something of a surprise that it took until this year for China to make its first official moves to acquire or partner with major trading houses that specialize in the food and feed arenas. Now that it has conducted backto-back deals to acquire a majority stake in Netherlands-based Nidera and the agricultural unit of Singapore-based Noble, however, trader focus is starting to shift to how this new setup will impact the global agri-trading industry going forward.

Global footprint

With Nidera’s well-established trading acumen in Europe and South America, and Noble’s extensive port and logistics infrastructure throughout the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, COFCO has made its intentions clear that it will look to source its crop and food products via a diverse global network. And given the scale of China’s food and feed requirements, taking such a broad approach to agriproduct sourcing is not surprising as it lessens dependence on any one supplier, country or region. However, China’s resulting improved diversity in the agriculture import field could prove to be bad news for those firms that have lately been heavily reliant on China for steady demand in grains and oilseeds. And given that each of the ABCD firms have benefited strongly from China’s aggressive demand requirements over the past decade, each looks set to suffer diminished trading revenues going forward as China

steers more of its purchase orders through its own businesses. Not only that, but any downturn in trading activity with China will also reduce each firm’s market intelligence on a major global player, and thereby inflict an intellectual penalty that could prove to be more severe than any downturn in trading receipts.

Reduced dependence on the U.S.

While the U.S. will remain the world’s top producer and exporter of corn and a leading supplier of soybeans, wheat and other products, China’s new trading setup could mean it depends less on North American suppliers for those commodities going forward. Both Nidera and Noble have developed extensive handling and origination capabilities across South America in recent years, where vast tonnages of corn, soybeans and other crops are grown every year. What’s more, Chinese authorities have taken steps in recent years to approve certain seed traits

grown in that region that should foster increased domestic demand for South American crops over the coming years. Combined, this should set the stage for a steady increase in the flow of oilseeds and grains from throughout South America towards China and neighbouring countries over the coming years. And while this does not necessarily mean any downturn in shipments out of North America — demand is expected to continue rising in all regions for the foreseeable future — China’s increased orientation towards South America does highlight the importance for the major agri-exporters to develop and expand markets in other regions going forward. The author is a Reuters market analyst. The opinions expressed are his own.

Iowa farmland prices fall more than five per cent Realtors say market remains underpinned by low interest rates and outside investors By Christine Stebbins Reuters

armland values in Iowa, the top U.S. corn and soybean state, fell 5.4 per cent over the past six months, under pressure from lower grain prices, according to a benchmark survey of realtors. Still, the market remains underpinned by strong demand from wealthy farmers and non-farming investors, said the Iowa Realtors Land Institute survey, which is based on information from local farm real estate brokers, lenders and others with knowledge of land prices. “The report overall was encouraging because we knew the price of corn had fallen off 35 per cent since this time last year,” Kyle Hansen, past president of the institute and broker with Hertz Real Estate in Iowa, told Reuters.

The average selling price of farmland across Iowa in March was $8,286 an acre, compared with $8,758 six months before. Prices were down 4.6 per cent from $8,690 a year earlier. Agricultural bankers, economists and farmers have expected land prices to taper off in 2014 after setting a series of record highs over the past five years as grain markets boomed, fed by exports and the biofuels expansion. Low interest rates also spurred demand for land from farmers and outside investors. Economists and bankers have been keeping a close eye on Iowa, a bellwether for the U.S. grain economy and also the largest hogproducing state. The results are in line with the most recent survey of Midwest farmland by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank. That study, issued in February, showed a steady to softer outlook for farmland values.

The average selling price of farmland across Iowa in March was $8,286 an acre, compared with $8,758 six months before. PHOTo: thinkstock

ANOTHER STELLAR TM

PERFORMANCE.

Albertafarmexpress.ca • april 14, 2014

Tight supplies, high prices, but rail fiasco pinches organic sales, too Imports are keeping processor margins away from the brink, says panel By Daniel Winters staff

hile conventional farmers fume about rail delays and falling prices, the organic sector is worried that supply shortages and sky-high prices may derail future growth. “I think most people know that in the market today, demand outstrips supply and that’s why we have the prices that we do,” Ken Sabatier, a buyer for Grower’s International Organic Sales said in a Western Canadian Organic webinar last month. In 2008-09, a price crash followed by a period of marketing “doldrums” spooked many farmers back into conventional production, but since then demand has steadily crawled back, he said. Last year’s long winter and delayed spring resulted in less organic wheat going in the ground. That, and poor winter wheat-growing conditions in the United States in 2013 have crimped supplies. “There has been a dramatic increase in wheat prices,” said Sabatier, but he expected that normal spring growing conditions and what looks like a good winter wheat crop south of the border could bring supplies more back in line with demand. Oats, barley and flax supplies — and consequently prices — remained stable over the same time frame. Sabatier said that the rail fiasco has had an impact on Canadian credibility in the organic sector, too, and some sales have been lost. “Customers still want our product and they are willing to wait for it — within limits,” he said, adding that a four-month delay seems to be the breaking point.

Delivery delays threaten future sales prospects for organic grains. PHOTo: thinkstock

Organic feed

Top-performing annual broadleaf weed control + superior resistance management. • The best weed control performance in wheat, barley and oats • Controls cleavers, buckwheat, chickweed, hemp-nettle, kochia, more • Two modes of action, three actives, overlapping control • Get all the benefits of Stellar in your oats too Go to cerealsolutions.ca or call 1.800.667.3852.

Download the 2014 Field Guide App from the iPhone App Store or at Google Play.

Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow. 0314-22076-02 AFE

® TM

Pete Manahan, a buyer for F.W. Cobs Company Inc., a Vermontbased company that supplies a number of feed mills in the U.S., said that there is strong demand for organic feed barley. F.W. Cobs manages logistics to ensure “timely movement,” and buys grain f.o.b. the farm. It is also a buyer of organic wheat, both feed and milling quality, as well as feed rye, peas, oats and screenings. The drought in the U.S. Midwest in 2012 sent feed grain prices to record levels, but better crops this year have flattened things out. “There has been a fairly large supply of organic feed grains, mainly due to carry-over of organic corn,” said Manahan, but he added that organic feedlot production has been steadily recovering. Feed wheat has been “almost eliminated” this year due to milling prices upwards of $20 per bushel, but imports from Europe and South America have been plugging gaps. “We have been hearing more and more about the coming non-GMO markets, and how they might affect our markets,” he said, adding that more endusers are aiming to market their products as GMO free. The 200 per cent premium over conventional for most crops is

luring more farmers into organic, he added. “We may see an upward swing in the amount of those grains produced, but for now, it has yet to be seen how many acres will go into that market.” Terry Tyson, a buyer of mainly oats for Grain Millers since 2001, said that robust demand growth of 10-20 per cent a year had been matched by supply nearly every year up until 2008, when prices and demand crashed. “But right now, with the financial ship righted, consumer demand is back, and really it’s better than ever,” said Tyson, adding that organic oat demand began to stabilize in 2010 and now the focus of end-users is securing supply.

“Even if supply does increase, we’ve got a very strong growth trend for the next five to 10 years.” Ken Sabatier

Sabatier noted that more acres are going into organic soybeans and other non-traditional crops such as hemp, as well as ancient grains such as spelt, kamut and einkorn.

Eastern Europe

End-users are getting the message, said Sabatier, and many are hiking their prices to ensure adequate supplies. Processors have also recognized that dependence on a single region puts them in the crosshairs of supply constraints, and many are now sourcing grains from other areas. “Eastern Europe has essentially taken most of the European grain market away, and Russia is actually finalizing its own organic standards and getting equivalency with other countries,” said Sabatier, who added that the Crimea crisis may blunt that effect. That trend of diversified supply has broadened the “global pool” of organic grains, and the effect on Canadian sales is being felt, he added. Many conventional farmers are keen to switch sides, but the threeyear transition period will prevent an overnight glut in supplies. “Even if supply does increase, we’ve got a very strong growth trend for the next five to 10 years,” said Sabatier, noting that mandatory GMO labelling — if passed — may significantly boost demand for organics, but excessively high prices push end-users towards alternatives. In Quebec, a new competitor in the form of “zero input certification,” essentially conventional grain that is pesticide and herbicide free, is pushing for legislative and regulatory permission to proceed. “It won’t be present this crop year, but it may be something to consider because the ‘natural’ label has sort of lost its effect on the market,” said Sabatier. daniel.winters@fbcpublishing.com

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

CN Rail chief defends grain service, blames grain companies for overbooking But Canada’s grain monitor says the railways are mostly to blame for the backlog By Allan Dawson staff

N Rail boss Claude Mongeau testily defended his company’s grain service record before MPs earlier this month, but was often contradicted by Canada’s grain monitor, Mark Hemmes of Quorum Corporation. Hemmes, when pushed to identify who was to blame for the unprecedented grain backlog said, “I think the railways carry the brunt of it... (but) it’s not a simple issue just to point your finger at one stakeholder and say ‘it’s all your fault.’ I think we’d be remiss in this process if we are to do that.” Nineteen witnesses, including Mongeau, appeared before the House of Commons agriculture committee in Ottawa April 1 and 2 to comment on the proposed Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act. Farm groups and grain shippers support the legislation, but many said it is only a first step to permanently fixing poor rail service. MPs were told repeatedly shippers need a clearer definition of “adequate and suitable” rail service under the Canada Transportation Act. Armed with that shippers said they can then get meaningful level-of-service agreements with the railways, but only if they include penalties following poor rail service.

Acrimony

There were lots of calls for better communication and co-operation throughout the system, but also recognition there’s much acrimony between participants. A sometimes indignant Mongeau stressed moving grain is a team sport,” and said CN “performed reasonably well” given the harshest winter in 50 or 60 years. The “key reason” for the backlog was a big crop, he told the committee.

PHOTO: LORRAINE STEVENSON Not according to Hemmes. “(T)his year’s bumper crop has not yet been one of the fundamental problems that we’ve seen in the grain-handling and transportation system,” he told the committee. The massive 2013 crop will “start to challenge the system” nearer to this year’s harvest, he added. Hemmes said the railway unloads are down five per cent versus last year and the average. Total Canadian grain exports year to date are down six per cent. Mongeau claimed nobody knew there was a record crop until November. Hemmes said the industry knew there was a bumper crop coming in August. When the railways were informed they told grain companies they would ship 5,000 cars a week — about the same as last crop year, Hemmes said. “The bottom line is they (railways) have committed a certain level (of service) and they’ve fallen below it and as a consequence we’ve seen this dreadful falling down of the ability to load vessels at both the ports of

Vancouver and Prince Rupert,” he said. CN is 35,000 cars behind — a shortfall of about 1,000 a week. But according to Mongeau 28,000 of those cars are because grain companies overbooked. Based on Mongeau’s numbers CN is only 7,000 cars behind or short only 200 cars a week. Grain companies lacked coordination in the new open market, he said. “In week seven and beyond they (grain companies) started to order far more... than the supply chain was ever able to move,” Mongeau told the committee. “In fact they were ordering on CN close to 7,000 orders every week. “Of course we never did anything close to that.”

Terminal capacity

Mongeau told the committee the system will be lucky to handle the 11,000 cars a week required by a federal government order issued last month. “We are at capacity as we speak in Prince Rupert,” he said. “We are a whisker from being excess of what they can unload at Vancouver.

“I would also point out that this year’s bumper crop has not yet been one of the fundamental problems that we’ve seen in the grain-handling and transportation system.” Mark Hemmes

“We will have to prove the hard way where the true supply chain capability is.” But Hemmes said he doesn’t see any immediate problem at the West Coast. There are 29 ships in Vancouver and 1.8 million tonnes of terminal space, he said. “It’s going to take a long time to fill that,” he said, adding more ships are arriving daily. Keith Creel, president and CEO of CP Rail criticized most West Coast terminal operators for not

operating continuously, as the railways do. “The railway is not the bottleneck...,” he told the committee. Mongeau alleged that the grain companies are “oligopolies” — an allusion to the wide margins they are said by some to be earning. C-30 will set the grain industry back and it’s undermining industry collaboration, Mongeau said. “There is no amount of regulation that can move grain.” allan@fbcpublishing.com

SAVE ON FUEL

TANKS

SAVE

ON FUEL

This spring, fueling your operation starts with savings at UFA.

Tank sale prices in effect from March 1 – May 31, 2014. See in-store for special order tank pricing. *First fill based on 85 – 95% safe fill rate. Fuel must be purchased within 90 days to qualify for 3 cent per litre discount. Price does not include GST or delivery charges. ©2014 UFA Co-operative Limited. All rights reserved. All other products are registered trademarks of their respective companies.

36904 UFA Third page-10.25x5.14_AFE.indd 1

UFA.com

02/2014-36904

For a limited time, save on select, double-walled fuel tanks – then save 3¢ per litre on your first fill*. Visit your UFA Farm & Ranch Supply store, Petroleum Agent or visit UFA.com for more details.

3/4/2014 2:44 PM

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

West Coast bottleneck means lower prices in the country So long as grain supplies are large the gap between world and country elevator prices will remain wide, the agriculture committee was told By Allan Dawson staff

“If (grain) production stays at average to above-average levels this new ‘grain robbery,’ as it’s being seen on the Prairies, will be there for the foreseeable future.”

estern Canadian grain farmers will continue to get a lot less than the world price, even if the railways improve their service, the House of Commons agriculture committee was told April 2. That’s because almost all of the West’s grain wants to be exported through the West Coast where prices are highest, but can’t because Vancouver and Prince Rupert can only handle 22 million tonnes a year, University of Saskatchewan agricultural economist Richard Gray and former Canadian Wheat Board director Ian McCreary said in separate presentations. The committee is reviewing Bill C-30, the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act, designed to improve rail service for grain and tackle the current backlog in grain shipments. Gray estimates if the West Coast could handle all Western Canada’s grain exports it would save farmers $800 million a year in reduced basis (difference between country and port prices) and eastern grainshipping costs. Because ocean freight rates are currently low, Canada can export grain from as far east as Brandon, Man. from the West Coast to Europe and Africa via the Panama Canal. “If (grain) production stays at average to above-average levels this new ‘grain robbery,’ as it’s being seen on the Prairies, will be there for the foreseeable future,” McCreary told the committee. “Alternatively stated current international prices are very strong and western Canadian farmers are the only ones not to gain from this strong market.” McCreary, a former wheat board analyst who now farms at

Ian McCreary

University of Saskatchewan agricultural economist Richard Gray says the West Coast’s limited export capacity means the difference between country grain prices will remain wide so long as grain stocks are high. photo: allan dawson

Bladworth, Sask., said his wheat is worth $170 a tonne more in Vancouver than at his local elevator. Since it costs grain companies $70 a tonne to get the grain to Vancouver the companies are making an extra $100 a tonne, he said. “That’s a $4.8-billion transfer from farmers to grain companies,” McCreary said. “That’s not a very attractive solution. So we need to be a bit more creative in finding that solution.”

Grain not moving

The Western Grain Elevator Association denies it’s reaping windfall profits due to the wide basis. Spokesman Wade Sobkowich said in an interview the basis is wide to discourage farmers from delivering grain because elevators are plugged. As a result little grain is moving and much of what is was

sold at higher prices. Moreover, grain companies are facing higher costs related to the grain backlog, including demurrage, contract penalties and lost sales. In the past when grain crops were big, the Canadian Wheat Board prevented the basis from getting as wide as it is now, McCreary said. The board would inform the railways how much grain the West was likely to ship, calculate how much would move through the West Coast, through Thunder Bay and to the United States and then get farmers to store the surplus. Since the wheat board is gone, it makes sense to set up another agency, perhaps modelled after the old Grain Transportation Agency (GTA), to co-ordinate grain transportation, McCreary said. A new GTA can’t force farmers to store grain but it could establish how

much grain is expected to move and allocate export capacity so users get their fair share of a limited resource, he said. Pierre Lemieux, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of agriculture, rejected the idea, saying it was too bureaucratic. Barley Council of Canada chair Brian Otto agreed, saying if all players in the grain industry met they could work out a commercially based system. Liberal MP Wayne Easter disagreed. “Simply put, if this system was working under the theory you’re talking about, we certainly wouldn’t need this legislation today,” he said. “History has shown you do need some kind of GTA to have the authority to make the system work as you would like it to.” Gray suggested at very least a

new GTA could allocate cars to where there is a backlog. “We’ve got a bunch of contracts that are Over Due and it’s up to the railways that ship grain where and that’s not working very well,” he said. Both Gray and McCreary said the cap on total grain revenues should remain, but suggested exploring compensating railways more during the winter when operating costs are higher. Gray said railway grain-shipping costs should also be reviewed. The grain-handling and transportation system is much more efficient now than when the last review was done in 1992. “Without long-term planning, basis levels will remain high, stifling farm income and national economic growth,” Gray warned. “Frankly, other than a short crop there’s not a lot of short-run solutions other than use the resources we have now the best we can.” Increasing cash advances and subsidizing grain storage are options the government could consider, Gray said. allan@fbcpublishing.com

WIN 1 OF 2 JOHN DEERE RSX850i SPORT GATORS™

Gators™ awarded may not be exactly as illustrated. Approximate value $17,500.

Fuel Up For Spring for the chance to WIN 1 of 2 brand new John Deere RSX850i Sport Gators™ (ARV $17,500).

FOR

Spring

For every 2000L purchase of marked agricultural fuel*, you’re automatically entered to win. Fuel* purchases are cumulative, so every purchase between March 17th and May 31st, 2014 qualifies. The more fuel you buy, the more entries you get!

Stop by your local Petroleum location today to Fuel Up For Spring and win with UFA *Fuel must be purchased with a valid BCREF, AFFB or SFTX permit. Cardlock and bulk fuel purchases apply, purchases may be cumulative over contest period. To enter and be eligible to win a person must be a legal resident of Canada (excluding the province of Quebec) who has reached the age of majority at the time of entry in the Province or Territory in which he/she resides, AND be a member of UFA Co-operative Ltd. (“UFA”). Prize vehicle may not be exactly as shown. No purchase necessary. Visit UFA.com for complete contest details. All other products are registered trademarks of their respective companies. © 2014 UFA Co-operative Ltd. All rights reserved.

UFA_36393 Fuel Up-10.25x5.14_AFE.indd 1

UFA.com 2014-03-06 11:29 AM

NEWS » Markets

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Crimea supplies boosts Russian exports

USDA reports wheat deteriorating

Russia may increase grain exports over the next marketing year, partially due to crops in the Crimea region, the head of Russia’s Grain Union, Arkady Zlochevsky, said Apr. 7. Russia is expected to harvest at least 90 million tonnes of grain in 2014, of which 25 million tonnes will be available for export during the 2014-15 marketing year starting on July 1, Zlochevsky told a briefing. Zlochevsky declined to estimate the size of Crimea’s 2014 grain crop, but said a major part of it is likely to be exported as shipping it to the European part of Russia would be logistically complicated. — Reuters

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Monday, Apr. 7 that in top wheat-producing state Kansas, 29 per cent of the winter wheat crop was rated in good to excellent condition, down from 32 per cent a week earlier. The amount of Kansas wheat rated poor to very poor rose to 27 per cent, from 25 per cent a week earlier. In Oklahoma, 15 per cent of the winter wheat was rated good to excellent, down from 17 per cent a week earlier. The amount rated poor to very poor rose to 48 per cent from 44 per cent the previous week, the USDA said. — Reuters

Big supplies, outside oilseeds keep canola rangebound USDA now expects a record soybean crop in 2014-15

Photo: thinkstock

By Terryn Shiells

CE Futures Canada canola futures were little changed during the week ended April 4, stuck in the middle of the trading range seen in the market since early March. A lack of fresh news kept prices from moving too far one way or the other. Sharp advances seen in Chicago soybean and soyoil futures helped to support values, as did continued ideas that canola is undervalued compared to other oilseeds. The market will likely continue to stay in a rangebound pattern, being pulled in both directions, until it becomes clearer how big the 2014-15 Canadian canola and U.S. soybean crops will be. On one side, recent strength in outside oilseeds, continued sentiment that canola is undervalued compared to other oilseeds and the need to build a weather premium into the market during the growing season will be supportive. But expectations of large carry-out stocks of canola, talk that acreage will increase to 21 million acres this spring

from 19.94 million last year, and the continued effects from Canada’s backlogged grain-handling system will be bearish. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada expects Canadian canola carry-out stocks to total 3.3 million tonnes in 2013-14, a dramatic increase from just 608,000 tonnes in 2012-13. But the industry says it wouldn’t be surprised to see an even larger carry-out of 3.5 million or 3.7 million tonnes. So, if there’s production of 16 million tonnes or more next year, farmers will be trying to move 20 million tonnes of canola — 1.5 million more than in 2013-14. There may be signs that Canada’s grain-handling system is starting to see better movement, with CN reporting it delivered more than 5,000 rail cars to grain elevators during the week and improving basis levels in some areas. But that doesn’t mean the problem is going away. There’s still a lot of grain out there and the backlog is ultimately going to result in larger carry-out stocks this year.

Tight old-crop beans

The opposite is true for the Chicago soy-

bean market, which continued to climb higher on concerns about tight old-crop supplies in the U.S. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed stocks of U.S. soybeans were tight as of March 1, 2014 in its March 31 stocks report. Some believe ending stocks for 2013-14 will be even tighter than the 145 million bushels USDA is currently projecting. Because of this, prices for old-crop soybeans will continue to move higher in order to discourage buyers. The market could even test US$16 per bushel in old-crop once again. The outlook isn’t as bullish for newcrop values, as U.S. farmers are expected to plant more soybeans this year than they did last year. USDA released its planting intentions report on March 31, pegging U.S. soybean acreage this spring at a recordlarge 81.5 million acres, up from 76.5 million last year. Some of the increased soybean acreage will likely come out of corn. USDA estimated U.S. corn area would fall to 91.7 million acres this spring, from about 93 million last year.

Acreage estimates came in below analysts’ expectations as well, which helped Chicago corn futures move sharply higher during the week. Where corn futures move going forward will depend on how many acres get planted and what type of weather is seen throughout the growing season in the U.S. Traders will likely start to build a weather premium into the futures as the growing season approaches. Wheat futures moved lower, as speculators continued to take profits following a recent rally. Forecasts calling for some beneficial weather in the U.S. Plains during the week also put downward pressure on prices. Traders will continue to monitor the weather situation for U.S. winter wheat crops, as well as the situation in the Black Sea region. Though exports haven’t been disrupted out of the region yet, there’s still a possibility that political problems will cause issues or smaller production this year. Terryn Shiells writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

Tweezer bottom signalled a reversal in November canola futures Farmers who targeted the 61.8 per cent retracement level were rewarded for their patience By david drozd

anola prices on the November 2014 futures contract lost nearly $100 per tonne before retracing a percentage of those losses. Four months after turning down from a high of $530 per tonne on October 24, 2013, a tweezer bottom alerted savvy traders and farmers alike that the market was about to turn up. A tweezer bottom materializes when the same low occurs for two consecutive days. In this case, the November futures posted a new contract low of $431.50 on February 13 and 14, 2014. A tweezer bottom is a reversal pattern seen at market lows and it is especially reliable when it develops at the bottom of a major decline. When the tweezer bottom occurred, farmers were calling us and asking, “How high?” To answer that question, I turned their attention to the charts to indicate the fibonacci retracement levels.

Fibonacci retracement

This is a popular tool used in technical analysis based on key numbers identified by mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci in the 13th century. A fibonacci

retracement is the potential correction of a market’s original move in price. In a downtrending market, this refers to areas of resistance where prices have the potential of rallying to before they resume their downward progression. This is advantageous for canola growers to know, so they can determine targets for making a sale. As illustrated in the accompanying chart, the 61.8 per cent fibonacci retracement level was $492.40, 50 per cent was $480.80 and 38.2 per cent came in at $469.20. A market typically has a 38.2-61.8 per cent retracement. It is important to note that downtrending markets such as canola rarely have more than a 61.8 per cent retracement. Fibonacci retracements use horizontal lines to indicate areas of resistance at key fibonacci ratios before a market continues in the original direction. These levels are created by drawing a trendline between two extreme points, identified as (A) 0.00 per cent at the start of the retracement, and (B) a 100 per cent retracement of the original move, and then dividing the vertical distance by the key fibonacci ratios of 23.6 per cent, 38.2 per cent, 50.0 per cent and 61.8 per cent. The two extreme points were (A) $431.50

on February 14, 2014 and (B) $530 on October 24, 2013. While minor 23.6 per cent retracements do occur, the most common fibonacci retracements are 38.2 per cent and 61.8 per cent, with 50 per cent being in the middle. The 50 per cent retracement level is not really a fibonacci ratio, but it is used because of the tendency for a market to continue to the 61.8 per cent retracement level, once it completes a 50 per cent retracement.

Market psychology

A tweezer bottom signals an abrupt change in trend. Traders who were short the market quickly questioned the market’s strength, as prices challenged the first area of resistance at $454.80. After all, nothing had changed fundamentally, with Canadian ending stocks of canola expected to be record high in 2013-14. However, markets have short covering rallies to alleviate the oversold conditions. Once prices exceeded $454.80, which was the 23.6 per cent fibonacci retracement level, the market ran into buy stops a few dollars above that point of resistance (C). Buy stops are placed above the market, typically just above a key B:10.25” to protect the point of resistance

profit of those who shorted the market at higher levels. Once triggered, they become orders to buy at the market, driving prices up until willing sellers are uncovered. This buying quickly triggered additional buy stop orders when the market soared above the 38.2 per cent fibonacci retracement level. With the amount of buying overwhelming the available supply of contracts for sale, prices rallied to the 50 per cent retracement level. This now provided optimism that prices could rally to the 61.8 per cent retracement level. Farmers who were interested in making an additional sale and targeted the 61.8 per cent retrace-

ment level were rewarded for their patience when prices achieved $492.40 on March 18, 2014. Send your questions or comments about this article and chart to info@ag-chieve.ca. David Drozd is president and senior market analyst for Winnipegbased Ag-Chieve Corporation. The opinions expressed are those of the writer and are solely intended to assist readers with a better understanding of technical analysis. Visit Ag-Chieve online at www.ag-chieve.ca for information about our grainmarketing advisory service and to see our latest grain market analysis. You can call us toll free at 1-888274-3138 for a free consultation.

T:10.25” S:10.25”

One of a kind broadleaf weed control.

BayerCropScience.ca/Infinity or 1 888-283-6847 or contact your Bayer CropScience representative. Always read and follow label directions. Infinity® is a registered trademark of the Bayer Group. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.

C-52-02/14-10168059-E

T:7.75”

For more information, please visit BayerCropScience.ca/Infinity

B:7.75”

Infinity – truly in a class of its own.

S:7.75”

As the only Group 27 and the first new mode of action in cereals for over 25 years, powerful, one of a kind Infinity® herbicide controls the toughest broadleaf weeds from across the Canadian prairies, even if they are resistant to other herbicide classes.

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Gavilon calls on U.S. farm sector to deal with unapproved GMO crops The grain handler has broken ranks with others and agreed to accept farmer deliveries Gavilon agreed to accept it because U.S. farmers want to plant the new variety, which is engineered to fight pests, chief executive Greg Heckman said. The company, the third-largest U.S. grain handler by storage capacity, is equipped to direct it to appropriate markets, he said. “Is it always easier if everything is as fungible as water and no one has to think and you don’t have to manage any details?” he said. “Absolutely that is easier. But that’s not what the customers are asking for.”

BY TOM POLANSEK REUTERS

he U.S. agriculture industry must devise a system to handle genetically modified crops barred by major importers because unapproved varieties will comprise an increasing portion of production in coming years, top executives at grain merchant Gavilon Group LLC say. Omaha-based Gavilon, owned by Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp., broke from the world’s top grain traders last month by agreeing to accept a new type of GMO corn not approved by China or the European Union. The corn, a Syngenta AG variety called Agrisure Duracade, is avail-

“Is it always easier if everything is as fungible as water and no one has to think and you don’t have to manage any details? Absolutely that is easier. But that’s not what the customers are asking for.” GREG HECKMAN GAVILON

China has rejected hundreds of thousands of tonnes of U.S. corn containing Agrisure Viptera, an unauthorized Syngenta GMO trait. able for planting for the first time in the United States this year. Gavilon agreed to buy the grain from U.S. farmers as part of a deal with Syngenta, while major exporters like Archer Daniels Midland have refused out of concern it will accidentally be sent to China or the EU. Gavilon will greatly reduce the risk that Duracade corn will be inadvertently mixed with approved varieties by working with farmers and by organizing a network of grain elevators and markets that will accept the grain, said Greg Konsor, the company’s general manager of grain operations, in a telephone interview.

Won’t be the last

The industry must learn how to efficiently handle unapproved varieties because Duracade will not be the last one to hit the market, he added.

“We’ve got to figure a solution out to make sure we’re not handcuffing the U.S. corn farmer or the seed companies that they can’t get their product to market sooner,” he said. “At some point in time the industry has to deal with it, and I think now is the time to deal with it.” Concerns about Duracade have captivated the U.S. farm sector this year because China has rejected hundreds of thousands of tonnes of U.S. corn containing another unauthorized GMO Syngenta trait, Agrisure Viptera, since November. Known as MIR 162, the trait has been awaiting Beijing’s approval for more than two years. On March 10, Syngenta halted commercial sales of Duracade corn in Canada because major importers had not approved the product.

Rejected

Cargill Inc., the largest exporter of U.S. grain, has said it will not accept Duracade corn for shipment overseas because it is not approved by major importers. ADM went a step further with plans to reject crops containing Duracade for domestic processing or export. The National Grain and Feed Association and North American Export Grain Association have unsuccessfully lobbied Syngenta to suspend the commercial use of Duracade and MIR 162 in the United States until China and other export markets have granted regulatory approval. Duracade already has approval from buyers including Mexico, South Korea and Japan. Corn containing Duracade will be planted on 250,000 to 300,000 acres this spring and be harvested in the autumn, according to information Syngenta has provided to the U.S. trade associations.

Network

Search news. Read stories. Find insight.

April 30, 2014 Deadline Reminder

Apply or make changes to Annual Crop Insurance Coverage Auto-Elect Straight Hail Insurance for a 2% premium discount.

Pay your AgriStability Fee for 2014 (without penalty)

New participants must enrol prior to April 30.

Protect your investment and be ready this growing season.

Growing Forward 2 is a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.

1-877-899-AFSC (2372) www.AFSC.ca

Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship® (ETS). Monsanto products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization of BiotechnologyDerived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. This product has been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from this product can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for this product. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Roundup Ready® crops contain genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides. Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Genuity and Design®, Genuity®, Monsanto and Vine Design®, Roundup Ready® and Roundup® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC, Monsanto Canada, Inc. licensee.

BRIEFS Railway woes hit Agrium earnings REUTERS / Fertilizer company Agrium Inc. warned April 2 that a big backlog of grain shipments on Canada’s railways and a late start to spring planting will hit its first-quarter earnings hard. Calgary, Alberta-based Agrium estimated pershare earnings for the quarter ended March 31 at just above break-even. In the year-before quarter, Agrium earned $141 million, or 94 cents a share. Agrium had said in January that rail shipment “challenges” were weighing on potash sales volumes. A tough winter and a record-breaking Canadian harvest have overwhelmed the country’s two dominant railroads, Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Ltd., creating a backlog of grain shipments that may not clear until next year. Agrium also said its Carseland, Alberta, nitrogen facility experienced a failure in its auxiliary boiler on March 22, resulting in an unplanned shutdown. The boiler is expected to be fixed by the second half of May. The shutdown is likely to cut the availability of urea by about 100,000 tonnes and that of ammonia by about 20,000 tonnes in the second quarter.

Organic business directory now available The 2014 edition of the Western Canadian Organic Business Directory is now available at www.organicalberta.org. The directory lists all companies providing services or processed products to businesses in the organic sector. “We have been hearing from the organic business community that they just don’t know what companies serve the organic sector,” said Becky Lipton, the executive director of Organic Alberta. “Now, for example, organic producers can use this document to find inputs such as seed and feed; services such as processing and certification; and customers such as buyers, brokers, restaurants and retailers.” The directory also allows retailers and restaurants to find processed and packaged products to sell, and processors can search for organic ingredients or places to sell their product. The catalogue — a joint effort between Alberta Organic and its counterparts in B.C., Saskatchewan, and Manitoba — covers all four provinces. The electronic edition can be downloaded for free at Organic Alberta’s website (click on the Grow Organic tab and then ‘Business to Business Directory’). Paper copies can be ordered at a cost of $6 plus shipping.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

UN draft sounds alarm as world looks set to miss emissions target Keeping warming to UN’s 2° limit would mean rich nations cutting their emissions by half By Alister Doyle oslo / reuters

he world will need far tougher curbs on greenhouse gases, by both developed nations and emerging economies, to keep global warming from exceeding a promised ceiling, a draft UN report shows. Rich nations led by the United States would have to halve their emissions by 2030 from 2010 levels to keep warming below an agreed 2 C ceiling above pre-industrial times, according to the draft obtained by Reuters. Asia, including China and India, would have to limit emissions to around 2010 levels by 2030 as part of a global share-out, a tough goal for countries that say they need to burn more fossil fuels to help end poverty. “Stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations will require large-scale transformations in human societies,” according to Chapter 6 of a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) due for release in Berlin in midApril. Most governments are not planning such tough curbs, fearing they would be economically crippling. Temperatures are on track to exceed the ceiling, set by almost 200 nations in 2010, of 2 C above pre-industrial times. Even so, the curbs mark a shift in debate about climate change, which has focused most on action by rich emitters. “The implications for all the big emitters are pretty stark,” said Alden Meyer, of the Union of Concerned Scientists. “All of them now have something to worry about.” Like others interviewed, he had not seen the draft. Developing nations have often quoted the previous IPCC report, in 2007, which said industrialized nations should cut emissions by between 25 and 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020. It did not outline such clear goals for emerging nations. Cuts by the rich are well short of 25-40 per cent. The European Union, the most ambitious of big rich nations, is considering cuts of 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030.

tures overshoot the 2 C target rise while developing technology to cool the planet, such as extracting greenhouse gases from the air, the draft says. But overshoot is controversial, especially among poor nations most at risk from heat waves, floods, droughts and rising seas. Also, new technologies may not work. Marlene Moses, chair of the Alliance of Small Island States that groups some of the most vulnerable nations, said technologies exist for rapid cuts in emissions with a shift to renewable energies from fossil fuels. Cuts in emissions “also help reduce poverty, improve public health, and build energy, food, and water security for vulnerable communities,” she told Reuters. The IPCC says that it is at least 95 per cent probable that human

“The implications for all the big emitters are pretty stark, all of them now have something to worry about.” Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists

activities, rather than natural variations in the climate, are the dominant cause of recent climate change. Opinion polls show that voters in many nations are far less certain.

The Brandenburger Tor gate is pictured behind a sign before Earth Hour in Berlin March 29, 2014. Earth Hour, when everyone around the world is asked to turn off lights for an hour from 8:30 p.m. local time, is meant as a show of support for tougher action to confront climate change. Photo: REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Confidence, right from the start. Axial® provides superior control of even the toughest grass weeds in spring wheat and barley – the kind of reliability you can build an operation around. And that’s why Axial is the #1 graminicide in Western Canada.

CL SY

PR AX

PU AL

Ill prepared

The Berlin report about solving climate change follows an IPCC report about impacts of warming issued in Japan March 31 that said the world was in many cases ill prepared for severe and perhaps irreversible change. That IPCC report said that climate change was affecting all parts of the globe and could damage food production, brake economic growth and even aggravate armed conflicts. The reports will guide work on a deal to combat climate change due to be agreed at a summit in Paris in late 2015. Under the IPCC scenario, former Soviet bloc nations would have to cut emissions by a third by 2030 from 2010, Latin America would have to cut overall while the Middle East and Africa could raise emissions slightly. It does not set goals for individual nations, only groups. An alternative is to let tempera-

DE DC (

Visit SyngentaFarm.ca or contact our Customer Resource Centre at 1-87-SYNGENTA (1-877-964-3682). Always read and follow label directions. Axial ®, the Alliance Frame, the Purpose Icon and the Syngenta logo are registered trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. © 2014 Syngenta.

6229-1-A_SYN_Axial_PrintAd_8.125x10.indd 1

2014-01-08 12:53 PM

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

“Weed control is what I expect.

What I need is to

get it done.”

We hear you.

Visit GoTechTour.ca to see how we’re redefining herbicide performance.

Growers in Western Canada asked us to “make spraying less complicated.” So, our R&D teams are focused on finding solutions. Enter to WIN an LED Sprayer Nozzle Light Kit at GoTechTour.ca.

Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow. 0314-22297-C_35734-C AFE

® TM

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

SHOUT-OUT FOR AG! WINNERS 4-H Canada and sponsor Farm Credit Canada have announced winners of the Shout-Out for Ag! contest to create a short video illustrating key topics, such as how 4-H has affected their lives, or what they envision for the future of agriculture. Over $50,000 in prize money was awarded to clubs nationwide. Members cast nearly 20,000 online votes to determine the provincial winners, who moved to a national judging panel. The national winners are Horsefly 4-H Photography Club (B.C.), Summerside 4-H Rockets (NL), Comox Valley Calf Club (B.C.) and Sullivan Memorial 4-H Club (NL). Winners can be viewed at www.youtube.com/4HCanada.

CROP SEASON IN REVIEW AVAILABLE Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development’s 2013 Crop Season in Review is now available. It presents a review of the crop season and an analysis of crop production statistics for 2013, with topics including insects and crop diseases, forage and pasture, crop production 2013, forage production, 2013, crop production tables and a precipitation map. The review is available at www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/sdd14791.

HEARTLAND Merck wants to test Zilmax on 240,000 cattle but beef industry resists Drug manufacturer wants to sign up 50 feedlots, but owners and packers are reluctant being issues we’re seeing in the present,” said Burkholder, who switched to another feed additive after Merck suspended Zilmax sales. She said she never had any problems with Zilmax.

BY P.J. HUFFSTUTTER AND TOM POLANSEK REUTERS

erck & Co. Inc. wants to feed its controversial feed additive Zilmax to 240,000 U.S. cattle to prove it is safe. But there is a problem: giant meat processors like Cargill Inc. don’t want to touch animals fed with the drug. Merck plans to conduct the biggest-ever test of its kind in an effort to reintroduce the weight-adding drug into the United States and Canada after suspending sales last August. A test herd of this size is currently worth up to $500 million. Feedlot owners, however, are reluctant to participate in the study until they get a guarantee that slaughterhouses will be willing to buy the Zilmax-fed animals. Snags with the study, whose size was confirmed to Reuters by Merck, have not been previously reported. “I’d be happy to sign up, just as soon as Merck tells me who is going to pay me after they’re done,” said a feedlot owner in Texas. “It’s been a horrible time, with the drought. I can’t afford to give away a steer, let alone hundreds.” Cargill Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc., two of the world’s largest beef processors, told Reuters their stance on Zilmax had not changed since last autumn, when they stopped accepting cattle fed the drug following reports it may cause lameness. Together the two companies control 37 per cent of the daily U.S. beef-processing capacity. Reuters reported in December that Tyson stopped taking Zilmax-fed livestock after more than two dozen animals that had been fed the drug arrived at one of its slaughterhouses with missing hooves. The beef processors said their ban would remain until Merck had scientifically proven that Zilmax was safe for ani-

Questions about study

Merck hopes to enrol five to 15 feedlots for each slaughterhouse that agrees to process the cattle. mals. They also want certainty that key export markets in Asia and elsewhere will accept such beef products. Merck has said it is confident in the “safety and performance” of Zilmax. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has deemed the drug safe for both animals and humans. A source with National Beef Packing Company said the company was not accepting Zilmax-fed cattle. JBS USA Holdings Inc., another major beef processor, did not return calls and emails for comment. Merck in December said the evaluations would start in the first quarter. But company spokeswoman Pamela

Eisele declined to say this week where the 240,000 cattle would come from in the United States, whether the tests had started, or whether Merck had signed up any packing plants, ranchers or feedlots. Eisele said the company’s current plan was to sign up at least 50 U.S. feedlots, out of more than 73,000 nationwide, to participate in field tests over several months. Merck hopes to enrol five to 15 feedlots for each slaughterhouse that agrees to process the cattle, she added. Anne Burkholder, who runs a 3,000head feed yard in Cozad, Nebraska, is eager to hear results. “We need to have a large study, where we can really look at mobility and well-

The attempt to launch a large-scale study underscores Merck’s determination to put zilpaterol-based Zilmax, once the largest-selling growth drug for cattle, back on the lucrative agriculture drug market. The scale is unprecedented for a randomized, controlled study of cattle, and the logistics involved with tracking so many cattle “boggle the mind,” said Morgan Scott, an epidemiology professor at Kansas State University. Merck said it believed the field evaluations will “support the results of previous studies and the safety of the product.” A principal investigator hired by Merck, who is an epidemiologist and veterinarian, will oversee the study and analyze data, Eisele said. Merck has declined to name the investigator, or any of the scientists or other academic experts involved in the study, but said it would release the results once the study was completed. Some livestock researchers have questioned why Merck has declined to say who is leading the research effort. Others have criticized the company for promoting the study’s outcome before data are collected or analyzed. “It would suggest that they’ve already decided the results,” Scott said. Christopher Reinhardt, a feedlot extension specialist at Kansas State University, said meat packers and feedlots will make sure certain results are objectively reported. Merck has “a vested interest in the outcome but their partners don’t, so there is sort of a check and balance in place,” he said.

UFA.com

22891_1 UFA_Lube_Field_10-25x3_AFE_Ad_a2.indd 1

2/19/14 9:41 AM

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Support for small-scale farmers critical in dealing with effects of climate change, says new UN report A new United Nations report evaluating the science of climate change urges financial support to help small-scale farmers adapt to changing weather patterns BY AMANDA THORSTEINSSON CFGB RELEASE

hen Robert Phiri, a small-scale farmer from Zambia, looks out on his maize field, he can’t help but worry. In the last several years, the changing climate means drought has affected his fields, and growing enough food to feed his family has become more difficult. “Our rainy season has gone from eight months to only four,” he says. “It used to last from October to May.” Phiri’s story is repeated by many of the farmers who receive assistance through programs supported by Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB). They tell of changing seasons, increasing floods and more severe droughts. They also speak of the critical need for support in adapting to these changes. His concern is echoed by a major new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body tasked with assessing the vast body of science on climate change. The report, released March 31, drives home the very real concern

that climate change is already increasing hunger, and will do so increasingly in the future. “Throughout the 21st century, climate change impacts are projected to slow down economic growth, make poverty reduction more difficult, further erode food security, and prolong existing and create new poverty traps,” reads the report. The report predicts that in the near future, extreme climatic events such as heat waves, droughts, floods and wildfires will disproportionately affect the world’s poorest people — many of whom are small-scale farmers and the ones least able to cope with the disastrous consequences. The report speaks to the urgent need for adaptation, showing that adaptation actions can go some distance to alleviate these threats.

Reducing crop failure risk

Much of CFGB’s agricultural programming is already helping farmers adapt to warming temperatures and increasingly erratic weather. This year, Phiri tried conservation agriculture — farming that involves minimal soil disturbance, the use of mulch and crop rotations — for the first time. This

farming method, which was made possible through support from CFGB, has been proven to retain moisture in the soil, facilitate more timely planting with uncertain rains and improve yields. He is optimistic that this new farming method will reduce the risk of crop failure. But more funding for adaptation from governments on a large scale is necessary to meet the vast adaptation needs for people like Phiri. For this reason, “CFGB and supporters have been urging the Canadian government to support small-scale farmers adapt to climate change,” says CFGB executive director Jim Cornelius. “The IPCC report heightens the importance of putting in place a major global adaptation financing plan and program.” The IPCC report also makes it clear that adaptation must be accompanied by concrete steps to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change in the first place. Adaptation alone will not solve the problem. “The challenge is helping people adapt as quickly as possible, while still making the major changes necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” says Cornelius.

Zambian farmer Robert Phiri stands beside his maize field.

PHOT0: COURTESY OF CFGB

California snow levels remain low, signalling less water for summer Recent storms have helped, but not enough to make up for three of the driest years on record SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA / REUTERS

January 13, 2013

January 13, 2014

Snow cover in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California in January 2013 (l) and January 2014 is compared in this combination of NASA satellite handout photos. Recent storms have improved moisture levels but shortages are still likely. PHOTO: REUTERS/NASA/HANDOUT

now levels atop California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, key indicators of how much water will be available for droughtstricken farms, residents and wildlife this summer, remained precariously low despite recent storms, officials said April 1. The snowpack, which melts in the spring and feeds streams and

reservoirs throughout the state, has just a third of the amount of water it normally contains this time of year, said Mark Cowin, director of the state Department of Water Resources. “We’re already seeing farmland fallowed and cities scrambling for water supplies,” Cowin said in a statement after snow surveyors turned in the results of their monthly examination of snow levels. “We can hope that conditions improve, but time is running out.”

Storms pummelled parts of California throughout the last weekend in March, lasting through the day April 1, allowing the state to release more water than had been anticipated from the fragile San JoaquinSacramento River delta to fill reservoirs and provide waters to farms and cities. But the rain has not brought enough water to alleviate three of the driest years on record, Cowin said.

C A L i Ln t h eO p Fa l m To f Hy o uEr h aLn d A N D

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

Monsanto beats expectations on strong corn, soybean demand Corn remains king in terms of the company’s growth

U.S. drug firms move to bar antibiotic use in livestock growth The withdrawal is voluntary but 25 out of 26 companies are complying with FDA guidelines By P.J. Huffstutter chicago / reuter

By Carey Gillam reuters

Watch your profits grow! ADVERTISE with AFE Classifieds

READY TO KICK SOME GRASS? You don’t get to be a top grower by being soft on grassy weeds. Farming’s toughest operators count on DuPont™ Assure® II herbicide to bring the muscle and protect their high-value oilseeds and pulses. Assure® II pulverizes foxtail barley and beats the living chlorophyll out of green and yellow foxtail, volunteer cereals and many others. Need extra muscle on grasses? Add Assure® II to Liberty® in LibertyLink® canola or to glyphosate in Roundup Ready® canola.

Assure® II herbicide. Add some muscle to your weed control. Questions? Ask your retailer, call 1-800-667-3925 or visit AssureII.DuPont.ca

1-800-665-1362 Place your ad today call

The companies have also agreed to require such antibiotics, which are typically added to animals’ food or water, to be made available only through a veterinary prescription or via a veterinary feed directive status — instead of being available for sale over the counter at feed stores and other retail outlets, according to regulators. The agency said there are currently 26 drug companies and a total of 283 affected products or applications that fall under the voluntary guidance. Of the 26, Pharmaq AS was the only company that declined to follow the voluntary guidelines. Pharmaq makes an antimicrobial powder used to treat certain conditions in salmon, trout and catfish. The Norwegian company’s product already is for therapeutic uses only, but is available over the counter, according to nutritionists.

Trim: 10”

onsanto Co., the world’s largest seed company, reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings April 2 as its corn and soybean businesses expanded globally. “Our business is on track to deliver the growth we anticipated,” Monsanto chairman Hugh Grant said on a conference call. Monsanto said it had earned $1.67 billion, or $3.15 a share, in the second quarter ended Feb. 28, up 13 per cent from $1.48 billion, or $2.74 a share, a year earlier. Corn remains king in terms of growth, the company said. Profit margins expanded 2.5 points in the second quarter for that business, which Monsanto said was on track to post record volume for the fiscal year despite a decline in planted acres expected in North and South America. The company’s corn portfolio is expanding globally, helping sales of corn seed and traits rise four per cent to $3.4 billion in the quarter. Monsanto officials said that they saw a $1-billion net sales growth opportunity in corn in the next five years due to global demand. Also strong, sales of soybean seeds and traits rose 21 per cent to a record $820 million. Monsanto is undertaking its largest-ever soybean product launch now, rolling out offerings in Latin America that combine tolerance to glyphosate herbicide, protection against caterpillars and yield improvement. The company also sees a $1-billion net sales growth opportunity across five years for soy, officials said. Sales of vegetable seeds rose 10 per cent to $219 million, while sales of cotton fell 18 per cent to $49 million. Overall, sales in Monsanto’s seeds and genomics segment totalled $4.6 billion in the quarter, up almost seven per cent from a year earlier. The company’s agricultural productivity segment, which includes the Roundup herbicide business, contributed $1.2 billion, up from $1.1 billion.

.S. regulators said March 27 that 25 out of 26 drug makers that sell antibiotics used in livestock feed for growth enhancement have agreed to follow new guidelines that will make it illegal to use their products to create beefier cattle, heftier hogs and other outsized animals. The companies — which include Eli Lilly & Co.’s Elanco Animal Health unit, Bayer Healthcare LLC’s animal health division and Zoetis Inc. — have agreed to start the process of removing any growth promotion claims on their products’ labelling, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA announced the guidelines in December, as

part of an ongoing bid to stem lines give drug makers too a surge in human resistance to much discretion in policing certain antibiotics. Although their own use of antibiotics the guidelines are voluntary, and provide no mechanism for agency officials have said they enforcement, and were unconexpect drug makers to fully vinced by the announcement. adhere and to narrow their “This plan is likely to lead products’ use. to label changes, not a reducThis labelling shift will ulti- tion in use,” said Avinash Kar, mately mean that while farm- health attorney with the Natuers, ranchers and other agricul- ral Resources Defense Council. ture groups can continue to use Public health experts have such drugs to treat sick animals, become worried in recent years they will be banned from using about the emergence of new them for promoting growth in strains of bacteria that cannot livestock, according to regula- be controlled by a wide range of tors. current antibiotics. “The FDA and drug makers Some suspect that these appear to have passed the first “superbugs” have developed big test of the agency’s volun- as a result of livestock being tary approach,” said Laura Rog- fed low levels of antibiotics ers, director of human health throughout much of their lives, and industrial farming for The creating an environment for Pew Charitable Trusts, adding bacteria to mutate and develop “there’s a lot more to do.” resistance to drugs that are key Trim: 8.125” Critics argue that the guide- to human health.

As with all crop protection products, read and follow label instructions carefully. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont™, The miracles of science and Assure® II are registered trademarks or trademarks of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. E. I. du Pont Canada Company is a licensee. All other products mentioned are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective companies. Member of CropLife Canada. ©Copyright 2014 E. I. du Pont Canada Company. All rights reserved.

DuPont Assure II ™

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Community news and events from across the province

Reporter’s Notebook

Community pride the true legacy of Hockeyville win

Rimbey auctioneer marks milestone A

llen Olson can’t even guess how many tractors and combines he’s sold over a career spanning more than half a century. “What I can tell you is that farm equipment has gotten a lot more expensive,” says the Rimbey auctioneer. “Some of these tractors go for more than $100,000. Last year, we sold a combine for $315,000.” At one time, his chant would go up in increments of $100 — “$1,200 bid, now 13, now 13, will you give me 13?” But no one has time for that anymore, says Olson, who was awarded his 50-year pin by the Auctioneers’ Association of Alberta this past winter. “Now you go up by 1,000 or even 5,000 at a crack.” Olson has actually logged 52 years in the auction business. “I was 16 when I took my course, but I didn’t join the association for two years.” His advice for auction attendees is simple: “I always tell people to get out front where I can see them.” This also allows you to see who you’re bidding against — which can prevent that most embarrassing of auction faux pas. “The odd time you have family members bidding against each other,” says Olson. “If we recognize it, we’ll let them know. But you need to get it straight on who is supposed to be doing the bidding.” PHOTO: COURTESY ALLEN B. OLSON AUCTION SERVICE

A loving aunt creates a special gift

Hundreds of people paraded through Sylvan Lake as part of the Kraft Hockeyville festivities. PHOTOS: JENNIFER BLAIR BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF STAFF / SYLVAN LAKE

ell, that doesn’t suck.” With that, Jared Waldo wryly summed up the feelings of more than 1,000 screaming Sylvan Lake supporters as they celebrated the town being named 2014’s Kraft Hockeyville. When the roof of the town’s arena collapsed this winter, Waldo and friend Kevin Putnam nominated their hometown for the contest and the chance to win $100,000 in upgrades for the multiplex (the town’s remaining ice rink) and to host an NHL preseason game. Over the past two months, I’ve watched the people of central Alberta rally together, share their stories, garner millions of votes, and support the community. My father — a Sylvan Laker for the last decade — wore his fingers out voting in each round of the contest. (Mom did her part, too, voting a grand total of once.)

“

And I joined them April 5, walking in a parade that weaved through downtown Sylvan to the soon-to-be expanded multiplex, and chanting, “Go, Sylvan, go! Go, Sylvan, go!” We feasted on cake and watched live entertainment as the anticipation built. Let me tell you, there is no feeling quite like that. The win was nice, of course, but the real beauty of the moment — the real win — was the sense of community we all shared. “It’s pretty hard for me to put into words what it means to see all of you here together today,” said Mayor Sean McIntyre. “As somebody who grew up in Sylvan Lake, seeing us all work together for one purpose seriously touches me so deeply. I’m so proud to stand among you as Sylvan Lakers. No matter what happens, we did this together.” That’s what people across central Alberta will remember. That’s the true legacy of Sylvan Lake’s Hockeyville win. jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

PHOTO: COURTESY ANITA WIPF

what’s

Send agriculture-related meeting and event announcements to: glenn.cheater@fbcpublishing.com

Sylvan Lake’s multiplex was packed to the rafters as people eagerly waited to learn if the town was victorious.

April 16: Getting Into Farmers’ Markets, Agri-Food Business Centre, Leduc. Contact: Eileen Kotowich 780-853-8223

nita Wipf isn’t exactly sure how many hours it took her to create this “labour of love.” “I made this cross-stitching titled ‘Tenderness’ for my niece Janaya,” said Wipf, a member of the Viking Colony. “The reason for calling it a labour of love is because of the amount of time it takes, and that it will be a lifetime memorable for my niece whom I so love.” Janaya was born April 29, 2012, and her loving aunt began cross-stitching soon after, working on the piece in her spare time and completing it on March 22. “Along with the countless hours and the 12,000 stitches, it also serves as meditation where I can shut out the world around me,” she said. Cross-stitching — the stitches are X-shaped — is one of the oldest forms of embroidery and many early pieces are now in museums around the world.

April 17: Annual Crop Insurance and Western Cattle Price Insurance Information Session, Provincial Building, St. Paul. Contact: AFSC 780-645-6221 April 17: West County Watershed Society AGM, Anglican Church, Beaverlodge. Contact: Cathy 780-518-1560 April 22: Water Well Workshops, Hay Lakes. (Also May 7, Valleyview and May 13, Balmoral.) Contact: Melissa 780-422-1791 April 29: Young Farm Worker Safety Day, Olds College, Olds. Contact: Kathleen Raines 403-346-8101

April 30: Getting Into Farmers’ Markets, Millarville. Contact: Delores Serafin 780-427-4611 May 1-2: AAEA Visions 2014 Conference, iHotel, Red Deer. Contact: Lukas 780-422-4241 May 12: 4-H Beef Show & Sale, Wetaskiwin Agricultural Society Grounds, Wetaskiwin. Contact: Arlene Grapentine 780-352-2780 May 19-20: Stettler District 4-H Beef Show & Sale, Stettler Agricultural Ground, Stettler. Contact: Darla Rairdan 403-742-6288

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

CANINE CAPERS

It’s not all work for herding dogs, as three Australian shepherds and a kelpie cavort in a pasture, west of Priddis, Alta. Chinook winds brought relief to temperatures that have been below average for the last month. PHOTo: Wendy Dudley

T:8.125”

CME group prevails in lawsuit over grain settlement rules Pit traders say the rule change is putting them out of business By Tom Polansek chicago / reuters

T:10”

ME Group Inc. can keep in place rules that factor in electronic trades for settling end-of-day grain futures prices, an Illinois judge ruled March 31 following a legal challenge from veterans of the Chicago trading floor. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Jean Prendergast Rooney in Ch i ca g o r u l e d t h a t CM E Group, which owns the Chicago Board of Trade, had the authority to implement the settlement method in June 2012 without taking a vote among certain stakeholders. A spokeswoman for CME Group declined to comment. A group of traders from the CBOT’s 140-year-old agricultural trading floor in June 2012 sued the exchange to overturn the method, saying that it was putting them out of business. Prior to the change, the CBOT had a century-old tradition of settling futures prices for crops like corn and soybeans based on transactions executed in open-outcry pits. The lawsuit was seen as something of a last stand for open-outcry traders, whose business has declined since the rise of electronic trading. The floor traders traditionally did much of their business at the close of trading and said CME Group’s new settlement procedures made the pits largely irrelevant. The traders had argued in court that CME Group failed to hold a required vote to approve the new settlement method among certain holders of CBOT memberships. CME said it did not need to take a vote, and the judge agreed.

The complete solution. Grassy and broadleaf weed control for wheat and barley, no tank mixing. For more information, please visit BayerCropScience.ca/Tundra

BayerCropScience.ca/Tundra or 1 888-283-6847 or contact your Bayer CropScience representative. Always read and follow label directions. Tundra® is a registered trademark of the Bayer Group. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.

C-59-02/14-10182733-E

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Long-delayed Brazil water project gets election-year boost It is now eight years since the government first committed to the project and four years after it was supposed to be finished by Anthony Boadle cabrobo, brazil / reuters

n 2006, then president Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, a native of Brazil’s historically drought-plagued northeast, pushed through an idea that long-suffering residents of the region had been hearing about for more than a century. At last, he promised, Brazil would channel water to the sun-baked region from the Sao Francisco, the country’s second-longest river. By 2010, he said, water would be pumped over hills and into a 477-kilometre-long network of canals, aqueducts and reservoirs to quench thirsty cities and farms in four states. Eight years later, and near the end of a first term for Dilma Rousseff, Lula’s handpicked successor as president, the project is only half built. Delayed by bureaucracy and contract problems, the cost of the government’s single-biggest infrastructure venture has almost doubled to 8.2 billion reais (US$3.4 billion). Plants grow through cracks in the concrete slabs of canals that were laid five years ago. Parts of the early construction are in such disrepair that they will have to be rebuilt by the time any water flows. Four years past the initial deadline, the project is unlikely to be finished even by the end of a possible second term for Rousseff, whose government is nonetheless accelerating construction as she vies for reelection in October. The transfer of water from the Sao Francisco, like many other major infrastructure projects, is the sort of investment that economists have long argued is necessary to modernize Brazil, the world’s seventhlargest economy. The country remains crippled by bottlenecks that hinder the efficient flow of goods and services, not to mention the basics needed for development of some of its poorest regions. But hobbled by bureaucracy, political squabbling, corruption and other obstacles, most infrastructure projects in Brazil take far longer than forecast or never get done at all. “Lula said the Sao Francisco project would be the eighth wonder of the world,” says Adriano Pires, an infrastructure consultant in Rio de Janeiro. “But it’s a fiasco.” The government says it is moving as fast as possible for a project of such size and complexity, involving myriad contractors and a labour market with a shortage of skilled workers. Construction slowed in 2011 and 2012, for instance, because contracts with builders had to be renegotiated. “People say it will never be finished, like an Egyptian pyramid that will take ages to build,” says José Francisco Teixeira, Brazil’s minister of national integration and the official charged with delivering the project. But by 2015, seven years after work began, Teixeira says water will be flowing to 12 million

people in at least parts of the four states meant to benefit: Ceará, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte and Pernambuco. “Seven years is an acceptable time frame for a project this big,” Teixeira argues. Meantime, the government wants something to show for this year. Rousseff, according to people familiar with the project, has urged officials in charge of it to deliver a first section before the October vote. The goal is to have water flowing by June from Cabrobó to Tucutú, the first reservoir, just nine km (5.5 miles) away.

A century of talk

The 2,900-km Sao Francisco River flows north from the southeastern state of Minas Gerais and turns sharply seaward when it reaches Pernambuco, leaving the northeast dry. The idea of transferring water from the river was first proposed in 1847 and discussed ever since. Governments in the 1990s decided to pursue the transfer but could not muster the necessary political support, especially from leaders southward who would be giving up some water. It was Lula, a legendary negotiator, who convinced them to share a “tiquinho,” or tad, of the river water. Opponents saw it as pork-barrel politics, payback from Lula for campaign financing by big builders and engineering firms. Critics said it would dry up the Sao Francisco, whose flow is already diminished by three hydroelectric dams. The canals, however, are designed to divert a maximum 1.4 per cent of the river’s average water volume, lowering intake when the river levels drop. Engineers and water experts say the project is well conceived and badly needed for growth in a region that is finally emerging from a long history as an economic backwater.

Dead cattle

For locals, the water can’t come soon enough. “There’s a pipe connected to my house, but it never has water,” says Antonio da Rocha, who drives a cart pulled by bullocks to fetch water three times a week from a pond. The cart plods along the new, unused canal. Dead cows are a common sight these days on roadsides in the region now in a third consecutive year of drought. Hundreds of thousands of cattle have died of thirst and starvation for lack of water and fodder. Ulysses Flor, who has 15 cows left standing after the drought wiped out 50 head of cattle in the last year, doubts he will ever get water from the project. An existing pipeline feeding the nearby town of Serra Talhadaruns runs by his farm, but he can’t tap it. In a gruesome protest, the 85-year-old farmer has stuck heads of his dead cows on fence posts lining his property. Meteorologists say droughts in the region will likely intensify with climate change, making water even more scarce.

Ulysses Flor, 85, stands near the skulls of some of his nearly 50 cows that died due to the prolonged drought near the city of Forest, Pernambuco state, January 29, 2014. Photo: REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

BUILT FOR

BARLEY.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

China’s COFCO to pay $1.5 billion for stake in Noble’s agribusiness The acquisition will help China beef up its access to feed grains to supply a growing demand among its middle class for meat BY NAVEEN THUKRAL AND MICHAEL FLAHERTY SINGAPORE/HONG KONG / REUTERS

Cooks roast meat during a barbecue contest in Chongqing municipality on Sept. 13. A growing taste for meat has Chinese government officials making acquisitions to help supply it. PHOTO: REUTERS/STRINGER

OFCO Corp. has agreed to pay $1.5 billion for a majority stake in Noble Group Ltd.’s agribusiness, its second acquisition in less than two months, as China’s largest grain trader seeks to strengthen its market position worldwide. The two companies plan to form a joint venture, in which COFCO will own 51 per cent, to link its grain-processing and distribution business in China with Noble Agri’s grain-sourcing and trading arms, the firms said April 2. The move will help China develop a powerful agricultural trading house along the lines of its Unipec oil-trading business — one of the world’s biggest buyers of crude oil — as it seeks to shore up supplies of animal feed grains to meet soaring demand for highprotein food. “We can source ample, and lowcost, grains by direct purchases from farmers in major graingrowing countries,” said Cheng Guoqiang, a researcher with the State Council Development and Research Center, the think-tank of China’s cabinet. COFCO’s participation in the global grain trade will also help China better track the world grain market, Cheng added. The deal adds volume to Noble’s trading business via COFCO and allows it to reduce debt. Noble’s stock — which jumped as much as five per cent on Wednesday — has risen nearly 25 per cent since March 4, when Reuters broke the news that COFCO was in acquisition talks with it, adding about US$2 billion in market value.

Massive expansion

China is seeing massive expansion in demand for grains such as soybeans and corn, as the growing ranks of its middle class demand more meat in their diet. COFCO bought a 51 per cent stake in Dutch trader Nidera late

in February to gain direct access to South American grain and oilseed supplies in a deal that valued Nidera at $4 billion including debt. The Noble and Nidera deals mark the biggest overseas acquisitions in China’s grain sector, with a combined $2.8-billion investment, COFCO said in a statement. The company will own highquality assets in the world’s top grain and vegetable oil-producing regions, including Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia and the Black Sea area, following these deals, COFCO said. The deals follow a wave of consolidation in the world agribusiness sector that has shrunk the number of potential acquisitions for it to bulk up enough to compete globally with larger rivals ADM, Bunge Ltd., Cargill Inc. and Louis Dreyfus Corp., known as the ABCDs.

Sources of supply

The Noble acquisition allows COFCO to bring food supply into China without having to go through the ABCD pipeline, and will allow it to control costs better. “By pushing the international strategy, COFCO will set up a stable grain corridor between the largest global grain-growing origins and the biggest global emerging market, in terms of grain consumption growth in Asia,” COFCO chairman Frank Ning said in a statement. Noble’s grains and oilseeds operations focus on South America, Europe and Asia. It operates three oilseed-processing factories in Asia, and supplies grains, oilseeds, vegetable oil and byproducts throughout the region from Singapore. Noble, which is 14 per cent owned by sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp., also trades sugar, coffee and raw materials, such as iron ore. Its agricultural division is the smallest, and generated revenue of $15.5 billion last fiscal year, accounting for about 16 per cent of the firm’s total. COFCO and Noble still need to obtain regulatory and shareholder approval for the deal.

Prairie-Wide Display Classifieds

MORE OPTIONS TO SAVE YOU MONEY

Buy one province, buy two provinces or buy all three. Great rates whatever you choose

Barley growers trust their wild oat control to Liquid AchieveTM. • Safe, flexible, gentle on barley • Excellent wild oat control + your other tough grasses • Barnyard grass, yellow/green foxtail, Persian darnel • Dependable, trustworthy, economical

Go to cerealsolutions.ca or call 1.800.667.3852. Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow. 0314-22014-03_35760-03 AFE

® TM

Download the 2014 Field Guide App from the iPhone App Store or at Google Play.

Contact Sharon

Email: sharon.komoski@fbcpublishing.com

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

BRIEF World food prices jump again in March, FAO says BY NAOMI O’LEARY ROME / REUTERS

Global food prices rose to their highest in almost a year in March, led by unfavourable weather for crops and political tensions over Ukraine, the United Nations food agency said. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) price index, which measures monthly price changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, averaged 212.8 points in March, up 4.8 points or 2.3 per cent from February. The reading was the highest since May 2013. While weather was the most important factor affecting crops, Russia’s annexation of Crimea introduced fear into grain markets and the wheat market in particular, and risked damaging trade patterns, an FAO senior economist told Reuters. “Political tensions of the sort we see today have the risk of taking us back to a Cold War situation, where countries make purchases of grain not only based on price differences offered but also because of political alliances,” Abdolreza Abbassian said. In March, FAO’s cereal price index rose significantly for the second month in a row, jumping 5.2 per cent to its highest value since August 2013 due to unfavourable weather in south-central U.S. and Brazil, along with uncertainty over grain shipments from Ukraine. FAO raised its global cereals production forecasts to 2.521 billion tonnes in 2013, an increase of six million tonnes from its previous forecasts, reflecting higher estimates for coarse grains and rice. However, world wheat production was seen lower at 702 million tonnes in 2014, down two million tonnes from the previous forecast and two per cent lower than last year’s record harvest. FAO estimated world cereals stocks to be 582.3 million tonnes at the close of crop seasons ending in 2014, an increase of 3.8 million tonnes from its previous forecast.

Producers asked to send in wireworm samples Wireworm numbers are on the rise and AgCanada researchers need samples to develop control methods

roducers can help in the effort to find a wireworm control solution by submitting samples to Canada’s wireworm research team. “Lindane (such as Vitavax Dual) insecticide kept wireworm numbers low for several decades on the Prairies,” says Neil Whatley, crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “(But) since the ban of this organochlorine pesticide in 2004, wireworm damage in field crops is rebounding, (with) some researchers suggesting we may just be catching a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg at this point.” There are about 30 different wireworm species, and they have diverse behaviours and life cycles, which makes a single control measure improbable. An individual region may contain more than one wireworm species. The worm-like larvae can feed on plant roots and germinating seeds for up to five years before developing into the adult click beetle stage. While current seed treatments may repel wireworms for a growing season, their populations can continue to increase so that these treatment measures begin to fail. Canada’s wireworm research team, headed by Bob Vernon

There are about 30 different wireworm species, and they have diverse behaviours and life cycles, which makes a single control measure improbable. and Wim van Herk of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, is identifying wireworm species and researching control measures. “The research team needs to know which specific wireworm species dominates in your farming region so the correct control

option(s) can be applied as the problem worsens,” says Whatley. “Although most crops are susceptible, wireworms prefer eating annual and perennial grasses, so populations can build up in fields that have extended periods of cereal crops or pas-

ture. Crops grown in recently broken sod are especially vulnerable. Due to a greater amount of soil moisture, wireworms migrate near to the soil surface in early spring, making spring the best time to bait and capture wireworms.” Baiting can be as simple as burying a small amount (a cup or so) of a cereal-based product such as flour, bran, or wheat seeds to a depth of four to six inches at marked locations randomly across a field. Dig up the baits 10 to 14 days later, collecting wireworms and some field soil (not too wet), and then insert them into a hard plastic container for shipping. There may be more than one species present, so collect as many wireworms as possible. “Include a brief description of where the sample was collected (nearest town or address), information about your crop rotation in this field over the past four years, and your name and phone number,” adds Whatley. “Once the species are identified, you will be contacted with the results.” Samples should be mailed to Dr. Bob Vernon, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 6947 No. 7 Hwy., P.O. Box 1000, Agassiz, B.C. V0M 1A0.

UN warns food security a risk to Asia-Pacific As the need for more food increases, the world is spending less on agricultural research BY STIAN REKLEV

ULAN BATOR, MONGOLIA / REUTERS

he world must increase its food production by 60 per cent by mid-century or risk serious food shortages that could bring social unrest and civil wars, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said May 10. Demand for food will rise rapidly over the next few decades as the world population surpasses nine billion and increasingly wealthy people improve their diets, consuming more calories, said Hiroyuki Konuma, the assistant director general of FAO Asia-Pacific, as the body launched a one-week regional food security conference in Ulan Bator. But as the need for more food increases, the world is spending less and less money on agricultural research, causing many scientists to doubt whether food production can keep up with demand growth. “If we fail to meet our goal and a food shortage occurs, there will be a high risk of social and politi-

MPowering

farmers to transform agribusiness.

cal unrest, civil wars and terrorism, and world security as a whole might be affected,” said Konuma. The challenge is especially demanding in developing nations, which need to boost crops by a staggering 77 per cent, he said. The Asia-Pacific would be left with more than half a billion chronically hungry people even if the region meets its millennium development goal of cutting that number to 12 per cent of the population, he said. Despite progress made in fighting global hunger, the world still has 842 million undernourished people, according to FAO, of which nearly two-thirds live in the Asia-Pacific. One in four children under five years old are stunted due to malnutrition. The UN body outlined two main options: increase arable land areas and boost productivity rates. But available arable land is almost fully exploited, and production growth rates have been lacklustre for the past two decades. During the green revolution in the 1980s, productivity rates for rice

MPower® Herbicides:

“If we fail to meet our goal and a food shortage occurs, there will be a high risk of social and political unrest, civil wars and terrorism, and world security as a whole might be affected.” HIROYUKI KONUMA FAO

and wheat increased by 3.5 per cent annually, but for the past 20 years the rate has been stuck at 0.6 to 0.8 per cent. The growth rate needs to be stable at around one per cent if the world is to have a theoretical chance to avoid serious shortages, said Konuma. Water scarcity in big foodproducing nations like China is worsening, and many farmers are increasingly tempted to shift production from food to bioenergy, a popular option to cut emissions

Same active as:

of climate-changing greenhouse gases. Climate change is worsening the situation, as more frequent extreme weather events devastate crops. In the past three years, Australia, Canada, China, Russia and the United States have all suffered big harvest losses from floods and droughts. Cost is an additional threat to food security, according to the UN body. High and volatile food prices restrict poor people’s access to food, while high crude oil prices inflate production costs.

Available exclusively to Members of Farmers of North America from AgraCity —the Canadian leader in off-patent chemicals. Call us today to make the Shift to maximum performance & minimum price.

MPower® is a registered trademark of Farmers of North America. All others are trademarks of their respective companies. 03.14

1-844-269-3276 agracity.com

1-877-362-3276 fna.ca

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

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

inDEx Tributes/Memory Announcements_ Airplanes Alarms_&_Security_Systems ANTIqUES Antiques_For_Sale Antique_Equipment Antique_Vehicle_ Antiques_Wanted Arenas AUCTION SAlES BC_Auction AB_Auction_Peace_ AB_Auction_North AB_Auction_Central_ AB_Auction_South SK_Auction MB_Auction_Parkland MB_Auction_Westman_ MB_Auction_Interlake MB_Auction_Red_River_ Auction_Various_ U.S._Auctions Auction_Schools AUTO & TRANSPORT Auto_Service_&_Repairs Auto_&_Truck_Parts Autos Trucks Semi_Trucks Sport_Utilities_ Vans_ Vehicles_ Vehicles_Wanted BEEKEEPING Honey_Bees_ Cutter_Bees Bee_Equipment Belting_ Bio_Diesel_Equipment_ Books_&_Magazines_ BUIlDING & RENOVATIONS Concrete_Repair_ Doors_&_Windows_ Electrical_&_Plumbing Insulation Lumber_ Roofing_ Building_Supplies_ Buildings Business_Machines_ Business_Opportunities_ BUSINESS SERVICES Crop_Consulting Financial_&_Legal_ Insurance/Investments_ Butchers_Supply_ Chemicals Clothing/Work_wear_ Collectibles_ Compressors_ Computers_ CONTRACTING Custom_Baling_

Custom_Feeding_ Custom_Harvest_ Custom_Seeding_ Custom_Silage_ Custom_Spraying_ Custom_Trucking_ Custom_Tub_Grinding_ Custom_Work Construction_Equipment_ Dairy_Equipment_ Electrical_ Engines_ Entertainment_ Fertilizer FARM MAChINERy Aeration_ Conveyors_ Equipment_Monitors_ Fertilizer_Equip_ Grain_Augers_ Grains_Bins_ Grain_Carts_ Grain_Cleaners_ Grain_Dryers_ Grain_Elevators_ Grain_Handling_ Grain_Testers_ Grain_Vacuums_ haying & harvesting Baling_Equipment_ Mower_Conditioners_ Swathers_ Swather_Accessories_ Haying_&_Harvesting_Various_ Combines Belarus Case/IH Cl_ Caterpillar_Lexion Deutz Ford/NH_ Gleaner_ John_Deere_ Massey_Ferguson_ Versatile_ White_ Combines_Various Combine_Accessories Hydraulics_ Irrigation_Equipment_ Loaders_&_Dozers_ Parts_&_Accessories_ Salvage_ Potato_&_Row_Crop_Equipment_ Repairs_ Rockpickers_ Snowblowers/Plows_ Silage_Equipment_ Specialty_Equipment_ Spraying Sprayers Spray_Various_ Tillage & Seeding Air_Drills_ Air_Seeders_ Harrows_&_Packers_ Seeding_Various_ Tillage_Equipment_ Tillage_&_Seeding_Various_ Tractors Agco_ Allis/Deutz_

Belarus_ Case/IH_ Caterpillar_ Ford_ John_Deere_ Kubota_ Massey_Ferguson_ New_Holland_ Steiger_ Universal_ Versatile_ White_ Zetor_ Tractors_2WD_ Tractors_4WD_ Tractors_Various_ Farm_Machinery_Miscellaneous_ Farm_Machinery_Wanted_ Fencing_ Firewood_ Fish_Farm_ Forestry/Logging_ Fork_Lifts/Pallets_ Fur_Farming_ Generators_ GPS_ Health_Care_ Heat_&_Air_Conditioning_ Hides/Furs/Leathers_ Hobby_&_Handicrafts_ Household_Items_ lANDSCAPING Greenhouses_ Lawn_&_Garden_ lIVESTOCK Cattle Cattle_Auctions__ Angus_ Black_Angus_ Red_Angus_ Aryshire_ Belgian_Blue_ Blonde_d'Aquitaine_ Brahman_ Brangus_ Braunvieh_ BueLingo_ Charolais_ Dairy_ Dexter_ Excellerator_ Galloway_ Gelbvieh_ Guernsey_ Hereford_ Highland_ Holstein_ Jersey_ Limousin_ Lowline_ Luing_ Maine-Anjou_ Miniature_ Murray_Grey_ Piedmontese_ Pinzgauer_ Red_Poll_ Salers_ Santa_Gertrudis_ Shaver_Beefblend_ Shorthorn_ Simmental

South_Devon Speckle_Park Tarentaise_ Texas_Longhorn_ Wagyu_ Welsh_Black_ Cattle_Composite_ Cattle_Various_ Cattle_Wanted lIVESTOCK horses Horse_Auctions_ American_Saddlebred_ Appaloosa Arabian_ Belgian_ Canadian_ Clydesdale_ Draft_ Donkeys_ Haflinger_ Miniature_ Morgan_ Mules_ Norwegian_Ford_ Paint_ Palomino_ Percheron_ Peruvian_ Pinto_ Ponies_ Quarter_Horse_ Shetland_ Sport_Horses_ Standardbred_ Tennessee_Walker_ Thoroughbred_ Warmblood_ Welsh_ Horses_For_Sale_ Horses_Wanted_ lIVESTOCK Sheep Sheep_Auction_ Arcott_ Columbia_ Dorper_ Dorset_ Katahdin_ Lincoln_ Suffolk_ Texel_Sheep_ Sheep_For_Sale_ Sheep_Wanted_ lIVESTOCK Swine Swine_Auction_ Swine_For_Sale_ Swine_Wanted_ lIVESTOCK Poultry Poultry_For_Sale_ Poultry_Wanted_ lIVESTOCK Specialty Alpacas_ Bison_(Buffalo)_ Deer_ Elk_ Goats_ Llama_ Rabbits_ Emu_Ostrich_Rhea_ Yaks_ Specialty_Livestock_Various_ Livestock_Equipment_ Livestock_Services_&_Vet_Supplies_ Miscellaneous_Articles_

display Classified

• Minimum charge — $15.00 per week for first 25 words or less and an additional 60 cents per word for every word over 25. Additional bolding 75 cents per word. GST is extra. $2.50 billing charge is added to billed ads only. • Terms: Payment due upon receipt of invoice. • 10% discount for prepaid ads. If phoning in your ad you must pay with VISA or MasterCard to qualify for discount. • Ask about our Priority Placement • Prepayment Bonus: Prepay for 3 weeks and get a bonus of 2 weeks; bonus weeks run consecutively and cannot be used separately from original ad; additions and changes accepted only during first 3 weeks. • If you wish to have replies sent to a confidential box number, please add $5.00 per week to your total. Count eight words for your address. Example: Ad XXXX, Alberta Farmer Express , Box 9800, Winnipeg, R3C 3K7. • Your complete name & address must be submitted to our office before publication. (This information will be kept confidential & will not appear in the ad unless requested.)

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

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

•

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

(2 weeks prior)

REAl ESTATE Vacation_Property_ Commercial_Buildings_ Condos_ Cottages_&_Lots_ Houses_&_Lots_ Mobile_Homes_ Motels_&_Hotels_ Resorts_ Farms & Ranches British_Columbia_ Alberta_ Saskatchewan_ Manitoba_ Pastures_ Farms_Wanted_ Acreages/Hobby_Farms_ Land_For_Sale_ Land_For_Rent_ RECREATIONAl VEhIClES All_Terrain_Vehicles_ Boats_&_Water_ Campers_&_Trailers_ Golf_Carts_ Motor_Homes_ Motorcycles_ Snowmobiles Recycling Refrigeration Restaurant_Supplies Sausage_Equipment_ Sawmills_ Scales_ SEED/FEED/GRAIN Pedigreed Cereal Seeds Barley_ Durum_ Oats_ Rye_ Triticale_ Wheat_ Cereals_Various_ Pedigreed Forage Seeds Alfalfa_ Annual_Forage_ Clover_ Forages_Various_ Grass_Seeds_ Pedigreed Oilseeds Canola_ Flax_ Oilseeds_Various_ Pedigreed Pulse Crops Beans_ Chickpeas_

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

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

NAME_ ___________________________________________________________ ______PHONE_#_______________________________ ADDRESS_____________________________________________ ______TOWN_____________________________________________ PROVINCE____________________________ _____POSTAL_CODE__________________________

All classified ads are non-commissionable.

advertising deadline Wednesday noon

ORGANIC Organic_Certified_ Organic_Food_ Organic_Grains_ Personal_ Pest_Control Pets_&_Supplies_ Photography_ Propane_ Pumps_ Radio,_TV_&_Satellite_

Lentil_ Peas_ Pulses_Various_ Pedigreed Specialty Crops Canary_Seeds_ Mustard_ Potatoes_ Sunflower_ Specialty_Crops_Various Common Seed_ Cereal_Seeds_ Forage_Seeds_ Grass_Seeds_ Oilseeds_ Pulse_Crops_ Common_Seed_Various_ Feed/Grain Feed_Grain_ Hay_&_Straw_ Hay_&_Feed_Wanted_ Feed_Wanted_ Grain_Wanted_ Seed_Wanted_ Sewing_Machines_ Sharpening_Services_ Silos_ Sporting_Goods_ Outfitters_ Stamps_&_Coins_ Swap_ Tanks_ Tarpaulins_ Tenders_ Tickets_ Tires_ Tools_

AD ORDER FORM

adveRtising Rates & infoRmation

RegulaR Classified

Miscellaneous_Articles_Wanted_ Musical_ Notices_ On-Line_Services_

Even if you do not want your name & address to appear in your ad, we need the information for our files.

PLEASE_PRINT_YOUR_AD_BELOW_ ______________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CLASSIFICATION__________________________ ❏ I would like to take advantage of the Prepayment Bonus of 2 FREE weeks when I prepay for 3 weeks. _

No._of_words_______________________x____$0.60____x_____No._of_weeks___ ______________ __=____ ______________ _ Minimum charge $15.00 per week

❏

VISA

❏

MASTERCARD

Card_No.___/__/__/__/____/__/__/__/____/__/__/__/____/__/__/__/____

Add $2.50 if being billed / Minus 10% if prepaying ________________ Expiry_Date___/__/_____/__/

Add 5% GST ________________

Signature_________________________________________________________________________ _

TOTAL _____________

APRIL 14, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Crop Consulting

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Grain Wanted

ANTIQUES Antique Equipment

FARM CHEMICAL SEED COMPLAINTS

BOW VALLEY TRADING LTD.

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

WE BUY DAMAGED GRAIN

AUGUST 9 &10, 2014 the Eighth Annual IHCC Ch 38 show will be held on the grounds of the Western Development Museum in North Battleford Sask. We will be joining WDM to celebrate their annual “Those were the days” & join them on the occasion of their 65th birthday. www.nbattleford@wdm.ca All IH machinery, trucks, tractors, household, stationary engines, power units, cub cadets & anything else marketed by IH are welcome. Membership annual meeting w/banquet & guest speaker. More information available from show chairman Gary Algot. (780)741-2115. www.ihc38.com

MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTS/SERVICES

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

1-877-641-2798

FARM/CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT

Combines Various

Stretch your

FARM MACHINERY Combine – Accessories RECONDITIONED COMBINE HEADERS. RIGID & flex, most makes & sizes; also header transports. Ed Lorenz, (306)344-4811 or Website: www.straightcutheaders.com Paradise Hill, SK.

ADVERTISING DOLLAR!

BUYING:

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

Baling Equipment 2013 Kuhn LSB 1290 square baler Bale count 14000 bales. Auto lube & hydraulic bale eject. Always parked indoors $80,000 OBO. (204)299-0977 cormierbales@gmail.com WANTED: JD 7810 c/w FEL & 3-PTH; sp or PTO bale wagon; JD or IHC end wheel drills. Small square baler. (403)394-4401

AUTOS/TRUCKS/TRAILERS

• Competitive Prices • Prompt Movement • Spring Thrashed

Network

Search news. Read stories. Find insight.

Trucks

BUYING HEATED/DAMAGED PEAS, FLAX & GRAIN “On Farm Pickup” Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252 BUYING SPRING THRASHED CANOLA & GRAIN “On Farm Pickup” Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252 We know that farming is enough of a gamble so if you want to sell it fast place your ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifieds. It’s a Sure Thing. Call our toll-free number today. We have friendly staff ready to help. 1-800-665-1362.

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Tillage

CANOLA WANTED Buying Tough, Heated, Green, Canola, Freight Options, Prompt Payment Bonded and Insured

CALL 1-866-388-6284 www.milliganbiofuels.com

patent pending

Reduce Plugging with Open-Rim Gauge Wheels by Ridgeland Manufacturing Sales & Distribution by:

thunderstrucksales.com 855.752.5525

Buy and Sell

anything you need through the

CALL DAVE

ALL SIZES

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

D&H EQUIPMENT

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

1-800-665-1362

machinerydave@yahoo.ca BOW ISLAND, ALBERTA

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Various

FARM MACHINERY Sprayers

1982 JD 3140, 148 loader bucket w/3-PTH, sale #514292-CD, 18.4x34 rubber, $14,000. Phone (780)675-4784.

Where the stories go.

WANTED: IHC 404 GAS motor to fit 3-Ton truck. Phone (403)350-4876, Innisfail, AB.

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Grain Wanted

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

On NEW & USED Rollers

“ON FARM PICK UP”

1-877-250-5252

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Tillage

REINVENTING THE WHEEL

Winter Discounts

1-800-665-1362

HEATED & GREEN CANOLA

FARM MACHINERY Parts & Accessories

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

9280 12 speed with 80% rubber 4720 JD Sprayer w/ boom track autosteer, 4700 90 ft very clean 4955 JD low hrs, 3 pth, very clean S680 JD combine low hrs 936 Versatile GOOD SELECTION OF JD & CASE SP SPRAYERS AND 4WD TRACTORS

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

Degelman 10 ft. Snow Pusher Blade JD 7210 Complete with 3 pth hitch, loader available JD 2950 Complete with loader JD 7200 FWA, 740 Loader with 3 pth hitch JD 4240 loader available JD 4020 c/w loader & new motor JD 2550, FWA ST 250 Steiger, tires new 20.8 x 38 2012 CAT 272D Skidsteer, 800 Hrs Clamp on Duals, 20.8x38-18.4x38 158, 148, 265, 725, 740, 280, JD loaders FINANCE, TRADES WELCOME 780-696-3527, BRETON, AB

Big Tractor Parts, Inc. Geared For The Future

STEIGER TRACTOR SPECIALIST

Prairie-Wide Display Classifieds

MORE OPTIONS TO SAVE YOU MONEY

Buy one province, buy two provinces or buy all three. Great rates whatever you choose

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

1-800-982-1769 www.bigtractorparts.com

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous 1999 CAT 460 1,400 sep. hrs, rake up $72,000; Road King ground loadstock trailer, 8 x 42.5-ft, will haul 25 cows, $9,500; 2013 Highline 651 Bale Pro, chain floor, twine cutter, big tires, $18,000. Call:(403)665-2341, Craigmyle, AB. ACREAGE EQUIPMENT: CULTIVATORS, DISCS, Plows, Blades, Post pounders, Haying Equipment, Etc. (780)892-3092, Wabamun, Ab. QUONSET NEW, 35X52X18; JD 2420 DSL, 25-ft & 16-ft hay; JD 7410 w/loader; MF 860 p/u & 20-ft straight cut; Ford 5000 w/loader; Vac, sewer tank & pump; Rotex SR7 power parachute for parts; Chev tandem gravel box & hoist; C7 tree farmer skidder; Bison head squeeze (complete); 2004 Rumblebee shortbox; 24-ft dual axle cattle trailer gooseneck, like new. (306)236-8023. SVEN GRAIN ROLLER ON transport, PTO, 24-in rolls, 13-ft discharge auger, magnets, like new, rolled 7000-Bu. Always shedded, $8000 OBO. (403)333-6410, (403)646-5641.

FARMING IS ENOUGH OF A GAMBLE...

Contact Sharon

Email: sharon.komoski@fbcpublishing.com

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

1-800-665-1362

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 14, 2014

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous

HEAT & AIR CONDITIONING

LIVESTOCK EQUIPMENT

RON SAUER

The Icynene Insulation System®

Want to buy NEW… but need to sell OLD first?

MACHINERY LTD.

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

(403) 540-7691 ronsauer@shaw.ca

Barb Wire & Electric High Tensile Wire Spooler & Water Hose Roller

- Wire Roller can now be converted to roll up & unroll flat plastic water hose up to 6” diameter (11” flat) - Hydraulic Drive (roll or unroll) - Mounts to tractor draw bar, skidsteer front end loader, post driver, 3pt. hitch or deck truck (with receiver hitch & rear hydraulics) - Spool splits in half to remove full roll - Shut off/ Flow control valve determines speed - Works great for pulling out old wire (approx. 3--5 minutes to roll up 80 rod or 1/4 mile) - Also works great for swath grazing or rotational grazing The Level-Winder II Wire Roller rolls wire evenly across the full width of the spool automatically as the wire is pulled in Ken Lendvay (403) 550-3313 Red Deer, AB email: kflendvay@hotmail.com Web: www.levelwind.com Stretch your advertising dollars! Place an ad in the classifieds. Our friendly staff is waiting for your call. 1-800-665-1362. Go public with an ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifieds. Phone 1-800-665-1362.

846 Ford Versatile Designation 6, 4WD Tractor 1990, newer 18.4 x 38 dualled tires,12 speed manual, 4 hyds., 6036 hrs., looks & runs good .............................. $30,000 555 JD Crawler Loader, 250 hrs. on rebuilt engine, good condition ........................................................... $20,000 Degelman Dozer Frame MF 4000 Series 4WD .$1,000 B 275 IHC Diesel Tractor, 3 pth, pto, runs good ......$4,250 31’ Flexicoil B Chisel Plow, extensions to 41’ included, 3 bar harrows, excellent condition......................... $12,500 Flexicoil 6 Run Seed Treater .............................. $1,000 134’ Flexicoil S68XL Sprayer, 2007, suspended boom, auto rate, joystick, rinse tank, triple quick jets, auto boom height, electric end nozzle & foam marker............. $39,500 100’ 65XL Flexicoil Sprayer, complete with windguards, elec. end nozzles single tips, auto rate .................. $12,500 30’ 8230 CIH PT Swather, PU reel, nice shape, . $10,000 25’ 8225 CIH PT Swather, PU reel, nice shape .... $9,500 25’ 1200 Hesston PT Swather, bat reel, good .... $5,500 30’ 4600 Prairie Star PT Swather, bat reel, good ....$5,500 30’ 1900 Premier PT Swather, bat reel, good .... $5,500 10 Wheel MATR (Italy) Trailer Type V-Hayrake, hyd. fold, as new.................................................. $5,000 14 Wheel Enorossi V-Hayrake extra contour wheels, as new .............................................................. $11,500 8 x 1000 Sakundiak Auger, new 30 HP Koehler engine, Hawes mover, gear box clutch, spout ....... CNT $9,000 8 x 1200 Sakundiak Auger, 25 HP Koehler engine, Hawes mover, clutch, nice condition, .................CNT $10,000 7 x 1200 Sakundiak Auger, 18 HP Koehler engine, looks and runs good, ......................................... CNT $3,500 8 x 1400 Sakundiak Auger, 25 HP Robin engine, Hawes mover, clutch, spout, excellent condition, ...........CNT $10,000 8 x 1400 Sakundiak Auger, 27 HP Koehler engine, E-Kay mover, belt tightener, power steering, light package, as new, ................................................................ $12,500 New E-Kay 7” Bin Sweep .............**In Stock** $1,785 New E-Kay 7”, 8”, 9” Bin Sweeps available.........Call 8” Wheat Heart Transfer Auger, hydraulic drive.. $1,500 18.4 x 30, tractor tire & tube .....................................$500 New Outback MAX & STX guidance & mapping ...In Stock New Outback E-Drive, TC’s .................................In Stock New Outback E-Drive X, c/w free E turns ............In Stock New Outback S-Lite guidance ............ **In Stock** $900 New Outback VSI Swather Steering Kit...........In Stock New Outback E-Drive Hyd. kit, JD 40 series ........ $1,000 Used Outback E-Drive Hyd. kits..............................$500

www.penta.ca

Stretch your

Search news. Read stories. Find insight.

List your used product for FREE on Lakeland Buy & Sell!

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Feed Grain BUYING ALL TYPES OF feed grain. Also have market for light offgrade or heated, picked up on the farm. Eisses Grain Marketing 1-888-882-7803, Lacombe. FEED GRAIN WANTED! ALSO buying; Light, tough, or offgrade grains. “On Farm Pickup” Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252

TIRES

BuyAndSellAG.ca

1-800-665-1362

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Angus

1-866-443-7444 Round up the cash! Advertise your unwanted equipment in the Alberta Farmer Express classifieds.

RED & BLACK ANGUS yearling heifer bulls, $1800. Ed & Blaine Davidson, Lougheed AB. Ph: (780)384-2354, (780)888-2123, cell:(780)888-7585. REG YEARLING RED & Black Angus bulls, various BWs, born Jan-Feb, quiet, semen tested & delivered, $2,500. Also Unregistered yearling Red Angus heifer bulls, born Apr, light BW, quiet & semen tested, $1,800. Darrell & Lorraine Davidson (780)888-1374 or (780)888-1087 Lougheed, AB.

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Red Angus 41 REGISTERED RED ANGUS BULLS Quiet, Easy Calving, Low to Moderate Birth Weights, Good Growth, E.P.D’s available Guaranteed Breeders (Vet Checked & Semen Tested). Excellent Bulls for Heifers or Cows. Cleveley Cattle Company (780)689-2754.

ORGANIC Organic – Grains

New 30.5L-32 16 ply, $1,995; 20.8-38 12 ply $765; 18.4-38 12 ply; $789; 24.5-32 14 ply, $1,495; 14.9-24 12 ply, $486; 16.9-28 12 ply $558, 18.4-26 10 ply, $890. Factory direct. More sizes available new and used. 1-800-667-4515. www.combineworld.com

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

TRAILERS Trailers Miscellaneous 50 FLAT-DECK SEMI-TRAILERS, 7 heavy lowbeds, 8 gravel trailers, pictures, prices, www.trailerguy.ca Saskatoon/Aberdeen. Phone (306)222-2413

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

TRAVEL

AGRICULTURAL TOURS

*Please state the Variety & Quantity for Sale

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Hereford

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

SEED / FEED / GRAIN

ADVERTISING DOLLAR!

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Wanted

Network

SPRING SPECIAL PROMOTION, CANADIAN built by moduline, 20x76 Temora, $99,900; 16x76 Oasis, $79,900; 16x60 Tuscan, $69,900. www.affordablehomesales.ca, affordablehomesales@sasktel.net 1-888-699-9280, (306)496-7538

Visit us for Great Deals and to list your used AG products today

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

Where the stories go.

1-800-587-4711

REAL ESTATE Houses & Lots

For more information, please contact Sandy at:

Hungary/Romania ~ June 2014 NWT/Yukon/Alaska ~ July 2014 Mid-West USA ~ October 2014 Australia/New Zealand ~ Jan 2015 Kenya/Tanzania ~ Feb 2015 South Africa/Zambia ~ Feb 2015 South America ~ Feb 2015

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

HEREFORD BULLS, YEARLINGS AND two year olds, dehorned, and polled, excellent quality, low birth weights suitable for heifers, catalogue online at couleecrest.ca Coulee Crest Herefords, Bowden, AB. (403)227-2259 or (403)588-6160.

LIVESTOCK Sheep For Sale

REAL ESTATE Commercial Buildings

PLAN TO ATTEND THE 8th Annual Pound Maker Ram Sale, 110 yearling rams sell by auction, Thursday May 22, 2014 at Ford Macleod Alberta. Suffolk, Dorset, Hampshire, Rambouillet, North Country Cheviot and Coloured. For details call Warren (403)625-6519 or check our website poundmakerrams.com

ATTENTION: YOU MAY BE looking for a new adventure! Check out propertyguys.com or Phone:(403)782-5696. Hit our readers where it counts… in the classifieds. Place your ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifed section. 1-800-665-1362.

*Portion of tours may be Tax Deductible

Select Holidays 1-800-661-4326

www.selectholidays.com

Grow informed. With the new web series: AGGronomyTV

AgCanada.com is proud to present this new informative web video series. AGGronomyTV is a series of videos that covers today’s top issues related to soil management and crop production. Video topics include:  Managing Wild Oats

 4R Nutrient Stewardship

 Growing Carinata

 The Right Way to Grow Wheat

 Fighting Herbicide Resistant

Weeds in Field Peas

- 4R Nutrient Stewardship  Plus more…

Scan the code or visit the website for more information

www.agcanada.com/aggronomytv