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APRIL 28, 2014

Ranchers have no beef with new antibiotic restrictions

Health Canada pushing to end of routine use of antibiotics important in human medicine because of resistance threat

BY ALEXIS KIENLEN AF STAFF

ealth Canada’s move to end the use of “medically important” antibiotics as growth promotants won’t hurt livestock production, say an Alberta producer and industry experts. “There won’t be as much restriction as we first thought,” said Camrose rancher and Canadian Cattle Association president Dave Solverson. “(But) there will be a little more consultation with veterinarians on the use of antibiotics.” The North American livestock industry has been a heavy user of a class of antibiotics called antimicrobials, notably ionophores and tetracycline. The former is not used in human medicine and is exempt from the new rules, but tetracycline is a key drug used to treat pneumonia, other respiratory tract infections, and other conditions. It is feared — although the science is not definitive — that using human medicinal drugs for raising livestock is hastening the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Solverson has used tetracycline to treat sick cattle, but not as a growth promotant. “We don’t use it mixed in with feed or anything,” he said. “Very few producers do.”

SEE ANTIMICROBIAL  page 6

New limits on antimicrobials won’t be too restrictive, says Alberta rancher and CCA president Dave Solverson.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF DAVE SOLVERSON, KATHY BROEN

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news » inside this week

inside » Nuffield scholar returns home Alberta agronomist visits farms in nine countries

APRIL 28, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

livestock

crops

columNists

Cattle producers’ questions answered

Grain producers’ questions answered

Models cause for less hail, but less rain, too A

lberta has the dubious distinction of having the most — and biggest — hail in the world. “We’re very famous for that,” said University of Alberta meteorologist Gerhard Reuter. And you can blame it on the Rocky Mountains, which affect airflows to create ‘hail alley’ — a corridor stretching from Rocky Mountain House to Red Deer. In winter, air heats up as westerly winds sweep up the face of the Rockies, and that creates chinooks as air falls and flows over the southwest portion of the province. However, in summer, the air also sucks up moisture as it warms. But it does not mix with colder air, creating a warm layer called a ‘cap’ or ‘lid.’ As winds push through this layer, hail is formed. Reuter estimates, on average, hail falls in some part of the province for 45 days every summer. But that number may drop because climate change seems to be resulting in weaker winds, he said. However, dry spells could be more frequent in some areas. “Things might become p a t c h y , ” s a i d R e u t e r . “O n e patch could get too much rain, and another spot could get too little.” But climate models suggest there’s likely to be more of the latter. “People don’t predict more precipitation, but if the surface gets warmer, there may be more evaporation, so the soil may become drier,” he said.

Women in agriculture bank on change

Daniel Bezte Extreme weather patterns happening more often

FAO returns to its roots International family farm conference in Quebec City

brenda schoepp

COOL fallout, overconditioned cattle and hormones in beef

Carry-out and prices, fusarium resistance and feeding the world

Roy Lewis

Hands-on synchronization programs have benefits

Get ready for a lot more major floods, says Alberta meteorologist U of A professor says the weather event that caused last year’s devastating floods will occur every five years in future By Alexis Kienlen af staff / edmonton

lbertans can expect major floods as often as every five years thanks to climate change, according to Gerhard Reuter, a meteorologist and professor at the University of Alberta. The last three big Alberta floods were in 2013, 2005, and 1996, and followed in the wake of “giant rainstorms,” which Reuter classifies as rain events of more than 200 millimetres. In the last 50 years, these giant rainstorms happened every seven years on average, typically in June because of “cold-core lows”

“I was tearing out my hair in frustration. They were about to have a major flooding, and the radio stations were discussing the highs and whether it would be plus 24 or plus 23.” Gerhard Reuter meteorologist and professor at the University of Alberta

— low-pressure systems that strengthen in height in accordance with the thermal wind relationship. “The significance of this is that the flow goes in a circle and stays stationary over a point,” said Reuter. To get them moving you need wind, and that’s where climate change comes in, he said. In the last few years, the wind shear — the way wind speed varies with height — has been reduced, with winds at higher altitudes becoming weaker. That means intense storms that linger over one area and pummel it with heavy rain will be more common, said Reuter. The silver lining in these dark storm clouds is that flood prediction models are now able to track weather patterns about a week before a major weather event occurs. Unfortunately, Reuter said, these warning signs weren’t heeded last year. “I expressed my frustration about the case last year in High River and Calgary because I k n e w i t w o u l d rain,” he said. “I was tearing out my hair in frustration. They were about to have major flooding, and the radio stations were discussing the highs and whether it would be plus 24 or plus 23.” The time has come to make this sort of weather data avail-

Gerhard Reuter able to the public, including maps or charts that explain the amount of precipitation in a given week, he said. “Then let the people or the farmers decide what they can make out of it,” he said. That would have made a major difference for many of last year’s flood victims, he added.

“I sent emails to my friends in Calgary telling them to pack their stuff and move stuff out of their basements,” said Reuter. “Some people got two hours’ notice and they had to leave. It was a disaster that was completely human made because they were not prepared.” akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

Classroom Agriculture Program needs volunteers Classroom Agriculture Program release

he Classroom Agriculture Program (CAP) is looking for volunteers from April to June to deliver in-class presentations to Calgary and area Grade 4 students.

“This year in Calgary we had a record number of schools register for the CAP program,” says Karen Spelay, the program’s general manager. “Over 260 classes are registered to receive the program in Calgary alone. Without volunteers we cannot deliver the program to students. If you are employed in the agriculture

industry in any way please get involved, your help is necessary.” CAP is one of the only in-school programs that help children learn about the food they eat, where it comes from, and the importance of agriculture in this province. Volunteers — farmers, ranchers, industry officials, and individuals who have a passion for

agriculture — deliver hour-long classroom presentations to more than 20,000 Alberta students annually. Presentations include storytelling, hands-on props, and fun activities. CAP provides training, ideas, resources, and guidance to all volunteers. “The prep work was not excessive and lots of latitude in con-

tent is encouraged,” says Darold Niwa, a UFA manager and CAP volunteer. “The presentations went terrific and we both (the students and myself) got a lot out of the sessions.” For more information or to register as a volunteer, go to www.classroomagriculture. com.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 28, 2014

COOL not going away any time soon Supporters will move quickly to replace if it is struck down

Photos: Shannon VanRaes By Shannon VanRaes staff / Washington, D.C.

ven if Canada wins its battle against country-of-origin labelling at the World Trade Organization (WTO) this summer, Canadian livestock producers could still lose the war. Congressman Collin Peterson, the ranking member of the U.S. house committee on agriculture, told reporters here last week there are groups in the U.S. that support COOL regulations and want to see them maintained. “If it gets struck down completely, the people who want ‘born, raised and slaughtered’ will try to put a bill in to put it back into effect. I mean, they’re not going to give up,” said Peterson, whose Minnesota district begins at the Canadian border and stretches almost as far south as the Iowa state line. American organizations such as the U.S. Cattleman’s Association, National Farmers Union, American Sheep Industry Association and the Consumer Federation of America

“You know our view is Congress has directed us to put a labelling requirement together, which we did. The WTO has instructed us to be more specific about the labels that we provide, which we have.” Tom Vilsack

have joined forces to create a COOL defence fund. Many rural and faith-based organizations also actively support countryof-origin labelling.

Compromise

Peterson said there are also those who would like to see a legislative resolution to the i s s u e s s u r r o u n d i n g C OO L , rather than one dictated by the courts or through the WTO — although he is unsure what shape that might take. “I don’t know what compromise there could be that would settle this or satisfy people, of what could actually pass. I don’t know how anything could pass in a stand-alone bill,” Peterson said, noting it took two years to pass the Agricultural Act of 2014, better known as the U.S. Farm Bill. Proposed amendments to that bill attempted to alter COOL regulations, but were not passed. “I think at this point we wait to see what the WTO does, and then there will probably be an attempt to have some kind of a legislative response,” he said. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack had little to say to questions about COOL during a meeting of agricultural journalists in the American capital earlier this month. “You know our view is Congress has directed us to put a labelling requirement together, which we did. The WTO has instructed us to be more specific about the labels that we provide, which we have,” he said. Back at home, some are taking solace in the news that a U.S. Appeals Court “vacated” a previous ruling in early April, again opening the door for an injunction against COOL filed by a coalition of Canadian livestock organizations, including the Canadian Pork Council. “I believe this is a new oppor-

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack speaks to reporters in Washington, D.C.

Bill Tentinger of the Iowa Pork Producers speaks to the Manitoba Pork Council in Winnipeg.

tunity, at the end of the day it’s always nice to see that maybe common sense does prevail... it gives us a lot of hope and optimism,” said Rick Bergmann, a vice-chairman on the council.

same letter, so we want to be really careful, but again we’re very hopeful and I would say moderately confident,” Bergmann said. But politics south of the border mean that a positive ruling for Canada at the WTO won’t necessarily resolve the issue, according to Tentinger. “In a textbook that sounds great. In my mind, knowing how slow Washington, D.C. works, how long do we have to put up with this? And are they going to be able to move fast enough? Look how long it took them to pass a Farm Bill,” he said. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has promised that Canada will take retaliatory action against the United States if it doesn’t comply with a World Trade Organization ruling. “Our government remains steadfast in taking whatever steps may be necessary, including retaliation, to achieve a fair resolution,” he said in an emailed statement.

Not optimistic

Not everyone is optimistic. Bill Tentinger of the Iowa Pork Producers doesn’t believe the court will find in the Canadians’ favour, however much he wishes it would. “I’m extremely concerned about it, because of the retaliation issue and I guess as a producer from Iowa, I’m also extremely concerned about Mexico’s retaliation, because we send it a lot of what it calls pork leg,” he said. But even if the Appeal Court ruling isn’t in Canada’s favour, stakeholders in Manitoba are generally confident that the World Trade Organization will rule against COOL regulations this summer. “You know, confident and cocky both start with the

Exactly what retaliation will entail is up for debate, with some speculating that products such as imported maple syrup will be front and centre. Others claim that some businesses have already been informed that products they export will be impacted, but no official confirmation has been received. “We’re all being used as pawns in this, and it’s just a game for a lot of these folks and individuals in power,” Tentinger said. All players are still touting negotiation as the preferred route to settling the trade dispute, but few are talking directly. “We prefer not to go through that (WTO) route, because at the end of that route — should Canada and Mexico win, and we’re quite confident that we will win — that means we can retaliate,” said Jamshed Merchant, Canada’s consulate general in Minneapolis. “We don’t want to do that because it’s in nobody’s interest to retaliate, so we would really like to work together.” But for many Canadian hog producers, the damage may already be done, Bergmann said. “The last five years have been very, very difficult and one of the reasons has been COOL,” he said. “I could show you an awful lot of empty facilities... because of the COOL effect on farms.” Estimates put the cost of C OO L t o C a n a d i a n f a r m ers at $500 million annually, although in the U.S. that number has been disputed. In any event, the situation isn’t likely to be resolved quickly. “I don’t know that either side is going to give up,” said Peterson. shannon.vanraes@fbcpublishing.com

APRIL 28, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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

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Finding the news that matters on your farm

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A century ago, a lone journalist had a huge impact on Prairie agriculture — and she has a lesson for us today

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By glenn cheater Editor

. Cora Hind was one of the greatest farm reporters ever, with a unique talent that earned her the gratitude of farmers across the Prairies, not to mention worldwide fame. Her appointment as agricultural editor of the Winnipeg Free Press in 1901 got everyone talking because women news reporters were almost unheard of back then. But they kept talking about her because of her uncanny ability to forecast the size of the Prairie wheat crop. People soon learned that if Hind had an estimate completely at odds to the one from the Chicago Board of Trade, it was the American experts who would end up red faced. In 1905, she predicted an 85-million-bushel crop (the official count was 84,506,857). She did even better in 1907, predicting 71,250,000 bushels of wheat would be harvested in Western Canada. The final tally was 70,922,584 — meaning she was accurate to within onehalf of one per cent. Don’t know if they had ‘guess how many jelly beans in the jar’ fundraisers

back then. But if they had, Hind would have won every time. One summer in 1924, she reportedly travelled 10,240 kilometres in 37 days, making 30 to 50 stops per day to check crops. Every few miles, Hind would stop her car and wade — uninvited — into the middle of the field, counting the number of kernels of each head she plucked, chewing them to judge their fullness, and inspecting stems and leaves for disease. Farmers forgave her trespasses because her reports put power in their hands when negotiating a price for their crop at the elevators controlled by the heartless wheat barons. I’ve been thinking about Hind as I’ve tried to imagine ways to make this paper more valuable to you, and to all of your fellow producers. Specifically, more articles that help with your decision-making and better inform you of what’s happening in Alberta’s farm community. But it’s a huge province, and the complexity and diversity of its agriculture is immense. What would E. Cora Hind do if she were alive today? It’s a bit hard to picture a woman born a century and a half ago being on Twitter (although @corahind is available), but I

think she’d love it. And she’d definitely be taking and sharing pics of crops and livestock (she was a noted authority in that area, too), as well as relentlessly texting, emailing, phoning, and visiting producers. When it came to what stories to cover, she would have said, ‘If you want to know what information farmers are looking for, ask them.’ In this edition, we did exactly that. Kevin Bender, Andrew Goodrich, Trish Henderson, Sarah Leach, Jason Lenz, and Paul Wipf had great questions, and hopefully they — and you — find the answers interesting, too. It’s something we’ll do again from time to time. But asking you what you want us to cover needs to happen continually. On the front of this paper, it states: ‘Your provincial farm and ranch paper.’ The size of the print is a bit small for my liking, but the intent of those words is bang on. Living up to that pledge isn’t easy — we’re a small crew, after all. But hopefully we’ve got a few thousand farmer friends who are willing to point us in the right direction. glenn.cheater@fbcpublishing.com twitter: @glenncheater

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.

Women in agriculture bank on change

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straight from the hip } Give women a fair shake and agricultural production will increase

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www.albertafarmexpress.ca 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 brenda schoepp

here has been a global failure to improve infrastructure and address policy to enable women to access the same level of education, technology, credit, and land ownership. In many countries I have seen how this has left farming women unprepared for the current and future increases in input costs and challenges in marketing. Women farmers in all cultures are facing increased stress without the support of systems that make much-needed capital or knowledge readily accessible. Although consumers around the world are asking for a shorter link between the farm and the fork, governments often still lack an appreciation for this potential and fail to recognize that as resources for women increase, so does agricultural production. Access to credit, tools, technology, seed and other inputs, equipment, fuel, markets and education all impact the success of the farmer. If women were to have the same access to resources as men, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates farm yields would increase by 20 to 30 per cent, and

total agricultural output in developing countries would increase by 2.5 to four per cent. Breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty and dependency starts by putting money in the hands of women. Women in all countries tend to reinvest in healthy families and communities, and are quick to take calculated risks. They also have the highest payback record of any industry. So why is it that women are discriminated against in all countries when it comes to accessing credit? One study found that even in developed countries only 58 per cent of all equally eligible loans applied for by women were approved, and women were charged a higher interest rate than men for similar proposals. Another study found lenders do not wish to be associated with specific types of borrowers such as women, racial minorities, different classes, and castes. In short, it wasn’t because women presented a bigger perceived risk — lenders did not loan to women because they were women. Women continue to be tied to their husband’s financial performance — or need their permission or signature on a loan — even when they are

solely responsible for the production of food. But when there is gender equality, there are lower rates of poverty, higher standards of living, and better environmental stewardship. Women are the “front line” of food security and education in the world. A thriving farming community that reinvests in itself attracts other valueadded and further industries. The World Bank reported that $1 loaned to a woman had greater development impact than $1 loaned to a man. Before we can advance women in agriculture anywhere in the world, there must first be gender equality from banks and local lenders. Credit is often dependent on financial literacy, which is a compelling argument for literacy worldwide for all boys and girls. Children should be taught financial literacy starting at a very early age. As individuals, partners, families and community members, it is important to continue to mentor women in regard to their rights and responsibilities, and direct them to educational resources that provide financial literacy. We can work with literary projects at home and

around the world so women farmers have choices, and to encourage the development of organizations that offer microfinancing with flexible repayment plans. The World Trade Organization reminds us that the future of food is in the hands of women farmers. All girls must be valued. Empowering girls for selfsufficiency is important in every country. Canada’s Food Security Strategy states, “Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom are women, produce 80 per cent of the food consumed. These small, family-based farms have tremendous potential to make agriculture a key driver for both sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.” Women in agriculture are banking on change, knowing they are an important part of economic stability for their community and their country. 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

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 28, 2014

The view from here

Saving seed should be a right, not a privilege

hy should there be a law giving us a privilege now when for thousands of years this was a right that no one questioned? That is downgrading that right and the first step to taking it away. Will the next omnibus bill grant us the privilege to eat breakfast and the one after that grant the privilege to breath? Bill C-18 (the Agricultural Growth Act) uses the word “privilege” (Section 5.3 in the amendments to the Plant Breeders Rights Act) for farmers to save and clean their own seed. Privilege is the wrong word to use as a privilege is easily revoked. A “right,” however, is not so easily taken away. We do not see the grain developers getting any “privileges.” They are to be given “rights.” It should be the right of all Canadians to grow, keep, store, clean, sell and trade their own seed. For many years now the large seed companies have been trying to control all of the world’s seed, the ones they have developed and common seed. This is very wrong.

The first people to come to Canada came with small bags of seed to grow and to share with other farmers — and have since given Canada one of its biggest industries. The world knows that Canada is a source of safe, top-quality agricultural products. Now is not the time — nor will it ever be the time — for governments to restrict the farmers from doing their best to maintain this reputation and increase the industry. Do not put the agriculture industry at risk, but keep it free to grow. Making complicated laws will only put the whole industry at risk and tie up the court system. Bill C-18 should be amended to give farmers the “inalienable right” to keep, clean, store, use and sell their own seed. If the seed developers want to restrict the seed that they have developed, that is up to them. But leave heritage seeds alone and let the farmers choose which seeds they want to use. Dale and Donna Pope Pope Family Organic Farm & Supplies, Ryley

Fixing the system will take more than blame

would suggest the federal government could save about $3 million just by reading Laura Rance’s article in the April 14 edition of Alberta Farmer (‘Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act — much ado about not much’). I would further suggest that one sentence of that article should be highlighted for members of this government to consider — “finding someone to blame and punish isn’t the same as finding a solution!” This government is great at finding blame and punishing, but totally absent on finding solutions. The hardest part about finding a solution to the grain transportation problem would probably be admitting that mistakes have been made because this government “just knows” and the answer to everything is privatization.

There is no question that “the market,” when it works properly, is the best vehicle for progress. But the market also consists of companies like Enron, Nortel, Lehman Brothers, and many others of a similar ilk, as well as individuals like Earl Jones and Bernie Madoff. This knowledge, you’d think, would encourage a consideration of other modes of doing business. But I can’t see that kind of innovative thinking by the present group because, in their opinion, they make no mistakes and other ideas are not worth consideration, an example being the proposed (Un)Fair Elections Act. There will be a federal election in a little over a year and I hope folks will remember when they vote. Horst Schreiber Grain farmer Ohaton

The grain market needs a dose of ‘good cholesterol’ More regulation is not the solution to improving grain transportation BY JOHN DEPAPE

ust as there is both good cholesterol and bad cholesterol, there are both good and bad regulations. The CWB single desk was an example of a bad regulation — it clogged the arteries of western Canadian grain commerce by burdening farmers with high costs and no evidence of premium prices. Markets are efficient and effective when they are open for participants to react freely to market signals. But “open” doesn’t mean “unregulated.” The futures markets are the most efficient and effective marketplace that we know of and yet are highly regulated, giving structure, confidence and efficiency. This kind of “good cholesterol” is what we need in western Canadian grain markets. However, I am concerned with ideas that suggest the return of “bad cholesterol.” The current problem in western Canadian grain markets stems from the railroads not fulfilling promises. Early in the year, they set 10,000 cars/week as their “plan” — their way of telling the grain trade what shipping capacity they should expect. Based on data from Quorum Corp. (the grain monitor), grain companies’ rail car orders are in line with, if not below, the railroads’ original plan. However, unloads at our four export ports are much lower at 5,909 per week. Add shipments to domestic and U.S. destinations and the railroads are still well below their plan. This lower-thanexpected capacity means contracts with farmers and export customers can’t be fulfilled on schedule. Although some are saying we wouldn’t have this problem if the CWB single desk was still operating, it’s clear that the CWB could not conjure up more rail cars than the railroads have provided. As expected, the lack of movement has pressed elevator prices lower.

Bad math

Ex-CWB director Ian McCreary told a transportation conference in Saskatoon that “(C) ompanies are making an extra $100 a tonne” handling grain this year, adding “under the former wheat board’s single desk… they (farmers) would be billions of dollars richer.” Richard Gray of the University of Saskatchewan has used similar bad math. They assume that the grain being delivered to elevators or shipped offshore is at current prices. But it’s not. The vast majority of the grain being handled was bought and sold months ago — when the spread between country points and the port was more “normal.” Basis is an open-market signal used to slow deliveries in times like these. When that didn’t work, grain companies simply stopped buying. How can you logically use today’s prices to estimate a company’s profits (or a farmer’s costs) when they aren’t actively buying (or selling) at those prices? There may be companies that are in a position to buy wheat from farmers at today’s prices or sell at the current port prices but the amounts are limited. Liberal Agriculture Critic Ralph Goodale has suggested a “cap on basis.” Regulating

the amount a company can pay for grain isn’t the answer. This may increase the nominal price at times like this, but it won’t stop buyers from pulling their bids and not buying at all. In other words, it won’t solve the problem. The solution is to empower farmers to respond to the market more effectively. A great deal of wheat has been sold on forward contracts, both before and after harvest, taking advantage of prices and delivery opportunities when they present themselves. The next step is to empower farmers to avoid lousy basis levels, opting to earn “storage premiums” available through the carrying charges in the futures markets. Better farm pricing behaviour won’t get more rail cars, but it will help improve the basis. What would basis do if farmers deferred sales (to earn “storage premiums”)? Ian McCreary suggested single-desk control of deliveries — forcing farmers to hold grain off the market — as a solution. The difference is that when farmers react to market signals, they get paid to hold grain off the market — plus the basis improves. With regulated control of deliveries, they just wait.

With the right approach, farmers can avoid lousy basis levels and get paid to store — just one of the benefits that comes with an open market.

We need good cholesterol

The solutions to fix the market include incentives, accountability and information. The railroads need to commit to a minimum capacity — never again should we hear that the railroads can’t ship to our demands because they released locomotives. How about this — if the railroads don’t meet a set minimum capacity, the revenue cap is lowered? And if there is demand over the minimum capacity, and they meet it, the revenue cap is increased. Incentives work. Farmers need to be empowered to employ marketing tools and techniques to get more from the market. With the right approach, farmers can avoid lousy basis levels and get paid to store — just one of the benefits that comes with an open market. And last, data such as export sales commitments, rail capacity commitments and readily available price data will improve competition and marketing choices. If these market signals had been available, steps could have been taken to mitigate the evolving problems. Collection and publication of this information will need to be regulated. Call it good cholesterol. John DePape is president of Farmers Advanced Risk Management Co. in Winnipeg

OFF THE FRONT

APRIL 28, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

ANTIMICROBIAL  from page 1 The new Health Canada order, to be phased in over three years, will still allow a veterinarian to prescribe drugs used in human medicine for treatment of sick animals. Solverson said he and his brother Ken have only used tetracycline when necessary at Woodwind Ranch, an 800head cow-calf operation and small feedlot. “We’ve always been very careful for drug withdrawal, but we’ll have to step up the documentation of which animals are treated at any stage of their life,” he said. “Other than that, I don’t believe the products we use are on any of these lists.” The Solversons will still be able to use Rumensin, a feed supplement made by Elanco that, according to the company, reduces a cow’s feed requirements by five to 10 per cent while maintaining body weight. But because the additive is an ionophore, “there are no concerns about resistance for human health,” said Solverson.

“I think it will help consumer confidence, because consumers did have concerns about growth promotants and we’ve all seen reports from the medical community highly critical of agriculture’s use of these products.” JEAN SZKOTNICKI

Poultry

When it comes to poultry, antibiotics aren’t used as growth promotants, said Steve Leech, national program manager with the Chicken Farmers of Canada. “There are antibiotics used in poultry feed in Canada, but there are some differences between producers and between provinces,” he said. “Antibiotics can and are used for reasons of prevention and therapy and can be administered through the feed. The decision to use them is between the veterinarian, the feed mill, and the producer.” Most of the antibiotics used in chicken feed in this country are so-called Category Four antibiotics, which are not used for human health. As of May 15, chicken producers won’t be able to use Category One antibiotics for preventive use. The ban is specifically directed at Cetiofur, which is used at the hatchery level for broiler chicks. Another Category One drug used in hatcheries is Betrol, but it is rarely used in poultry production. The directive will be monitored and enforced through the on-farm food safety program audit. “There will be impacts on all

PRESIDENT OF THE CANADIAN ANIMAL HEALTH INSTITUTE

The livestock industry was keen to respond to consumer concerns, said Jean Szkotnicki, Canadian Animal Health Institute president. SUPPLIED PHOTO the stakeholders, but the only place there will be reduced use is at the hatchery level,” said Leech.

Swine

The swine sector has been reducing “mass medication” for decades, said Pete Pawluk, a swine veterinarian with Swine Health Centre in Lethbridge. “Improved farming practices, management, health and biosecurity have reduced the need for antibiotics,” Pawluk said. “We’re in the process of benchmarking these in southern Alberta and we’ll know more by the end of the year. This is the first step in reducing antibiotics.” Pawluk supports the Health Canada directive and questions whether claims made about growth promotant are even true. “Nothing promotes growth better than good health, clean water

and nutritious feed,” he said. “To rely on drugs or to have a claim from a drug to do the same thing is probably not true. To measure it is very, very difficult.” Category One antibiotics, which are used in human medicine, are not fed to swine on a regular basis nor used as growth promotants, he said. However, all other categories of antibiotics can still be added to feed and more veterinary oversight of their use would be a good thing, said Pawluk. “Right now, a farmer could walk into a store and buy a pallet of antibiotics, without any questions asked,” he said. “We can certainly do better and we’re working on it.” Pig producers are increasingly questioning both the wisdom of using antibiotics and whether they provide a benefit that justifies their cost, he said.

While control, production, distribution, and use of veterinary drugs in Canada is governed by the provinces, the new directive (which covers about 140 veterinary products) could hasten a shift in attitudes. Health Canada is following in the footsteps of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which was ridiculed by many last year when it issued a “voluntary ban” on this type of antibiotic use. However, virtually all large feed manufacturers are reported to have adhered to it. The Canadian Animal Health Institute, which helped Health Canada develop the directive, is firmly behind the move. “We’ve all seen reports from the medical community highly critical of agriculture’s use of these products,” said Jean Szkotnicki, president of the Guelph-based institute. “This is about ensuring con-

sumer confidence in the products our producers are producing, and we do have high-quality, safe products.” Cattle producers also “want to make sure that there is not resistance developing to those drugs because of the way they’re used in cattle,” said Reynold Bergen, science director with the Beef Research Centre. “The important thing to note here is that not all antimicrobials are the same,” said Bergen. “Some are important in human medicine and some of them aren’t.” The beef industry’s current use of growth promotants has little effect on antibiotic resistance, he added, citing research by the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance. “There are very low levels of resistance in cattle,” he said. “Not only that, it’s not increasing and there’s no multi-drug resistance either.” akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 28, 2014

Abuse of temporary foreign worker program could spell trouble for farmers Alberta’s labour shortage has made hiring temporary foreign workers more attractive for farmers — but visas are harder to get BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF STAFF

Hiring students

Wetaskiwin grain and cattle farmer Curtis Pohl typically hires a foreign student each summer through a visa program that allows students or young professionals to work up to a year in Canada.

where we just barely got the visas done before they ran out,” said Pohl. “It’s a little bit stressful “The visas are becoming in through the winter higher demand. There’s more and more people wanting when you’re trying to workers.” get this all lined up and That’s made it doubly important to ensure the paperwork is not knowing for sure if in order. you’re going to… have One student had her visa rejected twice because of errors that help.” in her application — and each application takes between six to eight weeks to process, he said. CURTIS POHL “The visas were gone before she was able to (reapply),” said Pohl. Because they don’t require a labour market opinion, these But demand for such visas has permits are in high demand. skyrocketed in the eight years “There’s only around 4,500 he’s been using the program. work and travel permits (issued “We ran into trouble last year annually),” said Pohl. “Once Trim: 8.125”

those are gone, they’re gone, and then you have to look at other routes.” Last year, the federal government moved the application process online, delaying the program start date until February. “When it opened it up, those visas were gone in 24 hours,” he said. “That’s how many people were applying.” Pohl sees more and more farmers in his area looking for summer students from abroad to help out during the busy season, and he suspects demand will continue to grow. “It’s a little bit stressful through the winter when you’re trying to get this all lined up and not knowing for sure if you’re going to… have that help.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

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roducers may have a harder time getting foreign worker visas following recent allegations that McDonald’s is abusing Canada’s temporary foreign worker program. “It’s getting more difficult (to hire foreign labour),” said Al Dooley, agriculture labour recruiter with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “We’ve seen, from the program’s point of view, some bad news stories, and those sorts of things give the program a bit of a black eye. It makes it harder for everybody else.” And the process is a lengthy one to begin with. Right now, producers must advertise for Canadian workers for at least 14 days. After that, producers can apply for a labour market opinion, which confirms that producers have tried — and failed — to hire a Canadian. It can take two to three months to obtain a labour market opinion, and so producers should continue to search for local candidates, said Dooley. “They are making it a little more difficult… so you probably should keep your advertising until you get your labour market opinion approved.” But even running an ad for months often proves futile, said Martine Varekamp-Bos, an immigration consultant who operates Immigration Care in Lacombe. “Many farmers get very few Canadian responses to their ads” because of Alberta’s tight labour market, she said. Dooley agrees. “As an employer, you’re a bit cursed because employees have quite a bit of choice — employers can’t compete with the oilpatch,” he said. “In much of agriculture, you’re a price-taker on the production side. If you can’t

recoup (high worker wages) from the marketplace, that’s not a viable option.” Because of the labour shortage, hiring foreign help has “increased substantially over the past decade” in the province. About 4,000 Alberta producers turned to the temporary foreign worker program in the past year, said Dooley. “It does indicate that these companies are becoming more and more reliant on foreign workers.”

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APRIL 28, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

New study aims to improve protein efficiency in dairy cows Researcher to study how to lower protein content without compromising milk production ALMA RELEASE

Study may allow dairy nutritionists to formulate diets with lower protein content without compromising milk production.

Hit us with your

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

BEST SHOT!

n humans, the nutrients you ingest are directly correlated to your performance and overall health. The same applies to animals. Currently, the dairy industry relies on the expertise of dairy cow nutritionists who formulate diets for cows using an established protein model. Unfortunately, this model consistently underpredicts milk protein yield at low protein intake. The Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA) and Alberta Milk have partnered with Dr. Lorraine Doepel, associate professor at the University of Calgary faculty of veterinary medicine, to revise the protein model. The aim is to reduce protein intake of dairy cows while maximizing milk protein yield through improved protein efficiency of use. “Current feed formulation models use a fixed efficiency factor for converting dietary protein into milk protein, regardless of the amount of protein that the cow consumes,” said Doepel. “We have previously shown that efficiency decreases as the cow consumes more protein, and this means that we underestimate milk protein yield at low protein intake and overestimate yield at high intakes. Our long-term goal is to develop a dynamic model that utilizes variable efficiency factors.”

“Feed is one of the top expenses for all livestock sectors.” GORDON COVE

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Feed formulation programs consider energy and protein as separate entities, but their effects on milk protein yield are highly interrelated. The efficiency of protein capture in milk protein is stimulated by increases in energy intake, and milk and lactose yields are affected by protein supply. The mechanisms for these crossresponses to energy or protein supply are unknown and there is a need for a better understanding of the mechanisms driving milk protein synthesis. Doepel’s research will help dairy nutritionists understand the interrelationships between dietary energy and protein. This new knowledge will be combined with results from other studies to update feed formulation models, allowing dairy nutritionists to formulate diets with lower protein content without compromising milk production. “Feed is one of the top expenses for all livestock sectors, so when research finds a way to reduce feed costs without negatively affecting the animals, ALMA is on board,” said ALMA president and CEO Gordon Cove. “As well, increasing the knowledge base of dairy nutritionists will also help build capacity in the industry.” For more information on this project, email Doepel at ldoepel@ ucalgary.ca.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 28, 2014

Don’t cut corners on irrigation savings Reducing water pressure when the corner arm isn’t needed can cut energy costs by 30 per cent or more Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development release

roducers with corner arm centre pivot irrigation systems can reduce their energy consumption by 30 to 40 per cent if a variable frequency drive (VFD) is added to the motor used to power the water pump, according to an Agricultural Technology Centre study. “Corner arms on centre pivots swing out to water corners and are preferred by producers because the entire quarter section field can be farmed,” says Lawrence Papworth, a project engineer with the centre, located in Lethbridge. “The water flow for the pivot varies from 700 to 1,200 gallons per minute (gpm) because the flow to the corner arm shuts off when not needed. Motor and pumps are sized to deliver the 1,200 gpm and when the flow is reduced the extra water pressure is wasted. A VFD slows the motor down to match the pressure and flow required by the system. This results in energy savings when the water flow to the corner arm is reduced or shut off.” The study, conducted in 2012, looked at several variables to determine the energy savings of the system. The variables were

rolling and level terrain, turbine and centrifugal pump, and location of the pressure sensor. “Energy savings were 30 per cent on level land and 40 per cent on rolling terrain if the pressure sensor was located on the corner arm,” says Papworth. Pressure sensors, typically located near the motor and connected with a wire, provided very low energy savings. A wireless system was used to connect pressure sensors located on the corner arm. “Modern pivots use lowpressure nozzles so keeping the pressure low at the corner arm saves the most energy,” says Papworth. “There was no difference in energy savings between turbine and centrifugal pumps. These energy savings result in reduced costs of $2,200 per year on level land and $2,800 per year on rolling terrain based on applying 12 inches of water per year and a power cost of $0.16 per kWh.”

Reducing water pressure when the corner arm isn’t needed slashes energy costs. PHOTo: thinkstock

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BriefS Cereal Staging Guide available Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development release / A new resource is available to help growers and agronomists with staging. “Accurate crop staging is essential for products like in-crop urea ammonium nitrate, foliar fungicides, and plant growth regulators,” said Sheri Strydhorst, agronomy research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development in Barrhead. “Over the 2013 growing season, we found that staging is certainly not an easy thing to do.” The Cereal Staging Guide is designed to walk growers through staging a cereal crop. “It contains photos of what your crop looks like at various critical stages for applying these products,” said Strydhorst. “There are detailed photos of growth stages 33-34, 37-39, 47-49, and growth stage 55. These are some common growth stages for applying these products — however, growers should ensure applications are made according to growth stages described on the manufacturer’s product label.” The booklet shows cereal stages from a field, individual plant, tiller separated and main stem view. To get a copy of the Cereal Staging Guide, call Kelly at 780-674-8268.

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2/5/14 12:14 PM

news » livestock

APRIL 28, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Anaplasmosis no longer reportable

Lamb substitution suspected

As of April 1, 2014, anaplasmosis is no longer a federally reportable disease and is now listed as an immediately notifiable disease. This means that only laboratories will be required to report suspected or confirmed cases to the CFIA, which will no longer respond to anaplasmosis cases detected on farms and it will no longer conduct surveillance for anaplasmosis to verify Canada’s status for the disease. Cattle producers in Alberta will work with their herd veterinarian to deal with cases of anaplasmosis. For more information, visit www.agric.gov.ab.ca and search for “anaplasmosis status change.”

Britain’s Foods Standards Agency (FSA) said it will begin a new round of tests on lamb takeaway meals from restaurants across the U.K. after the consumer watchdog found evidence of cheaper substitutes such as beef and chicken. An FSA review of local authority sampling data from July to December 2013 found that 43 out of 145 samples of lamb takeaway meals contained meat other than lamb. Other meat species identified included chicken and turkey. No samples were found to contain horsemeat, it said. A scandal broke around Europe in January last year when traces of horse were found in frozen burgers sold in Irish and British supermarkets.

Three questions from Alberta cattle producers

What’s the fallout from COOL and overconditioned cattle, and are hormones in beef a cause for concern? Hormone lowdown

Editor’s note: We asked a sampling of producers what was on their mind as they wre heading into the growing season, and then reporters Alexis Kienlen and Jennifer Blair went looking for answers. COOLing prices

Lethbridge-area stockman Andrew Goodrich asks, “Given the strong cattle prices and ongoing exports to the United States, is country-of-origin labelling (COOL) hitting cattle producers as hard as we’ve been told it is?”

ith Canadian cattle prices north of $2 a pound and exports to the U.S. sitting at over 30 per cent more than the same time last year, the doom-and-gloom predictions surrounding countryof-origin labelling don’t seem to hold much weight. But producers are being hit by COOL harder than they think, said Brenna Grant, research manager at Canfax. “If COOL were not there, Canadian cattle prices would be higher yet,” she said. “Yes, we have high prices. Yes, producers are finally back in the black. But that doesn’t mean COOL is not having the same level of impact.” The Canadian cattle industry is experiencing a “historically wide basis” right now, and when the per-head prices are this high, the impact on producers is “very significant.” The Alberta-to-Nebraska cashto-cash basis averaged -$27.50/ cwt in March, which added up to a $357.50-per-head discount for Canadian producers. This is the widest since May 2005. “The basis right now is wider than it was during BSE,” said Grant. “There is money being left on the table because of COOL.” Despite strong price signals to expand their herds, many producers are holding off this year. That’s related to COOL, Grant said. “We’ve got price signals to expand, but if we have lower prices than U.S. counterparts, the U.S. industry is more likely to expand before the Canadian industry.” Grant expects the national

herd will begin to rebound slowly in 2015, but COOL will have widespread consequences for Canada’s cattle herd. Some cattle producers aren’t being hit as hard by limited export options because of their proximity to the border — but U.S. packers will continue to choose American cattle when given the option. “The reason we continue to see exports to the U.S. is because those U.S. packers are dependent on Canadian cattle to operate,” she said. “(But) U.S. packers cannot afford to pay as much for Canadian cattle when they have additional costs incurred on them… As long as COOL is in place, Canadian cattle will be discounted compared to U.S. counterparts.” — Jennifer Blair

Overconditioned cows

Cochrane cattle producer Trish Henderson says cows on the family ranch, LLB Angus, are fatter this spring because they were fed more during the cold winter. She asks, “I’m wondering what effect that has on calving and calves.”

verconditioned cows present some challenges, said Cody Creelman, a veterinarian with Veterinary Agri-Health Services in Airdrie. If a first-calf heifer is overweight when she calves, the fat deposition affects her udder permanently, and she will have a decrease in milk production over her entire lifespan because overweight cows also have problems pushing milk out. And they can have trouble calving if there is too much fat around the pelvis. (This can also result in fat prolapses out of the vagina.) “There’s also the possibility that calves could even be bigger in general from a lot of excess nutrition, but usually that’s more in extreme cases, as opposed to a little on the chubby side,” said Creelman.

Olds-area cattle producer Sarah Leach asks, “How do hormone levels in implanted cattle stack up against other foods, and do those hormones have an effect on the people consuming them?”

Andrew Goodrich Still, Creelman wishes he was seeing cattle on the heavier side this year. “Mostly in our practice, we’re kind of seeing the opposite right now with decreased nutrition towards the end of this feeding period, just because feed supplies have been so tight,” he said. “It’s not broad spectrum, but there are isolated cases of producers getting so low on feed that their cows are definitely losing some condition and they’re just hoping for green grass right now.” People have been inquiring about range cubes, feed pellets, and any other additional feed sources, he said. In general, animals should have a body condition score of 3.5 out of five during calving. During peak lactation, the animals will lose some condition. Another issue this calving season was finding ground that wasn’t covered under snow. “They would push out areas with their tractors, just so they could have a nice level field so they can manage their cows,” he said. “But you can only do that for a certain area, so it really condensed the calving ground for sure. Even now there are snowdrifts in calving pens, and the winter has made it a logistical nightmare. But it’s getting better every day.” Producers are also more worried about scours because of snow and some are expecting scours that are worse than usual. “We’re not seeing that yet, but it’s definitely a concern,” said Creelman. — Alexis Kienlen

&W launched its “Better Beef” campaign in September, and says consumers have been eating it up and sales have greatly increased. But beef from cattle raised without added hormones isn’t actually better, because implanted beef isn’t actually bad, says Beef Cattle Research Council science director Reynold Bergen. “Growth promotants are a really, really good way to get more efficient production from the beef side, but they’re a really, really bad way for humans to get hormone supplements,” said Bergen. Producers have been using hormones since the mid-1950s, mainly to encourage faster lean growth. “If you can produce the same pound of beef with less feed, it’s economically more efficient, but it’s also environmentally and ethically more responsible,” he said. Implants have been extensively studied and have no sideeffects for cattle, said Bergen. “These growth promotants and all the other products we’re using… are not just cooked up by some mad chemist in a bathtub,” he said.

Sarah Leach

Nor is there any evidence to support charges that added hormones in beef have caused girls to enter puberty earlier, he said. “Researchers haven’t found any association between implants and any problems in humans,” said Bergen, adding hormone levels in implanted cattle and those that don’t receive them are “really, really similar.” “Open cows and bulls… are going to be higher than an implanted steer, and an implanted steer will be higher than an unimplanted steer or heifer. But the numbers are all pretty close.” Other foods and beverages have much higher levels of hormones. “If you drink one can of beer, you’ll get 7-1/2 times as much estrogen as you would from one serving of beef from an implanted steer.” A 75-gram serving of raw peas has 250 times the estrogen of implanted beef, and the levels in raw cabbage are an astonishing 1,500 times higher. “And humans are producing this stuff every day,” said Bergen. “The average adult male produces 50,000 times as much estrogen every day as you would get from one serving of beef. You’d have to eat 2-1/2 million hamburgers a day to get as much estrogen as the average adult woman produces in a day. “If you’re trying to cheat in the Olympics, implanted beef isn’t the way to do it.” — Jennifer Blair

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 28, 2014

Highly contagious IBR on the rise in cow herds Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis causes abortions and leads to massive losses in a naive cow herd By Peg Strankman af contributor

ooner or later folks say, everything old is new again. In the case of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), that is not what a cattle producer wants to hear. “We are seeing IBR raising its head again in cow herds,” says Dr. Cec Ruschkowski of Oyen Veterinary Clinic. The disease is often viewed as a feedlot problem associated with stressed calves. While it certainly causes illness in calves, secondary infections such as bacterial pneumonia can be treated with antibiotics. But when IBR shows up in a naive cow herd, it causes significant economic loss in the current year and possibly in years to come. The IBR virus causes abortions in cow herds with no immunity, and losses up to 60 per cent have been reported, said Les Byers, manager of veterinary services for beef cattle and beef genomics with Zoetis. And a cow that has aborted an IBR-infected fetus will usually not rebreed in the same year. “IBR caused by the bovine herpesvirus-1 can stay latent until stress reactivates it and the carrier begins to shed the virus,” said Byers. “The virus is highly contagious, spread primarily through nasal secretions.” It was being controlled for

There are combination vaccines that protect cows against IBR, as well as diseases such as BVD, with just one vaccination. many years by vaccination programs and closed herds, said Ruschkowski. However, cattle are moving more often and producers are bringing in cow-calf pairs for summer grazing. As well, many producers buy replacement heifers where formerly they raised their own.

Complacency

And some producers have become complacent. “Unfortunately some producers have backed off on their vaccinations,” said Ruschkowski. “Some thought it was a way to save a couple of bucks during BSE times. Some are questioning the need and effectiveness of vaccines.”

Ruschkowski said she’s had conversations with young producers who question the need to have their kids vaccinated against certain childhood diseases, and take the same view when it comes to herd health programs. “These producers have no first-hand experience with the

significant losses that can be caused from these diseases,” she said. The vaccines available for IBR are quite effective, added Byers. There are also combination vaccines that protect cows against IBR, as well as diseases such as B VD, with just one vaccination. Modified live virus vaccines may cause abortions if administered to improperly primed pregnant cows so producers are advised to consult their vet on vaccine choice and timing. A properly vaccinated cow will pass, via colostrum, some protection to their calf that lasts six to eight weeks. After that, the calf needs to be vaccinated. Ruschkowski promotes a herd health program as an important part of an overall biosecurity plan for a livestock operation. Producers should find out what bugs are going around and get on a vaccination program, she said. They should also keep a separate set of boots and coveralls to use when helping out neighbours. IBR is not a reportable or notifiable disease in Alberta and vets maintain client confidentiality. However, there is a veterinary practice surveillance network so they can gather information and discover when a disease such as IBR is increasing.

New co-ordinator for Verified Beef Production program

hannon Argent of Cremona is the new provincial coordinator for the national Verified Beef Production (VBP) program in Alberta. Argent will be managing education and on-farm audit services for cow-calf and feedlot producers participating in the national beef on-farm food safety program. Formerly an animal health technician, Argent has also worked in both the genetics and communication sectors. She, along with her family, own a cow-calf operation northwest of Calgary. The program is in the midst of adding modules for biosecurity, animal care, and environmental stewardship. “There are interesting changes coming and VBP is important to the beef industry,” said Argent.

“Our operation was VBP registered in 2012, meaning a thirdparty on-farm validation audit was completed to review practices conforming with the program. We feel there is a need to keep up with new developments for beef customers and the interesting additions coming.” The Verified Beef Production program defines industry-sanctioned practices relating to onfarm food safety and soon in other areas. The trademarked program is owned by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, and defines low-cost standard practices for cow-calf, backgrounding and feedlot operations. Practices and expected outcomes are outlined in the VBP Producer Manual, available at www.verifiedbeef.org.

“There are interesting changes coming and VBP is important to the beef industry.” Shannon Argen

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APRIL 28, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Upswing in cattle business offers chance to reinvest in the ranch Business specialist says now is a good time to make investments in productive assets, herd health, and yourself Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development release

“Improving working capital, and investing in productive assets, herd health, and yourself can all bring excellent returns.”

ow that the cattle business seems to be on the upswing, cow-calf producers should consider investments to boost their bottom line, says an Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development farm financial specialist. “Improving working capital, and investing in productive assets, herd health, and yourself can all bring excellent returns,” said Rick Dehod. “Herd health is an important part of the ongoing operations. Sometimes, when funds were tight, a vaccination protocol may not have been followed as this expense was perhaps thought of as not critical. Not following a herd health protocol often leads to poor financial performance due to disease and lack of creature comfort. This just compounds cash flow problems and, ultimately, the viability of the operation.” Improvements to working capital should also be considered, he said. This includes bringing accounts payable current or to within 15 to 30 days, paying down small loans, and bringing any operating loan down to within its margin limit. An acceptable current ratio — current assets divided by current liabilities — should be greater than two, he said. Dehold also advises putting some money away for lean periods and doing month-by-month cash flow projections. “By doing a cash flow projection, you can plot out your sales and your feed requirements. You can see the months when your margins are

Rick Dehod

Improving the profitability of a beef herd goes beyond buying more cows. PHOTo: thinkstock positive and (you) will have funds to invest or reduce your financial commitments. By comparing your projections to actual, you can make those adjustments to continue to manage a positive margin.” Talking to your lender and preparing a year-end net worth state-

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ment and a projection of project income and expenses for 2014 is also a smart move, he said. “A lender wants to know the financial health of the farm business. They will look at a few key ratios to see if an operation is in good financial shape and whether

EDITION

MAY 8-9-10th 2014

it can afford more debt and ultimately more risk.” Investing in productive assets is another strategy Dehod recommends. Among the items to consider are: • Whether investment in depreciating assets, such as pickups and

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new equipment, is the best use of capital. • Lowering the age of your cow herd by retaining some heifers and culling some older less productive cows. • Locking in positive margins through the Cattle Price Insurance Program. “Choosing an insured price provides a ‘floor’ price that acts as protection against the market being lower than the insured price for the month that the insurance is purchased for,” he said. “If the market goes above the insured price, producers can still take advantage of the upside and sell calves for that higher price.” Last, but not least, Dehod recommends investing in yourself. “Strong business management skills will enhance your decisionmaking skills, and help give you the competitive edge,” he said. “You are a professional and all professionals embrace lifelong learning to stay at the top of their game.”

By Meredith Davis reuters

.S. pork production is likely to decline about two per cent this year due to the spread of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, or PEDv, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its monthly livestock outlook report. Live hog prices were expected to increase as a result of the pig virus, the report said. As of March 1 the U.S. hog herd was at 57.048 million head, 3.7 per cent lower than a year ago with losses largely attributed to PEDv, USDA said. PEDv was first confirmed in the United States in May 2013. The pig virus has since spread to hog farms in 30 U.S. states and industry analysts estimate six million to seven million pigs have died in the U.S. due to the virus. The pig virus is also present on hog farms in four Canadian provinces and several areas in Mexico, USDA said. PEDv caused significant losses

of pre-weaned piglets in the December-February pig crop, lowering the pigs-per-litter rate by 5.5 per cent to 9.53. USDA sees slaughter-ready hog prices increasing by eight per cent to range between $73 and $79 per cwt in the third quarter. Tight supply of pigs will lower slaughter numbers and reduce pork production but heavier-weight hogs are expected to partially offset the pork product decline, USDA said. USDA also expects fourthquarter hog prices to increase by 12 per cent to range between $67 to $73 per cwt and sees heavier-weight hogs again offsetting the expected declines in slaughter numbers. U.S. pork exports will likely decrease while pork imports will increase due to reduced domestic pork production, the report said. U.S. pork exports in 2014 were seen at 4.85 billion lbs., down 2.8 per cent from the previous year. While pork imports were seen at about 915 million pounds, up 4.1 per cent from 2013.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 28, 2014

Hands-on synchronization programs have many benefits BEEF 911  Some suggestions for running a successful AI program for beef cattle BY ROY LEWIS, DVM

e have come a long way from the synchronization programs of one shot of prostaglandins, observation, and breeding according to heat. Prostaglandins are still a very useful tool in combination with other drugs and intravaginal devices containing progesterone. Many of you will have seen the numerous protocols put out for synchronization — American Breeders Service has a very nice summary in one of its catalogues. The only problem with so many choices is it might become confusing and if protocols are changed, or times are not strictly adhered to, disastrous conception rates follow. In my experience, the best protocol (for a number of reasons) is the CO-Synch plus Intravaginal progesterone-releasing device (CIDRs). The program’s chart is available for download at www.albertafarmexpress.ca/ files/2014/04/synchronizationprotocols-2011-beefcow-beefheifer.pdf. If you choose to use the program, get the flow sheets laminated and put up on the fridge or someplace else so it can easily be followed. With this program, there is a slight difference in the time period after the prostaglandin shot — six hours shorter for heifers — so please note that before proceeding. Keep in mind this program is really good for allowing full synchronization so all cattle are bred at the same time. Some producers do AI a few if they come into heat early but the rest are AIed at once. There is no need for heat detection. Cattle are run through the chute a total of three times including when they are AIed over a 10-day period, so your handling setup must be decent. Good facilities reduce labour and decrease stress on the cattle, which helps improve conception rates. As with handling of any of the medicines, keep them from freezing or getting too hot. Since shots are intramuscular, it’s very important to use at least a 1.5-inch needle and give the injections in the neck where you can get into the muscle. Because the dosages of both the GNRH and prostaglandin are smaller, it is critical to get them all into a site where they will be absorbed quickly. Fertagyl, Fertiline Cystorelin and Factrel are the GNRH products used and efficacy is good on all. As far as the prostaglandins are concerned, the two oldest ones

are lutalyse and estrumate but there are also several generic products licensed. Estrumate is two cc whereas lutalyse is five cc. A very common mistake arises from changing products, but not changing the dosage — with underdosing or overdosing the result. Both mistakes (especially the underdosing) can greatly mess with any synchronization program. So follow the label closely.

Pregnancy rates

We always hear about the high and low pregnancy rates, but a good average on a timed AI program is 50 per cent. The time frames are critical, so don’t synchronize more than you can possibly AI in three hours. Semen must be placed at the ideal time and, of course, follow all the arti-

ficial insemination protocols for handling thawing and placing the semen. Keep the area clean and use a good absorbent towel to clean the vulvar area. As with any breeding program, cattle must be cycling and in good nutrition with an adequate body condition score (2.5 to 3.5), and have a sound mineral program. Cows should be 60 days from calving so their uterus has fully involuted (contracted down) and they are ready to rebreed. Cattle on a rising plane of nutrition (so they are gaining weight) will also have a better conception rate. The demands of a calf sucking milk on the cow needs to be replaced by good-quality feed in the cow’s diet otherwise cycling will not happen. For heifers you can use a program using MGA (Megesterol

Acetate) that keeps the heifers from cycling. This is fed for 14 days and then removed. The heifers come into heat but it is not a fertile heat, so they are given a shot of prostaglandins to complete the synchronization and the heifers are then bred according to detected heat. The majority will be in heat over about a three-day window. All synchronization programs require a strict adherence to detail and timing. There are many different protocols out there, so work with your veterinarian to determine which ones they have had the best success with. Another good reference will be your semen sales rep as they usually have experience with AI and often work with local veterinarians to implement synchronization programs.

If in doubt about any of the details, ask questions. Ideally it is best if men do the handling of the prostaglandin, as there is a huge safety factor for women because — as the label clearly states — this product should not be handled by women of child-bearing age. If you implement a synchronization program, you can cut down on bull power and can utilize the best genetics in the industry. It all can work well and a desirable conception rate achieved as long as all the steps are followed in order of sequence and at the proper times. May the conception rate be high this spring! Roy Lewis is a Westlock, Albertabased veterinarian specializing in large-animal practice. He is also a part-time technical services vet for Merck Animal Health.

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.

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APRIL 28, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

U.S. Appeals Court reconsiders its own COOL ruling In a surprising twist, a full panel of district judges will hear arguments again May 19 BY DAVE BEDARD AGCANADA.COM

U.S. Appeals Court which last month rejected North American meat and livestock industry groups’ plea to halt U.S. mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) on meat has scrapped its own ruling and will rehear the case in May. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit announced April 4 it has vacated the March 28 ruling by a panel of its judges and will rehear the case en banc — that is, with its full court of district judges — on May 19. The full court has ordered the plaintiffs — led by the American Meat Institute (AMI) and

including the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) and Canadian Pork Council — and the defendants, led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to refile their briefs by April 18 and “supplemental briefs” by April 21 on the specific case law being reconsidered. “This is particularly significant as the rehearing was initiated by the Appellate Court itself and the case will be heard by all the judges on the court,” the CCA said in a statement.

Earlier decision

The March 28 judgment being vacated had upheld a previous U.S. District Court decision rejecting the AMI-led plaintiffs’ request last July for a preliminary injunction against COOL, pending the outcome of the groups’

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COOL-related lawsuit, also filed last July in District Court. The July suit and request for a preliminary injunction stem from USDA’s revised COOL rule, which was set last May and tightens the previous COOL rule’s labelling requirements. The issue to be considered en banc on May 19 is whether, under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment (freedom of speech), companies can be compelled to provide mandatory disclosure of “purely factual and uncontroversial” information, such as COOL demands on mandatory meat labels, if the government requires it for reasons other than preventing deception. The full court will review relevant case law as it applies to this issue.

GETTING OUR PIECE OF

Little to no benefit

The North American Meat Association (NAMA), hailed the court’s decision as “a positive development.” “Constitutional cases are notoriously difficult, but we have a strong case and with this action the Appeals Court is signalling that it is taking our argument very seriously,” said NAMA CEO Barry Carpenter. “We remain hopeful that consideration of the case by the full court will lead to an injunction against the protectionistic and costly country-of-origin labelling rule that is hurting livestock producers and meat companies while offering little benefit to consumers,” AMI general counsel Mark Dopp said in a separate statement.

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Beef 2014: International Livestock Conference This year’s conference will focus on the opportunities of marketing the whole carcass. With the trends that are taking shape today, there are many opportunities for the future. Hear an update on the economy – local and globally, the market opportunities of the whole carcass locally and globally – and what you can do to enhance this opportunity and why it is important to you.

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USDA considers mandatory reports of deadly pig virus outbreaks BY TOM POLANSEK AND MEREDITH DAVIS CHICAGO / REUTERS

he United States is considering rules that would require outbreaks of a deadly pig virus to be reported to the government in an effort to improve tracking of the disease, which has already spread to 30 states, an industry group said on Monday. Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) has killed millions of baby pigs since it was first detected in the United States a year ago. PEDv has crimped hog supplies in the United States and sent prices to record highs. It remains unclear how the virus entered the country, and farmers have struggled to find ways to contain it. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has discussed the option of mandatory reporting with the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, said Tom Burkgren, executive director of the association. PEDv, which is nearly always fatal in piglets, has been difficult to track in part because veterinarians are not required to alert government officials of its presence. USDA is “currently evaluating additional options for addressing this virus,” a spokeswoman said in an email without elaborating. The veterinarians’ association has been publishing weekly data on outbreaks, based on voluntary reports, since PEDv was first discovered in the United States. The virus does not affect humans. Burkgren said it may be too late for mandatory reporting to have significant benefits to the livestock industry. “You’ve got a very widely distributed disease,” he said. “At this point in the outbreak, I think we’d have to see some really good reasons to start reporting it.” Further discussions with the USDA are expected later this week, Burkgren said, adding that the government had not yet given details on how mandatory reports could potentially be used. Mandatory reporting is already used for viruses such as African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease. The USDA can quarantine animals with African swine fever and restrict the movement of infected animals.

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 28, 2014

LOW WATER HINDERS GERMAN SHIPPING

U.S. WHEAT STABLE

Low water levels after dry weather continue to prevent cargo vessels from sailing fully loaded on the Rhine and Danube rivers in Germany, increasing transport costs for freight owners, traders said Apr. 22. Low water is hindering shipping on the Rhine from Duisburg and Cologne to Germany’s border with Switzerland, traders said. Water levels have been low on the river since the beginning of April. The entire German section of the Danube River has been too shallow for vessels to sail fully loaded since late March, traders said. The Rhine and Danube are important shipping routes for commodities such as grains, minerals and coal.

U.S. wheat futures fell last Tuesday after forecasts for favourable weather and confirmation that the U.S. crop was unharmed by cold weather the previous week. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in a weekly report, kept its good-to-excellent rating for the U.S. wheat crop unchanged at 34 per cent. The move surprised some analysts who had expected a slight decline due to dryness the previous week. The USDA said six per cent of the corn crop was planted as of Apr. 20, below the average of 14 per cent and the nine per cent expected by analysts. The first estimate on soybean plantings is expected this week.

Extreme weather patterns happening more often Research suggests human-induced warming may dial up extreme weather’s severity BY DANIEL BEZTE

or much of this past winter and early spring the jet stream over North America was stuck in a very resilient pattern, with a ridge of high pressure over the West Coast and a deep trough of low pressure over the eastern half of the continent. The West Coast ridge brought mild weather to those regions, with many areas of Alaska recording their fifth-warmest winter on record. Farther south, the persistent ridge kept most of the winter rains away from California. This resulted in up to 98 per cent of California being in a state of drought. In fact, the winter period from November to January ended up being the worst winter drought on record for that state. Over central and eastern regions the persistent trough of low pressure, or polar vortex, brought well-below-average temperatures, with the area around the Great Lakes and west into Manitoba consistently showing some of the coldest temperature anomalies on the planet this winter.

I am beginning to think we may be seeing this jump in our general global weather patterns starting now.

as a bit of a surprise, the study also concluded this extreme jet stream pattern could not form if it were not for the influence of human-caused warming; “there is a traceable anthropogenic warming footprint in the enormous intensity of the anomalous ridge during the winter of 2013-14.” The study found that while ridges of high pressure and troughs of low pressure (dipole pattern) like we saw this winter have often occurred in the past, the intensity of these features has been increasing since the year 2000. While there are definitely natural factors that help to intensify these patterns, the researchers found when they ran their weather models with and without including humancaused global warming, the models could not reproduce the type of event we saw this winter unless global warming was included. They concluded the dipole “is projected to intensify, which implies that the periodic and inevitable droughts California will experience will exhibit more severity. The inference from this study is that the abnormal intensity of the winter ridge is traceable to human-induced warming but, more importantly, its development is potentially predictable.” The authors of the study also point out that while this particular pattern had a high pressure ridge over the west and low pressure to the east, the opposite pattern has just as much likelihood to occur and will likely be of the same intensity.

The blender analogy

New research recently published in Geophysical Research Letters entitled “Probable causes of the abnormal ridge accompanying the 2013-14 California drought: ENSO precursor and anthropogenic warming footprint” (Wang et al. 2014, doi: 10.1002/2014GL059748) indicates this jet stream pattern was the most extreme pattern ever recorded. While this came

Now, I know there are some of you out there who are thinking that this is just another global warming story that helps to cover the pro-global warming people’s butts. If it’s warm, it’s global warming; now if it is a cold pattern, it is once again global warming! Here is how I look at this: in the past I have used an analogy of a blender filled up and set at a constant speed to represent the current state of the atmosphere. If you watch the material in the blender you will

This issue’s map shows the precipitation across the Prairies during the 30-day period ending on April 16. Luckily for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the eastern half of Alberta, precipitation to end the winter has been very light, with large areas seeing less than 60 per cent of average. The western half of Alberta, roughly from a line going from Whitecourt to Red Deer to Lethbridge has been wet, with amounts ranging from near average to the east of this line to upwards of 200 per cent just west of Calgary. see it’s difficult to follow or predict where individual particles go (day-to-day weather); if you step back and look at the whole blender you can see a general pattern to the overall flow (climate). Now, it is not disputed by anyone that humans, through our actions, are creating conditions that are increasing the amount of energy remaining in our atmosphere. The big question right now is, where is all of this energy going? Is it only heating the air, oceans or ground, or, more likely all three at the same time? The key point is that the amount of energy in the system is increasing. Now let’s go back to the blender analogy. What happens to the material in the blender when we increase the power or speed (add energy)?

We see the overall pattern rapidly change; it jumps around for a short period into a chaotic pattern before settling down into a new pattern. A few years ago I theorized our atmosphere is going to undergo something very similar to that of a blender changing speeds, but I figured it was still a decade or two away. I am beginning to think we may be seeing this jump in our general global weather patterns starting now. As the research pointed out, the weather models show these anomalies in our weather patterns increasing not only in intensity but also duration and occurrence. So, while everyone wants to think global warming means only warmer weather for everyone, as usual, Mother Nature is making it much more difficult.

This does little to help make us feel better as we struggle through a cool start to spring, and some of you are probably hoping the weather pattern switches and we get a nice big ridge of high pressure over the summer, but let me leave you with this. Imagine what a summer would be like if we saw temperatures that were 8 to 12 C above average. So far our warm summers have only been 2 to 4 C above average. Under an extreme pattern we could easily see temperatures much warmer. Do you want to go through a summer with little rain and daytime highs in the upper 30s and overnight lows in the mid-20s? Sounds kind of nice until you have to live it… and the likelihood of seeing this happen seems to be growing.

APRIL 28, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 28, 2014

AFSC spring price endorsement option

What’s on your mind?

Questions from Alberta Farmer readers

Carry-out and wheat prices, fusarium resistance, and feeding a hungry world were on these producers’ minds

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.

Alberta Agriculture market specialist Neil Blue reminds that one option for protecting the price of new-crop canola is the AFSC spring price endorsement (SPE). For example, the 2014 canola spring price under the SPE is $9.75/bushel. ”A payout under the SPE would be triggered if the fall price drops by more than 10 per cent (i.e. 97-1/2 cents/bushel) from this spring price. If the calculated fall price is below $8.77-1/2 cents /bushel, there will be a payout under the SPE.” For more information, visit www.agric.gov.ab.ca and search for “spring price endorsement.”

Editor’s note: We asked a sampling of producers what was on their mind as they were heading into the growing season, and then reporters Alexis Kienlen and Jennifer Blair went looking for answers. Bin buster

Bentley-area grain producer Jason Lenz asks, “How will the large carry-over affect new-crop wheat prices?”

Bentley-area producer, Jason Lenz

T:15.58”

t’s the world market that sets wheat prices — what Alberta farmers have to worry about is basis. AgCanada estimates total ending stocks for all grains will be 22.8 million tonnes at the end of the crop year on July 31. That raises the spectre that grain bins will still be full at harvest and the wide basis seen this winter will continue. But that’s too gloomy an outlook, said market analyst Errol Anderson. “My feeling is that the rail transportation problem that we had this winter will be alleviated,” said Anderson, president of ProMarket Communications in Calgary.

“The transportation issue hurt our movement and in part, it created this surplus, but in the big scheme of things, it boils down to world demand.” Once there is strong grain movement to port, cash bids for Canadian growers will go up as long as world demand is strong, he said. “My thought is that we’ve gotten through that, and it is eventually going to repair,” he said. “So the terrible basis levels we saw this winter will be a thing of the past.” Anderson is not alone in his view. If sales and rail movement are strong, the carry-over number will drop dramatically from July 31 to early fall, said Derek Squair, president of Agri-Trend Marketing. At the upper limit of 11,000 rail cars a week, stocks will drop by one million tonnes weekly, although Squair said something in the 8,000car range is more likely. So would a flood of Canadian wheat onto world markets depress prices? No, says Anderson. We’re a distant sixth in the list of top wheatproducing nations, and Anderson notes that what happens to wheat production in Europe, China, the U.S., and Russia this year will have the biggest impact on prices. “We’re going to respond more to the global market than we will to

the domestic situation,” he said. — Alexis Kienlen

GMOs the answer?

Grain farmer Kevin Bender, who also farms in the Bentley area, asks, “When can we expect fusarium resistance in wheat? And can we get it through conventional breeding, or is biotech necessary?”

ad news for cereal growers — true resistance to fusarium head blight probably isn’t possible, and no amount of biotech is going to change that. “(Fusarium) very much ties into climate and the weather,” said Dean Spaner, a plant breeder at the University of Alberta. “That’s

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why it’s been so hard to find genetic resistance to it.” Fusarium creates poisonous microtoxins on grain seeds — a “severe problem for marketability” in cereals, such as wheat and barley, grown for human consumption. And while plant breeders have made some headway on developing fusarium resistance in wheat, the disease still crops up in hot, humid weather conditions, like those in southern Alberta. It comes down to “nature versus nurture,” said Spaner. “The relationship between nature versus nurture in fusarium is very low,” he said. “Even if we have a

see QUESTIONS } page 18

APRIL 28, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

QUESTIONS  from page 17 perfectly resistant plant, you’re still going to get the disease (in the right weather conditions).” Selecting for resistance can also be a problem because microtoxin levels and resistance to fusarium are “not entirely correlated.” “You might have a plant that looks clean and have more fusarium damage than a plant that looks like it has a lot of fusarium.” But GMOs are not the answer, said Spaner. “Whenever any company says it needs a GMO solution, it’s not really telling the truth,” he said. Resistance to herbicides or pathogens is controlled by a single gene. Fusarium resistance or yield, on the other hand, are “controlled by many, many genes.” “There are very few traits that are controlled by one gene in plants or animals.” Cereal breeders have found markers for a gene with some resistance to fusarium and can breed lines that have that marker. But there’s no guarantee the progeny will be resistant. “We can use tools of modern biotechnology… and still the trait or expression of resistance is controlled about 80 per cent by the weather,” said Spaner.

“With fusarium especially, we can’t really rely totally on genetics. We have to rely on standard practices of agronomy.”

“It’s just not going to be a matter of producing more. It’s going to be a matter of producing better and more efficiently.”

— Jennifer Blair

Feeding the world

Paul Wipf of Viking Colony wonders if farmers can feed nine billion people by 2050, and asks, “Will we be able to rise to that occasion?”

t’s possible, but it’s not just about the farmers,” says Vancouver futurist and consultant Christophe Pelletier. In fact, we could do it without producing more food. “Some people say that about 30 to 40 per cent of food is wasted,” he said. “You can do the math. Today we feed six billion people and one billion are underfed. If you add in the third that’s missing, we can feed nine billion people today.” The key will be improving storage and transportation infrastructure. “I’ve heard that China was wasting the same volume of wheat that Canada exports. And it’s just because its infrastructure is not in order.” When it comes to production, it’s more about the how rather than the how much, said Pelletier.

CHRISTOPHE PELLETIER

“It’s just not going to be a matter of producing more. It’s going to be a matter of producing better and more efficiently.” Precision agriculture, with its focus on putting inputs where they are needed, is a big step in the right direction, he said. Farmers all around the world need to work together to improve yields, said Pelletier. “There are differences in yields between farmers. Even in the same region, you have a farmer who is going to have a great yield and one who is going to have one that’s not so great. Why?”

And while farmers who are less productive will need to raise their game and match the output of top producers, consumers in well-off countries need to change, too. “It’s kind of crazy that in the western world, people eat twice as many calories as they should and twice as much protein as they should and then they’re surprised that they’re twice as big as they should be,” he said. “We’re going to have to talk about diet, not just in volumes, but the impact on the environment.” — Alexis Kienlen

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BRIEFS Deadline extended for world conservation agriculture conference WCCA RELEASE / Organizers of the 6th World Conference on Conservation Agriculture (WCCA) have extended the early registration deadline to May 1. WCCA will take place June 22-25 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This conference promotes the sharing of knowledge about sustainable agriculture with the intent of catalyzing change in practices and policies throughout the world. Each day of the event features one of the following keynote speakers: • David Montgomery is the author of Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations. He sees no-till farming as “the hope for a new agricultural revolution that might help us avoid the fate of previous civilizations.” • Howard G. Buffett operates a 1,500-acre family farm in central Illinois and oversees three foundation-operated research farms comprised of 14,100 acres. Buffett has travelled to 130 countries and documented the challenges of preserving biodiversity and providing resources for the growing global population. • Dwayne Beck manages the Dakota Lakes Research Farm, a unique co-operative arrangement between South Dakota State University and agricultural producers. Through the research farm’s programs, producers can profitably adopt conservation practices. Optional tours extend the scope of the conference with a one-day tour in Canada and a 3.5-day tour in the United States. These tours showcase farms that have used agricultural conservation systems for 20 or more years. For more information visit wcca6.org or call 765494-9555.

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

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Businessman and farmer Howard Buffett is among the keynote speakers at the international conference to be held in Winnipeg June 22-25.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 28, 2014

Water management beats precision fertilizing on irrigated land Higher organic matter gives crops a big nitrogen boost and so it’s better to focus on water management, study finds By Helen McMenamin

af contributor / lethbridge

of the manual. “You have to get everything right to produce a highquality crop.” Watching crops for signs of moisture stress and hand checking soil moisture levels is time consuming and can result in irrigating after plants have lost yield potential. The AIMM model gives an irrigator realtime information on the moisture available to a crop and the rate it’s being depleted. During early stages of crop growth, running the pivot fast keeps water application rate below the infiltration rate, which prevents run-off — which both wastes water and causes soil erosion. But having it run over the field a few times builds up water reserves for later in the season when the crop’s peak Under irrigation, yields from the soil zones didn’t change when the fertilizer was adjusted to precisely match the perceived needs of each water demands exceed the capacT:8.125” area. PHoto: thinkstock ity of the system.

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t seems fertilizer prescriptions matched to the needs of various areas of a field doesn’t give much of a return under irrigation. That’s the conclusion of an Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development study of responses to applying fertilizer according to the needs of the field’s soil zones. The project included dryland and irrigated fields with varying slopes, knolls and depressions that were soil tested separately. Prescription maps were developed and used to apply fertilizer at rates tailored to each zone. Under irrigation, yields from the soil zones didn’t change when the fertilizer was adjusted to precisely match the perceived needs of each area. “Water drives yields with irrigation as much as on dryland,” says Doon Pauly, a provincial soil fertility research scientist. “One site caught several big dumps of rain that left water pooled in the low spots. And even though those areas stayed very wet, perhaps as much as 60 per cent of the field did not yield as well as it should have, due to underirrigation. “We generally assume applied nutrients are the main drivers of yield, but from our work, I think you’d be hard pressed to pay a consultant’s fee for a prescription map for variable-rate fertilization. Management of irrigation seems to be a much more important yield driver.” Estimating the amount of nutrients an area needs for maximum yield is difficult because of the high levels of organic matter that have built up in irrigated soils, said Pauly. At last winter’s Irrigated Crop Production Update, scientists reported nitrogen releases from organic material are about 100 pounds per acre a year on irrigated land. A similar amount is stored in new organic matter and can be used by following crops. Heavy tillage to bury crop residues, a common practice in the past, exposed organic matter and so it more quickly broke down into nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide that were lost into the atmosphere. Probably only 40 to 60 pounds of organic nitrogen remained in the soil with those practices. It’s also less with low-residue crops in the rotation. “With such a high level of nutrient cycling in the soil, modifying nutrient levels has only very small incremental effect on crop yields in most fields,” said Pauly. “I’d say apply a blanket rate of major nutrients across the whole field and pay more attention to water management unless you’re already doing a fantastic job of irrigation management.”

see the current Growing Forward program included funding for more efficient irrigation systems. Last year, Alberta Agriculture published a new irrigation management manual that focuses on running low-pressure systems for optimum yield of any crop and efficient use of water. The manual is based on the Alberta Irrigation Management model (AIMM), an online system that accounts for actual weather — along with the soil type of each field and the crop and its development stage — to show how much of the soil moisture is being used by the crop. “Irrigation application timing and amounts, fertilizers, disease risk, fungicide application, (and) harvest decisions are a complex process,” says Alan Efetha, author

APRIL 28, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Alberta Agriculture releases 2014 edition of CropChoice$ The software has 40 dryland and irrigated crops scenarios, and can calculate probabilities for achieving margins ALBERTA AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT RELEASE

he 2014 edition of CropChoice$ planning tool is now out. “CropChoice$ is a crop budgeting and risk management software program that’s updated every year with recent crop insurance information from AFSC (Agricultural Financial Services Corporation) and projected crop costs,” said Jason Wood, crops economist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “It allows farmers to calculate expected margins and the likelihood of achieving those results for various crop plans.” Producers can use the software to adjust individual crop costs and evaluate the effects that different risk management strategies will

have on their operation, such as adjusting crop mix, purchasing crop insurance, and renegotiating land rental agreements. It also provides probabilities for achieving margins for different cropping plans and scenarios. “Typically, with traditional budgets you use a single estimate of yield and price, which only gives you a simple average,” said Wood. “But CropChoice$ recognizes that future crop yields and prices cannot be precisely known. Based on this it takes the revenue calculation one step further to include your own price and yield expectations. It does this by allowing you to enter high, low, and most likely price and yield values. The program then calculates the likelihood of achieving every possible profit outcome based on price and yield expectations.”

CropChoice$ is a crop budgeting and risk management software program that’s updated every year with recent crop insurance information from AFSC... JASON WOOD

There is a lot of value to producers in being able to build different cropping scenarios, he said. “The initial value comes from being able to narrow down your cropping options to find the mix of crops that gives you the highest possible profitability while maintaining agronomic stability and

taking into account your own personal risk preferences,” he said. “A bonus of creating a primary crop plan is that it helps you to know what your second-best option is, and this helps with contingency planning. Once you are in the field you may not have time to evaluate last-minute options, and the

key thing to note is that the wrong option can be costly.” The software can also help producers firm up which crops to grow, he said. “If you are still uncertain, the software provides the additional information that can help you with those selections,” said Wood. “It has up to 40 dryland and irrigated crops depending on your location. Each scenario handles up to 32 fields and you can run up to eight scenarios that directly compare and contrast the risks and returns of each crop plan. Then, based on the results, you can choose a crop plan that works for your operation.” For more information, go to www.agric.gov.ab.ca and type ‘cropchoice$’ in the search box or call 310-FARM (3276).

Grain companies invest in new and upgraded facilities WINNIPEG / REUTERS / STAFF

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argill Ltd., Canada’s thirdlargest grain handler, will increase storage and rail car capacity at Morris, Man., the latest in a series of expansions by Canadian grain companies. The move, announced April 9, comes as the country’s grain handlers and railways have struggled to move a record-large harvest to port, causing a massive backlog. Cargill said it would add 20,000 tonnes of grain storage space for a total of 30,000 tonnes and equip the site to allow 100 rail cars to load grain, nearly double the current number. The expansion is expected to start within the next month and be complete in time for the 2015 harvest. Cargill did not disclose the cost. In the last year, Cargill has also announced expansions for its grain-handling sites at Viking, Alta., and Rosetown, Sask. Cargill’s rivals are also boosting capacity. Viterra, owned by Glencore Xstrata PLC, said last week it would build a new grain elevator at Kindersley, Sask., while CWB has started work on the first two of its network of elevators near Portage la Prairie, Man., and near Colonsay, Sask. The facilities will feature 33,900 tonnes and 42,000 tonnes of storage and are scheduled to be open in time for the 2015 harvest, CWB said. Richardson International Ltd. last year said it would spend $40 million to expand its western Canadian grain-handling and crop input centres, and received approval from Port Metro Vancouver to expand its grain terminal there.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 28, 2014

As population soars, so does demand for trees and shrubs

Nursery stock is being shipped in from as far away as Minnesota to meet the demand for trees and shrubs By Tony Kryzanowski af contributor

While it was a good fit for Brown and his family, he said it’s not for everyone. “It’s like anything to do with agriculture,” he said. “There’s high risk and high rewards if you’re in the right spot at the right time. We spend a lot of time forecasting where we think market trends are going to go.” Funding is available under Growing Forward 2 for producers wanting to investigate this business opportunity, noted Bozic. The program covers 50 to 75 per cent of some non-capital costs related to researching and planning a new business venture. Under the business skills development portion of the program, successful applicants are eligible for reimbursement for 75 per cent of the costs of approved training courses. More information is available at Soaring demand for trees and shrubs has Tree to Tree Nurseries general Trim: 8.125” manager Cody Brown (and son Miles) smiling. PhotoS: Tony Kryzanowski www.landscape-alberta.com.

Trim: 10”

lberta’s population is booming, and so is demand for landscaping materials such as trees and shrubs. “There’s a phenomenal amount of growth available in the industry right now,” said Cody Brown, general manager at Tree to Tree Nurseries in Gleichen. “Alberta producers cannot grow enough material to meet market demand… the only thing that will slow you down right now is the price point you want to sell your product at.” The province has about 4,000 hectares dedicated to tree nursery businesses, and the sector generates an estimated $77 million in sales annually. But nursery stock is being shipped in from as far away as Minnesota. Given the demand, the government would like more Alberta farmers to take a serious look at this business opportunity as a supplement to existing operations or something that could develop into a full-time business, said Toso Bozic, agroforester with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “Opportunities in this business are numerous as cities and towns grow in population and the demand for landscaping trees in new housing developments and on acreages increases,” said Bozic. “One of the steady needs for trees is on boulevards, streets and in city parks and playgrounds.” And it looks like demand will continue to rise. The province has added a million new residents since 2000 and the provincial government estimates there will be another 2.2 million Albertans by 2041. The aging population is also working in favour of new entrants to this industry. “Lots of operators are getting on in age and are going to retire,” said Arnold Heuver, a former Alberta nursery manager who is now a consultant in the sector. “However, it takes a gutsy, aggressive, solid business-minded person to succeed in this business because it is very much a front-end-loaded investment with little return for the first five years for a startup.” In addition to patience, potential investors must be very knowledgeable about growing a variety of tree species, said Bozic. Brown learned the nursery business while working with his father and grandfather on a nursery near Rimbey in the mid-1980s. Drawn by a desire to work outdoors and have time for travel in winter, he came back to it after earning a degree in environmental studies. He established his nursery in 2003 and sold his first trees in 2005. The company sells both deciduous and coniferous trees with some native to the province and others

that have proven successful in this growing zone. That includes paper birch, hawthorn, ash, Siberian larch, ornamental crabapple, hybrid poplar, aspen, cherry, mayday, and lilac — all common varieties seen throughout the province. They also grow conifers, especially spruce, pine and larch varieties. Planning is key as different tree varieties reach marketability at different times, said Brown. For example, it takes about 10 years for a coniferous tree to achieve 10 feet in height, whereas trees such as birch, ash, and elm reach a salable height in as little as four years. “You should start marketing the first day that you plant a tree,” he said. “The old saying that if you build it, they will come just isn’t true when it comes to producing nursery stock. I would say that the majority of my time as general manager is spent on marketing and customer relations.”

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APRIL 28, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Family farms key to fighting hunger and maintaining community An international conference hears that family farms of all sizes face challenges BY NICOLAS MESLY

AF CONTRIBUTOR / QUEBEC CITY

e live in a paradoxical world where we can send men on the moon while we find normal that one billion people, mostly farmers, suffer from hunger. This problem won’t be solved by market forces and international trade but by providing them with the tools to feed themselves.” That was the message from Ibrahima Coulibaly, FAO special ambassador for Africa, at a meeting here in early April, one of five regional dialogues to mark the FAO’s 2014 International Year of Family Farming (IYFF). Coulibaly joined participants from 35 organizations from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico at a meeting held in the same Chateau Frontenac hotel where the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was formed almost 70 years ago. Participants called on governments to play a role in protecting family farms. “For 30 years, most of the governments have disengaged themselves from the agriculture sector. It is time to reconsider the role of the state and involve civil society to support family farms,” said Auxtin Ortiz Etxeberria, co-ordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Rural Forum (WRF). The WRF was the instigator, with the support of the government of the Philippines, of the IYFF. It emerged from the 2008 financial crisis which saw food riots spread in more than 40 countries due to soaring prices of commodities such as rice, wheat and corn.

“

Defining a family farm

“It is hard to define what is family farming in North America, where at two extremes you have peasants who cultivate a few acres to grow food for their own consumption, to the world’s grain trader Goliath, Cargill, which is family owned,” said Jean-Michel Sourisseau, from the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD) based in Paris, France. Sourisseau proposed a definition of family farming by measuring whether the work is provided by part or the whole family, relatives or strictly employees, land ownership status, the source of capital and whether production is for family use or local or export sale. Sourisseau said many govern-

Lester Pearson, later a Nobel Peace Prize winner and prime minister, speaking at the formation meeting of the FAO at the Chateau Frontenac hotel in Quebec City. The IYFF meeting was held in the same hotel. PHOTO: NATIONAL FILM BOARD ments have realized that the capital- and technology-intensive North American production model, which has reduced the number of farmers and emptied rural areas, may not be apppropriate for the rest of the world. “Brazil has created two ministries of agriculture, one to respond to the development of agriculture by supporting small farmers and providing quality food for urban poor, and the other directed to support big agribusiness and international markets.”

Targeting women

Mexico has succeeded with development of commercial agriculture in the northern part of the country, said Miguel Angel Martinez Real, director general of Mexico’s agriculture, livestock, rural development, fishing and nutrition secretariat. “But our current biggest challenge is to upgrade millions of marginal farmers from self-consumption agriculture to a transition and consolidated model,” he said. Under a five-year plan, the newly elected Mexican government intends to beef up its programs to support the 5.4 million small farmers who occupy 52 per cent of the national area and account for 28 per cent of Mexico’s raw

MPowering

farmers to transform agribusiness.

agricultural and fisheries production value. “We are targeting the women who play a key role in the Mexican family farming and try to retain young people who move massively from rural areas,” Martinez Real said.

The next generation

The conference heard that while agriculture is on a larger scale in the U.S. and Canada, there are still challenges for family farms. The aging farm population — average of 58 years in the U.S. and 55 years in Canada — means a challenge for establishing the next generation. “Wherever you are, farming has to be profitable. My son would never have taken over the family farm should it not have been for the 15 ethanol plants in our area,” said Doug Sombke, a fourth-generation farmer and president of the South Dakota Farmers Union. The number of farms in Canada and the U.S. declined more than 10 per cent in the last two censuses. In Quebec alone, there are now fewer than 30,000 farms. “How many farms will we have in 10 years?” asked Maxime Laplante, secretary general of Union Paysanne, who blames the high cost of supply management quotas for discouraging new operations.

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In the U.S., while the number of large farms is increasing, so is the number of small ones. “Thousands of young people from New York and Boston are establishing themselves in agriculture,” said Russel Bocock, a Canadian producer and member of the Deep Root Organic Cooperative, who sells his fruit and vegetables to Whole Foods, the large U.S. natural food grocery chain. “Producers’ collective bargaining is key to support family farms

in an extremely concentrated business environment,” said Marcel Groleau, president of UPADéveloppement international, which helped organize this forum. Participants agreed that passion for farm work is a key ingredient to interest young people in farming, coupled with better education, public extension services, access to information through high-speed Internet, good roads, social services and crop insurance programs.

IYFF conference recommendations 1) To encourage the establishment of new generations in agriculture. 2) Financing should be made more available for young farmers to buy expensive agriculture land or to find ways to rent on a long-term basis. Public policies should protect these lands from being bought by multinationals or investment funds. 3) To ensure a decent farm income by adopting more fair trade rules. 4) To ensure access to education, training and technology. 5) Policies and food prices should also recognize the multifunctionality of agriculture. Family farmers are not only producing food or energy, they are embedded culturally and economically in their community and they should be rewarded for being the stewards of the environment.

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APRIL 28, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

DINNER’S ON

Young colts and a mare dine on a round bale, west of High River, Alta. With the recent snows and cold, pastures are late coming into grass, and producers are still feeding hay. PHOTO: WENDY DUDLEY

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Two senior executives of China’s biggest pork producer WH Group Ltd. received a combined $600-million payout for helping the Chinese company seal last year’s record $4.9-billion takeover of U.S.-based Smithfield Foods Inc., an unusually high incentive for an acquisition. The bonus, disclosed in a public filing, is equivalent to just over 12 per cent of the amount WH Group paid for Smithfield, a purchase that was key to turning it into the world’s largest pork company. “This is very unusual — normally you would incentivize management for overall long-term performance and not simply for executing a transaction — which is part of their job,” said David Webb, a Hong Kong-based corporate governance advocate. The rewards were disclosed in the IPO prospectus. Stock-based payments are often used to retain top talent and reward senior employees for executing large and complicated mergers or purchases. The filing shows that WH Group issued its chief executive and an executive in charge of its mergers and acquisitions a combined 818.7 million shares worth $597 million. Wan Long, the company’s 73-year-old chief executive and chairman who is also known as China’s “Chief Butcher,” was issued 573.1 million new ordinary shares in October 2013, the filing shows. Yang Zhijun, an executive director in charge of investment, mergers and acquisitions and financing for WH Group, was issued another 245.6 million ordinary shares.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 28, 2014

High-tech U.S. farm machines harvest big data, reap privacy worries Farmers want to know if companies will make money with the data harvested from their machines, and whether they will be compensated BY KARL PLUME

MOLINE, ILL., / REUTERS

teps away from a replica of the revolutionary 1837 steel plow at tractor company John Deere’s headquarters sits a combine as big as a tank and packed with computer wizardry that harvests huge volumes of valuable data as it gathers crops. The original “plow that broke the plains” enabled American farms to grow massive swathes of wheat and corn with its lightness and durability. The modern machines are using data to take another giant step in efficiency and output. But as big agricultural companies pour money into data storage and analytics tools that aim to turn micro detail on crops and furrowby-furrow weather into more grain for less pain, concerns are growing about how the data might be used and how secure such a gold mine for traders is. Now, at an unprecedented meeting April 10, the national independent farmers’ group the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) will try to hammer out guidelines with Deere and fel-

low industry heavyweights such as Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer — which together control nearly three-quarters of the U.S. corn seed market. “Virtually every company says it will never share, sell or use the data in a market-distorting way — but we would rather verify than trust,” farmer Brian Marshall of the AFBF told the U.S. House Committee on Small Business in February. The data would be a gold mine to traders in commodity markets and could influence farmland values. While there are no documented instances so far of data being misused, lengthy contracts packed with open-ended language and differing from one supplier to the next are fuelling mistrust. Privacy and security concerns surrounding data gathering are not confined to agriculture. Ford chief executive officer Alan Mulally has called for U.S. legislation and guidelines to protect drivers’ privacy as more vehicles are connected to the Internet. While only around 14 per cent of farmers use this kind of precision agriculture technology at the moment, its popularity is expected to soar over the coming years.

Controlling who owns and accesses big farm data is a growing concern among farmers. PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

“Now is the time to step in and make sure that some of the concerns we have get answered,” said Mary Kay Thatcher, a senior director at the AFBF.

products used as well as GPS location information, can be used and disclosed by the company “for any purpose.”

Who really owns the data?

For now, the core value of farm data collected lies in precision planting, farm management and maintenance services sold to farmers. But big agricultural companies see big profits ahead. John Deere has said precision services and its “intelligent solutions group” would be a major piece of doubling its size from a $25-billion company in 2010 to a $50-billion company by 2018. Monsanto underscored its devotion to farm data analytics when it bought weather datamining company the Climate Corporation in October, describing it as its “entry ticket into a $20-billion market opportunity.” The companies insist their goals are simply to help farmers and point out it is not worth their while to sow distrust. “It’s really important that we earn the trust of the farmer. Doing anything that’s malicious or that is low integrity is certainly not a good way to run a business,” said

Companies like Monsanto, DuPont Pioneer and tractor giant John Deere maintain that data produced on the farm by a farmer belongs to that farmer. But property guidelines surrounding data, which can be copied, aggregated and transmitted at lightning speed, are not as simple as that. John Deere’s enterprise privacy statement, tucked away on its website at http://www.deere. com/wps/dcom/privacy_and_ data/privacy_and_data_us.page, shows that the company can collect data on Deere equipment or any devices connected to it such as an iPad, unless the farmer opts out. The list of the company’s uses for that information includes customer service and marketing, but also “analytics.” And data gathered by its machines can be retained by Deere indefinitely. DuPont Pioneer says anonymized data, including yield and

Focus on farmers

Climate Corporation chief executive officer David Friedberg. But for a commodities trader or investment bank, a broad pool of real-time data about how many acres of soybeans U.S. farmers planted or whether corn yields in Iowa were above expectations could be a gold mine. Already, feedback from crop tours organized to inspect the harvests are keenly watched and can move markets. And the concern is that a company might be enticed to venture beyond agronomic services, given that a public company must put its shareholders — and therefore profits — first. Farmers are keen to know if they would get a share too. “I want to know if my data is going towards market intelligence or if it’s strictly being used for agronomic reasons. If it’s market intelligence, I’d like to be compensated for it,” said Mark Kenney, a 34-yearold corn and soybean farmer in Nevada, Iowa. “I’m not going to take them at their word. I’d like to see some sort of legal protections. I don’t want my data going somewhere it’s not supposed to go.”

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NEWS » Markets

} dry start

APRIL 28, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Good start for EU wheat

CWB buys Prairie West

Wheat crops in the European Union’s top four producing countries have survived a dry start to the spring, but more rain was needed in coming weeks, traders and analysts said Apr. 17. French analyst Strategie Grains forecast the EU’s 2014 soft wheat crop will rise two per cent or 2.1 million tonnes on the year to 137.2 million tonnes. France’s harvest will be 36.71 million tonnes, hardly changed on last year’s 36.75 million tonnes, Strategie Grains forecast. In Germany a slightly smaller crop is expected. British wheat production is expected to rise sharply following an increase in planted area.

CWB, the former Canadian Wheat Board, said that it has agreed to buy Prairie West Terminal Ltd., a farmer-owned grain-handling company in Saskatchewan. CWB, which already owns 10 per cent of Prairie West, would pay $2,109.23 per share, or more than $43.2 million subject to approvals that include a vote by Prairie West shareholders. Prairie West owns five grain-handling facilities in Saskatchewan. The deal adds to CWB’s small but growing network of grain-handling sites. CWB has started building grain elevators at Colonsay, Sask., and near Portage la Prairie, Man., after last year buying Mission Terminal Inc. from Upper Lakes Group.

Canola supplies still large, but more acres expected U.S. winter wheat crop ratings are deteriorating By Phil Franz-Warkentin

CE Futures Canada canola contracts were stronger during the week ended April 17, but ran into resistance to the upside. Arguments can be made on either side of the market, but it will take outside influences to keep canola moving higher. A rally in the Chicago soy complex provided the catalyst for the move up in canola, although the gains in the Canadian market were much more subdued as the fundamentals remain relatively bearish. Canola remains underpriced compared to soybeans, but the reasons it remains relatively cheap are slow in going away. While grain movement is starting to show some improvement across the Prairies, canola supplies remain very large. Farmer selling was said to be coming forward as cash prices edged upward, especially as new-crop pricing opportunities were starting to look a little more favourable. While the carry-out will likely be record large, canola still remains one of the most profitable cropping options in Western Canada and another big crop is likely in 2014. Statistics Canada releases its first official acreage projection of the year on April 24, with the general consensus calling for at least a million more acres of canola from the 19.9 million seeded last year. The situation is different in soybeans, which climbed to their highest levels in eight months during the week. The old-crop supply situation is getting so tight in the U.S. that the country has been importing Brazilian soybeans to meet its domestic demand. Newcrop contracts were also up on the week, but remain at an inverse to the front months. One bearish factor overhanging soybeans these days is Chinese demand, or lack thereof. The country is a big buyer of soybeans, from both the U.S. and South America, but has defaulted on purchases recently as the prices climb.

Wheat stronger

All three U.S. wheat contracts posted large gains during the week, as drought concerns in the southern Plains and uncertainty over unrest in Ukraine provided support. Weekly winter wheat crop ratings deteriorated once again in the U.S., and should see further downgrades going forward. Nearly all of Kansas, the country’s largest wheat producer, was reported to be in some state of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

©thinkstoCK On top of the lack of moisture, temperatures dropped below freezing on a couple of nights during the week, damaging some recently emerged fields. Aside from U.S. production problems, tensions in Ukraine could also cut into spring wheat plantings there and limit grain movement from the region. However, the global wheat supply situation remains more than sufficient to meet demand for the time being, which may limit the upside potential in the wheat market. Corn was hard pressed to move higher with the neighbouring wheat

and soybean markets, and actually ended the week with small losses after chopping around within a narrow range. The attention in corn now is on U.S. planting conditions. While cool and wet conditions have pushed back spring field work across much of the Midwest, the weather forecasts were turning drier. U.S. growers can also make short work of seeding the corn crop, given the proper conditions. Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

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

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 28, 2014

Desperate for credit, China importers default on soy cargoes Defaults are at their highest level since 2004 as lenders tighten their controls on credit By Naveen Thukral and Niu Shuping

singapore/beijing / reuters

hinese importers have defaulted on at least 500,000 tonnes of U.S. and Brazilian soybean cargoes worth around $300 million, the biggest in a decade, as buyers struggle to get credit amid losses in processing beans. Three companies in the eastern province of Shandong had defaulted on payments for shipments as they were unable to open letters of credit with banks, trade sources said April 10. A string of defaults on loans, bonds and shadow banking products in recent weeks has highlighted rising credit risks in China, partly fuelled by signs the economy is slowing. Commodity firms, along with semiconductor and software companies, are among the most at risk of credit defaults, a Reuters analysis of more than 2,600 Chinese companies showed. Up against the cooling economy and signs that authorities will not step in every time a loan goes bad, Chinese banks are becoming more hard nosed and selective about whom they lend to. “There are five to six (panamax) cargoes which are unable to be unloaded at ports because buyers cannot open LCs (letters of credit) and there are no LCs for an additional five to six cargoes floating on the sea,” one Beijing-based source said. Each panamax cargo is for 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes. Defaults by buyers in China, which imports 60 per cent of the soybeans traded in the world, would likely cap a rally in global prices as they coincide with bumper supplies from Brazil and Argentina hitting the market. “The reality is that the world is reliant on Chinese imports of soybeans to maintain this price strength,” said Luke Mathews, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. “It is putting a question mark on the sustainability of these prices.” The default on 500,000 tonnes of soybeans is the biggest since 2004, when buyers walked away from an estimated 30 contracts, resulting in a loss of close to $700 million, traders said. Industry sources said some of the companies defaulting have been using soybean imports to secure cheap financing, with interest rates on letters of credit as low as two per cent and allowing delayed payment of several months. Having imported large amounts, some of them even

sell the oilseed at a loss, as a way to liquidate their stocks and plow cash into more profitable businesses. Crushers are losing 500-600 yuan ($81-$97) for processing a tonne of soybeans, compared with a 600-yuan profit in the fourth quarter of last year during peak consumption and when some shipments were delayed. China imported 15.35 million tonnes of the oilseed in the first quarter, up 33.5 per cent on a year earlier, according to official customs data issued on April 10. “Crushers are making big losses while downstream product meal is not selling very well,” said an official at a body, which oversees soybean imports under the Commerce Ministry. “If you crush beans in China today you lose $80-$100 a tonne,” said a Singapore-based senior executive with a global trading company that has processing facilities in China. “This is really discouraging people from buying beans and we expect the real impact will be felt in the third quarter.” Demand for soymeal has been hit by outbreaks of bird flu, cutting appetite by as much as 20 to 30 per cent in the FebruaryMarch period, analysts said. Pig farmers have also reduced purchases as they trim herds due to oversupplied pork markets.

U.S. corn, soy stocks to tighten, USDA says Corn stocks-to-use ratio for 2013-14 falls below 10 per cent By Ros Krasny

washington / reuters

rojected U.S. corn and soybean ending stocks for 2013-14 continue to shrink, providing little buffer against any problems with this year’s crops, the U.S. Agricultural Department said April 9. Other highlights of the monthly report were a onemillion-tonne cut to Brazil’s soybean crop, increases to both U.S. and global wheat stockpiles, and a jump in global corn production. Citing export demand, USDA lowered U.S. corn ending stocks, or carry-out, by 75 million bushels to 1.331 billion, below the trade guess of 1.403 billion. Barley and oat stocks were also trimmed. The stocks-to-use ratio for U.S. corn in 2013-14 will be 9.9 per cent, the USDA said, down from 10.9 per cent forecast in March and 13.7 per cent as recently as December. In general, the lower the ratio, the higher the potential for prices to climb. The season average farm price for U.S. corn was raised by 10 cents per bushel, to $4.60. “It sets the stage for us for moving into the growing season. Now, I think the market this week will be more linked

to the weather forecast,” said Brian Basting of Advance Trading. Some analysts said the report suggested U.S. corn plantings would increase from the 91.7 million acres forecast by USDA last week, as farmers sense bigger profits. “Guys like planting corn, and now they can make money planting corn. So the reality is, we’re going to plant more corn. I think you can easily add to the corn number another two million to four million acres planted, and substantially change the look of the U.S. harvest,” s aid Mike Nort h of First Capitol Ag.

Bare-bones soybean stocks

Even after a record crop in 2013, the United States will end the season with a barebones 135 million bushels of soybeans on hand, down 10 million on the month. “They still really haven’t convincingly solved the bean stocks. I think it is going to continue to support the front of the market,” said Art Liming, futures specialist, Citigroup. Projected soybean exports were hiked by 50 million bushels, but imports were raised by 30 million to a record 65 million. USDA cited “prospective large ship-

ments from South America” during the second half of the marketing year. “One can really question whether U.S. ports can handle 65 million bushels of imports. We’re an export country, not an import country,” said Karl Setzer of MaxYield Co-op. “I think USDA is just toying with stuff to make this (soybean balance sheet) work.” Brazil’s soybean crop was hit by warm temperatures and limited rainfall in the south through mid-February, USDA said in making a second straight cut to the crop.

China wheat imports down

On the cusp of harvest U.S. 2013-14 wheat carry-out was raised by 25 million bushels to 583 million, in line with forecasts. Stocks increases were projected for most wheat classes although soft red winter was lower. Expected global wheat stocks rose unexpectedly by almost three million tonnes, to 186.7 million, on lower imports. Chinese wheat imports were cut by 1.5 million tonnes, to seven million, with Australia and Canada bearing the brunt of the smaller purchases. Kazakhstan is picking up extra demand from Russia and Iran, USDA said.

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.

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APRIL 28, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Community news and events from across the province

Nuffield scholarship takes agronomist around the world By Jennifer Blair af staff / sylvan lake

t’s the fulfillment of two lifelong dreams at once. “It was always a personal goal of mine to travel and to learn about agriculture,” said Calgaryarea agronomist Daryl Chubb of his experience as a Nuffield Scholar. “Being able to do both simultaneously was a win-win.” Chubb was one of three successful Canadian applicants for a $15,000 travel bursary that funds a minimum of 10 weeks of global travel. His trip started on March 1 in Australia, where he attended a conference with 60 other Nuffield Scholars from around the world. From there, it was off to South Africa, Kenya, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, and Washington, D.C. before ending his trip in Nebraska. Everywhere he saw more similarities than differences. “Although producers are very different in various parts of the world, we are very similar at the end of the day,” said Chubb. “We face the same challenges, such as qualified labour, climate, prices, and government policy. It doesn’t matter where you go.” He met producers “right from subsistence farmers in South Africa all the way to 20,000-hectare farmers in Poland.” “The highlight was being able to meet so many different people and being able to visit companies and people you would never have a chance to otherwise.” In South Africa, the group toured a “very progressive” grain, beef, and swine operation — and saw the other end of spectrum.

what’s

Send agriculture-related meeting and event announcements to: glenn.cheater@fbcpublishing.com April 29: Young Farm Worker Safety Day, Olds College, Olds. Contact: Kathleen Raines 403-346-8101 April 29: Alternative Power, Athabasca Agri-Plex, Athabasca. Contact: Trent or Roxanne 780-675-2273 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 7: Water Well Workshops, Valleyview. (Also May 13, Balmoral and June 5, Flagstaff County.) Contact: Melissa 780-422-1791

Daryl Chubb inspects some white maize in South Africa. Photos: Courtesy Daryl Chubb

In Kenya, a farmer works her small plot of land by hand.

A traditional Masai tribesman tends his cattle herd in Kenya.

“We visited a subsistence operation in the projects of Cape Town, where they were growing small gardens on very poor soil trying to feed themselves.” The different lifestyle of Afri-

can farmers was eye-opening, he said. “They don’t have a lot of space, but they’re happy. They find a plot of land anywhere they can… and do what they can to survive.”

Chubb has another four-week tour and is planning research trials based on some of the learnings he’s picked up so far. “I want to focus on soil nutrition and being able to extract more out of the investment in the fertilizer we apply on a yearly basis,” he said. “How we’re going to do that, I don’t know yet.” For now, he’s just glad to be back home with his wife after seven weeks away. “Being away from home was challenging, but hey, I missed most of the winter too.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

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

Thirteen Alberta youth win $1,000 scholarships 4-H Canada release

Ponoka fundraising auction T making a difference

John Taekema got to see a CFGB work-for-food program first hand in Kenya. Photo: Courtesy CFGB

rganizers of the 13th annual Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) Fundraising Auction in Ponoka were expecting another banner event last week. “We’re hoping for 60 to 70 animals to be donated,” said Arnie Tenbrinke, one of the event’s organizers. “This year we’re also stepping things up a bit by offering a free lunch.” The lunch, Tenbrinke is quick to point out, was donated, as was everything at the April 22 event, held at the Vold, Jones and Vold Auction Company facility. Along with the donated dairy and beef cattle — ranging from heifers to cull cows — individuals and companies donate hay, semen, tickets to sporting events, and many other items. Every penny raised goes to CFGB. “We usually raise about $60,000 to $70,000,” said Tenbrinke. “And the government matches what we raise four to one, so that’s what gets me really excited.” CFGB, which operates in nearly 50

countries, has very low administrative costs, with 97 cents out of every donated dollar going directly into onthe-ground projects, he added. Wendy and John Taekema, who also help organize the auction, got to see some of those projects after travelling (at their own expense) to Rwanda and Kenya in 2012. “John and I wanted to go to Africa to see first hand how things were done there,” said Wendy Taekema. “It’s amazing what they can do with the resources they have.” In Kenya, the couple saw a foodfor-work project to create a type of dugout called a water pan, which collects rainwater during the infrequent rains in the parched country. “What’s really good is that the projects are chosen by the community — because the residents know what they need,” she said. A story about their trip can be found by going to www.foodgrains bank.ca and typing ‘Taekema’ in the search box.

hirteen young Albertans are among the 100 4-H youth given a $1,000 scholarship by the Chrysler Foundation. The “100 scholarships for 100 years of 4-H in Canada” means the foundation is giving $100,000 to mark the organization’s centenary. Nearly 200 4-H youth from across Canada applied for the Ram Canada scholarships by submitting 500-word essays and reference letters. “4-H Canada is very fortunate that the Chrysler Foundation understands the importance of building strong, young leaders,” said 4-H CEO Shannon Benner. “We are very proud of our reputation as a leading positive youth development organization in Canada.” The Alberta award winners are: Cassidy Barnert, Paulina Chiacchia, Kaitlyn Davediuk, MacKenzie Henn, Erik Herde, Michelle Hoover, Kayla Marie Giles, Lee Morey, Brianna Rochelle Layden, Bailey Shandro, Samantha Stretch, Cathryn Thompson, and Rylan Harney. The scholarships are for postsecondary education beginning in September. 4-H has more than 24,000 members and 7,500 volunteer leaders.

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FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Various

410-hrs, 132-ft recirculating aluminum boom, Raven Viper Pro, 7 section autoboom shutoff, autoboom height control, Smarttrax steering, 800 & 380 series tires, 2-yr warranty. $348,000 (204)824-2290 ellisseeds@mts.net

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

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

TracTors

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

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

Contact Sharon

Email: sharon.komoski@fbcpublishing.com

Degelman 10 ft. Snow Pusher Blade JD 2950 complete with ldr. with 3 pth hitch JD 7200 FWA, 740 ldr. with 3 pth hitch JD 4240 complete with ldr. JD 4020 c/w ldr. & new motor JD 2550, FWA CASE IH 485 ldr. with 3 pth hitch JD 7700, 740 ldr. JD 7800, 740 ldr. with 3 pth hitch 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 ldr. FINANCE, TRADES WELCOME 780-696-3527, BRETON, AB

Big Tractor Parts, Inc. Geared For The Future

STEIGER TRACTOR SPECIALIST

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

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

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous 1999 CAT 460 1,400 sep. hrs, rake up $71,000; Road King ground loadstock trailer, 8 x 42.5-ft, will haul 25 cows, $9,000; 2013 Highline 651 Bale Pro, chain floor, twine cutter, big tires, $17,000. Call:(403)665-2341, Craigmyle, AB. ACREAGE EQUIPMENT: CULTIVATORS, DISCS, Plows, Blades, Post pounders, Haying Equipment, Etc. (780)892-3092, Wabamun, Ab. BOURGAULT 38-FT VIBRA CHISEL, 8-in spacings & 11-in shovels w/MTD harrows, w/walking axles all around. $12,500. Phone (780)848-2529. QUONSET NEW, 35X52X18; JD 2420 DSL, 25-ft & 16-ft hay; JD 7410 FWA, 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. Cyclone PTO Fert spreader; Skid mount Cummins motor w/transmission; D343 CAT motor for parts; Bantam C366 w/471 Track hoe for parts; 21-ft Carter Hart PU/reel; MH 13-ft 26 run seed drill w/fert, like new; 1-tonne truck hoist; Ford 6-ft, 3-PT angle blade for 40-HP & bigger tractor; (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. Hit our readers where it counts… in the classifieds. Place your ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifed section. 1-800-665-1362.

RON SAUER

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

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 51’ Degelman Landroller, only done 3,000 acres, as new.... .......................................................... $40,000 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, 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 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 New Holland Trimbal EZ Guide 500 GPS, auto steer & mapping..................................................................$4,000 New Outback S3, guidance & mapping ....................$3,000 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

SOLD

**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**

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • APRIL 28, 2014

ORGANIC Organic – Grains

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Wanted

LIVESTOCK Cattle Various

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

TOP QUALITY POLLED HEREFORDS & Red Angus Bulls for Sale. 2-yr olds & weanlings, Thick easy calvers. Cutbank Cattle Co. Mick Kubinec, Three Hills (403)442-2564

HEAT & AIR CONDITIONING

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

Buy and Sell

anything you need through the

For more information, please contact Sandy at:

1-800-587-4711

LIVESTOCK LIVESTOCK Cattle – Angus 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.

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Charolais Charolais Bulls 2 Yr. olds, B.W., W.W., Y.W., $3,500-$4,000 Ph. (403)325-4695

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Hereford

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

*Please state the Variety & Quantity for Sale

LIVESTOCK Sheep For Sale 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

Specialty

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

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

1-866-443-7444

• Competitive Prices • Prompt Movement • Spring Thrashed “ON FARM PICK UP”

1-877-250-5252

Stretch your advertising dollars! Place an ad in the classifieds. Our friendly staff is waiting for your call. 1-800-665-1362.

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

ATTENTION: YOU MAY BE looking for a new adventure! Check out propertyguys.com or Phone:(403)782-5696.

SEED / 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

SEED/ FEED/GRAIN Grain Wanted

Stretch your

CANOLA WANTED

ADVERTISING DOLLAR!

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

1-800-665-1362

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

FARMING IS ENOUGH OF

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 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.

A GAMBLE...

TRAVEL

BUYING HEATED/DAMAGED PEAS, FLAX & GRAIN “On Farm Pickup” Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252

AGRICULTURAL TOURS

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

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

BOW VALLEY TRADING LTD.

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

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.

REAL ESTATE Commercial Buildings

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Feed Grain

livestock equipment

BuyAndSellAG.ca

HEATED & GREEN CANOLA

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

1-800-665-1362 www.penta.ca

TIRES

BUYING:

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

The Icynene Insulation System®

SEED/FEED/GRAIN Grain Wanted

WE BUY DAMAGED GRAIN Wheat, Barley, Oats, Peas, etc. Green or Heated Canola/Flax

1-877-641-2798

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

*Portion of tours may be Tax Deductible

Select Holidays

1-800-665-1362

1-800-661-4326

www.selectholidays.com

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