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‘Sustainable’ beef a golden opportunity Roundtable president says sustainability initiative can counter By Alexis Kienlen af staff / edmonton

Drenched again South inundated, but it could have been worse

hey’re still trying to nail down what it means, but Canada is at the forefront when it comes to the global effort to create “sustainable” beef, according to the head of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. “You guys are rocking when it comes to sustainability,” said Cameron Bruett. “You’re doing a fantastic job.” Bruett is also chief sustainability officer with the U.S. division of JBS, the world’s largest meat company. The Brazilian giant partnered with the likes of McDonald’s, Walmart, Cargill, and environmental organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund to create the global roundtable. The definition of sustainable changes with the person you ask, but it’s nevertheless a great opportunity for Alberta and Canada, Bruett told attendees at Future Fare, the annual conference of the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency. “Sustainability is a great issue for our industry because no one has the story to tell that we do,” he told several hundred attendees in a packed conference room at the Marriott River Cree Resort. “There is no NGO (non-governmental organization), consumer

The damage to infrastructure will take time to repair, and the effects on many farms and ranches will be long lasting

SEE BEEF } page 7

As flood waters recede, Cecilie and Duncan Fleming’s battered corrals and fencing emerge. Photo: courtesy Cecilie and Duncan Fleming

By Jennifer Blair and Alexis Kienlen af staff

he night Willow Creek flooded was a sleepless one for Cecilie Fleming and husband Duncan. Every hour, the couple slogged through the rain and the mud in their yard just east of the creek and used an electric fence post to measure the rise of the rapidly swelling torrent of water. Two feet became four feet. Four became eight. As the creek rose higher and higher toward where their house sits on a hill overlooking the water, Fleming turned to her husband and said, “Oh shit, what if this is the big one?”

“It was very intense,” said Fleming, a Black Angus seedstock producer west of Granum. “At midnight when you went out there, it almost looked like fake rain. The sleepy little creeks that flow were raging rivers.” The creek began to breach its banks in the early afternoon of June 17, but by then, their 100-head herd had already been moved to higher ground. The Flemings, after all, are no strangers to flooding. “They call them the 100-year floods, but they’re coming every eight years,” she said. “After last year’s flood, we made a decision not to rebuild down there. The infrastructure has been damaged so many times, we just quit putting things in flood’s way.” Last year’s flooding, which devastated the town of High River, destroyed the

Flemings’ corrals and cross-fencing, but this year’s flood was worse, she said. “I think the localized rain intensity, overland flooding, and pooling on the land is greater this year than it was last year,” said Fleming of the estimated seven inches of rain they got. “We’ve got roads just west of here that are still under water. All through the municipalities, there are roads cut, culverts washed out, bridges that may be weakened.”

Saving grace

Across the south, some are wearily facing yet more rebuilding, while others are counting their blessings. A state of emergency was declared in Lethbridge County on June 17, when the

SEE FLOODING } page 6

NEWS » INSIDE THIS WEEK

INSIDE » FREQUENT FLIER

JULY 7, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

LIVESTOCK

CROPS

COLUMNISTS

TOXIC FEED

NIGHT SPRAYING

JOHN MORRISS HERE’S THE DIRT ON SUSTAINABLE AG

Nuffield scholar gains global insights

DOUG WRAY FORAGES DESERVE MORE RESPECT

GENEROUS GIFT Cor Van Raay donates $5 million for new ag-biz program

Concerns mount that ergot in feed is poisoning cattle

RTK makes it possible but does it pay?

A NEW TAKE ON PARASITE CONTROL

Entomologist’s contributions will have a lasting impact on crop production AF STAFF

man who dedicated his life to his passion for insects and his belief in mentorship and collaboration will be remembered by Canada’s entomology and growing communities for his achievements, dedication and intellect. Lloyd Dosdall, 61, an entomologist and professor in the department of agriculture, life and environmental sciences at the University of Alberta, passed away from cancer on June 12. Dosdall’s contributions have left a lasting legacy to crop production. Most entomologists in Western Canada had dealings with him and many of them had worked with him, and he was prominent in national and international circles, said Maya Evenden, associate professor in the department of biological sciences at the University of Alberta. “In 2012, we had the national entomological society meeting here in Edmonton — this happened just after Lloyd was diagnosed, said Evenden. “He had arranged a symposium to talk about crop entomology. At the symposium meeting, every single person who spoke had collaborated with Lloyd. “They were very diverse projects on all sorts of crops and angles of looking at entomology. He had worked with everybody. He was a real collaborator who lent his expertise to lots of people.” Dosdall won several prestigious awards, including the 2010 Alberta Science and Technology Leadership Award for innovation in agricultural science, and the 2013 FarmTech award for outstanding contribution to Alberta’s cropping industry. Following his death, his colleagues dedicated the

CAROL SHWETZ

Entomologist remembered as mentor, collaborator, researcher and friend BY ALEXIS KIENLEN

new Field Guide of Prairie Insects and Natural Enemies to him, honouring him with a tribute in the preface. Dosdall specialized in integrated pest management with an emphasis on the use of beneficial insects for pest control. Key insects that he researched included the cabbage seed pod weevil and the cabbage root maggot. He was an expert on the interaction between pests, the environment and crops, said Jim Broatch, pest management specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe. “Not all of his work was biological, but I think his heart really lay more in the biological control end of things,” said Evenden. “He was really involved, not in a superficial way, but in a way that took time, energy and thought. He wouldn’t step into something without thinking it through and then being fully committed.” Evenden first met the man who would become a close colleague, mentor and collaborator when he was part of the panel who interviewed her for her current position at the University of Alberta. “I didn’t know much about farming in Alberta when I came here but my work is quite applied,” said Evenden, who

“He had worked with everybody. He was a real collaborator who lent his expertise to lots of people.” MAYA EVENDEN

joined the faculty in 2003 and often collaborated on research with Dosdall. “He really helped me to get to know the grower groups and get to know the funding available. He was just really helpful in facilitating research in many different directions.” “I think I was his first PhD student,” said Broatch, who first met Dosdall when he was an agriculture fieldman in the Peace Country and Dosdall was with the Alberta Research Council in Vegreville. Eventually Broatch moved to Alberta Agriculture, and the two men developed a professional relationship. Dosdall became Broatch’s PhD supervisor at the University of Alberta in the early 2000s. “Lloyd was always supportive. When you had a question, he always answered it and it was never a quick answer — he made sure you understood it,” said Broatch. “I don’t know if I’ve ever bumped into that type of support before. “You always learned more than you ever thought you would from asking a question. It always seemed to go further, and you had a deeper knowledge of what you were looking at. He wasn’t just a mentor, he was a friend. When he talked to you, you always felt like you were a friend of his.” Dosdall was a high school teacher for six years, and his gift for teaching remained with him throughout his life, said Broatch. He was a man who believed in sharing his expertise and made time for everyone, whether they were fellow entomologists, students, or growers, said Evenden. “He felt that the knowledge he had should be disseminated to end-users. That included a scientific community and a farming community.” Evenden spoke to Dosdall a few weeks before he passed away.

Lloyd Dosdall was a leading figure in entomology, and a mentor and collaborator to scores of people. “By that time, he had been told that there was nothing more that they could do for him, and it was a matter of time. He was still just so incredibly positive. He was telling me at that time what types of equipment from his lab that he would like me to have. He was just that kind of thoughtful individual.” Dosdall is survived by his wife of 39 years, Teresa Kay Height-Dosdall, three sisters, and numerous extended family members. akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

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New stampede facility destined to be a hit Agrium Western Event Centre features state-of-the-art design and is ‘a perfect space for both cattle and horse events’ By Dianne Finstad af contributor

isitors to this year’s Calgary Stampede will be able to enjoy a new facility to learn about many aspects of agriculture. And users of the building are thrilled to have a long-awaited permanent spot to showcase their events in what is considered a oneof-a-kind facility in Canada. The doors of Agrium Western Event Centre officially opened June 21. The $61.2-million building in the middle of Stampede Park has a viewing arena able to accommodate 2,500 people, and seats have even been designed for an unobstructed view around cowboy hats. There isn’t a spot on the open concourse that doesn’t offer a clear view of whatever action is underway. Glassedin suites at one end could soon become the hottest spots during the stampede thanks to their view of the racetrack. There’s also a 20,000-square-foot multi-purpose exhibit space, which can serve as a warm-up arena. But one of the key objectives behind the design is the education component. “This facility shows the stampede’s commitment to the concept of bringing rural and urban together, which is challenging in today’s world,” said Bob Thompson, president and chairman of the Calgary Stampede. “It will become a community gathering place. “A lot of science went into the development of this building,” he added. “We travelled across North America to get the ‘best of the best’ in concepts for the arena.” That includes animal-friendly features, such as slip-resistant rough concrete floors. There are also six-foot-high solid arena walls, for improved animal and competitor safety. Ottawa and the province each contributed $25 million, and the

building was finished a month ahead of schedule, despite last year’s flooding, which damaged many areas of Stampede Park. Agrium was also a significant donor, and a big supporter of Journey 2050, a year-round classroom initiative that will focus on sustainable agriculture. It’s expected 10,000 middle school children will take in the day-long interactive program annually, which is designed to eventually go global online (www.journey2050.com). For those who have been involved with the Calgary Stampede for many years, the building has been a long time coming. “We were told the (former) Big Top tent was a ‘temporary facility,’” said Pete Fraser, a stampede volunteer for well over three decades and current chair of the Western Performance Horse Committee. “It was a temporary facility that lasted 30 years, for those involved with canine, bovine and equine. But as I look at this building, it was worth the wait.” Pam Barker has been involved for years with the sheep committee, which hosts the World Stock Dog Championships during the stampede. “This is a much more intimate arena for us than the Saddledome,” said Barker. “People can get closer and see the dogs at work. We’re also excited to be able to have all our sheep-related activities here, under one roof. “I love that old Agriculture Building, and there’s a lot of history there. But this modern, clean, beautiful facility makes agriculture look like it has come into the modern world,” she added with a smile. Megan McLeod, a member of the Jumping Pound 4-H Beef Club, had a chance to be one of the first users as an exhibitor in 4-H On Parade, held prior to the official opening. “It’s a cool, new facility,” said McLeod. “It’s a much-needed improvement over the Big Top. I started showing sheep there when I was just seven, and then

Stampede president Bob Thompson does the ribbon-cutting honours while Pete Fraser and Megan McLeod (on far right) look on. Photos: Dianne Finstad

“A lot of science went into the development of this building. We travelled across North America to get the ‘best of the best’ in concepts.” Bob Thompson

beef cattle when I was nine, and I’m 18 now. “It’s great to have everything together now. Before, when you had to go between the Ag Building and the Big Top, your fitting (of the show animal) could be ruined in two minutes. When we used it for 4-H On Parade, there was lots of room, and the wash racks were awesome.”

It’s pretty on the outside, but users of the Agrium Western Event Centre are going to love the well-designed back-of-the-house and staging areas. McLeod also shows horses, and has been to arenas across the U.S. “This is a perfect space for both cattle and horse events with lots of potential,” she added. Along with being the new home for Ag-tivity in the City, the centre

will have a full program during the 10 days of the Calgary Stampede. Events already booked in include the Arabian Association Region Championships, the Canadian Team Roping Finals, Grassroots Finals Rodeo, and Royal West.

The thieves weren’t caught — but the clerical error was RCMP Livestock Investigator Cpl. Dave Heaslip says the case still shows the value of branding cattle and recording tag numbers By Alexis Kienlen af staff

o err is human. A Provost-area producer recently learned this the hard way, when he discovered cattle he reported stolen had actually been in the herd the whole time. “It was an honest mistake,” said Cpl. Dave Heaslip, RCMP livestock investigator for northern Alberta. “He’s a good cattleman. He’s got all his cattle branded, that’s why we went (all out) on this thing here.” A few weeks ago, the Alberta RCMP Livestock Investigation Unit reported 59 mixed-breed cows worth about $80,000 were stolen from a property near Czar. “If that many branded cattle are miss-

ing, it’s very realistic that we’re going to find them,” said Heaslip. Alerts were sent out to the media and to inspected livestock markets, and the owner put up a $25,000 reward. But the problem was a bookkeeping error, which occurred when a newly bought group of steers was accurately recorded but also mistakenly listed in the heifer records as well. “His total count would have been out,” said Heaslip. “He checked his records three times. So I asked him to check them a fourth time and he did an actual count. “The silver lining… is that a lot of people have started branding their cattle. They’re stepping up to the plate when they’re worth this much money.”

Thieves are less likely to touch cattle that are branded, said Heaslip. Producers generally do a good, hard count on cattle when they put them out on pasture, but don’t do another count until they bring their cattle back home, he noted. It’s not uncommon for one or two animals to go missing, but the three- or four-month window between counts makes it very hard to find missing cattle, especially if they are not branded and the producer hadn’t recorded their CCIA tag numbers. “If you’re missing some, you’ve got the CCIA tag numbers and that’s good insurance,” said Heaslip. “Brand your cattle, ensure that you’ve got the CCIA tag numbers recorded.” akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

The best way to track your cattle is to brand them and record the CCIA tag numbers, says Cpl. Dave Heaslip, RCMP livestock investigator for northern Alberta. photo: supplied

JULY 7, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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Looking below the surface for sustainable agriculture

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Increasing world food production means having healthy soil able to effectively deliver water and nutrients

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ome of the world’s top soil scientists and conservation agriculture exponents convened for the sixth World Congress on Conservation Agriculture in Winnipeg last month. The message from speakers was on one hand sobering, if not frightening — massive soil erosion continues around the world, and in both developed and undeveloped countries. The good news is that there is a solution — conservation agriculture practices which disturb the soil as little as possible to protect it from wind and water. It was encouraging to hear discussion of the real issue in maintaining and increasing world food production. In the end, it isn’t varieties or pesticides or even fertility, at least the simple NPK type. Doing those things right helps, but if the plant doesn’t have healthy soil to deliver water and nutrients, they’re just wasted. While every conference participant would agree with that, there were some unnecessary diversions from the common theme. Some proponents of what we’ll call “conventional” conservation agriculture were a bit too trigger happy in criticizing organic farming. While there is no question that technology such as pesticides and GM crops is often the subject of overthe-top statements, they mainly come from consumers or unscrupulous marketers, not from organic farmers themselves. In fact, the growing success of the conservation agriculture concept worldwide

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Consistency and high food safety standards have given Canada a ‘quality advantage’ in countries like China

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Another recurring theme was the importance of crop rotation as a component of conservation agriculture. Prairie canola growers pushing their rotations are familiar with the dilemma, but they are paragons of virtue compared to farmers on one- or two-crop rotations elsewhere. This raises some interesting questions. If farmers are in subsidy programs, should there be requirements to do rotations better? If that happened, what would be the market implications for Canadian farmers if more Americans add canola or pulses into their rotations? Should rotations include forages, and how would that affect the livestock industry? Perhaps the most encouraging theme from the conference is that conservation agriculture is now seen as applying to farms of all sizes in all countries. Implementing conservation agriculture techniques can’t depend on having large machinery on large acreages created by driving smallholder farmers off the farm and into the city. On the other hand something needs to be done to stop the excess oxen-driven tillage that causes the annual loss of billions of tonnes of topsoil in Africa. Accordingly, there are now projects to develop one- or two-row zero-till planters that can be pulled with oxen or inexpensive two-wheel tractors that look like a large rototiller. We’ve been hearing a lot about the need to double food production to feed nine billion by 2050, but most of the discussion has been about doing things above the soil surface. It’s refreshing to see some focus on the more important tasks below.

Why go on trade missions?

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is partly based on collaboration between conventional and organic farmers. One of the main themes of the conservation conference was the use of cover crops, now being widely adopted in the U.S. Organic farmers get much of the credit for developing the idea. Keynote speaker Howard Buffett helped put things into perspective. While a member of one of the world’s wealthiest families, Buffett brings a lot of “street cred” to the discussion of farming and the environment — he works the land on his Illinois farm and operates research farms in the U.S. and Africa. While Buffett said he wouldn’t try it himself, “I’m all for organic farming,” he said, emphasizing the need for diversity. “We can’t look at things that are different and think they threaten us … we have to have a dialogue.” He also criticized U.S. agriculture’s adoption of new practices, saying that if U.S. smartphone technology was as advanced as farming technology, the phones would be the size of a truck. As for the Gulf of Mexico’s “dead zone” caused by excess agricultural nutrient run-off, “If you did this in any other business you wouldn’t get away with it,” Buffett said. What farmers are getting away with was a recurring theme. One speaker said agriculture is the main source of water pollution in the UK, and another said that in France, conservation agriculture practices have been adopted on only one per cent of the acreage even though authorities often issue warnings not to use well water because of nitrate contamination.

president of Cereals Canada

recently returned from a trade mission to China led by Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, who was accompanied by other federal and provincial government officials, and representatives from barley, beef, pork, blueberries, flax and other sectors. Trade missions like this one to China are not unique, and follow closely to recent trade missions to Korea and Japan. So why do both industry and governments put so much time and money into trade missions? The quick answer to that question is “because they work.” Agricultural trade is sophisticated, technical, and large. The flow of billions of dollars is guided by a myriad of conflicting government policies and regulations. Face-to-face visits between ministers, senior government officials, and industry have a way of cutting through this complexity. Despite the complicated nature of the business, success in agricultural trade often comes down to one-on-one relationships.

Governments are responsible for setting the rules for trade, and industry is responsible for sealing the deal and keeping the customer happy. These missions are a good example of how industry and government working together can get the whole job done. What are some of the things we talked about when we were in China, Korea and Japan? A key focus for Cereals Canada was the Canadian quality advantage. Canadian farmers and industry can consistently deliver a highquality product that processes the same way every time. I remember growing up when my mom was baking bread and would say, “This batch of flour is just not right” — and the resulting bread was not quite right either. The same concept holds true for large international customers. They want their bread, noodles, or other products to be the same every time it comes out of the oven. The consistency of Canadian grains helps them achieve that goal. Consistent high quality product has always been important for key Asian markets like Japan

and is becoming more important to growing markets like China. As incomes grow across this region, people are demanding better and more consistent food products. Canadian farmers, exporters and crop development companies stand ready to meet this growing demand for quality. This is what gives Canadian cereal grains their competitive advantage. Our customers also talked about another Canadian advantage — clean air, clean water and clean land. Canadian agriculture’s strong reputation for delivering safe food must be guarded by everyone in the industry. How can individual farmers protect Canada’s reputation for safe food? There are many examples, but perhaps the most important is rigidly following the labels when applying pesticides and seed treatments. Do you think that bit of treated seed in the back of the truck won’t do any harm? Or those few days of pre-harvest interval won’t make a difference? Think again. Consider the damage that could be done to Canada’s reputation if those few seeds push a

shipment over an international maximum residue limit. And because testing is done at parts per trillion, those few seeds might just be the difference between a shipment being accepted and one that is rejected. Food-safety concerns and environmental reputation are growing issues in international markets. As a trading nation we must protect ourselves against countries that use “safety” as an excuse to block trade. We do this by fighting for trading rules that are based on strong science. Promoting sound scientific rules for food safety and environmental sustainability is another key goal of trade missions like the recent missions to Asia. Canada is using every opportunity to promote science-based trade and helping to build the scientific capacity of our trading partners. Canada already has a strong reputation for high-value products in the international marketplace. By working together, producers, industry, and government can build on the Canadian brand and deliver long-term profit for everyone involved. That is our ultimate goal.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JULY 7, 2014

Exciting times for Canadian farmers straight from the hip } Rising farmland values reflect the solid fundamentals

that are driving agriculture forward in this country By brenda schoepp

here is a lot of excitement in Canadian agriculture today. From the tremendous increase in farmland values to food processing — Canada is a country that has it all! In all my travel, I have never met a person who did not want to live, farm, visit or be educated in Canada. The ultimate destination, we are considered one of the five breadbaskets of the world. What makes up the fantastic business we call agriculture and what drives it? Our vast landscape may be seen as a bit of a handicap to us, but that looks like a world of opportunity to foreign investors. As crop and livestock receipts strengthen, domestic interest in land is also fuelled and that creates a competitive situation. Farmers wisely look at the low interest rates and determine that with a growing global population, the need for agricultural products will increase. This is also true for grasslands as the

value of the carbon sequestration is part of the price. Farm Credit Canada reported that the national increase in farmland value in Canada in 2013 was 22.1 per cent, with Saskatchewan at 28.5 per cent and Manitoba at 25.6 per cent. I am not surprised as both domestic and foreign investors love the opportunity presented by a virtually untapped resource. (Manitoba or Saskatchewan residents may feel a little crowded but the truth is they have more opportunity than any space left on earth.) Alberta farmland values slowed to a 12.9 per cent increase. Although primary farming accounts for 1.7 per cent of GDP, Canadian farmers are backed by a food-processing industry that uses 40 per cent of primary product and is the leading sector in terms of employment and GDP — greater than auto manufacturing. Food companies come to Canada, often settling in Quebec, to take advantage of our corporate system of taxation and they contribute to our trade. Canada is the sixth-largest importer and exporter of food in the world,

sending more than $40 billion of food product out the door each year. (Although Canadians continue to source 30 per cent of their diet from imported foods.) Our domestic wealth allows for Canadians to consume what they want and that is usually more than 3,300 calories per day or $181 billion a year on food, drink and smokes. This is still less than 10 per cent of disposable income, so the domestic market, although rich with calories, has room to grow. On the flip side, the diversity within the country presents a great opportunity for stretching outside of traditional crops. This is particularly evident in Ontario, where ethnic diversity drives crop decisions. Ethnic demand and investment also contributed to Ontario farmland values which increased by 15.9 per cent in 2013. Consumer demand comes from several camps. Farmers in Canada have responded, with many going back to the smallfarm model and basic production practices to capture the niche markets. These farms are

strong on relationships and are in the face of the consumer. They are young farmers and those in their 50s who are coming to the farm as a second career. These small farms also use modern technology and innovation for further value adding and are often spectacular when it comes to social media. Big farms are family farms, too — 98 per cent are family operations — there is a great interest in science and technology, innovation, and marketing power on these larger farms. Canadian farmers are savvy and open minded to using the benefits of research to enhance their production. These farms often contribute to commodity export, but that is changing now too with farmers investing in further processing and owning part of the food production pie. This is good news for Canada as we need to fill in the food trade deficit as the last outstanding line in an otherwise page turner of a story. We know that our marketing infrastructure is broken, but that can be fixed. We know that we

have a processed food deficit, but many farms and firms are now engaged in closing that gap. More importantly we know we have great land and lots of it, tremendous talent in our people, great consumers, access to science and technology, a licence to export and an unlimited global client base. Life is good. The enthusiasm for agriculture that I have seen worldwide, even in the poorest of countries, is just starting to germinate in Canada. What I have heard is farmers repeatedly expressing their importance to society. They have a direct thought line from the crop in the field to the food on the table. That is what ag is all about. The importance of you and I as farmers — for the greater good of Canadian society. This is our story and it is worth telling! Brenda Schoepp is a farmer from Alberta who works as an international mentor and motivational speaker. She can be contacted through her website www.brendaschoepp.com. All rights reserved. Brenda Schoepp 2014

Canada needs to invest to keep forage sector vigorous By DOUG WRAY

Irricana rancher Doug Wray is the president of the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association. In mid-May, he spoke to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and AgriFood. He began by noting Canada’s 13 million cultivated hectares of forages (the country’s largest cultivated crop) and 15 million hectares of native pastures and rangeland generate almost $5.1 billion in economic activity annually. Wray also noted the forage sector provides $13 billion worth of ecosystem services to Canadians via climate change mitigation, erosion control, pollination services, recreation, and preservation of wildlife habitat and water resources.

ociety in general, is unaware of forages unique attributes relative to most other crops. Forage’s are perennial species that regrow every spring, fix atmospheric nitrogen biologically and enhance soil fertility. However, producer-funded checkoff programs for research and other activities exist for crops such as canola, and livestock such as beef — but not for forages. The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association interprets competitiveness as the ability to sustain an advantage over competitor nations. This advan-

tage will develop through innovation derived from a consistent, long-term strategic plan that integrates activities across the value chain. A strong research program is the essential foundation that will allow the innovation required to drive competitiveness. Canada has experienced a substantial decline in investment and expertise in forage research. Between 1985 and 1998, research expenditures and scientific capacity declined by 55 per cent. Since then, research capacity has continued to decline, funding has been inadequate and sporadic in nature, goals have been short term, and there has been no long-term commitment to building or maintaining existing infrastructure. Research investment to address priorities such as forage yield stagnation are required to reverse the removal of forages from cropping rotations in favour of annual crops like canola, corn and soybeans. Dramatically reduced forage research funding has created a situation in which forage yields have not kept pace with those of annual crops, putting the livestock sector at risk. Producers are losing the financial incentive to grow forages and forage seed on productive land as part of a perennial cropping system. Evidence of a reduction in forage competitiveness includes: — The national beef herd continuing

to decline despite recent record high prices in cattle markets; — Land reclamation, restoration efforts and biodiversity initiatives becoming a challenge as the availability of cultivated and native forage seed and inoculant declines; — Canada losing its capacity to test new forage varieties nationally in 2014. One solution is to integrate the goals and resources of both the public and private sector. Our association’s vision includes a renewal of the public sector’s commitment to forage and grassland research, and a division of research activities between the public and private sector. Public sector research would focus on: — Longer-term goals where there is a need to solve complex technological issues, develop platform technologies or overcome technological bottlenecks, particularly where private ownership of intellectual property is not in the public interest; — Increasing intellectual capacity and expertise through scientific training, mentoring and teaching; — Areas where the private sector has vacated the market due to lack of commercial viability ; — Providing Ecosystem Services for the public good. The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association has developed a framework for fair compensation for Ecosystem

Services through the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, a trinational organization created in connection with the North American Free Trade Agreement. Our pilot project catalyzes North American grassland conservation and sustainable use through beneficial management practices that demonstrate positive linkages between cattle production and native grassland conservation. In closing, our three main recommendations are: 1. To improve forage and grassland research capacity by enhancing federal government support of longterm, innovative, basic and applied research programming. Through innovative research, the issue of yield stagnation and declining competitiveness can be addressed, which will drive sustainable advances for forage and grassland stakeholders; 2. Assist in addressing the lack of availability of cultivated and native forage seed and inoculants through innovative research and practices, and develop new and innovative capacity to test forage varieties nationally; 3. Identify a means of capturing or compensating producers for the value of Ecosystem Services provided by forages and grasslands owing to their range of unique attributes, and value to the Canadian economy and society.

OFF THE FRONT

JULY 7, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

FLOODING  from page 1

Cecilie and Duncan Fleming have given up repairing corrals and fencing on their low-lying land because 100-year floods are “coming every eight years.” PHOTOS: JENNIFER BLAIR

“One saving grace, certainly for the river, was that the rain didn’t come down in the mountains like they predicted.” LORNE HICKEY

Willow Creek rose so high, Cecilie and Duncan Fleming feared their home was in danger of being flooded.

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Feedlot nightmare

The number of confined feeding operations in the region was also a major concern — from both an animal and human health standpoint. Feedlots and large ranches with lots of cows in pens were a nightmare of water and mud. “The water just had no place to go,” said Andres. Worse, because of current high prices, many pens were full. “The water sits in the pens and the animals are still walking through it,” he said. “The animals will actually punch through the base of the pen and destroy the bottom of the pen so it doesn’t hold the manure water any more.” Some operations could see hundreds of thousands of dollars of such damage, he said. Animals standing in water will have a higher risk of contamination from their own manure, and will likely be drinking dirty water. Feed contamination will be another problem, and so will the effect on the environment. “Even if the water is run-off water from the field, it’s going to carry some contamination,” said Andres. Producers are pumping water out of their pens, but there are restrictions about who can pump and at what time. Those with licensed confined feeding operations are working with the Natural Resources Conservation Board to figure out how to remove excess moisture appropriately. “They’ve got to manage the water in the pens, just like they manage the manure during the year.” But not everyone can pump at the same time. “That just adds more water to the ditches or the fields, which flows somewhere else,” said Andres.

Better than drought

Just down the road from the Flemings, Jodi and Blaine Dunlop were worrying about the flood’s toll on their crops on their mixed grain and cattle operation.

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Oldman River was forecast to peak at a monstrous 4,500 cubic metres per second. It turned out to be 2,100. “We were significantly saved there,” said Reeve Lorne Hickey. Still Hickey, a grain producer who lives in a hilly area, expects to have water on his land for the rest of the summer. The impact varies from place to place. The southern part of the county got more rain, but all along Highway 2 from Calgary to Lethbridge, west to the Rockies, and from High River south to the border was badly hit. “Our biggest problem was the overland flooding,” said Hickey. “The drainage systems in this area simply can’t handle that volume of water. Some places had between four to 8-1/2 inches of rain.” A wet spring meant the ground soil was already saturated and boosted run-off. “One saving grace, certainly for the river, was that the rain didn’t come down in the mountains like they predicted,” said Hickey. “It came down in the form of snow instead of rain, so we’re lucky. But we still have a lot of snow to melt. Will we be out of the woodwork yet? I don’t think so.” The water was slowly receding by the end of June, but so many fields had standing water for so long, there will be significant crop damage, said Brad Andres, director of disaster planning with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “It depends on each field, how it’s laid out and how much water they have,” he said.

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“Just about every field has a huge lake in it right now,” Jodi Dunlop said in an interview in late June. After the flooding, the couple saw some yellowing in their fields, and while crops in the drier areas were “looking better,” the already narrow window for spraying was rapidly closing, with most fields still too wet to spray. “You worry about your yield because you’re not able to get your weeds out,” she said. Gary Stanford was facing the same problem on his grain farm near Magrath. “On our land, 10 per cent probably has a little water sitting on it,” he said at the time. “Ninety per cent of it, we’re hoping we can spray now if it dries up a little. But there will be a few wet spots where we won’t be able to. “We’re trying to get in on the land, but we can’t. We’d be stuck.” The implications for his farm are far reaching — any delay in spraying ramps up weed pressure through summer, creating “a weed problem for next year really bad.” Come harvest time, the weeds could also be “a real challenge to get swathed,” and Stanford said he’s sure to see increased dockage on his crops when it comes time to deliver them. The flooding also stunted his crops, setting them a week or two behind. “That could be a concern this year if we don’t start getting some 30° days to get the crop maturing,” he said. Even so, Stanford expects to see only a small yield loss on his farm. “In this climate down here, we need moisture. As long as the water will run off, it seems like it doesn’t hurt the crop too bad,” he said. “I think we’ll have an average crop. I don’t think we’ll have a bumper crop.” And as far as he’s concerned, flooding beats a drought. “In the 1980s, we couldn’t get it to rain at all for 10 years, and we thought, ‘Will it ever rain again?’ And now the last few years, we’re getting more rain than we ever thought we’d see. “It is a challenge, but in the ’80s, when you hardly had a crop to harvest, I’d rather have the problems we have now.”

Your health

People whose yards have been flooded need to test their water wells — both for the house and for livestock. They should also avoid eating from flooded gardens, which could be contaminated. “If the water came from the barnyard, you have to watch for contamination in the garden, things like E. coli and salmonella,” said Andres. Anyone who suffered flood damages needs to report them to their county, which will assemble a summary report for the provincial government. “The more information we have, the better case we have to get some disaster funding,” said Hickey. Take pictures, draw maps, and identify all damages as this information will be necessary for both crop insurance and for understanding any potential animal health problems that could develop, said Andres. “There’s always potential during these big events for government financial assistance, but it will be a month or two down the road, and you need to be able to prove everything,” he said. The province’s main page also carries additional information about flood responses (see ‘What to do after a flood’ at www.alberta. ca). akienlen@fbcpublishing.com jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JULY 7, 2014

BEEF  from page 1 activist, or mommy blogger who can say that they’ve done more for the environment than many of the people in this room. “So you need to be proud about it and need to embrace that, and understand that when we talk about sustainability, it does not afford people the opportunity to isolate you on any one issue.” The idea for a global roundtable was conceived nearly four years ago, but the notion of ‘sustainable beef’ captured headlines late last year when McDonald’s announced it would start sourcing beef verified as environmentally and socially responsible beginning in 2016. As reported in Alberta Farmer in May, the fast-food titan has since chosen Canada to pilot its sustainable beef project. But the definition of sustainable is still being hammered out, said Bruett, who is based in Greeley, Colorado. “When we talk about sustainability, environmental is a strong pillar that needs to be addressed, but it’s only one of three,” he said. “We have to consider the economic and the societal. We need to understand the impact of what the demands placed on these operations can do to a rural community.” And while cattle-raising methods differ greatly around the world, any beef system can be sustainable if done properly, Bruett said. “It is not about picking winners and losers,” he said. “It is not about saying, ‘My ranch is sustainable, but my neighbour’s is not.’ “It’s a continuum. You never achieve sustainability. You never wake up in the morning and say, ‘What I do is sustainable and I can call it a day, and I never have to worry about that anymore.’”

The challenge is that the average consumer thinks sustainable agriculture means a return to the small mixed farms of the distant past, he said. “There is a separation between agriculture and the consumer. The modern-day consumer has not participated in the journey and the technological innovations that we have enjoyed and experienced in agriculture.” For example, consumers frequently send signals they don’t like technology in agriculture — but modern farming practices are essential to feeding the planet, said Bruett. To further complicate things, marketers tend to promote organic as sustainable. “In its simplest terms, sustainability means producing more with less,” said Bruett. “There’s nothing wrong with organic — but organic produces less with more. So why is that equated with sustainability?” While some think grass-fed beef is more environmentally friendly, the carbon footprint is actually reduced by having animals fed in intense operations, he said. “They’re producing methane for a decreased amount of time, they’re more efficient and producing more pounds per animal, so it’s actually a sustainable system,” he said. “Not to say that grass fed cannot be sustainable, or that we don’t need grass fed to meet the challenges of tomorrow. But we have to be careful when we’re defining sustainable and equating it with niche systems.” All of these issues, and others, are being worked on as the global roundtable heads towards a global conference to be held in November in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Core principles involve natural resources, people and community, animal

health and welfare, food, efficiency and innovation. Because of Canada’s efforts (notably on traceability, the Verified Beef Program, and the effort to marry the two via the BIXS 2.0 initiative), Bruett said he chose Calgary as the site for working groups to meet on June 24-25. Increasingly, sustainability is becoming a tool to differentiate your system and be more productive on that international global market scale,” he said. “We wanted to come up and acknowledge the great work of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, and let this be the place where we redefine that definition. I think that sends a strong message.” It will also be vital for beef producers, processors, and retailers to speak out and not leave themselves open to attacks from radicals and activist groups, he added. “They don’t want conventional agriculture, the use of antibiotics or implants or hormones,” he said. “They don’t want anything technological that allows us to do more with less. They want to impose their will on the rest of the chain.” Retailers and restaurant owners — fearful of losing market share or having their brand tarnished — are sensitive to these vocal radicals, he said. So the beef industry needs to be vocal, too. “When you hear a radical claim or group, understand that this is not a representation of a huge swath of consumers around the globe. But we have a message too, and we have a message that resonates with the vast majority of the population. And we need to start articulating that message to drown out that noise we hear.” He applauded companies such as McDonald’s and Walmart for promising to start sourcing sustainably, and create programs with environmental criteria.

The drive to create ‘sustainable’ beef is good news for Alberta beef producers, says Cameron Bruett. PHOTO: NEWSTREAM FARM ANIMAL CARE “You can see the commercial marketplace is taking on sustainability, particularly in beef, to transmit positive messages to consumers, so that when they go and buy their Big Mac or their all-natural beef, they feel confident that they are consuming a product which respects societal impacts and the environmental footprint,” he said. But Bruett emphasized the guidelines won’t impose change on the beef industry and will allow all beef-producing areas in the world to tailor the criteria to its individual system.

“We realized we could not come up with a global standard, or a global certification that would be applicable to every beef production system on the planet,” he said. “We want to set these broad terms — these objectives and criteria and how you go about addressing them — in the manner that makes sense for Albertans, for Canadians (so they can) be determined by you. This is an empowerment exercise, not a global fiat.” akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

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Be on the lookout for Dutch elm disease Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development release

lbertans are being asked to be on the lookout for Dutch elm disease. “At present, Alberta has the largest DED-free American elm stand in the world, and it is important to protect this valuable resource,” says Janet Feddes-Calpas, executive director, Society to Prevent Dutch Elm Disease (STOPDED). “STOPDED is asking for everyone’s assistance to save our beautiful elm trees from this deadly disease.” DED is caused by a fungus that clogs the elm tree’s water-conducting system, causing the tree to die. The fungus is primarily spread from one elm tree to another by three species of beetles — the smaller European, the native and the banded elm bark beetle. They are attracted to weak and dying trees, which serve as breeding sites. Once the beetles have pupated and turned into adults they leave the brood gallery and fly to healthy elms to feed, thus transporting the fungus from one tree to the next. “The smaller elm bark beetles have been found throughout the province in low numbers and now the banded elm bark beetle is found in larger numbers throughout the City of Medicine Hat and area,” says Feddes-Calpas. “For this reason we must be even more vigilant.” Leaves on a DED-infected elm will wilt or droop, curl and become brown. This appears in mid-June to mid-July. Leaves on trees infected later in the season usually turn yellow and drop prematurely. Leaf symptoms are accompanied by brown staining under the bark. All suspicious elms must be lab tested, a service STOPDED funds. Suspected cases can be reported by calling 1-877-837-ELMS or going to www.stopded.org. To keep elms healthy, owners are urged to water them well from April to mid-August. To allow the tree to harden off for the winter, watering should be stopped midAugust followed by a good soaking or two before freeze-up. There is a ban on pruning elms between April 1 and Sept. 30 as beetles are most active at this time and are attracted to the scent of fresh tree cuts. Transport and storage of elm firewood is illegal as DED and the beetles are declared pests under the Alberta Agricultural Pests Act. “Our elms are a treasure that we cannot afford to lose,” adds Feddes-Calpas.

JULY 7, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

New clubroot pathotype confirmed, can stump resistant canolas Equipment sanitation remains the best first line of defence against the disease that can cause losses that can reach 50 per cent Staff

A second round of tests on a clubroot pathotype found in the Edmonton area confirms it’s a new type that can beat canola varieties bred for clubroot resistance. “This is a different pathotype that none of the commercially available clubrootresistant varieties in Western Canada are effective at managing,” plant pathologist Stephen Strelkov of the University of Alberta said in a Canola Council of Canada release June 17. Strelkov had collected samples from several fields in the area earlier this year, verifying higher levels of clubroot infection than would have been expected of clubroot-resistant canolas. A “focused survey” is now being planned in the Edmonton region to help

COULDA

understand the new pathotype’s “prevalence and distribution,” the council said. The council also advised canola growers and agronomists to scout fields seeded to clubroot-resistant varieties with “extra effort and vigilance” this summer. Equipment sanitation remains the first line of defence against clubroot, new pathotype or not. “We are advising that growers practise good sanitation on their equipment, especially during spraying under wet conditions,” said Curtis Rempel, the council’s vice-president for crop production. “This applies to equipment moving between all fields, not just those currently growing canola, since clubroot spores remain in the soil for years.” The level of sanitation should be based on the level of clubroot risk, the council

said. It can range from knocking or scraping off soil lumps and sweeping off loose soil up to fine cleaning with a pressure washer and disinfection. Other factors that may diminish the effectiveness of clubroot-resistant canola include canola rotations with less than a two-year break; lack of regular scouting in fields; seeding the same resistant canola variety in a rotation; or “any tillage that is more than zero till.” DuPont Pioneer, which launched the first clubroot-resistant canola for Prairie use in 2009, said in a separate release that growers will also want to avoid use of straw, hay, greenfeed, silage and manure from “infested or suspect areas.” Growers will also want to keep host weeds in check, and to avoid use of seed of any crop — for example, wheat seed harvested from a known infected field, the company said.

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Albertafarmexpress.ca • July 7, 2014

Meat business undergoing big changes, says agency head CEO of Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency says ‘pull’ from the marketplace creates opportunities and challenges By Alexis Kienlen af staff / edmonton

Change is now constant in meat business says, Gordon Cove, CEO of the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency. photo: alexis kienlen

he agency he heads is just five years old, but the meat business has changed so radically in that time that a whole new approach is needed, says the CEO of the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency. “We’ve gone from an area or a time where we’ve had so much supply and we push it into the marketplace,” Gordon Cove said at Future Fare, the agency’s annual conference. “Now we’re starting to see an aggressive pull from the marketplace and the demand is really quite strong. While there are lots

of opportunities, there continues to be challenges.” Among those challenges have been the E. coli contamination crisis that saw the XL Foods plant at Brooks first shut down and then sold to global giant JBS; and the arrival of porcine epidemic diarrhea. And Washington’s country-of-origin labelling law — which costs Canadian cattle and hog producers an estimated $1 billion annually — continues with no end in sight. “We’ve been on a long journey, but we’ve come to understand a few things in the past few years,” said Cove. “We need to be open, inclusive, and to be effective in our engagement. And we need good relationships.” The agency’s new business

plan is focused on customer service — whoever the customer might be, he said. “It can be just in Canada or export, it can be throughout the value chain,” he said. “We want the highest value for our products. We know we can’t meet it all, but we need to cater to it, so we can get the best value.” To better meet customer expectations, supply chain productivity must be improved, he said. “We must be competitive and we believe, through research and adoption of technology, that we can do that,” he said. “Underpinning everything we do is sustainability and the social licence.” Obtaining better access to key markets — especially Japan,

China, Korea, and the European Union — is also a key focus. Cove offered a long list of activities to show how his agency is driving change. In the 2013-14 fiscal year, it handed out $30 million in grants to 206 projects, with each dollar in funding attracting another $4. This included 50 research and development projects, which targeted animal health, healthy food, genomics, production efficiency and competitiveness. Thirteen patents arose out of this work, including one for a feed additive that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent. On the commercialization side, the agency gave $10.2 million to 78 projects. These projects focused on the adoption of best practices, new technologies, and stimulating investment in development of value-added products. This effort created 44 new products and boosted meat production in the province by 10.2 million kilograms (worth about $57 million). “Great example: H & M Meats up in Grande Prairie,” said Cove. “Through our investment, they were able to increase its investment by 25 per cent. It’s a very successful, local processor up in the north.” akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

Pig parasites could be beneficial to humans

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The pig whipworm could hold the key to new medical treatments T:10”

University of Melbourne release / New treatments for inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and autism could be on the horizon, after a global University of Melbourne-led study successfully mapped the genes of a parasitic worm in pigs. “We know that humans infected with the harmless, pig whipworm can have significantly reduced symptoms linked to autoimmune diseases. And now we have the genetic sequence of the worm, it opens the door to future human drug designs and treatment,” said lead researcher Aaron Jex. Although the pig whipworm causes disease and losses in livestock, it does not cause disease in humans. In contrast, the human whipworm infects around one billion people, mainly children in developing nations, and causes dysentery, malnourishment and impairment of physical and mental development.

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NEWS » Markets

JULY 7, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

U.S. HARVEST YIELDS IMPROVE

HOARDING MAY RAISE PRICES

Yields from the harvest of hard red winter wheat in the U.S. Plains improved slightly in late June. Yields range widely from five to 50 bushels per acre but the overall average is moving above 30 bushels per acre for the more recently harvested fields, Plains Grains said. Yields from some of the first fields harvested in Texas and Oklahoma in early June were averaging in the low teens. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has forecast 2014 U.S. production at 720 million bushels, the smallest in eight years. — Reuters

Argentine farmers say they will stockpile soybeans if the government can’t cut a deal to stave off a new sovereign default, and the increased hoarding will likely push world food prices higher. Many producers are already holding soy back from the market as a hedge against high inflation and could be more cautious as negotiations between the government and “holdout” bond investors go down to the wire. The holdouts want full repayment on bonds that Argentina defaulted on in 2002 and have won a string of victories in U.S. courts that put the country on the brink of a new default. — Reuters

Waterlogged acres not yet counted in StatsCan report Traders are now waiting on USDA’s latest estimates By Phil Franz-Warkentin

CE Futures Canada canola contracts showed some strength during the week ended June 26, as there is enough uncertainty over the state of this year’s crop to account for some weather premiums in the market. The biggest gains for canola were in the nearby July contract, as traders with short positions were being forced to pay up in order to exit the contract before it becomes the delivery month. With July moving off the board, the attention now is squarely on new-crop production prospects, or lack thereof, and how much canola was actually seeded across the Prairies. Statistics Canada released its latest acreage report Friday morning, June 27, pegging canola acres at 20.2 million. That compares with the previous estimate of 19.8 million and the year-ago level of 19.9 million. However, the survey was conducted in early June — when optimism reigned and there was still a chance for flooded-out fields to be planted. In reality, up to two million acres in southwestern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan will be unseeded this year due to excess moisture, according to some reports. Canola accounts for some of that, but how much remains to be seen and the guesswork now should provide some fuel for the fire of the futures market. Drowned-out low spots in many areas are also still to be accounted for. Yields will be the next fundamental issue to watch for, as a bushel here or there in the average — when spread out over 20 million acres — will have a considerable impact on total production going forward. From a chart standpoint, November canola has trended higher for the better part of two weeks, but still has a long way to go before getting back to its nearby highs in the C$490 area, seen as recently as May. New-crop November soybeans at the Chicago Board of trade have trended higher in recent weeks as well, although weather-related concerns are (so far) less pronounced than on the Canadian side of the border and the path of least resistance could turn lower if the weather holds up.

Setting the tone

The U.S. Department of Agriculture releases its own much watched (and much second-guessed) report on June 30. Quarterly stocks and acreage estimates will both be included in the data, which should set the tone for the near future. Old-crop U.S. soybean stocks are very tight, but the country has been importing Brazilian beans to compensate for

PHOTO: LAURA RANCE that tightness. Expectations for a large new crop are also overhanging beans, making the tight stocks situation less of a concern. U.S. wheat and corn futures both hit some of their softest levels in months during the week, although they managed to move off those lows. While the U.S. winter wheat crop is still questionable, and some spring wheat was also unseeded, reports for grain crops in the rest of the world have been on the bearish side lately. The International Grains Council released a report during the week raising its production and stocks estimates for both crops. World wheat supplies at the end of the 2014-15 marketing year are now forecast at 412 million tonnes, which

would be up by 12 million from 2013-14. World corn carry-over for the year is forecast at 180 million tonnes, which would be 13 million tonnes above the previous year’s level. In addition to the broad fundamentals, which will dictate the long-term pricing trends, the day-to-day action in the

grains and oilseeds will also take its cues from news out of Iraq, Ukraine or any of the other global hot spots. Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

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

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JULY 7, 2014

Creep feeding speeds puberty in bull calves Creep feeding could bring bull calves to puberty over one month faster than calves fed a lower-nutrition diet BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF STAFF / CALGARY

attle producers should consider creep feeding bull calves that could someday be sires, says a recent study from the University of Calgary. “These findings have important implications for management of young bulls prior to puberty,” said PhD student Alysha Dance, who looked at the effects of nutrition on hormone production, age of puberty, semen quality, and testicular characteristics in 26 bull calves. Her research draws on previous work by Dr. John Kastelic, who found bulls on a high-nutrition diet in early life had more reproductive hormone, which led to earlier puberty and increased testicular weight and sperm count. “We had testes that were 20 to 30 per cent larger and 20 to 30 per cent more sperm in those testes,” said Kastelic, head of the university’s faculty of veterinary medicine.

Spinning straw into… mould? Sweet VIENNA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY RELEASE

Straw is often considered to be worthless and is therefore burned. But researchers have found a way to make it into erythritol, a sweetener that is 70 to 80 per cent as sweet as sugar. Erythritol does not make you fat, does not cause tooth decay, has no effect on the blood sugar and, unlike other sweeteners, does not have a laxative effect. In Asia, it is already widely used and it is becoming more common in other parts of the world too. Until now, erythritol could only be produced with the help of special kinds of yeast in highly concentrated molasses. At the Vienna University of Technology, a method has now been developed to produce the sweetener from ordinary straw with the help of a mould fungus. First, the finely chopped straw has to be “opened up” with the help of solvents, the cell walls are broken and the lignin is dissolved away. The remaining xylan and cellulose are then processed further. “Usually the straw has to be treated with expensive enzymes to break it down into sugar,” said Professor Robert Mach. “In highly concentrated molasses, special strains of yeast can then turn the sugar into erythritol, if they are placed under extreme osmotic stress.” However, a genetically modified mould fungus makes the intermediate step obsolete. Two big advantages have been achieved by genetically modifying the fungus: the process of obtaining the enzymes from mould cultures and chemically cleaning them used to be cumbersome – now the improved strain can be directly applied to the straw. Secondly, the mould can now produce erythritol directly from the straw.

“We can really profoundly get bulls with larger testes and more sperm by just feeding them really well.” In Dance’s study, the calves were put on three levels of milk — four, six, and eight litres a day — until nine weeks of age. Then the calves were transitioned to a silage diet that corresponded to 70, 100, and 130 per cent of the recommended daily intake for bull calves. “Throughout the entire duration of the feeding period, the high-nutrition group was larger in terms of their body weight than the other two groups,” said Dance. Scrotal circumference and luteinizing hormone — which are both related to reproduction — were also higher in the calves fed a high-nutrition diet. “In the high-nutrition diet, the early rise (in luteinizing hormone) was occurring earlier and at a higher rate than in bulls on a low-nutrition diet.” Testosterone production, which

is driven by luteinizing hormone, was also higher in the high-nutrition diet. “The high-nutrition bulls had more testosterone coming up earlier than those on the lownutrition diet.” Dance also evaluated the age of puberty using semen from the bull calves and found a difference of 45 days in puberty progression between the high-nutrition diet and the low. And when evaluating age of puberty based on scrotal circumference, she found a difference of 81 days. “This is a quite significant difference between the high and the low diet in terms of progressing the bulls to puberty a little bit sooner.” But there was no difference in calf fertility between the high- and low-nutrition diets, she said. “Once they were past puberty, we used that semen for in vitro fertilization in the lab, and there was no difference between the amount of embryos produced and the high, low, and medium groups,” said Dance.

“Something critical is happening prior to 30 weeks in these bull calves.” ALYSHA DANCE

“We’re causing the bulls to come into puberty earlier, but it’s not at the compromise of fertility at all.” There’s also little risk of overfeeding bulls prior to weaning.

“Virtually all of the work done on nutrition in bulls… was done after weaning. That’s really the wrong time to be overfeeding bulls,” said Kastelic. “Overfeeding bulls after weaning is very detrimental. “Prior to 30 weeks, what you feed them is hugely important.” And though some studies on creep feeding suggest that calves fed a lower-nutrition diet will catch up after weaning to their creep-fed counterparts, the work done by Dance and Kastelic shows otherwise. “If you fed them poorly prior to 30 weeks and then at a much higher level after 30 weeks, you couldn’t make up for that earlier deficiency,” said Dance. “Something critical is happening prior to 30 weeks in these bull calves.” Dance will be completing further research on the mechanisms that are creating these effects in bull calves. jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

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JULY 7, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

net wrapped bales caution

hog herd shrinks

Bales made with net wrap tend to shed rain better, require less labour, and have less shrink and dry matter loss. But they can be a hazard, says Barry Yaremcio, provincial beef and forage specialist. In a recent article, Dr. John Campbell from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine notes they have caused cow deaths on a Saskatchewan farm. “This situation could easily occur on any farm that uses net wrap or plastic twine,” says Yaremcio. In the Saskatchewan case, the bale processor “did not tear apart the net wrap adequately to allow the plastic to flow through the cows’ digestive system.” — AARD

The U.S. hog herd shrank more than anticipated in the March-May quarter because of PEDv. The USDA also found that despite higher hog prices in the wake of the deadly porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, producers had not expanded herds as much as expected. USDA’s data suggest hog numbers will remain tight through the rest of the year, sustaining already high prices for hogs and pork, said analysts. The USDA report showed the U.S. hog herd as of June 1 at 95 per cent of the year-ago level, at 62.128 million head. Analysts, on average, expected 63.200 million head. — Reuters

Were those frozen ears and sore feet caused by a cold winter? Ergot-contaminated feed is causing a wide range of easily misdiagnosed herd health problems in Western Canada by Laura Rance

“The standard we use of 100 to 200 ppb is about as high as you want to go in feed samples.”

Manitoba Co-operator editor / Saskatoon

ong, brutally cold Prairie winters could be masking signs of a serious toxin lurking in livestock producers’ feed bins, a University of Calgary veterinary professor warned feed and livestock industry officials recently. Dr. Eugene Janzen, assistant dean of clinical practice, said he was initially perplexed in the winter of 2013 when he observed Alberta feedlot cattle in so much distress that it was clear many would have to be euthanized on site. The feedlot’s cattle had had high rates of severe lameness that didn’t respond to standard treatment for foot rot, as well as unusual degrees of frostbite. Many had frozen ears and an entire pen of heifers had lost the ends of their tails so uniformly that Janzen at first thought they had been surgically removed. The animals were indeed suffering from frostbite, but it wasn’t because they were poorly sheltered from the winter cold. They had ergot poisoning, which in cattle causes vasoconstriction, or poor blood flow to their extremities. Janzen believes that created a synergistic effect with the cold to cause their symptoms.

Poor blood flow

Ergot-affected animals develop “dry gangrene” in their hooves, which can easily be confused with foot rot. “These animals are so lame they don’t lie down naturally,” Janzen said. When they lay with their legs outstretched instead of tucked beneath, their limbs freeze. Several animals he observed could no longer walk. Janzen was one of the speakers at a symposium on ergot and fusarium last month at the University of Saskatchewan’s vet college. He said until recently, his own knowledge of ergot was limited to textbook references to a human plague known as Saint Anthony’s Fire in the Middle Ages, and memories of a truckload of durum his father

Dr. Barry Blakley veterinary toxicologist, University of Saskatchewan

affect the milk or meat. However, that can make it more difficult to identify as the source of an animal’s health problem. “Our diagnostics are basically limited to feed analysis,” Blakley said.

Misdiagnosed

The symptoms of lameness related to ergot toxicity can be mistaken for foot root in the initial stages, but do not respond to treatment. Photo: University of Calgary couldn’t sell four decades ago when he was a child on the farm. But he and other veterinarians across Western Canada have seen a worrisome surge in cases of ergot toxicity in recent years — a phenomenon that has feed manufacturers and grain companies scrambling to develop better guidelines for detection and tolerances. “It is definitely the No. 1 livestock problem today that is going through our lab,” said Dr. Barry Blakley, a University of Saskatchewan veterinary toxicologist.

Worsening problem

Over the past two decades, it was customary to get calls on one or two cases a year. “Now I am getting four or five calls a day,” he said. Blakley analyzes the results of feed sample testing provided by the Prairie Diagnostic Services lab at the University of Saskatchewan. The lab installed equipment to test for ergot, beginning in 2013. Demand for the testing and

the diagnostic results suggests ergot has become a much bigger problem in Western Canada than previously thought and that existing guidelines for how much ergot it takes to cause health issues in livestock are seriously outdated. “Canadian standards through Agriculture Canada are up to 2,000 parts per billion,” he said. “Those are too high. We have seen cases well below that — 700 to 1,600 ppb is the range we’ve seen a lot of cases.” Saskatchewan has reported the most cases, partly due to growing awareness, but the most severe cases have been seen in Alberta, Blakley said. Industry officials say ergot fungus levels are building in soils across Western Canada due to the rise in zero or minimum tillage and a pattern of moist, cool conditions during June.

New guidelines needed

There are several issues confounding efforts to develop new guidelines. For starters, there are dif-

ferences between species and even within species how much the animals can tolerate with no ill effects. For example, only about 10 per cent of the cattle on the Alberta feedlot Janzen visited developed severe symptoms. “Horses appear to be at the top of the susceptibility chain,” Blakley said. Dairy cows appear more sensitive than beef cows, and sheep have been known to stop milk production at levels of 200 to 300 parts per billion. Results from a swinefeeding trial contradicted earlier research that suggested they were less susceptible. “They are as susceptible if not more susceptible than cattle,” he said. “The standard we use of 100 to 200 ppb is about as high as you want to go in feed samples,” he said. Plus, the level of toxicity is affected by the amount of contaminated feed in the ration. The good news is the toxins clear from the animal’s system quickly, and don’t appear to

He said most of the cases he’s seen involve cattle producers with subclinical herd health issues that can easily be attributed to other ailments or poor management. Symptoms can include reduced productivity, lower milk production in dairy, a sickly calf crop and low weaning weights. In higher doses, sheep and cattle can suffer abortions and pregnant mares may foal without producing milk. In the early stages, immediately removing the contaminated feed source can result in full recovery, but once gangrene or frostbite has set in, the producer has few options but to euthanize or sell the animal immediately — if it can be humanely transported. “It is terribly inhumane. Unless you can call in a mobile butcher, that animal is coyote bait,” Janzen said. “With other diseases, the animal has the decency to die. These animals don’t.” In the Alberta case, five per cent of the 2,500 head of cattle on the feedlot were destroyed and five per cent were shipped for salvage. “The bottom line is, he went bankrupt.” laura@fbcpublishing.com

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JULY 7, 2014

Ergot becomes invisible in manufactured feed Researchers and feed makers say new guidelines for assessing risk are needed by Laura Rance

Manitoba Co-operator Editor / saskatoon

he two pictures of pelleted feed veterinary toxicologist Dr. Barry Blakley put up on the screen at a recent ergot symposium here looked identical. But one had enough toxins in it to kill livestock. The rising levels of ergot in western Canadian cereal grains and forages has turned into a nightmare for the manufactured feed industry and the grain companies that supply it. While the black ergoty fungus pods can usually be spotted in a sample of grain, once it is made into manufactured feeds, it is twice as potent — and invisible. “In the pelleting process, we grind it up and it increases the surface area,” Blakley said. “We estimate it increases the bioavailable toxicity twofold.” “That’s absolutely terrifying to me, how do we deal with that?” said Amanda Van de Kerckhove, a ruminant nutritionist with Co-op Feeds. She noted that the Distillers Dried Grains (DDGs) fermentation process concentrates mycotoxins by a factor of three. And the ergot is not just in the grains, it can also exist in forages, which means livestock could be ingesting it from several sources. “Ensiling does not destroy alkaloids,” she said. “It could also be present in swaths and bales.”

same lot resulted in 10 widely varying levels of toxins. Screenings are believed to the biggest source of ergot in manufactured feed. “It’s not usually the grain that is causing the problem, it is the highrisk screenings,” Van de Kerckhove said. However, the commercial feed business depends heavily on screenings to keep feed prices affordable. Companies are becoming much more selective about who they buy from, they are doing more routine testing, and are limiting the ratio of screenings they include in pelleted feed rations. Co-op Feeds now includes no more than 40 per cent screenings in its products unless specifically requested by the customer. laura@fbcpublishing.com

It is impossible to determine whether pelleted feed contains ergot toxins without laboratory testing. The sample on the left contains 230 ppb ergot toxins. The sample on the right contains 38,900 ppb. Photo: Vanessa Cowan, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan

CONGRATULATIONS!

“Representative sampling from a diagnostic perspective is the most significant issue that we have on this.” DR. Barry Blakley veterinary toxicologist, University of Saskatchewan

Dr. Eugene Janzen, assistant dean of clinical practice at the University of Calgary, said although little research has been done, he is concerned that the trend towards swath grazing cattle over the winter could expose cow herds to high enough levels of ergot toxicity to cause abortions. Fusarium-damaged kernels are often shrivelled and lighter than the grain, and can be cleaned out of a grain sample, but ergot bodies are often the same size as the kernels. Van de Kerckhove said the biggest challenge for the feed industry is that there is no reliable correlation between the visual clues and the level of ergot alkaloids and fusarium mycotoxins. While visual inspections of submitted samples provide evidence of the potential existence of mycotoxins, that analysis is only as good as the sample received, she noted. Getting a representative sample from a bin or truckload can be difficult because the toxins vary dramatically within even the same bin. “Representative sampling from a diagnostic perspective is the most significant issue that we have on this,” Blakley said. In one analysis, 10 different samples drawn from the

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Danean Edgar Wolseley, Saskatchewan

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JULY 7, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Targeted deworming can help maintain herd health HORSE HEALTH  Treating horses that are ‘heavy shedders’ can reduce total

parasitic infestations on the farm by up to 80 per cent BY CAROL SHWETZ DVM

ost horse owners are keenly aware of the importance deworming plays in the health of their horses. Veterinarians, pharmaceutical companies and extension programs have done an exceptional job at promoting frequent scheduled dewormings. Yet recent science about the biology of equine parasites has found that using more deworming compound does not necessarily result in a better parasite management program. Equine parasitologists are advocating the fecal egg count as a diagnostic tool to better refine standard protocols. The fecal egg count (FEC) is a measure of the number of parasite eggs per gram of feces. Parasite eggs in the feces serve as a source for environmental contamination and thus translates into transmission potential to other horses in the herd. It is interesting to note that time after time individual horses will have a consistent FEC and occupy one of three categories. A low shedder will have less than 150 eggs per gram (EPG), a moderate shedder 150 to 500 EPG, and high shedders will have values over 500 EPG. Knowing which horses harbour the vast majority of internal parasites is powerful information. It can enable the horse owner to selectively deworm those individuals that are reinfecting the premises and avoid unnecessary deworming of horses not shedding eggs. It is estimated that 20 per cent

PRESENTS…

of the horses will be “heavy shedders” and are responsible for 80 per cent of the total egg contamination on the farm. The fecel egg count test is a surveillance tool which identifies those horses that shed the highest number of eggs into the environment. Selectively deworming these horses benefits the entire group of horses. The goal of parasite control is not to eliminate all intestinal parasites in horses, as this goal is as unrealistic as it is impossible. Rather the goal is to manage the risk of parasitism by identifying those horses that are shedding the majority of parasite eggs into the environment. This test provides the horse owner with much-needed information on an individual horse’s parasite status. This information allows the owner to act accordingly making an informed decision with regard to the timing and the class of dewormer that would be a best fit. Serial fecal egg counts will reveal an even bigger picture. When a horse with a high fecal egg count is treated with an appropriate deworming product, a second FEC performed 10 to 14 days later should be close to zero. If the count is above zero, evidence exists that the worms may have developed resistance to that particular drug and a dewormer from a different drug class should be used. By performing fecal egg counts and conducting followup tests you begin to draw a more accurate picture of parasite management on your property. At times horse farms are large enough to purchase the necessary equipment and educate their caretakers in the fecal egg

count procedure, yet for most horse owners it is necessary to involve their veterinarian in their parasite management. Deworming policies can vary greatly between horse farms, and so parasite management will vary according to stocking rate, age of the horse population, and living and climatic conditions. Fecal egg counts will be instrumental in guiding appropriate recommendations. The parasite challenge for two horses on 10 acres is considerably different than that for 20 horses on 20 acres. Start by submitting a fecal sample to your local veterinarian, one or two manure balls in a plastic bag or container labelled with the horse’s name, your name and date. The sample can be refrigerated, not frozen, and submitted within 24 hours. The optimal time to begin sampling would be in the spring prior to giving any dewormer. Egg counts must be done at an appropriate interval after the administration of the last dewormer. Your veterinary can recommend the appropriate interval based on the last drug that was administered. Although the economic benefits of fecal egg counts and targeted/selective deworming may be slow to reveal themselves, using the dewormers on an asneeded basis is inherently good practice preventing unnecessary medication of horses and preserving long-term sustainable use of our present deworming compounds. Carol Shwetz is a veterinarian specializing in equine practice at Westlock, Alta.

A FREE DEAL FOR CUSTOM FEEDLOT OPERATORS Make sure you take advantage of your free listing in the annual National Custom feedlot Guide in the September issue of Canadian Cattlemen — The Beef Magazine.

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BRIEF CWB drops wheat price expectations BY COMMODITY NEWS SERVICE CANADA/CWB has lowered its Pool Return Outlooks (PROs) for most classes of wheat in the upcoming 2014-15 crop year, while raising durum projections. Projected wheat returns were down $25 to $26 per tonne from the previous month. CWB cited relatively favourable North American crop conditions, declining Minneapolis spring wheat futures, and a stronger Canadian dollar for the declines in the pooled prices. Meanwhile, projected durum PROs were raised by $10 per tonne from May, with quality issues in Italy and Greece behind some of the strength, according to CWB. Canola PROs were down $15 to $18 compared to the previous month, as the futures have also declined over the period. Malting barley and field pea price expectations were left unchanged.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JULY 7, 2014

Calf management Mandatory swine tracking survey links long rules now in place for Canada calving season and calf mortality A By Allan Dawson staff

A recent calf management study has shown links between increased calf mortality risk and the length of the calving season, timing of calving, and colostrum intake By Jennifer Blair af staff / calgary

eef cattle producers with long calving seasons could see an increased risk of calf mortality, according to a recent study from the University of Calgary. “We looked at the correlation between the length of the calving season and mortality, and for every extra day, the mortality between a week of age and weaning went up by half a per cent,” said Dr. Claire Windeyer, who began surveying calf management practices in more than 250 cow-calf herds last summer. “It does have impacts on your bottom line at the end of the day.” The risk is a small one, though. In the herds surveyed, calf mortality rates were between one and two per cent. “A half a per cent of that is a very small increment,” she said. But longer calving seasons have other implications on calf performance that can’t be ignored, said Windeyer. Most producers had a six- to 12-week calving season, but some calved over the course of six months, leading to “exhaustion of the environment.” “If you’re calving into the same area over a six-month period, you’re going to have buildup of manure, waste feed, and mud, especially this time of the year. You really start working that environment quite hard.” In that environment, calves have increased exposure to pathogens, such as the bugs that cause scours, and that can lead to significant financial losses. “If you have a newborn calf being born into a pasture that’s had calves on it for the last three to six months, that cow is going to be exposed to a lot more pathogens than the first calf born,” she said. “You get more and more challenges in the environment the longer that season goes on.” Timing of calving also played a role in the risk of calf mortality, depending on location, facilities, and weather, she said. Timing of calving is also key and Windeyer found March was the worst time for bovine respiratory disease. Producers who calved in that month had six per cent more respiratory disease in their herds compared to ranches that calved in January and February. The lowest incidence of respiratory disease was during May and June calving. “In March, you don’t know what the weather is going to do. In January and February, at least you can anticipate some cold, dry weather,” she said. “It’s all about having the appropriate facilities to be able to manage… the weather that does arise in the season that you’re calving.”

Colostrum also key

Colostrum is also critical for calf performance, said Windeyer. “We all know they’re born naive and relatively unprotected, and that colostrum contains not only important antibodies but also good calories, minerals, vitamins, and other immunity components.” Producers who checked their cows’ udders to make sure the calves were feeding saw a 35 per cent decrease in mortality in the first seven days of life, while those who provided colostrum to calves saw a 24 per cent decrease in mortality between one week to weaning. Frozen beef cow colostrum can be a good alternative to fresh for producers who need to supplement their calves’ diets, but Windeyer cautions against dairy colostrum and other supplemental products. “The quality of good dairy colostrum is usually poorer than beef colostrum,” she said. “It’s much more dilute than what our beef cows produce, so if you’re using dairy colostrum, you need to get a lot more to get enough antibodies in it.” And for some replacement products, calves need to drink up to 16 litres to gain the right amount of necessary antibodies. “No beef calf is going to drink 16 litres in the first 24 hours.” Veterinarians can check the quality of the colostrum to make sure it meets the nutritional needs of newborn calves. “Not all colostrum is created equal, and you can’t always tell just by looking at it. If it’s more thick, it tends to be better quality, but that’s not always the case.” Producers should have replacement colostrum products on hand and “be wary” of their storage methods for frozen colostrum. “If it sits on the counter for half a day and then you stick it in the freezer, the quality of that colostrum has gone down substantially,” said Windeyer. “After about two hours, the bacterial growth in that colostrum really ramps up. If you’re going to store colostrum, put it in the freezer as quickly as possible.” Producers who used frozen colostrum from off their farm saw a 68 per cent increase in calf mortality within the first 24 hours — likely a result of scrambling to find a source of colostrum, said Windeyer. “By the time you get it into the calf, that calf is probably quite a bit older than it should have been when it got its first dose of colostrum,” she said. “Their guts start closing within four hours, and within 24 hours, they’re not absorbing any antibodies. The sooner you can get it in them, the better.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

new law to track Canada’s pigs took effect July 1. Under the new “PigTrace” program, almost all premises-to-premises swine movements have to be reported, except barns within the same premises. Depending on the type of animals and premises involved, movement reporting may or may not require individual animal identification. Animal identification requirements Farm-to-farm movement for anything other than sows and boars does not require any form of identification. However, farmers can identify their animals during moves to other farmers. A sow or boar moving to a farm needs to have an approved tag with a number, which is reported to PigTrace when the animal is moved. ID for animals going to slaughter Market hogs, lightweight pigs, barbecue hogs and suckling pigs need either a shoulder slap tattoo with the owner’s herd mark number (the hog owner’s five-digit number specific to a location) or an approved ear tag supplied only by PigTrace. There are two types of ear tags. One is the herd mark. The farmer’s own herd management number can be printed on the lower portion of the tag for the farmer’s use. The other is an individual identification tag with a 15-digit number unique to each animal. Cull sows and boars going to slaughter Cull sows and boars require a shoulder slap tattoo or approved ear tag. The market is moving to ear tags because many slaughter plants skin the animals removing the slap tattoo. Farmers are encouraged to switch to ear tags as they replace animals in their herds. Exports of weanlings and feeder pigs The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is phasing out its numbering system. It’s being replaced by the hog owner’s herd mark applied as a slap tattoo.

An ear tattoo can also be used. Farmers can add the birth week letter to the tag but it’s not required for export. PigTrace also sells small ear tags that say “export” on them for 40 cents each. Other exports — breeding stock Exports of breeding stock require a herd mark tag or individual ear tag. Export slaughter hogs The U.S. doesn’t require imported Canadian hogs destined for slaughter to be identified with a tag. However, if there’s any chance that hogs destined for export will end up staying in Canada, they require a slap tattoo. Movement reporting requirement In all cases PigTrace is a dual-entry system with both shipper and receiver required to report information about the movement of swine. This is necessary because not every animal is getting an individual ear tag — something hog producers viewed as onerous. Movement reports to PigTrace require the shipper’s location, number of swine being moved, their destination, date and time they departed and when they arrived at destination. The licence number of the trailers hauling the animals must also be submitted. Other movements When sows and boars are moved from farm to farm, to a fairground or to a farm via an assembly yard they must be individually ear tagged with a 15-digit number starting with 124, which is Canada’s country code. The other 12 digits are unique to each animal. Swine moved in this way are seen as higher risk because of reduced biosecurity. These tags must come from PigTrace. Imports Any imported swine must get an individual identification ear tag upon arrival in Canada. Deadstock When moving deadstock from a farm, owners must report the farm’s location and the company or individual picking it up and the date. allan@fbcpublishing.com

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JULY 7, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

LOW WATER SLOWS SHIPPING

moderate EL NIÑO predicted

Dry weather has lowered water levels on the Rhine and Danube rivers in Germany, and that’s preventing cargo vessels from sailing fully loaded. Low water is hampering shipping on the Rhine between Duisburg, Cologne and Mainz, traders said. The entire German section of the Danube River is too shallow for vessels to sail fully loaded. The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities including grains, minerals, coal and oil products including heating oil. The Danube is a major route for east European grain exports, especially maize, to west Europe. — Reuters

The World Meteorological Organization is predicting a moderate El Niño this year. It says the weather phenomenon has a 60 per cent chance of becoming fully established between June and August, rising to a 75 to 80 per cent chance in October-December. During El Niño events, surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific become substantially warmer than normal, a phenomenon that is strongly linked to major climate fluctuations. This year’s likely El Niño is expected to peak in the fourth quarter of this year and dissipate after the first few months of 2015, the agency said. — Reuters

Climate change heats up ‘quants’ versus old-school forecast battle Will algorithms replace the traditional eye-on-the-sky approach to weather forecasting? By Terry Wade houston / reuters

omputer scientists are picking a new fight with old-school meteorologists, claiming finally to have cracked the code on weather forecasting at a pivotal, profitable moment for the field, as climate change roils commodities markets and industries. Banks and traders are reporting outsized profits, and losses, on everything from natural gas to grains as severe weather causes extra price volatility; power grid operators are struggling with bouts of extreme cold or droughts that crimp supplies while demand spikes; and more retailers and manufacturers are using forecasts to manage inventories. Traditional meteorologists, who look at current weather patterns to make forecasts, have long derided examining historical temperatures as “climatology,” of limited use, at best, when trying to predict the future. But applied mathematicians, some of whom once worked on Wall Street as market-predicting “quants,” see the future in patterns of historical data. After years of tinkering, they say their weather algorithms can blow away traditional forecasting. “It has taken me two solid decades to get something useful,” said data miner Ria Persad, the president of StatWeather. “Weathermen are looking at what’s happening now — they are looking at current data to get to the future,” said Persad. “They aren’t actually studying this 120 years of data log to extract patterns like we are to draw statistical lessons.” Persad looks far ahead: she sees the California drought persisting until late 2015, so far into the future as to draw scoffs from some practitioners.

Value in mixing

Traditional meteorologists use computer models as well, and some see value in mixing historical data with what is happening outside their window, but they are skeptical of relying too heavily on the past. “We only have data for the last

100 years, which is 100 winters, which is a really small sample size. It would work if we had 1,000 years or 10,000 years of data, but we don’t,” said Mike Halpert of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center. “This is kind of like being a gambler in Las Vegas, on any one hand you may lose,” he added, declining to discuss StatWeather specifically. Halpert, however, had predicted this past winter was going to be warmer than normal. Instead, it was unusually cold — just as StatWeather predicted. Only about 20 per cent of commercial forecasters saw the colder winter coming, Persad said. StatWeather nailed calls on a cold snap in late 2013 and a string of frigid temperatures through March, surprising some in the forecasting community and even Persad herself. She attributed improving accuracy to her software training itself. Another company, Global Weather Oscillations, uses historical data to predict where hurricanes will strike land and correctly predicted a weak hurricane season last year, unlike many rivals. “We don’t have to wait four days before a hurricane hits to do this. We can do it eight months into the future,” said chief executive David Dilley, whose company sells its forecasts to insurance firms and big retailers.

Managing risks

Climate change is already causing drier droughts, more intense floods and wilder temperature swings across the United States, the National Climate Assessment said in May. The winter of 2014, when frigid temperatures roiled natural gas markets as heating needs rose, may be a glimpse of what lies ahead. Major trading houses, including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, hedge funds and energy producers made and lost hundreds of millions of dollars as gas futures prices spiked by more than 50 per cent to a fiveyear high of $6.49 per million British thermal units (mmBtu)

photo: thinkstock in late February. At a delivery point into New York City, spot prices rose twentyfold. Oil giant ConocoPhillips posted some $200 million in profit during the quarter from natural gas. Texas-based hedge funds e360 and Goldfinch reportedly had gains of 14 per cent and 21 per cent in January, respectively, when gas spiked. “It was a very unusual quarter because of weather,” ConocoPhillips CFO Jeff Sheets told Reuters in May, describing a successful winter of gas trading. He warned the results might not be repeatable.

Earnings fall

Commodities giant Cargill Inc.’s quarterly earnings fell 28 per cent on market disruptions that it blamed in part on extreme weather. Most firms active in energy markets have contracts with several forecasting companies,

paying them tens of thousands of dollars a year. StatWeather, which just moved to Houston from Florida to be closer to clients, declined to detail its roster of users and several trading houses consulted by Reuters would not identify their suppliers. Air Liquide, which produces and buys power to distil specialized gases, said it relies on half a dozen suppliers — like StatWeather, Planalytics, DTN, Wilkens and Vaisala — that track not just temperature but also wind and in one case lightning. The forecasts help it monitor pipeline safety, calibrate its plants based on the price and availability of power, and gauge when the Texas grid might suffer supply disruptions. The suppliers distinguish themselves by forecast time frame; each is better at viewing a particular slice of the future, said Charles Harper, Air Liquide’s

global head of smart manufacturing. As the forecast battle continues, there’s one fundamental disagreement — whether human instinct plays a role in the science. “You live by the model, you die by the model,” said Marshall Wickman, senior meteorologist at Wilkens Weather, a unit of Rockwell Collins. The wise forecaster doesn’t wager everything on the computer, he believes. “That’s where the meteorologist comes in. The model doesn’t do everything. It’s a guide,” he said.

Daniel Bezte’s column and forecast will be back next issue.

Trim: 10.25”

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JULY 7, 2014

STRIPE RUST MONITORING ENCOURAGED

Spray fungicides before breakfast and herbicides at lunch Morning may be best for spraying fungicide, but save your herbicide application for midday By Jennifer Blair af staff / lethbridge

“So far, what we’ve seen is a trend toward the morning application being best for our fungicides.” Michael Harding

Preliminary results of Michael Harding’s night-spraying research show that morning may be the best time to spray fungicides. Photo: Jennifer Blair any means, but that’s the trend we’ve been seeing.”

Spray fungicides early

But the conditions that make herbicides least effective may actually make fungicides work best. “So far, what we’ve seen is a trend toward the morning application being best for our fungicides,” said Michael Harding, research scientist at Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “The dew and the cool conditions make it so that the fungicides don’t dry as quickly, and they may redistribute better throughout the canopy.” With fungal infections, preventing the spread of the disease is critical. “Most of the time, we can’t really cure them. Once we start seeing the symptoms, it may be too late to do anything about it,” said Harding. “We want to get them on preventively, and we want to hit our target.” Spraying at a time when temperatures are lower and relative humidity

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is high increases penetration low in the canopy where stem rots like ascochyta in pea or sclerotinia in canola attack plant stems, causing lodging at harvest time. “We actually saw our biggest results in peas,” he said, adding barley also responded well to the morning application. “We haven’t really seen any significant differences in wheat or canola, but that may have had more to do with disease pressure than with fungicides.” So far, the study’s preliminary findings suggest that morning application is best for fungicides, but the results aren’t “earth shattering,” said Harding. “We’re not suggesting you make any life-altering decisions based on what we’ve seen so far, but right now, the trend is indicating that morning for many situations could be a good time to be putting fungicides on.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

Trim: 15.5”

ime of day counts when it comes to spraying for weeds and diseases, a study being conducted by Farming Smarter suggests. “If we have a better understanding of which herbicides work better under different conditions, we might be able to come up with a schedule that will maximize our efficacies,” said Ken Coles, the Lethbridge organization’s general manager. “Whenever you do that, you have an opportunity to get better weed control, maybe a little less weed seed bank in the soils, and in certain cases… yield advantages.” Coles and his team set out to determine if night spraying might be a better option for producers who have a narrow window to spray. “The advent of auto steer has expanded the opportunity to spray at nighttime, and some guys are crazy enough to do it,” he said. “It does give you an expanded window of operation.” Most registered herbicides have little data on nighttime application, when there can be “significant differences in environmental factors.” Coles’ team sprayed four different crops — wheat, pea, canola, and barley — at three different times of day: In the morning between 4 and 5, from noon to 1 p.m., and between midnight and 1 a.m. “We’re starting to stumble upon what we thought were patterns,” he said. “When we sprayed under normal types of conditions… early was the least efficacious, night was somewhere in between, and noon was usually the best.”

In southern Alberta — where producers have been taught, “if you want to spray, you get up early and you beat the wind” — the cool temperatures and high humidity of early morning seemed to work against the herbicides, which perform best in hotter, drier conditions. “When we come in at 4 or 5 in the morning, that’s actually where the lowest temperature of the day tends to be, and it’s also the highest relative humidity. Often, we’ll have large amounts of dew,” said Coles. “We’ve sprayed in dew and had lots of luck, but so far in most conditions, that’s actually the least effective time to be spraying for most of the herbicides we’ve got going on.” But each product performed differently under different conditions. Wheat herbicides worked best overall “under most circumstances,” while a product like Liberty performed best at midday. “If I were forced to schedule a day, I would spray the wheat herbicides when it’s the coolest or early in the morning,” said Coles. “I would save my glyphosate and my Liberty for the middle of the day, and then I would spray my peas in the evening. “It’s not perfect information by

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A total of 24 winter wheat fields in the Cardston-Lethbridge, Warner, Vulcan, Taber, Forty Mile and Cypress Counties were recently surveyed for stripe rust. Stripe rust was observed at trace levels in four fields in the Coaldale-Stirling, Warner areas and at low (five per cent) levels in one field near Cardston. In the remainder of the fields, stripe rust was not detected. Producers are encouraged to monitor their fields for any signs of the disease, says Alberta Agriculture, as recent heavy rains could encourage rust development. — AARD

JULY 7, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Weed competition costing corn growers yield Corn growers have limited options for controlling Roundup Ready canola in their crops — but Group 27 herbicides offer a ‘good opportunity’ BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF STAFF / LETHBRIDGE

Agronomist Doug Moisey shows the deformed brace root system of corn plant injured by phenoxy herbicides like 2,4-D or MCPA. PHOTO: JENNIFER BLAIR

oug Moisey wouldn’t go so far as to say corn is the “wuss” of the cropping world, but it sure doesn’t put up much of a fight against weeds. “Wuss may be a strong word, but when it comes to weed control, it’s very critical,” said the DuPont Pioneer area agronomist at Farming Smarter’s field school late last month. “Corn does not like competition from weeds or other plants when it comes out of the ground.” Weed competition can begin hitting a corn crop’s yield early in the growing season, even before the plant’s stalk is out of the ground — a critical stage when the potential yield is starting to be determined. “When you look at yield, it’s the number of rows times the

number of kernels,” said Moisey. “By V4 or V5, your number of rows (around the cob) has been determined. Rather than having 18 rows, you might only have 14. “If you’ve got weed pressures going on at V3 or V4, you’re limiting your rows.” Moisey calls the yield hit an “escalating scale.” Weeds that are six inches tall when the corn is at the V1 or V2 stage will cause around 10 per cent damage to yield. When the weeds get to be 10 inches or taller, the damage is in the 20 per cent range. “Guys who are looking at spraying at this time of year — spraying this late — they’re cost a lot of yield.” Corn plants don’t begin competing against weeds until they reach the V8 to V13 stage, “when they’re starting to get leaves getting together and shade out things. That’s when it’s gotten tall enough that it’s competing well against your weed system.”

WHERE THE FUTURE IS GROWING. From the ground up, we are all working towards leaving our land a better place for future generations. Agrium starts in its own backyard when encouraging youth to help improve the environment. We are committed to educating young people about the role of agriculture in our society and economy. One of our flagship programs – the innovative “Seed Survivor” – is engaging to all age groups and incorporates curriculum-based fun and educational games. The large display and mobile units travel around the province and in fact, throughout North America. A leading global producer and marketer of crop inputs, Agrium is a strong supporter in the communities in which it operates. Agrium is a Founding Member for Ag for Life because we believe it delivers educational programming that will serve to improve rural and farm safety and build a genuine understanding and appreciation of the impact agriculture has on lives. To learn more about Ag for Life, go to agricultureforlife.ca. Visit Agrium at agrium.com.

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“Guys who are looking at spraying at this time of year — spraying this late — they’re cost a lot of yield.” DOUG MOISEY

“We typically want a field from VE — which is emergence — to about V13 that’s relatively clean.” Spraying a product like Heat pre-emergence will help with that, said Moisey. “Although it’s 13 or 14 bucks an acre, it will take everything out. It’s not a residual that’s going to harm your corn, but it could leave you weed free up until that V3 stage.” Roundup offers solid postemergent control for most weeds in a corn crop, “except one major one — Roundup Ready canola.” “This is the biggest headache for a lot of guys right now. They don’t know how to control the volunteer canola in their crop.” And control measures are limited. Phenoxy herbicides like 2,4-D and MCPA are registered for broadleaf weed control in corn, but they can cause buggy whipping and brittle snap, which causes the plants to tip over and break. They can also deform the brace root system, which is “critical” in southern Alberta’s wind, and “pinch off” the taproot system, preventing nutrient uptake. “We’re targeting one ear, and we derive most of our energy and most of our weight for silage off of that ear. If you’re limiting this nutrient uptake, you’re not getting starch.” Group 27 products — such as Amvac’s Impact or BASF’s Armezon — control volunteer canola and other weeds without causing brittle stem or buggy whipping. “When you’re looking at control for volunteer canola, there is that opportunity,” said Moisey. “What guys are doing is they’re tank mixing Atrazine, Roundup, and Impact together to get rid of their weed problems.” When using a Group 27 herbicide, producers need to use adequate water volumes and, in some cases, surfactant. In in-field trials conducted last year in northern Alberta, producers saw inadequate volunteer canola control when water volumes were dropped from the recommended 10 gallons to five gallons. “This is a contact herbicide,” said Moisey. “You have to have the water volumes and the surfactant. That’s what enhances the product.” Though the products have so far only been registered for wild and volunteer mustard control, with registration for volunteer canola control pending, Moisey sees Group 27 herbicides as a “great opportunity” for Roundup Ready canola control in corn. “This is a good way to keep your crop clean,” he said. “It’s safe on your crop and it controls volunteers, and that’s what we’re after here.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

38178_10 AFL_Agrium_8.125x10_AB Farmer Ex.indd 1

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JULY 7, 2014

Despite concessions to U.S. farmers, Big Data giants still in control The rich stream of production data could be worth billions, but farmers are being cut out BY KARL PLUME / REUTERS

n the tussle between U.S. farmers and Big Data purveyors, farmers are winning some control over details about crop and growing conditions on their land, but most data sellers are retaining ultimate say over how they can use the information that could be worth billions of dollars. Although companies like Deere & Co. and Monsanto Co.’s Climate Corp. are giving some ground by putting legal teeth behind promises made during sales pitches, they are refusing to back away from claims they have an absolute right to all data collected as combines, tractors and other equipment work fields across the country. Some farmers suspect they are not getting their share. “It’s a ploy, it’s marketing. They’re still after what they really want and that’s to get the data for free,” said Billy Tiller, a farmer and founding member of the Grower Information Services Co-operative, a farmer co-operative focused on data. The controversy centres on the emerging new market for digital information systems sold by Climate Corp., Deere and other vendors. Mounted on board farm machines as they work the fields, the new tools assist with precision planting, improved fuel efficiency, cost-efficient fertilization and other improvements to modern agronomy. They also collect and feed back the farm data, which data vendors can repackage and sell. Big Data firms from the heartland could turn into big business for the handful of companies that dominate the market: equipment makers Deere and CNH Industrial and seed companies Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer. Monsanto has said Climate Corp. could become part of a $20-billion market, and DuPont Pioneer projects $500 million in annual sales over the next decade.

“I think the data policies from a number of the companies will evolve rapidly over the next few years.” DAVE LARSON, CNH VICE-PRESIDENT FOR AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT PORTFOLIO STRATEGY

Deere’s careful recasting of contracts this spring highlight the dispute. Contracts for the agriculture giant’s telematics service no longer grant Deere open-ended rights to use all the data it collects for unspecified “business purposes.” Instead, they grant Deere the right to use data only “as needed to provide telematic services.” But in a separate document Deere provides to customers — the company’s data services and subscriptions policy — Deere declares it is free to use all the

data it collects, however it sees fit, so long as it strips away personally identifiable information. So far, farmers have been willing to share data to gain specific details on farm conditions, and companies have said they do not intend to pay farmers for data. But with Big Data companies planning to sell customer-made seeds or peddle precise crop production estimates, farmers now want a share of the value stream. The American Farm Bureau Federation in January adopted an official policy calling for more transparency and farmer control. Farm Bureau officials met with several data companies this spring to drive home the point. “Transparency is the golden rule of this data privacy conver-

sation,” said AFBF economist Matt Erickson. Company responses vary. Climate Corp. recently rewrote parts of its privacy policy, retaining the right to use farm data, promising not to use it to speculate on commodities prices, and stating it will obtain explicit consent for uses other than making improvements to Climate Corp.’s own products. CNH Industrial this month updated its user agreements to explicitly state that farmers own their agronomic data. “I think the data policies from a number of the companies will evolve rapidly over the next few years,” said Dave Larson, CNH vice-president for agricultural equipment portfolio strategy. “The market’s going to push it.”

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK/JOHN DEERE

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JULY 7, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Buildings, Fencing & Land Maintenance F E AT U R E S E C T I O N

Protecting stored hay from wildlife ‘Sweet and simple’ and 3D are two of your options, but the starting point is putting a dollar figure on the hay eaten by Bambi and his hungry mates BY TESSA NYBO

eer, elk, and moose pose a serious threat to stored hay reserves on farms across the Prairies — especially during winter when they are most desperate for feed. Hazing and chemical deterrents may keep these ungulates away in the short term, but this route is often time consuming and not a permanent solution. Fencing the perimeter of your hay storage area is often the only long-term answer to this problem. The first factor to consider before constructing a fence is to determine if the cost of the damages to your hay exceeds the cost of building the fence. Barrier and woven fences are typically more costly to construct, however, they are a strong force against annual wildlife pressure on stored hay that is continually kept in the same spot. Electrical repellent fences are a less expensive alternative and more mobile, however, they require more maintenance. Below are only a few of the many different fencing options available to farmers.

Sweet and simple

A “sweet and simple” fence lives up to its name. It consists of one or two strands of 17-gauge smooth wire at 2-1/2 feet above the ground with

foil attached at three- to four-foot intervals. In the foil spread a mixture of half peanut butter and half vegetable oil or molasses to entice ungulates to the fence. In theory, they will then avoid the fence once they have been shocked. A seven-wire vertical electric fence is slightly more secure as it has more strands of wire. However, as with the sweet and simple fence it is only effective at shocking wildlife that walk into it, and doesn’t deter animals from jumping over the fence. A slanted seven-wire electrical fence presents a physical and psychological barrier for deer, elk and moose because of its three-dimensional nature. This type of fence tends to cost slightly more to build than a simple sevenwire vertical electric fence. A variation of the slanted sevenwire electrical fence is a double electric 3D fence design where two electric fences spaced three feet apart pose a height, depth and width deterrence to ungulates, which have poor depth perception. Another version of the threedimensional fence is to put an additional four strands of electric or barbed wire at a 45-degree angle off of the top of the existing electric fence. These strands should be facing outwards towards the animals that are coming towards it, once again causing a 3D effect that the ungulates have difficulty navi-

Safe • Durable

Tessa Nybo used a trail cam to capture this picture of a moose in their haystack yard, which is only protected by barbed wire fence. A mixture of half peanut butter and half vegetable oil or molasses attracts wildlife to an electric fence, with the hope a good jolt will keep them away in future. PHOTOS: TESSA NYBO gating. The 3D fences have been documented to be an effective alternative to permanent wildlife fencing, which is more costly and non-mobile. The Peace River Forage Association of British Columbia spearheaded a 3D fencing research project from 2010 to 2012. The project consisted of eight cooperators, each with their own set of objectives for the project. Each co-operator designed a different variation on the 3D fencing concept. While results varied on each

operation, they were successful overall in mitigating wildlife damage to their hay, silage, and grain bag storage areas. “The 3D fencing is quite high maintenance as it must be checked consistently to ensure both fences remain electrified at all times in order to sustain the effectiveness of the 3D concept,” said Talon Johnson, who works with the Peace River Forage Association of British Columbia. “However, 3D fencing is a very good temporary option that is rel-

Strong • Dependable

The first factor to consider before constructing a fence is to determine if the cost of the damages to your hay exceeds the cost of building the fence.

atively simple and inexpensive to construct in comparison to permanent wildlife exclusion fencing.” Sandra Burton was one of the co-operators who was a part of the fencing project. “We have put up a number of different variations of the 3D fence over the last few years to keep deer and moose out of our stored hay and winter feeding area,” says Burton. “They definitely worked to divert wildlife from a habitual trail through our pasture, and kept them out of our stored winter feed. However, we would urge people trying 3D fences to commit to the regular maintenance periodically throughout the winter that each of the systems we tried requires.” Mitigating wildlife damage to your feed reserves can take on many forms, however, if damage is becoming reoccurring and extensive it is often economically feasible to put the effort into fencing the perimeter to exclude wildlife from these areas. There are numerous online resources for determining the specifications of the materials required and spacing recommendations. The Peace River Forage Association of British Columbia is continuing to do research on fencing to prevent wildlife damage to feed reserves, and in particular the 3D fencing concept. Results of these studies can be found at www. peaceforage.bc.ca.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JULY 7, 2014

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JULY 7, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

BUILDING, FENCING & LAND MAINTENANCE FEATURE

Replacing collapsed buildings? Build strong and to code The collapse of farm buildings last winter showed why it pays to invest in well-built, engineered structures By Ron Friesen af contributor

spate of farm buildings that collapsed from heavy snow loads this past winter has Alberta farmers looking at replacing structures they never expected to fail. More than a dozen collapsed barns were reported in central Alberta. In one case near Ponoka, more than 30 cattle were reported killed. Other cases saw expensive farm equipment either damaged or destroyed when the roofs of machine sheds crashed down on them. High snowfalls and structural problems were the main reasons for the collapses. Now producers face the task of replacing buildings which, in some cases, were not covered by insurance even though owners thought they were. Talking to insurance companies before replacing farm buildings is one of the first things producers should do, according to Kelly Lund, a project engineer with the Energy and Climate Change Section of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development in Edmonton. “Our recommendation is that they talk to their insurance companies right from the start, especially if the building or the contents are high value,” said Lund. “As soon as you don’t have insur-

ance, you are protecting your financial investment (on your own).” Lund said producers should also check with their local county to see if new and repaired farm buildings require building or development permits. Electrical wiring requires a permit, as do mechanical installations. But farm buildings themselves are subject to a surprising lack of building code requirements. They do not have to be engineered structures. Nor do they have to meet standards that other buildings do. Agricultural buildings are not covered by the National Building Code of Canada, which deals only with the design and construction of new commercial and residential buildings, as well as the substantial renovation of existing ones. The provincial building code exempts farm buildings in Alberta. A national farm building code, last published in 1995, is now defunct, although engineers might still use it as a benchmark standard. But Lund recommends constructing farm buildings to code, even though it’s not actually required. “When they look at the potential consequences for failure, why wouldn’t they get an engineered structure right from the beginning? The value is so high,” she said. “(Otherwise) the insurance company would not necessarily cover them in the event of a collapse.” Ron Britton, a retired University

This central Alberta machine shed looked OK from the front, but had actually collapsed under heavy snow this winter. Whether replacing or building new, experts say an engineered structure is worth the investment. photo: supplied of Manitoba biosystems engineer who specializes in farm buildings, says a “tremendous number” of farm buildings that went up over the years “were essentially underbuilt — just not strong enough.” Britton says the days of putting a large door at the end of a barn and storing farm equipment inside are gone because machinery today is so sophisticated and expensive. “You’re not putting up a garden shed. You’re putting up a building that has the potential to fall down on millions of dollars’ worth of equipment,” he said.

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Since the stakes are high, Britton recommends hiring an agricultural engineer who knows what pitfalls to avoid. “You’re talking about long spans and big doors because the equipment’s big. All of this means you’d better look at the wind loads and snow loads you’re going to deal with. Get someone who’s competent to deal with that to make sure you don’t just put something up that’s going to fall down.” Britton said the National Building Code contains data on expected snow and wind loads for various regions of Canada. He recommended following them to ensure a farm building is able to withstand high winds and heavy snow buildup. Britton also said sites for new buildings should be clear of windbreaks that cause snow to eddy and accumulate. According to an old rule of thumb, the distance between a building and a wind-

break should be at least twice the height of the structure. Another tip is to make sure sliding doors are secured at the bottom to keep them from flying out when the wind is strong. “If you’ve got sliding doors, which are a tradition in farm buildings, you have to be able to pin them at the bottom when they’re closed so they’re not just hanging from up top. You need to stop them from billowing out when the wind gets high,” Britton said. “You put the building up to keep the weather on the outside. You put it up to protect the equipment from the weather.” To help with the design and construction of agricultural buildings, The Farm Building Plan Service provides drawings, plans and design information. Details are available at www1.agric.gov. ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/ all/eng4729.

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JULY 7, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

BUILDING, FENCING & LAND MAINTENANCE FEATURE

Drones earning their keep on the farm Farmers like Brandon Gibb are making profitable use of their cheap and easy-to-use unmanned aerial vehicles BY SARAH WEIGUM AF CONTRIBUTOR

Brandon Gibb takes a picture of himself while using his quadcopter to survey his farm near Pincher Creek. PHOTOS: BRANDON GIBB

rom counting plants per square foot to measuring grain loss behind the combine, farmers spend a lot of time close to the ground. Sometimes, however, the best farm decisions are aided by a perspective from higher up. Drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in agriculture are making headlines, and for a couple of thousand dollars — and some remote control practice — any farmer can now get a view of his land that was once reserved for those with access to an airplane. Brandon Gibb, who farms

near Pincher Creek, purchased a quadcopter for around $1,500 this spring. His system includes a high-definition camera that can take video or still pictures and a GPS that guides the drone back to its starting position. In mid-June, Gibb’s fields were being hit by a deluge of rain and once the rain stopped, he had plans for his drone. “After the big rain I’ll spend the whole day flying around to see where there’s not enough run-off and what areas we can work on in the fall,” said Gibb. As a farmer in an irrigation district, Gibb knows the value of bringing water to the land, but now he says he needs to concentrate on moving it away. Low spots that drown out or cannot be seeded in time cost money, so he is considering surface and tile drainage to help the water flow through rather than sit on his land. Gibb discovered the benefits of a view from above while doing a university internship in Michigan. “We’d rent a helicopter twice a year to get aerial imagery. It was expensive, but it paid for itself,” he said. To Gibb, a bird’s-eye view is worth $1,000 per minute and a drone is cheaper than a biannual helicopter ride. As a drone operator zips the device over the field, the video shows up on a hand-held display, revealing things missed by simply walking through the field. “If you have plugged irrigation nozzles you’ll see striping in your field,” explained Gibb. “You can’t see it from the ground, but from the air it sticks out like a sore thumb.” He has even used the dronederived images to show his irrigation district that their pipeline left a ridge up to 24 inches high that was impeding the natural drainage in his field. “They’ve agreed to come in and fix it at their cost,” said Gibb, adding that the drone paid for itself 10 times over in one flight. He said he hopes the aerial

images can help him more effectively apply soil amendments to improve the quality and uniformity of his land. “If we can see a pattern through the growing season then we can go in there and figure out what’s going on and try to even up the field without spending a lot of money on variable-rate applications.” It took some practice for Gibb to master operating the drone and he suggests new users practise in an open field without trees or buildings. His UAV comes with some handy user-friendly features, such as an automatic return to home if the battery is dying or the drone gets out of range. If Gibb is on the do-it-yourself end of the UAV spectrum, then Owen Brown of Isis Geomatics in Lethbridge is on the other. Brown and business partner Steve Myshak started the company in 2011 with the goal to gather and distil data for both the agriculture and energy sectors. They have spent at least a hundred times what Gibb has on UAVs and sensing technology. With their combined expertise in remote sensing and surveying, Brown and Myshak provide their clients not only with raw images but also usable data. “Farmers can have their own drones, but what do you do with the data afterwards?” said Brown. “That’s where our expertise lies — in extracting information from data after we’ve collected it.” Use real-time kinematic (RTK) navigation — a more precise form of GPS — to produce survey-grade drainage maps that can be used for installing tile drainage. The best drainage map Isis Geomatics can create would cost a little over $11 per acre, said Brown. Other data they can provide include plant health mapping, and both cattle and silage inventories for beef producers. Isis Geomatics is fully certified by Transport Canada to operate anywhere in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Pincher Creek farmer Brandon Gibb has found numerous uses for his unmanned aerial vehicle, including identifying low spots needing tile or surface drainage.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JULY 7, 2014

Community news and events from across the province

what’s

Send agriculture-related meeting and event announcements to: glenn.cheater@fbcpublishing.com July 8: Disease and Insect Crop Tour, Manning. Contact: Nora 780-836-3354 July 8: Erosion Control, Drainage & Watershed Restoration Workshop, NPARA Research Farm, Manning. Contact: Nora 780-836-3354 July 8: SARDA Summer Field School, Donnelly Sportex, Donnelly. Contact: Shelleen Gerbig 780-837-2900 July 9: 2014 Summer Field Tour — Organic Alberta, Lethbridge. Contact Marianne 1-855-521-2400 July 9 LARA Summer Field School, Bonnyville. Contact: Alyssa Krone 780-826-7260 July 10-12: Balancing the TradeOff between Productivity and Environmental Health, University of Lethbridge. Contact: Sheri Strydhorst 780-674-8248 July 12 & 18-19: Year Round Grazing Systems, pasture walk in Busby July 12 and classroom sessions July 18-19 in Vermilion. Contact: Steve Kenyon 780-307-6500

A rare steak is rare indeed in China By Alexis Kienlen af staff

hina is famous for dishes — from snake to thousand-year-old eggs — that are alien to palates of westerners. But Cheryl Hazenberg found it all depends on your viewpoint. The director of technical services at the Canadian Angus Association, who is travelling the world studying traceability as a 2014 Nuffield scholar, spent two weeks in China in May talking to ordinary people about food safety issues. “When I tell them that we don’t cook our beef all the way through, and we like it medium or more rare than that, they were revolted and said, ‘Well, how do you not get sick?’” she said. “I thought that was a really interesting conversation to have. We can’t just waltz right in and expect them to start using beef and pork the way we do in North America.” “Trying to process everything” has been the biggest challenge since beginning her Nuffield travel. “For China, the biggest thing

Alberta Nuffield scholar Cheryl Hazenberg is interviewed during her trip to China. I learned was how advanced its agriculture industry actually is, and how much progress it’s made in 10 years, in the very broad sense of the whole industry,” she said. Hazenberg also spent three weeks in Australia, interviewing numerous people about that country’s traceability system. While Down Under, she met with

akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

Multimillion-dollar gift for ag-business program

July 14: Trees and Bees...And More...Field Day, Don & Marie Ruzicka’s farm, Viking. Contact: Kelsey Fenton 780-348-4129 or Don Ruzicka 780-385-2474 July 17: Controlled Traffic Farming Field Day, James’ Yard, Jarvie/Dapp. Contact: Controlled Traffic Farming Association 780-720-4346 July 17-19: Society for Range Management (International Section) Annual Tour, Vermilion/ Wainwright area. Contact: Kelly 780-387-6665 or Jill 780-387-6323 July 22: 2014 Pulse/Canola/ Wheat/Barley Crop Walks & Research Plot Tours, Lacombe (also July 24 in Barrhead, July 25 Morinville, July 29 in Vegreville, July 30 in Lacombe). Contact: Kelly or Cindy 780-674-8268

Lethbridge College release

One of southern Alberta’s most prominent farm entrepreneurs has donated $5 million to establish an agribusiness program at the University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College. Cor Van Raay and his late wife, Christine, settled in the Iron Springs area of southern Alberta in the early 1960s, purchasing a half section of cropland and later adding a small herd of Holstein cattle. They expanded into sugar beets and built one of the country’s most successful cattle operations. Cor Van Raay co-founded Butte Grain Merchants, continued to build his cattle business with an increasing emphasis on sustainable business practices, and became a majority owner of a very successful southern Alberta John Deere dealership, from which he recently retired. Cor has now shifted his focus to a new farming operation he’s establishing in Saskatchewan. The $5-million gift will be shared jointly between the university and college, and used for student awards, academic programming,

Alberta Barley scholarships awarded

representatives from Meat and Livestock Australia, Certified Australian Angus Beef, toured a packing plant, and chatted with cowcalf producers in various regions. “I’m very impressed by their system and I think they’ve done a wonderful job down there and they have a lot of unique situations that I wish we could have in Canada,” she said.

“Their cattle is spread out throughout most of their country. We have more land, but our cattle is more centrally located.” Australia has completely integrated its system and it works very effectively, said Hazenberg. The Nuffield Scholar program is a bursary for $15,000 that funds at least 10 weeks of global travel. Hazenberg, one of two Albertans who received a 2014 scholarship, heads off later this summer to Ireland, England and France. She will also be visiting a number of South American countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay at a later date. As part of the Nuffield program, scholars pick a topic and research it by travelling to other countries to talk to industry experts. Scholars have two years to work on their project, must submit a report and present their findings, and promise to continue working on ways to get them implemented into the Canadian agricultural system. Follow Hazenberg’s Nuffield journey on Twitter at @ CherylHazenberg or at www. havevacationwilltravel.blogspot. ca.

arisa Jancewicz, Laurel Perrott, and Alireza Akhavan, are the recipients of the first annual Alberta Barley scholarships. Perrott is from Whitecourt, currently works as an agronomic adviser for Cargill in Vermilion, and is about to begin her master’s program at the University of Alberta. She will be researching intensive agronomic practices to maximize feed barley yields. Jancewicz, from Calgary, is studying ruminant nutrition in her PhD program at the University of Saskatchewan at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in

Lethbridge. She will examine the use of near infrared spectroscopy to track the efficiency of barley grain utilization in feedlot cattle. Akhavan is originally from Iran and is studying barley pathology in his PhD program at the University of Alberta. His project will look at diversity in genetics, virulence and fungicide sensitivity of western Canadian net blotch populations. “Their research has the ability to maximize the potential of barley and actively grow our industry,” said Alberta Barley chairman Matt Sawyer. Each scholarship is worth $2,000.

an Agriculture Entrepreneur in Residence (Lethbridge College) and an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program (University of Lethbridge). “In partnership with Lethbridge College and the U of L, this gift will help position southern Alberta as a leader in the agricultural industry,” said Van Raay. “I’m really looking forward to the future.” The Cor Van Raay Southern Alberta Agribusiness Program, a joint program offered by the two schools, will focus on ag-economics, business development, entrepreneurship, finance, human resource management, commodity and futures trading, and general management and leadership with a focus on agricultural innovation. “Through the establishment of this program, we will be able to create student opportunities such that we educate future generations in agribusiness practices that enable them to successfully operate wide-ranging businesses in the agricultural sector,” said Mike Mahon, president of the University of Lethbridge.

Cor Van Raay Photo: Courtesy University of Lethbridge

Harvest Gala tickets on sale Ag for Life release

Tickets for Agriculture for Life’s third annual Harvest Gala fundraiser on Nov. 8 are now on sale. The event, held at the BMO Centre in Calgary, raises funds for educational programming on rural and farm safety, and to promote understanding and appreciation of the impact agriculture has on Albertan’s lives. “With more and more people removed from the farm, it’s vital that we continue to share agriculture’s story,” says David Sprague, Ag for Life CEO.

“Ag for Life programs will reach 50,000 people this year, including 40,000 schoolaged children through community- and curriculum-based programs. The goal is to continue to invest and reach 100,000 rural and urban Alberta children aged five to 15 in the next two years.” Last year’s gala hosted close to 600 people from agriculture, business and government. Tickets are $250 each or $1,800 for a table of eight. Special ticket discounts are available for registered not-for-profit organizations, agricultural post-secondary students, clubs, and associations. To purchase tickets, go to www.agricul tureforlife.ca or call 1-888-931-2951.

JULY 7, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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ANTIQUES ANTIQUES Antique Equipment 1939 JD “BR” TRACTOR to restore; 1955 IHC R100 PU, started to restore. Offers. Phone (780)682-2279 AUGUST 9 &10, 2014 the Eighth Annual IHCC Ch 38 show will be held on the grounds of the Western Development Museum in North Battleford Sask. We will be joining WDM to celebrate their annual “Those were the days” & join them on the occasion of their 65th birthday. www.nbattleford@wdm.ca All IH machinery, trucks, tractors, household, stationary engines, power units, cub cadets & anything else marketed by IH are welcome. Membership annual meeting w/banquet & guest speaker. More information available from show chairman Gary Algot. (780)741-2115. www.ihc38.com

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1-800-665-1362 AUTO & TRANSPORT AUTO & TRANSPORT Trucks 03’ CHEV 1500 PICKUP, 5.3L V8, AT, air, cruise, tilt. Nice topper, excellent tires, 2WD, etc. $4500. Phone:(403)886-4285.

BUSINESS SERVICES BUSINESS SERVICES Crop Consulting

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

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous

Spraying EquipmEnt

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RON SAUER

SPRAYING EQUIPMENT Sprayers

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

(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 .............................. $27,500 555 JD Crawler Loader, 250 hrs. on rebuilt engine, good condition ................................................... $17,500 8070 AC Tractor, FWA, wheel base extended, with duals........................................................... $22,500 275 MF Tractor, diesel, multi power, 3 pth, new 18.4 x 30, front weights, loader available, looks and runs great .. $12,500 B 275 IHC Diesel Tractor, 3 pth, pto, runs good ......$3,500 51’ Degelman Landroller, only done 3,000 acres, as new.... .......................................................... $40,000 Degelman Dozer Frame MF 4000 Series 4WD .$1,000 31’ Flexicoil B Chisel Plow,3 bar harrows, extensions to 41’ incl., 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, excellent condition .............................................. $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, runs good ................................... $8,500 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 New E-Kay 7” Bin Sweep .............**In Stock** $1,785 New E-Kay 7”, 8”, 9” Bin Sweeps available.........Call 8” Wheat Heart Transfer Auger, hydraulic drive.. $1,500 18.4 x 30, tractor tire & tube .....................................$350 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

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

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

Combines COMBINES Combines - Various

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

1999 CAT 460 1,400 sep. hrs, rake up $66,000; Road King ground loadstock trailer, 8 x 42.5-ft, will haul 25 cows, $6,500; 2013 Highline 651 Bale Pro, chain floor, twine cutter, big tires, $14,000. Call:(403)665-2341, Craigmyle, AB.

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

ACREAGE EQUIPMENT: CULTIVATORS, DISCS, Plows, Blades, Post pounders, Haying Equipment, Etc. (780)892-3092, Wabamun, Ab.

COMBINES Accessories

INTL 4000 SWATHER 19.5-FT. & 14-ft. draper headers, cab, A/C, $5,500; 1989 150 Ford good topper & tires, parts only. Phone (403)722-2409 or (403)845-0414.

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

BUILDINGS

MORRIS B3-48 RODWEEDER, $650; Morris 519-ft csisel plow, single wing $950; CCIL circulra harrow, 3 ring 27-ft $350, 1 ring, 10-ft $200 Phone:(403)782-2545. Alberta Farmer Express classifieds, 1-800-665-1362.

TracTors TRACTORS John Deere

Pioneer One Steel Buildings

Call toll free 1 (877) 525-2004 or see us online at www.pioneeronesteel.com

BOW VALLEY TRADING LTD.

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

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

1-877-641-2798

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

CALL 1-866-388-6284

PUREBRED CHAROLAIS HERD for sale. Selling small herd due to retirement. 20 plus cows w/calves & 7 bred heifers. Excellent young herd sire available as well. Good young healthy herd. Would be a good start up for any operation or if you would like to add a few nice quiet cows to your existing herd. Contact Rob & Alma Ross at White Heather Charolais. (403)946-5936 rlross@telusplanet.net

www.milliganbiofuels.com TIRES

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Hereford RARE 1980 JD 1840 Mint Condition, always stored inside, Excellent Rubber, Well maintained, serviced regularly, 7,260-hrs, Open Station, MFWD, Hi/Low Tran, 148 Loader, 96-in. Bucket, 65-HP, 2 hyd, 3-pt, 540 PTO. Serious inquires only, coming from a family farm. Firm $21,000 this tractor has been well taken care of. (780)942-2980

TRACTORS Various WANTED TO BUY: STEIGER PTA tractor, any year or condition, please call (403)550-4004 with details.

JD 7710 FWA, complete with loader JD 2950 complete with ldr. with 3 pth hitch JD 4440 ldr. available JD 4240 complete with ldr. JD 4020 c/w ldr. & new motor NH SP 2450 Haybine, 16 ft. header, 1015 hrs. JD 7700, 740 ldr. ST 250 Steiger, tires new 20.8 x 38 Clamp on Duals, 20.8x38-18.4x38 158, 148, 265, 725, 740, 280, JD ldr.

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.

HEAT & AIR CONDITIONING

When you go with steel you get the right deals!

1-877-250-5252

YEARLING BLACK ANGUS BULLS, $2500 each, free delivery within 100-miles. Phone (403)578-3312

www.bigtractorparts.com

$28,418

“ON FARM PICK UP”

TILLAGE & SEEDING Tillage Equipment

1-800-982-1769 40’ X 60’ X 16’ RIGID FRAME STEEL BUILDING

GOOD SELECTION OF JD & CASE SP SPRAYERS AND 4WD TRACTORS

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Black Angus

FINANCE, TRADES WELCOME 780-696-3527, BRETON, AB

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous

• Competitive Prices • Prompt Movement • Spring Thrashed

Tillage & Seeding

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

FARM MACHINERY

HEATED & GREEN CANOLA

“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

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Wanted

HAYING & HARVESTING

BUYING:

4955 JD low hrs, 3 pth, very clean S680 JD Combine low hrs 2011 4730 JD Sprayer, 100 ft. 4050 JD, fwa loader with complete front end NH T8050 with fwa 4920 Macdon, 21 ft. D.S.A.

**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**

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.

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

MACHINERY LTD.

Round up the cash! Advertise your unwanted equipment in the Alberta Farmer Express classifieds.

FARM MACHINERY Parts & Accessories

SEED/FEED/GRAIN Grain Wanted

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

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

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Limousin WILLOWCREST LIMOUSIN. REASONABLY PRICED guaranteed yearling & 2-yr old Limousin bulls for sale. Quiet, polled, semen checked, delivery available, 27-yrs in the business. Call Harvey (780)623-2468.

New 30.5L-32 16 ply, $1,995; 20.8-38 12 ply $795; 24.5-32 14 ply, $1,495; 14.9-24 12 ply, $486; 16.9-28 12 ply $558; 23.1-30 12 ply, $1,495; 18.4-26 10 ply, $890; 11R22.5 16 ply, $299. Factory direct. More sizes available new and used. 1-800-667-4515. www.combineworld.com Stretch your advertising dollars! Place an ad in the classifieds. Our friendly staff is waiting for your call. 1-800-665-1362.

TRAILERS

REAL ESTATE

TRAILERS Trailers Miscellaneous

REAL ESTATE Land For Rent WANTED: ACCESS TO LAND in Central AB for gopher hunting purposes, willing to travel. Phone (780)542-0323.

TANDEM GERRY’S BOOSTER, $7,900 OBO; 16 wheel Whillock jeep, $8,900; Bottom dump Super B grain trailer, $19,500; TA belly dump, $15,900; (403)704-3509.

REAL ESTATE Land For Sale

TRAVEL

WANTED: ACCESS TO LAND in Central AB for gopher hunting purposes, willing to travel. Phone (780)542-0323.

AGRICULTURAL TOURS

Hit our readers where it counts… in the classifieds. Place your ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifed section. 1-800-665-1362.

SEED / FEED / GRAIN SEED/FEED/GRAIN 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

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Select Holidays 1-800-661-4326

www.selectholidays.com

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

www.penta.ca

1-800-587-4711

JULY 7, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

FARMING SMARTER & CYPRESS COUNTY present the

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July 17TH, 2014 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

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