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Neonic controversy shouldn’t affect canola producers Ontario eyes restricting use of popular pesticide after bee deaths

New root rots slamming Alberta pea growers Producers across the Prairies are facing devastating losses in their pea crops — and new species of root rots may be to blame

BY JENNIFER BLAIR

BY GLENN CHEATER AF STAFF

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he latest salvo in the ongoing controversy over neonicotinoids won’t affect Alberta canola growers, but it reinforces the need to “get the message out,” says the chairman of the Alberta Canola Producers Commission.

SEE NEONICS  page 6

AUGUST 4 , 2014

AF STAFF / THREE HILLS

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n bad years — those with cool, wet springs; years like this one — Donald Mueller is lucky if his pea fields yield three bushels an acre. He’ll make back his seed and not much else, losing north of $400 an acre in inputs.

Still, the good years have made up for the bad, so for 25 years, Mueller has grown peas.

But no longer. Devastating root rots that wither and kill his crops have forced him to throw in the towel.

And he’s likely to be one of many.

Experts say new types of root rots are already having a huge impact on some pea fields across the province, and the problem looks set to become much worse.

For Mueller, who farms near Three Hills, there’s not much choice in the matter.

“It’s beat us up so bad that, for now, we can’t afford to grow them,” he said.

“We’ll eliminate them from our rotation until there’s some resolve on this.”

Mueller first noticed the problem in his pea fields four or five years ago, when his crops started to become yellow and stunted.

“I did some soil tests and asked

SEE PEAS  page 6

Donald Mueller’s pea fields near Three Hills have been devastated by root rots for the last time.

The longtime grower is moving away from peas after this year’s wreck. PHOTO: JENNIFER BLAIR

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NEWS » INSIDE THIS WEEK

INSIDE » COLOUR IT HOT AND DRY Moisture shortage is the story so far in this growing season

AUGUST 4, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

LIVESTOCK

CROPS

COLUMNISTS

IN DEMAND

‘SHOCKING’ NEWS

DAVID WALKER

18

BRENDA SCHOEPP

CAROL SHWETZ

13

Whether it’s meat, milk or breeding stock, goat producers just can’t keep up

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A surprising way to control wild oats

BRIEFS

CUT THE ODDS OF YOUR HORSE GETTING ARTHRITIS

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Clem to rise again

Wheat breeders have powerful new tool Canadian researchers are part of an international team that has mapped the first chromosome-based draft sequence of the wheat genome.

“The release of the chromosomal draft of the wheat genome sequence will accelerate gene discovery in wheat, and pave the way for development of tools to improve breeding of complex traits such as yield, insect and disease resistance, and end-use quality,” said Curtis Pozniak, one of the principal investigators.

The University of Saskatchewan professor and wheat breeder is one of the project leaders of CTAG (Canadian Triticum Advancement through Genomics), a multi-year, multimillion-dollar project.

“The chromosome-based draft is a technical tour de force and highlights improvements in sequencing and bioinformatics over the last few years,” said Andrew Sharpe, co-principal investigator.

The CTAG initiative is Canada’s contribution to the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium, which has more than 1,000 researchers sequencing each of the 21 chromosomes of bread wheat. The first chromosome mapped, 3B, is the largest wheat chromosome.

Wheat ranks third behind corn and rice in volume produced (almost 700 million tonnes) and first in planted area (215 million hectares), partly because it grows in a wide range of environments.

It is a staple for about 30 per cent of the world’s people. U OF S RELEASE

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TRADING UP TO A BETTER FUTURE

BE FEARFUL NO MORE Expert says fear of bloat worse than condition

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GRAIN BACKLOG STORY HAS A NEW TWIST

Since Clem T. Go-Fur was commissioned in 1991, the hamlet has become famous — infamous to some — for its playful dioramas featuring stuffed gophers

BY JOHNNIE BACHUSKY AF CONTRIBUTOR

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Clem T. Go-Fur not only inspired the creation of Torrington’s Gopher Hole Museum, but also led to the hamlet’s fire hydrants — all 11 of them — being painted as cartoonish gopher characters. PHOTO: CINDY PHAN

here is lingering mourning and a touch of anxiety in the hamlet of Torrington as citizens await the return of the community’s beloved mascot, Clem T. Go-Fur. The cartoonish overall-clad four-metre-tall statue was created in 1991, but has been out of service since last fall after falling off his pedestal.

“I was very disappointed. It means a lot to tourism and to the community,” said Dianne Kurta, director of the village’s “World Famous” Gopher Hole Museum, which has attracted national and international attention, both for its whimsy and because it has miffed some animal rights groups.

The museum features tongue-in-cheek dioramas of stuffed gophers (actually Richardson’s ground squirrels) in tiny costumes and engaged in a host of human activities from fishing and farming to curling and card playing.

“We were looking for something different to attract people (to) our town and they knew the museum was the way to go,” she said. “So they decided to stuff gophers and make a museum out of stuffed gophers and it has done its job.”

The museum (www.gopher holemuseum.ca) is now in its

19th year and attracts about 7,000 to 8,000 tourists a year to the hamlet of just over 170 people, located 35 kilometres east of Olds.

Clem, who inspired the museum, will be restored to his full glory, said Al Hoggan, chief administrative officer for Kneehill County.

“We have Clem in the public works shop and, as time permits, we are slowly rebuilding him,” said Hoggan.

It’s believed both vandalism and “inherent design flaws” caused Clem’s unfortunate current condition.

Water getting inside the fibreglass statue rusted the interior metal pipe that attached it to its concrete base, Hoggan said.

“Either in a good wind or somebody pushing Clem, it fell over from age and the original design,” he said.

When Clem does return, the community may hold a celebration to mark the occasion, said Kurta.

“I really would like to because there has been a lot of people who have come to the museum and had their picture taken with Clem,” she said. “And people do come back and they say, ‘Where’s Clem?’

“That is one of the main things they look forward to because he stood right at the corner of Torrington and he is so noticeable when he is there.”

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • AUGUST 4, 2014

Rodeo star an ambassador for ranching and the western way of life Scott Schiffner has thrilled countless thousands with his bull riding, but he’s also riding hard to preserve cowboy traditions

By Glenn Cheater af staff

I

f the Calgary Stampede gave out a buckle for the best oneliner, Scott Schiffner would have won it hands down.

“I love inflation,” proclaimed the bull rider and rancher from Strathmore as he held up his $100,000 winner’s cheque.

That sum was exactly double what Schiffner won in 2001, the last time he captured top honours at the stampede rodeo.

But the truth is that those sorts of paydays are rare, even for one of the country’s top rodeo stars.

A week after his big win, Schiffner was off to the Moose Mountain Pro Rodeo in Kennedy, Sask.

“That’s about an 8-1/2-hour drive from my place, and the top prize is about $1,000,” he said.

“The organizing committees at these rodeos try real hard and we owe them all kinds of gratitude, but it’s difficult.”

But worth it, he’s quick to add.

“The biggest reason why I promote rodeo is that I truly believe it is part of our heritage — it’s a lifestyle that’s dying and I don’t want to see it go away,” said Schiffner, who is as well known for promoting the sport as performing in it.

“Every night after school, kids go running home and pick up hockey sticks to play street hockey. I want to see kids come home and pick up a rope, or beg Mom and Dad for that horse, or have a buckin’ barrel in their yard. It’s our heritage and we don’t want to lose that.”

Schiffner — who with wife Brandy has 225 mother cows at their cow-calf operation at S Bar S Ranch — is also an example of how that heritage remains a foundation for Western Canada’s beef industry.

In 2011, he was asked by the Calgary Stampede to visit China and promote its upcoming 100th anniversary. He was such a hit — he jokes he’s never had his picture taken so often — that he was invited by the federal government to go again.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me that turned into a twice-in-a-lifetime one,” he says.

“I got the opportunity to go over to China with Stephen Harper and a bunch of other people, and we did a few press conferences and I got to promote the Calgary Stampede. It was great. It’s not too often that you get to go to a market of one billion people and talk about what you stand for and truly believe in.”

The response was overwhelming and Schiffner said he saw over and over again how deeply the cowboy lifestyle resonates with people on the other side of the world.

“For kids over there, a cowboy is like a ninja to us,” he said. “I grew up wanting to be a ninja and do backflips across the yard. Well, it’s vice versa for them. When I showed up, they were very enthralled with what I could do — and for me, it’s just my daily life.”

Six-year-old Maysa Schiffner and sister Hadley, four, help their dad with his big cheque while eight-month-old Oaklyn looks on. photo: Mike Copeland www.mikecopeman.com

“The biggest reason why I promote rodeo is that I truly believe it is part of our heritage — it’s a lifestyle that’s dying and I don’t want to see it go away.”

Scott Schiffner

With more than 4,000 bull rides under his belt, Schiffner is taking his rodeo career one year at a time. It’s something that wouldn’t be possible without his wife, and her parents, John and Madonna Kalbhen, who have a 600-cow herd at Saddle Ridge Ranch, six miles down the road from S Bar S. “We kind of run our operations together, so there’s always help when I’m gone — and I’m gone a lot,” he said.

“I also married a woman who can take care of things herself during calving and so on. I’m just very fortunate to be able to wear two hats — both of which I love.”

Scott Schiffner (on the stairs in red chaps and holding a bull rope) was the centre of attention when he travelled to China on a federal trade mission in February 2012. photo: Government of Canada

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AUGUST 4, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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

Are Prairie farmers still keen to move grain?

Reporters Alexis Kienlen, Edmonton 780-668-3121 Email: akienlen@fbcpublishing.com Jennifer Blair, Red Deer 403-613-7573 Email: jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

Canadian Grain Commission data shows deliveries to elevators have slowed considerably

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By David Walker

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T

he pace at which the handling and transportation system has been able to move grain off the Prairies and into export markets this spring has almost certainly exceeded all expectations.

But the data through to late July has raised a new question: Are Prairie farmers still keen to move all the exceptional 2013 harvest?

What’s clear is the politically opportunistic mandates imposed by the federal government have been exceeded by consistent and wide margins. The debate surrounding their implementation was less on the level of the mandated movement but more on the penalties for not achieving them, suggesting no great expectation that they would be achieved.

Nevertheless, bulk exports have been running in a range of between 900,000 and a million tonnes per week. This far exceeds a rate of just over 800,000 tonnes per week — achieved only briefly — in the previous record year for bulk exports in 1991.

Should shipments (export and domestic) continue at their current pace, farmer deliveries will exceed 50 million tonnes for the 2013-14 crop year. That’s about seven million tonnes above those of last year. However, supplies are about 20 million tonnes larger. So there will still be a hefty, but not necessarily burdensome, accumulation of year-end stocks, and much of that could be worked off during the six weeks in the new crop year before the new crop is available in volume.

But will this happen?

There is evidence that supplies

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april-June Primary elevator stocks

Secondly, basis has been very slow to recover from the devastating declines in late 2013. Although measures of the general level of basis are far from precise, it is clear that grain companies have yet to bid up basis to levels of a year ago. There may be a very reasonable expectation that basis levels are about to recover and therefore worth waiting for.

Both of these factors are undoubtedly at play.

But the statistics from the Canadian Grain Commission show how much things have changed.

It was only a few months ago that farmers were demanding government do something because they could not move their grain.

Now, the statistics show, farmers are choosing not to deliver grain.

It’s a perfectly reasonable choice. Basis levels for crops such as wheat remain terrible. For whatever reason, grain buyers are not encouraging deliveries.

As well, this appears to be a more average year for production.

So farmers — presumably those who have room in their bins and no pressing need for cash — are making the decision to hold back deliveries in hopes that it will be more profitable to store grain rather than sell it.

There will likely be a pickup in deliveries prior to harvest as farmers adjust their marketing strategies before taking off the 2014 crop.

But that will be their choice.

The railways have opened up space in the country elevator system. What is not clear is why grain companies have not narrowed their basis to year-ago levels in an attempt to attract farmer deliveries to fill that space.

David Walker is a freelance agricultural economist in Edmonton who has worked for numerous agencies in Canada and the U.K. He has more than 45 years’ experience in agricultural market and policy analysis. His commentaries and market analyses can be found at www.open-i.ca.

With appropriate support, small-scale farmers could drive economic growth in Africa

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By Laura Rance

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available for shipment by the railways are drying up.

Country elevator stocks were much above recent-year levels early in the spring and that remained the case during spring seeding, when supplies are normally run down.

Given the hue and cry over the lack of delivery opportunities last winter, it might be expected that as soon as farmers had their crop in the ground, they would resume elevator deliveries.

However, this has not been the case.

The accompanying chart shows primary elevator stocks from April to June over the last six years. This year, April began with much higher stocks. Typically, they decline until seeding is over and farmers once again have time to haul their grain and oilseeds. But this year’s surge was short lived and primary elevators stocks are now in the normal range for the past five years when crop movement dropped off.

As well, there has been a dramatic decline in unfilled rail car orders by grain companies with the decline reportedly resulting from cancellations rather than fills. For CN Rail, this wish list of unfilled orders has declined from almost 32,000 spots — or more than six weeks of grain car supply — in early April to under 8,000 or less than 10 days of supply in mid-July.

This development was not unexpected.

First, farmers have marketed record amounts of grain since harvest (more than 40 million tonnes since October). But they may now be taking a cautious approach to running down farm storage with 2014 crop prospects not entirely certain.

manitoba co-operator editor

W

henever the discussion turns to how mechanization can improve African grain production, a certain image comes to mind.

It’s of a row of red tractors lined up along the edge of an abandoned collective farm south of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, rusting in the encroaching underbrush while farmers cultivate the fields by hand or with oxen.

I’m not saying it’s a fair image, just that it was a lasting one.

Tractors similar to these relics were still in use when I visited a Canadian-sponsored wheat development project in northern Tanzania in 1990, but I suspect they are suffering much the same fate. Even then, the project’s on-the-ground co-ordinators could see the writing on the wall.

Sure, that land could grow wheat, once the nomadic locals and their livestock were pushed aside — along with the snakes lurking in the waist-high grass.

But the mechanized power imported from North America was completely inappropriate. Prairie-style tillage resulted in rapid erosion of the rolling landscape. Local workers had had no experience with motors, parts

and fuel and had to be hauled thousands of kilometres over roads that became non-existent during the rainy season, and the harvest bagged and hauled out over the same route.

Once the foreign support ended, so did the project.

Certainly, there continue to be the grand schemes, such as the agricultural business park rolled out in the Democratic Republic of Congo just last month.

With 80 million hectares of arable land and some 70 per cent of the population working in subsistence farming, the government there quite rightly wants to diversify its economy away from mining and reduce the $1.5 billion spent on food imports annually.

It has created the 75,000-hectare Bukanga Lonzo park where it hopes both foreign and local farmers will grow crops as well as meat and fish to be mainly sold in Kinshasa, which is home to some 10 million people.

It’s spending $83 million to set up the project, including shiny new equipment that wouldn’t look out of place on a North American farm. And there is a place for that there.

However, there is also a need for equipment designed for the two- to 10-hectare farmers, who with a few tools and a little more know-how have shown they can dramatically increase their productivity.

Take, for example, two-wheel walk-behind

tractors, similar to what we would know as a garden tiller. But they don’t till, they direct seed two rows at a time. Their cost, at between $800 and $4,000 is attainable with the help of financing, and the potential for a farmer using his investment to do custom work for neighbours.

There’s a compelling case for technology on this small scale. Population is growing faster than food production in many African countries, and the agricultural sector has remained relatively stagnant for four decades or more. The sheer drudgery and low returns inherent to the farming model used by most has no appeal to the younger set. Once they leave, they don’t return.

But by merging some innovative business development models with philanthropy and energy-saving and soil-stewardship characteristics of conservation agriculture with small-scale mechanization, there is an opportunity to convert struggling subsistence farm families to small commercial operators.

As we’ve seen time and time again, including here on the Prairies, it is those small commercial operators who become the engines of economic growth for a nation. They need the right technology, not necessarily the biggest technology. laura@fbcpublishing.com

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • AUGUST 4, 2014

Where will trade grow? straight from the hip } There is a host of buyers for Canadian

beef and many opportunities to grow the sector By brenda schoepp

T

he average age of the farmer in Japan is now 62, and very few farms are being started.

This has left land abandoned or underutilized, with Japanese farmers now supplying just 39 per cent of the nation’s caloric intake (down from 73 per cent in 1965), which is a measure of self-sufficiency.

Japan is in the race to be Canada’s second-largest trading partner for agriculture and food, buying $4.2 billion in goods from us in 2012, which is nearly double what it was at the start of the century. Canada’s trade profile with Japan is varied, but is heavy on oilseeds, cereals and meat. In the area of beef, trade with Japan is stagnant because competitors are aggressively selling into the market (although last year, beef sales rose 19 per cent by volume).

Trade with South Korea is

expected to be a growth area, thanks to a trade agreement that will eliminate tariff rates of 40 per cent over the next 15 years.

(Offal will go from 18 per cent to zero in an 11-step process that will take at least that many years.) That’s not a fast pace and is expected to benefit the next generation of Canadian producers rather than the current one.

South Korea went from one of Canada’s largest beef markets prior to 2003 to a small bit of trade worth $7.8 million in 2013 at a 40 per cent tariff rate.

Although beef industry negotiators predict that annual trade to Korea will reach $10 million, they are reluctant to give it a timeline.

What about the European Union?

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement has not been completed, but it’s estimated it will result in EU eventually taking an additional 500,000 head of cattle.

We are seeing the speculative response to this now as Cana-

dian inventory of beef cows is 1.4 million head less than it was in 2003. Predictions it will take a couple of years to implement this trade deal are kind, but this is an important agreement that targets a huge population.

I’ve often talked about China in this column, but the nation remains a bit of a mystery because of its high debt (estimated at $23.3 trillion), sluggish economy, and because consumers are backing off in their purchase of domestic food and beverage (which is often a precursor to a slide in other domestic spending). Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz moved the trade file with China forward this June with an agreement to allow bone-in beef under 30 months and live animal shipments to China. China has raced past Japan, once Canada’s premier destination for agri-food products, and bought $5.6 billion of Canadian agricultural exports in 2013. The latest deal has the potential for $240 million worth of annual beef sales.

Earlier in the year an agreement was reached with Taiwan to allow for Canadian beef under 30 months of age. This market also has huge potential because the nation of 24 million people imports 94 per cent of is beef. Canada continues to ship 10 per cent of beef exports to Mexico, which is expected to be surpassed by shipments to Hong Kong and Macau.

Although Canada ships beef to 70 different markets, 73 per cent of its beef and live cattle go to the United States (of which 77 per cent comes from Alberta). Over a million head of live cattle went to the U.S. in 2013, severely shorting Canadian markets when beef cow inventories remained depleted.

With such an open slate of candidates, Canadian beef can go anywhere.

Most certainly Russia has been in the game and the collection of small deals by Minister Ritz has been especially important to the industry. It looks like China is set to dominate, but

with the shifts in economies anything is possible.

As a nation, we also have to be aware that our trade deficit in agri-food is growing, meaning we import more than we export.

This is especially true in processed meats. So “trade” may offer an opportunity to grow in country as well as agreements between processors, service providers, producers and infrastructures are sought.

At the very least, it is imperative that we maintain self-sufficiency so we do not become a mirror image of Japan – unable to meet the food needs of the nation. Where trade will grow will depend largely on the speed in which trade agreements are implemented and the number of years that it takes for import tariffs to be reduced.

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

Sensationalism, not science, is driving the neonic controversy Laying the blame for a collection of environmental issues at the feet of a single technology is very convenient, but hugely overly simplistic

by Pierre Petelle

T

here’s no question bold, apocalyptic headlines make for great front-page news stories. Unfortunately, when it comes to highly complex and scientific issues, these kinds of headlines usually do a disservice to the topic at hand.

Scientific research is filled with intricacies and rarely yields answers that can be conveyed in a single headline. Far too often in this day and age we’re seeing sensationalism trump science. The issue of neonicotinoids (a type of insecticide) and bee health is a prime example of this.

Earlier this year, a study out of Harvard University claiming to show negative impacts of neonicotinoids on bees captured media attention across the globe.

The media overwhelmingly concluded that neonicotinoids are at the heart of bee health challenges.

The Harvard study dramatically overexaggerated typical exposures of bees to neonics and made a link to colony collapse disorder that simply isn’t supported by the evidence.

In June, a group calling itself the IUCN Task Force on Systemic Pesticides began a media tour touting the findings of its study into

the decline of the global insect population. The polished news conferences, high-quality video and co-ordinated calls for action against pesticides by known antipesticide activists made this look a lot more like a sophisticated public relations effort rather than meaningful scientific dialogue.

At the time of this media tour, the report had not yet been made publicly available. It seems to me to go against the ethical code of scientists to embark on a worldwide media tour promoting research findings without giving the scientific community an opportunity to validate the findings. This, however, did not stop the decisive and conclusive headlines about the impact of neonicotinoids on a number of creatures, including bees, other insects and birds.

To lay the blame for a collection of environmental issues at the feet of a single technology is very convenient, but hugely overly simplistic.

Activists lobbying to ban neonicotinoids — and other pesticides — continually call for independent research on the topic. While the pest control industry certainly welcomes new research on our products, it is naive to think that research done external to industry cannot

be biased. Many of the so-called independent researchers looking at neonics have built their careers on reinforcing the message that pesticides are bad. Producing research that supports this message is what keeps the flow of research funding coming.

In Canada, pesticides are regulated by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA). We have one of the most rigorous scientific evaluation processes in the world. The PMRA reviews all available scientific data when assessing whether or not a pesticide is safe for both humans and the environment. This is a key point. The PMRA looks at all available research and makes its decision based on the weight of scientific evidence, not by cherrypicking individual studies. This is at the very heart of Canada’s science-based regulatory system.

The plant science industry is steadfastly committed to the safe and responsible use of our products. Insecticide-treated seed is an important part of agricultural production, innovation and sustainability. It has been successfully used by Canadian farmers for about a decade, most notably in Western Canada where neonics are used to treat canola, and bee populations continue to thrive.

One need only look to Austra-

photo: thinkstock

lia where the bee population is healthier than ever despite the widespread use of neonics. The reason? Likely because in Australia there’s no varroa mite, the most pervasive bee-killing pest.

Bee health is undisputedly a topic of great importance. Our industry has taken a number of important steps to protect bee health both directly and in part-

nership with other stakeholders.

This is an issue that requires collaboration and co-operation. To ensure the health of Canada’s bee population as well as the continued success of our agricultural sector, it’s critical that science prevail over sensationalism.

Pierre Petelle is vice-president, chemistry, for CropLife Canada.

6

Off the front

august 4, 2014 • Albertafarmexpress.ca

PEAS } from page 1 some questions, but nobody could shed any light on it.”

In the years since then, he’s been trying different things, such as changing seeding depths and delaying seeding. Seed treatment seemed to help in some fields last year, but had little effect this year.

“Any of the land that’s had peas on it over the last 25 years showed up with this root rot,” he said.

“We tried a few other things after they emerged and started showing trouble, but we couldn’t get any traction. Any place that has showed signs of this just gets steadily worse.”

Root rots are “something all of Alberta is struggling with,” said Syama Chatterton, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

“It’s definitely something that is present throughout the whole province.”

In the early part of summer, federal and provincial researchers surveyed more than 150 Alberta pea fields to assess the severity of the issue. So far, southern Alberta seems to be faring the best, said Chatterton. On a rating scale of 1 to 7 (where 1 is healthy and 7 is dead), southern Alberta pea fields had a disease severity of about 2.5 — a level below the threshold where yield loss might occur.

But the incidence of disease is “still pretty high.”

“Seventy-five per cent of the fields you go into have some incidence of root rot, but when you actually look at the roots, there’s only about 50 per cent of the roots that are showing rot.”

Eastern Alberta pea crops have been hit the hardest.

“We found about 20 per cent of roots that were pulled out had a rating of 7. That means that the plants are dead,” said Chatterton.

“There was only about 30 per cent of roots that looked completely healthy.”

In western Alberta, where Mueller farms, the average severity is around 3, but there was “quite a cluster” of plants with a rating of 5 and 6.

“That’s pretty severe root rot,” said Chatterton. “The plants aren’t dead, but you’re still going to have an effect on yield.”

New pathogen

Getting to the bottom of the root rot problem is “not a simple story,” said Chatterton.

“There’s a lot of different species that are coming out of the roots,” she said. “We need to start off by knowing what is causing the root rot in your fields. We need to know what pathogens are there.”

NEONICS } from page 1 Ontario’s new agriculture minister, Jeff Leal surprised and angered that province’s grain and oilseeds producers last month by saying he’s considering restrictions on the use of the widely used pesticide because it’s been linked to extensive bee kills in 2012 and 2013. The province hasn’t provided details on how a licensing system might work, but the move is another sign that neonicotinoids have joined gestation crates and GMOs as a major target for farm activist groups.

However, producers in this province have a strong case to show they’re using the pesticide, also called neonics, in a safe manner, said Alberta canola commission chairman Colin Felstad.

“We’re probably in a different situation than Ontario growers,” said Felstad, who crops 3,700 acres near Dapp, northwest of Edmonton.

“From my understanding the

Root rots in peas are characterized by damaged root systems, stem lesions, stunted plant growth, and yellowing. Photo: Jennifer Blair

“Finding aphanomyces is a pretty big deal. This is the biggest production impediment to pea growth in North America and around the world.”

Michael Harding

Fusarium — a soil-borne fungi that attacks the root structure of the plant — is the usual suspect, causing the majority of root rot problems across the Prairies. But in 2012, researchers in Saskatchewan found a new pathogen of root rot, one that has been spreading across pea-growing countries in Europe and parts of the United States.

That same pathogen was found in samples in Alberta in 2013.

“Finding aphanomyces is a pretty big deal,” said Michael Harding, research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

“This is the biggest production impediment to pea growth in North America and around the world.”

concern has been about the dust coming off corn seed treatments and the type of planters they’ve been using (in Ontario). But in terms of canola, there’s no dust given off during seeding, so we’re not as worried as the corn people.”

But Alberta canola growers can’t afford to be complacent because issues like this one can take on a life of their own, he added.

“There’s certainly a concern that we could lose valuable tools,” said Felstad. “We live in a society where everything moves quickly. As farm groups and farmers, we have to be more nimble and react quickly.

“The trouble with these types of issues is that gathering scientific data doesn’t happen overnight. That’s part of the problem in Ontario — they’re still studying the data and I don’t think anyone has come to any firm conclusions.”

Different on the Prairies

But there is solid evidence that using neonics as a seed coating for

Aphanomyces is a “different ball of wax” because of how it attacks the plants, he said.

“The aphanomyces pathogen doesn’t just set up shop in the spring,” said Harding. “It’s going to continue doing that all throughout the season whenever the environmental conditions are conducive to the spore germination.”

And rotation — one of the only tools producers have to fight root rots — may have little effect on this new species. Both fusarium and aphanomyces produce a resting spore that can survive for over a decade, said Harding, and a four-year rotation may not be long enough to reduce the level of disease in the field.

“For many root rots, rotation and rotation alone is a really potent management tool. The levels of those pathogenic organisms decline over time to the point where they aren’t a significant issue,” he said.

“But organisms that produce these long-lived resting spores are really troublesome.”

Over the years, disease levels in the soil can continue to build, and if the environmental conditions are conducive to disease, “it becomes catastrophic in some fields.”

“Rotation is the key thing that we do have to continue preaching and practising, but it’s not going to give us the solution that we need for this problem.”

Even so, Harding isn’t advocating for a change to crop rotations just yet.

“I don’t think we’re ready to make any changes to the recommendations,” he said. “I think one in four in many fields — maybe most — is going to be adequate.”

Root rots such as fusarium can also attack cereal crops and other legumes, but in most cases, rotating to a cereal or even another pulse crop will still provide an advantage — a result of the pathogens adapting to individual hosts.

“They’re very specialized on that one host, and if you rotate to a different host crop, it does give you an advantage because now the population has to reshuffle its genetics,” he said.

“Even though some of these fungi that are in the soil have a broad host range, rotation is still a very important piece of management. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get us all the way to control.”

canola is not a threat to bees, said Gregory Sekulic, Canola Council of Canada agronomy specialist for Peace Country.

“We do things differently on the Prairies,” said Sekulic. “There are a few vacuum planters but the bulk of our delivery systems are gravity or pressure air based, which puts the seed right into the ground where it’s covered. So we don’t see that environmental release.

“We’re also seeding at a substantially lower rate, so the amount of the product we’re putting down is substantially less.”

Not only have there been no “acute poisoning” of bees as was seen two years ago near some Ontario cornfields, studies have found neonic residue levels in canola pollen and nectar are well below harmful levels, he said.

“If you take a step back and look at the whole picture, what we’ve got here is an example of how well we are safeguarding the use of this product,” said Sekulic.

His organization is trying to make the public aware that neonics are being used responsibly by canola growers, said Felstad.

“We’re not media people or even super media savvy, but we do our best to get our message out.”

Part of that effort is a series of videos created by the Canola Council of Canada, which features canola growers and beekeepers — including several from Alberta — standing side by side in fields talking about how they work together.

They also highlight the need to spray canola before flowering whenever possible, keep in close contact with beekeepers who keep hives in or near your fields, and to minimize risk by using reduceddrift nozzles and spraying after 8 p.m. or before bees are active in the morning.

The videos can be found at www. canolacouncil.org (click on ‘Publications & Resources’ tab and then ‘Video Gallery’).

Resistance far off

With limited control measures available for root rots (see accompanying article on page 7), Chatterton is working to develop a risk assessment tool that will allow producers to screen for root rot pathogens in their fields.

“I can’t tell you in four years whether you can put peas on your field again,” she said. “But if you could submit a soil sample

where we could do that analysis, then we’d feel more comfortable in saying yes, you can probably grow peas.”

Next year, researchers will also be looking at root rot resistance in local pea varieties, said Chatterton.

“In the U.S., they do have resistant germplasm, and now that we know that it’s present in Saskatchewan, breeders there are working on moving that resistance in,” she said.

But new resistant varieties are a ways off yet.

“They’re pretty close to finding the molecular trigger so they know what to look for in resistant varieties, so that will really help speed up the process,” she said. “But it still will be a number of years before they can get it into a variety that producers will want to grow.”

This is becoming “a critical issue for Alberta pea production,” said Harding.

“We need the best root rot tolerance we can get,” he said. “There is germplasm out there that has root rot tolerance in it, and it can be moved into commercially relevant varieties that have the agronomics that you need to make money growing peas.

“There’s hope on the horizon that this can happen, but unfortunately, it doesn’t happen overnight.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

“There’s certainly a concern that we could lose valuable tools.”

Colin Felstad

7

Albertafarmexpress.ca • August 4, 2014

New American study finds neonics in Iowa river and streams

By Carey Gillam reuters

A

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class of insecticides popular with corn, soybean and canola farmers but feared as a factor in the decline of honeybee colonies and other crop pollinators, has been found to be widespread through rivers and streams in Iowa, according to a new U.S. government study.

The study, released by the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, marks the first broad-scale investigation of multiple neonicotinoid insecticides in waterways in the Midwestern U.S., and is one of the first conducted within the entire United States, according to the government scientists.

In the report, 79 water samples from across Iowa, the top U.S. corn-producing state, were collected during the 2013 growing season.

Researchers said the use of neonicotinoid insecticides has grown in recent years, and they found them to be both “mobile and persistent” with “a strong pulse of neonicotinoids associated with crop planting” in streams.

The researchers said the broad use of the neonicotinoids “needs to be closely examined in relation to environmental impacts.”

Similar studies by the U.S. Geological Survey have found many other types of common agricultural chemicals in stream samples in Iowa, but researchers said there was a “substantially greater neonicotinoid detection frequency” observed in this study compared to historical detections of other insecticides.

Neonicotinoids, also known as neonics, are sold by agrichemical companies to boost yields of staple crops, but are also used widely on annual and perennial plants in lawns and gardens.

Neonics, chemically similar to nicotine, are commonly applied to the seeds before they are planted.

The link to bee deaths has been associated with dust coming off treated corn seed during planting — a problem that doesn’t occur with treated canola seed.

As use of the neonics has grown, some scientists have linked the insecticides to large losses in honeybee colonies that are considered critical for the production of many U.S. crops. Honeybees pollinate plants that produce about a quarter of U.S. consumer foods, according to the U.S. government.

Many agrichemical companies, including Bayer, whose neonic products are top sellers around the world, say there are a mix of factors killing off the bees and that neonics are important tools for boosting crop production.

Three keys to managing root rots in your peas

By Jennifer Blair af staff / three hills

M

anaging root rots comes down to “three key pillars,” says Michael Harding, research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

The first is field selection.

“If you have a piece of land that has a heavy textured soil and doesn’t drain very well, that may not be a good spot to put peas.”

Next is getting the crop off to a “good healthy start.”

“The quicker you can get a healthy seedling up out of the ground photosynthesizing, the better off your crop is going to be,” he said.

“The longer it stays under the ground, struggling to get up in cold, wet soil, the longer the fungus has to find the crop, colonize, and start causing damage early on in the development of the seedling.”

Using high-vigour seed that has good germination will ensure the plant emerges as quickly as possible. Agronomy practices that help the crop get established early — proper seeding depth along with the right SEC_MOAFLO14_AFE.qxd PM soil temperature, fertility,7/8/14 seeding 12:56 rate, and herbicides — also help.

“If you’re seeding into cold, wet soil, that’s going to be a disadvantage,” said Harding.

“If you’re seeding them deep and the crop is struggling to get up out of the soil, that’s more time for the root rots to set up shop.”

Seed treatment is another critical factor that will give the seedling “a competitive advantage for the first couple of weeks.”

“Using a seed treatment is to your advantage; not using it is to the advantage of the fungus,” he said.

“Seed treatments are not the answer to eradicating the problem, but those seed treatments do a lot in those first two to three weeks underground.”

The last piece is avoiding stress in the emerging crop.

“Anything that causes stress to your developing crop can help that root rot and give it more time and ability to get in and cause more damage,” he said.

Management practices such as rolling the land at the wrong plant node stage, seeding too deep, or seeding too early can stress an emerging plant. Sometimes, producers can even worsen a root rot infestation by spraying herbicide, said Harding.

Page 1 “We’ve heard a lot of anecdotal information that this can be a predisposing factor to driving

Michael Harding shows a group of onlookers a diseased pea root at a recent Alberta Pulse Growers crop tour in Three Hills. Photo: Jennifer Blair root rot a little harder,” he said. “Stressors on the crop can play to the advantage of root rot, so theoretically, it could be a factor.”

That’s where it gets “really tough” for cultural management practices, said Harding.

“There’s reasons to seed deeper. There’s reasons to roll your land,” he said.

“But it’s important to understand from the root rot side of it, some of those things play into the advantage of the fungus.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

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AUGUST 4, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

New food safety scandal in China hits fast-food chains Chains such as McDonald’s and KFC scramble after meat supplier accused of mixing expired meat with fresh

By Samuel Shen and Kazunori Takada shanghai / Reuters

A

leading U.S. meat supplier at the centre of another Chinese food safety scandal said its Chinese unit had issues that were “absolutely inconsistent” with the group’s high standards.

“This is my company and events like these have a personal toll... they simply don’t represent the values I stand for or those of my company,” said Sheldon Lavin, the millionaire chairman, CEO and owner of Illinois-based OSI Group LLC. OSI said it was suspending operations at Shanghai Husi Food and would review all its China plants in a bid to limit further damage after losing two major customers.

Shanghai Husi Food was accused in a TV documentary last month of mixing expired meat with fresh produce and forging production dates.

Regulators in Shanghai said Husi had forged the dates on smoked beef patties and then sold them after they expired. Police have detained five people as part of their investigation. There have been no reports of any consumers falling sick.

“To date, we’ve found issues that are absolutely inconsistent with our internal requirements for the highest standards, processes and policies,” OSI president and CEO David McDonald told a packed news conference at a Shanghai

hotel, adding all nine OSI foodprocessing plants in China would be reviewed.

KFC and Pizza Hut parent Yum Brands Inc. quickly severed its ties with OSI, while the Japan and Hong Kong units of McDonald’s Corp. said they were ending their relationship with the U.S. meat processor’s Chinese unit following the allegations.

McDonald said the group was making senior management changes in China, and will set up a quality control centre in Shanghai to better supervise its business.

It will also bring in global experts to survey the China operations and improve auditing, including constant visual surveillance and extensive employee interviews.

In addition, it plans to spend 10 million yuan ($1.62 million) on a food safety education program in Shanghai.

OSI, which ranks among the top few dozen U.S. private companies with annual revenue of close to $6 billion, said its China operations had a certain amount of autonomy as the group wanted a decentralized business model that allowed decisions to be made locally, although global standards were not meant to be broken.

McDonald said the China operations would come under the direct control of headquarters.

China is McDonald’s third-biggest market by outlets and Yum’s largest, and is a big growth opportunity for foreign fast-food chains.

Employees work at a KFC store in Shanghai, July 29, 2014. KFC and Pizza Hut parent Yum Brands Inc. last week severed its ties with OSI, while the Japan and Hong Kong units of McDonald’s Corp. said they were ending their relationship with the U.S. meat processor’s Chinese unit following allegations it mixed expired meat with fresh produce. photo: REUTERS/Aly Song But a series of damaging food safety scandals in recent years risks denting those prospects as many Chinese look to foreign restaurants for better quality.

McDonald’s, which has more than 2,000 outlets in mainland China, took meat dishes off its

menus as it sought to fill the supply gap after OSI withdrew all Shanghai Husi products from the market.

The company said some of its China restaurants would resume offering a full menu in early August, while others may take a little longer.

“I wanted to order chicken products today,” said Tan Qiang, 23, at a McDonald’s in central Shanghai. “But they only had one type of combo and nothing else. I was disappointed not being able to eat what I want.”

Brazilian farmers say BT corn no longer works Seed companies recommended refuges to preserve resistance, but non-GMO seed was scarce

By Caroline Stauffer sao paulo / reuters

G

enetically modified corn seeds are no longer protecting Brazilian farmers from voracious tropical bugs, increasing costs as producers turn to pesticides, according to a leading farm group.

Producers want four major manufacturers of so-called BT corn seeds to reimburse them for the cost of spraying up to three coats of pesticides this year, said Ricardo Tomczyk, president of Aprosoja farm lobby in Mato Grosso state.

“The caterpillars should die if they eat the corn, but since they didn’t die this year producers had to spend on average 120 reais ($54) per hectare... at a time that corn prices are terrible,” he said.

Large-scale farming in the bugridden tropics has always been a challenge, and now Brazil’s government is concerned that planting the same crops repeatedly with the same seed technologies has left the agricultural superpower vulnerable to pest outbreaks and dependent on toxic chemicals.

Experts in the United States have also warned about corn production prospects because of a growing bug resistance to genetically modified corn. Researchers in Iowa found significant damage from rootworms in cornfields last year.

Photo: Thinkstock

In Brazil, the main corn culprit is Spodoptera frugiperda, also known as the corn leafworm or southern grassworm.

Seed companies say they warned Brazilian farmers to plant

part of their cornfields with conventional seeds to prevent bugs from mutating and developing resistance to GMO seeds.

Dow Agrosciences, a division of Dow Chemical, has programs

in Brazil to help corn farmers develop “an integrated pest management system that includes, among other things, the cultivation of refuge areas,” it said in an email.

Another company, DuPont, said it had not received any formal notification from Aprosoja.

The company’s Pioneer brand has been working with producers to extend the durability of its seed technology and improve efficiency since Spodoptera worms were found to have developed resistance to the Cry1F protein, it said in a statement.

Monsanto also said in a statement that it has not been formally notified by the group. The other company, Syngenta AG, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tomczyk, who also spoke for Brazilian farmers during a dispute over seed royalty payments to Monsanto that ended last year, said Aprosoja encouraged the planting of refuge areas. But he said the seed companies have not given clear instructions.

“There are barely any non-GMO seeds available... it is very uncomfortable that the companies are blaming the farmers,” he said.

Aprosoja hopes to reach a negotiated agreement with the seed companies, but if all else fails farmers may sue to get reparations for pesticide costs, he added.

Brazil is harvesting its second of two annual corn crops and expects to produce 78 million tonnes this crop year, slightly less than last season’s record.

Domestic prices recently fell to their lowest in four years because of abundant supplies.

9

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • AUGUST 4, 2014

THAT’S BLOOMIN’ GREAT

With recent heat and sun, canola fields throughout southern Alberta are beginning to bloom. This yellowing field is west of Okotoks, Alta.

PHOTO: WENDY DUDLEY

Taste of Canada is on the road again Fourth edition of event heading to San Francisco AARD RELEASE

T

he Taste of Canada — an event to help Canadian exporters get into the U.S. food-service and retail sector — is hitting the road again.

The fourth edition of the event will be held in San Francisco on Nov. 3-4, said Dusan Rnjak, trade development officer with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

“This professional food showcase event is designed as a mini Canada-only display of qualified export-ready and capable Canadian suppliers to showcase their food and beverage products in a tabletop setting, and meet one on one with buyers,” said Rnjak.

Pre-screened U.S. and Mexican importers, buyers and distributors from the retail and food-service industries will be invited to attend. Unlike trade shows, this intimate forum provides buyers and suppliers the time to meet, discuss suppliers’ capabilities, review buyers’ needs and negotiate possible synergies.

Among the criteria to participate are being export ready (or demonstrating export readiness) in the following categories: meats and seafood; specialty foods and snacks; bakery and desserts (fresh and frozen); meals (frozen and shelf stable) and components; non-alcoholic beverages.

“Space is limited and will be filled on a first-come, firstserved basis. Eligibility will be confirmed upon receipt of the application form,” said Rnjak.

“There is no cost to participate.

Companies will be responsible to cover the cost of travel, accommodation and shipping samples and materials. ”

CONNECTING TO THE WORLD — AND TO EACH OTHER. Crop and livestock farmers know how closely they’re tied to what happens around the world. Their products are exported to more than 100 countries, and demand and price for them depend on everything from weather and crop conditions to domestic and international politics. At Alberta Farmer Express, we’re proud of the work that our publication does in connecting our farm readers to world news, but also proud of our work to help connect Canadian farmers to each other through our features on what’s happening on farms and in rural communities around the province and across the country. We’re pleased to be a Founding Member of Ag for Life and their work in promoting a strong, progressive, safe and sustainable agricultural community in Western Canada.

To learn more about Ag for Life, go to agricultureforlife.ca.

05/14-38178_13

38178_13 AFL AB FarmerExpress_8.125x10.indd 1

2014-05-20 11:14 AM

NEWS » Markets

}weak levels

10

AUGUST 4, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Shipping rates fall

SIAL funding available

The Baltic Dry Index, which tracks global ocean shipping rates, is currently trading at its weakest levels in a year, and making North American grain and oilseed exports more competitive. The Baltic Dry Index was quoted at 755 points on July 16, versus 900 at the start of the month and over 2,000 in January. “Daily hire rates are very low, no matter where you’re shipping from,” said Jay O’Neil, a senior agricultural economist at Kansas State University. Vessel owners added to their fleet when rates were high and now have excess capacity, he said. — Commodity News Service Canada

A new program offers financial assistance to Alberta exporters targeting the food-service and retail sectors in Europe to attend the renowned Salon International de l’alimentation (or SIAL) trade show in Paris. The Oct. 19-23 event “is the largest food innovation observatory in the world,” said Manisha Arora, trade development officer with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. In 2012, the trade fair attracted 5,890 companies and more than 150,000 visitors. Up to $2,000 in funding is available (for up to 50 per cent cost share). For info, contact Arora at 780-415-8789 or manisha.arora@gov.ab.ca. — AARD release

Crushers forced to pay up if they want supplies Farmers are reluctant to make sales at these low prices

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

T

he ICE Futures Canada canola market hit some fresh contract lows during the week ended July 25, but values managed to bounce off of those poor levels to settle narrowly mixed by Friday.

The weakness in canola was primarily a function of the declining U.S. soy market, as expectations for a massive soybean crop keep the oilseeds under pressure. However, there are also more than enough bearish factors at play in canola itself, including the large oldcrop supplies, speculators adding to short positions, and ideas that new-crop production may not end up as bad as many had feared.

On the bull side of the canola market, flooded acres in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, together with dryness in Alberta, were helping temper the declines. A lack of significant farmer selling, as producers continue to be cautious sellers, was also supportive. The reluctance to make sales at these low prices was finding its way into the cash market, with basis levels moving above the futures at many locations.

The crushers, especially, are being forced to pay up if they want to keep bringing in supplies. More basis opportunities are likely going forward, as the futures appear to have more room to the downside, according to most market participants.

Soybeans were mixed during the week, posting sizable gains in the front months on the back of good export demand but continuing their downward slide in the new-crop months as the favourable U.S. crop prospects weighed on prices.

A survey of U.S. analysts placed average soybean yields in the country at a record 45.5 bushels per acre, well above the previous record of 44.0 bushels seen in 2009.

Corn and wheat futures in the U.S. both hit some of their weakest levels in four years during the week, but managed to claw back from those lows to see some

consolidation and modest short-covering by Friday.

More corrective bounces are possible, but the path of least resistance appears pointed lower for the two grains. The U.S. corn crop is looking the best it’s looked in over a decade, with expectations growing for record production.

Three-quarters of the U.S. corn crop was rated good to excellent as of mid-July, according to the USDA, and weather conditions remain close to ideal in many areas. Average yields were being forecast at 170.5 bushels per acre, well above earlier guesses and the 164.7 level reached in 2009.

The U.S. winter wheat crop was admittedly hurt by poor conditions this year (drought, followed by untimely rain), but harvest results have been beating the low expectations. Meanwhile, world wheat supplies remain more than sufficient to meet demand, and conditions for the North American spring wheat crops have also shown some improvement.

Crop scouts touring Minnesota and the Dakotas during the week placed average hard red spring wheat yields in the region at 48.6 bushels per acre if the crop makes it to harvest without experiencing any harsh weather. That’s a big ‘if,’ but if realized, the average yields would mark a new record. Just as in Canada, much of the U.S. spring wheat crop was seeded late this year, which increases the chances of frost damage at the other end of the year.

North of the border, CWB is running its first crop tour of Western Canada from July 28 to 31. The tour consists of three legs covering Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta — and should provide some much needed midsummer information for the markets that are typically lacking in ‘official’ news between Statistics Canada’s June acreage report and the late-August production survey results.

Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Resource News International (RNI), 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.

file photo

11

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • AUGUST 4, 2014

Grain drain — are carry-over projections off the mark?

Market analysts still expect a lot of wheat and canola to be carried over July 31, but the mountain is being whittled away

BY ALLAN DAWSON AF STAFF

C

anada will carry-over more grain than usual when the crop year ends July 31, but analysts say it may be less than some people think.

The mountain of western grain from last year’s record harvest, combined with poor rail service until spring, is being whittled away. In its July Outlook for Principle Crops, Agriculture and AgriFood Canada forecasts 21.6 million tonnes of principle crops will be carried over, more than double last year’s 9.5 million tonnes.

That’s big, but it’s two million tonnes or 8.5 per cent lower than its March estimate, probably because the railways started moving a lot more grain in March.

That’s when the federal government ordered them to pick up the pace, but also when weather conditions started to improve.

“We could be surprised on the smaller commodities, but not likely on the wheat and canola.”

BRUCE BURNETT CWB

“We could be surprised on the smaller commodities, but not likely on the wheat and canola,” said Bruce Burnett, CWB’s weather and crop specialist.

“We’ve started to move more grain, but there’s still a pretty large pile.”

AAFC is forecasting 8.9 million tonnes of wheat, excluding durum and three million tonnes of canola will be carried into the 2014-15 crop year. That’s down six and 10 per cent from its March forecast.

“A lot of grain is moving now,” said Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association. “Thunder Bay is humming and Vancouver and Prince Rupert are operating at historic levels.”

Statistics Canada’s reported July 24 grain deliveries between January and June 2014 are up 27 per cent compared to the same period a year ago. But the big difference between the two years started this March.

January and February 2014 deliveries were almost 7.6 and 12 per cent lower than in 2013, but 2014 March, April, May and June deliveries were 34, 68, 52 and 53 per cent higher than in 2013.

Grain shipping is expected to remain brisk even after the new crop, said Mike Jubinville, president of ProFarmer Canada. Harvest in many parts of the West will be delayed, which means more elevator space for old-crop deliveries and more time for farmers to deliver.

“Manitoba and Alberta are drained of grain, but there is still a surplus in Saskatchewan,” he said.

Burnett agrees there’s still a lot of grain in Saskatchewan partly because it’s the biggest grainproducing province. But there’s another factor. When the government ordered the railways to collectively move a million tonnes of grain a week or face fines of $100,000 a day, the railways focused on loading at elevators with the quickest turnaround, he said. Most of those points were in Alberta for West Coast movement and Manitoba for Thunder Bay. But there are also regional pockets of surplus grain, such as in northern Alberta and durum in southern Saskatchewan, Burnett said.

Statistics Canada data shows Canadian wheat and durum exports to the U.S. as of June 30 at 3.3 million tonnes, up 47 per cent from the same period a year ago.

As for carry-over projections, Jubinville said they could continue to shrink.

“I think canola exports could be the biggest in history at nine million tonnes, despite the slow start,” he said.

“I suspect the carry-over could be 2.2 million to 2.5 million tonnes versus the three million projected by Agriculture Canada.”

The narrowing canola basis for both new and old crop supports the idea that canola supplies are tightening, he added.

In some parts of Manitoba and

Michael Hoffort new president of Farm Credit Canada AF CONTRIBUTOR

F

arm leaders are welcoming the appointment of Michael Hoffort as the new president and CEO of Farm Credit Canada.

He succeeds Greg Stewart, who retired after six years at the helm of the agriculture lender.

Hoffort joined FCC in 1988 as an account manager and held a wide variety of jobs reaching executive vice-president and chief risk officer at the time of his appointment to the top post.

“We don’t see any sign of a shift in FCC’s policies with this change of the people at the top,” said Ron Bonnett, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.

“FCC has developed a strong focus on customer service and having been part of that program, Hoffort is a good selection.

“I believe agriculture will be well served with Mr. Hoffort

given his extensive experience in the agriculture sector and in particular as having helped shape FCC into the organization we see today,” said Richard Phillips, president of Canada Grains Council.

With a portfolio of more than $26 billion in loans to farms and agri-food businesses, FCC provides financing, insurance, software, learning programs and other business services.

Under Stewart’s leadership, the FCC took on promoting the importance of agriculture and the food sector to the Canadian economy. It launched the Agriculture More than Ever Program through social media such as Facebook and Twitter to highlight the industry’s role as major job creator as well as the steps farmers are taking to protect the environment.

It also offers a weekly digest of news and agriculture news and trends.

Alberta the canola basis is positive.

While the wheat basis has improved, it’s still generally wider than usual, but it varies — a sign that some areas still have a lot of wheat around, Jubinville said. For example, the basis at Fannystelle, Man. July 22 was $32 under the futures, compared to $51 under at a point in Saskatchewan.

Earlier this year market analysts were predicting the grain backlog to persist well into the

new crop year based on a huge carry-over and an average-yielding crop this year.

But AAFC has revised its 201415 carry-over forecast too. In March it predicted the carry-over of all crops would total 20.1 million tonnes as of July 31, 2015.

But its July report dropped the number almost in half to 12.3 — just 2.4 million tonnes over the 2013 carry-over. That forecast assumes average yields this fall. allan@fbcpublishing.com

> Empty Pesticide Container Recycling Program

There are many reasons to rinse.

No excuse not to!

Farm groups are pleased with Hoffort’s promotion

BY ALEX BINKLEY

FILE PHOTO

#1

Only rinsed pesticide containers can be recycled Containers need to be residue free to be recycled into new products.

{

For more information or to find a collection site near you visit cleanfarms.ca

Now, take your empty fertilizer containers along for the ride!

10901A-CFM-1-5Reasons-AFE-6x6.625.indd 1

3/27/14 2:20 PM

12

news » livestock

AUGUST 4, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Moose drool remedy

Online farm safety directory

York University researchers have found a surprisingly effective way to fight against a certain species of toxic grass fungus — moose saliva. “Plants have evolved defence mechanisms to protect themselves, such as thorns, bitter-tasting berries, and in the case of certain types of grass, by harbouring toxic fungus deep within them that can be dangerous or even fatal for grazing animals,” said biology professor, Dawn Bazely. “We wanted to find out how moose were able to eat such large quantities of this grass without negative effects.” The team collected saliva samples from moose and reindeer, and smeared them onto red fescue grass carrying the toxic fungus, which inhibited fungus growth. — York University release

Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development has launched a Farm Safety Online Directory with contacts for individuals and organizations providing services in the area of farm safety. “This directory was created in response to feedback from farmers and agricultural organizations requesting a list of farm safety contacts,” said farm safety co-ordinator Kenda Lubeck. “We compiled a list of businesses and individuals that provide a service relating to awareness, education or training in farm safety.” It can be found at www.agric. gov.ab.ca by typing ‘farm safety directory’ in the search box. — AARD release

No kidding — there’s a great future for Alberta’s goat industry Whether it’s milk, meat, or for multi-species grazing, the demand for goats far outstrips the available supply goats did you know?

By Dianne Finstad af contributor

•

•

•

More chevon (goat meat) is eaten in the world than any other red meat.

More than half the world’s population drinks goat milk.

Although most people use the term “herd,” the correct term for a group of goats is a “trip of goats.”

• Coffee was first discovered when goat herders noticed the goats acting very energetic after nibbling on coffee plants.

For more information, see www.albertagoats.com.

D

emand is not a problem facing Alberta’s goat industry these days — but supply certainly is.

With a growing number of Albertans hailing from countries where goat is a staple, producers simply can’t keep up with demand, said Laurie Fries, president of Alberta Goat Breeders.

“Our numbers are the lowest they’ve ever been,” the Edgerton goat breeder said during Red Deer’s Westerner Days.

The event features the only major goat show in the province, and participants said they hope their presence at the fair encourages more people to consider raising goats. The two-day show featured dairy, meat, and youth classes for goat producers.

A rebuild of the goat herd is starting, but it’s a slow process because of restrictions on where breeding stock can be sourced, said Fries.

“There’s very few breeders left, so if you’re in the breeding stock business, you can sell,” she said.

Goat producers can still import bucks from the U.S., but Fries said she is concerned the growth potential for the industry could be limited if the border was shut by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency over scrapie surveillance issues.

“We’re in talks on what we can do about this, but it’s not looking real great,” she said.

“There are no semen or embryo protocols even. I don’t know how we would get a different genetic pool into Canada.”

New commercial producers are desperately needed on Alberta’s goat scene, and Fries also said she hopes the Westerner Days show gets the word out. A show can be an important promotional and awareness tool for the industry, exposing people to live goats, and sharing information on the facts and opportunities of goat production, she said.

“There’s so many facets that you can go with goats.”

Along with meat, dairy, and fibre, Fries points to using goats for grass management as another available prospect.

“There is a huge movement

Carmen Vetterli (second left) shows off the grand champion doe in the meat class while owner Merna Gisler of Innisfail (with cowboy hat) looks on. John Henderson of White Treasure Farms of Innisfail (far right) shows the reserve champion doe, while granddaughter Dani Forsburg shows another of his goats. Photos: Dianne Finstad to multi-species grazing in the big pastures,” she said. “I’ve been dealing with a few ranchers out in that south country, in Longview and Sundre. They’d love to have someone come in.

“They’re cattlemen, they don’t want to own goats, but they want to promote the industry, because they can see the impact.

They can grow grass, and help another industry with a hand up.”

Goat enthusiasts point out the small ruminants with the big personalities are a good fit for retired folks or young families starting out, or people in multi-generational farms and ranches who want to add value to the land. But they know they still have to do some image adjusting.

“It’s just getting away from that old mentality that goats are tap dancing on the hood of your car, eating tin cans,” said Fries. “As an industry we need to change that. The only thing that’s going to change that mentality is exposure, education, and promotion. It’s a growing industry, in its infancy. To get it rolling, we just need to get more people involved.

“Then from there, that’s when we can really get a strong commodity-type industry going. The market is there. If you’ve got a

Samantha McNaughton (r) of Whitecourt presents her goat to judge Barb Clark, who travelled from Shellbrook, Sask. to participate in the Westerner Days show. goat, and you’ve got it for sale, it’s gone. It’s just we cannot supply the demand.”

Westerner Dairy Show committee members were encour-

aged to see a jump in entries and interest in the dairy goat side of this year’s show, as well as a strong junior show with young goat exhibitors.

Robyn Andersen raises goats near Rimbey. It’s only her second year showing goats, but she jumped in and joined the Westerner Goat Show committee last year. She’s also secretary for the Alberta Goat Breeders.

“I’m a keener,” she chuckled.

Andersen chose the dairy goat route, and milks six does at her Kid-napped Farm. She said she’s excited about the future for the goat sector and pleased with the response this year.

“In 2013, we only had four farms here at the show,” she said. “In 2014, there’s 11 farms, and we doubled our entries.

We’ve got three farms from Saskatchewan. Both of our judges travelled 12 hours to get here, and brought their own strings of goats as well. That was very promising.”

Andersen also sees the possibility for a meat/dairy crossover class down the road.

“In five years, (we could be) having a half-and-half buck show, we call them. Goats that are half-boer, half-dairy, that are going to add milk production to a meat herd.”

With the quality and size of this year’s goat show, the Red Deer committee would like to put forward a bid to host the West National Goat Show next year.

“We did some extra fundraising, and we’re hoping our bid will look better for 2015,” said Andersen. “Then we would have goats from Vancouver Island to western Ontario that will come.

That would be huge for the dairy goat industry.”

13

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • AUGUST 4, 2014

Bloat no problem with the right genetics Managing bloat comes down to the right genetics, right feed, and right mineral products

By Jennifer Blair af staff / acme

T

he fear of bloat costs the livestock industry more than the condition ever does, says a well-known grazing consultant and researcher from Idaho.

“I’ve seen the figures from the States, and something like two one-hundredths of one per cent of the total cattle herd dies each year from bloat,” Jim Gerrish told attendees at a recent Foothills Forage and Grazing Association tour. “Yet we restrict the diet of a whole bunch of animals from containing some very nutritious plants because of that fear of bloat.”

As the use of legumes such as alfalfa and sweet clover has increased in forage systems, so too have incidences of bloat, which despite the low mortality rate still ranks as one of the leading causes of death in adult cattle. But like many conditions, “there has to be a genetic susceptibility,” said Gerrish.

“There are herds that are completely resistant to bloat,” he said. “You have 100 cows and put them out on a pasture, and two of them bloat and die. Ninety-eight per cent of them, nothing happens. That says there’s something different about those ninety-eight animals.”

And bloat is a “self-culling trait.”

“You don’t have to really work to cull bloat out of your herd,” he said. “You put them out on the alfalfa, it will cull itself out.”

the cattle in their herds, said Gerrish.

“If you’re doing stock and they’re coming in from sale barns from who knows where, and you know nothing about their background, then you really need to be on your toes about bloat management,” he said.

In those instances, products that contain poloxalene — the main chemical in bloat guards — can be worth the cost.

“A lot of people complain about the mineral and say it’s too expensive to feed,” said Gerrish. “Well, you don’t have to feed it the entire time they’re on this property.”

Gerrish suggests feeding a bloat guard five days prior to moving into any pasture with high alfalfa content and then feeding it as the cattle graze through the area.

“As soon as we’re off that alfalfa, we go back to feeding either no mineral or feeding a lower-cost mineral,” he said.

“If you’re grazing alfalfa steadily for 120 days, then yeah, you’re

going to have that higher cost associated with it. But it doesn’t take too many dead animals to pay for quite a bit of bloat guard mineral.”

He steers clear of the bloat blocks, though, preferring to use loose mineral products instead.

“You can have bloat blocks in the field and still have animals die from bloat. They never lick on a block, so they don’t get the treatment,” said Gerrish.

“When we have used the loose mineral with poloxalene, the success rate of preventing bloat has been much, much higher.”

Some ranchers, he said, use laundry soap as a cheaper alternative to other chemicals, since poloxalene is a detergent.

“It’s bizarre — you get in a bar and there’s cowboys there arguing about the relative merits of Tide versus Cheer,” said Gerrish.

“There are people who do that on a regular basis and swear that it absolutely ended their bloat problem.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

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But producers have to have “deep pockets” if they plan to take that route.

“If you have a herd that has high susceptibility to bloat, that’s a pretty substantial financial hit if more than one or two per cent die.

And sometimes that happens.”

Mixing bloat-causing legumes like alfalfa with non-bloating ones — such as cicer milk vetch, sainfoin, and trefoil — is another route.

“If you have a mixture of bloating legumes and non-bloating legumes and the animals graze them together, the release (of tannins) from the non-bloating legumes in the rumen will suppress bloating from the alfalfa that they’re eating,” he said.

“That’s one of the advantages of doing a mixture of legumes.”

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But in areas where other legumes aren’t as abundant, focusing on genetics may be a producer’s best bet.

“In the long term, if you are in an environment where alfalfa is the most reliable legume and it’s the one you’re most likely going to use, it is probably in your best interest to start selecting for bloat tolerance in your herd.”

But selection only works when producers know the history of

Grazing consultant Jim Gerrish calls bloat a “self-culling disease” in any cattle herd. PHOTO: Jennifer BLAIR

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AUGUST 4, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Funding drop squeezes livestock agency Livestock Identification Services is focusing on helping producers deal with new traceability requirements and its core duties

By Madeleine Baerg af contributor

A

lberta’s livestock inspection and identification organization says declining operating dollars, fewer staff, and losing its chief operating officer won’t stand in the way of meeting the needs of this province’s cattle producers.

That confidence is particularly important right now, given the federal government’s anticipated regulatory amendments requiring national cattle movement reporting and the world market’s increasing demands for livestock traceability.

“Significant streamlining would sum up what we’re doing, yes,” said Phil Rowland, chair of the board of directors of Livestock Identification Services (LIS).

“With the current numbers of cattle, the fee we can charge and the availability of staff, there are real limitations on how much we can expand. What we’re focusing on is doing the very best job of what it is we’re supposed to do in the first place.”

“You can only get so far ahead, otherwise you forget what got you where you are,” added Adrienne Waller, the organization’s legal counsel and one of the fourperson management team that replaced former chief operating officer Scott Postlewaite when he resigned in April. “You have

“Significant streamlining would sum up what we’re doing.”

Phil Rowland

to continue to take care of and enhance the current business.”

The agency is a non-profit organization that administers the Livestock Identification and Commerce Act and the Stray Animals Act. Off the table, at least for now, are previous research and development projects on ultra-highfrequency livestock ear tags and a disease-modelling database.

Instead, the organization is focusing on ensuring Alberta cattle producers meet, as easily as possible, livestock movement and traceability regulations being developed by both the provincial and federal governments.

“It’s not going away. Producers fight traceability because it’s a regulatory burden, but it’s never going away,” said Shawn McLean, IT manager and the current chair of the four-person management team.

“Our job is to respond to regulatory changes to make sure that Alberta cattle producers don’t have any more burden than necessary.”

The federal government has not yet released an official timeline for when the new cattle traceability regulations might come into play, though the LIS officials said they expect it will be within the next two years. Waller said the federal government recently commissioned the Farm Health Coalition to complete another step in the process: a demographic study on how cattle, bison, sheep, farmed deer, farmed elk, and goats move in Canada.

In response to the upcoming changes, the organization is dusting off its earlier work on a webbased electronic manifest system to enable Alberta cattle producers to better respond to the upcoming regulatory changes.

“Our electronic manifest got pushed to the side through the change in leadership,” said

Gary Guichon, a provincial field supervisor in southern Alberta, is one of the inspectors with Livestock Identification Services. Photo courtesy of LIS. McLean. “We’re looking at it again now to get our ducks in a row before we have to swim.

“When the federal government comes to us, we plan to be ready with a new web-based e-manifest.

It appears the federal regulations will be quite comprehensive, requiring every producer to record all livestock movement into some kind of a federal database. We’re preparing to help fill in that data to make it as easy as possible for producers to fulfil any new regulations.”

The organization is also looking to align with its livestock inspection counterparts in B.C. and Saskatchewan to streamline inspection processes and reduce movement costs to producers.

A successful e-manifest and increased interprovincial synergies won’t be the first producer-

friendly initiatives undertaken by the organization.

Requiring proof of ownership before LIS signs off on inspection and authorizes a livestock ownership transfer thwarts fraud, which Rowland estimates would be about $5 million higher annually if not for the organization. It also pays for two RCMP officers who serve as livestock investigators for criminal and regulatory investigations. And it acts as secretary for the Livestock Assurance Funds Tribunal, which protects sellers from non-payment by authorized livestock dealers and gives lending agencies more confidence when making loans.

“We bring several million dollars a year of value to the industry, much more value than we cost the industry, that’s for sure,” said Rowland.

And that’s in the good times. In

the bad times, as evidenced by the bovine spongiform encephalopathy outbreak in 2003, LIS is even more vital to the industry.

“There were 18 cases (of BSEinflicted cattle) since 2003,” said Rowland. “All of those were traced

by CFIA using the livestock movement records kept by LIS. It could be argued that even though it was very slow getting our beef back into world markets, it was much faster than it would have been if LIS hadn’t had the information it did.”

“I hope cattle producers see us in a positive light,” added McLean.

“We are certainly working on their behalf. We’re kind of like policemen — you never like to see a policeman when you’re speeding, but you definitely want him around when someone breaks into your house.”

Is your pasture ready to graze? Start counting leaves Grazing a pasture for six weeks costs about half of the annual production potential for your forages but take that bite, get off, and next time allow it to get to four-, five-, or six-leaf recovered stage,” he said.

But waiting until every pasture is at the four- or five-leaf stage isn’t feasible for most operations, he said.

“We do have to get started earlier than the optimum to create the type of pasture that we want later in the season.”

By Jennifer Blair af staff / acme

D

eciding when to graze a pasture has nothing to do with plant height, says an Idaho-based grazing expert.

“Height doesn’t tell us very much,” Jim Gerrish said recently at a Foothills Forage and Grazing tour near Acme.

“What we really want to know is, physiologically, is a plant ready to be grazed?”

And leaf stage is the best indicator of that, he said.

“What really determines if a plant is ready to be grazed is the carbohydrate balance in that plant,” he said.

“We know if we have a lot of leaves, we’re capturing solar energy and converting it to sugar.

“The question becomes at what point is energy flowing more from the top of the plant to the bottom or from the bottom to the top? Leaf stage is a good clue for that.”

Grass growth happens in three phases, he said.

In Phase 1, there’s limited solar energy capture, so growth is slow.

As leaf area expands and more solar energy is captured, the growth rate accelerates, and the plant enters

Recovery period

Grazing consultant Jim Gerrish says that leaf stage, not plant height, is the best indicator of when a pasture is ready to graze. Photo: Jennifer Blair Phase 2. In Phase 3, the plants mature, and growth slows down.

The two- to three-leaf stage is “the high side of Phase 1,” while the three- to four-leaf stage is the “low side of Phase 2,” said Gerrish.

“Ideally, we would like to be grazing at four or five leaves, but is it OK to graze at 2-1/2 to 3-1/2?

It depends on what you’re going to do tomorrow,” he said.

In a study conducted in Idaho, researchers found that when they removed the cattle from the pasture after one week, the total production for the year was not reduced. Grazing for two weeks resulted in a 10 to 20 per cent loss in annual production potential, while grazing for

four weeks cost 20 to 40 per cent in production potential and six weeks cost 40 to 60 per cent.

“Going out on high Phase 1 or low Phase 2 grass and parking for six weeks costs you half the production potential of the year,” said Gerrish.

“But you can go out early in a rotational system, take a bite, and leave it, and it’s going to be OK. If you allow it next time to recover to four or five leaves, you haven’t hurt a thing.”

If a random sampling of 10 tillers is at the two-leaf stage, Gerrish recommends waiting to graze until they hit the three-leaf stage.

“If they’re at a three-leaf average, you can go out there and get started,

The length of the recovery periods depends, again, on leaf stage.

“For recovery, we’re really looking at growing more leaves,” said Gerrish.

Early in the grazing cycle, plants might be at the two-leaf stage, but optimally, plants should be at the five-leaf stage before they’re grazed again. And how long it takes to grow the necessary number of leaves — in this case, three more leaves — will dictate how long the recovery period needs to last.

“In very good growing conditions… it takes about five to seven days to grow a leaf,” he said. “In those perfect growing conditions, how long does the recovery period need to be? Fifteen to 21 days, if you multiply five and seven by three.”

In poorer growing conditions, however, it may take the plant 10 to

“Ideally, we would like to be grazing at four or five leaves, but is it OK to graze at 2-1/2 to 3-1/2? It depends on what you’re going to do tomorrow.”

Jim Gerrish

15 days — or even longer — to grow a new leaf, and the recovery period needs to lengthen accordingly.

“That is what is determining how long your recovery period needs to be — how long does it take it to put out a single new leaf? Once again, we’re back to counting leaves.”

Gerrish admitted it “almost sounds nerdy” to pick tillers and count leaves.

“But if you’re at the point where you’re ready to take your grazing management up to the next level of fine-tuning management, I think that becomes an essential part of the program.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

15

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • AUGUST 4, 2014

Arthritis can’t be cured — but you can reduce the risk of it happening HORSE HEALTH  There are many things horse owners

and riders can do to prevent the onset of arthritis

BY CAROL SHWETZ DVM

R

ecent studies estimate approximately 60 per cent of lameness problems in horses are related to arthritis.

As a result, the diagnosis and treatment of arthritis in horses has become a multibillion-dollar industry. Since arthritis is rarely curable and at best manageable, it is worthwhile to consider the contributing factors that place horses at risk for arthritis.

Arthritis is a broad term that describes inflammation of one or more joints. The joint is a highly evolved partnership of many specialized tissues. Limping is not necessarily the first sign of arthritis. Initially the horse’s gait will appear asymmetrical and “off” as the horse attempts to find a way of going that feels best.

A slight stiffness, which

The practice of starting two-year-old horses into competition and performance has many unfortunate consequences for the horse, with arthritis being a common career-ending malady.

resolves when the horse warms up, or a reluctance or resistance to perform manoeuvres that were previously unchallenging

are further telltale signs of arthritis. As the arthritis advances and the horse attempts to spare the painful joint(s) a cascade of compensating patterns in movement occurs. Limping, tenderness over the joint, and pain with joint flexion becomes more obvious over time.

Decisions regarding nutrition, environment, movement, and foot balance influence joint health in every stage of a horse’s life. However, it is the young horse that is especially vulnerable to factors which contribute to arthritis.

The developing bones and joints of a youngster’s frame require the appropriate balance of macro- and micronutrients found in a proper diet. Rich diets, overnutrition, or poorly balanced nutrition result in bones and joints that are structurally weak and vulnerable to damage.

Although sensible exercise is advisable for all ages of horses, it is the young horses that are least forgiving when placed under unreasonable expectations and demands. The practice of starting two-year-old horses into competition and performance has many unfortunate consequences for the horse with arthritis being a common careerending malady. The hock joint is particularly sensitive to arthritis, as it is a complex joint requiring four years to fully develop and become stable.

Proper conditioning and good training practices are key to developing a horse’s body to effectively carry a rider. Proper biomechanics of the equine frame is an essential component of sound movement and thus joint health.

Riders have a major influence on the way a horse carries and moves its body. Joints are designed to function optimally

Many equine athletes have their careers cut short because of arthritis. around a specific angle. Incorrect postures and poor biomechanics of the horse’s frame places the joints in a disadvantaged position, subjecting them to unreasonable stressors.

Chronic repetitive stress injuries and fatigue further compound the cascade of ill effects.

Joint therapies address the painful symptoms that arise from the wear and tear to the joint structures, yet do little to address and correct the ongoing poor biomechanics that initiated the damage to the joint.

Standing in stalls for prolonged periods of time followed by the intensive exercise asked of many performance horses, places unreasonable stressors on joints and denies them of

their means to maintain optimal health.

Routine warm-up and cooldown are of immense value to the performance horse. Horses are large animals with large muscles that require effective warming up to optimally engage muscles, ligaments and tendons, which are instrumental in protecting and supporting efficient joint mechanics.

Proper hoof care is instrumental to reducing strain on joints.

Hoof angles and aligned breakover points allow joints to move freely without interference. Ideally, the hoof itself is designed to absorb the forces of impact. This design spares the joints, which are ill equipped to absorb reverberations of impact. The health-

PHOTO: CAROL SHWETZ

ier the hoof, the better able it is to absorb the forces of impact, thus protecting the joints from harm.

Moderate body condition is important for all age of horses.

Weight greater than the healthy range creates, compounds and accelerates arthritis as it chronically overloads and stresses joints and bones. Weight loss is as appropriate for the treatment of arthritis as it is for prevention.

Arthritis is an unnecessary outcome. Awareness of the factors which contribute to arthritic joints provides the opportunity to create changes that favour sound, healthy joints in horses.

Carol Shwetz is a veterinarian specializing in equine practice at Westlock, Alta.

the alberta Livestock and meat agency (aLma) is proud to announce the appointment of two new board members, Leighton Kolk and david andrews.

Leighton Kolk, co-owner of Kolk Farms Ltd., is a substantial resource in beef cattle feeding and grain farming. He also has experience in strategic planning in his own operation and in his role as board member with Alberta Cattle Feeders Association and Immanuel Christian Schools. He is also a past board member of Alberta Beef Producers and Gateway Livestock Exchange.

david andrews

Leighton Kolk

david andrews runs a mixed farming and cow-calf operation. He has held leadership positions as chairman of the Canadian Cattlemen Market Development Council (Legacy Fund) and president of the Bow City Landholders Protection Committee, and is a previous board member for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and Alberta Beef Producers, plus others.

ALMA’s board directors represent a broad-base of talent to positively impact industry, furthering efforts towards a more profitable, sustainable and competitive meat and livestock industry.

ideas / information / investment www.alma.alberta.ca

16

AUGUST 4, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

El Niño slams Colombia

Aquifers drying up

Colombia has launched an emergency plan to combat the impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon, which is causing severe drought in the Andean nation. The measures include drilling water wells, purchasing water trucks, subsidizing animal feed and financial aid. While water rationing has not been introduced, Colombians are being urged to cut back water consumption and being warned the worst is still to come. “What we’ve seen is only the start, meaning that the phenomenon in all its intensity could last from October to March or April of next year,” said President Juan Manuel Santos. — Reuters

Underground stores of water in the southwestern U.S. have receded dramatically amid ongoing drought that has parched states from Oklahoma to the Pacific Coast.

The University of California study found groundwater in the Colorado River basin has dropped by 40 million acre-feet over the past five years, the equivalent of two of the nation’s largest reservoirs. “If drought conditions like this continue, there is a possibility we will entirely deplete our groundwater storage,” said researcher Stephanie Castle, the report’s author. — Reuters

What’s been happening in the rest of the world this year?

There was only one ‘billion-dollar’ weather event on the planet in June, but the month has been one of the hottest ever

W

by daniel bezte

ith nice quiet summer weather finally moving in, I thought it would be a good time to break away from looking at local weather happenings and see what’s been going on weatherwise on a more global scale.

We’ll begin our look at the top and bottom of the world, namely, what is happening with Arctic and Antarctic ice? It’s summer in the Arctic and we’re right in the middle of the annual summer thaw. Summer ice amounts continue to run well below average over the Arctic Ocean despite air temperatures running a couple of degrees below average in a number of areas. As of July 15, ice coverage in the Arctic was 1.54 million square kilometres below the 1981-2010 average. This works out to almost two standard deviations below average. Ice melt has slowed during the second half of July, so unless we see a rapid decline in August this shouldn’t be a record year for ice loss in the Arctic.

On the opposite side of the planet, it is the middle of winter, and the aerial extent of ice in the Antarctic is reaching its maximum. At the beginning of July, ice coverage in this region was 16.16 million square kilometres or 1.37 million square kilometres above the 1981-2010 average.

This continues the recent trend in this region of well-above-average ice cover. While the Antarctic has shown signs of warming, including warmer air temperatures, ice sheet loss, and faster-flowing glaciers, the trend in increasing ice coverage is a bit of a puzzle, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. There are some possible reasons for increased ice cover in this region, but I think I’ll leave that discussion for another article.

Suffice it to say that while the extent of winter ice coverage is greater, the actual mass of ice in this region is notably declining.

Globally, it turns out that according to NOAA’s National Climate Data Center, this June was the warmest on record (records begin in 1880). NASA had this June as the third warmest on record, while the Uni-

versity of Alabama Huntsville ranked June as the fourth warmest based on satellite measurements of the atmosphere going back 36 years.

Looking at NOAA’s data this would make June the third month in a row with recordbreaking global temperatures. The last time this happened was during a four-month period in 2010. The parts of the globe that seemed to warm the most during June were the oceans. Global ocean temperatures during June were 0.64 C above the 20th century average, which is the greatest departure from average ever recorded.

When I looked at the global temperature anomaly map for June, the only below-average land regions I could find were

in central North America from the southern Canadian Prairies southeastward towards Florida, Alaska and eastern Siberia, and a small part of eastern Europe.

As far as extreme weather goes, there was only one “billiondollar” weather event in June, and that was a severe thunderstorm outbreak across Germany, France, and Belgium. Closer to home, parts of Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan saw record breaking rainfalls in June. The largest number I was able to find was a remarkable 499 millimetres, or half a metre of rain, that fell at a weather station located just northwest of Canton, South Dakota.

Over the Pacific Ocean, El Niño conditions are currently

in neutral phase but are coming close to the 0.5 C threshold for El Niño. NOAA is continuing its El Niño watch and is placing the odds at 70 per cent that an El Niño event will develop before the end of summer and an 80 per cent chance of developing during the fall.

According to Jeff McMasters of the Weather Underground, during an El Niño the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) tends to become negative, but up until the beginning of July it has remained positive. Since then the SOI has started to become negative which could mean that the atmosphere is beginning to respond to the ocean temperatures. El Niño conditions during the winter can, but not always, lead to milder winters across

Western Canada — something I think most of us wouldn’t mind!

Finally, for those of you who keep an eye on the Atlantic hurricane season, you may have noticed it has been a fairly quiet start to the year, with only one named storm so far. While it’s still early in the hurricane season, with early September being the peak time, conditions over the tropical Atlantic have not been favourable for hurricane development. Add to this the probable development of El Niño conditions in the Pacific by early fall, which usually helps to inhibit hurricane development in the Atlantic by creating strong upper-level winds, and it looks like it will continue to be a quiet hurricane season.

Land and Ocean Temperature Percentiles June 2014

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17

Wheat breeder honoured Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada wheat breeder Ron DePauw is the recipient of the annual Canadian Plant Breeding and Genetics Award. “You could call him the billion-dollar man. That’s the value of grain produced annually from wheat cultivars developed by Ron DePauw,” said Jeff Reid of Secan who nominated him for the award. DePauw is the co-developer of AC Lillian, the first solid-stem red spring wheat variety to become widely grown wheat on the Prairies. He and his team discovered genetic resistance to the orange wheat blossom midge. But his most notable contribution was developing AC Barrie, the most widely grown variety between 1998 and 2005. — CSTA release

Winter cereals match herbicides in controlling wild oats Producers might be ‘fairly shocked,’ but study finds winter cereals are as effective as herbicides in wild oats control

By Jennifer Blair af staff / lacombe

W

“Wild oat, in Alberta at least, is the weed that’s most resistant to the herbicides we use.”

Neil Harker

Concern is mounting about herbicide-resistant wild oats, he added.

“Wild oat, in Alberta at least, is the weed that’s most resistant to the herbicides we use,” said Harker. “In random surveys of farmers’ fields, it’s in over 50 per cent of fields now.”

T:15.58”

inter cereals control wild oats just as well as herbicides do, suggests a study underway in Lacombe.

“When we had two years of winter cereals — either running or with an early-cut silage in between — we had as good of wild oat control as when we went three years of alfalfa or canola-wheat-canola-wheat with 100 per cent herbicides,” said Neil Harker, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

“That’s fairly impressive as to what those crops can do for you in terms of wild oat management without herbicides.”

While most of the resistance is to Group 1 herbicides, wild oats is also a “high risk” for glyphosate (Group 9), resistance, and more than 10 per cent of fields in Alberta are now Group 2 resistant.

During the five-year study, researchers evaluated the effectiveness of novel wild oat control methods by comparing different practices, such as double seeding rates, and different rotations to the canola-wheat rotation that is standard on the Prairies. And so far, the results have shown promise for moving away from herbicides.

“When we combine things like winter cereals with double seeding rates and early-cut silage, we can do as well as a canola-wheat rotation in terms of wild oat management,” he said.

“There’s several plots with no wild oat herbicides for three years running that look as good as canolawheat with a full herbicide rate.”

Most producers are “fairly shocked” that they could go three years without using a wild oat herbicide and still have effective control, said Harker.

“But you have to be willing to grow a winter cereal, and a lot of people aren’t.”

Craig Shaw, a mixed grain grower near Lacombe, has no such compunctions.

“I love it in the rotation,” said Shaw, who’s been growing winter wheat since 1997.

“When you get hail and end up silaging the crop, it’s a great opportunity to incorporate winter wheat into your rotation.”

A study underway in Lacombe suggests that winter cereals offer as much control for wild oats as herbicides do, says researcher Neil Harker. Photo: Jennifer Blair With winter wheat — as with any crop, producers need to “look at where the opportunities and advantages are,” he said.

“Generally, we’ve used this crop as an early cash flow and move it off the combine, more times than not in the feed market,” said Shaw.

“If you’re in a year when the crop’s a little short, you can generally gain 50 cents a bushel over what you would get once harvest pressure starts to fall into place.”

But for many growers, it comes down to “straight economics,” said Harker.

“The most economical thing to do right now in the short term is grow canola-wheat-canola-wheat, and

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • AUGUST 4, 2014

in some areas, it’s canola-canolacanola,” he said.

“But the risk of that is, in the long term, you’re going to run into weed, disease, and insect issues that will hurt us.”

In Arkansas, where herbicideresistant palmer amaranth has devastated cotton crops, they’ve changed their rotations “because they have to,” he said.

“You run it as long as it will run and then that old dog won’t run anymore,” said Harker.

“We may get to the point where we have to do something a little different, too.” jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

18

AUGUST 4, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Rain, rain, come again A series of late-July storms brought some relief to some parts of the province, but a lack of moisture is the big issue on many farms

By Madeleine Baerg af contributor

H

ot, sunny weather around the province through much of July made for ideal BBQ and beach weather — but bordered on too much of a good thing for some Alberta crops.

With the exception of the fairly wet Lake Country, farmers around almost the entire province hoped for rain when the lowpressure system blew through July 24-25.

Despite the recent cooler, wetter weather, northern areas that faced deep drought conditions through the first three weeks of July have already suffered at least some irreparable crop yield loss, said Harry Brook, a crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

“Chances are that rain now will help somewhat. However, crop yield potential is set around the four- to six-leaf stage. I expect lower-than-average crops (in drought-hit areas) but rain now will help some of the crop to fill,” he said.

As of July 15, 77.4 per cent of the province’s total crops were rated in good to excellent condition, according to the ARD crop report. Specifically, between 77 and 82 per cent of spring wheat, oats, barley, lentils and dry peas; 88 per cent of dry beans; and 74 per cent of canola acres were at good to excellent condition.

Despite the seemingly high ratings of good to excellent condition, these totals were down by six per cent from the June 30 crop report, due almost entirely to heat and drought in the Peace and central regions.

And the per cent of crop rated good to excellent is expected to fall further because of heat and drought in July.

The good news, however, is that the large low-pressure system that moved across Alberta on July 24-25 was a “game-changing system,” said Alberta Agriculture soil moisture specialist Ralph Wright. “Southern Alberta needed a shot; the central parts of the province needed some; (and) of course, the Peace was quite desperate. This was a very necessary time to get rain, especially for the driest areas.”

The system centred on the Edmonton area, dumping 60 millimetres or more from Redwater in the north to Wetaskiwin and Mundare in the south. The hardest-hit area was Thorsby, which saw 98 millimetres fall inside of 48 hours. To put this amount in perspective, the entire month of July’s average rainfall for the Edmonton area is 100 to 120 millimetres.

Central Alberta also received a good share of rain — about 20 to 30 millimetres in the southernmost areas and 60 to 70 millimetres farther north.

“The Camrose, Flagstaff, Stettler areas were pretty dry prior to the system moving through,” said Wright. “They weren’t seeing major issues compared to the Peace region but the rain certainly alleviated moisture stress that may have been developing.”

In the south country’s dryland areas, certified seed grower Greg Stamp of Enchant was watching the sky on the Wednesday prior to the system moving into the province.

“Earlier-planted crops are doing OK, but the later-planted crops are struggling because the taps just sort of shut off on them,” said Stamp. “We were lucky with when we planted our dryland crops because we got our faba beans and peas in, in April.

But anyone who planted into May might be suffering.

“Looking around at the fields in my area, canola looks stressed — there’s more of an orange tinge in the crop — and some winter wheat looks stressed. And I’m seeing some premature ripening in cereals in some spots, especially on hills in the dryland.”

Cooler weather later in July helped after a couple of weeks of +30 C temperatures.

“Even in the irrigated areas, you can’t give the crop enough water to keep up with its use when it’s that hot. And the dryland, unirrigated areas? Those crops just wilt.”

Unfortunately for Stamp and other producers in his area, the low-pressure system produced little rain south of the TransCanada Highway, and warm, dry weather is forecast looking into the near future.

Those happiest to see rain-filled skies were producers in the Peace and central regions. Prior to the rain, the portion of the crop rated good to excellent dropped by 7.5 per cent between June 30 and July 15 in the central region, and was dropping further due to drought conditions. The Peace Region fell even further in this time period: a costly 11.7 per cent, leaving just over half the crop in good to excellent condition.

Moisture reserves captured from the heavier-than-average winter snows helped earlier in the season in the Peace Country.

However, as of June 22, parts of the Peace Country were dealing with a level of dryness seen only approximately every 50 years. Throughout the dry central parts of the region, just 10 to 25 millimetres of precipitation fell between June 22 and July 22, far less than the inch of soil moisture that a crop needs per week to sustain good growth.

Rycroft, for example, saw just 63 millimetres

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Some regions got a good soaking during the July 24-25 storms, but many areas still badly need moisture. Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development graphic.

fall between April 1 and July 9, just over onethird of what usually falls during this period.

During the July 24-25 storms, the Peace Country received variable rain, from less than 10 millimetres near the town of Peace River to as high as about 50 to 60 millimetres in the MD of Smoky River.

“It sure would have been nice to get 50 to 75 millimetres across the Peace,” said Wright. “What it did get is not as much as was expected, but it’s still good. Anything is certainly better than nothing.

“It was enough to buy some time.”

Trade mission to Turkey opens doors Need to upgrade cattle, sheep and goat genetics offers opportunities for Alberta companies AARD release

A

provincial trade mission to Turkey has identified significant opportunities for Alberta in the areas of sheep and goat genetics, live cattle and cattle genetics, pulses, pet food, and agriculture-focused post-secondary education and training.

The Alberta delegation included OC Flock Management (a Bowden-based company specializing in small ruminants’ reproductive technologies and genetics), ITS Global (a traceability solution provider to the cattle industry globally), and Champion Pet Food (an Alberta-based exporter of biologically appropriate pet food made with locally sourced natural ingredients).

The group met with numerous

government and industry officials, said Aarij Bashir, trade and relations officer with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

“The primary focus of discussions was around livestock and provided an opportunity for the delegation to promote Alberta’s expertise in animal genetics and livestock traceability systems,” he said. “As Turkey plans to improve the genetic base of its cattle, sheep and goat herds, there are plenty of opportunities for Alberta’s industry.”

Canada is currently negotiating a live cattle health certificate with Turkey that will open the market for Canadian cattle to be exported to Turkey.

“At the moment, most producers in Turkey do not differentiate between beef cattle and dairy cattle and there seems to be a high demand for dual-purpose

breeds,” said Bashir. “However, there are a few progressive groups that are introducing beef genetics in the cattle system.

There is a need to educate the producers on the benefits of beef cattle compared to dairy cattle and provide them with proper management skills relevant to beef herds.”

Turkey has a big sheep and goat industry where the herds are suffering from declining productivity. “This presents a great opportunity for Alberta companies to export high-quality sheep and goat genetics to the region,” said Bashir.

“Sheep and goats are important culturally in Turkey, both as a source of meat and dairy, as well as rural livelihood. The hilly terrain of Turkey and lack of pasture land make it suitable for small ruminants.”

19

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • AUGUST 4, 2014

Aussie weed ‘seed destroyer’ ready to roll in Alberta trials The Australian-made Harrington seed destructor shows promise for cleaver control in Alberta, but likely won’t work on wild oats

By Jennifer Blair af staff / lacombe

A

novel way of controlling herbicide-resistant weeds has emerged from Down Under, but whether it will take off in Canada is still up in the air.

“We know that herbicide resistance is a problem here, but it’s also a really big problem in Australia,” said Breanne Tidemann, a graduate student at the University of Alberta.

“They’ve gone to something called harvest weed seed control to manage the seeds at harvest time.”

Australian farmers have resorted to chaff carts, direct baling, and narrow windrow burning to control weed seeds from annual ryegrass and wild radish, which is resistant to 11 herbicide modes of action. But the most promising tool is the Harrington seed destructor — a tow-behind machine that collects weeds and grinds their seeds at harvest, cutting weed emergence the following year by half in Australian trials.

And researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada have gotten their hands on one of these units.

“But before we can start testing it, we need to know what weed seeds are still on the plant at harvest time and where on the plant they are produced,” said Tidemann. “Are they at a height where we can go through with a combine and collect the majority of those seeds?”

“A lot of guys say they don’t want to pull one of these behind their combine. But in Australia, there are a lot of guys pulling them behind their combine because they have to.”

Neil Harker

Weeds that drop their seeds early or produce seeds too low on the plant likely won’t work with the Harrington seed destructor.

Researchers in Lacombe are testing two different crops — wheat and faba beans — at two seeding rates to see if canopy density has an impact on how tall weeds grow and at what height they produce seeds.

“If we have a more open canopy and we’ve got more light penetration, is that changing where the weed seeds are growing in terms of height and where they’re producing their seeds in terms of height?”

The double seeding rate in faba beans has produced plants that are “substantially taller” than those at the recommended seeding rate, creating more competition for faba plants and weeds alike.

“We’re thinking that, if there’s that type of competition, the

weeds will also stretch more and… have a difference in where they’re producing their seeds.”

During harvest, researchers will collect volunteer canola, wild oat, and cleaver plants at different cutting heights to see what proportion of seeds are produced at each height, as well as how many seeds remain on the plants. This will help them identify which weeds Canadian growers should target with the Harrington seed destructor.

Wild oats, for instance, will “likely not” work, said Tidemann, because of the timing of their seed production, but the machine shows promise for cleavers.

“If you go through at harvest time, usually the seeds end up

sticking to you, so they’re still on the plant,” she said.

While the Harrington seed destructor has had an uptake in Australia, Canadian producers have so far balked at its $120,000 price tag. But as herbicide resistance grows in Canada, producers may need to do things they don’t want to do, said Neil Harker, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

“A lot of guys say they don’t want to pull one of these behind their combine,” said Harker. “But in Australia, there are a lot of guys pulling them behind their combine because they have to.”

“They don’t have any other choice,” added Tidemann. jennifer.blair@fbcpublishing.com

Breanne Tidemann is testing the Harrington seed destructor in Lacombe as part of a nationwide study on harvest weed seed management.

Photo: Jennifer Blair

DISEASE CROP WALK

LETHBRIDGE Thursday, August 7, 2014 8 am – 1 pm • Location: Farming Smarter Research Demonstration Site Jail Road, Lethbridge • Contact Farming Smarter 403-381-5118 for more information • 8 am Coffee and Snacks will be supplied 8:30

lubroot resistance stewardship (25 min) C Murray Hartman – Provincial Oilseed Specialist, Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development

9 am Blackleg resistance evaluations (25 min)

Ralph Lange – Research Pathologist - Alberta Innovates

Technology Futures 9:30

Sclerotinia disease prediction with spore trapping (15 min) Dr. Syama Chatterton – Plant Pathologist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

9:45

Swede Midge and insect update (10 min) Dr. Hector Carcamo – Research Scientist - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

10 am

Beneficial insects (25 min) Dr. Hector Carcamo – Research Scientist - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Vincent Hervet – PhD Candidiate – University of Lethbridge

10:30 Herbicide Resistant Weeds and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Scouting

(25 min) Dr. Chris Neeser – Research Scientist - Alberta Agriculture &

Rural Development 11 am Clubroot demonstrations: sanitization, symptoms, survey etc. (25 min)

Dr. Ron Howard – RJH Ag Research Solutions Ltd., Brooks, AB Dustin Burke – Research Technologist, Alberta Agriculture and

Rural Development NOON LUNCH 1 pm Time of Day Application Differences in Fungicides (30 min) Ken Coles - General manager - Farming Smarter

For further information or to sign up for E-newsletter visit: www.farmingsmarter.com

20

AUGUST 4, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Manure cure for organic crops Canada’s longest-running organic grain trials show organic can match conventional productivity

By Meghan Mast staff

O

rganic crop producers can match the productivity of their conventional farming neighbours with a little help from some four-legged friends.

Composted beef and dairy manure restores important nutrients that can be mined from the soil under organic management systems, said Martin Entz, a University of Manitoba agronomy professor.

When treated with composted manure, a forage-grain organic crop rotation can produce just as much as conventional grain-only crops, he said.

Entz made the comments at the Glenlea research station, home

Martin Entz points out a wheat plot where half has been treated with manure, while the other half has not been. Photos: meghan mast

Hairy vetch reintroduces nitrogen to the soil.

to Canada’s oldest organic rotation study. The plots were started 23 years ago, and replicated trials compare the performance of four-year rotations of annual crops against a rotation that includes two years of perennial legumes under conventional and organic management.

Crops rotate between classic Prairie crops — Waskada wheat, Bethune flax, Leggett oats and soybeans combined with forages such as alfalfa and hairy vetch. The ongoing study, now into its fifth rotation, allows researchers to more accurately measure long-term effects of different approaches.

A lot can change in a couple of decades.

For the first eight years of the study, organic system crops yielded 10 to 15 per cent less than conventional crops because weeds slowed production. By the 12th year, however, the forage-grain system had become increasingly weed resistant and produced comparably to grain-only conventional crops.

“Forage in the system does a terrific job of dealing with the wild oats,” said Entz.

But repeated alfalfa hay harvesting can also remove up to four times as much phosphorus as the grain crops. After 15 years, the soil began to run out of phosphorus, which in turn reduced the amount of nitrogen available to crops. Crop productivity suffered, and subsoil carbon levels also dropped.

At that point the researchers applied manure and began seeing better results.

They have also started growing hairy vetch. A plot of the legume adds about 160 kilograms of nitrogen to the soil. At the end of every year the the vetch is harvested.

Wheat is planted in its place and the cycle continues.

Entz hopes to have sheep grazing on the alfalfa soon to recycle nutrients that would otherwise be removed back onto the land. Even in an intensive grazing system, animals remove only 15 to 25 per cent of the nutrients.

Composted manure can also change the weed dynamics.

When composted manure was spread on flax crops, wild mustard thrived. Mustard is a brassica, which does a poor job of working with mycorrhizal populations to access soil phosphorus. So depleting the phosphorus actually had a weed-suppressing effect.

Overall, Entz said weed pressure was comparable to the conventional plots. But energy efficiency was higher.

Near the end of the tour, Entz led the group to a plot of wheat.

“Look at the difference between the front half of the plot and the back half,” he said. The difference is staggering. The crop started small and nearly doubled halfway through, where the soil was treated with manure. meghan.mast@fbcpublishing.com

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • AUGUST 4, 2014

Community news and events from across the province

There’s room for all at Vauxhall’s Foodgrains Bank fundraiser

By Glenn Cheater af staff / vauxhall

I

t was another packed, um, loading bay at the recent Vauxhall & District Growing Project annual pig roast.

The event — now in its ninth year — draws about 400 local residents and so just about every inch of the 7,200-square-foot loading area of Jan and Ida Bennen’s potato storage warehouse is needed.

“We have enough room for tables and chairs for 350 to 400 people,” said Jan. “We had a nice crowd again this year and everybody was able to sit down.”

Because of food safety regulations, the couple’s two warehouses (this year’s event was in the newer one) are spotless and there’s also plenty of room for parking on their farm, located four miles north of town.

The pig roast is a make-adonation affair, but nevertheless accounts for about a quarter of the $100,000 the growing project raises for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank each year. The rest comes from a quarter sec-

Jan and Ida Bennen, pictured with son Jacob and daughter-in-law Alicia, have hosted the pig roast for nine years. Photo: Glenn Cheater

Vauxhall & District Growing Project’s annual pig roast draws a big crowd, but there’s room for everyone in the loading area of Bennen Farms’ potato storage warehouse. Photo: Canadian Foodgrains Bank tion of grain — barley this year — grown by project members.

But the fundraising dinner has another purpose, said Jan. “We started the growing project 11 years ago, but after a couple of years, we asked, ‘How can

we get more of our community involved?’” he said.

“We wanted the town to be part of it, not just those with big tractors.”

And that’s just what has happened, added Arlene Parkinson,

what’s Pulse Pops grab

up

national honours

Send agriculture-related meeting and event announcements to: glenn.cheater@fbcpublishing.com Aug. 5: Western Winter Wheat Initiative crop tour. Wheat field at intersection Highway 13 and Highway 854, Bawlf. Contact Janine Paly 780-232-1987 Aug. 6: Organics in Central Alberta, Morinville / Westlock.

Contact: Marianne 1-855-521-2400 Aug. 7: 2014 Pulse/Canola/ Wheat/Barley Crop Walks & Research Plot Tours, legal land location SW-35-56-24-W4 near Bon Accord (also Aug. 12 in Killam). Contact: Kelly or Cindy 780-674-8268 Aug. 7: Canola “Galla” 2014, Crop Diversification Centre South, Farming Smarter research and development site, Lethbridge.

Contact: Michael Harding 403362-1338 Aug. 7: Forestburg Field Tour, 4.5 miles east of Hwy. 56 on TWP 392, Forestburg. Contact: Alvin 780-582-7308 Aug. 8: Tofield Field Tour & Family Orientated Farm Safety Event, Hwy. 834, approximately 4.5 miles south of Tofield beside Bardo Cemetery. Contact: Alvin 780-582-7308

one of the main organizers of the dinner.

“We want the town people to be involved so they would better understand what this project is all about and what the Foodgrains Bank is all about,” she said.

Many residents of Vauxhall and surrounding towns also come out for the lunch held on harvest day, and bring homemade baking.

“The big hit at the lunch is the homemade pies,” she said.

The dinner dates back to 2005 when the Bennens were celebrating their 25th wedding anniver-

sary and were hosting the party in their potato warehouse.

“We had it all cleaned up and thought, ‘Why not have a pig roast there?’” said Jan. “So we had the first one a couple of weeks after.”

That first one was a one-pig affair but the dinner became so popular, it wasn’t long before two whole pigs had to be roasted.

Virtually every penny raised goes directly into CFG projects (122 in 37 countries in 2012-13) and is leveraged twice. The federal government matches every dollar raised on a four-to-one basis, and the agency further leverages the funds through ‘work for food’ projects, which are chosen by local residents to advance their communities.

The Bennens wanted to see some of those projects for themselves and so they visited Zimbabwe and Malawi in 2007. They came away deeply moved by the people they met, said Jan. People who live “on the blessed side of the world” need to help out as they can, he said.

“We have seen the poor side of the world, but we have also seen the riches they have in their community and in their faith,” he said.

Elk Island National Park to host bison festival

T

hey’re calling it a “celebration of conservation, culture and cuisine,” and that’s an apt description of the province’s first bison festival, said the chair of the Bison Producers of Alberta Association.

Parks Canada approached his organization and the Canadian Bison Association to have a bison event at Elk Island National Park, and the scope of the festival quickly expanded, said Thomas Ackermann.

“It was pretty clear very soon that we needed to have native groups involved, artists, conservationists, and

manufacturers to have a complete picture of what bison is all about,” he said.

“We wanted to showcase that bison is on the comeback and there’s a thriving bison industry out there.”

The event, to be held at the park on Aug. 9 from noon to 8 p.m., will feature live music; bison burgers and smokies; tours and displays; presentations by bison producers, conservationists and First Nations peoples; and “a bisonthemed theatrical performance.”

The only fee is the cost of admission to the park.

Diana Nguyen (l to r), Stacey Seufert, Christie Cheng and Anastassia Astrakhantseva developed Pulse Pops. Photo: Courtesy University of Alberta

I

t’s mission accomplished for the Alberta creators of Pulse Pops, who recently won top honours — and a cheque for $2,500 — at the national finals of Mission ImPULSEible.

University of Alberta students Anastassia Astrakhantseva, Christie Cheng, Diana Nguyen and Stacey Seufert created a frozen alternative to the popular cake pop from black beans, chickpeas, coconut, peanut butter and chocolate.

“Awarding Pulse Pops (first place) meant so much to the team and me,” Seufert said. “The creativity, hard work and pride we have in our product was acknowledged, all in the common goal of a healthy yet delicious snack that I believe every age can enjoy.”

The next step is to bring the frozen treat to the marketplace, she said. The team will start by targeting events and festivals, while working to find retailers to carry the product. — AARD release

Festival visitors will get ‘a complete picture’ of the bison industry, says Thomas Ackermann.

22

AUGUST 4, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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23

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • AUGUST 4, 2014

ANTIQUES ANTIQUES Antiques For Sale DEMOCRAT FOR SALE (Heavy duty buggy), body wood is all new, complete w/neck yoke, & double trees, $1000.

Andrew R Cameron, Sedgewick AB. (780)384-2366

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

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.

BUILDINGS STEEL STORAGE CONTAINERS, 20-ft & 40-ft. Wind, water & rodent proof.

1-866-517-8335, (403)540-4164, (403)226-1722 magnate@telus.net

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 FARM MACHINERY Parts & Accessories

TRACTORS Various

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Wanted

1999 CAT 460 1,400 sep. hrs, rake up $64,000; Road King ground loadstock trailer, 8 x 42.5-ft, will haul 25 cows, $6,000; 2013 Highline 651 Bale Pro, chain floor, twine cutter, big tires, $14,000.

Call:(403)665-2341, Craigmyle, AB.

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

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

HAYING & HARVESTING Baling Equipment

DOWNSIZING: 2001 JD 7410 FWA 740 loader 6,870-hrs; MF 860 6 cyl 2,201-hrs, PU, $5,000; 20ft. straight cut PU reel; JD 2420 DSL 25-ft. UII reel; 21-ft. Hart Carter PU reel; New Quonset future steel 52x35x18 in crate; GMC 1981 7000 series 17-ft. factory grain box & hoist, A1; 1980 Chev 6500 tandem gravel box & hoist, propane, $3,800; 18-ft. Vac tank & pump, off Ford 750 truck, A1; MF 410 combine PU, runs good, $1,200; PWR parachute Rotex SR7, as is $3,000; Steel mounted skid mount cummins w/trans $2,200; 1999 Cat loader IT28G, A1; 2003 Hitachi ZX200LC, A1. (306)236-8023

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

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.

RETIRING! Case 2090 ($14,500), Chev 6000 grain truck ($6,500), Vers. 18-ft swather ($950), Alteen 14-ft double disc ($1,000), 4 twister, 5 ring 14-ft diameter bins, ($1,000/each). Phone:(403)932-2343 or (403)519-7815.

RON SAUER

MACHINERY LTD.

HAYING & HARVESTING

HAYING & HARVESTING Various MF 8460 CONVENTIONAL 2418 E-hrs, Sunnybrook concave, new rub bars, Melroe PU, $27,500; Hesston 6450 18-ft, 1980 E-hrs, cab, air, P/U reel, $9,700. Both excellent (403)782-2545.

Combines COMBINES Ford/New Holland RETIRED FROM FARMING: 2012 NH CR 9080 twin rotor combine, 240 eng hrs, 620 metric duals, fully loaded; 2012 94C 36-ft. straight cut honey bee header, full width top auger, fore & aft; 2012 NH 16ft. PU header. (403)318-0172.

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

**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 Auto Boom Height, Kello-Bilt Discs**

BUILDINGS

BUILDINGS

Pam, 49 - 5’4 110lbs

divorced, business owner, loves horses, sailing, shopping, travel I don’t sweat the small stuff, my life is great, I laugh everyday and appreciate every moment.

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.

Michel, 58 - I am in my fifties and I am in the best shape of my life and have a trainer. I love to be in excellent health and am an occupational therapist and health is vital. I have no debt and no bad habits.

1-800-982-1769

Casey, 42 - I have two children a girl and a boy. I am a teacher and I love my job. I live in a small town where I feel I know everyone and my dating opportunities are limited.

www.bigtractorparts.com

HEAT & AIR CONDITIONING

COMBINES Combines - Various

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

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

COMBINES Accessories RECONDITIONED COMBINE HEADERS. RIGID & flex, most makes & sizes; also header transports.

Ed Lorenz, (306)344-4811 or Website: www.straightcutheaders.com Paradise Hill, SK.

www.penta.ca

1-800-587-4711

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

TracTors TRACTORS Various

Stretch your

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

JD 2955 c/w ldr., 3 pth hitch JD 326D Skid Steer 2011 Model JD 7800 complete with 740 ldr.

JD 4020 c/w ldr. & new motor JD 7700, 740 ldr.

ST 250 Steiger, tires new 20.8 x 38 Clamp on Duals, 20.8x38-18.4x38 148, 265, 725, 740, 280, JD ldr.

AVAILABLE BACHELORETTES

Geared For The Future

(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 51’ Degelman Landroller, only done 3,000 acres, as new.... .......................................................... $40,000 Degelman Dozer Frame MF 4000 Series 4WD .$1,000 41’ Flexicoil B Chisel Plow, 3 bar harrows, excellent condition .............................................. $12,500 Flexicoil 6 Run Seed Treater .............................. $1,000 134’ Flexicoil S68XL Sprayer, 2007, suspended boom, auto rate, joystick, rinse tank, triple quick jets, auto boom height, electric end nozzle & foam marker............. $32,500 100’ 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 NEW 12-39 Sakundiak Grain Auger, 44 HP Generac engine, E-Kay HD mover, power steering, belt tightener, slim fit, lights, scissor lift, remote throttle, new tires ............ $23,500 NEW TL 10-39 Sakundiak Grain Auger, 35HP Vanguard Hauss motor, clutch and lights, new tires. ... $14,500 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

Big Tractor Parts, Inc.

PERSONAL

ADVERTISING DOLLAR!

1-800-665-1362

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Charolais

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

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

SPRAYING EQUIPMENT Sprayers

SPRAYING EQUIPMENT Sprayers

Chelsea - My parents were married at my age 28. I am the girl next door, I love the outdoors, red necks are fine for me, love God, my family and my community.

Matchmakers Select

1-888-916-2824 www.selectintroductions.com Thorough screenomg process, customized memberships and guaranteed service.

Est 14 years in Canada & US. We are a full service permanent relationship firm with a success rate of 87%. Testimonials available.

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.

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, La-combe.

FEED GRAIN WANTED! ALSO buying; Light, tough, or offgrade grains. “On Farm Pickup” Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252 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 Grain Wanted 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

BOW VALLEY TRADING LTD.

WE BUY DAMAGED GRAIN

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

$28,418 When you go with steel you get the right deals!

Pioneer One Steel Buildings

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

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

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

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

Wheat, Barley, Oats, Peas, etc.

Green or Heated Canola/Flax

1-877-641-2798

BUYING:

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

1-877-250-5252

Watch your profits grow!

ADVERTISE with AFE Classifieds Place your ad today call

1-800-665-1362

24

AUGUST 4, 2014 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

SEED/FEED/GRAIN Grain Wanted

TRAVEL

TRAVEL

KING SALMON

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

CHESAPEAKE CHARTERS

**ALL INCLUSIVE** 3 & 4 DAY CHARTERS 778-983-2018 or 250-600-2055

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

claudegourlin@hotmail.com www.salmoncharters.ca PRINCE RUPERT BRITISH COLUMBIA

AGRICULTURAL TOURS 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 Go public with an ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifieds. Phone 1-800-665-1362.

TRAILERS TRAILERS Grain Trailers

Mid-west USA/Branson ~ October 2014 Dubai to Cape Town Cruise ~ Nov 2014 Panama Canal Cruise ~ Dec 2014 Australia/New Zealand ~ Jan 2015 South America ~ Jan 2015 Costa Rica ~ Feb 2015 India ~ Feb 2015 Kenya/Tanzania ~ Feb 2015 South Africa/Zambia ~ Feb 2015

FARMING IS ENOUGH OF A GAMBLE...

CAREERS Farm / Ranch

CAREERS Farm / Ranch

KROEKER FARMS LTD. 5.0000X2 Kroeker Farms Limited has an opportunity 000051537r1

for a farm manager on their seed production farm in Riverhurst, Saskatchewan.

Responsibilities include: • Coordinating and leading staff • Maintenance of all equipment and resources • Assisting in budgeting and managing expenses • Assisting in agronomic decisions • Coordination of all aspects of crop production • Building relationships with landlords and neighbors Farm experience desired includes general maintenance, equipment operation, irrigation scheduling, basic agronomy, budgeting, and supervision of staff. Production, agriculture and

1-800-661-4326

We offer a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package including profit sharing and RRSP’s.

Relocation assistance may be provided if necessary.

Kroeker Farms is a progressive vegetable farm that specializes in table potatoes. Production also includes chip potatoes, onions, seed potatoes, and a large organic department. Kroeker Farms produces crops in five locations in both Canada and the USA. For more information go to www.kroekerfarms.com

We thank all applicants for their interest! Only those being interviewed will be contacted.

TRY

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

ADVERTISING DOLLAR!

AG DEALS TO GO!

1-800-665-1362

1-800-665-1362

FO R NO TH W E BO 20 O 15 KI ED NG IT IO N

1995 LODE KING OPEN end grain trailer, front trailer only of Super B set, quite good for the age, new top, tires good, $9,999. Phone (780)352-1219.

management experience are essential.

Potato experience is not necessary.

If you are interested in a challenging and rewarding career with a progressive company, please forward your resume to: Kroeker Farms Limited HR Manager Phone: (204) 325-4333 Fax: (204) 325-8630 Email: edwin@kroekers.com

Select Holidays

Stretch your

CAREERS

Ed Klassen

*Portion of tours may be Tax Deductible

www.selectholidays.com

CAREERS

ADvE ADvERTISE yOuR AAG buSINESS whERE IT COuNTS. The Farmer’s Product Guide helps farmers make informed decisions on everything that’s essential to their farm. From equipment and accessories to buildings, technology, tillage and trucks – the Farmer’s Product Guide covers it all.

If you’re in the Ag business, the Farmer’s Product Guide offers you some amazing opportunities to reach your target audience! Call to find out about our fully integrated media solutions featuring print, online, email and interactive.

135,000 COPIES PRINTED And distributed through:

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Terry McGarry Ph: (204) 981-3730 Email: trmcgarr@mts.net

and at all major farm shows.

ThOuSANDS OF Fully SEARChAblE AG PRODuCT AND SERvICE lISTINGS: www.FARMERSPRODuCTGuIDE.COM