's voice by Farm Business Communications

SUMMER 2016 EDITION

MEMBER PROFILE

ANDY BARCLAY Love of farming spurs him on despite repeated flooding

The Official Publication of Keystone Agricultural Producers

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Contents

The Manitoba Farmers’ Voice – Spring 2016

Published four times a year by: Keystone Agricultural Producers 203-1700 Ellice Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3H 0B1 phone: 204-697-1140 fax: 204-697-1109 e-mail: kap@kap.mb.ca website: www.kap.mb.ca

KAP 2016 B OA R D O F DIRECTO R S

Cover Story / member profile

President Dan Mazier. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-720-4646

Andy Barclay

Vice President Glenn Young. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-721-0792

Love of farming spurs him on despite repeated flooding

Vice President Justin Jenner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-724-2477 District 1 Bill Campbell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-724-6218 District 2 Dallas Timmerman. . . . . . . . . . . 204-526-7491

District 3 Dustin Krahn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-312-0804 District 4 Kevin Stott. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-371-4762 District 5 Edgar Scheurer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-781-0465 District 6 Rae Trimble-Olson. . . . . . . . . . . 204-871-1063

Features

District 7 Simon Ellis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-720-9155 District 8 George Graham . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-773-6389 District 9 Justin Jenner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-724-2477 District 10 Kyle Foster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-364-2417

District 11 Don Dewar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-638-8433 District 12 Calvin Gust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-734-0361 Red meat commodity groups Cal Penner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-383-5468 MB Pork Council

Weed Resistance

KAP at work

The problem and the solutions

See what KAP is doing for all Manitoba farmers

Supply-managed commodity groups Murray Klassen . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-346-2508 MB Chicken Producers Special interest groups Chuck Fossay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-781-9843 MB Canola Growers Special crops/veg. commodity groups Theresa Bergsma . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-745-6661 MB Corn Growers General Manager James Battershill. . . . . . . . . . . . . 204-697-1140

EDITOR: Val Ominski

Featured member benefit

Young farmers

Access to top international physicians

Award-winning farm couple

— STAF F — James Battershill General Manager Kathy Ulasy Financial Co-ordinator Val Ominski Communications Co-ordinator Ali Millar Policy Analyst April Kuz Administrative Assistant Chandra Rempel Executive Assistant Jacquie Nicholson Membership Co-ordinator

Next advertising deadline: July 29, 2016

President’s message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Time to communicate with the new government

Tile drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 The answer to perennially wet fields?

GM’s message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Help reduce the red tape of farming

Manitoba Farmer‘s Voice is produced by Farm Business Communications — a division of Glacier FarmMedia

Farmers’ Voice / summer 2 0 1 6

MEMBER PROFILE

Andy Barclay Love of farming spurs him on despite repeated flooding By Ron Friesen

f you think a person would quit farming after being flooded nearly every other year, you haven’t met Andy Barclay. Andy farms five miles north of Souris in one of western Manitoba’s most flood-prone areas. His experiences with flooding began in 1999 when the entire region was deluged with heavy spring rains and some producers barely turned a wheel that year. Since then, flooding has been a regular occurrence on Andy’s farm and those of his neighbours. Since 1999, he says several years have been complete write-offs because of excessive moisture. Some other times he managed to salvage only 70 per cent of his crop acres because of wet conditions. In 2007, a five-inch rainfall saturated his land and destroyed 30 to 40 per cent of the crop. In 2011, record spring floods covered the region for weeks and many producers planted little or nothing. The after-effects of the 2011 flood are still ongoing. In 2012, only 70 per cent of Andy’s land was dry enough to be seeded. This year, a few acres were still too wet to plant. “It’s pretty frustrating,” he admits. But if you think by now he would have considered pulling up stakes, think again. “I’m still making a living and enjoy the lifestyle,” he said. “I think I’ll just stick with it.” »

Farmers’ Voice / summer 2016

Andy Barclay loves the flexibility of being his own boss, something that allows him to be hands-on with his children, Drew and Maria, while wife Allison works off the farm.

Fa r m e r s â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Vo i c e / s u m m e r 2 0 1 6

MEMBER PROFILE

Andy’s main problem is location. His farm sits is in the middle of what some, only half jokingly, call “bathtub country.” A pocket of marshland about 20,000 acres in size is pockmarked with sloughs. In addition, part of Andy’s farm is perched on the Oak Lake aquifer, where the water table, fed by creeks, is near the surface after a series of wet years. The remainder of his farmland is on heavy clay soil with many low spots and little or no drainage. Any significant precipitation produces at least some overland flooding and things appear to be getting worse. There was a time when a major rainfall would measure two inches. Lately, it’s been more like five inches and the land can’t handle that much rain all at once.

Andy has a deep connection to the farm and enjoys the lifestyle it provides.

Farmers’ Voice / summer 2016

But two things keep Andy where he is: history and lifestyle. The farm has been in the family since 1905 when his great-grandfather founded it. As a result, he has a deep personal connection to the land and leaving it is not an option. “Knowing it’s been around so long, I don’t think I’d ever sell the home portion, anyway.” As for lifestyle, Andy, who turned 40 in March, doesn’t think he could find a better job. “It’s a great life for the family and you’re your own boss. If you want to take a week off, you do it. You don’t have to answer to anybody. If you want to sit around and drink coffee until 11 o’clock on a Saturday, you do it and you don’t have anybody yelling at you.”

The Barclays have two children: Drew (11) and Maria (five). Andy says the flexibility of being his own boss helps when it comes to childcare. Because his wife Allison works fulltime in Brandon as a pharmacist, he’s often the one who drops off a child at daycare or picks up a sick kid at school. Although he grew up in town, Andy loved being on the farm as a teenager, greasing combines, dumping truckloads and generally helping out. His father Glen and uncle Ron ran the farm until Glen began moving up through the ranks at Feed Rite, which he joined in 1967. He eventually ended up as manager in the company’s Brandon office and rented out his land, paving the way for his son to ease into the operation. But education came first. After graduating from high school in 1994, Andy attended Brandon University where he achieved a degree with a major in business in 1998. His dad offered to let him work half a section of land to help him through school. Three years of farming in between studies covered his university expenses, allowed him to bank some money, and even enabled him to buy a car. After university, Andy went to work for accounting firms, doing income tax and farm program applications for clients. He also began taking over his dad’s land, increasing his holdings to a section and a quarter. Unfortunately, it was the worst time to do it because the 1999 flood made it impossible to seed a crop that year. So he continued accounting work, doing income tax in the winter while gradually expanding his land base. Today, Andy farms 2,700 acres, of which he owns 800. He rents the remainder from his dad, who is now 68 and retired, plus two other landowners. One of them works as a hired hand and is so diligent Andy admits he would have to cut back his acres without him. The farm is a grain and oilseed operation, but Andy made his first foray into soybeans last year. The crop looked great until a late hailstorm knocked yields back to 30 bushels an acre. That’s still not bad for a first effort — the five-year provincial average yield for soybeans is 34.4 bushels an acre. Although he owns less than half the land he farms, Andy isn’t in a hurry to buy more. Farmland in the area rents for a reasonable amount and he figures he’s better off keeping

his debt load down by renting instead of incurring huge land payments. “I guess if the stuff I’m currently renting came up for sale, I’d have to look at it. But I’m not aggressively out looking to buy any more.” Andy uses mostly older farm machinery, which reduces payments and helps keep overhead costs down. He finds his business training extremely valuable in running a farming operation. Bookkeeping, financial statements, tax returns and farm programs all require a sharp pencil and a keen sense of management. Even completing a voluntary environmental farm plan requires certain know-how. “You should be up to date on your financial numbers all the time and see exactly where you’re at.” Many of the young farmers in the region also have post-secondary education, including agriculture diplomas and degrees. Andy says it’s a sign that higher education is becoming almost essential in farming. “There’s lots of educated farmers now. It’s

not just, get out of school and go cultivating any more. Parents are giving them an opportunity to get more education and it’s pretty important.” Besides farming and raising a young family, Andy also represents District 7 on the KAP advisory council. He says it’s “absolutely amazing, the scope of stuff they [KAP] cover now.” He believes a big challenge for farm organizations in the next two years will be to secure improvements for Growing Forward 3, scheduled to take effect April 1, 2018 after the current program expires. Farming is always a risky business and periodic flooding around Souris makes it even more risky. But Andy is convinced he can ride it out, with Allison’s income helping to cover daily expenses. His roots in the family farm run deep and he has a strong background in business management. That’s why he continues to farm, flooding or no flooding. “I love what I do and, if you average it over the years, I’m still doing all right. I’m not making huge money but I’m building some equity.” MFV

Andy finds his business training extremely valuable. “You should be up to date on your financial numbers all the time and see exactly where you’re at,” he says

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Election over, now it’s time to communicate with the new government By DAN MAZIER, KAP President

Now that the election is over, KAP will be advancing the issues we highlighted during the campaign. We focussed on agriculture’s need for support and investment in innovation and research, on support for young farmers, on rural infrastructure repairs and transparency, and on more support for environmental programs. And now, we’ll be following through. We recognize that Rome wasn’t built in a day, but we will continue to make farmers’ voices heard, so that when the government has established itself and is ready to make changes, it will know what our needs are. On the innovation and research file, KAP will be asking the government to reverse the trend of declining investment in agriculture, which has fallen from $24.6 million to $10.1 million over the past eight years. That’s only 0.18 per cent of Manitoba farm cash receipts, and we would like to see an investment equivalent to a full one per cent of farm cash receipts. We’ll also be asking for programming to support farmers doing field trials and those experimenting with new crops and production methods. This will share the production risk associated with driving the industry forward. We’re also going to push to get vacant specialist positions filled — in order to provide technology transfer from existing research, and identify new research opportunities. Members have passed a resolution to this effect, and KAP is going to stress that we need more — not less — resources in rural Manitoba. During the campaign, we highlighted young farmers with an editorial in the Manitoba Co-operator and several rural papers. It was titled Who will feed us in the future?, and called for support to young

Farmers’ Voice / summer 2016

We recognize that Rome wasn’t built in a day, but we will continue to make farmers’ voices heard, so that when the government has established itself and is ready to make changes, it will know what our needs are farmers. Now, KAP will be asking for specifics. We want a kick-start deposit into new AgriInvest accounts, spread over the first five years. And we want the AgriStability fee waived for the first five years of enrolment in the program, in order to encourage beginning farmers’ participation. With regards to AgriInsurance, we want premium credits for beginning farmers during the first five years — to assist with the cost of participation. KAP will also be asking the province to assist young farmers that want to diversify their crop operations into live-

stock production. We want the government to provide incentives, as well as support to navigate the regulatory hurdles. Finally, we’ll be asking for increased funding for post-secondary agriculture students, to help offset the costs associated with moving to urban areas to attend school. Infrastructure improvement and repair is another area KAP is going to lobby hard for. We want a new system that would allow members of the public to report damaged and dangerous roads and bridges. A list of these reports should be compiled annually and pub-

they can carry out important projects that provide ecological benefit to all Manitobans. Another major issue that has been with KAP for as long as I can remember is the outdated method Manitoba uses to collect education taxes. I note the new government committed to “identify the true state of Manitoba’s economic situation and find savings while protecting front-line services.” I can only hope this means overhauling taxation and eliminating the heavy tax burden that has traditionally been placed on farmers. We will ask for this to be done as soon as possible because farmers have been paying disproportionate share of taxes long enough. We realize this can’t happen over night, and meanwhile we’ll continue to call for the elimination of the $5,000 cap on the school tax rebate. Preparations for Growing Forward 3 are in full swing. We’ll be lobbying, along with CFA, at the national level —

licly reported — so there is transparency around how decisions are being made and road repair priorities set. We also want money allocated for high-speed infrastructure, so that all Manitoba households can access a minimum of 25 mega-bits per second broadband internet service by 2020. And we want municipalities and the federal government to establish a fund to build additional cellular towers. In the area of environment, KAP is going to push for increased funding for the Environmental Farm Plan program, as well as an expansion of beneficial management practices available for funding. This would include carbon sequestration practices. During the campaign, we called for the reinstatement of ALUS — and it looks like we were heard because the new government committed to this on a province-wide basis prior to the election. Now, we’ll stress the need for increased funding for conservation districts, so

but we’ll also be making specific asks to our provincial government. We want changes to BRM programs that make them worth investing in. These are just a few of the projects we’ll be working on in the coming months. As always, we ask districts to bring their members concerns forward as resolutions. Once these are passed, KAP will get to work on moving them forward, too. MFV At press time, I note there is positive news to report. The new government has committed to a Red Tape Reduction Task Force, and KAP will be compiling a submission on the excessive regulations and permits we require everyday as we go about doing our jobs. In order to do this, we’re conducting a survey — which you can fill in on page 18. We need your participation on this. Another positive for agriculture is the recent announcement of Manitoba Agricultrue, a stand-alone ministry for our industry. Many ministries have been combined and streamlined, so this is indeed great news.

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Fa r m e r s ’ Vo i c e / S um m e r 2 0 1 6

WEEDS

Weed resistance The problem and the solutions By John Dietz | From an article that appeared in Ag Advance, a publication of Agri-Trend Inc.

ugh Beckie, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s weed resistance expert, has made a career of tracking what followed the universal adoption of glyphosate, especially as resistance to other modes of action began to build. Farmers stopped looking for other ways or products to control weeds. Research dried up. Between 1980 and 2009, according to Stephen Duke, senior plant pathologist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, the world saw 137 new herbicide active ingredients introduced. However, not one used a new mode of action. The world now had 19 accepted sites or modes for action by herbicides. The last new mode of action was introduced in 1982, when triketone HPPD inhibitors became available. Roundup was just eight years old. “New modes of action are definitely needed. Before this, a new mode of

Farmers’ Voice / summer 2016

action was introduced approximately every two to three years,” says Duke. Beckie’s resistance surveys have now identified 21 weed species with herbicide resistance [in Manitoba]. Resistance to the Group 1 (A) or Group 2 (B) mode of action is by far the most common and economically damaging. Some weeds now have stacked resistance two or three modes of action. Beckie estimates that in 2014, 38 million acres of farmland in Western Canada had herbicide resistant weeds. The cost to farmers was $1.1 to $1.5 billion in increased herbicide use and decreased yields. “Without meticulous management, resistant weeds will continue to spread and the effect on grower profits will only get worse,” says Beckie. His weed surveys show annual increases of resistant weed acres in the range of 2.2 to 2.5 million acres. In the-

There are

HERBICIDE RESISTANT WEEDS IN MANITOBA

ACROSS CANADA

155

ACROSS THE U.S.A.

ACROSS AUSTRALIA

Above: Wild oats in wheat. Currently, in Western Canada, glyphosate-resistant kochia has the most attention but it is far from the only herbicide-resistant weed to watch. Top left: Glyphosate-resistant kochia in a soybean field in Manitoba.

ory, by 2025, virtually all 65,000,000 acres of Prairie crop land may have resistant weeds. Now, wild oats is identified as ‘at risk’ of developing glyphosate resistance. Several suspected cases have occurred in North Dakota and Minnesota. If proven, this would be the first example of a grassy weed showing resistance to glyphosate on the northern Great Plains or Prairies — and would further complicate weed control.

Currently, in Western Canada, glyphosate-resistant kochia has the most attention but it is far from the only herbicideresistant weed to watch. In his 2013 weed survey report, Beckie wrote that kochia resistant to glyphosate plus Group 2 herbicides is increasing rapidly across southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, primarily selected in fields dedicated to cereals and chem-fallow rotations. “It was common to see putative GR [glyphosate-resistant] kochia populations in fields adjacent to the survey-targeted field, suggesting seed spread via tumbleweed movement or by farm equipment. The ease of mobility from field to field demands a collective regional response, proactively or reactively, to manage this multiple-resistant weed biotype,” Beckie wrote. There never was or will be a silver bullet. But the good news is that with a multi-pronged strategy growers can get a handle on their weed challenges. Here’s what you need in to do:

1. Assume you have herbicide resistant weed populations on farm. If you have not been diligent in step 3, chances are in some weed population you have or are developing a resistance to one or more of the herbicide chemistries you have been using. Better to assume you have and act accordingly than to deny and end up in a wreck. »

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Fa r m e r s ’ Vo i c e / Sum m e r 2 0 1 6

WEEDS

2. Get educated Jim Harbour, Bill Hamman and Markus Braaten, who work with Agri-Trend, a successful ag consulting company with a wide-ranging network of consultants, say the new approaches for coping with weed resistance will take more knowledge, more time and more money. Hamman was one of Monsanto’s research and development lead scientists for 28 years before setting off with his own company, Hamman AG Research Inc., in 2003 at Lethbridge, Alberta. Today, he specializes in small plot research contracts with fertility, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. It is knowledge, not herbicides, says Hamman, that is really the key to managing weed problems. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the popular term for it. “It is becoming necessary for farmers to be very knowledgeable about the biology of the weeds they are dealing with as well as all the control options,” Hamman says. “For example, for a farmer with glyphosate-resistant kochia, learning that kochia seed is viable in the soil for only a couple of years can be very useful in long term management strategies.” “The direct experience of a consultant or agri-coach with a new herbicide like Authority or Aim, or the new herbicides in Groups 14, 15, 19 and 27, can help a farmer to keep a step ahead of the weeds,” he says. Managing herbicide-resistant weeds isn’t new; it’s the variations that are new. In short, if you understand the biology involved and if you know the options, you can keep a step ahead.

3. Rotate crop species and herbicide chemistries Beckie continues to advocate a simple management principle: Rotate crops and rotate active ingredients. In addition, use tank mixes containing multiple modes of action or sequential treatments of herbicides having a different site of action but which are active on the same target weeds. This tool is critical in preventing the development of herbicide resistant weeds and managing should a resistant weed population.

Farmers’ Voice / Summer 2016

Recently, Monsanto Canada and public weed scientists got on the same page when it comes to basic weed management advice related to glyphosate. From similar menus, they say: Use it, but don’t depend on glyphosate alone to do the job you need. “Monsanto now often recommends using other chemical manufacturers products so that we don’t have exclusive reliance on Roundup,” says Joe Vink, Monsanto Canada weed management technical lead, Winnipeg. “We have our own weed management platform [Roundup-Ready Weed Management Solutions]. The backbone of that platform is to have relevant economical, efficacious, practical recommendations for growers to use other herbicides within Roundup-Ready crops.” The message of Agriculture Canada on the subject of weed resistance — and of the world’s most powerful crop protection company — is really about diversity, according to Vink. “We have gotten into trouble where there’s a lack of crop rotation. We have increased selection pressure for glyphosate-resistant weeds where we just rely on Roundup for weed control,” says Vink. We’re strongly encouraging adding diversity in the cropping system, within a good sound crop rotation. With a diverse set of crops you can utilize different herbicides groups that are applied at different timing and keep the weeds off-balance every single year. “It’s nice to have that non-RoundupReady crop within the rotation, like wheat or corn, so you don’t have exclusive reliance on Roundup. For true herbicide diversity or stewardship, we are in full support of Hugh [Beckie] when he talks about making sure you are tank mixing effective, overlapping modes of action on target weeds.” Monsanto’s mantra now is: Start clean, stay clean. Start the crop by using a burndown tank mix, not just glyphosate or Roundup. The ideal mix would include herbicide with residual that will continue to provide weed control while the crop germinates and emerges. “Resistance is a numbers game,” Vink says. “If you start clean, have a pre-

emergence residual herbicide with broad spectrum activity on narrow-leaf and broadleaf weeds. Then when you come back in crop with, for example, Roundup to clean up a few escapes that have come through that pre-emergence residual, the numbers are on your side. There are fewer weeds, they are smaller and there is less selection pressure to find that rare individual weed with potential to be resistant to glyphosate.”

4. Check herbicide efficacy post application Agri-Trend coach Jim Harbour worked with DuPont crop protection development for 15 years. Today, he is a postdoc at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in extension plant pathology. His golden rule on the subject of weed resistance? “Know Thy Enemy.” “If a weed seems to pop up more and more, get your agricultural service or agri-coach to look at it,” Harman says. If you have to, send it in and see if it actually is tolerant to the herbicide you’re using.” Scout a couple of weeks post application, check herbicide efficacy, track any misses, follow-up once suspect weed seed is viable and send sample to the lab. While you’re out in the combine, make note of any weed patches, especially those with known resistance in your area.

5. Re-introduce cultural techniques Cultural (or non-chemical) weed control methods do not exert a chemical selection pressure and assist greatly in reducing the soil seed bank. Tillage, mowing, grazing, silageing, even burning used judiciously can help in the management of resistant weed populations. Agri-Trend’s Markus Braaten, who is based in Kalispell, Montana, has been a consulting agronomist for 10 years and has trained agri-coaches for four years. He says the most important thing for coping with herbicide resistance is to understand that growers are dealing with a dynamic system. “We need to take a systems approach to weed management and consider the

Left: AAFC scientist Hugh Beckie, AAFC’s weed-resistance expert, in a flax field with resistant wild oats. Above: Glyphosate-resistant giant ragweed in Ontario. Treated plants at left were set back, but continue to grow.GR-resistant ragweed has been suspected but never confirmed in Manitoba.

crops we’re growing, the crop protection products we use — specifically the modes of action — and be as judicious in the selection of modes of action as we are in the selection of the crops we grow,” says Braaten. Just understanding the challenges can be challenging in itself, as plans are made to place crop seed into a field loaded with weed seed. The big issue could be cheatgrass, or Canada thistle, or resistant kochia. Then, to go after the most challenging weed in that field, the goal is to understand the tools available before reaching for any jugs to knock out the challenge. “For a lot of years, glyphosate was the ‘easy button’,” Braaten says. “It took care of a lot of things. But I don’t see that now. Glyphosate is going to continue to be an important part of our weed management program, for sure, but we are incorporating other chemistries. Good stewardship and judicious use of the herbicides are paramount if we’re going to conserve their efficacy long term.”

He warns that just ‘hurting’ the weed, i.e. setting it back for a while, should not be an option. “Anytime you subject a weed to a sub-lethal dose of herbicide, you potentially inoculate that particular plant; you create some selection pressure toward developing resistance. We want our rates to be on the upper edge of that label, with the water quality and amounts and surfactants we need to drive the efficacy of that product. Understand the factors that affect effectiveness — environment, coverage rates, surfactants — and do everything  to make sure we utilize those as effectively as possible.” And while you’re working through those plans, think about the longer term, beyond the coming year. “The crop rotation we use needs to account for the weed pressure we’ve got. Move away from over-reliance on a single commodity and a single mode of action. Scout fields. Understand the nature of the weed spectrum. Choose

the appropriate mode of action based on that weed spectrum. “Then, do the application and keep watching. Do we have escapes? Where do we have escapes? What weeds are escaping? Confirm whether the escapes are a function of resistance. If they are, take steps to knock it down.” It may sound like a daunting task, but Braaten remains optimistic. “I think we understand the risk associated with resistance,” he says. “It’s just a matter of developing a course of action to take care of it. I don’t think our resistance issues are insurmountable. We’re gaining ground through diversifying the cropping system and chemistries. We do have some resistance issues associated with kochia and wild oats, but we are not stumped or ready to give up.” MFV Thanks to Jeanette Gaultier and Ingrid Kristjanson of Manitoba Agriculture, and Joe Vink of Monsanto, for their assistance with photographs.

Fa r m e r s ’ Vo i c e / s u m m e r 2 0 1 6

WORKING FOR YOU

KAP at work See what KAP is doing for all Manitoba farmers By Val Ominski

Putting forward producer concerns to Ottawa  KAP president Dan Mazier and general manager James Battershill, along with representatives from Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C., met with Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay on a variety of issues. The meeting, which took place in Ottawa following the CFA annual meeting, is described as positive, and touched on a number of important priorities: CTA review — The CTA review report, which had just been released, was discussed extensively, and KAP stressed the importance of maintaining the Maximum Revenue Entitlement — contrary to a recommendation in the report. KAP also emphasized additional consultation is needed, and Transport Minister Marc Garneau also stressed this during a Question Period in the House of Commons. BRM programming — KAP underlined the importance of returning the matching contribution of AgriInvest to 1.5 per cent of allowable net sales, and also stressed the importance of returning AgriStability to the previous parameters under Growing Forward 1, to make it more responsive to farmers’ needs. Canadian Grain Commission — KAP emphasized the need for farmers to have a say in the oversight of the Canadian Grain Commission.

Meeting with federal officials Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk — KAP president Dan Mazier, VP Glenn Young and general manager James Battershill met with the Honourable MaryAnn Mihychuk, federal minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, to discuss work-related issues on Manitoba farms. KAP stressed the need for modifying the 4-in-4-out rule of the Temporary Foreign Worker program — and the necessity of doing it soon. Agriculture critic Ruth Ellen Brosseau — While in Ottawa, KAP also met with MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP agriculture and agri-food critic, to stress grain transportation issues, the tremendous need for Internet and telecommunications infrastructure in rural Canada, and the importance of improvements to BRM programming. Policy adviser Gurpreet Vinning — KAP also met with Gurpreet Vinning, policy adviser and special assistant for western and northern Canada to Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi, who provided an update on plans for infrastructure spending. Rural municipal infrastructure improvements will come from the Small Communities Fund, and KAP will investigate whether this can be used to improve telecommunications infrastructure. For environmental and risk manage-

Farmers’ Voice / summer 2016

Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay (second from left) meets with KAP president Dan Mazier and other western ag leaders.

ment projects, Vinning told KAP the money will come from the Building Canada Fund.

KAP committee activities  Prior to spring seeding, KAP committees met to follow up on recent resolutions and undertake new business. • The environment and land use committee finalized KAP’s involvement in the Manitoba Ag Climate Initiative, part of the provincial climate change strategy announced in December. KAP has received a funding commitment of $150,000 to hire a research co-ordinator to look at potential impacts climate change will have on the Manitoba ag sector, assess ways to mitigate those impacts, and build industry resiliency. • The grains, oilseeds and pulses committee discussed its support for a new funding model for wheat and barley research when the federal Western Canada Deduction ends in 2017. For more information, contact the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association. • The transportation committee outlined a letter to federal Transportation Minister Marc Garneau regarding the Canada Transportation Act Review. The letter, which has since been sent, stressed the need to implement open running rights, and the necessity of maintaining the maximum revenue entitlement to encourage competition. A further letter to the minister, and to Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay, thanked them for extending the interswitching provision and level of service obligations in the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act. KAP stressed that changes to this legislation, enacted in

Homegrown conservation since 1986.

response to the 2014 grain transportation crisis, should only be made in the larger context of the CTA Review. • The taxation committee plans to invite representatives from the Manitoba School Boards Association to the next board of directors meeting in order to discuss education taxes with them in detail. • The livestock committee discussed social license, including what producers can do to gain consumer approval.

Letter to the editor Geography should not affect emergency response time All political parties [during the election] have promised lower fees for ambulance services in one form or another — but no one has addressed the response time for ambulances in rural Manitoba. It’s no secret that wait times are very often over 30 minutes, sometimes up to 45 minutes, and occasionally up to an hour. This would absolutely not be tolerated in urban areas. Our farmer members are concerned about this situation ,and have approached us to raise this issue. The chance to survive a medical emergency should not be reduced simply because of where we live in this province. Dan Mazier President, Keystone Agricultural Producers

Letter to Prime Minister Trudeau on BSE lawsuit

WETLAND RESTORATION Opportunities for Landowners Program Highlights:

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 Further to a resolution at KAP’s annual meeting regarding the stalled class action lawsuit against the Government of Canada for BSE compensation to cattle producers, KAP has written a letter to the prime minister of Canada. It states: “On behalf of our members, we are seeking an update with respect to your government’s intention in seeing this matter through to completion. We would encourage the government to consider either entering into settlement negations in good faith, or, to allowing the 2005 lawsuit to proceed through the court system as soon as possible.”

Bringing forward resolutions to Hydro  At a meeting with Manitoba Hydro CEO Kelvin Shepherd, KAP brought forward recent resolutions pertaining to the corporation. These include access to power for all customers, future power needs of agriculture, the necessity of both staff and contractors to follow biosecurity protocols, and ways in which landowners and communities can be more fairly engaged on transmission-line projects.

Standardization of protein testers  In response to a resolution calling for the CGC to implement a system of standardization and calibration for protein testers, KAP has approached the Western Grain Elevators’ Association asking for its position on the issue and has proposed working together with the WGEA in advocating a standardization process. »

Fa r m e r s ’ Vo i c e / s u m m e r 2 0 1 6

Publication

MacDon: Used Combine Market Source: Manitoba Farmers Voice , 1/2 page, 3.33” x 5”, CMYK

KAP AT WORK

Resolutions from Spring Advisory Council Meeting KAP’s Advisory Council meeting (formerly General Council) was held April 21 in Portage la Prairie.

Timing of agriculture census May is one of the busiest times of the year on Canadian farms and the agricultural census must be competed during this time. Therefore, KAP will work with the CFA to lobby the Government of Canada to change the time of the census of Agriculture from May to a time between November and February.

Lake Manitoba outlet expedited KAP will urge the Government of Manitoba to expedite the construction of the north end outlet on Lake Manitoba to Lake Winnipeg, as it is critical and essential for flood fighting and saving farmland along Lake Manitoba.

New education funding model KAP will lobby the Government of Manitoba to fund the cost of education from general revenues and not from property tax

Better labeling of honey Meet a Farmer segment of Ag in the City with Curtis McRae.

Discover Ag in the City  KAP was part of the organizing committee for the annual ag awareness event, Discover Agriculture in the City, which took place at The Forks in March. In addition, KAP hosted the Meet a Farmer segment of the event with District 5 member Curtis McRae. Eighteen thousand people visited The Forks that weekend.

Making KAP’s voice heard during the election  KAP conducted a dynamic election campaign through social and traditional media, highlighting the need for the new government to: • support young farmers; • boost ag innovation and research; • prioritize and repair rural infrastructure; • develop new high-speed and cell infrastructure; • boost ag environmental programming; • re-vamp taxation so a disproportionate amount of school taxes does not fall on farmers.

Meeting with CN  KAP took action on recent rail resolutions by meeting with CN to promote increased rail safety and rail-crossing maintenance, and to talk about ways in which CN can better work with producer-car shippers and shortlines. MFV

Farmers’ Voice / summer 2016

KAP will call for better federal labelling of honey, to differentiate between an all-Canadian product and one that is a blend of honey from different sources. Currently, honey blended in Canada can be called Canada No. 1 White, even though it may contain minimal amounts of Canadian-produced honey.

Cash Advance Program increase Farm financial cash-flow needs have dramatically increased, and therefore KAP will lobby for the interest-free portion of cash advances to increase to $200,000.

Canadian industry statistics Because the importance of agriculture in the Canadian economy is often unseen and not understood by Canada’s increasingly urban population, KAP will work with the CFA to lobby the Government of Canada to move food manufacturing (subheading 311) from manufacturing (subheading 300) to agriculture, hunting, forestry, fishing (heading 11) in the Canadian Industry Statistics releases — in order to stress agriculture’s economic contributions. As well, KAP will work with the CFA to lobby for the separation of food production and processing from forestry and logging in the Canadian Industry Statistics releases.

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Help KAP fix the regulatory challenges you face on your farm KAP is collecting information from our members regarding the significant burdens they encounter concerning bureaucracy and red tape. Please help us out by answering the questions below, so that we can prepare a submission for the new provincial Red Tape Task Force. You can mail them, scan and email, fax or go to the KAP website to answer online. See contact info below. 4) Regarding the previous question, how much of your time or money is spent dealing with these regulations?

Name: Phone: Email: 1) Which regulation(s) impede your business, or cause you grief?

2) Do you know which department/organization oversees or is responsible for this regulation? (Check all that apply.)  Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

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 Department of Fisheries and Oceans  Office of the Fire Commissioner of Manitoba (OFC)  Labour & Immigration  Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (MAFRD)  Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC)  Manitoba Conservation & Water Stewardship  Manitoba Hydro  Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation (MIT)  Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS) Please mail, email or fax completed form to:

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Farmers’ Voice / summer 2016

203-1700 Ellice Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0B1 P. 204-697-1140 F. 204-697-1109 email: chandra.rempel@kap.mb.ca www.kap.mb.ca

MEMBER BENEFITS

KAP members can have access to top physicians around the globe By Jacquie Nicholson David Thiessen bought his first piece of land in the early ’80s and has been farming for over three decades — longer if you factor in the years he spent growing up on a mixed farm near Austin. The 65-year-old Carberry-area producer also enjoyed a lengthy career with MTS, and successfully juggled both roles until 2005, when he retired to focus exclusively on farming. To say he’s worked hard over his life would be an understatement. “For all those years I thought I was invincible,” Thiessen says. “I thought I could work 20 hours a day and it would never catch up to me.” Last fall, however, Thiessen suffered a heart attack. With no prior health issues or risk factors, it took him completely by surprise, and even his doctors had difficulty pinpointing a cause or offering recommendations going forward. He left the hospital in October 2015 wishing he knew more about why it had happened and what he could do to make sure it never happened again. As a KAP member, Thiessen knew that the KAP group health insurance program he purchased included access to a professional medical advice service. Called Best Doctors, it brings together top-ranked physicians from around the world to offer opinions on diagnosis and treatment options to those wanting more information or a second medical opinion. Its database is made up of over 53,000 physicians from over 450 specialties and sub-specialties. A few weeks after coming home from the hospital, Thiessen decided to call Best Doctors to see if it could offer any insight. “I was interviewed over the phone by a very professional nurse,” he recalls.

David Thiessen, who had a heart attack last year, used the Best Doctors program and got the reassurance on his health he needed to put in a crop this spring.

“She was incredibly thorough — much more detailed than anything I’d experienced before. She took my medical history and gathered information about what had happened with my heart attack. They also proceeded to get access to all of the testing I had done while I was in the hospital.” Once Best Doctors had pulled together all of Thiessen’s medical information and tests, a team of specialists got to work on his file, studying his case and reviewing and re-testing his pathology. In February he received a medical report that included information »

A few weeks after coming home from the hospital, David Thiessen decided to call Best Doctors to see if it could offer any insight into his heart attack

Fa r m e r s ’ Vo i c e / S um m e r 2 0 1 6

MEMBER BENEFITS

and recommendations that he could share with his primary health care provider if he chose. “The report was very detailed and was very helpful both to me and to the nurse-practitioner who is my primary health care provider,” Thiessen says. “That’s their focus — not to replace your regular medical care that you get here in Manitoba, but to complement it. “It’s not to contradict or to try to outdo your doctors here, it’s just more resources and another point of view. It’s basically like having a team of specialists in your back pocket.” This extra expertise and resources is especially critical in rural areas, Thiessen says, where access to medical specialists is limited and physicians are strapped for time. “With there being only one cardiologist in all of the Western region, I saw him only briefly while in hospital and have had no contact with him again,” he says. “With the report I received from Best Doctors, I did have some questions, so I called the nurse who was my main point of contact and she put me in touch with one of the doctors who had worked on the report, which was an invaluable experience for me. He answered all of my questions thoroughly, and because there were no obvious signs for the cause of my heart attack, he also put forward some suggestions for further testing. “The fact that I could have a telephone conversation with a specialist in Boston to help with a health issue I was having here, is pretty amazing. I’ve never experienced anything like that, the level of professionalism and patience of this doctor dealing with all of my questions and concerns was far beyond any expectations that I could ever imagine.” Ellen Brooks, the Best Doctors business development manager in Canada, is used to hearing this type of positive feedback. She says one of the program’s key strengths is its case management approach: the use of a registered nurse to take a truly comprehensive medical history and to act as the client’s advocate throughout the process. “Of the cases we review, we change or

Farmers’ Voice / summer 2016

Ellen Brooks was introduced to Best Doctors as a client, and was so impressed she went to work for the program.

modify diagnosis 27 per cent of the time, and change or modify treatment plans 60 per cent of the time,” she says. “This is not to say that we don’t have good doctors in Canada, but we know that our health care system is strained. Sometimes when you go see a specialist you have maybe eight minutes with them.” Brooks found her career in a somewhat unconventional way, being first introduced to Best Doctors as a client. Her workplace benefits plan included the service, and she found herself using it when her husband was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. “My husband and I were at a local hospital here in Ontario,” she recounts, “and I often talk about how the oncologist said to us, ‘Don’t worry, he’s been diagnosed with the ‘good’ cancer. It’s the one Mario Lemieux had.’ “My husband, who builds and races cars, thought of it as a life sentence. He

was getting ready to sell all his tools and cars. We walked away thinking we knew so little about the prognosis, but also that we didn’t feel very connected to the oncologist.” Like Thiessen, Brooks’s husband had his case reviewed by a remote team of physicians. But Best Doctors also worked to connect him with a new oncologist — a top specialist in the field. The organization, she explains, helps with a wide range of conditions and medical situations. “Maybe you’ve been diagnosed with something and you have questions,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be something serious; it can really be anything. Maybe you’re on a treatment plan and it’s not improving. Maybe you have choices but you need help making them. “Maybe you want that second opinion. Maybe you’re looking for a specialist and you’re on a wait list, but you’re will-

ing to travel. Maybe you’re just trying to navigate the healthcare system. No matter the situation, it doesn’t hurt to call.” Brooks and her husband were so impressed with the service they received that she decided to go to work for Best Doctors. As for Thiessen, he’s well into another growing season on the small grain and oilseeds farm he runs with his wife, Audrey, and their daughter, Rhonda. “Ultimately, the advice I got gave me some confidence going forward,” he says. “I do have to be aware of my age and my situation, and I have to be respectful of my limitations. But it meant a lot to get some reassurance that I should be able to continue working.” The Best Doctors program is available to all KAP members enrolled in the Core, Core Plus, and Core Plus/Dental Cooperators insurance plans. For more information, contact Karen Vandal at 1-866-527-0123 extension 1, or email kapbenefits@stratabenefits.ca. MFV

What is Best Doctors? • B est Doctors is a medical service available to KAP members who purchase health insurance using their KAP membership. It has been available in Canada since 1998. • T he service offers help with medical advice, second opinions, and connecting clients with specialists. • B est Doctors is a remote service that communicates with plan members primarily by phone, as a complement to the local health care services the member receives. • I ts specialists are in the top five per cent of practising physicians worldwide. They are chosen using peer-to-peer surveys of the medical industry, where each physician is asked, “If you or a loved one needed a doctor in your specialty, whom would you choose?” • B est Doctors consultations result in a change in diagnosis 27 per cent of the time, and a change in treatment 60 per cent of the time. • T oday, over five million Canadians have access to Best Doctors services as part of their group benefits or insurance coverage.

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Fa r m e r s ’ Vo i c e / s u m m e r 2 0 1 6

YOUNG FARMERS

Farmers’ Voice / SU MMER 2016

Award-winning farming couple balance business success with family values By Jill Winzoski

s a young boy, Jason Kehler watched his grandfather as he worked out on the field. And he learned a valuable lesson: if you take care of the land, it will take care of you. “I remember if my grandfather saw a killdeer while he was working out on the field, he’d stop what he was doing and move it,” said Jason. “He wouldn’t just run over it.” Today, Jason does the same. “To me, that’s what makes you a farmer, and that’s what makes me proud to be a farmer,” he said. “You don’t have to sacrifice your ethics and family values to be successful.” This past February, Jason and his wife Laura were crowned Manitoba’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2016 — an award based on criteria such as environmental stewardship, effective management practices, and community and provincial contribution. “It’s a big honour,” said Jason, who is grateful to their accountant who nominated them for the award. “If our accountant thinks that much of us then it’s a pretty good thing.” Situated on 5,600 acres of owned and rented land, Kehler Farms Ltd. grows processing potatoes, soybeans, canola, oats, wheat, corn, and beans. Since 2013, the Kehlers have increased their total crop production acres nearly 50 per cent. In that time, they’ve also expanded their potato acres by 103 per cent, purchased an additional three-quarters of land, and installed four-quarters of tile drainage. They employ six full-time

“You don't have to sacrifice your ethics and family values to be successful,” says Jason.

workers, increasing that number to 25 during potato harvest season. While the Kehlers want to continue growing their farm in a progressive way, Jason said their decisions aren’t based solely on numbers. “Obviously farming is more of a business in this day in age, now more than ever,” he said. “But to me, it’s more than that — it’s a way of life.” The Kehlers have farmed in Carman for 27 years. Jason took over the operation from his father, Harv, five years ago. His ancestors immigrated to Canada from the Ukraine around 1920, first settling in southern Manitoba. “I’m pretty proud to be a fourth generation Canadian farmer,” said Kehler. “My grandparents were great people and

I just never forget the life lessons they taught me.” Like her husband, Laura also has deep roots in farming, growing up on a mixed sheep and grain farm in Ohio. After obtaining her masters degree in meat sciences, she worked doing research and development for Nestle and Tyson Foods for over a decade. Laura then met Jason through the online dating site Farmer’s Only, and soon after, Laura knew her life was about to change. “The first time we met, I just knew I would be moving to Manitoba,” said Laura. “I just had a feeling. Jason was just so happy to be a farmer. And he was a smart farmer.” In 2008, Laura uprooted her life in the U.S. for one here, securing a job as senior »

Fa r m e r s ’ Vo i c e / S UMMER 2 0 1 6

MEMBER PROFILE

Laura with daughter Paisley, who is now five, and son Wyatt who is now two. The Kehlers hope their kids learn the values and strengths they both received growing up on the farm — even if the kids don't chºoose to farm themselves.

Laura believes children growing up on the farm learn coping skills that their urban counterparts may not have the opportunity to receive

Farmers’ Voice / summer 2016

scientist for the Food Development Centre in Portage la Prairie. When their son Wyatt was born, she took a break from that job to focus exclusively on raising their two children and to take care of the management and bookkeeping aspects of the business. Their daughter Paisley is nearly five and Wyatt is two years old. “Laura’s made a lot of sacrifices to be with me and I’ve never taken that for granted,” said Jason. “She left her family and all these things to make a life here with me. She’s just a great person. She’s extremely smart and extremely wellrounded.” The couple hope their kids learn the values and strengths they both received growing up on the farm —

even if the kids don’t choose to farm themselves. “It’s obviously my dream that my kids will farm, but if it ends up that they decide to take a different career path, I want to at least raise them with those values, so they will be wellserved,” said Jason. “You still have to be a hard worker and responsible, and be kind to people.” Laura believes children growing up on the farm learn coping skills that their urban counterparts may not have the opportunity to receive. Farming is full of delayed gratification,” she said. “They learn they can’t get what they want right now, and it’s not life and death — that they are stronger than they think emotionally and physically.

That’s why I think that you are so much more able to cope in life as a farm kid.” Laura doesn’t see shielding children from the harsher realities as helpful in the long term. “They see life, they see death. They see crops that get ruined, they see so much and you can’t protect them from it.” A few years ago when the family dog passed away, young Paisley asked to plug it in and charge it back up — just like what was done with the iPad. “I was so troubled,” said Laura. “I thought ‘holy geez, we have a lot to learn here. That was my a-ha moment, I thought ‘outside we go.’” The Kehlers pay their blessings forward where they can. They contribute five acres for research crops, so partner companies can measure potato yields and composition. This results in about 20,000 pounds of potatoes per year, which the Kehlers bag and deliver to food banks like Winnipeg Harvest, Union Gospel Mission, or the Salvation Army. “They’re not sellable but are perfectly good to eat,” Laura explained. “All of our neighbours come with their kids and

gather up potatoes to take home and put in their basement for the winter, too.” Following in Harv’s tradition, the Kehlers also make sure they don’t overcrop, rotating potatoes one season out of every four. “If you plant potatoes more than that, in 20 years, your land isn’t going to be able to support a potato crop anymore,” Jason explained. They’re also careful not to overuse pesticide, and cultivate as much as they can. Fertigation — fertilizing at the same time as irrigating — is another environmentally sound practice. “We use the water as a mode of transportation for some of the other things that go on the field, saving in fuel, emissions, and from driving on and compacting the land,” Laura explained. Jason is grateful for the technology his forefathers didn’t have, but he admits weighing the investment in technology versus staying competitive can be a tricky balance. “I farm in a totally different era,” he explained. “My grandparents had to scrimp and save. Basically you had to survive on nothing, there was no access to credit, and every last dime of cash had

to go back into the farm,” he said. “Now there is lots of money available — the banks will give you more than enough money to hang yourself. Now it’s about managing your money smartly.” But Jason finds it helpful to remember what his grandparents said: don’t let business become so important that it consumes you and you forget the important things in life — don’t let the world get ahead of you. For him, passing on a half section of land that comes up for sale would not be a regrettable decision if it means staying on good terms with his neighbour. “At the end of the day, I want to stop on the side of the road and talk to my neighbours,” he explained. “The relationships I make along the way are important to me. Farmers support each other. “Farmers are kind to people. If we see somebody stopped on the side of the road, we stop to help. We wave at our neighbours. We go visit. If somebody is sick, we bring them supper. They’re just real life lessons of being good people. “Farming is an amazing vehicle to continually demonstrate life lessons and keep the family grounded with rural roots.” MFV

Fa r m e r s ’ Vo i c e / s u m m e r 2 0 1 6

KAP CONGRATULATES Manitobaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s newest

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Donovan Hickson

Charlee McLaughlin-

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Ryan Clark

Brett Houston

Sydney Mickelson

Taylor Schettler

Connor Crandall

Aaron King

Desirae Mosiondz

Brandon Smith

Garret Davis

Dustin Klassen

Robert Parr

Laura Sytnyk

Michael Friesen

Brayden Kreshewski

Carley Paulenko

Kahli Wedderburn

Maggie Funk

Crystal Lovett

Tyson Peters

Joshua Wood

Shayla Gillis

Haley McKee

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University of Manitoba Jody Adamson

Jenilee Dyck

James Kieper

Derek Penner

Adam Adriaansen

Cord Ferguson

Ralf Kirchner

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Evan Findlay

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Kristina Schweizer

Daniel Blerot

Benjamin Gilmore

Jodi Lepp

Harley Siemens

Chelsea Boonstra

Campbell Gregory

Cory Martin

Lyndon Soper

Gregg Bruneau

Janessa Hamblin

Daniel Martin

Maxwell Stewart

Jenna Bruneau

Andrea Hamilton

Dylan Mazinke

Adam Strang

Jayden Buchanan

Tyler Henderson

Matthew Mazinke

Kyle Tataryn

Cody Bueckert

Matthew Hildebrand

Keean McLaren

Landon Thomson

Morgan Chandler

Ryley Holod

Sheena Meggison

Erin Turski

April Davy

Joseph Holtmann

Melanie Mueller

Pierre Vuignier

Rhett Dodds

Monique Janssen

Luanne Murphy

Cooper Wiebe

Joel Doerksen

Jared Joyal

Patrick Onyschak

Bradley Wright

Geertje Doornbos

Elizabeth Karpinchick

Jamie Parker

Christian Wytinck

Robert Drewry

Elliott Kiel

Keystone Agricultural

Farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Voice / SUMMER 2016

Producers of Manitoba

WATER MANAGEMENT

Placement of lateral pipes in the field. Water from these pipes will drain into larger pipes (mains) and eventually into an outlet. This particular pipe has a filter to keep sand/silt from blocking it.

Tile drainage boosts productivity of perennially wet fields Two Manitoba producers talk about their experiences | Tile drainage has proven a boon for two southern Manitoba farmers who’ve seen previously unproductive land now grow high yielding crops. Wayne Derksen farms four miles south of Winkler and had tile drainage installed in his first field about 15 years ago. “It was a field that was lower lying and prone to flooding, and we wanted to see if there was actually a way of helping us, that when we got rains, it wouldn’t flood right away,” Derksen says. “It was always one of our worst fields and then it came right up to being at least an average field. Then after that we started aggressively drain tiling about six, seven years ago.”

Yields immediately shot up. On all his crops, he estimates an average 15 per cent yield boost, depending on the year. “It’s very cost effective for high-value crops. Sometimes in the lower-value crops you might not see the benefit as quickly because the payback might not be as quick,” says Derksen. “We grow potatoes and that was the big push, but we’ve certainly seen a benefit in the other crops — more than expected.” Charlie Westfall’s interest in tile drainage was piqued years ago while visiting in the U.S., when a southern Minnesota farmer told him if his forefathers hadn’t tile drained his heavy clay land, he wouldn’t be farming it today. Westfall had the first field on his farm

By Richard Kamchen

southwest of Morden drain tiled three years ago. That field, too, was heavy with clay, and had a 20-acre piece in the centre that had never been farmed because it was so wet. Since installation, he says he’s found tremendous success. The year prior to the installation, it yielded eight bushels per acre of soybeans. Last year, it produced 60 bushels per acre of canola. “That land was definitely sub-par, and it’s turned it into land that’s just as productive as our best land — sometimes even better,” Westfall said. Another field had an almost apocryphal history, with Westfall’s father telling him no one had been in it since the previous owner got his corn »

Fa r m e r s ’ Vo i c e / s u m m e r 2 0 1 6

Water management

binders stuck in the ground way back when. “And we tile drained it and we drive right through it every year. It’s amazing,” Westfall says. Another innovation — water control structures — are becoming more commonplace within tile drainage systems, notes Derksen. These structures are basically like dams that can be adjusted to hold the right amount of water back. “In spring you control the water table at a certain height so that you capture as much water as possible, but you can still do your field operations. And you hold back water in the soil, and it helps the crops,” he says. The general rule of thumb requires a control structure for every foot drop of elevation, Derksen says. “So if you have a field within a mile that drops 15, 20 feet, you’ll need 15 to 20 of these types of structures. In that way in can be expensive, but in our area the land is fairly flat, so it’s not really a substantial cost, maybe $50 an acre [extra].”

Answer to high land prices A number of Manitoba farmers are at the very least taking a look at tile drainage given a shortage of good, available land for sale. “In Manitoba, to find good land for $800 to $1,200 an acre is almost impossible, so that’s really why there’s been this big drastic growth in tile drainage,” says Jason Fraser of Precision Land Solutions, a water management provider. “They want to improve what they have and get the full potential out of their field,” Fraser says. “We have what we have and we have to use it the best possible way and keep it going for generations.” Westfall’s thinking is no different. “Our ideology was that we would improve the land we had to make it productive rather than try to find more land because it’s so expensive right now. It’s been a win-win. We’ve been adding tile drainage every year since — we just did some again this spring and some last fall. We’re convinced that it definitely is worth the price of admission.”

Farmers’ Voice / Summer 2016

Thinking about tile drainage? here’s how it works Lateral pipes are laid across the field at intervals, depending on soil type and topography. The more clay content, the closer the pipes will be because water doesn’t flow as well in clay. If the land is flat, pipes will be laid over the entire field in a grid, spaced 25 to 60 feet apart. If the land has hills and depressions, only the low spots can be targeted.

These pipes are perforated, and absorb the water from the wet soil.

The water is drained into larger pipes (called mains), which are collector pipes that eventually take the water to an outlet. The design and size of the mains depends on the slope of the land — with more slope, the water flows faster, and the holding capacity of the mains does not need to be as great as when the land is flat and the water flows more slowly.

The mains eventually take the water to an outlet. At the outlet, if the ditch or drain that receives the water is deep enough, the water will flow into it via gravity. If not, a lift station is created to pump the water into the outlet. There could be a number of lift stations to pump the water along the field if the land is very flat.

The cost of tile drainage can range somewhere between $800 and $1,000 an acre, depending on topography and soil type. But with the yield gains, tile drainage quickly pays for itself. “It doesn’t take very long and it’s paid for and you’ve taken that piece of land you were throwing inputs at every year and were losing money on, and now you’re making money on it,” says Westfall. “Generally we think it pays for itself in about seven to 10 years. That makes it a good investment,” Derksen says. The payment on installation can even be spread out over a period of years. “The banks look at it as an improve-

Getting it done A good contractor should be able to complete the job, from start to finish, says Jason Fraser of Precision Land Solutions, a water management provider and member of the Manitoba Agricultural Water Management Association, an organization that promotes sustainable water management. The entire job includes a topographical survey, soil samples, a design that takes advantage of the field’s topography, provincial and municipal permits, and installation. “The contractor should be able to provide an estimate, almost to the dollar, of what the project will cost,” said Fraser. How to find a contractor • Check with the Manitoba Agricultural Water Management Association for a list of contractors — members@mawma.org • Check with other producers in the area. • Google. • Be sure to ask for a list of references from whomever you choose.

ment on your land and you’re adding value to your land. So it’s actually generally fairly easy to get financing for tile drainage,” says Westfall. “You can mortgage it for the term of your mortgage on your land, so really it doesn’t add hardly any cost to your yearly payments. “It adds some but it’s not such a great big cash outlay. So if you make payments on it over 20 years, think of the benefits you get over 20 years on that particular piece of land. To me, it’s an absolute no-brainer.” “It almost becomes another input cost, that’s how some guys calculate it,” explains Fraser. “Instead of paying cash

Design of tile drainage for a field, courtesy of Precision Land Solutions . Lateral pipes are in blue, with mains in other colours. The outlet is the white dot at the bottom.

and let’s say it’s $850 an acre for that project, they’ll do it over 30 year payments and now it only costs them $35 an acre a year.” The one caution about tile drainage that Derksen points out relates to nutrient management. In his experience, less phosphorous came off his fields, but nitrate losses increased. “So we have changed our practices, split the majority of our nitrogen that goes on our field so that we put up some in spring, but the rest, especially on potatoes, they’re spoon-fed throughout the season. Corn, we split the applications throughout the season, and even for wheat we do that quite a bit,” says Derksen. There may be an increased cost if the changed management means running over a field more often, but the benefit is that the crop get exactly what it needs when it needs it: “Not too much and at the right time so we don’t have leeching and such.” MFV

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Fa r m e r s ’ Vo i c e / Sum m e r 2 0 1 6

GM’S MESSAGE

New government promises red tape reduction: help KAP gather info BY JAMES BATTERSHILL, KAP GENERAL MANAGER

On March 30 at a Manitoba Chambers of Commerce event, Brian Pallister, then candidate for Fort Whyte, now Premier, gave a short speech in which he outlined a few of the PC’s election priorities. As he is known to do, Pallister told stories to illustrate and explain why the issues were important to him and the party. After his speech I caught him before he departed and had a chance to ask him a question. “What’s the first problem we can solve together?” His answer was telling, and should shape our approach to lobbying this new government: “Let’s fix the red tape for farmers.” The PC’s campaigned broadly on making Manitoba a better place to do business, and striking a Red Tape Reduction Task Force was a key component of the PC’s economic platform. This is good for farmers. Nearly half of the policy resolutions that KAP members have passed in the last three years have to do with a regulatory problem that they have on their farms. I’ve spent countless hours on the phone with members who have complained about challenges with getting permits or inspections completed, about installation codes that were designed for equipment in schools and hospitals being applied equally to grain driers situated kilometres from the nearest human, about program or permit forms that made little to no sense, and about government offices that had no one in them that knew that a form’s existence — let alone how it should be filled out. And drainage regulations. So many

Farmers’ Voice / summer 2016

conversations about drainage regulations. This is why KAP is launching a regulatory challenges and red tape review. There’s a form on page 18 of this issue of the Farmers’ Voice that any farmer can fill out, and tell us exactly which regulations impede your business the most. You can also fill out the form digitally from the home page of the KAP website.

I’ve spent countless hours on the phone with members who have complained about challenges with getting permits or inspections completed… We want you to be specific about your experiences. It’s not as easy for regulators to ignore a problem when there is a story about a person’s real life experience behind it. We’ll compile this information, along with the hundreds of resolutions members have passed over the years, and prepare a comprehensive submission for the task force. Then we anticipate working with the new government to find a way to resolve this issue. Our ultimate goal is to make sure that this time next year, running your farm costs you less money, time, and headaches caused by regulations and paperwork.

While we realize this approach to regulatory reform is a positive step, we should also expect some challenges advancing several other high-priority files with the new government. It’s been pretty clear from the campaign that asking for financial support in the first few years of the PC’s first term is going to be difficult. They’re made a commitment to the public to resolve debt challenges as their number one priority, and committing to new funds won’t occur if it comes at the expense of reducing spending overall. The trouble for us is that this is at odds with what farmers in Manitoba are telling KAP to lobby for. We’re asking the new government to budget $7 million more to remove the farmland school tax rebate cap, $1 million to fill vacant and much needed extension specialist positions, and $25 million in research and innovation programming, just to name a few of the policy priorities that our members have set for us. Quietly I’ve had several PC MLA’s tell me the same thing when I’ve raised these files with them. “We’ll get to them, but you might have to be patient.” In response to that, I would say that we won’t stop asking — so that when the time comes, we’ll be sure we’ve been heard. And we’ll continue to remind the government how vocal it was, when in opposition, regarding school taxes on farmland. But meanwhile, let’s get to work on the regulatory challenges this new government has pledged to address. Please, fill in the survey. MFV

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PO# 450092xxxx Farmer’s Voice Run Date - Summer 2016 7”w x 10”d 2016-04-27 11:54 PM