Grainews by Farm Business Communications

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90 years of Sask. farmland prices

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Les Henry speculates on what's coming next 20

How can you max out your rebates this year? Is that your goal? 16

Volume 43 · number 02 January 24, 2017 · $4.25 Practical production tips for the prairie farmer www.grainews.ca

By Lisa Guenther

Can you skip inoculant? Pulse production

photo: Lisa Guenther

Pulse type and field conditions determine how much inoculant your pulse crop needs

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noculating, or even double inoculating, is routine for pulse growers. But is it always necessary, or are their situations where farmers can save a few bucks without affecting yields? The answer, it seems, comes down to crop type and field history. Peas, fababeans and lentils all form symbiotic relationships with the same rhizobium species, and that species is native to Prairie soils. That means there’s a chance pea and fababeans will be inoculated by the native rhizobium, says Laryssa Grenkow, research manager for the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers. “That being said, supplemental inoculation often increases nodulation and nitrogen fixation and yield,” says Grenkow. Research out of Saskatchewan shows that pea growers who inoculate will see a yield increase about half the time, Grenkow says. Fields that haven’t seen peas have a higher chance of seeing a yield benefit, she adds. “It’s hard to predict, especially when rhizobium are native to the soil. But the inoculant strains that are found in inoculant might be better at nitrogen fixation than some of the native rhizobium.” Grenkow says it’s “a good bet” to inoculate field peas every year, given the relatively small cost of inoculation. Grenkow is more hesitant to recommend double inoculation in field peas, but she doesn’t rule it out entirely. “There might be some extremely stressful soil conditions, especially when you’re seeding peas really early in the growing season that might reduce the viability of your See INOCULANT on Page 4 

PLU S

Got winter blues? Try sprouting some greens Amy Jo Ehman touts the benefits of sprouts. Delicious, nutricious, and they only take days to grow 36

CONTENTS 3 | COLUMNS 19 | CATTLEMAN’S CORNER 34

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wheat & chaff

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

CONTENTS

New Internet plan, same problems Leeann Minogue

leeann.minougue@fbcpublishing.com

I Hemp returns are highest Manitoba farmer Kevin Krueger has been growing hemp for three years and says it’s not hard to grow 8

The carbon tax works? Lee Hart isn’t noticing any global warming on the Prairies this winter 19

Checking a diesel engine

ronically, I was on vacation and nowhere near a WiFi connection when, on December 21, the CRTC announced its new objectives for “closing the broadband gap.” As an early Christmas present, on December 21, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission issued a press release about its new report and funding program. The CRTC has spoken out about how important it is for all Canadians to have access to high-speed Internet, and created a new fund to make this happen. If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that I live on a farm in southeast Saskatchewan where our Internet access is not exactly stellar. I’ve written in these pages that the Internet has become a basic service — something we absolutely need in rural areas. And so, when I came home from our Christmas holiday and heard about the CRTC’s new announcement, I was doing cartwheels on the lawn. But, when I crawled back in through the snowbanks in our back yard and read the fine print, I realized that the CRTC announcement may not actually be life-changing — at least not right away. Not that it’s bad news! The CRTC has clearly stated that access to broadband Internet is a “universal service objective.” And, the CRTC acknowledged that, for many rural Canadians, Internet access is not all it could be: “While most are well-served, many Canadians, particularly those in rural and remote communities, do not have access to broadband Internet access services that are comparable to those offered to the vast

majority of Canadians in terms of speed, capacity, quality and price.” It’s always a relief when someone in authority acknowledges your problem, even if they can’t fix it.

The Objectives On December 21, the CRTC set out three new targets. I’ll quote them here for you: · “Speeds of 50 Mbps download / 10 Mbps upload for fixed broadband services; · An unlimited data option for fixed broadband services; · The latest mobile wireless technology available not only to all homes and businesses, but also along major Canadian roads.” This sounds great. And to make it even better, the CRTC is putting a $750-million fund in place to makes sure these three objectives are met. But, hold your cartwheels. It’s not at all clear that these first two goals apply to my situation and they may not apply to yours. The first two objectives are related to “fixed broadband.” This definition is typically used to mean a wire or cable brings the Internet into your house. In the background documents, the CRTC estimates that 82 per cent of Canadians already have access to fixed broadband services with download speeds of at least 50 Mbps. I am not in this lucky 82 per cent. The nearest cable is quite a few miles from our farm, and the costs of running a cable out here seem to be more than it would be feasible to pay. In its documents, the CRTC says it expects fixed broadband Internet “to be available in 90 per cent of Canadian premises by the end of 2021, and in the remaining 10 per cent of Canadian premises within 10 to 15 years.” So, there is hope, if I can only convince my 10-year old to wait 10 to 15 years to Continued on Page 5 

Joel Hoehn explains the basics of on-farm diesel engine inspection 30 pioneer remembered

Wheat & Chaff. . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Crop Advisor’s Casebook.10 Columns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Machinery & Shop . . . . . . 28 Cattleman’s Corner . . . . . 34 FarmLife. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

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Former Grainews columnist dies at 96

Lifetime rancher and longtime writer remembered

STORY IDEAS & SUBMISSIONS If you have story ideas, call us. You can write the article and we’ll pay you – or we can write it. Phone Leeann Minogue at (306) 861-2678 Fax: (204) 944-5416 Email: leeann@fbcpublishing.com Write to: Grainews, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK Grainews has a Facebook page. Find, read and comment on posts easily and with a thumbs up!

FIND US ON TWITTER Leeann Minogue is @grainmuse Lisa Guenther is @LtoG Lee Hart is @hartattacks Scott Garvey is @machineryeditor

veryone at Grainews was saddened to hear of the passing of former columnist Boyd Anderson on December 1, 2016, in Moose Jaw, Sask. As well as a well-loved Grainews columnist, Boyd Anderson was a rancher, a WWII vet, a member of the Order of Canada, former head of SARM, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, just to name a few. Boyd Anderson was the type of writer who wasn’t afraid to tell it like it was, and Grainews readers appreciated that. Boyd Anderson left behind four children, 17 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. His family has posted some photos and videos from his life at www.grandpaboyd.com. GN Leeann Minogue

cover stories

Grainews.ca / January 24, 2017

Pulse production

inoculant.” In those circumstances, double inoculation might yield benefits, she says, but she hasn’t seen research to back it up. Peas do respond more favourably to granular inoculant than peat or liquid, Grenkow says. Granular inoculant can be used on its own or as part of a double inoculation. “If we’re looking for a formulation that is robust under different environmental conditions, granular would be your best choice,” says Grenkow. The jury is still out on fababeans inoculation, but Grenkow says research is underway in Saskatchewan. Researchers are looking at inoculation rates, formulation, and single vs. double inoculation. Grenkow expects to see some results within a couple of years.

When to skip the double inoculation in soybeans Manitoba Pulse recommends double inoculation for soybeans when seeding into fields with little or no history of soybeans. Research in Manitoba shows a 10 bushel per acre yield gain, plus protein gains, compared to an untreated check in field with no soybean history. But farmers seeding into fields that have seen soybeans may be able to switch to a single inoculation.

Before skipping that second inoculation, farms should make sure fields meet all of the criteria: • Two or more previous soybean crops; • Previous soybean crops nodulated well; • At least one soybean crop has been grown within the last four years; and, • No significant flooding or drought. Manitoba Pulse’s recommendation is based on a three-year study looking at soybean inoculation in 25 replicated on-farm sites. The grower group only saw an economic yield from double inoculation in two of the sites, all of which were in eastern Manitoba. Dry beans are a different beast altogether. While there are inoculants registered for dry beans, Grenkow says they’re not widely available because most producers don’t use them. “Dry beans are really poor at fixing nitrogen compared to other legumes.” Grenkow says dry beans need between 60 and 90 lbs of nitrogen per acre, taking into account soil nitrogen and fertilizer. Farmers can adjust those rates based on row spacing systems. Wider rows are used so farmers can cultivate between rows to control weeds. “And because you’re cultivating through the season, you’re going to

be mineralizing more soil nitrogen. So you can reduce your nitrogen rates by approximately half,” says Grenkow. Farmers can find rates in Manitoba’s Soil Fertility Guide. Dry beans have very shallow root systems so Grenkow recommends applying nitrogen in the spring instead of the fall to prevent leaching.

1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1 www.grainews.ca Publisher Lynda Tityk Editorial director Laura Rance Editor Leeann Minogue Field Editor Lisa Guenther Cattleman’s Corner Editor Lee Hart Farmlife Editor Sue Armstrong

Sharing knowledge How much agronomic information can be swapped between provinces depends on the crop. For example, fababeans and pea recommendations between Saskatchewan and Manitoba are applicable for the most part, Grenkow says. But Grenkow doesn’t think dry bean growers in Manitoba and Alberta swap much information. Manitobans tend to look south to North Dakota for interchanging recommendations. “We like to validate our recommendations here, and we’ve started doing that for things like seeding rates for dry beans,” Grenkow says. Grenkow thinks they’ll be looking at the nitrogen rates again, as that work was done several years ago, and they want to make sure nitrogen recommendations are still on-track. GN

Machinery Editor Scott Garvey photo: Lisa Guenther

 INOCULANT from Page 1

Laryssa Grenkow says it’s “a good bet” to inoculate field peas every year, given the relatively small cost of inoculation.

Do you have other questions about pulse production? The Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers have developed an app to help soybean and dry bean growers with decisions around seeding rate and fungicide applications. Download it from your app store by searching “Bean App.” More info on the app www.manitobapulse.ca/ production/bean-app/

Lisa Guenther is field editor for Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Follow her on Twitter @LtoG or email her at lisa. guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

Winning the war on pea problems Weeds, disease and pests will all steal yield from less-competitive pea crops

isease and pests pose a big risk for growers. A little planning can go a long way to limiting the damage. Peas are somewhat less competitive than some other crops like barley, canola or wheat because their canopy is open a bit longer, so weeds get a better start,” said Dr. Neil Harker, research scientist, weed ecology and crop management with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Adding to the difficulty is that the main weed culprits have changed over the years, making them a bit of a moving target. “For example, a few years ago in central Alberta the main focus in peas was annual sow thistle,” said Harker. “But in terms of relative abundance, the most recent surveys show cleavers, volunteer wheat and wild buckwheat as the chief weed issues.” Cleavers in particular are a growing problem for peas. “ C l eave rs n u m b e rs a re increasing and they are moving out of the black soil zone where they were well-adapted and are appearing more in dark brown soils than in the past.” The cleavers challenge is further complicated by the issue of herbicide resistance. Since the most common herbicides applied to peas are Group 2 ALS

inhibitors, cleavers have developed considerable resistance to these chemicals. “That resistance means we can’t treat cleavers as easily which limits our options with peas compared to other crops. Cleavers are an important weed threat in peas that we will have to deal with in the future.” The fact that peas are less competitive puts a premium on weed prevention. Grower planning for a pea crop should pay more attention to difficult weeds like Canada thistle, getting them under control pre-harvest.

The strain of disease Pea disease threats have increased sharply over the last five or six years due to weather conditions. “We’ve been seeing severe root rot that affects crop yield, standability and harvestability,” said Sherrilyn Phelps, agronomy and seed program manager with Saskatchewan Pulse Growers. “White mould (sclerotinia) has also been prevalent, especially in 2016.” And because there is no fungicide or chemical that will go down into the root system and control the diseases affecting peas, Phelps said prevention is vital. “With root rot it’s all about management. There are four pathogens that can cause problems for peas: rhizoctonia, pythium, fusarium and aphanomyces.”

The approach for the four pathogens differs slightly, but for the most part they are soilborne diseases that appear when plants are stressed and excess moisture is present. Because aphanomyces is more specific to peas and lentils, rotation is a prime management tool. “Where a field has tested positive for aphanomyces, we recommend abstaining from pea and lentil production for six years.” Since aphanomyces can affect the plant at any point in its life cycle, Phelps notes that you can get later infection, for which seed treatment is ineffective. “It’s more aggressive, longer lived in the soil and more devastating when it does infect the plant.” In battling the other three pathogens, there are seed treatments available to help with early season control. Additional factors include field choice (choosing fields lighter in soil texture to improve drainage), managing fertility, staying on label with herbicide application and managing seed carefully so as not to damage it. “You should do everything possible to have a healthy, vigorous plant to minimize stress and equip it to better combat disease.”

appearance where the adult insects have chewed on the leaf edges. “The problem is that those adults lay eggs in the soil and the larvae eat the nodules,” said Phelps. “That impacts the amount of nitrogen fixed. We’re still trying to understand the yield implications and how to manage this pest.” Seed treatments with insecticides can help. In-crop foliar applications can control the adults, which appear in late May to early June in most areas. Over the last couple of years, pea aphides have also been an issue, especially in drier conditions as they suck the sap out of plants and cause considerable stress. “If these insects are sucking on the petioles at flowering time, they can affect the number of pods that form or fertilization of the flower, so it’s something to keep an eye on.” Know the economic thresholds before applying insecticide, as there are a lot of beneficial insects that help keep pea aphides under control. Keeping peas healthy is not easy. But by taking a calculated approach and staying on top of the problem, you may keep your peas growing strong. GN

Pesky pests

Geoff Geddes is a freelance agriculture and business writer based in Edmonton. Find him online at www. thewordwarrior.ca or email geoffgeddes@thewordwarrior.ca.

The other threat to peas comes from insect pests. One of the most problematic is pea leaf weevil, which gives the leaves a scalloped

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Pulse production

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wheat & chaff

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

 Continued from Page 3

update “Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare” for his Xbox. (Luckily, he goes to a rural school, so most of his friends are also waiting patiently for the download to finish.) Because we don’t have a fixed cable, we access the Internet through a tower, wirelessly — “fixed wireless broadband.” This is not the same thing as the “mobile wireless technology” the CRTC refers to in its third objective. Mobile wireless technology is the 3G and 4G data that you use to watch Facebook videos on your phone. If you don’t have access to cellular data at your farm, it’s your time to do cartwheels — snowbanks or not. This could make a big difference for you. We have pretty good cell service on our farm, but as anyone who’s used their phone Internet as a WiFi hotspot knows, most cell phone plans come with limited data, and high costs if you accidentally download more than your allotted amount. While my phone plan theoretically offers unlimited data, when I download too much in one month I get a text telling me that, to make things fair for everyone, my data speed will be throttled back to nearly

nothing until the end of the billing period. While the CRTC objectives mention unlimited data for users with fixed broadband connections, there is no mention of requiring SaskTel to make truly unlimited data plans available to those farmers who have no other options.

The promise and the truth The problem with a lot of things related to Internet speed is that the theory doesn’t match the reality. In theory, my Internet problems should already be solved. Back in 2011, the CRTC issued Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2011-291. In this document, the CRTC said: “it would be in the public interest to establish universal target speeds for broadband Internet access in Canada. This should ensure that all Canadians, particularly those in rural and remote areas, can benefit from a great level of broadband connectivity. In this decision, the Commission establishes target speeds of 5 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream.” In 2017, the best Internet provider I can find in my area offers me a maximum download speed of 2 Mpbs. That’s the advertised speed. As with

most companies, in reality our download speeds aren’t usually as fast as the advertised top speed. The provider we use has great service staff who do their best to keep me happy; they just don’t have access to more spectrum, and I’m five country miles away from their tower. A sharp-eyed reader from the CRTC might argue that I have access to download speeds of 5 Mbps through a national company that offers Internet service via satellite. This is not untrue. However during “peak periods” this company slows certain data well below that speed according to its “traffic policies.” Other users updating Facebook, playing online video games or watching Ghostbusters on Netflix would get priority over me while I tried to upload a Grainews photo to our Winnipeg server. As well, when I input my postal code into the company’s website, it outputs a statement saying that it “wouldn’t recommend” me trying to use Netflix with the plan they could offer me out here. And so, I’m still in the same place I was on December 21, when I was out in the sun, blissfully unaware of the CRTC’s latest announcement. The Internet speed the CRTC

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thinks city people need is 25 times the speed I’m supposed to be getting, and five times the speed the CRTC has declared as a “target speed” for people like me. Now, there is a new fund in place to focus on making sure city people can watch Netflix on three devices at once, while I’m still waiting to download the map of areas with fixed broadband posted on the CRTC’s website. As I’ve said before in this space, it was never any different. Electricity, telephones, television channels… all of these things came later to rural areas than cities. When my 10-year old complains about slow download speeds, I counter by telling him “when I was your age, we only had two TV channels.” Today we have way more TV channels than anyone would ever want to watch. I can imagine it now… one day, decades from now, my son will use his insanely fast on-farm Internet connection to tell me by video-link about his own kid’s complaints: “I have to drive all the way to Weyburn to use the teleport machine to get to Hawaii.”

Leeann

agronomy tips… from the field

Keep your canola standing strong against flea beetles When coming up with a flea beetle defence strategy, it’s important to remember that flea beetles overwinter in your field as adults. That means they’re right there, just waiting to feed as soon as your canola crop emerges in the spring. Canola seedlings can compensate for flea beetle feeding and recover — just so long as the flea beetle pressure isn’t heavy or sustained for long periods of time. Seed treatments are going to serve as your first line of defence, as several of the latest products on the market can help keep flea beetle thresholds down while helping your crop emerge evenly. Another important management strategy is getting good, even emergence by optimizing plant populations. Achieving early plant stands of 10 to15 plants per square foot will go a long ways in minimizing early season flea beetle damage. However, when plant populations dip below seven plants per square foot, there will be more flea beetles per plant, so scouting your fields is critical up to the four-leaf stage. Seeding depth is important in order achieve quick emergence, and will depend on your soil moisture in the spring and, to some extent, soil type. In addition, good seed-to-soil contact is critical when planting intohigh crop residue from the previous year. GN Ted Labun, seedcare technical lead, Syngenta Canada.

Keith Rairdan from Stettler, Alta, sent us this harvest photo of his grandson, Hayden. Keith wrote: “Hayden thought the cooler was a good place to be.” What a cute baby! Send your best shot to leeann@fbcpublishing.com. Please send only one or two photos at a time and include your name and address, the names of anyone in the photo, where the photo was taken and a bit about what was going on that day. A little write-up about your farm is welcome, too. Please ensure that images are of high resolution (1 MB is preferred). — Leeann

FEATURES

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Pulse production

The Newest in Pulses By Delaney Seiferling

ulse breeders at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC) are constantly working on developing new varieties with improved yield, disease and weed resistance and tolerance, and other desirable attributes. They are also constantly working on getting these new varieties tested and into the hands of Saskatchewan growers as soon as they are ready. And as a result of this work, there are currently several noteworthy varieties that are expected to be available to growers in coming years through the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers Variety Release Program. Here are a few names to watch out for.

Red Lentils CDC Impulse and CDC Proclaim, both released to Select Seed growers in 2014, are varieties that lentil growers should watch for, says Sherrilyn Phelps, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers’ agronomy and seed program manager. CDC Proclaim is similar to the benchmark CDC Maxim, which is currently the most widely grown red lentil variety in Saskatchewan, while CDC Impulse is 10 per cent larger than CDC Maxim. Both CDC Proclaim and CDC Impulse have good disease resistance, early-to-medium maturity, and are Clearfield varieties. Another one to watch for is CDC Redmoon, according to Phelps. Although it will not be available to growers for another couple years, having been released through the variety release program in 2015, this variety is also similar to CDC Maxim and early testing shows very high yields, although not a Clearfield variety. CDC Roxy, an extra small red released in 2014, might also be of interest to lentil growers. Although it is not a Clearfield variety, it is plumper than most extra small reds and has good lodging tolerance.

Green Lentils

Chickpeas

A new French green lentil variety, CDC Marble, is also on the horizon. Released in 2013, it has a slightly lighter colour than other French greens but has improved lodging tolerance and a good disease package and yield, although also not a Clearfield variety. CDC Kermit, a small green variety released in 2014, is noteworthy for its similarity to CDC Viceroy and CDC Imvincible, the two most widely-grown small green varieties in Saskatchewan last year. Although not a Clearfield variety, CDC Kermit has good yield potential and good lodging tolerance. The most recent large green variety, CDC Greenstar, was released in 2013 and is attracting attention for being the largest seed size in its class and its high yield potential. It is also Clearfield variety and between CDC Greenland and CDC Plato for colour.

There will not be any new chickpea varieties released next year, but CDC Plant Breeder Bunyamin Tar’an and his team are busy preparing new varieties for potential release in 2018, all of which will be imidazolinone herbicide tolerant (IMI-tolerant). Of the current varieties there are a few that are standing out, Tar’an says. The most popular ones are CDC Orion, released in 2010, and CDC Leader, released in 2011. The next most popular is CDC Palmer, which was released in 2014. “All these new Kabuli chickpeas are well adapted to Saskatchewan conditions, and CDC Leader in particular is relatively early maturing compared to the other mediumlarge Kabulis,” Tar’an says. Phelps adds that CDC Palmer has a lot of characteristics that appeal to growers. “It has a large seed size and is similar to CDC Orion, which is what growers are tending to look for,” she says. CDC Palmer also has yield similar to Orion and a medium-tolate maturity, while Orion has a later maturity.

Peas According to CDC Plant Breeder Tom Warkentin, a yellow pea to watch for is CDC Inca. First released in 2015, seed likely will not be available to growers for another couple years, but the new variety has a strong yield potential for southern Saskatchewan. “Based on data available so far, it has a seven per cent yield advantage over CDC Amarillo in the south,” Warkentin says. In terms of green peas, CDC Greenwater is the one to keep an eye on. First released in 2014, it is already showing strong potential for yield with a 21 per cent yield advantage over CDC Striker (currently the most widely grown green pea variety in Saskatchewan) in the south, and a 13 per cent yield advantage in the north. Although not new, CDC Raezer and CDC Limerick are both upand-coming varieties, gaining substantial acres in Saskatchewan. Released in 2011 and 2012, respectively, they both provide greater yield than CDC Striker.

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Trying Out New Varieties Delaney Seiferling Sherrilyn Phelps, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers’ agronomy and seed program manager, advises growers to approach new varieties with caution. “Growers should be trying new varieties every year on limited acres to see how they perform under their production system, because every area is different,” she says. “It is always good to try new varieties on limited acres, like half a field or a 20-acre piece, just to see how they perform.” Phelps also advises growers to be mindful that yield should not be the first or only priority when it comes to choosing new varieties. Other considerations such as disease resistance, Clearfield technology, and growing conditions specific to your farm should be factored into the decision. “If you are in a shorter growing season you might want an earlier maturing variety, or if you aare looking to spread out your harvest workload, you may want to look at an earlier variety to ensure you get it off before your other crops are ready.” For more information about choosing varieties visit: saskpulse.com/growing.

FabaBeans

photoS: cCourtesy of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers

Varieties to watch for in coming years

CDC Greenwater was first released in 2014 and is showing strong yield potential.

Lentil growers should watch for the variety CDC Impulse, first released to Select Seed growers in 2014.

The most recent fababean variety released was CDC Snowdrop in 2012. This was the first small seeded, low-tannin fababean released from the CDC breeding program and has been growing in acreage in Saskatchewan in the last couple of years. For more information on all CDC developed varieties, visit the Growing section of saskpulse.com. This article originally ran in the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers’ magazine “PulsePoint.” You can find back issues of PulsePoint online at saskpulse.com. GN Delaney Seiferling is a freelance writer, based in Regina. She can be reached at delaney@dseiferling.com.

CDC Inca seed will likely not be available for a couple of years, but this new yellow pea variety has strong yield potential for southern Saskatchewan.

FEATURES

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Hemp production

Simpler regulations for hemp growers Life for farmers planting hemp will be littler simpler in 2017, thanks to regulatory changes hemp cultivation, which was previously at least 10 acres. Although hemp growers must still undergo a criminal record check to obtain an industrial hemp cultivation licence, these will now be valid for one year from the date they are issued. Finally, annual testing for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis — is no longer required for most approved hemp grain and fibre crops. THC testing is still in place for certified seed

By Angela Lovell

emp growers must obtain a licence from Health Canada each year to grow industrial hemp, but recent changes to the regulations have made the process slightly easier and more efficient. As of November 21, 2016 growers can apply for their industrial hemp cultivation licence electronically via email, which will speed up the process. A common complaint with hemp growers has been the delays in processing licences via the old “snail mail” method. Growers will no longer have to pre-identify planting sites before obtaining a cultivation licence. Previously, growers had to identify which fields they would grow their hemp crops on when they filled out the hemp license application usually around December. Now they only need to report their field sites within 15 days of seeding which gives them more flexibility to make changes to their cropping plans.

production, but the resulting grain crop will not need to go through the testing. The thinking behind this change is that certified seed varieties proven to be low in THC will continue to be low in THC for grain production. This will eliminate testing costs and paperwork for commercial growers. The Canadian Trade Hemp Alliance says on its website that these changes ‘”better align regulation of industrial hemp with

the demonstrated low public health and safety risks of the crop. The [Section 56 Class Exemption of the Industrial Hemp Regulations] is an interim measure to simplify the license application process as the Government moves forward with its commitment to legalize, strictly regulate, and restrict access to marijuana.” Clarence Shwaluk, Director of Farm Operations for Fresh Hemp Foods in Winnipeg, Manitoba

welcomes the changes to the regulations, which the industry has long lobbied for. “These changes help to lessen the burden for hemp growers and gives more legitimacy to the crop overall as far as being a cash crop that can be part of a regular rotation,” says Shwaluk. GN Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www.angelalovell.ca.

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No longer a minimum acreage requirement One licence will now also cover all cultivation sites and activities, whereas in the past growers had to have multiple licenses for each location or activity. It should also reduce the need to obtain licence amendments if farmers are moving hemp from one bin to another. A grower’s cultivation licence will now expire in March of the following year to allow the grower more time to store and sell hemp crops grown in the previous year. In the past, licences expired on December 31, and because there was often a long delay to get new license applications approved, growers storing their crop beyond January 1 could end up in violation of the regulations if their new licence was not yet approved. There is no longer a minimum acreage requirement for industrial

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FEATURES

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Hemp production

Hemp gives grower highest returns For this Manitoba farmer, hemp is an experiment that’s turned into a profitable option

evin Krueger has been growing hemp for three years on his farm, six-and-a-half miles south of Thornhill in south-central Manitoba. The first year he grew 70 acres, the second 25 acres and 30 acres this year. “I’ve called it an experiment every year,” says Krueger. “The experiments are starting to work so next year, I’m thinking about planting 130 acres.” Krueger tried hemp because he was looking for an alternate crop with potentially higher returns, and hemp has certainly lived up to that expectation. “So far it’s been my highest returning crop, even the second year when I got just 750 pounds of hempseed per acre,” he says. “There are different prices out there but I think that there’s a good $100/acre more return on it than canola.” Krueger is having a hard time coming up with an average yield, as his have varied considerably each year from 1,450 lbs./acre in Year 1, to 750 lbs./acre in Year 2 and over 1,600 lbs./acre this year, but he estimates 1,000 lbs./acre would not be unreasonable as an average yield for his growing area.

A steep learning curve Hemp isn’t hard to grow, although it does have different management requirements than other crops, and Krueger admits he’s still riding the learning curve in terms of tweaking the fertility program and a few other things. Krueger seeds at 20 to 30 lbs./acre depending on the seed size of the variety he is growing, and plants shallow at half to three-quarters of an inch depth like canola. He likes the fact that he can seed hemp late — usually at the end of May — as it prefers warm soils. He’s been varying his fertility program, and put a slightly higher rate of 130 lbs./acre of nitrogen on this year than last, half as regular urea and half

as slow-release N, as well as 50 lbs. of phosphate – 20 lbs./acre with the seed and another 30 lbs./acre with a preemergent application of herbicide. The first two years Krueger didn’t use any chemical weed control, just a pre-seed cultivation, and found the hemp crop out-competed weeds well. This year he used Edge, a Group 3 herbicide, to help prevent dockage because of wheat kernels in the finished hemp crop, which is a concern because hemp seed and oil is sold as a gluten-free food product. “You have to make sure that there is no wheat in it and it’s hard to clean out of hemp,” he says. “The first two years, I had pretty heavy cleanout and I thought if I can stop a few wheat kernels from germinating and lower my dockage by two or three per cent, that would pay for the chemical. But from a weed standpoint it was very acceptable without putting any chemical down.” Even volunteers are easily dealt with at a young stage with a cultivator pass or a “sniff” of chemical says Krueger. Ideally hemp is best following barley, oats or alfalfa, and although Krueger grew it on canola ground this year, he says that’s probably not the best practice, as there can be a risk from Sclerotinia, although he suspects from his experience this year that the disease may infect hemp at a later stage, protecting it from any significant yield loss.

Harvest horror stories unfounded Krueger admits he had some concerns about harvesting hemp, having heard more than a few horror stories about it, but says he’s had no trouble, although he has made a couple of modifications to his older, John Deere 9600 combine. “The biggest thing was I pulled the feeder chain out and put in a conveyor belt which covers the drive and the top sprockets, which is where the hemp would get caught up,” he says. “I haven’t had any issues.”

THIS IS

THE ONE

down on the header all the time, but I know every year is different.”

Moisture is critical

photo: Courtesy Kevin Krueger

By Angela Lovell

Kevin Krueger has been growing hemp for three years on his farm, 6-1/2 miles south of Thornhill in south-central Manitoba.

He’s had different experiences combining hemp with varieties of various heights. The first year he swathed the crop when it was about five-and-a-half feet tall and left it to dry out for three days. “I didn’t have any problem with it, it was close to dry, and the product was easy to handle,” he says. Year 2 he grew a taller variety, which he straight cut at around 6-1/2 feet tall. “I was taking the product off at 28 to 30 per cent moisture, and from the combine it needed to go straight into a dryer, and drying can be a bit of a challenge because it has to be dried slowly and not overheated because it’s a food product,” he says. Year 3 Krueger grew a much shorter variety, which proved to be the best for harvestability. He swathed at 4-1/2 feet tall, waited three days and combined it dry with a lot less hassle than a canola crop. “A year like this I would gladly get rid of my canola rotation,” he says. “It was so easy to swath the hemp. I set my reel as high as it goes and my cutter to six inches off the ground and just drove. With canola you are always fighting lodging, and are up and

Although there were yield differences across the different varieties, and he has made some minor adjustments to his fertilizer program, Krueger believes the amount and timing of moisture during the season is crucial to push yield potential, as is field choice. “I’ve chosen my best, welldrained land to grow hemp on,” says Krueger. “There are still some low spots, but in those areas it’s a very weak plant coming out of the ground because hemp doesn’t like compaction or excess moisture at a young stage. But once it is established, it will suck up moisture and that will help determine the final yield. This year we got 30 inches of rain and I got my biggest yield yet. The year I only got 750 lbs./acre we were very short on moisture near the end of the growing season.” Hemp growers do have to cope with certain regulatory requirements, including obtaining an annual licence from Health Canada to grow and store hemp, as well as undergoing a criminal record check every year. But changes recently announced to the regulations will make the licence application process easier and more efficient. Krueger particularly welcomes being able to apply electronically through email, having grown frustrated by the long delays to process licences via “snail mail.” Another major change is the extension of the licence — which is currently issued on a calendar year basis — to March of the following year to allow growers more time to store and sell their hemp crop from the previous year. “In the past the licence ran out December 31 and I’d have to get a new licence otherwise it would be illegal to store it after that date,” says Krueger. Hempseed that is used for food or oil must also be 99.9 per cent clean of any contaminants because it doesn’t go through any procedure at the pro-

cessor to kill bacteria. “You need to treat hemp seed as if it’s coming off the combine and going onto your plate and you don’t realize the criticalness of that until you’ve been in it for a little while,” says Krueger. “If your bacteria count happens to be high because it maybe wasn’t quite dry enough and you got a hot spot in the bin, the whole batch would be rejected. It’s not like wheat where it gets downgraded to No. 2; now it’s bird food.”

Markets a risk factor The fact that hemp is still a niche crop means there are also risks associated with how well processors and food companies predict market potential. “Processors are trying to guess what supplies they need, but they don’t necessarily know what yields are going to be out there or what the year will bring,” says Krueger. “In 2014 and 2015 they were expecting their market to grow more, and they had some extra acres out there, but everybody grew a good crop and they were sitting in a big surplus position. I was lucky enough to get mine out in a timely fashion but there were some producers who only got rid of their 2014 crop a short time ago, and they weren’t happy about that. But the pipeline is cleaned out now and so I think it’s going to be a good year, but if the market fails there some risk there too.” Although the high returns are the biggest benefit to growing hemp, Krueger believes he’s also helping to improve his soils. “The following crop has been good every year, and that could be related to many things such as field choice or moisture, but I’m thinking hemp may be doing something good to the land too,” he says. “I need more experience with it to say that for sure, but I do know I have grown good crops on the hemp ground.” GN Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www.angelalovell.ca.

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2017-01-10 6:48 AM

FEATURES

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Hemp production

Growing demand means more hemp acres As the hemp industry grows and matures, quality and consistency is critical for sales

Establishing quality benchmarks Anticipating that hemp could become a more common crop, the industry is being proactive in trying to establish quality benchmarks to ensure the reputation of Canada’s high quality hemp products is maintained. “We don’t have industry-wide standards as to what makes a good hulling grade or crushing grade hempseed,” says Shwaluk. The Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance is working within the industry to try and establish quality benchmarks. “We make every effort to ensure that we have the best quality standards and our customers get the best quality products. Our quality systems are second to none and we want to make sure we maintain that reputation not only for us as a business, but for Canadian hemp around the globe. Industry-wide quality standards will help our Canadian industry to maintain consistency of product for our customers. Canada has a strong reputation for having high grain production standards and we want that same recognition for our hemp food products.” With many initial hemp varieties in Canada, which were imported from the hemp fibre industry, residue management was always a concern, but newer, shorter varieties

to manage the crop in different manage our production inflows, and areas,” says Shwaluk. “We want to manage our acres because we don’t help our growers get better yields want to see surpluses on the marand good quality crops are also effi- ket,” says Shwaluk. “We’ve gone cient for the supply chain,” he adds. through some of that and we prefer However, niche products always to be more hands-on in the mancarry a certain amount of market agement on how much is produced risk. Some hemp producers were so that we can make sure that we frustrated when they had to hold can process it.” onto their hemp crops longer than Shwaluk predicts strong growth expected because of over produc- in the North American and internation in the last couple of growing tional hemp food market over the seasons. It’s an issue processors are next couple of years. “Hemp is a working hard to prevent from hap- long-term, sustainable crop and pening in the future. “All of the pro- adding new crops into a rotation duction we have coming to our from an agronomic perspective is a SEC_MALT16_T_REV2_GN_SEC_MALT16_T_REV2_GN.qxd 2017-01-03 1:45 systems, PM Page ”1 facilities is contracted so we can good for our production

says Shwaluk. “We’re seeing that all across farming today, where producers are looking for new crops to add to rotations, adopting like cover crops, and using different methods of production to maintain healthy soils and a healthy growing environment. Adding new crops like hemp to rotations adds diversity, it reduces the pressure of disease, and also gives some good, economic diversity to the farm.” GN Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www.angelalovell.ca.

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Marketing quality Quality is the main focus of hemp production for oil and food products, and is the reason that Shwaluk talks with growers to ensure they have the right equipment and management in place to produce a high quality crop. “Our international markets have high quality demands and we work with growers right from the initial steps to focus on quality and make sure their crop is going to be suitable for our markets,” says Shwaluk. “That includes having good storage facilities and ideally a grain dryer, because often there is a drying step involved. This is what we consider to be one of the best practices to reduce the risk of spoilage in the bin and reduce the risk of the crop not making food grade quality.”

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s the Canadian hemp industry continues to expand and mature, the demand for hemp foods, not just in North America, but worldwide, is fueling more hemp acres across Manitoba and other areas of Western Canada, and is providing good economic returns for growers. “The returns per acre on hemp are better than just about any commonly grown grain crop out there,” says Clarence Shwaluk, director of farm operations for Fresh Hemp Foods in Winnipeg, Manitoba. “Average yields have increased significantly over the last few years, and experienced growers tend to get better consistency and higher levels of performance. It’s not uncommon to hear of yields of 1,000 pounds per acre clean on non-irrigated lands in Manitoba and across the Prairies. Growers are getting more familiar with the crops and more growers are willing to take on the additional risk of a crop that is a little bit different to produce. We have high standards as far as quality, but the reward is definitely there for hemp.” There has also been consolidation in the food hemp industry as Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods and Hemp Oil Canada merged last December to create Fresh Hemp Foods. “We’ve had increased throughput at our facilities, and we’re looking for more acres in 2017,” says Shwaluk. ”Hemp food is becoming big not only locally, but Canada is becoming a global leader when it comes to hemp food production.”

are available, which produce a lot less residue and make it easier for growers to harvest. “Managing residue is becoming less and less of a concern because of these new varieties and because of new technologies,” says Shwaluk. “Most of today’s modern combines don’t have a whole lot of trouble with harvesting hemp.” Most hemp crops are straight combined in Manitoba. A draper header is preferred because it gives a more even feed into the feeder house. Most modern single rotor or conventional combines work well, but twinrotor combines may have a tendency to wrap up inside. Sharp cutter bars are recommended so that the fibre isn’t pulled or torn. “Maintaining an even flow and harvesting at the right height, so you’re not taking too much fibre in the combine, all those things help,” says Shwaluk.

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The reward is definitely there With no public breeding program for hemp varieties, the onus is on food companies or hemp breeders to support growers by developing hemp varieties and providing sound agronomic advice — based on research — so growers have tangible agronomic and economic incentives to add hemp to their rotation. Fresh Hemp Foods has its own breeding program which has developed three hemp varieties to date that provide the agronomic traits that are important to growers as well as the characteristics that are beneficial for food production. The company continues to do small plot research and field demonstration trials to provide the best agronomic advice for growers in different areas across Western Canada. “Our growers and their production systems are quite diverse, from irrigation in southern Alberta, up to northeastern Saskatchewan, and all across Manitoba, so we need to know how the hemp crop responds, and some of the subtle things that we can do

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FEATURES

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

crop advisor’s casebook

Deformed spikelets spell trouble By Tess Strand

When checking the plant stems for wheat stem maggot larvae, I unrolled the upper stem and found several small, black specks.

The topmost spikelets were shrivelled and bleached-looking, and the awns were also white and bent.

an operates a 5,000-acre grain farm south of Canora, Sask. Last summer, he called me mid-July to inquire if any other producers in the area were discovering white heads in their hard red spring wheat crops. In certain areas of his fields, he said, shortly after heading, some wheat plants had developed a whitish tinge to them. The discolouration appeared in patches and seemed worse along field edges and in lowlying regions, he told me. That day, I took a trip to Dan’s farm to inspect his wheat fields. When I got there, I found it was mostly the wheat head tips that were affected. The topmost spikelets were shrivelled and bleachedlooking, and the awns were also white and bent. These fields had been planted on barley stubble, Dan told me, whereas the wheat fields seeded after canola were not exhibiting symptoms. At this point, I suspected the whitened heads were a result of a disease connected with Dan’s rotation. Because cereals had been planted two years in a row, and since the area had received a lot of moisture that growing season, I examined plant crowns and roots for signs of root disease. However, the roots were healthy, and only the head tips were affected. Next, I examined the wheat heads for signs of fusarium head blight, which is caused by several species of the fungal pathogen Fusarium, as this disease can cause bleached spikelets and reduced seed filling. Because the plants’ topmost spikelets were consistently affected, and due to the absence of the orange spore clusters typically found near the base of florets of FHB-infected

Tess Strand is a regional sales agronomist at Canora, Sask.

plants, I ruled out FHB as the cause of the whitened heads. “Could it be wheat stem maggot?” Dan asked. It’s true, these stem-boring insects can cause whitened heads in wheat, but usually the whole head turns white, and not just the head’s top, as we were seeing in Dan’s fields. However, when checking the plant stems for wheat stem maggot larvae, I unrolled the upper stem and found several small, black specks. “Here’s your answer,” I said. “They’re rare in wheat, but we’ve been seeing unusually high numbers in barley fields in this area.” If you think you know what pest is damaging Dan’s wheat crop, send your diagnosis to Grainews, Box 9800, Winnipeg, Man., R3C 3K7; email leeann@fbcpublishing.com or fax 204-944-95416 c/o Crop Advisor’s Casebook. The best suggestions will be pooled and one winner will be drawn for a chance to win a Grainews cap and a oneyear subscription to the magazine. The answer, along with reasoning that solved the mystery, will appear in the next Crop Advisor’s Solution File. GN Tess Strand is a regional sales agronomist at Canora, Sask.

Casebook winner Leeann Minogue Once again this year students in Danielle Tichit’s agronomy class at the Assiniboine Community College in Brandon, Man., read and answered Casebook as a class assignment. With so many strong entries, I turned to a pro for help in choosing a winner. Kathy-Jo Toews, sales agronomist at Richardson Pioneer Brandon was happy to help. In fact, Kathy-Jo read all the class submissions, chose a winner, then went to the classroom to deliver the news in person. “I enjoy reading the class’s Casebook submission answers and seeing all the talent that’s coming into our industry,” Kathy-Jo said. “It’s great to interact with the students when we visit their class for the presentation.” Kathy-Jo chose Sara Keeble’s entry as the winner. Instructor Danielle said, “Sara was thrilled!” We’re sending Sara a Grainews cap and signing her up for a one-year subscription to the magazine. We hope you’ll be a long-timer reader, Sara! If you are not in Danielle’s class and you sent in an answer to Casebook for the last issue, do not be alarmed. We’ll enter your name for one of the coming winter draws.

Crop advisor’s solution

Cutworm damage can resemble planter misses By Terry Moyer Mark, a southern Manitoba producer, asked me to visit his farm three weeks after planting. Up to that point, all Mark’s crops were growing well, with the exception of the north 30 acres of an 80-acre soybean field. The plant stand in this area was extremely thin, with only one plant per 15 feet of row on average. All other plants were missing. The few remaining plants in this area were healthy, and unaffected plant rows could be found adjacent to affected

ones. Plant emergence was even on the remaining 50 acres, and the plants on these acres were healthy. In addition, plants in neighbouring canola and corn fields were also healthy. After eliminating poor seed bed and equipment failure as possible causes for the missing plants, we searched the affected area for signs of above-ground insect feeding. Although we found no evidence of feeding above ground, by digging in the field in the early morning and late evening we found the insect responsible for the damage — the dingy cutworm.

Mature dingy cutworm larvae can measure up to 3.8 centimetres (1.5 inches) in length. They are grey in colour with light markings down the back, which resemble tire tracks. Cutworms were feeding on plants below ground and had taken the plants out before they emerged, leaving no visible signs of damage above ground. Mark had used treated seed in neighbouring corn and canola fields, which protected the seed from cutworms. Soybeans in the affected field had been treated

with fungicide, but not an insecticide to protect the seed from cutworms. The cutworms systematically took out each seedling up and down the row, working across the field. The insects were working in the planter rows, which, at first glance, looked like damage caused by planter misses. We immediately treated the field with species-specific insecticide to control the cutworms. This stopped the crop loss to the rest of the field. Since the infestation was severe, the affected 30 acres yielded next to nothing. However, taking immediate

action contained the damage, and the crop loss. Insects, such as cutworms, are unpredictable, and it is often difficult to estimate population size as they live in the soil. It’s as important to look for insects below ground as it is to look above ground. Also, don’t make any assumptions about the insect’s life cycle and habits — knowledge of this kind is helpful in the prevention of crop damage and yield loss. GN Terry Moyer is a regional sales agronomist for Richardson Pioneer Ltd. in Landmark, Man.

FEATURES

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Pulse production

New advances in chickpea breeding

Chickpea breeder Bunyamin Tar’an explains what breeders’ goals in variety development By Geoff Geddes

arming is all about colours: staying in the black and avoiding the red to keep your business in the pink of health. That’s no small feat, which is why genetic improvement and variety development in chickpeas is needed to keep farmers on the cutting edge and keep those greenbacks coming in. “For any crop you need to develop varieties that are high yield, easy to grow, adaptable to the target areas and desirable for consumers to generate profits for producers,” said Bunyamin Tar’an, associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan and chickpea breeder at the university’s Crop Performance Centre. In regard to chickpea breeding, Tar’an said there are three main goals that researchers address. “First there has to be a competitive advantage for farmers or no one will grow it,” said Taran. “That translates to high yield and larger seed size especially for Kabuli chickpea, as price correlates to size. The basic formula is yield + seed size + price = money in the producer’s pocket.” Breeders are also seeking to improve the nutritional quality of chickpeas such as boosting iron content and levels of Vitamin A. “If we can breed varieties that appeal physically, have a high yield and offer better nutrition in the seed, we can become a more preferred source for both domestic and international markets.” This is evident in their approach to the rapidly growing humus market in North America as they work to identify the characteristics needed to make the best humus and address them in their breeding program.

you need to invest a lot of time and money before you see results.” Not surprisingly then, Tar’an and his colleagues are exploring ways to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of selection in their breeding programs. Like many things these days, the answer may lie in genomics — the study of mapping genomes. “Through genomics, we can increase our ability to select for the best cultivar that has all the characteristics desired by producers and

consumers. In effect we are using conventional breeding but with enhanced tools.” They are also accelerating the process by employing winter nurseries in Arizona or Mexico, giving themselves two growing seasons per year. To some extent they can do the same thing by means of greenhouses and growth chambers on site, but the capacity is limited and they must be shared with other commodities. “Increasing that capacity requires a big capital investment. We are

probably the largest chickpea breeding program in North America but we still have limited resources.” Those resources are needed because in spite of Saskatchewan’s position as the highest yielding chickpea zone in the world based on yield per acre, challenges still exist for growers. Chief among them are disease, early maturity and excessive moisture. “This past year we had too much moisture which delayed maturity and increased humidity, leading to

more disease issues. Fortunately, 2016 was a bit of an anomaly so if we can continue to make progress on the breeding front, we should be in good shape going forward.” And if that progress leads to more “green” in producers’ jeans, both researchers and the industry at large will be tickled pink. GN Geoff Geddes is a freelance agriculture and business writer based in Edmonton. Find him online at www.thewordwarrior.ca or email geoffgeddes@thewordwarrior.ca.

Making it simpler Since chickpea is a relatively new crop and is considered “high risk,” the second goal is to reduce that risk and minimize production costs through such things as early maturity and enhanced disease resistance. For example, originally farmers had to spray four or five times with fungicide to control ascochyta blight disease, whereas new varieties under normal conditions need only be sprayed twice, thereby lowering both risk and production cost. Lastly, there is a focus on ease of management. “By making crops more herbicide tolerant, you can use different herbicides for weed control as part of an integrated weed management program. You also make the crops stand upright so they are easier to combine.” Of course, if genetic improvement and variety development in chickpeas was easy, you wouldn’t need eight letters behind your name to do it. “In chickpea and other pulses, we use a conventional breeding approach where we make crosses and follow the progeny from one generation to the next. In general it takes eight to 12 years to develop a new variety, so

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Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Crop production

Old, new products deliver multi-modes of action The challenge is to hit weeds with two or more active ingredients to reduce resistance

By Lee Hart

ld chemistry, new formulations, multiple modes of action — these are all elements farmers can include in their weed control toolbox heading into 2017, say weed researchers and crop protection specialists. One of the most important elements these days for either preventing or managing herbicide resistance in weeds is to approach control with multiple modes of herbicide action. Some of the older chemistries used in conjunction with newer products can be very effective in reducing the risk of “selecting” weeds that have or may develop herbicide resistance, says Bob Blackshaw, weed researcher with Agriculture Canada in Lethbridge. Products like Avadex and Edge, for example, that almost disappeared from the herbicide scene 20 years ago as farmers moved into zero till and direct seeding and relied on glyphosate and other in-crop weed control products, are finding a new fit in crop protection programs. “A few things have happened over the past 20 or so years,” says Blackshaw. “In conventional farming days there was a need to incorporate some of these products three or four inches into the soil to be closer to weed seeds. With direct seeding systems we are finding more of the weed seeds in the top inch of soil, so they are closer to the surface. Incorporating a herbicide isn’t necessary.” And while some of the older products such as Edge and Avadex have the same name, new formulations have made granules smaller and more concentrated so they are more effective, even without incorporation. They still need moisture to carry them into the soil, but again conservation-farming practices help to retain more moisture at or near the soil surface. Blackshaw says it is important to use pre-seeding products in conjunction with in-crop treatments to achieve different modes of action. The pre-seeding herbicide product with one mode of action delivers the first punch on weeds. Depending on the product it may control 70 to 85 to 90 per cent of weeds, while in-crop treatments with different modes of action deliver the second or third or knockout punch, depending on the

Goldwing, a new Group 14 pre-seeding/pre-emergence herbicide from Nufarm is a contact and system product that can be used in all cereals and fieldpeas.

tank mix. “Even if your pre-seeding product is only 70 per cent effective, that’s still a considerable reduction in weed numbers,” says Blackshaw. “And then with effective in-crop treatments you can clean up the rest.”

TAKE A LOOK AT GROUP 14 While older products such as Avadex (Group 8) and Edge (Group 3) have a fit, Nufarm has several new and newer products delivering different modes of action to help with early season weed control, says Graham

Collier, Nufarm technical service manager for Western Canada. These Nufarm products are all based on Group 14 chemistry (described as PPO inhibitors) providing effective pre-seeding weed control in various crops covering a broad spectrum of weeds. “Research has shown over the years repeated use of certain active ingredients have increased herbicide resistance in weeds,” says Collier. Pointing to work done by Hugh Beckie, Agriculture Canada researcher, the risk of

Group 2 herbicide resistance is one in 100,000 plants, while the risk of Group 1 resistance is one in one million plants. But then once you start to add multiple modes of action the risk decreases substantially. If you’re using Group 4 and Group 9 chemistries, for example, they each have a one in 100 million risk of an individual weed having natural resistance to a chemical. And if you combine, tank mix, the two products the risk decreases to one in 10, 000,000,000,000,000. And when you throw a Group 14

BASF CANADA 10.0000X8.0000 000076158r1 4C

product into the tank mix the risk really diminishes. Collier says a tank mix that includes Group 4, 14 and 9 chemistries reduces the herbicide resistance factor to one in one septillion. (If you want to see what a septillion looks like, it is the number 10 with 23 zeros after it.) So what pre-seeding products are in the Nufarm lineup? • Conquer isn’t brand new and is largely an upgrade to an earlier Nufarm product, CleanStart. Conquer is a pre-seeding product that

IT’S MORE THAN TRADITION. Putting everything into your cereals just makes sense.

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photos: lee Hart

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Agriculture Canada researcher Bob Blackshaw, right, with Univeristy of Alberta master’s student Mat Vercaigne talk to producers during a field day in Lethbridge on “forgotten” herbicides that can help manage resistance.

can be used ahead of canola. It is a combination Group 14 and 6, herbicide (carfentrazone and bromoxynil) and can be tank mixed with glyphosate. It can be very effective in controlling both smaller and larger volunteer glyphosateresistant canola. • Valtera is another Group 14 herbicide (flumioxazin) that can be tank mixed with glyphosate. A residual herbicide, it can be either spring or fall applied. As a preseeding treatment it can be used ahead of peas, spring wheat, chickpeas and soybeans and further registrations are expected. • Goldwing is a brand new Western Canada developed product from Nufarm — also in Group 14 with a Group 4 (pyraflufen-ethyl/ MCPA (ester). A contact and sys-

For over 100 years, wheat has been the very backbone of farming in Western Canada. In fact, one might say that most farms out here were built on it. But in recent years, rising pressure from diseases like fusarium head blight has led to lower cereal grain quality. Leading to grades and profits to match. Now it’s more important than ever to renew our reputation for growing some of the best cereals in the world. To achieve that goal, an integrated plan should be adopted to manage weeds, disease and resistance from seed to harvest. Fortunately, BASF offers a portfolio of industry leading solutions that are designed to help growers put cereals back where they belong: On top. For more information, visit agsolutions.ca/cereals.

temic herbicide, it can be tanked mixed with glyphosate and used pre-seeding or prior to emergence, ahead of all cereals, field peas and corn, and again future registrations are expected. • Blackhawk is another new combination Group 14 and Group 4 contact and systemic herbicide (pyraflufen-ethyl/2,4-D ester) that can be tank mixed with glyphosate. It can be applied prior to seeding or pre-emergence and can be used with all cereal crops and soybeans. It can also be used in summer fallow and post-harvest applications. All four of these products have a wide spectrum of weed control with details available on the Nufarm website at: www.Nufarm.ca.

RANGE OF PRE-SEEDING PRODUCTS Producers have many familiar preseeding products to consider. • Edge is a Group 3 (ethalfluralin) selective pre-seeding granular herbicide providing weed control in oilseed and pulse crops. It’s marketed by Dow AgroScience — www.dowa gro.com/en-CA/canada. • Avadex MicroActiv Herbicide, is a Group 8 (triallate) granular herbicide that can be used spring or fall in conventional and direct seeding systems. It provides wildoat control in spring and durum wheat, barley, canola, most flax varieties, yellow, brown and oriental mustard, sugar beets and canary seed. Avadex is marketed by Gowan Canada — www.gowanco.com/canada. • Aim EC is a Group 14, PPO inhibitor (carfentrazone) that can be tank mixed with glyphosate, providing pre-seed weed control ahead of canola, pulses and cereals. Marketed by FMC — Canada — www.fmccrop.ca. • Authority is a Group 14, PPO inhibitor (sulfentrazone), that can be used as a pre-seeding/pre-emergence herbicide. It provides residual action in the soil and can be used ahead of crops such as field peas, flax, faba beans, chickpeas, sunflowers and soybeans. It can be tank mixed with glyphosate. Marked by FMC Canada — www.fmccrop.ca. • Heat is a Group 14 chemistry (salflufenacil) developed by BASF for pre-seed, pre-emergent and chemfallow applications. It can be tank mixed with glyphosate and applied ahead of cereals and pulse crops. It also works as a harvest aid to desiccate crops —basf.com. GN Lee Hart is a field editor with Grainews based in Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@ fbcpublishing.com.

Always read and follow label directions. AgSolutions is a registered trade-mark of BASF Corporation; INSURE, TWINLINE, and CARAMBA are registered trade-marks of BASF SE; all used with permission of BASF Canada Inc. INSURE CEREAL fungicide seed treatment, TWINLINE, and/or CARAMBA fungicide should be used as part of a disease control program. © 2017 BASF Canada Inc.

Valtera is a Group 14 residual spring and fall herbicide that can be used with peas, spring wheat, chickpeas and soybeans.

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Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Rebate roundup

Farmers like grower rebate programs Everyone likes a little free cash from those input rebates. But is it really free?

By Angela Lovell

leader for Dow AgroSciences Canada “At Dow AgroSciences, we believe that specific field needs should drive product selection and grower programs should be secondary in a decision making process. The grower program is our way of saying “thank you” for trusting our solutions. It is my belief that positive brand experience on-farm is critical to high probability of reuse or new use from a trusted source.” Dow AgroSciences redesigned its grower program with the introduc-

tion of Diamond Rewards in 2016 to expand program participation and enhance value to their customers. Growers can qualify by authorizing Dow AgroSciences to access their purchase data through an authorization form available online or through retailers. The rebates that growers can achieve vary depending on the combination of eligible products that they buy. It’s possible to earn up to a maximum rebate of $5.15 per cereal acre, and the minimum purchase is $5,000 to participate in the program.

rower programs offer cash rebates or other rewards against purchases of crop inputs such as seed and chemicals. How much producers receive back usually depends on how much product and, in some cases, the combination of products they buy from a specific company. Some could argue that in essence, the farmer has already paid for that

reward, so why doesn’t the supplier simply lower product prices? Because producers don’t base all their purchasing decisions solely on price, but on what works for their farm. Recognizing that, grower rebate programs are as much about inspiring customer loyalty to the company as just selling its products. “Our industry is very competitive and most grower programs promote portfolio use from a specific manufacturer,” says Jarek Nowak, business and marketing integration

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“Our previous program rewarded around 35 per cent of our known customer base,” says Nowak. “Based on payments we made to date that number has almost doubled with Diamond Rewards, delivering on our objective of being more inclusive. Additionally, we simplified our grower program so growers and retailers can quickly estimate a reward value.” There is no doubt that grower programs are popular with producers, says Kent Fraser, a researcher with Stratus Research, which conducted an extensive survey of farmers opinions on crop protection products and seed companies a couple of years ago. “About half of the farmers surveyed said they found these programs to be useful,” says Fraser. The only things they ranked as more useful were free samples, customer call centres and field tours. “Despite what people so often say and think about these programs, they are important to many farmers.” Farmers gave twice as much business to companies with programs that they liked. “If it’s a good program, farmers will definitely respond to it, and are happy to get involved,” says Fraser. “We did see some differences in different groups, so larger farms tended to see programs more useful likely because they receive a bigger cheque. As well, younger farmers rated the programs as more useful than did some others.” Why younger producers tend to embrace grower programs more enthusiastically than established producers could be because, as they start out in the industry, they are less able to access operating capital and more acutely feel how every dollar counts. It could also be that younger producers are more used to using technology — computers and Smartphones — that allow them to understand and participate in these programs easily online. “It may be that younger producers are more accustomed and adept at dealing with some of the complexities of these programs,” says Fraser. “Older producers are more likely, in general, to depend on their retailer and that may translate to the programs as well. They may just trust their retailer to figure things out and get them the best deal.”

Under the influence But do grower programs really influence producers’ purchasing decisions to any great extent, or encourage loyalty to a particular company and its products? “If it’s a brand that the grower holds in high esteem I suspect that what they like about a program is that it is offered by a company that has products they really like,” says Fraser. “But I do believe that farmers’ purchasing decisions are going to be driven by product performance.” “We focus on agronomy first and foremost,” says Blaine Cochrane, sales manager for Shur-Gro Farm Services Limited in Manitoba. Retailers don’t actually market rebate programs per se — companies

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Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www.angelalovell.ca.

Grain transportation

CN’s weekly grain report Lisa Guenther CN Rail was on hand at the Grain Expo in Regina in November to explain the numbers in the railway’s weekly grain report. Each week, CN looks at customer orders in their system, and makes sure shippers are following the rules. For example, a shipper can’t order more than double its car spot, explains David Przednowek, CN grain marketing director. So if a customer with a 50 car spot orders

150 cars, CN will knock out 50 of the cars. Those ordering rules have been in place for years, but CN didn’t report on them in the past, says Greg Hamilton, CN’s manager of corporate development. Przednowek says “shippers have been very disciplined” with their ordering this year. Shippers sometimes cancel orders for various reasons. Przednowek says customers might expect the pipeline to plug or have trouble sourcing enough grain or the right quality grain. Cars are also cut when different shippers are collectively sending more cars than the terminal can handle. Once the dust has settled, CN allo-

cates cars to the orders left standing. Over 70 per cent of CN’s book this year is contracted, and those contracts are the railway’s first priority. Then CN allocates cars to spot orders. On Friday, the railway locks in its program, which shows how many orders it intends to fill over the next week. How many cars CN can supply in a given week depends on empty car supply, cycle times, and how many cars are going for shorter trips versus longer cycles. Assuming things are running smoothly and the weather is cooperating, the supply chain can handle about 5,500 cars a week from CN, says Przednowek. “If we can do more, we will,” says Przednowek.

CN doesn’t always deliver what they plan. One week, CN delivered 750 cars fewer than planned. Przednowek says that difference came down to cancelled orders and terminal performance. Hamilton says customers sometimes ask them to hold back trains because the pipeline is going to plug. But when CN is writing the program, the railway expects to receive empty cars on a specific day. Problems from delayed cars cascade into the next week. “It’s those sorts of things in the supply chain that have an influence over how big of a program you can do at the end of the day,” says Hamilton. CN’s weekly grain report is available at www.cn.ca/grain.

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will have representatives who visit farms to explain and promote their specific programs — but retailers play an important role in understanding not just products and programs, but their customers’ needs. “Only then does the programming come into play, and if all things are equal, and you have two similar products, and a grower is maximizing one program already, he is probably going to continue with that program and choose that company’s product. But growers aren’t going to use product X when they know it doesn’t work on their farm just for programming, when product Y is the right way to go.” Grower programs help reduce input costs so it’s understandable that growers like them, but a grower program on its own does not guarantee a satisfactory use experience, says Nowak. “At Dow AgroSciences, we strive to deliver value through the right product recommendation supported by a grower program,” he says. “Creating grower success goes beyond reducing input cost and builds trust in the business relationship. And yes, many growers participating in the program make larger purchases as their show of trust in our solutions and services.” In some cases, producers will mix and match programs from different companies to try and maximize rebates or savings. “Farmers are often involved in more than one program and they’re just trying to manage it all to get the best deal that they can,” says Fraser. With so many different chemical and seed products available on the market, grower rebate programs play a role in helping companies differentiate themselves from their competitors. Twenty years ago when a company came up with a new product it was usually distinctly better than previous products. Today it’s not always as obvious that a product is significantly different or better than others on the market. Time may prove that to be the case, but differences in products are more likely to be small and less significant. So companies have to find ways to sell themselves alongside their products. “It’s a competitive market space,” says Cochrane. “There’s the major companies, and there’s a lot of generic companies that are all going after the same space so they all have got to have their story and part of that may be a rebate program.” But it’s not the only part of the story. For companies to set themselves apart, every facet of their marketing program becomes important — from the sales representatives to their customer service helpdesk — alongside what they are offering growers in terms of product performance, value and rebates. “Although we recognize that programs are an important consideration in a grower’s decision-making process, we encourage growers to consider product merits first and then try to maximize the opportunity through available grower programs,” says Nowak. “The reverse behaviour can lead to a less-thandesired outcome.” GN

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Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Farm management

The 2017 crop input rebate roundup

Different input companies offer widely different rebate programs. Use the one that suits your needs By Leeann Minogue

ome of the companies Grainews contacted for our annual “rebate roundup” feature say they don’t offer rebates — they prefer to stick to simple prices. Other farm input suppliers have plans so elaborate you’ll need a calculator to figure out how much cash you’re getting back. Whether you prefer simple up-front pricing or that “just in time Christmas” rebate cheque, you can read about all your options here.

Adama Adama Canada doesn’t offer rebates. Adama told us that, rather than farmers having to wait for a cash back reward program, its promise is to work with farmers to create the best return on investment, with buyers knowing their costs upfront.

Arysta LifeScience Arysta LifeScience is offering its cash-back Grower Rewards Program again this season. It applies to herbicide, fungicide, or seed treatment products. You’re eligible when you buy Everest 2.0 herbicide, Everest GBX herbicide, Inferno Duo herbicide, Evito fungicide and/or Rancona Pinnacle seed treatment from February 1, 2017, to August 15, 2017. You’ll earn a base reward of $1 per acre for purchases of Everest 2.0 and Everest GBX, and $0.50 per acre for Inferno Duo, Evito and Rancona Pinncle. Additionally, if you buy two products for matching acres you’ll earn $1 more per acre; three products earn you $2 per acre. Matching acres reach a maximum of the largest product purchase; the minimum volume purchase to qualify for each product is 160 acres. To enroll or use the online reward calculator visit www.arystalifesciencerewards.ca.

BASF BASF’s AgSolutions 2017 program is very similar to past years. To qualify, you must purchase at least two qualifying products to treat 160 acres each, and in total, enough product to treat at least 600 acres. Once you qualify, your rebate will range from one to six per cent of qualifying products — the rebate increases when you purchase more qualifying products or more product acres. To reach the maximum rebate, you would need to buy enough of five or more different qualifying products to treat 14,000 acres. BASF also has a canola solutions offer — up to $4 per acres of savings if you purchase matching acres of Heat LQ (Heat) and select canola fungicides.

The product purchase period is October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017. Find the online calculator at www.agsolutions.ca.

Bayer CropScience Bayer’s updated BayerValue program includes all of Bayer’s complete lineup of crop protection solutions and is based on total Bayer products purchased between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. If you purchase a minimum of 30 bags of InVigor hybrid canola seed you’ll automatically qualify for savings on BayerValue products through the InVigor Purchase Bonus. This bonus allows you to save in the cereals and pulses segments, plus an additional 10 per cent on Pardner and Proline. You can also qualify for BayerValue by purchasing a minimum 300 acres of product in either one (or more) cereals and pulses segments. Segment 1, the SeedGrowth segment, includes cereal and pulse seed treatments. Save up to 25 per cent on Raxil and Stress Shield, and up to 15 per cent on Trilex EverGol and EverGol Energy. You must combine Stress Shield with Raxil PRO or Trilex EverGol to receive a rebate; there is no rebate on EverGol Energy if you match it with Stress Shield. Segment 2 includes cereal herbicides. Save up to 20 per cent on Luxxur, Infinity FX, Velocity and Varro, with the new InVigor Innovation Bonus, which saves you an extra five per cent when you purchase a minimum of 30 bags of InVigor Pod Shatter Reduction hybrids. If you buy Tundra or Infinity you’ll save up to 15 per cent. Segment 3 offers up to 15 per cent off cereal and pulse fungicides such as Prosaro, Delaro, Propulse and Folicur EW. If you spend $250,000 or more, you’re eligible for the Quarter Million Dollar Bonus which will save you an additional one per cent on products eligible for a rebate in the BayerValue Program. Finally, there is the Incredible Bayer Offer. If you book before March 17, 2017, you’ll save up to $2 per acre by booking a minimum of 500 acres of all-in-one product like Velocity m3 and Tundra or $1 per acre on other eligible cereal herbicides by booking a minimum of 1,000 acres. If you were registered in 2016, you will automatically be reenrolled. If you were not registered last year, sign up by visiting w w w.c ro psc i e n ce . baye r.ca / bayervalue, contacting the Bayer Rebate Fulfilment Centre at 1-888-283-6847, talking to your local retail or contacting your Bayer rep. Bayer will launch its new rebate calculator in March 2017.

Dekalb DEKALB is offering DEKALB Bonus Rebates to western Canadian canola growers. If you booked a minimum of 32 bags of canola before November 15, 2016, you’ll $3.75/acre. If you book after November 15 you’ll receive a rebate of $3/acre. In addition, you can receive an additional $1/ acre rebate on DEKALB corn and/or soybeans. If you buy DEKALB soybeans in Western Canada you’ll also earn a DEKALB Bonus Rebate. With a purchase of a minimum of 300 units of soybeans you’ll receive $3/acre. This rebate can still be paid if you buy 32 bags of DEKALB canola seed and qualify for other offers. Find the rebate calculator at dekalb.ca or call 1-84-GO-DEKALB.

Dow AgroSciences Dow AgroSciences has redesigned its Diamond Rewards Program. If you buy $5,000 of eligible Dow AgroSciences products before November 30, 2017 you’ll save up to $5.15/acre by combining rewards. Tank Mix Reward: Purchase a Dow AgroSciences grass and broadleaf tank mix, including Rexade or Tandem, and receive a $2/acre rebate on all tank mix acres. Early Book Reward, save up to $1.65/acre: Book by March 15, 2017, and earn a bonus of $1/ acre on cereal in-crop tank mix acres and $0.65/acre on PrePass XC. Or earn $1/acre on cereal in-crop tank mix acres and $0.50/acre on Paradigm, PrePass Flex and Korrex II, and tank mix with VP480 to earn a $0.15/per acre bonus. Cereal Acre Reward: Get 1.5 per cent of MSRP on all cereal preseed and in-crop herbicide purchases. Nexera Canola Reward: Grow Nexera canola or Dow Seeds corn or soybeans and earn a bonus of $1/acre bonus on cereal in-crop tank mix, including Tandem and Rexade, a 1.5 per cent reward on seed purchases, equivalent to $8.67 to $12.66 per 22.7 kg bag of Nexera canola; savings of $2/acre on all acres of Salute and Eclipse. This program runs from December 1, 2016, to November 30, 2017. For more information, visit dowagro.ca.

DuPont The FarmCare Connect Grower Program is a joint offering from DuPont Crop Protection and DuPont Pioneer. The program offers rebates if you buy DuPont Crop Protection and Pioneer brand seed products. You’ll be automatically enrolled if you purchase a minimum of $15,000 worth of Pioneer brand or D-Series seed and/ or DuPont Crop Protection prod-

ucts between September 1, 2016 and August 31, 2017. Eligible products are categorized into segments: (1) Cereal broadleaf herbicides as the qualifying segment; (2) non-crop herbicides and (3) Assure II and/or Lumiderm as the bonus segments. You must purchase a minimum of 300 acres from the DuPont cereal broadleaf segment to start building rebates. Adding purchases from the two bonus segments increases rebates. The rebate is applied to eligible products and is paid on matching acres from the bonus segments to the cereal broadleaf segment. Finally, you can increase your rebate buy buying Acapela fungicide. If you max out the program, you’ll see a rebate of up to $5.50/ acre. A full list of eligible products is available at farmcareconnect.dupont.com. You can also contact your local DuPont or Pioneer Hi-Bred sales representative or call the DuPont FarmCare Support Centre at 1-800667-3925. There is also a DuPont Acapela Grower Program. Buy a minimum of 320 acres of DuPont Barricade II, Predicade, Travallas herbicides and/or any in-crop PrecisionPac blend and receive $0.50 per acre rebate on matching Acapela fungicide acres, booked between January 1, 2017 and February 28, 2017. For more information contact your local sales representatives, visit acapela.dupont.ca, or call the DuPont FarmCare Support Centre at 1-800-667-3925.

Gowan Gowan Canada does not offer any growers programs. Instead, they told us they keep things simple so crop input retails can help you make the proper decisions for their farm with Avadex, Edge, Eptam, Fortress, Gavel, Permit, Treflan, and Yuma across Western Canada.

Monsanto You can qualify for Real Farm Rewards by purchasing a minimum of 32 bags of qualifying brands of Genuity Roundup Ready canola between September 1, 2016 and August 31, 2017. Monsanto and Nufarm Canada have partnered together to offer sustainable tank mix offers as part of the program. Register at realfarmrewards.ca, through a retail location, seed rep or Nufarm rep or by calling Monsanto Technical Support 1-800667-4944 If you buy a minimum of 32 bags of qualifying brand of Genuity Roundup Ready Canola you’ll earn rewards on qualifying products: $2 to $2.75/acre on seed (canola, soybeans, or corn); $0.50/acre on the following Monsanto BioAg products: Tag-

Team pea/lentil peat, TagTeam pea liquid, TagTeam soybean peat, TagTeam soybean granule, TagTeam LCO pea/lentil granule, Optimize ST soybean liquid, Cell-Tech soybean peat, CellTech soybean granule, Cell-Tech soybean liquid; earn $0.10 to $0.75/acre on crop production products (Roundup Transorb HC, Roundup WeatherMAX and Roundup Xtend); earn $1 to $2/ acre on tank-mix partner products (Conquer, Blackhawk, Goldwing, Valtera). Find the details and the calculator at RealFarmRewards.ca

Syngenta Syngenta’s Partner Program is still in effect for 2017. To qualify you must purchase a minimum $22,000 of eligible Syngenta products (at suggested retail price). New products added to the Partner Program for 2017 include Trivapro, Vibrance Maxx with INTEGO, the new Vibrance Maxx premix, canola variety SY4187, and Visivio seed treatment for canola. Increase your rebate by matching acres of many Syngenta Seedcare, herbicides and/or fungicides in two-way and threeway matches for $2/acre and $4.50/acre savings respectively. Then, you can match these matches with canola seed and/or soybean seed acres for savings between $2 and $4/acre on the seed. A total purchase value of $22,000 in Syngenta products earns you a three per cent rebate; this increases incrementally. Earn up to six per cent savings if you spend $320,000 or more on most crop protection products. Syngenta cereal seed and canola Seedcare products are not eligible for savings, but purchases of these products are used as builders to increase your rebate percentage rate. For 2017, growers you also qualify for Preferred Status for an additional 0.5 per cent savings. Growers with Preferred Status may also qualify for the Partner Program with a minimum of $16,000 in purchases. If you were enrolled last year you’ll be automatically registered for 2017. Confirm registration by calling the Syngenta Customer Interaction Centre at 1-87-SYNGENTA (1-877-964-3682).

UAP (United Agri Products) UAP told us it keeps things simple with up-front net pricing — no hassles, no forms or having to wait to receive your own money back as a rebate.

UPI Canada UPI Canada’s 2017 FarmAdvantage program was not yet finalized when we put this list together. GN Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews.

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Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Letters from Europe

Two markets; two attitudes R

with red poppies again. Agriculture policy in the two countries is headed in opposite directions.

By Marianne Stamm

photo: marianne stamm

European growers work in a different policy and market environment than Prairie farmers

A meadow is inspected to see if it fulfills the requirements for the subsidy program — diversity of plant species.

ecently a Swiss workshop speaker, Ruedi Sutter, commented on the many changes to Swiss agriculture in the last 30 years. It caused me to contemplate the similarity and difference of changes compared to western Canadian farmers. What I see when I visit “home” (Alberta), confirms my research on the web. The January 2016 report from Stats Canada on agriculture and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s “Overview of Canadian Agriculture in 2016” write that Canadian farms are bigger and fewer, with more corporate and less family farms. Commodity prices are up (down a little again) but so are input costs. Land is owned less and rented more. Both reports praised Canadian farmers in their ability to adjust to market forces and consumer demands. Over here in Switzerland, I watch fields growing in size (from half a hectare to two or four), farm size rising as older farmers exit the “game,” and farmers pooling land, cows or other resources to capitalize on synergies. But while my Canadian neighbours add one more fungicide pass and tweak fertilizer placements to maximize yields, the wheat fields I bike by are dotted

Who’s your consumer Most western Canadian farmers are foremost producers, growing commodities for yield and price. If soybean prices go up, they seed more canola. Their consumer is represented by the international commodity exchanges, especially as local markets such as feedlots disappear.

It’s been a tough transition I am the consumer for the Swiss farmer. I bike by my food on his farm, observe how he cares for his animals, and how often he spreads manure in his fields. I have to slow down when he sprays his wheat so I don’t get hit by the drift. The media is constantly bringing new stories of how detrimental pesticides and fertilizers are to my health. I get to sign petitions for changes in agriculture law and vote on them. The Swiss consumer has power. A good 20 years ago, Swiss agriculture policy shifted from rewarding the Swiss farmer for production to rewarding him for sustainable and

environmentally friendly production practices. It’s been a tough transition for many farmers. They feel like they’ve become employees of the state, landscapers instead of farmers. Many older farmers I know are thankful they can pass the farm on to a child or to sell or rent their land. Others are grasping the opportunities the new market offers: growing organic food, cultivating closer relationships to consumers with on-farm marketing and events. I’ve always wondered how the Swiss farmer can survive on his handkerchief-size fields (from my Canadian viewpoint). The niche market seems the way to go. I have farm friends in Canada that are going the same way. Not everyone there is buying into the bigger is better philosophy. More Canadians are concerned about the safety of their food and sustainability of the environment. Like a good part of Swiss consumers, they’re willing to drive farther and pay more for food they can feel a part of. I think the two philosophies — bigger, better, more yield versus organic and direct consumer orientated — will always be there. Both will constantly adapt to new trends and policies. It will be interesting to see what the next 30 years will bring. GN Marianne Stamm is a freelance farm writer. Email her at marerobster@ gmail.com.

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photos: Canola Council of Canada

crop disease

Blackleg was found in more than half of fields surveyed in Saskatchewan, however, where it was found, on average, only 12 per cent of the surveyed plants were infected.

Saskatchewan canola disease survey Field surveyors found sclerotinia in almost all Saskatchewan fields in 2016 SASKATCHEWAN CANOLA DISEASE SURVEY, 2106: SCLEROTINIA

By Leeann Minogue

he incidence of sclerotinia stem rot in Saskatchewan oilseed crops was up in 2016, said Matthew Bernard, Saskatchewan provincial oilseed crops specialist. Bernard presented the results of the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture’s 2016 canola disease survey at Oilseed Producer Meetings around the province in mid-November. In Weyburn, Bernard told oilseed growers, “there were 224 canola crops surveyed.” These 224 fields were spread across the province. Surveyors approached every canola field the same way: they stopped at five points in a “W” pattern throughout the field. At each of these five points they selected 20 plants for testing. This made a total of 100 plants per field, or a total of 22,400 canola plants tested altogether. This annual survey documents the prevalence, incidence and severity of each disease. Prevalence, Bernard explained, is “how many of those fields surveyed had the disease.” Incidence measures “how many of the individual plants, of those surveyed, were infected.” The severity rating measures “the extent of potential yield loss in the plant.” So, a disease may be “prevalent” in a field, but with a low “incidence,” meaning that only a few of the 100 plants surveyed in the field were infected with the disease.

Sclerotinia survey In 2016, 92 per cent of the 224 crops surveyed in Saskatchewan had at least trace levels of sclerotinia stem rot. This is higher than last year (66 per cent) and the year before (17 per cent in 2014). The incidence was also higher — an average of 26 per cent of plants in

Prevalence (%)

Average incidence in infected fields (%)

Severity of infected fields (0 – 5 scale)

Northwest (44)

2.1

Northeast (23)

3.5

West central (24)

100

3.3

East central (64)

3.6

Southwest (36)

3.0

Southeast (33)

2.9

92.4

3.0

Region (number of fields)

In 2016, sclerotinia was found in every one of the 24 fields surveyed in west central Saskatchewan.

infected fields were infected with sclerotinia stem rot. Last year, surveyors found only 11 per cent infected; 18 per cent were infected in 2014. “Incidence is very dependent on the environment,” Bernard says. Wetter conditions in 2016 are evident in these results. Surveyors rated sclerotinia damage using the standard scale of one to five, with a five rating being the most seriously infected. A one rating indicates minimal potential for yield loss; a three rating signals a 50 per cent yield loss. In 2016, sclerotinia was most prevalent in west central Saskatchewan, where it was found in all surveyed fields, “but it was most severe in east central. You see the higher severity rating there,” Bernard said. Including fields where there were no infected plants, the provincewide average incidence of sclerotinia was estimated at 24 per cent for 2016. Based on this estimate, Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Agriculture estimates Saskatchewan’s yield loss to sclerotinia at roughly 12 per cent. “With sclerotinia, as a general rule of thumb, to predict potential yield loss, for every one per cent of incidence, you can predict a 0.5 per cent yield loss,” Bernard said.

Blackleg survey “Blackleg was prevalent in 61 per

cent of the crops surveyed,” Bernard told participants at the Weyburn meeting. That compares to 59 per cent in 2015 and 55 per cent in 2014. While the disease was prevalent in more than half of surveyed fields, the average incidence of disease was only 12 per cent, meaning that, on average, where blackleg was found in the a field, only 12 of the 100 tested plants were infected. This is slightly lower than the last two years when the incidence of blackleg has been 15 per cent. “Blackleg was most prevalent in the northwest, whereas it was most severe in east central.” Blackleg severity is rated on a scale of zero to five. “Right before swathing, the plant will be clipped off just above the soil,” Bernard said. The clipped stems are inspected for apparent diseased tissue and rated “based on the relative amount of infected tissue in that cross section.”

Clubroot survey Surveyors took soil samples at the entrance of each of the 224 fields, the area where soil is most likely to be contaminated. Those samples are being tested for clubroot DNA. Results are not back yet. No clubroot was found through this survey in Saskatchewan in 2015 or 2014. GN Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews.

Overall (224)

Potential yield loss (overall): 12% Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture

SASKATCHEWAN CANOLA DISEASE SURVEY, 2106: BLACKLEG Prevalence (%)

Average Incidence infected fields (%)

Severity of infected fields (0 – 5)

Northwest (44)

1.4

Northeast (23)

1.2

West Central (24)

1.3

East Central (64)

1.7

Southwest (36)

1.2

Southeast (33)

1.3

Overall mean (224)

1.4

Region (Number of fields)

Based on the 224 fields surveyed by Saskatchewan Agriculture in 2016. Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture

SASKATCHEWAN CANOLA DISEASE SURVEY, 2106 Prevalence (%)

Incidence (%)

2016

2015

2014

2016

2015

2014

Sclerotinia Stem rot

Blackleg

Data comes from the Saskatchewan Agriculture disease survey, based on 224 fields surveyed. Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture

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Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Hart Attacks

The federal carbon tax is already working! It's a miracle. I haven't been feeling any global warming on the Prairies this January By Lee Hart

don’t know what the country is whining about. Alberta’s Climate Change Leadership program (I love that label), also known as a carbon tax, IS WORKING! As I pointed out to my inner circle in an earlier Facebook post, January 2017 is already much colder than it was in late December 2016, so just having the Alberta fuel tax in place for three weeks already appears to have nipped global warming in the bud. So what’s all the fuss about? The tax is working! I don’t think there are too many of us, during our most lucid moments, who don’t believe that looking after the environment is important. My thought on climate change is how will we ever know if any penny we pay in a fuel tax, each margarine container that gets recycled, or adding Beano to the ration of every feeder animal will make a difference? It is such a huge, complex issue that is completely muddled by science, money and politics. I believe the climate is changing. David Philips, the senior climatologist with Environment Canada told me directly not long ago the Canadian climate has warmed up: “Over the past 70 years Canadian temperatures have warmed 1.5 C to

1.7 C. And over the next 50 years it could warm by 2.5 C to 3 C. The warming trend could put Western Canada on par with the current climate (growing conditions) of Nebraska and Iowa. Ontario and other parts of Eastern Canada could see growing conditions similar to Kentucky. Overall, on the plus side, the models show the warming trend will result in longer growing seasons. While warmer is generally good, on the downside it is also expected to be dryer.” He seems like a bright, trustworthy guy. I believe him. But did me running my truck up and down Highway 2 in Alberta, or all those burping steers at Border Line Feeders in southern Saskatchewan, or all the farmers doing recreational tillage in Manitoba cause that? Good, ol’ Dr. Tim Ball, retired, University of Manitoba (and he’s still out there on the speaker circuit), but he’s looked long and hard at climate and makes the point, the climate is always changing — always has and always will. Good, ol’ former Country Guide columnist Dr. Tim Ball, retired, University of Manitoba, (not sure if he is still on the speaker circuit or not), but he’s looked long and hard at climate and makes the point, the climate is always changing — always has and always will. I watch science specials on Nova and their scientists look at the four

Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship® (ETS). Monsanto products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. These products have been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from these products can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for these products. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Roundup Ready® technology contains genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, an active ingredient in Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides. Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™ soybeans contain genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate and dicamba. Agricultural herbicides containing glyphosate will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate, and those containing dicamba will kill crops that are not tolerant to dicamba. Contact your Monsanto dealer or call the Monsanto technical support line at 1-800-667-4944 for recommended Roundup Ready® Xtend Crop System weed control programs. Acceleron® seed applied solutions for canola contains the active ingredients difenoconazole, metalaxyl (M and S isomers), fludioxonil and thiamethoxam. Acceleron® seed applied solutions for canola plus Vibrance® is a combination of two separate individually-registered products, which together contain the active ingredients difenoconazole, metalaxyl (M and S isomers), fludioxonil, thiamethoxam, and sedaxane. Acceleron® seed applied solutions for corn (fungicides and insecticide) is a combination of four separate individually-registered products, which together contain the active ingredients metalaxyl, trifloxystrobin, ipconazole, and clothianidin. Acceleron® seed applied solutions for corn (fungicides only) is a combination of three separate individually-registered products, which together contain the active ingredients metalaxyl, trifloxystrobin and ipconazole. Acceleron® seed applied solutions for corn with Poncho®/VoTivo™ (fungicides, insecticide and nematicide) is a combination of five separate individually-registered products, which together contain the active ingredients metalaxyl, trifloxystrobin, ipconazole, clothianidin and Bacillus firmus strain I-1582. Acceleron® seed applied solutions for soybeans (fungicides and insecticide) is a combination of four separate individually registered products, which together contain the active ingredients fluxapyroxad, pyraclostrobin, metalaxyl and imidacloprid. Acceleron® seed applied solutions for soybeans (fungicides only) is a combination of three separate individually registered products, which together contain the active ingredients fluxapyroxad, pyraclostrobin and metalaxyl. Acceleron®, Cell-Tech™, DEKALB and Design®, DEKALB®, Genuity and Design®, Genuity®, JumpStart®, Optimize®, RIB Complete®, Roundup Ready 2 Technology and Design®, Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™, Roundup Ready 2 Yield®, Roundup Ready®, Roundup Transorb®, Roundup WeatherMAX®, Roundup Xtend™, Roundup®, SmartStax®, TagTeam®, Transorb®, VaporGrip®, VT Double PRO®, VT Triple PRO® and XtendiMax® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. Used under license. Fortenza® and Vibrance® are registered trademarks of a Syngenta group company. LibertyLink® and the Water Droplet Design are trademarks of Bayer. Used under license. Herculex® is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC. Used under license. Poncho® and Votivo™ are trademarks of Bayer. Used under license. ©2016 Monsanto Canada Inc.

billion year history of the earth, and world climate has repeatedly swung (over a few million years at a time) from hot to cold. On the day of this writing, I could drive up to Carrot River, Sask near Prince Albert and supposedly it is a high of -20 C with a windchill of -25 C, which isn’t very topical. Yet if I had made the trip there 92 million years ago I would have found crocodiles on the edge of a great inland sea. Something changed, and I don’t think it had anything to do with me and my Dodge truck. And then you throw politics into the discussion and good luck. If you are a politician who hasn’t been on the climate change bandwagon in the past 10 to 15 years, you might as well forget it. Again, I agree it is important to look after the environment, promote and even insist on good environmental stewardship and reduce pollution but unless everyone is serious about it, does anything really change? Some of the world leaders can sit down, and feel good about themselves because they hammer out a climate change accord, and are “really making a difference.” But I bet if I called a household in China today, they would have a hard time finding the phone because the smog created by their industrial complex is so thick they can’t see their hand in front of their face. So whether I drive or walk over to Walmart today

will that change anything in China? Alberta set a carbon emission cap for the oilsands, but it actually allows for an increase in emissions over the next 25 years. How does that work? Nationally, Prime Minister Trudeau is intent on having a national carbon tax to help reduce carbon emissions and further fund environmental improvement programs. One Saskatchewan rancher was telling me the other day if this progressively increasing carbon tax comes into effect it will potentially cost him “tens of thousands of dollars per year” in increased taxes on his ranch. I’m not sure what these grain farmers and ranchers are complaining about. If the cost of production goes up (including higher taxes) why don’t they just charge more for their products? Seems simple enough to me. Oh, wait, come to think of it, agriculture doesn’t work that way. Walmart, Superstore, Safeway/ Sobeys they can pass on increased costs to consumers, but not primary producers. Alberta Premier Notley and her ministers (and many others) often talk about the affect of increased costs, and say businesses, including farmers and ranchers, just need to become more efficient. Why farmers didn’t think of that… I am not exactly sure what becoming more efficient looks like

on a farm or ranch today. I was listening to a radio talk show recently discussing the new Alberta carbon tax, and one farmer called in and he was absolutely livid. His basic message was “you work, and work and work, cope with the weather and volatile markets, tighten everything up as much as possible to be as efficient as possible, and maybe just maybe you break even or see a little profit then along comes another tax that sets everything back to zero or minus”... (if you screamed that you would get some sense of how frustrated he was.) These ideas, concepts and philosophies are good, noble, worthwhile. But how do you know if it makes any difference? Does it just look good politically? I can do the best, squeaky clean job on my side of the street, but if the guy (or whole neighbourhood) across the road still has an uncontrolled mess, does anything really change? Maybe the upset over the carbon tax will force a government change. And then I can watch the new prime minister, Canadian billionaire Kevin O’Leary, and U.S. president, billionaire Donald Trump run my world. I will consider what ever fees I pay in carbon tax, as my low, low, low price of admission for that show. GN Lee Hart is a field editor with Grainews based in Calgary. Contact him at 403-5921964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

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Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Soils and crops

90 years of Saskatchewan farmland prices Saskatchewan land prices have been on the move since 1968. What’s next?

eaders have been asking for an update on farmland prices but I was having trouble accessing the required data. Thanks to Terry Bedard of Saskatchewan Agriculture for sending me recent average price data. This data is just for Saskatchewan. Alberta land prices are changed by many factors that are not related to what is grown on the land and Manitoba does not have any brown or dark brown (drier) soil zones. Annual average farmland prices from 1926 to 2015 were converted to constant 2016 dollars using the Bank of Canada Inflation Calculator. (Calculator is on the Bank of Canada website. You can find it by searching for “Bank of Canada Inflation Calculator.) Converting the numbers is a big job requiring a separate calculation for each individual year. The data is all in the accompanying graph so we will just go through it in chronological order for the past 90 years.

The early days 1920s to 1960s The first Saskatchewan farmland price peak was in 1928. In 1929 my dad, grandfather and great uncle traded land to deal with a dissecting railroad. In the process they bought a half section of rented land for too much money — $35/ acre, or $486 in 2016 dollars. To make the deal they had to mortgage the home quarter with the large two-and-a-half storey house built in 1917 when wheat prices were very high. That deal nearly did them in. Dad described it this way: “That is where we cooked our goose.” From the 1928 peak to the end of the dirty ’30s land prices dropped until about 1942. Revenues from the sale of the big “mortgage lifter” crop of 1942 went to just that — paying off the debt of earlier years. There was no land price spike, and there was no appetite for big mortgages for many years. My years on Brunswick Farm at Milden were 1940 to 1960. Land prices were stable and not much of an issue — very little land changed hands.

The years of change 1960s to 1981 The year 1960 is the start of changes brought about in no small measure by the adoption of fertilizer use. The 1960s started out good but by 1968 poor wheat markets cooled it down. The low point was 1970 where farmers were paid by the Federal Government to summerfallow land two years in a row. It was the infamous LIFT program (Lower Inventories for Tomorrow). Although 1970 was the low point, the dip in land prices was in 1973 when a very sharp and big

that the cycle will repeat itself. With land prices it takes a few years for sale values to catch up with the realities of market, economic and agronomic realities. With any luck I may live long enough to see the next ski slide downwards but will not live to see the rise after that. GN J.L.(Les) Henry is a former professor and extension specialist at the University of Saskatchewan. He farms at Dundurn, Sask. His book, “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water,” mixes the basics and practical aspects of soil, fertilizer and farming. To order a signed copy, send a cheque for $50 (includes shipping and GST) to Henry Perspectives, 143 Tucker Cres, Saskatoon, SK, S7H 3H7.

SASKATCHEWAN FARMLAND PRICES

in 2016 dollars per acre

2015

1200 1100

1981

1000

2016 $$$ PER ACRE

Les Henry

jump in wheat sales and prices had farmers making serious money. That serious money was quickly recapitalized into rapidly increasing land prices. 1981 was the big turnaround brought about by several factors: low grain prices, dry years. But high interest rates were the real kicker. How many are long enough in the tooth to remember 15 to 20 per cent interest rates? Many are too young to remember the full page ads of distress land sales published by FCC and RBC. In 1981 this dumb old scribe bought a piece of ground at Spiritwood (bush and rocks with 50 acres broke) for a price he could afford, just to own land. It seemed like land was headed completely out of range and was going to keep going up forever. There was no mortgage — just a demand loan at 18 per cent. The saving feature was that I soon paid it off by eating bologna and driving an old car until it was paid from other income.

900 800 700 600

1968

500 400 300

1928

1940 Les Henry Born

1960

2002 1973

1993

200 100 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

YEAR

The big ski slope 1981 to 1993 The depth of the 1980s depression was 1988 — no rain, poor prices for what was grown and high interest rates. But, it took until 1993 for land prices to bottom out. Guess what? This old scribe bought three quarters of land (for cash) near Saskatoon in 1993 and 1994. That was a good move.

Price inflation 1993 to 2008 The sting of the big ski slide kept land prices low until about 2007. Somewhere in there Saskatchewan land ownership rules were relaxed, allowing outside money to contribute to price inflation.

The boom 2008 to 2015 A huge boom in land prices has occurred in the past years: 10-20 per cent increases in a single year at times. This is not sustainable. I do not have all the facts — perhaps readers do and can enlighten me. In areas of high quality farmland, I think outside money has had an influence on price increases, but outside money is not likely a large percentage of overall sales. Absentee landlords with only a quick flip in mind do not lead to the best long-term land management. Who is going to invest in a longterm crop rotation or a high phosphorus rate to build up the soil if the land could be sold out from under them at any time?

The Future? Many folks say “this time is different — land prices will never go back down.” One thing is different — some of the high price land is being bought by neighbouring farmers who are cutting very big cheques to fill in a hole in a block of land. Many farmers have made huge profits in the past decade But, this old scribe is convinced

Let nothing slow you down.

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Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Can’t take the farm from the boy

Renting land: sometimes it all works out for the best Sometimes renting, farmland or houses, works just the way we’d like it to Toban Dyck

tobandyck@gmail.com

photo: credit name

M The kindness of others is often a factor in transactions like land rental.

y wife and I rented the upstairs of a brownstone house on Palmerston Avenue in Toronto. It was small. It was expensive. But it was an experience we won’t forget. Our landlords were Portuguese. They were elderly. They drove a mid’80s Mercedes diesel car, tan colour. And they were generous. So generous. When they made pizza, they’d always make two. We’d hear a knock on our door, and through broken English, hand gestures, and much laughter and smiling, it would become clear that they made this for us, and that bottle of homemade port in his hand is also for us. They gave us rides. We helped them out with yard work. They were our grandparents and we were their grandchildren. Our experience with them left a permanent impression, and it positively impacted our perspective of Toronto. Jump ahead a few years to now. It’s -40 C. We’ve gone from 700 square feet to a house on 10 acres, and I’m still a renter. My introduction to big city life was molded by good landlords. Similarly, my introduction to growing crops has been a fantastic experience, largely due to helpful, generous landlords. Full disclosure: I have two sets of landlords. One set is my parents. The other set, however, is not my parents. It is my experience with these landlords that I will talk about here. As with most of the advice I pass on through this column, the following is anecdotal. I could write about contracts, rates and the logistics of a good, stable rental agreement. But that sounds rigid and cold. The business world appears cold and rigid and stoic, but it isn’t really that way.

Finding land to rent

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There are classifieds, and they may work for you. In my area, it would take a canon-worthy miracle to acquire additional rental land through these means. There are too many of us looking. I suspect it may be the same for you. So, what’s the key? Walk around with your eyes open and a smile on your face. You’ll meet someone. You’ll meet someone who has a parcel of land him and his wife have owned for a while and are not 100 per cent sure what to do with. Then, you’ll develop a relationship with this person; not because you see them as a utility, but because they are good people and you share a common interest in agriculture. I was introduced to this couple through a family member. There’s always a connection; nothing happened in a vacuum. Initially, the land, which was pasture at the time, was for sale and not for rent. I was still interested. The

opportunity to buy land rarely comes up and this seemed like an opportunity I should dip into debt for. I pulled some numbers together and surfaced with a quote — one that would effectively steer me towards paralyzing debt, but one that would make me a landowner. With shaky hands and a ton of fear, I drove to the Landmark, Man, area to present my quote to the couple. We sat in their sunroom. It was chilly outside — fall, I believe. I pulled out my offer. “We’ve been talking about this, Toban,” he said (I’m paraphrasing). “We’d like to offer you the opportunity to rent the land for a few years, giving you the opportunity to build up capital.” They did not need to do this. They could have sold the land, no problem. But, this is farming, and to a large degree, business. If I think my experience with these lovely landlords is unique to how transactions typically happen in this world, then I’m failing to learn the lessons right in front of me. The kindness of others is often a factor in such transactions. And it is often through the generosity of landowners that land is available for rent instead of sold. The world is less Machiavellian than you think. Talk to people as if they are not self-interested. And explore opportunities outside of the classifieds.

The agreement We went back and forth. They were honest about the income they needed; I was candid about the costs required to get that pastureland ready for a crop, and the risk of growing crops on land with no recent history of production. From this, an agreement took shape. It’s about three pages long, and it includes everything from roles and responsibilities while I’m managing the property to payment rates and schedules. Landowners want to know you’ll care about the ditches, the neighbouring fields and the overall health of the soil. This is often reflected in rental agreements. We agreed upon a lower rate to start to offset the increased costs involved in prepping the land. And we also agreed upon a rental duration. In my neck of the woods, $100 per acre is not as expensive as it gets. I pay in this range. It’s a good, fair rate. It pencils out. So far, at least. Is it better to own or rent? I’ve heard good arguments on both sides. But right now, in the Pembina Valley, it looks a heck of a lot better on paper for me to rent. It’s comfortable and it’s allowed me the opportunity to get to know two good people I didn’t know before. They are not Portuguese and they have yet to make us pizza and port, but the relationship has been valuable all the same. Cheers to renting! GN Toban Dyck is a freelance writer and a new farmer on an old farm. Follow him on Twitter @tobandyck.

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Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Agronomy management

Get your farm ready for global warming How can you adapt your Prairie farm to changing climate conditions in the years to come? Ross McKenzie

any Prairie farmers have gradually come to accept that global warming is real. Over the past 60 years, our Prairie climate has been gradually changing. In most regions of the Prairies the length of the growing season has increased, the amount of heat (growing degree days and crop heat units) has increased and the number of days about 25 C during the growing season has increased. Prairie farmers must become “climate smart” to gradually adapt and adjust how they farm to continue to be successful.

What is changing

sure will be on our plant breeders to develop more tolerant and competitive crop varieties. Pesticide companies will need to continue to develop new products to control insects and diseases. Farmers must become “climate smart” about adapting their cropping programs. Agronomy research will be needed as climatic conditions gradually change. Adaptation research must be undertaken to better understand climate change impacts on each crop type grown in each major agro-ecological area of the Prairies.

The greatest unknown is precipitation Researchers, agronomists and farmers will need to understand climate change implications on crop production over the short term and the long term. Each year, short-term adaptation by farmers must consider the local climate trends and look at weather forecasts ranging from daily to the full growing season. For most farmers, long-term climate projections are still highly uncertain and difficult to plan for. The likelihood of further changes occurring, and the increasing scale of potential climate impacts, means Prairie farmers will need to be proactive, closely watch research results and be prepared to gradually adapt agronomic practices. Here are a couple of questions to consider: What adaptation options should be considered for moderate climate change for your farm cropping system? What are some of the crops and agronomy planning you can consider in the near future?

Crop planning for climate change Consider increasing the diversification of crops you grow. Over the past 40 years, Prairie farms have become more specialized. Making your farm more diverse

to perhaps include cattle and grow grass for hay and pasture on a part of your farm might be a consideration. Putting your poorer land back into grass for hay and grazing could result in improving soil quality and increase the diversity of your farming operation. Consider growing additional crops to account for a more variable climate. Consider growing several cereal crops and pulse crops in your rotation with canola. More diverse crops will help to disrupt insect and disease cycles. Including pulse crops can help to improve soil quality and reduce nitrogen requirements. Consider growing longerseason crops such as corn or soybeans, if your growing season length, amount of crop heat units and growing season precipitation are suitable for these crops. If you’re concerned about drier conditions, consider growing one or more crops that tolerate moisture stress, such as mustard, or grow crops with a lower water use requirement such as pea. Using soil moisture conservation practices will become increasingly important in the drier regions of the Prairies. No-till, direct seeding and seeding earlier to conserve soil moisture will be essential management practices. Ultimately, farmers will need to produce more food with less water! Water conservation will become just as important for irrigation farmers. Reduced snow pack is expected in the Rocky Mountains, which will reduce water available for irrigation. It is expected that within the next 30 years most glaciers in the mountains will disappear, reducing water flow in the Bow and South Saskatchewan Rivers. As the urban population on the Prairies continues to grow, there will be increased water demand and conflict, which could further reduce water available for irrigation.

Short-term Crop Planning: There are several agronomic practices you could use to adapt to our changing climate.

1. Soil moisture conservation. In regions where moisture is limiting, be sure to use no-till, direct seeding to conserve as much moisture as possible for crop growth, to offset warmer, drier conditions. 2. Earlier seeding. With milder winters and slightly longer growing seasons, seeding a bit earlier is an easy adjustment that does not increase your costs. Earlier seeded crops often have a yield advantage over later seeded crops. But, when seeding earlier, plant crops like wheat, barley or peas first than can withstand late spring frosts. 3. Add a winter cereal to your rotation. Milder winters make winter cereal production more viable. When winter wheat is seeded at the optimum time in early fall, it will often out-yield spring wheat by up to 20 per cent or more. This will increase diversity of your crop rotation and will take advantage of early spring moisture. 4. Add a pulse crop to your rotation. Adding a pulse crop will help to improve soil quality, reduce nitrogen fertilizer requirements and add nitrogen to the soil for the next crop. A crop like pea has a lower water use requirement, is shallower rooted and will leave more subsoil moisture for a subsequent crop. Look at all the pulse crops to see which ones would be a good fit for your farm. For me, the science on climate change is absolutely clear — our climate is changing. “Climate smart” farming is becoming increasing important for Prairie farmers. Adapting our cropping practices with our changing climate is essential to ensure our Prairie agriculture remains economically and environmentally sustainable. GN Ross H. McKenzie, PhD, P. Ag., is a former agronomy research scientist and an adjunct professor at the University of Lethbridge. He conducted soil, crop and irrigation research with Alberta Agriculture for 38 years. C3 and C4 plants use different methods of photosynthesis.

photo: thinkstock

Crop production has and will continue to be affected as the climate continues to change. The magnitude of climate impact on crop types that can be grown and crop yields will vary depending on your local climatic differences. Climate change will influence many factors that affect crop growth and yield. Typically, Prairie farmers can expect longer growing seasons and milder and shorter winters. Southern and central Prairies will likely see more warming than other regions. Most regions will have longer frost-free growing seasons, but will also have increased evapotranspiration (crop water use requirement + evaporation). Expected higher temperatures may either enhance or negatively affect crop yield. The greatest unknown is precipitation. If climate change results in increased growing season precipitation, higher crop yields can be expected. But, if growing season precipitation is lower, crop yields will be negatively affected. Overall, warmer spring-summer air temperatures and longer growing season conditions will likely benefit crop production across the Prairies. Farmers can adjust by growing crops that require a longer growing season and/or require more crop heat units. This could be very beneficial for irri-

gation farmers and dryland farmers that continue to have adequate growing season precipitation. But, the combination of higher summer temperatures and longer growing season will negatively affect dryland farmers in drier years — particularly in drought years. Warmer temperatures can mean increased crop water demands and if growing season precipitation declines, this will cause lower crop yields. This will be a greater concern where water stress is already a problem in the brown and dark brown soil zones of the southern Prairies. Hotter weather at flowering can cause negative effects with crops such as pea or canola, reducing yield potential. Carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has increased from 300 ppm (parts per million) in 1960 to over 400 ppm now. Increased CO2 is expected to increase crop growth but this may not translate into higher crop yields. Warmer temperatures and increased crop water demands may counteract CO2 benefits to depress crop yields. Adequately fertilized crops are expected to respond more positively to higher CO2 in the atmosphere, than crops with reduced fertilize inputs. Increased CO2 is expected to positively affect C3 crops (e.g. wheat, barley, canola, soybean). But, contrary to popular belief, C4 crops (e.g. corn and sorghum) are expected to be less responsive to increased CO2 to levels in the atmosphere. Changing climate will impact crop disease and insect pressure. Wetter conditions will likely increase disease pressure, but drier conditions may reduce disease pressure. Milder winter conditions will likely increase populations of some insects such as the cabbage seed pod weevil that affect canola and pea leaf weevil that affects peas and fababean. Drier spring and summer conditions could increase problems with grasshoppers and the wheat stem sawfly. Shifting concerns with diseases and insects will mean farmers must be even more vigilant in scouting for problem insects and diseases and using control when necessary. The pres-

Consider increasing diversification on your farm as part of your adoption strategy. Growing additional crops can help you help you account for a more variable climate in the years to come.

columns

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Off-farm investing

A few of Andy Sirski’s favourite stocks Andy Sirski gives Grainews readers a look inside his stock portfolio Andy Sirski sirski@mts.net

have a list of favourite stocks for the times ahead. I’m not recommending theses stocks — I'm just thinking what I might do. Since I had my strokes, I think I should simplify my portfolio. I prefer stocks that have weekly calls and good premiums, which means my picks have been volatile by nature in the past. That means more work for me. I might have re think that strategy if I’m not going to be as active.

Microsoft (MSFT) I often call Microsoft a stallion stock. I owned shares years ago during the late 1990’s before they tanked. I sold out at US$93 at a good profit. After that the shares split, two for one, and during the bear market of 2007-08 the shares dropped to the low $20s. Microsoft is one of the leaders in the “cloud” business; it has billions in cash; it has a rising dividend. I’m talking myself into buying this stock as I write. I had 3,000 shares, but when the Canadian dollar started rising I sold out and was not smart enough to buy the shares back.

COUCHE-TARD (ADT/B.TO) This stock was around $5 five or six years ago. Now it’s trading at $60. The company is good at buying service stations around the world and blending them into its business model. The company has more than 12,000 convenience stores around the world. It makes about a margin of about 34 per cent on the coffee and treats, and a much smaller margin on its gasoline sales. Picture yourself driving along the highway and you come to a gas station and the sign says, “next service station 50 miles ahead.” Of course you stop, kids go to the bathroom and pass all the chips and licorice and soft drinks and juices along the way. And you fill up with gas. Before you know it you just left $70. The company says its goal is to expand to about 25,000 service stations around the world. Technically shares appear to be rolling over and may be weak for a while as money heads into oil and industrial shares.

along with other drillers during the low oil prices but now as prices have come back up a bit, PD appears to have pricing power.

SILVER WHEATON (SLW.TO or SLW) Silver Wheaton trades on both sides of the border. As with other streamers SLW lends money to silver and gold companies and takes silver and gold back as payment. SLW doesn’t face production costs but its success varies with the price of

uranium has been beaten down and there is no real recovery in sight. I sold my shares to raise money to buy more SLW shares. CCO has kept its costs in line but its share prices price of shares dropped to under $10 perhaps due to tax loss selling last fall. Then, in spite of low uranium prices, CCO shares appeared to bottom and went from under $10 to nearly $14. Longer term, the uranium business has lots of potential but the industry faces a bad reputation from various

precious metals. SLW faces a tax issue as I write, but this will get resolved.

FRANCO NEVADA (FNV.TO) This streamer has been called the best of the best. It has some streaming contracts written up to last 50 years but, as with SLW, Franco’s profits depend on the price of silver and gold.

CAMECO (CCO.TO or CCJ) Cameco’s fortune depends on the price of uranium. Since the disaster in Japan a few years ago the price of

accidents in the past. Uranium produces clean energy but has a dirty reputation to overcome. Cheap natural gas will reduce demand for uranium-powered energy. This is a short list of stocks I own and like, but please do your own due diligence. GN Andy is mostly retired. He plays with his granddaughters and has a small income tax business. Send him an email to read his electronic newsletter, StocksTalk, free for a month.

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STARBUCKS (SBUX) Starbucks just announced it wants to add 12,000 new outlets around the world. At the same time the company raised the price of one of the special coffee drinks to $10 a cup. The coffee seems too strong for my taste but many love it and the company seems to have pricing power. The coffee shops were quite popular in China and we saw many outlets on our recent visit.

PRECISION DRILLING (PD) I have followed this company for years and have owned shares from time to time. The company suffered

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Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Understanding market bulls and bears

Imports and exports by the numbers Russia is rising and South American beans are finding easier pathways to the ports Brian Wittal

bfwittal@procommarketingltd.com

hanges to grain handling and transportation infrastructure in two key regions of the world will impact Canada’s competitiveness. These areas are the Black Sea region and South America.

Former Soviet Union / Black Sea region Russia’s overall grain production (wheat, barley and corn) has grown 70 per cent in the last 10 years to 94.5 million tonnes. Exports have had their ups and downs because of export bans, but overall in the last 10 years exports have doubled. This past year Russia surpassed the U.S. in wheat export volumes and it is expected they will surpass the EU this year to become the Number 1 world exporter of wheat. With the potential to boost production another 40 per cent over the next decade, it looks like Russia could be claiming the crown as top world wheat exporter for years to come. The Ukraine has 54 million acres of agricultural land and another 9.8 million acres of abandoned land that could eventually be brought back into operation. Lands that have not been producing to their potential for the past number of years are now showing increased production as new agronomy, equipment, production management practices and technology are being used. Today, the Black Sea region has grain exports exceeding 80 million tonnes per year, as compared to an average of 30 million tonnes of imports in previous decades. That is an overall difference of 110 MT and they are set to increase those volumes dramatically over the next decade. Governments in the area are spending major investment dollars to upgrade roads and railways. Local businesses and the Big Four (ADM, Bunge, Cargill, and Dreyfus — or ABCD) are purchasing and/or building new handling facilities to be able to buy and handle more grains for export from the region. New port facilities at Ukraine’s Yuzni Port are being built to handle expected production increases over the next 20+ years. UkrLand Farming, a Ukrainian company, is planning to invest $2.5 billion to construct a new terminal with an annual capacity of 10 million tonnes of grain. Ukraine has 15 deep water terminals to handle exports and with these kinds of investment dollars going into new handling facilities, there will be no bottlenecks to keep them from exporting record volumes of grain in the coming years.

South America Brazil is the world’s Number 1 exporter of soybeans followed closely by the U.S., with Argentina in third place. Over the past decade local gov-

ernments and private industry, again including ABCD, have invested billions of dollars to build and upgrade facilities and transportation infrastructure such as roads, railroads and river systems to enhance the movement of Brazilian grains to export position. Acreage expansion has been swift over the past two decades, due mainly through deforestation. This practice has slowed dramatically the past few years — the economics don’t pencil out right now — but the potential for more acres is there. Concern over deforestation is growing; governments are looking at how to manage this practice in a way that balances environmental concerns and sustainable economic growth. The addition of new acres for agriculture will slow down dramatically over the next decade as they try to get a handle on this critical issue.

TOP FIVE EXPORTERS (IN MILLION TONNES) Wheat

Canola

Barley

Soybeans

34.6

Canada

10.2

Brazil

55.5

9.5

Russia

25.5

Australia

2.3

U.S.

52.8

Australia

5.6

Canada

22.13

Ukraine

1.4

Argentina

10.3

Russia

5.3

U.S.

21.1

Paraguay

4.8

Ukraine

4.5

Ukraine

17.4

Canada

4.3

Canada

1.5

Source: International Grain Council

TOP FIVE IMPORTERS (IN MILLION TONNES) Wheat

Canola

Barley

Soybeans

Egypt

12.1

China

4.3

China

82.5

Saudi Arabia

11.0

Indonesia

10.1

3.4

13.7

China

6.2

Algeria

8.2

Japan

2.4

Mexico

4.0

Iran

1.7

6.9

Mexico

1.5

Japan

4.0

Japan

1.1

Brazil

6.2

Pakistan

1.1

Thailand

2.6

Algeria

0.9

Source: International Grain Council

Impact on Canada Some of the International Grains Council’s statistics for the 201516 grain trade year are shown in these tables. Let’s look at our three main crops that we export, wheat, canola and barley. The top five wheat exporters account for 70 per cent of the total trade. If Russia and Ukraine, both in the top five, increase their productive capacities then someone will lose market share. will likely be the U.S. and Canada, given that four of the five top importers of wheat are all geographically located a lot closer to Russia and Ukraine than they are to North America. The story for soybean and canola is a little different. The major exporters are from North and South America, and the main importers are primarily the Indo/Asia Pacific region, the EU and Mexico. From a sellers’ perspective, we are on a more level playing field from a freight cost perspective since our main competitors are all from the Americas. The barley numbers show clearly that Canada is again at a geographic disadvantage compared to other exporters. It takes longer and costs more to ship our barley to the end market, so to make the sale, Canadian barley has to be sold cheaper, resulting in less net revenue back to you. World demand for grains continues to grow. The main growth regions are going to be African, the Indo/China region and the EU because of the massive density of the population in those regions. How can we continue to compete in those growing markets, given the growth potential in Russia, the Ukraine and South America? Tune in to my next column. GN Brian Wittal has 30 years of grain industry experience, and currently offers market planning and marketing advice to farmers through his company Pro Com Marketing Ltd. 52330-1 DAS_Simplicity_FullRate_12-8419x9.indd 1

columns

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Reporter’s notebook

The post-trauma trauma in rural areas Dealing with PTSD is more difficult in rural areas. Here’s what you need to know By Lisa Guenther

few years ago we were moving cows to a different summer pasture. It was an easy job, more of an excuse to go riding than anything. I’ve forgotten most of the details of that day. But one moment was memorable. The cows had to walk through a little draw to get to the gate. I was sitting on my horse on one side of the draw. The truck and stock trailer sat at the bottom. I watched the cows and calves stream past the trailer, up the incline, and through the gate. Then something strange happened. Two or three cows stopped, turned, and seemed to be

staring at something, heads lowered. The trailer blocked part of my view, so I couldn’t tell what they were eyeballing. One cow charged. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand what she was so upset about. I had the distinct impression she had a nose full of bees, the way she was snorting and smashing at the ground. Then she turned around and went through the gate. Later I put two and two together. There was a badger den just past the gate. I think the badger was on his way home when he crossed paths with that mean old cow. I think that the cow halted her attack when the badger fled and took cover under the stock trailer.

But that’s really just a guess. I didn’t see what the cow saw. I didn’t see any injuries on the cow, either, and you’d think the badger might have got a few swipes in.

Watch for signs of PTSD The whole situation reminds me of my job. If I was to do a proper article on the incident, I’d talk to the cow and the witnesses. Then I might try to track down the badger and see what he had to say. Or, if the cows and badger didn’t want to talk

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(which is quite likely), I might talk to someone with some sort of experience in badger-bovine conflicts to see if my idea held water. If I dug into it, it’s quite likely that story wouldn’t hold up at all. I might discover a completely different reason for the cow’s distress. Or I might debunk the badger theory, but not discover the truth. Or have a strong suspicion of what really happened, but not have enough evidence to print it. Sometimes the story just doesn’t have legs.

Hazards of the job Speaking of job-related challenges, I think the folks at the Alberta Paramedic Association deserve a pat on the back for helping their members, and other first responders. The Association has created an online registry of psychologists who specialize in treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in first responders. You can find it at www. albertaparamedics.ca/resources/ mental-health. One of the psychologists listed in that registry is Dr. Meredith Evans. I’ve known Meredith for a few years (our husbands are old friends), and I knew she specialized in managing PTSD, so I wasn’t surprised to see her listed. I gave her a call to find out more about the project. It turns out Meredith and her colleagues put together information on evidence-based PTSD treatment for the Alberta Paramedics Association. Evidence-based practices have better outcomes than other forms of treatment, she told me. Many people claim to treat PTSD, but don’t deliver evidencebased treatment, she said. Meredith said the three main treatments for PTSD include: 1. Prolonged exposure therapy 2. Cognitive processing therapy 3. EMDR (eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing) That list isn’t exhaustive, she noted. But all three of those treatments have an “exposure component.” “Avoidance maintains PTSD and exposure treats PTSD,” she said. When she explains the process to people, they say it sounds like she’s asking them to face their fears. You can think about it that way, she said, although it’s more complicated. Paramedics and other first responders face some big challenges when it comes to dealing with trauma. The biggest thing that sets first responders apart from most people is the “repeated exposure to traumatic events,” said Meredith. Encountering traumatic situations over and over can have a cumulative effect. “That puts them at a higher risk for developing PTSD.” Paramedics do have critical incident stress debriefings, which are a way to check in and deal with a traumatic event right after it’s happened. But those debriefings are done in group sessions, Meredith said, and it’s not a culture that encourages

people to step forward with mental health issues. As part of the “soldier on” mentality, first responders tend to use a lot of black humour to cope, Meredith said. People can misinterpret black humour to mean someone is cold and uncaring. But first responders suffering from PTSD tend to use it to keep an emotional distance, Meredith said. First responders in rural and remote communities have an even bigger barrier finding specialized help. Meredith told me there are only a few psychologists in Edmonton who specialize in PTSD, so finding someone in a smaller centre is unlikely. “I have people driving three hours each way to come see me.” The RCMP has a good system, sending their police officers to specialists like Meredith. But if they’re in a remote location, getting them into the city is a challenge. And Meredith told me she thinks about fire fighters in small communities who don’t have access to those resources. People who are worried about a friend or family member who’s been exposed to trauma can watch for signs of PTSD. They include: • Withdrawing from friends and family; • Drinking more; • Avoidance (for example, avoiding things that might trigger memories of the event); • Depression (it typically goes along with PTSD); and, • Anger and irritability Video teleconferencing or phone sessions are an option for rural first responders. But there are problems and risks when the therapist isn’t there with them. “What if they get really upset and take off? You can’t follow them,” said Meredith. Although she has mixed feelings about sessions, she did say they might be part of the solution. In remote areas, Meredith said she would have a PTSD-sufferer go to any mental health worker, even if they don’t use evidence-based treatment for PTSD. Some people probably do improve even if their therapists don’t specialize in PTSD, she said. “A lot of treatment and recovery is the relationship with the therapist.” Ultimately, getting resources to rural first responders strikes me as another one of those “wicked problems”–complex, involving many stakeholders, and with no easy answer. But groups such as the Alberta Paramedic Association should be commended for taking practical steps to help both urban and rural first responders. Sometimes progress is measured in inches rather than miles. For more information on PTSD, visit www.ptsd.va.gov/. GN Lisa Guenther is field editor for Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Follow her on Twitter @LtoG or email her at lisa. guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

columns

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Crop varieties

Recommended barley varieties Leeann Minogue The Canadian Malt Barley Technical Centre has released its annual list of recommended barley seed varieties for the 2017 planting season. There are several two-row varieties on the

CMBTCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s list (see the table), but only three recommended varieties of six-row barley. FP Genetics distributes pedigreed seed for two of these varieties, Legacy and Tradition. Canterra Seeds distributes pedigreed seed for the third two-row variety, Celebration. The CMBTC notes that there is limited demand for each of these six-row varieties. Two new two-row varieties will be in the seed propagation stage in 2017. AAC Connect is being propagated for the market by Canterra seeds; SeCan is growing out CDC Bow.

TWO-ROW VARIETIES RECOMMENDED BY THE CMBTC FOR 2017 Variety

Seed Distributor

Market Comments

SeCan

Established demand

AC Metcalfe

SeCan

Established demand

AAC Synergy

Syngenta

Established demand

Bentley

Canterra Seeds

Limited demand; contact Canada Malting Company

Newdale

FP Genetics

Limited demand; contact Canada Malting Company

CDC Polar Star

Canterra Seeds

Limited demand; contact Prairie Malt-Cargill

CDC Kindersley

SeCan

Under commercial market development

CDC Copeland

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Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

columns

27 PRE -EMERGENT

Guarding Wealth

GROUP

Changes ahead for 2017 Rising interest rates and the Trump Effect bring uncertainties in the New Year By Andrew Allentuck

f investing were easy, we’d all be rich. Today, capital markets have many new uncertainties. Top of the list: the Trump Effect. That is, what the President Elect may do after his inauguration on January 20. Also worrisome is where Europe is going if other members of the EU follow the United Kingdom out of the trade bloc. Interest rates are also uncertain with the Federal Reserve expected to raise interest rates in small steps in 2017 and the likelihood of the Bank of Canada following suit. The post-American election rise of U.S. and Canadian share prices appears to be the consequence of widespread belief that Trump’s administration will cut corporate taxes and create a protectionist bubble for American businesses. They will cocoon in their shelter of lower taxes and higher tariffs and thus generate higher profits. The spillover effect seems to have boosted Canadian share prices, especially those of banks that have reported better-than-expected earnings. There is a downside to the Trump effect. The expansionary effects of his promise of less regulation appear to be generating higher inflation. The Federal Reserve’s nearly certain path of rising rates has shot the bond market in the foot. Rising interest rates mean existing bonds will fall in price until their yields rise to match the returns of new bonds. Not all bonds will suffer equally. The worst hit bonds will be those with negative yields. Generated in Europe by the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank and in Asia by the Bank of Japan, bonds that return less than their sale price when mature were supposed to make banks pay little or no interest, which they did, to charge for maintaining savings accounts (until recently a Swiss specialty). Negative yields were also supposed to encourage consumers and businesses to spend and invest. Most of this was hope and, it turns out, the plan fizzled. Consumers figured that if banks and bonds paid very little, they would just have to save more. So negative pay bonds had the effect of stifling spending as much as encouraging investment in stocks or equipment.

Bond prices Prices of investment grade bonds have tumbled in the wake of the anticipated Fed moves to higher rates. The collective world value of negative pay bonds has fallen

by an astonishing US$2.5 trillion, according to Bloomberg. To get a sense of what this means, consider that U.S. GDP in 2015 was US$1.79 trillion. The benchmark U.S. Treasury 10-year bond’s yield has risen by 0.57 per cent from summer lows to 2.4 per cent. German bunds, which are the equivalent sovereign bonds of that country, saw their yields rise to 0.33 per cent in the first week of December from as low as minus 0.189 per cent in summer. Japan’s sovereign 10-year bond yield, which was 0.287 per cent in summer, rise to 0.41 per cent in the period, effectively a doubling in their return.

Higher interest rates around the world and more bond losses are a nearly sure thing Higher interest rates around the world and more bond losses are a nearly sure thing. The path back to the historical average of five per cent for 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds and a similar yield for a 10-year Government of Canada bond is going to be long and painful for those who hold them. The strategic solution, of course, is to hold less by moving either to short bonds with terms of five years or less. They will have relatively little reaction to falling rates and, if bought at issue and held to maturity, they will have positive returns. It is also possible to buy laddered exchange traded bond funds that roll maturing bonds into higher yielding bonds. These laddered ETFS come in five- and 10-year versions in Canada with both government and corporate bond versions. In the U.S. there are numerous varieties that differ by term, class of issuer, investment quality, and taxability. Laddered ETF fees are usually less than half a per cent, but selection is problematic. Many investors work with advisors to make the right picks.

Bond-equivalent stocks An alternative to buying bonds that are vulnerable to rising interest rates is to buy what many investors see as bond-equivalent stocks. Those are the big banks and, often, the big telecom companies and electrical utilities. All pay handsome dividends and all raise them from time to time, yet none are completely immune from trouble. These dividends, which, divided by stock price, generate yields of 3.5 per cent for the banks

to as much as five per cent for phone companies. They sell at relatively reasonable multiples of price to earnings. For banks, that’s about 12. For utilities, about 17 to 20. Each is vulnerable to higher interest rates, yet their exposure varies from one company and industry to another. Higher interest rates will means that big utilities and telcos will have to pay more when they borrow. They are heavy bond issuers, so their finance costs are sure to rise. Interest comes off the bottom line and that will reduce earnings. That’s why shares of some of the big utilities such as Fortis Inc. and the telcos like BCE Inc. are well below their 12-month highs. Banks, on the other hand, will see an increase in the spreads between what they pay to depositors and what they earn from borrows. That’s why bank stocks are near their 12-month highs. No stock has the solidity of a bond issued by the company and no corporate bond is as solid as a provincial bond backed by the power to tax or a sovereign bond backed by the power to print money. Yet bonds have fixed lifespans. They live or die in that period. Stocks can live for many decades and that’s why stock investors as a group are probably more optimistic than dour bond investors who always know their time is running out. In anticipation of higher interest rates to come, Canadian provinces have recently issued records amounts of debt. Provincial treasurers want to lock in relatively cheap money before interest rates climb higher. For now, the smartest move may be to defer bond purchases for six months to a year when rates will be higher though not at their long-term average highs. Stocks have had a very strong run, especially bank shares. The wise investor does not start sprinting when most of the pack has already passed by. Chasing bank shares or any other is momentum investing and amounts to buying high. Too often, that leaves the despairing investor selling low when, inevitably, prices have tumbled. And tumble they do. At the beginning of 2016, Canadian Pacific Railay traded at $160, down from $240 in the spring of 2015. It has recovered to $200 lately. BCE Inc. has fallen from $63 on July 27 to a recent price of $57. Unlike bonds, which have a known value at maturity, there are no price guarantees on stocks. But time is on their side and share prices may eventually rise. GN Andrew Allentuck is author of “When Can I Retire? Planning Your Financial Future After Work” (Penguin, 2011).

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A bond’s “yield” is the bond’s return to maturity divided by the price of the bond. When interest rates rise, prices for old bonds will fall until their yields are equal to new bonds sold at the new higher rates. 16FMC075_Authority West_Print Grainews 1/3 page vertical (3.85”Wx14”H)

machinery & shop

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Application technology

New sprayer features from John Deere John Deere’s “intelligent” nozzle control and new booms for 4 Series models By Scott Garvey

photo: Scott Garvey

John Deere expects to offer light weight carbon fibre booms on its 4 Series sprayers in the not-to-distant future. It displayed this model at its Des Moines Works plant in August.

keep its strength and hold up. It’s a good material to use.” If a boom is damaged in the field, carbon fibre offers an advantage there too. No special welding skills are required to repair it as with traditional booms. Instead, Deere has been offering a carbon fibre repair kit with its machines in South America (which it expects to offer here, as well) that allow for simple, in-field repairs that can be done by anyone. “It (the repair kit) can be installed in less than a day, and the boom section it’s installed on comes back to full strength,” said Beuligmann. Deere’s marketing staff said carbon fibre booms will definitely become an available option in the not-too-distant future. However, there was no firm word as to exactly when that would happen.

Nozzles At the Des Moines event, Deere also introduced its ExactApply “intelligent” nozze control system, which will debut on 2018 model year 4 Series sprayers. ExactApply will help better maintain consistent droplet size and spray pattern over a wider range of field speeds while reducing overlaps at the same time, according to marketing staff. The system provides for a higher frequency pulse width modulation than the brand’s previous offerings, and it’s compatible with all boom sizes equipped with stainless steel plumbing. It offers full variable rate and shut-off functions at the nozzle level rather than over typical boom sections that are several feet wide. ExactApply also provides for turn compensation, varying the

application rate at each nozzle to account for the difference in actual speed from one end of the boom to the other. The number of nozzles on a boom can be reduced with the ExactApply system, because each one is capable of delivering a 15 to 20 inch spray width. The system will also send an alert to the operator if any get plugged. And LED lights on each individual nozzle make it easier for the operator to keep tabs on them during night operations. Operators can also manually change between different nozzles while on the go through inputs in the brand’s GreenStar 2630 monitor. GN Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

photo: John Deere

ohn Deere gave ag equipment journalists a glimpse into the future in August. At a media event held at its Des Moines Works assembly plant, the brand displayed one of its 4 Series sprayers equipped with a prototype carbon fibre boom. “We’re very excited to show you an innovation we’re working on,” said Deere’s Jason Beuligmann as he stood in front of the sprayer at the Iowa plant. “It’s a sprayer boom made out of carbon fibre material. Carbon fibre allows us to further improve the 4 Series sprayers.” But don’t expect to run down to your local dealer and order one for spring delivery — at least not yet. Deere’s marketing staff confirmed the new boom design was still in field trials and wasn’t yet ready for public release in Canada or the U.S. Although working in partnership with Argentinabased King Agro, Deere has already been offering sprayers with carbon fibre booms on machines built in South America for about three years. “Carbon fibre has a lot of properties that make it a great fit for a sprayer boom,” added Beuligmann. “It has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than aluminum or steel. In fact, it’s over 30 per cent lighter.” With less weight hanging well off to each side, sprayers with lighter booms become more manoeuvrable at working speeds. Using carbon fibre technology, booms can even be stretched beyond 120 feet without increasing weight or reducing manoeuvrability. Beuligmann noted that with wider boom widths, operators could slow down to improve spray efficacy and still cover as much ground in a day as they could with narrower and heavier conventional metal booms. “Another advantage to carbon fibre is it’s resistant to corrosion,” he added. “Corrosion from chemicals, herbicides and fertilizer like UAN. And it’s resistant to UV exposure from the sun. So year in and year out it’s still going to

Operators can manually switch between two pre-selected nozzles while on the go to achieve consistent droplet size.

New equipment

New SP dry spreader from Deere

F4365 designed for large-scale operators and custom applicators

quipped with a 330 cubic foot New Leader dry spreader box, John Deere’s new F4365 applicator is designed for highcapacity. The brand expects it will fill a need on large farming operations and with custom operators. It can apply up to 1,100 pounds (499 kilograms) of fertilizer or 6,600 pounds (2,993 kilograms) of lime per acre. It also has the ability to variable-rate apply up to four different products in a single

pass, with spread widths of 60 to 90 feet. Under the hood, the F4365 gets one of Deere’s PowerTech PSS 9-litre diesels mated to an IVT transmission. That gives it a 46 m.p.h. (74 km/hr.) road speed and maximum application speed of 30 m.p.h. (50 km/hr.). “Service providers and largescale producers can cover more acres faster, and in greater comfort, with the ability to variablerate apply up to four different fertilizers in a single pass,” says Dave Mulder, product manager with John Deere Crop Care.

Inside the CommandView III cab operators get some updated features to add to the comfort Mulder was talking about, such as an improved seat swivel and cameras that show the field, dry box and rear spreader pattern. When it comes to digital technology, F4365s come with JDLink Connect with Service Advisor Remote and Wireless Data Transfer. AgLogic is also available. GN Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott. Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

photo: john deere

By Scott Garvey

The F4365 dry nutrient spreader is designed for high-capacity performance.

machinery & shop

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Material handling

JCB updates its ag materials handling equipment New features designed to improve performance and operator comfort on loaders By Scott Garvey photos: scott garvey

he Bamford family that owns equipment manufacturer JCB also runs a large farming operation in England, not far from the brand’s World Headquarters facility at Rocester. (JCB is actually company founder Joseph Cyril Bamford’s initials.) So the farm is a handy place to test and prove the machines the company puts its name — or, at least, Joseph’s initials — on. In October it also made a great spot to take reporters to give them a chance to try out those machines during the company’s new-product launch event. By offering wheel loaders and telehandlers designed specifically for the ag market, JCB has been carving out a niche for itself in the on-farm materials handling segment since 1981. That’s when the first agricultural Loadall was introduced. Lately, JCB has been making an effort to further boost its presence in the farm loader market in both Europe and North America. As

The TM320 is the largest machine in JCB’s two-model articulated, telescopic material handler line.

a result, this year the brand introduced more refinements to its line of ag-oriented material handlers. Journalists attending the company’s new product launch were shown updates to the TM320 telehandler and 411 and 417 AGRI wheel loaders. And new examples of those machines were waiting at the Bamford estate ready for reporters to get behind steering wheels and see how they handle. What’s new with those models for 2017? To start with, they make the jump to Tier 4 Final engines. The 4.4 litre JCB EcoMAX diesels used in both 2017

AGRI models and the TM320 will rely on an SCR exhaust emissions treatment system, but not diesel particulate filters. So owners won’t have to worry about regeneration cycles or filter replacement costs. All three machines get improvements to their cabs, as well, with more internal space, new gauge layouts and lower noise levels. The TM320 also gets improved boom extension cylinder end dampening for more gentle movements when adjusting boom length. And the main bearings in the boom are now made of a much more durable bronze-graphite material. The TM320 can be ordered with tires that offer a new block tread design for better wear life. To improve engine cooling, a reversible, hydraulicallydriven fan can better keep radiators clean in dusty environments. And a new LED lighting package allows for 360-degree lighting. GN

news bits

Compact 403 articulated loader Scott Garvey Although JCB marketers said the compact 403 articulated loader won’t be part of the brand's standard product line in Canada or the U.S., they did give journalists a chance to try it out. On the Bamford farm I put the 403 to the test by navigating it through some very narrow alley ways in a stock barn, even turning it completely around in cramped quarters. The machine proved to be much more maneuverable than I expected. It obviously couldn’t turn in as small a circle as a skid steer, but it came pretty close. The members of the marketing staff on hand commented that if I really liked the 403 and wanted to buy one, they could arrange to get one shipped over. They were actually serious. If it’s a machine that suits your on-farm needs, maybe you could convince them to supply you with one! Machinery editor Scott Garvey talks with one of JCB’s product specialists before starting a test drive and evaluation of the brand’s small, articulated 403 loader on the Bamford estate in England.

Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

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machinery & shop

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Shop class

How to evaluate a diesel engine Knowing what to check will give a good indication of an engine’s overall condition

By Scott Garvey

re you thinking of buying a used tractor or other farm machine for next season? It’s only a few months before the spring auction sale season kicks off again, and there is no shortage of used machines on dealer lots to pick from right now. Buying used equipment can be a great way to add useful machines to the farm fleet, but there are a few potential pitfalls. How do you know exactly what condition a machine is really in, especially if you only have a short time to inspect it? To help give you some tips on how to evaluate a diesel engine in a used machine, Grainews asked Joel Hoehn, regional service manager at Rocky Mountain Equipment, to lend us his expertise. Here’s how he would go about an engine inspection and his explanation of what probable causes may lay behind indicators of trouble. He recommends starting off an engine inspection with the basics. Do a few simple maintenance checks.

dipstick

serious. If there is coolant in there, it could damage the main bearings.” If this condition exists, it could be the result of a pin hole in a cylinder sleeve due to cavitation, a failure of the o-ring at the bottom of the sleeve or a head gasket leak.

air filter

photo: scott garvey

Joel Hoehn is a regional service manager for the Rocky Mountain Equipment dealership.

in the coolant. Usually with coolant, oil will float to the top if the engine hasn't been running. It'll be evident in the overflow bottle or under the rad cap.” That problem is an indicator of a crack in the oil cooler, which forces higher-pressure oil into the lowerpressure cooling system. Hopefully no one needs to be reminded of this, but make sure the engine is cold when you remove the radiator cap. Doing that on a hot engine will result in scalding hot coolant gushing out.

Dashboard

Smoke

key start

Once you have an idea of what things look like inside the crankcase, take a look at what the engine has been breathing in. If dirt has been getting into the engine, that is an indicator of serious trouble ahead. Ideally, the primary air filter should trap all the contaminants, and everything behind it should be very clean. “One thing I personally would do is pull the air cleaner cover off and take a look at the secondary engine air filter, just to make sure everything looks fresh, clean, bright and new,” he adds. “Lots of times they will have a date stamp on those inner filters.” Knowing when the last time a filter was changed could be an indicator of the level of maintenance a machine was given by its owner.

Once the preliminaries are done, it's time to start the engine up and see how it runs. Observe how long it takes for the r.p.m. to level out. Does it run rough? Is it missing on one or two cylinders? How long does it crank over before firing? “Usually on electronic engines, extended cranking is an indication of some type of sensor failure, such as a crank position sensor,” says Joel. “On older tractors it’s due to low compression.”

Infrared

Cooling system

“The first thing I would do is pull the engine oil dipstick,” Joel says. “You’re looking for any kind of condensation or grey material on the dipstick or underneath the (filler) lid. That would be an indication of water, moisture or coolant in the engine, which could be very

No. 1 and No. 6 cylinders might have a temperature of 180°. As you get closer to the turbo, the temperature will increase. They (cylinder exhaust manifold ports) should heat up relatively evenly, within 15 or 20 degrees Fahrenheit (of each other).” “If they don’t you could have a poor injector or low compression on one cylinder. If you have a poor injector or a poor combustion cylinder, that one exhaust manifold runner will be colder than the rest.”

“After that, check the coolant level, make sure there’s no indication of oil or anything like that

An infrared non-contact thermometer will help provide a clearer picture of what’s happening inside the cylinders when the engine is running. Use it to check the temperature along the exhaust manifold at each cylinder. “You should get fairly even temperature growth along the manifold,” Joel explains. “The

Watching for exhaust smoke should also provide some useful clues. But what smoke indicates often depends on the age of the engine. “With older equipment you get lots of smoke, usually (with an internal problem),” he says. “White smoke could be an indication of coolant loss or improper timing. Older tractors will smoke a light blue when they’re cold. Black smoke will be an indication of over fuelling or restricted air. Grey or hazy would usually indicate some type of oil burn off.” “On newer Tier 4A and B engines, once they run for 15 or 20 seconds you’ll see a bright white smoke, which is actually steam. That’s just from the injection of DEF. It’s common and will clear up as the engine warms up.” Check the crankcase ventilation tube on older engines for indications of blow by, which is an indication of cylinder failure or compression loss. But there won’t be an opportunity to do that on newer engines, which recycle crankcase ventilation into the engine intake manifold.

Don’t forget to check the dashboard for warning lights. “On new engines, you’ll see an engine fault icon,” Joel says. “If it’s serious there’ll be an immediate shut down. The “stop” light will be on. A lot of the newer engines right now have a lot of system protections, to keep that engine from hurting itself.” If you have an OBD II engine code reader in your toolbox, which is the standard tool for pulling trouble codes from car and truck computers, it won’t be of any help on a farm machine. Although a dealer could pull out any trouble codes for you. “Unfortunately, each (ag equipment) manufacturer has their own diagnostic system,” Joel says. Finally, if you can speak to the owner, find out about the maintenance history of the machine. Keeping up to scheduled work on newer diesels is more important now than it ever was. “The biggest thing on new engines is maintenance, Joel notes. “If they say change the coolant every five years or 2,000 hours, they mean it. Whereas on an old tractor it didn’t really matter, on these it does.” GN Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott. Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

Editor's note: Grainews would like to thank Joel and the staff at Rocky Mountain Equipment's Yorkton store for their time and technical expertise.

machinery & shop

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Tillage

Scott Garvey For producers who’d like to have a second display in their cab to control an implement, John Deere has introduced the new 10-inch Gen 4 extended monitor. In its news release, Deere

says the Gen 4 extended monitor can “monitor any number of machine, implement and precision ag functions such as planting or product application. In addition, operators can easily move pages and display functions from one display to another.” The Gen 4 extended monitor is designed

to work exclusively with Deere’s 4600 CommandCenter and will require certain Deere software to run. It is customizable and the company claims it’s easy to install. Having a second display in the cab will make more information available to the operator at the same time and allow for easier implement control, says Deere. T:9.875 in

photo: scott garvey

New Gen 4 extended monitor from Deere The new Gen 4 display can serve as an additional in-cab monitor with Deere’s 4600 CommandCenter.

T:11.4286 in

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machinery & shop

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Technology

Deere introduces row crop guidance aids photo: john deere

AutoTrac Vision and AutoTrac RowSense help limit sprayer crop damage Two new guidance aids, AutoTrac Vision and AutoTrac RowSense, can be retrofitted to existing sprayers for use in row crop fields.

By Scott Garvey

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dding to its suite of guidance products, John Deere has just introduced two new features, AutoTrac Vision and AutoTrac RowSense, which it says will help sprayer operators minimize damage in row crops like corn and soybeans. AutoTrac Vision is a single-lens camera that mounts on the front of a sprayer. It can detect the location of crop rows and help guide the sprayer wheels down the centre of them. It’s designed to be used when spraying a field soon after crop emergence in 30-inch rows, starting when the crop is at least six inches tall. It can be used until there is at least three inches of soil showing between rows or up to 90 percent canopy closure. “Because of field terrain, planter drift, or irregular planting without guidance, spraying in row crops can present challenges for sprayer operators making post-emerge applications,” explains Doug Felter, product marketing manager for John Deere. “These two new guidance applications help sprayers track more accurately between the rows, resulting in reduced crop damage, less operator fatigue and more effective field applications.” The second system, AutoTrac RowSense, is meant for use in more mature crops, with stands at least four feet tall and also in 30-inch rows. It relies on a paddle sensor mounted at a sprayer wheel. “While these two sprayer guidance systems are completely separate and are to be used one at a time, both have performed well in a variety of field conditions and crops,” Felter adds. “Both automated vehicle steering systems allow the operator to spray at faster speeds with little manual steering and cover more acres per day with less damage to crops.” Both systems are available as fieldinstalled kits for existing machines or as factory options on new John Deere R Series sprayers. A GS3 AutoTrac RowSense activation is required. GN Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com. Herbicides: According to Stats Can’s most recent published survey (from 2011), 79 per cent of Sask. farmers sprayed herbicides that year. 77 per cent of producers in Manitoba used them. Alberta growers reported the lowest use rates on the Prairies at 65 per cent.

machinery & shop

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

Tillage

Updated implements from John Deere photo: john deere

New field cultivator and mulch finisher get high-speed capability The redesigned John Deere 2330 mulch finisher comes in widths up to 56.25 feet (17.12 m) and can operate at up to 16 km/h in the field.

John Deere 2230 Field Cultivators come in level-lift and floating hitch models. They are also now capable of high field speeds.

By Scott Garvey

n December, John Deere announced it was introducing two new high-speed tillage implements, model 2230 field cultivators, available in level-lift and floating hitch configurations, along with the model 2330 mulch finisher. The 2230 field cultivators are designed to provide even and consistent soil mixing and residue flow for seedbed preparation, using six-inch “split-the-middle” shank spacing with 200 pounds of trip force. Intended for relatively level terrain, the 2230 level-lift model is available in three-section and fivesection configurations offering 15 different working widths, ranging from 23.5 feet to 60.5 feet. The floating hitch version is designed for producers who have to cope with hills. They are available in 14 different working widths from 25.5 feet to 69.5 feet. With higher working speeds, Deere claims these implements can now cover up to 217 more acres in a 10-hour day than previous models could. “We’ve made some significant changes to our next generation of field cultivators and mulch finishers,” said Jarred Karnei, product marketing manager, in a press release. “From the frame and tires to more finishing options and advanced adjustability — all of these improvements are to ensure customers can get an ideal seedbed from a single, productive pass ahead of the planter.” Both the level-lift and floating hitch models feature the brand's ProFinish levelling system that offers six rear harrow options to fine tune the field finish. Hydraulically adjustable flat-bar or roundbar rolling baskets are also available, allowing the operator to raise, lower or float the baskets as field conditions change. In addition, Deere’s TruSet control system is included on these implements, which gives the operator the ability to set depth and down pressure on the go. TruSet side-to-side also allows for individual section levelling on the 2230FH. The 2330 Mulch Finisher was also given a redesign, and it's now capable of working at 10 m.p.h. too. It’s available in nine widths from 21.75 feet to 56.25 feet. GN Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@ fbcpublishing.com.

ADVERTORIAL

Huge Variation Found in Air Bulk Metering Systems The Secret is Out—Average Variation of 20% in Product Distribution Seed and fertilizer metered into high velocity air streams and sent down distribution tubes to manifolds that split into separate, smaller tubes of varying length to deliver the product to ground openers on toolbars up to 90 feet wide. What could go wrong with that? Plenty, as farmers, agronomists and some air cart manufacturers are finding out. “When we started running high-yield wheat trials with seeding rates up to 160 pounds per acre, we really started to see variations between openers. It was all over the map,” says agronomist and farmer Steve Larocque at Three Hills, Alberta. A few years ago, Larocque ran a basic tubesock test on five different air distribution systems, using some of his customers’ existing air drills. He zip-tied socks on one long and one short hose coming off the same manifold on the left wing, right wing and centre section (six socks in total). While not conducted with scientific rigour, the demonstration showed that the variance between hoses ranged from a low 29% on one drill to a high of 98% on the worst drill. Larocque says the worst drill was probably an outlier, and the high variation could have been reduced with some adjustments. The other three drills had variances of 33%, 41%, and 45%. “Visually, that variance isn’t easy to see in the field unless you are measuring plant stand densities across each row. I think that’s why product variance hasn’t been on people’s radar,” says Larocque. “I think it’s high time for the industry to play catch-up and start matching the accuracy of distribution to the accuracy of their metering. “If we truly want to elevate yields, increase standability and reduce maturity, I believe that air drills should be delivering that same amount of seed and fertilizer into each and every furrow.” At SeedMaster, Research Farm Manager Owen Kinch looked at different manifolds to see what kind of variation exists. He tested six different models of manifold towers from different manufacturers to see how product distribution varied from hose

to hose after it left the manifold. Overall, the average variation of all towers was 20%. “Industry has known about this problem, but most haven’t wanted to do much about it,” says Kinch. At PAMI, in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Program Manager Nathan Gregg says the variance is caused by a multitude of factors, including manifold type, number of manifolds, hose length, hose curvature, and even the metering system. He isn’t aware of any recent research that has measured variation over an entire metering and distribution system. However with the development of more accurate seed row blockage monitors, farmers are now seeing variation between sections and even down to individual seed rows. “In the past it was hard to diagnose and so it was easy to ignore. I think farmers are now becoming more aware of the limitations of the systems,” says Gregg. Trent Meyer, Executive Vice President at SeedMaster, says SeedMaster has historically worked hard to reduce the variation on their bulk distribution system with the Nova™ air cart. As much as possible, distribution hoses are kept the same length, hose curvature is designed to allow product to flow smoothly around corners, metal pipe is used to reduce friction, and manifold design is aimed to provide the most uniform product splitting. “We’ve worked to reduce the issue as much as possible, but we have seen very little from other manufacturers in this regard. They aren’t doing their customers or the industry any favours,” says Meyer. For 2017, Meyer says SeedMaster is going one step further with their new Tunable Tower™ manifold system to further reduce variance. The tower features a centre-cone adjustment that allows product and airflow to be balanced for each run, reducing the deviation between lines. The Tunable Towers are integrated with the XeedSystem monitor to continuously display product flow for each run in real time to guide adjustment to balance product distribution.

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“In limited testing we’ve found that industry manifolds have a variance of 20–23%. With the addition of Tunable Towers, we’ve been able to balance product distribution across the toolbar and get absolute variance down to as low as 10%. That’s 5% below or 5% above the target rate,” says Meyer. For farmers who prefer to use an air cart for both seed and fertilizers, Meyer says the Nova air cart with Tunable Towers will set the new industry standard for bulk product metering accuracy. That will pay off in better agronomics: more uniform emergence, better access to crop nutrients, uniform maturity, less wasted seed and fertilizer, and improved yield. Research at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) found that uniform plant stands increased canola yields by up to 32% at low-yielding sites and by up to 20% at high-yielding sites compared to non-uniform plant stands. For the ultimate in seed and fertilizer distribution and placement, the new UltraPro™ II on-frame tank and distribution system from SeedMaster provides even more accurate seed row distribution of product with near seed singulation. SeedMaster research has shown the UltraPro metering system can reduce absolute variation to about 3% (1.5% about or below target rate). This metering variation can be accounted for by seed-size variation. “The UltraPro has allowed farmers to cut canola seeding rates with confidence, and that saves them a lot on input costs. Cutting back just one pound per acre of canola seed can easily save them $10 to $13 per acre, while still achieving good stand establishment and maximum yield,” says Meyer. “That’s the value of reducing variance in seed and fertilizer distribution systems.”

cattleman's corner

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

WINTER GRAZING

Winter grazing begins before Dec. 1 Don't assume winter grazing won’t work ‘here’ — look at the options

tion and health on an ongoing basis including body condition and other indicators of performance. A backup plan is essential, even if that plan is simply moving to a different type of grazing (eg: stockpiled grass to standing corn). The price for pushing the limits is a degree of vigilance in making sure that the cattle are taken care of within those limits. Our experience has been overwhelmingly positive in that the cattle are much healthier in our extensive system than in a confinement feeding system. This includes backgrounded calves as well as the cow herd.

BY SEAN MCGRATH

FORAGE One of the primary jobs of any cattle producer is to grow or obtain forage and then ration it out to their animals. There is a wide variety of ways to accomplish this, ranging all the way from set stock grazing, to silaging and delivering forage in a dry lot with a machine. The fundamental point here is that as managers, one of our most basic tasks is to ensure a forage supply for our livestock. If we cannot produce forage or find a source, winter grazing will be tough. Forage can come in a lot of forms, stubble, chaff piles, swaths, stockpiled grass, bales, silage or standing corn — are all examples. Since access to forage may be made more difficult through snow accumulation, volume and availability is critical. You cannot expect cows to winter graze on a pasture where grass is less than six inches tall. It is also key to test forages and build a ration regardless of the delivery method we choose to feed our cows. For pasture or stockpiled grazing, take a clipping from vari-

MANAGING THE WHOLE SYSTEM

photo: Sean McGrath

confess, I am a winter grazier. I love grazing cows in the wintertime. I like reducing my labour and cutting my costs. I like free time for spending with kids or writing Grainews articles. Truth be told, I even like riding saddle horses in the cold, as a lot of our terrain is not conducive to any other sort of cow-checking or gathering technology. While we may have pushed the limits a bit at home, I have often been told that what we do at home will not work here, with “here” representing a variety of locations. This is particularly interesting to me since we live just southwest of Lloydminster, Alta. and have been accused of having weekly chinooks and mild winters. Fortunately, I also live just southwest of Lloydminster, Sask., so most winters are much more difficult weatherwise. This is a bit in jest but it illustrates the next point very nicely. The reality is that winter grazing is both possible and impossible, and that the difference between these two extremes has nothing to do with Mother Nature. I have been lucky to get to know a lot of winter graziers from around the country and the world and some have much less forgiving climates than we do. Like most things in life the answer depends more on our own attitudes than on the practicality of the issue. Historical texts report that many bison migrated north to the North Saskatchewan River to spend the winter, and I know that there are quite a few ruminants in Wood Buffalo National Park that live farther north than here. With that said, there are a few things that I think can make or break a winter grazing program.

Bale grazing is one of the popular options for winter grazing, especially when you have good ranch help.

ous areas of the pasture and test the feed. Standing corn should be sampled across the field as a whole plant. Swath grazing can use grab samples from various locations around the field. Even with winter grazing we still may need to supplement in order to meet nutritional requirements. We always use our samples to build a ration, even in a grazing situation. As an example, on land that has been continuously swath grazed, it often happens that phosphorus levels rise and a high calcium mineral must be fed to maintain the proper CA:P ratio of 1:1 to 2:1 in the diet.

WEATHER Winter is winter for a reason. It can be chilly and we need to appreciate what we are asking a cow to accomplish as the temperature drops. Wind protection, forage quality — especially in the form of energy, body condition and stage of production are all key factors in dealing with winter weather. A fat cow with a windbreak can make do with a lot lower-quality forage than a skinny cow that may be lactating in a windstorm. While we can still access forage through grazing, there are points where we may need to supplement cows. One trick that can be used to help cows utilize lower-quality forage is to provide a protein supplement to the diet. This added protein can boost the cow's intake so she can consume more total energy and maintain condition in cold weather. A protein supplement can also provide a good opportunity to check cows and

ensure that balanced mineral nutrition is being delivered.

STAGE OF PRODUCTION A cow has a variety of energy requirements over the course of a production year. If we were to split the year into four quarters, her peak requirement occurs during the three months after calving. She is recovering from calving and producing milk for her calf. Months four to six are also pretty energy intense as her calf continues to grow and demand more milk. If the calf is weaned around six months of age, then months six to nine are her annual holiday. The cow is not milking and is carrying a very small fetus. In months nine to 12 the cow is preparing for calving and carrying a rapidly growing fetus, as well as mobilizing body stores to calve and start milking. If your production schedule is such that months six to nine are occurring in midwinter, it is possible to stretch the winter grazing envelope since this coincides with the lowest energy requirement for the cow. It is important to note here even if they are not lactating, high-milk cows will have a significantly greater energy requirement than cows with less milk production. This is in large part due to increased gut/organ mass associated with milk production and the metabolic cost of maintaining these organs.

RATIONING AND WASTE One concern I hear a lot with winter grazing scenarios is the issue of feed waste. This is an interesting

one where I believe the answer lies with the individual manager. The issue or perception of waste can be framed a lot of different ways. Leaving organic matter and manure out in the field can actually stimulate future productivity, however there are concerns over how much is too much and does the waste offset the cost of feed delivery. This is confounded by the issue of yardage (fuel and tractors and time) that we seldom discuss as a waste and sometimes don’t even see as a cost. There is some good work from Alberta showing the waste from processing bales on the ground may actually be higher than bale grazing. Rationing forage in the field is a bit of an acquired art form, but the reality is that if you want to reduce waste you can use smaller paddock sizes to force cleanup before feed quality declines. In other words, if you have a month on a paddock, the animals will eat all the grain in the first week, and straw for the next three. If we ration into smaller bite-sized paddocks, cattle can eat grain and fibre over the entire three or five days or even a week. Supplementing at the end of a paddock can assist in final cleanup of the less desirable feed. For a lot of managers, the instructions “don’t move the fence” are extremely difficult to adhere to, but it will reduce waste.

CHECKING COWS I know good managers check their cows, but winter is not a “turn ’em out” season. It is extremely important to monitor cattle nutri-

How winter grazing works for your operation will vary. For example, if you are calving early it is not recommended you have your cows out in the middle of nowhere on the first of February, so some of the more extended options may fit differently than herds calving in June, as an example. The one thing in common between every winter grazier I know is the winter grazing season starts with planning and growing forage long before December 1. To be successful, winter grazing has to be part of an overall plan, rather than an afterthought or addendum to the program. The savings to winter grazing can be tremendous. Recent work from Agri-Profits and WBDC work show the wintering cost for a cow to average over $2 per day. By winter grazing we can readily cut that number in half — over 200 days of saving $1 per cow day amounts to double the long-term profit in most cow-calf operations. Again our experience shows that savings estimate to be extremely conservative. I suspect many producers have daily wintering costs well over $3, if they are honest with their valuations for feed, time and equipment costs. Winter grazing represents a tremendous opportunity to add value to a program by reducing yardage costs. The more intense the feeding program at present, the more savings can be achieved. It does take time to get comfortable with winter grazing, so go slow and seek out mentors to help you get started. There are some good publications out there as well. Try a Google search for “Year Round Grazing 365.” Hopefully the dramatic reduction in workload and increase in profits to achieve the same results will drive you to push the envelope even further. GN Sean McGrath is a rancher and consultant from Vermilion, Alta. He can be reached at sean@ranchingsystems.com or (780)853-9673. For additional information visit www.ranchingsystems.com. This is Part 1 or a two-part article on winter grazing options

cattleman's corner

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

The Markets

Important to understand the futures Learn to use hedging tools when selling calves MARKET UPDATE Jerry Klassen

ver the past year, I’ve received many inquiries from cow-calf producers about hedging feeder cattle. Most producers calve during the winter or spring and sell their feeders in the fall or the following winter after backgrounding. We’ve all seen how the prices can change within a six- to 10-month period. One of the most common questions I receive is “What price can I expect when I sell my feeder cattle?” The simple exercise of using a futures market for price discovery is actually quite foreign to many operators. Secondly, many producers have a difficult time understanding the mechanics of a hedging program and the terms involved.

SOME OF THE BASICS The feeder cattle futures market (which trades on the CME Globex electronic platform) is the price discovery mechanism for North American feeder cattle. The contract is 50,000 pounds and is based on the CME feeder cattle index. Without going into detail, this index is based on a sample of transactions in the 12 major feeder cattle-producing U.S. states for 700- to 899-pound medium- and larger-frame feeder steers. As a rule, I often tell producers it is based on average U.S. prices for 800-pound steers. One of the most important factors for western Canadian cow-calf producers to understand is the basis. The basis is the difference between the CME feeder cattle futures price and the local price at the auction market. If the March feeder cattle futures are trading at US$124 and the local price for 800-pound feeders is C$160, the basis is calculated by multiplying the futures US$124 by the exchange rate of C$1.3300/US$, which equates to C$165; then subtract the local price of C$160 for a basis of negative C$5. The futures price and the local price should be converted to the same currency. In some cases, an organization will say the basis is plus 36 which is the difference between US$124 and C$160 but this is not correct for reasons I’ll explain at a later date. The feeder cattle futures prices takes into account the overall macro situation such as major economic changes or large changes in the fundamentals such as a drop in the North American calf crop by one million head. The basis takes into account the currency and the local situation such as a drought conditions. If there is a local drought, there will be more cattle on the market earlier, which may pressure the basis or the local price.

FOLLOW THE BASIS For an example, lets say that in April a cow-calf producer plans to sell 800pound steers in October and is wondering what price to expect. The November futures price is US$119 and multiplying US$119 by the December exchange rate of C$1.3250/US$ would equate to C$158. Using a basis of C$5,

the expected forward price would be C$153. This is very important to understand the expected forward price. In April, a producer hedging calves would sell a November feeder cattle futures contract at US$119. Let’s say in November, the producer buys back the futures contract at US$110. At the same time, the producer sells feeders at the local auction market and receives C$137. Assuming the currency stays the same at C$1.3250, the basis has widened. The feeder cattle futures at US$110 multi-

plied by 1.3250 minus the local price of C$137 equals C$8.75. The net result of the futures position is a gain of US$9, which is US$119 minus US$110. If we convert this US$9 to Canadian funds using the exchange of $1.3250, the gain is C$12. The gain on the futures of C$12 is added to the actual selling price at the local auction market of C$137 for a net price of C$149. The net price in November is a bit lower than the expected forward price because the basis weakened from C$5 to C$8.75.

If the futures would have gone up to US$130, there would be a net loss on the futures of US$11 or C$14.56 (using the exchange of 1.3250). However, the local cash price would likely be around C$167.25 (US$130 times the exchange of 1.3250 minus the basis of C$5). In this case, the net price would be the local auction market price of C$167.25 minus the loss on the futures of C$14.56, which equates to C$152.70. Notice the net price is very close to the expected price because the basis stayed the same.

STEAKING OUT THE CONSUMER Options & Opportunities Alberta Beef Industry Conference February 15-17, 2017 at the Sheraton Red Deer Hotel

Speaker highlights include: Terry O’Reilly | Host CBC’s Under the Influence Richard Brown | Director, GIRA Brian Perillat | Manager & Senior Analyst Canfax Duane Lenz | General Manager, Cattle - Fax David Carriere | President, Centennial Foodservice Art Douglas | Creighton University Mike Beretta | CEO & President, Beretta Farms – One Earth Farms Dina Ignjatovic | Economist, Agriculture Services, TD Bank Doug Lacombe | President, & Founder, Communicatto Jennifer Winter | Director, Energy & Environmental Policy, U of C

For more information and to register visit:

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Attend Alberta’s Premiere Beef Industry Event Workshops | Tradeshow | Education Sessions Networking | Social Functions

A futures market protects the producer but the price is not “locked in” because the basis can change over time. You won’t go broke hedging because a producer truly hedging also owns the feeder cattle. The price change at the local auction market, up or down, is offset with the change in the futures market. GN Jerry Klassen is manager of the Canadian office for Swiss-based grain trader GAP SA Grains and Products Ltd. He can be reached at 204 504 8339.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE February 15th, 2017 10:00am – 3:30pm

Animal Welfare in Canadian Feedlots

10:00am – 12:00pm

Holistic Management

1:00pm – 2:00pm

Uncovering Your Personal Brand

6:00pm

El Noche de Havana Opening Dinner

February 16th, 2017 8:30am

Welcome

8:45am

Changing Minds: How to Turn Negative Perceptions Into Positive Ones

9:45am

Lessons Learned Through Advocacy

10:45am

Survey says ... BEEF! What consumers are thinking now?

11:15am

Behind the Brand ~ Canada Beef

11:45pm

The Real Beef ~ Panel Discussion

2:00pm

Global Beef Market Outlook

2:45pm

Tell Me a Story: The Power of Storytelling in Marketing

4:00pm

Reception

5:30pm

Dave Hemstad

6:15pm

Taste of Alberta Dinner & Live Auction

9:30pm

Billy Bob’s after party featuring Wooden Nickel

February 17th, 2017 8:30am

2017/18 Weather Forecast

10:00am

Global Economic Outlook

10:45am

North American Cattle Market Outlook

11:30am

Emissions Pricing in North America and Impacts on Agriculture (Subject to change)

cattleman's corner

Grainews.ca / january 24, 2017

anyone can start farming

The learning value of fixing a tractor Debbie Chikousky

ur family has managed to almost bring another production cycle to a successful close. There are a few things we have learned and a few that we are still learning. One of them is how to start a tractor. Our tractor is reassembled but not moving. Thankfully there are very kind diesel mechanics in this world that are more than willing to teach a young man that is willing to learn. Where there hasn’t been a human, there has been YouTube. Through all this we have had neighbours that have allowed us to use their machinery to care for our stock, so that has also been a lesson. There is never a good deed that goes undone. Another lesson has been to just wait and not allow ourselves to become discouraged or give up. The second that starts to happen it is best to walk away from the tractor, do

another job, clear our minds and then when able to think again go back. How this tractor ever ran before it broke is amazing. The bearing spun, the control arm needed replacing, the starter motor needed to be rebuilt, the battery died, the injectors needed to be replaced, the injection pump had to be rebuilt and now we just need to fine tune. This is all on a machine that was running, so we are confused. A reader pointed out to me that 20 years ago without the (learning tools of the) Internet this project would have been nearly impossible. Our challenge for now has been getting the whole machine warm enough. A friend that has warmed trucks in the Yukon brought insulated tarps and diesel heaters. It was possible to have 40 C temps under this tarp when the outside temp was -30 C or more. This has helped us keep the men safe from freezing on cold metal also.

POSITIVE LIVESTOCK SIDE The other success our farm had was shipping our lambs to Tony Atkinson. With all the issues 2016 lamb-

photo: Debbie Chikousky

There’s no point looking at the negative — STAY POSITIVE

Insulated tarps and a heater made tractor repairs possible even when temperatures dipped to -30 C.

ing season had it was a definite blessing to have enough hundredpound lambs for him to want them. The cost of weight gain was minimal since pastures were good till late in the fall. Everything went well and we were happy with the price and service and very much looking forward to next lambing. The price was $1.65 a pound, which was a bit down, but because the lambs had weight behind them the farm will see a profit on sheep this year, which we are grateful for considering the number of lambs we lost in the spring.

Our beef calves were also well received at Ashern Auction Mart this year. Our average price for a 500pound calf was over $900 so we are happy. The price of hay actually went down; the price of A1 Nutritional liquid has stayed the same. Hopefully this tractor will get over its downtime soon and the cattle will start their next production cycle. Our goats also had a successful year. We sold all our meat kids before it snowed for $1.75/ pound, which for a 60-pound kid worked out to $105, and all cull does for $100 each. A goat costs us about $90/year to keep; this year expenses were a bit less because our bush pasture was ready a month earlier, so again we made a profit. Our goal is to sustain a higher livekid weaning average per doe. This has been stuck at 1.5 per doe for a number of years, so much of our winter planning is going to be put into increasing that to at least 1.7. It really does pay to take a bit of time to reflect but not to focus on the negative side. Our theory is increase

the positive and the negative will naturally fade. There is no room for it. There are feeds, pastures, management that worked very well for us and there were some that didn’t. Fencing was a huge issue for us this year. Our cattle were out a lot, but the day we rounded up we discovered there was a cinnamon bear that had been pushing through where our problem was the worst. The question now is how to deal with this. The fence will be repaired but do we need a guardian dog on that pasture? It being a cattle pasture there was no loss other than time, but before a small ruminant can be in that area we must be sure the bears are not using it for hunting. These and many other questions will be discussed over a hot cup of tea in the warmth of our living room before calving starts for 2017 and the year gallops away again. GN Debbie Chikousky farms with her family at Narcisse, Manitoba. Visitors are always welcome. Contact Debbie at debbie@chikouskyfarms.com.

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