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Features

No short-term fusarium fix

Truck special

Report from the Durum Summit 14

Scott Garvey covers the newest trucks 29

Volume 44 · number 05 fEBRUARY 20, 2018 · $4.25 Practical production tips for the prairie farmer www.grainews.ca

By Melanie Epp

Pest management

Patience pays with bertha armyworm

Photo: Justine Cornelsen, Canola Council of Canada

Experts recommend holding the spray until you scout, and counting beneficial bugs

When conditions are right, bertha armyworm damage can happen quickly.

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ate last summer, a canola field heavily infested with bertha armyworm in western Manitoba created a lot of fuss on Twitter, proving, yet again, just how localized population spikes can be in some areas. While sudden population spikes can cause panic, experts recommend that growers only take measures after they’ve got a good handle on what’s in the field. That means scouting and looking for beneficial insects to see if fields have reached economic thresholds. Justine Cornelsen, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, and John Gavloski, entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture, explain. Bertha armyworm is one of the most significant canola pests in Western Canada. It likes to feed on nectar, so it is particularly problematic during the crop’s flowering stage. Adult moths emerge from overwintering pupae in mid-June; emergence continues until late July. There is only one generation of bertha armyworm per year. Within five days of emergence adult moths will begin to mate, laying their eggs on the undersides of canola leaves. Typically, the eggs will hatch within a week. Larvae will drop off the plants, making them difficult to locate during scouting. It takes about six weeks for them to completely develop. During that time they will pass through six growth stages. Making matters more difficult, bertha armyworm larvae look distinctly different in several of those stages. See armyworm on page 5 

PLU S

What does ‘farmwife’ mean? For Sarah Schultz it’s not a loaded term, but an identity 40 CONTENTS 3 | COLUMNS 21 | CATTLEMEN’S CORNER 34

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wheat & chaff

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

CONTENTS

Hearing from readers Leeann Minogue

leeann.minougue@fbcpublishing.com

T Six tips to manage wheat stem sawfly One of these tips includes natural predators 18

Balance your soil biology Sask. farmer Kevin Elmy explains his new approach 10

Meet your neighbours Lisa Guenther talks to farmer Devon Walker 12

Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Crop Advisor’s Casebook. . 8 Columns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

he best part about my job is hearing from readers. It doesn’t happen a lot. But once in a while we’ll get a quick phone call, open an email, or see a Tweet, letting us know that readers have seen the articles in Grainews. Obviously, our favourite scenario is to find out that someone has found something useful or entertaining. But, believe it or not, we’re also happy when readers call to tell us we’ve got something wrong. Not just because we feel that “any attention is good attention,” but because a reader who is engaged enough to take time to let us know when something is not quite right is the kind of reader we want to serve. We do our best to fact check articles, but sometimes things slip through the cracks (or the nets, as you’ll see in the next section). I’ve corrected a piece about sweep nets below, thanks to an online reader. Look for some clarification on blackleg ratings (thanks to another engaged reader) in an upcoming issue. Grainews’ original mandate was “by readers for readers.” While we can’t fill the magazine with writing by farmers (apparently, you people are busy), we do what we can (see Kevin Elmy’s article on Page 10 of this issue). If you have an idea for an article, email or call us. We’ll help you write it, or find someone to write it. if you would like to be featured in a future “Meet the neighbours” article, get in touch. But more importantly, if you see something in Grainews that you think is wrong, or bad advice, please let us know!

Correction: lygus bugs count Get that sweep net out. You’re going to need to take more sweeps. In our January 23rd issue we ran an article about lygus bugs. Unfortunately, we made a mistake.

Machinery & Shop . . . . . . 29 Cattleman’s Corner . . . . . 34 FarmLife. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

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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

Get your crayons ready Jason Sylvestre, co-author of the great “You Might Be From The Prairies If…” cartoons that we usually run on Page 4, has published a colouring book of hand-drawn Saskatchewan pictures. Jason’s book is called Colour Saskatchewan. You can buy it from your favourite on-line retailer for under $17. Or, you can win a copy! Just send me an email, text, or message on Twitter with the words “colour Saskatchewan” and I’ll put your name in the draw. We’ll draw a winner on March 1 and get it in the mail soon after that. GN Leeann@fbcpublishing.com; 306-861-2678; @GrainMuse

We ran some tables showing the economic threshold for spraying lygus bugs. The headings were wrong on our charts — they showed the number of bugs per sweep (caught in one pass with a sweep net), rather than the number of bugs caught in 10 sweeps of the net. A reader, Jim, caught that error when we posted the article to our website. Jim left a comment online, saying that he remembered these thresholds being given by 10 sweeps, not just one. When we saw Jim’s comment, we checked with the Canola Council of Canada agronomy specialist Keith Gabert. Jim was right. Keith sent this note in an email: “10 sweeps removes some of the averaging issues that occur when growers use a sweep net, so you’ll find entomologists tend to avoid even giving number/single sweep advice.” So, if you’re looking back at these tables, remember that the tables are for 10 sweeps in total, not just one. (We’ve corrected the online version.) While we had his attention, Keith Gabert passed on another couple of notes. First, he said, “There’s a really clear indication that damage is less of a concern with adequate moisture.” This, he said, “also partially explains why growers in the Black soil zone — typically with good moisture that allows plant compensation — would be able to tolerate high pest numbers.” In the article, we suggested “scouting early.” Keith thought a recommendation to “scout as the crop is coming out of flower” would be more helpful. “Growers,” he said, “generally think that scouting early would mean in terms of early in crop development or season, instead of relative to the staging listing on the lygus bug chart.” I would like to send a big thank you to both Jim and Keith. While I am sorry we provided incorrect information, it is a pleasure to deal with an agriculture community that is so quick to share information and help out their neighbours.

Leeann

wheat & chaff

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

Ag safety

Attitude and the Senior Farmer S enior farmers have experience in spades. You have seen it all. Good years, great yields, good(ish) prices. Bad years, terrible yields, awful prices. You can probably fix it all. (Almost – some of that new equipment has many computer components.) You know your land like the back of your hand. What about physical capability? Is your back as strong as it once was? How about your eyes? Those reading glasses sure come in handy sometimes. Are you as quick as you used to be? How about your hearing? Those physical capabilities diminish with age. Our eyes grow a little dimmer, our hearing a little less sharp, and our backs a little stiffer. Our mental capabilities may have grown. With age comes gifts. We often become more patient, make wiser decisions and are better at asking for help — alongside age comes emotional maturity. (Usually, there’s always exceptions to the rule!) What governs our behaviour and helps us better understand our capabilities? What helps us make good decisions about safety? Attitude. A good attitude about farm safety is what leads to a safe farm. There is a saying: A bad attitude is like a flat tire, you cannot get very far until you change it. It is not uncommon to hear a teacher or a

coach telling their charges to “change your attitude!” These teachers and coaches know that the success of their pupils depends on a good attitude. Solving complicated math problems, throwing the perfect pitch, and staying safe on the farm is a result of the same combination of experience, capability, and attitude.

A safety audit of your farm is a great step to determine the current situation on your farm It starts with taking an assessment. A safety audit of your farm is a great step to determine the current situation on your farm. By doing an audit, you can take action to control hazards and prevent injuries. It also gives you an opportunity to discover what you’re doing well on your farm. The next assessment is on yourself. Ask yourself if there are tasks that are beyond your physical capabilities. Take a close look at farming tasks, break down the steps

and determine if you can do the job safely. Be honest with yourself. It’s not weak or shameful to acknowledge limitations. Make adjustments as needed. A hired worker to help out with particularly physical tasks. A new (or new to you) piece of equipment. Reorganize your workspace. Or maybe it’s a new role on the farm. After all, your legacy is your family and your farm, you want both to be successful for generations to come. Mature individuals generally are guided by their lifetime of experience. You may remember being able to perform certain tasks, but the reality is your capabilities may have changed and having a good attitude about this will help you stay safe and keep your farm successful. The bottom line is that regardless of age, people can and do get hurt farming. Don’t let your legacy be injured because of a poor attitude towards farm safety. Canadian Agricultural Safety Week (CASW) is a public awareness campaign focusing on the importance of farm safety. CASW takes place every year during the third week of March. In 2018, CASW takes place March 11 to 17. CASW is presented by Farm Credit Canada. For more information visit agsafetyweek.ca. GN Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, visit www.casa-acsa.ca.

Photo Contest

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Q&A with CPS

Successful forage establishment Q: What are the top factor for successful forage establishment? A: To grow a productive forage crop, consider important factors like soil, weeds, previous crop and herbicide residues. Identify and consider the impact of soil factors like flooding, drainage, low pH (acidity), texture and salinity that may impede establishment, productivity or species/variety selection. Control winter annual, biennial and perennial weeds like Canada thistle, quackgrass, white cockle and scentless chamomile in the two years prior to planting. Pre-harvest glyphosate applications are useful. Manage excess trash as it can cause challenges with establishment. And ensure no residual herbicides have been applied in the year(s) prior to planting a forage crop. Seeding time, depth and rate are also important. Seeding late April to early May into excellent moisture and with cool temperatures is good for establishment but there is limited opportunity for pre-seeding weed control and a frost hazard. If you wait a bit longer, mid-May to mid-June, you have an opportunity for pre-seeding weed control. Another option for grasses is timely fall dormant seeding. Seeds germinate the following

spring when moisture is good and temperatures are cool but frost damage may occur. When it comes to seeding depth, forage seed is generally tiny and thus has little food reserves needed to generate emergence. Forages should be seeded no deeper than a half inch to three quarter inch deep into a firm seedbed (your footprint should not sink more than 3/8 of an inch). Packing is necessary for good seed to soil contact. Broadcast seed should be incorporated shallowly and packed accordingly. For alfalfa and master blends seeding rates, aim for 10 lbs/ac in direct seeded situations and 15 lb/ ac if the forage seed is broadcast and incorporated. And don’t forget to consider the end use. Is the forage crop intended for pasture or hay or both? Is the crop intended for dairy, beef, horses or other livestock? These are just a few factors to consider. GN Nathan Trowell is a manager of agronomic services with Crop Production Services in eastern Saskatchewan.

Carson Demmans and Jason Sylvestre present: YOU MIGHT BE FROM THE PRAIRIES IF...

Wow. Elaine Breadon Peiche sent me this shot of a 1,652-pound pumpkin from the Smoky Lake, Alberta, Pumpkin Festival in 2017. This pumpkin belongs to Don Crews of Lloydminster. Elaine wrote: “Entries come from all over Alberta and some from Saskatchewan and B.C.” This fall will be the 30th anniversary of this community festival. You can watch a three-minute video of last year’s festivities on YouTube, look for “Smoky Lake Pumpkin Festival. Send your best shot by email to leeann@fbcpublishing.com or through Twitter at @GrainMuse. Please send only one or two photos at a time, and also send along some information about where and when you took the photo, or even something about your farm. Photos with larger file sizes look better in the paper.

cover stories

Grainews.ca / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

Pest management 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1 www.grainews.ca

 armyworm from Page 1

Publisher Lynda Tityk Editor Leeann Minogue Field Editor Lisa Guenther Cattleman’s Corner Editor Lee Hart FarmLife Editor Sue Armstrong Machinery Editor Scott Garvey Production Director Shawna Gibson Designers Mackenzie Burling, Ron White Marketing/Circulation Director Lynda Tityk Circulation Manager Heather Anderson President Glacier Farmmedia LP Bob Willcox Head Office 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1 Phone: (204) 944-5568 Fax: (204) 944-5562 Sales Director Cory Bourdeaud’hui Phone: (204) 954-1414 Fax: (204) 944-5562 Email: cory@fbcpublishing.com National Advertising Sales Kevin Yaworsky Phone: 250-869-5326 Email: kyaworsky@farmmedia.com Advertising Services Co-ordinator Arlene Bomback Phone: (204) 944-5765 Fax: (204) 944-5562 Email: ads@fbcpublishing.com Printed in Canada by TC Printing, Winnipeg, Man. Grainews is published by Glacier FarmMedia LP, 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3H 0H1. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada.

Subscription Prices: For Canadian farmers, $67 per year or $99 for 2 years (includes GST) or $123 for 3 years (includes GST). Man. residents add 8% PST to above prices. U.S: $50 per year (U.S. Funds). Outside Canada & U.S.: $109 per year. ISSN 0229-8090. Call 1-800-665-0502 for subscriptions. Fax (204) 954-1422 Canadian Postmaster: Send address changes and undeliverable copies (covers only) to PO Box 9800, Winnipeg, Man. R3C 3K7 U.S. Postmaster: Send address changes and undeliverable copies (covers only) to 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1 Grainews is printed on recyclable paper with linseed oil-based inks.

Diligent scouting recommended Justine Cornelsen, the Canola Council of Canada’s agronomy specialist for western Manitoba, says producers are typically caught off guard with bertha armyworm because of their timing. “Bertha armyworm typically occurs in the quiet time when producers have finished up spraying a fungicide for sclerotinia and are waiting for seed colour change to begin swathing,” she said. Cornelsen warns growers not to overreact if populations in the neighbour’s fields are high. Just because your neighbor has them, doesn’t mean you do. Hot, dry conditions favour the development of both bertha armyworm and diamondback moth, which is why populations were so high across the prairies in 2017. “Manitoba sustained several weeks of little to no precipitation,” she explained. Continuous and proper scouting is crucial when managing this insect pest. The critical scouting period, said Cornelsen, is after peak flowering. She suggests scouting for economic thresholds and monitoring crops very closely as damage can happen quickly if the conditions are right. “Economic thresholds have been developed to help producers keep money in their pockets and to further protect the environment,” said Cornelsen. “If a field has not reached the economic threshold, please do not spray. The field may look bad, but the cost of the application is not going to be recovered unless the threshold is hit.” Environmental conditions and natural predators could take care of pest, so keep a close eye on the

Photos: Justine Cornelsen, Canola Council of Canada

Editorial director Laura Rance

See armyworm on Page 6 

Published 18 times a year. Subscription inquiries: Call toll free 1-800-665-0502 U.S. subscribers call 1-204-944-5568 or email: subscription@glacierfarmmedia.com Your next issue! You can expect your next issue in your mailbox about March 6, 2018

Tip of the issue

6 strategies to manage weeds in pulse crops From tillage to pre-seed and pre-emergent herbicide applications in pulses

The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Grainews and Glacier FarmMedia LP attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists, Grainews and Glacier FarmMedia LP cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication. Use or non-use of any information is at the reader’s sole risk, and we assume no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader of this publication based on any and all information provided. At Glacier FarmMedia LP we are committed to protecting your privacy. Glacier FarmMedia LP will only collect personal information if it is required for reasonable purposes related to our business operations. As part of our commitment to enhance customer service, we may also share personal information with our affiliates or strategic business partners. For more information regarding how we collect, use and disclose personal information, please refer to our Privacy Policy at http:// farmmedia.com/privacy-policy, or write to: Privacy Officer, Glacier FarmMedia, P.O. Box 9800, Station Main, Winnipeg, MB R3C 3K7. Occasionally we make our list of subscribers available to other reputable firms whose products and services might be of interest to you. If you would prefer not to receive such offers, please contact us at the address in the preceding paragraph, or call 1-800-665-0502.

By Doug Fehr, PAg, DuPont Crop Protection

ulse crop growers face unique challenges in terms of managing weed populations in their crop. Not only are pulse crops less competitive, there are limited choices for pre-seed and in-crop herbicide applications, compared to canola and corn. Plan ahead to manage weed populations and resistance using the tools available. There are many choices for grassy weed control in pulses, but few options for broadleaf control. Pulses are a broadleaf plant, and it is difficult to control a broadleaf weed in a broadleaf plant without damage or loss, and there is less investment in developing chemistry. There are a few approaches growers can take to control weeds in pulse crops:

• Strategic tillage: Limited tillage where necessary, can be used as a way to help control weed populations. • Plan ahead: Plan in-crop or pre-seed herbicide treatments on fields one or two years before the pulse crop year, specifically for aid in controlling perennial or biennial weeds where control options don’t exist in pulses. • Pre-emergence: Incorporate pre-emergence herbicide technology from Groups 3, 8, 13 and 14 on parts of your fields that traditionally have weed problems. • Multiple groups: Avoid relying on just one herbicide group to control weeds in pulse crops. • Herbicide layering: Use two, three, or four different herbicide groups in a cropping system or use them sequentially for preemergence, pre-seed, and in-crop applications.

• Cultural weed control: Use cultural weed control techniques that return as few as possible weed seeds to the land. This may include technology such as the Harrington Seed Destructor to destroy weed seeds to manage herbicide resistance. When choosing a pre-seed herbicide, consider both existing weed problems and anticipate potential issues in terms of weeds and resistance. Crop tolerance, efficacy and diversification need to be considered when choosing a herbicide. There are several newer groups and choices available in Western Canada that growers can use to manage resistance. However, there is no silver bullet solution, and growers need to balance weed control with herbicide diversification. GN Doug Fehr, PAg, is a technical sales agronomist with DuPont Crop Protection.

cover stories

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

Photo: John Gavloski, Manitoba Agriculture

Within five days of emergence adult bertha armyworm moths will begin to mate, laying their eggs on the undersides of canola leaves.

Photo: John Gavloski, Manitoba Agriculture

photo: Shelley Barkley, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry

A parasitic wasp called Banchus flavescens goes after young bertha armyworm larvae.

Bertha armyworm need about six weeks to develop. During this time they pass through six growth stages, and look different in several of the stages.  armyworm from Page 5

situation, said Cornelsen. “A strong rain event can cause the larvae to be pushed down in the canopy, killing them — or fungal pathogens form to help minimize populations,” she said. “Forecast is something to keep in mind when looking at economic thresholds.” John Gavloski, entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture, agrees. “If you’re not at economic threshold you could be killing parasitoids,” he said.

Trap data is only to encourage you to scout There are two parasitoids that help control bertha armyworm levels in the field. The first is a parasitic wasp called Banchus flavescens that goes after the young larvae. The second is a parasitic fly called Athrycia cinerea. It’s a hairy fly that lays eggs on the caterpillars. Once born, the larvae crawl inside the bertha armyworm, killing it. “Make sure you’re above economic threshold,” he said. “Don’t make assumptions based on what your neighbours are finding. In some fields, there might have been traps for the adults, but those traps do not do a good job of indicating what the larval numbers will be like in the field the trap is in.”

“Trap data is only to encourage you to scout,” he said. “It cannot be used to make management decisions.”

Scouting tips Gavloski offers these tips for thorough scouting: • Measure out a quarter of a square meter. • Once measured, give the plant a really good shake. • Bertha armyworm doesn’t like light, so they spend the day on the ground and come out at night to feed. Count them very thoroughly, making sure to look in cracks and under leaves and stubble. • “Once the count is done, multiply by four,” said Gavloski, who recommends repeating the measurement in five separate locations (at minimum) at least 50 meters apart. “That’s the number you want to use to make your management decision.” • “Doing five thoroughly is better than doing 10 — 15 quickly,” he said. Finally, Gavloski warns growers not to panic too early. Bertha armyworm prefers eating leaves and the leaves don’t impact the crop that much, economically speaking. Patience is key; if there’s still flowering going on in the field, wait. Canola yields 10 to 15 per cent better when there are pollinators in the field, and spraying will kill them too. If practical, wait until flowering is done, Gavloski concluded. GN Melanie Epp is a freelance farm writer.

FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

Disease management

Managing fusarium head blight By Lisa Guenther

s fusarium headblight marches west, agronomists and farmers are finding more sophisticated ways to manage the disease. Cory Willness, agrologist and president of CropPro Consulting, says evening out crops is part of their fusarium management strategy. CropPro Consulting is based in Naicam, northeast of Humboldt, Saskatchewan. “We find traditionally that the tops of the hills are the most advanced areas and quite often the depressions are the least advanced, or they’re somewhat behind,” says Willness. Often that maturity gap is part of the reason crops are greener in depressions. “It’s not just that they have more moisture during the year, but they tend to start slower.” Having the entire crop at the same stage, with minimal tillers, makes it easier for farmers to apply fungicide at the right stage. While they vary fertilizer rates, the whole field gets the recommended fungicide rate, Willness adds.

make to have an even, optimal plant stand when fusarium headblight arises? Willness says the differences are small, but small differences can add up to big differences in grade. “The difference between malt barley and not malt barley could be 0.25 per cent.” Most of CropPro Consulting’s clients are in northeastern Saskatchewan, and during bad fusarium years, people do see better grades, he adds.

Willness says they’ve been perfecting this program on clients’ farms since 2013. “Since then I would say we’ve had a lot of success with it. And every field is different, every farm is different. You’re always tweaking things.” GN Lisa Guenther is field editor for GrainewsB:7.875” based at Livelong, Sask. Follow her on T:7.875” Creating an even crop is part of the fusarium management strategy for CropPro Consulting’s clients. Twitter @LtoG. S:7.875”

Photo: Lisa Guenther

As the fusarium-infected area grows, so does the sophistication of management tools

Soil, water and topography maps

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CropPro Consulting pulls in a range of information to create field maps. Willness says they collect electrical conductivity and RTK elevation data. RTK elevation data helps reveal how water flows and where it accumulates. The result is a map that incorporates water flow and salinity. Salinity will be the same shape on the map as it is in the field, says Willness. “We find water is the number one driver of variability. So in wet years, wherever water is collecting, wherever it’s flowing, those areas are affected by excess moisture,” says Willness. Programs also include soilapplied prescriptions, Willness says. Mobile nutrients such as nitrate, sulphate and chloride typically move where water moves, he adds. Organic matter will build in areas that accumulate water. The tops of hills will be low in organic matter, have thin topsoil, and fewer nutrients. If farmers apply a flat rate of fertilizer to variable fields, the depressions can end up with too much nitrogen, Willness says. That can delay maturity, promote lodging, and create other issues that make it harder to control disease in those areas. Plant stand variability is also a factor, says Willness. Areas where water accumulates, along with the extreme tops of hills, tend to have sparser plant stands. One goal is to create optimal plant stands through the whole field by bumping seeding rates in those sparse areas. How much of a difference does it

FEATURES

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

Topic Crop production heading

Crop advisor casebook Ted’s patchy canola crop. What’s making plants unhealthy in these areas of the field? By Dayna Elliott

ed, a Saskatchewan producer who owns a 3,000-acre mixed grain operation near Elrose, asked me to visit his farm last year on July 12. The visit was to assess if diamondback moth larvae populations in his canola field had reached levels necessary to warrant an insecticide application, to save the crop’s yield. Due to lack of rain, the canola plants weren’t thriving and Ted wasn’t sure if applying insecticide would pencil out. Upon arrival, I noticed the field was a pale, unhealthy-looking colour, indicating the crop was suffering from moisture stress. However, as I approached the field’s entrance, I discovered a bigger problem that needed to be addressed — the crop’s development was uneven and the field contained large, irregular patches of unhealthy plants. The plants in the unaffected areas were showing typical drought symptoms, such as pale colouring, shorter stature, minimal plant branching, and trace pod abortion throughout. The flowers were still yellow, and the stems and pods were pale green. There was a small amount of purpling on plant stems. Because it was late afternoon, the plants’ leaves were wilted. The irregular patches contained stunted, unhealthy-looking plants. The stems, leaves and pods of these plants were turning purple and the leaves were cupping. The plants’ flowers were dried up or aborted. In addition, the main stems in these damaged areas were half the width of those in the healthier regions, and there was no plant branching.

In the patchy areas, the plants’ flowers were dried up or aborted.

Dayna Elliott works for Richardson Pioneer Ltd. in Elrose, Sask.

The plants in the unaffected areas were showing typical drought symptoms, such as pale colouring, shorter stature, minimal plant branching, and trace pod abortion throughout.

The stems, leaves and pods of these plants were turning purple and the leaves were cupping.

“Could the canola be turning purple and drying from the drought?” Ted asked. “We need rain bad or this crop will be a writeoff.” Although the crop was experiencing moisture stress throughout the field, this theory didn’t explain why new patches were still forming, or why some patches were more affected than others. There was another issue at work here. “Could it be drift from a neighbouring field?” Ted asked. Ted had recently sprayed a Group 2 herbicide on his herbicide-tolerant lentil crop, which was located kitty-corner to the canola field. However, the fingerlike areas of damaged plants characteristic of spray drift were absent; in fact, the damaged areas occurred randomly throughout the field. Thus, spray drift, or inversion, was not to blame. When I examined the field for

Soil test results also revealed the field was composed of lighter soils, as well as heavy clay with lower organic matter. When reviewing this field’s history, Ted revealed a major clue to understanding why the patches were developing in his canola field. If you think you know what’s causing the patches of damaged canola plants in Ted’s field, send your diagnosis to Grainews, Box 9800, Winnipeg, Man., R3C 3K7; email leeann@ fbcpublishing.com or fax 204-94495416 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 one-year subscription to the magazine. The answer, along with reasoning that solved the mystery, will appear in the next Crop Advisor’s Solution File. GN

insect damage, I found diamondback moth larvae populations were well below the economic threshold. Any minimal damage from insect feeding was also consistent throughout the field. At present, there wasn’t any indication of early-season insect feeding, either. In addition, this field was scouted earlier in the season and no diamondback moth populations were found. Therefore, the patches weren’t caused by an insect pest problem. Because I had worked with Ted in the fall, I knew nutrient and micronutrient levels were sufficient for the growth of a healthy canola crop. We had planned a balanced nutrient application based on soil test results, so I concluded the purpling wasn’t due to a sulphur deficiency caused by lack of nutrients. In addition, Ted’s fertilizer application methods were seed-safe.

Casebook winner Jerry Stahl from Cleardale, Alberta, is the winner for this issue of Casebook. We’re sending Jerry a Grainews cap and renewing his subscription for a year. Thanks for reading, and thanks for entering! You could be a winner too. If you know the answer to this issue of Casebook, email me at Leeann@fbcpublishing.com. Leeann Minogue

Dayna Elliott, CCA, PAg, works for Richardson Pioneer Ltd. in Elrose, Sask.

Crop advisor’s solution

This problem looked like disease. It was herbicide injury By Shantelle May

hile scouting a producer’s soybean field in early June last year, I found dark brown spots on the plants’ unifoliate leaves, as well as on some of the cotyledons. Ryan, who owns a mixed dairy and grain farm north of Saskatoon, Sask., wondered if the mottling was caused by the disease septoria brown spot or bacterial blight. The spots were located on the leaf margins in a uniform manner. Most of the plants in the field were affected; however, some plants had more spots than others. The trifoliate leaves, which were just unfolding, weren’t affected, as they looked healthy and normal.

Because brown spots caused by bacterial blight first appear as water-soaked spots on the leaves, which then turn from yellow to brown in colour, we ruled this disease out. The spots would also have a yellowish-green halo around them if we were dealing with bacterial blight. Furthermore, when the leaf tissue dies it falls away, giving the plant a ragged appearance. We also eliminated septoria brown spot disease because the affected areas hadn’t grown together to form irregular brown lesions with tiny, black, spore-producing pycnidia in them. Ryan had not yet applied the in-crop herbicide, so surfactant burn didn’t cause the brown spots, either. In mid-May Ryan sprayed a soil-applied Group 14 residual herbicide with the glypho-

sate burndown. The residual activity for this Group 14 herbicide is four to six weeks. Sometimes, water from the treated soil can splash up onto the emerging crop, causing temporary injury. The injury’s shape and placement on the soybean leaves was exactly what I would expect from water droplets splashing up from the soil onto the leaves’ edges. In addition, the most recently emerged leaves were uninjured, as the event that generated the brown spots occurred before the newly emerged leaves started to unfold. Eventually, the crop outgrew the injury and yield wasn’t affected. Because it increases the risk of crop injury, I recommended that Ryan not use the soil-applied Group 14 residual herbicide in his burndown under the following circumstances:

• on soils with organic matter greater than five per cent, or • on fields that are poorly drained, or • under cool, wet conditions. It is also important to follow cropping deadlines before and after spraying this herbicide type. Continual crop scouting is essential. Early detection and correct identification of crop issues reduce panic and mitigate yield loss. Furthermore, knowing the symptoms of crop injury for the herbicide in use before the chemical is applied, helps in the recognition and identification of herbicide injury early on. GN Shantelle May, CCA, AAg, works for Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Carlton Crossing, Saskatoon, Sask.

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Crop varieties

“Incredible” new barley variety By Julienne Isaacs

new six-row hulled spring feed and forage barley variety should soon be in farmers’ fields. SR14501 — which will gain a trade name prior to commercialization — was developed by Alberta’s Field Crop Development Centre in response to producers’ requests for a barley with good lodging resistance, says barley breeder Joseph Nyachiro. “It is a very well rounded variety. It has excellent grain yield and can be used for making silage or green feed, and it can be used for swath grazing,” says Nyachiro. “SR14501 can also produce more than 12,000 kg of dry matter per hectare.” The variety boasts forage yield eight per cent higher than Vivar and five per cent higher than AC Ranger, good seed and forage quality and resistance to major barley diseases such as net blotch, spot blotch and smut. SR14501, which will be marketed by Alliance Seed, is currently in the seed select phase on the road to certification. It was planted on one operation in 2017 to multiply seed. More multiplication will follow in 2018, and if things go well, farmers should have access to commercial seed by 2020 or 2021.

Producers’ satisfaction is the goal of the breeding program, says Nyachiro. “We are always in communication with our clients, who are the farmers who will utilize the new barley varieties,” he says. “They tell us what they need, and they tell us standability is very important. Whether you are using a variety for grain or for forage, you need good standability.”

Nyachiro has just begun a three-year project with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Tim McAllister evaluating how different barley types react when processed for feed. GN

Julienne Isaacs is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer and editor. Contact T:7.875SR14501, in a new six-row hulled spring feed and forage barley variety, should soon be in farmers’ fields. her at julienne.isaacs@gmail.com.

Photo: Courtesy Joseph Nyachiro

This new higher-yielding, six-row barley variety is on the road to certification

View from the farm

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By one farmer’s account, it’s worth the wait. “It looks like an incredible variety,” says Darrell Holmstrom, the Killam, Alta. seed grower who planted SR14501 for Alliance Seed in 2017. Holmstrom does custom farming for his neighbours and tests grain varieties for research groups. He also has cattle, and says few feed barley varieties combine great feed qualities with excellent agronomic qualities like this one. SR14501 has a semi-smooth awn, which makes it superior to roughawned varieties like AC Austenson for grazing, he says, and its potential yield is comparable to Austenson, which has done well for him in the past. “We’ve tried other six-rows that have had reasonable yield but light bushel weight, or they’re weak in straw,” he says. “In our area the sixrows can get light a lot of years. They don’t have the bushel weight, they don’t fill up toward the top of the head. What’s interesting about this variety is that it filled every single row right to the very top. “It’s exciting to see a barley that has excellent standability with that amount of straw without lodging,” he says. The variety stood well even after a heavy snowfall that knocked a lot of Holmstrom’s wheat flat in the fall, with no neck breaking, he adds.

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Soil health

Balancing the soil biology Helping Mother Nature with the fungi:bacteria ratio can keep our soils more productive By Kevin Elmy

oil health. Sounds like a good target we should be aiming at. Where do we start? What do we measure? How do we know when we get there? The first thing we need to find out is where are we? Nicole Masers is an agro-ecologist with Integrity Soils. For her three-

day course in regenerative soil systems, part of my pre-course assignment was to send a soil test away to Earthfort Lab for a biology test. In order to get a baseline, we sent three samples of our soil away, along with a neighbour’s soil sample. When the testing was done, we had an email asking if we were interested in a one-on-one with Matt Slaughter, the Earthfort Lab owner and manager. After a long phone call,

we developed new management targets and strategies for our operation to further improve our microbial counts. It was very interesting to see the difference between our soil and our neighbour’s soil. Mother Nature tries to keep the fungi:bacteria ratios in check. She tries to make bacterial-based soils, which is what most of are soils are in “traditional” agricultural, more fungal. Mother Nature does this by get-

ting weeds to grow, and signaling that we need to change our environment and management by having insect and disease issues. On the other extreme, fungaldominated soil are found in forests. These are slow-growing, stable ecosystems. In either case, when the soil microbe balance becomes “extreme,” Mother Nature creates disturbance to try to create more balanced microbial

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populations. Bacterial soils will cycle nutrients quicker, but are prone to nutrient losses. Fungal soils cycle nutrients slowly, but create a more sustainable growth. Have you ever broken up hay or pasture? Did you notice that for the first few years, there are usually no wild oats or cleavers, but after a few years they started coming back? Wild oats and cleavers grow in soils that are predominately bacterial. Hay or pasture tends to be close to balanced or slightly fungal in nature. As the field is cultivated, sprayed and fertilized, the soil drifts toward a more bacterial ratio. Weeds will show you what is wrong biologically with your soil. In the soil, there is more organism diversity than we may ever know. With change (climate, plants growing, human- or naturally-created disturbance or changing season), a different part of the microbe diversity awakens. As agriculture management continues with monocultures and cropping systems with low diversity, we will continue to see low diversity in the microbial populations that are active in our soil. With low diversity, we see issues with plant health, nutrient cycling, water cycling, and the reliance on synthetic inputs.

Bacterial soils tend to have low soil aggregation, respond to inputs, have slow water infiltration, will have weeds that are easy to pull out of the soil, like cleavers and wild oats, and may have erosion issues

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We still use conventional management on our farm — we purchase some herbicides and fertilizer. The key is that the amount we require today is much lower than in the past. As we build soil health, balancing the bacteria and fungi in the soil, the amount of chemical inputs we purchase will continue to decline.

Bacterial and fungal soils Bacterial soils are quite easy to identify by looking at or seeing how the soil responds to inputs. Bacterial soils tend to have low soil aggregation, respond to inputs, have slow water infiltration, will have weeds that are easy to pull out of the soil, like cleavers and wild oats, and may have erosion issues.

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Soils are driven to a bacterialdominated state though high disturbance deep in the soil profile, season-long fallow, high rates of synthetic fertilizer, use of fungicides and seed treatments, monoculture and simple cropping systems. The issues with drainage in Western Canada were driven by years of above normal rainfall. But, as unpopular as this may be, the reason drainage became such as issue that the water infiltration into the soils has decreased at an alarming rate. Our soils are now hydrophobic — repelling water instead of storing it. Yes, there are areas where the soil is saturated and abnormal amounts of rain have fallen, but there are too many acres where water ponds on the soil. By increasing soil aggregation, organic matter, and fungal populations and improving soil health, we can make many of these issues disappear. On the other extreme is a pasture or hay field that becomes non-productive and too fungal. These forage stands will have encroachment of woody shrubs, an indication that the soil has become too fungal. Before roads were made across the prairies, Mother Nature kept the soil from becoming too fungal through grass fires that decreased the fungal population and increased the bacteria. That would not create anything positive today. But adding nutrition, doing some soil aeration and increasing plant diversity we can stimulate bacteria, allowing quicker nutrient cycling (assuming there is a food source for the microbes to eat).

Managing organic matter Carbon is the key to energy in ecosystems. Plants capture carbon from the atmosphere and converte it to sugars. A large percentage of that sugar gets leaked into the soil to feed microbes, which convert soil nutrients into plant-available sources. In most agricultural soils, the organic matter is decreasing. The decrease of organic matter is a loss of carbon from the soil. The loss of carbon and organic matter coupled with monoculture farming practices is reducing microbial diversity in the soil. This is creating a bacterial soil that relies on our “help” with fertilizer, pest suppressants and tillage. I am not advocating using no synthetic inputs, but we as an industry need to look at how to manage with less. Fewer inputs with healthy soils will increase our productivity and profitability. We need to look at how to properly feed the soil ecosphere to keep it healthy and productive. Every time we do something to the soil or add something, we are adjusting the microbial profile. As Nicole Master said, every time we do something negative to the soil, we should aim at doing two positive things. Its time to start building the resource we call dirt. GN Kevin Elmy operates Friendly Acres Seed Farm, along with his wife, Christina, and parents, Robert and Verene, near Saltcoats, Sask. Contact him at 306-744-2779 or visit www.friendlyacres.sk.ca.

This soil is repairing and building, and looks like cottage cheese.

Kevin Elmy is learning about soil health, and looking for ways to grow crops with fewer inputs and healthy soils.

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Meet the Neighbours

Meet your farming neighbours Devon Walker left an off-farm job to go all in on his fourth-generation family farm By Lisa Guenther

Where do you farm? Devon Walker is a fourth-generation farmer in the Lashburn area, in northwestern Saskatchewan. Devon and his wife Pamela are the parents of three children. What crops do you grow? Devon farms 2,200 acres of canola, wheat (hard red and CPS), yellow peas, faba beans, and malting barley. How long have you been farming? Devon started farming in 2010. He recently took over the management role of the farm from his father. He says the transition process took about seven years. In 2008, Devon graduated from Lakeland College in Vermilion with an applied degree in environmental management, conservation and reclamation. He worked in the open pit coal mining industry near Hinton, Alberta. Then he moved home and worked in the heavy oil sector for two years, while trying to farm simultaneously.

Photos: Courtesy of Devon Walker

very farm has its own story. No two farms (or farmers) are exactly alike. Everyone got started in a different way, and every farm has a different combination of family and hired staff who make the decisions and keep things running. But, in general, even after you consider all of the details, Prairie farmers are more alike than different. This is the story of Devon Walker, a farmer, husband and parent near Lashburn in northwest Saskatchewan.

Devon and his wife Pamela have three young children. When Devon saw an opportunity to grow the farm and make a living, he returned to the farm full time.

Farming was always the end goal but he had to wait for the opportunity, he says. Eventually push came to shove “and all the eggs were in the farm basket and it was time.” What’s your favourite farming season? “I personally like the start of every season on the calendar year. The first little bit of seeding is awesome and the end is always terrible,” says Devon. Overall, his favourite season is harvest, as he’s reaping the fruits that he’s sown. But, he adds, “the first bit of harvest is awesome, and by the end of the season it’s like: ‘Get me out of this glass cage of emotion.’” It’s similar with grain hauling, he adds. What’s a good decision you made on the farm? In 2017, the Lashburn area struggled with excess moisture. “We had a very late seeding date for our area.”

He decided to seed his canola first, because he’d been quoted saying that he could deal with frozen wheat, but not frozen canola. The result was “ugly, gross wheat,” but good canola. He says he’s happy with that. His other good decision came about in his early years of farming. When he was first farming, and also working in the oilfield, he asked farmers he considered successful for advice. “And everybody said the farm suffers if you’re not all in.” So he decided to “jump into agriculture with both feet first.” Is there a decision you regret? Devon tries not to dwell too much on negative choices. “You obviously have to learn from your mistakes, but I don’t so much regret.” He tries to stay modest with how he farms. “I think my regrets would be small, at this point.” However, looking back on 2017, he can think of one decision. “I guess booking some $9 wheat would have been a smarter choice this season.”

Devon couldn’t live without his John Deere 4450 — the one piece of machinery on his farm that hasn’t changed since 1985.

What opportunities do you see in agriculture? “When I left the farm to go to school, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity in agriculture. Land prices were low, producers were not overly optimistic.” But he noticed a lot of farmers would be retiring, and he appreciated his upbringing on the farm and the skills he learned. He wanted to make sure he kept those skills and passed them on to his kids, as it seems to have worked for his family for several generations. Then he saw there would be opportunity to grow the farm, make a living, and raise a family. Going forward he sees this opportunity continuing for new producers. There are plenty of succession programs out there through agencies such as Farm Credit Canada. He also sees opportunities for current producers to grow their operations. What challenges do you see in agriculture? Devon sees land ownership as a future challenge. His farm is okay in the immediate future. But further down

the road, when he wants to do a big land purchase, “I think the price may not be very attainable for me, or other growers of my size.” Traditionally retiring farmers approached neighbours who they wanted to farm their land. But now there may be several bidders on a land parcel, and the dollars are high, he says. Renting is a good partnership, but there’s not always much certainty beyond the contract term. And as urban people with no other agricultural connection inherit or buy farmland, farmers will have to communicate “agriculture’s way of life” to them, he says. What do you like to do for fun? “Family stuff is really awesome right now.” Devon and his wife have a fiveyear-old, a two-year-old, and a baby. Devon enjoys community activities such as threshing bees and Halloween activities for the kids. He also enjoys swimming with the family and curling. You could have done anything. Why did you decide to farm? He has three main reasons: Having been raised on the farm, he had the knowledge and skill to do it. Agriculture gave him an opportunity to challenge himself, with the skills he learned. And as the farm evolved, that gave him a chance to make it his own. There was a changing of the guard underway. Agriculture hadn’t seen a massive group of farmers retiring since the late ‘70s, Devon points out. Devon looked at the demographic shift and saw that land would be available for him to farm. Agriculture underwent big changes between the time he left the farm and when he came back. The future looks positive, and “full of tech gizmos and programs and options.”

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“There’s really been a big shift in every aspect of the farm. It’s new and exciting.” What’s the farm implement you can’t live without? “I can’t live without my John Deere 4450. That is the one piece of machinery on our farm that hasn’t

changed since 1985. My father bought it the year I was born.” Devon remembers riding with his dad the day he paid it off, and how proud his father was. The 4450 used to be the big tractor on the farm that handled tasks such as pulling the anhydrous wagon. It was the biggest tractor Devon

learned how to drive when he was a teenager. “I logged a lot of hours in it.” The JD 4450 is an iconic-looking tractor. Devon compares it to the Johnny tractor from the kid’s books. “It’s got a little blade on the T:9.875” front so we plow our snow with it.

And we run the grain augers with it. And we run the grain vac with it.” He likes the 4450 so much that he bought a 4430 from the neighbours. “My dad and wife laugh because if I get a day in the summer where I’m not busy I’ll find a way to fire that tractor up and do something around the yard,

whether it’s levelling gravel or moving an old shed or dragging a grain bin across the yard to a better spot.” Follow Devon on Twitter @walkerfarm306 GN Lisa Guenther is field editor for Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Follow her on Twitter @LtoG.

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Crop protection

No short-term fix at Durum Summit Farmers looking for fusarium-resistant durum seed will have to keep on waiting By Leeann Minogue

hen farmers packed a meeting hall in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, for the 2018 Durum Summit, they were hoping to find a solution to their fusarium problems. Unfortunately, there’s nothing new on the horizon for the next few years. Curtis Pozniak, a wheat breeder

and geneticist at the Crop Develop- But when Pozniak was asked, “Which ment Centre in Saskatoon, says they two traits have been most difficult to are seeing developments in fusarium breed for?” Pozniak’s answer was resistance in new durum varieties. “fusarium and fusarium.” “It’s slow, but there’s an improveSome factors make it difficult for ment,” he told the audience. breeders to develop fusarium-resisWeather conditions in 2017 were tant durum. not conducive to too much fusarium Little native resistance: First, infection in most of the durum- Pozniak said, “there’s not a lot of growing regions, but farmers are still native resistance.” When they are reeling from extensive damage in looking for genes that might contribT:7.875” 2016. Breeders are doing all they can. ute to resistance, they don’t have a lot

of options. “We don’t have a lot of genes in the native durum germplasm pool that we can use.” So many genes: In the case of wheat midge tolerant spring wheat, a single gene makes the plants resistant to the pest. But no single gene does the job with fusarium. Instead, breeders “stack” genes — ensuring genes that might contribute to resistance are included in a potential new variety.

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Ron Knox is a plant biotechnology research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Swift Current. He explained the complexity of the situation. “In bread wheats there’s over 200 genes, so far, that people have identified. It’s a very complex disease, genetically.” With several genes contributing to fusarium tolerance, it can be difficult to measure the contribution made by each individual gene. The sheer variation: Fusarium infection is so dependent on weather that evaluation “requires testing over multiple environments, testing the same material multiple times. And we have large year-to-year variation in this disease.” This variation takes place not just in the field, but even in researchers’ specialized FHB nurseries. “There’s still a lot of nursery-to-nursery variation,” Knox said. The trouble with DON: While it’s easy to identify fusarium damage, it’s not simple to test for DON, the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol, or vomitoxin. Measuring DON requires sophisticated, expensive tests. Only a few years ago, Pozniak said, researchers didn’t have the capacity to select for DON susceptibility early in the breeding process. Instead varieties showing some promise would be further along in the breeding process before they were screened out due to susceptibility to DON. “We were only screening, we weren’t actually selecting.” As Knox said, “We put a lot of emphasis on DON, but we haven’t had the resources to do selection directly for DON.” As well as the cost of the tests, Knox pointed out, testing for DON requires additional labour during the harvest, and threshing of material. While fusarium has been top of mind, it wasn’t the only topic on the agenda. “We’ve identified a couple of interesting dwarfing genes,” Pozniak told farmers. His team is breeding dwarfing genes from Australia into the Canadian germplasm. “When we

Photo: Leeann Minogue

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Greg Viers, durum wheat procurement manager with Barilla America spoke at the Durum Summit in Swift Current. Globally, he said, Barilla buys the equivalent of 15,789 hopper cars-full of durum annually. When asked by farmer Scott Hepworth why Barilla labels its pasta products as “non-GMO,” Viers said, “If you don’t put that non-GMO certification on your package, then they’re going to assume it’s GMO.”

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add the dwarfing gene in we’re reducing the plant height by about 30 per cent.” Breeders are also working on sprouting tolerance. They’re bringing genes for this in from bread wheat, “reducing the amount of sprouted kernels by about 80 per cent,” Pozniak said. These new varieties “are starting to move into the advanced stages of yield tests.” Ken McDougall from McDougall Acres, a seed farm near Moose Jaw, Sask., was part of a producer panel that closed the Summit. McDougall pointed to the genetic advances we’ve already seen in durum seed. “Five years ago we had four options,” he said. These days, there are several potential durum varieties that he could promote to his customers. “That makes it much more complicated for seed growers,” he joked. “The new varieties that we have access to are quite exciting.” Farmer Kris Ewen, a farmer and durum grower from Riverhurst, Sask., summed it up when he said he would keep growing durum, even without a fusarium-tolerant variety in the near future. “We’re in a durumgrowing area. I don’t think it’s a crop we can let go.” GN

Fusarium prevention tips With no genetic silver bullet for fusarium in the near future, Ron Knox, plant biotechnology research scientist with Agriculture and AgriFood Canada at Swift Current, had a list of fusarium management tips: • Use disease-free seed. • Follow a rotation that includes crops that are non-hosts to fusarium. • Manage crop residues. The fusarium pathogen can colonize debris from other crops. Well-chopped straw will help speed up the decay process.

• During harvest, “adjust the combine to try and blow out the lighter kernels,” Knox said. Post-harvest cleaning can also be an option. • Use fungicides, although they won’t provide complete control. Timing is challenging, as there’s a very small window for effectiveness. While fusarium risk maps are available online, they are “not a substitute for farmers knowing their fields and what the moisture situation is.” • When applying fungicides, use a forward-

•

• • •

angled nozzle, a medium-sized droplet, 10 gallons per acre and a slower speed. Stagger planting of durum fields, so you won’t have every crop exposed to moist conditions at the optimal time for disease development. If you irrigate, don’t do it at a time when crops are susceptible. Adjust row spacing to alter the microclimate. Use the most resistant varieties available.

Leeann Minogue

Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews.

Rating for fusarium After they check out the “yield” column for each new variety, most farmers reading the annual seed guide look to see how each variety might stand up against the most worrying diseases. Curtis Pozniak, durum breeder at the Crop Development Centre, explained that when breeders rate durum seed varieties for fusarium resistance (ranging from R, resistant, to S, susceptible), they take three actors into account. • Incidence: 20 per cent of the weighting. Incidence describes the number out of out 100 heads of durum in a field showing symptoms of infection. • Severity: 20 per cent of the weighting. Severity describes how badly the head of the plant has been damaged by fusarium. • DON: 60 per cent of the weighting. This factor measures the presence of deoxynivalenol (DON), also known as vomitoxin. DON is produced by fusarium graminearum. Because it can be toxic, DON is given a high weighting. The Government of Saskatchewan’s “Varieties of grain crops, 2018” has this to say: “Although no varieties are resistant, Brigade, CDC Credence and Transcend generally express lower FHB symptoms compared to other cultivars in the class. Mycotoxin (DON) production by FHB fungi is generally lower for Transcend.” Pozniak explained: “Brigade and CDC Credence have an MS [moderately susceptible] rating more because they have reduced severity in the disease.” Leeann Minogue

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T:5.875 in

Not all potato psyllids carry Lso, the zebra chip pathogen

Photos: Dan Johnson, University of Lethbridge

Disease management

The eggs and immature stages of the potato psyllid are distinctive and can be spotted on the undersides of leaves.

Zebra chip pathogen

found in Alberta This colour-changing disease is making its way to western Canadian potato fields

It’s important to recognize the potato psyllid at all stages.

By Julienne Isaacs

“

YOU’RE EXACTLY WHERE YOU NEED TO BE.

ebra chip” is a fun, jaunty name for a potato disease that has nobody in the industry laughing. The disease, which causes harmless but unsightly stripes in potato chips, costs producers millions of dollars annually in New Zealand and the United States. Now the zebra chip pathogen has been found for the first time in Western Canada. To be clear, explains University of Lethbridge professor Dan Johnson, who headed the Canadian potato psyllid and zebra chip monitoring network, zebra chip has not yet begun to affect potato production in Canada. So far, Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (Lso), the zebra chip pathogen, has been detected in small numbers of potato psyllids — the pathogen’s insect vector — in Alberta. But the pathogen has not yet been found in any potato plant tissue. “There’s no infection of potatoes and no symptoms. So there’s no zebra chip yet, which is good news. But it’s likely to turn up,” he says. “Depending on the weather and other factors it’s possible that a tiny portion of the bug will continue to carry the pathogen and not transmit it. That’s a possibility. But to be realistic, eventually it caught up with the crop in other places.” The pathogen was found in 2017, the final year of a five-year research and monitoring program mostly concentrated in southern Alberta, where most processing potatoes are grown in the province. Johnson says potato psyllids had not been found in Canada until the program started. Small numbers of potato psyllids were found in increasing numbers in Alberta between 2015 and 2017. The insect was also found for the first time in Saskatchewan and Manitoba in 2016. No potato psyllids have been found east of Manitoba — so far. Not all potato psyllids carry Lso, says Johnson, but insects captured by the team in separate sites have tested positive for the pathogen, which may mean there’s a “widespread incidence of Lso at a very low level.” The pathogen was detected and identified by Larry Kawchuk, a pathologist at Agriculture and AgriFood Canada’s Lethbridge Research and Development Centre.

Management

year monitoring program is being planned by the Potato Growers of Alberta (PGA) in partnership with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Promax Agronomy and other industry partners, says Thomas McDade, agricultural director at PGA. The program will be “a very active surveillance monitoring system that will be used to help potato growers make quick and timely decisions on when to, and when not to, take preventative action,” says McDade. Its initial focus will be on tracking potato psyllid numbers, as well as numbers of the insect’s natural predators. The latter are actually an important control, says Johnson. “In a potato field there’s so much diversity, and many of these insects are potential natural enemies of the potato psyllid.” For example, during the survey Johnson’s team found a lot of species of ladybird beetles, which “demolish” immature psyllids. “If by luck or by management producers can hold off the insecticides a bit, those natural enemies can be a buffer,” he says. In Alberta, due to the absence of high numbers of Colorado potato beetle in recent years, producers are only spot-spraying for the insect pest, which has allowed beneficial insects to establish reasonable populations. Going forward, potato producers across Western Canada should learn to recognize potato psyllids at all life stages. Johnson says the eggs and immature stages of the insect are distinctive and can be spotted on the undersides of leaves. Newly emerged adults are white or yellow and after several hours they darken to display sculptured lines on the thorax and head and white stripes on the abdomen. If producers suspect they’ve captured potato psyllids they should contact provincial potato associations or agriculture departments and get the insects tested for Lso. GN

Johnson’s monitoring project has not been renewed, but the discovery of the zebra chip pathogen is a gamechanger for the industry. A new five-

Julienne Isaacs is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer and editor. Contact her at julienne.isaacs@gmail.com.

T:10 in

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Small numbers of potato psyllids were found in Alberta between 2015 and 2017. The insect was found in Saskatchewan and Manitoba in 2016.

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Topicvarieties Seed heading

Beetle-resistant potato varieties By Julienne Isaacs

ew potato varieties that are naturally resistant to Colorado potato beetle could be on the market in five years, according to Helen Tai, a potato breeder at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Potato Research Centre in Fredericton. Tai is the lead on the breeding project, which has been underway for 30 years, she says, since AAFC breeder Henry de Jong brought wild potato relatives to Canada from their native South America. Those species were tested in Canadian fields for their resistance to potato beetles and nine were identified that had some natural resistance. Crosses from these nine species also showed resistance. Tai’s program uses natural sources of resistance in crosses and does not produce genetically modified organisms. When she came on board the breeding project several years ago, the team began assessing chemical differences between resistant and nonresistant plants. “What some of the wild species are doing

is producing a chemical, an anti-feedant that the beetle doesn’t like,” she explains. “It doesn’t actually kill the beetle — it just deters the beetle.” The team is currently developing a DNA marker based on the resistant plants’ chemical profile and can use marker-assisted selection to look at large numbers of progeny from their crosses to see which ones have resistance, she says. Two varieties are already ready for accelerated release. Companies can submit cash bids for sole rights to trial these selections. The winning company continues field trials for the varieties and can license the variety for commercialization. Winning bids will be published online in March. AAFC will retain rights to continue working with the breeding material, says Tai, along with other sources of resistance. If a company puts in a bid this year, the new varieties could be ready for farmers’ fields in five years.

A natural option It’s good timing for a natural alternative to chemical controls of potato beetles.

Photo: John Morrison, AAFC

Potato growers could soon be growing Colorado potato beetle-resistant plants

The Colorado potato beetle is considered a major economic pest of potato.

The pest is considered a major economic pest of potato. It’s currently controlled Canada-wide by imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide, but the future of imidacloprid is by no means certain in Canada. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency is currently completing an environmental risk assessment of imidacloprid. In

SEE THE

2017, PMRA proposed a three- to five-year phase-out of the insecticide for agricultural use, based on assessments that found negative impacts on waterways. A final decision on whether imidacloprid will be deregistered for agricultural use is expected by late 2018. But that’s not the only reason alternative controls are needed. Tai says researchers have documented resistance to imidacloprid. Plus, chemical controls are costly for growers, and there are market segments, such as organic producers, home gardeners and hobby farmers, where potatoes with natural resistance are highly desirable. “There are concerns, there are questions,” she says. “There are a lot of reasons to move toward resistant varieties.” Tai says potato growers should let seed suppliers know if they’re interested in these new varieties. “It takes some time for the production system to respond but we need to get the information out there. Interest in it will help us to provide the materials,” she says. GN Julienne Isaacs is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer and editor. Contact her at julienne.isaacs@ gmail.com.

Bigger Picture

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Our services provide estimates or recommendations based on models. These do not guarantee results. Consult your agronomist, commodities broker and other service professionals before making financial, risk management, and farming decisions. Information and recommendations we provide do not modify your rights under insurance policies purchased through our affiliates. More information at www.climate.com/disclaimers. iPad® is a registered mark of Apple, Inc. Climate FieldView™ is a trademark of The Climate Corporation. ©2018 The Climate Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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Pest management

Six tips for managing wheat stem sawfly This list of management methods includes some that will seem counterintuitive By Melanie Epp

s with most pests, wheat stem sawfly populations rise and fall, depending on weather and the presence of natural predators. Economic losses arise when wheat stem sawfly larvae feed inside the stem. While some of those losses are due to decreased seed weight,

much of it occurs when the stems are cut and the plant falls to the ground, making harvest virtually impossible. Alberta Agriculture and Forestry entomologist Scott Meers offers tips for managing sawfly — some of which might at first appear counterintuitive. Thought to be native to North America, wheat stem sawfly can be found throughout the Brown Soil Zone in southern Alberta and

Saskatchewan, and in southwestern Manitoba. The pest prefers spring wheat, but has recently been found in some varieties of winter wheat. Pest populations rise and fall, and this year is no different. Some areas were completely devoid of sawfly, while others saw what Meers refers to as “hot spots.” Typically, sawfly tends to flourish in dry weather. This past year

saw flare-ups in Alberta, particularly southeast of Claresholm, Alta. “It seems to be getting a little bit bigger, and there’s fairly intense damage,” said Meers. “Not crazy yet, but in the 25 to 30 per cent infestation range.” Meers said they were seeing an increase in sawfly over a wider range this year as well. “Right now the trend for sawfly is moving up,” he said.

1. Swathing for sawfly One of the first ways to manage for sawfly, said Meers, is to look at swathing. If every stem is infested, sawfly will cause about 15 per cent yield loss. Some of that loss can be attributed to feeding inside the stem. Some can be attributed to the stem falling over. “Those losses can be very substantial,” said Meers. Another management tool is to swath prior to lodging, which reduces losses from heads falling to the ground. 2. Growing non-host crops Meers said that some growers may want to look at growing non-host trap crops, including any broadleaf crops and oats. In more infested areas, Meers says growers have already shifted away from wheat. Trap crops, like putting oats around a broadleaf crop, do work, said Meers. “The idea there is that they will lay eggs in oats, but they won’t survive,” he said. “Rather than having them drift off to another wheat field, it keeps them in that area and then they don’t reproduce because they die out in oats.” 3. Leave more stubble Meers has another suggestion for managing sawfly, although this one might be counterintuitive to those who struggle with the pest. He recommends leaving more stubble when harvesting. A parasitoid that attacks sawfly overwinters in wheat in the bottom portion of the stem. “The more stem you can leave at harvest time, the more survival of the parasitoid,” said Meers. “In the long run, that seems to be one of the drivers in the population.”

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4. Direct seeding Direct seeding is also recommended, as it doesn’t disturb the stubble and therefore the parasitoid that harms sawfly. “The less damage you can do to the previous year’s crop, the better,” he said. “Because the parasitoids don’t actually emerge until late June or July.”

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5. Avoiding cultivation and burning Things that don’t work include cultivation and burning. “There’s a really nice study out of Montana that shows that cultivation actually, in the long run, benefits the sawfly because the parasitoid doesn’t survive as well through cultivation as the sawfly does,” he said. Harrowing helps some, but the same problem that arises with cultivation arises here as well. That is, harrowing seems to impact parasitoid populations more than sawfly populations. 6. Choosing the right variety Finally, Meers suggests choosing a more tolerant wheat variety. With the modernization of Canada’s wheat classes, which takes effect August 1, 2018, 25 Canada Western Spring

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(CWRS) varieties and four Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) varieties will move to the Canada Northern Hard Red (CNHR) class. For those dealing with sawfly, the change raises concerns. One of the varieties impacted by the modernization act is Lillian, a semi-solid stem variety that better stood up to infestations.

“The biggest concern isn’t that they can’t grow it and sell it,” said Meers. “It’s that they can’t grow it and sell it for the same price anymore. They haven’t lost it — they’ve lost it economically.” While concerns are valid, the plan was designed with the protection of quality and consistency

in mind. Additionally, new varieties are expected to come down the pipeline as soon as 2018. Pierre Hucl, researcher at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC), said they already have a new wheat variety that should be a good T:9.875” replacement for Lillian. The new

variety, CDC Adamant, meets modern quality requirements and yields 15 to 20 per cent higher than Lillian. CDC Adamant has already received support for registration and could be available as soon as 2018. GN Melanie Epp is a freelance farm writer

This parasitoid, a small orange parasitic wasp called Bracon cephi, is very important for biological control and management of the wheat stem sawfly.

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Photos: Shelley Barkley, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry

Pest management

Typically, wheat stem sawfly tends to flourish in dry weather.

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

Parasitoids help control sawfly Researchers are evaluating the value of wheat stem sawfly’s natural predators By Melanie Epp

heat stem sawfly can cause major yield losses. Scientists are investigating parasitoids, small wasps and nematodes, as well as fungi that can be used to control the pest. Héctor Cárcamo, research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has been conducting research on beneficial insects that attack wheat stem sawfly larvae.

Sawfly, said Cárcamo, has a very interesting biology. Adults do not live long, about 10 days in total, and they start coming out of the wheat stubble at the end of June and peak around early July. “They don’t even eat,” said Cárcamo. “They just come out of the stubble where they overwinter at the base of the plant, and they mate. The female lays eggs and she comes out with a set number of eggs.” The female, interestingly, has the option to lay female or male eggs,

meaning she has the ability to control the sex ratio. “This allows it to increase the population very rapidly,” said Cárcamo. The larvae mine inside the stem, which interferes with the transport of nutrients and water inside the stem. By the end of the summer when the plant starts to dry, the larvae will migrate to the base of the stem where they hibernate for the winter. In doing this, they cut the stem, causing it to fall over. In bad infestations, entire fields will topple.

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The enemy: a parasitoid An important aspect of this story is the presence of a natural enemy, a small, orange parasitic wasp called Bracon cephi. “This parasitoid is very important for biological control and management of the wheat stem sawfly,” said Cárcamo. “It’s reasonably compatible with the solid stem option of pest management.” The use of a solid stem cultivar in combination with the helped lower wheat stem sawfly populations. “But I think the parasitoid deserves lot of credit because we found very high levels of parasitism near the end of the outbreak in 2009,” explained Cárcamo. “We were finding 70 per cent parasitism by the wasp.” Wet summers, he explained, interact with the sawfly and the parasitoid in the following way. The parasitoid has two generations per year. The adults come out and attack the larvae in the stem around the end of July once the larvae are big enough. The adult wasp will put her stinger inside the stem and inject a poison on the larvae that paralyzes the larva, but does not kill it. Then she lays an egg on the body of the sawfly larva. Once hatched, the parasitoid larva will attach itself to the wheat stem sawfly larva and suck the juices out of the larva until it is shrunken. Following that, the parasitoid larva will pupate inside the stem, later exiting to feed on more larvae. “In years that are wet and a little bit cooler, the wheat will stay greener longer so the sawfly larvae will be able to feed longer, and then it will provide a host or food larva for the new generation of wasps that come out,” explained Cárcamo. “If the weather is hot and dry then the stem dries quickly and then the larva of the sawfly will migrate to the base and it won’t be available for the wasp anymore. They have a harder time finding them once they are in the base.” This information led Cárcamo and his colleagues to offer new recommendations for managing sawfly, which is to leave more stubble in the field at harvest time. The more stem you leave at harvest the more chance the parasitoid has of surviving. In the U.S., entomologist and insect ecologist Gadi Reddy of Montana State University’s Western Triangle Research Center has conducted research with insect-killing nematodes, small roundworms that naturally live in the soil. They enter the insect body and release enzymes with bacteria that kills insects. The predatory nematodes feed on the dead tissues of the insect body. Recently, Reddy and his colleagues learned that spraying adjuvants help to make wheat stubble softer so that the nematodes can penetrate it more easily and attack the larvae. While some are highly efficient at moving into the stubble, others are not. His work is still in progress, but he hopes to have final results in one to two years. GN Melanie Epp is a freelance farm writer.

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Farm financial planner

Purchasing the family farm Three sons want to buy the family farm. Purchase costs could ruin the plan

The analysis The first choice, just sell the land, would generate $2.1 million with 600 acres priced at $3,500. The land has a book value of $612,000, resulting in a capital gain of $1,488,000. That gain would be offset by the federal farmland tax credit. There would be no federal tax, though there would be $20,000 Manitoba provincial tax and a $40,000 alternative minimum tax bill of $40,000. The net after-tax proceeds would be $2,040,000, Don Forbes calculates. The AMT would amount to a pre-payment of future taxes. The farm’s machinery would be sold for an estimated $200,000. Its present book value, $30,000, would leave net proceeds of $170,000 with a 40 per cent estimated tax of $68,000. The net after-tax cash proceeds would be $132,000. Remaining grain inventory would be sold for $140,000 less 40 per cent tax of $56,000. That would leave $84,000 after tax.

The outcome

left, well ahead of their $4,000 Assuming that Jack and Terri mone- monthly after-tax retirement income tize their farm through sale or a part- target. Money saved from sale of grain nership with their sons, then in 2019, inventory could be used to fund RRSPs when both parents are 65, they would and to establish TFSAs. expect gross income of $5,387 per In 2024, when the parents are 69, month consisting of $1,250 monthly the AgriInvest payments would stop land rent for each parent, total $2,500 but higher CPP and OAS benefits per month, plus two Old Age Security would offset some of the decline. If benefits of $600 each, CPP payments gross income were $4,600 per month based on contributions of $687 in total and taxes still $750, the parents would and $1,000 per month for income have $3,637 to spend, a little less than from the AgriInvest contributory pro- their target income but easily covered gram for five years. Take off $750 for by draws on the parents’ Registered SEC_CABRI17_T_REV_GN_SEC_CABRI17_T_REV_GN.qxd 2018-02-01 Page 1 tax and the parents would have $4,637 Retirement Income 10:01 FundAMaccounts

that would start payments on or before their 72nd years. At that time, the parents would have $120,000 in RRSPs and $22,600 in their TFSAs, assuming that they do not draw on RRSPs before 72. “This plan is workable for the sons and the parents if they choose the partnership route. GN Andrew Allentuck’s book, “Cherished Fortune: Build Your Portfolio Like Your Own Business,” (with co-author Benoit Poliquin), will be published in November, 2018.

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couple we’ll call Jack and Terri, both 63, have farmed in south central Manitoba for the last four decades. Their farm started with 320 acres; now it’s 600 acres of grain with modest profits. The problem? How Jack and Terri can migrate to retirement while accommodating their three sons’ wishes to follow Mom and Dad on the farm. One son, in his mid-20s, and two in their early 30s, are eager to take over. But money is the problem. Jack and Terri are millionaires on paper, but almost all their wealth is tied up in their land and equipment. They can’t afford to give their sons a terrific bargain in the land transfer and still have enough capital to support their retirement income goal — $4,000 monthly after tax. Jack and Terri recognize their problem. To help resolve it, they consulted with Don and Erik Forbes of Forbes Wealth Management Ltd. in Carberry, Manitoba. “Emotionally, the parents want to help their sons start farming, but today’s high land prices make it very hard to start a farm,” Don Forbes explains. “Land prices put a profitable operation out of reach. The better approach would be for the sons to have off-farm jobs and farm on a parttime basis.” For their own retirement income, Jack and Terri have several choices. First, sell the land for its market value, about $2.2 million after tax. This choice would reap a handsome gain for the parents and make it impossible for the sons to take over the farm profitably. The second option: sell a quarter to each son at a major discount from market value. It would help the sons but reduce the parents’ retirement income. Third choice: form a partnership with the sons and have them pay land rent for the parents’ retirement income. As we’ll see, this is the best of the three alternatives.

Adding up the gains after tax, the parents would have $2,256,000 in cash. If this sum were invested at five per cent, it would yield $112,800 per year in pre-tax retirement income. The choice of this option requires that the land sale occur first and the farm machinery sale and sale of gain inventory should take place the following year. That way, the alternative minimum tax charged on the land sale could be used as a credit against federal tax owing for the machinery and grain sales, Don Forbes emphasizes. The second choice is to sell a quarter to each son. Each would pay $3,500 per acre for 150 acres or, effectively, $2,000 per acre times 450 acres, total: $1,575,000. The parents could discount the price by $225,000 per son, for a total of $675,000 leaving $900,000 to be financed by a land mortgage or $300,000 per son, Erik Forbes explains. Payments on $300,000 at four per cent would cost $19,000 per year or $120 per acre. If the cost were five per cent, the payments would be $21,000 per year or $132 per acre. These costs would make farming uneconomic for the sons. Moreover, banks would be unlikely to lend on these numbers, Don Forbes says. FCC could provide a vendor takeback with recourse of land reversion to the parents if the sons did not meet their obligation, but the costs of financing would make the venture uneconomic. A final option is a partnership with the sons. They would pay land rental for the parents’ retirement income. If land rental at $100 per acre were discounted by $30 and expenses of $20, it would leave $50 per acre times 600 acres or $30,000 a year for the parents’ retirement income. That would be $15,000 for each parent before tax. If Jack and Terri sell their land outright, each would qualify for a $1 million personally owned farm land capital gains exemption and an exemption for their primary residence and one acre. That would be a $100,000 credit, so the first $2.1 million of gains on personally owned farm land would be tax-free. The transfer to the sons would be at any price between book value and present market value. That would cover land, equipment and grain inventory. The object would be to use up all tax credits and tax exemptions while not claiming the entire value on the farm and having to pay tax on the date of transfer, Don Forbes emphasizes. Assuming that the parents make the transfer, Jack and Terri would take back a zero per cent interest promissory note on the land. This would protect future income if one or more of the children were to be in financial difficulty through divorce or insolvency. Creditors or an estranged spouse could seek to capture assets but the promissory note would ensure that the parents are paid first. This measure gives title to the land to the children while allowing the parents to retain control.

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Soils and crops

D : The digital dumbing down 3

Not all information is better in the digital age. Especially data about the weather Les Henry

e are now in “the information age.” Information, mostly good but sometimes sketchy, is literally at our fingertips. As I wrote this piece if a spelling error occurred, my software program underlined it in red. Then I quickly opened a web browser and put my spelling of the word into Google and up popped the correct spelling, definition and more. It happened at least three times while I wrote this short piece. Google Earth is my favourite digital tool. When someone writes to order my book, it is fun to look up what the land is like in their home area. Where Google’s Street View is available, it is the next best thing to actually being there. The everexpanding reach of Street View is a bit scary (big brother is watching) but also very informative. But, along with the everexpanding digital world, some very useful information has dropped off because it does not easily fit in the digital format. This piece will explain a few such examples we have lived through. Please realize that pointing out such loss of information is not a criticism of the administrative units holding the data. It is just a fact of life that resulted in loss of useful information that did not easily transform to a digital platform.

were discontinued and the data was available only in data and table format. The same information was there, but there was no way to determine where in the quarter section the various soils and other features occurred. In the early days of precision agriculture, I recall attending a presentation that included grid soil sampling and testing on a single quarter section to the tune of

many dollars’ worth of soil testing. One of the main conclusions was that the old farmyard and manure spreading area was an area of super fertility. A peak at the old assessment map or old air photos would have been much cheaper. Paper copies of the old assessment quarter section maps are archived at the U. of S., and the Soil Science department has microfiche and microfilm on file

for most of it. With current initiatives it may be possible to make PDFs accessible online. I hope so! S a s ka tc h ewa n A s s e s s m e n t Management Agency (SAMA) is now responsible for farmland assessment and is more influenced by market value than productive capacity. But, much of the soil and other information is still there and now available at the click of a mouse (visit www.samaview.sama.

sk.ca/sama). The site is much improved from earlier versions. For the most part, I can easily find what I want. If I can do it young folk will find it a breeze.

Water well information The first water well reports in Saskatchewan were on microfiche with four wells per page. All geology and well completion information was available as well as water

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It takes a lot of points to get any kind of useful map Saskatchewan municipal land assessment When I first started working in soil science, the Assessment Branch of the Department of Municipal Affairs was responsible for farmland assessment for taxation purposes. The unit was housed right within the Soil Science Department at the University of Saskatchewan and we worked hand in hand. The assessed value of farmland was based on the physical soil resource and its capability to produce net earnings with which to pay the tax. A map was prepared for each individual quarter section. The map showed the location of building sites, sloughs, bush, and the individual soil types and topography. These maps were the only sources of information based on each individual quarter section. But when computers came along, these hand-drawn maps did not fit the digital format. The maps

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chemistry for some wells. One of the main features of the water chemistry was the all-important data on nitrates. Well water nitrate that could kill babies was first discovered in the 1940s. Many farm wells were tested for nitrate in the 1950s-60s and having that old data available is very important. The old microfiche technique is now completely outdated and water well information is available online in PDF format. At www. wsask.ca, choose “Water info,” and then “online drilling reports.” The modern computerized version has one well per page and the water chemistry data is not included. That is a major dumbing

down. In work near Saskatoon a few years ago I accessed the microfiche of a 1933 dairy farm well. It had analysis for water TDS and hardness. That was enough to tell me that the well was completed in pre-glacial deposits. When the hydrogeology study of the area was completed an aquifer was found in pre-glacial deposits. That aquifer had sufficient pressure that a well 150 feet deep could shoot water seven feet above ground. The pressure that causes flowing wells is a major reason for saline/ solonetz soils and for water in basements of city houses. The good news is that most of the water chemistry data is still in

the guts of computers and after much gnashing of teeth, it should soon be readily available.

Weather/climate information Weather is the day-to-day conditions that we enjoy or hate. Climate is the 30-year average of that weather. In days of yore, weather information was gathered by dedicated and mostly volunteer observers located right where the weather was happening. They read a thermometer twice a day and read and dumped a rain gauge and mailed the results to the federal government.

When we (H.K. Harder at the University of Saskatchewan and I) prepared a map in 1991 showing “Soil Climatic Zones of Southern Saskatchewan” it was based on data from “Environment Canada, Atmospheric Environment Service. Canadian Climate Normals, 19511980, Temperature and Precipitation.” I have many such books on shelves at the University of Saskatchewan. The printed map was 22" x 17" and the back side was full of the criteria and data used to make the map. In 1991 there were 194 Saskatchewan weather stations and all but Uranium City and LaRonge were in the agricultural area.

Recently I found a federal government document online, from the Environment and Climate Change department. It was an Excel spreadsheet, titled “Historical Homogenized Temperature Stations for Canada — Updated to December 2016.” Hmm. “Homogenized” sounds kind of suspicious to me. That 2016 document was based on only 36 stations in the province of Saskatchewan and six of those were not in the agricultural area. When something as important as our weather/climate information was digitized it has, in my opinion, been “dumbed down” to a frightening degree. A few years ago, when I was preparing the annual November 1 Soil Moisture Map I was having trouble with data from the Manitoba Interlake area. As always, if I want to know something in the country I call up a local. So, I picked on a seed grower and phoned him. He informed me that the automated local station had been out of service for a long time. It seems that “homogenizing” involves using the nearest stations to “manufacture” data for a missing station. If a crow makes an unsolicited deposit in an automatic recording rain gauge, that data is gone forever. It cannot be generated from the nearest stations. Rainfall in particular cannot be modeled or otherwise mathematically derived. It must be measured at a point, and it takes a lot of points to get any kind of useful map. I think there is one way that modern technology could help a lot in making rainfall maps. The Doppler Radar is amazing technology and I think it could be used to make a better rainfall map. Terry Aberhart, Langenburg area farmer and Agri-Trend associate, showed an example of that at a recent precision ag meeting in Saskatoon. But no one in research or bureaucracy seems to be advancing that idea. Instead, the Radisson radar that serves Saskatoon area has been AWOL for months and was recently joined by Bethune and Jimmy Lake (northwest). We now have no functional radar in the province. Even when they are all operating, the very important northeast ag area (Melfort/Nipawin) is without service. Perhaps our federal Environment and Climate Change Canada department should spend less money jetting around to make Kyoto, Rio, Paris etc. accords and spend more time sticking to the business of measuring and reporting our day-to-day weather. Weather cannot be modeled — it can only be measured. 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, Sask., S7H 3H7.

2017-12-14 6:20 PM

columns

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

Reporter’s notebook

The other side of ranching A new book focuses on the role of women in Alberta’s ranching history

Photo: Lisa Guenther

Lisa Guenther

The leather tooling on this old saddle looks nice, but it is a pain to clean.

n a recent column on clubroot, I suggested that Sask Crop Insurance look at a carrot-and-stick policy to crop rotations in the province. Later, I was a little worried some

might interpret that part of the column as me shaking my finger at farmers with tight rotations. That wasn’t my intention. There are plenty of good agronomic reasons for a longer rotation. But there are economic considerations driving the short ones. For example, I’m quite aware that canola is one of the few consistent breadwinners for farmers in Saskatchewan’s northern grain belt.

Our motto at Grainews is “practical production information.” Lately I’ve been thinking I’d like to write less on why farmers should stretch out rotations, and more on how they can (or already are). I would love to hear from farmers on this issue. Here are some ideas: 1. H ave you maintained a longer rotation over the years? If so, how and why have you done that?

2. Are you lengthening your rotation right now? If so, what is behind that decision? What are some of the challenges and practical considerations around doing that? 3. Are there crops that you’re considering adding to your rotation, but want to learn more about? Shoot me an email at lisa.guenther@fbcpublishing.com if you have story ideas on these topics or are willing to be featured in Grainews.

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A friend gave me a book for Christmas titled Ranching Women in Southern Alberta. The author, Rachel Herbert, pulled quite a bit from her own family’s history for the book, but also drew on other historical sources. It’s an interesting, wellresearched look at how women, and their families, adapted to ranch life in southern Alberta (although she does draw on sources from other parts of the northern Great Plains as well). Many historians have focused on the masculine side of ranching. Hebert’s book doesn’t deny the role men played in the ranch work and economy. But she does give us a nuanced, and often colourful, look at how families operated these early ranches. She also argues that gender roles were not always as rigid as they’ve been made out to be. It’s a view that accords with my own understanding of my family’s ranching history. Coincidentally, my grandmother, Mary Guenther, is quoted in the introduction. One chapter focuses on the evolution of women’s clothing and saddles. Initially, many ranch women rode side-saddle in a full skirt. But this wasn’t the most practical, or safest, attire. Hebert has an account of a woman’s skirt catching on the pommel, hanging her upside down. Fortunately her horse just continued trotting along until her husband realized what was happening. As time went on, more and more women abandoned skirts and sidesaddles for pants and regular stock saddles. Sometimes their husbands and families encouraged them to ride astride. In other cases, they faced some pushback, either from family or from communities. In the 1890s, Evelyn Cameron was threatened with arrest in Miles City, Montana, after riding into town in a split riding skirt. It made me think about my own saddles. I still use a saddle owned by my grandmother, Mary Guenther, in the 1960s. It came with a horse owned by someone who ran a car dealership north of Burstall, Saskatchewan. The pommel and cantle are quite flat for a Western saddle, and the seat is fairly slick. I can’t recall seeing a new Western saddle like that, but apparently it was a common style in the 1960s. It’s relatively light. I also find it quite comfortable, whether I’m trail riding or chasing uncooperative cattle. People have pointed out that the

columns

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

low pommel and cantle won’t save you if your horse starts bucking. I can only remember being thrown from it once, and that was my own fault. I think my biggest beef with this saddle is that it has a lot of leather tooling. The tooling looks nice, but it is a pain to clean. It also has lace up

stirrups. I don’t think I’ll ever be selling this saddle. My other saddle, a Blue River, is much newer. It’s also much heavier, and unfortunately for me, it fits my tallest horse. It’s good motivation to do push-ups in the winter. This saddle fits my horse well, is comfortable for me, has quick-

change stirrups, and not much tooling. I found the higher cantle and pommel strange at first, but I’m now as comfortable with it as I am with my flat saddle. I’ve also been thrown from this saddle, so I can say with authority that a high cantle and pommel aren’t idiot-proof. T:9.875 in Rachel Hebert also writes about

how saddle-makers began crafting saddles for female riders. Stock saddles became lighter. “Mother and child” saddles were also created. This type of saddle had a small horn, long seat, a narrow pommel, and calfskin on the seat to make it a little stickier. Hebert writes that her family used one right up until the late 1980s.

If you’re interested in Herbert’s book, it’s available online and in bookstores, or you can read it for free at Text https://press.ucalgary. ca/openaccess. GN Lisa Guenther is field editor for Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Follow her on Twitter @LtoG.

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columns

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

Can’t take the farm from the boy

Replacing the parts in ag The ag industry needs a continuous supply of young people to take part Toban Dyck

griculture is a machine in constant need of new parts. Its oil needs changing every few years. Its chains are working but worn. Its bearings could stand to be repacked. It’s an industry that needs to be as sharp as it can be. And it’s an industry that is only as strong as the people working in it. It’s tacitly understood that truly young farmers (I say “truly’” young because I’m technically a young farmer and I’m 38) don’t have time to get involved and join committees and/or boards. This limits the pool to those who are established enough to have staff and to those who are either fully or nearly retired. I have heard the topic of how to get young people involved in the ag

industry discussed more times than I can remember. I’ve participated in these discussions. I’ve even attempted to contribute to a few of them in a meaningful way. But I don’t have the answers. Hey. Maybe I’ll write about it in Grainews and spur people into action that way. So, I did exactly that. But, perhaps I did it wrong. Perhaps it’s not a call to action that you need. No. Maybe you need something else, entirely. When I first began working in the commodity group world, I remember visiting a friend who also worked in the industry. He gave me a tour of his office and showed me the boardroom. It was huge. And if I remember correctly, on the table in front of every chair was a mic hanging over the button to activate it. “Do you ever speak up at meetings?” I asked. “Yes.” It was spring of 2016 and his

answer blew my mind. I couldn’t imagine being in a position where, a: I’d have something worthwhile to say to a room full of people; and b: I’d have the nerve to say it. Writing to a large audience registers as different to me, apparently. Fast-forward to winter of 2018 and I have to chuckle at my former self. I have done that and will do that again. I don’t know exactly when and how it happened. But it did. I began to engage and somewhere along the line doing so started to get easier.

Everyone has something to add I think the answers to most challenges are best found dredging the bed of human experience. I’ve learned to be a person in this world, despite the muck. So have you. So has everyone. The people who speak up and lead are not who you think they are. They are not smarter than you.

They are not better than you. And they do not have the Midas touch. The difference between the person who pushes the button and speaks into the mic and the person who doesn’t is that one person pushed the button and said what was on his or her mind and the other did not. It’s that simple. Everyone struggles to push the button for the first time. Everyone had to rise above some human flaw to speak up. Everyone has at some point opened their mouth and said something wrong or laughable. It’s hard at first. But then it’s easier. In boardrooms the country over, people are dreaming up ways to get you involved in their organizations. They know you have something valuable to say and they’re worried about what the ag sector will look like 10, 20, 40 years from now if you don’t say it. Whether it has new parts or not, the machine that is the ag sector keeps working in the background.

How well it works and with what kind of parts is largely up to you. I hope I’m eventually displaced by a younger, engaged generation willing to push the button. Get involved. It’s important that you do. You’ll change the industry — not because you’re especially brilliant but because you’ve had a few ideas and experiences that I guarantee nobody else has had. It’s the note you make to yourself at 3 a.m. that could transform the sector. Most of the more significant things that have happened in my life can be traced back to something that initially seemed silly or inconsequential. The thing that could finally bridge the urban-rural divide or open up new markets may be yours to contribute. GN Toban Dyck is a freelance writer and a new farmer on an old farm. Follow him on Twitter @tobandyck or email tobandyck@gmail.com.

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columns

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

Understanding market bulls and bears

A review of the market fundamentals Back to basics — the rudiments, the essentials and the nitty gritty details of fundamentals

Brian Wittal

hen talking about markets you always hear the terms technicals and fundamen-

tals. “Technicals” refers primarily to the historical and present day charting information for a commodity. This includes examining all of the formations, trend lines, etc., to determine where futures prices are going. “Fundamentals” encompasses other aspects that can influence markets — such as politics, currencies, supply and demand and weather. Those who trade and speculate in the markets tend to have a preference for either technicals or fundamentals. I tend to use fundamentals first to get a broader understanding of what is happening in the markets, and then apply the technicals for a more

detailed picture of how the markets are reacting and what that is telling us. Let’s look at some of the components of fundamentals, starting with supply and demand.

The fundamentals Creating a supply and demand report is a complex process of trying to predict future prices based on historical information and production estimates, use estimates and calculations of how much will be left over for the next year. Regardless of how accurate or inaccurate the numbers may be, once they are released they become “the numbers” that the markets will use to trade until new numbers are generated. If all producing nations would openly share their information, and if buyers would divulge how their buying intentions, you might stand a chance of coming up with an accurate S&D analysis for world grains. Until that time comes we will continue to

rely on educated guesses based on years of data, satellite imagery and good old gut feelings. Production estimates are a major part of estimating S&Ds. Estimating world grain production is greatly impaired by many variables. Thank goodness for years of data that allow analysts to use historical averaging as a baseline. With the addition of satellite imagery to help analysts estimate crop growth and health, production estimates are quite accurate, until Mother Nature enters into the game! Politics is another component of fundamental analysis that can influence markets. This was evident when Indian tariffs changed the dynamics of global pulse crop markets. Trade is disrupted when sanctions or embargoes are placed on countries. In today’s world, grains are traded in or out of almost every country so sanctions or embargoes in any one country can influence markets around the world. This will no doubt impact prices — either good or bad

depending on the W5 (who, what, where, when, why) of the situation. Renegotiating existing or negotiating new trade deals can have a significant influence on market access for products into a country. Deals can eliminate tariffs against products or give one or more suppliers preferential access over others. These changes will likely impact prices in one or more, or all, of the countries influenced by the trade deal. The new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a prime example. Here in Canada some industry sectors claim it will be beneficial while others claim it will be detrimental to their business. What will happen with NAFTA? It could be going the way of the Dodo bird and it could all depend on the Tweeting of another Dodo! Currencies can have a big impact on supply and demand projections, especially if the currency of a major buying nation drops dramatically. This can make it impossible for them

to buy as much as they did previously, meaning world supplies and end stocks will increase and prices will likely drop, which all have ripple effects on markets. Weather is a major influencer when it comes to a fundamental analysis of world grain markets. As the weather changes, so can world grain S&D projections. This is what puts volatility in futures markets, keeping buyers and sellers and speculators unsure of what might be out there for sale and at what price. Fundamental analysis has many aspects, none of which are cut and dried or black and white. In the end it comes down to an educated guess — utilizing a mix of data, analytics and gut. 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. (www.procommarketingltd.com).

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columns

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

Hart attacks

Armchair critic strikes again Lee Hart can find something to natter about on just about every news page

Lee Hart

t is almost impossible for me to listen to a news broadcast or skim through any “news” publications without having a million comments. Three of my most frequent observations: “boy that’s stupid” or “some

people need to get a life” or “wow, that’s new to me!” In the Calgary news lately, a group of naturists —folks who like being nude — have been trying to rent a city pool for an after-hours family swim. Apparently they have done this in the past without notice, but their most recent plans caught the attention of some society-savers. There came this mounting protest over how this could bring rot to the foundation of civiliza-

tion. The family swim will attract pedophiles and voyeurism, and increase rates of sexual abuse, among other claims. The city cancelled the first naturist swim, but now they are applying again. My response: what a bunch of stupid people who need to get a life. Who cares if the naturists have a familybased swim? It’s not my thing, but it’s just a bunch of harmless naked folks who like to hang out in many defini-

tions of the term. Nothing sexual, no orgy, just a harmless swim in the buff. If is not your thing, don’t go near the pool. There won’t be any creeps taking photos of naked children. Where are they going to hide their camera? Get a life society-savers. Mind your own fully clothed business.

Meat tax? Now let’s turn to farm news. A headline in our Alberta Farmer magazine

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Super-terms Under the “term that is fairly new to me” category we have the word “cluster.” Research clusters, funding clusters, biotech clusters, and innovation clusters to name a few. Lately I get the impression, if you are not involved in a cluster, you’re not serious about agriculture (although probably a coffee cluster would count, too). A recent article was talking about not just your ordinary cluster, but two superclusters for innovation. The federal government is involved, so it has to be good. The plan for these superclusters that hope to cash in on some of the $950 million the federal government is making available is to result in “bold and ambitious proposals that will supercharge regional innovation ecosystems.” I am not sure what that means, but it sounds electrifying. I was going to wait six months and phone a few farmers to see if they had come across any “supercharged regional innovation ecosystems” in their community. Stay tuned. I know I sound old and cynical, probably because every day I am old and occasionally I become cynical, but I can read a lot of fine words about probably some very good ideas that have potential to be very successful. What’s lacking are details of exactly how or when farmers run into a “supercharged regional innovation ecosystem” that will either save or make them money. I’m sure those details are coming. GN

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“Meat tax unlikely.” Who is even considering a meat tax? The founder of a private equity firm, Farm Animal Investment Risk & Returns Initiative, feels because red meat is high risk and hazardous it is possible that one day t-bones will be taxed like tobacco. I am not sure how red meat caught such a bad rap. With the flack today, it might make sense for Monsanto to buy the red meat industry, and then protestors would just have one target for their crops and livestock slings and arrows. You can cut the throats on 40,000 chickens, ship them to KFC and you have a finger lickin’ good moment that topples racial barriers and saves the family unit. You send one steer to the packing plant, and a steak becomes a death warrant, and destroys life on the planet. I read an article in the daily paper on the best diet to protect your brain — nuts, fruits and vegetables are good. Among the foods to avoid: red meats, “eat as little as possible,” and if you care about your health don’t go near cheese more than once a week. The writer was a University of Toronto professor specializing in brain health and prevention of Alzheimer’s. No wonder consumers can get confused. That little guy on A&W commercials is going to have to develop a brain-saving burger.

2018-01-31 3:13 PM

Lee Hart is a field editor with Grainews based in Calgary. Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com.

machinery & shop

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

Grainews practical test

Winter F-150 road test Our cold-weather review of a Ford 2018 Platinum pickup By Scott Garvey

On warm days, slush and road spray obscured the rear view camera lens.

Photos: Scott Garvey

xtreme cold weather is hard on vehicles. And this winter has been extreme. So rather than stay inside with a hot cup of coffee and watch afternoon movies, Grainews decided there was no better time to take advantage of Mother Nature’s cruel side to see just how it affects the average farm pickup. So we grabbed one of Ford’s newest F-150 pickups to see how it handles the abuse. It was also our first chance to get some wheel time in one of Ford’s 2018 models — and one at the high end of the options spectrum at that. Our test truck arrived as a 2018 F-150 Platinum, four-wheel drive, four-door edition with a 5.0 V-8 under the hood. The V-8 delivered torque to the 275/55R20 wheels through an electronic 10 speed automatic transmission. We found that combination gave the truck pretty good acceleration and ample power in typical on-road driving. At the back, the truck had a 3.31 rear axle ratio and it was rigged with the brand’s trailer towing package, giving it a 7,000-pound (3,181 kilogram) GVWR rating. So those are the nitty gritty mechanical specs. But our objective was to see how the truck coped with the extreme cold weather, and we were blessed — so to speak — with an ample helping of it during our weeklong review. On the first day of testing, temperatures dipped well below -20 C and stayed there for a while. We left the truck outside on its own the entire time without the aid of a block heater or any other such comfort. Initially, during the coldest days, the F-150 racked up a fuel consumption average according to the onboard computer of 18.9 l/km (about 15 m.p.g.) in city traffic. On the highway cruising at 110 km/h, that dropped to about 15.6 (roughly 18.1 m.p.g.). As the mercury rose to near zero by the end of the week there was a noticeable difference in fuel economy. The combined city-highway mileage numbers rose to 13.9 l/100km. (20.3 m.p.g), clearly showing the dramatic affect of very cold, more viscous lubricants that sap horsepower in extreme temperatures. And along with the milder weather came shorter idle times. As you’d expect with a modern fuel-injected engine, it started easily in the cold, although the starter spun the engine over a little slower than usual, which is also to be expected. So no problems there — and no surprises either. The transmission continued to shift smoothly even during the very cold temperatures without much warm-up time before setting off. The dual, power folding heated mirrors stayed clear through all the weather to help see around the truck. With the trailer-towing package, the

This Ford F-150 Platinum edition pickup was the subject of this year’s Grainews winter road test.

Tow hooks were a nice feature, but the valance below the bumper would be prone to damage in deep snow or off-road driving.

test F-150 had the large mirrors that included a smaller convex mirror as well. They were pretty helpful navigating a truck this size through city traffic. The driver’s side mirror had an auto-dimming feature to reduce glare from headlights on vehicles behind the truck at night, and a blind spot warning feature that signals when there is a vehicle in the driver’s blind spot. Manually checking the driver’s side blind spot is a little awkward due to the location of the B pillar. The 360-degree camera view on the dashboard screen was great for squeezing into tight parking spaces. But although the rear backup camera was also great for backing in tight quarters — and almost an essential feature on a vehicle this big — in the slush on the warmer test days, the rear camera lens was mostly obscured and became essentially useless. (We noticed the same problem when driving on wet gravel roads in a previous Grainews review of a 2016 F-150.) To make things a little more comfortable, the F-150 had heated front seats and dual-zone climate control, so the passenger and driver can set the heat to their own desired comfort level. And the heated seat feature was handy to warm up the leather buckets relatively quickly. Without that, the

Large, heated, retractable mirrors that are an option available with the trailer tow package helped the driver keep tabs on traffic around the truck.

Retractable side steps improve access to the box.

Interior and exterior body styling on the 2018 is mostly the same as on the previous model year.

leather seats would definitely have been a drawback during cold weather. The body style of the 2018 F-150 looks essentially the same as the 2017 model; there are no major changes to talk about there. The Platinum edition also offers a host of digital features including a Wi-Fi hotspot that can accommodate up to 10 devices within a 50-foot radius of the truck. We didn’t spend any time

trying to sync up digital devices to a truck we were only going to have for a week. So we have to take Ford’s word on how capable these features are. We found a couple of things to nitpick, as you might expect, such as the composite valance below the front bumper that would likely disintegrate if you hit a big snow drift on a rural road. We expected a more capable design there, especially considering this truck

had the FX4 off-road package with skid plates. Overall, though, the Platinum was nice truck to drive, and it tackled the extreme cold weather driving easily. Of course, with an MSRP on our test truck of $80,499 plus taxes, it should be. GN Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@ fbcpublishing.com.

Pickup trucks

100 years of Ford trucks From the Model TT to the Raptor, Ford celebrates a milestone By Scott Garvey July 27, 1917 was a big day for Henry Ford. That was the day the Model T car was given a brother, the Model TT pickup, Ford’s very first truck. And last July marked the 100th anniversary of that production milestone at Ford. Suggested retail for the TT was $600 (about $9,607.32 in today’s dollars), and 209 of them rolled off the assembly line in the first year of production. Boy, how things have changed. GN Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

machinery & shop

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

New trucks

The “all-new” Ram 1500 This pickup truck gets a new look, a lighter weight and new features for 2019

Photos: FCA

By Scott Garvey

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Mike Manley, head of the Ram brand at FCA introduces the 2019 models at the Detroit Auto Show.

t turns out engineers at FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) have had the Ram pickup on a diet. The new 2019 models introduced at the

Detroit Auto Show in January were a svelte 225 pounds lighter than the current versions. Part of that weight reduction comes from switching to aluminum for some components, such as the tailgate, engine mounts, and front axle center section as well as transmission and front suspension crossmembers. 100 of those 225 pounds shed came from the frame alone. Although the brand is quick to add that the frame is made up of 98 percent high-strength steel and is now even stronger and more durable that the heavier one it replaces. With that extra strength, the Ram 1500 gets its maximum payload rating bumped up to 2,300 pounds (1.045 kilograms) and its trailer tow rating is now 12,750 pounds (5,795 kilograms). The new trucks also get a bump in aerodynamic efficiency to pull up m.p.g ratings, partly due to the addition of grille shutters and front air dam. The “next generation” air suspension also contributes to increased fuel economy, according to the brand, not to mention a better ride, load levelling and better off-road performance. And a new off-road package raises the 1500 up an inch over the stock ride height. The front brakes grow in size to 14.9 inches for 2019, and the parking brake goes electric. The new Ram switches to a steer-by-wire electric power steering system to eliminate the horsepower loss typical in conventional systems. Under the hood, buyers can opt for a 3.6 litre Pentastar V-6 or the classic 5.7 Hemi V-8, which are integrated into a “mild hybrid” eTorque drivetrain. That combines a 48-volt battery pack with an engine start-stop function and offers short-term torque assist and brake energy regeneration. Energy is stored in a 430 watthour lithium-ion nickel manganese cobalt (NMC)-graphite battery. The small-suitcase-sized, air-cooled battery pack mounts to the rear wall inside the Ram 1500’s cab. And Interactive Deceleration Fuel Shut Off (iDFSO) pauses fuel flow to the engine cylinders when the vehicle is decelerating. The short-term power boost from the eTorque adds up to 90 pound-feet of torque to the 3.6 litre and 130 to the Hemi. The new generation TorqueFlite eightspeed transmission delivers power more efficiently and gets what marketers call a new “more powerful” computer control. The transfer cases on fourwheel drive models get beefed up to handle the increased load ratings as well. The job is handled by

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machinery & shop

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

Side RamBox storage compartments get interior lighting and 110-volt outlet.

The 2019 models get a redesigned front end and LED lighting front package.

a BorgWarner 48-12 with Hi and Low ranges for part-time 4WD operation and the BorgWarner 48-11 for on-demand 4WD. Both transfer cases engage via a pushbutton on the instrument panel. To improve winter performance, the Ram also gets a heat exchanger system to quickly warm up the engine and transmission oil along with the rear axle gear oil in twowheel drive models. The exchanger also provides transmission cooling under load. The new Rams get a facelift that includes a redesigned front end along with new adaptive LED lighting. But more significantly despite losing all that weight, the new RAMs are wider and longer. Overall truck width is increased by 0.5 inches. Bed height is raised by 1.5 inches. The cab was extended by four inches to create more interior space. Rear seats take advantage of that extra cab room and now recline up eight degrees. With the availability of a longer frame, three new, longer wheelbases are now offered: a 144.5inch on Crew Cab short beds and a 153.5-inch wheelbase on Crew Cab long beds – both four inches longer than their predecessors. The Quad Cab long bed has a wheelbase of 140.5 inches. But the longer versions are still reasonably nimble according to the brand, it claims Ram’s newest pickup can still offer a turning radius of 46.2 feet. In all, FCA claims the Ram now has 100 safety features that see the new models easily catch up to the competition in that department, including features like adaptive cruise control with forward collision warning that will automatically apply the brakes if it senses a collision is imminent. Then there’s LaneSense lane departure warning, ParkSense parking assist. The list goes on and on. Of course there’s some new digital magic as well from the fourth generation Uconnect system, which uses an 8.4 or 12-inch dashboard touchscreen. There is a 360-degree camera view, 3D navigation map graphics. And a new noise cancelling system brings cab noise down to just 67.1 db. Buyers get a five year 60,000 mile transferable warranty. GN Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@ fbcpublishing.com.

Rams will use the eight-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission.

The new Ram interior includes an 8.4 or 12-inch monitor.

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machinery & shop

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

Pickup trucks

A diesel F-150 for 2018 The F-150 begins production with a new 3.0 litre diesel engine option

his year Ford joins the ranks of automakers that are offering a diesel engine option in half-ton pickups. The 2018 F-150 will be available with a total of six different engine choices, and for the first time a 3.0 litre V-6, turbocharged diesel capable of 30 m.p.g. (7.84 l/100 km) is one of them. The 250 horsepower diesel puts out its maximum 440 pound-feet of torque at just 1,750 r.p.m., and, it gets mated with its own 10-speed transmission programmed to make optimum gear selections based on that torque specification. The engine uses a compacted graphite iron block paired with a forged steel crankshaft to reduce weight. There’s also a cast aluminum oil pan that houses a two-stage oil pump that the brand claims helps reduce parasitic power loss inside the engine.

Ford explains that the same engineering team responsible for the development of the well-regarded 6.7 litre Power Stroke also built the 3.0 litre, saying in a press announcement “The Ford truck team paid particular attention to extreme driving conditions when engineering the all-new 3.0-litre Power Stroke diesel, which features a premium mechanical engine-driven fan and dual radiator shutters for improved high temperature, high-altitude performance.” So the new diesel-powered F-150 is aimed at those who want a truck that can haul and pull, giving it a 2,020 pound (918 kilogram) payload capacity and 11,400 pound (5,181 kilogram) tow rating. The 3.0 diesel is available across the full F-150 trim level spectrum. Diesel trucks will start arriving at dealers’ lots this spring. GN Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at Scott.Garvey@ fbcpublishing.com.

Photo: Ford

By Scott Garvey

Ford has begun production of F-150 pickups with a 3.0 litre Power Stroke diesel under the hood.

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New trucks

New GM 4500HD and 5500HD trucks will begin production in 2018.

GM to unveil “all-new” Class 4 and 5 trucks GM set to debut its redesigned mediumduty Silverado trucks in March

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By Scott Garvey

eneral Motors has chosen to i n t ro d u ce i ts n ewe s t medium duty trucks, the 4500HD and 5500HD models, at the Work Truck Show in Indianapolis, Indiana, on March 6. It’s calling them “all-new”. As you might expect, there’ll be Duramax diesels under the hoods mated to Allison automatic transmissions. There will be a variety of wheelbases available in both two and four-wheel drive configurations. Beyond that, GM isn’t saying much else, saving the details for the March unveiling. The trucks will go into production in late 2018. GN

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cattleman's corner

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

CALF MANAGEMENT

More tips on getting a newborn breathing Hanging them upside down doesn’t work and can make things worse Heather Smith Thomas

here are many traditional practices and old wives’ tales about how to get a newborn calf breathing — some of which are valid and helpful, and some that are not. Cody Creelman, with Veterinary Agri Health Services (VAHS), a five-veterinarian beef cattle practice at Airdrie, Alta., says there are a few practices that are actually harmful, even though they were once recommendations from veterinarians in earlier times. When a newborn calf is not breathing, for instance, many producers traditionally hung or held the calf up by the hind legs, to theoretically allow fluid to drain from the airways. Likewise, swinging the calf was supposed to help clear the airways. “This is no longer standard practice,” says Creelman. “You will see fluid coming from the calf’s mouth and nose, but it’s been proven that this is simply fluid from the stomach. It actually makes it harder for the calf to breathe if being swung or hanged upside down, because of all the weight of the gut puts pressure on the lungs.”

Creelman advises people to put the newborn calf in recovery position (upright, rather than lying flat) resting on the sternum, with head and neck extended forward. This allows for maximum oxygenation in the lungs; they can both expand more fully. It is better than the calf lying on its side, where the bottommost lung can’t expand. “If the calf is upright there is a better ratio of oxygenation and blood flow,” he says. “And extending the head forward allows for an open airway.” This position also allows some of the fluid and mucus from the nostrils to drain. If the calf is not unconscious, and simply not breathing yet, you can try to stimulate it to start breathing by tickling the inside of the nostril with a clean piece of hay or straw. This often makes the calf cough — and take a breath. This practice is not harmful and can be helpful.

EVEN ACUPUNCTURE Creelman says that even better is what is called the Jen Chung (GV-26) acupuncture technique. “There is an acupuncture/acupressure spot on the tip of the nose. If this is pressed or poked, it increases stimulation of the central nervous system. This will increase heart rate and respiration rate and overall consciousness. We teach ranchers to use a very small-diameter needle, like a 20-gauge needle, and poke right into the

Photo: Heather Smith Thomas

RECOVERY POSITION

Prodding the inside of a nostril with a straw is one trick that may stimulate a calf to breathe.

centre of the tip of the nose, and giving it a little twist. This will stimulate the central nervous system, and works to stimulate breathing.” If you don’t have a needle handy, you can just press that spot with your fingernail. Another useful technique is splashing the calf with cold water. If it is limp and not breathing, splash a bucket of cold water over the calf’s head. It can stimulate it to shake its head — stimulate the calf enough so it becomes alert and starts breathing. Creelman says it’s like jumping into a cold lake; you gasp. It stimulates those natural reflexes to take a breath.

TRY ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION If the calf has been short of oxygen and is unconscious and won’t start breathing, it may be necessary to give artificial respiration. Before

attempting this, the calf should be on its side, with head and neck stretched forward to open the airway and make sure the air will go into the windpipe and not the esophagus. Then you can blow into one nostril, holding the other nostril (and the calf’s mouth) shut. “One more little trick is to apply light pressure (with your free hand) to the esophagus, just below the larynx — a little higher than midneck,” says Creelman. “This will help close off the esophagus, to ensure that you are not just filling the stomach with air. You don’t want to push so hard that you close off the trachea, too, because it is soft cartilage, but you can prevent the air from going into the stomach.” In most cases, the heart is still beating, but the calf is just unconscious and not breathing. Very rarely will you be able to revive a calf if the heart has stopped, he says. Even if the calf is limp, blue and looks dead, if there is a heartbeat you may be able to revive it. You can generally feel or even see the heartbeat, because it is pounding hard. If you are watching its chest while giving the calf artificial respiration you can often see the heart thumping — watch to see if it rises as you blow in air. GN Heather Smith Thomas is a longtime Grainews columnist who ranches with her husband Lynn near Salmon, Idaho. Contact her at 208-756-2841.

RISK MANAGEMENT PART 2

Feeder cattle basis analysis Finishing at least some of your own calves is a diversification measure By Jerry Klassen

n the previous issue, I provided a brief overview of last year's series of articles on price risk management for feeder cattle. In this column I will continue the discussion and also answer some of the main questions producers had last year. Cow-calf producers are becoming more familiar with the basis level for their local area. The basis is just as important to watch as the local cash price because producers can gain an understanding of what the market is trying to tell them. This will help determine the timing of their sales and also aid in their hedging strategy. When calculating the basis for 550pound and 850-pound feeder cattle, producers should convert the futures market into Canadian dollars and then subtract the local cash price. (Futures in Canadian dollars minus the local cash price equals the basis). In these columns I am analyzing monthly data from January 2007 through December 2017. Below is the average basis level in Manitoba and the standard deviation around the average. Average Standard Basis (C$) deviation 550-lb. steers

-18.00

19.00

850-lb. steers

+18.00

12.00

During September, a producer in Manitoba with 550-pound steers can use the above data to calculate an expected forward price for February. The producer will take the March feeder cattle futures and convert this into Canadian dollars and subtract the average basis. The March feeder cattle futures at US$146.73 divided by the exchange rate of US$0.8122/Cdn equals $180.65. The expected forward price would be $180.65 minus the basis of $18 equals $162. Using the standard deviation, the price will probably fall with a range of $150 to $174, which is the expected forward price plus or minus the standard deviation. Before we move on, I want to answer three common questions I received last year. The first is “Does the exchange rate have to be fixed?” I ran the data again without using a fixed exchange rate. The result came in as follows. One could say that if the exchange rate is not fixed, the basis is essentially accounting for the change in the currency. Notice the basis is wider and the standard deviation is more than double for both weight categories. This suggests that you have nearly twice as much risk if you don’t have a fixed exchange rate. The second most common question: “Can I use the live cattle futures to calculate an expected forward price?”

Average Standard Basis (C$) deviation 550-lb. steers

-39.47

39.19

850-lb. steers

-3.95

28.00

Backgrounding operators thought when the major feedlots were competing for lighter calves, they were using the live cattle futures rather than the feeder cattle futures. Therefore, I ran the data using the live cattle futures. I simply converted the live cattle futures to Canadian dollars and then subtracted the cash price for feeder cattle. The result — the standard deviation is once again nearly double using the live cattle futures compared to the feeder cattle futures. Average Standard Basis (C$) deviation 550-lb. steers

-52.05

34.67

850-lb. steers

-16.52

21.35

It’s very clear. Producers should not use the live cattle futures for hedging feeder cattle. Secondly, the exchange rate should be fixed when using the feeder cattle futures for hedging or for calculating an expected forward price.

The third most common question concerned the basis and standard deviation for the finishing feedlot in Alberta. Cow-calf producers often wonder about the market environment faced by the purchaser of their feeder cattle. Logically, a feedlot would only buy feeder cattle if it can justify a profit when selling the finished animal. Therefore let’s look at the risk profile for Alberta fed cattle prices from 2010 through 2017. Average Standard Basis (C$) deviation 1,350-lb. steers

9.65

8.62

The standard deviation for fed cattle is lower than the standard deviation for 850-lb. steers. This is important for two main reasons. First, finishing feedlots are buying in a high-risk environment and selling into a lowerrisk market. This is very helpful for the feedlot operator when making their purchasing decisions because they can draw feeder cattle from regions of Western Canada where the basis is more favourable. Secondly, the cow-calf producer or backgrounding operator can decide if they should place the feeders in a custom feedlot or finish the cattle themselves. I often hear comments from cowcalf operators that they think the

feedlot is making “excessive margins” at their expense. Now they can have a good idea of the expected price of the finished animal. The largest risk for the finishing feedlot is the purchase price of the feeder cattle. However, if the cow-calf operator owns the feeder cattle and chooses to finish the animal, this is actually the lowest risk profile available in the cattle-feeding business. The cow-calf producer can calculate an expected forward price for the finished animal and then decide to place the steer in a custom feedlot or sell at the local auction mart. I’m not going to discuss in detail; however, one can take this a step further and show this is the lowest risk profile also showing the largest return throughout the last eight years. The cow-calf producer should always finish a portion of their calf crop. By doing this, you’ll will lower and diversify your marketing risk profile and enhance your overall financial return. GN Jerry Klassen is manager of the Canadian office for Swiss-based grain trader GAP SA Grains and Products Ltd. With a strong farming background, he is also president and founder of Resilient Capital,a specialist in commodity futures trading and commodity market analysis. He can be reached at 204-504-8339.

cattleman's corner

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

REPRODUCTIVE MANAGEMENT

Be leery about buying fat bulls It may look good in the sale ring, but too much fat can lead to permanent damage

ost of the bulls that go through a sale ring are over-conditioned to some extent. Fat is beautiful because it covers up a lot of conformational faults, but it is also very detrimental for reproduction, good health, and future soundness. Many young bulls have gone through a bull test/feeding program to measure rate of gain and feed efficiency, and are overly fat. Although most stockmen know that fat is unhealthy for a bull, they still tend to buy the biggest, best-looking animals, and many breeders keep overfeeding them because it’s harder to sell a bull that isn’t carrying extra weight. Professor John Kastelic, with Cattle Reproductive Health, Department of Production Animal Health at the University of Calgary has done many studies on nutrition in bulls. His research has long focused on beef bulls, and more recently with dairy bulls. “In beef bulls historically people focused on nutrition after weaning,” he says. “There has been a lot of study on that, going back to the 1970s when Glenn Coulter (a former colleague at the Lethbridge Research Centre) and other people did a lot of the research. “Back then, purebred operators fed their young bulls practically a feedlot ration, to achieve gains up to four pounds per day to see how fast they gained. There is good evidence to show if you feed bulls highenergy diets after weaning, you get very rapid weight gain but you also create a lot of problems with excessive fat in the scrotum, reduction in semen quality, more risk for laminitis/founder, liver abscesses, rumenitis, and other physical conditions. Feeding young bulls this much is counterproductive.” Producers are recognizing this and realize that a bull should be fed for a long life of breeding rather than being fed like a steer destined for slaughter. A bull needs to be athletic, not fat.

time. There are still many bulls offered for sale that are too fat, unless they’ve been raised on a growing ration. “If bulls are fed post-weaning on a mostly forage diet, the bulls with genetic potential for rapid and efficient gain will still gain the fastest although the difference between the top and bottom is smaller,” he says. “You should feed test, but on a forage-based ration with a modest

Heather Smith Thomas is a long time Grainews columnist who ranches with her husband Lynn near Salmon, Idaho. Contact her at 208-756-2841.

Bulls should be in good athletic condition, but not fat.

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DAMAGE MAY BE LONG TERM “It is very detrimental to feed bulls high-energy rations post-weaning for rapid gains, resulting in overconditioned bulls,” says Kastelic. “The thinking used to be that if a bull is not fat he must be a hard keeper and poor doer. Sale bulls were always fat but producers thought they could just take them home and put them on a diet before they put them out with cows and then they would be in breeding shape. Unfortunately, some of the damage in the overfat young bull can be permanent.” These bulls can end up with liver abscesses, damaged claws and feet, and in some cases permanent

amount of grain you will still be able to identify the top-performing bulls. There is no excuse to push them with a feedlot ration, because you can do permanent damage. It is detrimental, and a waste of feed resources.” GN

Photos: Heather Smith Thomas

Heather Smith Thomas

reduction in the number of sperm produced and often poor semen quality. “There is no sense or justification in grossly overfeeding bulls in the post-weaning period,” he says. Even though most purebred operators realize this, many bulls are still fed to be a little too fat. Even though buyers realize a bull should be fit, not fat, they tend to think there is something wrong with a bull that’s not carrying extra weight at sale

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cattleman's corner

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

MAINTAIN FACILITIES

Maintain facilities for improved workflow The job gets done and it’s safer for both workers and livestock By Michael Thomas

CATTLE CHUTES AND FACILITIES Poorly maintained facilities can lead to all kinds of grief when something doesn’t work when processing and handling cattle. “Tempers can really flare when you’ve got everybody together on a big cattle-working day and one of the sort gates that you use to separate the calves from the cows quit swinging over winter,” says Nicholas Lee, manager of Rocking Horse Ranch, near Salmon, Idaho. “These things can also become safety issues. If the gates don’t swing and latch properly, your help can get hurt struggling with a heavy gate, or when a cow shoves a gate over the top of them because there was no latch, or it failed.” Inspect the holding pens and sort facility, and check the alley system that feeds the chute. Make sure the fences are secure and safe, gates swing and latch properly, and cattle backstops function properly and are not damaged. If you use short poles or pieces of pipe to hold the cattle in the alley, make sure you have a good supply on hand,

photos: Michael Thomas

ecause the facilities and equipment around here are all showing some age, I have had to make an effort to go through them a bit ahead of working cows and calves in order to find, repair, or replace items that have worn out or been damaged, and we still have a few surprises. It a squeeze isn’t bolted to a cement floor, use large bolts to anchor it to posts around the chute.

and that they are in good condition. Inspect the chute carefully. Most of our older chutes have processed thousands of cattle and been exposed to the elements 365 days of the year. Some damage caused by cattle is obvious and easy to see, but the damage caused by repetitive cycling of moving parts and rust does not always stand out. As you begin the inspection, make sure the chute is set securely so it will not move away from the alley as cattle hit the head catch. If your chute sits on a concrete pad, make sure it is bolted to the pad. If it is not bolted down, drill the pad in the locations of the anchor bolt holes in the frame of the chute and insert expanding anchor bolts into the concrete pad. Use locking nuts to secure the chute and grind off any of the threaded bolt above the nut to prevent operators and chute-side helpers from tripping on the exposed bolt. If you do not

Tractor counterbalance weights can be attached to a calf squeeze to improve stability.

have a concrete pad, chain both sides of the chute frame to a secure post on each side of the alley at ground level. Next, look over the chute for bends in the main framework, tailgate, side panels/bars, and the head gate. Bent materials in any of these structures may inhibit the function of the chute, either causing difficulty in the process of catching, holding, or releasing a cow. While you are looking for bent materials, look closely at the welded connections. A broken weld in the frame structure, side panels, tailgate, or head catch can cause trouble holding the cow at best, and cause injury to the operator or chute-side help at worst. Next, inspect all of the moving

parts of the chute: pivot points for the squeeze mechanisms, head catch and tailgate; locking mechanisms for the head catch and squeeze and width adjustment mechanisms for the head catch and squeeze. These points are subject to wear from repetitive motion and rust from exposure to the elements. Check the pins or bolts at these points to see if they need replacement. The initial problem caused by worn pins or bolts is rough or difficult motion of sections of the chute. When the pins or bolts finally break, parts of the chute can release allowing, the cow to escape or hang up, and the operator or helpers to be injured. Last, apply a film of light oil or WD40 to hinge points and ratchet locks. Do not apply oil to friction locks, as this will cause them to slide and release. Do not use heavy grease. Grease solidifies with exposure to sunlight and oxygen, causing moving parts to seize over time.

CALF TABLES AND FACILITIES If you use the same facility to work calves and cows, you have already reviewed the physical components of the holding pens, sorting alleys, and the alleys feeding the table. Some of us use a separate complex for the calves. This allows the cows and calves to be worked at the same time, but also provides for a more convenient facility, built on a smaller scale to better accommodate small calves. As with the cattle facility, inspect the structure of the

pens and gates to make sure they are secure and the gates swing and latch properly. Make sure the table is anchored securely in order that it will not move during use. “We attached a tractor frontend counter weight to the off-side of our table to help make it more stable when we tip a big calf,” says Lee. Continue by inspecting the calf table for bent structures and broken welds. Next look at the pins and bolts of the pivot points. Calf tables rely on small springs or friction locks to hold the squeeze and head catch closed. Check to make sure these springs are not sprung, and keep an extra spring on hand for emergencies. Apply a thin coat of light oil to the ratchet locks of the head catch and squeeze. Do not oil friction locks. If you use an electric branding iron, make sure the extension cords you use are rated for the distance and wattage necessary to run the iron and any other accessories such as clippers and dehorning irons. A 10-gauge extension cord will carry sufficient wattage to operate all of these tools. If you use a generator, service the unit ahead of time, and make sure that it will start and run properly. Good luck with the spring cattle working, and may the summer grass be plentiful. GN Michael Thomas operates Thomas Ranch along with family near Salmon, Idaho. Contact him at: Thomasranch@ centurytel.net.

PEN CHECKER DIARY

Spring will be welcome, but brings its own issues Nicer weather comes with a whole parcel of animal health risks By Bruce Derksen

hose of us in the agricultural field find ourselves continually affected by our Canadian weather. A constant of this weather is that it is continually changing, and when the bitter cold temperatures of winter begin to ease and the spring sun appears in its brilliance, Old Sonny and I tend to feel pretty good about ourselves and feedlot life in general. The majority of cattle are almost finished and are generally in good health. At times Old Sonny and I can become lulled into a false sense of security by the warm sun, the content livestock and the birds chirping in the budding trees as we move from pen to pen. It is very possible that we catch ourselves on autopilot. And why not? Everything should be good, right? We have survived

the earlier fall season with all the weaned calf placements along with the shipping fever and bronchopneumonia that came with them. Those days we were constantly on edge, leaning forward in the saddle, eyes straining to recognize all the sick calves as early as possible. After that it was dealing with all the pinkeye and foot rot that swept through some of the pens. Pulling those ornery, half-blind creatures was no picnic as they seemed intent on constantly putting up a fight. Then the extreme cold and wind of the Christmas and New Year seasons set in and we, along with the majority of the cattle, managed to survive that as well. Now that the spring sun has put in an appearance and is burning the back of our necks, we deserve a break. We deserve to cruise the pens on autopilot. Don’t we? Beware! Don’t let your guard down as this is the season of inter-

stitial pneumonia. It can hit the feedlot as the almost silent killer it is. Interstitial pneumonias are unforgiving. Sonny and I need to wake up and watch the hundredplus days-on-feed cattle and especially the heifers as they are more affected than the steers. When dealing with the bronchopneumonia types you will definitely see more quantity, but you generally have a little more time for treatment. Interstitial pneumonia is different. Ride the feed bunks regularly checking for signs of mouldy feed. When the winter bedding season has come to an end as the warmth of spring sets in, the topical straw begins to break down and produce airborne dust. The combination of this and mouldy feed are known culprits when it comes to interstitial pneumonias. The basic signs for cattle with this type of pneumonia are quick uneven breathing often accompa-

nied by extended necks and lowered heads. Usually you will notice them as they are slightly gaunt and stand apart from the group. In the worst cases, you will see open mouths with froth dripping to the ground. If this foam is noticed anywhere, search the pen for the culprit. As pen checkers we need to recognize the changing seasons and the different issues they bring. Yes, we can feel good about the previous months coming to an end and the great job we did as pen checkers in controlling mortality rates, but we always need to stay on our toes. Interstitial pneumonia is unforgiving. Don’t assume that heifer is panting because it’s a warm day. Don’t ignore it. And keep in mind that since this pneumonia hits so quickly and with such power, not only is time limited, there is also limited respiratory energy with these animals. They cannot be

overly stressed while pulling for treatment, as they can collapse and die almost instantly. Be quietly efficient and do your best not to run them. Give the barn staff a fighting chance. Early treatment can be effective but waiting too long offers only a quick slaughter option, without the use of withdrawal drugs. But don’t worry as summer will soon arrive and lead into fall bringing with it some new and old livestock problems and issues to be on guard for. As the spring sun greets us as pen checkers, we need to be reminded to flip the auto pilot switch to “off” on ourselves and our respective versions of Old Sonny, clean our glasses, lean forward in our saddles and be on guard for the killer that is interstitial pneumonia. GN Bruce Derksen is a long time feedlot pen checker living in Lacombe, Alberta.

cattleman's corner

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

GRAZING MANAGEMENT

More details on Step 3 of the two-step grazing plan Use the grass, but then give it a chance to recover before coming back

tep 3 of the two-step grazing plan could also be titled, “How To Not Graze,” as this by far seems to be the biggest challenge facing pastures in Western Canada and perhaps around the world. In order for grazing to be successful, we first have to grow forage, and in order to do this to the maximum possible, we need to provide some growing room for that forage. Unlike in many other parts of agriculture, the technology to accomplish this is neither necessarily costly nor extremely technical. If a farm had only one pasture and grazed it from May to October, every plant could be grazed any and every day of the growing season. If we split the pasture in half and put all of the cows on one side from May to July, and the other side from August to October, we have still put the same number of cows on the same pasture for the same length of time, with the difference that each half of the pasture received three months of free growing time without having the pressure of being grazed. If we are worried about all of our cows only having access to half the pasture, remember it is only for half as long as well. We haven’t taken any more days than before from that pasture, but we have increased its free growth period. If we were to split the pasture once more into four parts, we could accomplish the same thing, however now each part of the pasture can have three-quarters of the grazing season under “free growth” and so on.

NOT ALL ABOUT FENCING At this point I am sure some readers are thinking “This is where he says we need to electric-fence everything and move cows every day,” but that may not be the solution for a lot of land bases. The key is to think in terms of plant growth and how we can allow plants in a grazed area to recover before they are grazed again. In some cases, this may be electric fence (I confess we use a lot of this technology), but in other operations it can look like moving cows up the mountain in the spring and then bringing them downhill in the fall, or combining all of the small summer groups into one large herd that is rotated through the property. Other tools can include moving mineral or water sources around, employing herders or even using tactical fencing. We use all of these tools at home depending upon season and terrain. Tactical fencing is the process of establishing short fences or gates (sometimes as little as eight to 10 feet) across easy travel paths to control livestock flow. This can allow concentration of livestock into a grazing area and prevent them from returning once they are moved off. Tactical fencing can be particularly valuable in areas of challenging

terrain with difficult access. Cows are generally lazy and like to hang around water and green grass, without climbing hills. Simply pushing cows into an area and blocking off easy return routes can greatly enhance grazing patterns. An example of this could be pushing cattle across a bridge and then blocking access to cross back over that same bridge.

Photo: Sean McGrath

By Sean McGrath

SEASON OF GRAZING When we consider plant recovery, another tool can also be season of grazing. For example, a piece of ground may be grazed in the spring when plants are growing rapidly at which point animals may have to be removed fairly quickly to allow plant recovery. At this time of year, plants will tend to recover rapidly and it may be possible to graze the area again later in the year. It is also possible that if allowed to create a stockpiled forage source, that same piece of ground could be grazed much longer in the late fall or winter when the plants are not growing, without damaging the plants. Remember the definition of overgrazing is grazing a plant before it has recovered from the previous grazing event. When plants are growing slowly they start recovery more slowly, so we can lengthen the grazing period. This is particularly useful in times of drought, when we can slow our pasture rotations (assuming enough forage is available for the livestock base). By slowing down on the pieces we are grazing, we give the pieces we are not grazing a longer recovery time, which they require when growth is limited (in the case of drought limited by moisture). One particularly useful piece of infrastructure (although it can be unreliable) to ensure even grazing in bigger pastures is the use of snow. An even snow cover will cause animals to cover the entire landscape and will prevent them from returning to previously grazed areas or concentrating their grazing around a water source. When cattle obtain some water with each mouthful of forage, they do not often seek additional water sources. Additionally, if there is no new succulent green growth (for example in January) and the forage is shortened by grazing, the cows do not have an incentive to come back and take another bite of an already-grazed plant and they will graze much more evenly over the landscape. The challenge with these approaches can be forage quality and ensuring that the cattle can eat enough of a potentially poor-quality forage to meet their nutritional needs.

CLOSE THE GATES Finally, the most important tip I can offer on pasture recovery and not grazing is to shut gates. Many farms and ranches have enough paddocks to, if not eliminate, greatly reduce overgrazing of plants. Leaving gates open once livestock are moved to the next pasture is an open invitation to

Stockpiled forage for late fall and winter grazing can be produced by not grazing a pasture at all until late fall, or by grazing it early in the season and then “resting it” — bringing cows back when the snow flies.

encourage them to leave the new pasture and return to the recovering pasture with its small succulent nutrient-dense plants. If the goal is to improve pasture productivity, then once grazing animals are removed, they need to be kept off until recovery has happened. This can readily be accomplished by closing gates.

Over the years I have worked with a lot of producers and stolen a lot of ideas for our own place and I have learned that there is no one-sizefits-all solution, but in trying to gain a better return on investment forage management is a key profitability driver for most cattle operations. Hopefully you have some time to do

some pasture planning before the grass starts to grow. GN Sean McGrath is a rancher and consultant from Vermilion, Alta. He can be reached at sean@ranching systems.com or (780)853-9673. For additional information visit www.ranchingsystems.com.

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cattleman's corner

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

DAIRY CORNER

Feeding yeast is a good investment These single-cell organisms can hit on many cylinders to help optimize milk performance Peter Vitti

or many years, I have formulated dairy diets with yeast for both dry and lactating dairy cows. It has been my professional intention to promote good dairy nutrition, or solve a particular problem that limits good dairy performance. On occasion, I have seen direct benefits within a couple of days by adding yeast, while other times there were no apparent changes to milk and milkfat yield or to animal health. While it may not benefit in every situation, I think for the most part feeding yeast to dairy cows has value and thus a good investment. I’m not alone on my endorsement of feeding yeast to dairy cows. Several years of research backs up my own experience feeding yeast to either dry or lactating dairy cows in field trials. It improves digestion and fermenta-

tion of dairy feedstuffs, enhances immune function and marks positive metabolic changes such as lowering body temperatures of dairy cows during heat stress. Dairy producers can often see the practical benefits of yeast, particularly in the lactating dairy barn — improved feed intakes, greater feed efficiency, better feed flexibility and healthier-looking manure, all which encompass optimum milk performance. Yeasts are single-cell organisms that must be fed to dairy cows continuously to produce their many benefits. They are also part of a larger category of fungal direct-fed microbials (DFM) that are know to survive in the rumen and work amongst the natural microbial population of bacteria.

TYPES OF YEAST One mainstream fungal DFM fed to all classes of dairy cattle is the yeast called saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC). It is produced in large commercial quantities by fermenting vats of nutrient-enriched medium, cereal grains and baker’s yeast.

SC is a “live yeast,” which has been shown to stimulate the growth and activity of all types of natural rumen bacteria in dairy cows. Some dairy nutritionists suggest that such activities are not the work of actual live yeast, but the endproducts or metabolites that they produce and are used as nutrients by the natural rumen microbes in the cow. For example, similar fungal yeasts to SC, such as Aspergillus Oryzae or Aspergillus Niger make no claims of live microbes or viability, but have been shown to increase fibre digestion when fed early-lactating dairy cows as well as reduce heat stress in dairy cows during hot summer months. There is a wide variety of commercial products that contain “live or non-viable” yeast probiotics or a combination of either yeast with extracts or fermentation substrates. These products are available in many different forms such as granular powders, pastes, boluses, gels and capsules. Depending on the form, yeast can be mixed into all classes of

dairy cattle feeds, such as total mixed rations (TMRs), grain rations, topdressed or given orally to the animal. Some DFM can even be mixed into the drinking water or milk replacer (for baby dairy calves). The amount of yeasts fed depends on the product, but often ranges from a couple of grams to 50 grams per head per day.

FORMULATE RATION WITH YEAST In the last decade, I have been formulating a commercial yeastderived product with added DFMbacteria and feed enzymes into both dry and lactating dairy diets. I often recommend it to be used at 20 grams per head per day. For example, about seven years ago, I start adding it to a dairy diet of a 100-cow operation in Manitoba, in which the dairy cows had suffered serious heat stress during many previous summers. Since the yeast was added, rather than dropping a precipitous 0.6 per cent in milkfat, when hot weather strikes, these yeast-fed cows maintain a constant milk and milkfat yield.

This dairy producer was so pleased with his cows’ heat-stress results that he requested it be added to lactation diets all-year-around. More than once he told me one of the biggest non-summer benefits for feeding yeast to his lactating dairy cows is when he switches from one corn silage bag to another. He finds there is no dry matter intake problems, unlike before he began using yeast. Manure is now more of desired the “porridge-like” consistency, regardless of time of year. Initially, he thought the 25 cents per head per day was costly, but given these visible benefits, he now sees adding yeast as a good dairy investment. Given this favourable case study, using yeast in dairy nutrition is really an extension to what Mother Nature has already given dairy cows. GN Peter Vitti is an independent livestock nutritionist and consultant based in Winnipeg. To reach him call 204-2547497 or by email at vitti@mts.net.

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home quarter farm life

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

SEEDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Winter is a good time to review farm transition plans.

Finding fairness in farm transition W How are your plans unfolding? Now is the perfect time to check on this inter is a great time to take a fresh look at how our plans are unfolding. As a speaker, it’s also a season of meeting and greeting many stressed-out farm families who are seeking solutions to being stuck. BDO’s Jim Synder has a daughter who thinks that families who see fairness defined as “helping everyone be successful” will be better off than those who equate fair with being equal. I was challenged this winter to create a session on fairness, and here’s what kept me up at night, mulling thoughts and experience into a practical tool for you. FAIR… financial transparency, attitudes, intent, roles. • Financial transparency — The parents are not silent on their desires for the future and openly share the farm books, viability, and their personal wealth situation. Merle Good has coined the term “personal wealth bubble,” meaning the money that parents can draw income from over the next 20 years, and access for gifting to others, farm and non-farm business heirs. Have you sought out a financial planner to create more certainty about your future financial security? Do it. • Debt servicing — is also part of this discussion. How much can the next generation really afford to service? What parts of the farm assets are you willing to gift,

roll over, or have purchased? If you want to give an equity position to non-farm heirs, you can do that with well-written land rent agreements. Check to see if your successor wants to be in business with his/her siblings. • Gifting — Money does not equal love in my books, but for many it does. I have also seen parents fret about working to give monies to less fortunate children in an unrealistic attempt to make all the kids economically equal. This is a foolish goal. Have you ever asked your adult children what they expect? Most decent young adults whom I have the joy of working with say, “Elaine, we just want our parents to have some fun and enjoy the fruit of their labour. We will be OK. We will find a way to make it work.” (Yes, I know you are wishing you could adopt those kids!) Many young people with great educations and entrepreneurial skills may end up wealthier than their farming parents. Also, consider the gifts of vehicles, house down payments and university degrees (valued at $200K) that you and the farm have already facilitated. What do you owe your children? • Farm viability — Do you have a clear picture of how many families the profitability of the farm can support? Are you having a hard time saying no to the adult child who is seeking to return

against the wishes of your current successor(s)? This is where operating agreements, codes of conduct and shareholder agreements are helpful tools to be clear about role expectations. • Attitudes — about money create havoc when your heirs feel that “love equals money.” What money scripts are you carrying around? Do you have a scarcity mindset or one of abundance? Read The Soul of Money, by Lynne Twist or, Wired for Wealth, by Brad Klontz or, Moolala…why smart people do dumb things with their money, by Bruce Sellery. You know too many sad stories in your area about families who never speak to each other after the parents die. I suspect the fights are about the high value put on money, land and the lack of forgiveness or grace to allow parents to make their own choices. My experience with estates has been rewarding when my main goal is to have richness in relationship, and not worry about the size of the inheritance, if there even is one. So, Bruce Sellery’s penetrating question is, “What does money mean to you?” Spend some time over coffee talking this over with your spouse and your adult heirs. What we believe, our values and cherished beliefs, will drive our behaviour. If someone is secretive

about their plans to be fair, think about open-ended questions that you can draw them out with. “What does fairness look like to you?” Listen carefully to what the person’s concerns are. Many folks have been “burned” by their family-of-origin experiences, and there is usually some history or a backstory that is driving their decision-making. Ask, “How did you get the farm from your family?” Be curious about women who maybe did not get much compared to their farming siblings. • Intent — is a key tool of conflict resolution. As mediators and conflict resolution communicators, we work hard to find out what each person’s intent is, what they truly desire and want. In the case of farm transition there are many players with various needs: the founders, the successors, the non-farm heirs, sibling groups, in-laws, and extended family or grandparents. You can see there are a lot of players to consider in the family dynamic web. Work hard to be clear about sharing your intent, and then listen for what effect that has on the other party. In my case, I was clear with my parents that I did not intend to expect a large sum of money from their estates as they needed their finances to focus on the farm’s financial success. My intention was to have their love and time for my family, as much as they

were able to give while they were alive. We spoke about this openly at a family meeting facilitated at their accountant’s boardroom. My mother died a short six weeks later, age 65. If the parents don’t agree on their intentions for the fair distribution of assets or gifts or they fight about what fairness is, then the task is to work with the founder’s vision first. Role expectations about what a good day on the farm looks like for Dad and Mom and when the successor(s) can be the main manager with control are also fairness discussions. Is it fair for an 80-year-old to still hold the majority of ownership and control? Is it fair for his 60-year-old child not to have power? Or the grandparent’s 35-year-old employee/grandchild not to have a cosncrete equity position? What do you want your legacy to be? Start figuring out what fairness in farm transition looks like to you. Act! GN Elaine Froese, CAFA, CSP has had three major fairness discussions with her parents, her farming brother, her in-laws, and her successor. Visit www. elainefroese.com/store for resources to help you. Take her Get Unstuck Course, and celebrate family harmony! Invite her to your event to talk about Finding Fairness in Farm Transition. It can be done.

home quarter farm life

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

NURSE LOVES FARMER

What does ‘farmwife’ mean to me? This can have different meanings for different people but it explains a huge part of my identity BY SARAH SCHULTZ

You can make of the term whatever you want it to be and it shouldn’t take away from anyone else’s definition

PHOTO: COURTESY SHULTZ FAMILY

ou could call me a bit of an old soul who passionately loves technology. I’m caught somewhere in the middle on the spectrum of ’50s housewife and millennial, if there is such a thing. I love being at home and being a housewife and mom. I also love practising as a registered nurse when I’m not at home on maternity leave. I take great pride in all of those titles, and I would, no matter where I lived. I call myself a wife, I call myself a mom and I call myself a homemaker. Since we live on the farm, I proudly wear the title of farmwife because it tells anyone who reads my short social media bios a huge part of my identity that I’m very proud of — wife to a farmer. Some people, women and men alike, seem to view the term “farmwife” as (dare I go so far as to say) derogatory. I’ve come across the point argued that other wives don’t label themselves as “accountant’s wife,” “lawyer’s wife,” “plumber’s wife,” etc. You generally only see “farmwife” and “army wife” describing specific wifery genres, if you will. I agree, as brought up by a fellow farmwife when discussing this very topic, that we use the term because it’s not just our husband’s, the farmer’s, job. It’s a lifestyle that involves the whole family — dad, mom, kids and often extended family. There’s no punching in at 9 and punching out at 5; it’s a “job” that never ends. I am very proud to be a farmwife. I can drive a tractor and operate the grain cart if need be, but for now I prefer to be somewhat of a stereotypical

Sarah Schultz is proud to be a farmwife and mother.

farmwife who stays at home with the kids and cooks and bakes for the harvest crew. I even wrote a whole blog post called “Am I a ‘Real’ Farm Wife Now?” because I’ve also come across the theory that to call yourself a farmwife means that you actually have to labour on the farm. Perhaps that’s where the problem lies: the stereotype of what many people view the farmer’s wife as. Many farmwives (of today and yesterday) are also farmers, and

Our

Story #CYiFarm

feel offended by the term. I personally don’t think that the term farmwife detracts from the term farmer, or now the newly coined term “farmHER,” to describe female farmers. You can make of the term whatever you want it to be and it shouldn’t take away from anyone else’s definition. I have a generational love of farmers’ wives. My grandma, who passed away, was a registered nurse who married a farmer. Nurses marrying

farmers is in our blood, and my mother-in-law is also a nurse who married a farmer. When I was a little girl I wanted to be a nurse just like my grandma; she was my hero and my role model. I didn’t have “marry a farmer” on my to-do list, of course, but when I met my husbandto-be and found out that he was a farmer, I was thrilled. I was a smalltown-turned-city girl, and it never once crossed my mind in a negative

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Sarah Schultz is a nurse who fell in love with and married a farmer. She’s embracing her role as farmwife and mom raising three boys on the family grain farm in Wheatland County, Alberta. She’s often seen with her camera in her hands and blogs about their life on her blog Nurse Loves Farmer.

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way that I would have to leave life in the city to move to the farm. I kept my career as a nurse and loved working between our two rural hospitals. I made new friends and finally got to work in the emergency room (the department I’ve wanted to work in since I was a student), where I met lots of other nurses who married farmers. We all took time off during the seeding and harvest seasons to be around to help at the farm and be home for our kids. The term “farmwife” is whatever you want it to be. I’m not offended by anyone else’s definition, so I hope that no one is offended by mine. Sure, my husband doesn’t call himself a “nurse husband,” nor do I expect him to. But for the purposes of explaining to people a big part of who I am, a simple word will do: farmwife. GN

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“The welfare of my animals is one of my highest priorities. If I don’t give my cows a high quality of life they won’t grow up to be great cows.”

www.cyff.ca

– Andrew Campbell, Ontario

Safe food; animal welfare; sustainability; people care deeply about these things when they make food choices. And all of us in the agriculture industry care deeply about them too. But sometimes the general public doesn’t see it that way. Why? Because, for the most part, we’re not telling them our story and, too often, someone outside the industry is. The journey from farm to table is a conversation we need to make sure we’re a part of. So let’s talk about it, together. Visit AgMoreThanEver.ca to discover how you can help improve and create realistic perceptions of Canadian ag.

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home quarter farm life

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

FIRST WE EAT

PORCHAS

am a runner. Last fall, I ran my first 10-km trail race as a family event, with my youngest son and his partner, and in May, I’ll run in the Vancouver Marathon’s 20-km race. I like the endorphins, that runner’s high, and running is good for me. It keeps my brain focused, my lungs and muscles toned, my emotions on an even keel, and my heart healthy. It’s also supposed to keep my cholesterol levels manageable. Data from reputable sources such as the Weston A. Price Foundation cites the vital role of cholesterol, and of fat and meat from grass-fed animals. But it is disputed whether cholesterol contributes to the accumulation of plaque along the path to the heart; too much plaque can clog blood flow and trigger a heart attack. So I do fret about my heart and its arteries and valves. But my weight is right for my frame, I play hard and I’m choosy about what I eat; I’ve been a locavore for most of my life, and mostly cook with locally sourced and homegrown ingredients — although I do drink coffee and eat oranges and chocolate. So I thought I was safe. But a recent visit to my MD revealed that my cholesterol levels have not dropped “enough” from previous readings — regardless of my running and my healthy diet. I did some reading, and I don’t like the side-effects of the statins that are usually prescribed to manage cholesterol. Statins inhibit the production of an enzyme needed to produce cholesterol in the liver, and that enzyme’s absence can cause severe muscle pain and memory loss. I’m fond of my wits — and my muscles — as they are! So I’ve decided to eat more beans instead. This dietary change doesn’t strike me as onerous. I was a vegetarian for 13 years, and my favourite cuisine is India’s, the most sophisticated vegetarian cuisine in the world. So it won’t be a deprivation to eat more lentils, chickpeas, great northern or pinto beans — many of which are grown on the Prairies. It never has been a deprivation for me to run on beans: on a trip to the Languedoc region of France a few years back, I made it my mission to find the best cassoulet, the peasant classic that has nurtured generations of French farmers; in northern Spain a simpler dish is called porchas; and to Canadian Air Force kids like I was, it’s pork and beans. So, interspersed with strolls to the Carcassonne market, to Minerve to admire the high Roman aqueduct, past the barges moored on the Canal du Midi, I visited Toulouse. I searched out the city’s old quarter, and ate bowls of white

beans studded with every edible part of the pig. A high-toned version included confit, duck legs crisped in duck fat, and a cap of buttered bread crumbs; others were garnished with sausage, pork hock, pancetta, bacon. On a later trip to northern Spain, I ate porchas, beans with shreds of leftover jamon, air-cured pork leg, in a traditional comidas, and recalled the molasses-soaked Boston baked beans my mom had cooked when I

was a kid. But beneath all those disguises, the heart of the bowls remained the same: white beans with pork. So here it is, simple, healthy and delicious. I have another story to tell you later on, but first, let’s eat. GN dee Hobsbawn-Smith is a writer, poet and chef living west of Saskatoon. Visit www.deehobsbawnsmith.com and www. curiouscook.net for books, doings and sightings of things literary and edible.

PHOTO: DEE HOBSBAWN-SMITH

Even marathon runners can have high cholesterol dee HobsbawnSmith

2 c. dried emergo or great northern beans 4 cloves garlic 2 onions, minced 2 tbsp. olive oil 1 tsp. anise seed 2 bay leaves 1-2 c. shredded cooked smoked pork hock, ham,

pancetta or prosciutto Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Sherry vinegar to taste Olive oil to taste A drizzle of pomegranate molasses, maple syrup or honey (optional)

This modest dish works just fine if you eliminate the meat entirely, or substitute cooked and shredded chicken thighs or drumsticks. Leftovers work well in quesadillas or soup. Serves 8. Cook beans slowly in generous amounts of water, covered with a lid, until tender. Sauté garlic and onion in olive oil with anise seed and bay leaves. Stir this mixture into beans when they are half-cooked, after about 2 hours. Add pork and cook for another hour, or until tender and thick. Season with salt, pepper, vinegar, oil and sweetener. Serve hot.

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home quarter farm life

GRAINEWS.CA / FEBRUARY 20, 2018

SINGING GARDENER

Some cherry tomatoes to try and a climbing petunia Plus, the secret to making fluffier mashed potatoes Ted Meseyton

singinggardener@mts.net

But first... Here’s a quick acknowledgement of an email from Kenton and Joan Ziegler who farm near Beiseker, Alta. Hi Ted, It was with anticipation that I opened the January 9 issue of Grainews. The pictures turned out lovely! Hopefully others will be inspired to grow lavatera and larkspur this year, even if just for the bees and the butterflies! Thank you, Ted, for your interest in such a variety of issues! Have a good next few months while we look forward to spring!!! In appreciation, Joan Got a real nice note from Greg Wingate at Mapple Farm, Weldon N.B. E4H 4N5. He’s the guy who has Latah seeds described as “world’s earliest tomato.” Greg also sells rooted cuttings and slips for what he calls short-season “sweetpotatoes” (all one word) so as not to confuse them with yams and says, “for the adventurous gardener with a 100day frost-free season, they are certainly worth a try.” For more info email: greg@mapplefarm.com or www.mapplefarm.com.

Cherry tomatoes Depending on variety they could also be described as cocktail or grape tomatoes. Last year I planted hybrid

PHOTO: COURTESY W.H. PERRON

These Sugary tomatoes picked from a vining plant contain 9.5 per cent more sweetness than most other cherry-type varieties.

PHOTO: TED MESEYTON

PHOTO: COURTESY W.H. PERRON

ow do you feel about climbing beans, peas, morning glory, sweet peas, clematis and other plants that require a trellis, fence, tripod or another form of support? Years ago former Dominion Seed House sold seeds for Triple-LCrop Climbing Red tomato. The plants easily reached eight feet and more (two metres plus) at maturity. Walk into any food store and head for tomatoes in the produce section. There’s a strong chance you’ll find various described cherry tomatoes right alongside the slicers. Today I’m touching on a tall-growing, really sweet-tasting cherry-type tomato that requires some form of support. Plus, I recommend a climbing petunia and more followup scab prevention info on potatoes. Only on a rare occasion has a hat blown off my head in the outdoor wind with yours truly in hot pursuit to retrieve it. The tip of my welcoming caricature hat on this Grainews page is firmly fixed and no chance of it blowing away as I heartily ask and say, “how are you doin’ folks and thanks for coming by wherever you are,” across our vast country.

Lots of sweet-to-eat Candyland cherry tomatoes hanging on exterior trusses of the plant make them easy to harvest.

Tickled Pink is a highly scented climbing petunia that also tumbles nicely over a raised support or cascades from a hanging basket.

Sugary and loved the abundance of nice-size dark-pink cherry-type tomatoes. Sugary comes by its name honestly. Fruits are absolutely so very sweet and contain 9.5 per cent more sugar than most other cherry types. Plants are vigorous with superior yield and indeterminate vining. Mine reached eight feet tall (over two metres). Obviously they absolutely required sturdy trellising and some pruning. Another cherry tomato that’s right up at the top when it comes to sweetness is hybrid Sugar Gloss. Flavour and sweetness are top notch with a 12 per cent brix rating. One degree brix is one gram of sucrose in 100 grams of aqueous solution and pertains to the measurement of sugar content. Gardeners who are into making homemade wine are familiar with the term “degrees brix.” Candyland is another cherry tomato I’m tooting the horn about. Each plant produces a lot of fruit that is so easy to reach and harvest because its trusses grow outside of the plant. Fruits are bright red with a generous sweet taste. Seeds for all three named cherry tomatoes can be purchased by mail from W.H. Perron, Laval, Que. H7P 5R9, phone 1-800-723-9071 or online at: www.whperron.com.

Make fluffier mashed potatoes

Tickled Pink — a climbing petunia I particularly have a great appreciation from my experience with Tickled Pink. This scented, deep-pink petunia with a hint of purple just kept on blooming and blooming and never

stopped flowering even during extreme heat and weather variables. It loves to climb so obviously requires some form of trellising support and pruning. Another option is to let it fan out and cascade over just about anything. Or, when left at ground level Tickled Pink spreads itself over the immediate area like a blanket. It can also be planted in a hanging basket and allowed to cascade over the edges like a waterfall, in which case some pruning may be required to control length. Seeds for Tickled Pink can be purchased from W.H. Perron, mentioned earlier on this page with the tomatoes.

For those who asked more about potato scab Most home gardeners can raise good potatoes with soil pH ranging from 6.0 to 6.5. This slightly acid condition is still suitable for growing many other vegetables as well. The fungus that causes common scab can live in soil for many years. However, it’s not so active or not active at all with soil pH ranging from 4.8 to 5.4. As a result, such lower pH is sometimes preferred when seeking greater yield and less scab disease. If you have a serious scab problem or it disfigures too many of your potatoes it may be time to get a professional soil test done or buy a home test soil kit sold at some garden centres. Avoid adding lime or wood ashes where you plant potatoes which raise soil pH (that is — lime and wood ashes reduce acidity). Neutral on the pH scale is 7.0, and higher figures indicate an alkaline soil condition.

I learned of this tip from Irv Wegleitner of Portage who prepared mashed potatoes that were served during a reception I attended. Add one or two raw eggs (that’s right, one or two raw eggs depending on quantity) into a large pot of hot mashed potatoes and keep on mashing so eggs don’t cook until all is completely blended. Season with chopped fresh dill and/or a drop or two of dill oil, some butter, salt and pepper. Blend and serve mashed potatoes piping hot with homemade gravy using the potato water. So many good things can be said about potatoes. They can help neutralize acid when someone has indigestion. Drinking cooled potato water has been a popular old-time folk remedy for many other ailments. Have you got tarnished silverware? If you have any doubt about its cleaning power, soak tarnished silver in potato water for a couple of hours and see how it cleans tarnish away.

The recipe booklet is titled Christmas Edition December 1961 Dauphin, Manitoba recipes. That makes it just seven years or so older than half a century. It contains a lot of how-to-bake this and how-topickle that submitted by throngs of homemakers from that area. A feature recipe right on the opening page that caught my eye is called: Homemaker Harmonies $300.00 Cake and Frosting. Fortunately it doesn’t call for $300 worth of ingredients. Maybe it won a prize for that amount. Just imagine. If such a fresh ready-made cake was being auctioned off at a fundraiser, worthy as it might be, would anyone actually bid and pay $300 for a frosted homemade cake? I leave the last word to you, my readers. GN

Well, wouldn’t you know A friend named Rosie who lives part of the year at Lake Manitoba Narrows recently handed me an old recipe book. “Hey, I want you to take a look at this,” she said, “and let me know what you think, but I want it back.” The front cover is kind of “old as the hills,” but nowhere as old as the Sand Hills in my area.

This is Ted Meseyton the Singing Gardener and Grow-It Poet from Portage la Prairie, Man. Our mission is to get more people involved in home-raised food and activities that promote health and feeling well. Let’s taste the sweetness of nature and respect her seniority. An old Indigenous proverb says we are known by the tracks we leave behind. singinggardener@mts.net

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