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Lack of moisture worrisome for dryland crop farmers BONE DRY  Some areas in the south have the smallest

accumulation of snow since scientists began keeping records in 1961 BY MADELEINE BAERG AF CONTRIBUTOR | CALGARY

lthough much of the province is facing a record-low snowpack, Alberta farmers need not be too worried just yet, says a precipitation expert. “Winter’s not over,” said Ralph Wright, a soil moisture specialist with Alberta Agriculture. “We’ve still got February and March, and this could still turn around.” That said, it is dry out there. In some places, the snowpack is at its lowest level since Alberta weather scientists started keeping records in 1961. The problem isn’t just low pre-

cipitation but also uncommonly warm weather from October and mid-January. “Had it been colder, it would have looked a little better,” said Wright. “But that said, in the 90 days (before Jan. 15) measurement, we’ve seen precipitation ranging from at least one-in-six- to one-in-12year-lows, with several areas in east-central Alberta and across parts of southern Alberta that haven’t seen precipitation this low in 51 years.” The good news is that the 100 to 120 millimetres of precipitation that usually fall between October and March in these areas only accounts for 25 per

cent of the average annual total. “We’re certainly down quite a bit relative to normal,” said Wright. “But, it doesn’t take much to make that up. February is historically very dry, so don’t expect much for the coming month. But April to July, those are the months that will tell us everything.” To date, irrigated land looks in a better position. Snowpack across the Rockies is fairly average, said Kent Bullock, district manager for the Taber Irrigation District. “We’re anticipating we should have fairly normal river flows

SEE MOISTURE  page 6

This map from Alberta Agriculture’s AgroClimatic Information Service (ACIS) shows that much of agricultural Alberta has been unusually dry since October.

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NEWS » INSIDE THIS WEEK

INSIDE » DUBIOUS DISTINCTION Alberta hosts Prairies’ first glyphosateresistant weed

JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

LIVESTOCK

CROPS

COLUMNISTS

BIODIESEL PLANT NEAR COMPLETION

BUSINESS IS HOPPING

BRENDA SCHOEPP PUTTING THE “SUCCESS” IN FARM SUCCESSION

BERNIE PEET PIGLET SURVIVAL — FOCUS ON “THE BIG FIVE”

BETTER PRICES, FEWER PLAYERS Anne Dunford looks at the market for 2012

NEWS

Those “secret family recipes” are heirlooms COLLECTORS 

Enjoy these culinary antiques NEW YORK / REUTERS Marilynn and Sheila Brass are inveterate collectors and discoverers of cookbooks, including the handcrafted kind held together by pins and long ago shoved in a forgotten drawer. About 10 years ago the sisters began testing the recipes they trolled attics, flea markets and yard sales to find. These “forensic cookbook authors” collected 6,500 cookbooks, some dating back to the 1600s and recently published a book Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters containing 150 of their favourites. They needed a new vocabulary. “We had to find out how much a gill was, four ounces (118 ml), or what people meant when they said ‘a suspicion of ginger’ or ‘enough cinnamon to cover a tuppence. “But the biggest challenge was the word ‘cup’ … was it a coffee cup or a tea cup? And often people meant their own tea cup, that they passed on down the family. So we had to keep trying and figuring it out.” Their advice for aspiring bakers? “We encourage people to do a gentle interrogation of the elders at gatherings to get those stories and get those recipes.”

Lethbridge operation to use canola as feedstock

Peace Region plant to process rabbits and other species

DECIDING WHEN YOUR HORSE’S TIME HAS COME

SECOND DONATION  Anderson donated $1 million to the college in 2007

algary-area businessman and rancher J.C. (Jack) Anderson is adding to his already-generous support of Olds College in celebration of its 100th anniversary. Anderson, who donated $1 million to the college in 2007, will be donating the proceeds from the sale of his collection of 100 vintage cars and trucks to Olds College during its 2013 Centennial year. Anderson’s prized collection will be auctioned off in a “100 Cars and Trucks For Our 100th Year” auction, a cornerstone event of the Olds College Centennial year. “Jack has, again, given us a remarkably incredible gift,” said Olds president Tom Thompson. “It’s not just the seven-figure cash donation that will flow from the auction, but the auction itself has amazing potential to shine an enormous spotlight on our college as we celebrate 100 years of education excellence. We are beyond grateful.” As with his earlier donation, Anderson will allow the college to decide how to best use the proceeds from the vehicles auction, but it is likely that the next capital building campaign and the year-long centennial celebration will be beneficiaries. “The word ‘transforma-

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Alberta Farmer

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JANUARY 30, 2012

Farmers get marketing “wake-up call” Learning curve } Deciding which wheat class to grow and reading the fine print are just two of many issues by daniel winters and shannon vanraes staff/brandon, manitoba

producer, who didn’t want his name published, described the session as a “wake-up call.”

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he open market is coming Farm management consultant and wheat farmers have a lot Trevor Elyk was handing out a to learn in a hurry, market- few more cautions in a presentaing experts told farmers attending tion entitled “The Wheat Market Ag Days, Manitoba’s largest annual is Changing — Time is Running farm show here this month. Out.” The wheat board’s sales direcHe urged farmers to skip the tor assured farmers that it would equipment displays and start getalso be around after Aug. 1 (see ting to know grain buyers. page 8), but whether they go with “That’s where the money is what they know or deal with the going to be made,” said Elyk, a private trade, farmers were told former canola buyer now with they need to consider their options MNP. carefully. “Those guys are going to help “You have to shop it around,” you next year with the market said Brenda Tjaden Lepp of Farm- changing and you guys — hopeLink Marketing Solutions. fully — will be able to market your “If you can sell $7 new-crop wheat on your own.” spring wheat to somebody and it’s Elyk, who was a canola buyer a No. 1 13.5 per cent, or you can sell until three years ago, advised $7 spring wheat to someone else farmers to choose a grain buyer and it’s a No. 2, well you’ve just based on who offers the best sersaved yourself whatever the grade vice and profitability. discount was going to be at time Payment and pricing options, of delivery.” grading acceptance and delivery, Farmers should also think twice and especially location, are key. about whether they even want “If you haven’t used brokers or to grow high-protein wheat. Cal- futures markets as a way of hedgculate whether the premium it ing your pricing already on the will fetch on an open market will crops that you’re growing on the cover the extra fertilizer costs, said open market, I don’t think wheat Tjaden Lepp. is the time to start,” said Elyk. “Mid-grade wheat is simpler to He also predicted price volatilmarket than high-protein milling ity will be the new norm and said wheat,” she said, adding fewer it will be easy to get into trouble quality risks are associated with due to the sheer size of wheat mid-grade varieties. contracts. Unlike the 20-tonne Farmers can also expect mar- contracts for canola, the new ICE ketplace volatility to continue to wheat futures will be based on affect wheat prices for months 100-tonne contracts just as in the and possibly years to come, said U.S. That ups the risk by a factor Tjaden Lepp. of five, he noted. The speakers at the session left “That’s something to think some farmers surprised by how about. You need to be able to cover much they will need to learn about off these contracts,” he warned. marketing their wheat on the open Low margin market. “I’ll put it this way, I didn’t real- Grain buying is a low-margin, ize how little I know until now,” high-volume business. Elyk said said Richard Cousin. “This is going that when he worked for Agricore to be a big switch, a huge change United, it moved two million and we have to learn it now, right tonnes each year to Vancouver. now really, because next year is a Margin was only $25 per tonne. Grading is a “huge moneywhole different year.” Cousin said he is considering hir- maker” for grain companies, he ing a professional adviser on how added. They buy heated or damSEC-AUST11-T_AFEx.qxd 10/14/11aged 12:49 PM and Pagethen 1 use their canola to handle the new system. Another

huge volumes to blend it at port and sell it as No. 1 Canada grade. Avoiding downgrades in the bin, therefore, is the key to preserving value, he added. “The farmer doesn’t grow enough to blend off his No. 3 Canada into his No. 1 Canada and deliver it,” said Elyk. As for deductions on quality, he advised farmers to “read the fine print” and know what they can expect to get for lower grades. Also, variable protein and grade premium discounts should be examined. Trucking premiums will likely be blended down to a “basis” based on the port price minus freight back to the elevator plus weighing and inspection. Using location to good advantage could boost the price paid for wheat. Better prices may be found at local mills near cities and the U.S. market, especially for farmers south of the Trans-Canada.

Former grain buyer Trevor Elyk says that if you haven’t used futures before, wheat is not the place to start. photo: Daniel Winters

Brenda Tjaden Lepp of FarmLink Marketing Solutions says to shop your wheat around. photo: Shannon VanRaes

“I’ll put it this way, I didn’t realize how little I know until now.”

Quality discounts

While canola has only eight downgrading specs, wheat has 23 based on Canadian Grain Commission rules all the way down from No. 1 to feed. How the grain is graded, whether by visual kernel characteristics or some future “measurable” methodology, knowing what’s in the bin and preserving quality is critical, he said. “This is what grain companies are going to use to buy grain from you at lower costs,” he said. One upside to an open market could be more efficient grain movement, said Elyk, because board and non-board products won’t have to be kept separate. One downside is the lack of a guaranteed buyer. “If you’re unable to meet the specs on the contract, where are you going to turn?” Having backup plans is key, but Elyk said he views shipping to the U.S. a last-resort option. Currency volatility, the risk of leaving unpriced grain in a U.S. elevator, and pushback, such as delayed service or a tariff, from American farmers and their lawmakers are factors to consider, he said.

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EDITOR Will Verboven Phone: 403-697-4703 Email: will.verboven@fbcpublishing.com

PRODUCTION director Shawna Gibson Email: shawna@fbcpublishing.com

Do Calgarians need a study to find where their food comes from?

Director of Sales & Circulation Lynda Tityk Email: lynda.tityk@fbcpublishing.com

CIRCULATION manager

Representation } A committee to study Calgary’s food supply has no members from mainstream agriculture

Heather Anderson Email: heather@fbcpublishing.com

national ADVERTISING SALES James Shaw Phone: 416-231-1812 Fax: 416-233-4858 Email: jamesshaw@rogers.com

By will verboven

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Alberta Farmer | Editor

ome of us in the agriculture and food business like to amuse ourselves about the naiveté of city folks who have no clue where their food comes from. We chortle when they seem to assume that food magically appears at the local grocery store. As amusing as that may seem, those assumptions may be close to the truth, if a recent decision by the Calgary city council is any indication. In its recent budget, seemingly serious Calgary city councillors approved the expenditure of $72,000 on a study to find out where their food comes from. The study is to find out who grows it, where it is produced, who distributes it to consumers and where the waste goes. At first glance it would confirm the suspicion that city folks are indeed clueless about where their food comes from, if a study has to be launched to get this information. I expect a lot of less-naive taxpayers will probably be either insulted or outraged that their tax dollars are being spent on what seems obvious and for what possible purpose. For the agriculture and food industries it does raise questions as to the perception (or lack thereof) that consumers have of the role of farmers, ranchers and processors in the food chain. One does ponder the value of the millions that have been spent over the past years by the Alberta government, commodity organizations and food retailers on promoting the role of primary agriculture producers in food production to urban consumers. It would seem none of that message reached Calgary city councillors who remain mystified as to the origin of food. The study goes by the grandiose title of “Food System Assessment and Action Plan.” The goal appears to be to find gaps

and make recommendations to create a sustainable food system in Calgary. A further goal seems to be to ensure that all Calgarians have access to healthy, affordable food. What noble goals they are, except that there is no food access problem by city folks, and there already is a sustainable food system in Calgary, in Alberta, in Canada and in North America.

There is no food access problem by city folks, and there already is a sustainable food system in Calgary, in Alberta, in Canada and in North America. Even naive city folks are aware that any number of local grocery stores are groaning with an abundance of food. All they have to do is choose where they want to shop, and how much they want to buy. The only access delay is at the checkout counter. You would have to go back almost 100 years to find a situation where access to food was a problem, and that was more a problem of variety and logistics. So what gives with this study? In websites related to the folks involved with the study one finds references to “healthy, affordable food,” “access to quality, nutritious food,” “local food and farmers’ markets.” These are all coded references to organic food. They imply that the food that is abundant and easily accessed at the large grocery chains is just not what people need, further implying that it is not nutritious and healthy. Nothing could be further from the truth. The study itself appears to have been instigated by the Calgary Food Committee who

influenced the Calgary city office of sustainability which is where the taxpayer money seems to be coming from. The food committee members include folks from academia, a local organic farmer, a number of people in communications, a green lobby group member, an organic food store representative and one lonely member from Alberta Agriculture. The committee does not have a single representative from the people who actually bring food to the consumer’s table — the commercial farming and ranching industry, meat packers, food processors and of course nobody from the grocery store chains. Does this not cause one to suspect the motives of this committee and the real intention of the study? The study’s outcome would seem to be predictable — more farmers’ markets, more local organic food production and probably more garden plots for city gardeners. No problem with those goals, but let the free market provide that if there is a demand for those products and services. But I suspect the study will go further and will probably suggest some subsidy mechanism to increase the availability of organic food at lower prices than regular food. More promotion of local organic food markets is also likely. I can’t help but suspect that this is just another trendy concept that other cities have delved in as part of political correctness. It reminds one of the trend in the 1970s for politically progressive cities to declare themselves nuclear-free zones. Sounds good but of no real consequence. I expect this study will be relegated to gathering dust on a shelf, but perhaps it should be seen as a message to the agriculture industry that despite all their public relations efforts, the perception gap between urban consumers and those that produce their food may be as wide as ever.

www.albertafarmexpress.ca or email: subscription@fbcpublishing.com At Farm Business Communications we have a firm commitment to protecting your privacy and security as our customer. Farm Business Communications will only collect personal information if it is required for the proper functioning of our business. As part of our commitment to enhance customer service, we may share this personal information with other strategic business partners. For more information regarding our Customer Information Privacy Policy, write to: Information Protection Officer, Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Ave., Wpg., MB R3H 0H1 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. The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Alberta Farmer Express and Farm Business Communications attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists and Alberta Farmer Express and Farm Business Communications, cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and the editors as well as Alberta Farmer Express and Farm Business Communications assume no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader for this publication based on any and all information provided.

Policies give lie to farmers’ mantra Decline } Americans are growing fewer acres of the crops that feed people

By Alan Guebert

ome people believe in tillage, others in no till. Some people believe in planning, others in

fate. Ask an American farmer if he believes a big part of his destiny includes feeding the world and he’ll likely say, “Yep.” The answer is quick and sincere because somewhere in every farmer and rancher’s makeup is a “feed the world” gene. Our fathers probably picked it up back in the 1970s. They passed it to us and now it’s just part of our DNA. But believe as we may, the numbers — here, there, everywhere — continue to conspire against us. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the world has never produced more food, fed more people and, simultaneously, never had so many hungry people. Recent FAO data shows that

about 13 per cent of the world’s population, or nearly one billion people, now live in chronic hunger. In 1981 the percentage was higher, 21, but the number was 150 million lower. Part of the problem is math. The world’s people simply outreproduce what the world’s farmers and ranchers increasingly produce. If forecasts prove accurate, however, birth rates will decline and global population will peak near nine billion in 2050. That suggests global hunger will peak, hopefully, in the next 40 years, too. It also suggests that global hunger has a life of its own. Sure, we send the world massive tonnages of grains, red meat, poultry and other foodstuffs; record dollar amounts, in fact, in 2011. But very tiny amounts of U.S. food exports are sent to hungry nations. Indeed, explains a new report from the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy in Minneapolis,

in 2009 “72 per cent of all U.S. corn exports went to the top five export destinations” — Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan and Egypt — “while only nine per cent went to the 70 nations designated by the United Nations FAO as LowIncome Food-Deficient (LIFD).” The story is similar in soybeans: “In 2009, more than half of U.S. soybean exports went to China. After China, the largest export destinations… were Mexico, Japan and the European Union. LIFD (food-deficient nations) received only one per cent of the total.” Neither fact is an indictment of U.S. farmers. Each, however, is a direct consequence of U.S. farm policy. While we may believe our destiny includes feeding the world’s hungry, Farm Bills are directed toward selling food to the world’s wealthy. And that makes perfect sense because you can’t sell corn or wheat or beef or pork to people who have no money.

But government policy plays a hand, too. “While corn production rose 28 per cent from 2000-09,” Julia Olmstead writes in the IATP report, corn “exports only increased two per cent over the same period, mainly due to increased demand for corn for ethanol production.” As a nation we made policy choices that directed corn to be planted for fuel on many acres once planted for food. “From 1999 to 2009,” Olmstead writes, “the number of acres of wheat (sown) declined by six per cent, rice by 13 per cent and peanuts by a startling 27 per cent.” All are crops consumed directly by humans, she adds. Kinda tough to feed the world if you’re fuelling Escalades and Range Rovers. The Farm and Food File is published weekly in more than 70 newspapers in North America. www. farmandfoodfile.com

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JANUARY 30, 2012

Finding the balance on the scales of animal happiness Conflict } Maximizing profit is not the same as maximizing animal welfare By Laura Rance

Editor, Manitoba Co-operator

t’s been relatively quiet on the animal welfare front lately, at least as it pertains to livestock production. That’s a good thing, but it doesn’t mean the issue has gone away. In fact, two economists with Oklahoma State University believe animal welfare has moved from the fringes to the forefront of discussions over the future of animal agriculture. Further, they warn in a recent paper that the agricultural industry’s mantra that their profits are tied to having happy animals doesn’t hold up to economic analysis. Now keep in mind that this work is intended to point out why economists should get involved in the animal welfare debate. They aren’t taking sides, only pointing out where the rhetoric fails under economic analysis. “The underlying logic is that farm animals that receive better care will be more productive, and as a result will be more profitable,” write Jayson L. Lusk, professor and Willard Sparks Endowed Chair and F. Bailey Norwood, associate professor in the department of agricultural economics.

Research has shown hens that have more space and a more natural environment may well produce more eggs in a year. However, the producer’s economic reality is maximizing the number of eggs produced by the barn, not from individual hens. Invariably, it makes better economic sense to forgo a degree of individual productivity in favour of having more hens in the barn producing eggs. “In a competitive environment, producers who wish to stay in business face incentives to adopt production systems and practices that maximize profit, and profitmaximizing outcomes are not the same as animal welfare-maximizing outcomes. “Thus, the real question of interest is not whether profitability must be sacrificed to achieve higher levels of animal welfare, but rather how much?” they say. If the objective of animal welfare proponents is reducing the degree of harm, it leads to some interesting dilemmas. The assumption is that less intensive or more animal welfare-friendly practices compromise some degree of productivity. But in the extreme view, any animal kept in captivity is suffering to a degree.

So is it more ethical for a meat eater to support animal agriculture that makes fewer animals suffer more, or more animals suffer to a lesser degree? And whose feelings are we measuring here? Do consumers who support welfare-friendly practices do so because it makes the animals feel better, or because it gives them a warm, fuzzy feeling?

Voluntary shift

This is an important consideration when it comes to determining whether society should turn to market-based incentives that offer premium prices to producers voluntarily adopting more humane practices or resort to regulatory measures. For example, in the months leading up to the referendum on Proposition 2 in California, which bans the use of battery cages, consumer demand for cage-free and organic eggs rose relative to demand for conventional eggs as consumers became generally more aware of egg-production practices. “The results… suggest that the debate surrounding Prop 2 partially alleviated the need for the proposition in the first place, as it caused consumers

to voluntarily shift to those higher-priced options that provide hens more space,” the paper says. Now that the proposition has passed, forcing all producers to move away from battery cages, it’s probable that the premiums previously enjoyed by producers serving the niche market will disappear. “Thus, animal-advocacy groups (perhaps inadvertently) brought economic harm to those producers already providing the practices the activists sought to promote.” And last but not least, is the subconscious economy, the difference between what people say they want and what they actually do. “Data suggest that most consumers, when informed about modern production practices such as battery cages or gestation crates, express a willingness to pay for the more “humane” alternatives that exceeds the costs of providing them. However, most consumers are not informed and will never become so.” “The market share of cage-free and organic meat and egg products is far lower than what would seem to be suggested by people’s behaviour in voting booths on

“Thus, the real question of interest is not whether profitability must be sacrificed to achieve higher levels of animal welfare, but rather how much?” OSU study authors

animal welfare policies,” the paper says. This is a huge dilemma for animal agriculture, which has invested resources into “educating” consumers in the hopes they will accept modern agricultural practices if only they understood them better. Keeping consumers in the dark plays into the hands of activists whose exposés of isolated incidents taint the whole industry. But making sure non-farmers understand how their meat and eggs are produced may require industry to change the very practices it is defending.

Africa needs a brown, not green, revolution Improved soils } The son of famed investor Warren Buffett has made conservation

agriculture part of his life’s mission Canadian Foodgrains Bank release

wo Canadian Foodgrains Bank-supported projects that promote conservation agriculture in Zimbabwe and Zambia have been featured in a new book about food security in Africa. The projects, operated together with the United Church of Canada and Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, are included as case studies in The Hungry Continent: African Agriculture and Food Insecurity, published by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. “It’s an honour for projects we support to be included in the book,” says Alden Braul, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank’s capacity development manager. “Howard Buffett is well respected for his work promoting conservation agriculture in Africa.” Being included is “recognition of the value of these proj-

ects towards improving food security for smallholder farmers in those countries,” Braul adds. Through the projects, farmers use minimum-tillage and low-external-input farming systems, including applying mulch to improve soil fertility, preserve moisture and increase crop production. “This revolutionary method of agriculture is spreading across southern Africa,” says Braul. “It provides a simple, affordable and environmentally friendly way for poor farmers to grow more food.” Local partners for the projects are Christian Care in Zimbabwe and the Reformed Church in Zambia Diaconia Eastern Region.

A “brown revolution” for Africa

For Buffett — son of famed businessman, investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett — promoting conservation agriculture in Africa has

“It would be erroneous to conclude that the (North American) approach to increased productivity should be applied across Africa.” Howard Buffett

become part of his life’s mission. Through his foundation, the Illinois soybean and corn farmer plays a behind-thescenes role in the global war against hunger, experimenting with ideas for helping poor farmers produce enough food to feed their families. In a 2009 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Buffett traced his interest in fighting global hun-

ger to his interest in preserving that continent’s environment. In 2000, as he was photographing migrating animals from a plane, he saw scars on the ground where poor farmers had used fire to clear desperately needed land. He wanted to help stop that practice, but realized that he couldn’t protect Africa’s environment without first fighting its food shortage. Buffett quickly realized that high-tech, mechanized North American farming methods, like those he uses on his own 2,500-acre farm, wouldn’t work in Africa. “It takes a lot of fuel to run my equipment. And for inorganic fertilizer. And pesticides,” he said, noting that, “that can’t be the right answer” for poor farmers in Africa. In an editorial in the July 16, 2010 Omaha World-Herald, Buffett praised the work, creativity and ingenuity of North American farmers, noting that they play a critical role in alleviating world hunger.

But, he added, “it would be erroneous to conclude that the (North American) approach to increased productivity should be applied across Africa.” Noting that some think Africa needs a “green revolution,” such as happened in the 1960s and 1970s in Asia, he observed that that revolution was successful due to “government support, subsidies, irrigation, fertile soils and predictable land tenure systems.” Africa, on the other hand, “suffers from some of the world’s poorest crop production as a result of weathered soils, poor farming practices, a lack of investment, and inefficient land use.” What is needed, he went on to say, are “affordable and replicable systems,” such as conservation agriculture, that revitalizes the soil, prevents erosion and retains moisture. Africa, he said, “needs a brown (soil) revolution, not a green revolution.”

OFF THE FRONT

moisture } Continued from page 1 for the next irrigation season,” he said. “Two of the (snow) pillows (our key rivers draw from) are a little below average and one is above average to date. Looking forward, we don’t have concerns about water availability. We went into winter with our reservoirs not quite at the maximum we like for winter levels, but very close to it. So we are in good shape for reservoir storage.”

Sudden swings

Farming veterans know swings in weather are commonplace in this province. “We’ve seen situations in the past where it’s been very, very dry at certain times of the year, and the next week rolls around and it’s very, very wet — too wet,” said Bullock. In fact, the last two years have had massive precipitation shifts. In mid-June last year, extremely dry conditions threatened huge swaths of agricultural land across much of northern Alberta, with soil moisture reserves hovering at one-in-25-year lows. However, the skies opened up in the second half of the month and by the end of June, most of the northern areas had near-normal soil moisture levels, and some were overly wet.

JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

AWB’s end not so controversial Gradual } Australia eased into an open market for wheat over several years phil franz-warkentin

commodity news service Canada/saskatoon

Canada will experience similar challenges and opportunities as Australia did when it lost its single desk for wheat marketing, but the outcome may be different, says Geoff Honey of Grain Trade Australia. While Canada is poised to see a relatively abrupt end to the single desk this summer, Honey noted a transition fund was set up in Australia and had grown to A$600 million by the mid-2000s. The Australian Wheat Board became a publicly traded company in 2001 and following a scandal involving wheat sales to Iraq, the single desk was eliminated entirely in 2008. When the changes took place in Australia, all the levels of government were in favour, and no court actions were pursued, said Honey, noting that is far different from the current situation here. As a result, Canada appears to be entering the open market from a “standing start,” Honey told reporters prior to a presentation at Crop Week in Saskatoon. The uncertain legal situation in Canada also may be causing some concern amongst import-

ers, he added. As wheat had been Australia’s major grain export prior to the end of the AWB single desk, Honey said there were some growing pains in terms of logistics and moving grain from the ports in the immediate aftermath of the changes. However, he said those problems have since worked themselves out. Other changes to the Australian structure include an increase in international trading houses now participating in the Australian market. In addition, Honey said accredited wheat exporters have climbed from one to 25. Pooling is also still an option in Australia, with up to nine different companies offering pooling options for producers. Another interesting development in the Australian wheat market over the past few years has been the sharp increase in wheat exported by container. Smaller companies and individual operations are shipping more than two million tonnes of wheat annually via container into niche markets, said Honey. When asked if Australian farmers were better off with or without a single desk, Honey was diplomatic, but said overall profitability will come down to the individual grower’s marketing skills.

InVigorResults.ca

“At this point, it’s anyone’s guess. There’s a wonderful statement a colleague once said: ‘No one ever lost a crop in the winter.’” ralph wright Alberta Agriculture Soil moisture specialist

A similar story occurred in 2010, especially the south and central country. At mid-April, at least 40 per cent of Alberta had one-in25-year or lower soil moisture reserves. Three months later, places like Red Deer were at a one-in-25-year high. If it seems we’ve had an awful lot of extreme weather conditions in recently, you’re right. In 2010, western parts of the province were the driest they’d been in 51 years. In 2009, it was the central regions that suffered extreme drought; in 2002, the east-central regions; in 2001, southern Alberta; and in 1998, north-central regions. “It does seem that we’ve seen more of these extreme dry areas developing in the last 10 or 12 years,” said Wright. “Most areas of Alberta have seen the driest conditions of the 51-year period in the last 14 years. If you go back before that, the next one-in-50year dry period was 1981 in the Peace Country.” However, don’t jump to conclusions too quickly about changing weather patterns, cautions Wright. “We’re only going back 51 years,” he said. “That’s not much of a sample. If I could go back 200 years, I’d probably find other decades of dry. The pattern is that there is no pattern. It’s not uncommon to see wet years followed by dry years. And, today’s weather is not a good predictor of tomorrow’s weather in my experience. It could turn around next week. “At this point, it’s anyone’s guess. There’s a wonderful statement a colleague once said: ‘No one ever lost a crop in the winter.’”

InVigor L150

54.5 bu./ac. O-66-01/12-BCS11026-E

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Albertafarmexpress.ca • january 30, 2012

ICE Winnipeg launches new Canadian spring wheat contract Non-U.S. deliveries } Minneapolis changes contract details in an effort to head off Canadian competition By Rod Nickel winnipeg/reuters

ICE Canada president Brad Vannan announced contract details at a news conference last week. photo: victoria ann

ntercontinentalExchange (ICE) marked the impending end of Western Canada’s grain monopoly and the start of competition with the Minneapolis Grain Exchange when it launched new Canadian wheat, durum and barley futures and options contracts in Winnipeg on Monday this week. ICE Futures Canada’s milling wheat contract will compete for trades with the Minneapolis (MGEX) hard red spring wheat contract, of which the Canadian Wheat Board has been one of the biggest users. The new contracts will trade in Canadian currency and utilize Canadian delivery points.

“Canadian futures contracts will represent this important production region better than other markets do because they’ve got a strong connection with the underlying marketplace,” said Brad Vannan, president and chief operating officer of ICE Futures Canada, in a news conference last Thursday. ICE Futures Canada, previously called the Winnipeg Commodities Exchange, is best known for its successful canola contract. The wheat board will lose its monopoly in August, pending court challenges of a new Canadian law. Grain companies, farmers and processors are already signing forward-delivery contracts for the former CWB grains, setting up new demand to manage price risk.

“I think there’s a lot of interest in the (ICE) wheat contract,” said Ken Ball, commodity futures and options broker at Union Securities in Winnipeg, adding that grain companies and farmers are keen to use it. ICE has structured the milling wheat contract at 100 tonnes per lot, similar to the size of wheat contracts on U.S. exchanges, making it easy for traders to simultaneously buy and sell different contracts to profit on the difference, Ball said. “(ICE is) hoping to tap into that circle of spreading between Canadian wheat and U.S. wheat,” he noted. Canada is the world’s secondbiggest producer of spring wheat (after Russia) and durum (after the European Union). The MGEX said Jan. 19 it was adding more quality rules to its spring wheat contract as it heads off competition from ICE. MGEX said the U.S. futures regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, approved its request to allow the delivery of non-U.S. wheat for the first time against its 129-year-old contract.

T:10”

“We made the changes to our contract to ensure that we have the best premium-quality wheat contract in the world,” said MGEX spokeswoman Rita Maloney. “Because our contract has traded consistently for 129 years we have established open interest, we have established volume (and) liquidity, and we feel confident that the global marketplace will recognize our spring wheat contract as that premier wheat contract.” It will be critical that the new ICE contracts attract decent trading volume early, Ball said, since investors are leery of markets with light, volatile trading. The barley contract may be more tenuous than wheat as ICE has long struggled to attract trading in its existing barley contract, Ball said. The possible weakness of the durum contract is that it is tied to a relatively small crop. Volatility may be ahead for many commodity markets, said analyst David Hightower, who took part in ICE’s news conference. “Every commodity going forward is going to have its day in the sun,” he said. “This demand pull from the world, particularly in specialty geographic isolated product commodities, we’re going to see wild reactions.”

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JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Wheat board outlines plans to compete after August 1 FARMERS’ CHOICE  The wheat board says it will be in

business for the producers who want to use it BY LAURA RANCE

STAFF/BRANDON, MANITOBA

he Canadian Wheat Board will have sales programs for farmers who want to use them, the board’s director of marketing and sales told farmers at Manitoba’s largest annual farm show earlier this month. While details have yet to be ironed out, Gord Flaten said it’s really up to farmers to ask themselves whether they want the board to continue and whether they believe in it enough to participate in making that happen. Flaten said it has experienced staff with strong connection with customers who continue to want to source grain through it. “We

need to be competitive, but they prefer doing business with us, all things being equal. “There are a lot of farmers who trust the CWB and find value in the services that it provides,” he said. “That just made my day. Now we have a choice,” said Jake Hofer, a wheat producer from Treesbank Colony near Wawanesa, Man., after listening to Flaten’s presentation. “I’m very encouraged, my whole feeling is something happened that was very good today. Now we have a choice,” he said.

No elevators

Flaten said the missing link is the board’s access to grain handling and transportation. “You can’t deliver your grain to a CWB elevator.”

But he said the board is optimistic it will be able to negotiate contracts with grain companies. “Grain companies need volume and we can bring them more than they can get on their own,” Flaten said. The board is capable of helping the private trade develop marketing plans because of its intimate knowledge of customer preferences. Customers have confidence in the board’s ability to deliver the quality and quantity they require. Thirdly, the board’s access to low-cost financing will work to reduce the operating costs of its grain company partners, he said. “We are confident this last piece of the puzzle will fall into place,” he said. Flaten said the board will generally be offering farmers four pric-

ing options in the new marketing environment. It plans to offer harvest pools for CWRS, durum, winter wheat and malt barley, which would operate similar to today’s pooling system but with a limited signup window. It will also offer a pre-harvest pool with either a pre-seeding or pre-harvest signup window. These pools would likely operate under a four-month marketing period between harvest and January. A third option would be a futuresrelated contract, which would operate similar to existing hedgeto-arrive contracts currently available in the grain trade. And it will offer a series of cash contracts.

Financing guarantees

Flaten said the federal govern-

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Sales director Gord Flaten says the CWB will offer several cash and pooling options. PHOTO: LAURA RANCE ment has assured the board it will enter the open market with a clean balance sheet, access to the previous board’s contingency fund and control of its existing assets. “It means that we will be starting operations with a significant capital base,” Flaten said. The board has also been assured the federal government will continue to guarantee its borrowings, which allows it to obtain financing at lower interest rates and there will continue to be guaranteed initial payments on the pool accounts. Those two factors will significantly reduce its operating costs, he noted. As well, the board will be free to market crops beyond its current mandate as well as grain originating in other countries. Flaten said one of the biggest reasons for farmers to continue marketing through the board is to ensure there continues to be lots of competition for their grain. The board is a statutory corporation, which means it is owned by the federal government. That was the case before, except prior to Dec. 15, 2011 it was governed by a board controlled by farmerelected directors. Now it is governed by five federally appointed directors. Eight farmer-elected directors were fired last month. Two had previously resigned. The government has indicated it will be privatized within five years so farmers need to be thinking about what structure they want to replace it, whether it is a cooperative or shareholder model, Flaten said. Flaten couldn’t say when partnerships with grain companies would be in place, or when the board could begin offering contract options. Some grain companies have already begun offering new-crop contracts to farmers. As well, he said in an interview, that while the board will continue to work with producer car shippers, its ability to blend those cars into its shipping programs will be reduced because its volume of handle is expected to decline. That means it will need more predictability from shippers on the quality of grain they are shipping. Newdale, Man. farmer Gary Andreychuk said he hopes the board works through the media to get its message out to other farmers. “After your presentation, I feel very confident in contracting with you,” he said. “I found this very informative.” Hofer agreed. “I didn’t know they had done so much work. I was afraid it was going to fall apart,” he said. But when asked whether he’d be selling through the new Canadian Wheat Board, Hofer would only say he is keeping his options open.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JANUARY 30, 2012

Price and optimism sky high in Iowa Iowa effect } Last month an area farmer spent $1.5 million for 73.4 acres by p.j. huffstutter

sioux county, iowa | reuters

f there is an epicentre of the nation’s farmland boom, it can be found here amid the rolling hills of northwest Iowa. A fortune is being plowed into the dirt of Sioux County, where well-heeled farmers and wealthy investors compete fiercely for some of the most fertile land in the corn belt. Prices across Iowa have been among the heartland’s fastest growing — up 261 per cent since 2000 — and have more than tripled in Sioux County. Locals could not be more pleased about such prosperity — or more nervous about a potential pullback in values. In what has been termed the “Iowa effect,” farmers and ranchers across the nation now routinely look at record-setting deals in this 768-square-mile county as a benchmark for America’s 408 million acres of cropland. “I hear people talk and it’s not in a good way,” said Bill Tentinger, president-elect of the

“I hear people talk and it’s not in a good way.” Bill Tentinger Iowa Pork Producers

Iowa Pork Producers Association, who runs his family’s hog farm in Les Mars, Iowa, in south Sioux County. “People see these prices and think, ‘Well, if land in Iowa sells for $20,000 an acre, then why can’t my farm in Illinois or Minnesota or Nebraska sell for that much?’”

Good reasons

Locals here will tell you exactly why: rich soil, favourable weather trends, a high concentration of livestock and biofuel operations, and an intensely competitive farming culture. Those are some of the reasons why prices, which cracked $13,000 an acre two years ago, have now hit $20,000. “Not all dirt is the same. Some dirt is astonishing, compared to other dirt,” said Jim Rogers, the billionaire commodities investor and author. “But it ultimately comes down to economics: How much does that land cost, what crop can you grow on that land, what price you can get for that crop, and how much it costs you to produce that crop.” In early December, farmer Leland Kaster paid $20,000 an acre for fields next to his dairy near Hull, Iowa. If Kaster were to grow corn on his new 73.4 acres, he’d be able pull in about $1,250 per acre in gross revenues next year, given futures market prices and average corn yield. More simply put: It would take the Kaster family more than half a generation to recoup their money — and only if corn prices remain relatively

Auctioneer Jeffrey Obrecht talks to prospective buyers during an auction of three separate farms totalling more than 473 acres of rich central Iowa soil in Traer, Iowa last month. The share of Iowa farmland being sold by auction, rather than private deals, has doubled to nearly 10 per cent in recent months. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes high. But Kaster’s bid has wider implications. “We call it the Iowa Effect,” said Nebraska auctioneer Randy Ruhter. “When prices go up there, prices go up elsewhere.”

Life left

Despite the dangers of extrapolating Sioux County’s land values for outside guidance, and given that the federal ethanol subsidies qui-

etly expired last year, some people still believe there is plenty of life left in the local boom. That faith prompted town officials in Hull — home to nearly 2,200 people, eight churches and no stoplights — to join the land rush: The town’s economic development team bought a nearby 80-acre parcel two years ago for $1 million. City administrator Les Van

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Roekel insists the deal was a savvy move. Area crop and dairy farmers clamoured to cash rent the land, after a local cheese plant recently announced plans to double the amount of milk it processes each day. Local leaders are shopping for more land, either to buy or trade. “We’re somewhat in a bubble here,” Van Roekel said. “But I think we’re going to be fine.”

JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Kazakhstan hopes to export 15 million tonnes of grain HUGE POTENTIAL  The vast steppe nation covers an area five times the size of France BY RAUSHAN NURSHAYEVA ASTANA/REUTERS

azakhstan exported around 4.1 million tonnes of grain and flour in the four months to Dec. 31, the Agriculture Ministry said Jan. 24, saying a lack of rail cars was a bottleneck as the pace appeared to lag behind its forecasts for the full year. Kazakhstan is among the world’s top 10 exporters of wheat and for the last few years has been its largest flour exporter. “According to our forecasts, the export potential of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the 2011/12 marketing year will total around 15 million tonnes,” Deputy Agriculture Minister Muslim Umiryayev told a news conference . “To realize in full the country’s export potential of 15 million tonnes a year, it is necessary to ensure that a total of 10.2

million tonnes, including flour and 8.7 million tonnes of grain proper, must be loaded for exports by July 1 of the current year,” the ministry said in an analytical note. The vast steppe nation of 16.7 million people, which covers an area five times the size of France, harvested a postSoviet record grain crop of 26.9 million tonnes last year. The harvest was more than double the amount of grain produced in 2010, when drought damaged crops across the Black Sea grain region. Kazakhstan exported 5.9 million tonnes of wheat and flour in the previous marketing year to June 30, 2011.

70 customer countries

An official at state-owned grain trader the Food Contract Corporation (FCC) said last month the country would not manage to export more than 10 million tonnes, including flour in grain

equivalent, out of the potential 15 million. Umiryayev said Kazakh grain was currently exported to more than 70 countries. “Traditional markets for Kazakh grain are Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran. Besides, Egypt is a market for Kazakh grain this year, as well as countries of the Mediterranean region and Belarus,” he said. Umiryayev said Kazakhstan’s export potential allows it to meet the 15 million-tonne target this year but added, “The availability of railcars for grain shipments remains a bottleneck.” Agriculture Ministry data released January 30 showed that Kazakhstan has a total of 5,200 rail cars for shipping grain, of which only 4,500 are in satisfactory condition. “At the same time, a total of 10,500 railcars are needed for grain exports,” the ministry said.

“The availability of railcars for grain shipments remains a bottleneck.” MUSLIM UMIRYAYEV DEPUTY MINISTER

“For these purposes, a total of 2,880 railcars have been borrowed abroad for grain shipments,” it added. Umiryayev said that to facilitate exports from landlocked Kazakhstan, the government was considering subsidizing the costs of shipping grain across Russia to terminals on the Sea of Azov as well as the Black Sea and Baltic Sea starting in March.

Kazakhstan last year more than doubled its drought-reduced harvest of 2010. ©THINKSTOCK

WHAT’S UP

February 27 & 28, 2012 The Fairmont Winnipeg

Grain World, Canada’s leading annual grain-market outlook conference, is returning for 2012, co-ordinated by Wild Oats Grain Market Advisory Featuring: • Review of overall world crop supply and demand • Outlooks for the crops we grow on the Prairies • Adding wheat to your marketing strengths For the agenda and to register online, visit www.wildoatsgrainworld.com or call (204) 942-1459

Send agriculture-related meeting and event announcements to: will.verboven@fbcpublishing.com January 31: New Barley & Wheat Marketing System, Quality Hotel, Grande Prairie. Call: AGINFO 800387-6030 January 31: New Barley & Wheat Marketing System, Coast Hotel, Lethbridge. Call: AGINFO 800-3876030 February 1: New Barley & Wheat Marketing System, Medicine Hat Lodge, Medicine Hat. Call: AGINFO 800-387-6030 February 1: New Barley & Wheat Marketing System, Sawridge Inn, Peace River. Call: AGINFO 800-3876030 February 2: New Barley & Wheat Marketing System, Community Centre, Three Hills. Call: AGINFO 800-387-6030 February 3/5: Alta. Association of Ag Societies Conference, Mayfield Inn, Edmonton. Call: Lisa 780-4272174 February 4: Rock the Farm, Mayfield Inn 8:00 am, Edmonton. Call: FABB 780-638-3931 February 6: Info on New Barley and Wheat Marketing, Social Centre 9:00 am, Vegreville. Call: AGINFO 780-310-3276 February 6: Medicine River Watershed Society, Gilby Community Hall 5:00 pm, Gilby. Call: Garth 403-746-5990

February 7: Ag Choices 2012, Holiday Inn 8:30 am, Red Deer. Call: Leona 780-853-8103 February 7/8: Beekeeping for the Future, Executive Royal Inn, Edmonton. Call: Gertie 780-4896949 February 8: National Pork Biosecurity Workshop, Exhibition Park 12:30 pm, Lethbridge. Call: Audrey 780-469-8982 February 8/9: Forage Agronomy Update, Royal Executive Inn, Leduc. Call: CARA 403-664-3777 February 9: Risk Management Info Session, Community Hall 7:00 pm, Morningside. Call: Joanne 403783-7071 February 15/17: Alberta Beef Industry Conference, Capri Hotel, Red Deer. Call: ACFA 403-250-2509 February 15/17: Western Barley Growers Association AGM, Deerfoot Inn, Calgary. Call: WBGA 403-912-3998 February 16: Alberta Soft Wheat Producers Comm AGM, Legion Hall 9:00 am, Vauxhall. Call: Elizabeth 403-345-6550 February 16: Battle River Research Group AGM, Community Hall 4:30 pm, Halkirk. Call: Alvin 866-8286774 February 16: Farm to Finish Ranching Opportunities, Olds College, Olds. Call: Meaghan 403596-6084

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JANUARY 30, 2012

Asian hunger for “noodle” wheat may bolster prices Australia } Normally the largest supplier,

but rain has reduced protein and quality

by naveen thukral singapore / reuters

For the second straight year, Asia must rely on the U.S. and Canada for most of its top-quality wheat, as rains have cut the protein content in grain from traditional supplier Australia. Asian nations are among the world’s biggest buyers of the superior quality, protein-rich wheat that is used to make noodles, a staple food across the region. Its demand could support prices on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, and widen spreads with the lowergrade soft wheat traded in Chicago. Australia, the world’s fourthlargest wheat exporter, has been hit by unusually bad weather for two years in row, which has degraded both quality and quantity. Analysts estimate production of Australian prime hard wheat at just half a million tonnes this year, down from an average of nearly two million tonnes. Indonesia, Asia’s top wheat buyer and one of Australia’s biggest customers, is estimated to import 6.7 million tonnes in 2011/12, with most its high-quality milling wheat needs coming from the U.S. and Canada. Japan and South Korea, which together account for more than 10 million tonnes of imports, are likely to follow suit.

Tight supply

Chicago soft wheat slid a fourweek low in mid-January after the USDA projected global stockpiles to remain near record highs. But the premium Minneapolis spring wheat finished almost unchanged. “When you look at wheat, it is two markets — one is high-quality milling wheat with 12 per cent and above protein level which is still reasonably tight,” said Adam Davis, a senior commodity analyst at Merricks Capital in Melbourne. “Anything below 11 per cent protein is surplus; it is trading close to corn, almost like falling into the coarse grain category.” As a result of tight supply, Australian prime hard wheat with 13 per cent protein is quoted at $350 a tonne free on board, compared with regular milling wheat offered at $230 a tonne. That $120-tonne premium compares with the 10-year average of around $30. In the U.S., dark northern spring wheat with 13 per cent protein was recently quoted around $330 to $335 a tonne versus $265 a tonne for hard red winter wheat. “Until November 2010, the maximum ever we had seen was $80-a-tonne premium,” said one Sydney-based dealer. But some U.S. analysts say a stronger U.S. dollar and higher shipping costs could dampen exports from North America to Asia.

NEWS Viterra shares stumble after disappointing Q4 reuters / Shares of Viterra fell more than seven per cent Jan. 19 before recovering slightly, a day after Canada’s biggest grain handler reported disappointing quarterly results. Viterra reported lower-thanexpected fourth-quarter earnings of three cents a share, although revenue of $3.1 billion topped expectations. It’s “definitely disappointing” that Viterra missed expectations by a material amount after CEO Mayo Schmidt told Reuters in a Jan. 11 interview that he expected

a strong quarter, said PI Financial Corp analyst Jason Zandberg. For the year, Viterra’s profit jumped 83 per cent to $265 million. The company also boosted its semi-annual dividend by 50 per cent to signal confidence in its future prospects. Viterra said earlier that global grain supply and demand fundamentals look strong for 2012 and that the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly this year will add to its bottom line. “As far as the positive outlook, the price of wheat will probably dictate farmers’ appetite to spend on farm inputs and so far it’s been weak in 2012,” Zandberg said.

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NEWS » Markets

} PROGRAMS

JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

CWB not yet buying new crop

Grain and Oilseed course

The Canadian Wheat Board said Jan. 13 it will offer farmers grain pools, cash contracts and marketing advice in its new role after it loses its monopoly this year. But it is still working out details and is not yet offering those programs, said CWB spokeswoman Maureen Fitzhenry, while grain handlers lock up more of the 2012-13 crop through forward contracts. Grain handlers like Viterra, Cargill and Richardson International are already signing forward contracts with farmers for delivery of the 2012-13 harvest after the CWB’s monopoly ends on August 1.

A four-day grain-marketing course is being held in three locations early in 2012. This will be a basic-level course to more fully understand basis, futures, options, contracts and strategies for grain marketing. Primary instructor is farm marketing adviser Neil Blue. Registration is $500 plus GST. The course is being held in Lloydminster Feb. 13-16, Leduc March 5-8 and Forestburg (six days) March 12 to 14, 16, 19 and 23. To register, contact the Alberta Canola Producers Commission (ACPC) at 1-800-551-6652 or visit www.canola.ab.ca

Canola acreage seen approaching a record 20 million acres Summerfallow low } Agriculture Canada analysts expect

last year’s unseeded acreage to be back in production

By Dwayne Klassen

anola futures on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform were mixed during the week ended Jan. 20, with the nearby months seeing small gains while the deferred values were slightly weaker. A continued strong export lineup at Canada’s West Coast, along with strong domestic demand from the processing sector, helped to generate some of the strength. The arrival of beneficial precipitation in the soybean-growing areas of Brazil and Argentina sparked some of the weakness in the market. Record canola acreage forecasts for the spring of 2012 also had bearish price implications. A lot of the action seen in canola was tied to participants starting the process of rolling positions out of the nearby March future, ahead of the contract becoming a cash delivery month. Both the large and small commodity funds like to move positions roughly a month and a bit ahead of it becoming a cash delivery contract. Western barley futures on the ICE Futures Canada platform remained in dormancy during the latest week. The launch of the new milling wheat, durum and barley contracts on Jan. 23 on the ICE platform will eventually replace the western barley contract. Cash bids for feed barley in Western Canada, meanwhile, softened in response to increased inventories of U.S. corn. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean futures moved to higher ground during the period ended Jan. 20. Sentiment that soybean values were oversold and due for an upward technical correction helped to generate some price strength. The buying back of previously sold positions further

underpinned soybean values as did the emergence of some fresh buying interest from China. Firmness in the cash market also added to the friendly price tone. The upside in soybeans was restricted by improved growing conditions for soybean crops in South America as well as by some late-week firmness in the U.S. dollar. Some renewed concerns among speculative fund participants regarding the financial problems in Europe also helped to temper the upside price potential. CBOT corn futures were mixed with the nearby months up and the deferred values down. Much of the support was derived from ideas values for the commodity have finally declined far enough to stimulate some nearby demand. The buying back of previously sold positions and firmness in the cash market also underpinned values. Weakness in the deferred values reflected talk that the area seeded to corn by U.S. producers in the spring of 2012 will be higher than originally expected. The more-than-adequate supply of grain on the world market also helped to influence some selling. Wheat futures at the CBOT, KCBT and MGEX generally lost ground, with the bearish global supply situation and private estimates increasing the amount of area that will be planted to U.S. spring

and durum wheat in the spring of 2012 behind the declines. Demand for U.S. wheat also continued to be absent, adding to the overall bearish price tone. Some support in wheat, however, came from oversold ideas.

Greater expectations

The market analysis division of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has released its first look at the 2012-13 crop year, including bumping up the acreage estimates for most crops. Much of the jump in seeded area this spring will come as Prairie producers put back into production a lot of the fields that were flooded out in Manitoba and Saskatchewan last spring. In fact, the area left as summerfallow was predicted to come in at a modern-day low of only 6.3 million acres. With all the flooding and other issues, summerfallow in 2011 in Canada totalled 12.41 million acres in comparison. The Agriculture Department expects Canadian producers to seed a record 19.768 million acres to canola in the spring, surpassing the record 18.862 million acres that were put in the ground in the spring of 2011. Canadian canola production was seen rising to a record 15 million tonnes from the previous record of 14.165 million established in 2011-12. Another interesting acreage projection

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

was the estimate made for barley. While the jury is still out on whether the removal of barley from the Canadian Wheat Board had any impact on the seeded area forecast, the fact of the matter is that area will be up significantly. The market analysis division pegged seeded area to barley in the spring of 2012 at 7.907 million acres, which compares with 6.472 million the year previous. Barley output in Canada, as a result, was seen hitting the nine-million-tonne level in 2012-13. In 2011-12 barley production in Canada was 7.756 million tonnes. With the increase in production prospects in Canada, South America and even in the U.S., there have been a lot of participants anticipating grain and oilseed markets will be suffering some serious setbacks in the not-too-distant future. However, I was reminded by an individual who was a little bit skeptical of all the recent bearish price outlooks that nothing is ever as it seems and to certainly use some caution in deciphering this information. Using the canola futures as a prime example of how fast things can turn around, the source said, “It was around Jan. 20 in 1988, the canola future was trading around the $210-per-tonne level… However, all it took was a bit of drought, and the futures price for canola by June 18 that same year was sitting at $488 per tonne.” As a result, any sign of drought this spring and summer in either Canada or the U.S., could change the bearish fortunes being forecast very rapidly. Dwayne Klassen writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JANUARY 30, 2012

large and small

New open market will take time to settle Testing waters } Several companies

already offering contracts after Aug. 1 By Phil Franz-Warkentin Commodity News Service Canada

Saskatoon

A black-capped chickadee digs into a suet log bird feeder, while a pileated woodpecker chisels bugs from a spruce tree, sighted near Bragg Creek, Alta. The frigid temperatures that gripped Alberta after a balmy beginning to winter have birds flocking to seed sources. Photo: Wendy Dudley

AgriStability and end-ofyear inventory count Forms } The earlier

they are filed, the sooner the claim can be processed

The new open markets for wheat and durum in Western Canada are still sorting themselves out in the early weeks following the passage of a bill ending the longstanding Canadian Wheat Board single desk. Speaking to a meeting of the Saskatchewan Winter Cereals Development Commission at the annual Crop Week in Saskatoon, Brenda Tjaden Lepp, of FarmLink Marketing Solutions said the open market could easily take a number of months, if not years, to level out — with more inconsistencies likely in the short term. Following the passage of Bill C-18 in mid-December, 2011, most of the major grain companies started to test the waters with new crop pricing options. While a transparent open market is expected to be beneficial for farmers in the long run, Tjaden Lepp said the current new crop prices are lacking consistency. She said there were wide discrepancies from company to company in terms of protein and grade spreads, with little patterns to be found in the bids from one delivery point to the next. Aside from the newness of T:8.125”

the market, another reason making wheat pricing more inconsistent compared to something like canola is the increased number of factors the end-users are looking for. “The message is simple — you shop it around,” said Tjaden Lepp, noting that in the current environment one grain company may be offering the same price for a lower-quality wheat than the company down the road. Going forward, Tjaden Lepp highlighted a number of challenges for marketing wheat under the new system. She said it still remained to be seen how the new voluntary CWB will operate alongside the grain companies. She estimated that the voluntary CWB could continue to sell 20 per cent to 30 per cent of the western Canadian wheat crop, which means agreements will need to be put in place with the handling companies. The launch of new wheat and durum futures at the ICE Futures Canada exchange on January 23 could help in determining the price direction for wheat and durum in Western Canada. Tjaden Lepp said it remained to be seen if the ICE contracts would see enough liquidity, or if Canadian wheat would find itself priced off the Minneapolis futures.

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For producers participating in the AgriStability program, counting inventory at tax year-end (December 31 for most producers) is an important task. Accuracy with yearend inventory lends itself to accuracy for the whole application. “Rather than trusting such an important task to memory, it’s important for participants to take an hour or two as close to their yearend as possible,” says Kaye Ford, senior analyst risk management division with Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC). “Producer participants need to count and record year-end inventory and store the information in a safe place so that it is readily available when it is time to complete the forms.” Typically, the earlier the forms are filed, the more accurate the inventory information is and the sooner the claim can be processed. Completing the AgriStability Supplementary Forms is often one of the first items producers want to strike off their new year’s to-do list. “Information is available to help producers complete their forms,” says Ford. “The information is located on the AFSC website at www.afsc.ca, under the Risk Management tab, click on AgriStability and then on the 2011 AgriStability Supplementary Forms Guide. Instructions and tips are located throughout the online guide to assist producers.” Producers who require additional help with forms can contact AFSC’s AgriStability staff located around the province available to answer questions and review forms. Contact the AFSC call centre at 1-877-899-AFSC (2372) or visit the website to locate the offices where the AgriStability field analysts are located.

JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Analyst bullish on canola and soybeans EXCEPTION  Thomas Mielke predicts tight supplies in the coming year for all oilseeds — except sunflowers

STAFF/BRANDON, MAN.

hen filling up their seeders this spring, Canadian farmers should have canola and soybeans coming down the spout, but not sunflowers and flax. That was the advice from Thomas Mielke, executive director of Oil World, a global edible oil market research firm based in Germany. “Unlike 2008, the price decline has been moderate, and there are reasons for it,” said Mielke, speaking via video link from his office in Hamburg. Prices have retraced last year’s peaks, but the downtrend has been limited due to shrinking supplies worldwide and firm demand from the food, biofuel, and oleo-chemical industries. Over the past decade, there has been “tremendous” growth of six million tonnes per year in global consumption of oils and fats, mainly palm oil, but also canola and rapeseed oil. Mielke predicted that in 2012, for the first time ever, there will be tightness in soybean oil markets where, a production decline expected in both the United States and South America could reduce market supply by as much as 13 million tonnes. Palm oil, the world market leader, saw a four-million-tonne jump in production in 2011 due to good crops in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Colombia. But due to the nature of the plant, yields are expected to dip in 2012. Canola has lately been trading in a band between $550 and $525 per tonne, with firm support at $500. World production of rapeseed and canola has flattened after years of dramatic increases, he added. Canada, which has seen a 50 per cent rise in exports over the past four years, is expected to export eight million tonnes, crush 6.88 million tonnes, and see end stocks of 1.12 million tonnes. “This is an interesting trend: record production and demand even exceeding production of Canadian canola,” said Mielke, adding he expects the country’s global market share, already at 68 per cent, will continue to rise. Poor winter rapeseed conditions in Europe and Ukraine will make the world even more dependent on Canadian canola exports in 2012-13, he said. “We need at least 14.5 million tonnes, probably 15 million tonnes, of Canadian canola in 2012,” said Mielke. “So, prices have to stay attractive to convince you in Canada to expand canola area again this spring.” Mielke is bearish on sunflower seed demand due to soaring pro-

“We need at least 14.5 MT, probably 15 MT, of Canadian canola in 2012. So, prices have to stay attractive to convince you in Canada to expand canola area again this spring.”

duction in the EU, Russia and Ukraine which saw an increase to 38.5 million tonnes from 33.5 million tonnes last year. “There has been massive supply and price pressure during the past few weeks and months,” he said. Demand prospects for flaxseed are “not encouraging” for Canadian farmers, he added. After the Triffid debacle, exporters from countries of the former Soviet Union have stepped in to fill the gap. Next year, shipments from those countries to the EU are expected to rise to 380,000 tonnes from “nil” 10 years ago. “We may see further expansion. They have benefited from the quality problems of Canadian flaxseed from the European point of view,” said Mielke, adding that this trend is “dangerous” to future prospects for Canadian farmers. The “volume problem” in oilseed markets due to limitations in land and water could end up having a major downside, he added.

Thomas Mielke, executive director of Germany-based Oil World, gives an update on the oilseed market outlook via video link PHOTO: DANIEL WINTERS

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Solar flares could stir up trouble for your GPS in 2012 FLIPPED  A change in the magnetic field may cause

periodic loss of your GPS signal this year BY LAURA RANCE

STAFF | BRANDON, MAN.

Don’t blame the manufacturers — or even the gremlins — if your GPS system goes a little wonky in 2012. It’s likely solar flares will wreak havoc with at least some systems this coming year as the sun flips its magnetic field, says Pam Wilson, a precision agriculture instructor with Assiniboine Community College in Manitoba. “Basically the sun’s magnetic field flips every 11 years, and when it does, it sends out these charged particles,” Wilson said. “These charged particles are basically big bundles of energy and they get thrown every direction. “When they get thrown towards the

earth they create radio signals and these radio signals interfere with the radio signals the satellites are sending out to our GPS receivers,” she said. “They actually mimic the radio signals so they’ll block the signals coming in from the GPS.” Wilson said solar flares have also been known to interfere with television signals and cellphones. Wilson said it has been 11 years since the last flip, so the technology in the field has likely improved. But she said it remains to be seen how much of an effect the sunspot activity will have in 2012. “I’m curious how bad it’s going to be this time because last year people were having some issues, but not as many issues as they had a decade ago. I’m hoping it’s going to be better,” she said. The solar flares can cause farmers to

lose their GPS signal several times a day. “It could be for a minute, it could be for three hours,” she said. “In a high solar flare year, like this year will be, it could happen three times, it could happen five times a day. During a normal year it might happen once every 30 or 40 days.” Users might also experience a higher DOP, which stands for dilution of precision, or a reduction in the performance accuracy of their system. If farmers start to experience random outages, their first step would be to contact their supplier to see if a higherquality antenna will correct the problem. If possible, borrow one to see if it helps before making an outright purchase, she said. Wilson also told her Ag Days seminar

that when things go wrong with GPS, 90 per cent of the time it’s related to either how the system was installed or calibrated. She said 70 per cent of the time it is due to improper calibration. She advised farmers to take the time and go through the proper steps when calibrating their systems. If the dealer’s instructions aren’t detailed enough, there is plenty of information on proper calibration on the Internet.

NEWS

Italian crime syndicates control a big part of food business MILAN/REUTERS Organized crime in Italy controls agricultural and food businesses worth 12.5 billion euros ($16 billion) a year, or 5.6 per cent of all criminal operations in the country, according to a parliamentary investigation. It has spread its involvement through the entire food chain from acquisition of farmland to production, from transport to supermarkets, said Coldiretti, Italy’s biggest farmers’ group. “Italians find an additional invitee at their table: criminal organizations that eat up what Italians should have eaten,” Coldiretti quoted Italy’s chief antiMafia prosecutor Pietro Grasso as saying. Mafia-like criminal groups often dictate producer and consumer prices in their own favour by undercutting prices paid to farmers for their products and inflating prices paid by consumers in food stores, Coldiretti said. The Italian agriculture and food industry also suffers from the manufacture and sale each year of an estimated 60 billion euros’ worth of poor-quality foreign food that masquerades as top-quality Italian brands ranging from cheese to ham to wine, Coldiretti said. Grasso said Italian laws should be tightened to help fight the grip of organized crime on agrobusiness.

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JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

IS IT A COMBINE OR A CANBINE? John Deere employees in Moline, Illinois recently constructed this full-size combine made from 308,448 cans and 11,268 bags of food. According to Guinness World Records, Project “Can Do” is by far the largest sculpture ever built from canned food, more than doubling the number of cans used in the previous record. All the food was later donated to a local food bank. Photographs and videos about the project and its construction can be found at www.Facebook. com/JohnDeere.

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NEWS New insurance product for grain sellers STAFF

Farmers of North America and two partners are offering a new credit insurance product. The product, called MarketPower Assurance, will offer protection for nonpayment by a customer for grain once it has been delivered. It is being offered by FNA, Atradius Credit Insurance NV, and Pangaea Global Risk Management, and is similar to insurance used by large grain companies, the companies said in a press release. “Individual farmers have not had the ability to get credit insurance because the industry was not interested in issuing thousands of individual insurance policies to farmers across Canada,” said Doug Roff, national sales director for Atradius. “This new program will provide this ability.” Farmers who buy the insurance will have access to a pre-screened buyer pool and will also be able to borrow against secured payment. Banks will lend up to 90 per cent of the value of receivables when they are insured, often at lower rates than farmers typically pay, according to FNA. “With the uncertainty in the grains industry right now, this is going to help reduce one more concern, and help farmers feel more confident selling to a new buyer, selling to a buyer they are unsure of, and leveraging their grain while it is still in the bin,” said Bob Friesen, CEO of FNA.

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Leafcutter beekeepers urged to keep a close watch on their colonies CONCERN  Pesticides may cause health issues for larva, even when adults appear healthy BY SHANNON VANRAES STAFF

nvironmental factors clearly affect the health of leafcutter bees and colony development, but more research is needed to determine which factors affect what aspects of the bee’s life cycle, according to an American bee expert. “The last questions left are always the most difficult to answer,” Theresa Pitts-Singer of Utah State University told alfalfa producers at the Manitoba Forage Seed Association’s annual conference in Winnipeg. Leafcutter bees have been spared from colony collapse disorder, which has had a devastat-

ing impact on many honeybee populations. “The honeybee is such a different beast, and it’s used very differently,” she pointed out. “It’s completely domestic in its ways.”

Stressors

The expert added the way honeybees are moved and expected to forage on less-than-ideal crops, like almond blooms, immediately after hibernation also causes them stress. One environmental factor facing both honeybees and leafcutter bees is pesticides. “Even pesticides that don’t specifically kill or target bees may be affecting the larva and things you wouldn’t expect,” said PittsSinger. “The thing that is similar is

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“Basically, what the research is telling me is that you have to monitor multiple factors and see how they all merge together. Every year is going to be different.” B:10”

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the sublethal effects pesticides can have on bees. Pesticides can affect bees of all sorts, natives bees and managed bees as well.” Bee pollen shows how prevalent pesticides are in the environment, she said. Pesticides can be found in pollen even when bees forage in an area that has never been sprayed. “The other unknown is when you combine other types of pesticides, like a fungicide and an insecticide,” she said. Although a bee’s immune system may be able to individually handle both types of pesticide, the combination might be overwhelming. Pitts-Singer and her team have been following the lives of leafcutting bees from larva to adult, and then following the bees’ children and grandchildren as well. The research includes monitoring temperatures inside bee shelters and individual cells, marking thousands of individual bees, and building many different shelters positioned in many different ways.

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JANUARY 30, 2012

THERESA PITTSSINGER

Facing south

Let’s DO this!

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Along the way she has made some interesting observations, such as south-facing boards tend to have higher rates of chalkbrood than north-facing ones. The researcher also noted more male bees emerge in Canada, roughly two or three for every female, compared to more southern bees that see a one-toone ratio. Pitts-Singer said the effect of temperature and light on bee sex ratios is one of the many things being examined in her work. Even though Pitts-Singer’s study has not concluded, she said farmers can work to improve the efficiency of their bees by monitoring conditions on their own farms. “Basically, what the research is telling me is that you have to monitor multiple factors and see how they all merge together,” she said. “Every year is going to be different.”

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JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Women key to world food security Equality } Narrowing the gender gap could help 100 million out of poverty By Nigel Hunt london / reuters

Salvadora Ampie, 52, feeds her chickens at the Ticauntepe town, some 25 km (16 miles) south from Managua in Nicaragua. Ampie benefited from Daniel Ortega’s government program “Hambre SEC_CAR11_T_MC.qxd 8/26/11 4:23called PM Page 1 Cero” (Zero Hunger). REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas

policy aimed at ensuring future security of food supplies must centre around the world’s 500 million smallholder producers, many of whom are women who farm less than two hectares of land, a leading United Nations official said Dec. 14. “Unless they are at the centre of the future strategies for food security, we will not get it right,” David Nabarro, the UN secretary general’s special representative for Food Security and Nutrition said. Nabarro said the food security challenge was about ensuring access as well as expanding production over the coming years. “Our main concern right now is with the very unequal access to the food which is already being produced. Although there is enough food to go around right now, over 900 million people are chronically hungry,” he said, at an event organized to coincide with a Chatham House conference on Food Secu-

rity. Ann Tutwiler, deputy director general (for knowledge) at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, told the conference that improving the productivity of women farmers was a key goal. She noted that studies in Burkina Faso showed women smallholder farmers had access to fewer inputs such as fertilizers, resulting in an average drop in yields for sorghum, for example, of 41 per cent. “If we narrow that (gender) gap, we can help more than 100 million people out of poverty and hunger,” said Shenggen Fan, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Hidden hunger

Fan said around two billion people were affected by “hidden hunger” as they don’t get the micronutrients they need. This can damage health and mental development. “The challenges remain, particularly as the population continues to grow,” adding some projections suggested there would be more than 10 billion people by the end of the century.

“Business as usual is not enough. New technologies are needed and they have to be smallholder friendly, environmentally friendly and gender friendly,” he said, adding women farmers had less access to land, water and agricultural services. UN’s Nabarro said smallholder farmers were “the most important actors” in determining the ways in which water, land and energy were available for future generations. “They can prove to be very effective as custodians of the environment. They can also, if they are not helped, have a negative impact on the environment,” he said. Nabarro said smallholder farmers were most easily able to improve production if they are helped to organize into groups such as cooperatives. Michael Nkonu, executive director, Fairtrade Africa said investment in production organizations was a key priority. “Producer organizations are going to be a key area of making the change and we need to continue to focus on that,” he told the conference.

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Growing malt barley runs in the family nominated } Alberta growers consistently produce high-quality crop the neills profile Gerard Neill, who farms along with his wife, parents and uncle near Morrin, is one of 15 growers recognized for malt barley quality under this year’s industry-sponsored Elite Barley recognition program. Here he describes some of his techniques. Interviews with all 15 growers are available at www.elitebarley.com.

By Wendy Grosfield

erard Neill, along with his wife, parents and uncle, has been growing malt barley near Morrin, Alta. for the past 40 years. “We live in a great part of the province for producing malt barley through the sheer luck of where my grandfather chose to homestead,” says Neill. “Over the past 40 years, there has only been one growing season where we didn’t harvest a malt barley crop. It has been a pretty ‘bulletproof’ crop for us.” A comprehensive rotation that includes wheat, summerfallow, barley, canola or peas, as well as the use of certified seed every three years, allows the Neills to produce a consistently high-quality malt barley crop from year to year. Malt barley is an attractive part of the rotation for the Neills, as it is a profitable crop with an annual yield averaging 80 bushels per acre. The Neills have grown Newdale for the past seven years.

Certified seed and a regular rotation produce consistent quality barley. “Newdale is a strong variety, has good straw length, and increases the odds of being able to straight cut,” says Neill. The number of malt barley acres each year depend on whether there is a wet or dry spring, but generally account for up to 50 per cent of the available acreage. “Due to the gumbo soil in this area, we till the ground in the spring to get the black soil to the top and to allow the soil to warm more quickly,” says Neill. “Our

main challenge in growing malt is excess moisture, so we look for well-drained fields to seed the malt barley on.” The Neills don’t employ a disease management or fungicide program. They believe that potash fertilizer makes a plumper kernel in a dry year and use a 34–17–5–0 fertilizer blend. The Neills don’t have aeration bins, so they typically wait until the crop is at 13.5 per cent moisture before harvesting.

A detailed sampling program ensures excellent detail on each truckload of grain is available for examination. Canada Malting Co. Ltd. nominated the Neills as Elite Barley growers “because they are great farmers who enjoy farming and have pride in growing grain. “(We) have a very good partnership,” says Darren Marson of Canada Malting. “It’s the kind of relationship I would like to have with all of my customers.”

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DIRECT LINK TO INSECT FORECASTS

BIG NUMBERS  Kyoto Fuels plant will produce 66 million litres of biodiesel

annually and will consume about 650,000 acres of canola

AF CONTRIBUTOR | LETHBRIDGE

biodiesel plant under construction just outside Lethbridge will start production in a couple of months. Kyoto Fuels Corp. expects to produce 66 million litres of canolabased biodiesel annually beginning in February or March, and will consume about 650,000 acres’ worth of production. It will be the country’s largest biodiesel plant and the only plant of its kind in Western Canada. However, other biodiesel plants are slated to be built in Alberta, but Kelsey Prenevost, president and CEO of Kyoto Fuels, said he’s not concerned by the competition. “We’re close to going into production,” said Prenevost. “So we have two years’ lead. Demand for biodiesel is much more than we can produce. Alberta alone needs 120 million litres of biodiesel a year to bring diesel to the mandatory two per cent blend. B.C. plans to mandate five per cent biodiesel blends, 240 million litres of biodiesel a year. Add in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and the biodiesel needs are at least 570 million litres. That makes our 66 million litres look pretty small.” To meet mandatory biodiesel levels, Canadian companies have been importing American biodiesel, much of it made from Canadian canola. The U.S. will require more

Kyoto Fuels hopes to open the Lethbridge plant in February or March.

SEE BIODIESEL  page 22

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The Alberta Insect Pest Monitoring Network has set up a direct link to insect forecasts. The web page is at www.agriculture.alberta.ca, where you can see the maps by clicking on the picture and name of the insect. There will also be videos posted of how to assemble bertha and diamondback traps. The page will reflect what is happening out in the field with links to Call of the Land, Agri-News and updates from pest specialist Scott Meers. Questions and comments can be sent to bugs.r.us@gov.ab.ca.

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JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

BIODIESEL  from page 21 than 4.75 billion litres in 2012. Prenevost said economics will favour locally produced biofuel and his company plans to expand the plant, doubling its capacity by 2013, which would make it twothirds the size of ADM’s planned Lloydminster plant. The industry has come a long way during the six years he has been working on the Lethbridge project, said Prenevost.

“It’s simple to make biodiesel. You just add methanol and a little lye to waste grease or vegetable oil. But, making biodiesel that meets the specs of engine manufacturers … takes a lot more.” KELSEY PRENEVOST

“It’s simple to make biodiesel,” he said. “You just add methanol and a little lye to waste grease or vegetable oil. But making biodiesel that meets the specs of engine manufacturers and big fuel suppliers like Shell, Suncor and Husky takes a lot more.” When he started, waste grease was considered the best feedstock, said Prenevost. Kyoto Fuels originally planned to use tallow, a waste product from meat plants, and selected the Lethbridge site because it is equidistant from slaughter plants in High River and Brooks. Canadian regulations do not allow tallow-based biodiesel, because it freezes at higher temperatures than vegetable oilbased biodiesel. But tallow-based biodiesel is accepted in the U.S., so Kyoto Fuels could export it to the U.S.

Alternative crops

Because the plant can use almost any feedstock, Prenevost said his staff are considering alternatives, such as camelina, that might cost less and avoid using a food crop. Although the basics of biodiesel production are simple, Kyoto Fuels’ process is complex. It includes recovering catalyst and

other products, and employs a zero-water process, which is more costly to set up but reduces operating costs. It also avoids the risk of producing soap instead of diesel from oil and lye. Blending biodiesel with petroleum diesel can also be a challenge. The products must mix completely and Kyoto Fuels uses high-pressure injection-blending equipment to create a perfectly homogeneous fuel. “At every stage in developing our process, we’ve used the bestin-class technology,” said Prenevost. “We’re also very much focused on minimizing our environmental impact. Sometimes it’s cost a little more, but we want to be as environmentally sustainable as we can. We use an economizer to preheat our boiler and cut our natural gas use, we use LED lights almost everywhere and the plant is completely self-contained, recovering alcohols.” The energy balance on the process is 5:1, so for every litre of fuel burned five litres are produced, a much better ratio than oilsands or heavy oil upgraders can achieve. Kyoto Fuels’ engineering process has been meeting the stringent quality, safety and environmental

One flame burns brightest.

ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards for some time. JK Trucking, a partner in the company has been fuelling trucks with a 10 per cent biodiesel blend from Kyoto Fuels’ pilot plant. The truckers have burned more than five million litres and driven more than one million kilometres in all conditions, including two of the coldest winters on record, with no problems. They have 68 trucks running on 10 per cent biodiesel. Biodiesel reduces life-cycle emissions by 80 per cent compared to petroleum diesel. Altogether Kyoto Fuels cuts annual greenhouse gas emissions by 191,000 tonnes. Not all these reductions are eligible for carbon credits, but pre-selling to a major emitter has provided some funding for plant development. Prenevost said he doesn’t see using a food crop for fuel as a problem. “A great amount of diesel is used to produce food,” he said. “And, we don’t have a problem producing feed for the world, the problem is distribution. In the global picture, the biggest food crops are rice, corn and wheat, canola is a small crop.”

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Five Alberta malt barley growers honoured CROP TIPS 

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JANUARY 30, 2012

Alberta hosts Prairies’ first glyphosate-resistant weed THIRD SPECIES  Kochia joins giant ragweed and Canada fleabane

on the list of resistant weeds in Canada STAFF

Federal researchers have found the Prairies’ first confirmed case of glyphosate-resistant weeds in populations of kochia in three chemfallow fields in southern Alberta. Weed scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada confirmed that kochia plants taken from the fields have developed resistance to the broadspectrum Group 9 herbicide, the active ingredient in Roundup, Touchdown, Credit, Polaris, Vantage Plus and many other herbicides. Unlike some previous findings of glyphosate resistance in Ontario, however, the fields in question don’t appear to have been used regularly to grow glyphosate-tolerant crops, according to Canada’s best-known glyphosate manufacturer. AAFC scientists began this specific investigation last summer in the three fields, where “we saw little to no kochia control after (the fields received) multiple applications of glyphosate,” weed scientist Bob Blackshaw said in a release from Monsanto, maker of Roundup and developer of the Genuity Roundup Ready lines of glyphosatetolerant crops.

The initial findings “prompted us to do further work through the fall and winter that involved collecting samples of seed and completing the necessary grow-out and spraying of plants to confirm resistance,” said Blackshaw, who works for AAFC at Lethbridge. Blackshaw and fellow AAFC weed researcher Hugh Beckie completed tests on seed samples collected from the fields to validate their findings, testing the survival of the kochia plants at increasing rates of glyphosate, as per standard practice to confirm herbicide resistance, Monsanto said.

Not from RR fields

“What makes this particular case different from some of the previous situations where glyphosate resistance has been confirmed, is that it does not appear to have developed in a Roundup Ready cropping system,” Monsanto said. The suspected weed species, the company said, was found in fields where the “typical crop rotation... does not appear to have included regular use of Roundup Ready crops.” Kochia becomes the third weed species in which populations of plants in Canada have been confirmed as glyphosate resistant. Giant ragweed was confirmed in 2009 and Canada flea-

bane was confirmed in 2011, both in southwestern Ontario. Farther south, glyphosate-resistant kochia has previously been confirmed in Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska, with suspected cases in South Dakota and the border states of North Dakota and Montana, Monsanto said. AAFC’s weed scientists are continuing their work on this particular site, the company said. For its part, Winnipeg-based Monsanto Canada said it’s also supporting the AAFC research effort, which includes providing recommendations to help farmers manage glyphosate-resistant weeds once they are identified and confirmed.

New challenges

“We have been fortunate in Canada in that this is not a large-scale weed management issue,” Sean Dilk, technology development manager in Monsanto Canada’s crop protection division, said in the company’s release. “But we have increased communication around this topic and we speak to farmers about this more often to lessen the likelihood of resistant weeds developing.” Resistance evolves after a weed population has been subjected to intense selection pressure in the form of a repeated use of a single herbicide,

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Three fields of kochia saw little or no control after multiple applications of glyphosate. FILE PHOTO without adequate incorporation of “cultural weed management options,” Monsanto said. The herbicide in question then controls all the susceptible weeds, leaving only resistant weeds to reproduce. “Our history tells us that farmers can, and are, effectively managing the situation with good agronomic practices such as using tank mixes and/or cultural weed control methods,” Dilk said. However, he warned, this particular finding “could present new challenges if it spreads because of the prevalence of Roundup Ready canola and Roundup Ready sugar beets in this region.” Roundup herbicides and Roundup Ready crops have continued to be used in areas where glyphosate resistance has occurred in the past, he noted, “and we have some very knowledgeable people looking into this issue. I am confident in our ability to present good options to the growers in the region.”

JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Stripe rust expected to return to Alberta in 2012

paws of persuasion

Perfect storm } A

Montana pathologist says conditions are ripe for the disease to return by sheri monk

af staff | lethbridge

S Jessie, an Australian shepherd on a ranch near Millarville, Alta., goes face to face with a pair of donkeys she is trying to move out to pasture. She did get them turned around. Photo: Wendy Dudley

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outhern Alberta farmers and their neighbours to the south were both hit with wheat stripe rust last year, and a Montana State University plant pathology specialist says it’s time to get prepared for it again this season. Speaking to the recent Farming Smarter conference in Lethbridge, Dr. Mary Burrows delivered a message to which producers paid rapt attention. “I know stripe rust is going to be an issue in Alberta next year,” she said. “So you need to scout your fields and if you see it and you have a susceptible variety, you need to consider a fungicide application. If you have a resistant variety, you do not.” Burrows described “a perfect storm” of conditions ripe for the fungus to reappear. “We had widespread fall infection last fall, we had a very extended fall so it was warm, we had a lot of early-planted winter wheat, we had favourable spring temperatures and not only moisture, but flooding that kept the humidity high throughout the state for the majority of the year,” Burrows said. “In areas where I do not normally see stripe rust, it was very, very severe.” The epidemic was also more severe because of new strains which have overcome varietal resistance. Burrows said the new strains can replicate at higher temperatures and overwinter better as well. She stressed the best proactive measure is to plant resistant varieties, but fungicides were used successfully once disease was identified in the fields. “Fungicides were used very extensively in (Montana) and were quite effective. Any time I sprayed a susceptible variety, I got about a 10-bushel yield increase, so if you have a susceptible variety and you have stripe rust, you need to spray. If you have a resistant variety I do not recommend spraying at all because anytime I sprayed I did not get any yield response,” Burrows said. Timing of the fungicide application is critical. “We had quite a bit of late-applied fungicides, what we call ‘rescue spraying,’ and what I want you to take home is if it’s past flowering, you don’t want to spray because your economic return is going to be much less.” In some instances, it took only four days for a field showing the first signs of disease to turn completely yellow, and Burrows advised producers to keep a watchful eye on the situation this season. “This emphasizes the importance of getting into your fields as often as you can and looking at the wheat, getting out of the truck and picking up some plants and if you see something, ask some questions.”

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JANUARY 30, 2012

Company uses technology to tap gene potential SPECIAL RECIPE  Emerging science of nutrigenomics tailors feeding regime to an animal’s genes BY ALEXIS KIENLEN

“When we feed an animal, we look at the impact of feeding on the genetics.”

AF STAFF | RED DEER

Feeding animals based on knowledge of their genes sounds like something from science fiction. Yet it’s already happened, thanks to technology developed by Alltech, a Kentucky-based agricultural company that has developed gene chips, which map the genes of the animals and allow the company to study the “nutrigenomics” of livestock. “When we feed an animal, we look at the impact of feeding on the genetics,” said Jim Bannerman, the company’s Winnipegbased director of national accounts. “We look at if the genes are turned on or off, and we do that on everything we do now.” A huge portion of the improvement in animal performance in the last few years has come from genetics, he said, but nutrition and genetics have not generally been considered together. Two major goals of the science are to

JIM BANNERMAN

Research on young chicks showed that feed regimes can be tailored to the animal’s genetics. ©THINKSTOCK improve growth rates and feed efficiency. The process doesn’t manipulate genes, but seeks to maximize the expression of genes already present in the animal. Geneticists started their research process by studying the effect of different feed regimes on baby chicks, as the most pronounced effects are seen in very young animals.

“Some of those genes can be turned on permanently by nutrition and some of them can be turned off permanently,” Bannerman said. “Sometimes there’s a very small window, a matter of hours after birth when we can do this. The more we learn, the more we understand how precise this science has become.” Most peopleB:8.125” who raise broilers or lay-

ers have a three-phase program. The Alltech program introduces a fourth phase, the conditioning phase. “There’s another phase in there, where we’re feeding a specific diet to affect those genes,” Bannerman said. “The conditioning phase is very short and we manufacture the feed for this phase.” He said the feeding program can result in improved meat quality and does not involve any additional costs.

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More processing is key to the long-term success of the pulse sector in Western Canada, the head of the country’s largest pulse-trading company told attendees at Crop Week in Saskatoon. The pulse sector should be focused on producing food rather than a commodity, said Murad Al-Katib, president and CEO of of Alliance Grain Traders and sister company, SaskCan Pulse. There is growing demand for protein and healthy foods around the world, said Al-Katib, and the pulse industry should look to the example set by U.S. corn processors, which produce everything from flour and starch to corn oil and highfructose corn syrup. There is the same potential in pulses, with markets for protein, starch, and fibre components of peas, lentils, and other pulse crops grown in Western Canada, he said. More domestic processing would boost the overall price for producers and reduce price volatility that is experienced in countries overly dependent on exporting unprocessed pulses, Al-Katib said. Domestic consumers are showing more interest in pulse-based foods, but AlKatib said more research is needed in order to better establish the health benefits of pulses. He added food companies are also reluctant to reformat their products without reliable supply, which is something more processing capacity in Western Canada would bring.

JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Integration key to successful bioenergy project MUTUAL BENEFIT  Building a biodigester next to their feedlot has paid off for the Kotelko brothers BY HELEN MCMENAMIN

AF CONTRIBUTOR | LETHBRIDGE

“Beef is becoming a byproduct.” That’s how Mike Kotelko of Highmark Renewables describes the situation at the feedlot-centred business he and his brother Bern have developed on their farm. The Kotelko brothers took over the family mixed farm in the early ’80s. In those days, it was a fairly integrated operation with 120 registered Herefords and 3,000 acres of cropland. They only started feeding cattle when wet harvests in the Vegreville area left them with a lot of poorquality grain. Highland Feeders started in 1983 with a joint venture to feed 100 of their own cattle and 100 from a local cattle buyer, and gradually grew. Speaking at Farming Smarter’s annual conference in Lethbridge, Mike Kotelko said he and Bern “spent our summers building pens, the falls processing cattle, and somehow put up silage

The Highmark biodigester can process 220 tonnes of manure a day, with another 55 tonnes a day supplied by a hog slaughter operation, compostable material and deadstock. SUPPLIED PHOTO in between.” They dispersed the purebred cow herd in 1986, sold the combine and grain dryer and became cattle feeders. By 1995, Highland Feeders had a 36,000-head capacity and was marketing 50,000 to 75,000 head each year, primarily in Alberta. In the 1990s, the brothers developed a natural beef brand, Spring Creek Ranch Beef, in a joint ven-

ture with XL Beef, continuing their partnership with Nilsson Brothers, their original custom-feeding partners. “After 10 years of turning money into shit, we decided to reverse that,” said Kotelko. “We saw the global trend to more environmental and nutrient management regulations, and more regulation of intensive livestock operations.”

Large unit needed

They decided to get ahead of the regulations. Biodigesters are fairly common in Europe, where farms are much smaller and governments subsidize farmers to keep the countryside appealing to city dwellers, but none were big enough to handle the quantity of manure generated by Highland Feeders, or dry feedlot manure.

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“Our pilot-scale one-megawatt plant is about 100 to 1,000 times bigger than the biggest of the renewable energy producers in Europe,” Kotelko said. “And their equipment couldn’t handle our feedlot manure. It’s too dirty and too inconsistent a product for any of their biodigesters.” The first year the Kotelkos had their biodigester, they spent as much time repairing and reconfiguring it as running it. But they were eventually able to process dry, high-solids feedlot manure. They founded Highmark Renewables in 2001 with Mike as general manager. By 2005, Highmark’s digester was the only thermophilic anaerobic digester (heated without oxygen) running on highsolids feedstocks in the country. It produces methane from manure and other material, including slaughterhouse waste.

Heat and electricity

Methane from the biodigester can be burned to power a generator and by September, waste heat will be used to maintain fermentation temperatures for a wheat-based ethanol plant. Feed wheat will come from local producers who are also shareholders in Hairy Hill Power Generation, the energy unit of the farm. “Second-generation ethanol plants are much more efficient than earlier plants,” said Kotelko. “There’s a positive net energy balance, and globally, about three per cent of feed grains go into ethanol production.” The wet distillers grains are fed to cattle in the feedlot or sold to neighbours, which produces significant savings as drying the residual grains is a major cost in most ethanol plants. “We save 15 per cent of the capital cost and 30 per cent of the manpower by using wet product, so the feedlot is able to buy feed at a discount,” said Kotelko. “We take advantage of cattle’s ability to handle a variety of feeds and we’re not using high-quality starch and fat to feed them. Alberta farmers are moving away from producing low-cost feed grains, and we no longer need high-quality silage for rapid, efficient gains.” The biodigester can process 220 tonnes of manure a day, with another 55 tonnes a day supplied by a hog slaughter operation that had difficulty disposing of its waste, as well as compostable material diverted from a landfill. Deadstock are also processed. “The biodigester and ethanol plant allow us to run our whole feedlot off the electrical and natural gas grids, and we have byproducts to sell,” said Kotelko. “The biodigestate left after methane production is a high-phosphate fertilizer, cutting the material hauled to the field by 80 per cent.” At the feedlot, the biodigester has changed manure handling. Pens are cleaned more often, so they stay cleaner, cost less to maintain and keep cattle more comfortable. Processing manure right beside the feedlot is less costly, reduces road traffic and dust compared to spreading it on the land. Kotelko has developed a unique sand and grit recovery system so the material that has defeated other energy plant designers can be recycled through the pens. The Kotelkos are developing another feedlot-energy integration, using water used to cool the ethanol plant for drinking water for the cattle or for irrigation.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JANUARY 30, 2012

U.S. cattle placements fall U.S. government cattle-on-feed numbers for December declined six per cent from last year to 1.683 million head, a decline analysts had expected because of severe drought and high corn prices. Analysts said continued placement declines in the coming months which should underpin cash cattle prices and keep beef costs at retail near record highs. They attributed the shortfall to a year-long drought in the Southwest, and corn prices that surged more than seven per cent last month.

Cattleman named Manitoba ag minister Ron Kostyshyn, a cow-calf producer from Ethelbert, Manitoba, has been appointed as the province’s new minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives. The first-time MLA won former Agriculture Minister and Deputy Premier Rosann Wowchuk’s Swan River riding after she retired last fall. Kostyshyn takes over from Stan Struthers, who has been appointed Minister of Finance.

Rabbits are prolific, but whether the species is the key to an emerging market… remains to be seen.

New processing plant will make rabbit sector “a major player” BUSINESS IS HOPPING } Rabbit sector has been growing by leaps and bounds

but has still been held back by the lack of a dedicated processing facility by rebecca dika

af contributor | valleyview

new processing plant is just what Alberta’s rabbit sector needs to hop to the next level, says Marion Popkin, who has been the spark plug for developing the sector. Popkin has been raising rabbits at her operation in Valleyview since 2008, one of about 20 producers in the region, and helped form the Alberta Rabbit Producers Association (ARPA). So she’s naturally a major supporter of a new rabbit-processing plant slated to be built in Valleyview later this spring. “We’re moving from rabbit being a cottage industry to a major player in the meat commodity market,” said Popkin. She believes that if consumers can get past the Easter bunny sentimentality, there’s good money in the rabbit business. To get more established producers are also getting some real support. Community Futures Grande Prairie (CFGP) has approved a loan which has helped get the plant off the ground in Valleyview later this spring. Rabbits are prolific, but whether the species is the key to an emerging market for Peace region producers remains to be seen. The new plant will be a boon to rabbit producers in northwestern Alberta, says Popkin. She estimates there are about 20 growers in the region, including her own operation near Valleyview.

Popkin has been instrumental in developing the rabbit meat industry in Alberta. She got into it herself in 2008 and then helped form the Alberta Rabbit Producers Association (ARPA) shortly thereafter.

Owned by members

The plant, expected to open in May, is owned by Raw-Bitz, a company formed by some ARPA members. Construction plans were expedited when a provincially approved meat abattoir near Rouleau, Saskatchewan was purchased and moved onto a lot in Valleyview. The 2,300-square-foot facility became available after a farmer was forced to sell due to flooding. “We had enough investment to go ahead with the project without CFGP, but its input allowed us to buy a container and a lot,” said Popkin. The loan tripled the commercial investment. Popkin estimates the cost of the plant to be around $250,000. It will contain a blast freezer so whole carcasses, cuts, and ground meat can be processed. About half of the production will go to pet food. “The plant will be a real advantage for rabbit producers who get bounced at slaughterhouses for other species,” said Popkin. Although Alberta rabbit producers have doubled their sales every year for the past three years, an inability to consistently meet demand has slowed development of the market, she said.

“We’re moving from rabbit being a cottage industry to a major player in the meat commodity market.” marion popkin ARPA

One doe at $50 will net over $400 in one year. According to Popkin, that market is significant. One doe at $50 will net over $400 per year. And at the end of their breeding life, they can be sold for $20 as pet food. There are also fertilizer possibilities: rabbit manure has no need to be composted and is ready to use. Alberta rabbit producers have doubled their sales every year for the past three years. “We have promises for orders for five times what we fill now,” said Popkin. “We have export orders for three container-loads of product monthly.” The organization currently has about 22 retail clients,

mostly restaurants and delis in Edmonton. Members enjoy reduced processing and packaging fees, sales management, promotional materials including a brief on this growing industry, reduced feed costs, and a chance for their voice to be heard as a united industry, said Popkin.

Other species

The Valleyview plant will have capacity for 2,000 rabbits a day, and since meeting that target is still up to two years away, Popkin said other small animals will be accepted. Goats, sheep, alpaca and llama will eventually be processed. Currently, rabbit is shipped

to Stony Plain for processing, while sheep and goats go to Heart Valley, about an hour north of Grande Prairie or Tofield. Popkin said about 17,000 sheep are marketed annually in Tofield, and said the new plant hopes to capture five per cent of that market. It’s hoped the plant will be licensed to process goats by the end of this year, she said. “Prime goat meat will still go into the human food chain, but this plant will be a good alternative for those producers who have too few goats to ship to Tofield to feasibly meet transportation costs, or for older animals who no longer meet prime standards.”

JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Putting the “success” in family farm succession FROM THE HIP  Family members need to understand the

realities of control, and when it’s important to let go BY BRENDA SCHOEPP

t’s that time of year when discussions on family succession are getting going in full gear. There are many seminars offered and lots of advice floating around. I always find the discussion interesting and enlightening and appreciate that experienced family guides are talented leaders in the process. For us, farming is our business. We love it and have no intention of passing it down to anyone at any near point in the future. We are young, in our 50s, and plan to keep ourselves in business for a least another 25 years — not because we have too, but because we want to. To be fair, all our family members needed to know this so there were no grand illusions of us departing from the farm. Although we would embrace children as business partners, they too were honest about how they viewed their life path and chose independence. The discussion was frank and honest and all the family units thrive independently. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and that road is often cluttered with farming families. Parents who make promises they will or simply cannot keep, children hanging

on the skirts and shirts of mothers and fathers waiting for the big day of taking over, children with a misguided sense of entitlement, in-laws who are tired of being treated like hired hands and employees who do not know who the boss is. It tends to wear down relationships and drive invisible wedges into family units. If you don’t know where you are going, you are sure to get there. To avoid a seemingly endless journey, every party needs to be honest about their goals and their feelings. At the end of the day, it really is not about the technicalities of farm transfer or succession planning. Those can be taught or bought. It is really about the feelings of those in the family. As Dr. John Fast, president of Family Enterprise Solutions, reminds us, each family member needs to feel loved, competent and in control. There is no doubt that love is a constant in most families — it’s just expressed differently in some and downright oddly in others. For families to work together, love and appreciation have to be known and expressed. The old tale of, “I told her I loved her when I got married, why should I tell her again?” just won’t be tolerated in silence anymore. All jokes aside, there

are many adults in families who wonder just how much they are loved, appreciated and valued in the family relationship.

Feeling in control

A cloud that often shadows those feelings of love is control. We all need some element of control in our lives. Without it, how can we possible determine the next steps in everyday decisions or develop long-term goals? Control of your life does not mean being antagonistic. Think of driving. Do you want a car and control of the car? Is it fair to let someone else drive your family to the destination, or should you drive? Should you be the teacher who encourages your children to drive? When we give away the keys to our car, we can expect that the new driver will enjoy the control. A classic example is a story of a friend with a large family who lived under the control of Dad with the arm’s-length promise of the family farm. One day it was game on! The issues were finally on the table, and rightfully so, the son was 45 years old. It became clear that the father truthfully had no intention of giving up control but did enjoy having a hired man and someone else’s money going into the upgrades. Sonny left with his large family, is

successful and very well known in agricultural circles. To realize his dreams, he needed to take control of his life. When he had the keys to the car and the loving support of his wife, his future knew no boundaries. Not only was the couple intelligent but they were more than competent in creating new solutions for agricultural challenges. Competence varies among individuals and that has to be appreciated. If we want our children to be competent, we need to give them control while being a respectful guide. That is the nurturing process. When there is a very strong element of control there is little nurturing and children are consequently seen as incapable. Children who are told they are idiots, slow or simply stupid have a struggle to believe themselves as competent. Ironically, the same child may be encouraged and expected to stay on the family farm. This highly dysfunctional relationship may even work until the son or daughter brings in a life partner. And then, life gets complicated, as the “out-law” who also seeks unconditional love, control over their lives and a belief in their competencies starts to challenge the world in which their family unit has to survive.

At the end of the day, it really is not about the technicalities of farm transfer or succession planning. Those can be taught or bought. As Pinball Clemons says, “family is the foundation for our existence.” We can write books on the family units that fail, but the slim volume on successful family farms is truly enlightening. When the principles of the operation, be they parent or other owner, truly love and appreciate the members in the business, value their contributions and allow them control of their lives while nurturing their skills we create happy, independent farm families. And that is what it is all about! Brenda Schoepp is a market analyst and the owner and author of Beeflink, a national beef cattle market newsletter. A professional speaker and industry market and research consultant, she ranches near Rimbey, Alberta. beeflink@ cciwireless.ca

7th Annual Family Day Sale February 20, 2012 1:00 p.m. at the farm at Athabasca, AB

SELLING:

140 MODERATE AND EASY FLESHING RED & BLACK ANGUS BULLS 2 YEAR OLDS

50 REGISTERED PUREBRED

BLACK & RED ANGUS FEMALES

100 COMMERCIAL BRED HEIFERS

www.olefarms.com

Albertafarmexpress.ca • january 30, 2012

Piglet survival — focus on “The Big Five” Details } Careful attention is helping some operations

exceed 30 pigs per sow per year

also accomplish split suckling since not all pigs are nursing at the same time. This process of warming the pigs and split suckling is the most important thing you can accomplish on the day of farrowing.”

By bernie peet

ocusing on five key aspects of management is the route to maximizing piglet survival, Dr. Tim Loula from the Swine Vet Center, Saint Peter, Minnesota, told delegates at the Banff Pork Seminar. The “Big Five” he refers to are correct preparation of the sow prior to farrowing, provision of a clean, warm and draft-free environment for the piglet, an efficient work plan, good colostrum management and not allowing starve-outs to occur. During gestation, it’s important to feed sows as individuals, Dr. Loula says. “Feed to condition up to three to four weeks pre-farrowing, striving to have all sows at a body condition score of 3.0,” he advises. “Then increase the feed by two to four lbs. to provide adequate nutrition in order to get a big pig at birth. Sows should farrow at a body condition score of 3.25 to 3.50.” Dr. Loula cautions against inducing sows to farrow too early, saying that this results in smaller, weaker pigs at birth. “This can easily be checked by stopping the induction program for a couple of weeks to determine true gestation length,” he notes. “Gestation length in swine varies from 111 to 119 days and if a farm is inducing on day 114, they may be farrowing piglets four to five days early, reducing the piglets’ chances of survival. Farms inducing early often have

Colostrum essential to survival

With today’s highly prolific sows, focusing on five key areas of management will maximize piglet survival. more scour problems, which can elevate death loss.”

Good environment crucial

Newborn piglets come from an environment of 40 C in the sow’s uterus and are born into one of 20-23 C which is a 17 C drop in temperature in a few seconds, Dr. Loula points out. “Placing heat lamps behind the sow during farrowing reduces mortality by three per cent and we recommend using two heat lamps during farrowing,” he says. He advises the use of two heat lamps, one near the back of the crate at farrowing and one alongside the sow for the first 24-48 hours. “Use a thermometer or an infrared ray gun to determine the actual temperature at piglet level. Optimal temperature there is 35-38 C.” Ideally, a telescoping swing arm should be used to hang the lamps, allowing them to be

moved towards the front of the pen after farrowing is complete. Minor ventilation problems resulting in drafts can also increase pre-weaning mortality, adds Dr. Loula. Piglets should be dried off immediately after birth, either using a towel or with a drying powder, says Dr. Loula. Split suckling boxes can initially be used as dry-off boxes, he suggests. “A small amount of rolled oats or sow feed is put in the bottom of the boxes and a heat lamp placed over them. Pigs are placed in the boxes immediately after farrowing and allowed to warm up and dry off before they are put back on the sow. Newly farrowed pigs continually replace the pigs in the box,” he explains. “The result is a much more vigorous piglet that will nurse much more aggressively and ingest maximum amounts of colostrum. Of course, the hot boxes

All pigs must get colostrum within the first six hours after birth, stresses Dr. Loula. “A high percentage of mortality occurs because pigs never received colostrum.” He says that many producers mark piglets that they have observed suckling colostrum so that they can stop worrying about those individuals. “Most of them also mark the ‘at risk’ piglets on their heads and observe them to make sure they are getting sufficient colostrum,” he notes. Dr. Loula advises that piglets should receive colostrum from their own mother prior to fostering and that piglet movements should be kept to a minimum. He suggests that where litter size is 11-14, pigs should only be moved if there are insufficient functional teats. Excess piglets from litters of 15-21 can be moved to sows with 10 or less piglets, moving the biggest piglets where possible.

Dedicated staff beneficial

Dr. Loula notes that many farms now have dedicated “Day 1” staff that stay in rooms that are farrowing. “Today’s sows very often have 15 total born and 13-plus born alive, which is a big challenge,” he notes. “The dedicated

F.X. Aherne prizes awarded at the Banff Pork Seminar

Day 1 staff must be able to provide a high level of TLC, be decision makers and goal oriented, be good work organizers and also capable of multi-tasking.” The focus is to get colostrum into all piglets within the first six hours after birth, he says. “Many farms are extending hours for Day 1 coverage and some are even going to 24-hour coverage.” However, he cautions against doing too much to piglets soon after farrowing. “Clipping teeth, docking tails, notching ears, tattooing and injecting with iron and antibiotics is too much stress for the piglet and can be a subtle cause of increased mortality,” points out Dr. Loula. “Some producers have stopped clipping teeth altogether.” Proper care and management of the sow is critical in piglet survivability, Dr. Loula stresses, and close observation of the sow to ensure that she is eating, drinking and defecating normally is essential. It is also important to check that her piglets are full bellied, indicating they are suckling well. “With high sow feed costs, it is important to maximize piglet output,” Dr. Loula says. “By saving more pigs, feed cost/pig is reduced. More and more farms are paying attention to this and are achieving 30 pigs/sow/year or better.” Bernie Peet is president of Pork Chain Consulting of Lacombe, Alberta, and editor of Western Hog Journal

The Deerfoot Inn & Casino Calgary, Alberta February 22-23, 201212

780‐416‐6046 for more info

(l-r) Dale Heptonstall of Sunterra Farms in Acme, Alta.; Garrett Gerbrandt of the Puratone Corporation in Niverville, Man.; Michael Dyck, chair of the Aherne award committee; and Mary Haugh and Peter Jones of LMR Inc. in Listowel, Ont. Dale Heptonstall of Sunterra Farms in Acme is one of three pork industry innovators honoured with the F.X. Aherne prize for innovative pork production, presented at the 2012 Banff Pork Seminar, held Jan. 17-20. Heptonstall earned the prize for his invention of a tail-docking length guide for farrowing. The guide improved consistency of application of protocols and supported better communication between farrowing and finishing departments, which in turn supported improved production efficiency. The guide also supports overall high standards of animal care. Garrett Gerbrandt of the Puratone Corporation in Niverville, Man. received the award for his invention of unique, livestockfriendly loading plates for fin-

ishing farms, which are used throughout the Puratone corporate farm system. Mary Haugh and Peter Jones of LMR Inc. in Listowel, Ont. received the award for their invention of the “Longarm” — a uniquely designed animal-handling tool that requires up to 70 per cent less time to clear a pen. It supports easier, faster and safer animal handling. Held since 1972 in Banff, Alberta, the Banff Pork Seminar is coordinated by the department of agricultural, food and nutritional science, University of Alberta, in co-operation with Alberta Pork, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development and other pork industry representatives from across Canada. More information on this year’s conference is available at www.banffpork.ca.

To Register visit www.precision-ag.ca This conference will feature... • 2 full days with over 30 speakers & interactive breakout

sessions • 35 tradeshow booths dedicated to precision agriculture • Meet with progressive and innovative practitioners of precision agriculture

Keynote Speakers include Dr. Raj Khosla, Colorado State University Dr. Terry Griffin, University of Arkansas Topics will include… • Data Management and Analysis • Soil Mapping • Precision Irrigation

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With Thanks to Our Platinum Sponsors

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SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Grain Wanted

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Advertise in our Prairie-wide Classifieds. Place your ad in one, two or all three of our Classified papers. Receive Province combo rates. Prepay for three weeks and get two weeks free. Call Karla, Charla Rae or Kathleen toll free 1-800-782-0794

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ENGINES ASSORTED DEUTZ AND OTHER diesel engines. KMK Sales, (800)565-0500, Humboldt, SK.

FARM MACHINERY FARM MACHINERY Haying & Harvesting – Baling WANTED: Jd 7810 c/w fel & 3pth; sp or pto bale wagon; JD or IHC end wheel drills. Small square baler. (877)330-4477

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JD 2210, LDR, 3PTH, MFD JD 4430 c/w loader JD 7200, ldr, 3pth FWA, Steiger ST 270, 4WD Mustang 2044 Skidsteer, 1300hrs. 14’ Schulte rock rake Clamp on duals, 20.8x38-18.4x38 IHC 5600 DT 33’ 158 & 148 JD loaders Willmar 500 Fertilizer spreader FINANCE, TRADES WELCOME 780-696-3527, BRETON, AB

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50’ Flexicoil #75 Packer Bar, 1/yr as new ...$30,000 51’ 2009 Flexicoil 5000HD airdrill, 10” spacing, 5.5” rubber packers, SC, 5” spread openers......................Call 2320 Flexicoil TBH airtank shedded, exc. cond ...................................................$25,000 Flexicoil 6 run seed treater ................................. $2,000 51 Flexicoil Bodies c/w gen. SC 4” carbide spread tip openers, like new .................................................. $3,500 4952 I 30’ Prairie Star swather, 2005, 800hrs, 30’, 972 header, roto shears, header mover ...................$69,000 810H 25’ Hesston grain table - PU reel ..................Call 2-CIH WD1203 swathers 2011, 240hrs, 36’ headers, PU reel, roto shears, header transports, 1yr..........................................................................$105,000/ea. New Sakundiak 10x1200 (39.97’) 36HP, Kohler eng. E-K mover, P/S, electric belt tightener, work lights, slim fit Eco Hopper..........................$18,000 New Sakundiak 8x1400 (45.93) auger, 27HP Kohler, E-Kay mover, P/S, electric belt tightener, work lights.....................................CNT$16,600 New E-Kay 7”,8”,9” Bin Sweeps ............................Call 2002 JD 1820, 45-FT., 10-in. spacing, double shoot, dutch paired row, 3-1/2in steel, $30,000; 1998 Agco Star, 8425, 425-hp, 3,400-hrs, duals, auto steer, $51,000; 2004 Hesston 1365 discbine, 15ft 3in. steel rollers, swivel hitch, 2pth or draw-bar adaptor $12,000; 2004 McHale 991B bale wrapper, $9,000; (403)665-2341, Craigmyle, AB. 2003 MORRIS AIRDRILL, 50FT. 10in. spacing, 300/bu cart, $50,000 US. 2009 MacDon M1000 swather, 35ft triple delivery head, 150 header hours, $110,000 US; (406)217-3488 ACREAGE EQUIPMENT: CULTIVATORS, DISCS, Plows, Blades, Post pounders, Haying Equipment, Etc. (780)892-3092, Wabamun, Ab. DEINES FRONT MOUNT, ZERO turn mowers, w/flip up decks, 03-20HP 72in. reconditioned; 1-04 60in., 240hrs; 1-2010 60in., 140hrs; very good condition. See KIJIJI. Call Dean 1-800-886-9429 WIRELESS DRIVEWAY ALARMS, calving/foaling barn cameras, video surveillance, rear view cameras for RV’s, trucks, combines, seeders, sprayers and augers. Mounted on magnet. Calgary, Ab. (403)616-6610. www.FAAsecurity.com

JD 7330 w/741 SL Loader 115 hrs. Meteor 108-in. double auger snow blower Horst 10ft Snowblade, Model HLA 4000 JD 348 Square Baler JD 530 Mower Conditioner Frontier RR2211 Rotary Rake

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STEEL 30x36 $21,900 $41,900

BUILDINGS: Reduced Factory Inventory Reg $15,850 Now $12,600; 36x58 - Reg Now $18,800. 48x96 reg. $48,700, now 1-800-964-8335 Source: 1MW

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

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous Used Sakundiak 8x1200 (39.97’) auger, 20HP Onan elec. start .........................................................$3,750 2002 7000HD Highline bale Processor, c/w twine cutter, always shedded .........................................$8,500 Cattalac #360 Mixer/feed wagon, scales, always shedded, like new ..................$14,000 New demo Outback baseline X ...................$6,500 New Outback S lite guidance ..............................$900 New Outback E drive X c/w free E turns ........CALL Used Outback 360 mapping................................$750 Used Outback SII guidance ..............................$1,000 Used Outback E drive c/w JD valve ..............$2,000

Ron Sauer Machinery Ltd. (403) 540-7691 **Flexi-Coil, Westward MacDon Swathers, NuVision augers, Sakundiak, Farm King, Outback GPS Systems, EK Auger Movers, Sweeps, & Crop Dividers, Degelman, Headsight Harvesting Solutions** Sales Rep for George’s Farm Centre

ronsauer@shaw.ca

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1984 International 784, 67HP Diesel, New Clutch, 3PTH, 540 + 1000 PTOs, IHC 2250 Loader, $11,500

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JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JANUARY 30, 2012

When a horse’s time has come Euthanasia } Other than serious injury, deciding when to

end a horse’s life involves some subjective judgment By carol shwetz, dvm

t times the decision to euthanize is clearly obvious, even with an apparent immediacy. It is a self-evident ending when the horse has a fatal injury or an unrelenting illness. However all scenarios are not so straightforward, especially when individuals are confronted with situations of illness, injuries or aging that slowly taints the quality of a horse’s life. Such circumstances are not uncommon within the aging equine population. These experiences often affect the individuals involved in intensely emotional ways. Owners faced with such a dilemma with their beloved equine companions often agonize and anguish over such a decision, doing their best to make a wise and timely choice. The decision is equally taxing whether the horse is a sport champion or a child’s pony. Veterinarians can act as a guide, informing and educating owners about the animal’s conditions and present available options. Ultimately the decision rests with the horse’s guardian. Certainly there are written guidelines outlining animal suffering and pain, yet quality of life is subjective. The sensitivity of individuals to the pain and suffering of another being varies greatly. Furthermore horses, as sentient beings, have varying abilities to tolerate/deal with illness and pain as well. Clear decision-making is blurred by advances in medical treatment. This further compounds the emotional burden of owners whom often want to know that they have done everything they possibly could. “When is the time right?” No one really knows the answer to that question for sure. Mindfully looking to and reading the horse itself will bring the most genuine of answers as to “good quality of life.” Can the horse move and/or does the horse move comfortably? Movement is inherent to the nature of a horse and thus intimately linked with its quality of life. Horses that no longer share in the companionship of other horses, eating, travelling together, and grooming one another, distress mentally and physically. The next question to ask is, “Can the horse eat well?” Not all horses rationed on gruel diets are content about their fate. Can the horse maintain an appropriate body weight throughout all the seasons? Often aged horses that are dentally challenged can no longer maintain their body condition

Such circumstances are not uncommon within the aging equine population. These experiences often affect the individuals involved in intensely emotional ways.

well enough to remain comfortable when the winter season arrives. A moderate body condition is necessary to stave off the bitter cold of winter. These horses generally show their struggle with weight loss in the late winter/early spring. If they make it through to spring they temporarily seem to rebound, making a recovery when green grass returns. Although appropriate dental care and dietary management can be of value to these horses they often gradually fail. Owners aware of such a declining pattern may elect to euthanize their horse on a beautiful fall day after a “good” summer’s life, sparing the horse the hardship of another winter. The next question, although more subjective, has answers equally valid. Has the horse’s approach/attitude to life changed? As horses become weary with

chronic illness such as laminitis, arthritis, or heaves they become dull, disinterested, and indifferent to the happenings surrounding them. Another question to consider is, “Does the horse require care and financial commitments that are beyond the owner’s capabilities and bank account?” This is not a question of judgment, but one of high pragmatic and practical relevance. Financial and caretaking responsibilities that become burdens can have far-reaching consequences for the family and the animal. Under the stewardship of nature a horse’s fate is clearly determined. When human beings become steward and guardians of horses, much of their care is determined from our perspective. All aspects of their care, including euthanasia, are best done in honour of their dignity.

The horse’s quality of life through all seasons is a key factor in determining when it is the right time to euthanize an older or healthcompromised horse. Photo Kathlyn Hossack

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JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Producers embrace effort to put Alberta at the front of pork traceability ON BOARD } Alberta Pork says producers embraced the program and it is running smoothly by alexis kienlen af staff | edmonton

national pork traceability strategy is on the way, but Alberta has started its program early, making it the first province in Canada to have a mandatory system. The system was voluntary in 2011, but became law effective Jan. 1, 2012. “We do have the processes in place for a national traceability program,” said Darcy Fitzgerald, executive director of Alberta Pork. “It’s a little difficult when you have to work from a federal perspective.” Alberta Pork began rolling out the program in the fall of 2010. It requires producers to fill out manifests when they take hogs

to a processing facility, and the processor then sends a copy to Livestock Identification Services (LIS). “We end up having that information stored with LIS and they become the repository for that information,” said Fitzgerald. “If there’s a problem, and CFIA or the provincial vet had to see information, it would all be held there.” The process is running smoothly, and during the voluntary stage, producers were quick to embrace it and provide tracking information, said Fitzgerald. “Having the information and the manifest is sort of like having a sales receipt,” he said. “It does give you a receipt for the movement of animals, and everyone signs off on it. We’ve had a few little hiccups, but

for the most part, our provincial abattoirs have jumped on board.” Having a good traceability program adds to a positive image for both the province and the country, he said. “This extra step can give your trading partners more comfort,” he said. “We’ve got the quality assurance program to look after food safety, but this is now the traceability part of it.” Alberta Pork hopes to move towards an electronic manifest, which will store the information online. The national program, PigTrace, will be implemented soon. PigTrace is being managed by the Canadian Pork Council in collaboration with the CFIA. Once PigTrace is up and running, it will be administered by each province.

Resistance } Watchdog

says training, checks best to curb bacteria

by sybille de la hamaide paris / reuters

Alberta Pork executive director Darcy Fitzgerald says producers have been quick to embrace the new program.

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Animal health body wants fewer antibiotics

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The world body in charge of fighting animal diseases is calling for action against widespread abuse of antibiotics in livestock farming, which leads to drug-resistant bacteria. But it warned a ban would leave the world short of protein. “The use of antibiotics is today essential to ensure sufficient animal production to feed the planet. Without antibiotics there would be supply problems of animal protein for the human population,” said Bernard Vallat, director of the World Organization for Animal Health. Scientists say overuse of antibiotics can allow resistant strains of bacteria to become dominant, undermining the efficacy of the drugs, and both the U.S. and Germany are taking or considering new measures to control it. Vallat called for better training of veterinarians worldwide and for a fight against the illegal trade in antibiotics, which is widespread in poor countries and on the Internet, to avoid misuse.

“The use of antibiotics is today essential to ensure sufficient animal production to feed the planet.” Bernard Vallat oie

“If you take the 100 poorest countries that take no precaution on this matter, we can see antibiotics passed around just like candies, without prescription,” he said, noting that this was true for both human and animal antibiotics. Livestock industry groups argue that using antibiotics in animals keeps them healthy and does not have a direct link to development of resistant strains of bacteria affecting humans.

Lack of investment

U.S. health regulators last week placed restrictions on animal use of a class of antibiotics often used to treat diseases like pneumonia in humans, while Germany is considering similar measures. A recent survey by German environmental group Bund found that 10 of 20 samples of chicken meat sold in German supermarkets showed antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can affect humans, especially if the meat is not properly cooked. Similarly, a study showed in April that meat found on U.S. grocery store shelves often contained high levels of bacteria, with more than half of the bacteria resistant to multiple types of antibiotics. The European Union banned the feeding of all antibiotics to livestock for growth promotion purposes as of 2006, a rare move that Vallat advocated at the global level, including in the United States.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JANUARY 30, 2012

Cattle business in 2012 will see higher prices, consolidation Spinoffs } The contraction of the cow-calf sector will have a ripple effect throughout the value chain by sheri monk

af staff | lethbridge

he good news: higher cattle prices. The bad news: fewer producers to take advantage of them. Speaking to the annual Tiffin Conference at Lethbridge College earlier this month, veteran cattle-market analyst Anne Dunford reviewed some of the record cattle prices in 2011 and predicted even higher for 2012. But she pointed out that those prices are the result of diminished supply

caused by producers leaving the business after several years of low prices. “It’s pretty obvious why cow-calf producers have done what they’ve done — an exodus out of the industry. It’s been a long time since there’s been any money made and it’s pretty hard to stay in this business if you aren’t making some money.” Dunford reeled off some of the numbers from 2011. Fed cattle averaged $106.27 per hundredweight, up from $89.13 in 2010 and breaking the previous record of $102.82 in 2001. D1 and D2 cows also set a new record, averaging $70.31, up from $54.39 in 2010 and beating 2001’s record of $63.99. At $123.24, feeder steers were $3 shy of breaking the $126.28 record set in 2001, but were still up more than $20 from last year. Likewise, steer calves were just shy of the $157.59 record in 2001, coming in at an average of $151.50 in 2011, up $30 from 2010. “I think we’ll break both

“We’re not all going to be able to run the hotels full — it ain’t gonna happen.” Anne Dunford Cattle Market Analyst

of those records in 2012,” Dunford predicted. On the beef side, the average for AAA cutout in 2011 was $172.48, under the 2001 record of $197.68, but up 19 per cent over 2010. However, overall, retail beef set a new record at $6.09/lb., beating the 2009 record of $5.83.

Shrinking herd

In Canada, the herd has shrunk 21 per cent since 2005, leaving only 4.2 million beef cows, the smallest herd since 1994. “I think we’re going to be down two per cent still. We started to keep a few heifers back, but we still sold quite a few cows,” said Dunford. “In this past summer’s report we saw about a seven per cent increase in heifer retention or heifer numbers. It’s encouraging but don’t forget when you look at the actual numbers it was 42,000 actual heifers kept, we still shipped 90,000 cows to town. So the offset was still a decline in the overall numbers.” Dunford said weather will remain a wild card in 2012, noting that there are about 10 million cows in the area of the U.S. affected by record drought. “The U.S. holds about 30 million, so about a third of the U.S. cow herd is in this area that has been so severely impacted here in 2011. It’s big,” Dunford said. Despite some recent rains, conditions have stayed dry through the winter. If the same region falls victim to another

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severe drought, it may prompt further liquidation of the U.S. herd, Dunford said. Last year’s drought forced many ranchers to bring entire herds to town. “Would cull cow prices have been higher had the drought not happened? Pretty well, I think you can assume that to be the case,” said Dunford. Alberta’s herd has diminished by 25 per cent since 2005, or 19 per cent since 2002, and is currently the smallest since 1991 at about 1.66 million head. Dunford believes the industry is moving out of the liquidation phase and into consolidation, and that once that stage is over and prices remain viable, the industry may start to expand again. She said there was a $75- to $100-per-head profit in 2011, and that number is predicted to range between $100 and $150 in 2012. Higher prices due to increased demand means there’s simply not enough feeder cattle hitting the market. Dunford said the current size of the industry was built upon feeding approximately 3.5 million head of cattle in Canada, but there were only 2.9 million head to go around in 2011 and she sees 2.8 million in 2012. “It’s going to mean some packers killing fewer cattle, it’s going to mean some auction markets are moving fewer cattle through the system, it’s going to mean fewer and fewer truckers being able to move the numbers,” said Dunford. “And I think this could drive some further consolidation in the industry. We’re not all going to be able to run the hotels full — it ain’t gonna happen.”

JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Provincial program aims to fill rural high-speed gaps

catchin’ some rays

Not connected }

About six per cent of Alberta households do not yet have access to high-speed Internet staff

An elk snoozes in the afternoon sun after grazing in fields west of Cochrane, Alta. Photo: Wendy Dudley

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The Alberta government has set up a $5-million fund to help try to close any high-speed Internet service gaps remaining in rural areas of the province. “This is about kids who want to research homework, families that want to stay connected and farmers and ranchers who want to market their products,” provincial Agriculture Minister Evan Berger said in a release announcing what’s been dubbed the Final Mile Rural Connectivity Initiative. “Municipalities are key to the solutions. They know the challenges, they have ideas. Working together we will see more households with access to a critical service.” About six per cent or 72,000 households in rural Alberta are without access to high-speed Internet service, the province said. The initiative includes a $5-million Final Mile Rural Community Program, in which local governments who plan to provide highspeed Internet in their communities are to be invited to apply for provincial funding to “support or expedite” their plans. High-speed Internet infrastructure projects such as towers, equipment and technology, fibre optic cable, wireless equipment, installation costs and radio licence fees are eligible to receive Final Mile Rural Community Program funding for up to 75 per cent of eligible project costs. The program application deadline is March 31 this year. The province said it will also work with municipalities looking for other options by working with Internet providers to get connectivity to rural households through the “most effective and efficient technologies available” such as wireless, mobile sticks, satellite or leveraging off the Alberta SuperNet. The province said it would also look to develop an “infill” program for Albertans in served areas who are still without access due to geographical challenges.

(On or before February 3, 2012) $

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Registration includes two lunches, banquet, breakfast ticket and admission to all sessions. Additional banquet tickets $25.00 each The government wants you connected wherever you are in Alberta. ©thinkstock

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • JANUARY 30, 2012

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} forecasts

JANUARY 30, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Argentine soybean crop cut

Weaker sun won’t delay warming

Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said Jan. 24 it has cut its forecast of Argentina’s 2012 soybean crop by 1.5 million tonnes following continued drought but raised its forecast of Brazil’s soybean harvest by 1.0 million tonnes after rain. It cut Argentina’s 2012 soybean crop to 48.5 million tonnes from 50.0 million tonnes forecast on Jan. 17 and 52.0 million tonnes in December, and 49.2 million tonnes in 2011. Droughts in the two South American countries have been a key focus in soybean markets in past weeks. — Reuters

A weaker sun over the next 90 years is not likely to significantly delay a rise in global temperature caused by greenhouse gases, a report said Jan. 23. The study by Britain’s Meteorological Office and the University of Reading found that the sun’s output would decrease up until 2100 but this would only lead to a fall in global temperatures of 0.08 C. The world is expected to heat up by over 2 C this century due to increased greenhouse gas emissions. “We don’t see a change in planted area because of the late rains,” said Andre Pessoa, director at Agroconsult analysts. — Reuters

The Prairies hog all the big weather stories for 2011 Multiple records } Too wet, too dry, too windy —

the Prairies saw just about everything last year by daniel bezte

n this issue we’ll take a look at Canada’s top five weather stories from 2011. Interestingly, all five occurred, at least in part, in Western Canada. The first and indisputably biggest weather story happened across the southern and central parts of the two provinces just to the east of Alberta. Before last winter had even started, the discussion across the eastern Prairies was about the upcoming spring flooding. The talk wasn’t about whether there would be a flood, but rather, just how bad it would be. It all started way back in October 2010 when a huge storm system dumped upwards of 100 mm of precipitation across much of southern and central Saskatchewan and Manitoba, pushing river and lake levels to near their highest levels ever recorded for that time of the year. Things only got worse over the winter as average to aboveaverage snowfalls were recorded. When spring finally rolled around and the snowpack melted, water began pouring into the river and lake systems all across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. According to Environment Canada, on May 9, the Manitoba government declared a province-wide state of emergency, issuing evacuation notices for several municipalities along the Assiniboine River. Brandon was at the epicentre of the months-long flood battle. In Brandon the Assiniboine reached its highest level since 1923 and kept rising. The river was nearly seven metres higher

than normal and 20 to 30 times wider in some places. Flooding on the Assiniboine near Brandon lasted 120 days and was the largest on record.

Slave Lake fire

The second big story was the Slave Lake fire. A late forest greenup, accompanied by very dry air and high winds created the perfect conditions for forest fires. I don’t think I need to go into all the details, let’s just say that by the time it was all done the Slave Lake fire was the second-costliest natural disaster in Canadian history. Then to add insult to injury when June rolled around it started to rain, and it just kept on raining, resulting in one of the wettest Junes on record. The third-biggest weather story of the year was tied directly into the record spring flooding and wet spring conditions, and that was the weather reversal this summer. What started out as one of the wettest growing seasons ever, quickly morphed into one of the driest seasons ever. In Winnipeg, July was the driest month since record-keeping began in 1872. Even the most rain-soaked areas dried out by August. In Edmonton, the August-September period was the driest ever recorded. The best statement that summarized this weather was from a Manitoba farmer who said, “I could be receiving flood and drought insurance payments at the same time.”

Widespread heat

Our fourth story, just like the third story, has ties not only to the Prairies but also is really an

extension of the last story. This story was the hot weather across much of Canada during the summer and fall of 2011. The heat was a result of a large area of high pressure centred over much of central and eastern North America and it brought with it several records. Windsor, Ont. recorded its warmest July ever, with a mean daily temperature of 25.9 C. Windsor also recorded its hottest day ever on July 21, with an average daily temperature of 32.1 C. Quebec also saw record heat with the hottest temperature occurring at St-Hubert at 36.0 C. Our region also saw some record heat. Winnipeg recorded 24 days when the daytime high rose above 30 C, exceeding the total for the past three years combined. Winnipeg also recorded its hottest day in 16 years with a temperature of 37.2 C on August 23. Here in Alberta the summer wasn’t that hot, but once September rolled around the temperatures soared. Both Calgary and Edmonton saw their warmest temperatures of the year during September.

Super chinook

Our last weather story of 2011 occurred right here in Alberta and had nothing to do with temperatures, precipitation, or flooding. This story was about the incredible winds that hit southern Alberta during the last couple weeks of November. A near-perfect setup of strong low pressure over northern B.C. combined with a ridge of high pressure over the western United States created a

There’s not much snow out there. This map from Alberta Agriculture’s AgroClimatic Information Service shows the snowpack compared to normal as of Jan. 15. very strong pressure gradient. Combine this with the Rocky Mountains that help to squeeze the air flow even more, and we have the perfect setup for high winds. This “super chinook,” as it has been called, broke temperature records across Alberta, but it was the record-breaking winds that were the real story. According to Environment Canada, surface-based wind gusts measured 144 km/h

at Claresholm, 131 km/h at Stavely and 117 km/h in Lethbridge, and at a home weather station in Pincher Creek, winds were clocked at 204 km/h! On Nov. 22, wind gusts were so strong near Nanton that eight vehicles were blown off the highway and the roof of a high school gymnasium was peeled away, forcing students and staff to evacuate the premises. Let’s hope that 2012 is a little quieter!

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