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New, nationwide co-op to pay more for lambs PREMIUM  Producer-owned and -controlled co-op to offer five cents over Ontario price

BACKFIRE?  Brokers warn farmers holding out for even higher prices that they may miss the boat

BY DANIEL WINTERS STAFF

A

new, federally incorporated co-op that pledges to eliminate the $20-$25 western freight discount on lambs and breathe new life into the Canadian sheep industry will be ready to launch this fall.

The Canadian Lamb Producers Co-operative (CLPC) grew out of the Saskatchewan Sheep Development board’s 2010 Canadian Lamb Initiative, which tested the feasibility of a producer-owned and -controlled marketing arm.

Since then, meetings have been held in seven provinces across the country that were attended by over 400 lamb producers. So far, 150 have signed on.

Terry Ackerman, the former general manager of the dairy-based Organic Meadow Co-operative in Ontario who is now tasked with setting up the co-operative, said the goal is to recruit at least 300 initially, and 650 within two years.

The past six months were spent negotiating with seven provincial governments from British Columbia to Prince Edward Island to allow the venture an exemption from having to release a prospectus before soliciting membership shares.

LAMB CO-OP  page 6

FORECAST:

Organic feed grain prices may have soared too high

BY DANIEL WINTERS STAFF

P

High-tech grading equipment will be used at the plants to provide web-based feedback on the quality of each lamb slaughtered. PHOTO: DANIEL WINTERS

rices for organic grains prices may be too good and could end up pushing the organic industry over a cliff like they did in 2008-09, some buyers fear.

“I’m concerned that these prices are getting too high,” said Roger Rivest, an Tilbury, Ont.-based buyer for Keystone Grain.

“We’re getting a lot of resistance from feed companies and buyers.”

Driven by the U.S. drought, old-crop organic corn has reached $14 per bushel, and feed soybeans at $23 to $24. That’s reminiscent of three years ago, when some feed companies bought $14 corn and ended up selling it for $8 when organic livestock feeders, faced with the prospects of negative margins, simply shifted back into the conventional market.

“Then the whole system col-

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news » inside this week

inside » Eggs don’t squawk But they are vital to the poultry business

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

livestock

crops

Zoning out

More weed resistance

columNists brenda schoepp A few suppliers of key inputs have the real power

22

DWAYNE KLASSEN Lower-than-expected canola yields push prices higher

Check for ergot Contaminated feed grains can be toxic

food file Will starving yourself help you live longer?

Maybe not by sharon begley new york / reuters

The longevity diet’s premise is seductively simple: cutting your calorie intake well below your usual diet will add years to your life.

But new research shows the extreme, emaciating diet doesn’t increase lifespan in rhesus monkeys, the closest human relatives to try it in a rigorous, long-running study. While caveats remain, outside experts regarded the findings as definitive, particularly when combined with those from a similar study.

“If there’s a way to manipulate the human diet to let us live longer, we haven’t figured it out yet and it may not exist,” said biologist Steven Austad of the University of Texas Health Science Center.

Since 1934, research has shown that lab rats, mice, yeast, fruit flies and round worms fed 10 per cent to 40 per cent fewer calories than their free-eating peers lived some 30 per cent longer. In some studies, they lived twice as long.

The new study suggests a surprising disconnect between health and lifespan. It found most of the 57 calorie-restricted monkeys had healthier hearts and immune systems and lower rates of diabetes, cancer or other ills than the 64 control monkeys. But there was no longevity payoff.

“You can argue that the calorie-restricted animals are healthier,” said Austad.

“They have better cholesterol profiles, less muscle loss, less disease. But it didn’t translate into greater longevity.”

While initial results were promising, the study found the oldest animals in each group had the same incidence of tumours, heart disease and general deterioration. Moreover, it found health markers were often worse in monkeys that began calorie restriction as young adults than older ones, the opposite of what scientists expected.

23 33

Roy Lewis

25

Using livestock zones to contain disease

21

U.S. records its first 2,4-D-resistant weed

11

Sorting out the many choices for cattle vaccines

Farmers’ market a boon for bison producers looking up } Glendean Farms has seen sales grow by 20 to 25 per cent annually

at the Grande Prairie Farmers’ Market since setting up its booth in 2004 by rebecca dika

af contributor / grande prairie

E

ldine and Glen Kjemhus are old hands when it comes to selling directly to consumers.

The owners of Glendean Farms, a fifth-generation farm near Hythe, have been selling at the Grande Prairie Farmers Market since 2004.

“We’ve been realizing 20 to 25 per cent growth there every year,” said Eldine, who has been raising bison with her husband since 1998.

Glendean Farms sells its own Homesteader Bison meat from what they call an environmentally sustainable, multi-generational ranch.

Their herd now numbers about 350 cows, with 30 to 50 animals processed annually in the Peace region.

“A significant amount is also shipped to southern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the United Kingdom,” said Eldine.

Bison roasts, steaks, prime rib, patties and ground meat, sausages, meat sticks, pepperoni and jerky garlic are sold under the Glendean label at the farmers’ market.

Jerky and meat sticks are available at two Petro-Canada stations in Grande Prairie and a small store in Valhalla. Glendean bison is also served in selected Grande Prairie restaurants.

Being a producer in northwestern Alberta has its challenges, but succession isn’t one of them. Son Greg and his wife Kerri have been working with the elder Kjemhus for years.

“Not only has the ranch offered customers a healthy and high-quality bison product, it’s been a great environment to raise our families and instill values and business ethics,” said Eldine.

Producing healthy animals and sustainable pastures are the foundation of the enterprise, she said.

Eldine and Greg Kjemhus selling bison products at the Grande Prairie Farmers’ Market.

“Taking the time to promote the land and ensuring the animal is healthy gives us pride and confidence in the animals we raise and sell,” she said. “We’re working on what we want the business to look like in the future and how to grow it forward.”

She said producer groups such as the Canadian Bison Association and the Bison Producers of Alberta are a boon to the small producer.

“They have excellent

resources which have really built an awareness in the public, the restaurant and hospitality industry, as well as with health associations and organizations.”

But Eldine doesn’t minimize the value of the farmers’ market.

“It’s important that the customer can meet the producer and know where their food is coming from,” she said. “I don’t intend to ever lose sight of that.”

“A significant amount is also shipped to southern Alberta, Saskatchewan and the United Kingdom.”

Eldine Kjemhus

24

3

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

Officials say rat battle will be won PESTS  Alberta’s rat-free status doesn’t mean infestations won’t happen, just that they will be dealt with

BY HELEN MCMENAMIN

“Anybody who thinks rat free means no rats isn’t thinking straight.”

AF CONTRIBUTOR / MEDICINE HAT

D

espite national media coverage, last month’s discovery of a colony of Norway rats at the Medicine Hat landfill is not that big a deal, says an official with Alberta Agriculture’s Inspection and Investigation Branch.

“We’ve found infestations every few years,” said Vaughn Christensen. “This is the first time we’ve had a nest in a landfill, but our control methods are the same.”

Christensen said the province’s claim to be rat free means continual vigilance on the part of landowners, farmers and the general public.

“Anybody who thinks rat free means no rats isn’t thinking straight,” he said. “Rats cross the border from Saskatchewan and we work to control them in the control zone — the three ranges (18 miles) closest to the eastern edge of the province and anywhere else we find them.

“The critical thing to stop rats becoming a problem is by killing individuals before they establish a nest site and by eliminating all the animals in any nest site that does establish.”

One infestation in the control zone led to the collection of 169 dead rats. Specialists never really know how many rats they kill because some may be eaten by predators and others die underground and aren’t found.

The infestation at Medicine Hat became national news after four dead rats were discovered near its landfill on Aug. 8.

“When a rat colony is stressed by running out of feed, water or space, or being disturbed, scouts and strays leave the colony,” said

VAUGHN CHRISTENSEN

If you see this face, call an ag fieldman or dial 310-FARM. Ed Jollymore, manager of the city’s solid waste utility.

“Those animals are often killed on the road or a dog will bring them in. That’s what led us to the colony in an area of the landfill where there was very little activity.”

It took some effort to find the colony. Neighbouring farms were checked, but after two nights of searching with flashlights, rats were spotted in the landfill. City and county staff immediately began an aggressive baiting program across the landfill and surrounding areas. They were also careful to keep the rats well fed and watered to contain them in their nest. The baiting program worked well, with tens of dead

CGC offers free Harvest Sample Program again SAMPLE KITS  Must be requested by Oct. 15 The Canadian Grain Commission is again offering Harvest Sample Program, which provides producers with free unofficial grade and quality information on samples submitted by Nov. 1.

“Our Harvest Sample Program is a voluntary program that gives producers important information about their grain. It also helps promote the sale of Canadian grain by providing customers with scientific information about the quality of this year’s harvest,” CGC chief commissioner Elwin Hermanson said in a release.

Free sample kits must be requested by Oct. 15. They include postage-paid envelopes and instructions for sending in the sample.

Producers who send samples are also eligible to win prizes, and the earlier they send samples, the greater the chances of winning.

The sample information includes: • Protein content on cereal grains and pulses.

• Oil, protein and chlorophyll content for canola.

©THINKSTOCK

rats found some days. By the end of August, rat patrols had found 111 dead rats at the landfill, 17 in the surrounding county and 18 in the city, but things had slowed down. For over two days, no rats had been found at the landfill or in the county and four cameras linked to motion sensors hadn’t picked up any rat activity in the landfill.

Jollymore’s crew will keep baiting and inspecting the whole landfill twice daily until the rat control experts are convinced the entire colony has been exterminated, probably after 10 to 14 days without any sign of rat activity. Then, they’ll excavate the nest area, destroy any remaining rats and learn what they can about the

colony — what waste they choose to nest in, how deep they burrow, perhaps even discover something about the source of the infestation.

Reports requested

“We need to find out all we can about this colony in case there’s another landfill infestation,” said Jollymore. “We will win this fight.

If you’re going to have a rat infestation, a landfill is a pretty good place for it. There’s no risk to infrastructure or to public health.”

Both Jollymore and Christensen stressed Alberta’s rat-free status depends on everybody reporting any rat-like animal they see. Rats can hitchhike on trucks, trains, in RVs, or in any sort of shipped material, then hop off anywhere

in the province. Ag fieldmen are usually the pest control specialists for rural municipalities and bylaw officers in cities, but staff at 310FARM are always ready to help control rats. They advise taking a picture if possible. False alarms don’t bother them at all, if you’re not sure it’s a rat you’ve seen.

Modern baits for rats have worked well, said Jollymore.

They don’t cause undue suffering in the animals, but take two to five days to kill them. The time lapse prevents even highly intelligent animals like rats from linking the baited foodstuff or water to sickness and death in their nest mates. Also, the amount of poison contained in a carcass is well below the level that would affect non-target species, such as snakes, ferrets, birds or domestic pets.

Alberta’s rat-free status costs the province around $350,000 a year — a bargain, compared to the damage rats can do to stored crops and buildings, as well as the threat of spreading disease, according to Christensen.

“I sometimes ask longtime farmers if they’ve ever seen a rat,” he said. “They almost always say no. Most people have never seen a rat — and that’s the success of the rat control program.”

DON’T miss the boat

Producers receive a free grade, and the CGC receives important information on this year’s crop.

• Oil and protein content and iodine value for flaxseed.

• Oil and protein for mustard seed and soybeans.

The CGC says the harvest samples help test the quality of the annual crop, assisting with the marketing of Canadian grain as well as contributing to important scientific research into grading issues and finding new uses and markets.

For information and to receive a sample kit visit the CGC website at www.grainscanada.gc.ca.

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SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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

Reporters Alexis Kienlen, Edmonton (780) 668-3121 akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

Why fight the battle against safety regs for farm workers?

Sheri Monk, Pincher Creek (403) 627-9108 sheri.monk@fbcpublishing.com

PRODUCTION director Shawna Gibson Email: shawna@fbcpublishing.com

Just do it } Government and producer groups

Director of Sales & Circulation

can benefit by being proactive

Lynda Tityk Email: lynda.tityk@fbcpublishing.com

CIRCULATION manager Heather Anderson Email: heather@fbcpublishing.com

By will verboven

Alberta Farmer | Editor

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

classified ADVERTISING SALES Maureen Heon Phone: 1-888-413-3325 Fax: 403-341-0615 Email: maureen@fbcpublishing.com

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PUBLISHER Bob Willcox Email: bob.willcox@fbcpublishing.com

Associate PUBLISHER/editorial director John Morriss Email: john.morriss@fbcpublishing.com

Printed by Gazette Press, St. Albert, AB The Alberta Farmer Express is published 26 times a year by Farm Business Communications.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage for our publishing activities.

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1-800-665-0502 or U.S. subscribers call

A

recent urban media and opposition party political exercise might all have been a coincidence, since it was close to the self-declared “Farm Worker Day.” But it seemed like a co-ordinated effort to embarrass the premier to get her to take action on one of her promises.

It all had to do with an old issue — including farm workers under mandatory OHS standards, just like all other workers in Alberta.

It’s a promise the premier first made when she was running for the PC Party leadership.

However since then that promise seems to have been quietly buried. Such burials are not an unusual occurrence with politicians once they get into power and reality sets in.

To set the scene, a provocative frontpage headline in the Calgary Herald had former Liberal opposition leader, MLA David Swann, demanding a potato boycott because child labour remains unregulated in Alberta. He later mentioned that he had heard about child labour on potato farms, but he had no evidence. In a followup story he recanted somewhat stating that it was not his intent to destroy the livelihood of Alberta potato farmers through a boycott. All that showed was a serious disconnect the urban media and city politicians have as to how agriculture works.

But the goal here was the alarming headline, not the real story. By coincidence of course, the day after the child labour scare headline, the Calgary Herald published an editorial criticizing the premier for not delivering on her farm worker rights promise.

Government response was rather muted, stating that they don’t want to interfere with the operation of the family farm and that the

ministers involved will be meeting later to discuss the matter. It would seem government bureaucrats and lobbying by producer groups has been successful in thwarting the premier’s promise. It does cause one to ponder whether this issue is worth it in the bigger scheme of things.

Firstly, look at the damage done to the image of agriculture by just one headline — “Potato Boycott” — “Child Labour on Farms.” It doesn’t matter whether the headline is spurious, duplicitous or misleading. It’s a negative image in the eyes of the consumer. Producer groups spend countless thousands of dollars trying to improve the image of agriculture just to see it all blown out of the water by one negative headline. Would these not be better headlines for the image of agriculture in Alberta? “Alberta has the most progressive Farm Worker Rights in Canada” or “Children are Safe on Alberta Farms” Those headlines could be a reality if all the time, energy, money and lobbying spent on thwarting progress on farm worker rights had instead been spent on being in the forefront of implementing the issue.

Bite the bullet

How can Alberta redeem itself on this issue?

• Government needs to bite the bullet and state that Alberta will be joining the rest of Canada in having farm worker rights and specific labour legislation — including mandatory OHS and WCB. • Government then needs to challenge each commodity producer group to come up with its specific recommendations on how OHS, WCB and other labour legislation should be applied to their producers.

• Government needs to study how farm worker rights are working in other provinces, with the intent to take the best

programs and make them better for Alberta.

• Once government has learned what is happening in other provinces it needs to sit down with each producer group to negotiate a program that is specific to each sector. That needs to be done as a partnership. Alberta has taken that approach many times and it works. Arbitrary government compulsion needs to be taken out of the issue.

• Phase in implementation over time starting with the size of operations. For instance start with commercial operations with over 20 employees — they are already used to the process and paperwork as now demanded by their insurance companies.

• Include in the program not just farm workers but owners, operators, spouses and any of their children that may be legally working on the ag operation. Such inclusion would be real progress and the first in the country. The loss or injury of a farm owner or main operator can be devastating to the future of any operation. Making a program more inclusive makes it look less like a burden.

• Government needs to get the statistics right and fair. Accidents, deaths and injuries to children on farms are not all related to working on farms. The stats have to be more specific, and they need to better reflect what happens on Hutterite colonies. Those good folks are major players in ag production and there needs to be a better handle on who is doing what and how it will be done better and safer.

Sometimes governments see the light and sometimes they are obstinate — I hope this matter will not need divine intervention to see the common sense and fairness. After all, there are human lives involved.

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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.

An appointment not quite like the others I

t’s nothing new or shocking for governments of every stripe to make political appointments to existing jobs or even invented ones.

That’s just part of the process, but a recent political appointment by the ruling PC government has raised eyebrows in agriculture industry circles. It was announced that former agriculture minister Evan Berger, who was defeated in his southern Alberta riding in the last election, will become a special adviser to Agriculture Deputy Minister John Knapp.

On the surface this seems an odd appointment where your former boss becomes your employee. What caused even more ruminating was that the appointment was quickly cleared by the ethics commissioner under a special ruling.

What seemed curious was why the highly respected deputy minister, a 30-year government veteran

who has professionally served the department in various capacities from Cardston to Fairview, would need advice from someone who was the minister for a mere six months. From known memory this type of appointment has never occurred before. It would be hard to believe that this was the deputy minister’s idea. The present minister may also be wondering why they need highly paid advice from a former minister. So what gives?

What gives is the Wildrose Party sweep of all of the rural southern Alberta ridings, which seems to have annoyed the ruling PC Party who considered the south its fiefdom. It would now seem the PC Party political braintrust is sending a message to voters in southern Alberta. Apparently they are getting a political overseer (I wanted to use the word commissar, but

that seemed too harsh) to look over the political interests of the PC government in the rural south. It’s rumoured that the former minister will even be opening his own official office in southern Alberta.

Making a political appointment to look after a particular region is nothing new for governments, but such folks usually work directly out of the premier’s office and are not embedded in a government department pretending to give non-partisan advice to a deputy minister.

Perhaps it’s also a message to the department itself.

You can add this appointment to the recent closure of a government extended care facility in Carmangay and the cancellation of the police college project in Fort MacLeod.

One begins to suspect that the ruling PC government has a plan for Wildrose southern Alberta.

5

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

Ethanol — an agricultural policy that worked perfectly Hardly new } The idea of having some buffer stocks on hand goes back to Joseph and the Pharaoh

by laura rance

Editor, Manitoba Co-operator

B

ack in the days of $2 corn, someone got the bright idea of turning it into ethanol.

Not only would this boost prices by eliminating burdensome carryovers, it would partly diversify the U.S. away from imported energy and create rural jobs at ethanol refineries. Throwing a few subsidies and tax breaks in that direction and legislating a minimum percentage of ethanol in gasoline seemed like a win-win-win policy decision.

By any measure, you’d have to say the policy worked. Today, as much as 40 per cent of U.S. corn goes into ethanol, and prices of late have topped $8 with the potential to go higher.

The trouble is, with much of the U.S. caught in a drought no one could foresee a few short months ago, livestock producers and other processors are getting priced out of the market.

In all likelihood, that means a downsizing in U.S. livestock herds and higher meat prices for the foreseeable future. The livestock industry has its critics on environmental, health and animal welfare, but no one can say this boom-to-bust cycle is a good thing for anyone.

Also unpalatable is the likelihood of food price increases as this weather disaster works its way through the food chain.

The U.S. is the world’s largest corn exporter, which means these developments have global implications, including right here in Canada, where the hog sector has been thrown into another tailspin by the rapid rise in feed prices.

The UN is poised to call an emergency summit to discuss the implications of a pending spike in food costs.

Not only do these developments push the world’s poorest down the food chain, they have a politically

Photo gives wrong impression

destabilizing effect at a time when the world’s political and economic status is already wobbly.

The easy target in all this is ethanol.

Demands are growing for the ethanol-blending mandate to be reduced or waived until the supply shortage has passed.

But is ethanol the problem, or is it a lack of buffer stocks?

The free market philosophy shuns the idea of maintaining emergency stocks because it dulls the ability of the market to moderate demand through price signals.

It’s true that in the past, the vast stockpiles accumulated under European and U.S. farm policies were counterproductive. Governments were propping up domestic prices by buying up the excess and either storing it, giving it away as food aid or eventually dumping it on the world market in a failed attempt to buy market share. But they also served as a buffer against shortages.

Today, as much as 40 per cent of U.S. corn goes into ethanol, and prices of late have topped $8 with the potential to go higher.

Not the first drought

U.S. agricultural economists Daryll E. Ray and Harwood D. Schaffer point out that this month’s USDA World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates forecast a 10.1 per cent reduction in corn utilization against a 12.8 per cent reduction in production.

But they point out that there have been droughts before. For example, the corn harvest in 1980 was 16.3 per cent lower than a year

I

earlier but cuts in export and feed use fell by only 4.2 per cent. In 1983, a combination of reduced acreage and drought resulted in a corn harvest that was 49 per cent below the year before, but “Even with half a crop, corn utilization declined by a mere 7.7 per cent and corn exports matched the 1982 level.”

In 1988, corn production was 30.9 per cent lower than in 1987 while corn utilization dropped by 6.4 per cent. In 1993, the corn crop was down 33.1 per cent and use by 10 per cent.

The difference between then and now was buffer stocks. The U.S. entered into the crop year in those earlier droughts with more than two billion bushels in a combination of private and government stocks.

The programs that maintained these buffers are gone. Corn users are left to feel the full brunt of this year’s production shortfall. The most the U.S. government can offer its panicking livestock producers is to open up grazing lands in the Conservation Reserve.

Corn production could be back on track as early as next year. But if there is a significant decline in use because livestock herds have been depleted, it could take years for those herds to rebuild — which could result in price-depressing corn surpluses.

The idea of holding buffer stocks is hardly new. The Bible tells of Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dream of seven fat and seven lean cattle as a sign to gather grain from seven years good production from the seven poor ones to follow. Ray and Schaffer’s analysis shows that the effect of past droughts was mitigated by holding buffer supplies.

In the face of more market volatility — caused by rising demand, increased speculation, and more severe weather — having a few million extra bushels around is a good idea.

am a reader of your paper and a farmer/rancher in Alberta. I enjoy reading Alberta Farmer and am generally happy and pleased with the quality of the paper and articles.

I recently read the May 7 paper and felt that I should send you a comment. (yes, we have been busy farming and are quite behind in our reading this summer). The photo with the article on air emissions around confined feeding operations caught my eye. In the photo, the cattle pictured are in

very crowded pens, with no feed or water.

As a rancher, I know that the photo is an overhead view of an auction market, and the cattle are only in those pens for a few minutes. To the general public, it looks like that is how cattle live in all CFOs. I realize that most of your readers are farmers and ranchers, but I’m sure there are also some urban readers.

I know that there are many more urban residents starting to take notice of where their food comes from and are making

what they think are knowledgeable decisions based on the “facts” they know.

I hope that this photo out of context did not discourage anyone from buying beef, thinking that the animals lived in these conditions. Everyone who is involved in agriculture has a responsibility to inform others how things are on our farms and the media also has to help with responsible journalism.

Renee Laughlin Youngstown

6

OFF THE FRONT

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

LAMB CO-OP  From page 1 “As soon as we’re given permission to sell them shares, then we’ll take their money and start buying lambs,” said Ackerman. “That should be within 60-90 days by the time we get everything ironed out.”

The co-op will be the only federally incorporated co-operative in the agriculture sector, and will own and control a corporate entity called the Canadian Lamb Company, staffed by professionals in charge of marketing value-added products such as kebabs, meatballs, sausages and other processed items ready for stocking on retail shelves both in Canada and abroad.

Producer members must pay a $500 fee and a one-time $30 fee for each lamb they intend to ship.

A minimum commitment of 25 lambs per producer is required, and the maximum allowed is a number equal to 25 per cent of their ewe flock.

In exchange, the co-op will arrange pickup of their lambs from collection points in each province and pay a five-cent premium per pound over the Ontario auction price. After three years, dividends will start flowing back to producers.

“We’re going to take the Cookstown, Brussels and Kitchener price average by weight and add five cents per pound to make the price that producers in Western Canada will get paid,” said Ackerman.

Carcass data feedback

Processing will be contracted at two federally inspected facilities, one in Alberta and Abingdon Meat Processors in Hamilton, Ontario.

High-tech Viewtrak grading equipment worth $1.3 million, similar to that used by the pork and beef industry, will be used at the plants to provide web-based feedback on the quality of each lamb slaughtered. The Alberta government has agreed to cover the cost of developing a grading index algorithm that will work on sheep carcasses.

“Producers will be able to log on and see their lambs being graded for the first time ever in the world,” he said, adding that the data will help them select optimal breeding stock.

FEED GRAINS  From page 1 Traceability throughout the food chain will be in place, with each carcass DNA swabbed.

“If there’s a recall, I can tell exactly which lamb and which farm that meatball came from,” he said.

Saskatoon head office

The co-operative’s head office is based in Saskatoon, and the marketing arm in Guelph, Ont. It will own “no bricks and mortar,” which Ackerman describes as the “kiss of death” for any business venture. Instead, all functions, from processing, fabrication, warehousing, distribution, transportation, finance to legal, will be outsourced.

“There’s one thing that farmers agree on: Do not allow farmers to run the business.”

TERRY ACKERMAN

“There’s one thing that farmers agree on: Do not allow farmers to run the business,” said Ackerman, adding that the success of the Organic Meadow co-op model shows what can happen when farmers work with a separate entity staffed by professional managers. Even though the cooperative’s goal is to grow the market in Canada for lamb by providing producers with incentives to expand, there has been interest from importers from China, Singapore, Mexico and even the U.K., who seek the grain-finished “taste profile” of Canadian lamb.

Brian Greaves, a sheep producer from Miniota, has already signed up. He’s impressed by the business model, the grading system, marketing strategy, and the spread-out structure that seeks to diversify the source of lambs to reduce risk.

“To me it sounds like a good deal,” he said. “But, like anything, it costs money to invest in it.”

They’re not selling by the kernel yet, but organic grain is getting pricey. lapsed. I’m afraid we’re getting close to that again,” said Rivest.

Corn supplies this year are likely to be an issue, and the livestock industry is likely to reach for relatively cheaper barley and then wheat as substitutes. However, talk of drought in Ontario may have been overstated with some areas reporting bumper crops. Crops east of Toronto were hardest hit, but Quebec has seen an average year, he said.

Melissa Gardner, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based buyer for California company New Organics, said some farmers are holding out for even better prices. One Amish farmer in Iowa with 800 bushels of organic corn in his bin recently turned down her offer.

“He’s like, ‘I’ve got room to store it. I’m not in a hurry to sell it,’” she said. “But he turned down $17 a bushel.”

Can backfire

Hoarding too long can sometimes backfire, she said. Farmers expecting a return to the eye-popping prices of 2008, when wheat hit $30 a bushel, may be disappointed.

“I had a farmer the other day tell me that he had 2005 peas for

sale. Seriously, those are seven years old. I don’t want them,” said Gardner.

The gap between buyers and sellers seems especially wide this year, she said.

One customer sought peas for $9 a bushel at a time when farmers are looking for $15 to $16, she said.

“When they told me the price they were looking for I kind of laughed at them,” she said.

On the other hand, farmers seeking $14 to $15 a bushel for hard red spring wheat at the farm gate are finding customers in short supply.

South of the border, she said, corn, soybeans and edible beans are in short supply, but wheat, barley, and oats seem fairly abundant, depending on the region.

Bin-run barley is fetching $10 a bushel, and oats $5.50 in Canada, but U.S. farmers seem to be aiming for $8 oats. Brown flax is trading for $23 to $24 a bushel, and golden, $28 to $29 on a clean weight basis.

Strong prices for feed grains has also driven millet up to $10 a bushel, she added.

Prices for organic feed grains have “gone crazy,” but many

©THINKSTOCK

“I’m concerned that these prices are getting too high.”

ROGER RIVEST

farmers are waiting for the spread between the organic premium and conventional grains to widen, said Laura Telford, an organic business development specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives.

“They’d like to see it at least 20 per cent, and it’s not there yet for wheat,” she said.

The small size of the organic feed grain sector and lost production due to drought in the Midwest has some producers of organic meats south of the border showing signs of panic, she added.

“We are getting lots of calls here in Manitoba from all sorts of places that would normally source organic feed grains from the U.S. Midwest,” said Telford.

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7

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

Americans waste, throw away nearly half their food UNEATEN  Problem partly due to large portions at home and in restaurants REUTERS

A

mericans throw away nearly half their food every year, waste worth roughly $165 billion annually, according to a study released Aug. 21.

“As a country, we’re essentially tossing every other piece of food that crosses our path. That’s money and precious resources down the drain,” said Dana Gunders, a scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council’s food and agriculture program.

The NRDC report said Americans discard 40 per cent of the food supply every year, and the average American family of four ends up throwing away an equivalent of up to $2,275 annually in food.

Just a 15 per cent reduction in losses in the U.S. food supply would save enough to feed 25 million Americans annually. It also would lighten the burden on landfills, where food waste makes up the largest component of solid waste, according to the NRDC, a non-profit environmental organization.

Particularly worrisome, the organization said, was evidence that there has been a 50 per cent jump in U.S. food waste since the 1970s. Unsold fruits and vegetables in grocery stores account for a big part of the wasted food.

But consumers and restaurants are also to blame, preparing large portions that result in leftovers that often go uneaten.

The NRDC said it is asking for the U.S. government to study losses in the food system and set goals for waste reduction.

“No matter how sustainably our food is farmed, if it’s not being eaten, it is not a good use of resources,” said Gunders.

May Wollf, (l), 28, a practising “freegan,” climbs into a dumpster while Robin Pickell tears open a garbage bag in an alley behind Commercial Drive in Vancouver, B.C. April 10, 2012. A freegan is someone who gathers edible food from the garbage bins of grocery stores or food stands that would otherwise have been thrown away. Freegans aim to spend little or no money purchasing food and other goods, not through financial need but to try to address issues of overconsumption and excess.

REUTERS/Ben Nelms

Commercial Pen of 10 Bred Heifer Show & Sale Nov. 10, 2012 Show: 10 a.m. Sale: 1 p.m.

For more information or to enter, visit Farmfair.ca

8

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

The stem rust disease, forming reddish patches on plants like rust on metal. It has spread as far as South Africa (above) and north to Yemen and Iran.

©THINKSTOCK

Wheat scientists seek to slow crop fungus spread in Africa, Asia SWEEP  There are fears that it could sweep eastwards in Asia

BY ALISTER DOYLE OSLO /REUTERS

W

heat experts are stepping up monitoring of a crop disease first found in Africa in 1999 to minimize the spread of a deadly fungus that is also a threat in Asia, experts said Aug. 31.

A “Rust-Tracker,” using data supplied by farmers and scientists, could now monitor the fungus in 27 developing nations across 42 million hectares (103 million acres) of wheat — an area the size of Iraq or California.

“It’s the most serious wheat disease,” Ronnie Coffman, vice-chair of the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI), told Reuters ahead of a meeting of wheat experts in Beijing from Sept. 1 to 4.

“If it gets started... it’s like a biological firestorm,” he said. Experts will review progress in combating the disease, with fungicides and 20 new resistant varieties developed in recent years.

The stem rust disease, forming reddish patches on plants like rust on metal, is known as Ug99 after it was found in Uganda in 1999.

It has since spread as far as South Africa and north to Yemen and Iran.

Spreading

The fungus, which can destroy entire wheat fields, is likely eventually to be carried worldwide on the winds. The biggest threat in coming years is a spread across Asia to Pakistan, India and China, the world’s top producer, Coffman said.

“Effective control often depends

on finding out what is happening in distant regions, and the RustTracker can help scientists assess the status of stem rust and other rust diseases,” said Dave Hodson, the developer of Rust-Tracker.

About 85 per cent of wheat now in production worldwide was reckoned to be vulnerable to Ug99 and its variants, the BGRI estimated.

Rich nations are far less vulnerable because they can afford to switch to new varieties or deploy fungicides.

Front line

Among developing nations, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Egypt, India, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan are on the front line of deploying rust-resistant varieties.

Coffman said that relatively minor amounts of wheat output had been lost so far. “The only

country under immediate threat of a dramatic loss of production is Ethiopia,” he said.

In Kenya, for instance, Ug99 had been brought largely under control because of shifts to new varieties.

Another threat was from yellow rust, which has struck nations from Morocco to Uzbekistan in recent years.

The Ug99 fungus is among threats to food supplies. A UN panel of scientists says that heat waves, floods and droughts — like the one affecting the United States this year — are likely to become more frequent because of manmade climate change.

Scientists were also studying ways to limit a woody plant known as barberry, where the fungus also lives. Efforts to eradicate the plant in the 20th century seem to have reduced rust.

The biggest threat in coming years is a spread across Asia to Pakistan, India and China, the world’s top producer.

And the rust had overcome a genetic resistance to the disease developed for wheat in the early 1970s by Norman Borlaug, the father of the “Green Revolution” that introduced higher-yielding crop varieties, Coffman said.

He said that rust had been known at least since Roman times.

About 40 per cent of the U.S. crop was destroyed in the early 1950s when rust swept up from Mexico.

Drought seen cutting ethanol output by 10 per cent MANDATE  More state governors join in call

to reduce fuel requirement

BY CHARLES ABBOTT WASHINGTON / REUTERS

U.S. ethanol production will fall by 10 per cent in the coming year as rising prices from the drought cut exports in half, a University of Missouri think-tank forecast on Aug. 28.

The Obama administration is weighing whether to relax a requirement to use cornbased ethanol in gasoline as meat and dairy farmers complain that demand for cornbased biofuels is driving up the cost of food.

But the record-high corn prices caused by the worst drought in half a century will cause a 10 per cent decline in ethanol production next year, according to the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, or FAPRI. “Higher ethanol prices contribute to sharply reduced ethanol exports and increased imports, but domestic ethanol consumption declines by just two per cent,” said the newly updated FAPRI forecast.

Ethanol output will fall to

12.4 billion gallons next year compared to 13.8 billion gallons this year, according to the forecast. Exports would drop to 505 million gallons from nearly 1.1 billion gallons this year.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell joined governors of seven other states — Texas, Georgia, New Mexico, Arkansas, North Carolina, Maryland and Delaware — in asking the Environmental Protection Agency for relief from the so-called ethanol mandate.

They say the Renewable Fuels Standard is disrupting livestock production and causing severe economic harm.

The so-called ethanol mandate guarantees use of 13.2 billion gallons of ethanol in 2012 and 13.8 billion gallons in 2013. An ethanol trade group estimates production will total 13.4 billion gallons during 2012, a reduction from earlier estimates.

“It could be lower than that depending upon market conditions through the rest of the year,” said the Renewable Fuel Association. The trade group had no forecast for 2013.

9

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

Record U.S. farm export sales seen despite drought Boost } High prices are expected to boost sales

Maple syrup expected to hit the black market Sticky } Officials are still trying to

determine how much was stolen

tally by five per cent in year ahead

By Julie Gordon toronto / reuters

washington / reuters

U.S. farm exports will set a sales record in the new marketing year due to high commodity prices that will magnify the value of dramatically smaller harvests amid the worst drought in half a century, the government forecast Aug. 31.

At $143.5 billion for the year that opens on Oct. 1, it would be the second export sales record in three years. Farm exports were a record $137.4 billion in 2011, but will fall just short of it, at $136.5 billion, this marketing year, said the Agriculture Department.

NEWS

Clashes over grazing land, water kill 48 in Kenya mombasa, kenya reuters

Attackers armed with machetes, bows and arrows and spears killed at least 48 villagers and set houses ablaze in Kenya’s coastal region overnight in an attack over land and water, police said Aug. 22.

“They were armed with crude weapons: machetes, bows and arrows and spears. Some had guns.

As a result we have lost 31 women, 11 children and six men, all totalling to 48. Sixty cattle were also killed,” Robert Kitur, Coast deputy police chief told Reuters by telephone.

Cattle rustling and clashes over grazing and farming land and water are relatively common among pastoralist communities in the arid patches of east Africa and often escalate into revenge attacks.

High prices for corn, soybeans and wheat — the three most widely grown U.S. crops — as well as larger wheat tonnage will fuel the record, said USDA in its first forecast of the new year. Cotton, meat and dairy sales would decline from this year’s level.

The United States is the world’s largest agricultural exporter, shipping half of its wheat and soybeans and three-fourths of its cotton to overseas buyers.

Exports account for 33 cents of every $1 in cash receipts for U.S. farmers. Farm exports are a consistent winner in the U.S. balance of trade.

China, the No. 1 market for U.S. farm goods this year, would slip to No. 2 behind Canada in the new year, said USDA. China is the world’s leading buyer of cotton and soybeans and an emerging importer of corn.

“Tighter U.S. exportable supplies and high prices for corn and soybeans are expected to lead to greater shipments to China

by Brazil and Argentina,” said USDA. “In addition, an improved Chinese corn crop should lower overall demand for imported corn. Cotton exports are forecast down as the Chinese government’s reserve policy is no longer stimulating import demand to build stocks.”

Soybeans and soymeal prices will be record high in the new sales year, said USDA, and corn and wheat prices also will be up.

As a yardstick of the impact of higher prices on tight supplies, USDA estimated 104.6 million tonnes of major bulk products — mostly grain, soybeans, meat, tobacco and cotton — will be shipped in the new marketing year, down seven per cent from this year. But the exports would be worth five per cent more.

Earlier, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urged Congress to pass a new Farm Bill before the 2008 farm law expires on Sept. 30, so export promotion programs will remain in operation. The House is deadlocked with no clear majority for a bill. The Senate has passed a bill but House Republican leaders say it is unacceptable.

“They have time, if it’s a priority of the House leadership, to get it done,” Vilsack told reporters.

T

hieves in Quebec may have pulled off the sweetest heist of all time, siphoning off a reservoir of maple syrup from a warehouse and cleverly covering up their caper to evade detection, an industry group said Aug. 31.

The warehouse in rural Quebec held more than $30 million worth of maple syrup, a whopping 10 million pounds of the amber pancake topping.

It was not clear exactly how much of the sweet stuff was taken in the heist, which occurred at some point over the last few days and was uncovered during a routine inventory check.

“We don’t know yet how much is missing — we do know it is significant,” said Anne-Marie Granger Godbout, executive director of the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers.

Numerous barrels in the warehouse were emptied of their sticky contents. The remaining barrels need to be weighed and tested to ensure the syrup inside had not been tampered with.

The robbers “were wise enough, they tried to hide their crime,” said Granger Godbout.

“We just want to make sure we know how much is missing and how much is still there.”

The warehouse, some 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of Montreal, is one of many locations where Quebec’s maple syrup is temporarily stored ahead of sale and distribution.

The agency believes the syrup was taken to be sold on the black market. Quebec’s provincial police force is investigating the robbery.

With Quebec’s 2012 harvest expected to top 96 million pounds, the province produces some 75 per cent of the global supply of maple syrup, made from the sap of maple trees.

All the syrup held by the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers is insured and the agency maintains a stockpile of syrup that it likens to a “global strategic reserve,” according to a press release.

“I can assure you there will be no shortage in maple syrup,” said Granger Godbout.

Thieves with sticky fingers made off with maple syrup stored in a warehouse near Montreal. REUTERS/Mathieu Belanger

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SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Action needed to prevent food price catastrophe — UN SPIKE  World food prices jumped 10 per cent in July: World Bank

REUTERS

W

orld leaders must take swift, co-ordinated action to ensure that food price shocks do not turn into a catastrophe that could hurt tens of millions of people in coming months, the United Nations’ food agencies said in a statement on Sept. 4.

Global alarm over the potential for a food crisis of the kind seen in 2007-08 has escalated as drought in the U.S. Midwest has sent grain prices to record highs, fuelling a six per cent surge in the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) July food price index. FAO said in a joint statement with the World Food Program (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) that swift international action could prevent a renewed food crisis.

It said leaders must tackle both the immediate issue of high food prices, as well as the long-term issue of how food is produced and consumed at a time of rising population, demand and climate change.

Senior G20 officials held a conference call last week on rising food prices, but leaders will wait for September’s crop report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture before deciding whether to take joint action on the issue, France’s farm minister said on Aug. 28.

The World Bank says world food prices jumped 10 per cent in July as drought parched croplands in the

United States and Eastern Europe. It is urging governments to shore up programs that protect their most vulnerable populations.

From June to July, corn and wheat prices rose by 25 per cent each, soybean prices by 17 per cent, and only rice prices went down, by four per cent, the World Bank said.

Overall, the World Bank’s Food Price Index, which tracks the price of internationally traded food commodities, was six per cent higher than in July of last year, and one per cent over the previous peak of February 2011.

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“We cannot allow these historic price hikes to turn into a lifetime of perils as families take their children out of school and eat less nutritious food to compensate for the high prices.”

JIM YONG KIM WORLD BANK GROUP PRESIDENT

children out of school and eat less nutritious food to compensate for the high prices,” World Bank group president Jim Yong Kim said. “Countries must strengthen their targeted programs to ease the pressure on the most vulnerable population, and implement the right policies.

“Africa and the Middle East are particularly vulnerable, but so are people in other countries where the prices of grains have gone up abruptly,” Kim added.

A severe drought in the United States has sharply cut corn and soybean yields this year, while a dry summer in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan has hurt wheat output.

The World Bank said its experts do not foresee a repeat of 2008, when a food price spike triggered riots in some countries.

“However, negative factors — such as exporters pursuing panic policies, a severe El Niño, disappointing Southern Hemisphere crops, or strong increases in energy prices — could cause significant further grain price hikes such as those experienced four years ago,” the bank said.

Separately, finance ministers from the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group issued a statement at their meeting on Thursday in Moscow urging countries “to avoid export bans” in response to food price concerns.

APEC member Russia imposed a temporary embargo on grain exports two years ago after crops failed.

BRIEFS CWB announces 2012-13 initial payments for canola CWB will pay farmers delivering canola into its Harvest Pool a $475-per-tonne initial payment for No. 1 and $462 per tonne for canola graded No. 2, the company announced Sept. 4.

The initial payments, which are guaranteed by the federal government, represent a portion of expected final returns.

The current pool return outlook for No. 1 canola is $640 per tonne.

The Harvest Pool sign-up deadline is October 31, 2012, with a marketing period that runs from harvest to June 30, 2013. Pool volume may be capped depending on farmer demand and logistical capacity, CWB says in a release.

Farmer participation in CWB pools is based on a first-come, firstserved system.

In its market commentary, CWB says the canola supply and demand balance is relatively tight and will remain strained through 2012-13 due to strong domestic and offshore demand. “The Canadian canola crop is estimated at 14.7 million tonnes, somewhat less than expectations and, given anticipated demand, there is very little chance that ending stocks will increase year on year,” it said.

British cow makes like kitty and gets stuck in a tree LONDON / REUTERS A cow had to be rescued by fire services in northern England after it tumbled down a 30-metre river embankment and got stuck in a tree.

The animal was sedated by a vet before being winched out

of the tree by firemen using specialist equipment. “(Fire crews) had to wear body armour in case a stray hoof lashed out at them,” said a spokesman for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service.

“The vet checked the cow over and it seemed reasonably happy and relatively unscathed.”

11

BIG YEAR FOR HAIL CLAIMS The Canadian Crop Hail Association reports that Alberta has had the highest claims in the past decade this year. In its Aug. 31 report, the association said claims totalled roughly 4,650, an increase of 700 over the past two weeks. These are the straight hail claims, not including Crop Insurance endorsements. The association said the Peace area had hail on Aug. 21 and on Aug. 23 there were hard-hit areas around Calmar, Leduc and Fort Saskatchewan, with other reports from Camrose, Lamont, Vegreville, Vermilion and south of Red Deer to Delburne, north to Alix and on to Daysland.

Calls for caution after 2,4-Dresistant weed identified in U.S. OVERUSE  Researchers fear farmers will go for short-term solutions,

*Source: Independent feeding trial conducted at the Lethbridge Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Lethbridge, Alberta (2009-2010).

creating longer-term problems

BY ALLAN DAWSON STAFF

T

he discovery of 2,4-D-resistant waterhemp in the U.S. has sparked calls for new rules governing how farmers use herbicide-tolerant crops.

The researchers who documented 2,4-D-resistant population of waterhemp say new crops stacked with glyphosate and Group 4 herbicide tolerance must be managed carefully to avoid selecting for super weeds.

“The commercialization of soybean, cotton and corn resistant to 2,4-D and dicamba should be accompanied by mandatory stewardship practices that will minimize the selection pressure imposed on other waterhemp populations to evolve resistance to the synthetic auxin herbicides,” they wrote in the latest issue of the Weed Science of America’s journal.

“The fact that resistance to 2,4-D has evolved in at least one waterhemp population (in Nebraska) should be emphasized to corn, soybean, and cotton producers to show that proper stewardship of these new technologies is critical for maintaining their effectiveness.”

Adding 2,4-D or dicamba to glyphosate-tolerant crops is one way to combat glyphosate-tolerant weeds, University of Manitoba plant science instructor Gary Martens said in an email. If the glyphosate doesn’t kill it, the 2,4-D or dicamba will.

Common waterhemp.

PHOTO: OMAFRA WEBSITE

“But it is only a short-term solution,” he said. “Adding 2,4-D-resistant crops will dramatically increase the use of 2,4-D.” And that could result in more 2,4-D-resistant weeds, he wrote. “(T)here are concerns that we’re going to overuse that group of herbicides and just create a big mess down the road,” said Hugh Beckie, a Saskatoonbased Agriculture and Agri-Food

Canada (AAFC) research scientist who studies herbicide-resistant weeds. “And that’s certainly a valid concern. Stewardship of those crops — say Roundup plus 2,4-D — will be key to try not to create that big mess down the road.”

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

tance to other Group 4 herbicides such as dicamba, Beckie said.

2,4-D and other Group 4 herbicides are important to Manitoba farmers because they are so widely used and are relatively inexpensive. “We do not have a readily available alternative, inexpensive broadleaf herbicide should 2,4-D fail,” Martens wrote.

SEE RESISTANT WEED  page 12

8.9% % 12-08-28 2:09 PM

12

september 10, 2012 • Albertafarmexpress.ca

resistant weed } from page 11 2,4-D, developed during the Second World War, is one of the oldest herbicides still in common use. While some resistant weed populations have developed, they have so far remained small and isolated. There are 17, 2,4-D-resistant weed populations in the world, including an isolated population of wild mustard discovered in Manitoba in the early 1990s.

Earlier this year, AAFC confirmed glyphosate-resistant kochia in Alberta. Ontario also has populations of glyphosateresistant Canada fleabane and giant ragweed.

Dow AgroSciences and Monsanto are expected to release glyphosate-2,4-D- and glyphosate-dicamba-tolerant crops by 2014. Dow’s program is called the Enlist Weed Control System, while Monsanto’s is named Roundup Ready 2 Xtend.

Officials from both companies said in separate interviews they’ll stress good stewardship to avoid creating new herbicide-resistant weeds.

“We really want to encourage mixing up modes of actions

and good rotation practices,” John Foran, Dow AgroSciences Canada’s, market development specialist for Enlist Weed Control System said in an interview.

“In Canada it won’t be mandatory, but we will recommend a soil-applied, foundation treatment (along with applications of glyphosate and 2,4-D).”

That additional herbicide application could be done at a reduced rate to make it more affordable for farmers, he added.

Temptation

But some agronomists doubt farmers will be able to avoid the temptation of simple, inexpensive weed control. For example, the resistant waterhemp population in Nebraska was treated with 2,4-D for 10 years consecutively.

As well, rotating away from those two products is easier said than done. Cereal crops such as wheat and oats often follow soybeans. Group 4 herbicides are commonly applied in those crops. After soybeans farmers shouldn’t plant canola or sunflowers — crops that 2,4-D isn’t

used on — because of the disease risk.

Edible beans should be avoided too because soybean volunteers can reduce edible bean quality.

The agriculture industry has learned important lessons about herbicide resistance weeds from the experience with Roundup Ready crops, said Mark Lawton, Monsanto’s technology lead for Canada.

“Where we’ve had glyphosate weed resistance occur there was probably an overly enthusiastic use of the technology,” he said.

In some instances farmers grew nothing but Roundup Ready soybeans or cotton on the same land many years in a row.

“It was effective and was at a good price point, but too much of a good thing turned out to be a problem,” he said. “The world of biology and nature kind of reminds you of that.”

He stressed the importance of rotating crops, herbicide groups and good agronomic practices such as proper timing for applications.

Applying a tank mix of more than one herbicide group is also

“Stewardship of those crops — say Roundup plus 2,4-D — will be key to try not to create that big mess down the road.”

Hugh Beckie

a good way to delay weed resistance, Beckie said. It’s more effective than rotating herbicide groups.

“I encourage growers to plan out their rotations in advance,” Beckie said. “Don’t plan year to year what crop to grow. If they can, think ahead and try to avoid using the same herbicide resistant crops year after year.

Again, if you rely too heavily on one technology you’re probably going to run into a problem. So moderation, I guess, would be my advice.”

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Alberta Farmer AF-GEN-F’13 Jr. Page 4/C Junior page . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.125” x 10”

Resistant waterhemp sprayed 10 consecutive years with 2,4-D no surprise } This

native grass seed producer didn’t rotate his crop or herbicide

By Allan Dawson staff

Waterhemp, which is in the pigweed family, is a major weed in the United States so it’s no surprise the discovery of a 2,4-D-resistant population in Nebraska is making headlines.

The resistant waterhemp were found in a field of native grass seed where 2,4-D had been applied for more than 10 consecutive years, researchers wrote in the July-September journal of Weed Science.

“Similarly, use of 2,4-D for 10 years in New Zealand pastures resulted in selection of a 2,4-D-resistant musk thistle population,” the article states.

The article says the resistant waterhemp “demonstrated at least tenfold resistance to 2,4-D relative to a susceptible population in greenhouse bioassays.”

The highest doses of 2,4-D that were used in an on-site field study were insufficient to control 50 per cent of the waterhemp population.

Researchers gathered waterhemp seeds from this field and performed greenhouse testing against a susceptible waterhemp variety. Twenty-eight days after treatment with the herbicide, visual observation and dry weight values showed a tenfold resistance in the affected sample.

The researchers also found the 2,4-D-resistant waterhemp was threefold less sensitive to dicamba, another herbicide in the same Group 4 as 2,4-D. The farmers first reported problems controlling waterhemp in 2009.

Although 2,4-D has been used widely worldwide, only 17 weeds have evolved resistance to this herbicide, the article says. They are: wild carrot, Canada thistle, musk thistle, Italian thistle, tall buttercup, Indian hedge mustard, wild mustard, wild radish, field bindweed, kochia, corn poppy, scentless chamomile, prickly lettuce, dayflower, Sawah flowering rush, marshweed and globe fringebrush.

Wth files from Reuters

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

Despite reforms, Cuba is growing less food than five years ago SHORTFALL  Most crops remain below 2007 levels

BY MARC FRANK HAVANA | REUTERS

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uba is producing less food than it did five years ago despite efforts to increase agriculture production, the government reported Aug. 31.

Some export crops and farm output aimed at substituting food imports registered minor gains, but overall output last year remained below 2007 levels, according to a report issued by the National Statistics Office.

The g o v e r n m e n t h a s a l s o reported that food prices rose 20 per cent in 2011.

Cuban President Raul Castro has made increasing food production a priority since he took over as president from his ailing brother, Fidel, in 2008.

The communist country imports up to 70 per cent of its food and is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to boost production of rice, beans, coffee and milk and reduce imports.

Domestic production of two Cuban food staples has increased, the government said. Rice production reached 566,400 tonnes compared with 439,600 tonnes in 2007, and farmers produced 133,000 tonnes of beans with 97,200 tonnes in 2007.

To stimulate production, Castro has decentralized decisionmaking, opened up more space for farmers to sell directly to consumers and raised prices the state pays for produce. He has stopped short of allowing market forces to take hold and drive production.

Cuban farmhand Bienvenido Castillo, nicknamed Lilly, carries a wooden stake while doing chores on his neighbour’s dairy farm in Aranguito near Havana. In spite of his age at 74 years old and having underwent a colostomy, he works some 16 hours and walks at least nine miles (14 km) a day. REUTERS/DESMOND BOYLAN

Domestic production of two Cuban food staples has increased, the government said.

Marino Murillo, who is leading efforts to steer Cuba’s state-dominated economy in a more marketfriendly direction, announced in July that a government effort to reduce state bureaucracy in the agriculture sector had recently been completed.

Speaking to the National Assembly, he outlined plans for separating quasi-co-operatives from the state and allowing them to operate like private co-operatives. These operations, formed by state-run companies in the mid-1990s on 30 per cent of Cuba’s arable land, have performed poorly.

Murillo also said at that time that a land-lease program begun in 2008 involving some 170,000 farmers would be expanded to allow up to five times more land per individual.

Private farmers produce the bulk of the food in Cuba on a fraction of the land. This has led farmers and agricultural experts inside and outside the country to call on the state to pull back further and let market forces drive the sector.

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SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Hemp has room to grow, but nowhere to go PROCESSORS NEEDED } Though seed and oil processing is established, the hemp industry needs

fibre processing to really flourish By sheri monk

af staff / pincher creek

T

he hemp industry in Alberta has potential, but is held back because of an incomplete value chain, says a recent report prepared on the emerging commodity.

The study by Serecon Management Consulting for Alberta Agriculture says there is a sustained and growing interest in hemp production and hemp products in Alberta. In 2010, Alberta trailed Saskatchewan and Manitoba in hemp production with 2,086 hectares, but moved to first place with 6,434 hectares in 2011. However, growth potential is limited by the lack of processing facilities, particularly for fibre. In 2010, hemp exports in the form of seed and oil were valued at over $10 million, with $8.5 million imported by the U.S. Only a small fraction of the exports were in the form of fibre.

The study notes several failed starts in the hemp-processing industry and attributes the lack of success in this area to undefined end markets, and an underdeveloped value chain for using both seed and fibre.

However, there are some bright spots on the horizon — Edmonton’s TTS Inc., has struck a partnership with the town of Drayton Valley and Weyerhaeuser to develop a non-matting woven line in an old wood plant, using equipment moved from a closed plant in Vancouver.

A hemp straw-processing

The traditional use for hemp fibre. A company in Portage la Prairie, Man. manufactured rope in the 1920s, but growing the crop was later made illegal because of concerns over illegal drug use. thinkstock

“For us we would consider it to be a very cheap crop to grow in terms of input costs.”

If hemp growers become too gung-ho before the facilities or consumers are ready, the overproduction can cause such a severe correction that very little is grown the following season, which leaves processors short of product.

The study concludes that commitment is needed from all partners in the chain — producers, processors and researchers — to fully develop processing capabilities and market demand for hemp, and its myriad of proven and potential products.

hemp industry in Europe is better established and the public’s current focus on sustainable, clean energy may help fuel the industry forward.

Banned in the U.S.

will van roessel hemp grower

plant in Emerson, Man. has been active for several years, and a second Manitoba fibreprocessing plant is in the

works. Other projects are in the research stage, some in conjunction with various levels of government. The study says the

While Health Canada is content to merely monitor hemp production, the U.S. still insists on banning it entirely. It’s difficult to know with certainty whether the American situation helps or hinders Canada’s hemp industry, which needs a critical mass of seed and fibre demand.

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Not a high-maintenance crop: Seed growers Will and Jean Van Roessel of Specialty Seeds in Bow Island are growers of pedigreed hemp seed. “This is our third year of growing hemp, and we’ve been growing some of it as pedigreed seed for one of the seed companies, and some of it is for commercial grain production,” said Will.

This year, Will seeded 350 acres, all of which are irrigated. “Every acre of hemp that gets planted in Canada is supposed to be planted with pedigreed seed. That’s one way that Health Canada monitors what’s happening in the industry. Every hemp grower needs a licence from Health Canada and in order to fulfil that licence you need to buy pedigreed seed for

every field, every year,” he explained.

Will says hemp isn’t very high maintenance. “It’s similar to canola in terms of fertilizer inputs, but really there’s not much other inputs other than maybe some weed control depending on the situation.

The cost is probably similar to growing wheat. For us we would consider it to be a very cheap crop to grow in terms of input costs.”

The Serecon study for the Alberta government estimates total costs of producing hemp at $227.20 per acre for dryland with returns between $280 and $800 depending on yield.

Irrigated costs are estimate at $302.55 with returns of $500$1,500.

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

Prairie Soils and Crops website gets an upload

FALL SCENE

RESEARCH  Studies to add to farmers’ winter reading list

BY DANIEL WINTERS STAFF

F

PHOTO: WENDY DUDLEY

NEW

D3154S

D3153

This could be a postcard for Alberta’s economy, with fuel and grain and hay prices all headed up.

D3152

or hammock-swinging city folk, there’s the summer reading list.

But for farmers, it’s the long winter months that are best spent curled up with a good book near the wood stove.

For agriculture-related additions to the off-season reading list, Guy Lafond, a research scientist at AAFC Indian Head, has recently uploaded a fifth volume to the Prairie Soils and Crops website at www.prairie soilsand crops.ca.

This edition’s theme is composed of the summarized results of all current long-term studies in Western Canada, which includes crop rotations, soil erosion, the effects of various manure treatments, pesticide trials and more.

“We put out a volume every year on different themes.

We’re currently on No. 5, and working on No. 6,” said Lafond, who hopes that more farmers will make use of the educational resource available for free or online or as a pdf download that can be read on a tablet computer or printed out.

The goal of the website is to provide a wide range of general information on Prairie agriculture research.

While last year’s theme was based on research into insect infestations and plant disease threats in general, farmers who find themselves driven to insomnia by an acute outbreak of pests or pestilence may gain insights — and relief — by delving into the literature.

The website takes a Reader’s Digest condensed books approach, offering up the latest and best information. Each article is introduced with a Cole’s Notes-style summary, which can then be followed up via another link that serves up more information.

“If you’re in lygus bug or fusarium season, you can just read the articles to find out a little bit more about it,” said Lafond.

“We’re trying to create a forum for bringing research information to the masses.”

Volume five provides the first update on long-term crop rotation information since the last bulletin was published in 1990.

To make the volume as thorough as possible, all the old crop rotation bulletins going back to 1928 were also added.

For academics researching specific topics, a bibliography of scientific publications is available on the website as well as a searchable database.

It’s not all about grain farming.

Ranchers might be interested to know about research into reestablishing native grassland, or what happens when manure is applied at various rates up to 180 tonnes per acre on the same land for 25 years.

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Briefs Three Albertans receive scholarships Three Alberta students are among 19 Prairie-wide who have received $500 scholarships from FarmLink Marketing Solutions’s Farming Futures program.

The plan funds high school scholarships for students in agriculture, postsecondary research in grain marketing, and community projects and initiatives to help farm families faced with sudden hardship related to natural disasters.

Rural scholarships in the amounts of $500 were given to graduating students with an average of 80 per cent or above, who intended to pursue higher education within an agricultural-, business-, arts- or sciencerelated field.

In 2012, FarmLink has allocated $25,000 to be distributed to youth and community-based projects in Western Canada.

Alberta recipients include Nadine Jensen, Claresholm; Tyler Zabolotniuk, High Prairie and Adam McMillan, Westlock.

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Haying the old-fashioned (and hard) way

Swiss farmer Kari Gisler carries a bundle of hay as he practises wild haying on a steep hillside on the mountain Rophaien in the Swiss village of Flueelen, some 75 km (47 miles) south of Zurich August 20. The tradition of wild haying in central Switzerland dates back around 200 years and is practised from mid-July until mid-September on higher grounds with steep hillsides which cannot or only hardly be reached with animals. Reuters/Michael Buholzer

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Beans officially a “Good Source of Protein” staff Pulse Canada says new data adopted by Health Canada means food manufacturers can now include statements like “Good Source of Protein” on canned and dried pulses (peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas).

Health Canada recently approved Pulse Canada’s submission to adopt new protein efficiency ratio (PER) data for pulses. PER values are used to determine the protein rating which is based on a 250-ml serving, Health Canada’s reasonable daily intake (RDI) for pulses.

Previously only cooked chickpeas (a 250-ml serving) could make a claim for “Good Source of Protein,” based on existing PER values. Research completed in 2010-11 shows that additional pulses may now be eligible for protein content claims.

“The nutritional value of protein is based on both quantity and quality. These newly adopted PER values will enable the industry to highlight the protein in pulses, creating a new marketing opportunity,” Tanya Der, Pulse Canada’s manager of food innovation and marketing said in a release.

BayerCropScience.ca/InVigor or 1 888-283-6847 or contact your Bayer CropScience representative.

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Albertafarmexpress.ca • september 10, 2012

Wyoming grey wolves to lose Endangered Species Act protection Open } Unregulated wolf killings will be allowed in most of the state

By Laura Zuckerman jackson, wyo. /reuters

G

From hunter to hunted, wolves will soon be subjected to unregulated killing. Photo: Reuters

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rey wolves in Wyoming, the last still federally protected in the northern Rockies, will lose endangered species status at the end of next month, opening them to unregulated killing in most of the state, the U.S. government said Aug. 31.

The planned delisting of Wyoming’s estimated 350 wolves caps a steady progression of diminishing federal safeguards for a predator once hunted, trapped and poisoned to the brink of extinction throughout most of the continental United States.

Wyoming will officially regain control over the management of its wolf population on Sept. 30, joining Montana and Idaho, where

more than 1,500 wolves were removed from the federal endangered list in May of 2011.

About 4,000 wolves in the northern Great Lakes region — primarily Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota — lost their status as endangered or threatened last January.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director Dan Ashe hailed delisting of the last wolf population in the northern Rockies as a victory assured by the Endangered Species Act and co-operation among state and federal partners.

“The return of the wolf to the Northern Rocky Mountains is a major success story,” he said in a statement.

Conservationists decried the move, questioning how an animal could be protected until Sept. 30 only to be subject to “open fire” on Oct. 1, the first day of Wyoming’s regulated hunting season.

Environmental groups say they fear ending federal safeguards could push wolves back to the brink.

Like Idaho and Montana, Wyoming is required to maintain a statewide population of at least 150 wolves, including 15 breeding pairs, to prevent a relisting.

Wyoming wolves will remain off limits to hunters inside national wildlife refuges and national parks, including Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, as well as on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

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But restricted hunting will be permitted from October through December within zones just outside those parks and refuges in the greater Yellowstone region of northwestern Wyoming, where most of the state’s wolves reside.

For the rest of the state, wolves would be classified as predatory animals, subjecting them to unlicensed, unregulated killing year round through methods such as shooting, trapping and pursuit on mechanized vehicles.

Wolves were reintroduced to the northern Rockies in the mid-1990s, but their return triggered an emotional debate that pitted livestock producers and hunters against conservationists.

Under Endangered Species Act protections, wolf numbers rebounded in the northern Rockies, far exceeding the original recovery goals set by the federal government.

Efforts in recent years by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove wolves in Idaho and Montana from the endangered species list were reversed by court rulings.

But Idaho and Montana wolves ultimately were delisted last year through an unprecedented act of Congress, and those states have since sought to reduce wolf numbers — mostly through hunting and trapping — to as few as 300 from as many as 1,500.

The Fish and Wildlife Service’s latest estimate puts current numbers in all three states at more than 1,774 adult wolves.

The grey wolf originally was classified as an endangered species across the lower 48 states and Mexico, except in Minnesota, where the animal was listed as threatened.

An estimated 7,000 to 11,000 wolves roam much of Alaska, but are so abundant they have never been federally protected.

18

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Drought to cause spike in meat prices Rising } Beef price to rise 4.5 per cent this year, USDA says

By P.J. Huffstutter and Theopolis Waters chicago / reuters

T

he worst drought to hit U.S. cropland in more than half a century could soon leave Americans reaching deeper into their pockets to fund a luxury that people in few other countries enjoy: affordable meat.

Drought-decimated fields have pushed grain prices sky high, and the rising feed costs have prompted some livestock producers to liquidate their herds. This is expected to shrink the long-term U.S. supply of meat and force up prices at the meat counter.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects beef and veal prices to rise as much as 4.5 per cent this year, and as much as five per cent in 2013. Pork products could jump by up to three per cent this year, and as much as 3.5 per cent next year.

At a time when high unemployment and rising gasoline prices have U.S. consumers flinching, any rise in grocery bills could chill discretionary spending of the middle class, placing a further drag on the economy.

“It’ll put a hardship on people who are already suffering,” said Bob Goldin, executive vice-president at food industry consulting firm Technomic. “For most other consumers, it’ll be an added burden to their finances.”

Food prices in 2013 are expected to grow faster than normal for the fourth time in seven years. A recent forecast from the USDA has food costs jumping as much as four per cent.

Historically, food in the United States has been cheap compared to what people spend in other countries. In 2010, Americans spent just 9.4 per cent of their disposable income on food, according to research by USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS).

native. The number of animals have built up on some farms, as producers would not move them in hot weather. Others are hurrying to market to avoid the autumn seasonal price drop.

With producers rushing to sell, processors are trying to control the flood of protein into the market to avoid driving down the price of pork and beef. By purchasing fresh meat and putting it into storage, meat processors can sit on supplies for later use.

That is creating an unexpected bounty for the public refrigerated warehousing industry, which is beginning to field sales calls.

The boomlet, though, will likely be short lived, as meat supplies dwindle and prices rise, said Tom Poe, president of Crystal Distribution Services in Waterloo, Iowa.

U.S. pork industry losing billions

Things are likely to get worse for hog farmers. In a statement

North Americans will be reaching deeper into their pockets to buy meat. ©thinkstock released Sept. 3, said Chris Hurt, University of Purdue extension economist. Hurt forecasted that some pork producers could lose

as much as $60 per head by year’s end, an all-time record high.

“The hardest decision is whether I want to fight this bat-

tle,” said Bill Tentinger, 63, who has run his family’s hog farm in Le Mars, Iowa, for more than four decades.

Expensive holiday meals

The first bite to consumers’ wallets will likely arrive by Halloween at the end of October, with certain cuts of chicken and other products derived from livestock that rely heavily on corn for feed, said Ricky Volpe, research economist with USDA’s Economic Research Service.

As Americans begin to prepare for holiday baking, the price of milk and eggs is also expected to rise. By 2013, nearly every aisle in the grocery store will see an uptick in pricing, Volpe said.

Livestock farmers hurting

Many chicken farmers have decided to thin their flocks. Hog farmers, too, are cutting back and losing money on each animal they send to slaughter.

Some feel they have no alter-

“It’ll put a hardship on people who are already suffering… For most other consumers, it’ll be an added burden to their finances.”

BayerCropScience.ca/Liberty or 1 888-283-6847 or contact your Bayer CropScience representative.

Bob Goldin executive vicepresident, Technomic

Always read and follow label directions. InVigor®, Liberty® and LibertyLink® are registered trademarks of the Bayer Group. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.

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Albertafarmexpress.ca • september 10, 2012

High protein wheat crop, but premium elusive supply } The hot summer boosted protein levels in Canada as well as the U.S.

By Rod Nickel

“You can’t turn that extra protein into money.”

winnipeg, / reuters

W

estern Canadian farmers are harvesting a spring wheat crop that looks to be well above average in protein content, but they are unlikely to command much of the usual premium this autumn due to abundant supplies, analysts say.

After two years of flooding, Western Canada is set to produce its second-biggest allwheat crop in 16 years. Growing conditions have been mostly favourable, but stress caused by mid-summer heat helped boost p r o t e i n c o n t e n t b y s h r i n king kernels and reducing their starch production.

“It’s high, and in some cases, extremely high,” said Jonathon Driedger, market analyst for FarmLink Marketing Solutions.

“There’s no shortage of protein.”

Doug Hilderman NorAg Resources

The United States is the biggest importer of Canadian wheat, but its winter wheat crop was relatively high in protein this year, Driedger said, and the northern Plains’ spring wheat production this year is expected to be larger than last year.

The premium of nearby Minneapolis spring wheat futures to Chicago soft red winter wheat was around 73 cents per bushel Sept. 4, recovering somewhat after hitting its lowest level in late August since October, 2010.

A year ago, the Minneapolis spring wheat premium was

more than three times the current level.

The loss of traditional premium levels for high protein are unlikely to dampen farmers’ mood much, however, with big crops being harvested across much of the Prairies and prices high, due to drought harming corn in the U.S. Midwest, and pulling up other crop prices, said Chuck Penner, analyst at LeftField Commodity Research.

Canada is the biggest exporter of spring wheat, used for baking.

Western Canadian spring wheat averaged protein content

of 13.1 per cent last year across all milling grades, down from the previous 10-year average of 13.7 per cent, according to the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC).

This year’s average spring wheat protein content is 14.2 per cent so far, based on 420 samples of all grades, mostly from Manitoba where the harvest is advanced, according to the CGC. Protein levels are important to the fermentation process in making bread, said Nancy Edwards, program manager of

bread wheat research for the CGC. Millers often blend lowerand higher-protein wheats to achieve an average protein content specified by a customer.

In contrast to high-protein, top-grade milling wheat, demand is stronger than usual for feed wheat, the lowest-priced wheat grade, Penner said. Farmers have used feed wheat this year as a substitute for feeding livestock in parts of the United States because corn supplies are lower than expected.

For the most part, Canadian millers aren’t eager to buy wheat with higher than 13.5 per cent protein, since it doesn’t perform any better above that level, said Doug Hilderman, vice-president of western grain merchandising for Manitoba-based NorAg Resources. “You can’t turn that extra protein into money.”

Canada’s two biggest millers are Archer Daniels Midland Co and P&H Milling Group.

NEWS Villagers kill cattle thieves in Madagascar

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antananarivo / reuters Malagasy villagers killed at least 67 cattle thieves when they attacked a number of villages at the weekend, the gendarmarie of the Indian Ocean island said on Sept. 4.

General Bruno Razafindrakoto said about 100 cattle rustlers simultaneously attacked three villages in the southern region of the world’s fourth largest island, prompting villagers to kill the rustlers with spades, spears and machetes.

“We counted 67 dead on the side of the dahalo (cattle thieves). People were acting in self defence to defend their property,” he told Reuters.

Razafindrakoto said that incident took place in the Anonsy region, more than 1,000 km south of the capital Antananarivo. A statement issued after a meeting of security officials said the rustlers had stolen 180 cows, of which 176 had been recovered.

Separately, security forces clashed with cattle rustlers in the nearby southern district of Betroka Sept. 2 resulting in the deaths of three security forces and at least eight rustlers, the statement said. The rustlers had stolen about 1,200 cattle, of which some 800 were recovered during the chase.

Razafindrakoto said police reinforcements had been sent to the area.

Cattle rustling has traditionally been common among Madagascar’s southern tribes — in some communities it is a rite of passage ahead of marriage.

But it has taken on a criminal dimension as gangs armed with automatic rifles are increasingly involved in the raids.

20

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Some weeds are toxic for horses DESPERATE  Horses in dry lots and box stalls will sample

anything green in sight when turned out

BY CAROL SHWETZ DVM

I

n natural settings, horses develop selective grazing habits, seeking out healthy grasses and forages and avoiding those that are harmful. Relatively few plants are poisonous to horses and, fortunately, horses tend to avoid eating these because of their low palatability.

Horses with an abundant supply of quality pasture or hay avoid temptation to select harmful plants but those in dry lots and box stalls become desperate, sampling “anything green,” and so potentially ingesting toxic plants. Hungry horses, such as can happen after a long trailer travel, may also indiscriminately ingest all sorts of plants which might normally not interest them.

Horses that lack minerals or salt may develop strange cravings causing them to make poor plant selections. Thus balanced, proper, and complete nutrition plays a highly important role in poisoning prevention.

It is important that horse owners familiarize themselves with noxious plants specific to their particular locale or environment.

Recognizing these plants when

Noxious weeds tend to become more prevalent in overgrazed fall pastures. they are quite small, even before the flowering stage, enables more effective control. Uprooting or mowing them in a timely manner can remove the plants before they become a problem.

Identification of noxious weeds in their dried states can also prove invaluable should these troublesome plants accidentally become baled in hay.

Caution is advised when clippings or trimmings of ornamental yard plants such as yew and oleander are discarded. These two plants are highly toxic to

horses. Lawn grass clippings can also be detrimental. Clippings can be easily overconsumed by horses, potentially causing colic or laminitis. In addition the composting processes that occur within piles of lawn clippings results in harmful moulds and toxins.

Noxious plants and weeds are exceptionally hardy plants thriving in areas of drought, overgrazing, and/or high traffic. For example, field horsetail, which resembles a small pine tree, will grow in overgrazed pastures or

along trampled fencelines. Since horsetail contains thiaminase, horses consuming it develop a vitamin B1 deficiency. Bracken fern, similarly causes a thiamine deficiency and is mainly a problem when incorporated in hay.

Both these plants become problematic with repeated ingestion. Toxicity symptoms include weight loss, jaundice, weakness, unco-ordination, anxiety, paralysis, convulsions, and sudden death. These are symptoms generally seen with any plant toxicities.

The toxicity of a plant may vary with weather and growing conditions. For example, weather conditions that stress legumes, especially the clovers, may cause them to host “black patch” fungus.

This fungus flourishes in cool, wet, and humid conditions. It appears late spring, throughout the summer and even in fall months as tiny black specks on clover plants. When ingested the horses may begin to salivate profusely, visibly “drooling.”

Affected horses can become dehydrated and depressed, losing fluids and electrolytes. This condition known as “Slobbers” will typically disappear within a day or two after the horse stops

eating infected plants. Take the horse off the offending pasture, and feed it hay while it recovers.

Ensure the availability of plenty of clean water and free-choice salt.

Under certain weather conditions these infested clovers may also predispose horses to photosensitization and scratches.

Plants such as burdock, buttercups and foxtail can also cause mechanical or chemical reactions similarly resulting in increased salivation and drooling. Arrow-grass, death camas, chokecherry/pin cherry leaves, tall larkspur, tansy, timber milk vetch, water hemlock, narrowleaved milk vetch, and silky lupine are other plants that have been identified in livestock poisonings. Provincial and federal governments have comprehensive publications and websites identifying noxious plants and their geographic distribution.

Awareness and prevention is the best medicine when dealing with poisonous plants, as some poisonings quickly attack the central nervous system or liver leaving little recourse for successful treatment.

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

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21

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

Argentina has beef with U.S.

Cargill builds plant in china

Argentina on Aug. 31 accused the United States of unfairly blocking imports of Argentine beef because of restrictions to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.

Argentina complained to the WTO that the restrictions, applied on sanitary grounds, don’t have scientific justification. However the U.S. countered that the move is a negotiating tactic and part of a pattern for Argentina to file counter-complaints following allegations of trade discrimination by the U.S., Spain and Japan.

Cargill is building one of China’s biggest broiler production facilities and expects to start raising and processing 65 million birds annually starting next summer. The $250-million integrated chicken broiler facility in Anhui province includes a feed mill, farms, hatchery and processing plants. China’s poultry industry is rapidly expanding with annual growth at five to six per cent, and experts say the country wants to modernize the sector the way it has in pork over the past two decades. China now accounts for half of the world’s pork production and consumption.

Zoning requires a checkpoint where all livestock movement can be easily reported without slowing commerce

Moose-country station records livestock-country movements CHOKE POINT } West Hawk Lake, Manitoba is the sole zone reporting

point in the country because of its ideal location by sheri monk

af staff / pincher creek

T

he tree-covered resort area at West Hawk Lake on the edge of the Canadian Shield on the ManitobaOntario border doesn’t look much like livestock country, but it’s a key location in the event of an animal disease outbreak in North America.

It owes that designation to an industry wake-up call after the European foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2001.

“It caused people to stop and think about what we could do here in Canada to control or reduce our risk, and the longterm impact of a foreign animal disease outbreak,” said Betty Green, a Manitoba cattle producer and chair of Zone Canada, so named after an initiative to designate Canadian livestock movement zones.

“We started talking about some of the mitigation strategies that we could undertake, both in terms of training producers and preparing as a country for an outbreak and of course, zoning became one of those initiatives,” said Green.

Zoning is a containment tool allowing a nation to track animal movement in an organized way as it is being transported from one place to another. The data is collected and stored, and accessed only in the event of a disease outbreak.

Zoning requires a checkpoint where all livestock movement can be easily reported without slowing commerce. Natural choke points were sought and West Hawk Lake was the first selected because of its relative isolation.

West Hawk Lake is on the Trans-Canada Highway and is the only connection for vehicles crossing between Eastern and Western Canada. In addition to the highway, there are two nearby railways bridging the nation.

The reporting site is similar to a weigh station. In order to cross through, each load requires a permit and to obtain that permit, three pieces of information

Livestock trucks moving east out of the Prairies must check in a station at the edge of the Canadian Shield. ©thinkstock must be collected — the sender of the animals, the receiver and the means of transportation, including the licence plate.

“And then of course we’ll also add what animals were moved and if possible, individual identification numbers, so the RFID tags in the case of cattle,” said Green.

Still need paper trail

Traceability measures slowly being introduced to the livestock sector will speed the process in the future, but at least for now, a paper trail is still an inevitability. “We started out by saying this should be an electronic permit that’s remitted to the site in advance of the load arriving. That doesn’t always work, that’s one thing we learned. We added the flexibility to allow producers to send that permit in paper form, by fax, by email or by phone call if necessary, so that we get all the pieces of information required,” Green said.

In the event of an outbreak, the CFIA immediately assumes responsibility, and will access the database to determine whether any animals from the

“The minute they have determined where those animals moved to, they would be isolated and tested to see if in fact the disease had spread…”

Betty Green Zone Canada committee chair

More information on the project can be found at www.zonecanada.ca. infected area have been moved through the zone during the incubation or exposure period.

“The minute they have determined where those animals moved to, they would be isolated and tested to see if in fact the disease had spread and there are records of which trucks were used so they can isolate those and contain the disease much quicker,” Green said. That ability, so long as the zoning protocols meet the World Organization for Animal

Health guidelines, can prevent borders from closing as it demonstrates outbreak containment and management.

The reporting site is up and running, but it is not currently mandatory. The first 18 months of operation are currently being analyzed by different government agencies. Green is optimistic the project will become permanent.

“They are assessing the accuracy of our information and as we’re doing our work, the CFIA

is working with the USDA on having them recognize our capability to zone. So there are pieces underway at different levels,” Green said.

Other reporting sites across the country at strategic points will likely be added as the initiative matures. Before zone reporting becomes mandatory, regulatory changes will have to be made by the federal government. More information on the project can be found at www. zonecanada.ca.

22

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Which comes first?

The egg, of course

Pullet producers hope to join supply management

RUFFLED FEATHERS } Sector could be lost if supply management dismantled by sheri monk

af staff / pincher creek

I

n this chicken-and-egg situation, it’s clear which comes first, but those who produce the first step in the broiler industry don’t get that much attention.

“We don’t direct market to a consumer, so I think that’s why people don’t really think of us,” says Nancy Robinson, assistant manager of the Alberta Hatching Egg Producers (AHEP), a little known, but vital segment of the provincial chicken chain.

The chicken supply chain has three major steps, and the hatching egg producers are the first.

“It’s the cow-calf operation of the chicken industry. The producers we represent are the Alberta hatching egg producers, and they produce the fertilized eggs for the hatchery industry, which then hatches them into broiler chicks which go into the chicken industry,” said Robinson.

Established in 1982, AHEP functions as a marketing board

“It’s the cow-calf operation of the chicken industry.”

Nancy Robinson AHEP

Once a hatching egg breeder chicken has finished her useful lifespan, she can still be utilized for meat and goes to market as fowl. file photo within a supply management system established in 1986 for the national broiler hatching egg industry. AHEP is run by a five-member board consisting

of producers elected by fellow producers.

The board helps producers with the quota system, which is somewhat complicated because

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they’re based on a 52-week cycle, but the hatching egg cycle is 66 weeks.

“We have 582,686 quota units available in the province. In our province, one quota unit is equal to one hen placed every 52 weeks when allocation is at 100 per cent,” said Robinson, adding that quota units vary between provinces.

Once a hatching egg breeder chicken has finished her useful lifespan, she can still be utilized for meat and goes to market as fowl, which is not very tender and is often used in processed products, and as filler in deli meats. Robinson compares it to using older cull cows for hamburger.

“You can imagine on a large scale, fowl meat is very, very cheap, so if you can dilute your product, you’re making that product a lot less expensive. In the big picture, it’s a huge saving for the processor,” Robinson said.

Supply management has recently been in the sights of columnists in the national press, but Robinson ensures local supply and avoids industry domination such as by the mega-barns in the U.S. “What happens if something goes wrong with one of them?

Why do we want to take that risk as a country? Why do we want to rely on another country to supply our food and hope that if there’s a crisis out there, that they’ll still supply us?”

Robinson warns that should supply management be dismantled, the chicken industry could go the way of others. “Look at what happened to the pork industry — there’s a free market that has completely crumbled.

How many people have gone out of business? How many farms have closed?”

by sheri monk

af staff / pincher creek

The last sector of Canada’s chicken and turkey industry not currently under a supply management system has submitted an application to join the flock.

“It’s the last frontier,” said Andy DeWeerd, chairman of the Pullet Growers of Canada. Nearly two years in the making, the application was submitted to the Farm Products Council of Canada on July 17 to approve the request to become a federal supply-managed marketing board. “The biggest reason is to receive a fair return on our pullets that we’re growing.

Without a supply management system, we’re unable to cover our cost of production and unlike other commodities, our customers are set.

We’re all locked into a market,” said DeWeerd.

If the application is approved, pullet growers will be able to set prices and establish quotas, which is how the other sectors of the chicken, egg and dairy industries work currently.

Canada’s 550 pullet producers specialize in raising female chicks from hatchling eggs to be sold as replacement laying hens for the table egg industry.

“We need a unified voice going forward to talk about diseases and one voice to unite us all,” said DeWeerd, adding that in the event of animal health issues, pullet producers need an advocate to ensure there are compensation programs for any culls necessary to control an outbreak of avian influenza, as an example. “We also have animal welfare that we’re working on too, working with researchers to develop the new code for animal care,” he said.

The Farm Products Council of Canada has formed a committee to go over the application, and will meet as a board this month to determine what happens next.

“We don’t know yet if we need to hold hearings across the country. Farm Products Council of Canada will let us know what we have to do,” DeWeerd said. If approved, some sort of checkoff fee will be implemented to fund the marketing board. Currently, the Pullet Growers of Canada is voluntarily funded, and the price tag involved in research to submit the application has been steep. Producers have contributed between $180,000 and $200,000 to make their supply management marketing board a reality. If the pullet producers get a green light, they’ll be the first supply-managed national board formed since 1986, when the Canadian Broiler Hatching Egg Marketing Board was created.

DeWeerd says a website for the Pullet Producers of Canada will be launched in the next month or so.

23

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

A few suppliers of key inputs have the real power FROM THE HIP  Improving infrastructure and reducing

food waste can help relieve hunger

BY BRENDA SCHOEPP

L

ike all weather-related discussions lately, talk soon turns to the drought in the U.S. and Ontario. It is hard to see it from our regional view as we sit on our deck, admiring the green from “a little too much rain.”

Most of the social and economic consequences of drought have been repeatedly played in the media, but I think we are missing some key pieces of information when we consider the future.

It is true that the world is growing to nine billion people and that they need to be fed. That is a fact and there is a ripple effect when the world’s largest exporter of corn is suddenly stricken with a duster. As we live in the instant age, there is a strong dependence on trade and transportation systems. As most global food trade is handled by five companies, there is an inherent risk of storage issues. In 2008, the real grain shortage was on ships owned by those traders who were in their legal right to forget to unload it.

In Canada there are two major food-distribution companies. It takes a short while, 10 days to be exact, to starve out a city by interrupting the delivery of goods.

Before the kernels were even counted during the summer of 2012 the news wires were filled with fear stories of the price of food going up. And up it did go with beef climbing another $.02 lb. across retail. At the same time, beef packers have not stretched to own product and had enjoyed a reasonable profit. With the shortage of feed and water, the volume of commercial and fed beef product is inclined to increase, thus allowing the buyer more access to product that can be sold at a higher price.

agricultural leader and I will appreciate what the world looks like without food. And while the poor of the world don’t know or care about agricultural policy or the lack of national food sovereignty — they just want to eat — we may be witness to the erosion of access to food or freedom to grow food in our own backyard.

It will not be because we lack space or initiative, but it may be because we cannot access or afford seed, fertilizer or chemicals. Drought is a strong motivator to shortchange the world, especially on seed. Drought provides the perfect backdrop for companies to extract huge profits from the farmer and the consumer.

Corporate hoarding is a concern in these financial times and there will be a temptation to extend that further. This is not about a conspiracy theory — this is fact.

In our world today there are four companies that sell 90 per cent of the grain, and seven companies that own 99 per cent of all fertilizer production. Chemicals are very much a part of current crop production and five companies own 60 per cent of all chemical manufacturing. If that doesn’t parch your pantry, consider this — only three companies control 60 per cent of all seed.

More respect for food

With nearly 40 per cent of Canadian food wasted and food wast-

age a huge issue worldwide, we have to examine if the price of food really needs to be up because of drought. In developed countries food wastage occurs in the fields and on the plate. In developing countries it occurs in storage.

The logistics of food distribution are huge and are not easily solved but infrastructure would play an important part. With a staggering $20 billion in food wastage each year, one could hypothesize that a drop in agricultural production by 40 per cent caused by drought could be offset by domestic food policy and self-control.

Drought presents opportunity for a handful of companies who

Crops feed the world and in the beef industry, crops also feed us.

Seeded crops are the backbone of investment and the foundation of the beef cattle industry.

There is a high dependence on seed, fertilizer and chemical to continue to produce crops for consumption to produce the world’s most consumed crops which are sugar, maize, rice and wheat.

That has me thinking. I have always believed that the next war would be fought over food. True to that theory, if you dig deep enough into the unrest in Egypt for example, is the core frustration of the lack of reasonable access to food.

This month I will be in the slums in India as a farmer and

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. Contact her at brenda.schoepp@cciwireless.ca or www.brendaschoepp.com.

“We’re optimistic. We’re producing more and better products and seeing a positive result.

I think the future is going to be great.”

– Sabrina Caron, Quebec

In our world today there are four companies that sell 90 per cent of the grain, and seven companies that own 99 per cent of all fertilizer production.

Powerful input sellers

trade in food, own seed, fertilizer or chemicals and control the sale of grains. And as consumers we may be contributing to that power through food wastage. As voters, we may allow it to unfold unless we address domestic food policy. Families should not face the despair of a parched pantry because of corporate gouging or irresponsibility.

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24

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Sorting out the many choices for cattle vaccines beff 911 } Fewer choices are less confusing and fewer needles are necessary By roy lewis, dvm

T

here is a multitude of diseases to consider vaccinating for, and vaccines for them come in a multitude of combinations with different types of administration (subcutaneous or intramuscular) as well as different dosage amounts (usually two to five cc). These possibilities should all be considered when choosing vaccines.

First and foremost, use the advice of your local veterinarian. He/she will have chosen the most appropriate vaccines for your area in the best combinations available to minimize the number of needles to be given. Veterinarians are a valuable resource when it comes to vaccine selection a very critical point of biosecurity for your farm.

Vaccine companies are producing more and more vaccines in multiple combinations. This is because there are now several diseases routinely vaccinated for on most farms. Fewer choices are less confusing to producers, fewer needles are necessary and the cost per disease treated actually comes down.

In deciding the efficacy of vaccines among reputable pharmaceutical companies we are often splitting hairs. Veterinarians choose which vaccine

lines to carry based on several factors including effectiveness, route of administration, dosage amount and dose sizing per container. Availability, price, timing of administration and service given by the sales force are also considered.

We are really almost comparing apples to apples when comparing the numerous vaccines available from the reputable companies. Again, your veterinarian will know which products compare favourably to one another.

There are a few misconceptions about repeating vaccine protocol. Different vaccine lines will generally boost the immune response from a previous vaccination from a different line of vaccines. Of course the diseases in the vaccines must be the same. The important thing to remember, whether it be from previous vaccination or exposure to the real disease, is that revaccination stimulates the body’s immune system to develop further protection from sickness.

Increased risk in some areas

Certain areas in Canada have a higher incidence of specific diseases and vaccination may be considered. An example of this would be Clostridium Hemolyticum in west-central Alberta. Horses are vac-

There are no magic bullets of vaccination replacing good management. Proper nutrition, parasite control and sanitation go a long way to preventing disease.

cinated for rabies in certain regions of Eastern Canada.

Vaccination may be repeated in herds with a prior history of leptospirosis, and in outbreaks of anthrax the contact herd as well as neighbouring herds may be vaccinated in subsequent years. Anthrax is a reportable disease so the federal vets will vaccinate the contact herd initially.

Even though there are vaccines for other reportable diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease or brucellosis, they are not allowed to be used in Canada because we are free of these diseases and want to keep them out. If we were to vaccinate, the protection the vaccine affords could mask symptoms and carrier animals might develop. Tests for disease exposure often cannot

differentiate between exposure to the real disease or vaccination, therefore eradication is difficult.

In most herds across Western Canada vaccination is now common for the diseases of IBR, BVD, PI3, clostridials (blackleg group 7- or 8-way or now 9-way), histophilus) the former hemophilus and BRSV. For young calves up to and past weaning the two respiratory pathogens pasteurella and mannheimia are becoming common. If we are careful how we mix and match these antigens, calves can get immunized with all these antigens in two needles.

Scours vaccination is becoming common for the breeding animals, especially in larger herds. A multitude of other vaccines for foot rot — especially in breeding bulls, pink eye and leptospirosis are more commonly used. Other vaccines for mastitis (in dairies), and as already mentioned anthrax are used in special occasions and would be done in direct consultation with your veterinarian.

Timing critical

The appropriate timing is critical in order to get maximum benefit from your investment in the vaccination process. A perfect example of this would be the current scour vaccines.

Each company has a different

concept as to how challenge occurs. As a result in order to achieve maximum benefit, the timing of vaccination before calving is critical and varies considerably between the different products. Some can be given as short as two weeks before calving where others must be about two to three months before calving in order to achieve optimal results.

It is extremely important to know which vaccine will fit best with your management and processing schedule. Also storage of vaccines (almost all need to be refrigerated) and handling when administered are critical to getting the maximum effect. Freezing or overheating of the vaccine before administration cannot be tolerated.

There are no magic bullets of vaccination replacing good management. Proper nutrition, parasite control and sanitation go a long way to preventing disease. All this augmented with a properly thought-out and implemented vaccination program will severely reduce the incidence of those diseases on your farm. Talk to your veterinarian as new products and ways of administration are coming out all the time.

Roy Lewis is a large-animal veterinarian practising at the Westlock Veterinary Centre.

His main interests are bovine reproduction and herd health.

field trip

A team of horses pulls visitors at the Chinook Honey Farm, near Okotoks, Alta., through a field used for the bees, which includes clover, alfalfa and poppies. Photo: Wendy Dudley

25

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

Check feed grain for ergot this fall CONDITIONS  Cool, damp weather in late spring and early summer increases ergot contamination

H

aying is wrapping up and many herds are still out grazing, so winter feeding might not be a top-of-mind topic right now. However, it is never too early to start thinking about what grain will be used in your herd’s winter ration. It’s important to purchase the highest-quality feed grain you can.

Ergot contamination is an issue to be aware of when sourcing feed grain this fall.

“Ergot is a plant disease caused by the Claviceps purpurea fungus and can be found in rye, triticale, wheat, barley, brome grass, wheat grass, bluegrass, quack grass, orchardgrass, meadow foxtail and wild rye,” says Stephanie Kosinski, forage specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “Ergot is most easily recognized by the hard, black bodies that replace the kernels on the seed head.”

Ergot overwinters as black, grain-sized fungal structures. In the spring, these germinate and form mushroom-like structures that produce spores which are carried by the wind to flowering cereals and grasses. Cool, damp weather in late spring and early summer increases ergot contamination due to the longer flowering time of cereals and grasses in these environmental conditions.

Parts of the province may have experienced these conditions in the spring and early summer this year, creating the potential for ergot to develop.

“You should be concerned with ergot contamination of your feed grain because ergot contains numerous toxic alkaloids that will negatively affect the health of your livestock,” says Kosinski. “General symptoms of ergot poisoning include lameness, excitability, belligerence, loss of appetite and weight loss. It can take two to eight weeks for these symptoms to become visible.

Four syndromes

“There are four specific syndromes caused by ergot: gangrenous ergotism, convulsive/ nervous ergotism, reproductive ergotism and hyperthermic ergotism. The gangrenous and nervous forms are most common.”

Gangrenous ergotism is associated with longer-term ingestion of ergot. Ergot alkaloids cause small blood vessels to constrict, reducing the blood supply to limbs,

tails, teats and ears. If blood flow is restricted for long periods of time, the tissues become oxygen deprived and die. Hooves can slough off and, in cold weather, ears freeze off.

Convulsive, or nervous ergotism is more common in horses and sheep, and is the acute form of ergotism. Symptoms include dizziness, drowsiness, convulsions, paralysis and death. These symptoms usually disappear about three to 10 days after the ergot is removed.

Reproductive ergotism is

caused by high levels of estrogen in the ergot bodies. This can lead to abortions or lowered fertility due to abnormal cycling. Once the ergot is removed, it takes a long time for estrogen levels to return to normal.

Hyperthermic ergotism results from long-term exposure to ergot. It is made worse on hot and humid days with no shade.

Animals pant and lose weight.

“The upper feeding limit of ergot in older, non-pregnant cattle is 0.1 per cent by weight of feed consumed,” says Kosinski.

“Health issues could still occur at this level, so always try to feed ergot-free feed to all your cattle.

Pregnant, breeding and lactating animals are the most sensitive to ergot. They should not be fed any ergot at all.

“One last thing to think about is the screening pellets or screenings you buy from your local seed-cleaning plant. Ergot levels in these screenings can be very high. Do not buy screenings with any amount of ergot unless they can be appropriately diluted with ergot-free feeds.”

STEPHANIE KOSINSKI

Unreserved PUblic AUction

Grande prairie, Alberta october 4, 2012 Dixonville, AB (Northwest of Peace River)

This property will be sold as four lots on October 4, 2012 at unreserved public auction at Grande Prairie, AB. Every lot will be sold to the highest bidder on auction day, regardless of price.

6 Parcels of Farmland & Major Grazing Lease 92± Title Acres of Farmland & 1425± Acres of Grazing Lease

Hotchkiss

AB/County northern lights

Auction Property

Fort St. John

3 4 5 6 7

1 2

Dixonville 986

Dawson Creek

Blueberry Mountain

49

Fairview

For complete and up-to-date equipment listings visit

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49 Kathleen

Grande Prairie Auction Location

ContaCt: Victor Sonnenberg: 780.910.2661, RealtoR: All Peace Realty – Rick Wallan: 780.518.3313

Peace River Grimshaw

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Beaver Lodge

PaRCel 2* – SE2-88-25-W5 160± title acres Farmland, treed, sloughs & natural pasture, 2012 taxes $75.00 PaRCel 3* – 4 Grazing Leases, 1425± acres (contact for more information) *Important Note: Parcels 4 & 5 will be sold together. The winning bidder on this group must pay the selling price

2

Dunvegan

Spirit River 43

aB/County noRtheRn lights *Important Note: Parcels 1, 2 & 3 will be sold together. The winning bidder on this group must pay the selling price multiplied by three and shall receive all three parcels.

PaRCel 1* – SW2-88-25-W5 160± title acres Farmland, treed & natural pasture, 2012 taxes $75.00

35

97 Farmland Grazing Lease

689

Ergot is most easily recognized by the hard, black bodies that replace the kernels on the seed head.

“The upper feeding limit of ergot in older, nonpregnant cattle is 0.1 per cent by weight of feed consumed.”

Pea ce R .

AGRI-NEWS

DIXONVILLE

multiplied by two and shall receive both parcels.

PaRCel 4*– NW34-87-25-W5 160± title acres Farmland, 43± acres cult, pasture in 2012, 117± acres treed & sloughs, 2012 taxes $75.00 PaRCel 5* – NE34-87-25-W5 160± title acres Farmland, treed, sloughs and natural pasture, 2012 taxes

Crooked Creek

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High Prairie

43

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26

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

In a dugout, oxygen and light are key IMPROVEMENT  Growing Together funding is still available for dugout projects

BY ALEXIS KIENLEN

AF STAFF / CLEARWATER COUNTY

I

n real estate, it’s all about location, location, location.

For dugout water quality, it’s all about aeration, aeration, aeration, says Brandon Leask, agricultural water engineer with Alberta Agriculture in Red Deer.

Speaking to Clearwater County’s West County ag tour, Leask encouraged his audience to think of dugouts as independent ecosystems.

“Any time you’re adding something to a dugout, you’re adding nutrients, unless you harvest it out,” he said. That includes nutrients such as run-off from manure or material that is deliberately added, such as grass carp.

Leask said aeration is the key to preventing those nutrients from becoming food for dugout-choking plants and algae.

“Aeration puts little bubbles of oxygen into the water,” he said.

INFRASTRUCTURE 

Think of a dugout as an independent ecosystem, says an Alberta Agriculture engineer.

“That oxygen bonds with the phosphorus and nitrogen in the water, and settles it out. This makes the phosphorus and nitrogen unavailable to algae and weeds.”

Aeration helps cycle water, eliminating a warm layer on top and a cool layer on the bottom of the dugout, creating a more consistent mid-range temperature, reducing algae growth and helping maintain healthy fish populations.

Leask said that snow clearing on

dugouts is important. Light cannot penetrate a thick layer of snow, so plants die and decompose, robbing the water of oxygen needed for fish.

Leask said the Growing Forward water management program is still open and applications will be accepted until March 15, 2013.

“There is still money available and we need to get it out the door,” he said. The program helps to fund dugouts, new wells,

new aeration systems, new spring developments and the decommissioning of old well pits and wells.

The program is similar to previous programs before, except it requires pre-approval.

Producers who have been through the program before can still apply for a second project, said Leask. Anyone interested in the program can request help from their county office or by calling 310-FARM.

Behind every great yield is a series of great choices.

The top canola varieties are now available from your local UFA. Talk to us today and we’ll help you make the best selections for your operation.

So you can grow with confidence all season long.

Because a whole lot can grow from one good decision.

© 2012 UFA Co-operative Ltd. All rights reserved.

Experts say more extreme weather on the way

UFA.com

Climate events don’t only affect crops, but the routes and facilities for moving them

BY ALISTER DOYLE OSLO / REUTERS

Climate change could disrupt food supplies from fields to the supermarkets, raising the risk of more price spikes, according to food security experts working on a review of global warming for the UN. “There is a whole chain that is also going to be affected by climate change,” said John Porter of the University of Copenhagen.

After harvest, floods could wash away roads or bridges, for instance, between fields and factories processing the crop. Or warehouses storing food could be damaged by more powerful storms. Such factors are likely to hit poor nations hardest.

“There are reasons to expect more frequent (price) spikes, given that it will be more common to see conditions that are considered extreme,” said David Lobell, an assistant professor at Stanford University in California.

However, other factors could dampen rises, “including responses such as raising grain storage or changing trade policies,” he added.

“It’s a distributional problem — there is enough food in the world, but the distribution doesn’t work,” said Bruce McCarl, a professor at Texas A&M University.

A UN report on climate extremes in March said it was “virtually certain” that days with extreme heat would increase. Among other findings, it said it was likely that downpours would increase as a percentage of total rainfall.

Scientists are traditionally wary of linking individual extremes such as the U.S. drought to climate change as weather events from heat waves to dust storms have happened throughout history.

But James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, expressed “a high degree of confidence” this month that the European heat wave of 2003, the Russian heat wave of 2010 and the Texas and Oklahoma droughts of 2011 were “a consequence of climate change” because they were so extreme.

His conclusion was challenged as too definite, even by some experts who say risks of such events are rising with greenhouse gas emissions, led by China and the United States.

On the positive side for food output, a slight rise in temperatures is likely to help plant growth overall. But long-term net benefits are doubtful, especially because UN studies say rising greenhouse gas emissions are on track to push temperatures up by more than 2 C above pre-industrial times — a level set by 200 nations as a threshold for dangerous change.

Temperatures have already risen by almost 1°.

27

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

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28

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Grain Wanted

FARM MACHINERY Haying & Harvesting – Baling

BOW VALLEY TRADING LTD.

WE BUY DAMAGED GRAIN Wheat, Barley, Oats, Peas, etc.

Green or Heated Canola/Flax

1-877-641-2798

BUYING:

Spraying EquipmEnt

Spraying EquipmEnt

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

FARM MACHINERY Sprayers

FARM MACHINERY Sprayers

FARM MACHINERY Haying & Harvesting – Swathers

SPRAYERS!

2000 CIH 8825 SWATHER, 1130 eng. hrs. 21ft U2 PU reel, double swath, dual knife, stored inside. $35,000 OBO (780)986-0678, 780-906-4240 2007 MF 9635 HESSTON swather, one owner, 267/Original hours, c/w MF 9175 15ft disc header, MF 5200 25ft draper header, 25ft Bergen header transport, pu reels, swivel gauge wheels, electric fore/aft, roto shears, factory hitch on tractor unit, asking $128,000 (780)955-2364, (780)554-4736,

HEATED & GREEN CANOLA

CASE IH 18FT 8830 swather, new tires, sections, guards, double knife, slant 6 cylinder motor, good working condition, $12,500 OBO, (780)785-2418 780-785-9389

• Competitive Prices • Prompt Movement • Spring Thrashed

DON’T SPEND $80,000! 722 Cereal Implements (Massey Ferguson twin), 30ft swather, Isuzu diesel engine. Tractor unit shedded. 707/hrs, $29,500.

(403)666-2111 evenings.

“ON FARM PICK UP”

1-877-250-5252

CANOLA WANTED

Heated, Green, Damaged Buying all levels of damaged canola.

Excellent Market Prices.

Bonded, Insured.

CALL 1-866-388-6284 www.milliganbiotech.com

INC. ANTIQUES ANTIQUES Antique Equipment JD 55 COMBINE, EXC. cond, always shedded; antique JD grain binder, 1936 w/book, (780)786-4310, Mayerthorpe, AB. NEW TRACTOR PARTS and engine rebuild kits, specializing in hard to find parts for older tractors, tractor seats, service and owners manuals, decals and much more, our 38th year! 1 800-481-1353, www.diamondfarmtractorparts.com

AUTO & TRANSPORT AUTO & TRANSPORT Trucks 1978 KENWORTH TANDEM 5SPD auto, 3406A Cat motor, 20ft grain box w/3-way endgate, good condition, (403)227-2788 Innisfail, AB.

FARM MACHINERY Haying & Harvesting – Various 2002 PREMIER 2940, 1250/HRS, 25ft 972 draper header, excellent condition, (403)886-4285 MORRIS 881 HAY HYKER, 8 round bale retriever/mover. like new, minimal use, mint condition, $16,000. (403)236-5415, Calgary Area

Combines FARM MACHINERY Combine – Case/IH 2002 CASE IH 2388, AFX rotor, 30ft cutter, Excellent condition, $130,000. Phone (403)877-2020, Lacombe, AB. IHC 915 COMBINE, 1977, hydro, diesel, a/c, dual range cylinder, long auger, 2527/hrs, excellent condition, $4,500, (403)784-3248, Clive, AB.

FARM MACHINERY Combine – Ford/New Holland 1998 TX 66 NH combine, 1600 Sep. hrs. 14ft rake up pu, excellent condition, $55,000 OBO (403)823-9222, 403-854-1044, Rosedale, AB. NH 1500 COMBINE, W/3208 Cat diesel, 2000 op. hrs, always shedded and ready for the field. $5,000 OBO (403)932-2343, 403-519-7815

FARM MACHINERY Combine – Various 1992 CIH 1660, EXTRA clean, 1800 hrs, pu header, $23,500; NH TR95, 2200 hrs, excellent condition, $6,450, both field ready, (403)392-8081, Red Deer, AB WOW! LOW LOW HOURS, 1480 IHC combine, shedded, upgrades, well maintained, 2436/hrs, great capacity, 30ft. straight cut header available, $21,000; (403)666-2111, Evenings.

AUTO & TRANSPORT Semi Trucks & Trailers

Put money in your pocket!

“LIKE MANY BEFORE, WE’LL HAVE YOU SAYING THERE’S NO DEAL LIKE A KEN DEAL” •Phone: (403)526-9644 •Cell: (403)504-4929 •Greg Dorsett (403)952-6622 •Email: kendeal@shaw.ca FARM MACHINERY Sprayers SPRAY-COUP 51FT MODEL 116, shedded, VW engine, wide flotation tires, 1547/hrs, 15in nozzle spacing = better chemical coverage. shedded, $7,250; (403)666-2111 Evenings.

Harvestore Silo 80 x 20 This Silo is in great shape, was built in 1988, was only used for 5 years at most, it’s in immaculate shape, comes w/ unloader & feeder(they may need a bit of work). Offers, you will have to deal with the disassembling & moving.

Located 40min. south of Winnipeg in St-Malo, MB. Jean-Luc (204) 226-7783 or (403) 363-3483 email- saddleup403@hotmail.com

Tillage & Seeding FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Tillage KELLO 5 SHANK SUB soiler; hardly used, IH 800 12 botom plow; 40ft Blanchard crow foot packer bar; 43ft Leon deep tillage cultivator; (780)623-1008

NEW TRACTOR PARTS and engine rebuild kits, specializing in hard to find parts for older tractors, tractor seats, service and owners manuals, decals and much more, our 38th year! 1 800-481-1353, www.diamondfarmtractorparts.com

JD 2210, LDR, 3PTH, MFD JD 4050 fwa, 3pth loader JD 4430 c/w loader JD 4440, loader available JD 4450 c/w loader JD 6410 3pth, FWA, loader available JD 7710 fwa, 840 loader JD 7200, ldr, 3pth FWA JD 746 loader, new Mustang 2044 Skidsteer, 1300hrs.

Clamp on duals, 20.8x38-18.4x38 158 & 148, 265, 740, 280, JD loaders

CUSTOM COMBINING, 2388 CASE IHC, 20ft cutter, contact Pete Wierenga @(403)782-2596 or Cell: 403-877-2020

CONTRACTING Custom Work TOEWS CUSTOM SWATHING, M150 Macdon Swather, w/30ft header and Canola shears, will swath Canola, silage and cereals. (403)888-6702, Acme, Ab.

FARM MACHINERY Grain Bins

FARM MACHINERY Parts & Accessories

NEW SUKUP GRAIN DRYERS On hand & ready for immediate delivery. Propane/NG, canola screens, 1 or 3 phase. Also some used dryers available. Call for more info (204)998-9915

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

Buy and Sell

anything you need through the NEW WOBBLE BOXES for JD, NH, IH, MacDon headers. Made in Europe, factory quality. Get it direct from Western Canada’s sole distributor starting at $995. 1-800-667-4515. www.combineworld.com

1-888-413-3325

Stretch your ADVERTISING DOLLAR!

1-888-413-3325

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Various

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Various

Double LL Industries 780.905.8565 Nisku, Alberta

2001 Kubota M9580

1979 John Deere 3130

1980 International 584

2005 Toyota Forklift

FWA Tractor, 95 HP Diesel,4767 Hrs, 3PTH

80 Pto HP, 3PTH, 148 Loader

52 HP Diesel, 3247 Hrs, 3PTH, 540 PTO

25 Forklift, 5000 lb Lift

38,500

$

$ 12,900 7,800 www.doublellindustries.com $

JD 9400, 9420, 9520, 8970 JD 7810 & 7210, FWA JD 9860, 9760, 9750, 9650, 9600 JD 9430, 9530, 9630 CIH 8010 w/RWD, lateral tilt, duals 900 hrs.

Case STX 375, 425, 430, 450, 480, 500, 530 CIH 8010-2388, 2188 combine CIH 435Q, 535Q, 450Q, 550Q, 600Q pto avail.

NH TJ 450, New Triples, Big Pump 8100 Wilmar Sprayer

5,800

$

JD 4710, 4720, 4730, 4830, 4920, 4930 SP sprayers JD 9770 & 9870 w/CM & duals CIH 3185, 3230, 3330, 4430, 4420 sprayers 9580 Kubota, FWA, FEL, low hours 3545 MF w/FWA FEL GOOD SELECTION OF JD & CASE HEADERS: 635F, 636D AND MANY MORE CASE & JD

“LIKE MANY BEFORE, WE’LL HAVE YOU SAYING THERE’S NO DEAL LIKE A KEN DEAL” •Phone: (403)526-9644 •Cell: (403)504-4929 •Greg Dorsett (403)952-6622 •Email: kendeal@shaw.ca FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Various

Big Tractor Parts, Inc. Geared For The Future

STEIGER TRACTOR SPECIALIST

RED OR GREEN 1. 10-25% savings on new replacement parts for your Steiger drive train.

2. We rebuild axles, transmissions and dropboxes with ONE YEAR WARRANTY. 3. 50% savings on used parts.

1-800-982-1769 www.bigtractorparts.com

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous 1990 VERSATILE SWATHER, 4700, 22ft. reel and Honeybee knife 2043 hrs; 1978 combine w/1946 org. hrs, very nice Twister Hopper bottom bin w/aeration, (780)668-3104

RETIRED FROM FARMING: Selection of used Westeel flat bottom bins on wood floors, in 19ft dia., have 1 bin @3500/bu, 1 bin @2750/bu. in 14ft dia: have 7 @1750/bu. All 19ft bins priced from $1/per bu. All 14ft bins priced from $1.90/bu. Custom transporters available. Hussin Seed Farms, (403)936-5923, (403)680-4471 Calgary, AB

FARM MACHINERY Grain Dryers

1845 JD MODEL H, running, shedded, good shape. $3,500 OBO, (780)352-2818, (780)361-9747

CASE IH 1990, 7110, 2WD, 18 spd, 4 rev.

1000/540 PTO, 130hp,; 1984 Hesston, 1580 DT, fwa, 140hp, 1000/540 pto, c/w 125 ezee on high lift loader; 1983 Ford 3/4T F250, 4x4, c/w suburban bale handler. (403)577-2296, 403-575-0987, Consort, Ab.

CONTRACTING Custom Harvest

FARM MACHINERY

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – John Deere

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Various

CONTRACTING

1-888-413-3325

KEN DEAL EQUIPMENT

USED KUBOTA Utility Tractors (780)967-3800, (780)289-1075 www.goodusedtractors.com

We also specialize in: Crop Insurance appeals; Chemical drift; Residual herbicide; Custom operator issues; Equipment malfunction; Yield comparisons, Plus Private Investigations of any nature. With our assistance the majority of our clients have received compensation previously denied. Back-Track Investigations investigates, documents your loss and assists in settling your claim.

Licensed Agrologist on Staff.

For more information Please call 1-866-882-4779

ALL THE TOP BRANDS!

We can turn your nightmare into a dream come true!

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Kubota

FARM CHEMICAL SEED COMPLAINTS

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

Because if you have this thought for more than 4 minutes you should call Ken Deal about a sprayer!

TracTors

BUSINESS SERVICES Crop Consulting

• JD • CIH • ROGATOR • WILMAR • SPRA COUP

Increase your productivity, ease your Operator’s fatigue level!

BUILDING & RENOVATIONS

BUSINESS SERVICES

A GAMBLE...

Are you having bad dreams about spraying your crops?

48FT BOURGAULT SERIES 4000 packer bar, heavy P30 packers, hyd. fold, used very little, $12,000; (403)666-2111, Evenings.

40X80FT ARCH RIB SHOP package, newer metal cladding, ready to reassemble, good condition, (403)335-9205, Olds, AB.

IS ENOUGH OF

SPRAYERS!

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Various

COMBINE WORLD located 20 min. E of Saskatoon, SK on Hwy. #16. 1 year warranty on all new, used, and rebuilt parts. Canada’s largest inventory of late model combines & swathers.

1-800-667-4515 www.combineworld.com

FARMING

SPRAYERS!

30 MISCELLANEOUS HYBOY SEMI trailers; 8 step deck, and double drops; 5 equipment trailers; misc. gravel trailers, pictures & prices on Aberdeen/Saskatoon, www.trailerguy.ca (306)222-2413

BUILDING & RENOVATIONS Building Supplies

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Various

w/U2 PU JD 7700 condition; 2300/bu,

2000 PREMIER/MACDON 2950 SWATHER, 972-25ft. triple delivery grain table, 922-16ft MacDon mower conditioner header w/5ft steel crimper, 2073/machine hours, excellent condition.

(780)636-2463, 780-645-0492 2002 JD 1820, 45-FT., 10-in. spacing, double shoot, dutch paired row, 3-1/2in steel, $25,000; 1996 Rogator 854, 800/gal, 80ft. 4x4, 2 sets tires, 3790/hrs, GFS boom, Raven auto-rake, Raven cruiser, GPS, spd. hydro. 195hp Cummins, $62,000; Case Dot 28ft Tandem disc. $4,000 (403)665-2341, Craigmyle, AB.

RETIRING: SHEDDED IHC 1460, sp combine, w/reverser, approx. 900 machine hrs; Ford 60ft. harrow bar w/harrows; 100 IHC 14ft. H6628 24x6 press drill; SR5000 Tag-a-long car dolly; 48ft. Morris rod weeder; 36ft. Morris deep tillage; 12ft Aerway hayland spiker; Quail cattle handling system; D7 Beale brush rake; 1984 Versatile Bi-directional tractor w/loader & 3pth; Male herdsire and female llamas. 8x60ft HD skid; Polaris Indy 700 High performance skidoo; 100 1400/lb bales hay; (403)342-4923, Red Deer, AB. 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 3 WESTEEL ROSCO GRAIN bins, 14ft, (780)623-1008 45-FT WILLRICH CULTIVATOR; CUMMINGS 240bp skid mount clutch&trans; 860 MF PU & 20-ft grain; D7G Cat dozer, tilt & ripper, (306)236-8023.

5100 IH SEED DRILL, hardly used, $3,500; 14ft deep tillage cultivator $800; 12ft deep tillage cultivator $500; MF #9 square baler $700; MF disc 12ft hyd. $800; #10 Seed drill with grass attachment, older, $500; 400 Versatile swather, $1,800; (780)919-9985 ACREAGE EQUIPMENT: CULTIVATORS, DISCS, Plows, Blades, Post pounders, Haying Equipment, Etc. (780)892-3092, Wabamun, Ab. CASE IH 8230 HEAVY duty pull type swather.

1000 RPM. Great shape, always shedded; Bale trailer; Flail 3-PTH finishing mower. Call Ed (403)575-1423.

IHC 16FT CULTIVATOR W/HARROWS, $200; Rod weeder, 36ft, $200; JD side delivery manure spreader, $100; MH 6ft one way disc, $150; Co-Op 18ft, sp swather, $500; Co-Op 15ft pt swather, $150; Spot treatment sprayer, 2 tanks, plumbing for changing tanks and widths, $400; Bale stooker $100; (780)384-2366, Sedgewick, Ab. JD 1995 790 ELC TRACKHOE, low hrs; Komatsu WA 320-1 3yd loader; JD 3830 16ft hay header; 3830 w/16ft header and 21ft grain header; UH 122 trackhoe; (306)236-8023 MILK PROCESSING EQUIPMENT, PASTURISING vat, bulk tanks, ice bank tank, plate cooler, drain table, single to 3 phase converter, hot water heater, switching equipment. (780)352-9956 RETIRED FROM FARMING, MOST machinery shedded, 1998 Peterbuilt, 460 Cummins, 18spd, w/36ft tandem Doepker grain trailer $75,000; Rock picker, $1,000; (403)586-0978, Torrington, Ab.

29

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous Used Flexicoil Aircarts, 4350, 3850 & 3450, 2340,2320,1720 & 1330................................................Call Flexicoil 6 run seed treater ................................. $2,000 2006 51’ Flexicoil 5000 airdrill, 10”, 5.5” rubber packers......................................................................................Call 2006, 39’ Flexicoil 5000 airdrill 10”, 5.5 rubber packers, double chute, used 1 year, like new........Call 134’ Flexicoil S68XL sprayer, 2007, suspended boom, auto rate, joystick, rinse tank, triple quick jets, auto boom height, electric end nozzle & foam marker .............................................................................$39,500 130’ Flexicoil 67XL PT sparyer, 2006, trail boom, auto rate, rinse tank, hyd. pump, combo jets, nice shape...........................................$26,500 51 Flexicoil Bodies c/w GEN. 4” carbide spread tip openers, single chute, like new ............................ $3,500 150 MacDon swather, low hrs, 30’ header, roto shears, MTD Canola roller................................................Call 3000 36’Westward MacDon PT swather...SOLD Call 9352 C Westward MacDon swather, 1400/hrs, 30’ 972 header w/PU reel,.............................................$85,000 Flexicoil 10”x 50’ Grain auger........................... $2,500 1372 MF 13’ swing arm discbine 4yrs, like new .......................................................................$20,000 New Sakundiak 10x1200 (39.97’) 36HP, Kohler eng. E-K mover, P/S, electric belt tightener, work lights, slim fit, 12 gal. fuel tank ........... $18,000

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30

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Prairie Swine Centre continues to find answers PEET ON PIGS } Minimizing water wastage and finding practical ways to

reduce stress and loading times are two examples of the centre’s work By bernie peet

A

s it enters its 20th year of operation, the Prairie Swine Centre continues to help find solutions to industry challenges, particularly in its key areas of expertise — engineering, manure management, ethology (animal behaviour) and nutrition.

As the industry provides both board members and significant funding, the centre responds to the needs of the producers, both in the short and longer term. Its 2011 Annual Report highlights some of the ongoing research projects and their potential benefits to producers.

The engineering department has been looking at ways of reducing water usage, especially the type of drinking system used and the design of nozzle used for pressure washing. Water is a significant cost in pig production and a great deal of wastage occurs, leading to high manure disposal costs. Three different drinking systems were compared in growfinish pens: A conventional nipple drinker, a nipple drinker with side panels to reduce interference from other pigs while drinking, and a trough with side panels and a constant water level. The latter had 60 per cent less wastage, using just 1.27 litres per day per pig. The nipple drinker used 3.77 l/day-pig and the nipple with side panel used 3.57 l/day-pig. One

The three types of drinker used in the trial on water usage (from left): regular nipple drinker, nipple with side panels and drinking trough. disadvantage of trough drinkers is contamination with feed and sometimes manure, leading to lower water intake, which can compromise performance. In this trial, contamination with organic matter did occur, but it did not appear to impact feed intake or growth rate of the pigs.

The trial on cleaning equipment compared water sprinkling prior to washing with no sprinkling and measured the water use of several different types of pressure washer nozzles. As might be expected, sprinkling resulted in higher water consumption, but also reduced washing time significantly in part-slatted pens. Also, the use of a conventional nozzle led to the lowest water consumption and time spent washing.

An economic analysis, which took into account the cost of water and manure disposal, showed the

cost of water was reduced from $3.77 for the conventional nipple drinker to $1.27 for the water trough. Similarly, the manure disposal cost was reduced to $4.90 per pig from $9.11, resulting in an overall cost saving of $9.23 per pig, a 56 per cent reduction in favour of the trough drinker.

Such significant savings cannot be ignored, although the potential impact of contamination in troughs needs to be considered, especially in nursery pigs. With the correct trough design and daily management to keep drinkers as clean as possible, changing from nipple drinkers to troughs can have a big impact on the bottom line.

Loading market hogs is one of the most stressful procedures for both pigs and people. Researchers Harold Gonyou and Jennifer Brown looked at loading facili-

ties in Saskatchewan to identify aspects of their design and handling practices that result in the fastest and smoothest loading.

They looked at the dimensions of pens, alleyways and doorways, in addition to light intensity, ramp angle, presence of corners, flooring changes and obstacles. Handling of pigs was video recorded and analysed.

The 10 farms observed had ramp inclines ranging from zero to 11 degrees (the maximum recommended incline is 20 degrees) and all worked well. Lighting levels on the farms varied considerably and the report recommends loading facilities be well lit, ideally with diffused incandescent lighting, which reduces contrasts and shadows.

“When moving into a new area such as the truck, lighting should ideally change from darker to lighter, as animals may balk if required to move into darkness,” the report states.

The researchers found using “manways” outside the movement alley (which allows handlers to move around and past the pigs without affecting their movement) improved both pig flow and handler safety. Also, the use of loading pens, where selected pigs are moved up to a week prior to shipping, reduced mixing stress at transport and made the loading process much faster and less stressful.

In terms of handling practices,

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group size was important, with small groups of five to 10 pigs being easier to move. A common distraction, which can cause pigs to slow, balk or turn back, is too many handlers, or handlers who get ahead of the pigs.

The researchers noted handler technique and attitude are very difficult to define and measure.

However, they recommended minimizing prod use, using behavioural principles such as the “flight zone,” and maintaining a calm and consistent attitude.

“Prod use on the farms observed was very low — in fact, the farm with highest prod use actually had the longest loading time,” the report stated. “This is because when the prod is used frequently, pigs become less capable of responding and attempt to turn back.”

This observation, measurement and analysis approach to commercial loading facilities has yielded a lot of very practical advice that will help producers to improve their own loading practices. It is a good example of research yielding benefits in the short term to the pork industry.

In my next article I will review some of the nutritional research results from the Prairie Swine Centre.

Bernie Peet is president of Pork Chain Consulting of Lacombe, Alberta, and editor of Western Hog Journal.

news Nominees sought for pollinator protector The Canadian Federation of Agriculture and the Pollinator Partnership, with support from the Canadian Honey Council, are looking for nominees for the 2012 Canadian Farmer-Rancher Pollinator Conservation Award.

This award recognizes an individual or family in the farm and ranch community in Canada who has contributed significantly to pollinator species protection and conservation on working and wild lands.

The recipients of the 2012 award will be recognized during an evening reception at the Canadian Embassy on Wednesday, October 13, 2012 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Washington, D.C., or in their hometown if they are unable to attend.

For details visit www.cfafca.ca/node/1835.

31

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

After drought blights crops, U.S. farmers face toxin threat NOT HELPFUL  Late-season rains could cause

nitrogen levels in stressed corn plants to spike

BY MICHAEL HIRTZER AND MEREDITH DAVIS REUTERS

T

he worst U.S. drought in five decades has parched the land and decimated crops. It now threatens to deal a second blow to farmers, who may have to throw out tonnes of toxic feed.

Growers are rushing to check the nitrate levels of that silage, the stalks and leaves that corn farmers often harvest to feed to locally raised cattle or hogs.

Agriculture groups are warning farmers that drought-hit plants may have failed to process nitrogen fertilizer due to stunted growth, making them poisonous to livestock.

Exceptionally early-spring planting has caused a crush of earlysummer requests for the tests.

Farmers are also expected to chop down a near-record swathe of their fields for silage to make up for this year’s poor yields.

“We’ve had a lot of walk-in business and normally we are not a walk-in business,” said Lola Manning, a 30-year employee of AgriKing, a laboratory that tests for nitrates and other toxins. “At this point it’s the busiest I’ve seen it.”

Manning said the facility, approved by the National Forage Testing Association, checked about 400 samples — roughly double the norm — in July.

So far, few samples have shown elevated levels of toxins, she said.

But late-season rains — far too tardy to help salvage the corn crop — could prompt mostly mature plants to draw even more nitrogen out of the soil and into the stalks.

“The tests are coming out OK but as soon as they have rain, the situation will change,” Manning said.

So far, so good

Two months of dry weather and high heat that stunted plants and shrivelled ears likely caused the absorption of excessive amounts of nitrogen, experts say. Instead of being distributed safely through the plant, the chemical built up in the lower portions of the stalk at potentially toxic levels.

Kenny Wagler, a dairy farmer in Nashville, Indiana who also farms

2,500 acres (1,000 hectares) of corn and pasture, is testing his corn for the first time since the last major drought in 1988.

“It’s almost never a factor,” said Wagler, who raises about 1,500 dairy cows and cattle, adding that he is testing this year on recommendation from his farm nutritionist.

Nearly half of what he typically harvests to sell as a cash corn crop will be cut for silage this year because most of the plants had no ears of grain.

In the worst-case scenario, silage with high levels of nitrate can be absorbed into an animal’s bloodstream, causing poisoning leading to death.

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Farmers are expected to harvest more of their corn crop for silage than usual this season due to poor yields, which are forecast by the USDA to be the lowest in 17 years.

As many as nine million acres — or nine per cent of the corn crop — may not be harvested for grain this year, according to USDA data released last week. That would be the most abandoned acres in a decade. Much of that will be used instead as silage.

At Agri-King in western Illinois, tests cost $8 per sample for nitrate.

Farmers are advised to take six stalks, chop them up and put them into a bag for testing.

Nitrate levels under 4,400 parts per million are considered safe while those over 15,000 ppm are considered potentially toxic and should not be fed to livestock, said Randy Shaver, extension dairy nutritionist at the University of Wisconsin.

At between 8,800 and 15,000 ppm, silage should be limited to less than half of the total feed ration and well fortified with minerals, data from that university showed.

However, acceptable nitrate levels vary slightly from state to state.

“We’ve had quite a few tests that have come in at 14,000 parts per million or higher, and that seems to come up after a rain,” said Travis Meteer, a beef extension specialist at the University of Illinois, one of several universities to issue bulletins about nitrates in silage in recent weeks.

A Smart Investment for Managing Farm Risk The AgriInvest program helps you manage small income declines on your farm. Each year, you can make a deposit into an AgriInvest account, and receive a matching contribution from federal, provincial and territorial governments. You can then withdraw the funds when you need them the most.

To benefit from the AgriInvest program for 2011 you must: • submit your 2011 AgriInvest form; • have or open an AgriInvest account at a participating financial institution of your choice; and • make your deposit to your AgriInvest account at your financial institution by the deadline shown on your AgriInvest Deposit Notice.

Application deadline for 2011 is September 30, 2012.

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However, your maximum matchable deposit will be reduced by 5% for each month (or part of the month) your application is received after September 30, 2012.

Read the latest ag news from across the province or across the nation at

Tom Lubbehusen, owner of Lubbehusen Farm, cuts and grinds the droughtaffected corn in the field on his farm to make feed for his cattle as the corn was damaged from drought condition in Dale, Indiana. Farmers are being advised to have their forage tested for high nitrate levels.

REUTERS/JOHN SOMMERS II

32

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

BRIEFS

GOOD DAY FOR FISHING

Two silhouetted fishers stroll the dam ridge about Chain Lakes, in southern Alberta.

Cargill to open $250-million poultry plant in China

PHOTO: WENDY DUDLEY

PHUKET, THAILAND / REUTERS Cargill is building one of China’s biggest broiler production facilities and expects to start raising and processing 65 million birds annually starting next summer.

The $250-million integrated chicken broiler facility in Anhui province includes a feed mill, farms, hatchery and processing plants.

China’s poultry industry is rapidly expanding with annual growth at five to six per cent, and experts say the country wants to modernize the sector the way it has in pork over the past two decades. China now accounts for half of the world’s pork production and consumption.

Brazilian ethanol exports to U.S. surge

Figured out how to maximize my yield - online.

SERTAOZINHO, BRAZIL / REUTERS Exports of Brazilian ethanol to the U.S. market are likely to grow, says sugar and ethanol analyst Datagro.

Brazilian exports of ethanol surged in July to 410 million litres, most of it going to the United States.

In previous months, exports were between 140 million and 64 million litres a month.

“This particular increase in July is a seasonal phenomenon,” said Datagro president Plinio Nastari.

Falling yields from Brazil’s cane crop has actually lowered ethanol output and driven up prices, but the U.S. drought is pushing up exports, Nastari said.

USDA supports energy crop facility

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Chemical and biofuels engineering company Chemtex has announced a partnership with enzyme manufacturer Novozymes and the United States Department of Agriculture to build a $99-million energy crop facility in North Carolina.

The USDA is providing a loan guarantee of $3.9 million under its Biomass Crop Assistance Program to support the establishment of more than 4,000 acres of miscanthus and switchgrass in North Carolina.

The feedstock will be part of the biomass supply for the facility, which is planned to produce 20 million gallons of ethanol a year.

Novozymes, the world’s largest manufacturer of enzymes, says the plant will use the same technology it is providing to a cellulosic ethanol plant in Italy due to open this year, and to three more planned for Brazil.

The North Carolina plant is slated to open in 2014.

33

}takeover

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

World food prices jump

China’s approval on Viterra awaited All necessary approvals from domestic and foreign antitrust authorities, except one, are now lined up behind Swiss commodity giant Glencore International’s friendly takeover bid for Canada’s biggest grain handler. The “sole remaining regulatory approval” is still to come from China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) under that country’s Anti-Monopoly Law, Viterra said Aug. 27. Viterra’s assets in China include a joint-venture investment in a canola-crushing facility, plus a trading office in Shanghai and a representative’s office in Beijing.

World food prices jumped 10 per cent in July as drought parched croplands in the United States and Eastern Europe, the World Bank said in a statement. From June to July, corn and wheat prices rose by 25 per cent each, soybean prices by 17 per cent, and only rice prices went down, by four per cent, the World Bank said. Overall, the World Bank’s Food Price Index, which tracks the price of internationally traded food commodities, was six per cent higher than in July of last year, and one per cent over the previous peak of February 2011. — Reuters

Lower-than-expected canola yields push prices higher Reversed } Canola in the unusual situation of being at a discount to soybeans

By Dwayne Klassen

commodity news service canada

O

nly small gains were experienced by canola contracts on the ICE Futures Canada platform during the week ended Aug. 31, although values did push towards highs not seen in some time.

Talk of lower-than-expected yields as the canola harvest advances across the Canadian Prairies provided some of the upward momentum as did the continued push to new all-time highs in CBOT soybean futures.

A jump in demand from domestic processors helped to generate support for canola, as did a slowdown in farmer deliveries into the cash pipeline. The drop in farmer movement was seen coming at a bad time, especially when the commercial elevator system is preparing to move large levels of canola to the West Coast to meet record export commitments over the next three months or so.

Any drop in farmer sales should in turn translate into some upward price movement in the cash pipeline until these commitments have been filled. There has also been a lot of talk of how canola is lagging the rally seen in CBOT soybeans, and in fact some feel the spread between the two, once the currency exchange between the two is removed, has widened to such a point, that canola is almost at a near-record discount rate to soybeans in the U.S. Normally canola trades at a premium to soybeans. Some have calculated canola’s discount to soybeans in the US$3.18-abushel range, and are of the belief that before the dust settles, the spread will widen to the US$3.50- or even US$4-perbushel area.

Right now the key to the strong premium soybeans have over canola is tied to the meal. There are few substitutes for soybean meal in the feed system, with the crush of the soybean providing a higher meal content than oil. With canola the opposite holds true.

However, with canola trading at such a discount, international end-users are expected to take notice, which in turn should attract even more attention to the commodity and help narrow that spread to some degree.

These end-users will be looking to canola for the oil content, with meal not the issue. The Sept. 7 stocks in all positions report (issued after this issue’s deadline) from Statistics Canada were expected be a factor in which market participants, who trade canola, will be watching closely.

Some wheat, no durum or barley

The milling wheat contract on the ICE Canada platform continued to see action during the reporting period with commercials again the main participants.

Some realigning of the October-December spreads was evident.

No actual trades were reported in the durum and barley contracts. In fact, the new barley contract has not seen any actual trades since the beginning of August.

Soybean futures at the CBOT pushed to new highs during the week with the strength continuing to be influenced by the fact that supplies of the commodity in the U.S. and across the globe are in short supply.

News during the reporting period that U.S. soybean yields will be lower than anticipated, also added to the upward momentum. The steady rise in soy-

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

bean futures also reflected the strong demand that is coming from the export and domestic sectors, despite the recordhigh prices.

China and Taiwan appear to desperately need soybeans and are paying up at these values in order to secure supplies.

However, there have been some suggestions that China will likely end up cancelling some of these purchases sometime before Christmas when alternative soybean supplies become available.

The domestic crush pace in the U.S. also does not appear to be slowing down, with these processors trying to lock up enough stocks in order to meet the meal demand component. The taking of profits and the need to undergo downward corrections prevented CBOT soybeans from making a straight line to higher-price territory.

Some boost from Isaac?

Sentiment that some of the precipitation from Hurricane Isaac, lately reduced to a tropical storm, would benefit some lateseeded soybeans or the double-seeded soybean crops, further limited some of the price strength. Corn futures on the CBOT again moved to both sides of the plus/minus line during the reporting period.

The commodity was left mostly to the mercy of the price movement in both wheat and soybeans, although the tight supply situation did keep a firm floor under values.

Demand for U.S. corn from the domestic and export sectors continues to be non-existent, which in turn restricted the upward price action. There continues to

be all kinds of stories about the U.S. livestock industry turning to Western Canada in order to fill feed requirements. With the price of U.S. corn these days, they are finding it cheaper, even with the transportation cost factored in, to bring in the Canadian feed.

The enquiries from the U.S. are just not confined to a Canadian province, but have been reported in all three. Wheat futures on the CBOT, MGEX and KCBT experienced a push to the upside during the week, with some of that upward price action linked to values correcting after a series of declines. Some of the upward price action in U.S. wheat values also came from speculation that the Russian government would suspend its wheat export program on Aug. 31 at a special meeting.

The suspension of that country’s exports was linked to the production problems with its wheat crop. The rumours in turn sparked a rally in wheat values, as wheat importers would then have to turn to the U.S. to fill needs. However, being true to form, the meeting on Aug. 31 came and went, with the Russian government deciding there was no need to curtail its wheat export program.

The advances in U.S. wheat values in turn were promptly reversed. The arrival of much needed precipitation in the U.S. Winter Wheat Belt further restricted the upside in wheat futures. The rain was timely, coming just ahead of the planting of the U.S. winter wheat crop.

Dwayne Klassen writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg-based marketreporting agency.

34

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Hog market gets slaughtered, as prices fall to a 20-month low CHART PATTERNS  Technical analyst says there were

signals of a sharp drop at the end of July

BY DAVID DROZD

L

ast month I talked about the record-high price of corn and soybeans. As much as this is exciting news to grain producers, especially those fortunate to have a crop, this has been devastating for hog producers.

Near-record-high feed costs and a slowing economy are forcing hog producers in China to sell their herds. Liquidation is also occurring in North America, as producers decide to get out of the business and preserve their equity. With barns aging, many producers are simply retiring.

Animals shipped are heavier than normal and the trade anticipates this may lead to a backlog of heavy animals to still come to market. The Labour Day long weekend signals an end to the summer barbecue season, and demand traditionally slows.

There will be better hog prices in the future, once the exodus is over, but the daunting question for many hog producers remains, “Can I afford to ride out the storm?”

This is a difficult question to answer and it is one that each hog producer must determine

for themselves. This creates a great deal of stress on the owneroperators. After all, this is their livelihood, with many operations having been passed down from one generation to the next.

It dismays me to hear about the rare and unfortunate incidents in which some of these decent law-abiding folks are treated like criminals for failing to look after their animals. It is unfortunate there isn’t a little more compassion for their plight.

Having grown up on the farm, co-managed a successful family farm operation for 17 years, and having worked in the agricultural community all my life, I have

seen what financial stress can do to our rural neighbours.

This is in part the reason I founded Ag-Chieve Corporation 10 years ago — to ease farmers’ stress as it relates to their risk management and marketing strategies.

Sell signal

For example, I’ve illustrated in the accompanying chart the two-day reversal (sell signal) that developed on July 31, 2012.

Hog producers who realized the price was about to drop could take action to minimize their exposure to price risk before prices plunged another $10

per hundredweight through August.

The two-day reversal is just one of numerous chart patterns that signal an abrupt change in trend. When these reversal patterns occur at a new high for a move or at an area of resistance, they take on a greater degree of prominence.

This particular two-day reversal occurred as prices approached an area of resistance between $83 and $84, which was the high in June and July. When the minor rally (bounce) failed to exceed $83, the downtrend resumed.

Two-day reversal

On the first day, the market advances to a new high for the move and settles near the high of the day. On the second day, prices open unchanged to slightly higher but cannot make additional upside progress. Quantity selling quickly appears early in the day to stall the advance and prices begin to erode. By day’s end, the market drops to around the preceding day’s low and settles at or near that level.

The two-day reversal is a 180-degree turn in sentiment.

On the first day the longs are comfortable and confident. The market’s performance provides encouragement and the expectation for greater profits.

The second day’s activity is a complete turnaround from the preceding day and shakes the confidence of many who are still long the market. The immediate outlook for prices is abruptly put in question. Longs respond to weakening prices by exiting the market.

By studying the ebb and flow of the market and by watching for reversal patterns, technical analysis can prove to be a useful tool for hog producers when it comes to locking in prices before the market turns down.

Send your questions or comments about this article and chart to info@ag-chieve.ca.

David Drozd is president and senior market analyst for Winnipegbased Ag-Chieve Corporation.

The opinions expressed are those of the writer and are solely intended to assist readers with a better understanding of technical analysis. Visit Ag-Chieve online at www.ag-chieve.ca for information about grain-marketing advisory services, or call us toll free at 1-888-274-3138 for a free consultation.

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Call for ritual slaughter ban slammed

AMSTERDAM / REUTERS Israel’s leading rabbi has warned Dutch populist politician Geert Wilders that his WITH OUR CURRENT INVENTORY party’s support for a ban of ritual slaughter of animals AND THE 100’S WE HAVE ON ORDER, in the Netherlands is “antiOLDS MOUNTAIN VIEW DODGE IS Semitic” and could drive THE DODGE TRUCK SUPERSTORE away the country’s Jewish community.

MacDon Industries Ltd. Wilders rose to prominence in the Netherlands would like to send sincere As alumni or students of Olds College, denouncing the growing you can enjoy preferred group rates on home congratulations to the influence of Islam in the and auto insurance.

West, calling for a ban faculty, students, and TD Insurance Meloche Monnex wishes against Muslim immigrants, Olds College a memorable 100th Anniversary. alumni of Olds College. a halt to construction of Get an online quote at mosques, and a ban on www.melochemonnex.com/oc Muslim face veils. or call 1-866-352-6187 Some of his most outspoken supporters are in the conservative, proIsraeli movement in the U.S. Wilders calls himself Congratulations on a century The TD Insurance Meloche Monnex home and auto insurance program is underwritten by Israel’s “greatest friend” SECURITY NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY. of real-life, hands-on learning!

The TD logo and other trade-marks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank or a and has proposed creating wholly-owned subsidiary, in Canada and/or other countries. a national Dutch holiday to commemorate the victims of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

04-MM8891-12_MMI.EN•special ad_oc (4.6x2.4).indd 1 12-07-04 7:40 AM But his call for a ban on ritual slaughter prompted strong criticism from Chief Province : Alberta Épreuve # : 2 Projet : Annonce MMI 2012 Rabbi Yona Metzger.

For more information on how Publication : Alberta Farmer News Focus Client : Meloche Monnex you can show your support in Date de tombée : 05/07/12 “It is obvious that one cannot be at the same time Format 4.6x2.4contact: this :space No de dossier : a friend of Israel and the 04-MM8891-12_MMI.EN•special ad_oc (4.6x2.4) Couleur : Quad Graphiste : Yannick Decosse Join all of us at Alberta Farmer Express as we extend our most sincere Tiffiny Taylor Jewish people and on the congratulations to Olds College on 100 yearsHamelin of excellence in boul. education. other hand support an antiMartineau • 505, de Maisonneuve O. Bureau tiffi 300ny.taylor@fbcpublishing.com • Montréal (Québec) H3A 3C2 • T : 514 842 4416 F : 514 844 9343 Jewish law,” Metzger wrote.

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35

} forecasts

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

El NiÑo short and weak

Drought lessens

Reuters El Niño weather conditions have emerged but will likely be weak and short lived, New Zealand scientists said Sept. 4. El Niño is a warming of sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific that occurs every four to 12 years.

“Borderline El Niño conditions are present in the tropical Pacific, and a weak short-lived El Niño is predicted for the spring and summer periods,” the National Institute of Water and Atmosphere said in its latest climate outlook.

REUTERS The worst U.S. drought in a half-century loosened its grip on the Midwest in the past week, helped by rain and cooler temperatures, but the drought grew more dire in the northern Plains, a report said Aug. 30. The improved Midwest weather arrived too late for crops in major farm states such as Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. The portion of the contiguous United States suffering from at least “severe” drought fell to 42.34 per cent from 44.03 per cent over the prior week, according to the Drought Monitor.

Warm, wet summer warmer than average } Almanac predicts warm September and November as well

by daniel bezte

F

or many of us, summer has now come and gone. That is, if you consider summer to run from June through the end of August. Looking back at the summer of 2012 across Alberta, we could quickly sum it up as being warmer than average over nearly all regions, and near to above average for precipitation across all areas, except for the far north. Environment Canada is still having issues with weather data for a number of locations across Alberta, but thanks to the good work being done at Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development there are very good summary maps of both temperature and precipitation data for agricultural Alberta.

I have included two maps that show temperature and precipitation patterns this summer (maps cover the time period from May 28 through to August 26). The first map shows the average daily temperature during this period as compared to the long-term normal or average. The advantage of this type of map is that it makes it relatively easy to see which regions experienced warmerthan-average temperatures (orange, pinks, and reds) and those regions that saw coolerthan-average temperatures (different shades of blue). The green regions saw near-average temperatures. Another interesting feature of this map is that it gives you the frequency of how often you should expect these types of temperatures to occur.

For example, near-normal temperatures (light green) should occur once every three years, extremely warm conditions (bright red) can be expected to occur once in every 25 to 50 years.

A quick look at the map shows us that a good portion of the northern and Peace River regions saw warm to extremely warm conditions this summer, with some areas even seeing heat that occurs less than once in 50 years. Farther south, most regions were moderately to very warm, with only a few areas seeing near-normal temperatures.

The second map shows precipitation amounts as compared to the long-term average. This map easily shows how nearly all

Map 1: Average daily temperature May 28 through to August 26 as compared to the long-term normal or average.

Map 2: Precipitation amounts as compared to the long-term average.

Environment Canada is calling for the mild weather to continue, as all of Alberta is expecting to see above-average temperatures from September through to November. ©thinkstock

of agricultural Alberta saw nearto above-average amounts of precipitation this summer. Only the far northern areas reported moderately low to low amounts of precipitation. The wettest region was the central region, where some areas reported precipitation amounts expected to occur less than once in 50 years.

Now it’s time to take a look ahead to see what the different forecasters are predicting for this fall’s weather. Environment

Canada is calling for the mild weather to continue, as all of Alberta is expecting to see aboveaverage temperatures from September through to November.

Precipitation is not as well defined, but overall, EC is calling for near- to below-average amounts during this time period.

Over at the Old Farmer’s Almanac they are also calling for above-average temperatures in September and November,

with near-average temperatures in October. Precipitation according to them will be near average this fall. The Canadian Farmers Almanac is singing a little different tune for this fall. They appear to be calling for near- to above-average temperatures in September as they mention fair and pleasant several times. Temperatures then look to cool down to near or even slightly below average in October as they mention

fair and cold a few times. This cooling trend looks to continue into November as it seems that it will be a colder-than-average month with several mentions of cold or turning colder. Precipitation this fall according to the Canadian Farmers Almanac will be near average for September and above average for October and November. For November they mention snow several times and call for heavy snows late in the month.

36

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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