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F E B RUA RY 1 8 , 2 0 1 3

New draft beef code of practice key to dodging ‘doubt grenades’ COUNTERING PERCEPTIONS  Panel discussion addresses need to end the livestock industry’s bunker mentality

Ryder Lee (l to r) of NFACC, Dr. Jim Clark of CFIA, Dr. Joe Stookey of the Unversity of Saskatchewan and Scott Entz, vice-president at Cargill, discuss animal welfare trends at the Manitoba Beef Producers annual meeting. PHOTO: DANIEL WINTERS

BY DANIEL WINTERS STAFF / BRANDON, MAN.

W

ith everything from multimillion-dollar budgets and legions of fanatical supporters, animal activists have a lot of tools at their disposal for turning the public off of beef.

But by far the most potent weapon in their arsenal of clandestine YouTube videos and Twitter tweets is what Ryder Lee calls the “doubt grenade.” Instead of hurling shards of white-hot metal in every direction, this kind of ordnance can inflict lasting damage by casting suspicion from every angle.

“If we get doubt grenades going off on consumers, they are going to buy something else, pork or chicken or maybe not meat at

all,” said Lee, manager of federal provincial relations for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and a member of the National Farm Animal Care Council.

Lee was part of a panel discussing animal welfare issues at the Manitoba Beef Producers annual meeting here last week.

“If it goes off at the retail level, they are going to start telling us what we have to do different. If that grenade goes off at government, they are going to make us change with legislation and regulation.”

The “pink slime” debacle is one example of the carnage that can turn a once-thriving industry — the lean finely textured beef processing sector — into a instant casualty.

Most ranchers would prefer to “keep their heads down and

SWITCHED SIDES:

ranch,” said Lee, but NFACC is trying to head off future fiascos and “retain our social licence to keep raising cattle” via its updated Beef Code of Practice, the draft version of which is open to online comment until March 8.

“It’s a little dusty,” said Lee. “It was done in 1991, so it’s time to renew it.”

Dr. Joe Stookey, an animal behaviourist from University of Saskatchewan, observed that people on both sides of the issue are naturally inclined to think that their own viewpoint is “right” and those with opposing views are either “less enlightened,” or “naive, fanatical or crazy.”

In the case of urbanites especially, perception tends to follow cataclysmic shifts due to cases of “public outrage.” For the ranching

community, a shift has occurred more gradually.

Changing views

“Tough questions” from over 80 students a year over two decades has caused Stookey — who comes from a typical farming background — to shift in his own stance on issues such as dehorning.

“Has our view shifted over time, or are we locked in?” asked Stookey.

Dr. Jim Clark of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said animal transport regulations are the current lightning rod for change.

Of the 18 petitions received by Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz’s office since 2009, 11 were aimed at transport rules, and in 2012, over 900 letters on the same topic filled his mailbox.

“Has our view shifted over time, or are we locked in?”

DR. JOE STOOKEY

That, and new OIE standards, are driving a modernization of the transport regulations that have remained unchanged since the 1970s.

For example, Clark noted that Canada’s rules governing the time animals in transport can go

SEE BEEF CODE  page 6

FORMER FOE NOW PREACHES GM GOSPEL  PAGE 7

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NEWS » INSIDE THIS WEEK

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INSIDE » ROYAL TREATMENT FOR ALL Even Charles and William see subsidy cuts

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

LIVESTOCK

CROPS

NAME THE BAD APPLES

FABULOUS FABA BEANS

COLUMNISTS BRENDA SCHOEPP URBAN FARMING TIES CITY FOLKS TO THEIR FOOD SUPPLY

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DANIEL BEZTE CHECKING IF THE OLD-TIMERS ARE RIGHT ABOUT WINTER

WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT BANK Funding secures cold storage for crop genetics

Animal fats not so bad after all?

RETHINKING ADVICE 

Study raises questions about dietary fats and heart disease guidance

F

or several decades, substituting vegetable for animal fats has been the standard advice for preventing heart disease. But a new study published on the British Medical Journal website bmj.com suggests otherwise.

Vegetable oils are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), of which the most common in western diets is omega-6 linoleic acid.

British dietary recommendations are cautious about high intakes of omega-6 PUFAs, but some other health authorities, including the American Heart Association, have recently repeated advice to maintain, and even to increase, intake of omega-6 PUFAs. However, the study says an indepth analysis of the effects of linoleic acid on deaths from coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease has not previously been possible because data from the Sydney Diet Heart Study — a randomized controlled trial conducted from 1966 to 1973 — was missing.

A team of researchers from the U.S. and Australia has recovered and analyzed the original data from this trial.

Their analysis involved 458 men aged 30-59 years who had recently had a coronary event.

Participants were randomly divided into two groups.

The intervention group was instructed to reduce saturated fats (from animal fats, common margarines and shortenings) to less than 10 per cent of energy intake and to increase linoleic acid (from safflower oil and safflower oil polyunsaturated margarine) to 15 per cent of energy intake.

The results show that the omega-6 linoleic acid group had a higher risk of death from all causes, as well as from cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease, compared with the control group.

In an accompanying editorial, Professor Philip Calder from the University of Southampton says the new analysis of these old data “provides important information about the impact of high intakes of omega-6 PUFAs, in particular linoleic acid, on cardiovascular mortality at a time when there is considerable debate on this question.”

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ROY LEWIS

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LIS wants to know about problem dealers

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Easy to grow but not so easy to find markets

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SURVEY SHOWS PREVALENT TREATMENTS FOR CALF DISEASES

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‘Vatorologists’ hope to give structure a new life and new home ON THE MOVE  History enthusiasts want to move an

old elevator to a historic park near Stirling

BY JOHNNIE BACHUSKY AF CONTRIBUTOR/WRENTHAM

T

wo men with a devotion for the past are hoping to translate their enthusiasm into a living example of how grain used to be handled in hundreds of towns across the Prairies.

Jason Sailer and Cody Kapcsos hope to move former Ogilvie Mills grain elevator here 33 miles to the Galt Historic Railway Park.

Sailer is a director with the Great Canadian Plains Railway Society that oversees the operations of the park north of Stirling. Kapcsos is a heritage enthusiast and artifact collector who for several years has spent most of his weekends documenting and photographing forgotten western Canadian ghost towns and their derelict and fading structures.

“I believe it is very important to save the elevator not only for future generations but for past generations, pioneers and settlers who helped build these amazing structures,” said Kapcsos. “For us to just watch the eventual extinction of the country elevator will be a crying shame as a rich part of agricultural history will be lost.”

In Alberta alone, there were 1,755 country wooden elevators in 1934. With the advent of new grain-handling techniques, coupled with a multitude of corporate takeovers and government regulatory changes to the grain industry, the number has since been reduced to about 120. In Alberta, only 32 of the old wooden structures have escaped the wrecking ball.

Sailer said he recalls taking trips to local elevators with his dad in a ’65 Chevy oneton grain truck to the local Alberta Pool Elevator in Dunmore near Medicine Hat. “But as the years went by and as I grew up, they (local elevators) slowly disappeared — one, two, and then three. All that remained were bare lots.”

The demolition of country elevators accelerated during the 1990s when Kapcsos was a toddler. After moving to Stirling with his family in 1994, his father took him on walks and trips to nearby towns.

He remembers gazing up at the old grain elevators and being awestruck by their classic rustic and noble beauty.

“My dad used to say they were ‘watchers over the towns’ because they were almost always at the town’s edge and brought great prosperity to it when the community was lucky enough to have such a large cluster of them,” said Kapcsos, who still lives in Stirling.

“Vatorologists”

Preserving the “vator,” as it is often called by elevator enthusiasts who are also known as vatorologists, is now of paramount importance to both Sailer

Cody Kapcsos (l) and Jason Sailer are spearheading the efforts to save the 88-year-old Wrentham country grain elevator by moving it 33 kilometres west to the Galt Historic Railway Park, north of Stirling. PHOTO: KIKO YUTRAGO and Kapcsos. Their attention is focused on the 32,000-bushel Ogilvie Flour Mills elevator that was built in Wrentham in 1925. It was closed in 1959 and then sold to local farmer Wesley Kuehn. The project to move the elevator has the blessing of Wesley’s son Harold Kuehn, the current owner.

Sailer and Kapcsos want to raise enough money through its newly formed Southern Alberta Grain Elevator Society (SAGES) to move the relic to the Galt Historic Railway Park where it will stand proudly over the historic 123-year-old Coutts Sweetgrass Station.

The estimated cost, however, is high.

Sailer said SAGES requires between $50,000 to $100,000 to move the elevator.

An additional $55,000 would be needed to renovate the elevator, its annex and the accompanying office.

“The elevator would fit in well with the railway park as it was in the same time period as the train station, so each can complement each other,” said Sailer, adding the elevator will be used as an educational tool and to host public tours and be a central attraction for special events.

For more information on SAGES’s efforts to save the Wrentham grain elevator visit the Facebook page, Wrentham Elevator Move.

Johnnie Bachusky is an SAGES board member and a Red Deer journalist and author www.nobleghosts.com

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Federal government appoints independent panel to investigate beef recall REVIEW  Investigation right move: ABP

BY VICTORIA PATERSON AF STAFF/CALGARY

A

n independent panel will investigate the circumstances surrounding last fall’s E. coli outbreak at the XL Foods Brooks plant. The federal government announced the panel on February 8. Dr. Ronald Lewis, the former chief veterinary officer and director of the Animal Health Branch for B.C. will be the chair. Dr. Ronald Usborne, the current chief public health officer for the Northwest Territories and Dr. Andre Corriveau, the retired vice-president of quality assurance, food safety, for Caravelle Foods, round out the team.

“I think this will do a better job of what can be done better, and that’s really what we’re all trying to learn.”

RICH SMITH

“We take the safety of Canada’s food supply very seriously, and we remain committed to the continuous improvement of Canada’s strong food safety systems that allow Canadian consumers to shop with confidence,” said federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz in a statement.

According to the press release, the review’s scope will look at three things. The first is an examination of the events and factors that contributed to the outbreak, which led to a massive beef recall. The circumstances reviewed will include food safety-preventive control programs, inspection policies and protocols and the flow of information between the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and its partners, including XL Foods and foreign regulators.

The second area of review will consider whether the CFIA or XL Foods could have “reasonably” detected the contamination before the beef entered the market. The third is a review of the effectiveness of the CFIA’s response in conjunction with other “food safety system partners” like XL Foods and foreign. The response includes everything from prevention to incident management to communication between the partners and the public. Ritz said in his statement the review is to be made public.

Though the announcement was already known to the Alberta Beef Producers (ABP), executive director Rich Smith said it’s still good news. “We were hoping that the government would conduct a thorough and independent review,” he said. The group is happier with the independent panel instead of an internal review, which was an idea that was floated. “I think this will do a better job of what can be done better, and that’s really what we’re all trying to learn,” he said.

ABP had joined with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association in calling for the independent review and submitting specific questions about the incident. Smith said he felt the scope of the review as laid out by the federal government likely would address those questions.

Alberta Agriculture Minister Verlyn Olson’s press secretary said the minister is pleased to see the review moving forward.

“We’re happy to see that the federal government, through Agriculture Canada as well as the CFIA, are continuing their work to find out just what happened,” said Cathy Housdorff. She said while at the time of the recall the minister was focused on getting the concerns fixed and the plant reopened, he felt an investigation should come at a later time. While the review is in the jurisdiction of the federal government, Housdorff said Olson describes Alberta as “aggressive observers” and he’s in close touch with his federal counterpart.

“We’re observers and we have confidence in the federal government,” she said. “We will certainly see the results of it.”

The irrigation industry sees the process as a chance to tell its story.

FILE PHOTO

Alberta government wants your say on water FOUR GROUPS  Opinions sought on lakes, drinking water and

water treatment, water management and fracking

BY HELEN MCMENAMIM

AF CONTRIBUTOR/LETHBRIDGE

T

he Alberta government wants your opinions on water. It’s preparing a questionnaire, holding meetings across the province and putting a booklet and questionnaire on the Internet to give Albertans a chance to have their say on water issues.

Alberta Environment says it is open to looking into any issue people want to bring forward, but it’s divided the main issues into four groups: lakes, drinking water and water treatment, water management and fracking. The government sees several possible options and it’s looking for input on each.

Shannon Frank, executive director of the Oldman Water Council (OWC), says she hopes everyone has a chance to have a say in the process. “We have faith that the government is open-minded and truly looking for policy direction,” she said.

“The government has some ideas it wants to bring in and it wants to test the reaction.”

The OWC takes a holistic approach finding balance among competing interests from camping, grazing, and logging in headwaters areas to farming and urban issues on the prairie.

Ron McMullin, executive director of Alberta Irrigation Projects Association, said he also supports the process. He sees an opportunity for the irrigation industry to tell people the good it does and also give it a firm foundation for future success. “The government has been promising us something like this for quite a long time,” he says. “It’s always positive when people get together to understand and appreciate other’s views. And, for any business, uncertainty is the worst possible situation. We need clarification to manage and invest, and that means getting together to clarify rules and guidelines.”

Four issues

On fracking, the most controversial issue, the government plans more monitoring, more transparency and asks for suggestions that would enable continued fracking and safeguard our water supplies. Policies that address the storage or disposal of contaminated water recovered from fracking are needed.

Drinking water and waste water treatment issues include high and increasing costs and the lack of trained and knowledgeable people to run the systems. The government is looking for input on the financing of water systems and pipelines to communities around major centres.

Alberta Environment suggests a lake management framework might provide transparent funding and guidelines for management for healthy lakes would be consistent across the province.

The province also wants input on raising the standards for septic systems and increased land use regulation.

On water management, the province suggests a variation of the water-allocation discussions proposed a few years ago. Protection of water needed to meet the ecological needs of major rivers, as has been done for the South Saskatchewan River Basin is suggested. The province acknowledges transboundary agreements and that water transfers between major river drainages would require an act of the legislature.

No changes to FITFIR (first-in-time, first-inright) licence rights are proposed, but the need for conservation incentives and productive use of limited water resources is among the talking points.

Other points for discussion are simpler transfers of water-licence rights and using regional plans to tailor water management to each region’s needs.

Yield potential

Get the advantage of outstanding yield potential with Genuity® roundup ready® systems. in field scale trials conducted by Monsanto, a number of Genuity® roundup ready® hybrids yielded on par with invigor® libertylink® hybrids.* www.genuitycanola.ca

*Monsanto Field Scale trials conducted in 2010 and 2011. Always follow grain marketing and all other stewardship practices and pesticide label directions. Details of these requirements can be found in the Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers printed in this publication.

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FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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

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

Trade talks seem to be going according to the EU script

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

PRODUCTION director Shawna Gibson Email: shawna@fbcpublishing.com

Beef access } The EU may prefer to source it from new members,

Director of Sales & Circulation

not from offshore

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

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R

ecent news that the European Union (EU) and Canada free trade negotiations are at the final hour, but have stalled on agriculture-related issues should come as no surprise. Both sides maintained rigid ag trade positions well before the discussions started four years ago. Negotiations on the topic seemed to be carefully dodged as other non-agricultural concerns were resolved.

During that time it was amusing to see Canadian agricultural lobby groups jockeying for the attention of our trade negotiators in an effort to influence their intentions on the fate of particular commodities. We may soon know that outcome as the chief EU trade negotiator will be in Ottawa in early February to ostensibly conclude the negotiations. If that happens I fear that certain sectors of Canadian agriculture will get the short end of the stick.

The reason for apprehension is that when it comes to ag trade issues it seems to be all going according to the EU script, the most blatant being on beef trade. The EU won the early rounds and shows no signs of wavering, and that’s mostly due to Canada and the U.S. giving up so easily and so naively. I cite the capitulation of both countries on the beef hormone issue in giving up hard-fought-for retaliatory tariffs for what turned out to be bogus quota access to the EU beef market.

Another reality is that the EU has no intention of giving Canada a single pound of beefimport advantage over the U.S. and certainly not over traditional suppliers like Argentina.

It gets worse for more beef access when the EU internal geopolitical process gets involved. First some background. The accepted notion in the past was that as EU beef production decreased a new market would open up for North American beef.

That decrease was coming from less subsi-

dization of EU cattle and beef production and a steady increase in onerous environmental and regulatory hurdles, all of which was making EU production too expensive.

However, a new development — EU expansion — changed that accepted trade progression. New EU members brought into the fold thousands of small-scale farmers in eastern Europe. Clearly internal EU agricultural free trade was going to impact those operators, particularly those in marginal areas. The question arose of how could those folks be kept on the land. One of the brainstorms was to get them to raise the beef cattle that western Europeans could no longer afford to produce. How does one help that initiative?

First you stop or thwart the potential flood of beef imports from North America that might result from reducing tariffs and eliminating quotas in a free trade agreement. This type of EU internal political/social reality may trump any real changes to EU beef-import policy.

Five years ago while on a media junket to EU headquarters I discussed the beef import situation with the then-EU agriculture commissioner. At the time he stated that the EU would never change its position on the beef hormone issue no matter what the WTO decided. He also stated that the EU would never allow tariff- or quota-free North American beef into the EU. So far devious EU trade manipulators have outfoxed both Canada and the U.S. on both accounts. It seems their script is being followed.

I suspect that our negotiators have probably offered the EU significant access for tariff- and quota-free EU cheese imports in exchange for more Canadian beef access. But that may not be enough of a reward considering some other factors surrounding EU beef imports, a possible EU/U.S. free trade agreement being the snake in the room. I expect a EU/Canada free trade agreement will be announced soon, but it will probably not include unfettered access to EU markets for Canadian beef. That’s not in the EU longrange script for agriculture in their market.

You can expect some fiddling around the edges of present tariffs and quotas, but nothing close to what should be in place.

If the EU does relent, it has a nasty habit of subsequently tying up any concessions with red tape, health barriers and regulatory traps. The fear I am sure is that Canada will agree to any crumbs on the beef issue just to get a freetrade agreement in place before the EU begins negotiating with the Americans. Perhaps Canada will agree if we also receive any trade concessions on beef that the Americans will subsequently get from the EU. Another trade irritant that seems to get a lot less public attention is the EU position on genetically modified (GM) commodities such as canola, corn, soybeans and others.

The EU continues to maintain trade barriers despite all scientific evidence. Is that because our negotiators gave up on that issue early in the process? I would suggest that unfettered access to Canadian GM commodities and food products would be more of an economic benefit than more beef access. In the bigger picture, it’s EU intransigence on genetic engineering that thwarts the development of GM wheat, potatoes, rice and others that could make such a huge difference to viable food production in every part of the arable world. Interestingly the EU does permit some GM ingredients in cheese production, but I digress.

From news reports and government pronouncements I sense some urgency has developed in concluding the EU/Canada freetrade agreement sooner rather than later. When that attitude develops in negotiating circles, compromise and concession tend to be the order of the day. That generally works out OK if both sides are somewhat equal. But in this case the EU is the big dog and they want to start dealing soon with that really big dog — the U.S. I suspect in that rush, Canada and our agriculture industry may not fare as well as we might have planned. I do hope I am wrong.

A curious case of double standard

T

here seems to be a double standard between lettuce and beef when it comes to reporting foodborne pathogens. An incident last summer seems outrageous considering the cavalier approach of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the lack of any reporting by the mainstream media. The fact that this may the first time you read about an E. coli 157 outbreak on leafy lettuce indicates how this issue has been ignored.

It gets worse — government documents only recently released state that an elderly Calgary woman died from the lettuce E.coli 157 outbreak last summer.

Clearly the lettuce outbreak was overshadowed by the XL Foods outbreak. City and national news media went ballistic over that with over-the-top coverage. It would seem that getting E. coli 157 from eating beef is just a lot more sexy and newsworthy than getting it from lettuce.

One ponders why authorities kept news of the E. coli lettuce death covered up for so long. It would be safe to assume that had this person died from eating contaminated beef the news would have been made public sooner and helped fan the media storm.

Three got sick in Calgary and 23 in other parts of the country from the lettuce outbreak. It takes a lot fewer than those numbers for the media to go wild on a beef outbreak.

So what did the CFIA do when the lettuce outbreak occurred?

It’s hard to determine. One would have expected that the CFIA would have closed the border to any more green leafy lettuce products from the California company involved in the outbreak.

That’s what American border officials did to any meat products from XL Foods when they discovered E. coli 157 in a shipment.

No the CFIA did not stop any further imports, which probably made the problem worse. What the CFIA relied upon was a voluntary recall of some of the suspect lettuce by the exporting company. That was it — no mass recall of all the company’s products across Canada. The CFIA took draconian action against XL Foods products, but not against the lettuce-importing company. Why the double standard — are the human consequences from E. coli 157 less severe from lettuce than from beef ?

One expects that there must be testing in place for lettuce and other produce. Well yes and no — there is testing for E. coli but it is not mandatory and seems to be applied on a random basis. What the CFIA relies on is the Leafy Green Marketing Agreement. It lays out sanitation standards and handling protocols to reduce foodborne pathogens. The problem is that it’s voluntary and administered by the industry itself. Imagine the howls of protest if such a loose arrangement existed in the meat-processing industry.

One could say that comparing the two situations is like comparing apples and oranges. That would be true except that the consequences for both are the same — people get sick from the same foodborne pathogen. On the one hand we have a robust compulsory testing and inspection system for meat products, but on the other we have a mediocre monitoring system with no compulsion for vegetable products. There should be no difference when human health is at stake. But apparently for our regulatory officials and mainstream media there is a difference. Think about that the next time you chow down on your favourite salad.

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Post-monopoly reflections on the new age of grain marketing OK so far } Just how accurate were those horror stories about grain marketing post-CWB monopoly?

By Les McEwan

M

uch has been written about how farmers will market their grains in the post-single-desk world. Horror stories abound about how the grain companies won’t take the CWB contracts until they have filled their own, pools won’t reflect fair market prices, and farmers won’t have the expertise to market in the new climate.

Now that we have a few months’ experience under our belts, just how accurate were those stories?

In my own case, the changes have been a little anti-climatic. We operate on a four-year rotation, and half of my acreage has been in off-board crops anyway, so playing in the open market really isn’t new territory. What I do see different this year is the amount of influence outside forces are having on the trade but that could be said for all markets, not just grains.

Our wheat sales in recent years have been a combination of pooling and fixed price contracts, and we’ve been very happy with the returns we’ve been able to extract through our board sales. Unfortunately fixed price contracts were one of the first fatalities at the new CWB, so we have replaced those with occasional private contracts.

Have we stayed in the pools?

Absolutely, and it has more to do with marketing strategy than allegiance.

Many producers have been so caught up in the CWB debate in the last two years that emotions have gotten ahead of management decisions. When all the arguing subsides and the dust settles, the CWB has historically returned above-average prices to its producers. Point blank, the CWB has been an effective marketer, and if it can continue to do that in the current atmosphere, pooling is still a viable option.

Did the farmer who sold his entire crop in last fall’s market at $9.25 per bushel do better than the pool? Probably, but like most farmers, I haven’t been in the habit of selling the year’s production at harvest. By participating in the Harvest Pool I have at least captured a portion of that market. By keeping 50 to 70 per cent of production in the pool, I know that I am going to receive an above-average price for that portion of the crop, and with this year’s prices, costs are more than covered. The remaining bushels allow me to play with short-term spikes in the market and allow me to capture extra profits should they occur.

Of course the big disclaimer in that paragraph is “if they should occur,” which takes us back to what analysts refer to as the “black swans” circling over our heads. Weather issues, inaccuracies in stocks reporting, unstable money markets, unstable governments, and buyer reluctance are all weighing heavy on the minds

Do I think the funds are coming back into the market? Absolutely, but that being said, I am 70 per cent sold, so I am not betting the farm on it.

of the speculative funds, and we need those funds to be actively participating if the market is going to climb above nearby levels.

More highs coming?

Do I think the funds are coming back into the market? Absolutely, but that being said, I am 70 per cent sold, so I am not betting the farm on it.

Analysts tell us that there are still big stocks of unpriced wheat in the countryside. Farmers holding out for the top dollar in the market is understandable, but hanging on nto grain because they were afraid $9.25 wasn’t the top isn’t marketing. That’s gambling.

And if you are gambling with 100 per cent of your production, you need to ask yourself if that’s really the best marketing plan.

February 14 was ‘Food Freedom Day’ in Canada Conserve } CFA suggested serving ‘waste-not forget-me-nots’

for your Valentine’s Day celebration Canadian Federation of Agriculture release

C

oined Food Freedom Day by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), February 14 was the calendar date when the average Canadian will have earned enough income to pay his or her grocery bill for the entire year.

“Food Freedom Day is a chance to acknowledge the abundant, safe and secure food supply we enjoy in Canada. It can also serve as a time to consider our individual role and impact we have in the food system, whether that be as a consumer, farmer, processor or retailer,” said CFA president Ron Bonnett.

“While Canadian farmers are making continuous efforts to improve productivity, there are

several angles to sustainability to consider. The sustainability of our food supply and making our dollar go as far as possible is a concern we all share and a solution we can all be a part of. One way we can have significant impact is in reducing food loss at the production and consumption level,” Bonnett added.

In 2009, total Canadian food waste amounted to $27 billion; this equates to $774.07 in food dollars wasted per person, according to a study done by the George Morris Centre.

Without any food waste along the food value chain, the date for Food Freedom Day would have been February 5 this year.

“From the farm to the dinner table, far too much food is being wasted and the consequences are serious. With an ever-increasing

global population and depleting natural resources, wasting food makes no sense — ethically, economically or environmentally,” Bonnett added.

“The good news is that we can do something about it. We can take responsibility as individuals and follow basic tips to save food. To improve industry efficiency along the food chain, government and industry must work together to develop a food strategy for Canada. The industry-driven National Food Strategy can be a starting point for discussion and includes several key objectives addressing efficiencies in the food system.

“Together we can minimize wasteful practices and make sure our strong agriculture and food heritage is maintained for this generation and generations to come,” Bonnett concluded.

Many producers seem to think we are looking at another 2008 and it’s only a matter of time before the price goes through the ceiling.

Personally, I hope they are right, and I do think there will be some serious weather scares in the market before the year is out. But the situation is different than it was in 2008.

That year, American farmers were mostly sold out before wheat went over $7 per bushel and the CWB was incrementally selling through the price increases. When speculators took the market over $20, those stocks had clearly been sold off. This year there is a perception that Canadian farmers are still holding on to significant supplies of high-quality milling wheat.

In 2008, the North American economy was also more robust, and buyers were prepared to bid higher. In short, the speculators could take the market higher because there was very little actual grain changing hands. That will be very different if Canadian farmers are holding stocks, and buyers are unwilling to purchase at higher prices. In the end, I am still bullish on short spikes, but I don’t recommend holding out for $26.

No problems

Was it difficult to deliver against CWB contracts? Not at all. When the new tax year rolled around and I wanted to deliver, I called up the local elevator and started hauling.

Quite frankly, even as a board supporter I can’t say that I miss delivery quotas or contracts.

They were originally put in place to give farmers equal access to the elevator system, but in reality deliveries were limited by rail movement and elevator space anyway. The elimination of local line elevators and branch lines has made the concept of equal delivery obsolete, and I have to say it was very nice to be able to deliver an entire contract in one run.

Can pooled sales survive in this market? That will depend on the attitudes of the people who support it. Has losing 75 per cent of its staff slowed down the CWB’s final payments? Absolutely, but we have to get beyond the fear and mistrust and start making management decisions based on returns.

I don’t understand the hatred and fear-mongering that has gone on with every move the board has made. The recent agreement to work with FNA to source field staff is an indication that this agency is prepared to keep sales up, and keep rural contacts despite the number of people they have lost.

With the degree of foreign takeover we are seeing within the grain and rail sectors, the CWB may soon be the only Canadian-owned entity we have to work with.

Les McEwan farms near Altamont, Manitoba

Luing cattle on the rise I

would like to respond to comments made about Luing cattle in the article “All cattle are not all black yet” in the Feb. 4 edition. I’m not sure where Mr. Fee gained his impression that our breed had disappeared prior to him noticing “some registrations in 2010-11.” Our herd book contains registrations of Luing cattle born in every year since 1975 when the first offspring of imported Scottish cattle were born.

As the purpose of the article was to examine breed numbers over the last decade I should add that Luing registrations have shown a healthy increase in that time period, with approximately twice the annual registrations compared to the decade earlier. Tough conditions in the beef sector have been good for the Luing as their feed efficiency, maternal strength and meat quality has been recognized by a growing number of commercial cattle producers.

Iain Aitken Secretary, Canadian Luing Cattle Association

6

Off the front

february 18, 2013 • Albertafarmexpress.ca

Tables turned on proponents of veganism

Dr. Jim Clark (l to r) of CFIA, Ryder Lee of NFACC, Dr. Joe Stookey of the University of Saskatchewan and Scott Entz, vice-president at Cargill. photo: daniel winters beef code } from page 1 without water are among the most lax among the country’s international trading partners.

In New Zealand, the maximum time they can go without water is 12 hours, in the European Union it’s eight hours, and 28 hours in the United States.

“A lot of this has to do with geography, but in Canada it’s 52 hours and can be extended to 57 hours,” said Clark, adding that the maximum time without feed in transit is 81 hours.

Regulatory amendments governing those issues have been underway since 2006, and a draft based on “outcomes” is ready to be released that would redefine overcrowding as well as give CFIA staff the power to euthanize injured or downer livestock.

“We’re not on the same page as some of our major trading partners and society in

general,” said Clark. “This could become a trade barrier. The time to update our regulations is now.”

Video auditing

Scott Entz, vice-president of Cargill Meat Solutions in High River, Alta., said that animal handling now is very different than it was when he started three decades ago.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), with annual budgets of $25 million and $100 million respectively, are going after consumers with lurid, attention-getting campaigns such as renaming retailers such as Burger King “Murder King.”

“These folks don’t lack for resources,” said Entz.

Cargill’s strategy is to take away all oppor-

tunities for making the industry look bad, such as the “game-changing” Hallmark/ Westland hidden “downer cow” video scandal of 2008 that led to a recall of 143 million pounds of beef.

To prevent giving the enemy any “doubt bomb” ammunition, Cargill has installed a 15-camera, third-party-operated, 24/7 video auditing system on key aspects of its slaughter line.

Any deviation from a set list of criteria sets off a chain reaction of instant notifications to management on the situation, he said.

Cargill recently invited a film crew from the “Oprah Winfrey Show” to tour a plant, and the “risky venture” ended up communicating a positive message.

“At the end of the day, it hopefully helped out not only us but the whole industry,” said Entz.

The beef industry’s potential for showing its positive animal welfare aspects is often overlooked, said rancher and former National Farmers Union director Fred Tait following the animal welfare panel at the Manitoba Beef Producers annual meeting.

Tait was recently invited to a posh vegan dinner at a Toronto hotel by the Brenda Bronfman-founded Animal Alliance of Canada. He recalled how his hosts had pilloried him for his prohunting and farming stance.

Desperate to turn the tables amid an unrelenting onslaught of verbal jabs and provocations, Tait finally expressed his personal “discomfort” with the fact that natural habitats for myriad wild creatures had been diverted and destroyed by human activity to create cultivated land for growing the meal’s raw materials.

“It went deadly silent,” said Tait.

“Then one of the main proponents for non-consumptive use of animals said, ‘You’re right. I never thought of that.’”

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7

Albertafarmexpress.ca • February 18, 2013

Former British GM foe now preaches pro-GM gospel Reversal } The British environmentalist told potato growers he was

wrong to oppose GM crops in the face of growing global food needs “I know that some of you probably hold different views on global staff / brandon warming, and I would welcome that discussion,” Lynas said. “The hen Mark Lynas took key point, however, is that I felt to the stage here Jan. 23 as participate in discussions meankeynote speaker at the ingfully, I had to become an expert 2013 edition of Manitoba Potato on the science and I spent literally Production Days, he knew he was years in the library doing just that. likely a strange and exotic creature As I did, I found myself telling peoto his audience. ple over and over again that we had The British environmentalist to stick with peer-reviewed scienand author has been involved in tific literature and look at what the the environmental movement scientific consensus was.” since the mid-1990s and for many At the same time, he continued years he was an ardent anti-GMO to dash off unresearched antiactivist.

GMO articles in various British “I might not be the first person newspapers. to speak here who has been critical “It’s really quite embarrassing of GMO crops — but have you ever to me, looking back,” Lynas said, had anyone speak to you who’s flashing up a clipping from the trashed GM crops in the field and Guardian newspaper. lived to tell about it?” Lynas asked “The truth was, a similar scienthe audience. tific consensus has emerged about So what had brought him to GM crops, which says that they are Brandon to speak to a group of perfectly safe,” Lynas said. “A lot potato farmers in the middle of a of the things I had come to believe January cold snap? turned out to be mythology.”

A change of heart, or perhaps Today Lynas is a full-out supmore accurately his head. In recent porter of the drive to adopt GM years, he has realized that he was crops. He says continued human guilty of a double standard with his population growth will make food views on GM crops. production that’s environmentally “I first became aware of GM sustainable even more important. crops in 1995 and 1996, just after “As an environmentalist, I see I had finished university and this as a very important issue and started my work as an environ- GM crops will be a very important mentalist,” Lynas said. “I didn’t part of this,” Lynas said. know much about it, other than it Lynas noted that modern, involved a company called Mon- industrial-scale farming might santo that wanted to pollute our not be as folksy as the attracfood supply with GM soy. tive little organic farm, but it has “I was, however, speaking from a key attribute — efficiency. It a position of near-total igno- produces more food on less land rance.” and from an environmental perspective, every acre of land left Ignorance uncultivated is a victory for bioJust how little he knew about GM diversity. crops was highlighted by the very “If we wanted to produce as different approach he took about much food as we do today, using another issue he cares passion- technology and practices from ately about — global warming. 1961, we would need to cultiReeling off facts and figures at the vate significantly more land,” front of the room, he underlined Lynas said. Worldwide, that fighow much of that knowledge he ure 12:49 would PM be roughly SEC-AUST11-T_AFEx.qxd 10/14/11 Page 1 equivalent had absorbed over the years. to adding the equivalent of two

By Gord Gilmour

Produced by: SeCan Product/Campaign Name: CDC Austenson Date Produced: October 2011

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Mark Lynas (inset) was once to be one of these activists dressed in protective clothing to portray GM crops as toxic. Now he says these crops hold the key to world food security. PHOTo: Reuters/Staff South American continents to our arable land base.

“If we still used that level of technology, two things could have happened. There would be no Amazonian rainforest, no trees, the earth would have been decimated. Or the human population would have been decimated.”

Safe and legitimate

Better to use the safe and legitimate technology that is available, and keep uncultivated acres uncultivated and provide humans with their nutritional needs, he said.

Lynas said that in the face of a near-total scientific consensus on the safety of GM crops, it was bordering on unconscionable for activists from wealthy nations to stand in the way of their adoption.

“I’m very lucky. My children have never gone to bed hungry, because I am fortunate enough to live in a wealthy nation, as are all

of you,” Lynas told the audience.

So while Greenpeace and other activist groups lead campaigns and block the adoption of things like Golden Rice, which addresses vitamin A deficiencies, children continue to die and go blind.

“They are doing this while children are dying of preventable nutrition-linked diseases,” Lynas said. “They have the luxury of doing this because I’ve never met anyone from Greenpeace who wasn’t very well fed indeed.”

But slowly the tide appears to be turning. Lynas cited a recent attempt to organize protests around the development of an aphid-resistant GM wheat at the Rothamsted Research facility in the U.K. by a group dubbing itself “Take Back the Flour.”

Lynas described himself as helping the scientists with their public response as a form of selfimposed penance for his earlier crop-destruction efforts.

CDC Austenson

The protest fizzled, as Lynas illustrated with a photo of it in his presentation.

“You can see that group under a single tree in the distance — that amounts to the entirety of the remaining anti-GM movement in Britain,” Lynas said. “In fact, about two dozen of them had to be imported from France by bus because there weren’t enough of them left in England.

“I think the public, and more importantly, the media, have moved on,” Lynas said. “They’re willing to listen to the other side of this argument in a way they never were a few years ago.”

This is a good thing, because the need for GM crops has become even more pressing as those years have passed.

“We need to accelerate, not stop,” Lynas told the audience.

“Without this, we’re heading into a very chilling century indeed.”

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NEWS » Markets

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Big players make big bets

Big corn insurance payout U.S. corn farmers collected two-thirds of the record $14.2 billion in crop insurance indemnities paid so far for losses due to drought and other bad weather in 2012.

In a report, the USDA said corn growers had received $9.27 billion through the federally subsidized program, far more than the $1.85 billion sent to soybean farmers, the second-largest crop total. Record prices have made crop insurance the largest element of the U.S. farm safety net and made traditional subsidies irrelevant. The government pays 62 cents of each $1 of the premium. — Reuters

} Hedge funds

}Drought losses

8

Hedge funds and other big speculators betting on a spike in U.S. soybean prices piled more than $2 billion of fresh money into the market in the week to Feb. 5, only to see a vicious price drop at the week’s end. Fund managers had also rushed $700 million into corn in the week to Feb. 5, but that market turned south too, according to the data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Based on Reuters’ chart of soybean prices on the Chicago Board of Trade, the net long position in soybeans held by money managers in the week to Feb. 5 translated to about $10.14 billion — about $2.3 billion higher than in the previous week to Jan. 29.

Tight stocks mean canola exports and crush must slow down Soybeans } Combined production from Brazil and

Argentina now forecast to increase by 28 per cent from last year

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

O

ld-crop canola futures climbed higher at ICE Futures Canada during the week ended Feb. 8, hitting levels not seen since midSeptember before running into profittaking resistance to the upside. Dwindling stocks in Western Canada are the primary driver in the market, but canola is still only one oilseed among many in the broader market and looming South American soybean harvests have the potential to keep a lid on further advances.

Statistics Canada’s count of total Canadian canola stocks as of Dec. 31, 2012 came in at only 7.371 million tonnes, which compares with 9.646 million tonnes at the same time the previous year. The fact that supplies on Dec. 31 were over two million tonnes tighter than at the same point the previous year highlighted the need to ration demand going forward.

In the crop year to date, Canada has exported about 4.2 million tonnes of canola, according to the Canadian Grain Commission, and crushed 3.7 million tonnes domestically, according to the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association. Maintaining the current pace of usage would require two million extra tonnes of canola that just aren’t there this year. As a result, exports and the crush have no choice but to slow down.

In the short term, the scramble to meet commitments and secure supplies while they’re still available can be expected to keep canola prices well supported. However, it’s not all up up and away; there comes a point when no premium will be able to buy the product, because it’s just not there. There also comes a point where buyers stop paying up, because it’s no longer profitable. Where that point is with canola won’t be known until we get there, but it will come.

Second guessing

In the U.S., activity for most of the week centred on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly supply/demand report, with the pre-report positioning and post-report second guessing accounting for a fair chunk of the trade.

Soybeans, corn and wheat were all lower overall, with only the oats market seeing any strength on the back of Canada’s tightening supply situation.

USDA’s report was finally released Friday morning, and didn’t fail to disappoint in providing a little excitement.

The initial takeaway was bearish for soybeans, bullish for wheat, and relatively neutral for corn.

Photo: Thinkstock After holding steady for most of the week, soybeans dropped sharply after the release of USDA’s monthly report.

Recent export demand from China had average trade guesses ahead of the report forecasting tighter U.S. soybean ending stocks, which was the case. However, world supplies were raised higher, with combined production out of Brazil and Argentina now forecast to increase by 28 per cent from last year. World soybean production for the year was pegged

at a record 269.5 million tonnes, lessening any nearby supply concerns.

For wheat, U.S. carry-over at the end of the current crop year was projected at only 691 million bushels, which was down by 25 million bushels from USDA’s January estimate. Cheaper prices relative to corn in some cases were said to be diverting more U.S. wheat into the livestock sector. Wheat prices were still down for the most part during the week, as improving weather conditions across the U.S. Plains

“Statistics Canada’s count of total Canadian canola stocks as of Dec. 31, 2012 came in at only 7.371 million tonnes, which compares with 9.646 million tonnes at the same time the previous year.”

helped alleviate the drought concerns that continue to prop up values.

Chicago corn futures trended lower all week given a lack of demand from both exporters and the domestic ethanol sector.

The USDA stocks report confirmed that poor demand, with U.S. corn ending stocks now forecast to be five per cent larger than they were in January, at 632 million bushels. World corn ending stocks were also up by about two million tonnes from the last estimate.

With the stocks report out of the way, South American weather reports could be major market movers. Soybean and corn harvests will progress in Brazil and Argentina over the next couple of months, and any weather conditions deemed detrimental to crop development or harvest progress will be deemed bullish for the futures. On the other side, if the weather is good for the crops, prices will inevitably come under pressure.

Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

9

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Canada canola, New program aims to save farmers money while helping to reduce wheat greenhouse gas emissions stocks fall at year-end FINE TUNING } Choosing the right fertilizer product and applying the right

rate at the right time in the right place can reduce costs and help the environment

Tight } The

tightness of the canola market appears real

By Rod Nickel

winnipeg / reuters

C

anadian canola supplies dropped to a six-year low as of Dec. 31, highlighting a disappointing crop and strong demand for oilseeds, while wheat stocks were surprisingly lower, according to a Statistics Canada report Feb. 5.

Canola supplies on farms and in commercial storage plunged 24 per cent to 7.37 million tonnes, while all-wheat stocks eased 0.7 per cent to 20.69 million tonnes.

StatsCan’s canola and allwheat estimates fell within a range of trade guesses, however the industry was on average expecting to see higher, not lower year-over-year wheat stocks. The sharp drop in canola supplies would appear to debunk some industry thoughts that last year’s disappointing harvest was actually larger than StatsCan’s official numbers showed, said Chuck Penner, analyst at LeftField Commodity Research.

“Maybe that tightness in the canola market is real, so that will keep basis levels and (price) spreads very narrow,” he said.

ICE Canada March canola futures were up modestly in early trading, shrugging off spillover pressure from weaker soybeans.

Canada is the world’s biggest canola producer and exporter, and usually the third- or fourthlargest wheat exporter.

With tight canola supplies, handlers and crushers are currently paying farmers between $10 and $30 per tonne over the nearby futures price, said Wayne Palmer, senior market analyst for Agri-Trend Marketing.

Even so, farmers are likely to plant this spring less of the yellow-flowering crop, which mainly produces vegetable oil, because of frustration over last year’s harvest and larger profit margins on wheat, Palmer said on a conference call hosted by Minneapolis Grain Exchange.

Wheat stocks were also drained by strong demand for domestic livestock feed, Penner said.

Oat stocks fell 20 per cent to 1.87 million tonnes, while barley supplies dropped seven per cent to 5.09 million tonnes. Stocks of both crops were well below expectations.

The skimpy oat supplies were due in part to higher use of oats as feed on farms and point to tighter stocks at the end of the 2012-13 crop-marketing year on July 31, said analyst Randy Strychar of Oatinformation. com.

By Victoria Paterson af staff / calgary

“Our aim is to work with farmers and other stakeholders in Alberta to encourage the use of 4R nutrient stewardship.”

A

new program aims to help Alberta producers get more bang for their fertilizer buck while reducing greenhouse gases.

“Our aim is to work with farmers and other stakeholders in Alberta to encourage the use of 4R nutrient stewardship,” said Clyde Graham, vice-president of the Canadian Fertilizer Institute, which received a $200,000 grant to develop the Farming 4R Land project in Alberta.

The four ‘Rs’ refer to using the right rate of the right product at the right time in the right place.

The program was recently debuted at FarmTech 2013, and sessions are upcoming in Lethbridge, High River, Airdrie and Leduc.

“It’s information but also there is training that is online, and part of our meetings will also be about providing training for growers,” said Graham.

There are several online courses and the program may be adjusted depending on the feedback from FarmTech and the four meetings.

“It’s meant to be interactive and a dialogue between grow-

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Today’s top ag stories: www.albertafarmexpress.ca

Clyde Graham

Bruce Ringrose, (l to r) vice-president at ClimateCHECK; Stan Blade, CEO of Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions; Susan Wood-Bohm, executive director of Biological GHG Management program at Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions; Clyde Graham, vice-president of the Canadian Fertilizer Institute. PHOTo: Marie Cusack, Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions ers and the fertilizer industry, government and the science community,” said Graham.

One of the goals is to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer use as “it has much greater impact on the greenhouse effect than carbon dioxide,” he said.

The project is being funded by the Climate Change and Emissions Management Cor-

poration, which gets its money from a levy charged to large emitters of carbon dioxide in Alberta.

The Farming 4R Land project was chosen because it has clear targets about greenhouse gas reduction, said Stan Blade, CEO of Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions, which administers the funding.

“Really we continue to hear

this from our farm community, as well,” Blade said.

“They want to know how it is they can influence greenhouse gas.”

It makes good sense to couple greenhouse gas reduction with more efficient use of fertilizer, he said.

“The Farming 4 us approach is a very pragmatic one,” he said.

Graham said the current phase of the project for 2013 is to build awareness with training and online tools.

“I think we’re hopeful we’ll be able to do more work on this in the future,” he said.

The website for the Farming 4R Land project is collaborase. com/farming4rland.

10

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Silence isn’t golden if you want the family farm to prosper NAVIGATE  Farm family coach and succession planner Elaine Froese says families need to get better at navigating their personal relationships and emotions — because their farm business depends on it

BY GORD GILMOUR STAFF

F

Fear prevents farm families from talking about the future, says Elaine Froese. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

armers — particularly the male version — have a reputation for keeping their feelings hidden. But anyone who thinks emotions don’t affect business decisions on the farm is just fooling themselves.

Just take a look at what’s in the yard, farm family coach and succession planner Elaine Froese said at the recent Manitoba Special Crops Symposium.

“I know you’re all emotional beings,” said Froese. “How do I know that? Because you all drive green tractors.”

Brand loyalty is just one example of how the heart rules the head, and Froese admits she’s not above it herself — her family’s farm operation near Boissevain features a lot of green paint. Their most recent equipment purchase was another colour, but it took a price that was $30,000 lower than a comparable machine from their favourite equipment maker to overcome the emotional attachment.

Nowhere is the unseen hand of unspoken feelings more evident than in succession planning, said Froese, adding she knows families who’ve spent a

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fortune in legal fees and been left with scarred relationships or estrangement.

Which emotion is behind all of this stress and upset, she asked.

Greed? Jealousy? Sibling rivalry?

All might play a role, Froese said, but the main driver is fear.

Fear causes farm families to put off hard discussions, fail to do the necessary paperwork, hide facts from family members, and all sorts of other shenanigans, she said.

“I know you’re all emotional beings. How do I know that? Because you all drive green tractors.”

ELAINE FROESE

Using a clicker system to conduct an instant poll, Froese asked audiences to say if they had a current will or not. About 40 per cent said ‘no.’ That’s pretty typical — and there’s a simple reason why people don’t take this simple and necessary step, said Froese.

“We think that if we have a will, we’re going to die,” she said. “And if we don’t have a will, we’re golden.”

The desire to ignore difficult topics is an all-too-human response and happens time and again in the succession planning process, Froese said.

Family members avoid some topics because they fear discussing them will stir up bad feelings. Usually everyone is keenly aware of what’s going on, but the taboo subject is as hard to ignore as a bull in your living room, she said.

“I call these the undiscussabulls,” Froese said. “And they need to be talked about.”

If not, they can take on a life of their own and resentments build up, creating a powder keg waiting for a spark to set it off.

The issues tend to be similar from farm to farm and family to family.

“What are we going to do about the girls? What are we going to do about the son in Calgary? How about the son who just came back because you can make money on the farm now?”

Froese said.

“This is farming’s golden time right now. But what happens when it’s golden? People fight a bit more and a bit more easily, because there’s something at stake.”

A good starting point is recognizing that all family members, on and off the farm, likely want to understand how things sit. Froese boils it down to the ‘three Cs’ — clarity, certainty and the commitment to act.

Clarity means keeping others

informed about routine matters, but also big ones such as how the daughter-in-law would be treated if the farming son were to die unexpectedly — an issue that Froese had to deal with when she, her husband, and in-laws were discussing farm succession.

“Our facilitator said to my in-laws, ‘What would happen if your son died tomorrow?’ and they said, ‘We’d just take the farm back.’ Can you imagine how I felt hearing that?”

But this story isn’t an argument for leaving the unsayable unsaid — the tale had a part B. “I pointed out that when I came to the farm in the 1980s, interest rates were at 19 per cent, I was a home economist working for the Manitoba government, and I brought a pretty healthy savings account with me,” Froese said.

“I’d also then spent the next 14 years working on that farm and raising our children there.

I told them ‘No, if that happens, I’m staying here and I’m farming tomorrow.’

“And do you know what they said? ‘Oh, OK.’” The key to that discussion was having it, she said.

“That was a potentially very difficult conversation, but it went well, and it probably took less than 10 minutes,” Froese said.

Another situation involved a farmer and his daughter-in-law.

Their farm succession coach encouraged family members to write letters to each other as an exercise on how to better communicate.

“The father-in-law wrote a wonderful letter to his daughter-in-law,” Froese said. “He said that his son was happy working in the oilfield service industry, but that he saw his daughter-in-law had the skills to run the farm. Today, she’s running the farm.”

Next up is certainty, and that usually means dealing with the older generation’s reluctance to let go.

“I always hear things like, ‘I’ve been working on this farm for 20 years and I still don’t own even close to 51 per cent,’” she said.

Dad is usually good at giving up tasks involving physical labour, but hesitant to relinquish management decisions, she said.

“And you really don’t like giving up the ownership.”

The final, and most critical, step is the commitment to act, she said. It includes actually stopping in at the lawyer’s office to get that will drawn up and signed, or setting up a family corporation and putting the transfer in motion.

“Talk doesn’t cook rice,” Froese said, gesturing towards the hotel kitchen.

“We’re not about to enjoy a great lunch because the chefs planned the menu. We’re going to enjoy lunch because they took the next step and cooked the meal.”

11

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

U.S. country grain elevators favour longer CME hours CAUGHT  CME is caught between country grain elevators and large trading firms

BY CHRISTINE STEBBINS CHICAGO / REUTERS

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he CME Group, the largest U.S. futures market operator, is tinkering with its trading hours to try and please two factions in its oldest constituency: the grain industry.

Industry officials said CME is looking for a way to strike a balance between international grain companies that want shorter hours and small, rural grain elevators that like longer trading hours.

CME finds itself squeezed by two competing voices. Grain giants like Cargill, ADM, Bunge and Louis Dreyfus, which hedge millions of bushels every day, want shorter hours to save on staffing costs, avoid trading

Topics chosen for 2013 young speakers’ program TWO CLASSES 

Participants invited for two age categories from 11-24

risks from thin volumes outside U.S. daytime hours, and profit on cash market trading.

But hundreds of smaller grain handlers known as country elevators like having the exchange open to hedge price risk at odd hours. These are usually the first point of sale for grain farmers.

Earlier this month, CME reversed a policy it put in last May that expanded hours at its Chicago Board of Trade grain market to 21 from 17, saying it would now cut hours. But CME said it was “continuing to vet alternatives with our customer base” and hadn’t made a decision on trading times.

CBOT grain markets are now closed just three hours a day from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. CST, a huge contrast to decades of “pit”

trading that lasted less than four hours (9:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.). In 1995, an electronic-only night session, open from 6 p.m. to 7:15 a.m. was added to draw business from big grain buyers in Asia and Europe.

Volumes on the night session have always been lower than U.S. daytime hours, when cash grain transactions in the world’s largest grower led activity. Nevertheless, CME last May again expanded hours, saying it needed to stay competitive with new grain contracts listed on CME’s rival, the all-electronic IntercontinentalExchange.

ICE grain volumes, however, remain minuscule. The grain trade has stayed at CBOT for the liquidity, and trade patterns show that a narrow few hours of the day still dominate.

Longer hours empower small elevators

CME declined comment, but grain traders said CME is weighing proposals that include cutting hours back to 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., or a cycle that opens at 6 or 7 p.m. each evening and closes the next day at 1 p.m. (all times CST).

“It’s fine with me if they want shorter hours, but at least keep them open between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. so these guys can get their grain hedged and lock in some margins and profits,” said Mike Hall, a futures broker who works with many Midwest farmer co-ops and country elevators and wrote a letter to the CME this week.

“Most commercial grain business takes place between 7 a.m and 4 p.m. With some of the ideas being floated — you’re

back to limiting these guys to only four hours to hedge,” Hall said. “It seems to me that the exchange is disenfranchising these people from the whole idea why the Chicago Board of Trade was started, for the producer and handler to transfer his risk.”

Hall and others said country elevators, buying grain when CBOT markets are shut, often end up calling the big firms like ADM or Cargill and resell the grain on a fixed or “flat-priced” basis, dodging the risk of unhedged ownership but giving up the chance to profit from holding grain longer.

“Along come these longer hours,” Hall said. “They’ve gotten used to them, their margins and profits are a little more stable. And now you’re going to take that away from them?”

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01/13-19769-04

anadian Young Speakers for Agriculture (CYSA) has chosen topics for its 2013 competition, and participants in two age categories from 11-24 years old are invited to participate.

The topics were selected by the CYSA board, led by new member and former first-place senior winner Tammy Fischer.

• What does food security mean to Canadians?

• Farmers’ three most important technologies are…

• Does the family farm need help?

• In the year 2050, here’s what agriculture will look like…

• Reading, writing, and agriculture: Should agriculture be in the curriculum?

“It’s exciting to put together a list of topics to inspire and appeal to youth in both the junior and senior categories,” says Fischer.

“We tried to hit the pulse of current agricultural issues.”

This year’s competition takes place Saturday, November 2, 2013 at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto.

Participants in two age categories from 11-24 years old are invited to prepare and present five- to seven-minute speeches in English or French.

Visit www.cysa-joca.ca for more information, rules and competition updates.

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FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Biodiversity helps protect nature against human impacts: Study HELPS } Having lots of species in an area helps ecosystems avoid irreversible collapse university of guelph release

“

Researchers say farmers should encourage more kinds of plants in a field as a buffer against sudden ecosystem disturbance. PHOTo: thinkstock

Y

ou don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s collapsed.” That’s how University of Guelph integrative biologists might recast a line from an iconic folk tune for their new research paper warning about the perils of ecosystem breakdown.

Their research, published Feb. 5 as the cover story in Nature, suggests farmers and resource managers should not rely on seemingly stable, but vulnerable single-crop monocultures.

Instead they should encourage more kinds of plants in fields and woods as a buffer against sudden ecosystem disturbance.

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Based on a 10-year study, their paper also lends scientific weight to esthetic and moral arguments for maintaining species biodiversity.

The study was written by professors Andrew MacDougall and Kevin McCann, graduate student Gabriel Gellner and Roy Turkington, a botany professor and member of the Biodiversity Research Centre at the University of British Columbia.

Their research confirms that having lots of species in an area helps ecosystems avoid irreversible collapse after human disturbances such as climate change or pest invasion.

“Species are more important than we think,” said MacDougall. “We need to protect biodiversity.”

Unlike other scientists usually relying on short-term, artificial study plots, the researchers studied long-standing pasture grasslands on southern Vancouver Island for 10 years. The 10-hectare site owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada consists of oak savannah where fires have been suppressed for about 150 years.

The team selectively burned plots to compare areas of mostly grasses with areas of mixed grasses and diverse native plants.

“Species are more important than we think. We need to protect biodiversity.”

Andrew MacDougall

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They found that seemingly stable grassland plots collapsed in one growing season and were subsequently invaded by trees.

More diverse sites resisted woody plant invasion.

Diversity also affected fire itself.

More diverse areas had less persistent ground litter, making highintensity fires less likely to recur than in single-species grasslands with more litter serving as fuel.

MacDougall said the study supports resource management strategies that increase biodiversity on land and in aquatic ecosystems.

A monoculture stand of trees or crops might appear stable and productive, for example — but it’s an ecosystem that is more vulnerable to collapse, he said, adding that this study helps explain why species diversity matters.

McCann, who studies food webs and ecosystem stability, said many ecosystems are at a “tipping point,” including grasslands that may easily become either woodlands or deserts.

“They’re a really productive ecosystem that produces year in and year out and seems stable and then suddenly a major perturbation happens, and all of that biodiversity that was lost earlier is important now,” said McCann.

MacDougall has studied the Vancouver Island site since 2000.

European settlers planted grasslands there in the mid-1800s.

13

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

FCC accused of overstepping its mandate Inflating debt } C.D. Howe Institute says FCC supplying excessive credit to the farm sector

By Ron Friesen AF contributor

A

new report by a leading public policy think-tank accuses Farm Credit Canada and other federal financial Crown corporations of “mission creep” by offering services far beyond their original mandates.

The report by the C.D. Howe Institute recommends their authority “should be clearly circumscribed and even rolled back” so private lenders can do more to serve Canadian borrowers.

The report, issued Feb. 6, focuses on three agencies: Farm Credit Canada, the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada.

It reserves its strongest criticism for FCC, which ranks second only to chartered banks in the amount lent to Canadian farmers.

The report by authors Philippe Bergevin and Finn Poschmann accuses FCC of inflating farm debt. It argues that, by offering a wide range of financial services, FCC “increases market risks and seems to be supplying excessive credit to the farm sector.”

Because the federal government backstops Crown corporations, FCC’s operations “pose risks to taxpayers and the overall economy — and… these risks seem to have grown in recent years,” the report says.

“In particular, the FCC has grown alongside a rise in the level of farm indebtedness and a bidding-up in farm asset values, including supply-managed farm quotas.”

The report notes FCC’s share of the national farm debt 20 years ago was less than 15 per cent. In 2011, it was 29 per cent, compared to 36 per cent for chartered banks and 16 per cent for credit unions.

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Legislative amendments in 1993 and 2001 allowed FCC to provide a broader range of financial and business management services.

L e m o i n e s a i d F CC t o d a y is fina ncial ly soun d with a $25-billion portfolio and only $125 million in payment arrears, its lowest rate ever.

FCC is such a major farm lender partly because agriculture makes up no more than two per cent of chartered banks’ portfolios, said Lemoine.

He said FCC’s portfolio is made up mostly of mortgage lending and includes very little in operating loans.

Lemoine said FCC and the other corporations are audited by the federal auditor general, which is “the gold standard” in the industry. The auditor general also does an annual review of their financial statements and conducts a regulatory review every five years.

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The report suggests FCC is an unfair competitor because its capital is provided partly by government. It “does not face the regulatory capital requirements as financial institutions and… it does not pay corporate income tax.”

The report says FCC loans tend to have long amortization periods and higher loanto-value ratios. The agency also lends extensively to supply management producers who want to buy quota. These practices “raise concerns about the impact of its lending criteria on the level of debt farmers take on” and could “encourage excessive debt buildup or inflate farm asset values.”

Exceeded original mandate

Bergevin and Poschmann say financial Crown corporations were originally supposed to

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“They want us to be a lender of last resort, much like we were in the early ’80s.”

The report recommends Crown financial corporations should be regulated by the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, as private lending institutions are.

Remi Lemoine, FCC’s chief operating officer, said the agency was never intended to only complement farm lending in Canada, as the report claims.

“When they use the word complementary, what I read in that is they want us to be a lender of last resort, much like we were in the early ’80s,” said Lemoine, speaking by phone from FCC’s head office in Regina.

C.D. Howe report says FCC driving up the value of supply management “The result of that was that quotas. PHOTo: thinkstock FCC almost went broke and taxpayers had to bail it out at that complement the private sector ers and the economy, and should time.” by filling in credit market gaps be curtailed because “they have FCC in the early 1990s was left by other lenders. Since then, no clear public policy rationale” so saddled with bad debts that however, their activity has grown and “the private sector tends to Ottawa bailed it out and gave it a far beyond their intended role. As be better than the government at new mandate with strict instrucB:8.125” a result, they pose risks to taxpay- running a business.” tions to become self-sustaining.

14

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Canada, EU fail to settle differences over free trade pact ACCESS  Neither side wants to budge on granting more access for farm products in its marketplace

BY DAVID LJUNGGREN OTTAWA / REUTERS

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anada and the European Union failed to settle their differences on a proposed free trade deal this week at toplevel talks to hammer out an agreement that is already well behind schedule.

Canadian Trade Minister Ed Fast and EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht spent Feb. 6 and 7 in Ottawa discussing contentious issues including agricultural exports, intellectual property and public procurement.

The EU indicated Canadian demands for increased access for its agricultural products were one of the major obstacles.

“There are still a number of important gaps to be bridged before an agreement is reached,” EU trade spokesman John Clancy said in an email Feb. 8.

“Quality and substance of the negotiations remain paramount over speed. On agricultural issues, we are now in a more realistic zone, but we are still not there yet.”

The EU remains opposed to increasing quotas of imported beef and pork from Canada, while Ottawa does not want to allow increased imports of EU dairy products, eggs and poultry.

Adding to the pressure on Ottawa, European Union leaders agreed Feb. 8 to push for a freetrade pact with the United

States — a market 10 times the size of Canada’s.

Talks on an agreement started in 2009 and were supposed to have wrapped up by the end of 2011, a date that was later pushed back to the end of 2012.

An agreement would be the EU’s first with a country from the G7 club of major economies and could be worth roughly $28 billion from extra economic activity.

Canada, which says free trade with the EU would boost bilateral trade by 20 per cent, wants to diversify its trade away from the United States, which takes 75 per cent of all Canadian exports. The EU takes just over 10 per cent.

A spokesman for Fast said “further important work remains to be done, and the process of

negotiations is continuing.” He declined to say whether the two sides had set a deadline for the talks to conclude.

One source close to the talks told Reuters that “setback is too strong a word” for the meeting, noting what he said was both sides’ determination to achieve a deal.

Canadian meat producers want an end to high EU import tariffs they say have effectively shut Canada out of a European market that consumes eight million tonnes of beef products a year.

The producers will not reveal how much beef they would like to export, saying only that “it will be big.” One industry source this week told Reuters “the Europeans can’t possibly give the

amount of beef the Canadians are asking for.”

The Europeans want Canada to extend patent protection for major pharmaceutical companies, accept more EU dairy products and open up internal procurement markets.

The Canada Europe Roundtable for Business trade lobby this week urged negotiators to wrap up a deal soon, noting any agreement would have to be voted on by the European Parliament, which is due to hold elections in April 2014.

If legislators do not deal with the treaty in time, it would be handled by the next Parliament, meaning ratification could be delayed by 18 months, the group added.

WHAT’S UP Send agriculture-related meeting and event announcements to: will. verboven@fbcpublishing.com

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15

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Russia blocking U.S. meat over additives, West sees protectionism Inconsistent } The U.S. says actions appear inconsistent with WTO commitments

By Melissa Akin moscow / reuters

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ussia’s move to ban U.S. meat imports worth over $500 million each year, over a feed additive, will help domestic producers withstand an influx of cheap meat after Russia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Western food producers believe protectionism, rather than concern about additives, is its primary purpose.

The influx has driven down pork prices in particular and threatens hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in modern pig farms to supply Russian consumers, who are eating more meat as oil-fuelled government spending drives up incomes.

Russia’s Veterinary and PhytoSanitary Surveillance Service (VPSS), Rosselkhoznadzor in Russian, has said it will ban imports of U.S. beef, pork and turkey from this month because U.S. producers failed to agree to demands that their exports be certified free of a feed additive, ractopamine.

“Import is being restrained by the actions of Rosselkhoznadzor, and that is a stimulating factor for domestic production,” Vladimir Labinov, the head of the livestock department of the Agriculture Ministry, said this week.

The United States made its opposition clear.

A western food industry source said the ractopamine ban was simple protectionism for domestic producers.

“It is part of the protectionist measures they are taking against all imports,” the source said, adding the threat to bar other meats as well as pork was done for the sake of consistency.

“If you are going to take a decision on ractopamine, you have to be consistent.”

It is not the first time Rosselkhoznadzor has faced accusations of protectionism.

The European Union complained openly of a “surge in protectionist measures” and lack of commitment to global trade rules last year after Russia banned imports of live animals from the bloc before its formal entry to the WTO.

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“They are not consistent with international standards and appear to be inconsistent with Russia’s WTO commitments.”

“These actions threaten to undermine our bilateral trade relationship,” Andrea Mead, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, said last week.

“They are not consistent with international standards and appear to be inconsistent with Russia’s WTO commitments.”

Rosselkhoznadzor said U.S. producers had ample time to comply after warnings were issued early last year, well before Russia joined the WTO, over use of ractopamine, a growth stimulant used to produce leaner meat.

Brazilian and Canadian producers have promised to comply.

Some Russian officials say their country could have made more of the issue of the stimulant.

“We put ourselves at a technical disadvantage,” Rosselkhoznadzor chief Sergei Dankvert told a meeting chaired by Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov. “We did not say anything, even though we knew about this ractopamine.”

The United Nations Codex Alimentarius group has ruled ractopamine in meat was not harmful to human health at low levels, but some countries, such as China, still ban it.

Employees dress pig carcasses at the “Gvardiya” (Guard) meat-processing factory in the settlement of Shturm, some 150 km (93 miles) north of Russia’s southern city of Stavropol. The U.S. says Russia’s ban on meat imports over ractopamine is aimed at protecting its domestic industry from competition. PHOTo: REUTERS/Eduard Korniyenko

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FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

rocky mountain high

Westerly winds are keeping high pastures free of snow along the foothills of the Rockies, north of Pincher Creek, Alta. Photo: Wendy Dudley

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Glencore director says corn use in biofuel questionable FACTOR } It has been

a factor in creating a higher-price environment

dubai / reuters

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director of commodity trading giant Glencore is questioning the conversion of corn into ethanol biofuel, saying it can contribute to higher prices.

Critics of using foodstuffs to make fuel say the process can drive up food prices by reducing available supplies, hitting the world’s poorest people hardest.

Responding to a question in a panel discussion at the Kingsman Dubai sugar conference, Chris Mahoney, director of agricultural products at Glencore, said; “Ethanol production from grains and from edible oil is questionable.”

He added, “It has been a factor in creating a higher-price environment.”

Sunny Verghese, CEO of commodity merchant Olam International Ltd., which trades a range of agricultural commodities, was more critical of the use of corn to make ethanol.

“It is inappropriate. It does not make sense to convert corn to ethanol,” Verghese told delegates.

“But it makes sense to convert sugar cane to ethanol.”

Later Verghese told Reuters: “I don’t believe that converting corn into ethanol helps the food complex. I don’t think, given the input-output usage efficiency, it makes a lot of sense to do this.”

He did not elaborate.

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17

Albertafarmexpress.ca • february 18, 2013

Stoke up your horse’s hay-burners if you want them to stay warm Hay-burners } Feeding a good-quality hay in sufficient amounts is one

of the best ways to keep horses warm through cold weather

ndsu release

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Although many different types of bale feeders are available, using a feeder can reduce waste to less than 20 per cent.

If owners assume 20 per cent of the hay will be wasted, an average 454-kg horse would require 11 kg of hay per day (nine kgs to meet the recommendations plus an additional two kg to account for waste).

Cold temperatures also change the daily feeding requirement.

The lower critical temperature for horses with a heavy winter coat during dry, calm weather is minus -1.1 C (30 F).

For each 7 C below 0 C, horses require an additional intake of approximately two pounds of feed per day.

A 16- to 20-km/h wind will require horses to consume an additional two to four kgs of hay to meet their increased energy requirements. When a horse without shelter becomes wet and encounters wind, it must consume an additional four to six kg of hay.

“Considering that a 454-kg horse consumes nine kg of hay daily to maintain body weight in ideal weather conditions, consuming an additional four to nine pounds or more becomes impossible for many horses,” Hammer says.

“Therefore, in extreme conditions, hay alone is usually insufficient to supply the energy demands for a horse to maintain its body weight, and some type of additional grain source is justified.”

Meeting the daily dietary needs is even more difficult if the quality of hay is poor. Most mature horses are idle or see occasional use during the winter and can be fed good- or average-quality hay (think moderately green with a moderate amount of leaves, slightly stemmy). Above-average hay (mostly green, good amount of leaves, few large stems) should be fed to young, growing horses; pregnant mares in the last two months of gestation; and lactating mares.

Poor-quality (brown, few leaves, large amount of coarse stems) and mouldy hay should not be fed, regardless of the physiologic state of the horse. Investing in the best-quality hay possible usually will save money in the long run because less feed is required to meet the horse’s nutrient requirements and the palatability is higher, resulting in less waste.

“Owners can supply all the poor-quality hay they want and a horse still will lose weight in rough winter conditions,” Hammer says.

“Poor-quality hay just doesn’t provide the energy and nutrients a horse needs to survive during a harsh, cold winter.”

Finally, don’t forget to provide water in the winter. An average adult horse will drink five to 10 gallons of water per day. Access to clean water is essential to the horse’s health and well-being.

During the winter months, horses consume large amounts of dry forage, and reduced water intake will increase the chances of horses suffering from impaction and colic.

Feed intake also is closely related to water intake. If water supplies are limited, feed intake can be reduced, which further puts the horse at a disadvantage in maintaining health and weight during the winter.

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inter is in full force, and horse owners need to make sure they feed their animals appropriately for the conditions, according to North Dakota State University Extension Service equine specialist Carrie Hammer. Feeding good-quality hay in sufficient amounts is one of the best ways to help horses keep warm. Feed digestion produces heat, with the digestion of highfibre feeds such as hay releasing the greatest amount of heat. Highfibre feeds produce more heat during digestion than low-fibre feeds.

Thus, more heat will be produced through the digestion of hay than low-fibre grains such as corn and barley. Although oats are a low-

fibre grain, they will produce more heat during digestion than other grains due to their fibrous outer hull. Providing a sufficient amount of feed is extremely important during the winter because grazing usually is not an option. In general, a mature horse should be fed approximately two per cent of its body weight per day in total feed.

The requirement is higher (up to three per cent) for lactating mares.

“Owners should plan on feeding two pounds of good-quality grass hay per 100 pounds of body weight for the average horse,” Hammer says. However, the general recommendations of feeding two per cent of body weight do not account for hay waste or extremely cold weather conditions. Feeding hay in a feeder will result in less waste than not using a feeder.

18

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

EU farm subsidy reforms cut payments to the wealthiest farms Royal treatment } The Queen is among the wealthiest landowners

who will see deep cuts to their farm subsidies by charlie dunmore brussels / reuters

E

urope’s wealthiest landowners, including Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and Spain’s Duchess of Alba, will see deep cuts to their future farm subsidies under proposals from members of the European Parliament Jan. 23.

Annual payments to the top recipients of agricultural subsidies should be capped at 300,000 euros from 2014, the European Parliament’s influential agriculture committee said.

The committee was voting on legislative proposals from the European Commission to overhaul the bloc’s common agricultural policy (CAP) from 2014. The policy currently consumes 55 billion euros a year, making it the largest single area of EU spending.

It is not yet clear whether the committee’s position will be followed by the full parliament, but the vote will guide the assembly’s negotiations with EU governments on the CAP reform, which are expected to begin in March.

Queen Elizabeth II received more than eight million euros in EU farm payments between 2000 and 2009 for royal estates including Sandringham in Norfolk and Balmoral in Scotland, transparency campaigners FarmSubsidy.org said.

Under the rules being proposed, the Queen would have received only three million euros over the same time frame.

The group estimates that more than 1,500 CAP beneficiaries received in

The policy currently consumes 55 billion euros a year, making it the largest single area of EU spending.

Produced by: SeCan Product/Campaign Name: Fusion Canola Date Produced: January 2013

Ad Number: SEC-FUS13-T Publication: Alberta Farmer / Express Ad Size: 5Col x 70 (10.125” x 5”)

SEC-FUS13-T_AFEx.qxd

1/30/13

Britain’s Prince William (l) and his father Prince Charles check on their Ayrshire dairy cattle at Home Farm on Duchy land in Gloucestershire, western England in this photo taken in 2004. The royal family is among the wealthy farmers in the EU who will see deep cuts to their farm subsidies. Photo: Reuters/ Michael Crabtree excess of a million euros in 2011, the most recent year for which data are available.

The money saved by capping the largest payments would be retained by governments and used to fund rural development projects, while agricultural co-operatives would be exempt from the subsidy limit, a spokesman for the committee said.

Sugar reform delay

Committee members voted to maintain the bloc’s system of strict national sugar production quotas and minimum prices for sugar beet until 2020, rather than scrapping them from 2015 as proposed by the commission.

That would delay the lifting of an

4:51 PM

annual limit on EU sugar exports fixed under a World Trade Organization agreement, currently set at 1.35 million tonnes.

Members also weakened planned new environmental measures that farmers must take in order to qualify for a portion of their direct subsidies.

These included a requirement bitterly opposed by farmers to leave seven per cent of their land fallow. The committee reduced the level to three per cent from 2014, rising to five per cent in 2016. Any move to increase the level beyond that would have to be agreed in new legislation, the committee said.

Lawmakers watered down plans to share subsidies out more fairly within EU countries according to farm size, by

giving governments the option to maintain a certain level of inequality in 2019 — the proposed deadline for redistribution.

But the committee wants to accelerate moves to distribute subsidies more equally between EU countries. Producers in Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands currently receive more than 400 euros (C$540) in direct subsidies per hectare on average, compared with less than 150 euros (C$202) per hectare in the EU’s Baltic states.

Airports and golf clubs would no longer be eligible for EU payments under plans to only pay subsidies to “active farmers” only, although governments would be free to redefine which businesses would be excluded.

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19

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Canada wins high praise for its contribution to food security STABLE  Canada has pledged stable, long-term funding through the newly ratified Food Assistance Convention

BY DAVE BEDARD AND LAURA RANCE STAFF

C

anada has won high praise from a senior official with the UN’s World Food Program for becoming one of the first countries to make its minimum nine-figure annual pledge up front as it formally adopts a new international treaty.

“Canada is one of the strongest supporters of the World Food Program,” said Pedro Medrano Rojas, acting assistant executive director, partnership and governance services of the WFP, in an interview Feb. 6.

Rojas, in Winnipeg to meet with non-government organizations, said Canada deserves credit for taking a leadership role in negotiating the new convention, which marks a significant shift in the focus and management of food assistance offered to those who face hunger due to environmental, economic or political crisis.

“In the past, food aid was a function of surplus,” Rojas said, noting countries supported the WFP as a means of reducing marketdepressing stocks while helping to feed those in need. The first food aid convention evolved to regulate that distribution in order to minimize disruption to markets, he said.

“Today, I think we have moved from food aid to food assistance; food aid is one of the elements, but not the only one,” Rojas said.

The WFP strives today to intervene before famine strikes and to pursue developments that treat the elimination of hunger as an investment in human capacity, rather than a cost.

In Canada’s case, the minimum commitment announced Feb. 5 will be $250 million per year in food assistance “promising to help make delivery of food more efficient,” the government said.

The guaranteed commitments in the treaty “can pay dividends for food suppliers, such as Canadian farmers and processors, as well,” Fantino said in a speech Feb. 5 to the Saskatchewan Global Food Security Forum meeting in Saskatoon.

“With the quality and consistency of Canadian products, Canadian farmers and processors would be able to compete and succeed as the supplier of choice for food assistance buyers.”

The new and legally binding treaty’s features include “new forms of food assistance to protect and improve access to food

Hopeful

“We are pleased that the government has taken this important step, and for making a significant minimum commitment to provide food assistance for those who don’t have enough to eat,” Canadian Foodgrains Bank executive

director Jim Cornelius said in a separate release.

The food grains bank, he added, is “hopeful that Canada will continue to provide more than the minimum — as it has done in the past.”

The treaty’s supports are based on current estimates that about 900 million children, women and men “do not have enough nutritious food to eat due to extreme poverty, natural disasters and conflicts, resulting in 50 million children under the age of five suffering from acute malnutrition,” the government said.

The food grains bank, a partnership of Canadian church-based agencies, said the treaty will allow it to use funds from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to “address foodinsecure situations in new ways”

A delegation of Ambassadors of European Union to Sudan visits a women’s development program centre funded by World Food Program (WFP) at Shagra village in North Darfur in October 2012.

According to UNAMID, fuel-efficient stoves made out of mud reduce firewood consumption by 30 per cent and the number of times needed to collect firewood.

PHOTO: REUTERS/MOHAMED NURELDIN ABDALLAH

and to use government funds for nutritional interventions.

The first session of the Food Assistance Committee, which includes representatives from all parties to the treaty, is to be held later this month, the government said.

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Untied aid

Rojas said the move away from emergency funding in a crisis and so-called “tied aid,” in which countries’ support came in the form of commodities purchased from the donor countries is an important step forward. Canada moved to untie its aid in 2008 and now commits a minimum of $250-million annually in cash.

This allows much greater flexibility in how food is acquired. It also allows the WFP to plan ahead.

Now, 86 per cent of WFP food purchases come from developing countries, a change that has helped reduce the lead time for distributing food in a crisis by 62 days and saved $40 million in procurement costs.

“That’s the equivalent of feeding 250,000 people for a year,” said Mary-Ellen McGroarty, the WFP’s deputy director of procurement.

The Food Assistance Convention, ratified so far by Canada, the U.S., the European Union, Denmark, Japan and Switzerland as its founding members, came into force Jan. 1 and requires member countries to pledge a “minimum annual level of quality food assistance” to developing countries.

The treaty, according to Julian Fantino, Canada’s minister for international co-operation, will give the United Nations’ World Food Program “the knowledge and certainty they need for longterm planning and purchasing, making them more flexible and efficient in what they buy and where they buy it.”

for those most in need,” the government said in a release.

For example, it includes the use of cash and vouchers to allow people to buy what they need in local markets, as well as the provision of seeds and tools to help “restart livelihoods” following emergencies.

The treaty also endorses “nutritional interventions,” which the government said are meant to help “particularly vulnerable groups, such as children and mothers, get the right food they need at the right time.”

2012 TRIAL WIN RATE

2012 YIELD COMPARISONS (BU/A)* L150 74-44 BL

39.2 41.8

N = 42

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2 YEAR YIELD COMPARISONS (BU/A)** L150 74-44 BL

42.3 44.3

N = 54

*Source: 2012 Monsanto Field Scale Trials. **2011-2012 Monsanto Field Scale Trials. Individual results may vary, and performance may vary from location to location and from year to year. This result may not be an indicator of results you may obtain as local growing, soil and weather conditions may vary. Growers should evaluate data from multiple locations and years whenever possible. Always follow grain marketing and all other stewardship practices and pesticide label directions. Details of these requirements can be found in the Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers printed in this publication. DEKALB® and Design and DEKALB® are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. Monsanto Canada Inc. licensee. InVigor® is a registered trademark of Bayer. ©2013 Monsanto Company.

20

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Province hosts workshops in response to growing interest in horticulture HORT CHECKLIST  There’s a host of questions — ranging from water and soil to markets and labour

requirements — for those wanting to get into fruit and veggie production

BY ALEXIS KIENLEN AF STAFF / MILLET

Y

Water is key to horticulture, as most crops require between 10 to 20 inches. PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

ou don’t start baking a cake without assembling all your ingredients first, and it’s the same when planning a fruit and vegetable operation.

“You need to gather as much information as possible” said Rob Spencer, commercial horticulture specialist with Alberta Agriculture in Stettler.

“Having that information will allow you to do all sorts of things.”

Spencer is one of the experts conducting a province-wide series of “Explore Horticulture” workshops, which were created in response to inquiries from

people interested in getting into fruit and vegetable production.

The checklist for getting started is pretty basic, but it quickly gets quite long. These include questions such as: What can you grow given your local climate and what crops are best suited to soil on your land? Will you go the conventional route or target the organic market? How far away is the nearest sizable town or city?

Where will you get workers from and do you know labour is one of the biggest expenses on any fruit and vegetable operation?

Dig a little deeper and the questions get more technical, such as will you need soil amendments?

Alberta Agriculture’s soil information viewer is a recommended source, as are county and agricul-

. t i m i l e h t o t t h g i r . . . s d l e Out yi nce. a m r o f r e ld p e i d y m u ith any hybri w e m v i ti ti x e p a m M canola is co bigger yield , VR 9559 G offers es to yield at’s more, it h W .

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tural fieldmen. Growers should also research the cropping history of the land as well as pesticide and herbicide use in adjacent fields, said Spencer.

“We’ve run into a lot of problems from herbicide use, not from misuse, but because horticulture crops are quite sensitive,” he said. “You have to consider what’s been done on the land and if it will impact the success of what you’re doing there.”

Potential growers should know the history of fertilizer application, moisture-holding capacity and nutrient loads in the soil, as they can affect the growth of crops. Growers need to know the texture of the soil and should choose soil with a pH of between six to eight, said Spencer, who also recommends soil testing every year using a western Canadian soil test lab.

As in real estate, fruit and vegetable growing is about location.

The ideal location for growing fruit or vegetables is protected from the wind, but not completely enclosed by a shelterbelt as air movement affects humidity and disease.

“You need some air movement, so having a completely impermeable shelterbelt is not ideal,” said Spencer Some vegetable and fruit crops need slopes running in a specific direction as slope impacts air movement and drainage.

Water is also key, as most crops require between 10 to 20 inches of water.

“Water is absolutely crucial to horticulture because you’re dealing with a fresh commodity,” Spencer said. “The water quality needs to be tested. Just because you can drink it does not mean you can irrigate with it.”

Spencer doesn’t recommend using wells for irrigation for fruits and vegetables. Before beginning production, growers need to make sure they have legal access to a good-quality water supply.

Water quality has an impact on the soil as certain mineral structures, particularly salts, can change soil chemistry and result in poor crops.

Growers need to research what kind of equipment is needed, “Certain pieces are important, others not so much,” said Spencer. “Flexibility and creativity are important. Get what you need, and used or second hand is perfectly acceptable.”

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Rob Spencer, commercial horticulture specialist with Alberta Agriculture. PHOTO: ALEXIS KIENLEN 10607G-VIT-VR9559_GrainNews_MBcoop_ABFE_8.125x10.indd 1

30/08/12 2:06 PM

21

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Farm subsidies still get top share of EU austerity budget Deal } Farm spending will fall 13 per cent under EU budget deal

By Charlie Dunmore brussels / reuters

F

arm subsidies will continue to gobble up the biggest share of the European Union’s budget to 2020, despite a 13 per cent drop in future agricultural spending, under a deal struck

by EU leaders Feb. 8.

Agriculture’s budget supremacy was secured after France and other major farming nations thwarted attempts by Britain and its northern European allies to shift a greater share of EU spending towards new measures to boost growth and jobs.

As a result, farm subsidies will consume some 38 per cent of the EU budget for 2014-20, equivalent to 363 billion euros ($485.7 billion) of the 960 billion total, or around 50 billion euros a year.

That is still a significant reduction compared with the 417 billion euros earmarked for farming under the current seven-year budget, but supporters of the bloc’s 50-year-old common agricultural policy (CAP) will reflect that the result could have been a lot worse.

French President Francois Hollande was quick to claim victory in the negotiations, saying that France had managed to maintain its farm subsidies while other nations saw theirs cut.

“The relative share of agricultural spending in the European budget will decrease, but I made sure to preserve the funding destined for our farmers,” he told a news conference at the end of the 24-hour talks.

The EU’s farm commissioner, Romanian Dacian Ciolos, said the deal confirmed the importance of Europe’s farm policy for the 50 per cent of EU citizens that live in rural areas.

“EU leaders have reiterated their confidence in a modernized CAP and recognized the important contribution of farming and rural areas to the EU economy,” he said in a statement.

The only outright dissent came from Europe’s powerful farm lobby, accustomed to seeing its subsidies protected in previous EU budget deals.

“The decision will mean a 15 per cent reduction in CAP spending, threatening the employment of 40 million in the agri-food sector and millions more in rural areas,” EU farm lobby Copa-Cogeca said in a statement.

In 2011, Ciolos proposed an overhaul of CAP rules to coincide with the new budget period, and some of the main elements of his reform were endorsed by EU leaders as part of the budget deal.

Chief among these was a plan to make a third of the direct subsidies paid to farmers conditional on improvements in the environmental performance of agricultural production.

EU leaders also backed plans to share out farm payments more fairly across the bloc to address the disparity between producers in Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands who receive more than 400 euros per hectare on average and those in the Baltic states who get less than 150 euros per hectare.

But a proposal to limit subsidy payments to Europe’s wealthiest

landowners by capping individual payments at 300,000 euros per year was weakened at the summit, with leaders saying governments should be able to choose whether to impose the limit or not.

Provided the budget deal gets the approval it needs from the European Parliament, EU politicians will push ahead to try to finalize the CAP reform during the first half of this year.

Even if they meet that ambitious deadline, officials say it will leave too little time to implement the complex changes in direct subsidy payments for the start of the new budget cycle in 2014. As a result, next year’s direct payments will be based on the existing rules but using the revised lower budget.

A French farmer shovels feed for his Holstein dairy cows on his farm in northern France. France left last week’s European Union summit having accepted a cut in the the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) agricultural spending for the next seven years. But cuts weren’t as deep as other countries wanted. PHOTo: REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

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22

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

50% SOLD OUT! HELP CELEBRATE A CENTURY, PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS TODAY! FOR TICKET SALES: Tracey Gleason, (403) 556-8232 | development@oldscollege.ca

This year’s 11th annual Growing the Legacy Gala is not to be missed. Celebrating 100 years of Olds College, its students, and accomplishments, this evening will be a celebration of our past as we look forward to our next 100 years.

NEW FORMAT: Our new reception-style dinner will provide an excellent opportunity to mingle and network with our students, staff, and other guests while enjoying the gourmet food stations. Relax while being served dessert as we announce our Partner of the Year and entertained by our Keynote Speaker; Mètis actor, singer, producer and activist, Tom Jackson.

Zimbabwe production recovers after land redistribution LABELS  The country has not recovered its reputation as a

breadbasket, but neither has it earned its label as a basket case

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2013 marks the 100th Anniversary of Olds College 100 years of…

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Farm owner Lovejoy Tendengu inspects his tobacco crop at Nyamzura Farm in Odzi, about 200 km east of the capital Harare. PHOTO: REUTERS/PHILIMON BULAWAYO

BY ED CROPLEY

JOHANNESBURG/REUTERS

M

ore than a decade after the chaotic and violent seizure of white-run 13-01-24 3:15 PM farms by allies of President Robert Mugabe, food production in Zimbabwe is returning to 1990s levels as the new owners get to grips with the job, according to a new book.

The farm takeovers led by pro-Mugabe independence war veterans from 2000 onwards are widely seen as the catalyst for an economic meltdown that culminated in hyperinflation and an estimated 40 per cent contraction in output over eight years.

In his book Zimbabwe Takes Back its Land, however, London School of Economics researcher Joseph Hanlon argues that the seizures — while delivering shortterm economic trauma — were a radical form of land redistribution that is starting to bear fruit.

Output from farms seized the previous decade has soared, particularly since the hyperinflating Zimbabwe dollar was scrapped in 2009 and prices were based on more stable rand and U.S. dollars.

Takes a generation

For more information on how you can show your support in this space contact: Tiffiny Taylor tiffiny.taylor@fbcpublishing.com

Harvests are now nearing the years when the former British colony’s 4,500 white-owned commercial farms towered over the sector, according to Hanlon.

“It really does take a generation for people to dominate a farm.

That was true for the white farmers in the 1950s. It was true with the 1980s land reform, and it’s true now. It takes two decades,” Hanlon said.

“We’re only halfway down the line, so we’re not claiming Zimbabwe is El Dorado, and we’re not claiming even that you’ve done better than 2000. What we are claiming is you’re getting close to the 1990s average.”

To support his view, Hanlon cites government figures that put 2009-10 and 2010-11 harvests of maize, the staple food, at 78 per cent and 86 per cent, respectively, of the 1990s annual average.

In those two years, which admittedly enjoyed good rains, the International Monetary Fund says the economy grew at nearly 10 per cent.

“There are a set that are in trouble; there are a set that are comfortable; and about a third of them who are really serious farmers.”

JOSEPH HANLON

With the exception of tobacco, the picture for cash crops is even more promising, with the southern African nation producing more cotton, sugar and tea in 2010-11 than in an average year prior to the farm takeovers, according to the figures.

Furthermore, of all maize produced, Hanlon says half comes from farms taken over since 2000

by Mugabe war veterans.

Breadbasket or basketcase?

With a figure as divisive as Mugabe, who has run the southern African nation since independence in 1980 and has been accused of crushing opposition by force, it is inevitable that Hanlon’s findings do not meet with universal approval.

The Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU), which represents the 4,000 white farmers who have lost their land in the last 10 years, publishes its own crop figures that put maize production at less than two-thirds of the government tallies.

The CFU also points to a United Nations appeal last month for $131 million in aid for nearly 1.7 million people — more than 10 per cent of the population— who are facing hunger this year because of drought.

“It’s an absolute joke,” CFU president Charles Taffs said in an interview, dismissing the official figures as “fictitious propaganda” from the Ministry of Agriculture.

“It’s a total and utter shambles here. If we were producing the maize the government says we’re producing, why are we every year appealing for food assistance?”

Hanlon counters by saying that the perception of Zimbabwe was a regional breadbasket after independence is a “white myth” and that one in three of the new post-2000 farmers are now starting to produce on a significant commercial scale.

“There are a set that are in trouble; there are a set that are comfortable; and about a third of them who are really serious farmers,” Hanlon said.

23

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

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MAiL TO: Alberta Farmer Express, Box 9800, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 3K7

(2 weeks prior)

REAl ESTATE Vacation Property Commercial Buildings Condos Cottages & Lots Houses & Lots Mobile Homes Motels & Hotels Resorts Farms & Ranches British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba Pastures Farms Wanted Acreages/Hobby Farms Land For Sale Land For Rent RECREATIONAl VEhIClES All Terrain Vehicles Boats & Water Campers & Trailers Golf Carts Motor Homes Motorcycles Snowmobiles Recycling Refrigeration Restaurant Supplies Sausage Equipment Sawmills Scales SEED/FEED/GRAIN Pedigreed Cereal Seeds Barley Durum Oats Rye Triticale Wheat Cereals Various Pedigreed Forage Seeds Alfalfa Annual Forage Clover Forages Various Grass Seeds Pedigreed Oilseeds Canola Flax Oilseeds Various Pedigreed Pulse Crops Beans Chickpeas

FAx TO: 403-341-0615

TRAIlERS Grain Trailers Livestock Trailers Trailers Miscellaneous Travel Water Pumps Water Treatment Welding Well Drilling Well & Cistern Winches COMMUNITy CAlENDAR British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba CAREERS Career Training Child Care Construction Domestic Services Farm/Ranch Forestry/Log Health Care Help Wanted Management Mining Oil Field Professional Resume Services Sales/Marketing Trades/Tech Truck Drivers Employment Wanted

PhOnE in: Toll-Free in Canada 1-888-413-3325 OR (403) 341-0442 in Alberta

NAME ___________________________________________________________ ADDRESS ____________________________________________ PROVINCE ___________________________

All classified ads are non-commissionable.

advertising deadline Wednesday noon

ORGANIC Organic Certified Organic Food Organic Grains Personal Pest Control Pets & Supplies Photography Propane Pumps Radio, TV & Satellite

Lentil Peas Pulses Various Pedigreed Specialty Crops Canary Seeds Mustard Potatoes Sunflower Specialty Crops Various Common Seed Cereal Seeds Forage Seeds Grass Seeds Oilseeds Pulse Crops Common Seed Various Feed/Grain Feed Grain Hay & Straw Hay & Feed Wanted Feed Wanted Grain Wanted Seed Wanted Sewing Machines Sharpening Services Silos Sporting Goods Outfitters Stamps & Coins Swap Tanks Tarpaulins Tenders Tickets Tires Tools

AD ORDER FORM

adveRtising Rates & infoRmation

RegulaR Classified

Miscellaneous Articles Wanted Musical Notices On-Line Services

South Devon Speckle Park Tarentaise Texas Longhorn Wagyu Welsh Black Cattle Composite Cattle Various Cattle Wanted lIVESTOCK horses Horse Auctions American Saddlebred Appaloosa Arabian Belgian Canadian Clydesdale Draft Donkeys Haflinger Miniature Morgan Mules Norwegian Ford Paint Palomino Percheron Peruvian Pinto Ponies Quarter Horse Shetland Sport Horses Standardbred Tennessee Walker Thoroughbred Warmblood Welsh Horses For Sale Horses Wanted lIVESTOCK Sheep Sheep Auction Arcott Columbia Dorper Dorset Katahdin Lincoln Suffolk Texel Sheep Sheep For Sale Sheep Wanted lIVESTOCK Swine Swine Auction Swine For Sale Swine Wanted lIVESTOCK Poultry Poultry For Sale Poultry Wanted lIVESTOCK Specialty Alpacas Bison (Buffalo) Deer Elk Goats Llama Rabbits Emu Ostrich Rhea Yaks Specialty Livestock Various Livestock Equipment Livestock Services & Vet Supplies Miscellaneous Articles

PHONE # ______________________________

TOWN ____________________________________________

POSTAL CODE _________________________

Even if you do not want your name & address to appear in your ad, we need the information for our files.

PLEASE PRINT YOUR AD BELOW ______________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CAUTION The Alberta Farmer Express, while assuming no responsibility for advertisements appearing in its columns, exercises the greatest care in an endeavor to restrict advertising to wholly reliable firms or individuals.

However, please do not send money to a Manitoba Co-operator box number. Buyers are advised to request shipment C.O.D. when ordering from an unknown advertiser, thus minimizing the chance of fraud and eliminating the necessity of a refund where the goods have already been sold.

At Farm Business Communications we have a firm commitment to protecting your privacy and security as our customer. Farm Business Communications will only collect personal information if it is required for the proper functioning of our business. As part of our commitment to enhance customer service, we may share this personal information with other strategic business partners. For more information regarding our Customer Information Privacy Policy, write to: Information Protection Officer, Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1.

Occasionally we make our list of subscribers available to other reputable firms whose products and services might be of interest to you.

If you would prefer not to receive such offers, please contact us at the address in the preceding paragraph, or call (204)-954-1456.

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 Communication assume no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader for this publication based on any and all information provided.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CLASSIFICATION _____________________ ❏ I would like to take advantage of the Prepayment Bonus of 2 FREE weeks when I prepay for 3 weeks.

No. of words _________________ x $0.60 x

No. of weeks ______________ =

______________

Minimum charge $15.00 per week

❏

VISA

❏

MASTERCARD

Card No. __/__/__/__/ __/__/__/__/ __/__/__/__/ __/__/__/__/

Add $2.50 if being billed / Minus 10% if prepaying

________________

Add 5% GST

________________

Expiry Date __/__/ __/__/

Signature _______________________________________________________________________

TOTAL _____________

24

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

FARM MACHINERY Grain Handling

CAREERS

AUCTION SALES Auctions Various

CAREERS Employment Wanted

WE GUARANTEE RESULTS ON EQUIPMENT AUCTIONS

AGRI-VACS

Tired of shovelling out your bins, unhealthy dust and awkward augers?

Walinga manufactures a complete line of grain vacs to suit your every need. With no filters to plug and less damage done to your product than an auger, you’re sure to find the right system to suit you. Call now for a free demonstration or trade in your old vac towards a new WALINGA AGRI-VACS Fergus, ON: (519) 787-8227 Carman, MB: (204) 745-2951 Davidson, SK: (306) 567-3031

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Grain Wanted BUYING HEATED/DAMAGED PEAS, FLAX & GRAIN “On Farm Pickup” Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252 BUYING SPRING THRASHED CANOLA & GRAIN “On Farm Pickup” Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Dunvegan Ag Solutions

BUSINESS SERVICES

FARM MACHINERY

BUSINESS SERVICES Crop Consulting

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

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

Agri-Pro Co-op

Falher - 780-837-2205

Rycroft - 780-765-2865

precisionpac.ca

Viterra

Delia - 403-364-3735

precisionpac.ca

Agricultural Collateral Inspection and Appraisals Ag background required. Training course available. visit www.amagappraisers.com or Call 800-488-7570

precisionpac.ca

FARM CHEMICAL SEED COMPLAINTS

We also specialize in: Crop Insurance appeals; Chemical drift; Residual herbicide; Custom operator issues; Equipment malfunction; Yield comparisons, Hit our readers where it counts… in the classifieds.

Stretch your advertising dollars! Place an ad in the Plus Private Investigations of any nature. With our Place your ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifed classifieds. Our friendly staff is waiting for your call. section. 1-888-413-3325. assistance the majority of our clients have received 1-888-413-3325. compensation denied. Back-Track 28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 4 13-01-15 12:38 PM 28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd previously 7 13-01-15 12:38 PM ANTIQUES Investigations investigates, documents your loss and BOW VALLEY TRADING LTD. assists in settling your claim.

28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 11 Call Us Today!

Licensed Agrologist on Staff.

ANTIQUES WE BUY DAMAGED GRAIN For more information Antique Equipment Advertising Deadline for Please call 1-866-882-4779

13-01-15 12:3

Spring Catalog: March 1st

Wheat, Barley, Oats, Peas, etc.

Green or Heated Canola/Flax

1-877-641-2798

herbicides

1-800-667-2075 hodginsauctioneers.com

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Andrukow Group Solutions Inc. Provost - 780-753-3150

SK PL # 915407 • AB PL # 180827

BUYING:

HEATED & GREEN CANOLA • Competitive Prices • Prompt Movement • Spring Thrashed

_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 21

“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.milliganbiofuels.com

Legal - 780-961-3088

Sexsmith - 780-568-6060

precisionpac.ca

precisionpac.ca

AUCTION SALES

Buy and Sell

anything you need through the

AUCTION SALES Auctions Various

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

Andrukow Group Solutions Inc.

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

precisionpac.ca Round up the cash! Advertise your unwanted equipment in the Alberta Farmer Express classifieds.

AUCTION SALES Auctions Various

AUCTION SALES Auctions Various

28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 3

LOOKING FOR AG EQUIPMENT OR MACHINERY?

13-01-15 12:38 PM

SHIELDS

28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 6

AUCTION SERVICE LTD.

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Richardson Pioneer

Find it fast at

Waskatenau - 780-358-2720

precisionpac.ca

Trochu - 403-442-2700

We know that farming is enough of a gamble so if you want to sell it fast place your ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifieds. It’s a Sure Thing. Call our toll-free number today. We have friendly staff ready to help.

1-888-413-3325.

1995 R72 Gleaner, 2522/sep hours, 3245 engine, Sunnybrook rotor, new feeder chains, $40,000 (403)818-6443

herbicides

Viterra

precisionpac.ca

FARM MACHINERY Combine – Gleaner

13-01-15 PMwhere it counts… in the classifieds.

Hit our12:38 readers Place your ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifed section. 1-888-413-3325.

PIECES OF AG EQUIPMENT!

herbicides

Combines

ASSORTED DEUTZ AND OTHER diesel engines.

KMK Sales, (800)565-0500, Humboldt, SK.

OVER 43,000

herbicides

PIECES OF AG EQUIPMENT!

ENGINES

28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 9

13-01-15 12:38 PM

43,000

Find it fast at

1-888-413-3325

Wainwright - 780-842-3306

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Viterra

Farming is enough of a gamble, advertise in the Alberta Farmer Express classified section. It’s a sure thing.

1-888-413-3325.

28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 13 13-01-15 12:38 PM

precisionpac.ca

herbicides

Sturgeon Valley Fertilizer

1953 FARGO 3TON, ALMOST complete, open to offers. 1947 Chev Mapleleaf, 2Ton, 2.8x42 duals, nearly complete, located in Maple Creek, Sask.

(403)722-2409, 403-845-0414

FIND THE AG EQUIPMENT YOU NEED… TODAY. OVER

FARM MACHINERY Combine – Gleaner

FARM MACHINERY Combine – Gleaner

FARMING IS ENOUGH OF 28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 12

A GAMBLE...

13-01-15 12:38 PM

General Auction Services since 1960

Webb’s Crop Services

FARM, RANCH, REAL ESTATE & COMMERCIAL

precisionpac.ca

Email: john@shieldsauctionservices.com • Phone: 403-464-0202

Vermilion - 780-853-6565

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

1-888-413-3325

13-01-15 12:3

25

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

FARM MACHINERY Combine – Gleaner

FARM MACHINERY Parts & Accessories

1996 GLEANER R72, 2160/SEP. hrs, 2724 eng. hrs. Sunnybrook rotor, new feeder chains, $45,000 (403)818-6443

BURNT 6195 WHITE, 920 Jiffy shredder, front fire damage, 135 Ezee on loader, w/grapple fork, fire damage (403)845-0414

FARM MACHINERY Sprayers

FARM MACHINERY Combine – 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

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.

440 Quad track w/PTO 535 Quad track w/PTO 18’ Degelman 6 Way Blade, As new, fits Quad track.

NEW WOBBLE BOXES for Macdon JD, NH, IH, 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

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Neerlandia Co-op Association Ltd. Neerlandia - 780-674-2820

precisionpac.ca Combine ACCessories

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Various

8100 Wilmar Sprayer JD 4710, 4720, 4730, 4830, 4920, 4930 SP sprayers JD 9770 & 9870 w/CM & duals CIH 3185, 3230, 3330, 4430, 4420 sprayers

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

GOOD SELECTION OF CASE QUAD TRACKS 500-550 & 600’’S

Many Other 4WD’s Available!

“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

Tillage & Seeding

herbicides

herbicides

FARM MACHINERY Sprayers

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Various

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Air Drills

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

FLEXICOIL 2001 5000 AIRDRILL, w/2340 TBT tank, 39ft, 9in. spacing, c/w liquid nitro/alpine kit, Atom Jet openers, 3in. rubber packers, (306)228-3665, Unity, SK. Hit our readers where it counts… in the classifieds.

Place your ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifed section. 1-888-413-3325.

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Tillage

Viterra

Provost - 780-753-2355

solutions

precisionpac.ca

for troublesome gauge wheels

Spraying EquipmEnt

Richardson Pioneer Oyen - 403-664-2620

precisionpac.ca

Big Tractor Parts, Inc.

28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 19

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

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.

Galahad - 780-583-2476

RECONDITIONED COMBINE HEADERS. RIGID13-01-15 12:38 PM _PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 14 Stretch your advertising dollars! Place an ad in the and flex, most makes and sizes; also header transclassifieds. Our friendly staff is waiting for your call. ports. Ed Lorenz, (306)344-4811 or Website: 1-888-413-3325. www.straightcutheaders.com Paradise Hill, SK.

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

precisionpac.ca

QF2002 SPRAYER, 90ft. w/wind cones,13-01-15 12:38 PM 28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 BRANDT AB.indd 16 new pump, 1250/gal tank. wash out tank, foam marker, big rubber, auto rate, vg. condition, shedded, $13,500 OBO (780)967-2789, Onoway, Ab.

FARM MACHINERY Combine – Accessories

13-01-15 12:3

STEIGER TRACTOR SPECIALIST

herbicides

Agro Guys Inc.

FARM MACHINERY Sprayers

Geared For The Future

TracTors Patent #2719667

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Case/IH

herbicides 2006 CIH STX 430, 2187hrs, 16 spd. P/S, Pto, 28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 18 diff lock, 20.8xR42 duals, al-13-01-15 12:38 PM 4hyds, Front & Rear ways shedded, (306)228-3665, Unity, SK.

Dugald MB 204-866-3558

herbicides

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

Kneehill Soil Services Ltd.

Richardson Pioneer

Drumheller - 403-823-4600

precisionpac.ca

Magrath - 403-758-3162

precisionpac.ca

E: ridgemetal@hotmail.com W: RidgelandManufacturing.ca

FARMING

IS ENOUGH OF A GAMBLE...

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – John Deere 1988 4250 JD EXCELLENT condition, always shedded, 5400 original hours, 20.8x38 tires, all tires good, asking $39,000 OBO (780)967-2789, Onoway, Ab. 1989 JD 4755 TWD, 175 hp, 6050hrs, PTO, 15spd. p/s, 3hyds, new 20.8x38 duals, rear wheel weights, exc. con. (306)228-3665, Unity, SK.

Crop Production Services (Canada) Inc.

Medicine Hat - 403-526-9499 Advertise in the Alberta Farmer Express Classifieds, it’s a Sure Thing!

1-888-413-3325

precisionpac.ca

Stretch your ADVERTISING DOLLAR!

Round up the cash! Advertise your unwanted equipment in the Alberta Farmer Express classifieds.

1-888-413-3325

We know that farming is enough of a gamble so if you want to sell it fast place your ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifieds. It’s a Sure Thing. Call our toll-free number today. We have friendly staff ready to help.

1-888-413-3325.

28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 10

_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 15

28328_PPAC_Classified AB.indd 13-01-152012 12:38 PM 17

13-01-15 12:38 PM

ADVERTISE

with Classifieds and

reach 42,000 Alberta farmers.

Looking to buy or sell?

Place your ad today by calling Maureen at

1-888-413-3325 * Ask about our Prairie-wide classified rate.

13-01-15 12:3

26

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Various

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Various

Double LL Industries

MISCELLANEOUS WANTED

SEED / FEED / GRAIN

WANTED: USED PARTS FOR Gehl 120 MX, mixmill or similar. (780)968-7750, Stony Plain, AB.

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Feed Grain

ORGANIC

780.905.8565 Nisku, Alberta

1994 Case 580 Super K

1986 Case-Ih 585

1998 Massey Ferguson 4270

ORGANIC Organic – Grains

2005 Toyota 25 Forklift

100 HP Diesel, 3 Point Hitch Orchard Special, 52 Pto Hp, 60 Eng HP, 3PTH

14,500

8,800

22,500

$

5,800

$

$

5000 lb Lift

$

www.doublellindustries.com FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous

HEAT & AIR CONDITIONING

1996 ROGATOR 854, 800/GAL, 80ft. 4x4, 2 sets tires, 3790/hrs, GFS boom, Raven auto-rake, Raven cruiser, GPS, spd. hydro. 195hp Cummins, $56,500; 2009 Hyline BP 8100, big tires, twine cutter, hyd. deflector $12,000; 1999 CAT 460 1300 sep. hrs, rake up $91,500; 2006 JD 567 megawide, mesh wrap, 5453/bales, $22,000; (403)665-2341, Craigmyle, AB. ACREAGE EQUIPMENT: CULTIVATORS, DISCS, Plows, Blades, Post pounders, Haying Equipment, Etc. (780)892-3092, Wabamun, Ab. RETIRED FROM FARMING, MOST machinery shedded, 1998 Peterbuilt, 460 Cummins, 18spd, w/36ft tandem Doepker grain trailer $75,000; (403)586-0978, Torrington, Ab.

1-800-587-4711

herbicides

For more information, please contact Sandy at:

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

306-975-9251 306-975-1166 sjolicoeur@bioriginal.com herbicides

REAL ESTATE

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

REAL ESTATE Farms & Ranches – Manitoba FARM RANCHLAND TENDER Approx 1,354-ac farm including 1993 House, & outbuildings located in the RM of Ochre River, MB is tendered for sale.

Tenders must be received at the office of Johnston & Company, Barristers & Solicitors, Box 551, Dauphin, MB, R7N 2V4, Attn: J.D. DEANS on or before March 22nd, 2013. The highest or any tender may not necessarily be accepted. For detailed info Contact Larry Garton (204)648-4541 or view online: www.gartonsauction.com

Crop Production Services (Canada) Inc. Stettler - 403-742-8540

precisionpac.ca

W. Buis Holdings Ltd.

CAREERS Truck Drivers

Foremost - 403-867-2436

DRIVER’S WANTED. EXPERIENCED OILFIELD vac truck or body job tank truck operator w/Class 3, H2 S, WHIMIS & T.G.D. certificates required. Consort Area. Phone Ed (403)575-1423. Fax resume & 28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 8 13-01-15 12:3 driver’s abstract Ed (403)552-3825.

precisionpac.ca TIRES

Alberta Farmer Express classifieds, 1-888-413-3325.

FEDERATION TIRE: 1100X12, 2000X20, used aircraft. Toll free 1-888-452-3850

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

Westlock - 780-349-4525

Farming enough of2 a gamble, advertise in the Alber-13-01-15 12:38 PM 28328_PPAC_Classified 2012isAB.indd ta Farmer Express classified section. It’s a sure thing.

1-888-413-3325.

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

Viterra

precisionpac.ca

Lloydminster 306-825-5858

RON SAUER

Select Holidays 1-800-661-4326 www.selectholidays.com

ROUND AND SQUARE HAY bales, excellent quality alfalfa timothy brome mix, shedded, good for horses & Cattle (780)967-2593, Calahoo, Ab.

herbicides

Viterra

ronsauer@shaw.ca

*Tours may be tax Deductible

HAY FOR SALE: large round 208 first cut Alfalfa/Timothy, 400 orchard/grass mix, $.04/per/pound, 300/bales second cut (both types) at $.05/per/pound, cut early, little or no rain, (780)696-2491, Breton, Ab.

GRAZING LEASE FOR SALE, North Eaglesham area, 965AC, Cattle handling equipment, 200 Timothy straw bales. (780)359-2261

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

Pacific Coastal Cruise ~ May 2013 Ukraine/Romania ~ May 2013 Austria/Switzerland ~ June 2013 Ireland ~ June 2013 Western Canada ~ June 2013 Alaska Land/Cruise ~ August 2013 Available Soon: Australia/New Zealand & South America 2014

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Hay & Straw

REAL ESTATE Land For Sale

herbicides

_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 20 540-7691 (403)

BUYING ALL TYPES OF feed grain. Also have market for light offgrade or heated, picked up on the farm. Eisses Grain Marketing 1-888-882-7803, (403)350-8777 Lacombe.

*Please state the Variety & Quantity for Sale

• Sprayed foam insulation • Ideal for shops, barns or homes • Healthier, Quieter, More Energy Efficient®

IRON & STEEL

MACHINERY LTD.

If interested, please send a 5lbs sample* to the following address: Attn: Sandy Jolicoeur Bioriginal Food & Science Corp.

102 Melville Street Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7J 0R1

The Icynene Insulation System®

www.penta.ca

Rural & Cultural Tours

FEED GRAIN WANTED! ALSO buying; Light, tough, or offgrade grains. “On Farm Pickup” Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252

Bioriginal Food & Science Corp., based in Saskatoon, is actively buying Organic Flax from the 2012 crop year.

4x4 Tractor with 3 Point Hitch, 8 Foot Bucket, New Rear Tires

TRAVEL

precisionpac.ca

Stretch your advertising dollars! Place an ad in the classifieds. Our friendly staff is waiting for your call.

1-888-413-3325.

Richardson Pioneer

LIVESTOCK Cattle – Red Angus

precisionpac.ca

New 30.5L-32 16 ply, $2,195; 20.8-38 12 ply $866; 18.4-38 12 ply; $783; 24.5-32 14 ply, $1,749; 14.9-24 12 ply, $356; 16.9-28 12 ply $558. Factory direct. More sizes available new and used.

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

Flexicoil 6 run seed treater ................................ $2,000 40 REGISTERED RED ANGUS bulls, (from 7 sires) 50’, 60’, & 80” Flexicoil harrow packer draw bars....... Call 28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd quiet, easy calving,33low to moderate birth weight,13-01-15 12:38 PM 134’ Flexicoil S68XL sprayer, 2007, suspended boom, good growth, EPD’s, guaranteed breeders, exc. for auto rate, joystick, rinse tank, triple quick jets, auto boom heifers or cows. Cleveley Cattle Company height, electric end nozzle & foam marker............. $39,500 28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 35 13-01-28 9:05 AM (780)689-2754, Ellscott, AB. 130’ Flexicoil 67XL PT sparyer, 2006,trail boom, auto PEDIGREED SEED rate, rinse tank, hyd. pump, combo jets, nice shape $26,500 LIVESTOCK Specialty – Various 51 Flexicoil Bodies c/w GEN. 4”carbide Cattle – Charolais spread tip openers, single chute, like new ................ $3,500 30’ 8230 CIH PT swather, PU reel, nice shape,.. $10,000 20 TAN OPEN CHAROLAIS/CROSS replacement 25ft Hesston 1200 PT swather, heifers, 750/lbs, All shots & Ivemac (780)771-2298, pu reel, nice shape................................................ $7,500 Wandering River, Ab. 21’ 4600 Prairie Star PT swather, UII pu reel, Bioriginal Food & Science Corp., based nice shape .............................................................$5000 16’ NH 2300 hay header & conditioner in Saskatoon, are looking to contract from NH 2450 swather, nice cond. ......................... $5,000 Borage acres for the upcoming 2013 1372 MF 13’ swing arm discbine 4yrs, like new$20,000 growing season.

MATR 10 wheel V-Hayrake, hyd. fold, as new .... $5,250 New Sakundiak 10x1200 (39.97’) 36HP Kohler eng., Great profit potential based on high E-Kay mover, Power steering, electric belt tightener, yields, high prices and low input costs. work lights, slimfit, 12 gal. fuel tank..................... $18,000 New Sakundiak 7x1200 (39.97’) , 22HP Robin-Subaru Attractive oil premiums and free herbicides eng.,w/Winter Kit, battery & fuel tank .......................$7,500 on-farm pick-up.

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27

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

U.S. spring crop season jeopardized as drought persists GRIP } A severe drought still grips 87 per cent of the High Plains

By Carey Gillam reuters

T

he unrelenting drought gripping key farming states in the U.S. Plains shows no signs of abating, and it will take a deluge of snow or rain to restore critical moisture to farmland before spring planting of new crops, a climate expert said Jan. 31.

“It’s not a pretty picture,” said climatologist Mark Svoboda of the University of Nebraska’s Drought Mitigation Center.

Precipitation in the Plains region has been three to six inches shy of normal levels since October, and some areas are nearly 16 inches short of much-needed moisture over the last nine months, said Svoboda.

The drought that last year ranked as the worst in roughly 50 years is still entrenched in the nation’s midsection.

Arkansas, are short more than half of the normal moisture they receive, said Svoboda.

The dry conditions have been exacerbated by unseasonably warm conditions in many areas.

The U.S. winter wheat crop that was planted last fall is struggling for survival now as a result, and will need substantial moisture to emerge in the spring.

Corn and soybeans crops, generally planted in April or shortly after, will also need good soil moisture to get the plants off to a healthy start before summer sets in. But there are no signs of any significant weather pattern shifts to bring about heavy precipitation, said Svoboda.

“Instead of normal, we’d like to see 150 per cent of normal,” he said.

Farmer Gail Wright is pictured next to a water pump which he says he is likely to shut down because the Ogallala Aquifer no longer providesT:8.125” adequate water near Sublette, Kansas. Drought continues to plague much of the U.S. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Murphy

“The January number is the highest amount of coverage for the U.S. since we’ve been doing this…”

Mark Svoboda University of Nebraska’s Drought Mitigation Center

Worst January

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This month was considered the worst January in terms of drought over the 13 years that a consortium of federal and state climatology experts have been monitoring drought levels and issuing regular “Drought Monitor” reports, said Svoboda.

“The January number is the highest amount of coverage for the U.S. since we’ve been doing this,” Svoboda said. The Jan. 31 Drought Monitor report showed severe drought still gripping 87.25 per cent of the High Plains, unchanged from the prior week.

Fully 100 per cent of the land area in Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma remained engulfed in severe drought or worse, according to the Drought Monitor. Nebraska remained the most droughtstricken state, with 96.28 per cent in extreme drought — the secondworst level of drought — and 77.46 per cent in exceptional drought, considered the most dire.

The Plains states are key crop production areas, particularly for hard red winter wheat, an important bread-making crop. And they are critical areas for cattle and other livestock production.

Overall, 57.68 per cent of the contiguous United States was in at least “moderate” drought as of Jan. 29, a slightly worse situation than the previous week’s tally of 57.64 per cent. Exceptional drought expanded slightly to 6.37 per cent, up from 6.36 per cent of the country.

28

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Paraguay soy farmers ask courts to halt Monsanto royalties EXPIRED  Growers say the Roundup Ready soy patent has expired ASUNCION / REUTERS

A

group of Paraguayan farmers asked the courts Feb. 5 to stop U.S. biotech company Monsanto from charging royalties for use of its genetically modified soybeans in the world’s No. 4 exporter.

The farmers say royalty payments should be halted because the company charges growers about $40 million per year to use its Roundup Ready soy even though its patent on the seeds has expired.

They were inspired by a similar case in neighbouring Brazil where a state court ordered Monsanto to stop charging for use of the seed technology.

“There are 34 farmers who are making this presentation initially but there are hundreds

A view of the soybean plants in Yguazu 350 km (217 miles) east of Asuncion. Growers in Paraguay, the world’s No. 4 exporter of soybeans have asked the courts to stop Monsanto from collecting royalties on an expired patent. PHOTO: REUTERS/JOSE ESPINOLA more who agree with it,” said Regis Mereles, head of the Soy Producers’ Association.

“The association has proposed ceasing payments without any prejudice to other negotiations on different strains,” he said, refer-

ring to the new soybean technology, known as Intacta RR2 Pro. Unlike Roundup Ready 1 technology, Intacta RR2 Pro offers protection against caterpillars.

A Monsanto spokesman in Paraguay, where the company

receives $4 per tonne of soybeans, declined to comment on the farmers’ legal action.

The company has defended an agreement signed with farming associations in 2004 that established payments for the use of its seed technology, which is present in about 95 per cent of the beans produced in the South American country.

It says the deal was meant to apply until 2014 and argues that its royalty rights remain in place for as long as there are valid patents on the technology anywhere in the world.

Paraguay trails far behind neighbouring Brazil and Argentina as a soy exporter, but production is growing steadily and farmers are expected to gather a record crop of 8.4 million tonnes this season thanks to favourable weather.

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U.S. farm loans by private banks jump in late 2012 BIG TICKET  Possible changes in U.S. tax laws spurred big-ticket purchases CHICAGO / REUTERS

F

arm lending by U.S. commercial banks soared during the fourth quarter of 2012 as farmers borrowed at low interest rates to buy costly livestock feed, new machinery, and fuel for harvest as well as to prepay for seed and fertilizer for the 2013 crop season, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said Jan. 30.

Bankers reported a spike in farm machinery and equipment loans during the quarter as farmers purchased the big-ticket items before potential adverse changes in U.S. tax laws in 2013. Record crop and rangeland prices in many areas of the Corn Belt and Plains added collateral to farmer balance sheets, at a time when interest rates were at or near record lows as the Fed manages the U.S. economic recovery.

“Total volumes for non-real estate farm loans rose at the fastest pace in three years during the quarter as commercial banks made more loans at higher average amounts,” the Fed said in its agricultural finance data book based on a November national survey of 250 ag bankers.

Demand for loans was strong among livestock producers as they struggled with soaring grain and hay prices, which soared amid the worst summer drought in the United States in more than 50 years. Rising fertilizer and seed prices enticed many grain producers to buy 2013 supplies now rather than wait.

“Loan volumes for feeder livestock rose further as prices for feeder livestock remained high due to short supplies resulting from past herd liquidations,” the survey said.

The uncertainty of government tax policy for 2013 amid the contentious budget negotiations over the year-end “fiscal cliff” also spurred grain farmers, who benefited from massive crop insurance payments that buoyed their finances, to make capital spending purchases rather than risk loss of tax breaks in 2013.

“Tax provisions allowing accelerated depreciation on qualifying farm asset purchases such as machinery, equipment, and special-use or single-purpose agribusiness buildings, including grain bins, drying systems, and livestock barns, were set to expire at the close of 2012,” the Fed survey said. “Producers taking advantage of the tax incentive helped to more than double the volume of farm machinery and equipment loans compared with last year.”

Despite soaring land prices, commercial bankers reported an upward spike in farm real estate loans heading into the fourth quarter as farmers worried about potential wild cards in tax policy in Washington. Sellers became more willing and buyers snapped up land.

“Elevated farmland prices and potential changes in tax policies motivated more landowners to sell before the end of the year,” the Fed survey said. “As a result, most agricultural bankers expected gains in farmland values to moderate during the next year and level off at record-high levels,” the Fed added.

29

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

China to speed up rural land reform, ensure food supply PRIORITIES  The government has listed its priorities for rural sector in 2013 BEIJING/ REUTERS

C

hina will draw up policies aimed at speeding up the transfer of rural land as part of efforts to improve efficiency and promote large-scale commercial farming, the government said Jan. 31.

The central government said in its “No. 1 document” for 2013, focusing on modernizing agriculture, it would grant more subsidies to large-scale landholders, family farms and rural co-operatives as it tries to provide more incentives to bring economies of scale to the fragmented countryside.

The “No. 1 document” is a key indicator of policy priorities and has focused on rural matters every year since 2003.

“The development of China’s rural sector has entered a new stage along with the deepening industrialization and urbanization,” the government said in the document, which was published by the official Xinhua news agency.

It listed grain security and farm product supply as top priorities, with China seeking to boost production as it urbanizes and industrializes. The relocation to the cities of more than 200 million migrant workers has slashed the rural workforce and boosted food demand, leading to a growing dependence on imports.

The government will continue to support domestic farm prices by increasing state stockpiles, it said. The policy has sent domestic prices much higher than international levels, requiring even tighter regulations of imports.

A woman picks tea leaves at a tea plantation in Moganshan, Zhejiang province.

The government will continue to purchase and stockpile corn, soybeans, rapeseed, cotton and sugar while strengthening the import tariff and quotas system, it said, without giving details.

China would also draw up measures to stimulate agricul-

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ture commodity futures trading and introduce new futures products. The government provided no details in the document.

The government will strengthen monitoring on imports of “sensitive” farm products and crack down on

PHOTO: REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA

smuggling, it said, without elaborating.

Land transfers

Consolidating land under the control of larger commercial farms has remained a big challenge for the government, with

a large number of leaseholders still unwilling to give up the safety net that their small farms provide.

The government is concerned that allowing large-scale land transfers will enable authorities to sell more scarce farmland to profitable non-agricultural sectors. It also fears a rising tide of rural unrest in the face of land grabs and pollution from heavy industry.

The government aims to improve the land registration system in the coming years to “offer legal proof to farmers in cases of land transfers,” it said in the document.

Farmers in China do not directly own most of their fields.

Instead, most rural land is owned collectively by a village, and farmers get leases that last for decades.

In theory, the villagers can collectively decide whether to apply to sell off or develop land.

In practice, however, local governments usually decide land sales and get the bulk of revenues.

Chinese academics have long called for land system reforms to permit direct land transfers by farmers.

Food security has long been a preoccupation of the ruling Communist Party, but imports last year accounted for about 12 per cent of total food supplies and senior officials have already ruled out self-sufficiency as an option.

But the government has remained reluctant to endorse large-scale imports, and the government is also expected to promise to better regulate trade.

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30

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

WHO issues its first guidelines for sodium intake for children

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agency is ramping up the fight against diet-related diseases

BY STEPHANIE NEBEHAY GENEVA / REUTERS

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he World Health Organization (WHO) has for the first time recommended limits on children’s daily consumption of sodium, which it hoped would help in the global fight against diet-related diseases becoming chronic among all populations.

In advice to its 194 member states Jan. 31, the UN agency noted high sodium levels were a factor behind elevated blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, the No. 1 cause of death and disability worldwide.

Heart disease, stroke and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory disease kill more people globally each year than all other causes combined, the agency said.

“Diet-related NCDs are chronic, and take years and decades to manifest; thus, delaying the onset of these diseases could improve lives and result in substantial cost savings,” it said.

“Thus, addressing, during childhood, the problem of elevated blood pressure and other risk factors for NCDs that could manifest later in life is crucial to combat NCDs,” it said.

The guidelines vary depending on the child’s size, age and energy needs, and apply to children over the age of two.

The WHO also somewhat revised its recommendations for adults, down to less than 2,000 mg of sodium intake per day, from the current 2,000 mg, in addition to a recommendation of at least 3,510 mg of potassium a day.

“Currently, most people consume too much sodium and not enough potassium,” the WHO said. Potassium-rich foods include beans and peas, nuts, vegetables such as spinach and cabbage, and fruits such as bananas, papayas and dates.

Sodium is found naturally in many foods such as milk products and eggs but is present in much higher levels in processed foods, the WHO said. One 100gram serving of bacon, pretzels or popcorn has nearly as much sodium as the daily recommended maximum, for example, at about 1,500 mg.

Sticking to the WHO’s recommendations would mean people would consume roughly equal amounts of potassium and sodium every day, whereas most people consume twice as much sodium as potassium, the WHO said.

31

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

BriefS Stocks tight, but new-crop cereal prospects excellent rome / reuters / Global cereals crops are expected to be excellent in 2013 unless weather turns very bad, but stocks are tight and climate-related shocks could cause prices to spike up violently, a senior economist at the UN’s Food agency said on Thursday.

“We should be expecting excellent crops in 2013 which could weigh heavily on prices,” said Abdolreza Abbassian, a senior economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

“But the weather could turn negative, and because we are in a tight situation, prices could react violently and rise,” he said.

Proxy battle looms for May in AgriumJana standoff

By Rod Nickel/reuters/ Canadian fertilizer company Agrium Inc. has failed to prove that it should keep its two main divisions together, and also needs to cut costs and use capital more effectively, activist shareholder Jana Partners said Feb. 7.

Jana, the largest Agrium investor with six per cent of shares, was rebutting a presentation the company made to sell-side analysts on

Jan. 28.

“Nothing in Agrium’s responses refutes the overall picture of a company that has historically been undervalued and underperformed its peerweighted average, and that can unlock that value by addressing fundamental issues with the help of our highly qualified nominees,” said Jana managing partner Barry Rosenstein.

Agrium could not immediately be reached for comment.

Jana has nominated five candidates to Agrium’s 11-member board, setting up a proxy battle at the company’s annual meeting in May or potentially sooner.

The New York hedge fund wants Agrium to spin off its farm retail division, the largest in the United States, which sells seed, fertilizer and chemicals to farmers.

Jana argues that the retail arm is undervalued within an integrated structure with Agrium’s wholesale division that mines potash and phosphate and makes nitrogen fertilizer.

Agrium has said that keeping retail and wholesale operations within one company produces synergies. The retail stores’ direct contact with farmers, for example, helps its wholesale side make decisions on fertilizer production.

Take advantage of the cold weather — kill some bugs Advantage } Unlike producers in other countries,

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arm weather during the 2012 grain harvest benefited producers, but it also benefited insects that feed in stored grain, says Brent Elliott, infestation control and sanitation officer at the Canadian Grain Commission. However, cold winter weather can help producers control insects.

“Now that winter’s here, producers need to reconsider how they’re managing insects in their stored grain,” Elliott said. “Because fumigation does not work below 5 C, it’s not the preferred method for insect control. The good news is cold temperatures are very helpful for controlling insect populations.”

Colder temperatures allow producers to control insects by using a combination of aeration and grain movement.

Using aeration

Aeration systems preserve stored grain and keep it dry by reducing the temperature of grain and reducing moisture migration. If you use an aeration system for your bins, you should turn it on during the winter months to cool your grain. The temperature of the grain and the T:10.25” ambient temperature outside will dictate how long

table Disinfestation time periods Constant grain temperature

Time period for disinfestation

-5 C

12 weeks

-10 C

8 weeks

-15 C

4 weeks

-20 C

1 week Grain movement can also be used to kill insect pests such as rusty grain beetle (l) and red flour beetle.

to leave aeration on. More information about aeration is available on the Canadian Grain Commission’s website, www.grains canada.gc.ca.

Prairie winters are the ideal time for cooling grain. At -20 C, it only takes one week to disinfest or control all life stages of stored insect pests. The time needed for disinfestation changes depending on the grain’s temperature as shown in the table.

Using grain movement

You can also use grain movement, which can kill insect pests such as

the rusty grain beetle and red flour beetle.

Augering grain out of a bin and then back in will reduce the insect population. Augering also helps to break up any hot spots in the grain. Moulds and secondary insect pests, such as the foreign grain beetle, can develop in hot spots.

In cold weather, grain exposed to cold air during augering will cool off quickly. This may help to reduce your aeration time. However, you should always monitor the temperature of the grain in storage to be sure.

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} CONDITIONS

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

El Niño unlikely IN N. HEMISPHERE

Dry for Paraguay soy

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Feb. 7 held to its view that the El Niño climate phenomenon should pose few weather problems in the Northern Hemisphere through spring. In its monthly report, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center (CPC), a part of NOAA’s National Weather Service, said prediction models overall point to a neutral forecast through spring, though it has less confidence in its outlook for summer. At this point meteorologists think the weather patterns are too weak to look for either El Niño or the La Niña phenomenon, which arises from cooler sea temperatures. — Reuters

Paraguayan soy farmers fear dry weather could crimp yields as harvesting advances, but damp conditions earlier in the season still point to a record crop in the world’s No. 4 supplier, industry specialists said on Feb. 6. The South American country’s Agriculture Ministry forecasts 2012-13 soybean output at 8.4 million tonnes, more than twice last season’s drought-hit crop. Harvesting started in mid-January and should last until the end of March.

Are we really seeing more melting in the winter?

Analysis } Our weather columnist crunches 60 years of data

to see if the old-timers are right

by daniel bezte

I

have received a fair number of emails over the last while asking if we are seeing more melting than we used to during the winter. These types of questions interest me as they will often have two possible answers. The first answer could be that yes, we are seeing more melting, but more often than not it has to do with people’s short-term memory. That is, people tend to remember details about the recent past but forget these details when dealing with longer periods.

For example, after a couple of warm winters, our minds all of a sudden remember that the last few winters have been warm and you have a hard time remembering when we last had a cold winter. On the other side of the coin are the “old-timers,” for lack of a better term, who seem to remember every warm or cold day we have ever had — at least until you call them on it!

Either way, it is interesting how our weather memory works.

To try and figure out whether we have seen an increase in the amount of melting occurring during the Prairie winter, I figured the easiest way would be to count the number of days that go above 0 C each winter.

I defined winter as the period from Dec. 1 through to the end of February. For this study I chose three different stations from across the Prairies that all had reliable climate records going back until at least 1939.

For Manitoba I chose Winnipeg; in Saskatchewan, Regina; and in Alberta, Edmonton. For Alberta I figured Calgary’s data would be too muddled up with chinook winds to give a good representation of any possible increase or decrease in the number of winter melt days.

To calculate the number of winter melt days I simply

counted the number of days that went above 0 C for each month of the winter and added them up. The easiest way to look at this data is to graph it out. The first things that jump out are how variable the data is and how many more melting days western regions see compared to eastern regions.

Even though Winnipeg is a fair bit farther south than Edmonton and even Regina, Winnipeg sees notably fewer melting days during the winter.

Overall, it is not surprising that all three stations follow a similar pattern, since the overall weather patterns that cover this area are fairly large in nature.

Looking at the graphs it is difficult to say there’s any overall upward trend, although if you look at the area under the line, you could say there does appear to be an increase in the number of melt days beginning in the 1970s. I decided to look at some summary statistics of the data to see if that might tell us a little more. Statistically speaking, 30 years of data is considered a reasonable number, so I compared the first 30 years of data (193968) with the final 30 years of data (1982-2011) for each of our stations, as seen in the table here.

Based on this comparison it does look as though there’s been an increase in the number of melt days in recent years compared to the historical data, with the greatest increase occurring in the Winnipeg region. Overall, between 1982 and 2011, Winnipeg experienced about 55 per cent more melt days when compared to data collected between 1939 and 1968! Regina saw about a 30 per cent increase and Edmonton a 24 per cent increase. For you math geeks out there, these differences were statistically significant for Winnipeg and Edmonton, but were not significant for Regina.

Maybe those “old-timers” are on to something!

On the other side of the coin are the “old-timers,” for lack of a better term, who seem to remember every warm or cold day we have ever had…

table the big melt Comparison of the number of melt days between the first and last 30 years of data.

Statistic 1939-1968 1982-2011 WINNIPEG Min.

1

1

Max.

19

27

Mean

6.6

10.4

Total

199

312

Difference 56.8 per cent increase REGINA Min.

1

2

Max.

34

32

Mean

13.1

17.1

Total

393

512

Difference 30.3 per cent increase EDMONTON Min.

4

16

Max.

41

50

Mean

25.6

31.9

Total

769

957

Difference 24.4 per cent increase

This map shows the total precipitation across Alberta over most of January. With the exception of the northern and Peace River regions, most areas had a fairly dry January. Areas south of Edmonton all the way down to the border received between trace amounts and 10 mm of water-equivalent precipitation during the month. Farther north some areas received more than 55 mm of water-equivalent precipitation.

33

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

ALBERTA WHEAT COMMISSION DIRECTORS

Seed grower says faba beans are fabulous

MARKET CHALLENGE  The pulse crop is easy to grow — if you have the right

seeding equipment — but selling them has been a challenge until recently

BY HELEN MCMENAMIN

AF CONTRIBUTOR / LETHBRIDGE

F

aba beans are easy to grow, but a challenge to sell.

But there’s at least one exporter/processor ready to buy both zero-tannin and traditional faba beans.

Greg Stamp has been growing faba beans for several years, but they became a much more important part of the family business since they formed a partnership with Saskcan Pulse Trading.

“We really like faba beans, they’re a great crop,” says Stamp of familyowned Stamp’s Select Seeds at Enchant, northeast of Lethbridge.

“They’re tougher than peas, and they fix about 30 per cent more nitrogen per bushel than peas. We figure on over a pound of N an acre for each bushel of beans.”

He says yields are more stable than peas, and under irrigation or in high-moisture areas, will generally yield 20 per cent more than peas.

Faba beans are sturdy plants, with strong stems and big leaves, and can reach three feet in height, with some varieties surpassing five feet. They don’t have tendrils like other pulses and so don’t lodge, and are well suited to heavy soils and areas with relatively cool summers. However, they’re a long-season crop, and need to be seeded early to mature and yield well, avoiding hot weather during flowering that can blast flowers and limit yields. As for all pulses, it’s important to clean up perennial weeds from the previous crop year.

South of the Trans-Canada Highway, growers have to watch for pea leaf weevils. Stamp recommends using an insecticide seed treatment formulated for pulses as well as the right inoculant. Chocolate spot, a fungal disease, can attack faba beans especially in warm, humid conditions. Stamp scouts for it and considers using a fungicide when he finds signs of it.

“The main thing about growing faba beans is to be sure you have seeding equipment that can handle the big seeds without bridging or cracking too many,” he says. “The seed types we have are around 500 or 650 grams per thousand seeds.”

Most machines can handle the seeds, but some can’t, he says.

“We have to just advise people with those systems that maybe faba beans aren’t for them at the moment.”

Despite the great rotational benefits of faba beans, Stamp couldn’t find good markets for the crop until partnering with Saskcan Pulse Trading, Canada’s biggest pulse exporter and processor.

Company officials work with Stamp to decide on varieties that will work for both growers and buyers, and will market the crop from producers who buy seed from him.

“We want our customers to do well with our seed,” says Stamp.

“We hope that they have a good experience and make some money on any crop from seed we supply, so we’re always available to help.”

Stamp grows both tannin and zero-tannin varieties. Most food

markets prefer the zero-tannin types, but some Mediterranean countries, such as Egypt, want the tannin type for its flavour. Faba beans can also be fractionated for food industry ingredients. Feed markets are less attractive, especially as the price of protein supplements has dropped because of increased soybean meal supplies from biofuel processing.

Having Saskcan Pulse Trading market Alberta faba beans has made a huge difference to Stamp and other growers.

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The new Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) selected its board of directors at its inaugural annual meeting Jan. 28. Kent Erickson of Irma (Region 3) will chair the board. Vice-chair is Henry Vos of Fairview (Region 5). Other directors are Lynn Jacobson, Enchant and Gary Stanford, Magrath (Region 1); Ron Nerland, Morrin and Kevin Auch, Carmangay (Region 2); Terry Young, Lacombe (Region 3); Ron Kuhn, Fort Saskatchewan and Greg Porozni, Mundare (Region 4); Ron Heck, Fairview (Region 5) and Kevin Bender, Bentley, director-at-large.

“We were about ready to quit growing faba beans,” says Greg’s father Rick. “But then we met the Al-Katib brothers (the company’s owners) and partnered with them.

That changed the whole picture for faba beans for us.”

One grower in Olds reported that faba beans were his most profitable crop.

“Net returns are generally about $40 more than for durum or other wheat and there’s a protein boost in the wheat next year,” says Stamp.

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34

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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Cary Fowler, executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, holds sample seed packets in the Global Seed Vault in Longyearbyen. The vault has been built in a mountainside cavern on Spitsbergen Island around 1,000 km (600 miles) from the North Pole to store the world’s crop seeds in case of disaster. PHOTo: REUTERS/Bob Strong

By Alister Doyle oslo / reuters

Pasture Riders Community Pasture Program Seasonal vacancies anticipated in several locations in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Pasture Riders are required to check, treat and move cattle on horseback, monitor range conditions, monitor stock water and repair or rebuild fences.

Salary starting at $20.74/hour Qualifications: - Proficiency in English is essential - Experience in checking, treating and moving cattle on horseback - Must supply a minimum of two (2) fully fit, sound, trained working horses and related tack and equipment An inventory will be established for the 2013 season. Interested individuals should submit resumes by mail, fax or email to: - AAFC - Programs Branch 408-1800 Hamilton Street, Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 4L2 Attention: Community Pasture Program - Fax: 306-780-7166 - Email: community.pastures@agr.gc.ca Applications received before March 15, 2013 will be given first consideration for the 2013 season.

For more information on these positions contact: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Programs Branch, Community Pasture Program, at 306-780-8829 For further information on Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, visit www.agr.gc.ca Open to persons residing in Canada and Canadian citizens residing abroad.

We thank all candidates who apply and advise that only those selected for further consideration in the process will be contacted. The Public Service of Canada is committed to Employment Equity. Preference will be given to Canadian citizens. The Public Service of Canada is also committed to developing inclusive, barrier-free selection processes and work environments. If contacted in relation to a job opportunity or testing, please advise of the accommodation measures which must be taken to enable you to be assessed in a fair and equitable manner.

For the very latest ag news and information:

www.albertafarmexpress.ca

S

cientists have agreed on a $109-million plan to strengthen the world’s biggest seed banks of crops such as rice and wheat to help protect and develop new varieties resistant to climate change and other threats.

The Global Crop Diversity Trust and the CGIAR Consortium of agricultural researchers said on Jan. 31 that a five-year plan would help secure storage of more than 700,000 samples of crops at 11 existing gene banks from the Philippines to Belgium.

“This will drive the creation of a real global system” to help safeguard food crops, Cary Fowler, outgoing head of the Bonn-based Trust, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

The funds will allow the collections to expand, put more information about genetic makeup of seeds on the Internet, and enable duplication of more seeds, partly to ensure that conflicts such as those occurring now in Syria or Mali do not wreck collections.

Plant breeders often need quick access to seed banks to develop new varieties — Sri Lanka, for instance, successfully exploited salt-tolerant strains of rice in a seed bank after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami flooded coastal paddies.

And researchers are searching gene banks for varieties with natural traits to resist drought, floods, insect pests, disease or extreme heat — all likely to become more common because of global warming.

The 11 seed banks house the world’s largest and most diverse collections of food crops including wheat, maize, rice, potato, banana, sorghum and beans,

according to the Trust and CGIAR, formerly known as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.

Both are mainly funded by governments.

Over the past 10 years, the seed banks have distributed more than a million samples to crop breeders and researchers in efforts to improve world food security.

The new $109-million deal is a way to get round what a statement from the Trust and CGIAR called “inconsistent funding” in the past that would create a “firmer financial footing.”

Syria, Mali

Officials recently had to transport seeds from a CGIAR facility in Aleppo, Syria. “The last samples were put on a truck and carried over the border to Turkey just a couple of weeks before fighting broke out in Aleppo,” Fowler said.

Better gene banks are meant to help food security, threatened by price spikes. “If our gene banks suffer, our research suffers,” Frank Rijsberman, head of the CGIAR Consortium, said in a statement.

The Trust also runs a “doomsday vault” high on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, meant to store seeds of all the world’s plants in case of, for instance, a nuclear war.

But it is not open for day-to-day research.

“Svalbard was never set up to provide direct access to breeders. It was always a safety deposit box,” Fowler said.

Keeping seed banks is costly because seeds need to be tested for health and replaced when too old. Funds are also needed for conserving plants that produce seeds that are hard to store, such as bananas.

The Trust is seeking new ways to freeze seeds, known as cryopreservation.

35

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Soya protein can be replaced by rapeseed protein in human diets No difference } A new study shows there is no difference in the bioavailability of the two sources

C

anola or rapeseed oil has become firmly established as a high-quality food for humans, but so far its use for meal has been confined to animal feed.

That could change, according to researchers at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany.

(B)y feeding valuable plant protein to animals, almost two-thirds of it is wasted as it is transformed into animal protein,” nutritionist Dr. Gerhard Jahreis said in a university release.

“Annually, 60 million tonnes of rapeseed are harvested worldwide, corresponding to about 15 million tons of rapeseed protein which is fed only to animals. We are taking a keen interest in making this important protein source available for human consumption.”

The research team at Jena University conducted the first human study worldwide on the use of rapeseed protein for human nutri-

“Annually, 60 million tonnes of rapeseed are harvested worldwide, corresponding to about 15 million tons of rapeseed protein which is fed only to animals.”

Dr. Gerhard Jahreis

tion. Results from the study have recently been published in the internationally renowned journal Clinical Nutrition.

In co-operation with a Canadian company, a protein isolate

extracted from the meal was used in a study involving 28 volunteers.

The study participants consumed either rapeseed protein isolate or soya protein isolate.

After ingesting the protein meals, eight blood samples were drawn from each participant and the postprandial amino acid response in blood was analyzed.

“Our findings have shown that there is no difference in the bioavailability between these two protein sources. Thus, soya, mostly cultivated in South and North America, and diversely used in the production of foods, can be fully replaced by rapeseed protein harvested in Europe,” Jahreis said.

Currently, legislation in Europe prevents the use of rapeseed protein for human nutrition. It requires registration as a “novel food” by the European T:8.125” Union.

PHOTo: thinkstock

Argentina wheat policy sows uncertainty CURB } Argentina

has curbed wheat exports to ensure local food supply

By Hugh Bronstein buenos aires / reuters

W

T:10”

heat farmers and exporters in Argentina say the government should announce new-crop export quotas as soon as possible if it wants to spur sowing and lock in high global prices after years of declining output.

Argentina is a major world supplier of wheat, soy and corn at a time when consumer nations are clamouring for South American grains to compensate for disappointing harvests in breadbaskets Russia, the United States and Australia. However, the government limits wheat and corn exports to ensure ample domestic food supplies.

Growers say the policy keeps them guessing about how much wheat to plant and some have swapped to alternative crops that can be exported freely like soy and beer barley.

David Hughes, who manages 7,500 hectares in Argentina’s main agricultural province of Buenos Aires, wants the government to announce the upcoming season’s exportable wheat quota

by March.

But there has been little certainty about when the government will announce each season’s quota. Wheat planting in Argentina starts in late May and ends in August, with most seeds going into the ground in June and July.

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36

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Soybeans can work well in Alberta, but variety selection is key UNUSUAL YEAR  Seed grower Patrick Fabian says 2012 was a ‘fantastic season for soybeans,’

but warns varieties that thrived last year may not do well under normal conditions

BY HELEN MCMENAMIN

AF CONTRIBUTOR / LETHBRIDGE

S

oybeans have been a great success for some producers, especially last year, but there are pitfalls, warns a veteran seed grower.

“If all goes well, soybeans are a great crop that doesn’t take a huge amount of work or fuss,” says Patrick Fabian of Tilley.

“But you do need to start off right, and it’s not always simple. Soybeans are bred for very different conditions from ours.

Our soils and our climate are quite different from those in Ontario and the U.S. Great Plains, where soybeans are a wellestablished crop.”

Days to maturity is the obvious factor to consider, but a short-season line may not be enough. Soybeans are also light sensitive and require a specific amount of radiant energy before they switch from vegetative growth to flowering and pod set.

This is a tricky thing to balance — plants need a certain amount of vegetative growth to support lots of flowers and pods, but too much isn’t good, either.

Varieties vary in their daylight sensitivity, so there are lines that fit better with our daylight patterns.

As well, most soybeans are geared to the acid soils of those areas and can be

susceptible to iron deficiency chlorosis.

In soils with a pH above 7, iron becomes unavailable to many varieties. The crop starts out fine, but it yellows and stalls out six to eight weeks after seeding, says Fabian.

He grows test plots of soybeans on his farm every year to find whether or not a line can thrive under Alberta conditions, and selects the most promising for seed production.

Urges caution

“I want to see the soybean industry grow in Alberta,” he says. “It’s a viable alternative oilseed that I think we could easily expand to 50,000 acres in the province.

But I don’t want to help the business grow for the sake of growing the business. I don’t want to set my clients up for a wreck.”

Fabian said, as far as he knows, he’s the only seed seller in Alberta who tests every soybean line before selling it.

“We had a fantastic season for soybeans last year,” he says. “I heard of people having success with soybeans even north of Edmonton. But we had twice our normal heat units and much of the heat came too late to affect most crops, but soybeans gained from it. Lots of the eastern lines that looked good with that heat might not do so well in a more normal year.”

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“I want to see the soybean industry grow in Alberta.”

PATRICK FABIAN

Fabian, who has been testings lines that might suit southern Alberta since 2004, says soybeans seem well suited for warmer, irrigated regions, but not so much for more western parts of the province. If you have the right lines for your conditions, it’s a fairly simple crop to grow, he says.

“Soybeans are cheaper to seed than a lot of crops,” he says. “Upfront costs are under $125 an acre — seed, inoculant and treatment, TUA for Roundup trait and starter fertilizer. It’s about the same amount as you’d pay just for fertilizer for canola.”

Fabian recommends liquid P, 6-222, as starter fertilizer because it’s a highly refined form of P that has extremely low salt effects. If you can’t put liquid in the furrow, double shoot so the fertilizer is placed away from the seed.

“If you use seed-placed P, the yield advantage from P is lessened by plant loss from salts,” he says. “For every pound of seed-row P, your yield drops by half a per cent. Soybeans are very sensitive to salts from fertilizer or from soil salinity.”

Soybeans are pulses, so they fix their own N, but don’t leave as much in the soil as other pulses. One of Fabian’s clients had a 60-bushel wheat crop following soybeans compared to 42 bushels on the other half of the circle that was on canola stubble.

Although Fabian sees soybean as an irrigation crop, it doesn’t need a lot of water.

“Beans don’t need a lot of water in June or July,” he says. “One 12-hour set at the end of July or early August is generally enough. By then it’s pod fill and you’re working on yield.”

Harvest is easy. Every combine comes with a preset for soybean and even 15 per cent cracks is quite acceptable to buyers.

Soybeans will stand till you’re ready to combine. In a late harvest Fabian says take off alfalfa seed first, then flax, sunflowers and soybeans last as fall weather won’t hurt them.

So far, Fabian says he hasn’t heard of any pests in Alberta soybeans.

“We’re in the honeymoon phase now,” he says.

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Europe removes agriculture barriers to U.S. trade talks OVERTURE  The overture is meant to generate confidence in upcoming EU-U.S. trade talks

BY ROBIN EMMOTT BRUSSELS / REUTERS

T

he European Union dropped its ban on some U.S. meat imports Feb. 4 in a gesture aimed at starting talks on a free trade pact that would encompass about half the world’s economic output.

Brussels and Washington want to deepen a relationship that accounts for a third of global trade, and ending the EU import ban on live pigs and beef washed in lactic acid is meant to show the Europeans are serious about a deal.

The ban will be lifted from Feb. 25, dropping European objections that were based on differing hygiene and husbandry

methods in meat production.

U.S. farmers have long regarded these concerns as unscientific.

The EU may also consider easing restrictions on imports of U.S. animal fat, known as tallow, used in biofuels.

“The United States had certain preconditions for talks to start. We want to show them that Europe can deliver,” said a senior EU diplomat involved in preparing for negotiations.

EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht was to travel to Washington Feb. 5 to put the finishing touches to a joint EU-U.S. report that is expected to recommend going ahead with free trade negotiations.

De Gucht told Reuters last month these will be “difficult negotia-

“We want to show them that Europe can deliver.”

SENIOR EU DIPLOMAT

tions.” However, Europe and the United States both seek an economic boost after meagre growth since the global crisis of 2008-09.

Import tariffs between the European Union and the United States are already low, and the real benefit would come from increased access to each other’s markets, as well as common reg-

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Joe Biden at a recent meeting in Berlin that she saw “positive signs” in the push for talks.

A deal could increase Europe’s economic output by 65 billion euros ($88 billion) a year, a 0.5 per cent rise in the EU’s gross domestic product, the European Commission calculates.

However, Washington is worried about getting caught up in endless negotiations with the 27-nation bloc.

No date has yet been set for the release of the joint EU-U.S. report on the viability of trade talks, initially expected by the end of last year, generating some concern among European and U.S. companies who support the deal.

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anola growers in Alberta who do not request a refund of their checkoff from the Alberta Canola Producers Commission (ACPC) qualify for a tax credit for the 2012 tax year.

The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit allows canola growers to claim the tax credit for that portion of the checkoff paid that was used to fund qualifying research.

The rate for Alberta canola producers in 2012 is 7.02 per cent. For example, for an individual grower who paid $100 in checkoff to the ACPC in 2012, $7.02 is eligible to earn the tax credit.

The tax credit can: • Offset federal taxes owing in the current year, • Be received as a tax refund, • Be carried forward up to 10 years to offset federal taxes owing, or • Be carried back three years to reduce federal taxes paid in those years.

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38

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Adversity, catastrophic events helped 2012 prices go high: Analyst WAIT AND SEE } April/May good time to make decisions, see how market is going

By Victoria Paterson af staff/innisfail

T

he wheat market currently belongs to buyers, but market unpredictability is never far away, says a Winnipegbased grain market analyst.

Greg Kostal, president of Kostal Ag Consulting in Winnipeg, provided a “lay of the land” for grain and oilseed markets at a recent Farm Credit Canada event here.

Kostal said the drought in the United States winter wheat area has prompted many to think that wheat prices have to go higher.

But production is poised to increase, Kostal said, adding he doesn’t know of one place in the world that wheat area is going to decrease. Because somewhere in the world wheat is always being planted and harvested, it’s quicker to respond to price corrections, he said.

Kostal pointed out 2012 was a particularly troublesome year for world crop production. “There was a lot of adversity,” he said, noting that if there’s even only half as many problems in 2013 it will help correct prices and that a “wreck” in another exporting country might be needed to drive prices higher.

Kostal said that while wheat consumption is about 80 per cent food and 20 per cent feed, lately it’s been about 25 per cent feed. He said if the U.S. corn crop recovers this year, feed wheat use will go down.

Greg Kostal talks grain and 8/26/11 oilseed market and predictions during a Farm Credit of Canada event SEC_CAR11_T_MC.qxd 4:23trends PM Page 1 in Innisfail. PHOTo: Victoria Paterson

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The picture will become more clear as spring approaches, Kostal said. “One of the key components for all these commodities will be this April/May time frame,” he said.

Regarding market watching in general, “There’s a lot of noise

that’s out there,” Kostal said.

“Out of 220 price-changing days in a year, you may only need to worry about 20 of them to actively participate.”

Outside of weather or politics, some of the larger factors affecting markets are the stagnation of growth in the biofuel industry, investors tiring of government policy around agriculture and a U.S. consumer who is feeling more positive.

Buyers are also being careful, especially China, which prefers to buy when the price is low.

“They’re very cagey and selective,” he said. “They’re kind of this thermostat, regulating the environment.”

Another “hot spot” that could affect prices is India, where there’s been a lack of rain that could affect chickpeas and lentil production, though 75 per cent of their wheat crop is irrigated.

Other corn suppliers

Kostal said U.S. corn for ethanol use should decrease this year and increase next year. Feed use is also down, and corn exports will be below a billion bushels.

I can’t remember the last time that happened,” Kostal said.

He noted there are now more countries exporting corn, adding Ukraine is exporting more corn. That reduces its exportable surplus of barley, which he said is relevant to Canadian barley growers.

In Argentina, production has exploded and helps dominate the market from December to July, along with Australia.

Europe, Ukraine and Canada dominate the rest of the year, and if there’s a hiccup across the Atlantic there will be a good opportunity for Canada, Kostal said.

Kostal said China will take as much soybean as we can produce, describing the country as a “big sponge.” And Canada doesn’t need to drop its canola prices because of the demand in China, he said. “The demand potential is phenomenal,” he said of China’s oilseed crush capacity.

Still he said he doesn’t see how $600 per tonne can be sustained for canola, predicting China will cancel sales because prices are too high. Despite that, he said the canola supply in Canada will be tight. “We’re going to be down to fumes,” he said.

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By Nigel Hunt/london/ reuters / A cargo of 20,000 to 25,000 tonnes of North American soft wheat will be shipped to Britain shortly with a poor quality domestic harvest forcing millers to look to imports, trade sources said Feb. 6.

Britain’s wheat imports this year have been running at their fastest pace for nearly 20 years after the harvest was

hurt by high disease levels due to extremely wet conditions.

England had its wettest year on record in 2012.

The soft wheat purchase is very unusual although millers in Britain regularly buy high quality North American hard wheat, usually from Canada.

The sources said the soft wheat could be of either U.S. or Canadian origin. The wheat may be shipped in March but is likely to be used towards the end of the season when supplies are expected to become tight.

39

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Canola bounces off of support and resumes the uptrend MAP } Reading a chart is like reading a road map.

It not only tells you where you are, it tells you where you are going By david drozd

A

fter dropping $90/tonne from the high of $657.50 in September, at the time of this writing, prices on the March 2013 canola futures contract have rallied $50/tonne since the USDA report was released on January 11, 2013.

Thanks to phenomenal demand and improving basis levels, cash prices are back to the crop-year high ($14.50/bushel).

For farmers with near-term cash flow commitments, this seasonal rally in January couldn’t have come at a better time.

One of the unique aspects of charting and technical analysis is its ability to cut through the news. The news is always the most bullish at the top and it is for this very reason some farmers may have been reluctant to sell in September 2012.

The front-page headlines were depicting the worst drought in the United States Midwest since the 1950s. Bullish news causes farmers to let their guard down, as they are lulled into a false sense of security believing prices will remain high or possibly rally further.

However, the charts told a

different tale. On Sept. 4, 2012, reversal patterns (sell signals) appeared on the charts in the soybean complex — alerting experienced traders to the impending downturn, which spilled over to the canola market.

Bull markets die under their own weight because of long liquidation. This occurs when the longs liquidate their futures positions. At first, the smart money sells to take profit and eventually the others sell to cut losses. In this environment, prices collapse regardless of tight stocks.

Not until the long liquidation is over, do prices turn back up.

This is evident of the open interest declining on the break and increasing once prices exceeded $600/tonne on the nearby canola futures contract.

The news is always bearish at the bottom. Leading up to the USDA report on Jan. 11, 2013, the news of a potential record soybean crop in South America loomed over the market. This in turn caused some farmers to panic and sell a portion of their canola and soybeans on the fear of prices going lower.

However, the charts portrayed a different picture. Based on the monthly chart, the major uptrend in the canola market

was firmly intact with the harvest low of $570 proving to be a strong area of support.

Reading a chart is similar to reading a road map. It not only tells you where you are, but where you are going.

On Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, the day after the USDA report, prices on the daily March 2013 canola chart gapped higher. This gap is illustrated in the accompanying chart and is called a breakaway gap, which is a key indicator that prices are about to rally. Since then, prices have exploded $50/ tonne higher.

A gap is a price range within which no trading takes place. In this case, the current day’s low price is higher than the previous day’s high, which is an upside gap.

The breakaway gap depicts a major shift in dynamics. Seldom will prices fail to do what is expected when a breakaway gap materializes.

Prices then completed the rectangular formation, which is a pattern seen at market bottoms. Resistance was at $600 and support came in at $570.

The breakout from a rectangle is considered to be highly reliable as a forecasting tool. Measuring the height of the rectangle and extrapolating it above

canola march 2013

Chart as of January 31, 2013

the upper boundary at $600 provides a minimum measurement to $630.

Market psychology

The rectangle basically outlines a trading range in relative balance, with neither buyers nor sellers able to gain a lasting advantage.

Prices were trendless until the buying at the upper boundary exceeded the selling. This is when the scales were tipped and prices broke out of the formation.

This not only cleans out the supply of contracts offered for sale, which had previously halted the advance, but it puts all shorts

into a losing position. Short covering and fresh buying above $600 causes the market to rally.

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 grainmarketing advisory services, or call us toll free at 1-888-274-3138 for a free consultation.

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FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Hot. Hotter. express. ®

Crank up the rate all you want, glyphosate alone still misses a number of hard-to-kill weeds.

With hotter-than-hot systemic activity, DuPont™ Express® herbicide doesn’t just control weeds, it smokes them from the inside out, getting right to the root of your weed problems with performance that glyphosate alone can’t match. Say goodbye to hard-to-kill weeds like narrow-leaved hawk’s beard, flixweed, stinkweed, dandelion and volunteer canola.

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Multiple Modes of action take glyphosate to the next level Advertisement

Managing resistance before resistance manages you.

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estern Canadian farmers continue to benefit from tools such as glyphosate for non-crop weed control practices including pre-seed, chemfallow and post-harvest herbicide applications. Those applications are an important tool in reducing weed competition for moisture and nutrients, and – particularly for pre-seed applications – can help guarantee the best start for a new crop.

effective non-crop Use of groUp 2 Herbicides Pre-seed weed control is a practice that began in cereal crops, and is increasingly popular as an increasing number of Western Canadian farmers adopt minimum tillage practices.

But in recent years, growers have seen an increase in the number of documented cases of weed resistance in Western Canada, proving glyphosate alone can no longer do the job. Now, researchers suggest that mixing herbicides with multiple modes of action and using them in the same spray will go a long way in helping to control glyphosate-resistant weeds, and preventing new herbicide-resistant weeds from developing.

Understanding resistance Weeds become resistant when they’ve had too much of a good thing.

Practices and crops that work well one year are less effective in consecutive years, if there’s no break in routine. That’s why healthy rotation – of crop types, practices and herbicides – is essential.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that using glyphosate alone will not control glyphosate-resistant kochia and may increase the risk of glyphosate-resistance occurring in other weed species in the future. With the emergence of Roundup Ready® volunteers, as well as hard-to-kill weeds that are not controlled by glyphosate alone, growers have found that including an add-in like DuPont™ Express® brand herbicide helps to control these weeds and manage resistance.

Managing resistance Crop rotation Ideally, any healthy field will have a rotation of at least three crop types.

Research suggests it is equally important to incorporate a host of other natural methods of weed control such as higher seeding rates, the use of clean seed, mowing out suspected resistant weed patches before they go to seed and using herbicides according to label directions.

Utilizing multiple modes of action Herbicides are categorized into 17 different groups according to how they target a weed. For example, Sulfonylurea (member of Group 2) herbicides control weeds by inhibiting the enzyme acetolactate synthase, which is essential to their growth.

“If at all possible, producers should use mixtures of herbicides that use multiple modes of action in the seeding year,” says Ken Sapsford, University of Saskatchewan. “It’s one further step to help stop resistance from developing.”

Group 2 herbicides are a highly effective way to control weeds – but like other herbicide groups they need to be used appropriately, and utilized with herbicides from other groups in the same spray to help manage resistance.

In spring, particularly if the crop rotation included a crop such as RR canola, DuPont scientists recommend a pre-plant/burndown herbicide treatment such as Express® brands (Group 2) or PrecisionPac® NC-00439 or NC-0050 (Group 2) as an add-in with glyphosate to take advantage of multiple modes of action. Because both Group 2 and Group 9 herbicides have activity on many of the same weeds, growers automatically get multiple modes of action where they need it most. In certain areas, adding a third mode of action such as dicamba, 2,4-D or MCPA (Group 4) is advisable, and can be recommended by an agronomist.

“We know that if we control those weeds early with a burn-off and then come in and seed, controlling those weeds and conserving moisture is the best option,” says Ken Sapsford, University of Saskatchewan.

The Express® brands significantly improve control of tough weeds such as dandelion and narrow-leaved hawk’s beard in a pre-seed burn-off or post-harvest burndown. Not only will growers improve their weed control but they will also be hitting weeds with actives from two different groups to help manage weed resistance.

tHe race is on The race is on among the world’s leading crop protection companies to tackle the development of weed resistance, and DuPont Crop Protection is committed to working with growers and retailers on solutions that protect the use of all the best tools.

A tank mix of Express® brand herbicides plus glyphosate provides multiple modes of action, allows for the sequential application of a different mode if needed, and gives a crop a running start for a productive growing season. DuPont will continue to promote the use of multiple modes of action in a single spray, because it is an effective way to control problem weeds. DuPont is also committed to designing single and multiple active ingredient products with efficacious use rates and realistic performance claims – and DuPont is nimble enough to meet specific field needs and adjust recommendations based on what’s going on in the field.

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42

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

EU Commission wants curbs on pesticides ACUTE  Neonicotinoid pesticides pose an acute risk to honeybees

BY CLAIRE DAVENPORT BRUSSELS / REUTERS

T

he European Commission said Jan. 31 it wanted EU member states to restrict the use of pesticides linked to the decline of bees.

The commission said it was asking EU countries to suspend the use of neonicotinoid insecticides — among the most commonly used crop pesticides — on sunflower, rapeseed, maize and cotton.

“We are requesting member states suspend for two years the use of this pesticide on seeds, granulates and sprays for crops which attract bees,” commission health spokesman Frederic Vincent told a briefing.

“We hope the regulation can be adopted before March,” he said, adding that the commission expected it to be implemented at the latest by July 1, 2013. The commission had presented its proposal to member states and was waiting for their response.

The spokesman said there would be an exception for maize seed in 2013, where the commission would authorize neonicotinoid use unless member states wanted to implement restrictions.

A report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) earlier this month said

Sergej, a member of the city beekeeper organization, works with bees at Lobau recreation area in Vienna. A growing number of urban beekeepers’ associations, such as Vienna’s Stadtimker, are trying to encourage bees to make their homes in cities, as pesticides and crop monocultures make the countryside increasingly hostile.

PHOTO: REUTERS/LISI NIESNER

three widely used neonicotinoid pesticides, made by Switzerland’s Syngenta and Germany’s Bayer, posed an acute risk to honeybees.

Fears over the effects on bees led France

to ban Syngenta’s Cruiser OSR for rapeseed in June last year.

Syngenta said at the time it would appeal against that decision.

A sharp fall in bee populations around

the world in recent years, partly due to a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder, has prompted criticism of pesticide use.

But the EFSA report found no link between use of the pesticides and colony collapse, which has seen bee populations fall rapidly across Europe and North America.

Syngenta defended its products in fullpage advertisements published in two major French newspapers Jan. 31, saying they were fully respectful of the environment and that none of the allegations had been proven when used in open fields.

“As of today no clear correlation has been established between the use of these products and the decline in colonies,” Syngenta’s chairman Martin Taylor wrote in an open letter to the French farm minister.

In a separate statement, Syngenta said the commission’s call for restrictions would spell “a significant loss to farmers and the economy,” adding that bee populations were primarily under threat from diseases and poor nutrition.

France is the largest crop producer in the European Union. Other EU states — Germany, Slovenia and the Netherlands — have introduced restrictions on pesticides and calls have got louder for EUwide action.

‘Fiscal cliff’ fallout could shut down meat packers EMPLOYEE PAY  Ag secretary says there is no choice but to cut every budget item by a certain percentage

BY CHARLES ABBOTT WASHINGTON/REUTERS

elevate your

T

he Obama administration warned Feb. 8 that acrossthe-board spending cuts set to take effect in March may result in furloughing every U.S. meat and poultry inspector for two weeks, causing the meat industry to shut down.

By law, meat packers and processors are not allowed to ship beef, pork, lamb and poultry meat without the Agriculture Department’s inspection seal.

The prospect of mass furloughs of meat and food inspectors was part of a broader White House warning about the effects of the potential spending cuts on everyday life. Meat packers said a shutdown would devastate consumers as well as their industry.

President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans still must resolve differences over spending cuts and tax increases, dubbed the “fiscal cliff,” which essentially was delayed by both sides from happening on Jan. 1 and was pushed back until March.

“USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service may have to furlough all employees for approximately two weeks,” a White House statement said.

An estimated $10 billion in production would be lost during a two-week furlough, said a USDA official, and consumers could see meat shortages and higher prices as a result.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack lamented across-the-board spending cuts during a speech to state agriculture directors.

“There is not much we can do when Congress says to cut every

performance.

Meat packers and processors are not allowed to ship meat without a USDA seal. line item by a certain per cent,” Vilsack said. He said employee pay accounted for the bulk of spending at the meat-safety agency.

USDA spends about $1 billion on meat safety annually and has 8,400 inspectors at 6,290 slaughter and processing plants.

The American Meat Institute, a trade group, said the USDA should try to keep meat plants open while meeting targets for cuts, rather than going ahead with a mass furlough.

It said the agency could suspend non-essential programs and furlough employees other than inspectors to avoid “inflicting unnecessary hardship” on the meat industry.

Chicago livestock traders mostly viewed the White House threat as a budgetary bluff.

“Can you imagine the flak?” asked Joseph Ocrant, a trader who said he was skeptical the White House would pull inspectors out of plants for two weeks.

19449-03 DAS_CHE Elevate 13.1667X9.indd 1

43

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Oats market at equilibrium, lower acreage likely SUPPLIES TIGHT  But demand lower,

and other options more favourable

BY PHIL FRANZ-WARKENTIN COMMODITY NEWS SERVICE CANADA

O

Horses haven’t been feeling their oats as much recently.

ats bids in Western Canada are holding steady despite tightening stocks, as supply and demand have reached an equilibrium for the time being.

If prices don’t see some improvement relative to other cropping options, a decline in acres is seen as likely in 2013.

Basis levels for oats in Western Canada are historically strong, but the market is having a hard time rising to the same extent as other commodities, said Ryan McKnight of Linear Grain at Carman, Man. Canadian oats stocks as of Dec. 31, 2012 came in below average trade guesses at 1.872 million tonnes and compare with the previous year’s level of 2.33 million. The oats stocks at the middle of the crop year were the tightest of the past 10 years and are well below the 10-year average for Dec. 31 of 2.596 million tonnes.

While supplies may be tight,

“the oat market seems to be finding equilibrium, as the prices aren’t strengthening,” said McKnight.

Total demand for oats was not as large as in the past, particularly from the horse sector, he said.

Given the current pricing, McKnight expected to see oats acres decline in 2013, as other cropping options look more favourable. Wheat in particular may take some area away from oats.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada now forecasts planted oats area in 2013 at 2.595 million acres, which would compare with 2.854 million in 2012. The market analysis branch also expects ending stocks to decline to 400,000 tonnes by July 31, 2014, from an expected 600,000 tonnes at the close of the current crop year.

Spot oats bids can currently be found in the $3.60- to $3.65-perbushel range in Manitoba, with recent bids as high as $3.50 per bushel seen in Saskatchewan, said McKnight.

Top-end bids, he said, were

“… the oat market seems to be finding equilibrium, as the prices aren’t strengthening.”

RYAN MCKNIGHT LINEAR GRAIN

usually only available for a limited time before the orders were filled and the demand backed away again.

New-crop pricing is generally 20 to 30 cents per bushel lower and the inverse between the old and new crop is limiting forward contracting.

Given current new-crop wheat pricing, which is more in line with the old-crop bids, McKnight said oats would need to be in the $4/ bu. range to get producers switching out of wheat.

Nufarm introduces fluroxypyr/bromoxynil Group 4 combos STAFF

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ufarm says its two new all-in-one cereal herbicide formulations will be the first to gather in fluroxypyr and bromoxynil with a second Group 4 active.

Enforcer M and Enforcer D combine fluroxypyr (Group 4) and bromoxynil (Group 6) in formulations with Group 4 products MCPA and 2,4-D respectively.

“Nufarm is the first company to put these ingredients together into a single product,” Kim Bedard, marketing manager for Nufarm’s Canadian arm, said in a release.

Cereal growers have identified wild buckwheat, cleavers and kochia as their primary concerns in provincial weed surveys, the company said.

The company said it will launch both products for post-emergent use in this crop year, for “control of larger, more established weeds.”

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Enforcer M, by including MCPA ester, will have “a wider application window and better control on weeds such as hemp nettle, chickweed and Canada thistle.” The product is registered for use in spring wheat, durum, winter wheat and barley.

Enforcer D, which uses 2,4-D instead of MCPA, is thus “extremely effective against Russian thistle, stinkweed, narrowleaved hawk’s beard and redroot pigweed” and is registered for spring wheat and barley, Nufarm said.

By combining Group 4 and 6, the Enforcer products can be used as a resistance management tool against Group 2-resistant weeds and glyphosateresistant kochia, the company added.

Both versions can be used with various tank mix partners and offer a choice between two rate options (0.25 and 0.5 litres per acre) depending on weed pressure, the company said.

44

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Cold winter means paying extra attention to thin cows Hands-on check } Thick hair coat may mask the reality that cows are actually in poor condition Agri-News

T

here is a combination of factors challenging cattle producers this year. December was considerably colder than normal, and this colder weather has prompted a heavier-than-usual hair coat on many cattle. While cows appear to be in good condition, producers may find, with some hands-on evaluation or condition scoring, that many may actually be thin.

“Another reason that cows seem to be in poorer condition this year, is that forage quality is down,” says Barry Yaremcio, beef specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “Protein levels in forage are down 20 to 25 per cent from a five-year average.

In many areas, most of the hay was cut later than usual due to weather problems and this has resulted in elevated fibre levels, resulting in less energy per pound in the hay.

The result of this lower-quality

feed and colder-than-normal temperatures, is cows are in less-thanoptimum condition going into the calving season.”

Producers have a couple of options for bringing cows back into better condition. Adding grain to feed rations is the first thing to consider. Depending on how thin cows are, and how soon calving will start, it may be necessary to add five to seven pounds of grain a day to the ration. While there is a cost associated with adding grain, the problems that arise from cows going into the calving season in poor condition are greater. Thin, weaker cows can experience calving problems and produce less colostrum that is lower in quality.

When calves don’t ingest enough good-quality colostrum, calves are more susceptible to infections and diseases.

“Another thing that producers can do to help cows gain some of that weight back, is to bring them out of open range and provide adequate shelter and a good bedding

Producers who have left swaths for cows to graze over the winter need to keep an eye on snow depth. file photo pack,” says Yaremcio. “Reducing the amount of wind that they have to deal with and providing a good bedding pack can reduce the cows’ needed energy maintenance requirements up to 25 per cent.”

Producers who have left swaths for cows to graze over the winter need to keep an eye on snow depth. Cows can graze successfully

on fairly deep snow, as long as the snow doesn’t get deeper than up to the cows’ eyes when they are grazing.

“While depth of snow can be a problem, a greater problem is the varying warmer and colder weather that has resulted in a considerable amount of crusting,” says Yaremcio. “Producers need to get

out and take a look at their cows and look for telltale trouble signs, such as cuts on noses, muzzles and sides of the head. These signs indicate that the cows are having a hard time getting through that ice crust and getting enough to eat.

In this instance, it may be time to bring your cows home and start feeding them.”

Quebec and Atlantic dairy co-ops to merge Approval } Members of Agropur and

Farmers Dairy to vote next month staff

The dairy farmer members of major dairy co-operatives in Quebec and Atlantic Canada are set to vote next month on their marriage proposal.

Agropur, the Quebec dairy cooperative whose products include the Natrel, Quebon, Allegro, Olympic and Island Farms brands, and Farmers Co-operative Dairy, which produces the Farmers and Central Dairies brands in Atlantic Canada, announced plans for their merger Feb. 11.

General assemblies of the two co-ops’ members, for a vote on the proposal, are to be held separately on March 12. Pending approval from farmer members and “appropriate authorities,” the co-ops’ “merger of activities” would take place April 2, they said.

“We believe that the new merged entity will be well equipped to ensure a sustainable dairy industry in the Atlantic provinces,” said

Tougher.

EAsiER. Farmers Dairy chair Jeannie van Dyk, a producer at Noel Shore, N.S. “The merger of our two cooperatives is a first for Agropur in decades,” Agropur chair Serge Riendeau, a producer from Coaticook, Que., said in the same release, referring to the consolidation of co-ops that formed Agropur over the past 75 years.

Agropur is by far the larger of the two co-ops, with 3,288 dairy farmer members and a total processing handle of over 3.2 billion litres of milk per year through 25 plants in Canada and the U.S., for annual sales of about $3.6 billion.

In TandemTm.

Brenda Schoepp appointed to FCC board staff / Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has announced the appointment of Brenda Schoepp to Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) board of directors.

Schoepp, a regular columnist for Alberta Farmer, lives near Rimbey, Alberta, where she is a partner in a cow/calf and rescue horse operation.

Schoepp is a published author and professional speaker, and owns and publishes Beeflink, a

weekly national newsletter on the strategies of beef and beef cattle marketing.

In 2012, she was awarded the 2012 Nuffield Canada Farming Scholarship, and in 2011, she was a Cattlemen Young Leaders Mentor for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. In 2006, Schoepp was named by Alberta Venture magazine as one of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People.

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Albertafarmexpress.ca • february 18, 2013

University of Calgary study examines relationship between elk, cattle and disease MODEL IDEA } Computer modelling will help account for environmental

factors in diseases passing between cattle and wildlife

By Victoria Paterson af staff/calgary

B

oth bovines, and often both sharing the same pasture.

The extent to which elk and cattle also share disease is the subject of a study spearheaded by the University of Calgary.

“We always tend to study diseases in cows or diseases in wildlife but not often diseases that are shared amongst those species,” said Dr. Karin Orsel, a cattle veterinarian and an assistant professor in the faculty of veterinary medicine.

She said agent-based modelling will account for the complexities of environment to track disease transmission, building on data gathered since 2009 by graduate student Mathieu Pruvot.

The project is funded by the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency.

ALMA and Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions funded the initial study.

The data gathered on cattle, elk and disease movement is from

the Southwest Alberta Montane Research Program, which gathered cattle data from ranchers.

Orsel said instead of just tracking the movements of elk and cattle, the agent-based modelling system will be able to include things like terrain, habitat, elevation and other information about the ecosystem. This should be able to show if cattle need to interact directly with wildlife like elk for disease transfer to happen, or if simply passing through the same field is enough.

The computer modelling will get underway in March when a postdoctoral researcher will join the team.

“I think we would like to get a better understanding, if there are chances of disease being spread from one species to another… it can go both ways, but the better we understand how diseases move from one population to the other, the better opportunities we have to either protect our wildlife or protect our cattle from getting an

“The better we understand how diseases move from one population to the other, the better opportunities we have to either protect our wildlife or protect our cattle.”

Dr. Karin Orsel

infection from the other species,” Orsel said.

Common diseases

Diseases the group is looking at include infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, bovine viral diarrhea, neosporosis, Johne’s disease and

liver fluke. “The diseases that we’ve chosen are diseases that are very common in our cattle,” Orsel said, noting they’re known as “production-limiting diseases.” The diseases include viruses, bacteria and parasites. “They all go from one species to another in a different way,” she said.

The study could end up showing there’s no reason to worry — or it could help ranchers implement ways to minimize interaction between cattle and the wildlife. Orsel said the post-doctoral researcher will work on the agentbased modelling for about a year and a half. She’s hoping disease transmission will be a continuing theme of her research program.

Dr. Reynold Bergen, the science director of the Beef Cattle Research Council, said there’s some potential synergies between the topic of Orsel’s study and the research council. He said he’d heard of Orsel’s study though wasn’t familiar with the details. He said the research council is interested in

developing a national productionlimiting disease surveillance program that will likely have opportunities to collaborate with similar wildlife programs. “The places where cattle are raised are also really good environments for wildlife and other biodiversity,” he said.

The grant from ALMA for the study is $145,000. CEO Gordon Cove said in an email part of his organization’s mandate is to fund scientific research that drives innovation in the meat and livestock industry. It also helps fulfil their commitment to the One Health Roadmap, which Cove said is important to the industry as it combines human and animal health as well as the interaction of the environment. “This is especially important with this project. Wild animals interact in the same environment as livestock and in some cases diseases can be transmitted to each other. It is important to understand how this happens and how disease mitigation can be achieved,” he said.

photo: thinstock

Restaurants can lock in beef supply — but not price PRICES } Long-term price contracts not favourable for eateries

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t is getting harder for restaurant chains to lock in long-term prices for hamburger and other beef cuts as the impact of last summer’s historic drought sends prices higher.

Such purchasing contracts help companies predict their food costs over time, and if done well, can save them significant money in times of rising prices.

Chili’s Grill & Bar parent Brinker International Inc. was one of the first large operators to signal the trend.

“We can’t really contract for ground beef anymore... We can just lock in supply but not price,” Guy Constant, Brinker’s spokesperson said on a conference call with analysts last week.

Overall beef prices are up roughly seven per cent so far this year, and hamburger is up as much as 10 per cent, said Adam Werner, co-lead of consulting firm AlixPartners’ restaurant and food service practice.

The worst drought in more than 50 years in the U.S. Midwest has pushed up prices for feed corn and led to the smallest cattle supply in more than 60 years.

That supply squeeze also comes

at a time when Tyson Foods Inc., the largest U.S. meat supplier, already was cutting back on annual fixed-price agreements.

On Feb. 1 Tyson reported quarterly profit that topped Wall Street’s view, after strong beef and chicken prices helped offset higher feed costs.

The average price per pound for beef sold during the quarter, ended Dec. 29, was up 11.7 per cent from a year earlier, while chicken was up 8.2 per cent, Tyson said.

Restaurants that want to, can lock in long-term prices for hamburger and other beef products, said John Davie, chief executive of Consolidated Concepts, a firm that helps restaurants negotiate purchases.

“We can get them, they’re just not very good,” Davie said, referring to pricing terms.

McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain by revenue, declined to comment on its beef supply and pricing saying such information is “confidential and proprietary.”

Wendy’s Co. uses only fresh beef and says it is business as usual at the fast-food hamburger chain.

“Wendy’s is still able to lock in prices for its fresh hamburger on a quarterly basis,” spokesman Bob Bertini said.

46

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

working in tandem

Jessie, a three-year-old Australian shepherd (rear) tries to teach Zuni, a seven-month-old, how to move a donkey along without upsetting it or causing it to kick out.

Donkeys do not respond to herding dogs the same way as sheep or cattle. They are difficult to move, and tend to chase or kick dogs. These two dogs are working on Burro Alley Ranch, near Millarville, Alta. Photo: Wendy Dudley

Opportunities sprout in greenhouse sector MAJOR GROWTH } Acreage in Canadian greenhouses has more than tripled in the last three decades, but the country still imports nearly $2 billion worth of vegetables

By Victoria Paterson af staff / airdrie

C

anada’s greenhouse sector has grown by leaps and bounds, but there’s more room for growth when it comes to tomatoes, peppers and exotic vegetables.

“You can see there has been real significant growth in the past 20 years,” retired provincial crop specialist Nabi Chaudhary said at a recent greenhouse business planning workshop in Airdrie.

Nationally, there were 5,672 acres under glass or plastic in 2011 compared to 1,643 in 1981.

Alberta has about 10 per cent of those acres, just slightly behind Quebec. Ontario, with more than half, and B.C., with nearly onequarter, are the top two. Still, millions of dollars of greenhousegrown vegetables, bedding plants and cut flowers are imported every year.

“It shows you there is a great opportunity to expand greenhouse production in Canada,” Chaudhary said. “We are importing almost $2 billion of fresh and chilled vegetables into Canada.”

Alberta imported more than $11 million worth of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce and other veggies in 2011, plus another $6 million of flora products such as bulbs, cut flowers and live plants.

Bedding plants have higher profit margins, but crops such as cut flowers require a much higher investment than vegetables, he said.

There are also lots of opportunities for greenhouse production of tomatoes, peppers and exotic vegetables, Mohyuddin Mirza,

a consultant and director with the Alberta Greenhouse Growers Association.

“Alberta is quite unique, we have more cucumbers than tomatoes and peppers,” he said.

Cucumbers are attractive because it’s a fast-growing crop, but Alberta is nearly self-sufficient now, said Mirza, who suggested mini-greens and sprouts as a fastgrowing alternative.

Greenhouses are also changing, he said, noting more tempered glass is being used because it can better withstand hail.

More growers are also using heat pipes, energy curtains, and triple polycarbonate — as the latter is less expensive than double acrylic. There’s high wire hanging for cucumbers and along with tomatoes and peppers are mostly grown in troughs now.

Growing mediums have also seen constant change. Recently, coco fibre has been popular, but “supplies are dangerously low,” said Mirza, predicting biochar, which is 25 per cent wood chips and 75 per cent biosolids, will be more popular going forward.

Growers also have to keep up with regulatory changes, many of which deal with water quality, and changing consumer preferences.

Consumers want to know more about how their food is produced and an informative website is becoming a must, he said.

“The trust factor with your customer has to be there,” he said.

Keeping up with the trends in today’s food market is a challenge and what’s true today may change tomorrow, said Mirza.

“Just be prepared for the possibilities,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to make a change.”

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47

Albertafarmexpress.ca • february 18, 2013

England’s wettest year drives down farm incomes Prices } Pig and dairy farmers are among the hardest hit as feed costs climb on lower crop yields london / reuters

F

arm incomes are set to fall in England in 2012-13 with pig and dairy producers among the hardest hit as feed costs climb and the wettest year on record reduces crop yields and quality, Britain’s Farm Ministry said Jan. 31.

Specialist pig farms are expected to see a 50 per cent fall in incomes to 19,000 pounds ($30,000) per farm and those of dairy farms projected to decline 42 per cent to 50,000 pounds.

The 2012-13 season runs until the end of February.

The figures showed a third consecutive fall for pig farmers whose income is now barely more than a quarter of the 75,500 pounds reported in 2009-10.

“An unprecedented increase in the cost of feed which accounts for 60 per cent of the cost of producing a pig was not supported by an increase in the price that farmers were paid for their pork,” Zoe Davies, general manager of the National Pig Association, said.

“This put many businesses under severe pressure with the

net result that around 17,500 sows were lost from the national herd last year,” she added.

The beginning of the year had been dry, with the government calling a drought summit in February, but the deluge began in April and continued for much of the rest of the year, saturating farmland and causing widespread flooding on several occasions.

“The figures make sober ing reading but will be no surprise for many in the industry,” National Farmers Union chief economist Phil Bicknell said in a statement.

“Rising costs outstripped farm gate price changes for dairy and pork producers at times over the last year. More recently, we can add the plummeting lamb price to the list of challenges the industry faces,” he added.

The ministry said the dairy sector was hit not only by a rise in feed costs but also by the need to purchase higher volumes due to a combination of reduced grazing days and low-quality home-produced forage.

Feed wheat prices in Britain for nearby delivery rose to a record high of 227 pounds a

Friesian cows from the dairy herd stand in the yard at Offham Farm in Arundel, southern England. British dairy farms were hard hit by higher costs due to last year’s wet conditions. Photo: REUTERS/Luke MacGregor tonne in November last year as rains drove yields down to a 23-year low. A year earlier the price had fallen to as low as 140 pounds.

Income for cereal farmers in England fell by 11 per cent

to 84,000 pounds with higher prices more than offset by lower yields and quality.

Poultry was the best-performing sector with income expected to be unchanged at 21,000 pounds per farm.

“In this sector, while feed costs are predicted to increase, a higher output from both broiler and egg production is also expected, resulting in average incomes being unchanged,” the ministry said.

EU-Canada trade deal delayed by agriculture dispute Access } Canadians want greater access to

EU beef market but are refusing to budge on supply management

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dispute over how far to open agricultural markets to imports is holding up a free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union, officials familiar with the negotiations said Feb. 5.

The row could delay a deal for several weeks, the officials said, threatening European efforts to launch separate trade negotiations with the United States, which is waiting to see how far the EU will open up its markets.

“They still have a way to go.

Agriculture is the big sticking point,” an industry source told Reuters.

Talks on a Canadian-EU trade deal began in 2009, and an agreement would be the EU’s first with a country from the G7 club of major economies and could be worth roughly $28 billion from extra economic activity.

The EU remains opposed to increasing quotas of imported beef and pork from Canada, while Ottawa does not want to allow increased imports of EU dairy products, eggs and poultry.

“Europeans can’t possibly give the amount of beef the Canadians are asking for. The Canadians are much more ambitious on the beef ask,” the same industry source said.

The two had hoped to con-

clude a deal during talks between the Canadian and EU trade ministers this week in Canada, covering issues from pharmaceutical patents to energy, but sources say that is not now possible.

While Canada is smaller than the United States, the issues under debate are similar, such as opening the EU beef market, and a Canadian deal would be a blueprint for negotiations with Washington.

The European Union removed some barriers to selling U.S. beef in Europe this week, in an effort to encourage the start of negotiations with Washington.

“What we have in Canada is more or less reflected in U.S. trade negotiations later. The only difference is the scale,” said Pekka Pesonen, head of European farming industry group COPA-COGECA. Increasing access to the Canadian dairy market was particularly important for the EU side, which expects prices to fall and European producers to become more competitive after the phase-out of a milk quota system in 2015.

The EU is the largest producer of milk in the world.

Canada and the EU have also been involved in a separate debate over how to classify oil produced from tarsands under the EU’s Fuel Quality Directive, which Canada says are unfairly labelled as more polluting.

48

news » livestock

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

AFAC conference Mar. 21-22

BIXS data guide available

New global standards in animal care, innovative assessment models for the livestock industry and roundtable discussions are on the agenda for Alberta Farm Animal Care’s (AFAC) annual conference in partnership with the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association in Calgary Mar. 21-22.

The CCA says a new Beef InfoXchange System (BIXS) Carcass Data Guide helps users more fully understand how carcass data is collected. The guide explains the use of Computer Vision Systems (CVS) and the camera-derived carcass data linked to an individual animal Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) ID tag. BIXS participants can now generate carcass data reports on individual animals as well as benchmark reports which compare individual cattle to all others in the database. www.bixs.cattle.ca

Full conference details including agenda and accommodation information is available at www.afac.ab.ca/ lcc. Register online at that address or call AFAC at 403-662-8050.

Livestock Identification Services awaits your call TROUBLE SPOTS } Chad VanderMeer says there are some bad

apples when it comes to livestock dealers, and producers shouldn’t hesitate to complain if there’s a problem

By Alexis Kienlen af staff / mayerthorpe

W

ho you gonna call? When livestock goes missing or a dealer’s cheque doesn’t arrive, forget Ghostbusters — call Livestock Identification Services.

Plenty of people do call LIS if an animal wanders onto their property or disappears from their herd, says Chad VanderMeer, an inspector with the agency’s Education and Compliance Division and a cow-calf producer from Innisfail.

But it’s often a different story when it comes to business dealings, VanderMeer said at the recent UFA Cattle College in Mayerthorpe.

He reminded his audience that they have a role to play in enforcing regulations and standards.

“That’s one thing I would like you to keep in mind — especially in purebred sales — there are habitually some very poor livestock dealers in that industry,” he said. “It’s tough for us at LIS to enforce the rules as it’s tough to get producers to actually complain.”

He highlighted a couple of areas. Regulations state that if more than one bidder shows up at a purebred sale, animals must be inspected.

“Purebred guys, if you only have your bulls or your females at a sale, an exemption can be obtained through LIS, but there can only be one contributor,” he said.

Producers who haven’t been paid should notify his agency, he added.

“It’s not always going to end up in the dealer losing his licence, but if we can put the pressure on them, it can make them follow the rules a little tighter,” he said.

The agency also pays the salaries of two RCMP livestock investigators — one in the south and one in the north — who conduct investigations into cattle theft or fraud.

“I know they’re working on a few cases right now,” VanderMeer said. “There’s one case that involves nine head, and another that involves over 7,000 head of livestock.”

Another LIS role is to license livestock dealers in the province. Without a licence, it’s illegal to resell an animal without 30 days of ownership. There are a number of steps a livestock dealer must take to obtain a licence, which allows them to market 12,000 head of cattle annually. To help producers in the

Chad VanderMeer, inspector with the Education and Compliance Division of Livestock Identification Services. Photo: Alexis Kienlen case of non-payment, LIS administers an $8-million assurance fund.

“Every time you market your livestock through a licensed dealer in the province, you guys are paying five cents per head,” VanderMeer said. “That money is there in... case of a non-payment by a licensed livestock dealer.”

To receive payment, a producer must first make a claim against the livestock dealer’s security and then to the assurance fund, which covers up to 80 per cent of a loss.

Horses and cattle must also be inspected if the animals travel outside the province, even if it is for a show. Two different types of forms are used for transportation in the province — a livestock manifest and a livestock permit.

The manifest is simply a list of livestock being moved from one location to the other. It needs to be used when cattle and sheep are transported within the province of Alberta. Horses only need to appear on a livestock manifest if they are transported for sale, slaughter or to an inspection site.

“It’s tough for us at LIS to enforce the rules as it’s tough to get producers to actually complain.”

Chad VanderMeer

“The information on a manifest provides critical movement data related to a disease investigation,” said VanderMeer.

Manifests are not required if the person moving the livestock has already been issued a permit, or if an animal is being taken to the veterinarian.

LIS has developed an electronic version of the manifest, which is still in the testing phase. That version will be more convenient for high-volume feedlots.

Get with the system, inspector urges

By Alexis Kienlen af staff / mayerthorpe

Some producers still don’t have premise identification even though it’s critical in emergencies, says an inspector with Livestock Identification Services.

“If your information is not in the system, there’s no way the Chief Provincial Veterinarian will contact you or know that you exist,” said Chad VanderMeer.

That’s critical if there’s an infectious disease outbreak or other critical situation, he said.

“For example, there was a foot-andmouth scare in the Olymel plant in Red Deer in 2010,” said VanderMeer.

“What they can do is put an overlay and layers on a Google map image and they can determine which route the truck took into the plant. When they start mapping, they can see how many operations can be affected along that transportation route and who they would have to contact if there was a foot-and-mouth disease that showed up in the hogs.”

Premise identification has been legislated since 2009 and VanderMeer encouraged producers to register if they haven’t yet done so and update their information if they move.

“It’s written in the legislation that if anything changes, you’re supposed to update your premise account within 30 days,” he said.

Individual animal identification is also important for tracing it through various stages of production. Every year, the agency records more than 200,000 commerce-based livestock movements — and now has more than 130 million such records, making it the largest livestock database in North America, with over 250,000 clients in it.

VanderMeer also cautioned producers to be accurate when age verifying their calves.

“There have been several instances where the feedlot suffered the consequences of a cow-calf producer who wasn’t diligent,” he said.

The only time tags should be age verified is when they are actually about to go in a calf’s ear.

“Tags are as good as they were the day you bought them,” he said. “You can still use the tags you bought five years ago, as long as you don’t put an age on that tag until it is in a calf’s ear.”

VanderMeer heard from a feedlot owner who had been affected by producers who tagged their animals with tags that gave incorrect birth dates, making the animals appear older than they actually were.

“A cow-calf guy who doesn’t understand the system can cost the feedlot producer,” he said. “I’ve personally been involved in three different scenarios with feedlot guys losing money. A couple of guys knew whose cattle they were, so they wouldn’t be bidding on those cattle again.”

49

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Getting the most from swine herd-recording data Banff speaker } Outlines key factors which he believes make the biggest contribution to the number of quality pigs weaned per sow By bernie peet

T

here are literally dozens of different swine herdrecording programs. Most producers use a computerbased system to monitor performance, but do producers extract maximum value from their data?

Ron Ketchem, a partner in Swine Management Services of Fremont, Nebraska, thinks not. Speaking at the Banff Pork Seminar, he described how his company analyzes data from more than 800 farms and 1.4 million sows, with 24 different herd-recording systems, to show producers how they can improve and where they stand relative to their peers.

Ketchem notes that the SMS database includes herds producing fewer than 15 pigs/ mated female/year, but that 16 farms produced over 30 pigs during the previous 12 months.

He discussed some of the key factors which he believes make the biggest contribution to the number of quality pigs weaned per sow.

Wean to first-service interval

Table 1 shows data from 602 farms that wean over 20 pigs per mated female, sorted by wean to first-service interval. “Wean to first-service interval influenced pigs weaned per mated female, per cent bred by day seven, per cent repeats, farrowing rate and total pigs born,” Ketchem explains.

In order to improve the interval, he suggests feeding sows more aggressively in farrowing starting the day of farrowing and using an ad lib feeder. He also advises that weaned sows are given extra feed until they are

bred, to give a flushing effect, and that daily boar exposure is started the day sows are weaned.

Finally, he says that sows should be bred immediately they are in standing estrus, and not delayed for a period.

Influences on farrowing rate

Farrowing rate is strongly related to breeding herd output, says Ketchem. “Farms with a farrowing rate of 90-plus per cent weaned 26.10 pigs per mated female per year compared to 20.40 pigs where farrowing rate was less than 75 per cent,” he says.

Ketchem suggests that AI technicians should be given good training and be well supervised in order to get the best conception rates. He also advises planned breaks to prevent fatigue. Analysis of records related to the technician, time of day and semen batch can be used to identify areas for improvement.

“Semen management is an important component of farrowing rate, Ketchem believes, noting that SMS data has shown large differences between different batches of semen. “When the semen arrives, always record the batch number and the check temperature of semen bags on the outside and inside of the bag,” he says. “Also, record daily high/low temperatures in the semen cooler to monitor any fluctuation in temperature setting for semen storage cooler.”

He advises rotating semen at least once per day and arranging storage of semen by delivery date so the older semen is used up first.

Table 1:

602 farms over 20 pigs weaned / mated female / year – ranked by wean to 1st service interval

Top 10%

Top 25%

Top 50%

Total farms

Bottom 50%

Bottom 25%

Bottom 10%

5.2

5.5

5.9

6.9

7.9

8.8

10.1

Pigs weaned/ mated female/ year

25.91

25.45

25.17

24.47

23.82

23.69

23.53

Bred by 7 days, %

93.60

92.50

90.30

85.90

81.80

78.70

75.00

Repeat services, %

6.80

6.60

7.40

8.00

8.50

8.60

9.50

Farrowing rate, %

85.70

86.10

85.40

85.10

84.80

85.30

84.60

Total born

13.48

13.29

13.22

13.09

12.97

13

12.95

Piglet survival, %

79.90

80.10

80.20

79.80

79.50

79.00

79.40

Weaning age

19.81

19.89

19.67

19.79

19.91

19.95

19.78

Wean to 1st service interval

pigs per litter. The top 10 per cent of farms went from 12.41 to 14.18 pigs for 1.77 more pigs. “A most influential number is total born for first-litter gilts because the first litter determines the potential for lifetime production numbers,” Ketchem says. “To get P1 females off to a good start replacement gilts need to have at least one recorded skipped heat before breeding and if possible spend at least 14-plus days in a gestation crate pre-breeding. In farms we work with we see gilts with at least one skipped heat having 0.20 to 1.0-plus more pigs on their first litter.”

Increasing litter size is the reason that the average percentage piglet survival rate has hardly changed over the last five years, according to Ketchem. He highlights the importance of farrowing

management in minimizing stillbirths and post-farrowing deaths.

“We suggest extending farrowing supervision to address stillborns,” he says. “Having someone attending sows farrowing for 18 hours per day — 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. — will allow them to attend 87.9 per cent of the farrowings.” He stresses that importance of reducing chilling of pigs by drying them with a towel or coating them with drying agents. “The normal rectal temperature of pigs is 102-plus F at birth. Pigs that are not dried within five to 10 minutes lose four-plus° of body heat and can take up to one-plus hour to warm back up.”

industry and Ketchem emphasized the importance of rapid identification and treatment of sick animals. He advises improved staff training on how to spot sick or lame females and having written SOPs on how to handle and treat them.

Noting the high cost of female non-productive days, he advised that all second returns are culled, as their farrowing rate is likely to be little more than 50 per cent. Some older first-service returns may also be culled if service targets can be met and all sows that have locomotion or lameness issues should be culled.

Death loss and NPDs

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

Sow death loss is a significant issue in the North American

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Litter size increasing

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50

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Urban farming gives city folks a connection to food and each other OPPORTUNITY  As science increases our ability to bloom indoors and without

soil, so does our opportunity to provide food for the city from within it

BY BRENDA SCHOEPP AF COLUMNIST/RIMBEY

W

Today, cities like Vancouver have policies in place to double farmers’ markets and urban farms as folks return to buying from the grower.

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

hen we think of agriculture our minds drift off to fields, bins, cages and pens. Ask an urbanite what they think of when it comes to the production of food from the earth and they dream of gardens, herb boxes and paper bags of “fresh” produce from the farmers’ market.

Although at first glance the two may seem miles apart they are actually country cousins — farming on different scales for the purpose of creating great food. The movement to green cities includes both environment and plants.

Now more than ever we can grow a lot of food in a little space without soil. In a recent visit to the Netherlands I was touring a glasshouse selling $40 million of micro-herbs a year. Not bad considering that there was not one ounce of soil in the place. And as science increases our ability to bloom indoors and without soil, so does our opportunity to provide food for the city from within it.

In Vancouver, a proposed 150point city policy will make that city as “pretty as it is delicious” and provide work for those who love to be out- or indoors. The country’s first-ever vertical garden will be functional this fall and producing veggies by the tonne for city residents. In Toronto, active agree-

ments between the city and specialinterest groups such as The Urban Farm have allowed for expansion of the “golden horseshoe” inward rather than outside of city limits.

While Winnipeg may be colder than a banker’s eye in winter, it nurtures several strong initiatives in urban agriculture. And in Montreal the famous LUFA was the first in the nation to introduce hydroponic glasshouse foods on the top of the town. Their vision of a city of rooftop farms is becoming a reality as the technology of capturing heat from roofs is shared worldwide.

Green initiatives are not always easy or straightforward. A recent study indicates that in most Canadian cities up to 44 per cent of people grow a little something to eat. It could be as simple as a pot of parsley or a row of carrots among the carnations but there is always something growing. It may be that mankind was born to plant seeds and feed animals, or it could be that there is something spiritual and miraculous about plant and animal life. Either way, urban agriculture, although small in stature has woven its way into the very fabric of the majority of the lives here on Earth.

A chicken or two

Sometimes, it gets a little dangerous as cities follow Vancouver’s lead and introduce legislation to allow barnyard birds in the backyard. That proverbial headache will

OppOrtunity dOesn’t knOck. it cOmes Out Of yOur cOws. Things are about to get busier for you and your herd – so make sure you’re prepared.

From health to shelter, your local UFA Farm & Ranch Supply store is your one-stop calving destination.

Visit us in-store or online at UFA.com/beef to receive our handy calving checklist.

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UFA.com 13-01-10 2:19 PM

someday land squarely on CFIA’s shoulders and is only going to get worse. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver house the most voters and the greatest percentage of foreignborn Canadians. In Toronto alone, 45 per cent of the 2.6 million residents are foreign born and many would appreciate having a chicken or two just out the back door. That would be a cultural norm from many homelands.

Other entrepreneurs have used the green movement to profit on the backs of urban landowners.

One creative company in Vancouver has folks donate their yards for gardens and the company sells the produce at farmers’ markets. Those same markets are the main focus of many expansions of the local food movement.

The idea of the farmers’ market, which is no longer functional in Europe, was borrowed from those old traditions, and was once the centre of urban commerce. They fell out of favour in the early 20th century in Canada and were almost lost when the urban elite abandoned the open-market concept.

Today, cities like Vancouver have policies in place to double farmers’ markets and urban farms as folks return to buying from the grower.

Why? Choice, variety, connection and occasion. It is more than taste, colour and freshness that draws folks to the market — it’s the social aspect and the interaction. In Canadian studies, consumers were as interested in the experience as much as the produce. Although there are a variety of goods at the farmers’ market, most folks in Canada zoom in on vegetables, then fruit and baking.

The road to the edible city is paved with education and experience. Cities such as New York offer Farm Schools where urbanites can learn how to farm. The audience is varied but the focus is often on youth so that they have an opportunity to work and to understand where food comes from. In some areas, city farming is done in highly raised beds so seniors can be active foodies without having to bend down or in tiers of hydroponic pots, or includes trees for shade and the introduction of good bugs and bacteria.

While it is true that city fields will not feed the whole of the population, they contribute to a colourful and healthy life for Canadians. Agriculture is the cultivation of plants, animals, fungi and other forms to sustain life. It has also been called the science, art and business of producing crops by cultivating soil or raising animals. Science, art and business — is that not beautiful?

Agriculture is farming without the restraint of border, class, location, income, culture or politics. It is the greatest freedom known to man.

No wonder our city cousins are so excited about meeting farmers and learning about farming. How else will they grow their lovely, green and edible city?

Brenda Schoepp is a Nuffield Scholar who travels extensively exploring agriculture and meeting the people who feed, clothe and educate our world. A motivating speaker and mentor she works with young entrepreneurs across Canada and is the founder of Women in Search of Excellence. She can be contacted through her website www. brendaschoepp.com

51

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

National sheep tag fee set to start for Alberta in September

Rise aBove gRassy weeds look no FuRtheR than

laddeR

PRELIMINARY  Alberta Lamb Producers

still voting on checkoff change

A $0.25 national Canadian Sheep Identification Program (CSIP) tag fee is being implemented that will fund the Canadian Sheep Federation (CSF) in lieu of dues from the provincial sheep organizations.

BY VICTORIA PATERSON AF STAFF/CALGARY

S

heep producers could be paying a reduced provincial checkoff in September.

Alberta Lamb Producers (ALP) members are in the process of voting for a resolution that would lower their refundable checkoff to $1.35 from $1.50.

The change is because a $0.25 national Canadian Sheep Identification Program (CSIP) tag fee is being implemented that will fund the Canadian Sheep Federation (CSF) in lieu of dues from the provincial sheep organizations.

“Alberta Lamb Producers is not financially responsible for the CSF.” RONALD DEN BROEDER ALP

“We are hoping to have the whole procedure in place by Sept. 1; that’s our goal,” said ALP chair Ronald den Broeder.

If the majority of eligible voting producers approves change to the checkoff, the $0.15 price drop will need to be passed by the Agricultural Products Marketing Council and the provincial government, den Broeder said.

Three zones have already voted to approve the change.

Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4 still need to vote. If Alberta producers were against the switch they’d fight it, he said, adding however the consensus is a national organization is needed to tackle country-wide issues. “If we don’t have a national organization there’s nobody talking to the government,” den Broeder said.

Separate process

Though the plan is to reduce the checkoff, the tag fee to fund CSF is a separate issue and the provincial body won’t be responsible for any shortfall from tag fee refunds. “Alberta Lamb Producers is not financially responsible for the CSF,” den Broeder said. The voluntary $0.25 CSIP fee will be applied to tags sold through the Canadian Cooperative Wool Growers, said Jennifer MacTavish, executive director of the CSF. However, MacTavish said the national organization is working with provinces individually over how the fee is implemented. “We’re just really in the preliminary phases, it will require national consultation. Every province is handling this process on their own,” she said. “As a result we’ve ended up with a bit of a smorgasbord approach.”

Some provinces, like B.C. and Nova Scotia, have already launched the tag fee program, while others, like Alberta, are intending to start in the fall, MacTavish said. Some are even saying they’d rather keep paying member dues. The reason the fee is being put in is so imported goods can be levied as well, hopefully providing a stable source of funding for the national group. “In order for us to be able to do that, we need to show that every producer is paying the same levy to the national organization, because if we don’t do that with every producer in Canada there’s no way that we can impose it on imported product,” she said.

The CSF is hoping to raise at least $155,000, which is the organization’s current approximate operating budget. “A lot of this is going to change as we listen to what the producers have to say, or may change, but so far we’ve had a lot of really great producer support,” she said. Consultation will take place in partnership with the provincial associations, she said.

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52

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Cows fed flaxseed produce more nutritious dairy products, says OSU study HEALTH  The milk contained more omega-3 fatty acids and less saturated fat OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY RELEASE

D

airy cows that are fed flaxseed produce more nutritious milk, according to a new study by Oregon State University.

Their milk contained more omega-3 fatty acids and less saturated fat, the study found. Diets high in saturated fat can increase cholesterol and cause heart disease, while those rich in omega-3 and other polyunsaturated fatty acids may reduce the risk of heart disease, studies have shown.

Traditional cattle feed mixtures of corn, grains, alfalfa hay and grass silage result in dairy products with low concentrations of omega-3 and other polyunsaturated fats, according to Gerd Bobe, the lead scientist on the study,

which has been published online in the Journal of Dairy Science.

Ten pregnant cows at OSU’s dairy were fed different amounts of flaxseed — up to seven per cent of their daily diet. Researchers attempted to pinpoint the amount of flaxseed that would maximize the amount of omega-3 in milk and dairy products without negatively affecting their production and texture.

“We were looking for a sweet spot,” said Bobe, an expert in human and animal nutrition.

“Too much of a good thing can be bad, especially when trying to maintain consistency with dairy products.”

Collaborators in OSU’s food science and technology department assisted in turning milk into butter and fresh cheese, which were then tested for texture and nutritional composition.

The study found that feeding

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

cows up to six pounds of extruded flaxseed improved the fat profile without negatively affecting the production and texture of the milk and other dairy products.

Extrusion presses raw, ground flaxseed into pellets with heat.

At six pounds per day, saturated fatty acids in whole milk fat dropped 18 per cent, polyun-

saturated fatty acids increased 82 per cent, and omega-3 levels rose 70 per cent compared to feeding no flaxseed. Similar improvements were observed in butter and cheese.

Still, saturated fat accounted for more than half of the fatty acids in the dairy products while the increase in polyunsaturated

fats compromised no more than nearly nine per cent of the total.

Researchers also noted that the refrigerated butter was softer and less adhesive thanks to fewer saturated fatty acids. Also, the cows produced the same amount of milk while eating flaxseed.

Although flaxseed costs more than traditional cattle feeds, Bobe hopes that it still could be an affordable feed supplement for cows because products enriched with omega-3 can sell for a premium at the grocery store.

“Many consumers already show a willingness to pay extra for value-added foods, like omega-3-enriched milk,” he said.

One thing is for sure, he said: Dairy farmers will have no trouble convincing cows to eat flaxseed.

“They loved it. They ate it like candy,” he said.

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Manhattan, Kansas company has started to market omega-3-enriched ground beef from cattle fed with flax.

NBO3 Technologies worked with Jim Drouillard, a Kansas State University professor of animal sciences who has been researching the addition of flax to cattle diets to increase the omega-3 fatty acid content.

Omega-3s have been shown to reduce heart disease, cholesterol and high blood pressure. Fish is the most common recommended source, but fish is not a large part of the U.S. diet, Drouillard said in a K-State release.

“Reasons for this include cost, access to fish and personal preference. Americans do, however, like hamburgers. So if we can give people a hamburger that is rich in omega-3s, it’s an alternative form of a product that they already eat and does not require a lifestyle change, which is difficult to make.”

Drouillard and his students have studied flax for several of its omega-3 fatty acids that may suppress inflammation and reduce diabetes in cattle. Research showed that omega-3 levels dramatically increased in the cattle as more flaxseed was introduced into their diet.

Drouillard said substituting omega-3 fatty acids for saturated fats does not change the ground beef’s flavour.

The enriched ground beef is named GreatO Premium Ground Beef and will be available midFebruary at select retailers in Buffalo, N.Y., and expand to leading retailers and restaurants nationwide later this year.

53

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Survey shows how western producers are treating calf diseases BEEF 911  Western Veterinary College report shows trends among cow-calf producers case from developing or isolate it and prevent further spread.

One of the key components against developing scours is boosting the calve’s immunity through the colostrum.

Improving the cow’s colostrum is accomplished through good nutrition and vaccinating, especially for scours. If you are worried that calves did not receive adequate colostrum, it should be supplemented with a goodquality colostrum substitute.

Since there are very good broad-spectrum scours vaccines which have proven beneficial, I was shocked to find how few producers vaccinate.

If we include vaccinating in the fall or pre-calving, only about 40 per cent of producers vaccinate. This to me is quite low which is one reason why many calves are still treated for scours.

This is evident to me by the amount of electrolytes clinics sell in the spring. I personally would rather try to prevent than treat. Farmers still regarded diarrhea (whether scours or coccidiosis) as the most important disease they treat in half the herds. Many questions come up every year about coccidiosis at producer meetings.

BY ROY LEWIS, DVM

A

comprehensive survey was completed by Dr. Cheryl Waldner at the Western Veterinary College in Saskatoon looking at the incidence of early calfhood diseases across Western Canada.

Surveys were distributed to veterinary clinics across this region and randomly distributed to their clients. Thanks to the participating veterinarians and their clients who responded and answered the questionnaire completely and honestly.

This area had not been looked at for some time and with the ever-changing dynamics of the cow-calf sector across Western Canada some interesting results were obtained. I will touch on some of the more significant points which came out of the survey and which should benefit the cow-calf producer.

It is no surprise the average number of cows per herd has increased over the years. It is now approximately 200 head, which with greater numbers calving inherently brings with it more problems than with smaller herds. A fairly high percentage — 14 per cent of herds — treated greater than 10 per cent of their calves for scours. Around five per cent of the herds had problems with scours. This illustrates the adage that once you have one case it is likely to have several.

The key is to prevent the first

Colostrum use higher

It is good to see many producers — 70 per cent — conscientiously using colostrum or colostrum supplements when necessary. Now this may have only been in one calf, but it shows me producers are geared

up to administer it and have it on hand. The quality of the commercial colostrum sources like Headstart have really improved over the years and the amount of immunoglobulin is indicated on the label.

Some producers milk out a heavy-producing cow the first time to have colostrum on hand. It should be mentioned that Headstart is colostrum from dairies that do vaccinate for scours, as maximum protection is paramount.

Only a few (1.9 per cent) used homemade recipes, boluses and milk replacers and I would really caution that in these instances producers are not getting the protection they think. There is still much education necessary when it comes to colostrum supplementation but thankfully most producers are getting the message.

The effort of providing colostrum supplementation to twin calves or calves on cows with mastitis or little milk may prevent the first scours case from developing. We all know that protection through the colostrum is key. A little effort here may save lots of treatment headaches later on in the calving season if a scours outbreak is prevented.

Early calving was shown to yield an increased chance of treating for scours, whether from increased stress from cold weather, close proximity to each other or running through a calving barn. Overall the probability increased. Some

scours are caused by clostridial organisms so vaccinating with a clostridial vaccine after Jan. 1 greatly decreased the incidence of scours. Also vaccinating with a scours vaccine after Jan. 1 compared to not vaccinating or in the fall lowered the risk of calves dying at less than one month.

The colostral immunity will be high to both these vaccines.

In our area boostering the cows with blackleg vaccine every year or two is becoming more and more of an accepted practice. It has many benefits some of which we don’t even know the answers to.

Scours treatment

When looking at the drugs used to treat scours we as veterinarians have generally felt electrolytes are the most important thing followed by antibiotics (usually injectable) and anti-inflammatory drugs. The survey indicates the reverse actually happens — producers with scours are three times as likely to just treat with antibiotics, than electrolytes. Most scours occur between three days or older meaning they are most likely viral in origin so the electrolytes will do them more good.

Another agreed issue with most veterinarians is because the gut is compromised, injectable antibiotic drugs get into the bloodstream are more beneficial than boluses which need to be digested and then absorbed.

That is happening because the study reported twice as many

calves are treated with injectable antibiotics. Again lots of different concoctions are used including homemade electrolyte solutions. Some have merit, others probably don’t. I always like the commercial electrolyte products, which have been balanced and tested.

The second most recognized neonatal problem was pneumonia followed by navel infection, which I think one would expect. The most common things done to calves at birth are still selenium and vitamin A & D shots. The increase in producers calving later and on pasture is why the percentage of these two procedures by farmers is around 40 per cent.

Long-acting antibiotics are given at birth in around 15 per cent of the calves probably as a protection against navel infection or pneumonia.

This survey should provide a good synopsis on what is going on in the industry and what is accepted practice out in the field. We slowly are getting back to the management levels most of our herds had prior to BSE. I would encourage any of you to take up the management practices recommended by your peers.

Here’s to a healthy and prosperous calving season.

Roy Lewis is a large-animal veterinarian practising at the Westlock, Alberta Veterinary Centre. His main interests are bovine reproduction and herd health

Britain’s food agency seeks stringent tests on beef products DNA  Horsemeat not harmful, but the supply

chain is being questioned REUTERS

Britain’s horsemeat scandal has prompted the Food Standards Agency to demand a more stringent meat-testing program from U.K.’s retailers.

The agency has demanded that food retailers and suppliers test all beef products such as burgers, meatballs and lasagne and present their findings to the agency by February 15.

Britain’s food industry has been rocked by an alarming rise in incidents of retailers recalling their beef products after tests revealed the presence of horsemeat in them.

Investigations into suppliers have been launched in recent weeks after revelations that beef products sold at major British supermarkets including Tesco and fast-food chain Burger King contained horsemeat.

Smaller retail chains Aldi, Lidl and Iceland have also sold beef products found to contain horse DNA. Findus, a U.K.-based frozen food

Food manufacturer Findus confirmed on February 7 results of tests carried out by Britain’s Food Standards Agency that showed that the company’s beef lasagne contained horsemeat. The company is recalling its products.

PHOTO: REUTERS/CHRIS HELGREN

and seafood company, on Thursday admitted that company’s beef lasagne, contained horsemeat.

Findus had recalled its beef lasagne from retailers earlier in the week on advice from its French supplier, Comigel.

Food safety experts say horse DNA poses no added health risks to consumers, but the discovery has raised concerns about the food supply chain and the ability to trace meat ingredients.

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54

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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National dairy farm biosecurity standard launched Biosecurity } The standard is designed

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• 150 yearling bulls • 150 yearling heifers • 100 two year old bulls • 300 commercial heifers The standard calls for a dairy farmer to have a herd health plan in place which “encourages resistance to diseases of concern” and includes practices to track animals’ health and respond to disease risks.

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anada’s food safety agency has formally introduced its biosecurity standard designed specifically for the Canadian dairy farm.

Launched Feb. 5, the voluntary biosecurity standard maps out dairy farmers’ control areas and target outcomes in the areas of animal health management, animal movement, premises management and conditions for workers, visitors, vehicles and equipment.

The standard, designed to help farmers cut and control the risk of disease entering their farms, spreading within the farm or to neighbouring farms, “will be a tool for all proactive farmers who want to bring animal health to a superior level,” Wally Smith, president of Dairy Farmers of Canada, said in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s release.

Smith, who farms at Chemainus, B.C., added that the new standard “complements standards we already have for on-farm food

safety in the Canadian Quality Milk program, and other efforts dairy farmers make to constantly improve their farm operations.”

The standard, developed over two years in a partnership between the DFC and CFIA with funding from the Growing Forward ag policy framework, “offers goals, objectives and measurable targets for all producers from small-scale to large-scale establishments,” CFIA said in its release.

The standard calls for a dairy farmer to have a herd health plan in place which “encourages resistance to diseases of concern” and includes practices to track animals’ health and respond to disease risks.

Strategies in the herd health plan include maintaining a client-veterinarian relationship; observing, recording and evaluating animals’ health status; recognizing disease susceptibility and maintaining separation where needed; monitoring and investigating animal illnesses and/or deaths; and managing the herd’s feed, water and bedding.

Good news for beefloving male boomers Food Guide } Recommended

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Search Canada’s top agriculture publications… with just a click. Network SEARCH

ood news for middle-aged male beef eaters — you may be able to double your serving of beef — to six ounces, that is.

And you should probably be lifting weights first.

The Exercise Metabolism Research Group at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. conducted a study on ways to counteract age-related muscle loss.

Thirty-five middle-aged men averaging 59 years old participated in a study that found that eating a six-ounce serving of 85 per cent lean ground beef resulted in significant improvements in the rate of muscle protein synthesis (MPS) following exercise. The investigators measured MPS, which is essential to the body’s ongoing growth, repair and maintenance of skeletal muscle, in men who did and did not

lift weights. They determined that the quantity of beef needed for optimal MPS for this age group is double the current recommended serving size of meat.

“Canada’s Food Guide now suggests that consuming about three ounces of meat per serving is adequate to provide protein at the recommended level,” senior author Dr. Stuart Phillips said in a release. “However, our work shows that the quantity of beef needed to maximize the renewal of new muscle proteins was at least six ounces in middle-aged men. Our findings have clear ramifications for the current recommendations regarding protein to prevent muscle loss in aging.”

The research was published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.

55

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • FEBRUARY 18, 2013

U.S. cattle herd at 61-year low, but rebuilding may be underway HIGH  Expect record-high beef prices through 2014

BY THEOPOLIS WATERS CHICAGO / REUTERS

T

he U.S. cattle herd shrunk for a sixth straight year in 2012 due to high feed costs tied to drought and that should mean consumers will continue paying recordhigh prices for beef.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Feb. 1 said the U.S. cattle herd as of January 1 was 89.30 million head, down 1.6 per cent from a year earlier and the smallest U.S. herd since 1952. Analysts expected a 1.8 per cent decline.

However, the data suggests ranchers are beginning to retain female breeding stock, the foundation for herd rebuilding, possibly in anticipation of even higher cattle prices.

“Ranchers are retaining heifers because of record prices for feeder cattle and the futures market is saying we’re going to get higher,” said University of Missouri livestock economist Ron Plain. Friday’s herd inventory results also reaffirms results issued in the government’s report in July 2012 in which the U.S. cattle herd at the start of 2012 was 2.3965 million head larger than 60 years earlier, but dropped below that level around April 2012.

U.S. cattle numbers have declined for several years as producers have encountered a number of hardships including mad cow disease that reduced U.S. beef exports for several years, a recession that hurt domestic beef consumption, a lengthy

drought that damaged pastures, and record-high feed prices.

Those who raise, feed and process cattle in the central and western U.S. Plains this year felt the heat from the worst dry spell in more than 50 years. It raised feed and hay costs to all-time highs last summer. Chicago Board of Trade corn futures in December averaged $7.24-1/8 per bushel, the fourth highest as drought damaged the crop.

Prices reached a record high of $8.43-3/4 on August 10.

The smaller cattle herd has increased retail beef prices, with a record high of $5.15 per lb. set in November 2012. That slipped to $5.11 the following month but was still up from $5.01 a year earlier.

Consumers may not like what they see on the label this year.

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

Call for horses to lease for equestrian championships AGRI-NEWS

The 2013 Canadian Interprovincial Equestrian Championships (CIEC) will showcase excellence in Alberta horses and riders, and the Alberta Equestrian Federation (AEF) is seeking horses for lease to qualified riders from other provinces for this competition.

The AEF is hosting the 2013 CIEC in the Calgary area from September 13 to 15, 2013, with schooling and warm-up for the competition taking place on Sept. 11 and 12.

Dressage and jumping for both junior and senior riders will be held at Rocky Mountain Show Jumping, and reining for juniors and seniors will be at the Okotoks Agricultural Society.

The AEF is seeking a limited number of horses in all three disciplines, for lease to qualified teams of riders from other provinces/territories. Each provincial/territorial team will be coached by a certified trainer. Horses for lease must meet certain discipline-specific criteria and will be cared for to the highest standards.

The CIEC is a sanctioned Equine Canada competition and a collaborative event between the national and provincial sport organizations.

The championships are also an opportunity to showcase Alberta’s excellence in horse training, management and breeding to a national and provincial audience.

Trainers can highlight their expertise and promote their horses through the lease program.

For more information, contact Sophie Beaufils at 403-253-4411 ext. 2 or visit www.albertaequestrian.com

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FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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