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MARCH 4, 2013

Wheat customers seek postsingle-desk quality assurance WARNING  Customers don’t want to see a repeat of what happened to Australian wheat quality after deregulation BY ALEXIS KIENLEN AF STAFF/EDMONTON

sian customers are making it clear that wheat quality and consistency remain vital following changes to the Canadian marketing system, and they are already raising red flags about recent shipments. Dave Hatcher, program manager for Asian products and wheat enzymes with the Canadian Grain Commission, told the first annual meeting of Alberta Wheat Commission that representatives of the CGC, Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) and other industry organizations travelled to Japan, Korea and China, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany last fall. “One thing that did come through constantly from our customers was that they had liked dealing with the single desk and they were now concerned about the quality they would receive with this new changing system,” he said. “They definitely did not want a repeat of the Australian Wheat Board model that they had experienced.” Following the deregulation of the AWB in 2008, many customers reportedly complained about

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MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

livestock

crops

Calving malpresentations

Not all bugs are bad

One national symbol helps another Welcome home }

Beaver ponds speed spring thaw for returning geese

Beef trade: fewer cattle, more beef

Hoof abscesses in horses

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Bernie Peet Plastic model demonstrates different positions

‘Superhero’ wasps take on cutworms

European experience with group housing

More than met the eye to Whelan agriculture minister } Farmers never had a better friend in Ottawa

U of A release

new University of Alberta study shows that busy beavers are helping Canada geese get an earlier start when the birds fly home and begin spring nesting. Ponds in Alberta where beavers were active tended to result in earlier thaw of winter snowpack, giving the geese a better chance at reproductive success, according to the study, published recently in Mammalian Biology. The study is the first to link beavers to early-season nesting habits of Canada geese in a northern climate. A team led by Glynnis Hood, an associate professor in the department of science at the U of A’s Augustana Campus, surveyed 32 active and 39 inactive beaver ponds at Miquelon Lake Provincial Park in eastcentral Alberta. The study showed that open water occurred 10.7 days earlier in active beaver ponds, especially the water that was next to main beaver lodge entrances and food caches. As well, snowpack was on average almost six centimetres shallower in active ponds. The activity of the beavers warmed and thawed the water, which makes it more welcoming habitat for the geese to nest, Hood said. The open water and the active ponds, which housed island lodges, provided food resources and nests away from land predators for the geese. “Having access to safe nesting grounds and ample food is necessary for Canada geese to raise at least one set of offspring before fall migration,” Hood noted. The open water was also used by several other animals, Hood noted, including coyotes, fox, weasels, moose, deer, ravens, and other birds. The findings reinforce earlier research indicating that beavers are a vital keystone species that contribute to the success of other wildlife and helps protect boreal wetlands against drought.

brenda schoepp

Carol Shwetz

Horsemeat revival Butchers report increased sales after publicity

columNists

By Alex Binkley

ugene Whelan will be remembered mostly for his green Stetson, inability to speak either of Canada’s official languages and his cheerleading for the farm community. Too bad because there was a lot more to the former Liberal agriculture minister, who died just weeks after his Conservative counterpart John Wise. He was a lot politically shrewder than he ever acted or got credit for, and his interest in politics went a lot deeper than just agriculture. Although he never articulated the agri-food community concept that we now hear all the time, he spoke of it indirectly often enough, trying to link the health of the Canadian food industry to the well-being of the country’s farmers. Like Wise, he held the portfolio when agriculture ministers were still expected to manage the expectations of rural voters, which the great minds in Ottawa saw as just farmers. It would take almost two decades after Whelan and Wise left politics before the agrifood industry idea finally sunk in. The 2008 recession drove the point home. As Whelan would have said, “Even a blind economist on a galloping horse could have seen that.” Whelan stories would easily fill a page of this newspaper. A favourite comes from another Trudeau-era cabinet minister Romeo LeBlanc. When the prime minister asked him after the 1974 election to be fisheries minister, LeBlanc replied that he wanted to be the minister of fishermen like Whelan was the minister of farmers. The phone line went silent for minute before Trudeau cleared his throat. “I don’t know if I can stand two of you.” That would have been a big compliment from Trudeau. Another was watching Whelan literally chasing Trudeau adviser Jerry Grafstein around the Hall of Honour in the Centre Block of Parliament at the Press Gallery dinner in the early 1980s trying to convince him the government was mishandling rural issues. Some readers will remember listening to Whelan deliver a speech. A former speechwriter says the trick was to load up the text with numbers and examples. Ideas would come to Whelan at the podium and he would soar off on a tangent until the thought lost momentum. He would glance down at his speech searching for his next idea. When the Prairies were gripped in a severe drought, Whelan opined it

photo: allan dawson was time for him to do a western tour because it always rained when he was out west. While he didn’t break the drought when he got there, he did get wet. During the meeting of federal and provincial agriculture ministers in Yorkton, Sask., Whelan and his officials were eating breakfast in the hotel restaurant when a middle-aged farmer approached the minister with a grievance involving the federal government, the Canadian Wheat Board and something else I no longer remember. Whelan sympathetically listened to the man, described how he would fix the problem in question except for the major hurdle that the issue was in Otto Lang’s domain as he was the minister responsible for the CWB. Dividing up the agriculture and wheat board portfolios only showed Ottawa’s ignorance about the farm industry to Whelan. So he made a good friend of the farmer and passed the blame to Lang. There were smiles all over the restaurant. Whelan once told me that he’d asked legendary agriculture minister Jimmy Gardiner if he’d ever aspired to another cabinet post. “No one ever asked me,” Gardiner replied. Whelan’s tone in relating the story indicated he too regretted never having been given the opportunity. When Whelan addressed farm groups, he would refer to himself several times as your agriculture minister.

He meant it. He stood his ground on Parliament Hill when angry dairy farmers threw an assortment of milk products at him. Whelan was one of the first ministers I covered after coming to Parliament Hill with the Canadian Press news service in 1975. He always remembered what you’d written and never hesitated to get in the last word. Once I put in the lead of a story that Whelan had turned a deaf ear to protests about something. Whelan did have hearing problems and I was criticized for being insensitive. However, Whelan thought it was hilarious. You will read many tributes to lean mean Gene. I will leave you with this one from the current minister, Gerry Ritz. “Eugene was planted firmly on the side of farmers. His more than 12 years as agriculture minister serve as a clear testament to the passion and dedication he brought to the job every day. I am privileged to continue Mr. Whelan’s efforts in putting farmers first, because as Eugene would agree, a strong farm gate is the backbone of our economy.” Whelan didn’t provoke neutral feelings and left behind many fans and critics. His imprint on Canadian agriculture deserves remembering. Farmers never had a better friend. Alex Binkley is an Ottawa-based agricultural journalist.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

Research funding a priority for new wheat commission New varieties } Directors will press for continued public investment in plant breeding by alexis kienlen af staff/edmonton

“My fear as a director and as a wheat farmer in Alberta is that when you’re looking at your wheat checks right now, there are a lot of checkoff lines in there and what will people feel about that?”

irectors of the Alberta Wheat Commission say its first annual meeting a the end of January was an occasion for celebration, but now it’s time for work to begin. The AWC is the first provincial wheat commission in Canada, and has been operational since Aug. 1, 2012. It aims to represent the 11,000 wheat growers in the province, and co-chair Kent Erickson says it is a time of opportunity. He acknowledged the different climate created by end of the Canadian Wheat Board single desk. “Our industry in some areas such as research, public funding, varietal protection rights and future investment, is in a state of change. I don’t think that the industry, which includes producers, has let it turn into chaos,” he said. “There are always leaders in our agricultural industry that take the first step and lead us in a new direction. That is what I hope our organization will do in the future,” he said. Fellow co-chair Lynn Jacobson outlined the group’s strategies. “One of the things we’re really looking at now is public research dollars and what has been happening to them. We all know that the federal government has been pulling back on funding some of the programs and research stations, and has not been replacing research scientists,” said Jacobson. The AWC has started to investigate how private investment can fill the gap left by the decline in public funding for research, but has yet to make a decision about which avenue to pursue. “In my own opinion, I don’t

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Lynn Jacobson

Alberta Wheat Commission co-chairs (l-r) Lynn Jacobson and Kent Erickson and general manager Rick Istead in front of some of the AWC’s promotional material at the wheat commission’s first AGM. PHOTo: Alexis Kienlen

want to let public research dollars go down too far. I still think there is public good in all this research and the public does benefit a lot from what we do, so they should have a stake in our industry,” said Jacobson. He said the AWC should fight to maintain government investment at both federal and provincial levels. The new commission is expecting to make investments in agronomics, plant and genetic development, plant registration and a new model for plant breeding. “With the new model, we’ll also be looking at the possibility of end-point royalties, what this will mean to our members and if they want to do it,” said Jacobson. “It’s got to be a discussion within our industry.” 12:49 PM

Checkoff funding

The AWC has to decide how to fund the Western Canadian Grains Research Foundation and the Canadian International Grains Institute. The AWC will be meeting with both organizations and has to make a funding decision within the next five years. “My fear as a director and as a wheat farmer in Alberta is that when you’re looking at your wheat checks right now, there are a lot of checkoff lines in there and what will people feel about that?” asked Jacobson. The AWC has been invited to join a working group regarding a cereals council, and they will use this opportunity to investigate the merits of this group for future collaboration between

all sectors of the wheat industry. The board will also try to build good relationships with all three levels of governments, and has received advice from other groups such as the Alberta Barley Commission, the Alberta Canola Producers Commission and the Grain Growers of Canada. The board created a strategic business plan and has launched a producer engagement campaign to reach out to producers at crop and industry events. They’ve also assembled a board of 11 directors and 15 regional representatives and have employed two staff people. General manager Rick Istead said the group is still going through regulatory issues to become legislated.

“We are Canada’s first allwheat provincial producer commission and with that comes certain roles and responsibilities that we need to live up to. One of them is leadership, leadership not only within Alberta, but also leadership across the industry,” he said. Priorities are improving producer and farmer returns on wheat and as well as a focus on research. “We need to invest in this crop. We need a wheat-innovation strategy to move this industry forward,” he said. The Alberta Wheat Commission will be sharing space with the Alberta Barley Commission and is currently looking for real estate for a shared office in Calgary. Saskatchewan expects to have a wheat commission operational by August 2013. Manitoba’s wheat commission is still in the planning stages.

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MARCH 4, 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

Shawna Gibson Email: shawna@fbcpublishing.com

Irrigation is the elephant in the room

Director of Sales & Circulation

Questions } The industry will need to justify why it takes

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

PRODUCTION director

up 60 per cent of the province’s water allocation

Lynda Tityk Email: lynda.tityk@fbcpublishing.com

CIRCULATION manager Heather Anderson Email: heather@fbcpublishing.com

By will verboven

Alberta Farmer | Editor

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www.albertafarmexpress.ca or email: subscription@fbcpublishing.com At Farm Business Communications we have a firm commitment to protecting your privacy and security as our customer. Farm Business Communications will only collect personal information if it is required for the proper functioning of our business. As part of our commitment to enhance customer service, we may share this personal information with other strategic business partners. For more information regarding our Customer Information Privacy Policy, write to: Information Protection Officer, Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Ave., Wpg., MB R3H 0H1 Occasionally we make our list of subscribers available to other reputable firms whose products and services might be of interest to you. If you would prefer not to receive such offers, please contact us at the address in the preceding paragraph, or call 1-800-665-0502. The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Alberta Farmer Express and Farm Business Communications attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists and Alberta Farmer Express and Farm Business Communications, cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and the editors as well as Alberta Farmer Express and Farm Business Communications assume no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader for this publication based on any and all information provided.

he new political buzzword with the provincial government is “conversation.” It’s a word hatched by Premier Redford who seems to mention it at every opportunity. In the past we had roundtable discussions, town-hall meetings, public consultations, commissions of inquiry, factfinding tours — we even had kitchen table talks — but now it’s “conversations” with our government. Of course a new name for the same thing doesn’t mean the government will actually be “listening.” Civil servants mindful of the political wording predilections of their ruling masters were quick to pick up on the latest catchphrase. That’s why a recent government initiative is being called “A conversation on Water.” It’s going to involve the public at 20 venues across the province, and through online participation by means of a workbook you can submit your views. The government wants to converse with the public about four major water issues, the big one of concern to agriculture is water management. That’s the one that covers irrigation, and it’s the elephant in the room. Many in the irrigation industry would suspect that the deck is stacked against them in any discussion on water that involves all the other users, particularly urbanites and/ or those who have no connection to agriculture. They are the majority, and when those folks are made aware that over 60 per cent of water usage in Alberta is for irrigation, you know that sooner or later questions will arise. Whether by accident or design, the irrigation elephant is not specifically mentioned in the online workbook or the initiative overview, although some small reference is made to agricultural usage. Much is made of water

conservation, clean water, access, pollution, fracking concerns — all noble causes to the public. But I am not so sure that citizens in favour of all that would like to see more of that water go to irrigated production agriculture. The average urbanite is more prepared to pay a price for watching more water flow down a river, rather than watch it go through an irrigation pivot. Therein lies the problem for agriculture and it does not bode well for any future water development for more irri-

Standing still and being ignored by other water users would be the best outcome that could be achieved for the industry.

gation in this province. I expect that standing still and being ignored by other water users would be the best outcome for the industry from these conversations. Another factor in these conversations is that irrigation faces formidable foes, particularly from environmental groups like Ecojustice (the greenwashed name for the U.S.-based Sierra Legal Defense Fund) and the WaterKeeper groups (also U.S. based). Such groups tend to be anti-development and anti-agriculture. Those organizations employ lawyers and lobbyists to pursue their intentions and they have a long history of being successful. You can be assured that their employees and supporters will be making presentations at the public venues and directly to government politicians. If irrigation or agriculture is mentioned by those antagonists it will surely not be positive. I should mention that the irrigation industry does understand its political situ-

ation and the need to lobby for its side and promote the positive aspects of irrigation. The Alberta Irrigation Projects Association did engage in a PR campaign last year, but it was perhaps a little premature and only a modest effort. In reading between the lines of government water policy, I perceive that future expansion of irrigation is just not going to happen. That would require more dams and reservoirs and in reality that is going nowhere. For significant expansion it would require a transfer of water between north and south water basins. The Alberta government is already opposed to such an idea, no matter what the economic benefits. A research project by the Alberta Water Council on basin transfer recommended a complex decision-making process that would effectively derail the idea. The study did not address the positive aspects of such a transfer, that being many millions in ag production. The study told the government what it wanted to hear and the water transfer concept is effectively dead. Interestingly, the transfer study did not include anyone from agriculture nor any significant consultation with the industry. That’s just another example where the irrigation elephant is by accident or design ignored. One notes that the Alberta Water Council, out of 24 members, has only five members that have any connection to agriculture (remember ag uses over 60 per cent of the allocated water). One could appreciate the quandary the irrigation industry is in. Does it aggressively promote its value to society and play a significant role in the Water Conversations? Perhaps that would alert a naive public as to the actual use of most of the allocated water in Alberta. Then again, maybe it would be best to let a sleeping dog lie, and let the government do what it usually does with “conversations.”

Meat packing is tough business by will verboven

ecently an entrepreneur in Manitoba announced that he and a group of investors will be expanding an existing small abattoir into a 1,000-headper-week slaughter plant. The investment will be to the tune of $13 million. The announcement came with the usual statements about the need for a local processor that could serve both Manitoba cattle producers and local retailers. The implication always is that everyone will be making more money with a local plant. It all sounds familiar — wasn’t that the big plan for the defunct Ranchers Beef plant in Balzac? It seems the dreams of producers owning their own cattle-processing plant never seem to die. There was a time when Manitoba was a fairly large cattle slaughter location. Up to 500,000 head a year were processed in Winnipeg and Brandon. But consolidation, plant closures, cattle numbers and a host of economic realities saw the cattle slaughter business

migrate to large plants in Alberta. That may have annoyed cattle folks in Manitoba, but that’s the economics of the business. It works both ways — that same reality saw a massive chunk of the hog-processing business concentrate in Manitoba. Only bits of that business still operate in the other western provinces. One wishes these entrepreneurs well, but the odds are stacked against them at both ends. Unless this plant is prepared to pay more for local cattle they will go out of the province to the highest bidder. The precedent is that local producers in another ill-fated Manitoba co-op plant concept were not prepared to consign their cattle to that venture in case higher bids were offered elsewhere. The other more severe reality is at the other end — getting a better price from local meat retailers and grocery chains. Those buyers always promise to buy local, but become quite fickle when price becomes an issue. When that battle starts the big guys with deep pockets always win. It’s the reason there are

giant processors and small abattoirs and nothing in between. An example of this happened years ago, and not a lot has changed in the meat wholesaling business since. A medium-size meat plant operator in the B.C. Peace River once told me about the realities of competition in the meat business. He had built up a fair business serving small villages, oil rigs, and construction sites up the highway all the way into Alaska. He had that business because it was not efficient for the big packers to service those niche ‘outof-the-way’ small markets. He said his success caused him to try to expand into grocery chains in the larger towns, but he then started to step on the toes of the big plants who immediately slapped him down through massive discounting and intimidation. He quickly learned his place in the pecking order of the meat-packing business. I expect this new Manitoba plant will learn that same lesson if it steps into any big dog’s territory. Meat packing is a ruthless, competitive business — there is a message in that.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

Horsemeat — revolting to some, delicacy to others Horsemeat hysteria } Food choices are often a matter of religion and tradition, not one of health and nutrition By Jack Shafer Reuters columnist

isgust, the gag reflex and flights to the vomitorium greeted the news that horse flesh had contaminated burgers and frozen beef meals all over Europe. Some of the “beef” products contained 100 per cent horsemeat, and early forensic tests hinted that the contamination might go back as far as August 2012. Both the British government and the European Union called for “horsemeat summits” to investigate the food scandal. But for all the horsemeat hysteria recorded and amplified by the press, “no risk to consumer health” was posed by the products, as the Food Safety Authority of Ireland reported. The injuries were not physical, they were psychological, and where they were not psychological they were anthropological, or else simply non-existent. According to the Ireland health authority, every beef-and-horse burger it analyzed tested negative for phenylbutazone, a common horse medicine that’s banned from the food chain. Horsemeat — as those who have sampled its pleasures will attest — should not be feared. Looked at rationally, it’s merely the other, other red meat, as our French cousins are forever reminding us. It’s a domesticated and hooved grass and grain eater with a tail, big eyes and a tannable hide, just like the cattle that most of us consume. That’s not to suggest that the folks who were sold horse burgers when they paid for beef burgers have no right to gripe. They were defrauded and deserve refunds, a few pennies’ worth of damages

and the satisfaction of seeing the defrauders (if the contamination was deliberate) sent to jail. But that’s about it.

Cultural taboo

Explaining the outrage and media storm over the horsemeat scandal will send many journalists to their lexicons to retrieve the word “taboo” to decode the current panic. But I don’t think “taboo” adequately describes the aversion of some people and some cultures to a food that is so similar to one they eat several times a day — and which most of them, as the current scandal illustrates, can’t tell from the real thing when smothered in sauce or grilled for a sandwich. “Food Taboos: Their Origins and Purposes,” a 2009 article in the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine by Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow, notes that most human cultures avoid harvestable or easily slaughtered edible items all the time. The Ache people of the Paraguayan jungle limit themselves to only 50 of the several hundred animal species in their habitat, and only 40 of the available plants, fruits and insects. Avoidance of a potential food can turn into a taboo, especially when enforced by a group’s religious, spiritual or cultural rules. Some of these laws can be linked to the protection of human health, resource management and group cohesion, as MeyerRochow notes. The suppression of horse eating in the West can be blamed on Pope Gregory III who, in 723, called the practice a “filthy and abominable custom” and associated it with pagan practices. Back then, horse eaters could be punished with a penance of four years on bread and water.

What defies simple cultural explanation is why so many modern French, middle European, Latin American, Chinese or Japanese citizens enjoy nothing better than a nice cut of horsemeat now and again, while a handful of others — those in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States and English Canada — generally oppose its consumption. It’s not enough to say that we relate to our horses the way we relate to our pets (or “animal companions,” as some like to call them) from the canine and feline families. I doubt that many adults who don’t ride horses enjoy any such emotional attachment to them. Our avoidance seems to be rooted in custom, just outside of cultural or religious explanation, the way our nose blowing and spitting norms differ from those of the Chinese. Because we don’t generally eat horsemeat, the thought of eating horsemeat repulses us.

Fraud not new?

If you live outside an agricultural market where horses are slaughtered and processed, expect more horsemeat repulsion. Food regulators in Ireland, Britain and elsewhere discovered horsemeat in the beef food chain not because they have French noses but because they now have at their disposal the incredibly powerful, cheap and speedy technology that can help detect minute bits of alien DNA. As recently as two decades ago commercial PCR didn’t exist, and identifying horse inside a purported beef sample likely would have been a long and arduous process. If food fraudsters were horsing around back then — and who is to say they weren’t? — you could have easily eaten some filly without knowing it.

Horsemeat carpaccio is one of the horse dishes enjoyed in some countries. PHOTo: thinkstock Now we’ve got a better take on what we’re eating. Last summer a conservation group conducted DNA analysis of 150 samples of fresh seafood from 81 establishments in New York City and found that 39 per cent of them were mislabelled. Those findings — that some customers were ordering red snapper but were fraudulently served lowly tilapia — didn’t cause as much

of a stir as the horse-beef scandal because no fish eater (at least none I know of) possesses a religious or cultural objection to tilapia. For other diners, I predict that PCR will herald a disturbing food reckoning. You have no idea how appalled you’re going to be when you finally discover the forbidden foods you’ve been eating. Put your bib on and saddle up!

Cut the booze before the beef: Health study Health message } Canada Beef Inc. says it should be to eat more fruit and vegetables, not less beef Canada Beef Inc.

t the end of December 2012, an important health study was released and created a fair bit of buzz in nutrition circles. The study, “The Global Burden of Disease Study (2010),” published in the medical journal Lancet, was an examination of a variety of factors with the goal of estimating each one’s relative contribution to disease and disability. It is the largest systematic study ever compiled to look at this. When health studies are published that involve beef in some way, this is an opportunity for

Canada Beef to weigh in and influence how the study gets communicated. In the case of positive beef stories, this is an opportunity to disseminate the key results, and in the case of negative beef stories, Canada Beef has a responsibility to provide another viewpoint and, where appropriate, a defence. “The Global Burden of Disease Study (2010)” found that the three leading risk factors for global disease burden were high blood pressure, tobacco smoke and alcohol use. The study identified diets low in fruits and high in sodium as the most prominent dietary risk factors for disease.

In case you are curious, here’s what made the top 20: 1. High blood pressure 2. Smoking 3. Alcohol use 4. Household air pollution 5. Low fruit consumption 6. High body mass index 7. High fasting blood glucose 8. Childhood underweight 9. Ambient pollution 10. Physical inactivity 11. High sodium intake 12. Low nuts and seeds intake 13. Iron deficiency 14. Suboptimal breastfeeding 15. High total blood cholesterol 16. Low whole grains intake 17. Low vegetable intake

18. Low omega-3 intake 19. Drug use 20. Occupational injury As you will notice, red meat is not on the list. The researchers evaluated red meat; it actually ranked dead last in the list of the 43 factors they examined. This study is important as the findings provide us with the opportunity to position beef in a broader context with respect to risk factors for disease. When health professionals have facts, there can be appropriate prioritization of health efforts and messaging. For example, this study shows that low-fruit and high-sodium intakes are leading

dietary factors contributing to disease globally. It so happens that Canadians’ intake of fruit and veg is largely inadequate, and sodium intakes are too high. Clearly then, these are priorities. In contrast, Canadians consume a moderate amount of red meat (74 g/ day on average), in line with Canada’s Food Guide. Thus, our messaging to health professionals is to remind them that efforts to increase vegetable and fruit intake and reduce sodium intake are likely to be beneficial, whereas advice to limit red meat, such as beef, is likely to prove ineffective.

OFF THE FRONT

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

WHEAT QUALITY  from page 1 a decline in Australian wheat quality. Hatcher said there have already been concerns. “One thing that came in loud and clear, both this year and last year, was that customers were not happy with the weaker dough strength in CWRS. They wanted to know about how this would be resolved. “This puts a blemish on Canada. We’ve got to be aware of the quality,” Hatcher said. “It’s not any one thing that has reduced the quality. We’ve had some different environmental conditions and a shift in the dominant varieties.” He said growers are making variety choices based on agronomics rather than quality. The top three varieties in Western Canada are Unity, Harvest and Lillian, which are prone to problems that result in weaker dough strength.

Competition

Hatcher said customers have told him there are other suppliers in the world who will sell them quality wheat at a better price. To keep customers it is crucial to answer their questions and con-

vince them that buying Canadian is the best choice. “As a group, we the (grain) commission and you as the Alberta Wheat Commission need to work together to address this because we’re all interested in the benefits to the Canadian farmer,” he said. Customers had concerns about grain safety and genetically modified wheat. “Grain safety is first and foremost on every buyer’s shopping list,” he said. Hatcher said some customers did not fully understand the Canadian grading system, and wanted to know the influence of the American grading system on the Canadian grading system. Some customers also had the perception the Canadian Wheat Board was a one-stop shop, and had no idea quality complaints actually came through the grain commission. “It behooved us to make sure they understand that,” said Hatcher. He said customers are extremely interested in varietyspecific data, since their research and development departments

are focused on creating specific products. Some international customers had an appreciation of the Canadian grading system and detailed quality evaluation and appreciated that the Canadians make their products such as noodles, steam buns and pasta for evaluation. Hatcher said the missions also told customers about other classes of Canadian wheat. “Most customers, because of the previous marketing strategy, are not aware of all the different classes of wheat and what they are capable of being used for,” he said. They wanted to know about the new varieties, and how they could be used in their products. One large company in South Korea is very interested in CPS red. “We have not traditionally even been in South Korea. We have a product that interests them greatly. We don’t want to lose this market opportunity and must take steps to capitalize on it,” he said. CPS red has lower protein, but makes the type of noodle desired by many customers, said Hatcher.

CFIA to give up on wiping out anaplasmosis INTERIM  Until March 31, 2014, CFIA will still respond to new cases, but will follow only a scaled-back “interim approach” STAFF

acing the fact that the disease has become “established” in U.S. herds, Canadian inspectors will no longer respond to new cases of anaplasmosis starting next spring. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced Feb. 25 it will remove anaplasmosis from Canada’s list of federally reportable diseases effective April 1, 2014, placing it instead on the “immediately notifiable” list. “The decision reflects the fact that anaplasmosis is established in the United States,” the agency said in a statement. “There is a strong probability that anaplasmosis will enter Canada from the U.S. and the continuing to attempt to eradicate the disease within Canada may not be feasible.” Once that happens, only laboratories will be required to report suspected or confirmed cases of anaplasmosis to the CFIA, thus allowing Canada to still meet the annual reporting requirements of

“There is a strong probability that anaplasmosis will enter Canada from the U.S. and the continuing to attempt to eradicate the disease within Canada may not be feasible.” CFIA STATEMENT

Customers continue to express appreciation for the Canadian grading system, and some are looking for information on classes other than CWRS.

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the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on the disease. As of April next year, CFIA will no longer respond to anaplasmosis cases, nor run surveillance to verify Canada’s status for the disease. Anaplasmosis, caused by a micro-organism parasitic to red blood cells, affects ruminants including cattle, sheep, goats and deer, but only causes clinical signs in cattle and giraffes. It remains of “economic importance” to the cattle sector in infected countries, including the U.S. Even after an infected animal recovers, it remains a source of the disease for life. The disease can be spread by ticks, biting flies or contaminated instruments such as hypodermic syringes and dehorning equipment. The types of ticks that can amplify and transmit anaplasmosis exist in Canada, CFIA said.

Interim approach

CFIA today regulates imports of livestock and related products from countries where anaplasmosis is known to occur, through port-of-entry inspections by the Canada Border Services Agency or CFIA. Right now, given its status as a reportable disease, suspected cases of anaplasmosis must be reported to CFIA for immediate investigation. Since 1997, a class of “restricted feeder” cattle has been allowed for import without anaplasmosis tests but under certain post-entry conditions, by licensed feedlots to be fattened for slaughter only. Until March 31, 2014, CFIA will still respond to new cases, but will follow only a scaled-back “interim approach.” It will still test infected herds and run traceouts, but will no longer test susceptible animals in the areas surrounding an infected herd, nor test susceptible animals who may have come into contact with the infected herd.

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

Hard red winter wheat set to dominate U.S. futures trading TAKEOVER  The CBOT has acquired the Kansas City exchange and will move trading to Chicago Simpler fees

BY MARK WEINRAUB CHICAGO/REUTERS

he Kansas City Board of Trade’s lightly traded hard red winter wheat futures contract is positioned to become the new benchmark for U.S. wheat prices following a takeover by CME Group, traders said. The size of the U.S. hard red winter wheat crop is the best argument for why volumes for the futures contract that track the crop should rise, and eventually eclipse CME’s Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soft red winter wheat contract. “Hard red winter wheat in the United States is the biggest crop,” said Jerry Gidel, chief feed grains analyst for Rice Dairy. “It should be the most represented and where the investors should be.” U.S. farmers harvested 1.004 billion bushels of hard red winter wheat last year and the crop is typically 2-1/2 times the size of the soft red winter wheat crop, which is mostly grown in areas east of the Mississippi River and used as a key ingredient in cakes. CBOT’s parent, CME Group, bought the Kansas City Board of Trade for US$126 million in cash in 2012. The exchange operator said it will close the storied KCBT trading pits in June, moving all trading of its hard red winter wheat futures to the electronic platform or the CBOT floor. CME said it can make trading more efficient by locating the KCBT wheat futures and options pits next to the CBOT wheat pits, which will make hard red winter wheat trading easier than ever for Chicago customers.

The Kansas City Board of Trade’s historic trading pits will close in June. But it will take time for hard red winter wheat to usurp soft red winter wheat’s position in the trading pits and on the screens, where most of the trades actually occur. “The people who trade the fundamentals... need to be more comfortable with the contract,” said Glenn Hollander, a Chicago-based grain merchandiser and CBOT floor veteran. “I do not know if that is three years, three months, or 30 years.” A catalyst such as a severe drought in the U.S. Plains, where much of the hard red winter wheat crop is produced, or a

PHOTO: USDA

surge in demand for U.S. wheat exports due to global crop turmoil, could provide a quick influx of money and volume into hard red winter wheat futures. Hard red winter wheat volumes have a long way to go to eclipse soft red winter wheat as the benchmark. During 2012, monthly volume for soft red winter wheat averaged 2.28 million contracts compared to just 441,850 contracts for hard red winter wheat. Additionally, soft red winter wheat volume jumped 12.7 per cent in 2012 compared to 2011 while hard red winter wheat volume fell by 16.4 per cent.

Soft red winter wheat’s established position as the leader will make it hard to be passed as traders are creatures of habit and reluctant to change practices. But one trader on the CBOT floor said that the KCBT hard red winter is a better contract than CBOT soft red winter wheat, and that volumes for the hard red winter wheat will quickly pick up once CBOT traders get used to trading it. The influx of speculative money into the soft red winter wheat contract in recent years has boosted volumes but also led to a lack of convergence between futures and cash prices. This has made it more difficult for commercial buyers to hedge their grain, which some veteran floor traders have said destroyed what the contract was designed to do. CBOT has adopted a complex system of variable storage rates to try to address this problem with the soft red winter wheat contract but traders said the KCBT’s simpler set of seasonal storage fees is preferable. CBOT’s takeover of hard red winter wheat trading will make it easier for its customers to build up spreads between hard red winter wheat and other contracts it lists such as corn, which traders said will help start the transition to more active trading of hard red winter wheat. “Being able to have that... will definitely increase the volumes of hard red winter wheat and it will ultimately have the largest open interest,” Rice Dairy’s Gidel said. “It is going to be quicker and faster than people think.”

Grain World: Demand for prairie flax to increase COMPETITORS  Production problems in former Soviet Union is sending customers Canada’s way BY TERRYN SHIELLS

COMMODITY NEWS SERVICE CANADA

xport demand for western Canadian flax is expected to increase this year, Jonathon Driedger, senior market analyst with FarmLink Marketing Solutions said in a presentation at the annual Wild Oats Grain World Conference in Winnipeg on Feb. 25. Driedger expects exports of western Canadian flax to increase to 436,000 tonnes in 2012-13, from 391,000 in 201112. The increase is linked to growing demand for the oilseed in China, and a jump in buying interest from Europe due to production problems in the former Soviet Union. “In December 2012, we saw more exports of Canadian flax to Europe than we did in all of 2011-12,” Driedger said during his presentation. But the strong export demand could be short lived, as European demand could start to drop off in 2013-14 if the former Soviet Union has a better crop. Driedger expects export

demand to see a slight decrease to 400,000 tonnes in the 2013-14 crop year. But, he said there is the potential for that figure to increase. The demand for Canadian flax from China could continue to grow, as it is on the cheaper side of the oilseed price scale. Canadian flax could also regain more market share in Europe if the former Soviet Union experiences crop problems again. Driedger said that Europe may not want to become too dependent on the former Soviet Union for their flax needs, and could start to look into importing crops from elsewhere, including Canada. The increase in demand should leave tight ending stocks in 2012-13, with Driedger projecting about 91,000 tonnes to be left over at the end of the year, from 137,000 tonnes in 2011-12. An increase in acres is expected in 2013-14, which should relieve the tight stock situation. Driedger expects 1.1 million acres of flax will be planted in 2013-14, up from 980,000 in 2012-13 and ending stocks should rise to 137,000 tonnes.

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MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Falling lamb prices make U.K., Irish sheep farmers fear for future OVERSUPPLY  Farm gate prices are sharply down due to oversupply, static demand BY NATALIE HUET AND NIGEL HUNT LONDON / REUTERS

heep farmers in Britain and Ireland fear for their future as oversupply of lamb in Europe drags farm gate prices to three-year lows while production costs soar, giving efficient New Zealand exporters a vital edge. Most British sheep farmers have been selling at a loss since November because an influx of cheap imports coincided with the delayed sales of homegrown lambs that had been held up by wet weather causing poor feeding conditions. Meanwhile, much of the European Union, the biggest market for British lamb, is in recession. Lamb prices at British farms were down 24 per cent year-onyear in early February while Ireland recorded a 20 per cent drop. Britain and Ireland are the EU’s top lamb producers and major exporters alongside world leaders New Zealand and Australia. But farmers and analysts say falling incomes could push hundreds to leave the business and thousands more to reduce their flocks, making the animal that shapes much of the current landscape of the islands, through its grazing, a rarer sight. “If this trend continues, and producers are forced to sell lambs at less than the cost of production, then ultimately they will look at alternative ways of making a living,” said Charles Sercombe, a sheep breeder in central England in charge of livestock issues for Britain’s National Farmers Union (NFU). The drop in farm gate prices

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Sheep breeder Patrick Donnelly poses with a lamb on his farm, near the town of Ballymena in County Antrim, northern Ireland. British and Irish sheep farmers fear for their future as an oversupply of lamb in recession-hit Europe drags farm gate prices to three-year lows while production costs have soared. PHOTO: REUTERS/CATHAL MCNAUGHTON to 3.40 pounds per kg ($2.35 per lb.) has yet to show on British supermarket shelves, where lamb fetches between seven and 15 pounds a kg. According to the NFU, while December wholesale prices for legs of lamb slid 17 per cent from a year ago, retail prices edged down only two per cent. “Farmers’ costs are rising, but retailers’ costs are too,” said Richard Dodd, spokesman for the British Retail Consortium, adding that the country’s supermarkets regularly ran promotions on lamb but that higher costs for processing, transport and running stores needed to be reflected in headline shop prices.

Rising costs

Input costs for British and Irish sheep farmers have increased by around 30 per cent in the past five years, with feed, fuel and fertilizers biting particularly hard. “Those are the three things that have really put the guys under pressure here with the reduction in (lamb) price,” said Gabriel Gilmartin, president of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association. The situation for producers could get worse as New Zealand has leeway in its export quotas to further increase shipments to the EU, where appetite for lamb remains solid but incomes are squeezed.

Despite a strengthening currency, export-driven New Zealand farmers can produce lamb more cheaply than those in Britain and Ireland, largely through economies of scale. In Ireland a large farm might have 500 to 600 sheep, compared with 3,000 to 5,000 in New Zealand, Gilmartin said. The Agriculture Ministry forecast last month that average incomes for English farms with grazing livestock would fall by up to 52 per cent in 2012-13 to between 14,000 and 18,000 pounds. The ministry cited lower sheep values and higher feed costs.

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WHAT’S UP Send agriculture-related meeting and event announcements to: will. verboven@fbcpublishing.com March 8/9: Connecting Silos, Acme Community Centre, Acme. Call: Kevin 403-443-8423 March 8/9: Sheep Shearing School, Jacquie Turuk Farm, Leslieville. Call: Jacquie 403729-3067 March 11: Surface Rights Agreements, Castor Legion Hall 6:30 pm, Castor. Call: Carol 780-427-2350 March 12: Crop Production Workshop, Caledonia Motor Inn 9:30 am, Viking. Call: Alvin 866828-6774 March 12: Water Enough For All, By-The-Park-Lake 7:00 pm, Wetaskiwin. Call: Sarah 780672-0276 March 14: Value Chain Development, Pomeroy Hotel 8:30 am, Grande Prairie. Call: Lisa 780-538-5230 March 15: Surface Rights Agreements, Location TBA 9:00 am, Cardston. Call: County Office 403-653-4977 March 15/16: Bison Producers of Alberta AGM, Legion Hall, Ponoka. Call: Linda 780-9551995 March 16: Intermediate Beekeeping Course, Executive Royal Inn 9:00 am, Calgary. Call: Bruce 800-830-5861 March 21: On-Farm Energy Management, Community Hall 10:30 am, Coronation. Call: Alvin 866-828-6774 March 21: Value Chain Development, Westlock Inn 8:30 am, Westlock. Call: Lisa 780-538-5230 March 21: Water Drainage Session, St. Michael Hall 6:00 pm, St. Michael. Call: Mike 780663-3515 March 22/23: 2013 Stampede Dairy Classic, Stampede Park, Calgary. Call: Amy 403-261-9159

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U.S. oil group petitions Supreme Court REUTERS / WASHINGTON A leading U.S. oil industry group will petition the Supreme Court to take up a case over the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of higher ethanol blends for older cars, a source said Feb. 21. A U.S. federal Appeals Court last month denied a request by food and oil groups that it reconsider a decision upholding a federal measure allowing gasoline to be mixed with a higher percentage of ethanol, producing a blend known as E15. The API says that tests show E15 can damage engines.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

Farm prosperity will depend on income, not population Recession } Developed countries still need to be pulled out of economic slump, says FCC economist By Gord Gilmour staff

arm Credit Canada’s top economist says if you’re a Canadian farmer, you should really be hoping for the best in the Chinese economy. That’s because while population growth catches all the headlines and is credited for growing food demand, it’s looking increasingly like we’ll be able to feed nine billion by 2050. The question is how well. Jean-Phillippe Gervais told the recent Manitoba Special Crops Symposium that there might be some resource constraints that humanity will have to carefully manage around — water resources for example — but that he’s convinced starvation doesn’t await us. But he encouraged farmers to consider where the growth is coming from. He noted that population growth is strongest where people are poorest, meaning they’re not customers for anything but the most basic foodstuffs. If commodity prices are going to remain strong, they’ll be driven by better economic conditions and growing demand for better food, including meat, Gervais said.

“So you have to ask, ‘Where’s that growth going to come from, to fuel that demand? I would argue that the important growth isn’t population growth, but income growth.” Jean-Phillippe Gervais

“So you have to ask, ‘Where’s that growth going to come from, to fuel that demand? I would argue that the important growth isn’t population growth, but income growth.” Gervais said much of the First World continues to have dark clouds hovering over the economy, and the U.S. “fiscal cliff” crisis has only been deferred, not resolved. “If the U.S. winds up in recession, you can expect that slowdown to affect the rest of the world,” he said. The European Union isn’t out of the woods yet either, he said. “Half of the young people are being adversely affected,” Gervais said. “In Europe, in the 18-24 age group, there is 50 per cent unemployment.” Gervais said he expects 2013 to feature more of the same for the EU as it continues to try to muddle through the mess balancing economic and political realities. Here at home the picture isn’t particularly bright either. Gervais pointed out that Canadian households have a now well-publicized problem with debt levels, one that’s attracted the attention of international credit rating agencies. “Moody’s just downgraded five out of six credit ratings of the major Canadian banks,” Gervais said, adding that regardless what

the Bank of Canada does with its benchmark rate, banks are going to pay higher prices to attract funds. “We’re not talking about significant rises — maybe 10 basis points (one-tenth of a per cent) or so,” he said. “The point is that it’s going to hurt the financial sector and impact interest rates.”

Canadian cash hoard

Essentially the story is the same throughout the developed world — governments and consumers alike are increasingly tapped out. “This is really putting the onus on business to spend,” Gervais said. “In Canada that’s probably not a bad thing. We have a productivity issue, and businesses need to invest. They’re also sitting on a record amount of cash.” Gervais said Canadian businesses are sitting on a cash hoard equal to 30 per cent of the entire Canadian economy, though the reason isn’t a happy story either. “They just don’t see the growth opportunities out there.” However, the picture brightens when focus shifts to the developing economies such as India and China, Gervais said. Even there it’s just less ugly, with China notching the lowest economic growth numbers in 2012 than it’s seen in the last dozen years, at 7.4 per cent. “Early economic indicators suggest that they bottomed out last year,” Gervais said. “Current growth is at 7.9 per cent and the expectation is they’d be around 8.1 or 8.2 per cent by the end of the year, which is likely a sustainable pace.” This is important to Canadian farms because a vigorously growing Chinese economy means a growing middle class with an appetite for imports, Gervais said. The picture isn’t quite so bright in India. Just a few years ago it was touted to be the other developing world juggernaut, but that’s never really panned out. “India was going to be the next big thing,” Gervais said. “But they have systemic problems with things like corruption they’ve yet to overcome.” Even so, India is still posting growth numbers that would be the envy of the developed world. “There, the current pace is 5.3 per cent, and they could be in the range of six per cent for 2013,” Gervais said. “That’s positive for income growth.” During the question-and-answer period following his talk, Gervais conceded that questions even remain over the fast-growing economies, mainly whether their growth was going to be sustainable in light of weak economic growth in the economies that had traditionally been their customer base. “It is true that the Chinese economy has depended heavily on exports,” he said. “If you look at the consumer spending in their economy, it’s only about 30 per cent. In Canada it’s 65, in the U.S. it’s 70 per cent. They also have a huge savings rate — about a third of income, compared to only about two per cent in Canada.” He also said there were quiet, ongoing concerns about the reliability of Chinese data. “They seem to be very efficient at generating their data,” he said. “When everyone else is still working on Q3 (third quarter), they’ll already have released Q4.”

A vigorously growing Chinese economy means a growing middle class with an appetite for imports. PHOTo: thinkstock

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NEWS » Markets

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Snowfall boosts U.S. wheat Heavy snowfall covered nearly all of the U.S. Plains last Tuesday, adding valuable moisture for the drought-stricken wheat crop. Don Keeney, meteorologist for MDA EarthSat Weather said one foot or more of snow covered northwestern Missouri and rain changing to snow was moving into Illinois, with up to eight inches of snow possible by late Tuesday. “It covered all of Kansas, Nebraska, eastern Colorado and the northwest half of Oklahoma. It’s not a drought buster but it will help, they need a lot more moisture,” he said. — Reuters

} Winterkill

} More needed

Russia winter grain concern Russia’s winter grain plantings are in worse condition than the multi-year average, the head of Russia’s Grain Union said Feb. 26, adding pressure on Russia’s modest harvest prospects for this year. About two million hectares of Russian winter grain crops, or 12.6 per cent of the area sown, have been destroyed by bad weather and could be reseeded this spring, Grain Union head Arkady Zlochevsky told Reuters. The average winterkill was eight per cent in 2007-11 and 12 per cent in 2012. — Reuters

USDA analyst predictions for 2013 put a damper on corn and soy Relief } Wheat prices were pressured by the arrival of much-needed

snowfall in the main U.S. winter wheat-growing areas

By Dwayne Klassen

anola futures on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform posted small advances during the week ended Feb. 22. The gains would have been significantly higher had it not been for some late-week profit-taking by a variety of market participants. Some of the strength was related to the downward swing in the value of the Canadian dollar, which as of Friday had weakened to below US98 cents and was sitting at seven-and-a-halfmonth lows. The loonie’s drop certainly encouraged some additional domestic processor demand and may have also encouraged some fresh export sales, although no new business had been confirmed as of Friday. The strength displayed by CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) soybean futures had also encouraged some of the gains in canola, with ongoing concerns about tight old-crop canola further underpinning values. The upward price action in canola was also capped by overhead technical resistance which sits in the May future in the $640- to $645-per-tonne range. The contract managed to hit as high as $649.90 but was unable to hold that level before retreating back down to the $621.40 area on Feb. 22. The upside in the global oilseed market, including canola, also was

restricted by the arrival of beneficial precipitation in the soybean-growing areas of Argentina during the week. Activity in the milling wheat, durum and barley markets on the ICE Canada platform continued to be non-existent. Only some minor arbitraging of durum occurred during the reporting period.

Tight soy supplies

Continued worries over tight old-crop supplies provided some of the upward momentum that took CBOT soybean futures to higher ground during the reporting period. Steady demand from the export sector, with China said to be concerned about moving soybeans from Brazil given growing labour unrest at Brazilian ports, also lent support. The upside in the deferred soybean contracts was definitely limited by comments made at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s outlook forum, held in Arlington, Virginia during the week. USDA chief economist Joseph Glauber, who reported his agency’s findings, forecast U.S. soybean production would increase by 13 per cent from the year-ago level to 3.4 billion bushels. The estimate was based on normal weather conditions returning to the U.S. soybean belt, compared to the drought seen hurting last year’s output. USDA pegged soybean area in the U.S. at 77.5 million acres, which represents a 0.4 per cent jump from the acreage seen a year ago.

Soybean prices, meanwhile, were forecast by Glauber and his agency to average out at US$10.50 a bushel, which would be down 27 per cent from the previous season. CBOT corn futures were generally lower, with continued poor demand and the prospects of increased acreage linked to the bearish price sentiment. The continued rise of the U.S. dollar discouraged demand for U.S. corn from the export market, with steady decline in demand from the ethanol sector also adding to the weakness. USDA also didn’t do corn any favours with its predictions at the outlook forum. U.S. corn output in the upcoming season was seen rising 35 per cent from last year’s level to 14.5 billion bushels. U.S. farmers were expected to plant 96.5 million acres of corn, based on estimates from Glauber. If this area prediction holds, that would actually be a 0.7 per cent drop from the 75-year high planted last season. Glauber also projected that with more traditional production levels, corn values would average out in the US$4.80a-bushel range, once the season starts in September.

Wheat futures snowed in

The price trend in wheat futures on the CBOT, Minneapolis and Kansas City exchanges continued to be to the downside. Some of the price decline was influenced by the arrival of much-

needed snowfall in the main U.S. winter wheat-growing areas. The strong U.S. dollar also continued to scare off export demand, with the high values also causing the feed sector to back off to some degree. The improved moisture situation for Argentina’s wheat crop also helped to generate some price weakness in the U.S. wheat market. Glauber forecast all-wheat area in the U.S. would climb to 56 million acres in the spring, which would be an increase of 0.5 per cent from last year’s level. However, he felt leftover dry conditions would result in U.S. wheat production falling seven per cent to around the 2.1-billion-bushel level. CBOT oat futures posted some advances, with supply concerns also helping to fuel the gains. The advances in CBOT oats had a direct bearing on some of the strength seen in the cash oat sector in Western Canada. Reports surfaced during the week that cash bids for oats, particularly in southern Manitoba, managed to move above the $4-a-bushel level. No word was available on how long those kind of values would be paid out, but U.S. demand was linked to some of those gains. Dwayne Klassen writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

Oats area to fall; risks becoming a ‘special’ crop Displaced } Rising demand for biofuel and oilseeds makes other crops more attractive By Terryn Shiells

Commodity News Service Canada

ats are in danger of becoming a “special” crop in Canada because acres are expected to decrease to record lows, the president of Ag Commodity Research said Feb. 25 in a presentation at the annual Wild Oats Grainworld Conference. Randy Strychar said he expects 2.66 million acres of oats to be seeded in Canada in 2013-14, which would be a new record low. He also expects production to come in around 2.389 million tonnes in 2013-14, the second lowest on record. Strychar said oats area is

Oats area is also slowly decreasing because of declining equine feed demand, both commercial and on farm. slowly being replaced with other crops, including oilseeds, because of rising global demand for biofuel and vegetable oil and better returns.

Oats area is also slowly decreasing because of declining equine feed demand, both commercial and on farm, said Strychar, whose Vancouver-based com-

pany is now co-ordinating the Equine Feed Oat Project for the Prairie Oat Growers Association. The project is meant to try to boost demand for oats in North American horse markets. Feed demand is dropping, Strychar said Tuesday, because the industry is looking for higher protein and more complex pelleted feeds and is also more knowledgeable about animalnutrition requirements. There’s also a lack of funding for oat research to make the industry competitive in the feed market, which is hindering the crop’s ability to regain its place in the feed sector. So, how can we prevent oats from becoming a special crop, where millers contract the oats

they need and that’s all that Canada grows? Higher yields could help keep oats out of that “special” crop category, but not without increased physical demand, Strychar said. The saving grace of the oat industry could be a free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union, if one can be signed. Currently, high tariffs limit Canadian oats moving into Europe, but Strychar said a free trade deal could open new doors for Canadian oats and may be the industry’s “lifeline.” Another positive is that the demand for oats for food use is steady to higher, with the breakfast cereal and snack bar industries doing well.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

High input costs, higher yield expected to bite into farm profit Projections } USDA sees farm income falling by a third this year — because of better crops Reuters

he seven-year-old U.S. agricultural boom, driven by record-high commodity prices and painfully tight supplies, is expected to peak this year and then come to an abrupt end as high costs start to bite, the government projected Feb. 11. The U.S. Agriculture Department said farm income would soar to a record $127.6 billion this year, up 15 per cent, thanks to high market prices and crop insurance payments that will offset losses from the worst drought in more than half a century. Farm income would fall by onethird next year, to $96.9 billion, said USDA, because corn, wheat and soybeans will fetch dramatically lower prices with bumper crops expected this fall. The abrupt contraction in farm income could prompt operators to slow purchases of equipment such as trucks, tractors and combines, structures such as grain bins, or cropland. Land prices soared along with grain prices since 2006. High production costs, up 12 per cent in two years, will compound the effect of lower earnings for crop farmers. But lower prices for grains and oilseeds will be a welcome relief for livestock producers who have complained of ruinously high prices for feed for cattle, hogs and poultry. “While income declines from the 2013 record through 2015, it remains well above the average of the previous decade,” said USDA in a battery of projections for farm output, income and exports this year.

USDA forecasts that U.S. farmers will produce 14.4 billion bushels of corn, up 34 per cent from last year. PHOTo: REUTERS

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U.S. farm exports are projected at a record $145 billion this fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, up $10 billion from the previous year. USDA said the record “largely reflects high commodity prices.” Agricultural exports would drop by $3 billion in fiscal 2014, it said, and by an additional $5 billion in fiscal 2015. Assuming yields return to normal this year, farmers will harvest a record 14.4 billion bushels of corn, up 34 per cent from last year; the second-largest soybean crop on record at 3.335 billion bushels; and a medium-size wheat crop of 2.19 billion bushels, said USDA. Market prices would plunge this fall as a result, said USDA. It projected corn would sell for an average $5.40 a bushel at the farm gate, down nearly $2 from the recordhigh season-average price forecast for this year. Soybean prices would be nearly $3 below the record $14.30 a bushel expected this year. Wheat would be down by 70 cents from the record $7.90 a bushel forecast for this marketing year. “Nonetheless, U.S. prices for corn, wheat, and soybeans are projected to remain historically high, above pre-2007 levels,” USDA said. Growers were projected to plant 254 million acres — second only to the record set in 2012 — of the eight major U.S. crops, wheat, rice, corn, sorghum, barley, oats, soybeans and upland cotton this year, said USDA.

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MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Reading, writing and collecting eggs Recovery } While other small-town Kansas schools struggle, farm theme boosts enrolment By Kevin Murphy

Walton, Kansas/Reuters

he first clue is a sign “Fresh Eggs for Sale” in front of the school. There is a sheep pen on the baseball field and the sounds of farm animals greet pupils every morning. This is not your ordinary elementary school. It is the Walton Rural Life Center, a kindergarten through fourth grade charter school in rural Kansas that uses agriculture to teach students about math, science, economics — and responsibility. The farm theme is so popular that the centre has a waiting list to enrol and has given the town of Walton, population 235, a boost, said Mayor Evan Johnson. “It’s been a priority for us and a source of pride,” Johnson said. Students take turns each week feeding chickens, sheep, pigs and cattle. They wash and sell the eggs, make yarn from sheep wool and raise pigs for market — with pork coming back to the school for meals. They also raise vegetables for school snacks. “The kids love it, and they are learning,” said principal Natise Vogt, pointing to better test scores as one example. At a time when many small towns struggle to keep their schools open due to shrinking enrolment, Walton is turning students away for lack of space. In 2007, enrolment dipped to around 100, putting the school at risk of closing, Vogt said. But the school has 168 students today. About half the students come from outside the school’s enrolment boundaries and some live outside the school district, which is based five miles away, in Newton, Kansas. “The parents like the unique curriculum, the project-based learning,” said Jennifer Sauerwein, co-president of the school’s Parent-Teacher Association. “The kids get that real-life, hands-on, day-to-day connection to learning.”

Practical math

Working with animals, for example, is a study in math because students count out eggs in dozens, add and subtract money earned and spent, measure animal food in fractions of each container and equate perimeter lengths with animal pens.

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Third-grade students Cody Eye and Elizabeth Harder feed the hogs at the Walton Rural Life Center Elementary School in Walton, Kansas. Students at the school do farm chores at the beginning of each school day. photo: Reuters/Jeff Tuttle Feeding the animals is not just a chore, said Walton teacher Amanda Paulus. “It gives them a lot of responsibility in that they are actually caring for something that depends on them,” Paulus said. The first 20 minutes of the school day is spent tending to the animals. About 16 students do the work each morning on a rotating schedule while the rest take a walk outdoors to prepare their minds and bodies for the day, Vogt said. On weekends, teachers take turns going to the school to feed the animals. Walton students also learn about recycling, composting and reducing waste. One class went through the school trash for five days and discovered that too much of it consisted of paper towels. So, now there is a sign above every dispenser urging students to use only two paper towels. A wind turbine generates power for the school’s greenhouse. “The kids become more interested in science and the environment and the planet Earth and what we can do to make this a better place,” said second- grade teacher Staci Schill.

National attention

The Walton school’s success drew the attention of the U.S. Department of Education, which produced an eightminute online video about the school, helping to draw visitors from around the country, Vogt said. Walton Rural Life Center is one of 17 charter schools in Kansas and one of only two elementary schools that is ag based, the other being a small kindergarten through eighth grade school in Oswego, Kansas. A charter school gets autonomy from certain school district rules so that it can pursue unique courses of study while still having to meet state education standards. An advisory board monitors the charter school’s performance. Since Walton became a charter school, its test scores have risen, Vogt said. For three years straight, 100 per cent of students have tested at proficient or above in state assessment tests, she said. One measure of the school’s success is how the students fare after advancing to other schools in fifth grade, Vogt said. “The teachers tell us they can always tell Walton kids because they are respectful and know what they need to

know, so we feel we are doing our job,” Vogt said. The kindergarten wait list for next year has 35 students, but Walton has room for only 20, Vogt said. Set up as alternatives to traditional public schools, charter schools typically operate under private management and often boast small class sizes, innovative teaching styles or a particular academic focus. But while they are operated privately, they are publicly funded. Nationally, the number of charter schools has more than tripled since 1999 and stood at 5,618 in the 2011-12 academic year, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. They represent 5.8 per cent of all public schools. Only 15 per cent of all charter schools in the United States are classified as rural, but the numbers are growing faster than for urban schools, according to the alliance. Their record of student achievement is mixed, with some — such as the Kansas farm school — boasting good test scores while others do no better than public schools or worse, according to national studies.

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

Vitol plans grain market debut, hires Viterra traders Hired } Trading houses expanding into new commodities markets

were quick to pounce on Viterra staff not needed by Glencore By Emma Farge and Sarah McFarlane london / reuters

op oil trader Vitol is building a global grains desk and has taken advantage of Glencore’s takeover of Canadian grains giant Viterra to hire a team of its traders, trading sources said Feb. 20. Vitol, which has an annual turnover of nearly $300 billion, will vie for market share along with rival trading firms Gunvor and Mercuria, which have also expanded in agricultural commodity markets as they seek to expand across new markets.

Soybeans expanding into Saskatchewan New } It’s a new crop for many farmers and extension officials are recommending producers start small

The Swiss firm’s advance into agriculture could help it spot niche opportunities in both energy and soft commodity markets, which are seen as increasingly connected due partly to the growth in cropbased biofuels. “Markets are now linked in ways that they never were before. Ten years ago an oil trader could lead a happy existence without ever knowing what was happening to the corn price. Those days are gone,” said Robert Piller, director of Aupres Consult and commodities lecturer at the Geneva Business School. Vitol, already present in the sugar market, is hiring around

“Ten years ago an oil trader could lead a happy existence without ever knowing what was happening to the corn price. Those days are gone.” Robert Piller Geneva Business School

15 staff as part of the expansion, one of the sources said. The trading sources said it had hired at least five traders from Viterra’s Geneva, Hamburg and Singapore offices following

Glencore’s $6-billion takeover last year. The first grain-trading staff are expected to join next month, two of the industry sources said.

Vitol declined comment. Glencore officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Vitol’s expansion in the agriculture market follows an upturn in the fortunes of dominant companies in the global grains markets. In the Glencore-Viterra tie-up — one of the largest deals in the global agriculture business for years — many Viterra traders discovered that Glencore traders had similar roles to their own, the industry sources said. “A lot of the main grains people at Viterra are not being taken on by Glencore because of direct overlaps,” said a trader who formerly worked for Viterra.

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ith soybean acres continuing to soar in Manitoba, it appears soybeans are catching on in Saskatchewan too. Actual acreage data is scarce given the crop’s recent expansion into Saskatchewan, but Dale Risula, a crops specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture, estimated that about 70,000 acres were sown in 2012. “The interest in soybeans seems very strong,” said Risula adding that area could rise to 90,000 acres. However, most Saskatchewan growers interested in the crop likely haven’t planted soybeans before, and Risula is recommending they start with a small area. “A lot of work needs to be done in the area of variety identification and development before (soybeans) become one of the more major crops grown here consistently,” said Risula adding that “it’s a big risk to jump into soybeans in a big way.” Risula said the cost of production right now favours soybeans over canola, as soybeans do not require expensive nitrogen inputs. Soybeans are also easier to harvest than other pulse options, such as peas or lentils. Seed supplies will likely need to be imported from other jurisdictions, such as Manitoba and North Dakota, to meet the demand, said Risula. Those varieties may not have been tested in Saskatchewan, which creates performance uncertainty. Farmers in neighbouring Manitoba have been growing soybeans for over a decade, with acreage rising from 50,000 in 2001 (the first year of official survey results) to 800,000 in 2012, according to Statistics Canada data.

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news » livestock

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Dr. James Marshall new ABVMA president Dr. James Marshall has been appointed president of the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association. Marshall is the owner of Big Horn Veterinary Services Ltd. in Hinton, a mixed animal practice in the foothills of Jasper National Park. He has served on the ABVMA Alternate Livestock and Wildlife Committee since 2008, on the ABVMA Council representing the North Region for the last three years and is a member of the Canadian Veterinary Reserve.

Antimicrobial spray of red meat The fact sheet “Antimicrobial Spray Treatment of Red Meat in Small Abattoirs” is now available on the Alberta Agriculture website. It says antimicrobial spray treatment is a low-cost, efficient and effective method of reducing bacterial contamination on the surface of red meat carcasses, parts and organs. “Reducing bacteria helps keep consumers free from foodborne illness. This outcome may save meat processors money in the long run and provide them with the knowledge that they are doing their best to keep meat safe,” says an AARD release.

Dealing with calf malpresentations (but with no pressure) Easy calver } Cattle College uses a plastic model to demonstrate different calving situations

Dr. Claire Ainsworth, (centre) veterinarian with Mayerthorpe Veterinary services, demonstrates calf-pulling techniques and malpresentations during a UFA Cattle College. PHOTo: Alexis Kienlen

by alexis kienlen af staff/mayerthorpe

FA’s recent Cattle College here gave producers a hands-on demonstration on dealing with calf malpresentations, but it wasn’t exactly on a cow. Dr. Claire Ainsworth, a veterinarian with Mayerthorpe Veterinary Services, demonstrated using UFA’s educational plastic model, which contains a calf inside a cow. It was purchased by UFA and is now used by Olds College. Ainsworth said when a cow is pacing around with her tail up and looking uncomfortable, she’s in stage one of calving, which can last anywhere up to 24 hours.

Once things progress, a producer will see a water bag and feet. “You should see progress within a short period of time, usually within an hour,” she said. When feet and a water bag appear, it’s generally only a few hours until the calf is born, but if there doesn’t seem to be any progress and the cow appears to be straining for longer than 40 minutes, producers need to check. “One thing I’m going to harp on is cleanliness,” Ainsworth said. “When you go to check your cow, get your rubber gloves and your OB sleeves out, and make sure that you are cleaning her up really good because you are the first source of potential infection into her.”

A i n sw o r t h w e a r s e l a s t i c bands around her wrists during calving season to keep her sleeves up. She prefers small latex gloves over OB sleeves, because the gloves enable her to have more feeling inside the cow. In a normal birth presentation with a forward-facing calf, the two front feet should have two bends in the same direction. The back feet have bends in different directions. “Just because they’re coming hoof side up doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re back feet,” she said. “That’s one way that you can get screwed up right from the very start.” The size of the feet can also indicate whether they are front or back feet.

If a puller is needed, two strong people should be able to get the shoulders of the calf into the pelvis. “If you can’t do that, that’s an indication that you should be calling us (a vet),” she said. Once the two feet and the head are engaged in the pelvis, the puller can be applied. With a forward-facing calf, there is no need to pull too fast. “Make sure she’s nice and dilated and there are no bands and rings in there and you can crank it out,” said Ainsworth. “Tighten up your tension and when she starts to strain, you can crank it to where there’s more tension on it.” A little arc can work, as long as the calf’s legs are out. Arc-

ing down too soon can break the calf’s legs. Once the head is out, the producer should clear away all membranes and mucus from the nostrils. The calf is still supplied with oxygen from the umbilical cord inside, so there is no rush. The trick is to go nice and slow, Ainsworth said. When a calf is facing backwards, two strong people need to be able to get the hips into the pelvis. “When you get the hips into the pelvis, you can see the hocks outside the vulva of the cow,” she said. Producers should also be careful when poking around in a cow’s uterus, as it is easy to put a finger through a uterine wall.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

Portable electric fence trailer simplifies managed grazing SELF-CONTAINED  Electric fence trailer puts energizer, solar panel, posts and wire all in one portable unit BY DANIEL WINTERS STAFF / RUSSELL

ant to try managed grazing techniques to boost grass productivity, but don’t want to spend a lot of time and money driving posts and stringing wires? Norm Ward, a custom grazer and inventor from Granum, Alta., has come up with a self-contained, portable electric fencing system that makes dividing up quarter section-sized pastures fast and simple. “About four years ago, we made one and then we needed a couple more,” said Ward, who had a Power Grazer electric fence trailer on display at the recent Western Canada Holistic Management conference.

Malt barley facing stiff competition from GM crops DECIMATED  Almost no feed barley is grown in the U.S., displaced by GM corn and soy

“Then the neighbour wanted one and it kind of grew from there.” Easily pulled by an ATV or tractor with three-point hitch, the device contains everything a rancher needs to get started in mob grazing. A solar panel mounted on the top feeds two 12-volt batteries and a powerful fence energizer stowed in a cabinet underneath and a large reel on the back powered by a two-thirds-hp DC motor can roll up two miles of braided turbo wire at the touch of a button. One hundred pigtail-style steel fence posts are stashed at the ready on four racks that are easily accessible from the side. The rig, which is capable of being towed at highway speeds, sells for $11,000 with all components included.

To use it, Ward first attaches a hook on the end of the turbo wire to the existing perimeter fence, then drives slowly along to unravel it while a helper jabs the temporary step-in posts at regular intervals. Then, at the end of the new paddock, the ground rod is corkscrewed into the dirt and hooked up to the fencer’s negative terminal, and the positive lead is clipped onto the fence. “With two people, you can easily fence about a mile an hour,” said Ward, adding having so many posts and so much wire handy in a portable unit makes dividing up a quarter section-sized field of crop residue or pasture much easier than if everything was bouncing around loose in the back of a pickup or small ATV trailer. For more information visit www. rangeward.ca.

Norm Ward, a custom grazer from Granum, Alta., stands next to the Power Grazer portable electric fencing solution that he designed. PHOTO: DANIEL WINTERS

Why do crops keep coming back for more? Because they can.

BY PHIL FRANZ-WARKENTIN COMMODITY NEWS SERVICE CANADA/ WINNIPEG

ore and more malt barley in Western Canada will be grown solely on a contracted basis as increasing competition from easier-to-grow genetically modified crops will cause producers to turn away from malt barley, Patrick Rowan, senior manager of Canadian barley operations with BARI-Canada said at the annual Wild Oats Grainworld conference Feb. 26. Genetically modified soybeans and corn have already “decimated” the U.S. barley crop, with almost no feed barley grown and malt barley only planted on a contracted basis, said Rowan. While feed barley is still a major crop in Western Canada, a similar trend is developing as far as malt barley is concerned in Canada, with improving herbicide-resistant soybean and corn varieties moving into traditional malt barley areas of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Canola is taking away area that might once have been seeded to malt barley, he said. Rowan anticipated GM wheat would be commercially available by 2021-22 at the latest, which will cause even more competition for barley as it is not keeping pace in variety development through traditional breeding practices. However, global demand for beer is rising and the end of the wheat board single desk is allowing malt barley customers to contract directly with farmers, said Rowan. He noted that malt barley takes work to grow to the specifications of the malting companies, which will be easier to do under contract.

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MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Analyzing the mixed prospects for world beef trade From the hip } Fewer cattle don’t necessarily mean

less beef, and dairy is a major influence By brenda schoepp

ith all the talk about the reduction of cattle inventory in Canada and the U.S. it is a good time to also revisit the balance of world beef trade. In which countries is beef demand and supply in balance and where do we expect change? More importantly — what does this mean? India continues to have the most cattle worldwide although those cattle are largely buffalo and spent dairy cows. India will continue to grow in beef production as it ramps up the dairy herd. It is one of the few countries in which beef inventory and production is expected to rise. This type of product goes to price-sensitive areas such as the Middle East and South Africa (MESA) and Vietnam. Ukraine recently reported an increase in beef exports and this will also be spent dairy or dairy steers as the beef herd in Ukraine is very small. Overall global beef production will take a hit in historically heavy export-dependent regions such as Argentina and the EU. Both Korea and Russia need more cattle. Russian imports from both North and South America have dropped

due to the recent ban on cattle, pigs and turkeys from Canada and the U.S. over ractopamine concerns. This will force Russia to look for a meat supply outside of North America. Japan still has steady production and consumption despite the most rapidly aging population in the developed world and still has room for imports. The contamination of fish and livestock with radiation has made Japan an active trade partner who this last month lifted the import restrictions from under 20 to under 30 months.

Over time we have learned that buying bred cows at $1,200 or less serves the producer well.

The EU continues to decline in consumption, production and exports. What was once a very open market possibility for non-hormone beef may

well be just a simmering export opportunity in a few years. Consumption continues to decline as Europeans lean toward a vegetarian diet and at the very least, consume less meat. Our visits with French farmers brought to life the complexity of this situation. France continues to pursue land conservation and increase regulations. Young, aggressive farmers were talking about exiting in 10 years because by that time, regulations may make it difficult to farm. It would seem that this program of land conservation may take a lot of land out of production, but population growth and consumption are both slowing and both imports and exports have softened.

Fewer cattle, more beef

Actual global beef production may shift down by just a shade but it still exceeds growth. This means that there is more production per unit, which is now seen worldwide. Achieving beef balance in this environment is tough especially for countries highly dependent on export of which Canada leads the way along with New Zealand (82 per cent) Uruguay (77 per cent). Beef balance — that equilibrium between production, consumption and exports —

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has been achieved in Uruguay, India, Argentina and Australia. In comparison, Canada’s production exceeds consumption and depends on exports while also being a top importer of beef. This beef comes largely from the U.S., which has dramatically increased exports into Canada. The U.S. has transitioned from a net importer of beef to a net exporter as it struggles with increased production per unit and rapidly declining consumption. Although North American inventory is the lowest since the 1950s, this is not enough to offset the massive increase in unit production. At only a two per cent heifer retention, a continuation of the drought in the U.S. will only add to the production as commercial cows come to town. The U.S. will be in position for cattle prices to increase but that remains highly dependent on export activity. What does this mean? In an environment of increasing gain costs, there is little black ink and a lack of enthusiasm. When this happens, the pressure is on the breeding stock and that is a good time to buy. Over time we have learned that buying bred cows at $1,200 or less serves the producer well. It may be a decent year to also breed heifers but there

is a chance you may have to hold them into 2014. Cattle feeders will continue to focus on steers for the feed conversion so there is little need to go head to head with them. As for those heifers in the pen, a little patience will be a virtue. From a global perspective, dairy is beef and as dairy herds expand in all areas outside of North America, we can expect to see beef production increase. The EU will lift quota restrictions in 2015. For Canadians this translates into an opportunity to invest in dairy genetics. Beef consumption trends are changing and grassfed beef is gaining in popularity, as is beef without beef promotants. Food safety is king. The recent horsemeat scandal is not helping the beef industry and prices reflect that. With so few countries achieving beef balance we can expect to see continued volatility in beef cattle markets worldwide and unexpected changes in trade. 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

Horsemeat found in lasagne dishes in Bulgaria DNA } The samples contained up to 80 per cent horse DNA sofia / reuters

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ome 86 kilos of lasagne dishes will be destroyed in Bulgaria, after its food safety agency confirmed Feb. 21 the dishes taken from shelves last week contained horsemeat labelled as beef. Horsemeat has been found in beef products across Europe in recent weeks, damaging confidence in the continent’s vast and complex food industry. “This morning we received the results from the two tests taken

from the already banned products,” the Bulgarian agency said in a statement. “Both samples were positive for horsemeat, indicating 80 per cent and 50 per cent content.” The tests were conducted by a German laboratory after the “beef” lasagne dishes were withdrawn from an unidentified supermarket chain last week. The agency said that 30 samples from domestic meat products were also tested in Bulgarian laboratories in the last 10 days, but all of them were negative.

} Set your local weather } Set news subjects relevant to your farm } Set notices on the futures contract prices of your choice } Alberta Farmer version is FREE to Download } Available for Android, iPhone and BlackBerry smartphones } Visit agreader.ca/afe today to download the app or text “afe” to 393939 to be sent the link. Standard text messaging rates apply.

A horse is standing on a trailer behind a tractor after being sold at Skaryszew horse fair February 18, 2013. Horse breeders have been coming to the open-air fair on the same day every year for the past three centuries, but the tradition is under pressure from activists and, this year, from concern about the Europe-wide trade in horsemeat. PHOTo: REUTERS/Peter Andrews

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

Causes and treatment of hoof abscesses in horses Diagnosis } Often an abscess is the result of damage to the corium

or nail bed within the hoof capsule By carol shwetz, dvm

n abscess within the hoof is a common cause of sudden, severe, nonweight-bearing lameness in horses. Pain is the one unmistakable symptom of a hoof abscess. Horses will completely refuse to bear weight on the afflicted foot. Owners unfamiliar with this cause of lameness often feel that their horse must have a broken bone. Pain may be so severe and unrelenting that veterinary involvement and imaging may be necessary to rule out laminitis, a severe bruise, or a fractured coffin bone. More commonly though, a diagnosis of hoof abscess is made by localizing the source of pain and heat to the hoof and coronary band. Other clinical signs include a bounding digital pulse with swelling and congestion in the pastern/fetlock region. Hoof abscesses occur for a number of reasons. They can occur when foreign material or bacteria gain entry into the hoof capsule via an entrance point. Such entry can occur through defects along the white line or through hoof wall cracks/ fissures. Hoof abscesses are also a possible sequel when the horse’s sole is punctured or as a result of a misplaced farrier’s nail.

cient to allow drainage, yet not so extensive as to create unnecessary damage to the hoof structures. If pain can be localized in the hoof and a small black line or tract identified, a small, wellplaced hole may be made with the use of a hoof knife or loop knife. Drainage of a black or brown exudate often provides immediate relief for the horse. When the specific location of the abscess cannot be identified or is too deep in the hoof, no cutting or holes will be made. Abscesses can and do find their own exit. Poulticing is a practice which expedites the body’s own abscessing process, minimizing the amount of discomfort for the horse.

Two equally effective options are available to the owner to poultice the hoof. One option is to soak the horse’s hoof a number of times daily in Epsom salts and very warm water. Another option is to fashion a “poultice boot” using Animalintex or any number of home remedies within a special treatment boot. When poulticing the hoof it is important to incorporate the coronary band in the soak or the boot. Poultices are an osmotic which draw the abscess bringing resolve relatively quickly. Carol Shwetz is a veterinarian specializing in equine practice at Westlock, Alberta.

One treatment option is to fashion a “poultice boot” using Animalintex or any number of home remedies within a special treatment boot.

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Owners unfamiliar with this cause of lameness often feel that their horse must have a broken bone.

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More often an abscess is the result of damage to the corium or nail bed within the hoof capsule. Such damage could be caused by bruising/trauma to the sensitive structures within the hoof, a recent episode of laminitis, lack of circulation, or as a result of incorrect hoof form or shoeing. When the underlying corium is damaged or devitalized, the stage is set for the abscess process. Enzymes released in the abscessing process lead to tissue necrosis and the development and accumulation of a grey/black exudate. Increasing pressure within the unforgiving structures of the hoof capsule leads to pronounced lameness. The acidic nature of the exudate dissects along soft tissue planes, finally exiting out the coronary band, heel bulbs, or point of the frog, wherever it finds the easiest path. Once drainage is established the horse’s lameness generally subsides.

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MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

How will the hog industry transition to group sow housing? LIMITED SUCCESS  Experience in Europe suggests that

converting existing barns does not work well

Sows in groups require more space than those in stalls. BY BERNIE PEET

here is now a growing acceptance in the Canadian pork industry that producers must eventually move away from sow stalls and towards group housing. When the new welfare codes of practice are released this summer, they will likely require that no new stall housing is built after 2014 and that existing facilities are converted to group housing by 2024. Various industry bodies such as research centres, extension services and producer organizations are working towards providing solutions to producers for when the time comes to convert. From what I can see, they are working on the assumption that producers will mainly convert existing stall housing to group housing. But experience in Europe suggests that this will probably not be the case. What is more likely to happen is that there will be an accelerated rationalization of the industry and construction of new sow housing by those who intend to continue beyond 2024.

Lack of investment

As every pork producer knows, the last six years have been highly

unprofitable, which has led to a reduction in equity and an inability to borrow. Over this period, there has been very little investment in facilities and that situation is unlikely to change unless producers receive more money for their hogs. Therefore the vast majority of producers will not be rushing to incur additional costs until they are forced to. By the time that situation arises, many barns that were built in the 1990s pork industry boom will be 25-30 years old and their owners will be inclined to close the barn down rather than invest in group sow housing. The result will be fewer producers and fewer pigs. This process of rationalization is normal, but the ‘line in the sand’ of a sow stall ban will precipitate the decision-making process.

Practical considerations

Those producers who do stay in business and change to group housing have to decide whether to convert existing sow stall accommodation or build new. There are a number of practical reasons why conversion often leads to unacceptable compromise. First, the floor layout for stalls — solid and slatted areas, slopes etc. — is totally unsuitable for any group pen layout, so major struc-

tural work is necessary. Second, the airflow patterns within the barn are unlikely to be appropriate for the new pen layout and changes to air inlet positions are needed. Also, sows in groups require more space than those in stalls. Typically, the space taken up by stalls, including alleyways, is about 18 square feet per sow, whereas group housing, depending on the system, requires 25-35 square feet. Therefore, to house the same number of sows requires additional space to be built. These factors combined mean that producers may either end up with a compromise or choose to build new because they cannot accept the degree of compromise inherent in a conversion. In Britain in the 1990s, some producers chose to carry out simple conversions by cutting back the stalls to form short ‘head-and-shoulders’ feeding stalls. Thus, two opposing rows of stalls and the alleyway between them were split into pens of about 10-12 sows. They attempted to house the same number of sows as were in the stalls but the results were generally unsatisfactory in terms of sow behaviour, accuracy of feeding and cleanliness. Most of

these producers ended up building a new gestation barn or just quitting production. The lessons here are that compromise in group housing comes with a cost and, without the correct space allowance, group housing does not work well.

Expansion or specialization?

The cost of conversion versus new housing is a major consideration. You might think that if conversion can be carried out at less than half the cost of new, then that is the best option. The big problem is that the cost is exactly that; a cost without any return. That was the dilemma we faced in Britain in the ’90s. For the many clients that I helped to remodel their units, the answer for most was to build a new gestation barn and utilize the sow stall building for additional farrowing and nursery/grower pens. In this way, sow numbers were increased and the additional nursery/grower pens allowed market weight to be raised, thus squeezing more kilos of pork out of the system. The cost of the new barn and the remodelling was paid for by the higher output. An alternative approach, and one which has been followed in countries such as Denmark and Spain, is to specialize in one or

two production stages. Thus, a farrow-to-finish producer might change to piglet or feeder pig production. This involves building a new breeding and gestation barn and converting existing dry sow accommodation to farrowing rooms or additional nursery space. Other producers might change to nursery only, or nursery and finishing. With the number of existing two- and three-site production systems in Canada, this option is one that is already well understood and my guess is that it will be a popular one.

Industry evolution

As the industry transitions to group sow housing it will not simply be a case of converting existing space. I believe that it will precipitate structural changes in farm type, with more specialization and a reduction in producer numbers. Producers who choose to continue with a farrow-to-finish model are likely to expand sow numbers and build new gestation housing to avoid major compromise. Those who are positioning themselves to be the source of advice on group housing need to take these likely changes into account. Bernie Peet is principal of Pork Chain Consulting in Lacombe, Alberta

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Australia’s struggling beef sector boosted by recent rains COMPETITION  Reopening to under-30-month beef from North America may mean fewer sales to Japan BY COLIN PACKHAM SYDNEY/REUTERS

ustralia’s struggling beef industry has received a boost from recent rains in the east of the country, which will increase grass growth to fatten up herds in the world’s third-biggest beef exporter, producers said. The wetter conditions in the aftermath of Cyclone Oswald mean farmers will keep cattle in herds for longer to add weight, taking some Australian supply out of the market over the next few months before an increase later this year. “I think through March, April and May, we will see a tightening of (Australian) supply,” said David Farley, chief executive of Australian Agricultural Company, the country’s largest beef producer. This has already shown up in local prices with the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator, a benchmark collected by Australian Meat and Livestock Authority, rising to A$3.335 ($3.46) in the week ending Feb. 8, the highest since Nov. 26, before edging back slightly. The Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) forecast in December beef and veal exports would rise two per cent in the 2012-13 marketing season.

hit badly by a cut in Indonesian demand due to a self-sufficiency drive. Indonesia plans to cut import quotas in 2013 by 30 per cent for cattle and six per cent for beef, even as consumption is seen rising 13 per cent. Live cattle exports from Australia are forecast to fall 22.3 per cent to 450,000 in 2012-13, the government has forecast, with the Northern Territory expected to bear the brunt. A revival in Indonesian imports was possible if the self-sufficiency drive fails to hit government targets, Farley said. “The self-sufficient policies that have been put in place a number of years ago were a gallant attempt, but it seems to have failed,” Farley said. “The unintended consequences are that prices have gone up.”

Rains following Cyclone Oswald have boosted pasture growth in Australia.

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Australia faces competition, however, from India, which is expected to expand beef exports by 29 per cent this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and in Japan, where Australia is the biggest supplier.

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Japan agreed last month to allow U.S., Canadian and French beef imports from cattle up to 30 months old beginning on Feb. 1, relaxing a safeguard against mad cow disease that has frustrated North American producers for a decade. Australia is the biggest supplier of beef to Japan and expects exports will fall 4.9 per cent this year, though some doubt the ability of U.S. cattle farmers to meet Japanese demand. “Any U.S. imports into Japan will only boost Australian exports into America,” said Greg Campbell, chief executive of S.Kidman and Co. Ltd., one of Australia’s largest beef producers. A strong Australian dollar could, however, price exports out of markets such as Japan, where the dollar is trading at a more than fiveyear high against the yen, Campbell said. In contrast to the situation in the east, a delay in seasonal rains has stunted grass growth in the Northern Territory, home to 30 per cent of Australia’s cattle. The territory accounts for 80 per cent of live cattle exports and was

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MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Horsemeat scandal gives a boost to England’s besieged butchers Local boost } Britons are flocking to their neighbourhood butchers after horsemeat was

discovered in a wide variety of frozen foods and restaurant items

kitchen, a butcher completes a cottage pie, the traditional British dish of minced meat covered in a layer of potato. At $8 a portion, the fresh grass-fed or organic minced beef dish is five times more expensive than the alternative from frozen food giant Findus, at the supermarket.

By Costas Pitas london / reuters

n one of Britain’s oldest butcher shops, staff in straw hats are rushing to cope with a surge in demand for pricey pies and sausages from customers worried about a scandal over mislabelled horsemeat. Founded in 1850, Lidgates in London’s smart Notting Hill district retains a Dickensian atmosphere, but very different prices. A whole beef fillet sells for more than $160 and half a dozen sausages are $9. But business is booming these days. “Sales on items such as minced beef, pies, sausages went up ranging 10 and 20 per cent directly on Day 1,” said Danny Lidgate, 33, the fifth generation of his family to run the shop. The trend towards upmarket meat appears to be gathering pace elsewhere in horse-loving Britain, where many people are so sentimental about horses that they find the idea of eating their meat repulsive. According to the Q Guild, which represents high-end independent butchers, its members say sales of beef burgers and meatballs have risen by 30 per cent since the horsemeat furor started. Generally, horsemeat is not a danger to health, but the damage to public confidence has already been done.

“It’s cheaper, it’s better quality and it’s better people getting the money.” British shopper

Business is picking up for the local British butcher. PHOTo: thinkstock Rib-Eye Steak

Scrutinizing a cut of rib-eye steak, Jacqueline O’Leary, a housewife from the upscale Kensington district, said she’s changed her shopping habits. “I haven’t bought lately (from

supermarkets). I’ve just been buying more here so they’ve probably seen me three times a week and I buy sausages and mince from here now, it’s just easier.” Upstairs in Lidgates’ busy

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After finding its beef lasagne contained horsemeat, the British unit of Findus began recalling the product from supermarket shelves last week on advice from its French supplier Comigel, raising questions over the complicated nature of the European food chain. Elsewhere in London, Mark McCartney, another shopper, said he would rather go to his local butcher than buy meat at the supermarket. “I trust this meat more than I trust anything out of the supermarkets and you can pick and choose and give this man the

money,” he said. “It’s cheaper, it’s better quality and it’s better people getting the money.” Many expect shoppers will return to their old buying habits once the controversy fades, but even a temporary reprieve is welcome for the nation’s butcher shops, whose numbers have fallen from 9,000 at the start of the century to 6,800 in 2011. At a bustling London street market, butcher Raymond Roe said he had been in the trade for 37 years but at least eight of his local competitors had closed their doors since 1976. Even though shoppers are angry with supermarkets now, he was pessimistic about the future. “They’ve lost their trust,” he said. “I get a lot of people saying they’re not going to buy from them. But the thing is, supermarkets are convenient for everyone and most people haven’t got much time. A lot of it is, people don’t cook anymore.” Pointing behind him on the wall to diagrams of animals with lines drawn to indicate cuts of meat, Roe described his role as butcher, teacher and chef for his customers. “I show them the charts where the cuts come from to try and educate them because years ago, the older people — a lot of them are dead now — they knew the cuts but no one knows anything now,” he said sadly. “They don’t even know how to cook.”

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cientists have developed a new variety of sainfoin that offers bloat-free grazing for cattle when paired with alfalfa in a mixed stand. Development of the new cultivar, tested as LRC 3902, was led by Dr. Surya Acharya of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Lethbridge. Acharya announced the variety and its proposed name of Mountainview at the Alberta Forage Industry Network AGM, Feb. 5, in Ponoka, Alta. “This new sainfoin cultivar is truly one of a kind and represents an exciting new opportunity for cattle producers,” Acharya said in a release. “It is the first sainfoin cultivar that will survive in alfalfa pasture and grow back at the same rate after cutting or grazing. It will prevent bloat in mixed stands to provide producers with their first real, economically viable option to allow for highly productive, bloat-free alfalfa pasture grazing.” Sainfoin is a high-quality forage legume crop that features a

condensed tannin concentration. This is very effective at preventing deadly pasture bloat in ruminants. However, until now, sainfoin cultivars have not survived well in alfalfa pasture or grown back after the first cut. When grown under irrigated and rain-fed conditions of Western Canada, LRC 3902 outyielded Nova, the check variety, by 22 to 42 per cent in pure stands and 30 to 39 per cent in mixed stands with alfalfa. It also showed strong regrowth. Mountainview reaches flowering 10 days earlier than Nova and has a seed weight with pod of 20-24 g per 1,000 compared to 18-22 g for Nova. “Mountainview’s rapid regrowth after cutting is very different from Nova and is one of its greatest benefits,” says Acharya. “I think cattle producers will find a lot to like in this new cultivar.” Acharya and his forage research colleagues at AAFC Lethbridge are part of Alberta Forage Industry Network (AFIN), which was formed in 2010 to represent the forage industry in the province. More information is available at www.albertaforages.ca.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

Horsemeat holds a place of honour in French cuisine, but few eat it now Dying business } Consumption of horsemeat has fallen by 80 per cent in the last three decades as a more squeamish younger generation turns away By Catherine Bremer paris / reuters

n a dingy Parisian back street, diners at a one-of-a-kind bistro tuck lustily into breaded horse brain, pan-fried heart of horse and broiled cheek, along with prime rump steaks the chef cuts from the bone himself. Seasoned aficionados queuing at one of the few horse butchers left in Paris say they prefer theirs raw as minced “tartare,” pepped up with olive oil, lemon juice and pepper. If the thought of having eaten Romanian cart horses in mislabelled frozen lasagne is making Britons choke, a loyal minority

in France laments a dwindling appetite for a meat they say is a tastier and healthier alternative to beef. “I understand people are upset if what they thought was beef turned out to be old Romanian ponies, but when horses are reared properly, it’s a delicious meat,” said Gerard Marin, 67, at his weekly visit to one of a dozen surviving horse butchers in a city that 30 years ago counted hundreds. “It’s much tastier than beef and has much less fat. Young people today eat nothing but processed meals, kebabs and other rubbish — they don’t know what they’re missing.” France’s taste for horsemeat

dates back to when 18th-century revolutionaries seized the fallen aristocracy’s horses to sate their hunger. It flourished for two centuries until falling out of fashion with a more squeamish younger generation. Consumption has fallen 80 per cent in the last 30 years and horse butchers are now a rarity. Le Taxi Jaune bistro is one of a tiny handful of Paris eateries serving it. “My clients know I take care to buy fresh meat and debone it myself, said Otis Lebert, Le Taxi Jaune’s head chef. “I never work with prepacked meat. What shocks me is the way food wholesalers are taking people for a ride.”

In France, horsemeat is sold at the Chevaline, a separate butcher shop.

Record-high cattle, beef prices seen in 2013: Cattlefax Herd expansion } Feed and hay costs need to come down before it can start Reuters

.S. cattle and beef prices should set more record highs this year as the worst drought in half a century, which wilted pastures and drove up feed costs, forced producers to trim the nation’s herd to the smallest since 1952, according to industry marketing and analytics firm Cattlefax. Prices for fed cattle could average $126 per cwt, up $3 from last year, which would be a fourth consecutive yearly increase, Cattlefax CEO Randy Blach said during a Feb. 8 session at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association annual meeting. “We’ll see record-high fed-cattle prices at some point here in the spring where we’ll see the market top the $130 level of last year,” said Blach. That forecast is based on more declines in cattle herds due to the drought in the southwestern United States, a seasonal decline in slaughter-ready cattle during the spring and stronger beef exports. Shoppers can expect recordhigh beef prices in 2013, with the retail price seen on average at $4.85 per lb., up four per cent from 2012, said Blach. Retail prices hit a record high of $5.15 per lb. in November before easing to $5.11 last month, according to USDA. If beef prices are to come down, feed and hay costs will have to decline to encourage producers to expand. “We’ve got to see expansion of the herd. If we were to start expanding tomorrow, we’re 30 months down the road before we can really impact production. So, prices are going to stay elevated for quite some time until we can respond to Mother Nature’s signal to regrow the herd,” said Blach.

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MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

North/south split in U.S. cattle trends Wild card } Weather will continue to be a major influence on cattle prices and numbers BY Tim Petry Livestock Marketing Economist NDSU Extension Service

he U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service released the much-anticipated “Cattle” report on Feb. 1. The semi-annual inventory report confirmed what many cattle market observers had expected: The record-setting drought in the southern Plains in 2011 that expanded into much of the country, including the Corn Belt in 2012, caused lower cattle numbers. All cattle and calves in the U.S. on Jan. 1 totalled 89.3 million head, which is 1.6 per cent below the 90.8 million on Jan. 1, 2012. This was the lowest Jan. 1 inventory of all cattle and calves since the 88.1 million head in 1952. However, it should be noted that beef production totalled 25.9 billion pounds in 2012, compared with just 9.3 billion in 1952. The near 26 billion pounds in 2012 is just less than the record 27 billion pounds produced in 2002, so the beef industry produces much more beef with the same number of cattle that existed in the 1950s. Beef cows in the U.S., at 29.3 million head, were down almost three per cent from the previous year. By Continued drought meant the number of beef cows in Texas was down 12 per cent on Jan. 1 compared with 2012. far, Texas is the leading beef cow state, with more than 4.01 million drought saw increasing beef cow row of increased beef cow replace- was up almost six per cent, beef cows on Jan. 1. Compare that to numbers. Minnesota, North and ments in the U.S. Even though cow numbers rose seven per cent second-place Nebraska at 1.81 South Dakota, Montana, Idaho replacements were higher than and milk cows stayed the same. million beef cows. The number and Washington combined for on Jan. 1, 2011, and 2012, the 2013 There were more calves being of beef cows in Texas was down a 243,000-head increase in beef numbers still were lower than any backgrounded in the state than last year, led by an increase of 2.5 12 per cent on Jan. 1, compared cows. other year since 1990. per cent in other (non-replacewith 2012. This was down nine Interest in herd rebuilding was ment) heifers, but cattle on feed per cent from the previous year as evident where moisture condi- Surge in North Dakota well, for a total two-year decline tions allowed it. Another indica- Contrast beef replacement heif- for the slaughter market declined. The 2012 U.S. calf crop was of more than a million head. Beef tion of that interest was that heifers in the U.S. with North Dakota, cows in Nebraska declined four ers of more than 500 pounds that where historically high numbers estimated at 34.3 million head, per cent from last year. Beef cow were kept for beef cow replace- were recorded the last three years. which was down three per cent numbers in third-place Missouri ments in the U.S. were up 1.9 per In fact, the 207,000 replacement from 2011. However, the comwere down five per cent and cent. Again, several of those same heifers in North Dakota on Jan. 1 bined total of calves less than 500 fourth-place Oklahoma lost one northern states showed increases. were the highest since 1974 and pounds and other steers and heifper cent. All of those states were Even Texas, where drought con- the fourth highest since records ers at more than 500 pounds outside of feedlots was up almost one hard hit by drought conditions. ditions improved in some areas, began in 1920. SEC-STETT12-T_AFE.qxd 10/14/11 1:35 PM Page The inventory of all cattle and per cent. This was due to lower In contrast, northern states that recorded a nine per1cent increase. were not as severely affected with This was the second year in a calves in North Dakota on Jan. 1 placements into feedlots the last

several months. Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter in U.S. feedlots, at 13.4 million head, were down about 5.5 per cent. Weather will continue to be a wild card in cattle prices and numbers. Much of the central U.S., including a number of important beef cattle-producing states, is very dry. Seasonally high calf prices in the spring are dependent on the potential for good grass conditions. Dry pastures in the U.S. will need sufficient rain to prevent further cow liquidation. Corn supplies are historically tight, so a good corn crop also is necessary to support feeder cattle prices.

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• Minimum charge — $15.00 per week for first 25 words or less and an additional 60 cents per word for every word over 25. Additional bolding 75 cents per word. GST is extra. $2.50 billing charge is added to billed ads only. • Terms: Payment due upon receipt of invoice. • 10% discount for prepaid ads. If phoning in your ad you must pay with VISA or MasterCard to qualify for discount. • Ask about our Priority Placement • Prepayment Bonus: Prepay for 3 weeks and get a bonus of 2 weeks; bonus weeks run consecutively and cannot be used separately from original ad; additions and changes accepted only during first 3 weeks. • If you wish to have replies sent to a confidential box number, please add $5.00 per week to your total. Count eight words for your address. Example: Ad XXXX, Alberta Farmer Express , Box 9800, Winnipeg, R3C 3K7. • Your complete name & address must be submitted to our office before publication. (This information will be kept confidential & will not appear in the ad unless requested.)

• Advertising copy deviating in any way from the regular classified style will be considered display and charged at the display rate of $34.30 per column inch ($2.45 per agate line). • Minimum charge $34.30 per week. • Illustrations and logos are allowed with full border. • Advertising rates are flat with no discount for frequency of insertion or volume of space used. • Terms: Payment due upon receipt of invoice. • Price quoted does not include GST.

Published by Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 WINNIPEG OFFICE Alberta Farmer Express 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 Toll-Free in Canada 1-888-413-3325 Phone 403-341-0442 in Winnipeg FAX 403-341-0615 Mailing Address: Box 9800, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 3K7 • •

•

AGREEMENT The publisher reserves the right to refuse any or all advertising for any reason stated or unstated. Advertisers requesting publication of either display or classified advertisements agree that should the advertisement be omitted from the issue ordered for whatever reason, the Alberta Farmer Express shall not be held liable. It is also agreed that in the event of an error appearing in the published advertisement, the Alberta Farmer Express accepts no liability beyond the amount paid for that portion of the advertisement in which the error appears or affects. Claims for adjustment are limited to errors appearing in the first insertion only. While every endeavor will be made to forward box number replies as soon as possible, we accept no liability in respect to loss or damage alleged to a rise through either failure or delay in forwarding such replies, however caused, whether by negligence or otherwise.

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 ______________ =

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Minimum charge $15.00 per week

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

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MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

FARM MACHINERY Grain Handling

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

SEED/FEED MISCELLANEOUS Grain Wanted

BUSINESS SERVICES

ENGINES

Combine ACCessories

BUYING:

BUSINESS SERVICES Crop Consulting

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

FARM MACHINERY Combine – Accessories

HEATED & GREEN CANOLA

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

• Competitive Prices • Prompt Movement • Spring Thrashed

herbicides herbicides

“ON FARM PICK UP”

1-877-250-5252

ANTIQUES ANTIQUES Antique Equipment

Fergus, ON: (519) 787-8227 Carman, MB: (204) 745-2951 Davidson, SK: (306) 567-3031

BUYING SPRING THRASHED CANOLA & GRAIN “On Farm Pickup” Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252

precisionpac.ca

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Legal -

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

precisionpac.ca

Viterra

Westlock - 780-349-4525

FARM MACHINERY FARM CHEMICAL SEED COMPLAINTS

precisionpac.ca

FARM MACHINERY

We also specialize in: Crop Insurance appeals; Haying & Harvesting – Baling Chemical drift; Residual herbicide; Custom operator FARM MACHINERY issues; Equipment malfunction; Yield comparisons, WANTED: JD 781018c/w fel & 3pth; sp or pto bale13-01-15 12:38Parts 2012 AB.indd PM & Accessories Plus Private Investigations of any 28328_PPAC_Classified nature. With our wagon; JD or IHC end wheel drills. Small square assistance the majority 28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 15 of our clients have received 13-01-15 PM baler. 12:38 (877)330-4477 BURNT 6195 WHITE, 920 Jiffy shredder, front fire compensation previously denied. Back-Track damage, 135 Ezee on loader, w/grapple fork, fire Investigations investigates, documents your loss and damage (403)845-0414 Combines assists in settling your claim. 28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 20 13-01-15 12:3 Licensed Agrologist on Staff. For more information FARM MACHINERY 780-961-3088 Please call 1-866-882-4779 Combine – Gleaner

precisionpac.ca

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

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

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

herbicides 28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 13

precisionpac.ca BOW VALLEY TRADING LTD.

WE BUY DAMAGED GRAIN

_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 26

Wheat, Barley, Oats, Peas, etc. Green or Heated Canola/Flax

1-877-641-2798

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

13-01-15 12:38 PM

precisionpac.ca

Neerlandia Co-op Association Ltd. Neerlandia - 780-674-2820

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.

AUCTION SALES Auctions Various 28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 14

Richardson Pioneer

AUCTION SALES Auctions Various 13-01-15 12:38 PM

SHIELDS

AUCTION SERVICE LTD.

General Auction Services since 1960

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

Andrukow Group Solutions Inc.

13-01-15 12:38 PM

Provost - 780-753-3150

precisionpac.ca

herbicides

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

Camrose - 780-679-5230 Email: john@shieldsauctionservices.com • Phone: 403-464-0202

13-01-15 12:38 PM

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 21

FARM, RANCH, REAL ESTATE & COMMERCIAL

Waskatenau - 780-358-2720

precisionpac.ca

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

herbicides

Provost - 780-753-2355

28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AUCTION AB.indd 16 AUCTION SALES SALES

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

FARM MACHINERY Combine – Various

Viterra

precisionpac.ca

herbicides

Go public with an ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifieds

13-01-15 12:38 PM

Fort Saskatchewan 780-998-2808

_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 12

Galahad - 780-583-2476

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

Sturgeon Valley Fertilizer

herbicides

Viterra

Drumheller - 403-823-4600 herbicides

herbicides

Agro Guys Inc.

Kneehill Soil Services Ltd.

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

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

precisionpac.ca

28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 22

Buy and Sell

anything you need through the

1-888-413-3325

13-01-15 12:38 PM

13-01-15 12:3

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

FARM MACHINERY Snowblowers, Plows 12-ft. Rubber Snow Pusher. Cut your snow removal time in half with a 12-ft. snow pusher made from durable mining tires. Each pusher is made with skid steer hook-ups. SAFE ON CURBS AND DRIVEWAYS. A steal at $3200. Call TJ at (204)768-0600

Spraying EquipmEnt

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Air Drills

2006 CIH STX 430, 2187hrs, 16 spd. P/S, Pto, 4hyds, Front & Rear diff lock, 20.8xR42 duals, always shedded, (306)228-3665, Unity, SK.

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.

QF2002 BRANDT SPRAYER, 90ft. w/wind cones, 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.

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Vermilion - 780-853-4711

50 Hp Diesel, 2044 Hours, 3PTH

FARM MACHINERY Sprayers

_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 24

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Miscellaneous 1996 ROGATOR 854, 800/GAL, 80ft. 4x4, 2 sets tires, 3790/hrs, GFS boom, Raven auto-rake, Raven cruiser, GPS, spd. hydro. 195hp Cummins, $56,000; 2009 Hyline BP 8100, big tires, twine cutter, hyd. deflector $11,500; 1999 CAT 460 1300 sep. hrs, rake up $91,000; 2006 JD 567 megawide, mesh wrap, 5453/bales, $21,500; (403)665-2341, Craigmyle, AB.

Richardson Pioneer Magrath - 403-758-3162

precisionpac.ca

JD 4450, FWA, c/w loader JD 4560 FWA, 280 loader JD 6410 3pth, FWA, loader available JD 746 loader, new Cat Skidsteer 256C, 1000hrs Mustang 2044 Skidsteer, 1300hrs Kello 10ft model 210 disc Clamp on duals, 20.8x38-18.4x38 158 & 148, 265, 740, 280, JD loaders

FARM MACHINERY Tillage & Seeding – Tillage

solutions

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

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

RON SAUER

MACHINERY LTD. (403) 540-7691 ronsauer@shaw.ca

Flexicoil 6 run seed treater ................................ $2,000 50’, 60’, & 80” Flexicoil harrow packer draw bars....... Call 134’ Flexicoil S68XL sprayer, 2007, suspended boom, auto rate, joystick, rinse tank, triple quick jets, auto boom height, electric end nozzle & foam marker............. $39,500 130’ Flexicoil 67XL PT sprayer, 2006,trail boom, auto rate, rinse tank, hyd. pump, combo jets, nice shape.... $26,500 51 Flexicoil Bodies c/w GEN. 4”carbide spread tip openers, single chute, like new ................ $3,500 30’ 8230 CIH PT swather, PU reel, nice shape,.. $10,000 25ft Hesston 1200 PT swather, pu reel, nice shape................................................ $7,500 21’ 4600 Prairie Star PT swather, UII pu reel, nice shape .............................................................$5000 16’ NH 2300 hay header & conditioner from NH 2450 swather, nice cond. ......................... $5,000 1372 MF 13’ swing arm discbine 4yrs, like new$20,000 MATR 10 wheel V-Hayrake, hyd. fold, as new .... $5,250 New Sakundiak 10x1200 (39.97’) 36HP Kohler eng., E-Kay mover, Power steering, electric belt tightener, work lights, slimfit, 12 gal. fuel tank..................... $18,000 New Sakundiak 7x1200 (39.97’) , 22HP Robin-Subaru eng.,w/Winter Kit, battery & fuel tank .......................$7,500 New E-Kay 7”, 8”, 9” Bin Sweeps .........................Call Flexicoil 10”x 50’ Grain auger ......................... $2,500 18.4”x30” tractor grip tires on rims .......................... Call New Outback Max GPS Guidance Monitor Available................................................... Call New Outback S3, STS, E drive, TC’s...................... In Stock New Outback E drive X c/w free E turns ..................... Call New Outback S-Lite................................................$900 Used Outback 360 mapping...................................$500 Used Outback S guidance .......................................$500 Used Outback S2 guidance ................................. $1,000 Used Outback E drive Hyd. Kits. (JD,Case, Cat & NH)$500

SALES REP FOR PENTAGON FARM CENTRE

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

FARM MACHINERY Machinery Wanted WANTED: NH BALE WAGONS & retrievers, any condition. Farm Equipment Finding Service, P.O. Box 1363, Polson, MT 59860. (406)883-2118

If you want to sell it fast, call 1-888-413-3325.

Viterra

Coronation - 403-578-3302

precisionpac.ca

WANTED: Small square balers and end Wheel Seed Drills, Rock Pickers, Rock Rakes, Tub grinders, also JD 1610 cultivators (403)308-1238

HEAT & AIR CONDITIONING

herbicides

Viterra

Grassy Lake - 403-655-2497

Patent #2719667

precisionpac.ca Looking for a hand around the farm? Place a help wanted ad in the classifieds. Call 1-888-413-3325.

** Hesston & MF, NuVision, Sakundiak & Farm King Augers, Outback GPS Systems, EK Auger, Movers, Sweeps, & Crop Dividers, Degelman, Headsight Harvesting Solutions**

Stretch your advertising dollars! Place an ad in the classifieds. Our friendly staff is waiting for your call. 1-888-413-3325.

for troublesome gauge wheels

herbicides

RETIRED FROM FARMING, MOST machinery shedded, 1998 Peterbuilt, 460 Cummins, 18spd, w/36ft tandem Doepker grain trailer $75,000; (403)586-0978, Torrington, Ab.

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

Looking for a hand around the farm? Place a help wanted ad in the classifieds. Call 1-888-413-3325.

IS ENOUGH OF

ACREAGE EQUIPMENT: CULTIVATORS, DISCS, Plows, Blades, Post pounders, Haying Equipment, Etc. (780)892-3092, Wabamun, Ab.

RETIRED FROM FARMING: 1994 Case 9280 tractor, 12/spd. 20.8x42 duals, 4/hyd plus 1 aux. for air seeder, Outback w/E drive for auto steer, Approx. We know that farming is enough of a gamble so if you 3500/hrs; 1996 5000 Flexicoil air drill, 45ft. double want to sell it fast place your ad in the Alberta Farmer chute, 9in. spacing, 4in. rubber packers; 2003 2340 Express classifieds. It’s a Sure Thing. Call our toll-free air tank variable rate, AGSCO air seed treater atnumber today. We have friendly staff ready to help. tached; 2003 9650STS JD combine, 914 P header, 2009 7430 PREMIUM 741 loader, grapple, mint 1-888-413-3325. 1448 engine hours, 1132 sep. hrs. will have green condition, all options, 1410hrs, $117,500. check light done; 2003 2940 Premier (MacDon) swather pictures at Kijiji ad #455508131 Call Rob w/2004 972 header, 25ft, 941 eng.hrs. 786 cutting FARM MACHINERY 28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.inddor 17 13-01-15 12:38 PM @(403)933-5448 (403)608-1116 hours; 1979 Chev. C70 grain truck, 366V8, 16ft. Sprayers steel box, roll tarp, stock racks, 10x20 tires, 87K; FARM MACHINERY 2009 Flexicoil 100ft suspended boom sprayer, 68XL, 1600/Gal. fence line nozzle, raven power Tractors – Various glide plus boom control, 4 boom shut offs, rinse tank, chemical rinse; 2007 Bourgault 6000 mid duty 13-01-15 12:38 PM harrows, 70ft. 1998 MX 200 Case tractor MFD, duJD 3140, 3pth loader als 20.8Rx42, 3800/hrs. Outback auto steer; Morris Jd 4020, loader available 743 cultivator, 47ft. 3 bar harrow, 2in. spikes; Case 8100 Wilmar Sprayer 645 cultivator 38ft. 3 bar harrow; 855 New Holland JD 4440, loader available JD 4710, 4720, 4730, 4830, 4920, baler; (403)556-2497, Wimborne, AB.

“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

22,500

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.

JD 9400, 9420, 9520, 8970 JD 7810 & 7210, FWA JD 9860, 9760, 9750, 9650, 9600 4930 SP sprayers JD 9430, 9530, 9630 JD 9770 & 9870 w/CM & duals CIH 8010 w/RWD, lateral tilt, duals 900 hrs. CIH 3185, 3230, 3330, 4430, 4420 sprayers Case STX 375, 425, 430, 450, 480, 500, 530 CIH 8010-2388, 2188 combine GOOD SELECTION OF CASE QUAD CIH 435Q, 535Q, 450Q, 550Q, 600Q TRACKS 500-550 & 600’’S pto avail. 440 Quad track w/PTO 535 Quad track w/PTO 18’ Degelman 6 Way Blade, As new, Many Other 4WD’s Available! fits Quad track.

FARMING

8,800

14,500

100 HP Diesel, 3PTH

www.doublellindustries.com

Fairview - 780-835-3003

Hit our readers where it counts… in the classifieds. Place your ad in the Alberta Farmer Express classifed section. 1-888-413-3325. 28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 35 13-01-28 9:05 AM

1998 Massey Ferguson 4270

4x4 Tractor With 3PTH, 8 Foot Orchard Special, 52 Pto Hp, 60 Eng HP, 3PTH Bucket, New Rear Tires

13,500

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

precisionpac.ca

1986 Case-Ih 585

1994 Case 580 Super K

herbicides

Richardson Pioneer

precisionpac.ca

_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 23

780.905.8565 Nisku, Alberta

2000 New Holland 3010

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Various

Double LL Industries

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.

FARM MACHINERY Sprayers

Viterra

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Various

FARM MACHINERY Tractors – Case/IH

Tillage & Seeding

Dugald MB 204-866-3558

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

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit:

A GAMBLE...

Richardson Pioneer Oyen - 403-664-2620

Big Tractor Parts, Inc.

28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 19

Geared For The Future

STEIGER TRACTOR SPECIALIST

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

1-888-413-3325

• Sprayed foam insulation • Ideal for shops, barns or homes • Healthier, Quieter, More 13-01-15 12:38 PM Energy Efficient®

28328_PPAC_Classified 2012 AB.indd 25

precisionpac.ca 13-01-15 12:38 PM

The Icynene Insulation System®

RED OR GREEN 1. 10-25% savings on new replacement parts for your Steiger drive train. 2. We rebuild axles, transmissions and dropboxes with ONE YEAR WARRANTY. 3. 50% savings on used parts.

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

Barb Wire & Electric High Tensile Wire Spooler Adapter available to unroll new barb wire off of wooden spool

- Hydraulic Drive (roll or unroll wire) - Mounts to tractor draw bar, skidsteer or bobcat, front end loader, post driver, 3pt. hitch or deck truck (with receiver hitch & rear hydraulics) - Spool splits in half to remove full roll - Shut off/ Flow control valve determines speed 13-01-15 12:38 PM - Works great for pulling out old wire (approx. 3--5 minutes to roll up 80 rod or 1/4 mile) The Level-Wind Wire Roller rolls wire evenly across the full width of the spool automatically as the wire is pulled in Ken Lendvay (403) 550-3313 Red Deer, AB email: kflendvay@hotmail.com Web: www.levelwind.com

www.penta.ca

1-800-587-4711

IRON & STEEL

herbicides

For custom herbicides as unique as your fields, visit: Andrukow Group Solutions Inc.

Stretch your ADVERTISING DOLLAR!

1-888-413-3325

Sedgewick - 780-384-2265

precisionpac.ca

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

LIVESTOCK LIVESTOCK Cattle – Angus

MISCELLANEOUS WANTED

REAL ESTATE Land For Sale

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

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

ORGANIC

CAREERS Truck Drivers

TIRES

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 & driver’s abstract Ed (403)552-3825.

ORGANIC Organic – Grains herbicides

herbicides

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MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

WAITING FOR MOISTURE

The Feb. 20 report from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agronomists said that despite recent rains that greened up much of the wheat crop, a below-normal crop is expected in the state this year. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, about 75 per cent of the state remained under severe to extreme drought. PHOTO: ROBERT BURNS/TEXAS A&M AGRILIFE

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he Canadian Angus Association on behalf of the Canadian Angus Foundation has announced the youth chosen to represent Canadian Angus in New Zealand for the 2013 PGG Wrightson World Angus Forum. Team members will travel Oct. 2-18, 2013, to Palmerston North, North Island, New Zealand, for a five-section contest including general knowledge, parading (presentation, showmanship and sportsmanship with an Angus animal), stock judging, animal preparation (clip an animal for show) and agri-sports (handson team challenge involving day-to-day tasks). Team members will also have the chance to visit Angus studs in the area and prepare animals for the World Angus Forum. Members include Stacey Domolewski, Taber, Alta.; Sean Enright, Renfrew, Ont.; Ty Dietrich, Forestburg, Alta.; Erika Easton, Wawota, Sask.; Kaitlynn Bolduc, Stavely, Alta.; Matthew Bates, Cameron, Ont.; Chad Lorenz, Markerville, Alta.; Patrick Holland, Montague, Prince Edward Island; Melissa McRae, Brandon, Man.; Austen Anderson, Swan River, Man.; Michael Hargrave, Maxwell, Ont.; and Jared Hunter, Didsbury, Alta. Initially, the Angus Foundation had committed to sending up to eight individuals for two Canadian teams to the competition. After reviewing applications, the additional four students were made possible by an additional contribution from the CAA board of directors to financially support this program to include funding for three teams of four.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

EU tells nine states to follow rules on pig welfare — or else Confined } One-quarter of the bloc’s 12 million sows are still being kept in individual cages brussels / reuters

ine European Union countries, including France and Germany, face potential legal action for failing to implement new rules on pig welfare, the European Commission said Feb. 21. A quarter of the bloc’s 12 million sows are still being kept on farms where individual cages, known as sow stalls, remain in use, even though they were banned from Jan. 1, 2013, EU sources said last month. Final written warnings were sent to Poland, Denmark, Greece, Belgium, Portugal, Ireland and Cyprus as well as Germany and France. If the nine countries fail to respond adequately within two months, the commission said it would start formal legal proceedings.

Smithfield says it will meet China’s deadline on pork

“Despite repeated calls by the commission, (these)... member states have failed to adequately comply with EU law,” the EU’s executive said in a statement. There are fears some producers will not be able to afford the investment in new stalls and be forced to close, which could reduce pork production, increase prices for European consumers and dent soaring EU exports to Russia and China. Sow stalls, or gestation crates, are metal cages roughly two metres (6-1/2 feet) long and 60 cm (two feet) wide used to hem in pregnant pigs and make them easier to control. Britain outlawed sow stalls in 1999, while several other countries, including Sweden and Luxembourg, banned them before the EU deadline.

A pregnant pig can be seen in a pen at a farm near Brussels October 2012. Brussels is among nine European countries that faces legal action from the EU for failing new rules banning sow stalls as of Jan. 1, 2013. PHOTo: REUTERS/Yves Herman

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Verify } China wants verification pork is ractopamine free By Theopolis Waters chicago / reuters

mithfield Foods Inc., the world’s largest pork processor, said Feb. 21 it will be able to supply pork that is free of the feed additive ractopamine in time to meet a March 1 deadline by China. China, the world’s largest pork consumer and the third-largest market for U.S. pork with sales of over $800 million last year, wants pork from the United States to be verified by a third party from March 1 to be free of ractopamine, an additive that promotes lean muscle growth. Russia, which imported $550 million worth of U.S. beef, pork and turkey last year, has banned imports of meat from the United States due to the presence of the food additive. Smithfield said in a statement that it is in the final stages of converting its plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina, the world’s largest porkprocessing facility, to be ready to meet China’s new requirement before the March 1 deadline. Smithfield also said its plant in Clinton, North Carolina, has been producing pork free of ractopamine since last year and has regularly shipped product from there since then. “As the largest hog producer in the world, Smithfield is uniquely positioned to deliver differentiated products to meet customer specifications — both domestically and abroad,” C. Larry Pope, the company’s chief executive and president, said in the statement. The two North Carolina plants combined are expected to supply the market with more than 43,000 ractopamine-free hogs per day. Hogs will come from companyowned farms as well as contracted producers and will be fed from feed mills that do not contain ractopamine, Smithfield said.

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MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Some rain relief in Argentina

Above-normal run-off in Sask.

Rainfall in Argentina’s top soy-producing province revived wilting crops as many entered important growth stages, but others were still in urgent need of rain, the Agriculture Ministry said Feb. 22. “The rains in the last few days have improved the state of the crops noticeably,” a report said. Elsewhere in the vast province, dry conditions remain a threat to potential yields. “The water shortage continues in Lincoln district and every day the drought damage is becoming more extensive,” the government said. Growers had virtually finished seeding corn and soy. — Reuters

Snowfall received so far this year across agricultural Saskatchewan points to an above-normal spring runoff, according to the February forecast from the province’s Water Security Agency. In its report, the agency estimated water equivalent in the snowpack on Feb. 1 to be “generally 150 to 200 per cent of average for this time of year” and snowpack generally at about 200 per cent of normal in agricultural areas. “If the precipitation conditions going forward remain the same as their historical averages, there will be an above-average spring run-off this year.”

Ice-free summer Arctic expected within 10 years Confirmation } Satellite technology has supported the old ice volume

modelling system’s estimates by daniel bezte

rctic sea ice made the headlines again last week, as a new study has confirmed what some climate models have been predicting. When you hear discussions about summer melt season ice loss in the Arctic, they are talking about ice extent — that is, how much the surface area of ice has either melted or changed compared to the average. In September 2012 the Arctic hit an all-time low for ice extent. This all-time record low meant about half of the surface usually covered in ice during the summer has disappeared compared to the 1979-2000 average. While ice extent is a relative easy way to see how much ice loss occurs, it is really not the best measurement. What we need to know is how much ice volume there is. Ice extent considers just the surface area of the ice; ice volume also looks at how deep or thick the ice is. Determining ice volume is much more difficult compared to ice extent and up to 2010 there wasn’t really any reliable, easy way to measure volume, so Arctic ice volumes were estimated using the University of Washington’s PIOMAS model (PanArctic Ice Modelling and Assimilation System). This model suggested the volume of Arctic sea ice loss may be approaching 75 to 80 per cent, which is a rather shocking number. A lot of people, especially climate change skeptics, pointed to this model as being unrealistic and thus another reason why

Monthly averages from Jan. 1979 to Jan. 2013. PHOTo: Andy Lee Robinson andy@haveland.com we should not believe anything being reported about Arctic ice conditions. In 2010 a new satellite, CryoSat-2, was launched by the European Space Agency, bouncing microwave energy off the ice to measure its thickness. It is able to determine the thickness because the beam

bounces off both the top of the ice and the water below the ice. The difference in the timing of these two bounced beams allows scientists to measure the ice thickness. After two years of collecting data and then analyzing and validating it by comparing the satellite measurements to

actual ground — or rather, ice — measurements, it appears the estimations of 75 to 80 per cent ice volume loss were very close indeed! In 1979, ice measurements estimated the total amount of Arctic sea ice during the summer minimum as around 17,000 cubic kilometres. The

latest numbers from 2012 show summer minimum volume had dropped to an astonishing low of around 3,300 cubic km. That works out to an 81 per cent decline in ice volume. In an article published on the Think Progress website, author Joe Romm describes these results with the headline “Arctic Death Spiral Bombshell: CryoSat-2 Confirms Sea Ice Volume Has Collapsed.” If you wonder why they call it a death spiral, just check out the accompanying graphic that shows the loss of ice for each month of the year over time. You can see how the lines are slowly spiralling in toward the zero ice-over in the centre. The article goes on to state this story should be the story of the day, month, year and decade. It is now estimated that instead of seeing a mostly icefree summer Arctic by 2050, we will likely see it within the next 10 years, and that it is almost certainly too late to make any changes that will stop it from happening. What the outcome of this will be is still uncertain, but most climate and weather scientists agree it will definitely result in a permanent change in weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere. We talked in the last issue about how the loss of Arctic ice appears to be affecting the jet stream, causing it to become more meridional. Just what will happen when all the summer ice is gone is anyone’s guess, but I don’t think it is crying wolf to say we’ll see significant changes to our general weather patterns.

photo: thinkstock

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MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

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13-02-20 11:48 AM

ALBERTA INVASIVE PLANTS COUNCIL CONFERENCE

Identifying the insect ‘superheroes’ in your fields

WANTED: your cutworm PEST NETWORK  Producers

can report outbreaks directly or online BY ALEXIS KIENLEN

BENEFICIALS  Many of the bugs that you find in a sweep net

AF STAFF

might be good ones who are eating the bad ones BY ALEXIS KIENLEN AF STAFF/EDMONTON

piderman, Superman, Batman, Wonderwoman — all superheroes, but if you’re a farmer, so is Copidosoma bakeri, says Jeremy Hummel, a soil sciences instructor at Lethbridge College. Hummel told an audience at Farm Tech that farmers should add that tiny wasp to their superhero list for its work in fighting cutworms. Hummel’s presentation was on beneficial insects, which include pollinators, decomposers and other ecosystem functions, but he focused on “natural enemies” which attack other insects in the field. He said natural enemies can be divided into two classes — predators and parasitoids. Predators actively hunt and feed on other insect species. Parasitoids, not to be confused with parasites, are insects that feed in or on the host and remain with it for their life cycle. When parasitoids leave the host, the host dies. Parasites, on the other hand, do not kill a host when they leave. Hummel said many don’t understand the importance of beneficial insects to agriculture. In order to help his audience identify some beneficials, he went through a sweep sample of insects found in a barley silage field in southern Alberta. Ditches and shelterbelts add diversity to the agricultural landscape, benefiting natural enemies, Hummel said. Even a small portion

of field can hold a diverse population of natural enemies, each which will do something that is just a little bit different. “It’s not as if they have the same insects that they’re targeting or have the same ways of destroying other insects. Each one of those species has their own story,” Hummel said.

The adult Copidosoma is less than a millimetre long. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Superhero spotlight

Hummel highlighted one beneficial in particular — Copidosoma bakeri, which attacks cutworms. At least seven different types of cutworms attack crops. The biggest cutworm pest in Alberta last summer was the red-backed cutworm. Another was the glassy cutworm, which attacks grassy crops. Copidosoma bakeri is less than a millimetre long, and is one of the most common and most important parasitoids of cutworms in Western Canada. The female lays a single egg inside a cutworm. This embryo splits hundreds or thousands of times, and more than 1,000 offspring are born from a single egg. The parasitoid is capable of laying hundreds of eggs and infecting hundreds of cutworms. While

multiplying inside, the parasitoid modifies the behaviour and the biology of the host. The parasitoid goes through a number of moults, pupates and then becomes an adult wasp. Through this process, the parasitoid adds an extra larval growth stage to the cutworm, actually making it bigger. “In order to get 1,500 little wasps coming out, you need to have a really big cutworm,” said Hummel. “By adding a whole other developmental stage or step to the cutworm’s life, the cutworm can get a whole lot bigger than it otherwise normally would,” he said. “Basically the wasp modifies its host to produce as many offspring as it can out of a single cutworm.” Hummel said the parasitized cutworms do eat substantially more plant material and can do more damage to a crop, so the wasps aren’t a control method in a year when there a lot of cutworms. “In a heavily infested year, it might not be a good thing to have a heavy parasitism rate from a producer standpoint, because there will be lots of damage,” he said. “Other pest-management plans need to be in place — when it’s time to spray, it’s time to spray.” However, the parasitoids are useful in keeping cutworms in check in the down parts of their cycle. “In the field, natural enemies are normally maintaining low pest populations,” he said. “Cutworms do come in outbreak cycles where we get a couple years where there are lots of reports and lots of damage and then a period of time when they just disappear.”

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roducers have a role to play by helping researchers learn more about cutworms, Lethbridge College soil scientist Jeremy Hummel told a session at Farm Tech. He said researchers currently don’t have adequate tools to help them identify all the cutworm species. Knowing more about the cutworm outbreaks, species and locations can help researchers recommend the best control methods. “What we’re trying to do is locate fields that have cutworm outbreaks and locate cutworms from there, so we can quantify things about their biology, the growth stages of the larvae and their size,” Hummel said. Species identification may have an impact on how quickly cutworms develop and how much damage they do. Alberta maintains the Alberta Insect Pest Monitoring Network, which tracks cutworm outbreaks on a map. The website includes a cutworm reporting tool that producers can use to report outbreaks. Information provided then goes to the researchers. “In Alberta, we would prefer to come out to your field to collect the cutworms ourselves,” said Hummel. “That’s our job during the summer, that’s not your job as farmers or agronomists. So give us a call or use that monitoring network.”

Pioneer ® brand products are provided subject to the terms and conditions of purchase which are part of the labeling and purchase documents. The DuPont Oval Logo is a registered trademark of DuPont. ®, TM, SM Trademarks and service marks licensed to Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited. © 2013, PHL.

The Alberta Invasive Plants Council (AIPC) is holding the 2013 Annual Conference and AGM in Lacombe on Mar. 20. The conference will be an opportunity to learn about what is happening in Alberta and elsewhere with respect to terrestrial and aquatic invasive species. The event also provides a chance to network with a wide variety of invasive species stakeholders and learn about the latest with AIPC. 2013 AIPC memberships are also now available. For further information contact Barry Gibbs at 780-415-2342, or visit the AIPC website. — Agri-News

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

 EVENT NEWS

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

Alberta contacts:

• Northern Alberta and B.C.: Jennifer Otani, Jennifer.Otani@ agr.gc.ca, 780-354-5132 • Central Alberta: Jim Broatch or Patty Reid, Patty.Reid@agr.gc.ca, 403-396-2535 • Southern Alberta: Jeremy Hummel, jyhmml@gmail.com, 403-320-3202 ext. 5347

8.9% % 13-01-10 4:35 PM

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

The green soybean fields in Manitoba have Saskatchewan and Alberta farmers looking enviously over the provincial fence. photo: istock

It’s not the heat — it’s the photoperiod Narrow adaptivity } Soybeans are particularly sensitive to day length, says an AAFC soy breeder By Gord Gilmour staff

ou can breed soybeans to grow just about anywhere, but whether you’d want to is another question, says an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada soybean breeder. Elroy Cober told the recent Manitoba Special Crops Symposium that it’s widely expected that Manitoba will take the No. 2 slot behind Ontario in the coming season. “The short-season areas of Canada are really on a tear right now,” Cober said. That’s creating interest in the crop farther west into Saskatchewan and Alberta, but breeding varieties for those areas can be tricky. The desire for shortseason varieties runs smack into

the unique nature of the soybean plant. While other plants respond directly to the amount of heat in a growing season — think corn heat units — soybeans have a more finicky physiology. Their flowering response and reaching maturity depends on day length, a feature known as photoperiod sensitivity, Cober said. “They’re faster to flower in short days which can mean lower yields, and long days delay development,” he said. Both will hit productivity. This means each line of soybeans has to be adapted to the photoperiod of the particular region it’s being grown in, which varies quickly when moving along a north-south axis. “There’s a very narrow band of adaptivity running from east to west, where it’s ideally suited,”

Cober said. “We see this when we bring a variety from Japan and plant it in Ottawa. It won’t flower until September.” This means plant breeders have a challenge on their hands — breeding varieties that will be suited to the new growing areas that will be photoperiod appropriate. “No temperature or maturity genes have been identified,” Cober said. “Only day-length genes have been identified.”

Complex genetics

His use of the plural “genes” isn’t accidental either. So far a total of nine genes which affect photosensitivity have been identified. Some are early genes, some are late, and how they’re combined and interact determines how the plant is adapted to photoperiod.

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This abundance of genes that affect photoperiod sensitivity is a double-edged sword. On one hand it means creating varieties with the appropriate photoperiod can be challenging because of more possible combinations. On the other hand it also means there’s plenty of material to work with that can create a near-infinite amount of variability. “We can develop varieties for Saskatoon, but the question is can it yield enough to compete against cool-season crops like canola or wheat and barley?” Cober said. “It’s not its ideal place. This is a tropical plant and it’s heat adapted.” Ultimately Cober says it’s the economic competitiveness of the crop that will likely determine just how far into the Prairies soybeans creep, not whether the crop

“We see this when we bring a variety from Japan and plant it in Ottawa. It won’t flower until September.” Elroy Cober

will ultimately be agronomically suited to the area. Where canola, for example, does well year after year, it’s difficult to see soybeans replacing that crop, especially in the more northerly belt, he suggested.

Western provinces harmonize trucking rules

Speed up seeding By Earl Greenhough

Harmonized } New standards will cut

hauling costs across Western Canada

Earl Greenhough

It’s no secret: you have a short timeframe to seed all your acres and having to stop and refill the drill with fertilizer slows you down. Sure, a starter fertilizer with nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus is a worthwhile investment. But consider the time and effort you would save if you didn’t apply all of your nitrogen at seeding. AGROTAIN® nitrogen stabilizer makes it possible to take nitrogen out of the tank, broadcast it on the surface and protect it from loss. Two options for broadcasting are: 1. use a pre-seed N application spread ahead of planting, and 2. top dress after planting. Pre-seed Because AGROTAIN® stabilizer reduces the potential for N loss as a result of ammonia

volatilization, you can broadcast urea or liquid nitrogen (UAN) pre-seed and feel confident that the nitrogen your young crop needs will be available. Top-dress With Canada’s short growing season, a top-dress application of nitrogen after crop emergence has many of its own benefits too. For example, if growing conditions improve after seeding, you can provide a needed boost of nitrogen. Mark Dimler of Grenfell, Saskatchewan, has broadcast urea treated with AGROTAIN® stabilizer with both pre-seed and top-dress applications. “Every year can be different, so how I apply my fertilizer is never set,” Dimler explains. Last year on his canola fields, he broadcast about 40 percent of his

total nitrogen ahead of the seeder. On winter wheat, he has surfaceapplied either dry urea or liquid nitrogen in the spring. In all cases, he has treated the nitrogen with AGROTAIN® stabilizer to minimize N loss. “I apply less nitrogen during seeding for two reasons,” adds Dimler. “First is crop safety and putting not so much fertilizer so close to the seedlings. Second is to speed up seeding and not having to stop to fill up the drill so much.” If you have a question for the Nitrogen Miser or would like to get more information, contact me at earl.greenhough@kochind.com or 780-850-1679 or 877-782-2536.

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manitoba government release

Truckers travelling across the four western provinces will face consistent operating rules when using trailer units, which will lower hauling costs and increase efficiency within the industry, Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Steve Ashton announced Feb. 8 “This agreement will benefit our trucking industry because it means big trucks travelling to and from Manitoba will have more consistent requirements including those for weights and dimensions,” said Ashton. “We worked with the other provinces and four western trucking associations on this harmonization, which will help trucking firms, industries, farmers and Manitoba’s economy by lowering hauling costs. We will continue to work with these groups to further harmonize trucking regulations.” Commercial truck-trailer combination units, called long combination vehicles (LCVs),

have been operating on highways across Western Canada for about 30 years. However, trucking firms have faced different operating rules in the four western provinces. A memorandum of understanding signed by Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia creates uniform standards that ensure road safety for all motorists and protects highway infrastructure, the minister said. The memorandum of understanding harmonizes rules on weights and dimensions of LCVs, driver qualifications and training, maximum speeds, and hours of operation.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

U.S. subsidy cap debate pits big versus small farmers

CATTLE CALL

REDUCTION  Senate

plan would cap payments to farmers at $125,000 a year WASHINGTON/REUTERS

.S. farmers would be limited to $125,000 a year in crop subsidies in a significant tightening of farm support rules proposed by four senators from farm and ranch states. There is no effective limit on payments now. Large operators collect the lion’s share of subsidies because they are based on each bushel of grain or pound of cotton grown on a farm. “It’s time to get the program back to its original intent,” said Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican and a sponsor of the bill who is a longtime proponent of strict limits. He said the farm program, dating from the 1930s, was aimed at protecting small and medium-size family farms. Besides putting a “hard” cap on payments per farmer, the bill would crack down on payments to investors and absentee landlords. Under it, only one person living in town could collect subsidies for providing management on a given farm. Passage of the package “would put an end to widespread abuse in farm programs,” said the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, which represents small farmers. It said the chances for passage of a new Farm Bill would be boosted by the inclusion of meaningful payment limits. The senators’ proposal would allow grain, cotton and soybean growers to collect up to $50,000 a year for all crop subsidies and $75,000 annually from the marketing loan program, for a total of $125,000 per farmer. The total would double to $250,000 for a married couple. At present, there is a $105,000 limit per farmer, or $210,000 per couple, on crop subsidies and no limit on marketing loan benefits, so there is no overall limit on payments. The senators said a stricter definition of who qualifies for subsidies will reduce the flow of subsidies to investors and absentee owners who take no role in running a farm but who say they provide key management direction. “For too long farm program payments have gone to producers who do not need the support — and sometimes to people who are not involved in farming,” said Senator Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat. Payment limits are a perennially divisive issue in U.S. agriculture, pitting cotton and rice growers in the South against the wheat, corn and soybean farmers of the Plains and Midwest, and big operators against small farmers. Cotton and rice have the highest support rates but also high costs of production.

When temperatures hit -30 with wind chill, these cattle south of Longview, Alta., were kicking up a storm, racing to catch the rest of the herd. PHOTO: WENDY DUDLEY

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MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Labelling program helps highlight local and regional producers HOMEGROWN  Program scores food on how local its production, ingredients and ownership is BY VICTORIA PATERSON AF STAFF/CALGARY

roducers supplying certain grocery stores can use a new program called Localize to make sure their products are being labelled as local or regional on the shelf. Localize rolled out at the 24 Calgary Co-op locations in midFebruary. Co-ops in Medicine Hat, Red Deer, Lacombe and Innisfail are set to begin the program as well, which ran a 10-store pilot in Edmonton, Red Deer and surrounding communities in 2012. “We provide a service to grocery stores, which is to shelf label local and regional food products,” said Meghan Dear, Localize’s founder and CEO. Each bright-orange label will indicate where the ownership of the producer is, where the production occurs and the “Localize score.” The Localize score is weighted the following way: 45 per cent is score, 35 per cent is ownership and 20 per cent is ingredients. There are bonus points for sustainability. The score is ranked out of 10, so the higher the score, the more local the product is. Each label also has a QR code that can be scanned by a smartphone to take the consumer to a more detailed web page about the product. Dear said about 180 producers have already signed up for the program. Producers don’t need to pay to participate. Instead, Localize charges grocery stores a subscription fee. Producers have to share quite a bit of information about ingredients, ownership and processing with the program. Dear said it’s a “win-win” situation for them, as Localize also helps facilitate information and introductions between producers and grocery stores. Dear is a professional biologist and worked in agriculture

research for about a decade. She came up with the idea as a way to celebrate the local and regional food she saw being sold in big grocery stores.

Increased sales

Trevor Aslin’s Sobeys store in south Red Deer was part of the pilot and still uses the labels. “I think it was exactly what our store was looking for,” Aslin said. He said the products that were tagged as local saw volume increases. “The sales were up dramatically on virtually every item,” he said. The average increase was between 15 and 17 per cent over the previous same period. Though his store is a big-box one, Dear said because he and his wife own it, they look at their grocery business differently. “Our focus is to keep things local,” he said. The benefit for producers who are participating is mainly the volume increases, he said. He’d like to see the Localize program help form a better relationship between grocery stores and growers in and near their community. Jeff Ambrose, vice-president of operations and merchandising for Calgary Co-op, said the program is a perfect fit for the company. “We think that supporting local, regional producers is very important to consumers these days,” he said. He said 524 items from 104 different vendors were already labelled in the stores, all with scores of 7/10 or higher. “The feedback from the vendors has been very positive,” he said. Localize already had a number of producers and some of the Coop’s suppliers got on board as part of the rollout. The Red Hat Co-op, a group of producers from southern Alberta, has been a part of the Localize program since the pilot. Lyle Aleman, the general manager, said they jumped on board

when it first launched but it’s hard to tell if the labelling is drawing any additional attention to their product. “We think it’s important because it helps our growers and our company market our product and explain to the consumer that it’s actually grown here in southern Alberta,” he said. However, the Red Hat Co-op has started a number of new advertising and marketing initiatives this year, so it’s hard to tell if one in particular is impacting their business. Still, Aleman said it’s good to make consumers aware of local products when making a purchasing decision, which is why programs like Localize and the Buy Alberta program in Canada Safeways are good ideas. The Buy Alberta program is administered by the Alberta Food Processors Association. It was launched in December 2012 and labels 1,800 Alberta food products in Safeway stores throughout the province.

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NEWS Annual Wildrose Bison Convention, Show and Sale in Ponoka AGRI-NEWS / Bison producers and enthusiasts are invited to the Wildrose Bison Convention, Show and Sale which starts at 1 p.m., March 15 at the Royal Canadian Legion (Branch #66) Ponoka. Activities continue on March 16 with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. followed by the Bison Producers Association annual general meeting and bison show judge’s commentary. The Wild-rose sale of select yearlings, breeding bulls and heifers starts at noon, at Vold Jones & Vold Auction Market, Ponoka. This is followed by a commercial bison sale. Live Internet bidding is available. Registration is $40 per person and includes bison info sessions, dinner banquet, awards presentations, live fun auction and Saturday breakfast.

Each bright-orange label will indicate where the ownership of the producer is, where the production occurs and the “Localize score.”

Bison meat is a relatively new product on the red meat scene and has had success getting on to the health-conscious consumer’s grocery list. The bison industry has taken a turn for the better, marketing efforts are receiving positive results in several markets (domestic and international) and prices have been steadily climbing in recent years. With demand high, strong prices holding and the supply of bison soft, according to BPA the business case for entering or expanding bison production in Alberta is attractive and profitable. The BPA works together with the Canadian Bison Association on bison research, producer profitability, program and processing concerns, trade issues and other programs such as On Farm Food Safety. For more information, visit the Bison Centre online or call 780-955-1995.

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ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

Canola commission directors elected for 2013 A

lberta Canola Producers Commission director elections were held at the annual general meeting at FarmTech on January 29. Four directors were acclaimed. Renn Breitkreuz from Onoway will be the new representative for Region 6. Returning to serve their second of two terms are Raymond Blanchette from Falher in Region 3, Lee Markert from Vulcan in Region 9, and Marlene Caskey from Oyen in Region 12. Colin Felstad from Dapp in Region 5 was elected to serve as chairman for the coming year. Lee Markert of Vulcan will serve as the vice-chair and chair of the recently renamed governance and finance committee. Daryl Tuck from Vegreville in Region 4 will chair the agronomic research committee, Marlene Caskey of Oyen will chair the market development committee, and Jack Moser from Killam in Region 11 will chair the grower relations and extension committee. Retiring from the board at the end of his second term was Jody Klassen from Mayerthorpe in Region 6. Klassen served as ACPC chairman for the past two years, and has also represented Alberta on the boards of both the Canola Council of Canada and the Canadian Canola Growers Association.

ACPC board for 2013. Back row (l-r) Jack Moser (Region 11), Colin Felstad (ACPC chairman, Region 5), Renn Breitkreuz (Region 6), Raymond Blanchette (Region 3). Front row (l-r) Elaine Bellamy (Region 8), Greg Sears (Region 2), Kelly McIntyre (Region 1), Daryl Tuck (Region 4), Lee Markert (Region 9),Todd Hames (Region 10), Terry Young (Region 7), Marlene Caskey (Region 12).

U.S. farmland values continue to soar CASH SALES  Farmers remain the predominant

land buyers, accounting for three-quarters of the purchases REUTERS

armland values in the U.S. Plains states jumped more than 20 per cent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier as farms sold at record-high prices, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said Feb. 15. Irrigated cropland attracted the most interest, given the worst drought in 50 years in the world’s top food producer, the Kansas City Fed said. This was the seventh consecutive quarter irrigated and non-irrigated cropland values posted year-overyear gains of more than 20 per cent as record crop prices kept demand for farmland hot, according to a quarterly survey of bankers by the Kansas City Fed. “Persistent drought sparked a rush in irrigated farmland sales during the fourth quarter of 2012. Stronger sales vaulted irrigated cropland values in the district 30 per cent above year-ago levels, with a 13 per cent jump in the fourth quarter alone,” the Fed said of its survey, which draws

on comments from 232 district bankers. Non-irrigated cropland and ranchland also posted strong annual gains between 20 and 25 per cent. The KC Fed district stretches across major wheat, corn and cattle states of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wyoming along with parts of New Mexico and Missouri. The Kansas City district survey follows the Chicago and St. Louis Fed quarterly updates covering the northern Corn Belt and central Delta states, with both reporting similar results. Farmers remain the predominant land buyers, accounting for threefourths of the sales in the Plains in the fourth quarter. Bankers said farmers used more cash to finance purchases compared to a year ago. Non-farmers continued to buy land for investment purposes. “Almost all recent auctions were sold to the largest farmers in the area wanting to get bigger. The buyers are strong and most are cash sales,” said one banker from northwest Missouri.

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In one district, irrigated land values were up 30 per cent in the fourth quarter alone. PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Rains bolster outlook for record soy crop in Paraguay RECORD  The government and farmers see record crop of more than eight million tonnes BY MARIEL CRISTALDO ASUNCION / REUTERS

araguay’s soy farmers should gather a record 2012-13 crop of more than eight million tonnes after recent rains eased concerns that yields could take a last-minute pounding from dryness in the world’s No. 4 exporter. While the South American country’s harvests are small when compared with those of neighbouring soy giants Argentina and Brazil, the Agriculture Ministry forecasts record output of 8.4 million tonnes, more than twice last season’s drought-hit crop. Three weeks before the bulk of harvesting will come to an end, average yields are running at three tonnes per hectare. In some southeastern farming areas,

yields of 4.5 tonnes per hectare have been recorded. Government farming officials say the tinder-dry weather of recent weeks only hurt crops in northern areas, which account for about 10 per cent of the country’s soy area. “These 30 or 40 days without rain did have an impact, but not to a great extent. With these rains, things have recovered,” said Edgar Mayeregger, director of the Agriculture Ministry’s risk management unit. Paraguay currently crushes about 30 per cent of its soy harvest, but industry analysts expect that to reach 60 per cent due to the new plants. Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said last month it expected soybean crushings to more than double between February 2013 and January 2014, probably reaching a record 3.2 million tonnes.

Soybean plants in Yguazu 350 km east of Asuncion Dec. 7, 2012. Paraguay is the world’s No. 4 exporter of soybeans and this year’s crop could be a record. PHOTO: REUTERS/JOSE ESPINOLA

National barley council to give unified voice to producers, industry READY TO GO  Group still needs to

finalize bylaws, determine funding model BY VICTORIA PATERSON AF STAFF/CALGARY

f you’re worried that another new farm organization means another checkoff, relax. “We were very adamant from the very beginning the Barley Council of Canada will not be a checkoff organization,” chair Brian Otto told the Western Barley Growers Association annual convention in Calgary Feb. 15. Otto said the group will need to be supported by its membership, which is still working on financial models to fund the commission. A working group to establish the council was formed in 2011. Otto said before that, various parts of the industry were not working with each other. “We brought the whole value chain together,” he said. “It’s been a remarkable working group.” The council brings together representatives from across Canada and that value chain, with the board set to have seven producers and seven industry people at the table. In January a strategic plan was finalized, the product of a survey conducted last summer. “It helped us target the areas we should concentrate on,” Otto said. He said as industry changes, the strategic plan will grow. The focus areas are supporting research and innovation, promoting crop production and

best practices, supporting market development, improving market access and improving industry understanding.

Two membership categories

Currently there are two types of memberships — an associate membership, which allows participating but no voting power, and full membership, which comes with full voting privileges. “By having everybody at the table, we can target what we think needs to be done,” Otto said. The BCC can provide a unified voice and national applicant to attract research funding, and can think about what different parts of the industry need. The BCC can educate growers on customer requirements for malt, feed and the new uses of ethanol and as a health food, Otto said. The BCC can help get various levels of governments to understand the barley industry, as well as educating the “non-farming public” about barley in general. The next steps in the formation of the BCC are to finalize the bylaws, incorporate and determine the funding model. Otto said incorporation is expected early this year. The BCC’s objective is to collaborate with other organizations and co-ordinate their efforts. “We have to emphasize we do not want to be duplicating what somebody else is doing,” he said. 19456-02UP DAS_Simplicity 13.1667X9.indd 1

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

U.S. corn and soybean production expected to rebound HISTORY  Last year’s drought is history and expected to have little effect on this year’s production, officials say WASHINGTON / REUTERS

he U.S. Department of Agriculture is projecting a rebound in U.S. corn and soybean yields in 2013 that, along with high planted acreage, opens the door to record-large crops and for prices to tumble from 2012-13 levels. USDA forecast the U.S. corn crop at 14.350 billion bushels, up 35 per cent on the year, and soybean output at 3.405 billion bushels, up 13 per cent. “A number of factors suggests that corn and soybean yields will be likely to return to trend,” Joseph Glauber, the USDA’s chief economist, said at the agency’s Agricultural Outlook Forum. Glauber projected that season-average U.S. corn prices for 2013-14 would fall 33 per cent to $4.80 per bushel and that soybean prices would tumble 27 per cent to $10.50.

Corn plantings are projected at 96.5 million acres, down slightly from last year’s 75-year high, and soybean plantings at 77.5 million acres, equalling the record high from 2009. “The increase in production is not a surprise, but it does remind the trade this is a longer-term issue to consider,” said Rich Nelson, chief strategist for Allendale Inc. in McHenry, Illinois. “It reminds the trade that we will have a mountain of product at this fall’s harvest.”

Cotton acres down

The U.S. upland cotton area for 2013 was forecast at 9.8 million acres, down 2.3 million on the year, as farmers seek out crops that offer higher returns. The all-cotton crop was forecast to fall almost 17 per cent, to 14 million bales. Long-grain rice plantings are also likely to lose out to soy-

“A dry summer in 2012 has little implication for summer precipitation in 2013.” JOSEPH GLAUBER CHIEF ECONOMIST USDA

beans, with production seen down almost four per cent. Glauber said the U.S. wheat crop was struggling, with much of the acreage in states such as Kansas and Nebraska in poor to very poor condition compared with a year ago. Wheat production was forecast at 2.1 billion bushels, down 7.4 per cent.

“Spring rains will be especially important in the Great Plains this year, where elevated areas of abandonment are expected,” Glauber said. Over all, growers will plant 255.3 million acres of the eight major U.S. field crops — corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, upland cotton, sorghum, barley and oats — this year, down one per cent from 2012 but slightly more than it projected earlier this month. The United States is coming off its worst drought in decades, which has generated some skepticism that farmers in key corn and soybean states will see trendline yields.

Upswing

But Glauber said conditions are on an upswing. “We have already seen some improvement in the eastern Corn Belt,” he said. “While much of Indiana and Illinois

were in drought throughout much of the summer, fall and winter rainfall has improved conditions there.” Studies suggest little correlation in seasonal precipitation between one year and the next, Glauber said. “A dry summer in 2012 has little implication for summer precipitation in 2013,” he added. A larger U.S. corn crop in 2013 will help push corn-for-ethanol usage to 4.675 billion bushels in 2013-14, up 175 million on the year but below 2011-12 levels, USDA said. Several factors are likely to hamper further growth in corn use for ethanol, Glauber said, including the overall decline in U.S. gasoline consumption and weak export prospects because of increased competition from Brazil and potential restrictions on shipments to the EU.

IGC forecasts larger world wheat crop ABSORB  Much of the increased production will be absorbed by higher demand BY NIGEL HUNT LONDON / REUTERS

orld wheat production in 2013-14 is tentatively expected to rise by four per cent, the International Grains Council said Feb. 21, issuing its first forecast for next season’s supply-and-demand balance for the commodity. “Much (of the increase) is expected to be absorbed by higher demand and end-season stocks are likely to rise by just two million tonnes, following a 21 million decline in 2012-13,” the IGC said in a monthly update. The IGC maintained its forecast for the 2012-13 wheat crop at 656 million so a four per cent rise would equate to an extra 26 million tonnes, taking production to around 682 million. Wheat production would still fall shy of the 2011-12 crop of 693 million tonnes. The drop in global wheat production in 2012-13 largely reflected much smaller crops in

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An employee inspects wheat in a field of the “Svetlolobovskoye” farm outside the village of Svetlolobovo, some 390 km south of Russia’s Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk in September 2012. Production was down in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan in 2013 but could recover this year. PHOTO: REUTERS/ILYA NAYMUSHIN

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Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan which were also expected to limit shipments from the key exporting region in 2013-14. “Black Sea region supplies will likely be capped by below-average beginning stocks, underpinning demand for other exporters,” the IGC said.

Record Brazil maize crop

The IGC also raised its forecast for global maize output in 2012-13 by five million tonnes to 850 million, still well below the prior season’s 877 million. The upward revision mainly reflected improved outlooks for crops in Brazil and India. “Despite some less-than-ideal weather in recent months, Brazil and Argentina are still set to harvest record crops,” the IGC said, putting Brazil’s maize crop at 74 million tonnes, up from a previous forecast of 71 million. The IGC raised its forecast for India’s maize crop by 2.6 million tonnes to 20.6 million. A marginal rise in global maize area for the 2013-14 crop was anticipated. “Planting of the 2013-14 (maize) crop will soon commence in the Northern Hemisphere and the global area is tentatively forecast up 0.6 per cent year on year led by an anticipated further expansion in the U.S.,” the IGC said. Global stocks of grains at the end of the 2012-13 season were upwardly revised to 326 million tonnes, up four million for a previous projection but still at a six-year low, the IGC said. Global soybean production in 2012-13 was forecast at 269 million tonnes, slightly down from a previous projection of 271 million but well above the prior season’s 238 million. “World soybean production in 2012-13 is forecast slightly lower than before, but is still up 13 per cent year on year on prospects for bumper South American crops,” the IGC said.

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Agriculture barely a topic of note at provincial economic summit GOOD TIMES } Strong performance from ag sector means it isn’t as

concerning as bitumen bubble, says premier’s spokesperson By Victoria Paterson af staff/calgary

espite agriculture’s place as the second-largest industry in Alberta, it didn’t get much attention during the recent economic summit held Feb. 9. In fact, the largest part of the agricultural discussion occurred only thanks to a question from an audience member during the first panel of the day, which had panellists talking about the Alberta economy. A public-sector employee from the Red Deer area asked panellists Angus Watt, Dr. Michael Percy, Peter Tertzakian and Michael Holden where they saw agriculture fitting in, since “a lot of people like to drive their cars but a lot of people like to eat too.” Watt, CEO and partner of Angus Watt Advisory Group and the managing director of individual investor services for National Bank Financial, referred to agricultural research at the universi-

ties of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and uncertainty over the price of wheat. “I think the outlook is very positive, very constructive… but it’s incremental,” Watt said. Percy, a professor of strategic management at the University of Alberta School of Business, said he’s pretty positive about where agriculture is growing. “I think it’s subject to the same forces that energy is in terms of an emerging middle class in China and India,” he said. As those middle classes’ lifestyles change, they’ll want more energy and more value-added agricultural products. Though that’s positive, he said demographics are working against agriculture in Alberta as more farms consolidate and the number of people employed in the field goes down. He said despite that downward trend, production won’t decline. Holden, the senior economist for the Canada West Foundation, said agriculture offers a chance to diversify.

“I think the agriculture sector is an area where we could see a lot of opportunity to build those kind of value-added products before we export,” he said.

“Bitumen bubble”

The panellist list included the president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, the director of United Way of Calgary, the president of the United Nurses of Alberta, the executive director of Boys and Girls Big Brothers Big Sisters as well as the economists, CEOs and financial experts. The four panels held throughout the day covered the topics of Alberta’s economy, balancing expectations of the services, Alberta’s revenue mix and responsible spending. Most of the news coming out of the meeting covered the discussion of a provincial sales tax and the oil and gas sector. The “bitumen bubble” blamed for Alberta’s upcoming deficit is what prompted the conference.

Premier Alison Redford acknowledged agriculture’s contributions and potential for the province in her closing remarks. “Our tremendous success around the world with respect to agriculture and forestry is what’s going to allow us to lead into the future,” she said. Lynn Jacobson, president of the Wild Rose Agricultural Producers, was in the audience most of the day and said the group would have liked to see more focus on diversifying the economy. “They were just more interested in talking about oil, and the province’s dependency on oil,” he said. “It almost could have been called an oil summit instead of an economic summit.” He felt the one agricultural question received a “pat answer” that agriculture’s doing well and there’s going to be decent prices in the future. Jacobson said future summits should include more on agriculture.

Built for

“I think it has to be part. We’re really the second-largest industry in the province,” he said. “In my mind, how do you actually ignore it? We bring in a lot of money.” Stefan Baranski, director of communications for the Office of the Premier, said agriculture industry’s recent successes meant it wasn’t a topic to focus on at the economic summit. “It’s a testament to how strong the industry’s been over the last couple years,” he said. “There’s a lot of positive news in agriculture.” Baranski said while this year’s summit was dominated by concerns over Alberta’s dependency on the oil and gas sector, agriculture could be more featured at a future summit. “Agriculture is such a critically important industry in Alberta, it’s the backbone of our economy and that’s not lost on anyone.”

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Albertafarmexpress.ca • march 4, 2013

China’s giant challenge — defining who owns the farmland Land-title dilemma } Over half of rural households lack some documentation of land ownership By Lucy Hornby and Hui Li Yangwang Village, China /Reuters

he bare lightbulbs, unheated rooms and elderly residents of the whitewashed village of Yangwang in eastern China make it seem an unlikely place for an experiment in cutting-edge satellite technology. This tiny village in Anhui province was home to a pilot project that for the first time mapped farmers’ land holdings, putting it on the front line of China’s efforts to build a modern agricultural sector that can underpin the country’s food security — a policy priority for the Communist Party. The mapping is a tedious but crucial task to make farmers feel more secure about their rights so that they become more willing to merge fields into larger-scale farms. It could also help protect them from land grabs by local officials, a leading cause of rural unrest. “If we don’t do this now, and the older generation passes

away, the next generation won’t know which plot is whose,” said Pan Shengyu, who oversaw one of Anhui’s land-titling pilots. “Soon no one will be able to figure it out.” China’s annual rural policy document calls for title to farmland to be defined nationwide over the next five years. It is a technical challenge that could cost $16 billion. In another move aimed at the countryside, Beijing recently unveiled sweeping tax reforms to narrow a wide income gap between the urban elite and rural poor. Reforms in the 1980s assigned farmland to households but reserved formal ownership to the village collective. But land certificates are imprecise at best and over half of rural households lack some documentation — leaving possession dependent upon villagers’ knowledge and officialdom’s whims. Lessons learned using satellite positioning to map tiny plots of land in Yangwang have been scaled up in other pilot projects

in Anhui and elsewhere, with an eye to rolling out the program nationwide.

Small-plot farming

Most Chinese farmers till about eight mu (15 mu = one hectare or 2.5 acres) per household, an area roughly the size of an American football field. Each household’s land tends to be subdivided into five or more separate plots. Anhui Province alone has 100 million plots of less than one mu each. Nationwide, well over one billion plots have never been mapped properly. The mapping will replace current deeds that often rely on descriptions like “Yang’s field borders Wang’s to the east” — an imprecise formulation that makes villagers reluctant to remove the dirt berms that separate each plot for fear they will no longer be able to identify what is theirs. The information will go to searchable, centralized registries, allowing farmers to confirm what they own and giving officials better land-use information.

Satellite mapping may help to formally establish who owns the millions of tiny plots in China. PHOT0: thinkstock Al th ough China legalized transfers in 2008 to formally allow villagers to aggregate land, most Chinese agriculture is still too small scale to permit investment to boost productivity enough to feed a growing urban population. Those who rent large tracts of land are more likely to invest for the long term if the transfer is documented and legal, a World Bank study found last year. Farming families who feel secure in their land rights send more members out to find paid work, the study found. Monthly incomes for migrant labourers in cities exceed the amount earned in a year from a onemu plot. More precise title “makes people feel more secure,” said Jian Zongzhu, a stooped 72-year-old in Yangwang with bleary eyes and thick labourer’s hands. “Everyone’s gone out to work but with a certificate you know the land is yours, no one can take it away and you can claim it back if you want. That’s important to common people because our life comes from the land.”

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Assigning title is painstaking work that involves correlating satellite pictures with villagers’ records, issuing certificates and creating databases to register and search land transfers. A flat field in the North China Plain may be subdivided many times. Hilly south China terrain increases the satellite’s error margin. Trees hide field boundaries. International Land Systems, a company acquired by Thomson Reuters in July 2011, was involved in the initial pilot project in Yangwang, which sought to find the most cost-efficient mapping method. China’s top rural policymaker Chen Xiwen estimates costs could be kept to eight to 10

yuan per mu, or about 18 billion yuan nationwide. Other officials told Reuters costs could reach 100 billion yuan while respected financial magazine Caixin said it would cost 150 billion yuan. Even the minimum would be too much for budget-strapped rural governments. A pilot in Anhui’s Matou Township, where flat wheat fields are cheap to measure, would have equalled one-sixth of its annual budget. “Land certification needs to be shouldered by the nation, there is no way local governments could pay for it,” Matou Township vicechief Wang Hong told Reuters. The project carries a hidden price tag for Beijing, which subsidizes grains production, fertilizer use and irrigation at an average rate of 150 yuan per mu. The subsidies are based on acreage estimates that date from when farmers regularly underreported to avoid grains taxes. Precise mapping could force China to reassess estimates it has 1.8 billion mu of farmland — roughly the amount that Chinese experts believe is necessary for food security. Matou Township alone gained 45 per cent more registered acreage with the more accurate mapping, to the delight of township officials and residents hopeful that greater subsidies will follow. Yangwang villager Yang Changpei worried he’d lose his land when he first heard about the program. Careful explanations soothed his fears, although he didn’t see the point of clearer certificates when villagers all know each other. His neighbour Jian, by contrast, was enthusiastic. The berms that villagers use to identify their plots could disappear when fields are merged, leaving villagers in need of some other way to prove what is theirs, Jian said. “If you explain it, people across China would understand how important this is.”

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MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Climate change causing longer frost-free season, warmer growing conditions: Scientist GOING UP } Global warming means severe

dry cycle more likely for Alberta By Victoria Paterson af staff/olds

F SEC-MERE12-T-REV_AFE.qxd

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armers already know what they need to do in the face of a changing climate: adapt. That’s according to Dr. David Sauchyn, a research professor at the University of Regina. He presented on climate change during the Ranching Opportunities conference in Olds Feb. 7. Sauchyn explained his research on climate change and specifically the changes in water levels in Alberta over the centuries. He said almost every place in Canada has seen temperatures creeping up over the years. “There’s quite a difference,” he said of comparing temperatures between now and the 1920s and 1930s. He said global warming is a bad term for what’s happening in Canada. “It’s not as though it’s getting hotter here, it’s just getting less cold,” he said. The shift in Canada is resulting in a longer frost-free season. “It’s good news,” he said for our part of the world. Research into long-term trends for the agroclimatic conditions in the country has shown the growing season is longer and hotter. There’s also more water in Canada, though he said it’s coming at a time when we don’t need it: winter. “You can expect things to adapt,” he said. The plants and animals will shift, and so will ecological zones. “Ecosystems don’t move. Plants do,” he said. Meanwhile the snowpack in the Rockies, which provides most of the water to Alberta, a good chunk of Saskatchewan and even a bit of Manitoba, is shrinking, but not because of less snow. “We’re actually getting more snow in winter,” Sauchyn said. “The snow is melting in the middle of the winter. We are losing the advantage of the cold winter. Our winters are getting wetter, and our springs and summers are getting drier.” Cold winters have benefited Canada, helping kill off invasive species like the mountain pine beetle and keeping the snowpack chilled.

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the Bow River valley since 1107. He said his research shows that there’s often a cycle of 20-30 wet years followed by a similar number of dry ones. For instance, the last really severe dry cycle in Alberta took place just before most homesteaders started to arrive. He said the history books show correlation with his findings, noting that 1796 appeared to be a really dry year, and at Fort Edmonton they couldn’t move furs because there was no water on the river. “There’s no doubt it’s going to happen again,” he said of a dry cycle. Currently Alberta is heading into another wet period. “Until 2008 water levels were dropping around here,” he said. He used the example of Cooking Lake in Strathcona County. In his youth he’d gone hunting there, and when he went to visit it a few years ago he’d found the lake had disappeared. Now it’s back, as are high water levels elsewhere. Sauchyn said Sylvan Lake’s beach has disappeared due to high levels. “Starting in 2028, 2030 it’s going to flip,” he said. However, what used to be natural cycles are being disrupted because of human activity. “There are no longer natural cycles… nature no longer exists,” he said. “We now determine the state of the world.” Humans’ impact on the world can be seen in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, he said. He showed data that indicated while geophysical events like earthquakes or volcano eruptions are not increasing, weather disasters like storms and hail are. Since the world is unlikely to stop using fossil fuels, adaptation of practices, policies and infrastructure is the solution. Planning for a drought is not so much preparing for climate change as it is getting ready for a cycle that’s happened before. Sauchyn said global warming just makes it more likely, noting every month since May 1985 has been hotter than average. While adapting to less water might be a shock for urbanites and industry, farmers are used to it. “In the agriculture industry, (adapting is) the basis of the agriculture industry,” he said. “A lot of adaptation has already occurred.”

“We are losing the advantage of the cold winter.” Dr. David Sauchyn

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

Redford officially opens property rights advocate office Disputes } Office to offer resolution of disputes over expropriation and other claims Staff

provincial pledge to set up Alberta’s first property rights advocate has reached the grand opening stage. Premier Alison Redford attended the official opening of the advocate’s office Feb. 5 at 200 Fifth Ave. S. in Lethbridge, following the appointment of Lethbridge lawyer Lee Cutforth to a three-year term. The role of the advocate, the province said, will be to work with Albertans to provide them with “impartial and independent information to deal with issues that could affect their property rights and help them find the appropriate resolution mechanisms when disputes arise.” That includes information for landowners about the right to compensation where land is expropriated or where landowners “claim to have suffered a compensable taking,” and the procedure for any claim to compensation.

Cooler upgrade boosts Maple Leaf capacity at Lethbridge more hogs }

Plans multimilliondollar upgrades

The advocate is also expected to provide information about “proposed legislation and its likely effect on property rights.” The office is also meant to help people determine “the appropriate resolution mechanism, including the courts, through which they can have their property rights concerns addressed, including by directing them to appropriate resources.” The office can also assist “expropriating authorities” or people or offices “involved in a compensable taking” in such matters. The advocate’s office is also expected to review complaints relating to expropriations or compensable takings. “Alberta is growing at an incredible rate, and it is vital that we strike the right balance between the rights of landowners and the need to expand our communities,” Premier Redford said in a release. The advocate’s office can be reached by phone at 403-388-1781 or by email at propertyrights@gov.ab.ca.

The official opening of the property rights advocate office in Lethbridge was the scene for a brief meeting between Premier Alison Redford and Farmworkers Union of Alberta president Eric Musekamp. According to Musekamp Redford promised that she would personally get involved with the farm worker file, including the child labour issue. Supplied photo

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aple Leaf Foods expects to improve throughput at its Lethbridge porkprocessing plant by up to 200 hogs per day, by clearing bottlenecks in its carcass cooler and floor plan. According to the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA), which has put up a grant of $492,259 for the project, Maple Leaf plans to spend over $2.5 million on equipment upgrades including a new carcass cooler and modifications to the processing environment. Outside the cooler, the facility has receiving and slaughter capacity to handle 1,500 hogs per day, but “our cooling capacity size and cut floor layout can’t handle that volume,” Severin Habetler, the Lethbridge plant’s manager, said in an ALMA release. Thus, the plant now processes around 1,300 hogs per day, mostly into specialty cuts for export to Japan — but “since we already know there is demand, it makes sense for us to upgrade the facility” to process more, Habetler said. Boosting the plant’s handle by 200 hogs a day translates to added demand for at least 45,000 hogs a year, ALMA said. “We’re always excited to see an increase in processing capacity because it increases the demand for Alberta pigs,” Alberta Pork executive director Darcy Fitzgerald said in the ALMA release. “Every package of pork that leaves the Lethbridge plant and goes abroad helps to build up Canadian pork as a premium brand,” Maple Leaf’s vice-president for government and industry relations, Rory McAlpine, said in the same release.

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MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Peace-area seed plants invest in colour-sorting equipment Ergot } Seed-cleaning co-op sees the investment as a way of getting ahead of a growing ergot problem By Rebecca Dika

af contributor/wembley

roducers west of Grande Prairie are putting more dollars in their pockets with the opening of a new colour sorter at the Wembley Co-op Seed Cleaning Association. The new sorter has been in operation for both pedigreed and common seed cleaning since the middle of January. Operators say that last month alone the plant ran 40,000 bushels it wouldn’t have been able to clean before. The colour sorter is one of only two in northwestern Alberta. The other is in High Prairie, and another is currently being installed in Rycroft. The Wembley project also included a new bucket elevator, two additional rooms for the sorter and an air compressor, two 4,000-bushel clean seed storage bins and 2,300-bushel screenings bin. Most of the funds came from the co-op and the County of Grande Prairie, which committed to $100,000 over two years. Board chair Doug Lacoursiere said the $350,000 project was a bit ambitious for this 100-member seed co-op, and the board was hesitant in the beginning. However, it has surpassed everyone’s expectations, he said. “We do a lot of certified and pedigreed seed here and the sorter is really

Board chair Doug Lacoursiere said the $350,000 project has paid off for the 100-member seed co-op at Wembley. photo: rebecca dika going to help with that,” said Lacoursiere. “Producers using the sorter are getting much less of a cut on their grain.” In cereals, a colour sorter can remove ergot, foreign material (i.e. wild oats), discoloured seeds and immature and diseased kernels as well as sticks, hulls and stones. It removes colour defects (caused by disease, immaturity or moisture damage), splits, and unde-

corticated seed in pulse crops such as lentils, beans and peas. The seed doesn’t have to be cleaned as aggressively as it did with the old equipment, said Lacoursiere. He expects the sorter will bring in additional customers to the plant. “Some seed that was seeing 10-15 per cent screenings is now at seven to 10 per cent with the sorter,” said Lacoursiere,

adding that some of the grain processed over the last month wouldn’t have made the grade for common seed and some wouldn’t have even been salable. “One customer made $80,000 they wouldn’t have without the use of the sorter,” Lacoursiere said. The plant charges 10 cents a bushel to use the sorter. “That’s about the cheapest and best thing a guy can do per acre this year,” said Lacoursiere. And the better the seed quality, the less need for spraying two or three years down the road, he added. The co-op sees the sorter as a way of getting ahead of a growing ergot problem. “When we asked the County of Grande Prairie for some dollars in support of the project, our contention was that the sorter would enhance seed quality and help us get ahead of the ball when it comes to ergot problems down the road,” said Lacoursiere. Ergot is difficult to clean from wheat because the most common cleaning equipment separates foreign material, like ergot, by size and shape. Most ergot bodies are similar in size and shape as wheat kernels. “You wouldn’t be able to do anything with (ergot-) affected grain,” Lacoursiere said. “Shipping it out as a feed grade or to the closest sorter in High Prairie, either way the producer is taking a big cut.”

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

Scandal brings surprise revival for horsemeat in France PUBLICITY  France’s butchers are reporting an increase in sales following all the publicity BY MURIEL BOSELLI PARIS / REUTERS

he rumpus in Europe over horsemeat sold as beef is bringing a bonanza for France’s 700 surviving horse butchers, who are suddenly piquing consumer curiosity after years of decline. Non-stop media coverage has made eating horses a hot topic around office water coolers, boosting sales by up to 15 per cent, the head of France’s horse butchers’ trade group said. “It’s true, there is a pickup in trade, we worked a bit more last week because our clients speak more freely about horsemeat now,” said Eric Vigoureux of Interbev Equins.

German flour mills fined

“With the scandal, in offices and on the workplace everybody is talking about it, so those who normally buy it feel less guilty and recommend their butcher,” Vigoureux, who is a working horse butcher near Bordeaux, southwestern France, said. France’s taste for horsemeat reputedly dates back to hungry 18th-century revolutionaries who ate the horses of toppled aristocrats. It flourished for two centuries, then fell out of fashion with a squeamish younger generation. The horsemeat scandal began last month when tests in Ireland revealed some beef products also contained equine DNA and triggered product recalls across Europe. While the mislabelling aroused public concern about oversight of the food chain, it also prompted

much discussion about the ethical and gastronomic merits of eating horses by choice. “I had a lot of feedback from horse butchers all across the nation, saying that there were a lot of clients last week,” Vigoureux said, estimating sales were up between 10 and 15 per cent nationwide since the scandal erupted. “Clients feel completely unapologetic about it now,” he added. At Le Taxi Jaune restaurant in the historical Marais district in Paris, one of the few Paris bistros serving horse dishes such as cured horse sausage and horse brain, head chef Otis Lebert says he too has noticed a surge in interest. “But call me in three months and let’s see if it is still the case,” the chef said.

A map of France showing regions and its cheeses (r) is seen next to a hanging board with butchers’ horsemeat cuts at Le Taxi Jaune restaurant in Paris. A loyal minority in France laments a dwindling appetite for a meat they say is a tastier and healthier alternative to beef. PHOTO: REUTERS/CHRISTIAN HARTMANN

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HAMBURG/REUTERS

erman cartel agency BKA has imposed 41 million euros ($54.7 million) in fines on 22 flour mills and the German flour mills association for anti-competitive behaviour. BKA said it levied the fines for agreements in the marketing of flour. The investigation started in 2008 with searches of flour mills, and previous fines were imposed in 2011, the agency said Feb. 19.

“Persons in authority in mills had since 2001 held regular discussion meetings in which flour prices, allocation of customers and sales volumes were agreed.”

The investigation had been started following indications that mills were agreeing on prices and market sales volumes, the BKA said. “Persons in authority in mills had since 2001 held regular discussion meetings in which flour prices, allocation of customers and sales volumes were agreed,” BKA president Andreas Mundt said in a statement. The agreements included deliveries to large, industrial customers, bakeries and retailers, it said. Mills have a right to appeal. Details of individual fines were not given. The agency on Jan. 31 fined 11 chocolate and confectionery makers a total of 60 million euros for anti-competitive behaviour. AB Farmer Express Champion print ad.indd 1

01/18/2013 2:19:15 PM

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Farming Smart Learn more about precision and site specific applications from industry experts.

1 Acre or 10,000

Performance Horse Sale Presented by Alberta Ford Dealers Association

Opportunity to purchase from a top selection of horses.

Find the latest and the greatest technology you need to get the work done. April 4-6, 2013

Preview: April 5 Sale: April 6

Edmonton EXPO Centre

Alpaca Spring Show

Offering a wide selection of top programming for everyone, including:

Learn, buy, compare, discuss, compete—there’s something for everyone.

• Crop Production and Other Technologies Farming Smart sessions on precision application and the latest technology from seeding through harvest; see all the latest equipment on display. • Equine Events - workshops on back country adventures, breed demos and hoof care. • Agri-Business, Environmental and Lifestyle Exhibits - learn about the latest agricultural innovations. • The Business of Beef - cattle handling equipment demos, Summit 3 Speckle Park Sale. This year’s featured breed is Braunvieh.

For more information, visit farmandranchshow.com

EVENT

Presented by

April 4–6, 2013 Tickets on sale now!

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

MARCH 2013

BULL BUYERS e d i Gu y d d a D r u o Y s ’ o h W Bull Sale

10th Annual

Selling 50 Shorthorn bulls, yearlings and two year olds. The top cut from over 400 purebred Shorthorn cows. Thick, rugged BEEF BULLS that are bred to handle the harsh conditions of Western Canada. Also on offer - a select group of donor, flush and embryo lots.

For more information or a catalogue contact:

Carl Lehmann • 306-232-5212 cmlehmann@sasktel.net www.saskvalleyshorthorns.com

Bell M Farms

Richard Moellenbeck • 306-287-3420 rmoellenbeck@bogend.ca • www.bellmfarms.com

Muridale Shorthorn

Thursday April 4, 2013

Saskatoon Livestock Sales, Saskatoon, SK

Saskvalley Stock Farm

Scot Muri • 306-553-2244 sjmuri@sasktel.net • www.muridale.com Catalogue online at all three websites

Sale bull videos at www.youtube.com/whosyourdaddybull

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

BULL BUYERSGuide

MARCH 2013

Spady Bull Sale l a u n n A 10 Wednesday, April 10 , 2013 th

Featuring:

100

1:30 pm at the Ranch

Black Angus Bulls

Alliance, AB

Black Angus has been the foundation of the Spady program for over 75 years. Free Delivery or $50 Credit

Bulls Semen Tested

Volume Buyer Incentive

Craig Spady 403-740-4978 Travis Spady 780-879-2298 Tom Spady 780-879-2180 Brian Spady 780-879-2110 View catalogue online at www.rivercrestangus.com

Weyburn Livestock Exchange 1:00 pm Monday, March 18, 2013

On Offer: Approximately 50 Red & Black Angus Yearling & 2 Year Olds & Open Replacement Heifers

6 Proven Saskatchewan Breeders

Broken T Ranch

Wrangler Ridge Ranch

Spring View Ranch

447-2091

Sale Day ✆ 861-6516

447-4803

Sale Day ✆ 869-7949

Sale Day ✆ 861-7702 or 861-1728

Sunny Grove Angus

Swenco Angus

S- Red Angus

842-5874

Sale Day ✆ 436-7881

Kelly Kaufmann & Family

Roy, Myrna, Melissa & Brandon Lohse

Desmond & Chantelle Rasmussen

Carmen Langevin

Sale Day ✆ 869-7151

Sale Day ✆ 861-6874

869-2801

Shawn & Laura Tessier

842-4367

The Sambrooks

436-4556

www.s-redangus.ca

Full Catalogue available for viewing at www.castlerockmarketing.com

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

BULL BUYERSGuide

MARCH 2013

Les Johnston knows his beef a lot better now - thanks to BIXS.

So, What’s Your Beef? Here’s just a few reasons why Johnston reckons BIXS is the best thing to come along in years to help his ranch business. “I need accurate carcass data on my cattle so I can effectively market them to buyers. BIXS delivers the information I need to take my marketing program to the next level, especially for branded beef programs… I figure I pay for those RFID tags so why not pocket some payback from that by registering them onto BIXS and getting good information in return like detailed carcass and grade data. And as an added bonus I age verify them through BIXS, which helps us tap into cull cow premiums... In just a short time on BIXS I’m confident that now I can guarantee to a buyer that 60 percent of my animals will grade AAA with high yields. Before BIXS I lacked confidence in that kind of claim, I didn’t have the data to back it up… How can I improve something I’m not measuring? BIXS is my measuring tool. Some folks may be leery of the information BIXS provides on their cattle, but they mislead themselves in my opinion. To me it’s all about mapping my cowherd genetics and the specifics on the beef I produce so I can take control and manage my business and future and provide my consumers with a positive eating experience….” - Les Johnston, Nisku Land & Cattle Co., Filmore, Sask.

The power of individual animal and carcass data is just a click away. For more information and to register onto BIXS visit the website at www.bixs.cattle.ca For quick registration go to www.bixs.cattle.ca/go To advertise on the BIXS website and database portal e-mail us at: bixs@cattle.ca Funding for this project has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Agricultural Flexibility Fund, as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

BULL BUYERSGuide as Purebred

MARCH 2013

Registered (est. 1963) & Commercial (est. 1948) Black Angus Cattle, APHA & AQHA Horses

27TH ANNUAL EDITION

r hoice u o Y C

BULL SALE 19 2013

F riday Apr il

77Z: Pioneer x Errolline 42N

1:00 pm (CST) Cowtown Livestock, Maple Creek SK

60 Yearling Bulls

from South Shadow, Boundary & Kay Dee Angus Herds plus Bear Creek 2-Yr-Olds 93Z: Bismarck x Eileen 10S

Photos, EPDs & Data plus Sale Catalogue available on Web Site. All Bulls will be semen tested

Mark your calendar & request your catalogue today

98Z: Gridiron x Akita 76X

Selling April 18 2013 the annual offering of 85 Home-Raised Commercial Replacement Heifers. Breds sell in the Fall.

Every Barn Needs A Little Paint - Prospects For Sale MR PARTEEBUILT

FRECKLE FACE SMOKE

SSAP COWBOYIZM

Son of World Champion The Foundation of our Mares

PAGE MR STAR BUCKS

2X NRCHA Futurity Champion Son of NRCHA Hall of Famer

Son of Mr Parteebuilt

Give us a Call ... We are available at the Ranch or on the Web and we would be honoured to share our Family’s Registered & Commercial Seedstock Program with You

FQHR Foundation Bred

SMOOTH SIR

Dynamite On A Cow! Son of NCHA Hall of Famer

Don and Connie Delorme Box 28, Robsart, SK S0N 2G0

dcdelorme@sasktel.net HOME: 306.299.4494 CELL: 306.299.7778

www.D elormeL ivestock.ca

Date: Sat. April 13, 2013 Place: Eionmor Stock Farm at the Morison Farm Time: Viewing of the Cattle at 10:00a.m.

Consignors: Eionmor Stock Farm Downsview Shorthorns Willow Butte Cattle Co. Shepalta Shorthorns Donnelly Shorthorn Farm

Dinner @ noon, Sale @ 1:00 p.m. On offer 30+ yearling bulls, and 30+ yearling heifers purebred and commercial (red roan & blue roan) At the farm 26 miles west of Innisfail, watch for signs

www.shorthorn.ca or for more info, call Ken @ 403-728-3825 sale day: 403-877-3293 or 587-876-2544

We’ve turned Angus upside do doWn doW n

& creAted A poWerhouse of grAsslAnd genetics

• Line Bred and forage tested for 65 years, our cattle are bred to do more with less.

• 100% forage developed 2 year old red and black angus bulls for sale by private treaty

find out more Call Christoph & Erika Weder 780-765-2855

Visit www.spiritviewranch.com or

www.pinebanknorthamerica.com

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

BULL BUYERSGuide

MARCH 2013

Crwft FBC Bull Guide ad_Layout 1 1/19/13 3:38 AM Page 1

RED & BLACK ANGUS BULL SALE 33 Years Breeding Reputation Angus Cattle Backed by a “NO B.S.” Guarantee!!

APRIL THURSDAY

2013 1:00 PM

Join us for Lunch at 12:00 NOON

At the Farm - Standard, AB Bulls on high roughage ration ready to go to work for you!

150

Beefy Red & Black Angus Bulls

• 50 Two Year Olds • 100 Yearlings

sale will be broadcast live via For more information, log in to:

www.teamauctionsales.com

Catalogue & Video Clips Of all sale Bulls online at www.crowfootcattle.com Sale Consultant: Douglas J. Henderson & Assoc. Ltd. Cell: 403-350-8541 Ph: 403-782-3888 djhenderson@platinum.ca Website: www.hendersoncattle.com

CROWfOOT CATTLe CO.

CROWfOOT VALLeY RAnCH

403-644-2165 / Cell 403-934-7597 crowfoot@myipplus.net

403-644-3840 / Cell 403-901-5045 cjjensen@myipplus.net

DALLAs & sAnDRA Jensen

CHRis & JennifeR Jensen

www.crowfootcattle.com

MARCH 4, 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

BULL BUYERSGuide

MARCH 2013

Black Angus Bulls Black Black Angus Angus Bulls Bulls

www.nerbasbrosangus.com & www.nerbasbrosangus.com &

www.nerbasbrosangus.blogspot.com

www.nerbasbrosangus.blogspot.com Shellmouth, 204-564-2540 Shellmouth,MB MBCANADA CANADA 204-564-2540

SDCP Irish Coffee 201Z Irish Creme X LT Midas Touch

Polled

SDC Zurich 44Z Irish Creme X SVY Freedom

Polled

SDC Zero 22Z Irish Creme X SVY Freedom

Polled

SDC Zuko 2Z Irish Creme X Rio Blanco

Polled

SDC Titanium 56Z

Wrangler Frenchie X Wrangler Doubleshot 11S

View catalogue online at www.sandancharolais.com SDC Zagreb 79Z Irish Creme X Evolution

Polled

SDC Technical Knock Out 3Z Irish Creme X Sparrows Sanchez

Polled

Sandan_CBG.indd 1

SDC West Country 99Z Polled Irish Creme X Wrangler Doubleshot 11S

SDC Odysseus 48Z Polled Wrangler Frenchie X TR Red Smoke

SDC Zephyr 4Z Irish Creme X Ripper

Polled

SDC Zug 62Z Irish Creme X SVY Freedom

Polled

2/18/2013 11:19:42 AM

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA â&#x20AC;˘ MARCH 4, 2013

BULL BUYERSGuide

MARCH 2013

Peak Dot Ranch Ltd.

Spring Bull and Female Sale

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

At the Ranch, Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan

205 BULLS - 95 HEIFERS

1300 open commercial replacement heifers for sale

Selling 130 Progeny from SAV Eliminator 9105 Peak Dot Eliminator 800Y

SAV Eliminator 9105 X Mohnen Dynamite 1356 BW: +3.7 WW: +59 YW: +107 M: +23 BW: 87 205 WT: 891

Many large uniform one-iron groups. Buyers of heifers receive a $5 per head credit to be used at the Peak Dot Ranch April 3, 2013 Bull Sale. (ex: 100 heifers x $5 = $500 credit) Call for details Carson... 306-266-4414

Peak Dot Eliminator 840Y

SAV Eliminator 9105 X Mohnen Dynamite 1356 BW: +4.1 WW: +60 YW: +116 M: +26 BW: 88 205 WT: 932 Peak Dot Eliminator 834ZY

Peak Dot Eliminator 28Y

SAV Eliminator 9105 X HF Power-Up 72N BW: +1.1 WW: +62 YW: +116 M: +27 BW: 64 205 WT: 943 Peak Dot Eliminator 769Z

SAV Eliminator 9105 X SAV 004 Predominant 4438 BW: +2.3 WW: +58 YW: +106 M: +23 BW: 86 205 WT: 823 Peak Dot Eliminator 1Z

SAV Eliminator 9105 X SAV 004 Predominant 4438 BW: +3.1 WW: +54 YW: +100 M: +25 BW: 86 205 WT: 837 Peak Dot Eliminator 162Z

SAV Eliminator 9105 X Stevenson Bruno 6371 BW: +2.5 WW: +51 YW: +102 M: +27 BW: 84 205 WT: 792

SAV Eliminator 9105 X Mohnen Dynamite 1356 BW: +2.8 WW: +55 YW: +108 M: +21 BW: 82 205 WT: 786 Peak Dot Bullet 238Z

SAV Bullet 0473 X Mohnen Dynamite 1356 BW: +3.2 WW: +52 YW: +97 M: +24 BW: 58 205 WT: 820

Peak Dot Eliminator 819Y

SAV Eliminator 9105 X SAR New Trend 4100 2080 BW: +3.8 WW: +57 YW: +112 M: +21 BW: 86 205 WT: 829 Peak Dot Eliminator 771Z

SAV Eliminator 9105 X SAV 004 Predominant 4438 BW: +3.1 WW: +54 YW: +100 M: +25 BW: 82 205 WT: 906 Peak Dot Eliminator 786Z

SAV Eliminator 9105 X SAV 004 Predominant 4438 BW: +2.9 WW: +54 YW: +103 M: +25 BW: 81 205 WT: 859 Peak Dot Bullet 827Z

SAV Bullet 0473 X Mohnen Dynamite 1356 BW: +4.3 WW: +52 YW: +96 M: +25 BW: 89 205 WT: 818

View Sale Book and Sale Cattle Photo Gallery at www.peakdotranch.com or phone Carson Moneo 306-266-4414 Clay Moneo 306-266-4411 Email:peakdot@gmail.com

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

BULL BUYERSGuide

MARCH 2013

Rodgers CBC Bull Buyers Ad_Layout 1 2/7/13 5:41 PM Page 1

40TH AnnuAl PeRFORMAnCe TesT •“Range Raised for Range use!”

Yearling Black Angus Bull Sale NEW TIME!! NEW PLACE!!

SAME GREAT BULLS!!

Stout bulls with extra thickness, depth and hip.

70 BULLS ON OFFER!

Red Angus Bull sAle ! W!

STOP IN ANYTIME TO VIEW BULLS

– nOTe neW sAle Venue...!!!

3 mi east of leTHBRIdge, AB,& 1/4 mi south on Broxburn Road

JOIN US AT 12:00 NOON FOR BEEF ON A BUN!

BULLS WILL BE SEMEN TESTED & FULLY GUARANTEED!

Bulls may be viewed at South Slope Feeders, Rainier, AB, until April 8. After that they will be available for viewing at Perlich Bros. Auction Market, Lethbridge, AB

KODIAK 4207 Super sire of stout sons and excellent daughters

RENOVATOR 167U Out cross genetics, female maker and terrific sons

BANDY 128N Canadian Bred Powerful Sons, Fantastic Daughters

Call for more information:

Wayne Grant: 780-385-2216 Dallas Grant: 780-385-1443 spruceview@icloud.com Killam, AB

Shane Castle 306-741-7481

est. 1971

SPECIAL FEATURE

A select group of young cows with calves at side and open replacement heifers

Come Early Sale Day and Enter to Win One of Two $250 Bull Credits for This Sale. Draw to take place just before the sale and applies to this sale only!

2013 Bull BuYeRs WIll HAVe THe OPTIOn OF:

Be our guest for lunch prior to sale,Spruce View Hospitality after. Preview Catalogue and video at www.spruceviewangus.com (under construction)

• April 9, 2013 •1:00 pm

PeRlICH BROs. AuCTIOn MARKeT

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at the Ranch, Killam, AB, 1 PM (4kms S of Killam on HWY 36) - Herd Sires and Dams on site

Tuesday

‰ Free delivery to central points within 100 miles ‰ $75/head discount on bulls taken home Sale Day ‰ Bulls going back to the feedlot must be picked up by May 1, 2013 For Catalogue or More Information, Please Contact:

ROdgeRs Red Angus - Toll Free: 1-877-888-BULL

Mike: 403-642-2055 OR

Box 247, Warner, AB T0K 2L0

Shawn: 403-642-2041

PeRlICH BROs. AuCTIOn MARKeT - Ph: 403-329-3101

Mgr: Bob Perlich

Downloadable Catalogue: www.rodgersredangus.com

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

BULL BUYERSGuide

sixMile_CBB_0213.indd 1

MARCH 2013

15/02/13 2:33 PM

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

BULL BUYERSGuide 18th AnnuAl

RANCH READY

Bull SAlE

BULL SALE

OFFERING 55 HORNED HEREFORD BULLS AND PENS OF CUSTOMER OPEN HEIFERS 1:00 pm | March 21, 2013 | Heartland, Swift Current, SK

MARCH 2013

march 21, 2013 • 1:00 pm (mST) croSSroAdS cEntrE – oyEn, AB

Bar

3R Limousin

g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g

The Rea Family

red bLack POLLed

Ranch Ready Customer Calves

20 YearLINGS & 20 2 Year OLdS

Free Delivery!

red 2 yEAR OLd

Talk to us about Boarding your purchase till May 1, 2013.

Hybrid Vigor...

the only thing free in the cattle business

www.braunranch.com FOR INFOMATION CONTACT:

Marengo, SK

CATALOGUE ONLINE @

bLack 2 yEAR OLd

Craig Braun Braun Ranch 306-297-2132 www.braunranch.com

red 2 yEAR OLd

bLack yEARLING

KEVIN

(306) 463-7950

KEN

Donnie Gillespie Gillespie Hereford Ranch 306-627-3584 www.gillespieherefordranch.ca

(306) 463-7454 (306) 968-2923

red yEARLING

CATALOGUE ON-LINE IN COLOUR AT

www.LivestockXchange.ca E-mail: r3bar@hotmail.com

15 Annual th

BULL & FEMALE SALE Saturday, April 6th 1:00 p.m. m r a F e On th

Goodeve, Saskatchewan

All Bulls Semen Tested & Carcass Data Available Bulls can be delivered or picked up sale day ($75 credit)

65 Black Angus Yearling Bulls DOS 16Z Sire SCHISUM6175 30 Open Replacement Heifers DTZ 12Z Sire SCHISUM6175

Crescent Creek Angus

Wes & Kim Olynyk & Family Home (306) 876-4420 Box 192, Goodeve, SK S0A 1C0 Cell (306) 728-8284

info@crescentcreekangus.com • www.crescentcreekangus.com

Darren Bouchard (204) 526-7407

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

BULL BUYERSGuide

MARCH 2013

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

BULL BUYERSGuide

MARCH 2013

Northern Alliance Bull Sale March 15, 2013 – 1:00 pm CST

at the Spiritwood Stockyards in the heart of North Central Saskatchewan

MXS 244Z

JRAU 14Z

MXS 228Z

MLCC 6Z

• 42 Simmental Bulls • 35 Charolais Bulls • Semen evaluated • Guaranteed Breeders • Wintering program For catalogues or more info contact:

Martens Cattle Co.

Aumack Simmentals

Sylvan & Karen Martens Glenbush, Sask 306-382-2099 Home 306-883-7967 Cell

Randy & Kathy Aumack Russell & Brenda Aumack Spiritwood, Sask Rabbit Lake, Sask 306-824-4717 Home 306-883-8155 Cell 306-883-8617 Cell

www.aumacksimmentals.com

View our catalogue online at www.buyagro.com

Get the latest news and updates from the ag sources you trust…

save big on ag equipment & services!

…available instantly on your smartphone.

Spring Lube & Filter Sale

Researchers want your help in identifying wireworms

March 21 to April 30

Check out page 7 in the Wheel & Deal section for full details.

» PAGE 33 kenna/UFA

Publications Mail Agreement # 40069240

UFA 0191 Spring Earlug_AFE.indd 1 File Lube Name: UFA 0191 Spring Lube Earlug_AFE

11-03-16 9:14 AM

Project: Calving season Image Area or Trim: 3.08” x 1.83” Publication: Alberta Farmer Express

1 shi

Vo lu m e 8 , n u m b e r 8

april 11, 2011

Cattle and hog groups to lobby candidates Wish lists } The

national beef and pork industry associations want their issues as planks in party platforms by ron friesen staff

mproved market access and better business risk management programs top livestock producers’ wish lists for the May 2 federal election. the Canadian Cattlemen’s association and the Canadian Pork Council vow to make trade and BRMs election issues as the campaign gets underway. they also say they will tell politicians that rising input costs and an increasing regulatory burden hinder producers’ competitiveness.

no one knows yet whether auction marts will have to read cattle in, out or both.

level playing field needed for traceability to work FAiR PlAY } If reading cattle will be mandatory for auction marts, their association wants cattle sold in the country to be read too

How you get the latest ag news has changed, L but where you get it from hasn’t.

by sheri monk af staff

market access: John masswohl says canadian beef producers need a free trade deal with south korea.

Both CCa and CPC are encouraging members to lobby political candidates on matters affecting their industries. the CCa plans to send all four major political parties a document outlining industry concerns and recommending ways to deal with them. Parties are expected to brief candidates on what the cattle industry wants before they hit the election trail, said John Masswohl, CCa’s

ivestock traceability has moved another step forward after another $1.6 million in federal funding, but industry remains uncertain of details, including how and when it will be implemented. “a national traceability system is a winwin for Canadian producers, the value chain, and consumers,” agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said in a release announcing the funding last month. But before everyone can win, a level playing field is essential, said Jim abel, president of the Livestock Markets association of Canada. “We need market neutrality. somebody can go to the country and buy the cattle and not have to read them, but they come to the market and

they have to read them and we’re going to charge the producer $5 or $6, as an example, to read them and the guy in the country doesn’t have to pay that? “Well guess what? the farmer is going to sell to the guy in the country and that puts us at a competitive disadvantage,” abel said. for true traceability every movement has to be recorded, he said. “Or else you don’t have true traceability — what have you got? a hodge podge system where two-thirds of them are recorded and the other third aren’t.” two traceability application research studies have been conducted simultaneously, one by the Canadian Cattle Identification agency (CCIa), and one by the alberta government. the findings from phase one of the CCIa study were released December of 2010. the release of alberta’s data is imminent.

“I think that traceability at auction markets is possible with the right equipment in the right location within the facility.” DOnna Henuset project manager, ccIa

abel says the technology is promising and has been used with great success on a trial basis at stettler auction Mart. “We’ve been a pilot market here at stettler since its inception, going on

} Set your local weather } Set alerts on the futures contract prices of your choice

see traceability } page 6

Canada’s most trusted sources for reliable ag news and market information are also available as smartphone apps! see lobby } page 6

south saskatchewan regional land-use plan draws cautious reaction } page 19

Stay effortlessly up-to-speed on everything that interests you in agriculture – all as close as your phone.

} Apps are FREE to Download } Available for Android, iPhone and BlackBerry smartphones } Visit agreader.ca today to download your apps or text 393939 to be sent the link. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Part of the

Network

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

BULL BUYERSGuide

MARCH 2013

Mantei Farms Black Harvest Bull Sale - At Alameda Bull Sale

MF High Prime 8Z

MF High Prime 51Z

New Location Alameda, SK New Date March 23, 2013 at 1:00 pm

25 Bulls by

High Prime 4037 and HF Kodiak 302U

High Prime 4037

High Prime 4037 is a Total Outcoss bull and we have the largest offering available in Canada. Check him out at bovagene.com

Pictures and Video online at blackharvest.ca

Visitors Welcome Any Time Mantei Farms Angus - Estevan, SK Ph: (306)634-4454 · Cell: (306)461-5501 manteifarms@hotmail.com

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

BULL BUYERSGuide

Steve & Bonnie Schweer RR 1 Red Deer, Alberta, T4N 5E1 Phone: 403-227-3428 * Cell: 403-304-7354 Email: schweer@xplornet.com Website: www.albertaplaidgalloway.ca

SPECIALIZING IN RED GALLOWAY

We are proud to present one of the largest selections of Red Galloways in Canada

Join us for our

Alberta Plaid Galloway Bull and Female Sale March 19, 2013 Sale catalogue available by request or on our website.

MARCH 2013

March 15

Northern Alliance Bull Sale, 1 p.m. at the Spiritwood Stockyards, Spiritwood, Sask., www.buyagro.com

March 16

LLB Angus 27th Annual Spring Spectacular Bull & Female Sale, at the farm, Erskine, Alta., www.llbangus.com

March 16

Gelvieh Advantage Bull Sale, Innisfail Auction Mart, Innisfail, Alta., www.brittainfarms.com or www.evgelbvieh.com

March 16

15th Annual Sandan Charolais Bull Sale, 1:30 p.m. on the farm, Erskine, Alta., www.sandancharolais.com

March 18

8th Annual Equinox Angus Bull Sale - Weyburn Livestock Exchange, 1 p.m., Weyburn, Sask., www.castlerockmarketing.com

March 19

Alberta Plaid Galloway Bull and Female Sale, Innisfail Auction Mart, Innisfail, Alta., www.albertaplaidgalloway.ca

March 20

Spruce View Angus Yearling Black Angus Bull Sale, 1 p.m. at the ranch, Killam, Alta., www.spruceviewangus.com

March 21

Ranch Ready Bull Sale, 1 p.m. Heartland, Swift Current, Sask. www.braunranch.com

March 21

18th Annual Bull Sale, 1 p.m. Crossroads Centre, Oyen, Alta. www.livestockXchange.com

March 22

Saskatoon Gelbvieh Bull & Female Sale, 1 p.m. Saskatoon Livestock Sales, Saskatoon, Sask., www.gelbviehworld.com

March 22

Thistle Ridge Ranch 7th Annual Bull Sale, 1 p.m. Taber Agriplex, Taber, Alta.

March 23

23rd Annual Prairie Grass Red Angus Bull Sale, 1 p.m. The Bull Pen Arena, Thorlakson Feedyards, Airdrie, Alta., www.dlms.ca

March 23

Mantei Farms Black Harvest Bull Sale, 1 p.m. at Alameda Bull Sale, Alameda, Sask., www.blackharvest.ca

March 27

2nd Annual Right Cross Ranch Bull Sale, 5 p.m. at the ranch, Kisbey, Sask., www.rightcrossranch.com

April 3

Peak Dot Ranch Spring Bull and Female Sale, at the ranch, Wood Mountain, Sask. www.peakdotranch.com

April 4

10th Annual Who’s Your Daddy Bull Sale - Saskatoon Livestock Sales, Saskatoon, Sask., www.youtube.com/whosyourdaddybull

April 4

Crowfoot Cattle Red and Black Angus Bull Sale, 1 p.m. at the farm, Standard, Alta., www.crowfoot.com

April 6

Summit 3 Speckle Park Sale, Northlands, Edmonton, Alta., www.summit3sale.com

April 6

Crescent Creek Angus 15th Annual Bull & Female Sale, 1 p.m. on the farm, Goodeve, Sask., www.crescentcreek.com

April 9

40th Annual Performance Test “Range Raised for Range Use” Red Angus Bull Sale, 1 p.m. Perlich Bros. Auction Market, Lethbridge, Alta., www.rodgersredangus.com

April 10

Rivercrest - Valleymere 10th Annual Spady Bull Sale - 1:30 p.m. at the Ranch, Alliance, Alta. www.rivercrestangus.com

April 13

27th Annual West Country Shorthorn Bull Sale, at the farm, Innisfail, Alta., www.shorthorn.ca

April 13

Six Mile Red Angus 38th Annual Bull Sale, at the ranch, Fir Mountain, Sask., www.sixmileredangus.com

April 19

Your Choice Bull Sale, 1 p.m., Cowtown Livestock, Maple Creek, Sask., www.delormelivestock.ca

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

BULL BUYERSGuide

MARCH 2013

PRAIRIE GRASS RED ANGUS BULL SALE 23RD ANNUAL

SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013 1:00 P.M. The Bull Pen Arena Thorlakson Feedyards Airdrie, Alberta 4.5 Miles East of Airdrie on #567 & 2 Miles North on RR 284

V Cat iew C ol a @ w logue our O ww .dlm nline s.c a

SELLING:

50 B

OPEN REPLACEMENT HEIFERS

R.R. #2 Airdrie,A B T4B 2A4

(403) 912-1025

Bulls can be viewed at Thorlakson Feedyards

RED ROCK RED ANGUS John, Karen, Jim, Laurie Brigan & Families RR #2, Site 8, Box 8, Airdrie,A B T4B 2A4

(403) 948-5215

LLB lot 1

PERFORMANCE TESTED YEARLING BULLS

BEISEKER RED ANGUS

Peter & Maxine Schmaltz

born Jan 19 2012

SELLING:

(403) 948-5412

Bull & FEMAlE SAlE

27th AnnuAl Spring Spectacular

lot 107

born Feb 22 2012

at the farm, Erskine AB

lot 222

born Feb 9 2012

MARCh 16, 2013

lot 261

born Mar 5 2011

Offering over 700 head of Quality Black & Red Angus Cattle Canada’s largest Angus Production Sale

•

150 yearling heifers • 300 commercial heifers

LLB Angus

•

150 yearling bulls • 100 two year old bulls

Contact us for a sale catalogue Lee, Laura & Jackie Brown Trish & Tim henderson llbangus@xplornet.com Box 217, erskine, alberta T0c 1G0 catalogue online www.llbangus.com Phone: 403-742-4226 Fax: 403-742-2962

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

BULL BUYERSGuide

MARCH 2013

MOre HerefOrd Means MOre dOcility. Docility

is a win-win for the inDustry

improveD economic aDvantages anD improveD animal welfare

there is a substantial anD growing boDy of scientific knowleDge on the effects of temperament on beef cattle. At the 2012 World Hereford Conference, Dr. Rober Weaber of Kansas State University cited recent Canadian studies by Nkrumah, et al, in which animals with the worst temperament scores were correlated with lower feed intake, poor residual feed intake, lower feed conversion rates and higher death rates.

AnimAls with the best dispositions consistently performed more efficiently thAn those of poor disposition.

In a German study cited, Herefords had the best temperament scores numerically and statistically, among five bos taurus breeds.

Weaber cited research showing that docility improves growth, feed efficiency, meat quality, animal health and welfare and reproductive efficiency; not to mention handler safety.

Plan to attend a Hereford Consignment or Production Sale in your area area.. For full event listings see The Canadian Hereford Digest or visit www.hereford.ca

Canadian Hereford Association • 5160 Skyline Way NE, Calgary, AB T2E 6V1 • 1-888-836-7242 • www.hereford.ca Photo of Borman calves courtesy of Martha Ostendorf Mintz.

ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA • MARCH 4, 2013

Search Canada’s top agriculture publications with just a click. Network Nobody has more daily news and up-to-the-minute ag information than the AgCanada Network. Our respected titles cover all aspects of the industry, with award-winning, in-depth local, national and international coverage.

Look for the AgCanada Network Search button on the top right of the AgCanada.com homepage

Weather you’re looking for a comprehensive article on a specific crop, or a recipe for muffins, start your search at the AgCanada Network.

AgCanada.com Network Search Search news. Read stories. Find insight.

MARCH 4, 2013 • ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS.CA

Today’s smart choice for preventing weed resistance. herbicides with different modes of action

NothiNg gets PAst BArricAde ii. ®

When tough broadleaf weeds invade your cereal crops, it’s no time for half-measures. You need action now. With a new and more concentrated formulation, DuPont™ Barricade® II herbicide leverages the strength of three active ingredients from 2 different groups (Group 2 and Group 4) to keep broadleaf weeds far away from your crop. Powered by Solumax® soluble granules, Barricade® II also delivers one-hour rainfastness and easier, more consistent sprayer cleanout. It’s no wonder growers made it Western Canada’s premier broadleaf herbicide for cereals.

Barricade® II. Raise the bar on your broadleaf weed control.

™ DuPont DuPont™ Barricade Barricade II II ® ®

Questions? Ask your retailer, call 1-800-667-3925 or visit barricade.dupont.ca

narrow-leaved hawk’s beard, kochia, cleavers, flixweed, lamb’s-quarters, cow cockle, volunteer canola

cereal crops

multiple modes of action from two groups – Group 2 and Group 4.

An effective, time-saving formulation. Barricade® II is powered by DuPont™ Solumax® soluble granules, combining the c As with all crop protection products, read and follow label instructions carefully. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont™, The miracles of science™, Barricade® and Solumax® are registered trademarks or trademarks of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. E. I. du Pont Canada Company is a licensee. Member of CropLife Canada. © Copyright 2013 E. I. du Pont Canada Company. All rights reserved.

28323 Barricade ad Al Farm Exp AE.indd 1

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