Farm forum jan13

WHEAT YIELDS GET SET FOR TAKE-OFF

farmforum.ca

BAYER CROPSCIENCE Supporting Canadian Farm Families January 2013 · $5

Bayer’s Market Development Team

Puts research into practice TECHNOLOGY

BUSINESS

PRODUCTION

FARM LIFE

Farm on the go with mobile technology

Supply uncertainty supports oilseed prices

War on wireworms heats up

Saskatchewan winery strives to be world’s best

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

Always read and follow label directions. Folicur速 is a registered trademark of the Bayer Group. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.

C-50-11/12-BCS12329-E

Publisher Bayer CropScience Editor Sherry Butt Associate Editor Dave Wreford Contributors Jennifer Barber, Clare Stanfield Jeff Melchior, Dianne Finstad Lindsye Dunbar, Genesis Studio

Volume 27 / Issue 1 / Winter 2013

C OV E R S T O RY

Design/Production Farm Business Communications Farm Forum is published seasonally by Bayer CropScience.

Contact Farm Forum at: Bayer CropScience Suite 200 160 Quarry Park Blvd SE Calgary, AB, T2C 3G3 T. 1 888-283-6847 F. 1 888-570-9378 E. farmforum@bayercropscience.com www.bayercropscience.ca Contents of this publication are copyrighted and may be reproduced only with written permission of the publisher, Bayer CropScience.

The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher.

Bayer’s Market Development Team

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Puts InVigor hybrids and crop protection products through their paces.

PRODUCTION

FA R M L I F E

T E C H N O L O GY

Publications Mail Agreement Number 40743517 Registered in Canada Copyright 2013 Website www.farmforum.ca Return undeliverable copies to: Bayer CropScience Suite 200 160 Quarry Park Blvd SE Calgary, AB, T2C 3G3

War on wireworms heats up

6

Saskatchewan winery strives to be world’s best

10

Farm on the go with mobile technology

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Editor's Note: the “together everyone achieves more” (team) approach to business

4

Make canola trial data work for you: relevant data compares apples to apples

16

Wheat yields get set for take-off: improved yields and disease resistance help put more food on the table 18

Launch of EverGol® a ‘game changer’ A new generation of leading-edge, protection and performance has arrived for Canadian growers with the launch of two new seed treatment products from Bayer CropScience.

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ONLINE

On the cover Kent Hall, a member of Bayer's Market Development Team, stands in a field-trial plot in north central Alberta. These plots are used to field-test products and inform producers of the results. photo by genisis studio

You’re invited to the table Apply to attend Global 4-H Youth Ag Summit www.farmforum.ca/ agsummitVIDEO

Bayer breaks ground on Bee Care Center Facility will promote and protect bee health www.farmforum.ca/ beecarecenter

Precision agriculture New developments continue to change food production business www.farmforum.ca/ precisionag

FARMFORUM.CA / WINTER 2013

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You’re invited to the table Global 4-H Youth Ag-Summit meets in Calgary, August 2013 We’re making lots of noise about this event because it’s an outstanding opportunity to meet with other youth from around the world and lend your voice to the topic of feeding a hungry planet.

From now until February 15, 2013, young adults between the ages of 18-25, from over 20 countries have the chance to submit an application — via an essay or video — about the challenges of feeding a hungry planet.

Essays are to be a maximum of 2,000 words and videos a maximum of seven minutes long. One hundred and twenty successful applicants will receive an expenses-paid trip to the Global 4-H Youth Ag-Summit — a week-long event where

ideas will be shared and opportunities will be explored with other young people, business leaders and scientists about the global challenge of feeding a hungry planet. One revolutionary idea could make history.

Forty youth from across Canada will be selected to participate in this event, 20 of which will be 4-H members and/ or 4-H alumni. Young adults between the ages of 18-25 can find out more details and apply online by visiting www.YouthAgSummit.com.

To date, applicants are from Japan, Mexico, Cambodia, Philippines and Indonesia. Check out the website and the video link on page 3 in this issue. Apply!

Visit www.YouthAgSummit.com to watch the introductory video, learn more about the summit and to apply.

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editor's note

S H O R T TA K E S

As the mother of two soccer-playing children, I have heard many times over the years the saying: “there’s no i in team”, meaning that together, everyone achieves more. That concept holds true in the corporate world as well, as seen in our cover story about Bayer CropScience’s Market Development Team.

This group of agronomists may all have different strengths and skills but they work together for a common goal: to help farmers succeed. The team’s job is to field-test InVigor hybrids and crop protection products, then share their findings through farm tours, product publications and online.

Whether it’s a team of 11 or a team of two, the idea of achieving more by working together holds true. Take our Outstanding Young Farmers featured in this issue, for instance. With a clear vision of becoming the best fruit winery in the world, Vance Lester and Sue Echlin of Living Sky Winery in Saskatchewan successfully turned a hay field into an orchard.

These days, as new technical gadgets hit the market at warp speed, your team-mate is as likely to be electronic as human.

In Andrew Campbell’s case, his team-mate is a smartphone, used to help him, along with his wife Jessica and his parents, manage a 400-acre, 45-head dairy operation in Strathroy, ON. And he’s not alone, as you’ll see in our “Farm on the go” story.

In farming as in so many other fields of business, more and more folks are buying mobile tools such as smartphones and tablets to help them better manage their lives and work.

BUSINESS

Supply uncertainty supports oilseed prices Tight North American oilseed supplies will keep an even greater focus than normal on the South American soybean crop in 2013, as end users are counting on supplies from this region to make up for disappointing oilseed crops in North America.

US 2012/13 soybean production is estimated at just under 3.0 billion bushels (80.8 million tonnes), according to USDA data, making it the smallest crop in five years as drought conditions hurt production across the country.

Canada’s canola crop, at 13.3 million tonnes, according to Statistics Canada, is over a million tonnes smaller than the previous year.

Supply/demand projections for both commodities are pointing to historically tight ending stocks. The need to ration demand is expected to keep prices supported through the winter months until South American farmers start harvesting their crops. Soybean

Consultant’s Corner

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

plantings in both Brazil and Argentina, the two major South American soybean growers, were delayed in late 2012 and some acres were likely lost. Brazil was too dry in some regions, while Argentina was too wet. The adverse conditions could hurt yield prospects for what is in the ground in addition to limiting acreage. However, at the same time there were also some ideas that planting delays in Argentina saw some area originally intended for corn go into beans instead.

Forecasts on the size of the Brazilian soybean crop range from about 80 million to 82 million tonnes, while Argentina is expected to grow about 58 million to 60 million tonnes. Both would represent new records — if reached.

New-crop South American soybeans will start to become available in March — and they will quickly displace North American supplies in the international market as prices from the region are usually at a discount to those in North America.

A key difference between the South American and North American agricultural sectors is the lack of sizeable storage options in the south.

While U.S. soybean and Canadian canola growers have the option of binning their crops and holding out for higher prices until the time is right, their counterparts in South America don’t typically have that flexibility.

The grain generally goes directly from field to port, where it must be priced to draw in export interest and make sure inventory doesn’t pile up. FF — Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Commodity News Service Canada.

Photo: ©REUTERS

Unlike North American growers, South American producers have limited storage options, so grain almost always goes directly from field to port.

FARMFORUM.CA / WINTER 2013

5

PRODUCTION

War on

wireworms

heats up

An old gang of thieves is wreaking havoc on cereal crops across the prairies. These culprits do their work underground, robbing healthy young plants of their yield potential, or wiping them out completely. The wiggly criminals are well-organized, diverse and tough. Their work is often mistaken for that of others, keeping their true identity hidden. Worst of all, they can’t be wiped out.

These wily characters go by a variety of names — Ctenicera destructor, Hypnoides bicolor, or Limonius californicus — but they’re all wireworms.

Hot on the trail of this destructive gangster squad is Dr. Bob Vernon, research scientist with the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research centre in Agassiz, BC. His expertise in wireworms began in the late 1990s when he was working on finding safer alternatives for controlling

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FARM FORUM / WINTER 2013

wireworm damage in horticultural crops. Then before long Vernon was called upon to help find solutions to the wireworm problem plaguing the prairies at the time.

Now he worries that wireworms are set to make new gains. “The population seems to be exploding across most of North America, Europe and Asia,” says Vernon. “We need to bring attention to wireworms now because we’ve skipped a whole generation of growers who know what they can do”.

Vernon explains that in the 1940s and ‘50s, wireworms were a big problem. “That generation of farmers knew what wireworm damage looked like, and what to do about it.” Back then, Lindane was used on wheat crops every few years, to keep the worms at bay. But that product was taken off the market in 2004 and the wireworm presence has been strengthening ever since.

“It’s something that could rear its ugly head

 Above: Research scientist, Dr. Bob Vernon, says the wireworm population is exploding in North America, Europe and Asia.  Opposite page: Wireworms work underground, robbing healthy young plants of their yield potential.

Photo: courtesy of bob vervon

by Dianne Finstad

again, to a new generation of growers who have never seen the large scale crop (damage) they can cause,” says Vernon.

“And growers today often don’t really know how to recognize the damage.”

That’s because wireworms are so stealthy and unpredictable. Bare spots they’ve chewed out in fields can easily be mistaken for frost damage or root rot. And the worms are not easy to find, so companies like Bayer are coming on board to help growers tackle the problem.

“Until a few years ago, wireworms had slipped off the radar,” says Graham Hastie, Bayer’s manager of cereal fungicides/insecticides and seed treatments. “As they’ve taken a stronger foothold, awareness has increased, so farmers are looking for them more, and finding them. Then you realize how big the problem is,” adds Hastie. “Originally they were thought of as a brown soil zone issue. While not every field has them, they have now been found in every soil zone.”

It’s a difficult battle to fight without weapons that kill the worms. Today, the only strategy is putting the bugs on a bender with their first few bites! “(Treated seed) sends the worms into a long-term intoxication, so they’re not feeding while the crop grows,” explains Vernon.

Seed treatments, like Raxil WW, can play a significant role in damage control.

“We’ve seen up to a 20 per cent yield increase by using seed treatment in severe cases,” says Hastie. “It more than pays for itself. So if you think there’s a problem, seed treatment is a good choice.

It also provides added benefits, such as increased plant vigor.”

But the challenge facing growers is determining if they have a wireworm problem in the first place. The active

crawlers are unpredictable and the type of damage they cause depends on the species and their stage of life. The worms don’t eat evenly or up and down a row.

Also, damage is often patchy and isn’t localized to field margins.

If you see dead or wilting plants, both experts advise digging down gently in the area surrounding the roots, as early as the two-leaf stage, to see if actual worms can be found. Putting out bait balls can also help (see sidebar). But Vernon cautions against over-reliance on bait balls when deciding whether to use treated seed.

“Bait balls are a tool that can let farmers know if worms are present, but there is no foolproof sampling method. If a field has a history of wireworm damage, or grew wheat, other cereal crops or pasture in the past four years, the worms are probably still there.” With this in mind, keeping record of fields with potential wireworm problems is important.

In terms of agronomic management, good crop rotation is always a healthy choice. But another key for getting the most from treated seed is to time seeding for quick germination. That ensures the highest dosage of insecticide to the worms. So try for shallow seed placement, warm soil, low compaction and potentially increased seeding rates, as well as avoiding very early seeding.

While crops are protected with regular use of treated seed, however, the enemy is only suppressed, not eliminated. So for now, the wireworm army marches on in expansion mode. “Research is underway to find something better,” says Hastie. “It’s definitely a research and development focus for us.”

The war on wireworms is far from over, and growers are anxious to get the upper

hand. “Be your own scout, know the crops at greatest risk, and time your plantings accordingly,” says Vernon.

“We’re seeing a lot more interest from farmers, as they’re out looking for wireworms and asking questions,” says Hastie. “There is money in cereals these days, and it pays to protect them.” ff Bayer CropScience: wireworm on cereals information www.farmforum.ca/ wirewormoncerealsinfo

How to make and use bait balls One way to test for the presence of wireworms in a field is with bait balls. To make them, mix oatmeal and water together to create a ball the size of a fist. Bury the balls about four to six inches deep in various parts of the field. After seven to 10 days, dig them up and open the balls to see if any wireworms are inside.

How do they work? As the oatmeal breaks down, it releases carbon dioxide, in the same way that a plant’s root system does. That CO2 attracts hungry wireworms looking for a snack.

The best time to put out bait balls is mid-April when adult wireworms begin to move up from the depths of their winter homes in the soil, looking for food. It’s also soon enough to give you time to consider using treated seed.

If you’re looking for an economic threshold to help make the decision on whether to use treated seed, don’t. Even one wireworm in a bait ball could indicate a problem.

By the same token, if you don’t find any, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re home free. If the field is too wet, too cold, or the bait balls are left too long, the wireworms may not come for dinner at all or, if they do, can be lured out of the balls by other tempting food sources.

Still, even while results can be inconsistent, bait balls are still a good low-cost way to find wireworms.

FARMFORUM.CA / WINTER 2013

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

Always read and follow label directions. EverGol™ and Trilex® are trademarks of the Bayer Group. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.

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To learn more about Trilex EverGol, visit BayerCropScience.ca/Trilex

C-61-11/12-BCS12329-E

FA R M L I F E

Saskatchewan winery strives to be world’s best

By lindsye dunbar Turning a hay field into an orchard is no small feat, especially when your goal is to be the best fruit winery in the world.

That’s what Sue Echlin and Vance Lester, owner/operators of Living Sky Winery in Perdue, SK, did. It wasn’t easy. They had much to learn and many obstacles to overcome along the way — crops eaten to the ground by mice and voles; working with government on industry regulations; and numerous marketing challenges. “But we knew we wanted to be the best in the world, so all our business decisions have been made with this in mind,” says Lester.

Saskatchewan’s 2012 Outstanding Young Farmer winners, converted their hay field into a 10-acre orchard seven years ago. It was five years before the first fruit wine could be made. This year they will produce 18,000 litres to be sold at farmers’ markets in Saskatoon and Regina, through several area restaurants

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and, of course, through direct delivery to customers. Their success had been remarkable, and it’s only just the start.

“One key to our operation is that we decided to be a winery from the beginning,” says Lester. Most fruit wine producers have their orchard established first and then decide to diversify into winemaking. “Going our route, we chose the fruit varieties first for winter hardiness, and second for the high quality of the resulting wine” says Echlin. “Our rhubarb variety, especially, was chosen for the great wine it makes.”

The two say that one of their smartest business decisions was to hire a worldclass winemaker, Dominic Rivard, before they planted any fruit. “We searched published wine awards looking for a winemaker and Dominic’s name kept coming up,” says Lester. After finally tracking him down, they flew Rivard to Saskatchewan for a face-to-face meeting. Being particular about who he works with, it was Rivard who did the

interviewing before deciding that Living Sky Winery looked like a good venture.

In the beginning, Rivard tried to talk Lester and Echlin out of making rhubarb wine but today it is their biggest seller.

“Here in the west, we love our rhubarb!” says Echlin.

Living Sky’s offering has expanded to include mistelles (a type of fortified wine), dessert wines and ciders, all made using a variety of fruit including strawberries, apples, black currants, raspberries, saskatoons and cherries.

The couple’s ecological approach is complementary to Lester’s background in research biology. “We use ‘whole farm’ principles in our soil, water and orchard management,” says Lester.

“For example, we trap to control mice and voles, but also encourage owls and coyotes,” says Echlin. “We planted nesting trees nearby for the owls,” explains Lester.

“They do a better job at controlling the rodent population than we do.”

Although some great fruit wineries

Photos: courtesy of vance lester and sue echlin

Winners of the 2012 Outstanding Young Farmers' award successfully turned a hay field into an orchard

“Here in the west, we love our rhubarb!”

— Sue Echlin

have helped improve public perception of fruit wines, Echlin and Lester still had to overcome some prejudice.

“Everyone has had grandma’s bad bathtub wine,” says Lester. “It’s about educating people because, although they’re not grape wines, they’re equally complex.”

“We just have to get fruit wines in people’s mouths and they change their minds,” adds Echlin. Indeed, “just getting it in people’s mouths” has become one of the cornerstones of the couple’s marketing plan, as most of their sales are direct-to-consumer.

“The booth at the farmer’s market is great for that,” says Echlin.

They have also held tastings, by invitation, for groups of people. “The great thing about fruit wine is that you don’t need to know the difference between a pinot noir and a pinot blanc,” says Echlin. “You just need to know you like strawberries or rhubarb.”

Living Sky Winery relies on social media for a good part of its marketing.

“We’ve never spent a cent on traditional marketing,” says Echlin. “Social media is great for word-of-mouth marketing,” adds Lester. “We have a Facebook page and are on Twitter. In fact, one of our most successful tastings was for one of our Twitter followers.”

And it works. The couple can’t keep up with demand and have 10 restaurants in line waiting to add Living Sky to their wine lists. They are thinking about outsourcing fruit to expand production to meet this and other larger markets.

For example, recent changes to provincial regulations on alcohol sales across borders have Echlin and Lester eyeing up opportunities in Alberta.

They’re also working on a deal to start exporting large amounts of product to China. “This is great for us and really exciting, but we have to make sure we grow within our limits,” says Lester. “We have to make it more about growing smartly than growing quickly.” ff Living Sky Winery www.farmforum.ca/ livingskywinery Follow Living Sky Winery on Facebook www.farmforum.ca/ facebooklivingskywinery

 Top left: Living Sky Winery chooses its fruit varieties for winter hardiness. Its rhubarb wine is its most popular. Top right: Winery owners Vance Lester and Sue Echlin. Above: Enjoying a winter ride L to R: Vance, Sue, Sue's sister in law, Jill Barron and brother Ryan Echlin.

Follow Living Sky Winery on Twitter www.farmforum.ca/ twitterlivingskywinery

FARMFORUM.CA / WINTER 2013

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C OV E R S T O RY

Bayer’s Market Development Team

Puts research into practice

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FARM FORUM / WINTER 2013

B

ayer's Market Development Team is a group of agronomists who field-test products then relay their findings to producers and retailers.

Jeff Melchior During the process of bringing any new product to market, there comes a time when you have to take it out of the lab and test it in the real world.

At Bayer CropScience, that is the job of the market development team (MDT) — a group of dedicated agronomists who put new InVigor hybrids and crop protection products through their paces in field-scale trials. This team generates usage data (what you see on product labels, for example) as well as performance data, then relays that information to producers and retailers through farm tours, product publications and online.

The MDT’s primary purpose is to experience and work through the same challenges producers face during a growing season. This puts the team in the best position to measure the effectiveness of a new product from a producer’s perspective, says Al Eadie, MDT manager. In many ways, it’s a unique set-up that only Bayer and a few other companies are able to offer.

“It’s stimulating to know we have the

resources to conduct sound trials that generate information about our products that ultimately benefits farm customers,” he says. “Not every company has those resources.”

On a personal level, the team is driven by the satisfaction gained from providing producers with real solutions backed up by real data. “What I like about the job is that it’s so diverse — no two days are alike,” says Leighton Blashko, a market development specialist for the northcentral Alberta region. “Products change and people change. Keeping ahead of the curve on agronomy is what makes it exciting for me.”

Driven by agronomic experience Bayer’s western MDT is an 11-member unit that comprises 10 market development specialists (four in Alberta, four in Saskatchewan and two in Manitoba) as well as one seed treatment technical specialist located in Saskatchewan.

Each member of the team has numerous years of agronomic experience in western Canada, says Eadie. “It’s not an entry-level position — it

 Opposite page The Bayer Market Development team: Back row, left to right: Trevor Glas, Doug Richardson, Meagan Pierrard, Dan Bardi, Kyle Gross, Harold Brown. Front row, left to right: Troy Basaraba, Dan Fletcher, Tim Gardner, Al Eadie, Kent Hall, Leighton Blashko.

 Field scale trial plots such as this one near Calmar, AB, are the result of co-operative efforts between local farmers and the Market Development Team representative for that area.

FARMFORUM.CA / WINTER 2013

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“We look for specialized experience with a number of different products … The goal is to have a varied group, and the more experience with different products in the group, the better” — Al Eadie, market development manager

requires a lot of agronomic knowledge and some degree of specialization,” he says.

“We look for specialized experience with a number of different products. Some may be strong in fungicide and herbicide knowledge while others will be experts in the seed industry, for example.

The goal is to have a varied group, and the more experience with different products in the group, the better.”

Producers play a key role

 This sign in a field trial plot near Calmar, AB, shows the results of field trials with InVigor L135C that features Clubroot resistance.

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Any producer who has been on a Bayer farm tour has seen the MDT in action. The demonstration strip trials (DSTs) on show at these tours are designed to measure new product efficacy in a variety of field and environmental conditions, as well as against competitor products, and are the foundation of the information gathering efforts of the MDT. But these trials would not be possible without the co-operation of farmers throughout western Canada. For InVigor trials, participating producers are primarily responsible for seeding and harvesting, while the MDT does the in-crop work, such as scouting and spraying and, of course, all the yield and performance data collection.

“If we are conducting a cereal fungicide DST,” says Eadie, “the grower looks after all crop management practices, like seeding, herbicide application, harvesting, and so on. We apply the fungicide treatments with our sprayer, and we

FARM FORUM / WINTER 2013

are there at harvest time with our weigh wagon to take accurate yield measurements and collect grain samples for quality testing.”

Growers are compensated for their time and effort. But, says Eadie, the relationship goes way beyond that. “Farmer involvement is fundamental to the success of our field-scale trial program,” he says. “Bottom line, we could not conduct these trials without the sacrifice of time, resources and knowledge from our farmer co-operators. But, aside from the direct compensation, they also get to see how our innovative new products perform on their farm, and they get to work with a very knowledgeable agronomist from our MDT. “We are always seeking to work with good growers who use best management practices and who are interested in working with us,” adds Eadie.

“The exchange of experience between producer and agronomist often leads to a relationship that lasts beyond the growing season in which the trial is conducted.”

Show and tell DST tours play a huge role in bringing field trial data directly to producers, which is why the MDT hosts 10 to 15 major tours throughout western Canada every summer, as well as hundreds of smaller tours for smaller groups of growers, retailers or agronomists.

“Summer, right up to and just before harvest, is a good time to tour canola DSTs so growers can look at how things are podding up and how they’re going to yield,” says Eadie. “August is also a great time to look at the treatment effects of cereal fungicides.”

DST tours also serve as a valuable opportunity for face-to-face interaction with producers and retailers, says Blashko. “Instead of just reading a product guide with some generalized data,

New InVigor hybrids in the pipeline for 2014

By Jeff Melchior

 Field trial plots provide good "seeing is believing" comparisons. Above, you're looking at an untreated wheat plot on the left and a treated (Prosaro) plot on the right.

our customers get specific first-hand information on our products and how they will perform or be optimized under specific conditions,” he says.

Which is not to say that product guides serve no purpose. They most definitely do because not everyone can attend a tour, and because it’s good to have all the data down in one place for quick reference.

And it’s a lot of data.

In 2012, Bayer CropScience conducted over 50 DSTs on InVigor hybrids alone (only nine of them were incomplete due to weather). Yield, dockage, days to maturity, lodging, swathing and combine ratings, green seed counts, crop protection products used, when they were applied, fertilizer treatments — a lot of infomation is taken and recorded throughout the year.

“The goal is to take the field data and turn it into useful information for growers,” says Eadie, adding that it can be a challenge because collecting and packaging all that data in time for producers to make pre-harvest product decisions means that fall can be a bottleneck for the MDT members who

are still managing the trials themselves.

“Time is always of the essence, especially for canola seed as growers are making those decisions in the fall.”

The MDT also hosts a number of followup meetings through the winter to present new product information to producers and retailers. For those who attended farm tours during the summer, these meetings provide an opportunity to get a more complete picture of the results they saw in the field.

Bayer CropScience also offers growers access to this information online. One example is the invigorresults.ca site.

“We’ve made it more interactive so farmers and retailers can choose their InVigor hybrid and compare it to a competitive hybrid, as long as we have data on that product in the database,” says Eadie.

Cereal producers can view wheat, barley and oat fungicide DST results on the Bayer CropScience Canada website, www.bayercropscience.ca. “Growers can go in and look at field scale data for nearby trial locations or check out provincial or western Canada summaries by year,” says Eadie. ff

Bayer CropScience: InVigor strip trial results: www.farmforum.ca/InVigortrialresults Bayer CropScience: Fungicide DST results www.farmforum.ca/fungicideDSTresults

Sclerotinia tolerance and straight combining technology are among the features of two new canola hybrids that Bayer’s market development team (MDT) will be testing this season.

“We have some new hybrids we will be testing in 2013 for commercial introduction under the InVigor brand in 2014,” says Al Eadie, MDT manager.

“With InVigor hybrid canola, we are constantly striving to bring new advancements in terms of yield and overall agronomic benefits.”

One of these will be a hybrid with sclerotinia tolerance traits. “This will be a new tool for the InVigor lineup to help growers manage what can be a really difficult disease in canola,” says Eadie.

Bayer CropScience’s goal for the second promising hybrid is reduced susceptibility to to pod shatter — a development that Eadie says is “really exciting.”

“In the usual maturation process of canola, pod shatter is a natural seed dispersal technique,” he says.

“However, it’s not a good thing when you want that seed to go into the combine bin.” The ultimate goal is to help producers avoid swathing altogether and go straight to combining, says Eadie.

“Normally, farmers swath their canola at 50 to 60 per cent seed colour change, but there’s an advantage in terms of yield if you let that canola stand and swath later or direct combine it,” he says.

“It’s also a time management issue for growers to swath all their canola acres because they’re busy harvesting other crops.”

FARMFORUM.CA / WINTER 2013

15

PRODUCTION

Make canola trial data work for you

 Field experiment for gene technology with canola, isolation of seed-parent lines against cross pollination.

Numbers don’t lie — nor do they always tell the whole story. With so many canola varieties to choose from, canola trial data can play a key role in making an informed decision. Trial data is available from a number of reliable sources, but you need to consider exactly what you’re looking at to make sure the results are relevant to your farming operation.

Here are five questions to ask yourself when interpreting canola trial data:

Are the trials 1 comparing the same thing?

Not all research trials are created equal.

When comparing trial data, make sure you’re looking at results that were obtained the same way across varieties.

For example, some trials involve small plots while some are large. Some reflect a single year, while others look at varieties over several growing seasons.

“Be sure you are comparing apples to apples, not apples to oranges,” says Blaine Woycheshin, manager, oilseed crops, InVigor seed for Bayer CropScience. “If you want greater accuracy in the information you’re assessing, choose trials comparing the same traits across varieties to get a balanced data set. If there are 28 trials, they should be comparing the same varieties across 28 sites.”

2

hould I look at data S from other regions?

Looking at how a variety performs in your soil zone under local growing conditions is an important way to apply research results to your own operation. But it can pay to look a bit farther afield.

“Variety assessment for any location is a numbers game, so get as much trial data as possible for the varieties you are interested in,” says Phil Thomas, senior agri-coach with Agri-Trend.

“Growers should not only assess local

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top Photo: ©istock other photos: bayer cropscience

By Jennifer Barber

trial data but also look at other areas in their soil zone. In addition they should be looking at short, medium or long zones and similar latitude trials for a more complete picture.”

Trial location can also show how a variety performs under a range of weather conditions, which, across the prairies, can change dramatically from one year to the next. Looking at provincial averages can further flesh out the information provided by local trials.

Are the trials 3 replicated?

Scientifically relevant trials should be replicated over a number of sites.

This protocol gives data more weight because the same end result should occur a number of times when the canola is grown under the same production systems during the same year.

“Accuracy is important when looking at data results, and one way to make sure things are accurate is to look at the averages,” says Woycheshin. “While it’s good to look at two data sets, it’s even better to look at three or four that are analyzing the varieties in the same way.”

He adds that the way the canola is grown across those trials should be taken into account. If they are truly replicated trials, then all trial entries are grown the same way so that variables such as soil type, herbicide, fungicide, harvest timing or any

other production process, are applied similarly across the trial.

4

What’s in the check?

All trials compare varieties against a check product. But for results to be meaningful, that check should be a strong performer with a proven track record, and it should also reflect current technologies on the market today.

“If the check in a given trial is 10 years old, it may no longer be available to growers, but a lot has changed over the past decade,” says Woycheshin.

“For one thing, yields have risen dramatically so an older product can make current products look really strong, even when they are not.”

In the end, is yield 5 all that really matters?

There’s no doubt that the yield column is a highlight when looking at trial results. But it’s not the only consideration. Different production factors can have a big impact on an individual grower’s yield and those differences can make it challenging for seed to reach its full genetic potential.

“Because of those differences, growers should also look at days to maturity, height, lodging resistance, disease resistance, herbicide system and whether the variety is a hybrid or open pollinated,” says Thomas.

“Producers in areas that have consistently high levels of sclerotinia should seriously consider sclerotinia

resistant varieties,” he adds. “The same goes in areas that have clubroot disease. If you want the same results as the trials, consider if the way you grow canola is reflected in the way the trials were conducted.”

More food for thought In addition to those questions, check whether the trials were conducted side-by-side or across multiple sites.

Woycheshin says side-by-side trials offer a good visual comparison of product performance, but multiplesite data gives the most accurate results. He cautions that bigger is not always better and that often, mid- to small-sized plots, replicated over a number of sites, can offer the most balanced data.

Thomas recommends growers first visit individual company sites to look at their data, and then use the Canola Council’s Canola Performance Trials as a useful comparison. He adds that it helps to look at data over a number of seasons.

“What producers want are varieties that have consistent yields every year, which means varieties with broad adaptation to different and varying environmental conditions,” he says.

“Look at as many years of data as possible,” he concludes, “as there may be a shift in variety ranking for yield due to environment effects. You have a lot of good choices, and trial data can help fine tune the decisionmaking process.” FF

FARMFORUM.CA / WINTER 2013

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PRODUCTION

Wheat yields get set for take-off Increasing yield and improving disease resistance are keys to address food shortages

By Jennifer Barber Wheat growers today can achieve yields their parents never dreamed of. But what lies ahead for the next generation of grain producers? How will wheat evolve as it continues to play its part in feeding a hungry planet? It could be an exciting ride. Research into new technology aims at boosting wheat yields to even greater heights.

“Bayer CropScience believes modern plant breeding methods, including biotechnology, could bring significant and sustainable advantages to wheat farmers and the environment through varieties with greater yield, more efficient nutrient utilization and drought tolerance,” says Rick Turner, global market head, wheat and oilseeds, with Bayer CropScience.

“Given the fact wheat is grown on the largest acreage of any crop in the world — more than double global soybean acreage — we believe the market potential for wheat seed improvement to be significant.”

Investment and strategy Globally, Bayer CropScience now has research facilities and partnerships established to further develop its wheat seed and traits business, building on a broad germplasm base and local variety development (see sidebar).

The company currently invests more than CDN$900 million annually in global seed and crop protection product development, and plans to build on that with an additional CDN$165 million investment over the next three years to facilitate rapid genetic improvement of wheat.

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“While the majority of the wheat breeding work is being done overseas, over the past two years Bayer CropScience has invested a significant amount of money into our Canadian wheat breeding projects” Bayer CropScience Wheat Breeder

Understanding wheat

Photo: bayer cropscience

— Dr. Aakash Goyal

Recently, it opened the doors to new wheat breeding greenhouses and laboratories in Gatersleben, Germany, with the goal of producing the first Bayer wheat varieties for Europe by 2015. Early plans are to launch wheat varieties on the Canadian market around 2017.

“While the majority of the wheat breeding work is being done overseas, over the past two years we’ve invested a significant amount of money into our Canadian wheat breeding projects,” says Dr. Aakash Goyal, a wheat breeder with Bayer CropScience Canada and part of the team developing new wheat varieties for western Canada.

“Our spring breeding program is in the initial stages, but moving forward,” he says. “Bayer also plans to open a wheat breeding station in Saskatoon to further advance work being done in other areas of the world.”

Goyal says Bayer’s strategy for wheat breeding in Canada is linked closely to its global program and important network of partners around the world offering specific areas of interest and expertise.

The short-term goal is to deal with food shortages by increasing yield and improving disease resistance. The longterm goals are to deal with environmental stresses such as drought and cold, and to improve nitrogen use efficiency.

Earlier this year, Bayer CropScience, in collaboration with its partners, developed a screening assay for wheat under drought conditions. Using controlled watering, researchers were able to detect differences between wheat strains that cannot be seen by the naked eye. This work could provide the foundation for seed development to combat drought.

Bayer’s nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) program was able to identify a link between the colouring of the plant and several physiological indicators of photosynthetic activity. Early results show that colour classification of wheat plants could be used to predict the Nitrogen Balance Index, which rates the amount of nitrogen used by the plant subtracted from the nitrogen applied to the plant, leading to greater fertilizer efficiency.

Last year, Bayer worked with another of its worldwide partners to identify over 200,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), in wheat. SNPs

FARMFORUM.CA / WINTER 2013

19

are a powerful type of molecular marker for trait improvement. Identifying SNPs across the wheat genome is necessary to locate desired traits needed for the next phase of wheat breeding.

“The wheat genome (complete genetic code) is both complex and very large –— approximately five times the size of the human genome — which creates a major challenge for breeders in implementing advanced breeding techniques,” says Turner. “The identification of a

significant number of SNP markers improves overall understanding of the wheat genome and therefore facilitates use of this knowledge to deliver desirable genetic improvements in wheat.”

Current research in wheat variety development applies both GM and non-GM tools to accelerate productivity improvement in wheat. “In Canada, however, as is the case around the world, our main focus is using traditional breeding techniques and marker

technology for new wheat development,” says Goyal. “Our goal is to create seed that can produce significantly more grain, in a way that works for growers.”

Putting all this research into practice takes time — eight to 10 years, or longer, for a new variety to reach market. In western Canada, Bayer has made spring wheat a priority, but is also looking into high-performance, environmentally friendly winter wheat varieties for the prairies. FF

Wheat breeding goes global

PHOTO: BAYER CROPSCIENCE

BY JENNIFER BARBER

 Fleur Wilkins, BAYER AG, Australia, left and Bahar Miraghazadeh CSIRO, Canberra, Australia survey wheat plants in a CSIRO greenhouse.

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With a firm focus on ensuring sustainable wheat production, Bayer CropScience has made significant investment and partnered with leading organizations around the world.

Bayer’s own established global network of wheat breeding and testing stations provides an international platform to exchange results and best practices. And a network of alliances with leading international research institutions is being set up to put the latest biotechnology procedures into practice and accelerate breeding progress.

The latest addition to that network is the Wheat Breeding Station in Milly la Foret, France. That country is Europe’s largest wheat producer. Earlier in 2012, Bayer opened its European Wheat Breeding Centre in Gatersleben, Germany, to develop wheat varieties with higher yields and improved features, and to coordinate all wheat breeding activities in Europe.

Bayer also recently announced the development of a new research centre in Australia to co-ordinate breeding activities in the southern hemisphere.

Canadian research is conducted from Saskatoon, and that facility will work closely with a regional centre currently being built in Lincoln, Nebraska. Over the long term, the company plans to further expand wheat breeding efforts into Latin America and Asia.

In addition to its own efforts, Bayer CropScience has partnered in research and development efforts around the world. With their partner in Israel they are looking for new GM and non-GM traits. In France, they are researching western European germplasm together with a European seed specialist. In Brazil, the company is jointly developing customized packages for high quality wheat production with a regional genetics firm, and in the Ukraine, Bayer has acquired local breeding programs.

Bayer has developed public-private partnerships with a research institution in Romania for access to germplasm with strong disease resistance and environmental stress tolerance. It also works with the University of NebraskaLincoln for access to wheat germplasm for the Great Plains; South Dakota State University for access to spring wheat germplasm; and with Texas A&M University on improved wheat varieties.

Another partnership with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (roughly equivalent to Ag Canada Research) in Australia is focused on the discovery of GM and non-GM traits, while other work with Australian partners aims at discovering high-yield traits.

All these partnerships have one goal in mind: better varieties that help growers produce sustainable, high yielding wheat crops to meet global demand.

T E C H N O L O GY

Farm on the go

PHOTO: COURTESY OF ANDREW CAMPBELL

BY CLARE STANFIELD VISIT ANDREW CAMPBELL’S website and the first thing you see is a picture of a farmer — a bit of a silver fox, too; no youngster — in a cow pasture, leaning on his truck, tapping the screen of his smartphone. It’s an image we should get used to.

While it’s not Campbell in the picture, it could be. He’s a big proponent of the power of mobile technology as a farm management tool. He blogs about it, speaks about it, tweets about it, writes about it and, yes, he uses mobile technology on his own farm — a 400acre, 45-head dairy operation he runs with his wife, Jessica and his parents, in Strathroy, ON. And he is by no means alone. In June 2011, a Farm Credit Canada vision panel study found that 29 per cent of farmers had a smartphone, with over half of them planning to buy a tablet in the future. A mere eight months later, in an Ontario ag ministry (OMAFRA) online survey of Ontario producers, ag students, and ag professionals, 69 per cent of respondents reported owning a smartphone, with half saying it was essential to their work.

“Fifteen or 20 years ago, some people were reluctant to get a computer,” says Campbell. “Now, most farms are heavily computerized.” Mobile technology, he says, is the natural next step in electronic farm management, and while it has much to offer now, it can be a whole lot better if farmers themselves get involved.

Today’s dairy farms are fairly well automated. For Campbell, the big challenge is integrating that automation with mobility. “On the mobile technology end, we’re trying to accomplish two things,” he says. “Number one is how can we make data more accessible to all of us; and number two is how can we not call each other every seven minutes to see how we stand.

“For example,” he says, “if I book a load of corn, my dad can see that and not book it again. We’re gradually getting to a smartphone-friendly farm where the idea is to key information into one of our phones and we can both access it.”

This is leading to greater efficiencies on

the farm management and crop marketing sides. “I can make crop marketing decisions from wherever I am; I can make change offers from an airport and actually hit the prices I want,” says Campbell, who travels frequently to conduct workshops and speak about new media in agriculture.

On the herd management side, he and his family are making strides, but in many respects, the technology cart is still before the application horse. “It’s a bit more challenging on the herd side,” he says.

“It’s not the technology so much as the programs — it’s difficult to get an app or program that’s designed for agriculture.”

There are many good and useful farm apps focused on grain prices, weather forecasts, agronomic decision tools, and the like, but purpose-built, whole-farm management applications are rare. “I have zero interest in opening up 17 different apps in a day,” he says.

Campbell uses a program called Evernote, which has the benefit of being downloadable onto just about any platform, and allows him to synchronize all his notes, files and images among different devices (say, his phone and the office computer), share them with his dad’s phone, and even amalgamate information from many different sources into one file.

It’s good, but he’s had to adapt a program never meant for agricultural use, and it’s not always ideal. “On the herd management side, we still do a lot of work on a note pad because the technology to do it all electronically doesn’t exist yet,” says Campbell. “Until we can get a system that works and that we can rely on, we’ll continue to do that.”

The beauty of smartphones and tablets is their mobility, and Campbell dreams of the day when producers like him can do everything they need to from mobile devices. On his dairy farm, for instance, being able to see milk production, vaccinations, treatment dates, and breeding and pregnancy information for each animal on his phone, whether he’s in the barn or in an airport, would greatly improve efficiency and reduce the potential for error.

Not to mention the sheer job satisfaction. “No farmer wakes up in the

 Andrew Campbell

morning and says, ‘Yay! It’s a bookwork day,’” says Campbell. New rules and regulations such as the dairy vaccination protocol, that require detailed records, would be so much easier to manage and more accurate if dedicated software existed.

“Ag software developers should be looking at mobile technology and thinking ‘how do I make this easier for farmers?’” he says.

Campbell believes it’s only a matter of time, and that farmers themselves can drive the bus if they choose to. “The phone can do it; it just needs the application. And the application needs the uptake.” In other words, software development isn’t cheap, so producers need to tell developers what they want and then use it.

“We’re getting more and more to a position where you can do more management chores off-farm, wherever you are,” says Campbell. “In a perfect world, I don’t have to go into the office any more.” FF

Andrew Campbell’s website, Fresh Air Media: www.farmforum.ca/freshairmedia Putting the “ag smarts” into “smartphones” www.farmforum.ca/ agsmartsinsmartphones Exploring social media and smartphone use in Ontario ag: www.farmforum.ca/ socialmedia-smartphoneuse

FARMFORUM.CA / WINTER 2013

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

Always read and follow label directions. Raxil速 and Stress Shield速 are registered trademarks of the Bayer Group. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.

Grounded in plant health.

There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes when you use Raxil® WW seed treatment, but all you’ll see is a beautiful, healthy cereal crop. Raxil WW with Stress Shield® is the complete protection package, combining the serious seed- and soil-borne disease protection of Raxil (including true loose smut and fusarium), with Stress Shield for increased plant health.

With Raxil WW you get stronger emergence, increased vigour and a healthier, higher yielding crop that’s better able to withstand seasonal stresses.

To learn more about what Raxil with Stress Shield can do for you, visit BayerCropScience.ca/Raxil

C-55-11/12-BCS12329-E

WHAT'S NEW WITH BAYER CROPSCIENCE PRODUCTS

Launch of EverGol

a ‘game changer’ in seed treatment

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In addition to helping create a disease-free crop, Trilex EverGol under significant and negligible disease pressure promotes development of higher performing root systems that optimize water and nutrient extraction from the surrounding soil. The end result is a more robust, faster emerging crop with exceptional plant stand and establishment.

To learn more about Trilex EverGol, visit BayerCropScience.ca/Trilex

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

Always read and follow label directions. EverGol™ and Trilex® are trademarks of the Bayer Group. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.

SBC12202.Trilexevergol.DPS.indd

11-15-2012 9:12 AM

Research fuelled, results driven Fuelled by cutting edge science and engineered for proven performance, EverGol is a new chemistry that delivers some extra swagger — one that comes from providing growers with a new stand out choice for peace of mind and return on investment.

Simply put, with EverGol, Bayer CropScience seed treatments for pulses and canola have never looked better.

New Trilex EverGol combines three different actives (penflufen, trifloxystrobin and metalaxy) to deliver outstanding early-season seed and seedling disease control. This includes providing a strong defense against phythium and botrytis, along with increased activity on rhizoctonia and ascochyta.

Number one for improved germination and vigour, this product promotes higher

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Magenta,

“EverGol makes plant health a priority” None

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rely on to get the job done, unlocking new pathways to profitability. But harvesting the power of EverGol depends on taking action early — make sure you plan ahead to maximize benefits. Contact your local Bayer CropScience representative today, or learn more on the Bayer CropScience website, www.bayercropscience.ca.

Bayer CropScience

Marsha Walters

100%

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performing root systems to support optimal nutrient and water extraction, as well as a more robust, faster-emerging crop to withstand seasonal stresses. It also comes in a concentrate formulation that mixes easily with water, providing flexibility for growers with no plugging issues.

New Prosper EverGol protects canola against the most damaging diseases and insects, including flea beetles up to the four-leaf stage, seed rot seedling blight, damping off and early-season root rot caused by pythium, rhizoctonia and fusarium, as well as seed-borne diseases.

Both products represent a new standard in seed treatments that you can

Production Contact Numbers: 403 261 7161 403 261 7152

The power of penflufen The key advantage of EverGol is penflufen, a brand new Group 7 active ingredient — the first specifically engineered for use in seed treatments only. It brings outstanding protection against rhizoctonia solani and ascochyta to an already powerful BayerCropScience product package, for a new level of performance.

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At the heart of plant health is a quality seed treatment.

Trilex® EverGol™ seed treatment for pulses provides an exceptional disease control package, including unparalleled protection from rhizoctonia and ascochyta.

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A strong pulse.

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new generation of leading-edge, protection and performance has arrived for Canadian growers with the launch of two new seed treatment products from Bayer CropScience.

Growers can harvest the ramped-up benefits of EverGol™ for the 2013 season with Trilex® EverGol, geared for pulses, and Prosper® EverGol, tailored for canola.

Both deliver outstanding early season development to ensure healthy plant emergence and a strong stand, with disease protection that is second to none.

This dynamic and innovative product line features the brand new active ingredient penflufen, a game-changer in seed treatments for pulses and canola.

The penflufen component has been combined with existing actives to increase overall plant health and take performance to a whole new level.

A NEWSLETTER FROM BAYER CROPSCIENCE

Stress Shield locks in plant health power

S

trong stands, strong yields and strong payoff for growers. All of this depends on one thing – plant

health.

To maximize it, growers need a complete package of protection and health-enhancing vigour from their seed treatment. And that’s exactly what Raxil WW with Stress Shield provides.

This seed treatment outperforms the competition by a country mile — and then some. Not only does it deliver superior disease protection, it offers a unique, revolutionary system that actually preserves and enhances natural plant health.

The result is exceptional disease protection, unparalleled plant health and higher grain yields, all in one package.

When it comes to Raxil WW with Stress Shield, the question isn’t, “What have I got to lose?” it’s “How much do I stand to gain?” The simple answer is a lot, and the sooner you plan ahead to make this product a catalyst of your cereal crop, the sooner you are locked in to reap the rewards.

Yield payoff The bottom line is higher yield and greater profitability. The plant is shielded from the effects of stress, resulting in greater biomass, better root establishment, and an overall stronger, more mature, stresstolerant plant.

Raxil WW still provides effective wireworm protection and that remains a strength. But there’s more to this picture than meets the eye. Much more. Find more details on the benefits of Stress Shield at BayerCropScience.ca/Raxil.

“Raxil WW with Stress Shield is the complete protection package for your cereals. It not only provides a superior plant stand, it also increases overall plant health and yield”

B:16.5” T:16.25” S:15.25”

Grounded in plant health.

S:10”

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There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes when you use Raxil® WW seed treatment, but all you’ll see is a beautiful, healthy cereal crop. Raxil WW with Stress Shield® is the complete protection package, combining the serious seed- and soil-borne disease protection of Raxil (including true loose smut and fusarium), with Stress Shield for increased plant health.

T:10.75”

Maximum defense Raxil WW with Stress Shield delivers exceptional disease protection. It fights against true loose smut, fusarium and a wide swath of other diseases. At the same time, the active in this product, imidalcloprid, provides a major boost to overall plant health and provides effective wireworm protection.

How Stress Shield works represents a completely new option for cereals. When a plant is injured from an abiotic stress such as drought or heat, it requires energy to repair and prevent future damage. To do this, it re-dedicates energy normally

used for plant growth, resulting in a weaker, lower yielding stand. But Stress Shield avoids this problem by supplying the plant with an additional energy source. This extra energy becomes a reserve the plant can draw upon to repair stress damage, allowing it to continue normal growth and development.

With Raxil WW you get stronger emergence, increased vigour and a healthier, higher yielding crop that’s better able to withstand seasonal stresses.

To learn more about what Raxil with Stress Shield can do for you, visit BayerCropScience.ca/Raxil

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

C-55-11/12-BCS12329-E

Always read and follow label directions. Raxil® and Stress Shield® are registered trademarks of the Bayer Group. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.

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Production Contact Numbers: 403 261 7161 403 261 7152

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WHAT'S NEW WITH BAYER CROPSCIENCE PRODUCTS

Fungicides kick off a successful crop year

F

“

ight for every inch.” It’s a football rallying cry that could just as well apply to farming today. Everything you do as a grower makes a difference to the bottom line and every detail matters.

One thing off track can tip the scales from a successful cropping season to a tough one.

This is particularly true when it comes to fungicide applications. With today’s top products, such as the Bayer CropScience fungicide lineup — highlighted by standouts such as Prosaro, Folicur EW and Proline — the decision to spray has never been more simple or clear.

“Factor a fungicide application into your cropping plans now to protect your investment and ensure a strong ROI ” More than ever, growers are realizing that “it pays to spray.” Planning early to apply fungicide is one of the best and most reliable return on investment decisions a grower can make. The fact is you can expect disease in every field and no matter how high or low the pressure is, the minute you apply product is the minute you start to gain.

Grower voices

Lessons from the gridiron Whether on the playing field or the crop field, the year-to-year battles yield plenty of wisdom. The lessons from these Prosaro customers are a good indication of what many farmers have come to learn about the merits of applying fungicide.

Farron Stricker, a Yorkton, Saskatchewan area mixed farmer. For Stricker, a big reason to plan to spray is risk management.

A big believer in the difference a fungicide can make, he’s done the research himself and has made a fungicide application part

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of his regular cropping program. “I’ve done 10 years of consecutive test blocks and I’ve never had one where we sprayed and didn’t gain something,” he says.

Often the difference between spraying or not spraying is huge, he remarks. “Honestly, we don’t walk a lot of fields anymore, we just spray. After 10 years of being proven, you just go do it and that’s it.”

Chad and Garry Liebrecht – co-owners of Liebrecht Farms outside of Yorkton. A bit further down the road, the Liebrechts, feel the same way. “It definitely paid for itself, and then some,” says Chad Liebrect.

“It’s something you’ve got to pencil in now, because it definitely makes a difference.”

Garry Liebrecht says they’ve come to see Prosaro fungicide as an integral part of their farming strategy. “When you consider what you put into the crop, there’s no sense gambling by not spraying. We see the results. This year we had top quality winter wheat with no fusarium and that’s a direct result from using the product.”

Daniel Ferre, farms near St. Brieux, Saskatchewan. Ferre is straight to the point on the lesson learned. “Spraying pays,” he says. “More and more every year, it seems we’re getting bombarded with diseases; this year especially was a classic case of a lot of disease pressure. Spraying is just something we factor into the budget and just do it. We easily cover our cost and come out ahead because we’ve ensured a better crop.”

Lyndon Tratch, farms near Canora, Saskatchewan. For Tratch, dramatic results with his wheat crop cemented his approach to fungicide application.

“We started spraying all our wheat and noticed some big yield differences, up to 20 bushels an acre difference. The year before all our wheat was number 2 and after it was all number 1. So it definitely pays to spray.”

Winning lineup

Snapshots of performance

Now more than ever, a fungicide application can be worth its weight in gold. Even in situations of minimal disease pressure a fungicide application will pay for itself and protect the yield and quality of your crop. Your return on investment simply increases correspondingly to disease levels.

Factor a fungicide application into your cropping plans now to protect your investment and ensure the availability of product. Here’s a look at three top performers to consider: Prosaro The new standard for protecting grain quality and yield. For cereal growers, this is fast becoming the top go-to option, offering a high level of performance against disease in wheat and barley.

Folicur EW This standby remains a proven performer to help cereals weather even the most intense leaf disease pressure.

Proline This powerful tool is simply the best defense for your canola against yield-robbing sclerotinia. To get the highest levels of disease control, you need to plan to apply fungicide during the 20 to 30 percent bloom stage.

CAPTURE SAVINGS & CALCULATE RETURNS

To see the difference a fungicide can make in your area, please visit ItPaysToSpray.ca

A NEWSLETTER FROM BAYER CROPSCIENCE

2013 Cereal Winter Sale

Once again, Bayer CropScience is pleased to offer you exceptional savings on our complete line-up of cereal herbicide innovations.

Participating Products:

And for the first time…

Book by March 9th, 2013 and get 5% back when you purchase 300 acres or more from any of the eligible herbicide groups. Save even more by Early Booking your selected InVigor hybrids by January 31, 2013.

Visit BayerCropScience.ca/BayerValue for more details.

DST Fungicide Map: Seeing is believing Visit ItPaysToSpray.ca for Demonstration Strip Trial results and regional summaries from across Western Canada. Don’t wait for disease to show up in your field, check out the positive results a fungicide application can make in your operation.

BayerCropScience.ca or 1 888-283-6847 or contact your Bayer CropScience representative. Always read and follow label directions. InVigor®, Liberty®, LibertyLink®, Proline® and TraitGuard™ are trademarks of the Bayer Group. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.

FARMFORUM.CA / WINTER 2013

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By 2050, there will be 9,000,000,000 hungry people and less farmland than there’s ever been. On August 19–25, 2013, the world’s youth will gather to advance solutions to this growing crisis of agricultural sustainability. If you’re 18–25, you should send us your thoughts.

We might just send you to Calgary, Canada (expenses paid) to share them with 120 other bright young minds and industry leaders.

Come to the table. Your perspective could change the course of history. Apply now at youthagsummit.com

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