Farm forum summer2015

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Al Driver

Local boy leads Bayer CropScience Canada TECHNOLOGY Drones: a new perspective on precision ag

BUSINESS

Lifelong learning keeps this farm humming

PRODUCTION Straight cutting comes to canola

FARM LIFE

Sleep. Eat. Work. Repeat: keep your body and brain working well through busy season

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

Always read and follow label directions. InVigor速 is a registered trademark of the Bayer Group.

Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.

0-66-04/15-10346398-E

PUBLISHER Bayer CropScience EDITOR Sherry Warner ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dave Wreford CONTRIBUTORS Jennifer Barber, Dianne Finstad, Joy Gregory and David Charlesworth

VOLUME 28 / ISSUE 5 / SUMMER 2015

BUSINESS

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@bayer.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.

Publications Mail Agreement Number 40743517 Registered in Canada Copyright 2015 WEBSITE www.farmforum.ca Return undeliverable copies to: Bayer CropScience Suite 200 160 Quarry Park Blvd SE Calgary, AB, T2C 3G3

Lifelong learning keeps this farm humming | 22 BUSINESS

Local boy leads Bayer CropScience Canada

PHOTO: GENESIS STUDIO

ON THE COVER Al Driver, a Quebec native, makes history as the first Canadian President and CEO of Bayer CropScience Canada.

T E C H N O L O GY

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Drones: a new perspective on precision ag

FA R M L I F E

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Editor’s Note: this issue brings together interesting people, technology and ideas

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Youth takes up the global food challenge: Australia hosts the 2015 Youth Ag-Summit

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Straight cutting comes to canola: now a practical option on the prairies

18

Applying crop protection products: Top five errors and fixes

25

Timing is everything when applying fungicide 1

Sleep. Eat. Work. Repeat: keep your body and brain working well through busy season

28 FARMFORUM.CA / SUMMER 2015

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I

n preparation for a busy cropping season, tuning up your farm equipment is a no-brainer.

Unfortunately, most farmers forget that they also need a tune-up themselves to last through those long and physically demanding hours in the field. In our feature story, Sleep. Eat. Work. Repeat, nutrition and sleep experts outline “preventive maintenance” programs for the most important farm machines of all – the human body and brain.

Those suggestions are just some of many practical and useful management strategies covered in this issue of Farm Forum.

Farmers now have a new tool in their arsenal to help them better understand what’s happening in their fields. Unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, will literally change the way you look at your farming operation. Whether you run a small vegetable farm or crop 30,000 acres, there is (or soon will be) a drone that can help. Find out how on page 8.

Protect your investment in crop protection products by learning how to apply them properly.

In our story on page 25, industry experts reveal the Top 5 errors (and fixes) in applying crop protection products.

With your canola crop out in the ground and growing, it’s not too early to think about harvest.

And now, growers in western Canada have a practical option to help minimize potential yield loss at harvest — straight cutting. While only 9 per cent of prairie canola growers straight cut

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their crop, for growers who planted Bayer’s hybrid InVigor seed with pod-shatter technology, straight cutting is a serious alternative to swathing. Find out why in our story on page 18.

Figuring out how to feed a growing world population takes new ideas and action plans.

In this issue, meet the four young Canadians selected to attend the Youth Ag-Summit this August in Canberra, Australia. There, they will have the opportunity to share ideas about global food security with like-minded contemporaries from around the world.

For the first time in its corporate history, Bayer CropScience Canada has a local at its helm. At the beginning of the year, Al Driver, originally from Quebec, took over as President and CEO of Bayer’s Canadian operation. With 30 years of experience with the company under his belt, and a carefully thought-out strategy for growth, Driver is ready to steer the company into the future. You can read more about him on page 6.

In this issue we also introduce you to Mike and Amy Cronin, the 2015 Outstanding Young Farmers’ program winners for the Ontario region. In addition to running a 3,600-sow, farrow-to-wean hog farm in Bluevale, ON, and three farms south of the border, the Cronins are raising six children. A focus on family and an ongoing investment in education are what keep this farm humming.

— Sherry Warner

Photo: thinkstock

Editor’s note

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C-50-04/15-10346398-E

BUSINESS

BY JENNIFER BARBER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITS HISTORY, Bayer CropScience Canada has a local at its helm. Al Driver, a Quebec native, took over as President and CEO at the beginning of the year, bringing with him 30 years of experience with the company.

“This is the job I’ve always aspired to and I think having a Canadian in the position sends an outstanding message to those within this country’s business community,” says Driver. “You can achieve your goals through successful performance and a career of growth in business.

“I’ve had a great career in the country I call home — I have never had a job I didn’t like,” he adds. “Today I am able to continue to work with a great leadership team that I know well, and we can achieve great things for this company.”

Originally from Quebec, Driver was raised in Ontario, one step removed from farming. While his immediate family had moved away from the farm, he had close ties to his grandfather who was a dairy

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farmer in Quebec. From a very early age he was fascinated by agriculture — dairy farming in particular. At a time when most boys his age were focused on their friends rather than their future, Driver asked his dad to help him become a farmer.

“When I was 12 years old, my dad had a friend who was a young dairy farmer with a wife and baby of his own, who was willing to take on this kid who wanted to be a farmer,” says Driver. “Almost every summer after that, with the exception of a couple of years in university, I would move in with this family for 10 weeks, leaving my family and friends behind for room and board, some pocket money and hands-on experience with farming.”

Driver went to the University of Guelph to learn more about cropping.

With enough dairy farming experience under his belt he wanted to learn about the grain side of the business. He also kept in shape playing varsity football as captain for the Guelph Gryphons.

Driver finished his degree just as quota prices went up substantially in the dairy

industry. So he decided to put that crop science degree to work.

“I started as a sales rep with Bayer (at that time known as Hoechst) on April 1, 1985,” says Driver. “Everyone knew I had always planned to be a dairy farmer so they thought it was an April Fool’s Day joke. But I decided to use both what I learned in school and all those years on the dairy farm and make my career in agri-business.”

Arriving at work on his first day, Driver was given a territory map and a partial dealer list and told to go out and meet people. At the time, that was the extent of his training before jumping into the job.

This is just one aspect of the business that has changed during the past 30 years, he says. Today, territory reps with Bayer CropScience are well trained. And before heading into the field, they’re supplied with all the necessary tech and information to take good care of their customers. “But the people part hasn’t changed at all… working with growers is the heart of the job,” he says. “While

PHOTOS: GENESIS STUDIOS

Local boy leads Bayer CropScience Canada

it was fun to learn as I went along, today there is a lot more technology to understand and we make sure our reps are experts on our products.”

Driver worked his way up through the company as it underwent different name changes — from Hoechst, to AgrEvo, to Aventis and now to Bayer CropScience.

He moved from Ontario to Alberta, back to Ontario, back to Alberta, then to Saskatchewan, and finally to Alberta again. Along the way he married and had three children — two daughters and a son. He worked as a sales rep, was a regional manager in the west, a portfolio manager for cereals, and then head of sales and marketing before taking on his current role as President and CEO. During all of that, he finally got the chance to farm. “I figured I had all this knowledge in my head and I wanted the chance to put it to use. So when we lived in Regina we farmed a halfsection of land,” he says. “I was able to get my hands and feet dirty and I learned more than I ever thought I could about agriculture.”

While he hung up his farmer’s hat when the family moved back to Alberta, he says that move was ideal for him both professionally and personally. In the past few years he has travelled throughout the world learning more about Bayer’s global business, while at the same time gaining a deeper understanding of Bayer’s changing technology.

Living in the shadow of the Rockies, Driver was able to indulge his other passion — skiing. “For me, if you get to the top of the mountain and can’t look straight down to the bottom, it’s not steep enough,” he says. “My family spends every free moment skiing. It is the perfect way to carve out family time in the middle of a busy career.”

In his role as Vice-President of Marketing, Driver worked to help develop Bayer CropScience Canada’s current strategy for growth and says he’s committed to seeing that strategy through. And with its investment in technology, Driver says Bayer is well on its way to reaching its targeted sales goals. “Last year we committed 30 million dollars toward capital projects and we continue to invest in the latest production technologies, such as hybrid wheat.”

Bayer’s focus on people helps set it apart from the competition — just one

“When we lived in Regina we farmed a half-section of land.

I was able to get my hands and feet dirty and I learned more than I ever thought I could about agriculture” — Al Driver PRESIDENT AND CEO, BAYER CROPSCIENCE CANADA

aspect of the company Driver hopes to see continue. “In many ways agriculture is fully employed — we continue to look for people with technical expertise as this business becomes more and more technology-focused. This year alone we are hiring 180 summer students and all these students have the potential to become Bayer employees.”

Driver has seen agriculture change beyond anything he imagined 30 years ago, with a focus on solid business practices that use the latest technology to remain profitable. “A big part of Bayer’s success is that we have been able to keep in front of technological changes needed in agriculture today,”

he says. “Growers want their seed to yield higher, their fungicides to offer better control and their herbicides to stop weeds from becoming a problem. We have been fortunate to have a pipeline of innovative products that continue to exceed the needs of growers.”

Farmers expect crop input technology to evolve with their business, concludes Driver, and sees it as his job to help make sure Bayer exceeds its customers’ expectations. Like the industry itself, he has seen Bayer grow faster and farther than anyone dreamed, and looks forward to leading the Canadian operation into the future. FF

FARMFORUM.CA / SUMMER 2015

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DRONES:

a new perspective on precision ag

By Dianne Finstad

Photos: thinkstock

U

nmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), better known as drones, are no longer the stuff of science fiction. Chances are you’ll soon see them on your own farm, right next to the GPS auto-steer and electronic bin monitors.

Folks with a passion for flying have long played with remote-control airplanes.

But today’s incarnation can be controlled through your smartphone, is much more work-worthy and, some would argue, stealthy. So while the sky’s the limit for the application of drone technology in agriculture, it’s not without its challenges.

Drone technology and the implications for Canadian farmers were discussed at the 10th Annual Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum, held February 2015 in Phoenix, AZ. Providing an on-the-ground perspective for this in-the-air topic was Matthew Rohlik, integrated solutions manager for Haug Implement Company in Renville, MN, and founder of Midwest Aerial Technologies, which specializes in aerial surveys and helping industries, like agriculture, apply the data collected to management decisions.

Rohlik explained to the crowd of agribusiness reporters from across North America that there are two main types of drone, one for observation and the other for scouting. They come in either a fixed wing or helicopter style. Although observation drones are equipped with a high-resolution camera, they are inexpensive compared to the scouting type that incorporate a thermal or infrared camera for more detailed analysis of what lies within a bird’s-eye view of your farm.

Infrared diagnostics can help spot crop problems before they spread. Drones can also survey a lot of ground very efficiently.

According to Rohlik, an agronomist could scout 4,000 acres in six hours with the help of a drone.

And drones are useful in farming operations of all sizes, he adds: “from the guy who has 40 acres of vegetable crops

Drones give farmers a bird's-eye view of their operation, which has many benefits including spotting problems before they spread, saving time on surveying and providing valuable information to help farmers market their crops.

all the way up to someone with 30,000 acres, and everybody in between.”

“It’s for guys who are thinking outside the box. They say: ‘What can I do to improve my bottom line? Yes, it costs me four dollars an acre, or whatever it may be, but if that returns me 15 bushels, I’ve justified this cost. It’s improved my bottom line. I have a better in-season look at what’s happening on my farm.’”

But it’s not only crop watching where drones come in handy. Rohlik, who has his own farm, sends a drone up every day to get a visual of his cattle. Add in the infrared component, and animals with high temperatures can be identified before they show any visual symptoms of sickness.

If farmers are interested in drone technology, a good place to start is with an observation drone, said Rohlik. “It’s cheap technology, and you can see what it can do for you. If it helps make one input decision on a thousand-acre farm, you’ve justified it.”

The number of Canadian farmers using drone technology is increasing. Just one example is Antler Valley Farm, near Red Deer, AB, a fifth-generation operation.

Family member Wade McAllister was a helicopter pilot before coming home to farm full-time with his brother, Scott, and father, Wayne. So naturally drone technology caught his eye early and, after spotting impressive cropland views on Twitter, he tracked down a Calgary dealership that sold Phantom observation drones. Now he wouldn’t be without one.

“The number one thing is inspecting crops,” McAllister says. “It’s a pretty good tool to see what kind of crop you have out there as you prepare marketing plans for the fall. You can easily see a full quarter, take a snapshot of it, see where the low areas are and spot colour changes. You can also predict where some drainage is needed for following years.” »

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Antler Valley Farm did some test strips with a new Bayer product now going through the registration process, and the drone gave a dramatic picture of the results. “You could see the difference like night and day,” said McAllister. “From the road, you could kind of tell, but once you got an aerial perspective, it just changed everything.”

The McAllisters took the drone along when they went to check some cropland coming up for rent. “From the road it didn’t look that bad. But the view from the air, totally changed our mind, so we didn’t even bother putting in a bid.”

Agri-Trend founder and CEO, Rob Saik, prides himself on being at the forefront of new technology, and an early proponent of precision agriculture. His firm is looking to incorporate drone use in its field-mapping services.

“It’s about resolution,” said Saik. “The closer you get to the ground, the better the resolution; and it’s about being able to get underneath clouds. If we’re going to program a sprayer to do sectional shut-off for fungicides, we need to have

A brave new drone world

a map generated by a sensor. But if there’s cloud cover, we can’t get it with satellites.”

With commercial drone technology come increased risk and liability issues, so the need for training on legal drone use is important. “We just completed our first ground school with about a dozen of our coaches and other interested people,” said Saik. “The Sky Scout Certification School was put on by Mark Hovdestad of the RCMP, and was the first of its type (in Canada).”

There’s no doubt that drones are adding a new dimension to the realm Transport Canada’s drone guidelines: www.farmforum.ca/TCdroneguidelines

The Model Aeronautics Association of Canada (MAAC): www.farmforum.ca/modelaeronauticsassociation Flitelab review of Transport Canada regulations: www.farmforum.ca/Flitelabreview Midwest Aerial Technologies: www.farmforum.ca/midwestaerialtechnologies

The fact that farmers can get them for under $2,000 makes drones very accessible.

But before you fire one up, consider some of the very real issues and challenges brought forward by the popularity of these flying devices.

For starters, there are obvious safety concerns. Airports, in particular, are nervous about UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) flying in close proximity to manned aircraft, and there are plenty of regional airports and private airstrips dotting the Canadian landscape — enough to make this a real issue in rural communities.

Overall, Canada seems to have its ducks in a slightly straighter row than the U.S. when it comes to established parameters for legal drone use.

In this country, Transport Canada regulates the use of UAVs, outlines when permissions to fly are needed (and exemptions to those permissions) and, in some cases, requires operators to get a special flight operations certificate. It also outlines safe operation guidelines, such as flying during daylight hours only, not losing sight of the drone, respecting the privacy of others and not

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of precision agriculture — and quickly, too. “It’s like the yield monitor system in 1994,” said Rohlik. “Everybody’s saying: What do I do with this? How am I going to handle it?

“Now, how can we take this application and see some ROI on individual farms.

When we get to that point, it’s going to get adopted. It’s not going to be the 15-year climb like it was with yield monitors; it’s probably going to be a three-year climb to get to that point,” he explains. “The technology, from what I saw two years ago when I first started dabbling in it, to today, is phenomenal.” FF

flying within 9 km of an airport, heliport or aerodrome.

But there are other, less obvious challenges to think about. For example, Matthew Rohlik, founder of Midwest Aerial Technologies and presenter at the 10th Annual Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum in February 2015, posed this interesting question to a crowd of agri-business reporters: “What property rights do you have above the ground?” He suggested that future debates about air rights might look like current debates about mineral rights.

Other things to think about include: Data ownership Does the farmer own the data taken from his field? It’s a question faced by the whole field of crop mapping and aerial surveys.

Data collection Accurate maps require stitching together many field pictures, which means handling a huge amount of data.

Data language The lack of a standardized digital language means systems can vary greatly. What kinds of files are best for transferring drone images?

PRODUCTION

Youth takes up the global food challenge

photo: Matthias Sandmann, Bayer CropScience

Four Canadians head to Australia this summer to join 100 other young folk in search of ways to secure good nutrition for all the peoples of the earth | BY JENNIFER BARBER How will our planet provide enough food for a projected nine billion people in 2050, when we struggle to feed seven billion today? Can it be done and if so, what has to change to make it work?

The debate on how to feed a growing world population isn’t new, but finding ways to do this demands new ideas and action plans. And that’s where our younger generations enter the picture. On their shoulders rests the human race’s future food security.

Fortunately, this message is striking a chord with at least some youngsters. Four Canadians with big ideas will participate in problem-solving discussions at the Youth Ag-Summit this August in Canberra, Australia.

They’ll be joined by like-minded contemporaries from all around the world.

The Youth Ag-Summit, the second one in two years, will be held in partnership with Australia's Future Farmer's Network. To qualify as a delegate, young people aged 18 to 25 were asked to write an

essay outlining their ideas on the causes and possible solutions to food security issues. More than 1,800 essays were submitted from 87 countries. In the end, 100 delegates were chosen, with Canada represented by four young women with very different ties to agriculture and food.

The Youth Ag-Summit began in Canada in 2013 as an initiative of 4-H Canada with Bayer CropScience as the title sponsor. The goal of the program is to open up a dialogue among youth with an interest in sustainable agriculture, food security and politics in order to share different perspectives on various global food issues.

The four Canadians come from very diverse backgrounds but each has a passion for tackling complex food issues. In their winning essays, all used their own experiences as the jumping-off point to showcase their ideas for changes in agricultural or food-chain practices to create a more sustainable local and global food network.

 Growing up on a dairy farm, the issues surrounding agriculture are in Soesbergen’s blood.

Her parents and grandparents made their living from the land. The 20-year-old from Dundee, QC, just finished her first year Andrea at McGill University in Agri-Environmental Soesbergen Sciences with a specialization in plant production.

She credits 11 years in 4-H with helping her decide to become active in food security issues. “4-H showed me that we all have the power to make a difference, no matter our age,” she says. “In high school and through my university education, food security has become an issue that’s close to my heart. I know it’s a problem, but I also know I can do something about it and that’s why I think it is important to get involved however I can.”

Globally, current methods of food distribution need to be altered to make sure the large amount of food currently ending up in landfills can make it to the mouths of people who are going hungry, she says.

“I believe Canada, through the private or public sectors, can make investments in food, in secure areas, to stimulate agriculture,” she says. “This can be done through investing in infrastructure such as roads or railways to facilitate distribution of product, or even investing directly in ways that encourage economic, social and environmental sustainability within the farming community.”  Sridharan spent her early years on her family’s farm in a rural village in India, and on her grandparents’ coffee and tea plantation.

From a very young age she was exposed to both subsistence and sustainable agriculture before moving to Vigne Toronto and adjusting Sridharan to big-city life. But, she says, it was her father who inspired her to continue learning about food.

“When we came to Canada my father pursued a career with Farmstart, an organization that provided incubator farm plots for young and immigrant »

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farmers to test their crops on,” she says. “Volunteering with Farmstart made me realize the numerous issues surrounding food and agriculture in Canada. My father’s stand on these issues inspired me.”

With that said, as a teenager Sridharan started an organization called New Leaf. It worked to educate young people on the importance and techniques of growing food with the goal of bringing awareness to the issue of hunger.

The group used small plots, particularly in low-income areas, to showcase methods of growing vegetables on a small, local, urban scale.

The 22-year-old currently lives in Guelph, ON, and is pursuing a nursing degree from Conestoga College as a follow-up to her diploma in environmental landscape management. She plans on putting her skills as a relief nurse to work in post-disaster areas.

“I see poverty and hunger as a chicken-and-egg concept,” she says. “People in post-disaster areas are usually impoverished and their first need is sound health. When their bodies are able, they are capable of rebuilding their lives if given the right tools. Alleviating poverty through education is the only answer to abolishing hunger in third-world countries.”

“I think we need increased agricultural education on a larger scale. The message should be that every individual who eats is connected to agriculture” — Courtney O’Neill

 Travelling throughout the world has allowed O’Neill to witness first-hand the production concerns and food issues people struggle with around the globe. She grew up on a dairy farm in east-central Ontario, where she credits both 4-H and the mentorship of dairy producers for her passion for agriculture. But, she says, what really brought Courtney home the issue of food O’Neill sustainability was a fieldstudy trip to Costa Rica.

“I’ve seen hungry people and barren hillsides and I’ve seen the different outcomes from mechanized agriculture and labour-intensive agriculture,” she explains. “Seeing all of this first hand turned my interest into action … that may help resolve food shortages in the future.”

The 21-year-old holds a degree in agricultural science from the University of Guelph and currently works for Agribrands Purina as a ruminant nutritionist. Working with producers every day helps her learn why people farm the way they do, and she gets to witness producers’ passion for delivering food of the highest quality.

However, O’Neill says she speaks to people young and old who really don’t believe there is a global food shortage

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problem, so she feels that overall awareness will be key to solving food shortage issues.

“Food shortage is not just an agricultural issue,” she says.

“The more you look into the problem the more you realize its complexity and how many different facets of society are involved — infrastructure, politics, science, research, finance, etc. I think we need increased agricultural education on a larger scale. The message should be that every individual who eats is connected to agriculture.”  Like most young Canadians today, McKirdy didn’t grow up on a farm or directly connected to agriculture. But as an outdoor enthusiast, she spent a lot of time in small towns visiting farmers’ markets, learning about small-scale local food production. Her interest in environmental sciences eventually narrowed in on Brennah agriculture and global food McKirdy systems. This led to a focus on sustainable production from both a social and ecological perspective.

“My passion for sustainability is what drew me to take part in this discussion,” she says. “I spend a lot of time thinking about environmental mitigation strategies to reduce human impact on the planet. While agriculture is arguably the most important industry for sustained human life, it also has big consequences on other aspects of human and ecological health.”

“Canada can be a leader if we continue our research into new food production technologies” — Brennah McKirdy

It’s important to have empathy for those who have less than others and to look outside of our immediate environment to learn more about global issues and how they can be solved, she says.

The 21-year-old Queen’s University geological sciences student is particularly interested in high-yield setups in places where large-scale food production is problematic. She points to hydroponic farms in Singapore and the federallyfunded research on greenhouses in Canada’s Arctic as possible solutions for food deficiencies.

“Canada is well positioned for a successful agricultural industry due to our abundant land and freshwater resources,” she says. “However, even we have challenges in our short growing season, cold temperatures and large remote areas at high latitudes. Canada can be a leader if we continue our research into new food production technologies.” FF

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FA R M L I F E

Sleep. Eat. Work. Repeat:

keep your body and brain working well through busy season By Joy Gregory

F

luid level? Check. Tire pressure? Check. No leaking or damaged hoses? Check. How about healthy snacks? Still in the fridge.

Water bottle? Left in the shop. Enough sleep? Hah! Farmers who know exactly what to do when it comes to daily equipment checks often fail to take care of their business’s two most important machines: their own brain and body, says Dr. Charles Samuels, medical director at the Centre for Sleep and Human Performance in Calgary, AB. He’s based in the city now, but Samuels started his medical career in Vulcan, a rural community located in the heart of southern Alberta’s grain and cattle country. There, he saw farmer after farmer with a litany of health problems such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease (including hypertension and stroke), all solidly linked to lifestyle choices.

He also saw a lot of tired farmers.

“And when it comes to farm safety, that’s a big issue,” he says. “Farmers accept

a level of cognitive functioning that is far below normal. If you showed them how impaired they were, they would be shocked,” says Samuels, who now helps Canada’s Olympic athletes learn to use sleep as a tool for performance recovery and excellence.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults (whether farmers or elite athletes) need seven to nine hours of sleep a night. But that doesn’t mean going to bed at midnight and getting up at 7 a.m. To prepare the body to sleep, adults need at least an hour of wind-down time.

These days, that includes time away from computer screens and hand-held devices.

Indeed, Samuels likes to see those off by 8 o’clock every night. He says TV is okay, but it shouldn’t be in the bedroom.

“As adults, we expect to wake up once or twice a night,” says Samuels. “But we should be able to fall back to sleep without difficulty. And within an hour of waking up in the morning, we should feel fully alert. I would venture to guess that a lot of farmers do not feel that way.”

“Farmers accept a level of cognitive functioning that is far below normal. If you showed them how impaired they were, they would be shocked” — Dr. Charles Samuels medical director, Centre for Sleep and Human Performace in Calgary

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Plan to sleep Backed by North American research about the health consequences of shift work for law enforcement officers, Samuels wants farmers to approach the growing season as if they were shift workers. That means aiming for 50 to 60 hours of sleep a week (7 to 8.5 hours/ night) before a busy season begins. Once the season starts, farmers should look for ways to reduce sleep debt. That includes getting at least five hours of sleep a night, not including a pre-bed wind-down period of one to two hours.

Strategic naps of at least 30 minutes will augment those five hours of sleep.

If you have the time to nap longer, great. But keep in mind that 30-minute increments are critical, says Samuels, or you wake up in the wrong stage of sleep and will be less alert.

He’d also like to see farmers who aren’t working alone, set up schedules that allow workers to take turns catching up on their sleep. This gives everyone a better chance to manage their sleep deficits.

Eat well, live longer If sleep is restorative, food is fuel, says Laurel Leuschen, a registered dietitian with Saskatchewan’s LiveWell Diabetes Program. “If you don’t feed your body well, you won’t have the ability to concentrate and that puts you at risk for accidents to occur in the same way a sleep deficit does.”

While most farmers and farm families probably know what they should eat, planning makes healthy choices easier.

That means stocking the fridge with ready-to-go fruits and vegetables and

packing coolers and ice packs the night before they’re needed. Leuschen also recommends what she calls a “clean environment.”

“If you tend to reach for something salty or sweet when you’re tired, get those choices out of there,” she says.

Beyond that, look for ways to replace less healthy options with more nutritional choices. Mini yogurts are better than mini puddings. Apples, oranges, carrots and celery travel well and easily beat cookies and chips in the nutrition department.

Next, improve your snacks by ensuring they contain two of the four food groups: vegetables and fruit, grain products, milk and alternatives, and meat and alternatives. Fruit and nuts are more satisfying than fruit alone. Cheese on bread is better than cheese by itself.

Yogurt is fine. Yogurt and an apple is even better.

When it comes to reading food labels, focus on the Percentage Daily Value (% DV), adds Leuschen. This information is a guide to the nutrients (ie: sodium, fat, fibre) found in a single serving of the food. Health Canada says for any particular nutrient, a 5 per cent daily value is “a little” and a 15 per cent daily value is “a lot.”

Now look at the serving size. A prepackaged granola bar with 7 per cent of your daily fat allowance looks good — but how many do you eat?

Beware of refined sugar, too, especially in beverages. A can of pop holds 10 teaspoons of sugar and fruit juices are close behind. “There are better selections and remember, of course, that water is the ultimate choice,” says Leuschen. FF

“If you don’t feed your body well, you won’t have the ability to concentrate and that puts you at risk for accidents to occur in the same way a sleep deficit does” — Laurel Leuschen Registered dietitian, LiveWell Diabetes Program in Saskatchewan

National Sleep Foundation: www.farmforum.ca/sleepfoundation Nutrition Action: www.farmforum.ca/nutritionaction

Deficit or disorder?

A sleep deficit is not the same as a sleep disorder. Farmers who struggle with sleep apnea or insomnia should seek medical help, says Dr. Charles Samuels, medical director of the Centre for Sleep and Human Performance. Have questions?

Visit www.centreforsleep.com

FARMFORUM.CA / SUMMER 2015

15

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

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

Quality meets quantity.

In addition to providing an exceptional yield increase, ProsaroÂŽ fungicide protects the high quality of your cereals and helps ensure a better grade.

With two powerful actives, Prosaro provides long-lasting preventative and curative activity, resulting in superior protection against fusarium head blight, effective DON reduction and unmatched leaf disease control.

With Prosaro you’ll never have to settle for second best again. #AskBayerCrop your Question of the Week @Bayer4CropsCA

0-53-04/15-10346398-E

PRODUCTION

Straight cutting

comes to canola

By Jennifer Barber

I

t’s not too early to be thinking about your canola harvest. With Canada’s short growing season and unpredictable autumn weather, harvest timing is a careful balancing act. Using a variety of harvesting techniques can take some of the risk off the table.

“Straight cutting canola is now a practical option for growers in western Canada, says James Humphris, manager, oilseed crops/traits, with Bayer CropScience Canada. “With the introduction of pod shatter traits, some crops can be left standing until the very end of the season without losing out on yield.”

Currently around 9 per cent of prairie canola growers straight cut their crop. But last season, Humphris says, 50 per cent of growers who seeded InVigor L140P — Bayer’s hybrid with pod shatter technology — chose to straight cut.

“This was a big shift, especially in a year where the hybrid was available only in limited amounts,” he says.

The majority of growers in western Canada have a straight cutting header for their combine, but typically use it for cereal crops. While they don’t need specialized equipment to straight cut canola, they can configure their combine a bit differently for a more successful harvest of the broadleaf crop.

“The front end equipment used to harvest cereal crops can be adjusted for straight cutting canola, says Craig Mosher, senior sales and service representative with John Deere. “With a draper header, for example, adding a Top Crop auger helps push the bushy crop onto the belt for better feeding.”

Mosher adds that if you’re already using an auger on a combine, there tends to be a productivity advantage since this setup works with all the companion crops a canola grower typically harvests. In western Canada, he notes, straight cutting canola is becoming more popular each year so John Deere is continually looking for ways to improve harvest efficiency.

“We encourage growers to ask questions of their local equipment dealers to make sure they are using their combine in the best way to further eliminate pod shatter,” says Humphris. “We are evaluating practical adjustments, such as reel speed, to ensure as much seed as possible makes it into the bin.”

With this year’s crop in the ground, growers have already made the decision to use a pod shatter variety or not. But they still have some flexibility in how to harvest. At this stage, they can begin checking for pointers for help in deciding whether to straight cut a crop.

“To get the most out of a straight cut crop, you need to make harvest method decisions on a field-by-field basis,” says Humphris. “The best fields to straight cut have an even stand, and were seeded to a relatively flat landscape. Weeds should also be well managed.”

With straight cutting, you let the crop mature fully while still upright. That allows ancillary branches to finish and the seeds to ripen, which in turn can mean up to two weeks more time to get the rest of your crop off. »

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FARM FORUM / SUMMER 2015

Photos: Pbayer cropscience

Think ahead

FARMFORUM.CA / SUMMER 2015

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“Many growers with large acreages have to start swathing when the crop is too green,” he says. “But if they seed a hybrid with pod shatter technology they can start swathing closer to optimal timing, without worrying about it getting too ripe on the other end.

If you are cutting it early you are giving up yield,” explains Humphris. “While pod shatter technology doesn’t increase yield, it protects the optimal yield that the plants can build.”

Straight cutting brings yield gain The 2013-14 harvest management trials conducted by Bayer across western Canada looked at harvest timing and technique, and their impact on canola yields.

Demonstration strip trials tested three InVigor hybrids — In Vigor 5440, InVigor L130 and InVigor L140P. Strips of each hybrid were harvested at three different times. The first was swathed at the standard time (50 to 60 per cent seed colour change), the second was a late swath at 90 per cent seed colour change and the third was straight cut. Twenty-two trials were successfully harvested in 2013, and 19 in 2014 across all three prairie provinces.

“The biggest yield influence across the trials was weather,” says Al Eadie, market development manager with Bayer CropScience Canada. “There was a lot more shattering in 2014 than the previous year because of wet/dry cycles and wind. The pod shatter hybrid when straight cut really shone as there was a lot of shelling with conventional hybrids.”

Market development specialists also looked at the thousand-kernel weight for InVigor L140P when swathed at normal time compared to straight cutting, and they found a direct correlation between seed size and yield. When straight cut, they recorded a 5.5 per cent increase in seed weight and an overall 5 per cent yield increase.

“We saw a consistent yield advantage for the pod shatter hybrid when it was straight cut,” says Eadie. “This is new technology and a lot of growers seeded it in 2014 but still swathed it.” The trials show that anyone who seeds InVigor L140P should straight cut or late swath it at 90 per cent colour change for optimal yield. Canola will keep building seed weight and yield the longer you let it stand.

“I think the pod shatter trait is one of the biggest technology changes we’ve had in canola for a long time,” adds Eadie. “It will change the way guys harvest canola, which will delay the timing of harvest. They’ll start later — at say 60 per cent — to swath some

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FARM FORUM / SUMMER 2015

of their canola, and then move onto their InVigor L140P and end up with better results overall with less risk from weather-related loss.”

Humphris adds that it’s important to keep an eye on crops when deciding whether to straight cut, but sometimes a crop will look like it’s lost more to pod shatter than it really has. It may look bad over the top, but he says canola holds most of its yield in the middle and bottom of the plant and growers should give straight cutting a chance.

Bayer will be looking at volunteer counts this spring, expecting to see lower volunteer numbers in the InVigor L140P strips since less seed was left on the ground last harvest.

This should help reduce disease risk and ensure that growers are able to seed the latest technology without volunteers in subsequent crops.

“By the time harvest comes around, a grower has invested all the money he’s going to into making that crop successful,” says Humphris. “So at that point it’s all about managing risk.

Growers feel safe when their canola is in

the swath so it will take a bit of time for them to learn that their investment is protected with a pod shatter trait,” he adds. “We need to build confidence in the equipment, the techniques and the technology. But given the success we’ve had so far, we know that confidence will come.” FF

Cutting Edge Expo Bayer will be hosting harvest management schools at two locations this summer to help growers make the right decisions when straight cutting. The schools will also demonstrate how to minimize losses and maximize yield potential under conventional harvesting. The first school is scheduled for July 21 in Killam, AB and the second for July 28 at Yorkton, SK. Visit www.cropscience.bayer.ca for more information

Strictly straight cutting in the east While their western Canadian counterparts are learning the ropes when it comes to straight cutting canola, it’s old hat to Ontario growers. Canola in Ontario is seeded on relatively few acres, but it’s entirely straight cut.

Why? It’s all about the equipment.

“Very few growers here even own a swather,” says Kate Hyatt, marketing communications specialist with Bayer CropScience Canada. “It’s a specialized piece of equipment that often doesn’t have a place on farms here. Growers have hay harvesting equipment and their combine. That’s generally all they need.”

Ontario crop producers traditionally work with two combine headers. One is for corn and the other is used for soy, oats, wheat and canola. The longer growing season allows them to wait longer to reduce the amount of green seed.

Hyatt says canola growers in Ontario aim for 100 per cent colour change and less than 10 per cent moisture before harvesting. They don’t face the same risk of early frost as do their western counterparts, giving them more time to harvest. But they still face risks associated with weather events.

“Canola growers here are still very interested in pod shatter traits as they face the same risk of loss due to shatter, particularly if the fall is wet or windy,” says Hyatt. “They also want to reduce the incidence of volunteers in subsequent years, as volunteer canola can be a problem in some crops.

When canola is straight cut, pod shatter technology helps keep seed off the ground and in the bin.”

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BUSINESS

Lifelong learning keeps this farm humming B Y J OY G R E G O RY |

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P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y D av i d C har l e s w orth

FARM FORUM / SUMMER 2015

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Mike and Amy Cronin and their six kids from left to right: Sam, Emmy, Kyle, Tyler, Liam and Alyssa.

Almost 10 years after they borrowed money to buy their first 1,800sow, farrow-to-wean hog farm, Amy and Mike Cronin found themselves, and their farm, weathering a perfect storm of industry woes.

With production costs up, pork demand in a trough, and prices low, 2007 to 2009 were very tough years for the business, recalls Mike. “We knew we were going to have to do things differently to succeed in this industry, especially if we were going to be able to pass the farm on down to our kids,” adds Amy. Fast forward to April 2015 and there’s little time to reflect on past challenges. Amy, serving her fourth year-long term as chair of the Ontario Pork Producers’ Marketing Board, was recently on a provincial trade mission to China. Mike took her to the Toronto airport from their home farm in Bluevale, ON, about 168 km west of the city.

He held the fort until Amy’s return, then went off himself to make one of his monthly trips to their farms in Iowa and Missouri.

In and around this busy business, the couple is raising six children. Amy is also a school board trustee, vice-chair of a local credit union, on the board of the Catholic Community Foundation of southwestern Ontario and was recently appointed cochair of the Growth Steering Committee of Agriculture in Ontario.

Mike, who is hands-on in every aspect of the family operation, is a local delegate for Ontario Pork, has coached youth soccer for more than 20 years and is active in their local parish. He also completed an Excellence in Pork Production Program (EP3) offered by the University of Iowa.

It’s little wonder the Cronins are the 2015 Outstanding Young Farmers’ program (OYF) winners for the Ontario region and will represent the province at the national OYF event in Edmonton later this year. Open to producers aged 18 to 39, the competition celebrates Canadian farmers who exemplify excellence in their profession. “To be honest, we see our win in Ontario as a win for the pork industry as well,” says Amy. “The industry’s weathered some real challenges and we think our farm is stronger for it.” »

FARMFORUM.CA / SUMMER 2015

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Identifying opportunities While there’s much to be said for its owners’ willingness to roll up their sleeves and get to work, Cronin Farms Ltd. owes at least part of its current strength to Amy and Mike’s decision to take the Canadian Total Excellence in Agricultural Management (CTEAM) program in 2010.

CTEAM helped them identify prospects for growth. They used that information to design a strategic plan to capitalize on those opportunities, and as a springboard for more active involvement at the industry level.

Five years after taking the program, Cronin Farms bears little resemblance to its humble beginnings. Its Ontario unit, which the Cronins have expanded over time, now houses 3,600 sows. Boosting in-house market diversity, they finish and process some of the animals at a cooperative pork plant close to their home operation.

The U.S. side of their business started in 2006. Today, they run three farms south of the border. The Iowa farm is a farrowto-finish operation with some weaner sales. Of their two farms in Missouri, one multiplies purebred offspring while the second features North America’s first crate-free farrowing system. That barn also includes electronic sow feeders, video cameras and a thumbprint entry system, for security and tracking data on employee hours. Pork produced there goes to a niche consumer market that pays more if hogs are raised under specific conditions, including group housing.

“It’s not that we believe group housing is a better system — we use farrowing crates at home in Ontario and like how we can take care of our animals there,” says Amy. “But when we look to the future, we hear consumers saying this is what they want. Knowing that gives us an opportunity to meet (a future market) need.”

“It’s really for our customers,” says Mike who helped design the crate-free system they use in Missouri. “The video cameras, for example, let them see what’s happening without having to come out to our farm.”

Family and future While many Canadian farmers are reluctant to talk about how today’s business may be transferred to the next generation, the Cronins welcome the conversation. Indeed, it’s a topic they’ve

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FARM FORUM / SUMMER 2015

“Our family is the reason we do everything that we do” — Amy Cronin

been talking about since they married in 1995, fresh out of high school. While they knew they couldn’t afford to buy into dairy operations like the ones where they grew up, they also knew they wanted to farm, says Amy. “There was no debate about where we’d raise our own kids.”

The Cronins bought their first hog operation in 1998, three years after they started managing that farm. Seventeen years and six children later, the idea that another generation of Cronins will run the business has solid roots. Alyssa, 18, Tyler, 16 and Kyle, 14, already have specific roles on the farm.

Alyssa moves away to university this fall, but it’ll be work as usual for Tyler and Kyle. “Tyler and Kyle have managed one of our weaner barns for several years, so they’re used to being the sole people in that barn,” says Amy. “They make sure feed is ordered and vaccinations done.

They’re responsible for herd health.” The boys also talk about studying business after high school, an idea both parents support.

The next two, Liam, 11 and Emmy, 9, help out when they can and when a parent is present. “We want to make sure we’re not just sending them to the barn

to work with team members,” says Amy. The youngest, Sam, is 7 and his turn is coming.

Mike, who’s in the U.S. at least once a month, often takes at least one child with him. “The kids are very much aware of what the business is doing and they get a really good taste of what’s going on.”

With 65 employees on the team roster and a diversified portfolio of pork production, there’s a lot to learn, and many different opportunities for the next generation’s involvement, says Mike. “Our family is the reason we do everything that we do,” says Amy. FF

CTEAM Canadian Total Excellence in Agricultural Management (CTEAM) is one of the agrifood management training programs offered by Agri-Food Management Excellence (AME).

Courses run at various locations across Canada.

See www.agrifoodtraining.com for more information.

PRODUCTION

Top 5 errors and fixes to applying crop protection products

Photo: LAURA RANCE

By Joy Gregory

Are bad habits punching holes in your crop protection budget? Maybe it’s time for a diagnostic check-up. Those in the business of helping farmers produce top-quality crops welcome the chance to improve the payoff from crop protection products.

But for that to happen, farmers need to understand what’s gone wrong and be willing to change what they’ve done in the past. “That’d be a great start,” says Jason Deveau, application technology specialist with Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF).

“The four Rs of crop protection stewardship are the same as the four Rs of crop nutrition: right product, right rate, right timing and right prices,” says Dale Fedoruk, a professional agronomist and grain farmer at Red Deer, AB. “A lot of times we check off two or three of those boxes, then overlook the rest.”

Like Deveau and Fedoruk, Dan Owen, manager of agronomic services at Prairie Soil Services in Norquay, SK, frequently tours fields that have post-application problems with weeds, insects and disease. A growing number of those farm visits also include fields where farmers suspect herbicide resistance.

All three say much can be done to turn all of this around. Begin with an honest look at what’s going wrong, they suggest. Here is their list of the top five errors made in applying crop protection products, and their advice on how to fix them.

The fix: Slow down. What you lose in time you make up in product efficacy — a worthwhile trade. If a herbicide doesn’t make proper contact it could take you years to make up for losses resulting from that application error, says Owen.

Applicators with a heavy foot should at least make sure their nozzles can adjust to a higher psi, adds Deveau. Always operate nozzles in the middle of their pressure range, and choose nozzles that operate at lower pressures overall.

1

2

Travelling too fast (a.k.a.: spray and pray) “I talk to farmers who tell me they are sure they hit their target because the tank’s empty,” says Deveau. That’s a false assumption. Even when rate controllers make some pressure adjustments based on speed, those adjustments might negatively affect nozzle spray quality.

“Proper application is about average droplet size, the rate at which spray comes out of the nozzle and the kind of shape it comes out in,” he says. Change one, and you change them all.

Not enough water Uniform coverage and hitting the target are key to maximizing the application of crop protection products, and lower-than-recommended water volumes do not support those objectives, says Fedoruk. Since low water volumes change product concentration, you get less coverage from a “hotter” product.

Owen has toured fields of yellowing leaves where the suspected problem was nutrient deficiency or drought, but where the real problem turned out to be chemical damage.

The fix: “It takes time to mix chemicals properly, but that time is part of the process,” says Owen. He wants farmers to factor proper water ratios into the time allotted to making the tank mix. You ran out of water once? Don’t let it happen again.

3

Booms set too high Applicators who drive too fast typically raise their booms, too. “OMAF tests show it’s pretty easy to undermine spray coverage if your boom’s at the wrong height,” says Deveau. “Effective spray coverage depends on how droplets behave under different conditions, including distance-from-target. Once the product is released from the sprayer, you have no control over it. To get it to where it needs to be, you have to get the parameters right before it’s released.”

The fix: Like calibration, boom height is more than a recommendation. It’s a must. Consider a height that’s two times the nozzle spacing, and be sure to confirm it visually. »

FARMFORUM.CA / SUMMER 2015

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4

5

Technology doesn’t compensate for poor practice Spray application success is about science, not magic. Twin fan technology improves application aim, and nozzle psi adjustments improve droplet quality. But neither counters the negative impact of booms set too high or driving too fast, let alone the complications caused by making both those mistakes. Ditto for thinking a product applied too late, too early or at a higher or lower rate than prescribed will do its job.

Trying to beat the weather You can’t control the weather, but you can control what you do on a windy day, or a day threatening rain. “Spring is busy and we’re rushed for time so we’re not picking the most opportune times to apply the product,” says Owen. “But if it’s windy or rains on the crop, that’s money wasted.”

The fix: Learn how the technology works and use that information to your advantage. Knowing how droplets behave helps you understand why speed and boom height are critical. Learn why fungicides must be sprayed before spores enter a field, and why insecticide applications are based on economic thresholds that can be calculated only by properly scouting for what’s in your field and knowing at which stage you need to apply control, says Owen.

To help crop protection products do the job they’re designed to, applicators also need to do a better job of cleaning out tanks between products. Farmers should ask custom applicators what they sprayed last and how often they clean their equipment.

“If they’ve just sprayed a Group 2 herbicide, water is not enough to clean out the tank — you need detergent,” says Owen. He’s toured fields where the canola turned purple due to the presence of Group 2 herbicide residue in an inadequately-cleaned tank. Product shouldn’t sit in tanks or lines, either, says Deveau. The sooner they’re cleaned out, the better.

Ignoring resistance While not (yet) among the top reasons for apparent herbicide failure, herbicide resistance is a possibility worth considering. Are your wild oats thriving because they’re resistant to herbicide or because the herbicide was poorly applied? “The fact that you have a weed problem after spraying could be the first red flag in terms of resistance or poor application,” says Fedoruk.

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The fix: Watch weather reports, pay attention and choose application times based on when you can go, rather than when you want to.

The fix: Improve application practices and pay more attention to rotating Group 1 and 2 herbicides, says Owen. “Industry’s done a good job to provide options,” he adds. “Producers need to follow through.

Yes, there are problems with wild oat resistance. But the bigger problem is with the application of wild oat control products.”

Fedoruk also wants to see farmers keep better records. He helps his clients set cropping plans three to five years in advance. “We know what the crops are going to be, we know what the herbicide rotations are going to be and how we’re going to address resistance. It all comes down to diversity.” FF

“The four Rs of crop protection stewardship are the same as the four Rs of crop nutrition: right product, right rate, right timing and right prices” — Dale Fedoruk AGRONOMIST AND GRAIN FARMER IN RED DEER, AB

Target practice Waiting to see if insects ate your crop is a bad way to assess the quality of your spray operation, says Jason Deveau, application technology specialist with Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

To find out if your product is on target, use clothespins or springback paperclips to attach water sensitive paper to where you want the spray to hit. Mark the spot with flag tape, take a pass with your sprayer and assess the coverage.

Add a hand-held wind meter operated at boom height and your assessment now includes information about how prevailing winds affect droplet size and aim. “If you don’t like what you see, look at what you might do to make it better,” says Deveau.

For more tips, visit: www.sprayers101.com and follow Deveau @spray_guy on Ttwitter.

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By combining the proven protection of prothioconazole and NEW fluopyram, Propulse offers groundbreaking disease protection and exceptional yields. #AskBayerCrop your Question of the Week @Bayer4CropsCA

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

C-81-04/15-10346398-E

WHAT’S NEW WITH BAYER CROPSCIENCE PRODUCTS

timing is everything when applying fungicide Fungicides work

G

rowers across the prairies have experienced the dangers of disease in their canola and cereal fields first hand. Not only does it significantly hurt your yield potential, it can also lower the grade and quality of your harvested seed, potentially leading to a situation where it can be difficult to market.

One of the most effective tools for managing disease continues to be a timely fungicide application, but how do you know when to apply?

Timing your fungicide application for best results CANOLA: Sclerotinia infection in canola occurs primarily at the flowering stage.

The infection is caused by air-borne ascospores which infect blossoms during periods of extended wetness. Therefore the best protection is provided from a fungicide application during the bloom stage, prior to petal fall.

The F word for growers

Proline® fungicide applied between 20 to 50% bloom provides your best sclerotinia protection. Its unique mode of action represents a new standard of disease control to maximize plant health, yield and profitability.

Proline Advantage

Proline is trusted by more canola growers than any other sclerotinia fungicide for many reasons. Not only does it deliver the best sclerotinia protection available, it also consistently provides superior yield performance.

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FARM FORUM /SUMMER 2015

A NEWSLETTER FROM BAYER CROPSCIENCE

CEREALS: If growers intend to apply one fungicide application per year and disease levels leading up to the flag leaf are low to moderate, Bayer CropScience recommends waiting and applying at head timing. Whether using Folicur®EW or Prosaro®, applying at head timing will protect against leaf disease and various head diseases including fusarium head blight (FHB), subsequently maximizing both the quality of your crop and quantity of your yield.

Targeting the optimal stage will most often deliver the best results, but Bayer CropScience’s trial work has indicated that even if you apply slightly earlier or later, significant yield protection is still observed.

Remember an application at head timing can supply both flag leaf protection with the added benefit of head protection throughout the grain fill period.

Below are 3 photos of a wheat head at various stages of development.

1. Head is completely exposed but just emerged from the flag leaf.

2. Head is extended from the flag leaf with its first flowers visible.

3. Head is fully flowered, with flowers falling off.

ItPaysToSpray.ca Housing over seven consecutive years of Cereal Fungicide Demonstration Strip Trials, ItPaysToSpray.ca was designed to provide growers with accurate fungicide product performance results across a wide variety of field conditions, circumstances and environmental factors. These trials have been conducted to help growers make the right choices for their farming operations.

FARMFORUM.CA / SUMMER 2015

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WHAT’S NEW WITH BAYER CROPSCIENCE PRODUCTS

THE THREAT OF FUSARIUM FOR 2015

A

s fusarium graminearum, the pathogen responsible for fusarium head blight (FHB) continues to spread across the prairies, cereal growers need to consider all their production practices in order to manage this pathogen. Jared Veness, cereal fungicide portfolio manager for Bayer CropScience explains, “We have seen the progression and migration of this pathogen across western Canada over the last two decades. And while it’s sometimes difficult to predict its movement or disease prevalence, once fusarium graminearum becomes established in an area, things get a lot simpler,” says Veness.

“If it rains during flowering you are likely to get some level of FHB. In 2014, this was clearly the case in many areas where FHB really took hold. With high moisture levels during flowering and the uneven crop staging, the opportunity for FHB infection increased significantly, even in areas where FHB had not been a significant problem in the past,” explains Veness.

YIELD COMPARISONS

As little as 0.25% fusarium damaged kernels in your CWRS can downgrade you to a 2, with anything above 0.8% moving you down to a 3.

“It’s bad enough when you’re expecting it, but getting hit by something like FHB when you’re not expecting it, and are unprepared for it, can be devastating.”

Fusarium can be recognized in the field by the premature bleaching of infected heads, resulting in damaged kernels that are shrunken, shriveled and chalky white in appearance. Diminished and shrunken kernels account for the yield loss, but it is the deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin produced by the fungus that causes the biggest quality concern.

It is highly recommended that growers concerned with this pathogen perform a timely fungicide application to protect their cereal crops from FHB. But which ones work best?

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FARM FORUM /SUMMER 2015

To view over seven years of trial data on the benefit of cereal fungicide applications please visit, ItPaysToSpray.ca

Fungicide ROI Calculator Maintaining the profitability of your farm can call for some tough decisions, but a fungicide application doesn’t need to be one of them. Bad conditions, or favourable ones, low disease pressure or high, Proline®, Prosaro® and Folicur® EW fungicides continue to provide some of the highest ROIs on your farm.

Calculating your potential return is easy with the online Fungicide ROI calculator, simply visit: BayerCropScience.ca/ROIcalculator

A NEWSLETTER FROM BAYER CROPSCIENCE

THERE’S A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN

T

he 2015 season looks good for pulse and soybean growers who will now reap the benefits of NEW Delaro® fungicide.

With two highly dynamic and complementary active ingredients, prothioconazole (Group 3) and trifloxystrobin (Group 11), Delaro delivers exceptional, long-lasting control of all major stem, pod and leaf diseases in pea, lentil, chickpea and soybean crops.

In addition to setting a new standard in pulse and soybean disease control, Delaro looks to significantly raise the bar in yield performance.

For more information on the Delaro advantage, please visit: BayerCropScience.ca/ Delaro

Field your questions

photo: Dirk Hansen, bayer cropscience

More than just crop protection solutions, Bayer CropScience is pleased to offer growers our agricultural expertise through our Twitter feed.

Join the Conversation Have a question you want answered by the Bayer CropScience team of Ag experts?

It’s simple.

1. Tweet your questions with the hashtag #AskBayerCrop 2. Then receive a response 3. Follow us @Bayer4CropsCA to join the conversation

FARMFORUM.CA /SUMMER 2015

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Believe it or not, there’s a simple trick to protecting your canola yield before sclerotinia even becomes a problem – and you don’t have to be a magician.

Based 100% in science, easy-to-use Proline® fungicide proactively protects your profits and continues to be the number one choice for canola growers looking for effective sclerotinia protection.

For more information, visit BayerCropScience.ca/Proline

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

Always read and follow label directions. Proline® is a registered trademark of the Bayer Group.

Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.

BCS10346398_Proline_106.indd

None Proline Outside Back Cover Ad 8.125” x 8.625” 1 8.125” x 8.625” 7.625” x 8.125” GRACoL 8.375” x 8.875” 100%

Bayer CropScience 10346398

O-68-04/15-10346398-E

Production:Volumes:Product...s:BCS10346398_Proline_106.indd Helvetica Neue LT Std

Dinno.Espiritu Alex.VanDerBreggen Noel.Blix None Monica.VanEngelen

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