Farm Forum Summer 2019

OLYMPUS TACKLES FOXTAIL BARLEY HEAD ON | farmforum.ca

Supporting Canadian Farm Families SUMMER 2019 $5

SOCIAL MEDIA DRIVES BUSINESS ON THIS MANITOBA FARM Technology

Business

Production

Farm Life

Boom placement comes down to farmer preference

New canola system adapts to farmers’ unique needs

Should I rotate seed treatment actives?

Better run farms start with good communication

This could be a harvest for the ages. Go get it.

Stratego PRO. Trusted on more crops and more farms, every year.

Trust has to be earned. And that’s how Stratego® PRO fungicide has risen to the top with growers like you. Day in and day out, season after successful growing season, it’s the go-to fungicide with a track record of delivering higher yields on soybeans, cereals and corn.

Learn more at cropscience.bayer.ca/StrategoPRO

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

Bayer CropScience Inc. is a member of CropLife Canada.

FARM FORUM / SUMMER 2019

CONTENTS COVER STORY

Social media drives business on this Manitoba farm /20

FEATURES

PRODUCTION

BUSINESS

Editor’s Note / 4 Sleep. Eat. Work. Repeat / 15 Olympus tackles foxtail barley head on / 18

Should I rotate seed treatment actives? / 5

TECHNOLOGY

Pest proof your corn / 27

Boom placement comes down to farmer preference / 12

New canola system adapts to farmers’ unique needs / 8

FARM LIFE

Better run farms start with good communication / 26

FA R MFOR UM.CA / SUMMER 2019

3

EDITOR’S NOTE

— Sherry

4

FA R M FO R U M .C A / S U M M ER 2 019

PUBLISHER Bayer CropScience Inc. EDITOR Sherry Warner CONTRIBUTORS Jennifer Barber Dianne Finstad Joy Gregory Gerald Pilger DESIGN/PRODUCTION Glacier FarmMedia LP Farm Forum is published seasonally by Bayer CropScience Inc. CONTACT FARM FORUM AT: Bayer CropScience Inc. Suite 130 160 Quarry Park Blvd. SE Calgary, AB T2C 3G3 T. 1 888-283-6847 F. 1 888-570-9378 E. farmforum@bayer.com www.cropscience.bayer.ca Contents of this publication are copyrighted and may be reproduced only with written permission of the publisher, Bayer CropScience Inc. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher.

Publications Mail Agreement Number 40743517 Registered in Canada Copyright 2019 WEBSITE www.farmforum.ca Return undeliverable copies to: Bayer CropScience Inc. Suite 130 160 Quarry Park Blvd. SE Calgary, AB T2C 3G3

PHOTO: WILL & JEN BERGMANN

T

his issue is all about laying a strong foundation of operating principles to ensure the success of your farm. Whether it’s striving to find the right inputs to control weeds and improve yield, constantly looking for new technologies that can save time and money or taking the time to research modern business practices to help better run your farm — laying a strong foundation will ultimately help boost your bottom line.

For Will and Jen Bergmann, setting their farm up for success means taking advantage of the skills they have and integrating them into their business. The two are winners of the 2019 Outstanding Young Farmers’ Program award for the Manitoba region. Their farm near Winnipeg, produces canola, corn, wheat, soybean, oats and pork.

They also run an organic community supported agriculture business and are partners in a farm-to-plate restaurant.

The Bergmanns both have backgrounds in music and photography and know their way around social media. Their skills are put to good use on their farm especially engaging existing and potential customers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, which they say helps them constantly improve. To find out more about the Bergmanns’ creative approach to doing business turn to Page 21.

Being proactive and recognizing the potential disease threats on your farm means you’ve researched the many products on the market and made informed decisions. In this issue we introduce you to two new products from Bayer that will change the way you farm.

TruFlex is Bayer’s new Roundup Ready canola system that adapts to the specific needs of your farming operation. TruFlex widens the spray window by 10 to 14 days, offers better control of tough weeds such as foxtail barley, cleavers and wild buckwheat, and has higher yield potential through elite genetics. Turn to Page 8 to find out more.

Bayer’s new Olympus herbicide tackles foxtail barley, a weed that’s become increasingly difficult to control for many wheat farmers across the country.

Olympus is part of a system approach to help manage foxtail barley and other tough weeds in wheat. Turn to Page 18 to find out why 93 per cent of posttrial survey participants will use the Olympus system again.

These days most people are aware of herbicide resistance, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that fungicide resistance may become an issue for some farmers. Fungicide use in agriculture has grown dramatically over the last several years so it’s time to start raising awareness of this issue. Turn to Page 5 to learn how to use the Combined Resistance Risk Matrix to determine if your seed treatment plan is low, medium, or high risk for resistance development.

When it comes to new tech, it’s prudent to choose technologies that are right for you and your farm and not because they’re trendy. In this issue we take a look at the pros and cons of front-mounted booms to help you decide whether this relatively new tech is right for you and your operation.

Good communication is imperative for running a successful farm. And learning how to communicate effectively without conflict and emotion and recognizing each person’s communication style will go a long way to solving any issues that come up on the job. Turn to page 25 to learn the tips and tricks of effective communication.

And finally, as you head into the busy season, remember that you are the most important asset on your farm so it’s important to take care of yourself — in particular getting enough sleep and eating well — so you get through another season safely and with minimum risk to your overall health. Turn to page 15 to find out how to get a good night’s sleep and feed your body well.

ON THE COVER Jen and Will Bergmann, 2019 winners of the Outstanding Young Farmers’ Program award for the Manitoba region, use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to drive business on their farm near Winnipeg.

PRODUCTION

Should I rotate seed treatment actives?

BY DIANNE FINSTAD

PHOTOS: TOP: GETTY IMAGES, BOTTOM: MAFRD

F

ungicide resistance is receiving a lot of attention these days and Dr. Bruce Gossen, a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and past president of the Canadian Phytopathological Society, thinks it’s high time we looked at this issue.

Gossen says fungicide use in agriculture has grown dramatically across the country and while it’s still nowhere near levels used on golf courses or in orchards, for instance, an increasing proportion of crop acreage receives one or more applications of fungicide a year.

“So we’re in a good place to start raising awareness, to start to be a little more careful with rotations and mixtures, so we protect the ones most at risk, and don’t end up using up resources that are going to be hard to replace,” Gossen says.

While there are no major problems of fungicide resistance yet in Canada, Gossen does see a few warning signs in some of his work, including some fungicide insensitivity in chickpea crops, and even

alfalfa grown for seed. “And for root rots, there have been examples where fungicides have been applied to soil and stopped being effective because of repeated exposure.”

According to Gossen, problems can occur when fungicides used in foliar applications are also used as seed treatment.

Here is the tricky part: because of the mixtures, growers may not be aware they’re applying the same group of actives for both.

“Growers should have a glance at the label and make sure they’re not putting on the same active more than once.”

Scott Henry, an agronomic development manager for Bayer in Winnipeg, says it could be more complicated than that. The very nature of seed treatments — how and where they’re used and how they function within seed and plant tissue — suggest it’s not quite as straightforward as applying the same preventive strategy of “rotate your groups” that’s advised for weed resistance as the go-to approach for seed treatment fungicides.

Henry discussed this topic with seed »

FA R MFOR UM.CA / SUMMER 2019

5

PRODUCTION COMBINED RESISTANCE RISK MATRIX BASED ON FUNGICIDE, PATHOGEN & AGRONOMIC RISK The Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC) was established in the early 1980s and is a global technical working group that studies and monitors fungicide resistance around the world, and provides advice to avoid, delay and manage resistance problems. The FRAC codes found on fungicide labels describe modes of action and can be used in the Combined Resistance Risk Matrix to assess fungicide resistance risk on your farm.

FUNGICIDE CLASS GROUP 11 GROUP 4

FUNGICIDE RISK

AGRONOMIC RISK

COMBINED RISK

HIGH = 6

6 3 1.5

12 6 3

18 9 4.5

HIGH = 1.0 MEDIUM = 0.5 LOW = 0.25

MEDIUM =3

3 1.5

8 4 2

12 6 3

HIGH = 1.0 MEDIUM = 0.5 LOW = 0.25

LOW = 1

1 0.5

2 1 0.5

3 1.5 0.75

HIGH = 1.0 MEDIUM = 0.5 LOW = 0.25

PATHOGEN RISK

LOW = 1

MEDIUM = 2

HIGH = 3

PATHOGEN GROUPS

Rusts Fusarium Rhizoctonia, Pythium spp.

Smuts & Bunts

Ascochyta Septoria blotch Net blotch Barley Scald

Botrytis Erysiphe Pyricularia Venturia

GROUP 2

GROUP 7 GROUP 9

GROUP 3

MULTI SITES RESISTANCE IND.

“We’re in a good place to start raising awareness, to start to be a little more careful with rotations and mixtures” Dr. Bruce Gossen RESEARCH SCIENTIST, AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD CANADA

Source: www.frac.info

retailers and distributors at SeedGrowth Solutions expos held across the prairies this spring. “I think the whole aspect linking fungicide resistance and herbicide resistance is dangerous because they’re very different,” says Henry. “You can’t broad stroke it. Instead it should be taken in the context of each individual situation.”

Henry says risk assessment needs to be evaluated using three points of information: the pathogen, the fungicide being used, and the agronomics (the particular situation in which the fungicide will be used). Henry refers to these three factors as the “resistance risk triangle.”

As with herbicides, selection pressure is still a reality with fungicides, but Henry points out the key difference when it comes to seed treatments is the presence of a host. “The disease has to react with a host, 6

FA R M FO R U M .C A / S U M M E R 2 019

the plant, to infect. That adds a level of complexity,” he explains.

He agrees with Gossen that using the same fungicide active in seed treatment form then later in a foliar application has risks, but only in some cases. “I would agree that for high risk modes of action this should be the case, or for actives that move systemically from the seed where it was applied up into the foliage,” explains Henry. “But seed treatment fungicides used today really don’t do that — move from seed up into foliage — and thus don’t put on selection pressure.

“They target different diseases as well, and some diseases are inherently riskier for developing resistance than others,” adds Henry. Seed treatments mostly target seedand soil-borne diseases, which are generally at lower risk for resistance development.

The third part of the triangle is the agronomic risk, which includes a wide

range of factors, such as the environment, disease resistant cultivars and, of course, crop rotations.

Plug all those factors into a very simple risk resistance matrix and Henry says you get a number at the end of the day that scores your seed treatment plan as low, medium or high risk for resistance development. He believes risk assessment is the first step growers and advisors should take before making seed treatment decisions.

More people are aware of herbicide resistance now and can make that natural leap to looking at fungicide resistance as a potential issue, says Henry. “Sometimes they should. There’s no doubt about it — rotating is not a bad thing to do. But in many situations, it’s not an absolute necessity. People need to gain knowledge so they can make an informed decision.”

Gossen adds that the evolution of seed treatment technology plays into the picture as well. The move to more specific modes of action instead of multiple modes means a single change in the targeted pathogen could lead to reduced sensitivity. So the trend now is to a mixed “cocktail” to achieve good disease control, all on a single seed. That makes rotation more difficult to achieve, since there are many actives working all at once.

“But rotation still has a place, even in these cocktails,” says Gossen. “The more you rely on a single fungicide, (just like the more you rely on single herbicide) the more likely you are to run into risk.

“Seed treatments can be treated as insurance, to protect your crop from problems. If you’re already thinking about insurance, rotation just reduces risk without adding to your cost,” says Gossen.

“The risk assessment matrix helps growers make decisions on how to rotate their fungicides, which is one tool for solving disease problems,” says Henry.

Both experts note good records go a long way to helping form a resistance management approach. They encourage growers to discuss their seed treatment strategy with their crop advisors and suppliers. FF

“I think the whole aspect linking fungicide resistance and herbicide resistance is dangerous because they’re very different.

You can’t broad stroke it. Instead it should be taken in the context of each individual situation” Scott Henry AGRONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, BAYER

FA R MFOR UM.CA / SUMMER 2019

7

BUSINESS

8

FA R M FO R U M .C A / S U M M E R 2 019

NEW CANOLA SYSTEM ADAPTS TO FARMERS’ UNIQUE NEEDS

BY GERALD PILGER

B

ased on seed orders and farmer surveys, it’s estimated that Bayer’s new Roundup Ready canola system, TruFlex, will be planted on one million acres in Canada this spring. What’s driving such interest in this new canola system?

David Kelner, the North American canola portfolio manager with Bayer, identifies a number of reasons why farmers are excited about the TruFlex canola system. First, while Bayer considers TruFlex to be a new trait, it is a significant improvement of the Roundup Ready system that most canola growers are already familiar with.

The major differences are with the rates of glyphosate that can be applied, the timing of glyphosate applications and the weed spectrum that can be controlled.

Kelner says the wide range of advantages the TruFlex system offers over current Roundup Ready canola means the reason one farmer adopts this new system could well be different than why another farmer switches to the TruFlex system. “The technology provides advantages that meet the specific needs of each farm operation.”

NEW TIMING FLEXIBILITY Some farmers want the greater flexibility TruFlex offers in herbicide application timing. “Growers can apply WeatherMAX from the cotyledon stage right up to first flower,” explains Kelner.

“This widens the spray window by 10 to 14 days.”

This can be a huge benefit for growers who have lots of acres to cover, those who want a longer window between the first and second glyphosate application and especially for farmers who experience weather delays and are unable to spray before risking crop injury. “The TruFlex system is insurance that offers growers peace of mind — they now have spray-timing flexibility to get the weed control they expect,” says Kelner.

WIDER WEED SPECTRUM Other farmers are looking for better control of tough-to-kill weeds.

Foxtail barley, cleavers and wild buckwheat are of increasing concern for many canola growers and the TruFlex system promises much better control of these annual weeds. It even provides season-long control of dandelions. »

FA R MFOR UM.CA / SUMMER 2019

9

BUSINESS

“The technology provides advantages that meet the specific needs of each farm operation” David Kelner NORTH AMERICAN CANOLA PORTFOLIO MANAGER, BAYER

canola when sprayed after the six-leaf stage.

But the increased glyphosate tolerance with the TruFlex system will prevent such yield losses, right up to spraying TruFlex canola at first flower.

ELITE GENETICS FOR HIGHER YIELD Finally, some growers are simply adopting the TruFlex system for the higher yield potential offered by elite genetics introduced with the TruFlex system. Not only are there herbicide benefits, but TruFlex has next generation plant genetics as well.

Higher yield potential, wider spectrum weed control and increased flexibility to control weeds before they impact yields and rob moisture and nutrients means TruFlex offers real economic advantages for growers.

But the most important consideration about adoption of the new TruFlex system is the care Bayer has taken to ensure market acceptance before introduction. While the TruFlex system is based on the same herbicide tolerance technology as all Roundup Ready canola, Bayer has sought the same market approvals that would be required for introduction of a completely new biotechnology trait.

Even though Canada and the United States approved the TruFlex system nearly seven years ago in June 2012 and in other important markets since then, Bayer did not introduced the TruFlex system until it received approval from China, Canada’s largest canola export market, earlier this year. FF

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

In fact, while the Roundup WeatherMAX label listed 27 weeds when applied at the full in-crop rate on Genuity Roundup Ready canola, there are now 51 weed species listed on the label when the new, full-rate WeatherMAX application is made in the TruFlex system.

Farmers are now able to apply higher rates of glyphosate to achieve better weed control. For example, growers can make two applications of 0.67 litres per acre of Roundup WeatherMAX in crop between cotyledon and first flower or a single application of 1.33 litres per acre of WeatherMAX between cotyledon and the six-leaf stage.

Kelner explains that these higher rates of glyphosate can be used because the TruFlex trait is a new promoter sequence which provides greater expression of the gene for tolerance to glyphosate. “The (glyphosate tolerance) gene is being expressed at stronger levels and continues to be expressed at later stages of plant development.”

Growers who have previously sprayed glyphosate late on Roundup Ready canola know that crop injury is always a risk.

Kelner says studies have shown a three bushel-per-acre yield loss to Roundup Ready

10

FA R M FO R U M .C A / S U M M ER 2 019

PERFECT

FROM PLANTING TO PLATTER Look no further than Luna® fungicides to keep your horticulture crops producing their best. Luna’s two modes of action make for a wide disease spectrum - coupled with a broad crop label, that means high quality and high yields for you. Get the best out of your crop with Luna.

Learn more at cropscience.bayer.ca/Luna

Always read and follow label directions. Luna®, Luna Sensation™ and Luna Tranquility® are trademarks of the Bayer Group.

Bayer CropScience Inc. is a member of CropLife Canada.

TECHNOLOGY

Boom placement comes down to farmer preference

BY JOY GREGORY

T

he high-clearance sprayer is a workhorse of the contemporary farm. These machines hit the mainstream about 20 years ago with foldout, rear-mounted booms, and many farmers rely on the technology to apply crop protection agents faster and more accurately.

Some manufacturers offer a frontmounted boom, and that has many scratching their heads. What’s up with the shift in boom placement? Is there some kind of advantage to that placement? What should farmers know before they buy?

Tom Wolf of Agrimetrix understands why farmers are curious about the frontmounted sprayers. “Farmers are the most science-literate occupational group that I know,” he says. “Science has given them a tremendous return on their investment and when they see a change like this, they say: ‘Hey, what does the data say?’”

12

FA R M FO R U M .C A / S U M M E R 2 019

Agrimetrix specializes in agricultural spray research, but even Wolf admits that information comparing the spray deposition of rear- versus front-mounted booms is sparse. He’s hopeful future research will clarify the data. “For now, it’s best to think of it as simply an alternative way of mounting the boom and to consider what works best for your farm,” says the former Ag Canada researcher.

On the ground, though, farmers who have made the switch like the view, says Dennis Gerbrandt, a sales manager with Robertson Implements in Swift Current, SK. “You see all your nozzles and if you’re going around an obstruction in the field, be it a power pole or a rock pile, it’s all right there in front of you.”

New Holland’s machine, with the boom out front, water tank in the middle and the engine mounted at the rear, is well-balanced from front to back. Some

operators believe that causes fewer issues with soil compaction, says Gerbrandt.

He and Wolf agree that farmers who are thinking about making a switch can weigh a few pros and cons. Below, they outline a few key issues to think about: Corner coverage Equipment handling and spray accuracy are issues every time a spray boom navigates a turn or corner, says Wolf. The outer edge of all booms travels faster than the inner edge, which compromises spray deposition from booms without turn compensation.

It’s why some farmers will drive straight into a corner, then back out, turn into the corner the other way, and go straight out from there.

He says the front-mounted boom doesn’t really offer an advantage here. “Yes, you can drive into the corner and stop, back out, turn and start the new pass where the spray

boom ended,” says Wolf. “But with the rear-mount sprayer you would simply do the opposite. There’s no clear winner.”

Visibility Front-mounted units offer improved visibility as the operator can see most nozzles. “On the rear-mounted boom there’s always a section of the boom you simply can’t see,” says Wolf. “The middle third is always obscured and you’re reduced to hoping that everything’s okay back there.”

Auto-steer helps by allowing operators to keep a better eye on the rear-mounted boom because they can spray without a hand on the wheel. “Nonetheless, there is an advantage to seeing everything in front,” says Wolf.

The ergonomics of facing forward are also better for the operator, says Gerbrandt, “Let’s face it. You might spend 10 hours spraying. Being able to focus forward is a lot easier on the body. Drive your car for half a mile down the road forward and then back up for half a mile. You’ll feel the difference.”

Cameras connected to a dash-mounted screen can be used to monitor rearmounted booms and spray nozzles from the tractor cab, notes Wolf. This solves visibility and ergonomic issues.

PHOTOS: TOM WOLF

Spray drift Farmers often ask Wolf about spray drifting back onto the tractor and operator of front-mounted units. With a frontmounted boom their concern is driving straight through a spray cloud, which can make the ladder that they climb down wet.

There is a simple solution: frontmounted boom operators can avoid stepping onto freshly sprayed land by shutting off the boom and driving a bit further before they exit the tractor. This allows them to descend onto unsprayed land from a ladder mounted at the rear of the machine. “Most of the time, the spray cloud stays pretty low, and that ladder will remain dry,” adds Wolf.

Spray drift can be an issue with a rearmounted unit, too, says Gerbrandt. The bottom line is that operators must manage the issue, regardless of boom placement.

Spray displacement Tractor unit turbulence and its affect on spray cloud displacement is an issue for both rear- and front-mount units. It affects the smaller drops more than the bigger ones because smaller drops remain airborne for longer.

“The traditional best practices that we’ve been promoting have been to drive slower, to lower the boom and to use coarser sprays, all of which contribute to uniformity” Tom Wolf SPRAY RESEARCHER AGRIMETRIX

“We have some data that shows that the wheels and other elements of the sprayer redistribute the spray somewhat,” says Wolf, referring to rear-mount units. “That can result in regions under the boom that are underdosed, or overdosed. That lack of uniformity is inefficient.”

Wolf hasn’t yet compared front- and rear-mounted booms for this issue. “We suspect the turbulence problem won’t be entirely solved by having a front mount.”

Crop suitability Front-mounted booms were launched decades ago with Hagie (recently partnering with John Deere) and Miller (now also making sprayers for New Holland) hitting the market first.

Those early units were designed for row-crop production, since the frontfacing view helped operators accurately place products such as liquid nitrogen fertilizer between rows of corn. For most non-row crops, that advantage is less important.

Best practices still rule The unvarnished truth about crop protection products applied with giant machines is that timing is critical and uniform application can be tricky.

“If you have regions where you overdose, you are wasting the material,” says Wolf. “If you have regions you underdose, you have possible loss of disease or pest control.” Since mistakes aren’t usually noticeable for a week or two after spraying, efficient use of these machines and products all comes back to preventing coverage problems through best practices.

“The traditional best practices that we’ve been promoting have been to drive slower, to lower the boom and to use coarser sprays, all of which contribute to uniformity,” says Wolf. “And we do have supporting data that shows these practices help provide a more uniform deposit. These are the things we should be doing.” And doing regardless of boom placement. FF

FA R MFOR UM.CA / SUMMER 2019

13

TECHNOLOGY

Follow spraying best practices for optimal coverage Spray researcher Tom Wolf gets a lot of pushback every time he tells farmers they should drive slower to do a better job. But once he shows how they can improve their productivity without driving faster, they take note.

Sprayers101.com links to a productivity calculator app designed by Wolf’s company, Agrimetrix. (Visit Agrimetrixapps.com). Farmers can use it to calculate their acres per hour by entering spray width, tank size, travel speed and time spent filling and cleaning. “Before

14

FA R M FO R U M .C A / S U M M E R 2 019

they run the numbers through the calculator, a lot of farmers don’t realize how much something like filling too slowly robs them of productivity,” says Wolf.

The information gives producers real data about the time spent on tasks that don’t involve applying spray at the optimum time and speed. Once armed with those details, farmers can look for operational efficiencies that improve their spray program by allowing them “to slow down and still spray more,” says Wolf.

FARM LIFE

Sleep. Eat. Work. Repeat Keep your body and brain working well through busy season | JOY GREGORY This article has been reprinted from a 2015 edition of Farm Forum.

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’ 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.

“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 »

“ Farmers and elite athletes need seven to nine hours of sleep a night” Dr. Charles Samuels

MEDICAL DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR SLEEP AND HUMAN PERFORMANCE IN CALGARY

FA R MFOR UM.CA / SUMMER 2019

15

FARM LIFE alert. I would venture to guess that a lot of farmers do not feel that way.”

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 (seven 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 five 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 seven 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

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

16

FA R M FO R U M .C A / S U M M E R 2 019

“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

Because you work in acres, not hours.

That’s the way growers, like you, live.

You keep pushing, day after day, without ever punching in or out. All with one thing on your mind. Getting more out of every seed, row and field. So, if you’re in the business of higher yields, get there with Bayer fungicides. Especially when your best harvest is yet to come.

Find out more about Bayer fungicides at ItsGrowTime.ca

Always read and follow label directions. Bayer CropScience Inc. is a member of CropLife Canada.

PRODUCTION

Olympus tackles foxtail barley head on

BY JENNIFER BARBER

F

oxtail barley is a growing concern for prairie growers. Once a weed of virtually no concern, the increase of minimum to no-till operations has meant this perennial, shallow-rooted weed, once easily broken up during tillage, has become a management issue for growers. New Olympus herbicide is one part of a system approach that helps growers manage this and other tough weeds in wheat.

“What makes Olympus unique is that it is designed to be used as part of a system,” says Jon Weinmaster, customer marketing manager for cereals with Bayer.

“With minimal new modes of action on the horizon for herbicides, we’re having to be innovative with the products we do have. The Olympus system takes effective chemistries and uses them in a new way to meet the weed issues affecting wheat crops today.”

The Olympus system includes an application of Olympus plus Roundup herbicide applied at the pre-emergent or pre-plant stage. This is followed up with an in-crop application of a Group 2 graminicide, like Varro or Velocity m3, to reduce competition from flushing foxtail

18

FA R M FO R U M .C A / S U M M ER 2 019

barley, downy brome, Japanese brome and volunteer canola, plus enhance wild oat control.

The advantage of using the Olympus system is that it provides a more lethal dose of Group 2 herbicide chemistry, boosting grass weed control and reducing the weed seed bank for future years. “In terms of resistance management, growers can consider this a Group 2 herbicide season when determining their chemistry rotation,” says Weinmaster.

One of the challenges of Group 2 chemistries can be follow-crop restrictions, but the Olympus system, when used with an application of Varro or Velocity m3, has

rotational freedom for pulses, canola and all other major crops the following season, making it a flexible option for wheat growers.

TAKING DOWN FOXTAIL BARLEY In a 2017 AgData survey conducted for Bayer, researchers asked 1,100 wheat growers to list their most problematic weed concerns. More than half flagged foxtail barley as one of their top weed management issues. Not surprising since no single incrop selective herbicide has been able to address the weed. It has grown in incidence and severity, and is becoming increasingly difficult to control.

“This product was developed specifically to target growers’ concerns with foxtail barley,” says Weinmaster.

“Propoxycarbazone-sodium, the molecule used in Olympus, has been used successfully in the U.S. for many years. When growers shared with us that they needed a solution to this problem, we were able to bring it to Canada and adapt the tank-mix for Canadian wheat growers.”

Weinmaster says that in the past, residual products haven’t been as popular in Western Canada. This is changing as growers are seeing that combining products with a little bit of residual control can give them that extra edge needed to manage tough-to-control weeds.

Olympus received registration last year, however Bayer used last season to demonstrate the product to growers and to

get feedback before launching it for the 2019 season. This was done through 239, 80-acre product demonstration trials, for a total of about 19,000 wheat acres treated with the Olympus system.

While corn and soybean growers are more familiar with a two-pass weed control option, Bayer chose to show wheat growers how a system approach could also benefit them before bringing to market.

According to post-trial survey results, 93 per cent of participants said they would use the system again, citing prolonged activity on weeds, better control of foxtail barley, enhanced wild oat control and follow-up crop freedom as the top benefits. FF

“The Olympus system takes effective chemistries and uses them in a new way to meet the weed issues affecting wheat crops today” John Weinmaster CUSTOMER MARKETING MANAGER/CEREALS BAYER

FA R MFOR UM.CA / SUMMER 201 9

19

COVER STORY

20

FA R M FO R U M .C A / S U M M ER 2 019

Social media drives business on this Manitoba farm

BY JENNIFER BARBER | PHOTOGRAPHY: WILL AND JEN BERGMANN

M

any different things make a modern farm a success. For Winnipeg area farmers, Will and Jen Bergmann, success comes from using social media to tap into conversations about agriculture. This helps them determine what their customers want and what they need to know more about so they can adapt their business practices accordingly.

“Unlike many farms, we are located 10 minutes from an urban centre, so our lives and our community are both urban and rural,” says Will, third generation farmer. “We have daily conversations with people who have no connection to agriculture and that is changing the course of how we look at our farm and how

we have chosen to engage with people.”

The Bergmanns are the 2019 winners of the Outstanding Young Farmers’ Program award for the Manitoba region. The main farm, Bergmann Bros., was established in 1925 and produces canola, corn, wheat, soybeans, oats and pork. Will’s father and uncle are still active partners.

Seven years ago, Will and Jen decided that the farm was where they wanted to build their family and their future, so they purchased a portion of the business from another uncle.

Jen was an elementary school teacher, but recently decided to stay on the farm to raise their three small children and focus on photography and other side interests. »

FA R MFOR UM.CA / SUMMER 201 9

21

TECHNOLOGY

22

FA R M FO R U M .C A / S U M M E R 2 019

The couple bring a creative approach to the business of farming. With backgrounds in music and photography, they continually look for unique ways to diversify their already successful conventional grain and finishing pig operation. They developed a successful organic community supported agriculture (CSA) business and partnered in a farmto-plate restaurant called Oxbow. They’ve also made social media a big part of their business model.

As growers who run both a conventional farming operation and an organic CSA, they are adamant that it takes all types of farming to meet the different needs of today’s consumers, both locally and around the world. “We run the CSA as an organic farm for business, not moral reasons,” says Will.

“Our local urban customers wanted organic vegetables and on this scale, for these customers, it can be easily done.

But once they come to our farm and we have built a relationship, they listen and see that we use conventional farming products in other areas of farming.

Our goal needs to be safe, nutritious, affordable food for everyone, with all types of farmers farming all different ways.”

The CSA is a labour intensive operation. The Bergmanns plant, weed, pick and deliver to central Winnipeg locations where their customers pick up fresh vegetables weekly, from June through to October. At one point, one of their customers had a surplus of leftover vegetables, which they shared with a relative who owned a restaurant and that grew into a demand for local in-season vegetables for nearby restaurants.

“The more we provided locally, the more we realized we wanted to be part of the local food scene,” says Will. “Our grain farm had been shipping globally for generations, but we had never really been part of the local food scene until now.

As artistic people, we wanted to bring another level of art to food preparation, so we started working with local chefs to discuss what we could do with the food we grew.”

This led to their partnership in a Winnipeg restaurant, called Oxbow, which highlights locally grown food prepared in unique ways. “While our role is to provide the ingredients, we also go to the restaurant and talk to the customers to tell people the story of farmers and

farming,” he says. “We also have these discussions with the chefs when they are preparing the menu so our influence is part of the dialogue around food.”

Will says the conversations he’s had with the urban community has changed dramatically since returning to the farm. He realized pretty quickly that many people who don’t work in agriculture think they know a lot, due to the availability of online information, but that information rarely comes from those working on the farm. So he decided that it was up to those who worked in agriculture to share what is really going on.

“We also realized that the conversation goes both ways,” he says. “I started out telling people what I felt they didn’t know, but I realized I needed to listen to what their concerns were and make sure we were having a discussion and to make sure that everyone was fully engaged in that discussion. It doesn’t help to fight online, you have to build trust, to build relationships and then information can be shared.”

While they are active on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, Instagram is the tool of the urban population while Twitter tends to be the discussion place for farmers themselves, says Will, so they tailor their message accordingly.

The Bergmanns say that social media has been the driving force of their business and they believe it is very important for farmers to use online tools to tell their stories.

“Every story is important, and most people don’t know a modern day farmer or know anything about the practice of farming itself,” he says. “They don’t understand how quickly a discussion turns into policy, which can have a big impact on farmer families.”

Food is something that everyone on the planet has in common and it is often the reason people gather together. “As farmers growing food, we have the amazing ability to connect with everyone (around food),” says Will. “It’s important that we take the opportunity to connect on that level to make sure people have a part in the discussions.”

The Bergmanns have been asked to speak to others about how they promote agriculture through farming ventures and social media activities. The Canola Grower’s Association brought Will to Toronto to speak to food industry people (chefs and »

“We run the CSA as an organic farm for business, not moral reasons. Our local urban customers wanted organic vegetables and on this scale, for these customers, it can be easily done” Will Bergmann

FA R MFOR UM.CA / SUMMER 2019

23

TECHNOLOGY

“While Will is a bigger voice on social media, I take a lot of the photographs and talk directly with our customers. The photos help tell the story of agriculture in visual format while talking to customers is another way to share what we know about this business” Jen Bergmann

24

FA R M FO R U M .C A / S U M M E R 2 019

bloggers) about farms, farm life and where their food comes from. They are open to sharing the story of agriculture with anyone.

Jen and Will together are making sure their children are introduced to farm life from a young age. Their three children, Brooklyn (7), Cole (5) and Emmett (4) are with them whenever possible, be that on the grain farm or helping out with the CSA. Jen says that being around fresh produce has changed the way their kids eat, and they hope it has an impact on their community as well. “We are educating our kids, our friends and our community whenever and however we can to make sure that anytime anyone has a question about what we do, there is an answer we can give to people on any level,” she says.

“I became more involved with the farm at the same time we began the CSA, as that was around the same time I stopped teaching,” says Jen. “I do the online management of the CSA, including customer orders and tracking, and play a huge role in our content creation.

While Will is a bigger voice on social media, I take a lot of the photographs and talk directly with our customers. The photos help tell the story of agriculture in visual format while talking to customers is another way to share what we know about this business.”

The Bergmanns hope to continue their education mindset by hosting more urban customers on their farm. This July, chefs from around Canada will be visiting their farm to learn more about the different sides of the business, along with a day long foraging event. At the end of the day, they will prepare a large dinner on the farm for Winnipeg food lovers to enjoy.

“It’s the perfect opportunity to bring the food world together, and for us to show everything we have learned as farmers,” says Will. “We think this local and artistic preparation of food is one of the biggest current food trends, and we have developed our farm, our CSA and our partnership in the restaurant to be able to be a big part in that trend going forward.” FF

Pride, Passion, Professionalism

DESCRIBES AN OUTSTANDING YOUNG FARMER. Know an outstanding young farmer who is passionate about farming?

Someone who’s committed to Canadian agriculture, the environment, and their community? Someone who could benefit from the opportunity to build their business, make connections and discover new opportunities?

Nominate an outstanding young farmer today at OYFCanada.com.

NATIONAL SPONSORS:

SUPPORTERS:

01/19-61014

FARM LIFE

Better run farms start with good communication

BY JOY GREGORY

G

ood communication is key to the success of any farming operation.

And, according to Elaine Froese, certified farm business coach, her farm family clients want to learn to communicate without conflict or emotion.

Some business coaches use personalitytype indicator tests (like Meyers Briggs, DISC and Kolbe) to help clients understand why people behave in certain ways. There is value in that approach, “but the issue isn’t that people are different; that can be a strength,” says Froese, who has a personal/ business role in a 5,000-acre pedigreed seed farm in Manitoba.

“The issue is that we need to communicate and, on our own farm, we communicate in a way that nobody fights, nobody swears, nobody yells, nobody throws stuff. When there is frustration, it’s like, ‘I’m frustrated,’ or, ‘tell me why this didn’t get done,’ or ‘how can I help you?’”

While most farm families who reach out to a business coach are already knee-deep in conflict and negative emotion, they likely aren’t talking about what matters, she adds.

But avoiding contentious subjects makes the problem worse. “We talk to each other to learn. When we don’t talk, we don’t learn.”

EMBRACE THE CONFLICT Conflict regarding the inter-generational transfer of farm assets is one of the main reasons farm families hire a business coach. “In the culture of agriculture, many farmers do not want to retire. But they do need to reinvent their role, so if we use the word ‘transition’ instead of ‘succession’ to get this conversation started, it’s a bit more accurate,” explains Froese. “The transition still has to be in terms of labour, management and ownership, but it implies a strategy that’s likely to take some time versus happen all at once.”

While transition planning is fraught with conflict, that doesn’t mean farm families shouldn’t talk about it, says Froese. “Let’s say a husband doesn’t want to talk to a financial planner and his wife thinks that talk is critical. He rates it a two out of 10 and she says it’s an eight.”

That couple may think their positions are 26

FA R M FO R U M .C A / S U M M ER 2 019

too far apart to have a meaningful discussion about the topic, but that’s not true, insists Froese. By starting the conversation and identifying divergent positions there is now quantitative evidence to work with. “The conversation doesn’t end with different opinions, it begins with different opinions.”

The same holds true for emotion. “It’s a myth to think we have to learn to keep emotion out of business,” she says. “We have to learn to manage emotion, but it should not be dismissed.”

WHAT’S YOUR COMMUNICATION STYLE? To kickstart improved communication, and better channel conflict and emotion, families can download the free Farm Family Tool Kit at elainefroese.com. The kit’s Communication Styles Assessment tool identifies whether a person’s communication style is motivated by action, process, people or ideas.

It also provides strategies for how to best communicate with people who have different communication styles. An individual whose style emphasizes action is likely to use fewer words than someone with a different communication style. Froese says that can be an issue between her and her husband. He’s very action/task oriented, while her focus is ideas/big picture; he uses few words, she needs more.

By understanding the differences in how they each communicate, Froese has learned to ask her husband the questions she needs answered. If she doesn’t do that, she’s likely to misunderstand what he’s trying to tell her. That’s how the couple once found themselves waiting for each other at the wrong place. “He asked me to pick him up at the barn, but I went to the wrong one.”

Someone whose communication style emphasizes process will need time to talk about the pros and cons of different options.

When there’s pressure to take action, the process-oriented individual will want reassurance the decision is based on a plan to generate the best outcome.

The people-oriented communicator wants to know how decisions impact others, adds Froese. These individuals want examples of how decisions worked in the past and how these decisions affected people.

The idea-oriented person needs different information. They want to know why a particular decision makes sense and they want time to think about future implications.

None of these communication styles is right or wrong, says Froese. Indeed, each style can benefit a farm operation by leading its principals to consider more information.

Froese recommends farm families work through the assessment individually, then meet to discuss their different communication styles. This step is so important she often asks new clients to work through the assessment before they meet with her. The bottom line is that people don’t merely benefit from knowing how others communicate, they also need to understand how their personal communication style impacts how others understand what they’re trying to communicate.

Learning to respect different communication styles takes time, and it may slow down some decisions. It’s also likely to generate more creative business decisions and nurture a more harmonious work environment. “When you understand each other’s communication style, you can create solutions,” says Froese. “Energy is drained with fighting and misinformation.” FF

Check out these online tools No time to meet with a farm coach? Check out what Elaine Froese offers online at elainefroese.com. In addition to the free Farm Family Tool Kit, Froese has her own YouTube channel. Most of the videos focus on helping farm families talk about the issues that face their farms.

WHAT’S NEW WITH BAYER PRODUCTS

Pest-proof your corn

TOP PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

G

ibberella ear rot — it even sounds like it could mean trouble. Corn growers who have experienced wet weather through the middle of the season know that Gibberella ear rot is a real threat to yield, quality and return on investment.

Caused by an infection of Fusarium graminearum, the same pathogen that leads to fusarium head blight in cereals, gibberella ear rot causes high levels of vomitoxin (DON) in corn, leading to lost yield and quality issues as we experienced in the fall of 2018.

Proline® fungicide is the only product registered for corn to not only manage gibberella ear rot but also stalk rot and important leaf diseases in both grain and silage hybrids.

Indeed, in grower-operated trials, Proline reduced DON in grain corn by 41% and increased yield by 9% over the untreated check1. In silage corn, Proline reduced DON levels by 57% while providing a 4% yield increase over the check2.

Other serious yield robbers in corn are leaf diseases, like rust, eye-spot, Northern corn leaf blight, and the western bean

cutworm (WBC), which, even at the seemingly low infestation level of one larvae per ear, can potentially rob you of 15 bu./ac.3 All of these pests — gibberella ear rot, leaf diseases and WBC — can affect corn at different times during the season.

Corn hybrid selection is an important first step in managing leaf diseases and other yield robbing pests. Your Bayer Territory Sales Manager or Market Development

Agronomists are great resources to help answer questions on what hybrids are best suited to your farm operation.

For early leaf diseases, turn to Stratego® PRO fungicide. Applied between 7-leaf and early tassel, Stratego PRO provides exceptional early-season protection and an average yield increase of 6% over untreated check4.

If DON is your main concern, apply Proline at early silking for protection against gibberella ear rot as well as late-season leaf diseases. And if WBC is in your corn field, add an insecticide to your tank mix at either spray timing.

Don’t let leaf diseases or gibberella ear rot take down your corn yield and quality this season. Talk to your Bayer representative about how Proline and Stratego PRO fungicides can help you grow your best corn crop yet.

For more information on Proline and Stratego PRO, visit cropscience.bayer.ca

1 19 Bayer grower-cooperator replicated Corn demonstration strip trials (2008-2017). All trials had >0.4 ppm DON in UTC. 2 7 replicated field-scale trials (2013-2015). Scott Banks, OMAFRA. 3 Western Bean Cutworm Scouting and Management in Field Corn (2017). Tracy Baute, OMAFRA, Ridgetown; and Jocelyn Smith and Art Schaafsma, University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus.

4 24 Bayer small plot and field-scale trails (2013-2015).

Your result may vary according to agronomic, environmental and pest pressure variables.

FA R MFOR UM.CA / SUMMER 2019

27

How well do you really know sclerotinia?

28

FA R M FO R U M .C A / S U M M ER 2 019

if pressure has been low for a while,” says Humphris. “All it takes is some rain or high humidity at the right time for spores to start flying. And it doesn’t matter if you’ve sprayed for it before. Sclerotia — the resting bodies that contain the fungus — can lie dormant in the soil for years. All they’re waiting for is an opportunity.”

His advice? “I’d definitely recommend planning for a Proline® fungicide application,” he says. “Canola growers choose it more than any other fungicide

because it consistently delivers an excellent result. But whatever product you choose, have it ready to go because you won’t have much time to react if seasonal conditions are conducive to disease development.”

If you see great yield potential coupled with a good thick canopy and some rain in the forecast, you’ll need to be ready to act. “Don’t wait for disease to develop and think you can outrun it,” says Humphris.

“Once you see infection, you’ve already lost yield.”

For more myths and facts about sclerotinia, visit: cropscience.bayer.ca/ Proline-canola

PHOTO: ALICE BUTLER, DPIRD

I

n the world of canola diseases, clubroot and blackleg seem to get the most attention lately. Fair enough as both present some difficult and pressing control issues. Meanwhile, one of the most economically significant canola diseases, sclerotinia, has become just another routine for many.

“We’ve become so familiar with sclerotinia, that maybe we’ve taken our eye slightly off the ball when it comes to our knowledge about it and how we manage it,” says James Humphris, Crop and Campaign Manager with Bayer.

And yet, over the last decade or so, spray timing recommendations have been refined, our understanding of disease behaviour and potential crop losses have been clarified, and field surveys have given us a far clearer picture of how widespread scleortinia inoculum actually is on the prairies.

“There are a lot of myths about sclerotinia that date back years,” says Humphris. “For instance, last year’s sclerotinia pressure was low, so this year it will be low again. Myth! Each field and every year is different and needs to be handled differently. The right thing to do is assess your field in that critical period prior to flowering and pay specific attention to the moisture and environment.”

Some things are still as true today as they were years ago. For example, the fact that potential yield loss from sclerotinia is generally half the infection level, and that high moisture a few weeks before and during flowering is the key risk factor.

And here’s a sobering fact: according to the 2017 Canadian Plant Disease Survey, conducted by the Canadian Phytopathological Society, sclerotinia is present in 90% or more of fields surveyed in the Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

“The fact is that the presence of sclerotinia inoculum is pretty much a given everywhere, so it doesn’t matter if you didn’t have a problem with it last year, or

WHAT’S NEW WITH BAYER PRODUCTS

Fungicides need to deliver disease protection and increase yield potential

PHOTO: ALLAN DAWSON

F

ungicide application in cereals is as much about timing as it is about what product to use.

And when it comes to timing, do you keep the flag leaf clean to maximize its grain filling capacity, or do you wait until the head has emerged and protect it against fusarium head blight (FHB)?

“We’ve conducted over 160 growercooperated demonstration strip trials (DSTs) over more than 10 years across Western Canada to help answer this question, and we’ve found that a fungicide application at head timing (T3 timing) is optimal for spring cereals,” says Jon Weinmaster, Grower and Channel Marketing Manager with Bayer. “These trials clearly demonstrated that head timing provided protection to the flag leaf and against FHB infection in the grain to give growers the best yield increase and protection from DON.”

As to fungicide choice, Weinmaster is confident about what Prosaro® XTR fungicide can do. “Fungicides need to protect against disease, but ultimately we strive to make sure our Bayer fungicides increase yield potential, and Prosaro XTR delivers,” he says, explaining that, with two fungicide active ingredients, Prosaro XTR provided an average yield increase of 5 bu/ac over untreated wheat in 2017 and 2018 Bayer replicated grower cooperator DSTs1. If you pencil it out that’s a solid return on investment even at low commodity prices.

Prosaro XTR also contains mefenpyrdiethyl, a unique ingredient that helps plants more efficiently handle abiotic stresses that can affect yield potential.

“It sets Prosaro XTR apart from the competition,” says Weinmaster.

“In our Bayer grower co-operator DSTs, we didn’t only compare to untreated,

we compared Prosaro XTR to the key competitor and the yield benefit results were consistently in the favour of Prosaro XTR applied at heading 1,2,” says Weinmaster.

“We’re so confident in Prosaro XTR that we’ve put together the Prosaro XTR Yield Guarantee Program.”

For growers participating in the Prosaro XTR Yield Guarantee Program, Bayer guarantees that Prosaro XTR fungicide will out-yield Caramba® fungicide in their qualifying wheat and barley fields, and if it doesn’t, we’ll pay for up to 160 acres of Prosaro XTR purchased. Growers can ask their Bayer Representative for complete offer details.

Participation is limited to a maximum of 300 qualifying growers selected in Bayer’s discretion. Further terms and conditions apply and can be viewed at cropscience.bayer.ca.

1 Source: 7 Bayer grower co-operator replicated wheat DSTs (2017 – 2018). Your results may vary according to agronomic , environmental, and pest pressure variables.

2 Source: 7 Bayer grower co-operator replicated barley DSTs (2017-2018). Your results may vary according to agronomic , environmental, and pest pressure variables.

FA R MFOR UM.CA / SUMMER 2019

29

WHAT’S NEW WITH BAYER PRODUCTS

The 2019 BayerValue Program.

Now with more ways to save than ever.

The 2019 BayerValue™ program has never been bigger or better. With new seed trait technologies, more ways to qualify and the largest selection of participating products, you’ve never seen a BayerValue program like this.

In fact, when you buy Bayer products such as Luxxur®, Olympus™ and Pardner® herbicides, you’re eligible to receive extra savings on Bayer fungicides including Delaro®, Proline® and Prosaro® XTR. Plus, with new qualifiers like TruFlex™ canola with Roundup Ready® Technology and Acceleron BioAg™, Western Canadian growers can save up to 18% on their favourite Bayer products.

Learn how to maximize your savings at cropscience.bayer.ca/BayerValue or by contacting your local retailer.

30

FA R M FO R U M .C A / S U M M ER 2 019

Works hard from dawn to dusk.

Just like you.

Nothing protects your pulses like Delaro.

After all, DelaroÂŽ is the best fungicide in the business, checking all the boxes for your first pass: broad-spectrum, longlasting, exceptional disease protection and the all-important increase in yield.

Choose Delaro fungicide.

Learn more at cropscience.bayer.ca/Delaro

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

BayerCropScience Inc. is a member of CropLife Canada.

Out-yield.

Out-protect.

Out-freaking-standing.

Prosaro XTR fungicide.

The best just got even better.

Prosaro® XTR is here and it’s better than ever.

How much better? How about a whopping 14% over untreated*. So regardless of disease pressure, in wet or dry weather, give your wheat and barley yields a big-time boost come harvest. Protect your cereals and your bottom line with Prosaro XTR. *15 Bayer development trials with medium to high disease pressure (2014-2016).

cropscience.bayer.ca/ProsaroXTR

@Bayer4CropsCA

1 888-283-6847

#AskBayerCrop

Always read and follow label directions. It’sGrowTime™ and Prosaro® are trademarks of the Bayer Group.

Bayer CropScience Inc. is a member of CropLife Canada.

BCS11170107-ProsaroXTR_OBC_4C.indd

11170107

May Farm Forum - Outside Back 8.125 in x 8.625 in 1 8.125 in x 8.625 in 7.625 in x 8.125 in SWOP 100% 8.375 in x 8.875 in Bayer Crop Science

1

Helvetica Neue LT Std, Gotham, Minion Pro attn: Tom Mumby