Farm forum winter 2018

GROWERS TALK STRAIGHT CUTTING | farmforum.ca

Supporting Canadian Farm Families January 2018 $5

Farmer-led seed co-op

positioned for growth Technology

Business

Production

Farm Life

Tips to keep stored grain in top condition

Turning unmarketable spuds into premium spirits

Pulses are good business

OYF winner gets back to his roots

Pride, Passion, Professionalism

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farm forum / january 2018

CONTENTS

COVER STORY

Farmer-led seed co-op positioned for growth /6 photo: genesis studio

features

BUSINESS

production

Editor's Note / 4 Growers talk straight cutting / 12 Young Canadians set to change the world of agriculture / 26

Turning unmarketable spuds into premium spirits / 14

farm life

Seed-borne disease is only half the story / 30

OYF winner gets back to his roots / 20

Pulses are good business / 18

technology

Tips to keep stored grain in top condition / 24

FARMFORUM.CA / jan uary 201 8

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Publisher Bayer CropScience Inc. Editor Sherry Warner

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FA R M FO R U M .C A / ja nuary 2018

Contributors Trevor Bacque, Jennifer Barber, Dianne Finstad, Andrew Nadler, Clare Stanfield and Genesis Studio 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 2018 Website www.farmforum.ca Return undeliverable copies to: Bayer CropScience Inc. Suite 130 160 Quarry Park Blvd. SE Calgary, AB T2C 3G3

photo: genesis studio

I

love this time of year. The days are noticeably longer, the weather milder and there is a renewed sense of optimism in the air for what the coming year has in store. It’s our hope that the stories in our January issue of Farm Forum will inspire you to bring your best self, your best ideas and your best work to the growing season ahead.

Starting with our cover story, proving that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Alberta Seed Processors is made up of a group of 67 independent farmer-owned grain processing co-ops that all work together to create more opportunities for their grower members to meet the needs of local and global markets.

Driving the organization’s growth are the individual growers and plant managers. What they bring to the table are their diverse ideas and perspectives on how to make the organization stronger while taking advantage of great opportunities when they see them.

Speaking of capitalizing on great opportunities, Beattie’s Distillers found a way to turn an unmarketable product into gold. On Ken and Liz Beattie’s fifth generation farm in Alliston, ON, their reject potatoes were given to cattle farmers for feed. Ken knew there must be a way to make some money on those unmarketable spuds. The answer was, make vodka.

The Beatties ran with the idea and in just over three years — with a lot of hard work and several course corrections — their potato vodka is now carried in over 350 stores across Ontario and is number one in the province in the super premium category.

The entrepreneurial spirit continues with this issue’s Outstanding Young Farmers’ profile on page 20. Dusty Zamecnik went back to work on the family farm after spending several years in the city earning an economics degree and working a sales and marketing job.

Seeing how hard his parents worked and the success they had with the family farm, Dusty knew he could help them take it to the next level. Today, after a lot of research and trial and error, EZ Farms (named after Dusty’s grandfather Ed) produces blueberries and three different styles of strawberry plants, which are exported to Europe. Dusty also partnered with his cousins and started the Hometown Brewing Company, which registered its first beer in 2016, a blueberry saison made with EZ Farms blueberries.

Last October, 100 youth from 49 countries gathered in Brussels, Belgium for the third edition of the Youth Ag-Summit. As part of the Summit, Bayer awarded funding for three “Thrive for Change” projects. Canada was the only nation to have a delegate on each of the winning projects. In our story on page 26, meet four young Canadians who talk about their experiences at the Summit and what impact it’s had on their agricultural careers.

As you head into the growing season, we offer three stories that will help you make the most of what you crop. In our story on page 12, two canola growers give us their take on straight cutting and its many benefits — be it eliminating the need for a swather, achieving bigger yields or gaining more flexibility at harvest.

In our story on page 18, we find out why pulse crops are so popular among prairie farmers — be it their nitrogen fixing properties and/or a growing international market. And finally, our agricultural meteorologist, Andrew Nadler, talks about how to keep stored grain in top condition in our story on page 24.

— Sherry

On the cover Alberta Seed Processors’ board of directors at the newly expanded Strathmore Plant.

Pictured L to R: Rex Harwood, Keith Reynolds (plant manager), Jeff Page, Kelly Wheeler (vicepresident and director of ASP), Peter Hoff, Dan Munroe and Ron Warrack.

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cover story

farmer-led seed co-op

positioned for growth

By Jennifer Barber | photos by genesis studio

T

ake a group of entrepreneurial growers, add an industry on the cusp of major growth and mix in a rebranding strategy with the goal to expand into international markets and you have the recipe for a farmer-led success story.

Over the past several years, Alberta Seed Processors (ASP) has taken its decades old co-operative and created a more cohesive, forward-thinking organization that offers more opportunities for growers to meet the needs of local and global markets.

“We used to be known as the Alberta Association of Co-op Seed Cleaning Plants and, on top of being a mouthful, it didn’t really describe the scope of what we were doing,” says Kelly Wheeler, vice-president and director of ASP. “Today we are very diversified — we do a lot of exporting, we treat seed, we grow seed and much more.”

Although still a critical part of its market, ASP has expanded its business from basic seed cleaning to exporting specialty grains and pulses, offering producer car loading sites, processing for grain brokers 6

FA R M FO R U M .C A / January 2018

and expanding distribution sites for seed growers and companies.

The group of 67 independent farmerowned grain processing co-ops are scattered throughout Alberta and into British Columbia’s Peace region. In 2016/17, ASP processed 44 million bushels of seed and grain. Thirty-three million bushels were processed for farm seed, with more than six million processed for the pedigreed market. Almost 10 million bushels were processed for export or for upgrading of domestic commodity grains/ pulses and oilseeds.

More than $17 million has been spent over the past four years upgrading facilities.

Upgrades include the installation of optical sorting and legal-for-trade weighing systems that can manage even the biggest transport trucks. In the last five years, Strathmore, Enchant and Lougheed locations have built new state-of-the-art facilities, with new plants in Bashaw and Taber currently under construction.

“It’s really the growers and plant managers who have driven our growth,” says Wheeler, a farmer himself. “They are all about creating new opportunities and

Alberta Seed Processors’ boards of directors focus on the needs of their individual communities and help to identify new opportunities for their growers and the best uses for expansion dollars. Pictured is the Strathmore Plant board.

adding value to what we do. Through ongoing investment we are able to continually upgrade our facilities and processes to meet the needs of growers in our community.”

Part of the rebranding was a vision to create seed and grain processing opportunities for both the local and global markets. As advocates for growers, ASP has used the size of its business to its advantage in order to get a seat at the table with government ministers and to have representation in industry round tables.

Because of the volume of seed ASP processes and treats, its opinion on industry issues holds weight.

Successful expansion for Strathmore facility Wheeler chairs the board of the Strathmore plant, which is just one of ASP’s recent success stories. Recognizing the inefficiencies of its original 40-year-old plant, a new facility was built that’s capable of cleaning seed at 1,200 bushels per hour. To meet export demand, the facility added sea-can loading capabilities.

And with the increasing popularity of cropping lentils in this region of the province, the Strathmore plant also includes cleaning capacity for 600,000 bushels of lentils.

“While the core of our business is cleaning seed for local farmer members, we knew it was time to grow with changing markets,” says Wheeler. »

FARMFORUM.CA / Jan uary 201 8

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cover story

Alberta Seed Processors’ Strathmore plant recently expanded. It’s now capable of cleaning seed at 1200 bushels per hour. The plant also added seacan loading capabilities to meet export demand and cleaning capacity for 600,000 bushels of lentils, a popular local crop.

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FA R M FO R U M .C A / Ja nuary 2018

“We are well positioned to participate in the market today and into the future” Keith Reynolds Plant Manager ASP Strathmore facility

“Our Strathmore facility is owned by a group of forward looking growers who wanted to move into exporting, add in specialty crop cleaning and also move further into pedigreed seed and malt processing,” says Wheeler. “We had to adapt our technology to accommodate these changing market demands.”

Keith Reynolds is the plant manager at the Strathmore facility and says that working as part of a co-operative offers many advantages, including the ability to market as a group, manage benefits on a group basis and the ability to share information with others, not only within the same industry, but in the same province. He says the expansion of the Strathmore plant was developed with future growth in mind.

“We built the Strathmore facility bigger than what we need today, to plan for more and new business,” says Reynolds. “We needed to modernize and we wanted to include more than just seed cleaning,” he added. “The sea-can loading area is now in full operation, and we have included technology that will be able to clean hybrid grain when it comes into production. We are well positioned to participate in the market today and into the future.”

With its upgraded facilities, the Strathmore plant is getting more attention from grain companies, says Reynolds. And the commercial treating business has also expanded. “In 2017 we started growing certified seed,” he adds. “That was a big change for us but we now are involved in the seed production business from the beginning to the end of the season. We are able to load and export domestically and internationally.”

A large dust collector at the Strathmore plant (top), a worker loading a truck, and another worker getting ready to load a sea-can.

Diversified growth All member co-ops within this network of seed and grain processing professionals have a rural community focus and are as individualized as the needs of their local growers — some sell hay tarps, others sell pet food, while others sell insurance.

Bill Chapman, crop business development specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, works with ASP as a technical advisor to help the boards of directors identify new opportunities and help determine some of the best uses for expansion dollars. He says, however, that most new ideas come from local boards.

“In addition to the expansion at Strathmore, we have had several other regional success stories in recent years,” says Chapman. “At the Stony Plain facility, the board invested in oats cleaning and clipping equipment for the horse market,” he says. “It added a robotic bagger that has increased the »

FARMFORUM.CA / Ja n uary 201 8

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cover story handling capacity. It’s buying grain for containerized sales from local members and has ramped up seed treating operations.

The ability to market grain to customers internationally is unique for this area.”

At the Westlock facility, the board invested in pedigreed seed cleaning and handling equipment. “Westlock handles seed for local and regional growers — anyone within a 100-mile radius of the facility,” says Chapman. “It now has 19 pedigreed seed growers cleaning and retailing seed from its operation.”

Westlock is now selling seven different crop types and, over the past several years, has scaled up for size, now processing over 800,000 bushels of pedigreed seed, and with storage facilities on site. “Westlock responded to the market and has upgraded many times,” says Chapman. “The facility has overhauled its treating capacity so that it can treat and load a Super B truck in 45 minutes.”

The farmer-owners of the Warburg facilities have recently diversified to sell pulses and forage seed, along with their original cereal cleaning business. They identified the need to be able to clean a combination of forage and cereals for their local market, which includes a large number of cow-calf operations.

“The common denominator for these

three facilities, and other ASP co-ops that have expanded in the past few years, is that they all have great board members who have the foresight to evaluate these different opportunities,” says Chapman.

“They are continually investing their earnings into new projects, paying out smaller dividends while still growing the business. These sites are committed to growth and committed to making their local businesses work.”

“We have a very diverse province when it comes to growing conditions — be that different altitude, soil, weather or hours of daylight,” says Wheeler. “Every region has its own specific facility, but by always looking for unique opportunities and combining our knowledge as a co-op on a provincial level, we are able to invest back into the business where it’s needed to increase our capacity and capabilities overall.” FF

Pictured at the top: A worker sampling grain going into a sea-can and below: grain storage facilities on the Strathmore plant site.

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FA R M FO R U M .C A / Jan uary 2018

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production

Growers talk straight cutting

By Jennifer Barber

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FA R M FO R U M .C A / JANAURY 2018

“The most difficult part of straight cutting is waiting those 10 extra days to get that extra yield” Franck Groeneweg Canola grower Edgeley, SK

the correct axle width to fit the 30-foot width he required. He had tried straight cutting in 2007, but that year a hail storm resulted in a 30 per cent yield loss on his swathed canola, compared to a 70 per cent on his straight cut fields.

While the weather was unusual for his area, he still recommends a mix of swathed, pod shatter tolerant canola and straight cutting to offset risk. “Hail can take out a lot of your crop,” says Larocque. “However, in 2012, a 113 km/hr windstorm blew swaths against fence lines, into valleys and everywhere. The swathed canola averaged seven to 15 bushels per acre in our area, with twice the combining to pick up swaths spread across entire fields,” he adds. “The straight cut canola yielded 30 bushels per acre after a lot of shelling. We had no extra harvest costs. So you can mark that weather

in the straight cutting win column.”

Unlike Larocque, Groeneweg now only seeds pod shatter varieties. “The most difficult part of straight cutting is waiting those 10 extra days to get that extra yield,” he says. “Everyone has different risk tolerance levels, and there are years when I just wish the crop was in the bin. But in my experience, it is worth waiting.”

Groeneweg stresses that solid agronomics throughout the season is even more important when straight cutting your crop. “Good crop establishment and a strong crop stand will mature more evenly for easy harvesting,” he says. “The same thing goes for making sure your crop is weed free. You are giving your crop the most time to perform so you want to make sure it’s in as good shape as possible.”

If pre-harvesting with glyphosate, Larocque suggests using an aerial application. He sprays the outside rounds with a high clearance and has the plane cover the inside. “Headlands usually get missed by the plane as they try to avoid drift,” he says. “That leaves you with ripe canola you can’t get to because the canola on the headlands isn’t ready.”

Larocque points out that straight cut canola gets tougher sooner in the evening than swathed canola. “Dew covers all the pods instead of the just the outside of

PHOTO: thinkstock

S

traight cutting is a hot topic at the coffee shop and there’s no doubt its popularity is growing. Whether it’s to eliminate the need for a swather, a way to achieve plumper kernels and bigger yields, or as a way to better manage your harvest, straight cutting allows growers more flexibility when it comes to bringing in their canola crop.

For Franck Groeneweg, an Outstanding Young Farmers’ Program alumnus from Edgeley, SK, straight cutting has always been the norm. It wasn’t until he came to Canada in 2003 that he started swathing.

“Every year I would get out my swather and think, ‘Do I really need to be doing this?’’’ he says. “We would hire people from Europe to help with the harvest and it took a while for them to use the swather correctly. I was always looking for ways to get rid of that step in my canola harvest.”

Groeneweg tried a pod sealant product on his InVigor 5440 in 2009, and while it seemed to help keep the pods from opening, he later learned that this was likely due to the InVigor variety he chose and good fall weather, and not the product itself.

In 2010, he decided he was tired of swathing, and chose to straight cut the majority of his canola crop. He routinely did a glyphosate pass at 40 to 50 per cent seed colour change, and while some years worked better than others, he says that as long as he chose canola varieties with strong pod integrity, it was worth the risk.

After that, Groeneweg conducted a demonstration strip trial that included InVigor L140P before it came onto the market. “I didn’t think the crop looked that great but when I straight cut it I had a five per cent yield bump over the comparison strips. At that point, I was sold,” he says.

“In 2016, I traded in three combines and a swather for two combines without a pickup header.” This savings in capital costs, and reduced human resources costs from taking swathing out of the equation have made a big difference to his bottom line.

Steve Larocque of Three Hills, AB, started straight cutting out of necessity when he moved to controlled traffic farming and couldn’t find a swather with

PHOTO: jeannette greaves

a swath so you can combine longer on swathed canola,” he says. “Canola will separate easier when straight cut because the straw is greener and doesn’t bust into small pieces like swathed canola does. That means more bushels in the tank.”

Larocque says when straight cutting canola it is important to use a cross auger kit on a draper header. He originally had a rigid auger header, which worked well, but he switched to a draper header, which works better in cereals. He said he had just as much seed loss at the front and side of the header than he did with a pick-up header, and seed loss was even between the two.

He also suggests growers use a grain bagger if they’re dealing with tough conditions or a lot of green chaff, or aeration to dry down chaff that normally falls along the sides of bins and begins to heat.

When it comes to straight cutting, with the exception of variety selection, the decision to straight cut over swathing doesn’t have to be made at the beginning of the year. But it does give you more flexibility at harvest, says Larocque. As harvest approaches, growers can take off their wheat and barley first and then move onto their canola harvest if they’re straight cutting the crop.

Larocque says it doesn’t have to be all or nothing with straight cutting, unless you’ve sold your swather. “Many farms are finding a balance of straight cutting coupled with swathing to manage logistics,” he says. “The data says you can increase yield by three to five bushels an acre when compared to swathing at 30 per cent seed colour change.

If you find yourself forced to swath early to cover all your acres, why not swath some at 60 to 70 per cent seed colour change and straight cut what you can’t get to in a timely manner?”

If you’re contemplating straight cutting canola next fall, figuring out how to straight cut is the easy part, adds Larocque.

“Place the reel up and all the way back, cross augers engaged and you’re straight cutting,” he says. “We’ve been straight cutting canola since 2010 and have learned the dos and don’ts of straight cutting canola from trial and error. We’ve had more successes than failures thankfully. After seven years of straight cutting, I know that it’s really about understanding the risks of straight cutting versus swathing, and then making the decision that is right for your farm.” FF

New InVigor hybrid combines clubroot protection with shatter reducing technology

By Jennifer Barber A new InVigor patented pod shatter reduction hybrid is targeted specifically to growers who are struggling to manage clubroot while still reaping the benefits of pod shatter technology when straight cutting their canola. The first dual-trait canola hybrid from Bayer, InVigor L255PC, has clubroot resistance built into its patented pod shatter reduction genetics.

“A lot of growers in Alberta are being challenged by clubroot, and this new entry into our Evolution Hybrid line-up was bred specifically to address those challenges,” says Blaine Woycheshin, crop manager, canola with Bayer. “InVigor L255PC has the same genetic clubroot resistance as InVigor L135C and InVigor L241C and will also help prevent losses from straight cutting canola.”

Clubroot primarily affects canola growers in Alberta, although it is now showing up in areas of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The soil-borne disease can cause premature death of the canola plant and, in bad years, lead to substantial crop losses. There is currently no way to remove the pathogen from the soil once it appears, so seeding resistant varieties is one of the best ways to control the disease as part of an integrated pest management system.

Woycheshin says that this new hybrid has the same pod shatter reduction technology as InVigor L140P and InVigor L233P, along with the clubroot resistance. InVigor L255PC is best suited for growers in the mid-to-long growing zones of the province. The medium height canola also has very strong lodging resistance and matures one and a half days later than the checks. In WCC/RRC trials, it yielded 109 per cent of the check.

“Growers in Alberta are choosing to straight cut in droves,” says Woycheshin. “When you look at InVigor L140P, market research shows that last year, 85 per cent of growers straight cut that crop. That is a big shift over only a couple of growing seasons, when swathing was still the norm.

This new hybrid is able to address local disease concerns and still allow growers to take advantage of pod shatter technology when straight cutting their crop.”

Limited quantities of InVigor L255PC will available for the 2018 growing season, and growers should check with their local retailer to see what is available. “Taking away the worry of clubroot will allow growers to concentrate on harvesting a healthy crop,” says Woycheshin. “Our pod shatter reduction technology is helping to change the way growers harvest their canola crop.”

FARMFORUM.CA / JANUARY 201 8

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BUSINESS

The team behind Beattie’s Distillers, L to R: Liz Beattie, Ken Beattie, Brenda Levington (office manager), Harrison Torr (distiller), and Darlene Beattie (operations).

Turning unmarketable spuds into premium spirits

BY CLARE STANFIELD

W

e’ve all heard the saying: “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” What if life gives you reject potatoes? For Ken Beattie, the answer was obvious — make vodka.

Beattie Farms is a fifth generation family farm in Alliston, ON, founded in the late 1880s by Roland Beattie, a Scottish immigrant looking to put down roots in the new world. Today, his great grandson, Ken, runs the farm with his wife, Liz, and youngest son, Barry.

Potatoes have always had a place on Beattie Farms, and it was Ken’s father who developed and grew the business of supplying chip processors. Today, the family produces 2,000 acres a year of potatoes for processing and manages crop

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FA R M FO R U M .C A / JANUARY 2018

rotations by renting and trading field space with other local growers.

It’s a great business, but it has its downside. “Processors are very particular as to size, mechanical damage, colour, things like that,” says Liz Beattie, explaining that an entire load of potatoes can be rejected and returned to the farm if the processor determines a fairly low threshold for defects has been exceeded.

“So we sort here,” she says. Indeed, potatoes are sorted as they go into storage, and again when they come out to be loaded onto trucks bound for the processing plant.

“For every 80,000 pound trailer load, we’re grading out about 5,000 pounds — that’s soil and vines as well as potatoes.”

Even so, that left the Beatties with a lot

of unmarketable spuds. “We were taking them to cattle farmers for feed and we weren’t getting paid for that,” says Liz. “Then one day Kenny came home and said, ‘We should make potato vodka.’ It made sense, I mean we already had the potatoes.”

But Ken and Liz knew nothing about making vodka, so they took a trip to PEI to visit a local distillery to see what such a venture might look like on their farm. After that, says Liz, it was about getting the right people together to start turning Ken’s idea into reality.

BUILDING A BUSINESS AND A BRAND As it happened, around about the time Ken and Liz were looking for an expert to hire,

Andy Murison was looking to get out of the big distiller rat race and into the craft side of the business.

With two decades under his belt with the likes Smirnoff and Johnny Walker, Murison, along with a business partner, were looking for something a bit more meaningful. “We were trying to get into the craft distilling business,” he says, adding that he knew it was something they could not just do without a farm partner.

“Craft is about authenticity,” says Murison, who is now sales and marketing manager for Beattie’s Distillers. “If we did it on our own, there’d be no authenticity. Ken and Liz had the land, the farm, the history.”

Murison and the Beatties found each other through a mutual connection and started talking in the spring of 2014. There was, says Andy, a bit of a lull as Ken and Liz contemplated the task ahead and the kind of investment it would require. By the following spring, everyone was on board.

“It’s a very large investment,” says Beattie. “This is a $3.5 million project, but we built it so that we wouldn’t have to expand. We’ve got a 42-plate still and an

8,000 square foot facility.” She adds that it takes 17 pounds of potatoes to make each 750 mL bottle of Beattie’s vodka.

They were entering an enormously crowded and competitive adult drink sector, one Murison knew well. So the plan was to build the brand and the distillery at the same time.

“It really was a team effort,” says Murison. Permits were required from the City of Alliston, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) was approached to get a listing, equipment was sourced from Europe, a professional distiller needed to be hired, the distillery needed to be built, bottle and label to be designed — you name it, it all happened in a very short period of time.

“We got our first order from the LCBO in February 2016,” says Murison. “And we were on store shelves by April 28 of that same year.”

As with most new ventures, there were setbacks. In July 2016, the company had to issue a recall because of a manufacturing error. The alcohol, by volume, did not match the label and both Murison and

Beattie say it was a valuable learning experience to have early on.

Today, Beattie’s Distillers potato vodka is carried in over 350 stores across Ontario, where it is also the number one, super premium (the category for spirits priced $35 or higher) Ontario-made vodka.

And they recently launched two new products — a sweet potato vodka and a poitín (pronounced potcheen). “It’s Irish for ‘small pot’, a traditional way of distilling that goes back to the potato famine,” says Beattie. “I believe this is the first poitín made in Canada.”

MARKETING THE STORY Expanding the product line is one thing.

Murison is committed to expanding the retail footprint, too. He’s already struck a deal to sell Beattie’s potato vodka into Manitoba, while Alberta and New Brunswick are poised to be on board in early 2018.

And if you ask him, Murison will tell you he’s selling the story as much he is the vodka itself, because, let’s face it, the world doesn’t really need another vodka, but »

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FARMFORUM.CA / JANUARY 201 8

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BUSINESS

“Let’s face it, the world doesn’t need another vodka, but everyone likes a story, and this is the entire ethos behind craft production” Andy Murison SALES AND MARKETING MANAGER BEATTIE’S DISTILLERS

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FA R M FO R U M .C A / JANUARY 2018

everyone likes a story, and this is the entire ethos behind craft production.

“The discipline of working in this industry for 20 years is in understanding the brand and the DNA of that brand,” he says. “Everything about this product tells our story. The green on our label represents the farm and our roots in agriculture. The bottle is broad at the shoulders to reflect the farmer and his strength. Everything we do is done strategically to reflect the farm and that this is a farm-to-bottle story.”

He feels good about the future of craft distilling in general. “Craft beer has helped show customers that they have choices, and customers like the local stories, the authenticity. It’s the same in craft distilling.

It becomes a marketing play where a rising tide lifts all boats.”

When it comes to liquor sales, there are always policy challenges. Every province has its own tax structure and sales channels for alcohol. Ontario, Manitoba and New Brunswick operate government monopolies while Alberta operates under a system of privatized liquor sales. Manitoba has an exclusive markup rate for batch distillers while, about a year ago, Ontario’s

government slapped a huge sales tax on “on-farm” bottle sales.

It’s Murison’s job to negotiate it all. “A monopolistic market is positioned for wide distribution,” he says. The downside is that if one provincial buyer says no, then it’s no everywhere. “Alberta is what I think of as a more traditional sales environment — you have to go and negotiate your margins with every outlet. But if one says no, there are plenty of others you can approach.”

As of December 2017, Beattie’s Distillers have sold half a million bottles of potato vodka made right on the farm from potatoes the chip processors don’t want. It’s a milestone figure, but there is still a long way to go. Distiller Harrison Torr is the only employee drawing a full-time salary.

Andy takes a nominal wage, Ken and Liz aren’t being paid, neither is their niece, Sarah, who is working as an assistant to the distiller to learn the trade.

But everyone is pumped about the future of Beattie’s Distillers and what it means to the future of Beattie Farms. “We cried the day the still went up,” says Liz. “We believe in this. Everyone involved believes in it, and one day, we’re going to be able to sit back and say we built this.” FF

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PRODUCTON

PULSES ARE GOOD

BUSINESS Pulse crops such as faba beans, peas, lentils and soybeans are popular choices among prairie farmers as rotational crops for many reasons including their nitrogen fixing properties and a growing international market

By Trevor Bacque

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FA R M FO R U M .C A / jan uary 2018

L

ike most farmers, Rod Bradshaw decides what to grow based on customer demand — a simple rule that’s helped him run a successful farm for more than 30 years. On his 850-acre operation, Beck Farms, located just west of Bowden, AB, he grows mainly canola and cereals and sets aside about 50 acres for vegetables. Bradshaw’s farm is a testament to changing demands by customers as well as improved genetics and agronomics for pulses.

In the ’90s he began to experiment with different rotational crops. First he thought flax would be the answer, but it never penciled out. Eventually, he settled on faba beans even though there were few options for crop protection in those days and it didn’t take long for lygus bugs and five-foot cleavers to make their presence known.

Bradshaw continued to experiment while at the same time genetics for faba beans and other pulse crops continued to improve for prairie climates. In 2008/09, Bradshaw gave the beans another chance.

This time, he was pleasantly surprised.

The first year yielded higher than expected at 79 bushels per acre. Now, Bradshaw consistently gets about 55 bushels per acre.

Bradshaw is pleased with his choice because of the crop’s improved agronomics and nitrogen fixing, which reduces his total input costs. “We are getting more nitrogen benefit from faba beans versus peas,” says Bradshaw. “You can put a little in the bank because you’re not buying commercial fertilizer.”

Indeed, the nitrogen fixing properties from pulses is just one of the crop’s many benefits, according to Nevin Rosaasen, policy and programs specialist with the Alberta Pulse Growers Commission. “Pulse crops can break the disease cycle by having another crop in the rotation and the additional nitrogen means you have lower cash requirements for fertilizer.” And he adds, on average, farmers planting hard red spring wheat on pulse stubble can expect

“There’s an insatiable demand from China for soybeans with over 90 million tonnes of imports per year” Nevin Rosaasen Policy and Programs Specialist Alberta Pulse Growers

one full point of protein and a 15 per cent bump in canola yields.

In addition, nitrogen from faba beans is more readily available in the second year because its thick stalk takes longer to mineralize. Farmers have seen other benefits too, such as reduced fuel usage driving through pulse stubble and noticeable soil tilth improvements due to pulse residue, says Rosaasen.

The differences that used to separate pulse crops and canola has shrunk and it’s almost becoming an annual toss-up of what to plant. At a $10 to $11 return on soybeans, which can be similar to canola, Rosaasen says soybeans are a pretty competitive crop in a farmer’s rotation.

“It’s pretty close when you factor in the decreased cost for nitrogen fertilizer and the cost for dollars per bushel per acre,” he says. It’s these kinds of numbers that are convincing farmers to choose pulses and soybeans more often over more traditional prairie crops such as wheat, barley and oats.

And the marketing is easier too, says Rosaasen. “Soybeans can be crushed easier and sent to feed lots and hog barns. And the assurance that you can move your soybeans is another reason we have seen an increase.”

Massive growth in prairie pulses “Increase” is a modest way of describing the rise of pulse crops on the prairies. Statistics Canada data shows that between 2012 and 2017, 8.3 million metric tonnes (MMT) of soybeans have come from Manitoba alone, including 2.24 MMT in 2017. This year, spring wheat and soybeans are virtually neck-and-neck at 2.65 and 2.29 MMT, respectively.

In Saskatchewan, the top pulse crop seesaws between peas and lentils. Both saw production of 12.9 MMT during that same time period, although the province has had diversified crops for considerably longer than both Manitoba and Alberta.

Now, Alberta farmers are catching on.

That province has produced no less than 1.2 MMT of dry peas since 2012 including 1.99 MMT in 2017, a far cry from 2000, when only 620,000 thousand tonnes was produced. Lentils have become increasingly popular as well — from almost nothing in 2006 to 506,000 thousand tonnes in 2016.

Changing international markets With such high production numbers, the question is where are these pulse crops headed? The short answer is “all over.”

Saskatchewan has been producing record numbers of peas and lentils in recent years, most of which finds their way to India, Bangladesh, Egypt, the United States and China.

“There’s an insatiable demand from China for soybeans with over 90 million tonnes of imports per year,” says Rosaasen.

“That was Chinese policy; the country wanted to be self-sufficient in wheat, corn and rice. However, the demand for soy oil for cooking as well as meal for feeding hogs in China means there’s a big demand for oilseeds.”

Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s Neil Blue analyzes crops and knows the power of pulses. He says that farmers are

approaching a floor price now of about $6 to $6.50 per bushel of peas, a big drop due to a recent 50 per cent tariff by the Indian government. He says it’s typical to sell soybeans for $10/bushel. And while faba bean prices are slightly more variable, $5 per bushel seems to be a stable minimum, it can go up to around $8 for the highquality, human consumption market.

Lentils have seen recent prices of $0.20 to $0.25 while greens are slightly higher at $0.30 to $0.40.

“I’m not really surprised with the way things have gone,” says Blue. Farmers look for opportunities to have both stable or better income and ways to use pulses for rotational benefits. Peas have long been recognized as having rotational benefits.

I think it’s a real driver for farmers to have these kinds of crops included in the rotation.”

Back at Beck Farms, Bradshaw admits he’s been impressed with pulse crops and the in-field benefits, but that can’t be the whole story to be successful. “Every crop needs to have a market,” he says.

“You can’t grow something just because it agronomically works for you. There always has to be a use for it. If we can’t sell it, we won’t grow it.” ff

FARMFORUM.CA / JA N UA RY 201 8

19

farm life

OYF winner gets back to his roots

By Clare Stanfield

O

n the north shore of Lake Erie near Langton, ON, lives a whirlwind who goes by the name of Dusty Zamecnik. When this fourthgeneration farmer has an idea, he gets it done through pure energy and hard work … not to mention a little calculated risktaking and sheer chutzpah.

Last fall, Zamecnik won the 2017 Outstanding Young Farmers’ Program award for the Ontario region, which is quite a turnaround for a guy who didn’t imagine his future lay back on the farm.

“I wanted to mix things up,” he says of his post-high school choices. “I had the opportunity to go to ag school, but I never thought I’d be back on the farm.” Instead, he went to St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia where he graduated in 2011 with an economics degree.

The farm he left behind was started by his great grandfather, who grew tobacco — a staple and well-paying cash crop at the time. It was Zamecnik’s grandfather, Ed, who first envisioned more. “He started the ball rolling in the ’50s and ’60s, asking how do we do more than just grow tobacco?”

Over the years, EZ Farms (named after Ed) expanded into other crops, including tomatoes, rosebushes, blueberries and eventually strawberry plant propagation, and didn’t get fully out of tobacco until 2004. “I was in high school at the time,” says Zamecnik. “I remember how nervous my dad was about that decision.”

After university, Dusty took a sales and marketing position with Labatt Brewery in London, ON, which put him about an hour away from the family farm. This was a difficult time for his parents, Helen and Darryl, as cash was in short supply and bankruptcy loomed. Darryl had expanded the strawberry business, shipping plants to Florida, but it was tough going.

“Instead of working extra curricular activities with Labatt, like festivals, or taking holidays in Mexico, I’d come back to the farm,” says Zamecnik. “I saw how hard Mom and Dad worked and I loved what we were doing. My whole life, I looked up to them, they made forward-looking, good decisions. I knew they’d built something

“I wanted to mix things up … I had the opportunity to go to ag school, but I never thought I’d be back on the farm” Dusty Zamecnik OYF award winner, Ontario

truly amazing with great people and I thought we could take it to the next level.

So in 2014, I made the conscious decision to come back to the farm — much to my friends’ dismay!”

In a “go big or go home” move, Zamecnik convinced his parents they should get out of tomatoes and rosebushes, keep the blueberries and expand the strawberry propagation business to Europe and Mexico. He visited his father’s customers in Florida and identified ways to CONTINUES ON PAGE 22 »

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FA R M FO R U M .CA / JANUARY 2018

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farm life improve that business and saw the need to find new avenues, new customers and new products.

He also joined and took on leadership roles in grower associations, partly to learn more and partly to expand his contacts and connections. In 2015 those connections led to the Sonata strawberry — a Dutch-bred variety ideal for greenhouse production.

“I found out who the breeder was and pitched for exclusive rights for North America,” says Zamecnik. Even he admits he had no idea what he was doing at the time, but he sensed the opportunity, knew enough to sound credible and secured the rights.

It’s a long story, but the short version is that Zamecnik thought his excellent growing conditions and micro-climate would allow him to propagate Sonatas faster than what is typical — about two years — and get plants into the European market quickly. He was wrong and his first attempt at EU expansion cost the farm $100,000.

“We thought we were smarter than the Dutch,” he says, ruefully. “They’re 11 nautical degrees north of us, which isn’t much, so we thought we could do it all in one year. What we were trying to do was avoid building a million dollar greenhouse.” Day length and temperature were not to be overcome however, and the plants were not ready in time. “Part of that 100K we lost was eating all the contracts and sales we had booked.”

Through adversity comes strength. “It put a lot of fire under my butt to learn and learn quickly,” says Zamecnik. “I needed to become the master of this plant. We had to become Sonata. I worked with the team that bred the plant and they took me to Spain to see how it was being propagated there. I learned so much and brought that home.”

Today, EZ Farms has built the necessary greenhouses and produces three different styles of strawberry plants for sale: bareroots, plugs and tips. Roots are just that, a plant with roots attached. Strawberry tips are the young, rootless plants that form on the parent plant’s runners. Zamecnik explains that customers buy these to grow their own plugs, which is why they’re a bit cheaper to buy than the plugs themselves.

Plugs, it follows, are tips that have been rooted out in soil-filled trays and are ready to plant for production. “Once we started specializing in plugs, that’s when things really started to pick up,” says Zamecnik.

And because becoming a Sonata strawberry plant wasn’t quite enough 22

FA R M FO R U M .C A / JANUARY 2018

Dusty Zamecnik visits a strawberry production house in Holland; hops are planted for his brewing company, Hometown Brewing; Dusty is all smiles receiving his OYF award.

to do, Zamecnik decided to join his cousins, Matt and Tommy DeVos, in a craft brewery venture. “I’d been talking with my cousins for years about starting a brewery,” he says. “At the same time as we were going through these holy crap moments with the strawberries, they called and said, ‘Are you in or are you in the way?’”

By November 2016, Hometown Brewing Company was registered and the first beer, a blueberry saison made with EZ Farms blueberries, was released in January 2017. Later that spring, Hometown Hop Company was launched with the planting

of three hop varieties, to be used for brewing in 2018.

The brewery adds a social side to Zamecnik’s busy life — a place where he doesn’t talk about strawberries all the time, he says with a laugh.

After that initial stumble, EZ Farms has found its feet, growing orders from six million plants a year to 16 million, shipped to strawberry producers around the world.

And while he completely owns that early mistake, he is quick to share the success.

“Without our team believing in our vision and taking on a lot of extra work and learning, we’d be nowhere.” FF

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technology

Tips to keep stored grain in top condition

T

here is always relief post-harvest, when the grain is off the field, safe from the perils of drought, floods, pests, disease, hail and frost. Once finally in the bin, you can breathe easy, right?

Not quite. Even though safe from outside threats, stored grain still needs protection.

How the grain goes into the bin — wet, dry, hot or cool — will determine how well it stores and what sort of conditioning will help keep it in top shape. Every farmer’s worse nightmare is to discover rot or hot spots in the bin. Even worse is being called out to a bin fire caused by over-heated grain.

Conditioning grain is not as simple as just running fans. Rather, the interaction of inside and outside temperature and moisture should be tracked to ensure that best results are achieved.

Grain temperature When a crop comes off the field hot, the first goal is to cool it as quickly as possible, particularly during the first 24 hours. If the outside air is cooler than the grain — and it’s

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FA R M FO R U M .CA / january 2018

not rainy or too humid — the fans should be on. Humid air is anything above 70 to 80 per cent relative humidity and will add moisture to the stored product. The target cooling temperature for most grains is around 15 C. Uniformity is also important as temperatures can fluctuate within the various parts of the bin. For larger bins that can take several days to fill, turning the fans on early will help to get a head start on cooling and drying. Keep in mind that larger bins, when full, have reduced airflow.

Grain moisture Sometimes there is no choice but to harvest grain that is wetter than ideal. In this case, the goal should be to bring down the moisture content. Canola is considered dry at 10 per cent moisture, wheat at 14 per cent, barley (malt) at 13.5 per cent and soybean at 14 per cent. Most other crops range from 14 to 16 per cent. Anything above those levels should be dried down for safe storage.

If only slightly wet, one per cent to two per cent above dry, natural air drying will normally suffice. Circulating cooler outside air through warm grain will have a drying effect. The greater the difference in temperature between the grain and the outside air, the more drying should occur. This will be the case down to about 5 C, at which point moisture will remain relatively constant.

Equilibrium moisture content, or EMC, is a useful indicator of the air’s ability to affect the moisture content of stored grain. When air is being blown into the bin, it is important to recognize whether it will ultimately cause drying or wetting.

Based on temperature, relative humidity, and the type of grain that is being stored, the EMC value represents the moisture content that would be achieved if current conditions were to persist.

The graph on Page 25 shows the relationship between relative humidity and EMC for wheat, canola, and soybean at 15 C. As an example, at 55 per cent

PHOTO: THINKSTCK

By Andrew Nadler | Agricultural meteorologist

relative humidity, the EMC for canola is about 7.5 per cent. If conditions were to remain stable, the canola would eventually reach that level of moisture. If it were wheat, the EMC at 55 per cent relative humidity would be just over 13 per cent.

If air temperatures were to decrease, from 15 C to say 10 C and the relative humidity remains at 55 per cent, the EMC would increase by about half a percent.

Likewise, if temperature were to increase to 20 C, at constant relative humidity, the EMC would decrease by about half a percent.

There are certain limitations to EMC. One is that the temperature within the bin is assumed to be similar to the air outside. This is rarely the case as outside air will continuously fluctuate while bin temperatures are slow to change.

When the outside air is cooler than

equilibrium mosture content Based on air temperature of 15°C

Canola

soybean

wheat

equilibrium moisture content (%)

Given that temperature and relative humidity are constantly changing, it is important to continuously monitor EMC to ensure that the natural air is achieving the intended results

RELATIVE HUMIDITY (%)

the grain inside the bin, drying is likely to occur. However, if the grain is colder than the air outside, the air will cool when it encounters the grain. The reduction in temperature decreases the water-holding capacity of the air, causing the relative humidity to increase, thus increasing the moisture content within the bin.

Given that temperature and relative humidity are constantly changing, it is important to continuously monitor EMC to ensure that the natural air is achieving the intended results.

Check the bins Bringing grain to the ideal temperature and moisture will greatly increase the chances of safe storage. But despite best efforts, bad things can still happen. For this reason, checking bins, whether manually or with automated sensors, or preferably both, remains extremely important and will help detect small problems before they have a chance to escalate. Considering the time, effort, and cost involved in getting the grain into the bin, these steps will help to ensure that it remains in top condition. FF

FARMFORUM.CA / JAN UA RY 2 01 8

25

farm life

Young Canadians set to change the world of agriculture

By Dianne Finstad

B

efore you change the world, it helps to know what the real challenges are.

Youth with a passion for agriculture had a chance to do just that at the third edition of the Youth Ag-Summit (YAS), held in Brussels, Belgium last October.

Canada was well represented among the 100 delegates from 49 countries.

Bayer teamed up with two Belgian young farmer associations to host the 2017 event, which asked 18 to 25 year-olds how they would tackle feeding the world in a sustainable manner.

The summit featured speakers, intense discussions and lots of networking. Participants were sorted into 10 groups and asked to develop innovative ways to tackle one of the five United Nations sustainable development goals from an agricultural perspective.

Bayer awarded funding for three “Thrive for Change” projects proposed by the working groups. Keep your eyes on the following young Canadians — they are our changemakers. Time to brag: Canada was the only nation to have a delegate on each of the winning groups.

Cassandra Hayward

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FA R M FO R U M .CA / JANUARY 2018

H

ailing from Halifax, NS, Cassandra Hayward is well on her way to combining a love of agriculture and politics. Urban raised, she discovered her passion for agriculture and dairy farming through 4-H. Learning how to develop better policies supporting agriculture was one of her goals going into the summit.

“I was a little nervous because I was younger than most of the delegates, who are already in their professional careers,” says Hayward. “It was intense, but the conference was incredibly professional.

“It changed my life,” says the Dalhousie student. “It can be easy to feel isolated, since I don’t go to an ag school — my passion for agriculture isn’t really shared by a lot of people here. For me, going to a conference where there’s 99 people my age who are so confident and enthusiastic and so passionate, it was amazing. It was finally being in a group and thinking, ‘Ok, we’re going to do something awesome.’”

Hayward’s group was assigned the gender equality goal and quickly determined the only way to target the issue was through education. Unfortunately, the people most affected by gender inequality don’t have access to education. So, Hayward and her counterparts from places like El Salvador, Indonesia, Europe and Kenya decided they needed to narrow their scope.

They came up with the idea of an online platform targeted specifically to women attending university, and to pilot it in Kenya.

“We hope to empower them to get involved in agriculture, with the end goal of going back and becoming leaders in their communities,” says Hayward. “We need women in power positions to really ignite the flame within the nation.”

The platform will focus on local business and legal practices in Kenya, a place where women often don’t have the right to own land. In addition to online courses, they want to provide for scholarship funding, as well as ways for women to access opportunities within their own communities. Their proposal, Agrikua (“kua” is Swahili for “grow”), was awarded the first place prize of €10,000. As well, Agrikua delegates will receive training and coaching to help make their project a reality. Hayward will be heading back to Europe early in 2018 to participate.

“It was awe inspiring to be with such an incredible group of young people,” she says.

“The connections are invaluable. It’s also liberating to know that opportunities exist in agriculture that I hadn’t even imagined. I think every single person at this conference has the potential to actually change the world.”

Brandon Hebor

E

Cameron Olson

A

ver since he first planted seeds in the backyard of his Toronto home, Brandon Hebor’s love of agriculture has sprouted and blossomed. Indeed, the 25-year-old entrepreneur has turned it into a full-time business called Ripple Farms, which aims to bring the farm to the city, reconnect Torontonians to food, and get millennials more interested in agriculture.

“The opportunity to go to Belgium was to hear the issues that surround our world, and to hear them from the horse’s mouth,” says Hebor. “I think we really fed off each other’s energy … of what the future could hold in the realm of technology. Seeing the farmers of the future, the scientists of the future, the agronomists … it was quite fulfilling.”

Hebor’s group, Seeds of Change, was focused on education, and homed in on introducing young people into agriculture in an innovative way. “Our idea was to help stimulate interest by having “ag-vocates” in the classroom — young agricultural champions introducing new ideas and themes around career opportunities in agriculture.”

lbertan Cameron Olson is pursuing a PhD in animal science at the University of Alberta. He was raised in Calgary and didn’t come into daily contact with agriculture until his parents returned to the family farm in 2002.

Joining his local 4-H club gave Olson his first and lasting interest in all things cattle, which he pursued through studies at Texas A&M. Olson heard about the YAS from 4-H friends, and decided to give it a shot.

“What primarily caught my interest about the conference was they were inviting people to apply who didn’t necessarily have an agricultural background or education,” says Olson. “You really just needed an agricultural interest. I liked that aspect because I find that agriculture really tends to silo off and separate itself from a lot of opinions and what consumers are doing,” he adds. Bringing together 100 people his own age from different countries, many speaking little or no English and with no agricultural background are the main reasons that made Olson want to apply.

Olson loved how the delegates in Belgium interacted so openly. He was selected to be in a group that looked at retaining youth in agriculture for future

Hebor was interested to learn what’s already being done in the nine countries represented in his group, and what can be done better. Seeds of Change finished second, receiving €5,000 to help create an online network for the ag champions, as well as some curriculum around shared points of value.

The whole process invigorated Hebor in his own efforts at home to make ag “cool” again in the classroom. “When we first started Ripple Farms, we thought being young was our greatest disadvantage,” he says. “Little did we know it was our greatest advantage.

Being willing to come with an open mind, to push ourselves and challenge the status quo is really something I see a lot of younger people doing, so I definitely think a young voice in agriculture is very important.

“The entire experience was really quite amazing. It was the most highenergy week I’ve had in a number of years. Intense but absolutely rewarding.”

employment, where he gained a whole different perspective on the issue of youth migrating from farms to urban centres.

“In North America when that happens, cities have the ability to absorb those defecting to an urban lifestyle, because of our industrialized ag,” he says. “When that same thing happens in a developing economy, it has a much larger impact. The economy can’t buffer that — there may not be a job available or it may be poor paying.

Then there’s also the loss of productivity on the ag side for a developing economy.”

Olson’s group proposed putting materials and infrastructure together in shipping containers that could be taken to communities to assist with educating and attracting young people to agriculture by providing tools and knowledge for basic production or processing.

For Olson, YAS was also about making connections. “I now have 99 couches I could sleep on around the world, 99 people that I can bounce ideas off, too,” he says.

“I think they will be the next generation of agricultural leaders and, in many cases, already are. It was definitely encouraging to be exposed to all of their ideas and passions.”

FARMFORUM.CA / JANAURY 2018

27

farm life

Alexis Wagner

A

lexis Wagner finished her education as a bioprocess engineer and is focusing further studies on ag supply chain sustainability. Her real-world experience, both as a professional brewer and now in recipe and raw material sourcing for Toronto-based Mill Street Brewing, the largest organic brewer in North America, has shown her the importance of building a reliable, quality value chain.

She wanted to get a global view on food security issues, and the YAS was a good fit for her priorities. “At the root, they’re all tied to agriculture, so I was very interested in getting to interact with people from all different fields of ag at the summit,” says Wagner.

Fittingly, her group’s work focused on sustainable production and consumption, specifically looking at ways to change consumer perspectives so that unattractive produce was seen as equally nutritious and valuable as perfect looking produce. Along with reducing food waste, they were really trying to influence a cultural shift, even in developing countries, to responsible consumption. “Our solution actually won third prize, so our group is continuing to work on a pilot for our project,” Wagner explains.

She says they wanted a different approach from past retail campaigns that offer “ugly vegetables” at discount prices. By selling

them for less, you’re just reinforcing the notion that the “ugly vegetables” are not as good as those that look perfect, says Wagner.

“That’s not actually helping farmers who have spent the same amount of money and inputs to produce that slightly twisted carrot versus one that looks perfect, she explains.

“So, the goal of our campaign was to target children through a charismatic character.

One of our group members is an illustrator, so she actually drew this little family of imperfect fruits and vegetables.”

The idea was to build an educational program around the “Imperfect Picks” family to teach children about the importance of eating fruits and vegetables while also emphasizing they’re the same on the inside, no matter their appearance.

Like her Canadian counterparts, Wagner found being part of YAS reinvigorated her enthusiasm for her own work, and for agriculture in general. It’s a movement she believes will have a lasting impact.

“It was such an amazing feeling at the end of the week — that we’re all in this together, and there was so much energy, it’s hard to even describe.”

All the Canadian delegates mentioned they’re encouraging others to consider applying for the next Youth Agriculture Summit, to be held in Brazil in 2019. For more information on YAS, check out www.youthagsummit.com. FF

Youth Ag-Summit class of 2017: 100 delegates from 49 countries hungry to make an impact on the world of agriculture.

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FA R M FO R U M .C A / january 2018

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Seed-borne disease is only half the story

A

cross the Prairies in the 2017 growing season, farmers saw dry weather resulting in low disease pressure, and as a result many seed tests are coming back with low pathogen presence, providing a strong foundation for the 2018 growing season. However, seed-borne disease is only part of the story. Many of the most threatening seed and seedling diseases are soil-borne, meaning that heading into the next growing season, crops may still be at risk. Fusarium spp., C. sativus, and pythium in cereals and rhizoctonia, pythium and fusarium in pulses can overwinter in the soil and pose a threat to healthy seed.

To manage seedling diseases, it is important to scout your crop to know what diseases are likely to be present in future seasons, but it is also good to know which pathogens your geography favours.

Soil-borne diseases can vary significantly across Prairie provinces, but no province is exempt from the threat of disease. Manitoba, with its warmer soil conditions at seeding time, can provide ideal conditions for C. sativus in cereals and rhizoctonia in pulses, while cooler conditions in Saskatchewan and Alberta are more conducive to pythium.

Fusarium has traditionally been more of a threat in the east, but it is seen further west every year. In addition to soil temperatures impacting the disease spectrum, moisture levels will also impact the presence of disease. Dry conditions will foster C. sativus while pythium and rhizoctonia thrive in wet conditions. This means that regardless of geography or moisture conditions, your crop can still be impacted by seedling disease.

One of the most concerning diseases for cereal growers is fusarium. Fusarium

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FA R M FO R U M .CA / JANUARY 2018

2016 FUSARIUM INCIDENCE ACROSS THE PRAIRIES

THE PAS

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CALGARY WINNIPEG

REGINA

PERCENT OF GRAIN SAMPLES CONTAINING FDK Canadian Grains Commission Harvest Sample Program

100 – 90

89 – 80

79 – 70

69 – 60

59 – 50

head blight (FHB) becomes an issue in high moisture years reducing both yield and quality in cereal crops. The disease overwinters in soil and crop stubble, so even if you did not see FHB last year, fusarium can still impact your seedlings and emergence this year.

While moist conditions at heading give rise to FHB, Fusarium spp. including Fusarium graminearum is likely to be present in a wide range of soil temperatures and moisture conditions, moving further west each year. If fusarium is present in your soil, it can impede seedling emergence, reducing the yield potential of your crop from day one. Managing both seed- and soil-borne fusarium is essential to ensure that your crop gets off to a healthy start with strong emergence and seedling vigour, as well as protecting your crop against

49 – 40

39 – 30

29 – 20

19 – 10

fusarium head blight in the future.

The good news is that protecting your seed from disease, be it seed-borne or soil-borne, is a simple decision with seed treatments like Raxil® PRO for cereals and Trilex® EverGol® for pulse crops.

Raxil PRO seed treatment contains three different actives for both contact and systemic activity so the plant is protected from diseases like Fusarium graminearum, and true loose smut while also ensuring stronger, faster emergence, for a healthier, higher yielding crop.

Trilex EverGol seed treatment for pulse crops protects against the threats associated with early season seeding including defense against rhizoctonia, fusarium, botrytis, pythium and ascochyta.

The result is healthier plants and greater plant stand to provide increased yields.

WHAT’S NEW WITH BAYER PRODUCTS

Stay on top of pest management

I

n recent years, the threat from wireworms, pea leaf weevils and other insects has been increasing across the Prairies. While the reasons aren’t always entirely clear, changes in tillage practices and tighter rotations are thought to be contributing to their spread. To protect your crop this year, you need to know what happened last year and then make a meaningful seed treatment decision.

2017 Saskatchewan Pea Leaf Weevil Survey Results* Average notches per plant 0–1 > 1 – 3

Meadow Lake

> 3 – 10 > 10 – 27 > 27 Lloydminster

Wireworms, a problematic pest Having been a longstanding threat for cereal growers, wireworm pressure is on the rise. There are now 35 species identified across the Prairies, and these hardy pests can overwinter in virtually any weather condition. They burrow deep in the soil and farrow out seeds before germination, feeding at the base of seedlings, resulting in patchy establishment.

Once wireworms have entered a field, they can’t be eliminated. Larvae can live three to seven years and don’t require feeding (remain dormant) for up to two years. While tillage can help distribute the eggs and seeding into firm, well-drained soil can help prevent movement – a seed treatment is the only way to limit wireworm damage from feeding.

You can scout for wireworms by looking for missing or stunted plants, feeding holes across leaves or misshaped seed.

Using a bait ball in the spring or fall is a definitive way to determine if you have wireworms in your field. Just one capture is the threshold to treat. Once you have confirmed wireworms, there is no way to treat or repair damage that season.

Pea leaf weevils moving east For pulse growers, pea leaf weevils have become one of the most economically damaging pests in your crop. Long a problem in southern Alberta, they have been moving east into Saskatchewan, and have started their march north in both provinces. Surveys have shown presence of the pest as far north as North Battleford in SK. Pea leaf weevils overwinter well – if you had them last year you are likely to have

Not Surveyed

Prince Albert

Melfort

North Battleford

Tisdale

Humboldt

Saskatoon

Watrous Kindersley

Outlook Yorkton Melville

Swift Current

Moose Jaw

Regina

Weyburn

Estevan

* This is not a forecast for Pea Leaf Weevil in 2018. It displays the results found in 2017. Credit: Government of Saskatchewan

them this year. At harvest, you may have noticed pea leaf weevils hopping around the combine header. With no way to trap them, seed treatments are a crucial pest management tool and an insecticide seed treatment is the only way to protect against this pest.

To scout for pea leaf weevils, look for injury at the two to five node stage. The damage appears in the form of notches on the plant. By feeding on nodules, pea leaf weevils prevent the plant from fixing nitrogen, thereby limiting growth. The presence of greater than nine notches is considered a high risk field for infestation in following years.

Treat your seed to reduce your risk For cereal growers, Raxil PRO Shield supplies the same early season protection against seed- and soil-borne disease, with the addition of pest control from Stress Shield®.

While there are currently no products that can kill wireworms, when the larvae nibble on seed treated with Stress Shield they are put into a trance-like state that prevents them from damaging the seedling at its most vulnerable stage.

For pulse growers battling pea leaf weevils, a seed treatment like Trilex EverGol SHIELD, which includes Stress Shield, is the only way to manage the pest, while at the same time managing disease.

FARMFORUM.CA / JANUARY 201 8

31

Maximize your seed performance — even when it’s cold

O

ne of the most predictable aspects of spring seeding in Canada is the unpredictability of the weather. In some years, cold mornings give way to sunny afternoons, while in other years the snow has barely melted before you are getting into the field.

However recent studies have shown that early seeding – when soil temperature is still well below 10 degrees – can offer some season-long benefits. But only if that seed is protected.

Right after seeding is when the seed is most vulnerable to seed- and soil-borne pathogens. While some growers are choosing to extend their growing season by seeding as early as possible, cold soil will

mean that seed will have to work harder to germinate, and is less able to fight off any stresses. Studies have also shown that seed treatments are even more beneficial when they are applied to seed that is planted into cold soil, when the seed can be slower to develop.

Protecting the seed with a seed treatment like Raxil PRO can give the crop a staging advantage against mid-season yield-robbing disease.

To be ready to seed early – be prepared to treat your cereal seed with Raxil PRO. Raxil PRO is versatile and flexible – you can choose which cereal to seed when the time is right for you as it is effective on wheat,

barley and oats. Even in cold soils, Raxil PRO will aid in root development to help grow higher quality, higher yielding plants.

Raxil PRO has first class seed- and soilborne disease control of all major cereal diseases. It’s easy to apply micro-dispersion formula is safe under a variety of seasonal conditions and is not impacted by cool weather, in fact its viscosity doesn’t change until it reaches -16°C. Protect your seed to protect your crop. Cold to warm soil temperature, it’s important to safeguard your seed and maximize seed performance to get your growing season off to a productive start.

New Sencor STZ takes control of weeds in potatoes

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FA R M FO R U M .C A / JANUARY 2018

2015 research studies in Ontario showed fields with an application of Sencor STZ had a 20 percent weed control improvement over Sencor plus linuron 43 days after application, and a 15 percent improvement 62 days after application.

Sencor STZ is applied by ground before the potatoes have emerged for enhanced broad-spectrum broadleaf and grass weed control. In addition, it has activity on weeds post-emergence, and also has residual control for weeds that germinate later in the spring.

To learn more about the complete package for weed control in potatoes in Sencor STZ, visit GrowerVacations.ca or talk to your local retail.

PHOTO: cam dueck

L

ook for new Sencor® STZ herbicide at your retail in Eastern Canada this spring. This pre-emergent herbicide for potatoes will protect your crop from all major weeds. With the trusted power of Sencor (metribuzin) as the base, the addition of STZ (sulfentrazone) will help target triazine-resistant weeds such as lamb’s-quarters and pigweed.

Any time you add in another chemical Group you are helping to battle emerging resistance. Sencor STZ contains Group 5 and Group 14 chemistries that can also tackle glyphosate and linuron resistant weeds.

WHAT’S NEW WITH BAYER PRODUCTS

Prairie growers can save up to 25% with the 2018 BayerValue program Bayer offers you a full suite of seed and crop protection products that will take you from seed to harvest.

Growers in Western Canada can save more by mixing and matching your purchases of participating Bayer products. When you choose products from the Cereal and Pulse segments you can combine that purchase with your InVigor® Purchase Bonus for maximum savings.

With the InVigor Purchase Bonus, when you buy 30 bags or more of InVigor hybrid canola you qualify for purchase savings on your crop protection products.

Participating products vary from Eastern to Western Canada, so visit the Grower Program page on cropscience.bayer.ca to determine the participating products in your area. Depending on what you choose -- you can save anywhere from 5-25 percent on your crop protection purchase. Growers who spend over $250,000 qualify for an additional one percent rebate.

You can save even more with the Incredible Bayer Offer. Book a minimum of 1,000 acres of cereal

herbicide crop protection by March 16, 2018 with your retail and receive up to $2.00 off per acre. While the minimum is 1,000 acres, the potential savings is only limited by your herbicide needs.

If you signed up for the 2017 BayerValue Program, you are already registered for 2018. If not, there are several ways to register.

• Online at cropcience.bayer.ca • Contact the Bayer Fulfillment centre at 1 888-283-6847 • Talk to your local retail This year, maximize savings from seeding to harvest with the BayerValue program and the Incredible Bayer Offer.

Pick the hybrid that is right for you at InVigorResults.ca

Photo: Lukas, Pexels

G

rowing canola is becoming increasingly custom tailored, with hybrids chosen not only on a farm-by-farm basis, but also field-byfield. With so many options available, how do you choose which canola hybrids are the best fit for your operation? You can start by visiting InVigorResults.ca to view localized year-over-year trial results, see how InVigor® hybrid canola performed in your area, and compare InVigor hybrids to the competition.

With over 15 years of grower-cooperated field trial results, the newly revamped InVigorResults.ca site is now optimized for mobile use so you can find the information you want, wherever you happen to be. The easy-to-use, interactive

map provides meaningful side-by-side trial results specific to your growing area, and is designed to help simplify your canola purchase decision. Search for comparisons of dates-to-maturity, harvestability and yield performance, then download your results or have them sent directly to your inbox for easy reference.

If you’re thinking of switching to straight cutting your canola, you can gain valuable insight into the performance of leading InVigor patented Pod Shatter Reduction hybrids in the specifically-designed straight cut harvest management trials.

Full 2017 InVigor trial results are now available at InVigorResults.ca, including 2017 results for the newest Evolution™ hybrid, InVigor L255PC. This hybrid

features the dual trait combination of the patented Pod Shatter Reduction technology together with clubroot resistance*. Trial results show outstanding yield protection, excellent standability and exceptional harvest flexibility.

*To predominant clubroot pathotypes identified in Canada at the time of their registration.

FARMFORUM.CA / JANUARY 201 8

33

The best just got better with NEW Prosaro XTR

T

hroughout the growing season – there’s a lot of pressure on your cereal crop to perform. Variable weather and disease can put stress on your crop and have a big impact on its performance. The formulation in Prosaro® XTR fungicide helps plants tolerate those stresses, providing better protection and a higher yielding, higher quality crop at harvest.

When compared to other fungicides, Prosaro XTR is the clear high performer.

Spring wheat treated with Prosaro XTR had a 14 percent yield bump over the untreated check, while winter wheat saw a 10.6 percent yield increase.

Apply Prosaro XTR at head timing for optimal yield and quality protection.

While the message in the past has been to protect the flag leaf to protect your yield, recent studies show that waiting until the

first flowers are visible and the head is extended up from the flag leaf can offer greater disease and yield benefits while still protecting the flag leaf.

For both preventive and curative protection, first-class control of fusarium, an increase in yield and better plant health, choose Prosaro XTR. 2017 barley competitive results – 5 trials

2017 wheat competitive results – 10 trials

+8.7 bu. versus untreated

+7.2 bu. versus untreated Prosaro XTR

Caramba®

10

30

40

50

60

95.2

untreated

66.6

20

100.1

Caramba®

72.8

untreated

0

Prosaro XTR

73.8

70

80

0

10

20

91.4

30

40

50

60

70

80

yield (bu./ac.)

Source: 10 Bayer grower-cooperated replicated Wheat DSTs (2017).

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

Source: Five Bayer grower-cooperated replicated Barley DSTs (2017).

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

Prosaro head timing trials

+6.7

+8.7

early head Head is completely exposed, but just emerged from the flag leaf.

optimal head Head extended up from the flag leaf, first flowers visible.

bu./ac.

bu./ac.

+7.2

bu./ac.

late head Head fully flowered/flowers falling off.

A head timing fungicide application isn’t just about protecting your cereal crop against FHB — it simply provides a better yield and quality benefit.

Source: 11 Bayer grower-cooperated replicated Wheat DSTs (2012–2013 and 2016). Numbers expressed as gain in yield versus the untreated check.

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

34

FA R M FO R U M .CA / JANUARY 2018

90 100

yield (bu./ac.)

Trilex it any way you want.

Trilex EverGol. The fully customizable seed treatment for pulses.

Exceptional flexibility. Exceptional disease control.

Whatever your needs, applicators and growers like you can reap the rewards of its concentrated formulation to adjust water volumes and optimize coverage. And that’s just the start. You get superior protection against rhizoctonia, ascochyta, botrytis, fusarium spp. and pythium. Plus the ability to protect against insects including pea leaf weevils and wireworms when tank-mixed with Stress Shield® or when using Trilex® EverGol® SHIELD. This year, choose a pulse seed treatment that puts more control in your hands.

Choose Trilex EverGol. Learn more at cropscience.bayer.ca/TrilexEverGol

cropscience.bayer.ca or 1 888-283-6847 or contact your Bayer representative.

@Bayer4CropsCA

Always read and follow label directions. EverGol®, SeedGrowth™, Stress Shield® and Trilex® are trademarks of the Bayer Group.

Bayer CropScience Inc. is a member of CropLife Canada.

YOU CAN DEPEND ON RAXIL It’s hard to imagine that one small seed could hold so much promise, but it does. And when you consider the importance of having a successful season, a cereal seed treatment you can rely on makes a huge difference.

Raxil® seed treatments provide first-class disease control and a faster, stronger emergence that helps you realize the full potential of your crop.

cropscience.bayer.ca/Raxil

1 888-283-6847

@Bayer4CropsCA

#AskBayerCrop

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

Bayer CropScience Inc. is a member of CropLife Canada. ®

C-55-07/17-10788005-E