GNN130211

Volume 39, Number 4 | FEBRUARY 11, 2013

$4.25

PRACTICAL PRODUCTION TIPS FOR THE PRAIRIE FARMER

www.grainews.ca

Pricing programs for 2013 Who’s got the best deal on farm chemicals for 2013? It’s hard to compare prices until you understand each company’s programming. Gerald Pilger rounds up the details

BY GERALD PILGER

This year, farmers must purchase a minimum combined total of 400 acres of any two of the following products: Aries, Basagran Forte, Heat, Viper ADV, Distinct, Headline, Twinline or Priaxor DS. Growers can also use purchases of Clearfield wheat, canola, sunflowers, or lentils as qualifying acres, provided they sign a Clearfield Commitment form and purchase matching acres of a BASF Canada herbicide registered for use in that Clearfield crop. Each Clearfield crop acre matched with Clearfield chemistry acre equals two qualifying acres.

Farmers that qualify for the AgSolutions Rewards program are eligible for rebates on purchases of the following BASF herbicides: Absolute, Adrenalin SC, Altitude FX, Altitude FX 2, Aries, Banvel II, Basagran, Basagran Forte, Distinct, Dyvel, Dyvel DSP Equinox, Flaxmax DLX, Gladiator, Heat, Odyssey, Odyssey DLX, Poast Ultra, Pursuit, Tensile, Viper ADV, and Solo.

The size of the rebates depend on your qualifying acres: • three per cent for 400 to 1,399 acres, • four per cent for 1,400 to 3,599 acres; and, • five per cent for over 3,600 acres.

C

ompany prices on competing products can be difficult to compare until you now the details behind the pricing packages. These are the reward and rebate programs offered by the major pesticide manufacturers for the 2013 growing season.

ARYSTA LIFESCIENCE Arysta LifeScience offered growers an Early Purchase Offer on Everest 2.0.

Farmers who purchased an Everest 2.0 SmartBoy (10 specially packaged jugs of Everest 2.0) before Jan 31, 2012 received an instant discount of $1,200 per SmartBoy. This is Arysta’s only purchase program. Instead, Arysta LifeScience explains that its marketing strategy is to simplify the game by offering best-in-class products at competitive pricing, not complicated programming.

BASF BASF has revised the AgSolutions Rewards program it introduced in 2012.

PHOTO: LEEANN MINOGUE

It can take time to understand these rebate programs, but ignoring them could leave you at a disadvantage.

Qualifying farmers also earn rebates of 15 to 25 per cent on BASF seed treatment based on the same qualifying acre levels.

Qualifying farmers get an eight to 12 per cent growers rebate on Headline, Lance, and Caramba purchases. While

the acre levels for determining rebate percentages is the same as for seed treatment and herbicide purchases, farmers get credit for two times their qualifying acres when calculating the rebate on fungicide purchases.

Furthermore, earn an additional

eight per cent rebate on Lance purchases by purchasing any AgCelence product (Headline, Headline Duo, Priaxor DS or Twinline).

BASF products must be purchased between Nov. 1, 2012 and » CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

In This Issue

Publications Mail Agreement Number 40069240

Wheat & Chaff ..................

2

Features ............................

5

Crop Advisor’s Casebook

6

Columns ........................... 16 Machinery & Shop ............ 23 Cattleman’s Corner .......... 30

Planters for corn grazing KEVIN ELMY PAGE 23

BULK UP NOW. earN UP tO

FarmLife ............................ 35

Gaspardo’s tracked planters SCOTT GARVEY PAGE 26

$1.00/acre mOre.

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Wheat & Chaff STAMPEDE

BY JERRY PALEN

LEEANN MINOGUE

I

“It will be the perfect Valentines! You buy lovely flowers, a dinner out, and finally I tell you where I hid the TV remote!”

CONTACT US

Write, Email or Fax SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (CST) 1-800-665-0502

U.S. subscribers call 1-204-944-5568 or email: subscription@fbcpublishing.com If you have story ideas, call us. You can write the article and we’d pay you, or we can write it.

Phone Leeann Minogue at 306-861-2678 Fax to 204-944-5416 Email leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.com Write to Grainews, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1

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n January I spent four days in London, Ontario a t S y n g e n t a ’s G r o w e r University Business Foundations Program.

Every year for the past 10 years Syngenta has sent 40 farmers from across the country to the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. The goal of the course is to teach farmers about management and profitability — not about Syngenta products.

Syngenta Canada’s president Jay Bradshaw turned up at the opening session in person to promise us that none of the instructors would even mention Syngenta products during the course. (Of course, it would have taken a lot more than that to stop a group of farmers from talking about Syngenta products and all kinds of other chemicals out in the hallway during the breaks.)

Grower U is a pretty intense course, focusing on book-learning and high-level strategies, but also on bringing that knowledge back to the farm. Everyone was asked to come up with an action plan to do two new things on their own farm when they got home.

Here is a short list of the things I learned:

1. PREPARATION IS KEY About a week before I left for London, the Grower U organizers mailed me a big envelope full of information, including a financial analysis textbook. That’s right, a university-level textbook, with a note suggesting that everyone should read the first five chapters before the course.

I was about to start reading when the phone rang. The woman in charge of the course was calling. “I see you’re with Grainews,” she said, “Yes,” I answered.

“Oh dear,” she said. “When we saw your mailing address, we thought you were a farmer coming to Grower U.” So I told her that my husband and I do farm, and that, in fact, I do the bookkeeping here and was excited about the course.

“Well,” she said, “I just wanted to tell you that we sent you the wrong package. Instead of the media package, we sent you the farmer package. We would never expect the media to do all that reading!”

2. FARMERS HAVE SOME DIFFERENCES There is no one type of “Canadian farmer,” so, as you can guess, if you fly 40 farmers to Ontario, there will be some differences.

The farmers were different ages (but many were just getting started — in their 20s), and had different types of farms. Some farmers had off-farm businesses,

or were working on ideas to move their business up the value chain.

All of the farmers had different areas of expertise. A couple had accounting backgrounds. Some had experience in corporate management before they went back to their farms. Others were great mechanics, or great agronomists.

The farmers had different political views. Even in 2013, one instructor had to warn the group not to keep talking about the Canadian Wheat Board.

One lunch discussion about dairy quota got a little heated, ending with one man pointing at a young farmer across the table and saying, “he just doesn’t have a clue!”

3. FARMERS HAVE A LOT IN COMMON Good-natured political debates aside, the 40 farmers had more similarities than differences.

Everyone had the same challenges dealing with banks, input suppliers and changing commodity prices.

Farmers from across the country had eerily similar stories about the good and bad sides of ridiculously high land prices.

More than once I was relieved to see that most of the 40 farmers are experiencing the same problems and rewards we are.

For example, after I listened to the instructor talk about financial ratios for over an hour, it made me feel better to know that most of the farmers in the room weren’t actually tracking their financial ratios on a regular monthly basis (though I think most of us realized we’d better pull up our socks.)

And, despite the course’s focus on business management, it was nice to see that most of the farmers in the room, even the youngest ones, still see farming as something more meaningful than a typical business.

4. THERE’S ALWAYS MORE TO LEARN I figured the accountants in the room might be getting bored during all that discussion about financial ratios. But they weren’t.

“Every new instructor manages to put a slightly different spin on things,” a young accountant told me in the hallway. “It always hits home in a different way.”

5. EVERY FARMER HAS EMPLOYEE CHALLENGES Well, everyone with employees, anyway.

Some of the tips that the farmers shared for keeping staff on their farms were: • Setting up an employee retirement plan (this is possible even if you only have one employee); • Building a new house for your employee and their family; • Sending flowers and candy to the employee’s spouse, as a symbol of appreciation during busy times; • Treating the employee as part of the team, rather than just a hired hand; • Rewarding the employee

based on the farm’s success so that employee is really part of the team (one farmer gave his employee an annual bonus based on the profit from a set number of acres on the farm — making sure that the employee never had to cover a loss, of course); • Keeping in mind the “the power of recognition” — some employees will appreciate on-thejob perks, like tickets to Las Vegas, in years when a wage increase isn’t possible.

6. IT’S HARD TO JUSTIFY THAT NEW COMBINE We spent one afternoon learning about “net present value analysis.” This involves crunching through every possible number before making a decision.

We looked at an example of deciding whether or not to buy a combine, and took into account estimated savings from lower repair costs and lower staff and fuel costs due to fewer hours needed on the combine. Then we balanced that against the cost of the new combine, the trade-in value of the old combine, and the expected value of the new combine after it was used for a few years.

Based on those numbers alone, there was almost no way we could get the decision to buy a new combine to look good on a spreadsheet. I was about to text my husband to tell him he should quickly cancel that new Case machine he has on order.

The problem is that it’s really, really hard to estimate the true value of something as vital to your operation as a combine.

Maybe if you don’t buy the new combine, you’ll lose a day in the field next harvest, and your crop will be downgraded. Maybe it will rain before you finish harvest.

There are real costs to these disasters, but it’s quite a guessing game to turn them into dollar values that you can put into a spreadsheet and show your banker.

I’m not saying it’s impossible, but you’d have to do a lot of estimating and make a lot of assumptions.

Justifying that new combine is always going to involve a lot of guessing and a little hope.

7. RECONSIDER LONDON AS A WINTER VACATION SPOT I like London. It’s a beautiful city with lovely old buildings, great restaurants and some interesting history. I even had a chance to visit some family while I was there.

But the problem with going to London is that when you tell people you’re going to London, they get quite excited for you, thinking you’re off to see Buckingham Palace and ride The Tube (subway).

But then you say “that’s London…

Ontario,” and you can see the sudden sadness in their eyes while they stop imagining you in front of Big Ben, and try to remember exactly where London, Ontario is.

Besides that, it was cold. And not a dry cold. The locals were shocked, and kept promising me: “It’s never like this here! Never!”

Enjoy this issue!

Leeann

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

grainews.ca /

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Wheat & Chaff Farm safety

Asleep at the switch I

f you live in Manitoba but missed Manitoba Farm & Rural Support Services’ sleep workshops this past January, or if you don’t call the Keystone Province home, you may have missed out some serious tips to help you get some ZZZ’s. Not getting an adequate amount of sleep might sound minor when compared to the importance of putting food in the ground so you can put food on the table, but working on empty could put your health, your safety and even the economic well-being of your farm, at risk if you don’t make some room for pillow time.

So how big is the problem?

In a 2011 study conducted by the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association in partnership with Farm Credit Canada, 65 per cent of farmers admitted to working tired. While it may seem normal to burn the midnight oil during planting season or when harvest is in full swing, that old habit is probably hurting you more than helping you.

Let’s start by looking at sleep and health.

When it comes to the pressure to look and feel your best, many people are familiar with the finger wagging that goes on around sleep. Lifestyle magazines geared towards fitness, health and beauty are particularly good at pointing out the pitfalls of sleep deprivation. The battle of the bulge gets a big slice of the attention.

If you aren’t getting enough sleep, your body is more likely to produce less leptin (a hormone that supresses appetite) and more ghrelin (a hormone that stimulates hunger). This can throw healthy eating into a tailspin.

For those sensitive to the ever-marching passage of time, depriving yourself of sleep can even age your skin prematurely by preventing the release of human growth hormone, which in adults increases muscle mass, thickens skin, and strengthens bones.

But concerns around sleep are more than skin deep. In terms of your overall health,

Crop protection

T

From the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association — www.planfarmsafety.ca — with files from www.webmd. com, www.aasmnet.org and www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, and www.cchsa-ccsma.usask.ca.

Seeding

The CFIA approves three new pea and lentil inoculants for use in Canada he Canadian Food Inspection Agendcy (CFIA) has approved three new inoculants made by Loveland Products Canada: Establish granular (pea), Establish liquid (pea and lentil) and So-Fast peat (pea and lentil).

Both Establish products use multiple modes of action. Establish combines an elite nitrogen inoculant with LCO (lipochitooligosaccharide) promoter technology in the granular formulation and plant signal technology (flavonoids) in the liquid formulation.

“In both technologies, unique molecules drive communication between the plant and the inoculant for a healthy start regardless of soil conditions,” says Jeff Crampton, general manager for Loveland Products Canada. The

chronic sleep loss can put you at greater risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and diabetes, while also killing your sex drive and contributing to depression, irritability and motivation issues. So maybe those lifestyle magazines are on to something.

When it comes to farm safety, if you’re tired, your reaction time slows down, you are less alert, and you are more likely to struggle to concentrate and retain potentially critical information. In several studies of sleep deprivation, researchers found that people who drove after being awake for 16 hours or more showed signs of performance similar to being drunk. Being awake for 21 hours was found to be equivalent to a blood alcohol level of .08 per cent.

From a farm safety perspective this means that if you are sleep deprived, you are more likely to take dangerous shortcuts to get the job done, forget to take certain precautions that usually help ensure the safety of your farm, and even make impaired judgements

that can put you at risk. The worst part is that you might not even realize that you are playing Russian roulette with your safety, because you are too tired to objectively assess your own impairment level.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, people that chronically short change their sleep tend to rate their impairment level as lower than those that are severely sleep deprived, even though lapses from chronic, but lesser, sleep deprivation can build up over time to become as significant as those with severe sleep deprivation. In other words, if you consistently short-change your sleep and think you are fine, you’re probably wrong.

So whatever your reason — better health, looking your best, or protecting your farm — take the time, and give sleep a chance.

For more information on the importance of sleep, contact the Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture.

In the next issue: understanding how sleep works so you can get more out of your down time. †

Pre-book seed

I

result is an earlier, longer-lasting nodulation period, increased nitrogen fixation, and enhanced root and shoot development.

“Growers will get bigger nodules and more of them, resulting in better yields,” Crampton says.

So-Fast sterile peat is a “singleaction inoculant boasting the highest-yielding strain of rhizobia for pea and lentil on the market,” says Chris Di Ubaldo, assistant product manager with UAP Canada Inc. So-Fast contains a naturally occurring bacteria that fixes nitrogen from the air. The product is best used when nitrogen is required, but phosphate levels are high and full starter phosphate levels are still used. † UAP Canada Inc., distributor of Loveland Products Canada Inc.’s inoculants.

n the middle of a cold Prairie winter, leaving your worries behind with a winter vacation sounds like a good idea. One worry some farmers hitting the beach this winter will be leaving behind is what to plant next spring, as they have pre-purchased their seed before catching their flight.

“Book early,” says Bret Gaetz, general manager of Hetland Seeds at Naicam, Saskatchewan, “and secure seed for quality control.”

Quality of certified seed refers to genetic identity of the seed, and a system that ensures the genetic identity can be traced back to the original breeder.

Traceability guarantees that the farmer will get the variety, and traits, that was promised.

Physical quality standards are regulated and inspected by government, and must be met before seed can be certified.

photo contest

GIVE US YOUR BEST SHOT Desiree Penner sent us this photo, and this is what she had to say about it: “The three people in this photo, Arthur Eberling, Laird Penner, and Richard Penner (in the combine), are not just random individuals, they are all relatives. Not just relatives that flew in from a province over, these three have all pitched in to work our small mixed farm near Elm Creek, Manitoba. There are three generations in one photo. One is the head to do critical thinking, one is the hands to do the heavy lifting, and one is the heart to carry out the future.”

That’s lovely, Desiree. Thanks for sharing the photo. We’ll be mailing you a cheque for $25.

If you’d like to see your photo on this page and receive $25, send your best shot to leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.com. Please send only one or two photos at a time and include your name and address, the names of anyone in the photo, where the photo was taken and a bit about what was going on that day. A little write-up about your farm is welcome, too. Please ensure that images are of high resolution (1 MB is preferred), and if the image includes a person, we need to be able to see their face clearly.

— Leeann

Physical quality standards include: high germination, high vigour, disease testing, 1,000-kernel weight seed count, a minimum of other crop and weed seeds, and purity of clean seed relative to chaff and dirt.

Some farmers point out the high cost of using certified seed compared to bin-run seed. Greg Gerry of Precision Ag Services, near Griffin, Sask., has an alternate way of looking at it. “Farmers need to know the cost of seed in the bin — bin-run seed is not free.

For example; $7.50 per bushel wheat plus $0.50 cleaning, plus $0.20 handling cost, plus $0.20 time costs equals $8.40 per bushel, and you still have binrun wheat.”

Seed shortages can potentially be avoided by prepurchasing seed for spring planting. Shortages in certified seed supply can occur for many reasons such as weather

conditions, or disease pressures.

Gaetz noted that there may be shortages of cereals in northeast Saskatchewan due to fusarium.

In spite of this, “Compared to last year,” says Gaetz, “pre-sale seed sales are behind, because of uncertainties in price with out the wheat board.”

In the southeast, Gerry’s experience is different, “We are trading above last year in pre-seeding sales,” says Gerry, “guys are doing a little more planning. The changing wheat market is determining how people buy wheat. It will continue to change.” Gerry notes, that when it comes to pre-sale, he pre-sells about 70 per cent of his canola, and sells about 30 per cent in season, but his cereal sales are about 50 per cent pre-sale, and 50 per cent in season.

Whether catching a flight to a warmer, or staying in the Prairies to face the snow and cold, pre-buying this spring’s seed supply will be one less worry come seeding time. † Danell van Staveren farms and writes near Griffin, Sask.

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Cover Stories Crop protection » CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

pricing programs for 2013 Oct. 31, 2013 to qualify and be eligible for rebates.

Farmers must submit a signed consent form (available from retailers) by Oct. 31, 2013 to receive a rebate. For further information call BASF AgSolutions at 1-877-371-2273.

Bayer CropScience Bayer CropScience is continuing its BayerValue program for the 2013 growing season. This program provides savings based on total purchase of Bayer CropScience products between Oct. 1, 2012 and Sept. 30, 3013.

There are a number of components to the BayerValue program. The first is an incremental rebate on Bayer CropScience products. Farmers purchasing Bayer Products worth $20,000 to $49,999 earn: • a three per cent rebate on Infinity, Velocity, Tundra or Varro herbicides; • five per cent back on Proline, Prosaro, and Folicur EW fungicides; • $1 per acre back for using Decis insecticide; and, • $1 per acre rebate on purchases of Raxil WW, Raxil MD, Trilex AL, and Trilex Evergol. Matching Raxil WW purchases with Velocity M3, Tundra, Puma Advance, Varro, Folicur EW and/or Prosaro doubles the Raxil WW rebate to two per cent.

Spending $50,000 to $99,999 doubles the rebate on herbicides (from three to six per cent), and takes the fungicide rebate from five to eight per cent.

The top increment is for purchases of $100,000 or more. In this cae, the herbicide rebate jumps to eight per cent and the fungicide rebate up to 10 per cent.

The second component of the BayerValue program is an early booking offer for InVigor seed.

Farmers who booked a minimum of 300 acres of InVigor by January 31 received an additional five per cent rebate on Infinity, Velocity M3 Tundra, and Varro herbicides and Proline, Prosaro and Folicur EW fungicides, as well as an additional one per cent rebate on Bayer CropScience seed treatments.

The program’s third component is the Cereal Winter Sale.

Booking a minimum of 300 acres of specific Bayer CropScience cereal herbicides by March 9, 2013 entitles farmers to a five per cent rebate on those herbicides. Infinity is now eligible for a rebate through the Cereal Winter Sale.

The final component is the Puma Advance Full Rate rebate — farmers can instantly save $1 per acre on Puma Advance purchases.

If you participated in the 2012 BayerValue program you will automatically be re-enrolled for 2013.

If you were not registered last year, contract Bayer CropScience Rebate Fulfilment Interaction Centre at 1-888-283-6847 before May 1, 2013 to register.

Dow AgroSciences Dow AgroSciences is continuing to offer the Dividends program it introduced in 2011.

Rewards are calculated as a dollar per-acre payment. The actual per acre amount depends on the mix of Dow AgroSciences products you use.

Dow AgroSciences products have been categorized into four groups. The first group of cereal grass and one-pass products includes Tandem, Simplicity, and Liquid Achieve — a farmer must use at least 320 acre of any one or combination of these three herbicides to qualify for a rebate. As was the case in 2012, 320 acres of Nexera will also qualify a farmers for the Dividends program.

Qualified farmers can earn a rebate by matching those qualifying acres with purchases of a Dow AgroSciences cereal broadleaf product (the second group of products) and/or a canola and special crop product (the third group). In the 2013 program, Tandem automatically qualifies for the $1/acre reward without requiring matching acres from other categories. Liquid Achieve is not eligible for a rebate, but can still be used as a builder to qualify other products for a reward.

Dow AgroSciences glyphosate products are the fourth group category. Purchasing these will increase any reward the farmer has already qualified for.

Dow AgroSciences is also continuing the Bulk Up component of its Dividends program.

Purchases of bulk packaged PrePass before February 20th, 2013 will increase the reward by up to $0.50 an acre. Rebates also increase if you purchase bulk packaged OcTTain XL, Attain XC, Frontline XL, or Stellar, Prestige XC before March 20.

A farmer participating in both components of Dividends could save up to $5 an acre on Dow AgroSciences purchases.

There is a Dividends calculator at www.dowagrodividends.ca to help calculate program rebates.

Farmers who have not completed a form giving Dow AgroSciences permission to collect the necessary information must do so before Nov. 30, 2013. Call the Dow AgroSciences Solutions Centre at 1-800-667-3852.

DuPont DuPont has expanded its FarmCare Connect Grower Program for 2013. This program is being offered in partnership with Pioneer Hi-Bred and allows farmers to save up to 22 per cent when they purchase Pioneer brand canola seed and select DuPont crop protection products.

To qualify, farmers must purchase a minimum of 140 acres of eligible Pioneer brand canola, corn, soybean or sunflower seed and/or purchase DuPont crop protection products between Sept. 1, 2012 and Aug. 31, 2013.

New this year: farmers who purchase eight jugs of Vertisan fungicide or four jugs of Acapela fungicide between January 15 and Aug. 31, 2013 also qualify.

The combined total purchases of Pioneer seed and DuPont

crop protection products determine the rebate on a long list of DuPont burn down herbicides, in-crop herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. Find a complete list of eligible DuPont products at the DuPont website at www. farmcare.ca.

The more DuPont and Pioneer products you purchase, the higher the rebate. For example, a total purchase of $6,000 allows a four per cent rebate. A total purchase of $50,000 allows a rebate of eight per cent. The rebate grows incrementally to a maximum of 12 per cent for farmers spending $100,000 or more on Pioneer canola seed and DuPont crop protection products.

Farmers can boost their rebates up to 22 per cent with the Matching Acre Bonus. Farmers purchasing 320 acres of Acapela, Assure II, Curaztec, Express Pro, Express SG, PrecisionPac NC-0050, PrecisionPac NC-00439, PrecisionPac DB-858, Triton K or Vertisan will earn an addition $1 per acre off cereal broadleaf brands on matching acres.

(Acapela and Vertisan have been newly added for 2013, and the matching acre rebate has been doubled from $0.50 to $1.00.)

If you were enrolled in FarmCare Connect in 2010, 2011 or 2012 you were automatically registered in this year’s program.

If you have not participated in the last three years, contact your local Pioneer or DuPont sales representative or retailer to sign up. For more information call 1-800-667-3925 or visit www. farmcare.ca.

MANA Canada MANA Canada explains that it has a corporate philosophy of “fair price-brand results” and does not offer confusing or elaborate rebate or reward programs.

Monsanto Monsanto offers a 100 per cent Replant Guarantee. If any Dekalb acre needs to be reseeded, 100 per cent of the seed cost on the replanted bags will be covered. This applies to Dekalb canola seeded after April 15, Dekalb corn seeded after April 15, and Dekalb soybeans seeded after May 1, 2013.

The Replant Guarantee only applies to Dekalb acres reseeded to the same Dekalb crop. Your Dekalb seed retailer will submit reseeding claims for payment made prior to June 20, 2013.

Monsanto is offering interestfree financing on all Dekalb products through Agricard and John Deere Financial. The interest-free period runs through to the fall of 2013.

Details on these and all other Dekalb programs and discounts are available from local dealers.

Nufarm Nufarm explains that it offers fair upfront prices on all their products rather than rebate programs. However, from time to time, Nufarm will have “offers” on select products in their portfolio, so ask your dealer.

In 2013 farmers will receive 50 per cent off (in the form of a VISA

gift card) on their first 80-acre purchase of Enforcer, a new allin-one cereal broadleaf herbicide.

Register for this offer at www. nufarm.ca.

Syngenta Syngenta is expanding its Syngenta Partner Program for 2013. As in 2012, purchasing qualifying Syngenta products makes you eligible for savings on most Syngenta products.

To qualify for the Partner Program in 2013, a farmer must: • purchase a minimum of 160 acres of one, or combination of, the following products: Axial, Axial ipak, Axial Xtreme, Broadband, Sierra 2.0 or Traxos; OR, • purchase 960 acres worth of the Syngenta broadleaf products Pulsar and/or Target; OR, • purchase enough Syngenta wheat, corn, soybean and/or sunflower seed for 160 acres.

New products added to the Partner Program for 2013 include the Vibrance seed care line (Cruiser Maxx Vibrance Beans, Cruiser Maxx Vibrance Cereals, Helix Vibrance, and Vibrance XL), Apron Advance seed treatment and Fuse cereal fungicide.

Rebate percentages are calculated by totalling the purchases of most Syngenta crop establishment, crop management, crop enhancement and harvest management products. A program calculator and the rules and regulations can be found on the Syngenta website. At www.syngentafarm.ca, select “partner program” at the top of the page, then choose 2013.

A total purchase value of $10,000 of Syngenta products earns a farmer a three per cent rebate. This increases incrementally up to a 10 per cent rebate for purchases over $250,000.

Helix Vibrance, Horizon NG, Traxion, and a few Syngenta seed varieties are not eligible for savings, but purchases of these products are used as builder products to increase the rebate percentage rate.

Syngenta is also offering its Pre-Seed Bonus program again this year. Farmers applying Touchdown Total, or Traxion, can save $1 per acre on matching acres of ApronMaxx, Vibrance XL, CruiserMaxx or CruiserMaxx Vibrance seed care products by qualifying for the Partner Program.

Syngenta has also added a Crop Enhancement Bonus this year.

Farmers qualifying for the Partner Program can earn an additional $2 per acre rebate on Astound and Quilt fungicides when matched with acres treated with Traxos, Sierra 2.0, Broadband or Axial products.

If you participated in 2012, you’re automatically registered for 2013. Otherwise, to register call the Syngenta Customer Resource Centre at 1-877-964-3682.

UAP UAP explains that it keeps things simple with competitive net pricing — no hassles and no rebate forms. † Gerald Pilger farms at Ohaton, Alta.

At Farm Business Communications we have a firm commitment to protecting your privacy and security as our customer. Farm Business Communications will only collect personal information if it is required for the proper functioning of our business. As part of our commitment to enhance customer service, we may share this personal information with other strategic business partners. For more information regarding our Customer Information Privacy Policy, write to: Information Protection Officer, Farm Business Communications, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 Occasionally we make our list of subscribers available to other reputable firms whose products and services might be of interest to you. If you would prefer not to receive such offers, please contact us at the address in the preceding paragraph, or call 1-800-665-0502.

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

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5

Features VERTICAL TILLAGE SPECIAL

Sorting through vertical tillage, part four This time we look at vertical tillage implements that are a little more aggressive when it comes to moving dirt

BY TODD BOTTERILL

E

ditor’s note: This is the fourth of a series of five articles about vertical tillage. In the last instalment, Todd Botterill explained that there are three categories of surface tillage tools: coulter, disk and rotary machines, and then went on to discuss coulter machines. Rotary machines will be covered in the instalment in the next issue.

DISK MACHINES As vertical tillage became more popular, we saw an increased number of mainstream farmers wanting more aggressive vertical tillage machines. Many weren’t impressed with coulter types, because if they were running a machine they wanted to see more dirt moving. In high residue conditions some farmers wanted more dirt thrown on top of the residue to prevent it blowing away and to speed up decomposition. Coulter machines also had trouble filling in wheel ruts due to the lack of lateral dirt movement, so some farmers began looking for machines that could fill in the ruts without creating a compaction layer.

dency to plug in sticky soil types.

The more aggressive the angle, the worse the plugging can be. A disk run in wetter soils can also tend to make small lumps (which is more noticeable with higher disk angles). This leads to having to run these machines in slightly dryer conditions than coulter machines for best results. You will also want to watch just how much residue you bury at seed level, especially in spring time, to ensure good seed to soil contact. † Todd Botterill has been in the farm machinery business since 1994, He has been a territory manager for Phoenix Rotary Harrows and the Western Canada territory manager for Salford Farm Machinery. In 2009 he took over the family business, which wholesales tillage implements across Western Canada. He lives in the original family farmyard in Newton, Man.

PHOTOS: SCOTT GARVEY

Todd Botterill

This Lemken Gigant tillage implement uses a shallow-concave disc. It is one of the more aggressive implements when it comes to moving soil laterally.

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How can these tools be called vertical tillage when they move dirt sideways?

D JE

These machines usually feature shallow concave disk blades on gangs, with many having a wave in the blade. This wave is supposed to move dirt on both sides of the blades to increase mixing with surface residue. The angle of the gangs plus the light concave of the blade does allow for more lateral dirt throw, meaning a darker finish and much more levelling (especially in wheel ruts) than seen with coulter machines. Many people looking for residue management with one pass in the fall are very happy with these units.

How can these tools be called vertical tillage when they move dirt sideways? Vertical tillage doesn’t really care which way you move the soil as long as you don’t create a density layer below where you run the unit.

Because of the shallow concave of the blades, they really aren’t in contact with any more soil than a wavy coulter. Some of these units do toe the line a bit because they use the same gang angle as a typical disk, but with the shallow concave blade they don’t create a continuous layer across the seed bed. Some machines use more angle than others so it is a good idea to compare disk angles when looking at this type of implement.

There can be drawbacks with these tools. A wavy disk cannot have a scraper on it. Since they are in gang they can have a ten-

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Features CROP PRODUCTION

CROP ADVISOR’S CASEBOOK

SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO LOOK DEEPER

BY BOB WELLINGTON

A

t the end of July, I received a visit from Mike, a local farmer who runs a family farm with his brother Joe. They have 7,000 acres consisting mainly of canola, wheat, barley and yellow peas.

Joe explained their situation.

He had an entire field of pea plants that, in the past ten days, were not only stunted in growth but were also turning yellow. Mike was positive that the cause was chemical damage, but Joe wanted a second opinion, so I went out to the farm and had a look.

Upon inspection of the field, I noticed that not only were the pea plants not growing but the weeds were even having a hard time. Many of the plants appeared to be damaged by disease right at the soil surface.

Mike remained firm that the cause had to be chemical damage. Joe didn’t think that was the problem since the previous year it had been used as a fescue seed field. “It can’t be from chemicals,” said Joe. “We have only sprayed this field with one litre of glyphosate in the past five years.”

Joe believed the culprit was poor nodulation.

The previous week this farming area had also seen abnormally wet weather, and as I walked

Once Bob decided to dig up some plant samples from the field, he began to realize what the problem was.

The pea plants were not only stunted in growth, but were also turning yellow.

through the field I noticed various stages of maturity and injury. Nearly 70 per cent of the plants were dead or else well beyond rescue.

There was one exception in the field, a path of approximately 10 feet along the road ditch and fence line where the plants appeared to be healthier. Because no chemical had been applied in the past five years, I quickly ruled that out as the cause. After I asked some more questions, I learned that the clay soil field had been tilled in the spring and

Winnipeg, MB, R3C 3K7; email leeann.minogue@fbcpublishing.com or fax 204-944-5416 c/o Crop Advisor’s Casebook.

Best suggestions will be pooled and one winner will be drawn for a chance to win a Grainews cap and a one-year subscription to the magazine. The best answer, along with the reasoning which solved the mystery, will appear in the next Crop Advisor’s Solution. †

CROP ADVISOR’S SOLUTION

BY RACHELLE LABBY

J

ohn owns a 1,000 acre farm near Morinville, Alta., where he grows wheat and canola. Mid-June of 2012 he called me to talk about some concerns he had with the health of his wheat crop. He noticed his crop was uneven with stunted and wilting plants.

He said the smaller plants in the affected field were setting fewer tillers, and they were paler in colour than the healthierlooking plants. He also noted that his other two wheat fields looked healthy and did not appear to be affected.

As I approached the field, I noticed that overall it looked unhealthy. The wheat plants did indeed vary in their sizes and colour throughout the field, and many of them were leaning to the side as if nothing was holding them up. When I examined the root structures of both a healthy and unhealthy plant, I found the unhealthy plant had hardly any root structure while the healthy plant had a typical root system for a wheat tiller.

However, what allowed me to solve this case was I noticed the seed coat of the healthy plant had been coated with a seed treatment while the unhealthy

phosphate had been applied at seeding along with a granular inoculant. However, no soil or tissue tests had been conducted in previous years.

I decided to dig up some plant samples from the field, including from the 10-foot section where the healthy plants were growing. As I started digging, I began to realize what the problem was.

What is causing the pea plants to die and yellow in Mike and Joe’s field? Send your diagnosis to Grainews, Box 9800,

Bob Wellington is a crop inputs manager and certified crop advisor for Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Nampa, Alta.

Bob Wellington

PROTECT YOUR SEED FOR CROP SUCCESS plant had virtually no seed treatment coverage.

Further questioning revealed that John had treated the seed himself with fungicide using a seed treater.

The seed treatment John applied to his seed is often used to control diseases affecting wheat, oats and barley, as well as to help suppress seed- and soilborne seed and seedling diseases, such as true loose smut, earlyseason Septoria disease complex, early-season Rhizoctonia root rot and Pythium.

There were two other fields that had been treated at the same rate of 10 litres per 120

bushels of wheat; however, they were treated on different days.

It was plausible that a setting had been changed on the flow of seed through the seed treater, and it was not able to maintain proper coverage. Although the same rate was used on all of the wheat seed, uneven application meant that some of the seeds did not receive the required amount of product to provide effective control. At the time, John had not noticed the rate of seed flow through the seed treater.

Unfortunately, there was no solution to the problem in John’s wheat field as the damage had already been done.

Although the field still produced a crop, the wheat plants experienced more disease and yield was compromised when compared with those of the other two fields where the seed had been properly treated.

It may seem costly to treat seed. However, it is an important tool in the production of disease-free, high-yielding crops. Taking the time to ensure proper seed treatment coverage will go a long way in the realization of the full economic value of your crop. † Rachelle Labby is an agribusiness assistant for Westmor Terminals Inc. at Morinville, Alta.

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

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7

Features Crop planning

Changing crop rotations

With more and more farmers using shorter rotations, the December Manitoba Agronomists conference was titled, “Are crop rotations obsolete?”

By Leeann Minogue

E

ven with good commodity prices, farmers need high profits to meet the rising costs of machinery, land and other inputs. In some cases, agronomists are concerned that the need for cash in the short run might be straining long-term rotations.

Crop insurance data Doug Wilcox, research manager, Manitoba Agriculture Services Corporation (MASC), has looked deep into the Manitoba crop insurance data. He examined records for fields bigger than 120 acres between 1982 and 1993.

Wilcox found that wheat seeded on wheat stubble yielded 90 per cent of average wheat yields. Canola on canola yielded only 93 per cent of the average canola yield.

Although MASC has the authority to deny coverage for improper rotations, Wilcox says, “We usually don’t.” While farmer and commodity advocate groups like to see good agronomic practices, none of them are asking for government program administrators to add agronomic requirements.

Even without restrictions on insurance coverage, in the long run, farmers who consistently grow lower yields will benefit less from insurance payouts due to two factors built into the crop insurance program. First, after several years with lower yields, a farmer’s individual productivity index (IPI) will lower the insured yield on the farm. Second, farmers with frequent claims will pay more for insurance premiums due to the discount/surcharge system.

Driving factors At the Manitoba Agronomists Conference, Anastasia Kubinec, MAFRI’s oilseed crop specialist, gave away the ending to her presentation with the title: “What drive$ Manitoba Crop Rotation?”

She told the audience that crop rotations have changed over the past 10 to 20 years, and that “dollars” are what’s driving a lot of this.

In 1992, 53 per cent of Manitoba farmland was seeded to wheat.

Now, wheat acreage has dropped to 30 per cent; canola has climbed to 36 per cent of total acreage.

Like Wilcox, Kubinec has been sifting through the MASC data.

She’s found that, since 2000, incidents of farmers seeding wheat on wheat stubble have decreased.

However, there has been a slight increase in farmers seeding wheat in a rotation with a one-year break (that is, wheat, something else, wheat). Based on data, fields where a three-year break is used have the highest potential yield.

As well as in an increase in farmers taking just one-year breaks between seeding canola crops, Kubinec found a slight increase in canola grown on canola stubble. In practice, use of the “best” agronomic rotation (a three-year break) is decreasing.

What does Kubinec think is driving this move to shorter rota-

tions, despite the best agronomic advice? Prices. If you’re making money, she says, “of course you’re going to keep on growing that crop. And maybe a little bit more for good measure.”

Some of the dangers of short rotations are not obvious.

Contaminants from past crops can impact returns in the future.

Kubinec says, “You get a few soybeans in your dry beans, and it’s become a food contaminant.”

When it comes to herbicide tolerant crops, volunteers can easily become hart-to-manage weeds.

Kubinec mentioned a number of things for farmers to consider when planning rotations: • Consider the rooting depth of

the crops you’re planting from one year to the next. Canola and wheat have the “exact same rooting depth, and they take up about the exact amount of moisture.” Below that root depth, you could have salinity build up. Adding a deeperrooted crop like corn or a sunflower to the rotation help take advantage of moisture at lower levels.

• It might be useful to plant oats or flax after herbicide tolerant soybeans, so you have limited concerns about weeds, disease, or herbicide residue.

• Be careful about planting flax after canola. Both of these crops use mycorrhizae for phosphorus uptake. After canola, your mycorrhizae populations will be reduced.

• After you grow sunflowers, you need at least a three-year break to reduce the potential for basal rot, mid-stalk rot and head rot.

Kubinec is concerned about farmers’ long-term profitability.

While our rottions are driven by our expectations about net returns, she says, “to actually get those returns, we need to make sure we retain our yield potentials.”

“We need to take into consideration all the things that happen with crop rotation, to keep our returns high.”

Evolving B:8.125” understanding Dr.T:8.125” Dwayne Beck, South Dakota State University also S:8.125”

spoke on the subject of crop rotations.

“Much of the research and management we do is devoted to optimizing a single component” — like yield, said Beck.

Beck stressed that we can’t rely on new technology to solve all of our problems (like herbicide resistance), or “it’s just going to be an arms race.”

Prairie farmers have made many changes to tillage practices. Beck reminded agronomists that, “if we’re going to take tillage out, then we have to replace it with other culture practices, such as rotation, sanitation and competition.” † Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews.

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Features CROP NUTRITION

Be cautious about seed-placed nitrogen Seed-placed nitrogen can lower your yields. Learn how to balance potential stand losses with application flexibility

BY ANGELA LOVELL

G

enerally, any rate of seed-placed nitrogen will reduce stands and can potentially impact crop yields, says John Heard, crop nutrition specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI). It’s often a case of balancing stand loss with flexibility of nitrogen application.

“Previous studies with cereals indicated stand losses of 15 per cent can be accommodated without affecting final crop yield,” he says.

Cereal crops may compensate for fewer plants by producing more tillers, and are generally less sensitive to seed-placed nitrogen than crops like canola, flax and soybeans. These crops can suffer significant seedling injury if fertilizer is placed too close to the seed and at rates that are too high.

Potential consequences of stand loss include severely reduced yields, delayed maturity and reduced weed competitiveness.

In short season areas the delayed maturity of cereals associated with stand thinning may impact grade.

THE ROLE OF NITROGEN Nitrogen is highly mobile and can easily be lost from agricultural systems, especially under wet conditions or on poorly drained soils. Nitrogen can be leached, can move in runoff, or can convert to nitrogen gas or nitrous oxide gas.

Nitrogen applied at the soil surface can also volatilize. These are all permanent losses.

Seed injury from seed-placed nitrogen fertilizer can occur with

rates that are too high or when seed bed utilization is low. Nitrogen fertilizers that convert to ammonia in the soil — like urea containing fertilizers and the ammonium portion of ammonium sulphate and ammonium phosphate — have potential to harm seedlings. Smallseed crops like flax and canola can be more susceptible to injury.

Sandy soils that are low in organic matter and high pH, carbonated soils increase the risk of injury from nitrogen fertilization, which is exacerbated by dry conditions after application.

SEED-PLACED NITROGEN Guidelines for seed-placed nitrogen fertilizer rates shouldn’t be seen as set in stone, says Heard, because they largely depend on the moisture in the seedbed. As soils dry out, the same rate of nitrogen fertilizer can cause more stand thinning than under moist conditions. Safe seed-placed nitrogen rates tend to be higher for clay soils than sandy soils and may be more toxic on high pH soils. As soil pH increases, so does the portion of free ammonia (NH3) compared to soil bound ammonium (NH4+).

For a second opinion on safe seed-placed fertilizer options Heard recommends an Excel spreadsheet calculator developed

by South Dakota State University (Find this online at www.sdstate. edu/ps/extension/soil-fert, look for “Fertilizer seed decision aid” on the page.)

This spreadsheet calculator allows farmers to assess the level of stand thinning they are willing to accept using different fer-

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PHOTOS: JOHN HEARD

Typical seedling injury from excessive seed-placed urea. tilizer types, rates and application systems. Heard used the calculator to assess the stand risk from Manitoba seed-placed nitrogen rate guidelines and found that it predicted higher stand thinning in canola than what is commonly presumed. “This should be of particular concern to canola growers who are shaving seeding rates,” says Heard.

New seeding equipment may also be contributing to thinner stands. Many farmers now use seed drills that place seeds more precisely and have allowed them to reduce seeding rates. “Ten years ago when we were dealing with

a small-seeded, open pollinated canola, the seeding rates were seven to eight pounds per acre, and you could probably sacrifice a bunch of that stand and still get good yields,” says Heard. “Now farmers are seeding large-seeded, hybrid canola and they are trying to shave the seeding rates down and are using drills that have even tighter placement. So with all of those things the last thing we need is more stand thinning because of (seed-placed) fertilizer.”

Many studies have been conducted into proper placement, timing and sources of nitrogen, and generally it’s accepted that, to

reduce the risk of seedling injury, nitrogen should be placed away from the seed-row. Separation of the seed and fertilizer reduces the concentration of nitrogen near the seed and allows for more effective seed-bed utilization.

Around 75 per cent of nitrogen in Canada is banded. Side or mid-row banding both provide effective placement, although the risk of injury increases with wider row-spacings.

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* The Roundup agricultural herbicide and HEAT Offer off-invoice discount acres will be calculated using the following label rates: One case of HEAT= 640 acres (Jug of HEAT= 80 acres), Roundup Transorb HC and Roundup Ultra2 0.67L= 1 acre (10L= 15 acres, 115L= 172 acres, 450L= 675 acres, 800L= 1,200 acres). * Offer expires June 30, 2013. See your retailer for further details.ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Monsanto and vine design®, Roundup®, Roundup Transorb® and Roundup Ultra2® are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC, Monsanto Canada, Inc. licensee. AgSolutions is a registered trade-mark of BASF Corporation; the unique KIXOR X symbol is a trade-mark, and HEAT and KIXOR are registered trade-marks of BASF SE; all used with permission by BASF Canada Inc. © 2013 Monsanto Canada, Inc. and BASF Canada Inc. TANK MIXTURES: The applicable labeling for each product must be in the possession of the user at the time of application. Follow applicable use instructions, including application rates, precautions and restrictions of each product used in the tank mixture. Monsanto has not tested all tank mix product formulations for compatibility or performance other than specifically listed by brand name. Always predetermine the compatibility of tank mixtures by mixing small proportional quantities in advance.

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

grainews.ca /

9

Features

Rise aBove gRassy weeds look no FuRtheR than

laddeR

Ungerminated seed in dry soil.

Wheat in the Boissevain area with seed-placed fertilizer on the right had only a 69 per cent stand and was one full leaf stage behind the check strip on the left. or UAN and reduces losses of nitrogen to volatilization, denitrification and leaching. Many studies over the past few years have shown that Agrotain provides a safe and effective way to apply starter fertilizer without the risk of significant seedling injury. But Koch Agronomic Services, which recently acquired Agrotain International, issued a press release in April 2012 stating that it no longer recommends the use of Agrotain stabilizer at seeding or in what may be referred to as seed safety fertilizer applications.

“We are concerned that some growers who use the product in such applications (i) may not be observing proper procedures for treatment and handling of their fertilizer, (ii) may not be applying the product or the fertilizer at labeled rates, (iii) may not be taking into account environmental conditions and other factors that affect seedling safety when applying their fertilizer or (iv) assume incorrectly that fertilizer containing Agrotain stabilizer can be substituted for other products used at seeding and/ or applied at the same rates as other products. Such misuse of fertilizers can result in damage to seedlings, especially in the current weather conditions,” states the press release.

Controlled release products such as ESN, a polymer coated urea have also been shown to reduce seedling damage from seedplaced nitrogen and provide an additional tool for farmers.

NITROGEN RECYCLING More and more studies are showing that reducing seed-placed fertilizer to avoid seedling injury in sensitive crops like canola and

soybeans is contributing to phosphorus depletion.

“In Manitoba we grow high yields of canola and high yields require high rates of nitrogen. There’s no way you can safely seed-apply all the nitrogen required with canola in this province,” says Heard. “Most have recognised that and have made alternative decisions about how to fertilize canola.”

Nitrogen often tends to be applied to compensate for losses.

It’s estimated that the use efficiency of applied nitrogen is less than 50 per cent because of losses and immobilization in organic matter through microbial action.

But this nitrogen is not gone forever. Tied-up nitrogen can later be released once again through mineralization over the growing season. Immobilized nitrogen in the soil is not lost, but builds soil organic matter, improves soil quality and provides a buffer to cycle back for following crops in years when yield potential is high.

The key to the recycling of carryover nitrogen in the soil through mineralization is the soil organic matter content. More soil organic matter increases the potential for nitrogen release under the right conditions. Soil organic matter building practices such as reduced tillage and high crop residue return crops increase stored nitrogen. Under good moisture and temperature conditions release of this nitrogen may occur.

There is a need for more research to be done in Western Canada into how management practices and fertilization strategies can make the best use of stored nitrogen and phosphorus across long term rotations. † Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www. angelalovell.ca.

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Features DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Controlling ascochyta with fungicides Chickpea growers are spraying proactively and rotating fungicides to control ascochyta blight

BY LISA GUENTHER

A

scochyta blight goes hand in hand with chickpeas, says a chickpea grower. To control the disease, farmers need to time fungicide applications well, rotate fungicide groups, and make sure they’re getting enough coverage.

The ascochyta blight pathogen overwinters on chickpea residue, and can also spread through infected seed. Spores can travel several miles on the wind, infecting new fields. Rain splash also spreads disease to neighbouring plants. Crop rotation, variety selection, seed treatments, and using seed with very low infection levels are all important management practices. But even with the best management practices, farmers will need to spray several times if the weather favours the blight.

Dan Flynn farms near Lucky Lake, Saskatchewan. He started growing chickpeas with his dad in 1999, and has been growing them off and on since then.

“I remember, we thought we could spray it once with Bravo with an airplane and get away with it. Fungicide was such a foreign term back then,” says Flynn.

Now Flynn pencils out four fungicide applications for B90s, and five for kabulis.

“If my numbers don’t work penciling out that many applications, then I just can’t afford to risk growing them.”

ROTATE FUNGICIDE GROUPS Rotating fungicide groups can prolong the life of the fungicides.

Dr. Bruce Gossen is an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research scientist based in Saskatoon. Gossen and his colleagues looked at the pathogen’s response to strobilurin fungicides over time. The strobilurins are extremely effective, but are prone to breakdown, Gossen says.

In 2003, there were trace levels of ascochyta blight pathogens insensitive, or resistant, to the strobilurins in some fields.

But the level of pathogens

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insensitive to strobilurins kept climbing.

“And then by 2007, a large part of the population was no longer sensitive to that particular group of fungicides,” says Gossen.

“Once the disease is there, the damage is there.

You’re just trying to contain it.”

— Dan Flynn

Gossen says the breakdown occurred across the whole production area. Applying the same fungicide group several times within the same season selected for pathogens immune B:11.5” to strobilurins.

“It forced the pathogen to adapt T:11” or die. And it adapted.”

Farmers nowS:10.25” have a new gen-

eration of fungicides to choose from. Gossen says farmers should rotate fungicide groups through the growing season to extend the fungicide’s life.

Flynn does rotate fungicide groups during the growing season.

“If a guy doesn’t do that, I think we’re just shooting ourselves in the foot.”

APPLICATION TIMING AND COVERAGE IMPORTANT Flynn applies fungicide proactively with his chickpeas.

“I think once the disease is there, the damage is there. You’re just trying to contain it at that point,” says Flynn.

Gossen says he initially thought farmers could wait for symptoms before applying fungicides. But spraying before symptoms appear is often more effective.

“And the (fungicides) you can use to protect the plant are often cheaper, and less subject to breakdown, than the ones that you apply once there’s already a bit of an epidemic going,” Gossen says.

Flynn keeps an eye on the weather when deciding when to spray. In 2012, he was spraying by the second week of June.

July’s humidity led him to spray as much as he could economically.

Even with the fungicide applications, the chickpeas yielded $100 more per acre net profit than the second most profitable crop on the farm, says Flynn.

Gossen says chickpea growers

have developed expertise in controlling ascochyta blight, even when weather conditions favour the disease, as was the case in 2012.

“There were low levels of disease spread right through the fields.

But the timely application of the right fungicides kept everything under control.”

Ascochyta blight needs moisture to germinate, making the stems and lower canopy more prone to the disease. Some farmers adjust their nozzles to spray coarse droplets that fall through the canopy, while others use double nozzles to get a fine mist. Angling nozzles forward can also get more fungicide into the canopy. Gossen says these modifications can improve coverage by up to 10 per cent.

Flynn uses an AIM Command spray system from Case, which gives him the same droplet size no matter his speed. He prefers a fine spray.

But he says water volume and coverage is everything with a fungicide.

He uses 10 to 12 gallons, depending on the crop size and canopy.

“Everyone likes to cheat on water, if they can. That’s probably the last thing you want to do with a fungicide. It’s one of the more expensive chemicals you can spray. When it comes to chickpeas, it’s probably the most important chemical you will spray.”

“When the crop is worth as much as it is, it’s just foolhardy to go ahead and try to cut water to save 45 minutes of filling.” † Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa.

Guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

grainews.ca /

11

Features SPECIAL CROPS

Mung beans 101 Researchers are looking at mung beans as a potential new Prairie pulse crop, but these beans have yet to themselves profitable

BY REBECA KUROPATWA

A

ccording to Dr. Alireza Navabi, dry bean breeder for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ontario, mung beans are a very healthy source of food, with a power combination of minerals and protein, “They are being used in different ways in different parts of the world,” said Navabi. “In East Asia, they’re used as a sprout in food. In other parts of the world, they’re use as dry seeds in different cooked foods, like mung bean soup or in rice dishes.”

Like any legume, mung beans fix nitrogen. Navabi says, “Mung bean is one of the particularly good ones when it comes to nitrogen fixation.”

Mung beans grow well in Ontario, Navabi says. “They flower very nicely, mature, and yield, but for them to become part of the crop in any given system, they need to be profitable for growers — which has yet to be proven the case in Ontario.

“Some companies have shown interest in mung beans and have initiated some work in breeding programs, as Ontario companies have been approached by mung bean growers in places like Japan.

These companies have been trying it the last few years, but there are some challenges we’re facing — mainly in the market.

“There are biological and environmental challenges — whether or not we can grow mung beans in Ontario and if they can adapt here. The answer is ‘yes.’ “We’ve tested a number of mung bean varieties, and a good number of them perform well here. However, Navabi advises caution.

“There are biological challenges we haven’t experienced yet, diseases that mung beans may be susceptible to. We haven’t been growing it long enough to see how this will go, but will know better further down the road.

“If you’re considering giving mung beans a go, treat them as a new species that are quite different than dry beans (in terms of agronomic practices, market, and environmental adaptation). Using the right variety is also important, so farmers should consult with their area experts.”

MUNG BEANS IN MANITOBA According to AAFC research scientist Dr. Deng-Jin Bing, “As mung beans are small-seeded legumes that can potentially be grown in most regions adapted for soybean and dry bean, they may be suitable to southern Manitoba.”

“We still have a lot to do to ensure mung beans are a competitive pulse crop,” Bing says. Farmers must be able to make a profit from it and we have to know there’s a customer base of Canadians who’d buy them. It must be a high quality, profitable crop, as well as one that we can export elsewhere.”

“I’ve worked with mung beans in plant introduction and adapta-

Dr. Deng-Jin Bing, working in a mung bean field.

These mung bean plants were at the flowering and early pod setting stage. This field was grown at Morden, Man., in 2011. tion trials,” said Bing. “I’ve been introducing potentially adaptive breeding lines and varieties to see if they can be grown in Canada, including mung beans (as an alternative pulse crop in certain parts of Canada). We’ve done these trials in southern Alberta and in Morden, MB. Over the last couple of years, trials have been conducted at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Morden (supported in part by the Manitoba Pulse Growers Association).

Objectives of these trials include evaluating mung bean lines introduced from China that matured and set seeds in exploratory trials and selecting those most suitable for southern Manitoba, as well as investigating the appropriate seeding rate and date of mung bean for southern Manitoba.

“We introduced many elite breeding lines from China and grew them in Morden,” said Bing.

“The majority of the introduced lines reached maturity and set seeds quite well in these exploratory trials. Unfortunately, information from these trials is very limited due to the very limited seeds and resources available.”

Bing expects that by the completion of the study, two or more mung bean lines will be identified that are suitable for southern Manitoba.

“The focus of this project is to evaluate the possibility of mung bean production in southern Manitoba. Our studies in early years showed that certain mung bean germplasm lines had potential in the Morden area.

In 2010 and 2011, we grew the six best genotypes selected from our early exploratory studies in Morden.”

As for the future, Bing says, “It might take a little more time, but I definitely think that, according to the research so far, mung beans have a great potential here — though I can’t see them becoming as big as soybeans in Canada, due to adaptation and production challenges. Hopefully the future will prove me wrong.” † Rebeca Kuropatwa is a professional writer in Winnipeg, Man.

PHOTOS: DJ BING

This mung bean crop was grown at Morden, Man., in 2011. The mature plants were desiccated with Reglone.

Seeds of three different mungbean varieties.

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Features CROP NUTRITION

A review of the 4Rs Researchers often talk about the 4Rs of nutriten stewardship. Here’s a quick rundown on what they’re all about

BY REBECA KUROPATWA

R

esearchers and scientists making presentations at farm meetings often speak about 4R nutrient stewardship: using the right fertilizer at the right rate at the right time in the right place.

The International Plant Nutrition Institute, and Canadian Fertilizer Institute and other organizations are working to promote best management practices (BMPs) based on the 4Rs.

STEPS TO SUSTAINABILITY In mid-January Dr. Dan Heaney of Random Cross Consulting gave an overview of “4R Nutrient Stewardship” during a webinar sponsored by the Canadian Fertilizer Institute (CFI) and AgriINNOVATIONS According to Heaney, 4R stewardship is “about the economic, social, and environmental bounds required in terms of goal setting and practices to achieve sustainable agriculture.”

During the webinar, Heaney laid out five steps to sustainability on your farm: Step 1: Set sustainability goals.

Step 2: Gather production information.

Step 3: Formulate a 4R plan.

Step 4: Implement practice change.

Step 5: Monitor effectiveness. “Then you go back to the beginning, see if your goals were met, and what adjustments you might need.”

For example, a goal might be to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as nitrous oxide.

Heaney said, “Meeting this goal would revolve around changing practices on the farm. This provides economic benefits as well as environmental.”

And this, Heaney says, is the value of the 4R plan: “What the 4R plan does is link the cropping system performance to sustainable goals in a measurable, traceable, verifiable way.”

Heaney believes that on-farm sustainability programs will be increasingly important. “Big

players in the food and fibre industry are moving towards sustainable supply chains, like Walmart and McDonalds — looking at thing like the carbon footprint of their supply chain, safety, workers treatment, etc.”

Having a documented 4R plan will make verification simpler for farmers involved in these supply chains.

Heaney says, “In additional to looking at nutrient management, most large supply chains are also looking at what pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides are being used on the farm.

Documented 4R plans can also be used to confirm regulatory compliance. “4R is also being positioned as a tool to assist with regulatory compliance, as a way farmers can show they’re using sustainable practices,” Heaney says.

ECONOMIC VALUE OF THE 4RS Al Mussel of the George Morris Centre stressed the eco-

International Plant Nutrition Institute

T

he International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI) is a world-wide organization of companies that produce agricultural nutrients. Members include Agrium, PotashCorp, Simplot and Mosaic. According to its website, IPNI is “a science-based organization dedicated to the responsible management of plant nutrition for the benefit of the human family.”

You can find a lot of information about the 4Rs on the IPNI website www.ipni.net/4R. An e-book for iPad, 4R Plant Nutrition Stewardship, is available in the iTunes store for $14.99. †

Leeann Minogue

nomics of the 4Rs as part of the webinar. When we looked at best nutrient practices, in particular for nitrogen, the benefit to the farm’s expected net incomes tends to exceed the cost. That is true especially in the areas of nutrient management planning and soil testing.

Mussel stressed the importance of the “rate” component of the 4Rs. Using the right amount of fertilizer can mean using less product, to protect the environment and lower costs, or it can mean using more nutrient to maximize your yield. Mussel said: “The last thing I would want to do, as a farmer, is look back in any given year and wish I’d put

more nutrient on to get the yield I was looking for to generate my return” Mussel expects the importance of stewardship plans like the 4Rs to grow in the future.

“In the past, the focus has been around nitrogen and nitrous oxide. As we become more accustomed to the precision in which we can measure nutrient application, this will go beyond nitrogen into phosphorus and other nutrients being applied. Nitrous Oxide is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. So, as we move forward, I expect both economic and environmental benefits to grow.” † Rebeca Kuropatwa is a professional writer in Winnipeg, Man.

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grainews.ca /

13

Features HARVEST

Wrapping up the Australian grain harvest It’s half a world away from here, but the Australian harvest is a lot like ours

BY KIM NIELSEN

I

t’s mid-January, 2013, and there are just a few acres of wheat and the odd field of faba beans left to harvest here in the Western District of Victoria. These last fields will complete the harvest across most of Australia.

Victoria is a very diverse agricultural state with relative higher rainfall and cooler temperatures but specific grain growing areas do exist in the Wimmera and Mallee regions to the north and to south east of us out on the volcanic plains towards the southern coast. I had a chance to be a part of the harvest for a few weeks in the Pura Pura area, 100 kilometres south east of our place here in Dunkeld, Victoria.

It was indeed an experience, although the combine I drove — a John Deere 9750 — was similar to one I’d driven a few months ago west of Lacombe, Alberta.

The rest of the harvest was very different. The canola was swathed like in Canada, but they mostly use the triazine tolerant varieties.

Clearfield varieties are common also. RoundUp Ready types are slowly gaining inroads, however they are discounted when the canola is sold, to the tune of $20 per tonne.

While this has slowed the adoption of the Roundup Ready canola system in Australia, acreage has been increasing over the last three years with farmers appreciating the additional herbicide option against the most common grassy weed, annual rye grass. Prices vary but $500 per tonne is a general price range this season, with yields around 44 bushels per acre.

Once the canola was off we were on to the barley. This has been one of the best barley years on record for this part of Australia.

RAISED BEDS We did a bit of custom combining, which gave me an insight into a cropping system that was new to me: raised beds.

The volcanic plains of the Western District of Victoria are known for their heavy clay sub-soils. Raised beds are a common option to deal with excessive winter rains.

In essence, raised beds are surface drains placed every 1.5 metres perpendicular to some larger grader-produced drains on the head lands that take the water away to a nearby gully or other natural drain.

The raised beds are a real curse when it comes to hauling grain from the combine. You’re forced to run up and down the field and can only go crossways very cautiously for fear of flipping the grain cart.

This year was a good year as far as adequate fall and winter rains, and yield differences between raised beds and fields without them was not seen consistently. However, during really wet winters the grain crops would suffer severely without the raised beds, with yield reductions or crop failure.

The generally ample soil moisture that time of year allows superb germination. The crop develops slowly over fall and winter, then accelerates during spring and matures close to the longest day

In Australia, all cereal crops, unless grown for grazing or green feed, are seeded as fall arrives in mid- to late-May.

Raised beds, surface drains, are a common option to deal with excessive winter rains, but also a curse for a truck driver.

of the year, the end of December, before the increasing temperatures and summer heat stress.

The barley yielded phenomenally well, with select areas of one particular field of raised beds. Westminster two-row malt yielded nine tonnes per hectare — 165 bushels per acre. The relatively dry spring and summer seemed to favour barley, which I can recall happening under Canadian circumstances also. On average, the barley on the farm (Terrinallum South) yielded 120 bushels per acre. The quality made malt grade and earned a price premium of AU$5.50 (about $5.80 in Canadian dollars) per bushel, pushing the gross return towards $1,000 an acre. That brought some smiles to the faces of farmers who endured the 12-year drought that ended two years ago. There is a huge shift away from sheep and many pastures have been broken up and converted to annual crop production.

Following the barley we finished with wheat, which held to the long-term average of 70 bushels per acre, with only the very odd patch approaching 100 bushels.

Not unlike the rest of the world, Australians prefer higher yielding utility varieties.

blackened as stubble is burnt off in March. There is typically no fieldwork done afterwards.

The smaller operations use ordinary hoe drills, while larger operations use air seeders to seed the subsequent crop.

Further up in the northern Victorian farming districts, crop yields are typically lower and the straw left behind is easier to manage. The Victorian Reduced Tillage Association is making some good progress in technology transfer for direct seeding for the same reasons this happened in Canada. There is far less stubble burning happening up that way compared to a few years ago.

I thought a lot about how stubble burning could be prevented in the Western District.

THE NEXT CROP Fertility is generally maintained with an application of 50 pounds of MAP — mono ammonium phosphate (10N, 21.9P, 0K, 1.5S) — applied with the seed. Once the crop comes out of winter, urea is broadcast — typically about 100 pounds per acre.

Once the crop is off and fall — or autumn as it is called here — has arrived, preparations begin for the seeding of next year’s crop. Combines in Australia are most often equipped with a rotary straw spreader as opposed to straw choppers and although most farmers regret having to do this, many see no other option to rid their fields of excessive straw than to light a match. The skies in the countryside are often

Equipping combines with actual straw choppers over the spinning discs would be a good start.

However, the solution may not be that simple. The straw and chaff doesn’t experience as much natural break down as it would during a Canadian winter before the next crop is seeded. This, coupled with the mere volume of straw adds further challenges. Straw management in the Western District does require some radical solutions to prevent stubble burning, which one day may see environmental opposition. Hopefully good positive reasons for change besides a regulations will come with time. † Kim Juul Nielsen, retired manager of agricultural service, Clearwater County, Alta, is a summer resident of Alcheringa, Dunkeld, Victoria, Australia and a Canadian summer grazier of 4-Clover Ranch, Rocky Mountain House Alberta.

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Features Wheat varieties

Planting U.S. wheat varieties

Pam de Rocquigny updates agronomists on new developments in wheat varieties

By Leeann Minogue

A

t the 2012 Manitoba Agronomists Conference in Winnipeg on December 12, Pam de Rocquigny, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives’ provincial cereal crop specialist, spoke about U.S. wheat varieties.

While Manitoba farmers have always watched what’s going on south of the border, the removal of single-desk selling has increased interest in U.S. wheat varieties .

The 2012 Manitoba variety report shows quite a few unregistered varieties being gown in Manitoba.

This may be because, as de Rocquigny says, while Western

Canada has a reputation for producing high quality milling wheat, we are “behind, in terms of our yield growth in wheat.

Over the last decade, Canadian wheat yields have grown by 0.7 per cent annually. De Rocquigny says this growth rate “is the worst among all developed nations. In the U.S., she says, “They’re not doing too much better in terms of their annual increase in wheat yields, as opposed to other countries, like the U.K. or Germany.”

However, even with our lower rate of increase, “Manitoba does generally have higher spring wheat yields compared to our counterparts south of the border.”

When it comes to higher yields and higher profits, genetics are

just one piece of the puzzle. Here are some factors de Rocquigny urges farmers to consider.

Check Regulations “The Seeds Regulations do require that varieties of most agricultural crops be registered prior to sale of seed in Canada and prior to import of seed into Canada.” While there are a few exemptions (mainly for conditioning, research, or pedigreed seed), it’s best to make sure the variety you choose is on the Canadian Grain Commission’s (CGC’s) variety designation list.

There has been a trend in the number of varieties being registered. In 2002 there were five. Last year, there were 15.

De Rocquigny says, deregistered varieties are “only eligible for the lowest grade of that type of grain.”

For example, if you decide to grow Faller wheat, “it is only eligible for feedwheat status.”

Inclusion on the CGC’s variety designation list can impact insurance coverage. Varieties on the list are only insurable as feed wheat. In that case, de Rocquigny says, “there are no grade guarantees, and of course there’s a lower price attached to them as well.”

De Rocquigny says, “Nothing prevents a farmer and a grain company from negotiating a contract based on quality specifications outside of the statutory grading system for the delivered grain, regardless of the

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variety.” If you do this, make sure you have a secure market before you put the seed in the ground, and remember that it needs to be kept separate from other grains, to avoid contamination.

Check the data If you’re using data to help you make your decision, make sure you’re comparing apples to apples. De Rocquigny says, “there are some key differences as to how the data is presented.”

For example, in North Dakota, maturity is measured as “days to head.” In our provincial seed guides, we typically compare varieties using “days to maturity” — to the time when the kernel has 16 to 18 per cent moisture content, or when the kernels resist denting by fingernail.

While in some cases, this data will be closely correlated with days to maturity, that may not always be the case.

Fertility De Rocquigny reminded the audience that “you can have the best genetics out there in terms of yield potential,” but you’re going to need optimal management to support those genetics. No matter which variety you choose, tailor fertility to maximize yield potential.

For newer semi-dwarf varieties coming to market, more fertility research may be needed to be sure fertility programs match Manitoba conditions.

Breeding programs New breeding programs may bring higher yield. De Rocquigny says that currently, “there is little or no means for the private sector to capture return on investment.” When it comes to spring wheat, “you see a lot of farmers saving seed.”

In the U.S., there is some public breeding, “but public varieties do dominate market share.

In Australia, in 2000, 95 per cent of wheat breeding was in done by the public sector. With major changes there (including eliminating single desk selling), by 2012, 100 per cent of wheat breeding was done by six private sector companies.

De Rocquigny says, to date, yield potential is comparable between Manitoba and North Dakota. † Leeann Minogue is the editor of Grainews.

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

grainews.ca /

15

Features Crop production

BoMill seed sorter adds value to Canadian grain Researchers at North Battleford are evaluating seed sorters that could upgrade your grain

by Angela Lovell

I

magine being able to upgrade your downgraded wheat.

A new technology from Sweden can do just that and it may present opportunities for western Canadian wheat and barley growers to recapture some of the price premiums that they are currently leaving on the table.

The BoMill seed sorting system uses a near-infrared (NIR) sensor to analyse individual wheat, durum or barley kernels and separate them into three different quality fractions.

The BoMill equipment — the first unit in Canada — can sort about three tonnes of seed per hour and is currently being evaluated as part of a five-year research project underway at the University of Saskatchewan’s (U. of S.) new Canadian Feed Research Centre in North Battleford.

cleaning industry to complement existing technologies.

“I don’t believe we will ever see a time when all of the grain has to go through these types of sorters,” says Dr. Rex Newkirk, director of research and business development for the Canadian International Grain Institute (Cigi), which is collaborating on this research project. Instead, he expects people to continue to use standard cleaning systems, “and then put the resulting screenings through the BoMill to recover the high value wheat.”

An important part of the collaboration between Cigi and the U. of S. is the marrying of the grain and feed industries.

“My interest is that when we apply a process to feed like grinding or pelleting, we apply that to all of the seeds, and my concern

is that we probably are having a bigger influence on the low quality seeds and may be damaging the high quality seeds,” says Scott.

“This system will give us a chance to look at the individual types of grains and see if they actually do have different requirements to optimize feed value.”

get involved Farmers are encouraged to provide downgraded samples of wheat, durum or barley to the U. of S. for evaluation and maybe get some hands on experience with the BoMill system.

If you have downgraded grain samples that you would like to provide for evaluation email Rex Newkirk at rnewkirk@cigi.ca or Tom Scott at tom.scott@usask. ca The U of S will pay for the

This view of the BoMill seed sorter shows three fraction outlets. grain and also cover any shipping costs.

The BoMill evaluation project is being funded by many partners including the Government of Canada, Cigi, the U. of S., the Alberta Crop Industry

Development Fund and the Saskatchewan Agricultural Development Fund. † Angela Lovell is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist living and working in Manitoba. Find her online at www. angelalovell.ca.

Sorting criteria

BoMill capabilities The system also provides marketing advantages that may be important in Western Canada’s new marketing environment for wheat and barley. “In terms of the end users of Canadian grains, if the bakers or pasta makers or maltsters could be guaranteed that they would never have a batch of grain that didn’t meet their exact needs, that is huge from a marketing perspective,” says Scott.

Each BoMill machine is capable of sorting about 25,000 tons of grain a year. The manufacturer suggests that 10 machines give an ideal economy of scale. But at $400,000 a machine, the first uptake is likely to be by the seed

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The BoMill can theoretically sort seed based on any criteria but for now the manufacturer has based the system on protein content.

“NIR calibration typically relies on a whole series of different wavelengths which can allow you to analyse many functional and nutritional characteristics,” says Dr. Tom Scott, research chair in feed processing technology at the U. of S. “The manufacturers of the BoMill have restricted the current wavelength based on crude protein.”

Grains with fusarium have a low protein content, so Scott and his team have been able to use the BoMill to identify seeds with the lowest protein and separate the fusarium damaged kernels (FDK) that contain the highest levels of vomitoxin. Vomitoxin (also known as deoxynivalenol, or DON) can cause serious health and production issues in animals.

The BoMill system could be used to detect other problems such as ergot, midge damage or sprouting.

It only takes two per cent sprouted kernels within a sample to downgrade a No. 1 milling wheat to feed quality, and significantly reduce its value. If there is a $100 a tonne price differential between the two grades, and the BoMill was able to sort out and salvage 90 per cent of the grain as top quality milling wheat and remove the 10 per cent that includes the sprouted material for feed, a farmer could recoup $90 a tonne, less the costs of processing the grain with the BoMill system, estimated at $10 per tonne.

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Columns Understanding market bulls and bears

Profit by managing risk Risk management isn’t all about crop pricing and stock markets.

There are lots of ways to manage many different types of risk

By Brian Wittal

S

pring is approaching and with it comes the anticipation of a hectic and sometimes stressful time of year: seeding!

I want to take some time to talk about other aspects of farm risk management that you can deal with now that can and will save you time and money come the busy time of spring seeding.

Risk management can mean a lot of different things: • Locking in input supplies like fuel, fertilizer, chemicals or feed stocks to reduce your operating expenses.

• Upgrading equipment to

improve efficiencies and save time and money.

• Hiring out aspects of your operation to reduce overhead or shift liability.

• Locking in a price on grain to ensure a profit.

All of these things are done with to make sure that, at the end of the day your farming operation is profitable.

Fertilizer prices Prices for inputs like fertilizer vary greatly from year to year depending on many factors, such as supply availability and demand come spring. When we hear that manufactures are idling back pro-

duction facilities because they have excess inventory, we would expect prices to drop. That’s when you want to be ready to take advantage and pre-purchase.

With mergers and closures over the past few years there are fewer production facilities owned by fewer companies and manufactures are becoming very adept at tightening inventories at strategic times of the year to ensure a viable market for their products.

When I hear there are concerns about low water on the Mississippi it raises a flag for me because a good portion of the total tonnes of fertilizer brought into the U.S. and distributed throughout North America come up the Mississippi.

If barges are load restricted or can’t run on the river due to low water, you are going to see supply shortages and price hikes.

If retailers are not carrying a good supply of product heading into spring you can expect prices to increase. You’re going to be competing for supplies in a very compressed time frame as everyone is going to need their fertilizer in a six-week period to get their crops seeded. If there are any supply problems during that time, prices can escalate quickly.

Rising fertilizer costs represent a huge risk to your operation.

Your long-term strategy needs to include ways to manage or minimize this risk.

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Pre-purchasing fertilizer now may be a good strategy for you.

The right answer depends on your operation and your ability to store fertilizer until spring. If you need the fertilizer delivered and you’re relying on your retailer to do that, you may run into some logistics problems whey they’re busy in the spring. In some cases, storing fertilizer on-farm could save you a lot of time and money.

The question here is “Do you have the right kinds of bins to store fertilizer on your farm?” If not, should you be planning to add storage capacity? What is the cost? What are the costs and risks of not doing this?

The next step to manage your fertilizer price risks is to consider using fertilizer futures contracts to hedge your risk if you can’t pay for it or store it.

Long-term strategy Much of the discussion about fertilizer also applies to fuel. No doubt you’ll need a few gallons of diesel to get you through seeding. Some retailers allow you to pre-pay for fuel that they store or deliver at a later date but most of the time if you want to lock in a good price you have to pay for it and take it home.

If you have limited storage at home and there is a spring supply shortage, what does that cost?

Would expanding on-farm fuel storage save you money or time in the long run?

Do you use fuel futures contracts to hedge your price risk?

These are also decisions that need to be a part of the long-term growth plan for your farming operation.

Buying equipment to improve efficiencies and save time and money is another risk management strategy that needs to be a part of a long-term business plan as it requires considerable capital.

Or, rather than buying equipment, do you look at hiring out some work to reduce capital costs or shift liability? Crop spraying is one job that many hire out in today’s farming world. Does it make sense for your operation? The timing of crop spraying is very critical to the success of your farming operation.

Can you afford to take on timing risks to save some capital dollars purchasing your own equipment?

Do you have the manpower and expertise to do it yourself if you buy the equipment? What makes the most sense for your operation?

As your farm grows, do you have enough work all year to hire a full time employee or even two?

This can be a very big step forward in taking your farm operation to the next level. But once you do that, your job suddenly changes from doing the work to managing operations and still doing some of the work! Are you ready to do that? Are you capable?

It all comes down to risk and how you try to reduce or manage each particular risk.

All of these variables and options need to be looked at carefully every year. There will be good years and bad years that could dramatically alter your ability to accomplish your plan as you have it figured today.

Good decisions can be made when you understand your risks and know your options for mitigating those risks. † Brian Wittal has 30 years of grain industry experience, and currently offers market planning and marketing advice to farmers through his company Pro Com Marketing Ltd. (www.procommarketingltd.com).

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

grainews.ca /

17

Columns CAN’T TAKE THE FARM FROM THE BOY

A blueprint for spring Despite the bitter cold and short days, Toban Dyck is dreaming of what he’ll do with his new farmyard when spring finally comes TOBAN DYCK

DIFFERENT NamE, SamE RESulTS.

for me so far this winter. The machinery is tucked away in work sheds or parked in a line on the yard, all items ready for spring work.

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YARD PLANNING

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want to write about my backyard ice rink, but fear it may be too off topic for this column. The rink, for me, is pride and the fall happening at the same time. It’s proving a challenge to get that surface smooth. But, it’s one flood away from being a surface I would let your kids skate on. That is, after you sign a waiver.

Blue Monday — a day in January said to be the most depressing day of the year — came and went without a hitch. I spent it, again, working on my rink.

The challenge of being a farmer with little farming to do in winter is, and I may be repeating myself here, the same challenge the rest of Canada faces. Attempting day after day to keep the cold from winning.

The real, diagnosable manifestation of depression will not be discussed here, but its little brother, winter blues, will be. And the best way to beat it is, again, to stay busy.

The rink is a project, sometimes failing other times not, that keeps me busy, yes, but it also forces me to think about our yard on the farm. I can make a rink wherever I want, this year, as our lawn has yet to come up. Next year, however, I will have to put together a plan that will exclude ruining a large, asymmetrical rectangle of grass.

I am in charge, it’s even scary to write such words, of the entire farmyard for a spell during winter, a yard about four acres of which needs to stay looking sharp (my words). And that’s the revelation: keeping your yard sharp is important. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Your yard is what people see of your farm and keeping it tidy, groomed, and organized will provide a sense of pride.

At least that’s how it has worked

BY DAN PIRARO

Bizarro

What does this have to do with winter, you ask? Good question.

Everything. My wife and I don’t anticipate having much time in summer to plan our yard. More so, we don’t want to take time in summer to plan our yard, and it’s fun to dream about what could be, especially with access to machinery that would make quick work of simple landscaping.

In order to make room for our home, my parents had to take down a large, old cattle corral and a few troughs. This penning had been around, unused for over a decade.

And, while it had rustic charm, the area was unplanned, unused space.

The project was daunting, I heard, but the reward for my parents is seeing a space on their yard that is attractive and full of potential.

We have spent more than a few evenings thinking of ways to beautify our two acres. And when it’s -41 C, doing so is an exercise that calls up sunny days, warm evenings, gazebos and other garden buildings we’re looking forward to building.

I may be out on limb, but I dare say most farmyards have spaces begging to be re-imagined, whether it’s an area of overgrown machinery or a section of yard separated by a shelterbelt that should probably be taken down. Take the time now to dress your yard up.

An ice rink is all we’ve planned for our winter yard, but already our new yard contains a pergola, a few hundred feet of pathways, and the list goes on, albeit only in our mind.

But that is enough to make us forget about -41 C weather. Winter will not win, this time. † Toban Dyck is a freelance writer and a new farmer on an old farm. Follow him on Twitter @tobandyck or email tobandyck@gmail.com.

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18

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Columns OFF-FARM

Put spreads can make us money Andy is moving from covered calls to put spreads. Find out how he does it, and what it’s doing for him ANDY SIRSKI

A

s you know, I like to sell covered calls on some of the stocks I own. This is a rare strategy that is not understood by many, so they call it risky. I’ve had a lot of practice selling calls these past six or seven years so I figured it was time to expand my skills in the business of options.

Over the past few months I’ve read, studied, thought and practiced on paper an even rarer strategy, called using put (credit) spreads on a select group of stocks. I sure don’t want you to think that put spreads don’t have risks, but then so does farming, getting up in the morning and owning stocks.

In his book Getting Rich with Options, Lee Lovell writes that put (credit) spreads are a favorite strategy among professional traders.

Why? Because they reduce the need to be correct on the direction a stock is going to go. Plus, when you sell puts at a high price and buy a put at a low price, you reduce the amount of money we need to put up as margin money in our account. That lets you do two things.

1. It allows you to make cash money as long as the stock goes up or down a small per cent.

2. Second, since we use less margin money, you can either work with less money or with more stocks, which should reduce risk.

You need special approval from your broker to get involved in put spreads, partly because it does take more knowledge about the strategy and it does take some thinking. This is not a skill for anyone looking for a no-brainer strategy.

However, once you are approved and you understand the strategy you don’t need to own actual shares, so in that sense we reduce risk. In fact, in an approved trading account we could hold top of the line blue chip stocks or plain GICs, bonds or cash and still sell puts and then graduate to using put spreads.

Selling puts on stocks you do not own takes what I call put space or margin money. When we use puts we reduce how much cash we make per deal, but we also reduce the amount of put space or margin we need per deal.

PUT SPREAD STRATEGY Knowledge is quite rare about the put spread strategy but it is getting more common The big risk with selling puts is that you need to be right on the direction the stock is going to go. In that sense, selling naked puts is a directional trade. If we sell a put on a stock we do not own, and the stock price goes up, the market value of the put we sold will go down and we can buy it back for less than we sold the put for.

For example, on a stock called Thompson Creek Mining (TCM) I sold a put last fall for April, strike price $4, and collected $1.10 per

share while the shares were trading at about $3.20. As I’m writing, the shares are $4.14 and the put I sold for $1.10 now trades for $0.45 cents. So I can buy that put back and clear $0.65 per share. I do own TCM shares, but those shares are not tied to the puts. These are independent trades.

On another stock, RMX, last March I sold a put for July when the shares were $4. I collected $0.50 which sounded really good but this was a small cap stock and about two weeks after I sold the put (guessing the shares would stay flat or go up) the shares started to drop and the trading price of that put went from $0.50 to $1 by July when that put expired.

I can say that I wanted to see what would happen as the shares dropped but in fact I guessed the wrong way on that directional trade. I “got put” those shares which means I had to buy them for $4 in July.

That really wasn’t so bad because my actual cost was $4 minus the 50 cents I collected by selling the put — my final cost was $3.50. Tax loss selling kicked in by November and those shares got whacked down and are $2.50 as I write. I sold calls on those shares, strike price $3, for January and collected another $0.14 which dropped my cost a bit more.

I did get tired of waiting for the price to go back up so I sold 3,000 of the 4,000 shares I owned and lost a few thousand dollars. I did keep 1,000 shares and the January options expired. I will sell another call on those stocks — I’m quite sure I can work my way out of this loss by selling calls.

My main message is that I guessed correctly on the direction TCM was going to take so my puts will make money. But I guessed wrong on the directional trade for RMX and they cost me money.

Since August 2012 I’ve taken in well over $1,000 a month from selling puts with the correct directional trade but I lost $3,000 or maybe $4,000 selling puts when I guessed wrong on the direction on other stocks. So I’ve made many more thousands than I lost as I learned to sell puts on stocks that went up as we expected. I’ve made money selling puts on TCK.B, TCM and CUM.

this: ($4 - $3) - ($0.24 - $0.09) x the number of shares. So ($1.00 - $0.15) = $0.85 x 5,000 share = $4,250. This is how much put space or margin money I would need to sell a put spread on 5,000 shares for July, strike price $4.00.

On the money side, I would sell an expensive put for $0.24 cents x 5,000 = $1,200 and buy the cheaper $3 put for $0.09 or $450.

The difference would be $1,200 - $450 = $750, in cash. Based on the $4,250 of put space the return would be $750 divided by $4,250 or 17 per cent for half a year.

The premium is fairly low because I chose to sell a put at $4 while the price was $4.20 which reduces the risk that I will have the shares put to me. So if the shares stay above $4 between the day I made the deal and July expiry, I won’t need to buy the shares and the put I bought will just expire worthless.

If I thought I had the directional trade correct, I could just sell the

put at strike price $4 and collect $0.24 per share ($1,200) but it would need more put space or margin money.

LOOKING AT BNP When I was buying BNP shares the dividend was $0.12 per share — $1.44 per year or around 10 per cent per year on a $14 to $15 stock. That was about $420 a month in dividends taxed at a preferential rate. The company cut the dividend to $0.07 per month — $0.84 per year or just over five per cent per year. That would be $245 per month.

Can I use a put spread to try and make up for the cut in dividends?

Let’s see.

I could sell an expensive put at $14 strike for March and buy a cheap put at $13 strike. Here are the numbers. ($14 -$13) - ($0.45 - $0.25) x 1,000 shares is ($1 - $0.20) x 1,000 = $800. I would need $800 of mar-

gin money and I would collect a net of $0.20 x 1,000 shares = $200.

On a margin of $800 that is a return of 25 per cent for two months, or $100 a month. It doesn’t quite make up for the drop in the dividend unless I work with 2,000 shares.

I have the margin room but since I already own a big batch of shares I’m not sure I want to buy more.

Using put spreads can make you money. It took me a while to get the strategy through my brain, but it also took a while to find someone who could explain the strategy to me so I could understand it.

Several readers now use put (credit) spreads to pick up extra cash and I will too. I prefer to just sell puts when I’m sure of the direction shares will go, but I can be wrong and just selling puts uses up a lot of margin money or put space. Selling the expensive put and buying the cheap put reduces profits but also drops the margin you need for the deal. † Andy is mostly retired. Besides writing for Grainews, he gardens in the summer, plays with his granddaughters, manages the family’s portfolio and publishes a newsletter called StocksTalk. To read StocksTalk free for a month, email Andy at sirski@mts.net.

Another Stellar tM

PerforMance.

SELLING A PUT SPREAD Now I’m going to show you what I saw on January 21 when I tested the idea of selling a put spread on Bombardier (BBD.B).

The shares were trading at $4.14 that day. They appeared to be in an uptrend as the company was getting orders for its C-series of airplanes and it had just arranged a $2 billion financing plan to help pay for parts and labour needed to get the planes to market.

I needed to do two calculations. One was how much money I would tie up as put space or margin money. To do that I took the difference between the two strike prices and subtracted the difference between the bid and ask prices on the two premiums.

So, the calculation went like 19459-01UP DAS_Stellar_13.167X9.indd 1

Columns Farm financial planner

A gentle plan to preserve value on retirement

With some careful planning and good investing, this Manitoba farm couple can be ready for retirement

By Andrew Allentuck

P

aul and Emma Thompson, as we’ll call them, both 50, have farmed in central Manitoba for a quarter of a century. The couple, whose names we’ve changed to protect their identities, have 800 acres they own personally and another 960 acres of pasture that their farm corporation owns. The corporation also owns 200 head of beef cattle and all the equipment that they use on their 1,760 acres.

The last 10 years have produced a lot of problems for Paul and Emma. For a time, their operation suffered from market worries about BSE, which reduced the prices they obtained from selling their cattle.

As well, Paul has health issues that

make it harder for him to operate the farm. The recent surge in beef prices and the rising value of farm land has made it easier to consider selling the farm.

Paul and Emma have two children in their 30s, neither of whom are interested in carrying on the farm. Emma will have a defined benefit pension when she retires from her work in a hospital. Until the sale, Paul and Emma plan to rent their land for $20,000 per year.

Paul figures he can also earn $20,000 per year before tax. They each have $20,000 of RRSP space to fill.

Winding up the farm and the farming corporation will be complex. Paul and Emma went to Don Forbes, head of Don Forbes & Associates/Armstrong & Quaile Associates Inc. of Carberry,

Manitoba, to find a tax efficient way to maximize retirement income.

The challenge The challenge is to retire in 10 years, when Paul and Emma are 60, with an after-tax income of $40,000 per year. Backing that income will have to be a conservative and secure investment strategy.

Tax management is key to achieving their retirement income goals, Forbes says.

When the cattle are sold, the estimated $400,000 proceeds will be fully taxable at a 10 per cent rate for the first $400,000 of active business income. Above that level, the rate is 32 per cent on active income.

When money is paid out of the corporation, personal tax rates apply.

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Income splitting will be helpful as a way of managing taxes. If half the shares in the farm corporation now held by Paul could be transferred to Emma, it would reduce taxes payable, Forbes notes. An accountant will have to work on this problem, he adds.

The preferred shares in the farming corporation have a book value of $414,000. These can be redeemed by the corporation with cash on hand. Then part of the remaining mortgage for personally owned farmland, $30,180 in year two of the plan, as cash becomes available from the farm sale. This would save $7,000 of interest payments, Forbes says.

Any gain in the price of the land or the cattle can be attributed to common shares.

The corporation has paid income tax on profits, but gains in value of retained earnings will be taxable when they are distributed out of the corporation.

The common shares in the corporation can be liquidated in four ways: as salary, as dividends, as shareholder bonuses or as taxable capital gains. Each strategy has an upside and a downside.

Salary adds to potential Canada Pension Plans benefits as well as the annual cost in CPP taxes.

Dividends held within the farm corporation are taxed at a low rate until payout when they are re-taxed at a higher rate. Bonuses add to tax exposure. Distributable capital gains are taxed with the first half tax-free and the remaining exposed to tax.

Best bet: take salary at, say, $33,000 per year to increase CPP contributions. CPP will be the couple’s main indexed pension. The downside is that salary income is taxable at a higher rate than dividends. However, they can use RRSPs to shelter income. Paul can invest $18,000 in RRSPs each year for the next four years funded by his salary from the farming corporation. This money plus the existing $30,000 in RRSP accounts can generate sufficient income to pay $14,400 per year for 35 years from age 61 to their age 96.

Cash that becomes available from sales of corporate assets, preferred shares can be redeemed through preferred shares and put into Tax-Free Savings Accounts over several years at $5,500 per person per year maximum. Emma and Paul each have $25,500 of TFSA space as of Jan. 1, 2013. After this space is used up, additional savings can go into a fully taxable joint investment account, Forbes suggests. After 10 years, this fund, growing at three per cent after inflation, will have $65,000. This capital, while not needed in the plan, is available as an emergency fund. If it is not needed or drawn down, it can be part of the children’s legacy, Forbes notes.

For her part, Emma can put $10,000 into RRSPs each year for the next 10 years.

The income for these contributions will come from farmland

rental outside of the farm corporation, Forbes says. This money will provide a retirement income of $12,000 per year for 30 years beginning 10 years from now. Her employment pension will add $12,000 per year for the rest of her life beginning in a decade.

Finally, farmland rental of $19,200 per year outside of the farm corporation after Paul’s age 60 will add to their income. To make the plan work, the couple will need at least $100,000 in cash from the farm corporation in 2013 to buy TFSAs and RRSPs and to cover potential tax due.

On top of these income sources, the couple can count on combined CPP benefits of $11,700 per year based on prior contribution and two Old Age Security benefits of $6,553 each beginning when each is 67.

Thus, when retirement is complete and each has passed the age of 67, their total income will be $84,356 before tax or, with pension splitting and a 30 per cent tax rate, about $4,920 per month to age 90. That will meet their target of $3,334 per month or $40,000 per year with money to spare. Thereafter, money not spent from the TFSA accounts and any residues of money saved and income still coming from rental of land they have not sold would go to their surviving children or grandchildren, Forbes says.

The plan and the forecasts of income are complex but not really that difficult to achieve. It is vital that the couple take advice from their accountant to ensure that they comply with tax law.

Investments For testamentary purposes, Paula and Emma could reduce payouts of their retirement accounts so that all capital is not exhausted at age 90. They can achieve much the same thing by investing in stocks or other assets that produce capital gains that they can harvest at their discretion, dividends from public companies taxed at reduced rates through the dividend tax credit, and by ensuring that their wills are up to date with provisions designating one another as beneficiaries able to postpone deemed disposition of accrued but unrealized gains.

In retirement, it is essential not to take risks that may result in unrecoverable losses. In practice, that means diversification in stocks, bonds and commodities. Selection risk in any asset class can be reduced by use of exchange traded funds that track various indices, by purchase of low fee mutual funds with appropriate mandates and strategies, and by rebalancing at least one a year so that no asset class gets to be top heavy as, for example, the now insolvent Nortel Networks did when, a decade ago, it made up more than a third of the value of stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

“With some careful planning and accounting, this couple can retire in security and comfort,” Forbes says. “If they follow the ground work I have laid out, they will have a financially viable retirement.”

For a free Farm Financial Planner analysis of your retirement or succession issues or off-farm investments, contact andrewallentuck@mts.net. † Andrew Allentuck’s latest book, “When Can I Retire? Planning Your Financial Life After Work,” was published in 2011 by Penguin Canada.

20

/ grainews.ca

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Columns SOILS AND CROPS

Natural sub-irrigation A high water table can provide “sub-irrigation” to keep the crop growing LES HENRY

I

n December it was my good fortune to attend the Manitoba Agronomists Conference in Winnipeg. My duty was to deliver a lecture on saline soils. It has been dry the past two summers in Manitoba,

and black soils have turned white — as predicted in this column a year or two ago.

It was my pleasure to listen and learn from many other speakers.

A special presentation was that made by Hans Kendel of North Dakota State University, Fargo.

The topic was soybean management but it included unique information on soil water management. Many parts of the Red River Valley have poorly drained soils that can be wet in spring.

Tile drainage is taking place on more acres each year.

Installing “check” valves in drain tiles is a new technology to control the water tables. Check valves maintain the water table close enough to surface to provide additional water for crop but deep enough to avoid problems.

Thus the crop receives sub-irrigation — that is to say irrigation from below by “sucking up” water from the capillary fringe above the water table

A two-meter well installed in my wheat crop in July 9, 2012 at an elevation of about 2030 Feet Above Sea Level (FASL).

WATER TABLE RISE WITH AN ADDITIONAL ONE INCH OF RAIN Soil texture

Water table rise (in inches)

Sandy loam

6

Loam-clay Loam Clay

7–9 12

WATER TABLE DEPTH FROM GROUND SURFACE AT THE WELL SITE July 9

1.17 m

July 18

1.28 m

July 21

1.46 m

July 26

1.58 m

August 2

1.78 m

August 9, 13, 27

1.78 m

On my rolling land at Dundurn we have had three irrigation years in a row — 2010, 2011 and 2012.

In 2010 we had an unprecedented 20 inches of rain from May to September. That is much above crop requirement and the excess went towards raising the water table.

In 2010 and 2011, while soil probing to follow water use by the crop, I noticed that the crop kept growing but the soil stayed moist. I have been soil probing long enough to know when I am close to the water table and that is what soil probing showed.

When the same thing was happening in 2012 I decided to install a couple of shallow observation wells by hand to see where the water table was and how it was changing — and to convince the neighbours that I was right about the high water table. Nothing like a good splash to settle an argument!

All it takes is a dutch auger with a couple of extensions and a 10 foot length of the two-inch PVC pipe used to install Central Vac in homes. Solvent weld (glue) a cap on the bottom and hacksaw slits for about the bottom half of the pipe.

It takes a bit of technique — turn the auger only one and a half turns and then extract. If you pile it full expect back problems when trying to pull it out.

In medium or heavy (clay) soils you can auger well below the water table without any water filling the hole. In sand your augering is over when the water table is reached. Installing in sand can be a problem as it is hard to get the pipe very far below the water table.

Once it’s installed, leave it sit a day or more to reach equilibrium (static) and then measure with a well sounder or device to get a measure to the nearest centimeter.

Be careful not to tramp down the crop — it has to use up the water!

RESULTS FROM THE WELL

This photo shows what is required to install a shallow observation well.

On July 9 the wheat crop still looked pretty good — should have doused it with fungicide — by July 20 it was not as pretty.

The water table depth from ground surface at that site is shown in the table. The well was pulled on August 27, as harvest was near.

As you can see, when the crop quit using water, the water table stayed put. It will gradually drop over winter but spring snowmelt could revive it again. The soil never did dry much below field capacity, and the earthworms stayed in the topsoil until well into September.

It is clear that the crop was living off the water table, as the soil stayed moist even though there was little rain in July and August: July 4: 0.4” July 16: 0.9” August 3: 0.4” August 25: 0.9” The August rain was just enough to bring the soil back to field capacity and not raise the water table.

At that elevation and lower the crop was being sub-irrigated

by Mother Nature. On my farm, natural sub-irrigation is not a common occurrence. Usually the crop uses up the water as fast or faster than rain replenishes it and the soil dries out from the top down.

But in many thick black soil areas on level topography subirrigation is a common occurrence. The soils are thick black in part because of the higher rainfall regime they are in but in part because of sub-irrigation.

That is why they are thick black.

The grass grew like crazy even with dry weeks in summer.

So, if you are curious about where the water table is on your farm — get your friendly ag advisor to install a water table or 10 to check it out. If this old fossil can install a well in 20 minutes surely you kids can do it! † J.L.(Les) Henry is a former professor and extension specialist at the University of Saskatchewan. He farms at Dundurn, Sask. He recently finished a second printing of “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water,” a book that mixes the basics and practical aspects of soil, fertilizer and farming. Les will cover the shipping and GST for Grainews readers. Simply send a cheque for $50 to Henry Perspectives, 143 Tucker Cres, Saskatoon, SK, S7H 3H7, and he will dispatch a signed book.

Rules of thumb: missing from Henry’s Handbook

T

hese rules of thumbs could have been included in my book, Henry’s Handbook of Soils and Water.

RULE 1: WATER AND NUTRIENT USE BY DEPT A while back Gordon Kent, Riverhurst farmer and former winter instructor in Agricultural Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan asked me why Henry’s Handbook did not have the 40, 30, 20, 10 rule of thumb. I was sure it had been included but as usual Gordon was right.

It goes this way: if we separate the crop rooting depth into quarters the percentage of total crop water and nutrient use

will be: 40 per cent, 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent for the quarters.

If we assume a rooting depth of four feet, the water use will be: • 40 per cent from the first foot; • 30 per cent from the second foot; • 20 per cent from the third foot; and, • 10 per cent from the fourth foot.

RULE 2: WATER TABLE RISE FROM ONE INCH OF RAIN When a soil is at field capacity moisture content from the surface to the water table and more rain falls the result is a rise in the water table.

But, by how much you may ask?

A one inch rain on a soil at field capacity will raise the water table as shown in the table.

For many of our good ag soils, and additional inch of rain will bring the water table up about eight inches.

In 2010 at my Dundurn farm, we had at least 10 extra inches of rain, which would bring the water table up by about seven feet. No wonder the combine was getting stuck. By the way, when you pull out a stuck combine and see water in the ruts, that is the water table at that location.

Chapter 6 of Henry’s Handbook explains how it all works and Figure 6.1 on page 107 shows it in living color. What is missing is the above rule of thumb. So, here it is — sorry it is a bit late. † Les Henry

In this photo of NW22-32-43W3, X marks the location of the well. It was at a mid-slope elevation and not too close to a slough.

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22

/ grainews.ca

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Columns MANAGEMENT MINUTE

Succession: Just do it — part four In this final instalment, Andrew DeRuyck and Mark Sloane offer 10 options for transferring your farm to the next generation successful transitions. The common thread is often that one genANDREW eration takes the bull by the horns DERUYCK and develops options they feel they can offer the other generation.

The following list outlines a few of the common agreements and tools that can be used in a successful transition.

MARK Often the retiring generation SLOANE is faced with the decision to deal with assets such as land, equipment, buildings, and livestock.

They need to decide whether they he moral of this series are selling that asset now, at some is that often the biggest point in the future, or if the farm obstacle in developing a business will simply rent the asset succession plan is getting with the ownership of the asset SEC-WHESK13_GR.qxd 1/7/13 12:09 AM Pagein1 the estate plan. started. determined We’ve been involved in many Here are some options to consider.

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10 TRANSFER OPTIONS 1. Immediate outright sale: An outright sale also gives control and security of the asset to the generation operating the business and therefore plan with more certainty.

One of the benefits to making an immediate outright sale is capital gains crystallization, which could avoid tax should the capital gains tax exemption be eliminated in the future.

Depending on age, this may also avoid future claw back of Old Age Security Benefits.

Potential drawbacks to this option include loss of equity from divorce, loss of control for parents, immediate tax implications,

uncertainty around future income stream, exposure to inflation risk for parents and loss of gifted equity if farm is sold in the future.

Assuming the asset is to be sold to the next generation right now, the options for helping structure that sale may include the following: 2. Vendor financing: the retiring generation may choose to carry the financing for the asset purchase.

This can be as simple as a note payable or more structured with a mortgage payable. Either can be partially or entirely forgiven in the estate plan.

3. Occupancy agreement: The retiring generation has the option to sell assets but maintain an occupancy agreement securing

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rights and access to certain parcels or assets.

4. Life interest: Similarly, access to assets can be secured by the retiring generation through the registration of a life interest on any particular land title ensuring that they can continue to reside on property until their passing.

5. Joint Ownership: The retiring generation can sell an undivided interest in assets, thus not giving up complete control but giving the successive generation some certainty and comfort around the future plan for the assets, providing more clarity for their business planning.

6. Future sale: The retiring generation can draw up an agreement to sell the assets in the future.

Some of the benefits of this are: keeping the assets in the hands of the retiring generation until next generation is stable in business; securing a future income stream; protecting against inflation; and protecting equity that may otherwise be lost should any marital issues arise. This option also provides clarity to the next generation for their planning purposes.

7. Agreement for sale: This tool allows for the payment for the asset over time with the eventual transfer of ownership upon the final payment.

8. Option agreement: This tool allows for a predetermined sale date and potentially a predetermined amount at some point in the future. Typically some consideration is paid up front in exchange for the certainty this provides in the future. Similarly to buying options within a stock exchange, the option does not necessarily need to be acted upon.

9. Rental agreements: Some farm families choose to keep business operations separated from ownership. These scenarios typically involve many family members, some of whom are farming and some that are not. For example, the children may collectively own all of the land together and the land is rented to the farming children within that group.

10. Land rental: This could be done on cash or crop share terms, or a combination of the two.

There is no one set of agreements or arrangements that will work for every farm. The key to finishing a succession plan is starting it. Your plan may not be perfect but your only guarantee of failure comes from not starting. The more you can clearly understand each other’s priorities and motives, the more constructive discussion that can take place ultimately satisfying everyone’s wants and needs.

This series of articles will not allow you to complete your succession plan, but hopefully it will help you and your family start the discussion and keep the ball rolling until agreements can be reached. As asset values continue to rise on the farm, the value from a well-planned succession will only increase. † Andrew DeRuyck and Mark Sloane manage two farming operations in southern Manitoba and are partners in Right Choice Management Consulting.

With over 25 years of cumulative experience, they offer support in farm management, financial management, strategic planning and mediation services. They can be reached at andrewd@ goinet.ca and sloanefarms@hotmail.com or 204825-7392 and 204-825-8443.

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

grainews.ca /

23

Machinery & Shop Seeding equipment

Planters for corn grazing On Kevin Elmy’s farm, corn planters have proven their worth through higher yields

By Kevin Elmy

openers are a double disc. This allow minimum disturbance of conserving moisture in the seedbed.

5. There are good tramlines to use when spraying.

For organic producers, the wider rows would allow for in-crop cultivation.

W

hen we started growing corn for grazing, we used our airseeder. We thought, “It’s just corn seed for grazing.”

Basically, at first we were just trying to see if corn grazing was something that fit for us. After five years of successful corn production, the question we started asking was, “Is a planter necessary?”

Corn producers said “yes.”

There was only one way to find out for sure. You learn by doing.

Types of planters

Planter results After doing some trials, we saw some significant production advantages of first using standing corn for feed. Then we saw a significant bump in corn production using a planter over an airseeder.

On our farm, using a planter has given us a four to five wet tonne per acre advantage over using an airseeder.

I see five reasons for that: 1. The seed placement is more consistent. With even plant spacing, cob development is uniform.

When corn plants are too close together cobs are delayed and

photos: kevin elmy

After doing some trials, Kevin Elmy has seen significant yield increases from using a planter over using an airseeder.

normally do not fill properly.

When there is a significant space between plants from an airseeder, it causes zero yield in those spaces, which hurts average yields in any crop.

2. Depth of seed is much better. Seeding depth also affects the corn productivity and cob devel-

opment. In grain corn, having a difference of more than two leaf stages among plants creates weeds of the later corn plants.

Proper seeding depth will allow the seeds to germinate at the same time and, hopefully, emerge at the B:10.25”seed should be same time. Ideally, placed betweenT:10.25” one and one-quar-

ter and one and three-quarters of an inch deep.

With planters, each seed row can be set at its own depth, regardless of soil compaction and firmness.

3. There is less seed damage during seeding.

4. There is less disturbance (meaning fewer weeds). Planter

There are three types of planters: plate, finger and vacuum planters.

Plate planters are the least expensive of the bunch. Different plate sizes and shapes are available, but you need to match up your seed with the plates. They are the least expensive of the bunch.

Vacuum planters are good, but pricey. Round seed shape is better to seed with them.

For most people just growing corn, a finger planter is probably the easiest to work with. For larger seeded crops like soybeans, the finger seeder units do a good job.

For smaller seeds seeded at higher rates, like cereals or soybeans at pure stands, some planters have seed brushes, which is not as precise as a finger or vacuum unit, but significantly less money.

Finger planters pick up one seed

» continued on next page

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/ grainews.ca

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Machinery & Shop

With even plant spacing, cob development is uniform.

Corn seedlings are very sensitive to much seed placed fertilizer.

» CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

do — liquid and granular being most popular.

Corn seedlings are very sensitive to much seed placed fertilizer.

Most fertilizer is side banded, usually two inches deep and two inches to the side. It is usually safer to band the fertilizer, then seed. The banding will also help

at a time — flat or round seed, large or small.

Kinze is known as the Cadillac of finger planters. They used to make the units for John Deere before John Deere went to vacuum units.

Parts can be ordered through John

Deere dealers. With all planters, seed is picked up and dropped into the drop tubes. No nasty bangs from manifolds in airseeders.

FERTILIZER AND ROW SPACING Most planters do not have fertilizer applicators on them. Some

on warming up the soil. If a large amount of nitrogen is needed, a split application may be necessary.

Row spacing is another topic of discussion. For grazing we have found that 30- to 36-inch rows work well. With wider rows, cows trample less. For silage, 30-inch

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ADD-ONS Choosing add-ons for planters can be more confusing than picking out the actual planter. There are trash wipers for conventional tillage and different ones for min or zerotill, coulters to cut trash in front of the openers, fertilizer applicators, markers, closing wheels, seed firmers and even more options.

Different soils, organic matters, tillage practices and rotations require different add-ons.

This is my first year with trash wipers, seed firmers and 13-wave coulters. They do make life easier.

One of our planters also has a liquid fertilizer kit. Through it, we plan on using Alpine fertilizer.

This way the corn can get three to five gallons of ortho-phosphate and micronutrients, if required.

If you are interested in using the planter for other crops in wide rows, it may be useful to look at insecticide boxes. They do not have much for calibration charts, but they are easy to calibrate. They seed small seeded crops well and are able to do so at low rates.

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rows are common, where 20 to 30 inches works for grain corn.

When planting corn with a planter, seeding rate can be calibrated two ways: seed spacing, and measuring out one one-thousandth of an acre. There are charts available to figure out the required seeds per acre based on row spacing, and also charts to calculate the length of row of a particular row spacing to get an equivalent one one-thousandth of an acre.

There are a lot of planters available in Canada and the United States.

Planters are typically simple and fairly low maintenance. Some things to look for when making a purchase are: disk opener wear, accuracy of the metres, bearings, bushings, chains, the condition of the gauge wheels and closing wheels and the condition of the markers.

The toolbar is usually over-built so normally not a concern.

If you are buying from a reputable retailer, they will tell you what needs to be done before seeding.

Access to parts is generally good in Western Canada.

If you are just experimenting with corn, and do not have access to a planter, just seed corn. Once you embrace corn production, a planter is a must to maximize production. It just makes seeding that much easier. † Kevin Elmy operates Friendly Acres Seed Farm, along with his wife, Christina, and parents, Robert and Verene, near Saltcoats, Sask.

Contact him at 306-744-2779 or visit www. friendlyacres.sk.ca.

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

grainews.ca /

25

Machinery & Shop PLANTERS

Planters require attention to detail Two Manitoba growers say using a planter to seed canola was a much different experience than working with an air seeder

BY SCOTT GARVEY

I

“

think it’s something to look into, as far as what type of machine we should be using for canola,” said Andrew Delgarno of Newdale, Manitoba.

“Maybe it’s a planter; maybe it’s an air drill; maybe it’s an independent opener machine. I’m not sure what the answer is, and I’m not sure what the seeding rate is.”

Delgarno was one of the farmers who participated in a public information session at the Ag Days show in Brandon. He was there to discuss the results of his own on-farm trials using a planter to seed canola.

“This is our first year of growing canola with a vacuum planter,” he said. For his experiments he used a John Deere 7300 12-row vacuum planter with 22-inch row spacings. For variation, Delgarno says they conducted trials at 22-inch spacings with a conventional seeding rate.

Then he set the planter to seed at half rate and went over the field twice to get an effective row spacing of 11 inches.

“Attention to detail is critical.”

— Vaughn Guy

THE RESULTS Unfortunately, inconsistent weather conditions in his area meant the canola seeded with the planter had less favourable growing conditions that the fields where an air drill was used. He believes that influenced the lower yield results obtained from the planter than the comparison crop seeded with a Bourgault air drill.

Another grower, Vaughn Guy of Virden, Manitoba, wanted to emphasize what farmers should be prepared for when using a planter instead of an air drill.

Using a planter requires paying close attention to machinery operation, he said. “They (planters) don’t have a monitor that actually counts the seed. So, if you’re not paying attention, you can over seed very quickly. When

BY DAN PIRARO

Bizarro

I started out I put two bags in the planter. Then I went down and back. When I got back my tank was empty. Attention to detail is critical.”

Guy also said he found that the seed holes in the metering discs on his John Deere 1790 planter tended to wear rapidly and increase in size after 600 to 800 acres, which allowed canola seeds to pass through too easily, increasing the seeding rate.

“Once the holes are too big, it will suck the canola straight through,” he said. “Your rates will change very quickly.” But, he notes, he has been told there is a way to correct that excessive wear problem.

Operating a planter is more involved than running an air seeder he believes. “You have to really stay on top of your planter.

It’s not as simple as going out with your air drill. On a half section, I’m three-quarters of the way through before I comfortable knowing I’m seeding at the rate I want to seed.”

For other growers interested in exploring canola planting, Delgarno said there will a seeding demonstration day held on June 5 in the Newdale, Manitoba, area. “There’ll be more details coming out once we get closer to spring,” he said. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

PHOTOS: SCOTT GARVEY

Participating in an information session at Brandon’s Ag Days, Andrew Delgarno of Newdale, Manitoba, said he experimented with using a planter to put in some of his 2012 canola crop.

26

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Machinery & Shop PLANTERS

Gaspardo introduces tracked planters Italian manufacturer Maschio Gaspardo’s North American operation just introduced a tracked, broad-acre planter to Canada

BY SCOTT GARVEY

H

aven’t heard of Gaspardo-brand planters? Stephano Paolini plans to change that.

As key account manager for the Italian company Maschio Gaspardo, he’s been spending time talking to Canadian farmers about the brand’s Maximetro precision planter.

MOVING IN TO CANADA With some of its manufacturing now done in Iowa, the brand is working to increase its North American footprint. The move into Canada is starting in Ontario, and Paolini was at Canada’s Outdoor Farmshow in Woodstock last September displaying the Maximetro planter.

The brand has been around for a long time. “It’s a very old company, started in 1873,” says Paolini. “We started with precision planters in 1972. Now we have an operation in Iowa and this is the first time we’re bringing a planter here (to Canada).”

The Maximetro planter, part of the company’s broad acre equip-

ment line tailored to the North American market, is available up to 48 rows, and it uses a heavyduty frame which is capable of supporting a central seed tank.

“The good thing about this system is the frame is very heavily built, so it will allow a central fill for seed or fertilizer, granular or liquid,” says Paolini. “It’s the same up to the 48 row (model).”

On future models, the company expects to have a new, redesigned plastic central tank rather than the steel version on the model displayed at the show.

If you prefer the more traditional style 1.8-bushel single hopper on each row opener, that’s available too. “It’s just one of the configurations we can offer,” he adds.

THE FEATURES One of the most unique features of this planter is it rides on rubber tracks, but it is available with wheels for anyone who prefers them.

Paolini says tracks have proven to be the most popular option in the U.S. “Most of the planters we sell in the States will be on tracks, because they (U.S. Farmers) like to go even when the soil is wet.”

The planter uses a Trimble

PHOTOS: SCOTT GARVEY

Stephan Paolini, discusses the features of the singulation system and metering body on the Maximetro precision planter at Canada’s Outdoor Farmshow near Woodstock, Ontario. electronic control system; and it enjoys a good reputation for precision seeding, maintaining accurate seed-to-seed distances, according to Paolini. “It can sow all types of seeds from edible beans down to tomato seeds.” It does that by

using the same vacuum metering system the company has relied on for a long time in all its planters.

“It works pretty well,” he adds.

Down pressure on the row openers can be provided in a variety of ways. “You can have both the air

bags and springs, double, heavyduty springs, different arrangements. When you go beyond 24 rows, generally you don’t wont to have to set each individual spring, so you go with a compressor and have an even adjustment

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

grainews.ca /

27

Machinery & Shop

The metering system on the openers is driven by a solid shaft rather than chains and sprockets. The company believes this provides a more consistent rotation speed resulting in even seed placement.

Gaspardo’s Maximetro planter is one of the few on the North American market available with tracks.

(by pressurizing an airbag on each row opener).” The planter comes equipped with its own compressor for that purpose.

CANOLA EXPERIENCE What will interest Western Canadian farmers most is the brand’s planters have been planting canola for a long time. “In Italy most farmers would use a precision planter for canola with this type of arrangement: a double-disc precision planter,” he says.

Despite its reputation for accurate planting in European canola fields, the brand remains relatively unheard of in Western Canada. “That’s a problem for us in Western Canada,” he says.

“Farmers are unaware of us, even though we are a leader in precision planting.” The company is still actively looking for Western Canadian distributors for its larger planters, like the Maximetro.

The planter uses a cast metal metering body and a stainless steel metering disc for durability.

“That’s what people like about it,” says Paolini. “It’s a very longlasting planter. Farmers buy them to last 20 years.”

The seed singulation system is driven by three hydraulic motors and uses shafts to drive components rather than chains and sprockets. And the drives are shear-pin protected. Paolini says that type of drive system provides a more constant rotation rate for the singulation discs when working in uneven field conditions.

“That’s a thing we introduced more than 30 years back. It’s maintenance free.”

The angle of the discs on the row openers is designed to create a narrow seed trench which helps provide good seed-to-soil contact and eliminates the need for seed firmers, but the planter can be ordered with them for those who prefer that design.

“You can put a seed firmer wheel there,” he adds. “But as this planter creates a very narrow furrow, you don’t really need a firmer. ” The narrow trench design also helps prevent seed bounce.

“As the seed drops in the trench it stops, it doesn’t bounce because it’s very narrow.”

For more information visit the company’s website: www.maschionet.com. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Machinery & Shop PLANTERS

Should a planter be your next canola seeding implement?

During Ag Days at Brandon, one Manitoba farmer discussed the results of his experiments with a planter and lower seeding rates for canola “

BY SCOTT GARVEY

LOWER SEEDING RATES

hrough the summer and fall of 2011, articles and discussions of using a planter to seed canola at a lower rate than conventional rates intrigued us,” Perry Chapman, a farmer from Virden, Manitoba, told an audience at Ag Days in Brandon. “We realized it was something we had to try for ourselves,” he continued.

Chapman was one of three growers on a panel discussing canola-seeding trials using a planter.

The possibility of better results in canola fields at lower seeding rates with a planter is one of the most talked-about concepts in oilseed production across the Prairies.

Planter use was new to Chapman, and selecting the best one for his needs required doing some homework. The Chapmans decided on a used John Deere DB60 planter, but had to upgrade it to better match canola planting requirements. “At the time, John Deere was the only 47-row planter

T

with a 15-inch spacing we were aware of.”

The list of upgrades made to the Chapmans’ DB60 is long; it included adding liquid fertilizer runs. “The planter was in our shop for about a month by the time we got everything done,” he said. “For our liquid starter, we originally planned on mounting tanks on the planter, but it did not need more weight, so we mounted twin 400-gallon tanks on our 385 Quad (tractor).”

To start with, he sowed 500 acres with Clearfield canola at a seeds-

per-acre rate of 260,000, that works out to about 3.411 pounds. The rate was then reduced to 240,000 seeds, 3.148 pounds. “At harvest, these fields averaged between mid to high 20s, which was one of our highest yields this year,” Chapman said. “When we switched to the Invigor 5440 seed, it had a 1,000-kernel weight of 5.8 grams and a seed germ of 98 per cent.

So we dropped the population to 220,000, which was approximately 2.813 pounds per acre.”

The majority of his remaining fields were planted at the 2.813

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$6.38 Cost Savings/Acre/Year x 5000 Acres Based on $104.60 /Acre Average Input Cost = $31,903 Input Savings/Year 4

5,000

7.30%

1.20%

$6.38

$31,903

5

5,000

7.30%

1.20%

$6.38

$31,903

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pound rate. “These later-seeded fields only yielded in the low twenties,” he explained. “But we attribute some of the yield loss to pod shatter from excessive winds that some of earlier (seeded) fields did not encounter.”

But even with the extensive modifications made to the DB60 planter, Chapman said he still didn’t have a one-pass seeding implement, so the crop was top-dressed with nitrogen during the growing season. And to get a handle on what, if any, difference the planter operation made to yield compared to an air drill, he set up a side-by-side trial, using the DB60 planter for one plot and his Bourgault 3310HD air drill set on 10-inch spacings for the other.

Invigor L150 seed was selected for this experiment.

“The planter seeded at 2.837 pounds an acre, at 220,000 plants per acre, and the seeder was at 4.5 pounds an acre, about 345,000 plants” he said. “Unfortunately some heavy rains early in the season compromised the comparison. In the areas that weren’t flooded out, we observed the wider spacing did take up to a week longer to cover up the ground, but we didn’t see extra weed pressure as a result. It also seemed that the canola seeded with planter didn’t seem to be lodged as bad as the canola seeded with the air seeder.”

Unfortunately, he couldn’t obtain any harvest data to compare yields due to severe weather.

The Chapmans also decided to look at low seeding rates, so some plots were set up to test seeding down to 100,000 plants per acre.

“In our seed population trials, we used Invigor 5440 seed and had strips starting at 100,000 plants per acre and went up in increments of 20,000 to 260,000 plants per acre,” he said. “With the 220,000 and the 100,000 side by side, the 100,000 actually looked better for the first four to five weeks. As time went on the visual difference disappeared. As (more) time went on you could see the split again, as the higher population matured earlier, probably five to seven days.”

Unfortunately, bad weather struck again. High winds blew his canola swaths around damaged these plots; the resulting yield data couldn’t provide any definite answers on yield differences.

“To sum up our first-year experience with precision planting canola, is that it is possible,” he said.

“As far as yield benefits with lower seeding rates, we hope to have some answers in 2013.”

But one of the things Chapman said he did learn was that becoming familiar with using planters has a steep learning curve.

“For farmers already familiar with planters, setting up to plant canola is a very small hurdle,” he said. “For someone who has only run an air seeder for the last 20 years, there is a lot more information to absorb.

A planter makes an air seeder seem pretty low maintenance.” † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews.

Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Cattleman’s Corner forage production

Should the next step be to organic?

For low-input, holistic, mixed farming operation, organic production seemed logical

BY LISA GUENTHER

B

oth organic and conventional beef and forage producers look for ways to build soil health without breaking the bank.

Research and on-farm experience suggest growing perennial legumes and looking at the farm as a system can help producers achieve both goals.

Alan McKenzie runs about 150 cows and 300 calves on a 3,500acre mixed farm, near Nesbitt, Manitoba. McKenzie and his family switched to organic production in 2002. He says they were already halfway to organic, and they found they could grow a good hay crop without fertilizers and chemicals. Organic premiums were good at the time, too.

“It pencilled out very well,” says McKenzie. “And I never was a fan of spraying or anything like that. I never really liked it that much. So it was kind of an easy fit.”

McKenzie’s rotation includes three or four years of alfalfa.

Perennial forages such as alfalfa keep the land clean. After the alfalfa, McKenzie will usually grow flax. Intercropped peas and oats, winter wheat, and soybeans have also found their way into his rotations.

McKenzie also grows a green manure one year out of the rotation. Rather than doing a straight plow-down, he grazes yearlings on the legume.

“You’re still getting some value out of the forage stand in the same year instead of just having a year where it’s all expenses,” he says.

Since going organic, McKenzie says the soil quality is improving steadily — this is partly due to management practices like cover crops and grazing green manure, and using legume crops such as alfalfa and peas to build nitrogen.

McKenzie’s management practices apply to conventional livestock and forage production, too. Since 2008 he has been part of a holistic management club, which was set up with the help of ranchers and holistic management specialists Don and Bev Campbell of Meadow Lake, Sask.

The Campbells helped McKenzie develop mob- and rotationalgrazing systems.

The holistic management applies to non-organic operations, too, say the Campbells.

In fact, McKenzie is the only organic producer in the club.

Other members include mixed farmers and beef producers.

MANAGING NUTRIENTS KEY Since switching to organic production, McKenzie says his biggest battle has been to keep soil nutrient levels up.

“If you can maintain soil fertility and produce 80 per cent of what your conventional neighbour’s crops are yielding, then all of a sudden the organic premiums don’t have to be as big,” he says.

“But if you have to take every second year off to rest the land and summerfallow, then I think you’re losing ground.”

McKenzie is bale grazing on pasture as well as grazing green manure and using cattle to add nutrients back to the land. He’s also thinking about sourcing organic manure to apply and boost phosphorus levels.

Researcher Martin Entz, who studies natural-systems agriculture at the University of Manitoba, looked at conventional and organic rotations over 12 years at the university’s Glenlea Research Station. Two rotations included two years of alfalfa, two included a year of peas, and two included clover.

The alfalfa rotations had the highest nitrogen levels, regardless of whether they were organic. But the organic alfalfa rotation had the lowest plantavailable phosphorus levels of all six rotations.

Part of the problem is that soil tests only measure inorganic phosphorus. Organic phosphorus, which soil tests don’t pick up, becomes available to plants over time.

But producers also need to make sure they’re not mining the soil, says Entz. Researchers removed hay from one organic plot without adding nutrients, and the system collapsed due to lack of phosphorus. Entz says they’re now adding composted manure to build phosphorus, although ideally he’d like to have livestock grazing the site.

“We need to be sensible about the nutrient cycle in these systems,” says Entz.

He says producers can take samples from the crop about three weeks before harvest, dry it, and send it for a feed test.

The feed test will tell farmers how much phosphorus has been removed from the soil and alert producers to shortages in the crop.

Ranchers can use animals to transfer nutrients to deficient areas, which also saves energy.

Placing bales in areas where soil nutrients are particularly low will concentrate cattle and manure in that area. Livestock producers in West Africa, for example, corral animals overnight in poor areas to build phosphorus, and Entz is now studying use of a similar practice in Manitoba.

ROTATIONS WITH ALFALFA USE LESS ENERGY Entz also compared the energy inputs for organic and conventional systems, as well as forage and non-forage rotations. Energy consumption was measured in megajoules per hectare. The study, located at Glenlea Research Farm about 20 kilometres south of Winnipeg, has been running since 1992.

Entz and his colleagues found that including a perennial legume (in this case two years of alfalfa) in a conventional crop rotation lowered the energy inputs substantially, mainly because nitrogen inputs dropped.

Researchers then decided to compare organic and conventional cropping systems.

Rotations included wheat-peawheat-flax and wheat-alfalfaalfalfa-flax.

photo: dr. martin entz, university of manitoba.

This is some of the alfalfa at the Manitoba zero-tillage research farm, where they’ve studied alfalfa in rotation for hay or pasture for over 10 years.

Soil nutrient status in three different crop rotations after 12 years of cropping. Rotation 1, wheat-pea-wheat-flax; Rotation 2, wheat-sweet clover green manure-wheat-flax; Rotation 3, wheat-alfalfa-alfalfa-flax. Values in kg available nutrients per hectare.

Rotation

Input Level

N

P

K

S

wheat-pea-wheat-flax

F+H+

32

46

1316

141

wheat-pea-wheat-flax

F-H-

22

33

1312

86

wheat-sclover-wheat-flax

F+H+

29

24

1169

87

wheat-sclover-wheat-flax

F-H-

31

37

1116

76

wheat-alfalfa-alfalfa-flax

F+H+

81

24

1140

63

wheat-alfalfa-alfalfa-flax

F-H-

37

11

1073

26

Total rotational energy consumption (MJ/ha) at the Glenlea long-term cropping systems study, 1992-2003 Rotation

Inputs

Total Energy Consumption

WPWF

F+H+

68498

WPWF

F-H-

WAAF WAAF

Fuel and Lube Energy

Machinery Energy

7902

16133

2367

7116

34980

24233

7902

14229

2102

0

0

F+H+

49255

3657

18184

2515

3499

21400

F-H-

22181

3657

16213

2311

0

0

“We got a large boost in energy efficiency from going to the perennial legume, but we got a larger boost going to the perennial legume in the organic rotation,” says Entz.

In terms of energy costs, herbicides are quite cheap, says Entz. But nitrogen fertilizer accounts for half the energy budget. “You can till the field 30 times and that’s about how much energy it takes to make up for the nitrogen application,” he says. The first and third rotation in the accompanying chart shows about much energy is associated with nitrogen fertilizer application.

Since 2003 researchers have been running a small organic “farmette” at the Carman Research Station to further study ways to reduce energy consumption. The farmette has a six-year rotation that includes an annual green manure crop which is grazed by sheep every three years.

Researchers are also minimizing tillage by using a blade roller.

The farmette now uses 65 per cent less energy than a neighbouring

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conventional system and Entz says they’re now shooting for an 85 per cent energy reduction.

Entz and his colleagues have also been looking at the economics of organic and conventional systems at Carman over seven years. A 20 per cent drop in inputs makes the organic system economically comparable to the conventional.

EASIER FOR HOLISTIC OPERATIONS The Carman research station holds an ecological field day in July, and Entz encourages producers to visit and share ideas. For livestock producers thinking about going organic, Entz suggests they start slowly and ensure grazing systems are in good shape. Practices such as bale grazing and rotational grazing work well in organic systems.

But not all practices may have a fit in an organic system, he says. For example, January calving would be difficult because calves are more likely to need medical intervention for diseases such as

Pesticide Energy

Fertilizer Energy

scours. “Think about your farm as a system,” says Entz.

“So if you’re already in that place where your ranch or farm is running as a sustainable operation and you as the operator are holistic-minded, it wouldn’t take much to make it an organic operation,” says McKenzie. “It’s more of the paperwork side.”

McKenzie says the best approach is to talk to other organic producers in their area, as they’re generally willing to help. Organic certifiers can also point producers in the right direction.

McKenzie also suggests taking in soil-health workshops. He follows Gabe Brown, a North Dakota farmer who has spoken to producer groups in Western Canada about how he uses cover crops and mob grazing to cut his fertilizer and herbicide inputs, while building soil health.

“A lot of this information is applicable to organic, lowinput sustainable farming and conventional farming,” says McKenzie. † Lisa Guenther is a Grainews field editor based in Saskatchewan. She can be reached at lisa.guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF

Cattleman’s Corner

B.C.’s Dominion Creek Ranch builds on BIXS, VBP

L

The goal is to be market ready for the years ahead

ook closely and you will see the future of a lot of Canadian beef-producing families in the face of Dominion Creek Ranch at Heffley Creek, B.C. It’s an established cow-calf ranching operation with a solid production history. It’s a multi-generational family operation anchored today by Leroy and Bernadine Peters, Leroy’s parents, Betty and Norm Peters, and two grandchildren who hope to be the next generation running the ranch. While cattle are the anchor business unit, it’s multi-enterprise with sheep, pigs and poultry, locally sold meats to even out annual income flows. It’s market driven and it’s growing.

But perhaps the biggest indication this family ranch wants to survive and prosper is their commitment to use the latest information management systems. They have a practical, useful management and recording-keeping system for today and the future. They are also Verified Beef Production (VBP) audited, and are linked to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s Beef InfoXchange System (BIXS).

Records drive this business

Records have always driven the ranch management program so extension into VBP and most recently, BIXS, is a natural fit says Bernadine, who oversees ranch record-keeping.

Manual records complement computerized ones. Paper records kept on chute-side clipboards in the tack and medical room, are transferred to a computerized system. It’s a system that fits ranch needs. Paper records provide a backup if there is a power outage and are easier for people not as comfortable with computers.

“Things happen handling cattle and a clipboard can take a lot of abuse, so our paper records are our backup,” says Bernadine.

“On computer we can easily compare what a cow has produced over the past four years or whether she has been treated for foot rot or other health issues.”

Weighing provides precise measures of production. Cattle are weighed when they go to range and again when they come back. This has paid benefits in that animal health treat-

The Peters family of Dominion Creek Ranch, Heffley Creek, B.C.

ments such as pour-on parasite controls, can be weight specific.

What BIXS brings

Programs such as BIXS are not much extra work and potential benefits are “pretty amazing,” says Bernadine.

“With BIXS, we put data in and we’ll receive information back on how our cattle perform when they leave our place right through the feedlot to the processing floor.

We track our cattle by family lines so we are particularly interested in how various lines are performing.”

BIXS also does things like uploading to age verification automatically for you. Looking forward, there is the option to list cattle for sale on BIXS. That could be a powerful way to link performance data with buyer need.

Overcome obstacles

One thing that has characterized Dominion Creek Ranch’s approach to these new systems is a willingness to get past initial challenges.

Their mountain location meant unpredictable cellphone coverage and Internet availability, so they’ve introduced satellite Internet, working around data transfer issues with different phone options.

There are limitations in record-keeping systems out there and we know we are not quite there with meeting our needs, says Bernadine. They hope to see record-keeping systems of the future more able to “talk” to each other seamlessly.

“For us a key is we are advancing with the technology,” she says. “There are only so many costs you can cut so you need to use technology to shave a few cents off production costs, produce the product you are proud of and capture market advantage.”

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Cattleman’s Corner ANYONE CAN START FARMING

A checklist for being ready for lambing DEBBIE CHIKOUSKY

A

successful lambing season is brought about by good preparation.

Preparing for lambing actually starts at breeding time but for most of us that “window” is long gone. For us, the lambs are not far away.

This morning, -38 C, my daughter announced the 40 ewes we had decided to breed for winter lambing have all started growing udders. For those responsible for lamb checks this is really great news. A tight lambing season is greatly desired. The lambs are uniform, we aren’t deprived of sleep for any longer than necessary and we will have a lamb crop to sell to finance summer haying expenses.

On the other hand it was a sobering reminder that we are simply not ready and those little guys are not going to wait.

REASSESS RATION Six weeks prior to lambing is a fantastic time to reassess the ration for the ewe flock. A ewe’s nutrient requirements change throughout her production cycle.

They increase during her last six weeks of pregnancy and are highest during the first six to eight weeks of lactation. Ewes carrying triplets have higher nutritional requirements than ewes carrying twins, and ewes carrying twins

have higher nutritional requirements than ewes carrying singles.

The more lambs a ewe is nursing, the higher her nutritional requirements. Thin ewes don’t feed their lambs well and fat ewes have more problems with pregnancy toxemia and lambing.

Four weeks prior to lambing we like to administer 8-way vaccine and vitamins to the ewe flock. The vet counselled that four weeks was optimum timing to ensure the colostrum would have the highest amounts of antibodies and vitamins from these shots. This is also a perfect time to squeeze the ewes along the short ribs and assess their body condition score, providing an opportunity to again adjust the ration if needed.

SELENIUM ISSUES Our flock has experienced selenium deficiency symptoms in the past, which we have been addressing. Instead of injecting the ewes with selenium before lambing because in rare occasions it had caused abortion, we have been using vitamin E. The best source of vitamin E, which is needed for selenium absorption, is whole grain. The problem in most rations is that the second the grain is milled the vitamin E starts to diminish. Our nutritionist doesn’t recommend relying on grain to supply sufficient levels unless it is fed very shortly after grinding.

To compensate, we feed a mineral mix that has added A, D and E, and we started administering E in the form of E-AD injectable four weeks prior to lambing.

However, now the E-AD injectable we have used for five years that virtually eliminated our selenium issues, is totally unavailable and our personal inventory has been depleted. According to Vetoquinol they cannot find a manufacturer of vitamin E to their standards so we’ve had to work with our vet and come up with a different plan. When the lambs are born we are going to administer a selenium supplement according to package directions. The ewes will be injected at this time along with being wormed.

PROPER FACILITIES This is also the time to make sure the infrastructure needed for lambing is ready. In warmer weather we let the ewes drop their lambs then move them to a jug. For winter we are making the jugs a bit larger, approximately six feet by seven feet, to allow the ewe and lamb(s) room and time to bond as a family. The rule of thumb for lambing jugs is one per seven to 10 ewes. Our experience has shown we need closer to 50 per cent of the flock number in jugs so my husband and son are busy expanding our lambing area inside.

A call from a shepherd last night in search of colostrum was another reminder to make sure our supplies were at hand.

LAMBING CHECKLIST The following is a list of what we like to have handy before lambing starts.

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Be prepared for lambing season.

1. Dental tape: This is for tying off the umbilical cords if they continue to bleed after they have broken at birth. I like tape instead of dental floss because you can tie it really tight without it cutting through again and leaving the cord too short. There are commercial clips available from supply catalogues, and in a pinch even a clothespin will work, but I find the tape fits nicely in the pocket and is cheap.

2. Strong iodine: Our vet insists all umbilical cords being doused in strong iodine. We have found that an old teat dip applicator works well.

3. Latex gloves: Always a good idea to get some OB gloves while you’re at the vet’s picking up the other supplies. We have found the smaller exam gloves available at drug stores, Princess Auto and grocery stores for very reasonable prices.

4. Rags: I always keep a large supply of rags to help dry lambs off if it is cold.

5. Blow dryer: We bought three blow dryers for about $10 at a thrift shop a couple of years ago and they come in very handy for drying lambs when it is particularly frosty. We have found it is less stressful to the ewe and lamb to run an extension cord the length of the barn, through the rafters, and dry the lamb with her than try and remove the lamb to a different spot to dry it. I make sure the ewe smells the blow dryer before I turn it on and before we use it on the lamb. They take the noise quite calmly. All our pairs stay in the barn till they have mothered up.

6 Colostrum: We make sure to have a few bags of colostrum ice cubes in the freezer. One ice cube is about one ounce and they defrost very quickly. A 60 cc syringe holds two ounces of colostrum.

7. Electrolytes: This is something that we only need at midnight when the vet is closed so it is always good to have a few extra bags around.

8. Flashlights and new activity: We start walking through our ewes in the dark with flashlights about two weeks before lambing starts so they get used to this activ-

PHOTO: DEBBIE CHIKOUSKY

ity. Also, more than one or a group of us start walking through the flock so they don’t automatically think we are up to something.

And, we touch them as much as possible so we can move one out without getting them excited.

9. Barn cam: For those of you using a camera to monitor activity in the barn, now would be a good time to make sure it still works.

10. Lamb coats: We are going to try using old baby-sleepers this year if we have a newborn lamb that needs a jacket. I will leave it open underneath for a boy lamb but could close a few snaps for a girl.

11. Castrating rings and dehorning paste 12. KY jelly: For assisting births.

13. Pocket-size calving record book: These can be found, usually for free, at many feed supply stores and can be customized to fit your information record needs. We have columns for date of birth, dam, sire, tag #, sex, and difficulty of birth. Even though they are made for cattle they work just as well for sheep. We always do all processing at tagging (injections, ringing tails, applying castrating rings) so if they have a tag we know they’re done.

14. Ear tags: Buy early as these always get short in supply.

15. Make sure the phone numbers of your best neighbour and vet are on speed dial. I have had to send a child into the house to call for advice and relaying phone numbers just wastes time.

16. Alarm clock with battery backup so you don’t miss any checks at -40 C due to power outage.

17. Heat lamps: I mention these here because we DO NOT advocate using them in a barn. A dry baby with a belly full of colostrum should be able to function without them and these lamps are extremely dangerous as a fire hazard.

According to our calendar our lambs should start being born midFebruary which would be right on time for warmish Manitoba winter weather. It will be nice to be able to watch little lambs frolic in the straw while I do dishes. As long as we’re prepared all should be well. † Debbie Chikousky farms with her family at Narcisse, Manitoba. Visitors are always welcome. Contact Debbie at debbie@ chikouskyfarms.com

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

grainews.ca /

33

Cattleman’s Corner FICTION

Jack’s jumbo feet find a fit

BY BARB GONIE

“

H

ey, Jack,” calls Grandpa through the open window of the rusty old farm pickup. “I’m looking for help with spring calving.

Want to be my cowhand?”

“Sure,” answers Jack, sitting on the rail fence of the station where he had gotten off the train a few minutes before.

“You’re hired, climb in!” calls Grandpa.

As Jack jumps down off the rail, his man-size boots raise a cloud of dust. Rushing to the truck he throws his duffle bag into the back, stumbles and falls. His knee skids in the gravel. “Ouch!” he cries. Red-faced, he picks himself up and shakes the dust off his jeans. As he climbs into the truck, his right foot hits the door, making a loud clang. Grandpa says with a chuckle, “Looks like someone’s feet have grown since I last saw him.”

Jack glares at his feet and says under his breath, “I hate my big feet.” The last thing I want anyone to notice is my feet, so what’s the first thing Grandpa noticed — my big feet! I wish I were normal with small feet. These feet make me feel like a freak and they make me look like a klutz! How can a 12-year-old boy have size 12 feet? At this rate, by the time I graduate from high school, they’ll be a size 18!

At the ranch, Jack follows Grandpa, dreaming about the size eight boots he fit last year. Only a freak grows so fast; is that what I am? With his head down, Jack carefully places each foot, watching out for things that might trip him.

“Oomph!” He bumps into Grandpa.

“Sorry Grandpa,” apologizes Jack.

“I didn’t see you stop. I was watching my feet” Grandpa looks up, flicks his hat, and says, “You need to watch where you’re going because you never know what you might run into on a farm.” Pointing toward the cow, he added, “Molly is a heifer and looks a little uneasy. We can check her on our way back from our herd check. If she smells the ground and is constantly walking, it’s a sign of early labour” Jack races toward the barn. In his haste his right foot hits his left, causing him to slip into a cow pie.

YUCKY, YUCKY! He wrinkles up his nose and says, “Dopey big feet!”

Grandpa roars with laughter, pulls an old rag from his pocket and says, “Here, use this.”

Jack grabs the rag and wipes off the large gobs. His fingernails have brown stains. Jack wishes he sad soap and water. With his fingers apart, he turns to Grandpa and asks, “How long before the calf is born?”

Grandpa looks at Jack over his glasses and says, “A normal birth takes about 30 to 60 minutes. Let’s go to the house, so you can scrub your hands. We can have lunch while we wait.”

Buttering his bread, Grandpa says, “Now I’ll tell you what to expect as Molly gives birth. When a cow stretches out and begins to push hard, what looks like a big ball will appear. That ball is actually a bag that contains the amniotic fluid. This bag breaks and the feet appear.” The word “feet” rings

loudly in Jack’s ears. “Sometimes the feet are large. Often this means a large calf and maybe problems.”

Grandpa rises from his chair and adds, “It’s time to check Molly.”

Trailing Grandpa to the barn, Jack thinks about his big feet.

Grandpa opens the barn door and checks Molly. Under his breath Grandpa mutters, “Large feet and they’re upside down. Molly’s calf is backwards.”

THE BIG PULL Taking a deep breath, Grandpa says, “Usually, breach calves die.

No time to load Molly and go to the veterinarian. You’ll have to help me with Molly.” Grandpa attaches a chain to one of the calf’s feet and then another chain to the calf’s other foot. He passes Jack the opposite end of the chains and says, “Grip firmly and plant your feet against the stall. Keep your arms straight and pull steadily as Molly pushes. I’ll direct you.”

Jack’s heart beats quickly as he braces his heels and spreads his toes over the solid steel frame of the supporting wall. He thinks, “If only my muscles were as big as my feet.”

He silently prays, “Please, Lord, help me to do all the right things to save Molly’s calf.”

With outstretched arms, Jack pulls hard but steady. He hears the stall creak and then sees it flatten from the pressure. Jack’s feet slowly slide forward, and with a thump, they come to rest on the solid steel frame. Big feet cover a large area, he observes with joy. “I hope I can hold this grip long enough to help Molly.

I’ll try my best.” Jack’s arms shake, as he pulls. He hears Molly’s deep breathing, as she pushes hard.

Jack is edgy and slightly jerks, but keeps his feet in place. With each tug, Jack sees the calf inch outward.

His arm twitching, and wavering, as Grandpa says, “Slow and steady, Jack. Soon we’ll be done.”

Jack’s shoulders are tight. His feet ache, and he feels weak, as he sees the calf’s upper legs, then and the buttocks pop out. Molly throws her head back and pushes hard. “I can see the front shoulder coming!” Jack shrieks.

The calf plunks out! It’s slippery, wet, limp, and motionless. Jack jumps forward, gasps, and asks, “Is it dead?”

Grandpa flings the calf up and over the gate. Clear, slimy fluid runs from the calf’s mouth. “I don’t want him to breathe any fluid into his lungs,” explains Grandpa. “The vet tells me it’s the fluid that drowns the calf.” Grandpa pounds the calf’s ribs. The hanging calf flops to and fro. Jack trips as he moves from one foot to the other. He catches the gate to break his fall. With a lump in his throat, Jack asks, “Is Molly’s calf going to be okay? How can I help?”

“Not much you can do,” Grandpa says, as he continues to pound the calf’s ribcage. “If the fluid drains before the calf takes that first breath, he’ll live.”

Jack watches the calf for any sign of life. Please, Lord, please, he prays, “There! What was that?” he cries, “I think I saw an eye blink!”

Grandpa snatches a straw from a bale and tickles the calf’s nose.

The calf shakes his head, sneezes and gasps Jack’s heart is thumping and he squeals, “Molly’s calf is alive! We did it Grandpa!”

Stroking the new baby, Grandpa says, “Yes, now let’s give Molly time to mother her baby.”

Walking away, Jack hears Molly softly moo. He looks over his shoulder, and remarks, “I think Molly is welcoming her baby.”

Grandpa smiles, pats Jack on the back, and says, “Thanks to you and your big feet, Molly has a live calf.

A lad with little feet wouldn’t have

been able to hold his ground. Today your big feet were a bonus.”

Jack, feeling a little taller, smiles, looks down at his feet and says, “I guess having big feet isn’t such a bad thing after all.” † Barb Gonie is a writer and farmer from Pierceland Sask.

MAKE THE SHIFT TO HIGH-PERFORMANCE HYBRIDS. Learn more about Canada’s most efficient hybrid at www.hybridbull.ca

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Keepers & Culls The carcass data “report card” LEE HART

Beef producers interested in tracking their cattle’s performance through feeding and processing can now obtain a brochure from BIXS that explains what they can expect from carcass data.

BIXS (the Beef InfoXchange System) has just completed the four-page colour brochure that explains what producers participating in BIXS will receive in terms of carcass data, how to understand that information, the value of benchmark reporting — being able to compare your cattle to

industry averages — and of course how to view the carcass data.

Providing carcass data on individual animals is one of the key objectives of BIXS as cattle are tracked through feeding and processing.

The carcass data provides that report card on how the breeding program on your farm, combined with the feeding program at a feedlot worked. Is the breeding program producing the type of cattle you want, how are they grading, is there some change you can make in your breeding program that can produce more higher value carcasses?

BIXS was launched by the Canadian Cattleman’s Association in 2009. Over the past three years BIXS has been working to develop all the software and the industry network to make the information flow up and down the production chain work.

Participation in BIXS is voluntary. Producers enter basic information on their herd into the data base using the CCIA identification numbers, those cattle are tracked through the feeding and processing system, and at the end, the producer can receive a report back with carcass quality and yield information.

There are other features and benefits to BIXS in terms of marketing cattle, but being able to access carcass data is a key step in the process. The brochure “Carcass Information and BIXS” will be available online in midFebruary on the BIXS website at

www.bixs.cattle.ca or you can email bixs@cattle.ca to have an electronic version sent to your inbox.

WHO COUNTS STROKES? Did you hear about four older farmers from southern Manitoba who stopped into the clubhouse at a Phoenix golf course after playing 18 holes of golf.

The pro asked, “Did you guys have a good game today?”

The first old guy said, “Yes, I had three riders today.” The second old guy said, “I had the most riders ever. I had five.” The third old guy said, “I had seven riders, the same as last time.” The last old man said, “I beat my old record. I had 12 riders today.”

After they left another golfer who had heard the old guys talking about their game went to the pro and said, “I have been playing golf for a long time and thought I knew all the terminology of the game, but what’s a rider?”

The pro said, “A rider is when you hit the ball far enough to get in the golf cart and ride to it.”

NEW FEDERAL PLANT Construction has started on a $12 million expansion of Plains Processors Ltd. north of Carman, Manitoba that will give the Manitoba beef industry its second federally inspected beef packing facility.

The expansion plans, marked

CONTACT US

Write, E-mail or Fax Contact Cattleman’s Corner with comments, ideas or suggestions for and on stories by mail, e-mail, phone or fax.

Phone Lee Hart at 403-592-1964 Fax to 403-288-3162 E-mail lee@fbcpublishing.com Write to CATTLEMAN’S CORNER, PO Box 71141 Silver Springs RPO, Calgary, Alta. T3B 5K2 with a sod-turning ceremony in January, will see the facility increase its processing capacity from about 80 head per week to about 1,000 head per week, says Calvin Vaags, owner and company president.

Once the facility is completed, it is expected to employ at least 80 people, compared to a current workforce of 10.

“We congratulate Plains Processors for expanding its presence in the province and we are pleased that we will have a new federally inspected beef processing plant,” said Ray Armbruster, president of Manitoba Beef Producers.”We welcome Plains Processors’ new role in the beef value chain in Manitoba.”

COMING EVENTS LIVESTOCK CARE CONFERENCE — Alberta Farm Animal Care’s 2013 Livestock Care Conference is now open for registration. The conference will

be held at the Executive Royal Inn in Calgary, Alta., March 21 & 22, 2013. For more information visit the conference website at: http://lcc.afac.ab.ca. And the event always welcome more sponsors.

For sponsorship contact Lorna Baird (lorna@afac.ab.ca) or Angela Greter (angela@afac.ab.ca).

SSGA 100TH ANNIVERSARY — The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2013, making it the oldest functioning agricultural organization in the province. This historic event is going to be celebrated in Moose Jaw, where it all began, during the 100th annual general meeting and convention, June 9-11. For details visit the conference website at: www.skstockgrowers.com/100th. †

ECONOMICS

Why the cow business is marginal

BY SEAN MCGRATH

W

e are blessed to participate in this cow business, particularly at this time.

My personal attraction to the beef business may come from my history and growing up with it, but the cow business is also one of the few businesses of which I am aware where the less work you do, the better money you can make.

In a regular business such as widget making, to make more money you are forced to make/sell more widgets. With cows you just have to figure out how to let them do more of the work.

Most of us are concerned with gross revenue or the total dollars we gain from our cow herd. This includes calf sales and sale of culls.

This represents the total amount available to pay all the bills. In a case where debt load is high or there are a lot of bills, we have to generate a lot of gross income. A lot of folks rely heavily on this number as it is pretty easy to figure out. When you sell calves, you look at your cheque before deductions and that is basically gross income.

What’s left over after the bills are all paid is net income and it can be either negative or positive.

Generally it stands to reason that positive net income is better than

negative, although I appreciate for some outfits there are tax benefits to other enterprises from a negative net income. In situations that rely on negative net income the cow herd becomes a hobby or a tool to manage cash flow. A lot of the cattle-feeding industry is driven by these sort of tax decisions.

THE EXPENSE SIDE The other side of the coin that creates net income from gross income is the expense side. Again, in general, lower expenses lead to higher net income as long as the expense is not an essential. For example, not vaccinating your calves will reduce your vaccine expense, but may come at the cost of sick or dead calves, reducing your gross income.

There are a lot of things we can do as producers that do not impact the quality of life for the cow, and yet greatly reduce expenses. These are a win/win.

At our place what we really try to focus on is margin. This in essence is “net income” but it is focused on a per-unit basis such as “net income per cow” or “net income per acre.”

Margin results from maximizing gross income, while reducing expenses. Margin takes a bit more math to figure out as you need to know gross income and expenses.

Margin is a powerful number and

is extremely important for a variety of reasons. While production is part of margin, it is not the driving force behind it, and for this reason margin encompasses a variety of business structures across a wide range of resources.

For example, I am aware of operations with healthy margins that calve in the winter and sell large calves in the fall, and others that calve in the summer and background their calves, and still others that finish their calves right through. Margin is also relatively independent of size/scale.

Margin is a number that can indicate business strength and weaknesses. For example, many farms have expanded their cow herds to increase income and cover expenses. While 500 cows will generate more gross income than 200 (hopefully), if the cow herd is running negative margins, having 500 money-losing units can be much worse than having 200.

Margin numbers can also indicate things about business structure, such as high land payments being detrimental to profitability.

This could suggest that moving to a rental or custom-grazing arrangement may be a better option.

Margin is probably one of the best signals for expansion. If something is profitable on a per-cow basis, then more cows makes some

sense. The level of margin also gives some indication as to what we can afford to pay for that expansion.

RISK MANAGEMENT The level of margin is also important as a marketing and riskmanagement tool. If we look at a fictional example where costs per weaned calf are $500 and average selling price is $750, that leaves a $250 margin. On 100 calves that is a $25,000 net income. Is that enough income? Should the cow herd expand? Do I want to have more cows or give up an enjoyable off-farm career? These are business and life questions that can’t be answered until we understand the margin.

Conversely, understanding the expense side of the margin equation, we can then decide if a $750 offer on our calves is acceptable or not, and we can further decide if a new practice or technology is worthwhile.

For example, does bale grazing make sense? It may not increase gross revenue, but if it drops cost down by $50 without reducing income, our margin from the previous example is now $300 on those $750 calves. Will implementing a new cost such as in improved vaccination protocol provide a return greater than the cost?

In these times, margin is also vital in risk management. If we take a cow herd with an average $25 margin per head, that means there is $25 worth of risk that can be absorbed before the operation loses money. If the margin is $200, there is a lot more cushion for decision-making and marketing before money is lost. The level of margin may indicate something about how aggressive risk management strategies should be.

Margin is a great business indicator and provides flexibility in business and life. Higher available margins reduce pressure on marketing decisions, and often result in improved marketing decisions.

Positive margins are a signal for expansion, but positive margins also provide the flexibility to have an income from the same or reduced cow numbers depending on what stage in life you are at.

The last reason I really like margin is that trying to generate more revenue while reducing costs really places the focus on adding value.

While we are in generally happier times at the cow-calf level, I would encourage you to sit down and go over your margins at home this spring. † Sean McGrath is a rancher and consultant from Vermilion, Alta. He can be reached at smcgrath@ telusplanet.net or (780)853-9673. For additional information visit www.ranchingsystems.com.

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Home Quarter Farm Life SEEDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Love your brain, change your life ELAINE FROESE

S

ince becoming aware of the Amen Clinic, www. amenclinics.com, brain scans, and treatment tools, I’ve been much nicer to my brain, and I hope this year you will consider practical tools to treat your brain better, so you can love your brain, and change your life.

Instead of chocolates this Valentine’s Day, cut the sugar and increase attention to doing good things for your brain. The founder of the Amen Clinic is Dr. Daniel Amen and he has written a great book Change your brain, change your life. His recommendations have helped thousands of people get healthier and lose weight, besides being more supportive to their brains.

So here’s some of Dr. Amen’s tips to consider for you and your loved ones: 1. Keep learning something new every day. How about 15 minutes to learn French or Spanish; or ways to restore old cars?

2. Dance. Movement and cardio are great for getting more oxygen to your brain. I was a folk dancer, Highland dancer, and social dancer. I chose never to drink alcohol, even as a teen because I wanted all the brain cells I was given. Now that I have seen the

brain scans of alcohol-damaged brains that look like Swiss cheese, I am even more thankful that booze is not bugging my brain.

3. Shut off the TV and go do something! Dr. Amen says that watching TV is a “no-brain” activity!

4. Eat nuts instead of sugar.

How we feed our brains is important. I cut back on the Christmas baking this past year, and opted for peanuts and almonds as snacks instead. Buy mixed nuts instead of chocolates for Valentine’s Day! 5. Break the routine of your life to stimulate new parts of your brain. Write a love note with your opposite hand, hug your wife in a new way, or shoot your rifle sighting with your other eye.

Challenge your brain to make new connections!

6. Give hubby a metal water bottle so he drinks more water on the farm. We have installed a water cooler in our farm office for staff and customers. Dr. Amen says that even slight dehydration can raise stress hormones that can damage your brain over time. I like to add lemon slices to my water as I work at my desk. Avoid artificial sweeteners, sugar, caffeine. If you are addicted to coffee, you might want to start the withdrawal process as part of your love pact to your family.

7. Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, fish oil and flaxseed can help boost brain function. We are adding ground flaxseed to our protein shakes, cereal and yogurt for breakfast. You grow

4. Breathe fresh air deeply, and go for long walks every day.

5. Solve conflicts, deal with the tough issues “the undiscussabulls™,” seek peace.

6. Exercise to stimulate the happy hormones to your brain… endorphins.

7. Enhance your memory skills.

8. Make beautiful music a part of your life… your playlist or your piano or guitar.

9. Take head injuries seriously, even minor ones. No more soccer ball head butting.

10. Take medications when needed (e.g. for depression).

11. Touch others often (appropriately… shoulder hugs are good).

12. Make beautiful smells a part of your life… soft soaps are great!

Flowers, too!

13. Sing and hum whenever you can. Whistling can’t hurt either!

14. Stop trying to read other people’s minds.

15. Stop smoking.

16. Wear your seatbelt.

17. Stop judging difficult people, try to understand how their brain might function.

18. Embrace your problems and get help to solve them with professional expertise.

19. Be intentional about the plans you have and want for your love and life.

20. Don’t focus too much on what other people think of you.

Be special.

I have a coaching friend who was kicked in the forehead by her horse. She figures it will take

flax, now grind it and eat it for your brain health!

8. Give your wife a fruit basket of blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, cranberries, raspberries, oranges, red grapes, cherries and kiwis. These fruits are high in antioxidants that reduce the risk of developing cognitive impairment.

9. Eat a rainbow of vegetables at the family supper table, and have a family conversation. Families that dine together do fine together in my books. The best antioxidant veggies are Brussels sprouts, broccoli, beets, avocados, red bell peppers, and spinach. I have almost stopped buying iceberg lettuce, and am OK with the fact that my family calls me a “salad snob.” Spinach is far more nutrient rich, and I can’t wait until the garden grows again!

10. Doughnuts are simple carbohydrates, and cause brain fog. Please stop serving them as the snack at farm events. Seriously.

Spend the snack budget on veggie trays, yogurts, cheese, apples, bananas, and water with lemon or green tea. Almonds are expensive, but hemp heart snacks (www. manitobaharvest.com) and peanuts would make a real impression with your clients!

Love your brain: 1. Wear a helmet on the ATV, bike, and snowmobile.

2. Think positive, healthy thoughts. Feed your mind great things.

3. Journal five things you are thankful for each night before sleeping.

seven years of healing to get her back to her pre-accident status.

Our brains are very plastic, and they grow and change based on how we treat them.

I think a lot of farm families would enjoy better social, emotional and physical health if they started paying more attention to the cells in their skull.

I also read the book The Woman who Changed Her Brain, by Barbara Arrowsmith-Young, which is a great encouragement to folks with learning struggles. She runs a school in Toronto, so seek her out. For farm families dealing with stroke, you will enjoy the book, My Stroke of Insight, by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor who rebuilt her brain from the inside out. As I have two friends who had strokes before the age of 60, this is also on my radar.

The books you read and the people you meet will have a profound effect on your life. I wish for you to love yourself, love one another, and love your neighbour.

We all get to make choices on how we show that love, so get started by loving your brain, and see what changes transpire.

If you would like to “rent Elaine’s brain” for coaching this year, please go to www.elainefroese.com/ contact and we will connect. † Elaine Froese is a depression survivor who is passionate about helping farm families create a great legacy for their families and their farms.

“Like” her on Facebook at “farm family coach” and watch her on YouTube. She appreciates your feedback, ideas and comments. Elaine is a CHICoach, and member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. She mediates for the Farm Debt Mediation Service, and helps conflicted families reach resolution.

Call 1-866-848-8311. She will not eat Brussels sprouts, even though they are great brain food.

EXTENDED OUTLOOK FOR THE PRAIRIES Weather Forecast for the period of January 27 to February 23, 2013

Southern Alberta

Peace River Region

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

January 27 - February 2 Generally cold and quite settled, aside from some moderation in southern areas with light snow and blowing.

January 27 - February 2 Generally cold and quite settled, aside from some moderation in southern areas with light snow and blowing.

January 27 - February 2 Mainly cold and fair with a few higher windchills. Milder days with gusty southerly winds in the south bring some snow and drifting.

January 27 - February 2 Bright and generally cold on most days this week, but milder southerlies bring snow and drifting on 1 or 2 days.

February 3 - 9 Bright days and seasonable to milder days are followed by a couple of colder, blustery ones with snow and blowing.

February 3 - 9 Bright days and seasonable to milder days are followed by a couple of colder, blustery ones with snow and blowing.

February 3 - 9 Considerable sunshine aside from light snow and drifting on a couple of occasions. Temperatures trend to the cold side.

February 10 - 16 Temperatures reach thawing on a few days, but it will be cold in the north. Mainly fair with scattered snow. Chance of rain in the south.

February 10 - 16 Temperatures reach thawing on a few days, but it will be cold in the north. Mainly fair with scattered snow. Chance of rain in the south.

February 10 - 16 Fair overall this week with thawing temperatures on a few days. Colder outbreaks bring some snow and drifting.

February 3 - 9 Mainly fair with seasonal to cold temperatures. Blustery at times with drifting. Some snow in southern regions, and flurries in the north.

February 17 - 23 Expect several milder, fair days and thawing in the south with occasional snow, chance of rain.

Cold, some snow in the north.

February 17 - 23 Expect several milder, fair days and thawing in the south with occasional snow, chance of rain.

Cold, some snow in the north.

-19 / -8 Grande Prairie 20.5 mms

February 17 - 23 A couple of milder days with some thawing, otherwise seasonal to cold. Intermittent snow and drifting on 2 days.

Precipitation Forecast -18 / -7 Edmonton 16.8 mms

-14 / -3 Jasper

17.4 mms

ABOVE NORMAL

-13 / -2

23.9 mms

-21 / -10 North Battleford -18 / -6 Red Deer 14.7 mms

-25 / -14 The Pas

-25 / -12 Prince Albert

12.8 mms

-21 / -11 Saskatoon 12.9 mms

13.6 mms

15.4 mms

NEAR NORMAL

-22 / -11 Yorkton

-22 / -11 Dauphin

-24 / -13 -21 / -10 16.2 mms 16.1 mms -19 / -8 Gimli Regina -14 / -2 20.8 mms -18 / -8 Moose Jaw 13.0 mms Calgary Swift 14.7 mms -21 / -11 9.9 mms -23 / -12 Portage -23 / -12 -15 / -3 Current -20 / -9 Medicine Hat Brandon 19.6 mms Winnipeg 16.2 mms Weyburn 15.6 mms cms Lethbridge 10.319mms 14.8 mms 13.4 mms -19 / -9 13.0 mms 26 cms Melita -23 / -10 -13 / -2 Estevan

Banff

Forecasts should be 80% accurate, but expect variations by a day or two because of changeable speed of weather systems.

February 17 - 23 Blustery winds create fluctuating temperatures and a couple of milder days. Fair skies alternate with snow and drifting. Risk of rain in the south.

February 10 - 16 Variable conditions as milder southerlies and thawing interchange with blustery, colder northwesterlies and snow.

14.8 mms

14.2 mms

Precipitation Outlook For February Much Above Normal Below Much above normal normal below normal normal

Temperatures are normals for February 1st averaged over 30 years.

Precipitation (water equivalent) normals for Feb. in mms. ©2013 WeatherTec Services www.weathertec.mb.ca

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FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Home Quarter Farm Life FROM THE FARM

Plan and prepare Life on the farm is hectic so get organized to help lessen the load DEBBIE CHIKOUSKY

L

ife on all farms is hectic.

There is always something to do, which is why I loved it growing up. When all my city friends were bored on their summer vacations I was busy from sun-up to sundown. As an adult though, there are times that I find life a bit too busy and this winter is going to be one of those.

Planning and preparation should help to lessen the load.

In case I needed a reminder of what hectic is like, our oldest son got married in January this year. He and his new wife took care of most things themselves but the last few days were a definite reminder of how handy having prepared food in the freezer was.

The kids were busy with decorating and rehearsals. My husband and I were running other errands plus we had no idea from day to day how many people I was feeding or when. I was very happy that we had Christmas leftovers in the freezer. Then we realized that in fact we were to start lambing February 15 this winter.

Back in August when it was warm outside and our rams kept breaking

out of their pen to “frolic” with the ewes, we made a decision to just let them stay out. If we had to check for lambing it might as well just be the whole flock. Somewhere in that decision it wasn’t really talked about that mid-February in Manitoba is cold and we no longer have six people living at home, but like most things we do it sounded like a good idea at the time.

From winter calving we have learned that having healthy, not processed, foods to keep us going during busy, stressful times minimizes disease. Before we started this we were guaranteed horrible colds during baby season. Since we started planning and organizing, stress will be minimized as much as possible, thereby we will stay healthier. There really is nothing worse for family relations than running on lack of sleep plus being sick. Due to lambs being much smaller they are more likely to freeze faster than calves, so we have been spending some time discussing what is going to be needed. The one thing that has become very clear is that we will not have a lot of time for taking care of humans. Considering that we will not have a break between sheep, cows or goats this year, we are in deep planning stages. While the men are preparing outside, my daughter and I have been trying to come up with a strategy for makeahead meals and streamlining the

chores so that we don’t drown in dirty laundry or starve.

For foods, we will depend mostly on freezing as well as some extra use of the pressure canner possibly for soups (quick to heat).

When stocking up on food/meals it is important to avoid foods that don’t freeze well.

• Fruits or vegetables with high water content or a delicate cell structure do not freeze well. These include lettuce, tomatoes, watermelon, citrus fruit sections and cucumbers. You can freeze some of these foods, like tomatoes, for use in cooked dishes, but they are not like fresh tomatoes when you thaw them. An exception to this is freezer coleslaws and pickles.

• Sauces and gravies thickened with flour or cornstarch frequently separate and break down when frozen. Therefore, it is better to freeze stock for gravy and thicken it when using.

• Cooked egg whites tend to get rubbery when you freeze them.

Raw eggs freeze very well. Freeze in ice cube trays then freeze in bags so they are very easy to grab and use one egg at a time.

• Mayonnaise will break down when it is frozen. Use salad dressing instead of mayonnaise when you make sandwiches or salad mixtures for freezing.

• Cakes frosted with butter frosting freeze well, but cooked

Our son got married last month which was a happy occasion, but did add to the busyness. frostings or fluffy egg white frostings do not freeze well.

• Well-done pastas may be too soft after reheating. If you want to freeze macaroni, spaghetti, or foods containing these, undercook the pasta. Cooked chunks of potatoes become soggy or gritty, but mashed potatoes or twice-baked potatoes freeze well.

• Most natural cheeses can be frozen with good results, but they may crumble more when you thaw them. Yogurt and cultured sour cream will break down and separate.

• Breads also freeze well so two weeks prior to baby season we plan on baking enough bread for a month. Pizza crusts can also be made and frozen ready to be filled providing a supper in less than 30 minutes.

As far as house chores we will have to work more together. There will be chore lists so that we can keep track of jobs inside and out, in case someone needs to sleep when they would normally be doing other jobs, so we all know what needs to be done. We will need to remember we will all be tired and that this too shall pass. That is another thing we were reminded of with the wedding. As much as it was an exciting and busy time, when it was over we had time to catch up and relax and no one died because the vacuuming didn’t get done. This next three months will be the same. My hope is that we can all just enjoy the new babies and stay healthy throughout all the sleepless nights and straw in our beds. † Debbie Chikousky farms at Narcisse, Manitoba..

Canvas gear for the farm Retired farm woman fills niche with sturdy, well-made items

BY EDNA MANNING

F

loreen Smith’s sewing machines are humming steadily as she and her husband Paul are busily preparing for a craft show. The retired farm couple fabricates canvas gear for horse lovers or anyone interested in sturdy, well-made farm- or shop-related items.

“My products don’t break, you can’t eat them, and they take a long time to wear out,” says Smith.

Smith’s interest in sewing began as a young girl on the farm near Langham, Saskatchewan where she grew up. At the age of seven she made her first item — a cloth pencil holder complete with drawstring closure — and sewing became a lifelong interest.

After she married, Smith sewed for their young children until they grew older and no longer wanted to wear homemade clothing, only making the occasional pair of jeans for herself after that.

Wanting to earn some pocket money on the farm, Smith started making driver’s jackets (Australian stockmens’ coats) and selling them at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. They sold well, and her husband encouraged her to expand her line of home-sewn merchandise, so she included a number of farm-related canvas products such as tool bags, wrench wraps, bridle bags, cattlemen’s tagging pouches, various

grooming-type aprons, calving aprons, and farriers’ bib aprons with suede knee patches to hold the horses’ legs.

Smith enjoys the creativity in doing custom work and one-off specialty items such as saddle water-bottle carriers that hook onto the saddle; pommel bags which are small saddle bags that go over the horn of a western saddle; and cattle bags, ovalshaped pouches that can be attached to the back of a saddle.

These canvas bags are waterproof and ideal for trail rides in wet weather.

“Somebody from the farmers’ market called me the ‘Bag Lady’ because I made bags for everything,” Smith laughs. “Another one was a bridle bag — a long, narrow bag with a handle on top, a zipper down the middle, and Velcro straps. You hang your bridle complete with bit and reins inside, close it up and it’s clean, protected and out of sight.”

An item she designed is her famous berry-bucket holder. It’s a small bag with sturdy, adjustable shoulder straps. An icecream pail fits inside the bag.

She’s sold thousands of these over the years. Today, custom orders for new items such as gun cases, rod and reel cases, backpacks for dogs and belly protectors for retriever hunting dogs come in regularly.

“Many times my ideas are cus-

tomer driven. For instance, someone suggested that I should make lined bridle bags for people with expensive show bridles, so I made three and they all sold at Sundog Craft Fair in Saskatoon this year,” she said.

While Floreen enjoys the challenge of creating one-off items, her husband prefers production work.

She also has a friend who comes in occasionally to help. “She’ll hammer out little children’s aprons by the dozen,” she says.

Smith has four heavy-duty industrial sewing machines and one industrial serger. All of them can sew leather, as she gets the occasional order for leather products such as fringed leather jackets.

After about five years at the farmers’ market, Smith decided to market only at craft shows, and for many years she and her husband attended about 14 shows a year across Western Canada. Today they do only about eight shows annually.

Smith says they will continue to produce items as long as they are able. “It keeps us both active, physically and mentally. If you have to think about what you’re doing, your brain is ticking along,” she says.

For more information or to order a catalogue, email Floreen or Paul Smith at floreensmithcanvasworks@ sasktel.net or phone (306) 2834637. † Edna Manning writes from Saskatoon, Sask.

PHOTO: EDNA MANNING

Floreen Smith shows one of her berry-bucket holders that she designed and made.

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Home Quarter Farm Life POSTCARDS FROM THE PRAIRIES

Life’s secrets, according to you…

People of the world, tell me this — who (or what) is your greatest love? Part 1 JANITA VAN DE VELDE

I

would like to start by thanking all of you who took the time to respond to my questions. Over the past few months — through my blog, this column, email, over vodkainspired punch bowls and faceto-face encounters in the dark, shadowy recesses of back alleys throughout the country — I’ve received over 100 responses. For the purpose of this exercise, I’ve combined all similar responses; for all others, they’ve been included here in their entirety except for any names, which

First up: Who, or what, is your greatest love? Let’s start by answering the question — what is love? Some say love is the greatest gift, others define it as an unquenchable fire, being consumed by a person or a place, not knowing where you end and the other begins… an unbridled desire to be in their presence for infinity. To these people I say: “Take a breath, grab a crossword — a gin and tonic certainly wouldn’t hurt — and put your feet up. It’s high time you get some oxygen flow to your brain.”

I get it. I’ve been consumed by the fires that rage — some reciprocated, others unrequited.

The latter ones hurt, don’t they?

Sting. Burn. You can’t for the life of you understand how you can

Once you can see through the tangles and mess of your own heart, and love yourself — deeply and truly — you set your soul free to fly, to connect with others I’ve excluded to further protect anonymity. To the best of my knowledge, the respondents ranged in age from five years old to 78 years old. Some chose to answer all questions, others only a few. Some responded simply to say they couldn’t even be that honest with themselves, never mind sharing with someone else. That right there is a very brave and honest response in my books — it all starts with self-awareness.

Over the course of the coming months, I’ll summarize each topic and then share all of your answers, anonymously as promised. In order to stick to my allotted word count as requested by the kind editors at Grainews, the responses for each question will be in multiple parts. Here’s the wonderful and exciting news though: In order to follow the flow from one article to the next, you now have the perfect excuse to openly adore me and cut out my articles and paste them all over your fridge. That idea doesn’t work for you? Get a bigger fridge.

Now, let’s tuck in shall we?

BY DAN PIRARO

Bizarro

feel so deeply for another person, and they don’t return the favour. You think, perhaps, they just need a little more time to come around, a little more time to feel it, more time to get to know you better and then, well, how could they possibly not love you back? After all, they’re not made of wood. There’s no harm in throwing down the charm, but sadly it takes more than that. As the earth turns and your planets tumble, souls must connect. Some do, some don’t. It’s as simple as that. Unfortunately, it’s not always apparent to those submerged in their quest. As the old Irish saying goes: May those we love, love us back. And if they don’t love us back, may God turn their hearts. And if he cannot turn their hearts, may he turn their ankles, so that we may know them by their limping.

I suspect if we all had those prayers answered, the world would be full of sprained ankles.

But hey, God doesn’t make it that easy for us, does He? No. I think He has something else in mind, entirely. Quite simply, I think it’s His tender way of urging us

BY DAN PIRARO

Bizarro

to love ourselves first. The rest will follow. But oh, that’s a tough one for us farm kids to wrap our collective heads around, isn’t it? I can already hear the grumbling: “What do you mean exactly, by saying I have to love myself first? Do you have any idea how hard I am to love?” When you think about it though, if you can manage to love yourself, you’ve already won. Once you can see through the tangles and mess of your own heart, and love yourself — deeply and truly — you set your soul free to fly, to connect with others. And when you find that connection? Oh. O.h.

O.H. These souls are yet another gift from God — people who, when we are blinded by fear, selfhatred, loathing, pain and doubts — we can stare into their eyes and remember the good. For in their eyes, just beyond our own realization, lies a reflection of who we really are. A person who deserves to be loved — a person who is loved. Sometimes we forget that.

God sends them to remind us.

I suspect that one day, when we’re lying on our death beds, we’ll come to understand that the people and places we loved were our heaven here on earth, our sacred ground, our all things holy. And we’ll pray to God that we treated them right. This Valentine’s Day, take the time to tell those you love exactly how you feel. Should you tell them every day? Would every minute be too much? Here’s what I think — don’t let the worrying about it being too much, be

at the expense of it not being enough. In my humble opinion, spreading (or receiving) an abundance of love never spoiled a soul — rather, that kind of love creates human beings capable of doing magnificent things, because it’s all they’ll ever know.

Here forthwith, are your greatest loves: My spouse.

My partner.

My beautiful wife, partner and friend who has helped me create this beautiful life.

I would love to have somebody’s name roll off my tongue here, but my greatest love is travel, hands down.

My life.

Tough to pick but it’s my kids.

I know I should pick my husband but I keep coming back to my kids, who wouldn’t exist if I didn’t love my husband at least a little bit.

My wife. She is my best friend in everything. This is my second marriage and I never thought I could find, or deserve, someone as wonderful as my wife.

My family.

Northern Ontario.

My husband.

My children.

My kid. After that, music sung by the perfect, purest voice.

My parents.

My childhood home.

It’s a toss-up between my husband and my daughters. My daughters are my life, my love and my greatest accomplishments. My husband is also my life, my love and my soulmate… we were made to be in this life together. I could not live without them, even when they are driving me nuts.

My mom.

The process of giving birth — the miraculous, magical moment when your child is placed in your arms and you can barely take in the beauty of the moment, so much so that your heart feels like it’s going to burst. Then to be handed your child… such a perfect creature you can barely take it in. That’s love for me.

To be continued. † Janita Van de Velde grew up on a farm near Mariapolis, Man. She holds a bachelor of science degree in agricultural economics from the University of Manitoba, and has worked for a financial institution since graduating. She lives in Regina, Sask., with her husband Roddy and their children Jack, Isla and James. Her first novel, Postcards Never Written, was the recipient of the Saskatchewan Reader’s Choice Award and also listed by CBC as one of the top funny books in 2009. She donates a portion of proceeds from the sale of her book to World Vision to help those less fortunate. For more information, or to order her book, visit her website at www.janita.ca.

Young and Beginning Farmers Conference March 13 and 14, 2013 Victoria Inn - Brandon MB Register today for this valuable conference. A full line up speakers including Cedric MacLeod, John Stewart and David Drozd will take you through topics such as business management planning, legal considerations, marketing, human resources management and much, much more.

Cost to register is $125. For more information, please call Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives 204-726-6293 in Brandon.

Grainews Young Farmer Conference Ad Insertion Dates: February 11, 2013

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/ grainews.ca

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Home Quarter Farm Life SINGING GARDENER

Cherries for your Valentine?

Dwarf sour cherry shrub will withstand harsh Prairie winters TED MESEYTON

I

t’s always nice to hear something positive such as: “What a sweetheart you are!” You may well receive a similar response after presenting somebody special in your life with “a gift that grows.” A paper cutout in the shape of a red heart or a Valentine’s Day card by itself just won’t do. How about attaching or enclosing a gift certificate for a Valentine dwarf sour cherry shrub from a nearby favourite nursery?

CHERRY TIME ON THE PRAIRIES Valentine is a variety that certainly attracted me because it has a lot going for it. Its makeup is geared to withstand rough and tough, harsh winter conditions here in the Great White North.

Numerous cherry varieties have been developed and released by the University of Saskatchewan’s fruit program. Valentine is part of it’s Romance series with “tough as nails” survival hardiness rated for Zone 2a. Brrr! Temperatures can dive to -40 F and more. Isn’t it a good thing to have access to a fruit-producing dwarf cherry shrub that withstands such harsh temperatures?

Studying a zone hardiness map revealed to me that Zone 2a encompasses vast areas and pockets of land throughout B.C., the Prairies and higher tiers of north Ontario and beyond. Sure… the frost-free growing days may be fewer in Zone 2a, but it doesn’t mean you can’t be a gardener.

MORE ABOUT VALENTINE (PRUNUS) This is a self-pollinating variety with ornamental and landscape attributes as a bonus. It doesn’t require a different variety of cherry tree or cherry shrub nearby to set fruit. Orchardists, fruit growers and backyard gardeners can expect high yields and nobody objects to that. I may slip up and call it a tree once in a while, but Valentine isn’t in tree form at all. This is

February — the month of bonspiel thaws, Hoarfrost on wires and black crow caws, Cupid’s arrow in the nick of time, Strikes a new cherry named “Valentine.” † Ted

a dwarf growing cultivar that’s a high producer of medium-sour red fruits.

One of my dictionaries in its broad sense describes “sour” as being tart, pungent, sharp, snappy and keen to the taste. These are the very qualities sought out by eager cooks, home canners and wine makers for making the best-ever cherry pies, cherry fruit jam, stewed cherries, canned cherries, cherry juice and yes — cherry wine.

Small in stature is an important feature of Valentine’s nature... As pointed out, it’s called a shrub, not a tree. Growth maturity is reached at about three metres (six to eight feet) with a spread of 1-1/2 metres (five feet). This makes for easy picking of spectacular cherry clusters from right at ground level or perhaps while standing on a low, firm and solid stool. I’ve never appreciated going up a ladder myself. Because of its low canopy, Valentine is suitable for growing under power lines. Nor is it fussy about soil type or pH (the pH scale is a method of measuring acidity or alkalinity of any substance).

Good news too if you live in an urban area… Valentine has strong tolerance to withstand big-city pollution.

CARE AND MAINTENANCE Valentine is a deciduous multistemmed shrub that does require ongoing annual maintenance and upkeep. It needs to be pruned and the best suggested time to do it is during late winter or veryearly spring after extreme cold is no longer expected. It appreciates evenly moist conditions, but won’t tolerate standing in pooled water, so be aware of the importance of good drainage.

Cherry leaves can be subject to mildew, especially later in the

PHOTOS: PRAIRIE PLANT SYSTEMS

These large, white Valentine cherry flowers appear in abundance in mid-spring, followed by bright-red, tart cherries. Valentine is a self-pollinator and high yields are a sure bet. Shown adjacent is a fruit cluster. Come for a walk with Ted and learn more on this Grainews Singing Gardener page. season toward harvest time. Good air circulation and full sunlight are important considerations to help prevent it. The central root system is not grafted onto other rootstock and suckering can be a side product. Keep suckers under control by careful pruning and/or digging out. It almost goes without saying that dwarf cherry varieties and cherry trees differ in height like Mutt and Jeff. I have a couple Evans cherry trees that originate out of Edmonton. Regardless of size, cherries do attract all sorts of birds to the yard especially once fruits have ripened.

There are other cherries from the Romance series released as a result of extensive work through the U of Sask. Names include Romeo, Juliette, Crimson Passion, Cupid and Carmine Jewel. These are also available at many nurseries throughout the country.

It may come as a surprise but most of the world’s sour cherries are grown in eastern European countries such as Russia, Poland and Ukraine. Where does Canada fit in? By comparison, we are a small producing nation of sour cherries and rank about one-half of one per cent worldwide… but we’re inching upward. So come on Grainews readers, get growing

some sour cherries. But you can’t just plant a fruit tree or shrub and forget about it afterward. What gardener would do that anyway?

None that I know of.

Here’s a generations-old practice that has been handed down from Belgium and France. Add a handful of whole oats to the bottom of the planting hole and mix it into the soil first. This oat tonic can really stimulate root development.

Now let me ask! Are you willing to share your soil secrets and discoveries? Send them along to me so other Grainews readers may benefit from your experiences.

Earlier I mentioned mildew. Yes — there are products available at garden centres to treat this common plant ailment, but read the following first.

A HOMEMADE RECIPE … for powdery mildew prevention and control follows. Not only are cherry leaves sometimes susceptible, but a host of other plants can also fall prey to mildew including bergamot monarda (from the bee balm group), roses and zucchini.

Many people have allergies associated with consumption of cow’s milk but plants do not, that

SUE ARMSTRONG

I’m aware of. When it comes to powdery mildew, a simple milk and water spray solution can do wonders to stop it. It’s a powerful combo for putting down fungi and mildew on a host of garden crops as well as flowers, shrubs and trees. I’ve used it myself on tomatoes and vines such as cucumbers and melons.

Mix a concentration of 80 per cent water with 20 per cent milk, either partly skimmed or skim milk (that is, eight parts water to two parts milk). Apply as a spray twice weekly and continue as long as necessary. You can add a bit of kindergarten school-grade liquid paper glue to warm water first to facilitate dispersal. This helps it stick to leaves.

Milk and water solution appears to control mildew by providing a germicidal effect that stimulates both leaves and woody growth to initiate a counter-reaction to defend and become resistant by neutralizing the mildew spores.

GOT A RASPY VOICE … or a sore throat? Relieve the discomfort with sage herb gargle.

Add one teaspoon of dried sage to a cup of cool water and bring to a gentle simmer. Remove from heat, cover and steep for 10 minutes then strain. Use sage water as a mouth rinse and gargle to help ease painful, inflamed membranes due to sore throat, mouth ulcers or tonsillitis.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! Do you have a story about a farm or home-based business?

How about some household management tips? Does someone in the family have a special-diet need? Share some of your meal ideas.

Send them to FarmLife, 1666 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1. Phone 1-800665-0502 or email susan@ fbcpublishing.com. Please remember we can no longer return photos or material.

— Sue

PHOTO: U OF SASK. FRUIT PROGRAM

Shown is an extensive grove of dwarf Valentine cherry shrubs at the point of having dropped most of their flower petals. Earlier, blossoms appeared in great profusion all along the branches. This is a new sour cherry variety introduced from the University of Saskatchewan’s fruit program.

This is Ted Meseyton the Singing Gardener and Grow-It Poet from Portage la Prairie, Man. Here’s a spritely old gem written 130 years ago by Will Denson. I wish thee health; I wish thee wealth; I wish thee gold a store; I wish thee heaven after death – What could I wish thee more? Good health is linked to antioxidants and phytonutrients in the red colour of sour cherries and much research confirms this. My email address is singinggardener@mts.net.

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

NothiNg gets PAst BArricAde ii. ®

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

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

™ DuPont DuPont™ Barricade Barricade II II ® ®

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

powered by Solumax® soluble granules, combining

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

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

An effective, time-saving formulation. Barricade® II is powered by DuPont™ Solumax® soluble granules, combining the c As with all crop protection products, read and follow label instructions carefully.

The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont™, The miracles of science™, Barricade® and Solumax® are registered trademarks or trademarks of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. E. I. du Pont Canada Company is a licensee. Member of CropLife Canada. © Copyright 2013 E. I. du Pont Canada Company. All rights reserved.

cereal crops

Win with AgCelence We’re giving away 4 Hawaiian vacations.

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I t ’ s t h e s ta t e o f m I n d t h at c o m e s w I t h g e t t I n g a n extra 3 to 4 bushels of canola an acre.

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This should do the trick: Use HEADLINE® fungicide on your canola. Not only is it unrivalled in Blackleg control, it gives plants inner strength through AgCelence™ – greener leaves, stronger stems and as a result, higher yield potential.* And since it can be applied with your herbicide, it saves you work too.

In short, it’s pure fungicidal rapture. Visit agsolutions.ca/ headline for more.

*All comparisons are to untreated, unless otherwise stated.

Always read and follow label directions.

AgSolutions and HEADLINE are registered trade-marks of BASF Corporation; AgCelence is a trade-mark of BASF SE; all used with permission by BASF Canada Inc. HEADLINE should be used in a preventative disease control program. © 2013 BASF Canada Inc.