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Volume 39, Number 11 | MAY 6, 2013

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PRACTICAL PRODUCTION TIPS FOR THE PRAIRIE FARMER

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Pests to watch for in 2013

The hardest part of insect scouting is knowing what to look for from year to year BY LISA GUENTHER

outheastern Alberta farmers have the unfortunate privilege of being at the crossroads of insect issues lately, says Scott Meers, insect management specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “It seems to be the area where virtually anything can happen, unfortunately.” Farmers in the Medicine Hat area will need to watch for a litany of pests, including pea leaf weevils, cabbage seedpod weevils and even wheat midge. Wheat stem sawfly and grasshoppers are sometimes a problem in the area as well. Wheat midge have also made themselves at home in the Peace region, particularly around Manning and in the Municipal District of Big Lakes. Though numbers are still low, Meers is concerned because they haven’t found a parasitoid to naturally check populations. “It’ll take a few more years for them to build up. But if we get no parasitism up there, they could build up into quite high levels, which has been the experience in other parts of the world.” Farmers in the MD of Willow Creek will need to look out for wheat midge as well. Canola growers in southern Alberta and the southern part of central Alberta will need to check for cabbage seedpod weevils as the crop starts to flower. Pea leaf weevils may be a problem for farmers south of Highway 1, as well as those in Wheatland and Newell Counties. Bertha armyworms are a potential scourge for central Alberta this year. Last year’s most severe infestation was south of Lloydminster. The bertha armyworm swath stretched from the Lloydminster area to the Lamont area, and there was also a hotspot in Vulcan County. Flea beetles were scattered around central Alberta and the Peace last fall. “If producers were noticing flea beetles while they

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were swathing or on late volunteer canola in their yards and stuff like that in the fall, that’s next year’s damaging population,” says Meers. But it’s not all bad news. Meers says grasshopper and wheat stem sawfly numbers are down substantially from previous years. “There may be hotspots, but really not the big massive outbreaks that we’ve seen in the past of either of those for 2013.” Farmers can access insect forecasts at www.agriculture.alberta. ca/bugs-pest. Farmers can also submit their own counts for insects such as cabbage seedpod weevils and cutworms through the site. Scott Meers is also on Twitter (@ABbugcounter).

Alfalfa weevil populations were high in Saskatchewan and Manitoba last year. Alfalfa growers should watch for them and be prepared to control them.

BERTHA ARMYWORM IN SASKATCHEWAN Bertha armyworms are likely to be a problem in several parts of Saskatchewan this year, says Scott Hartley, pest specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture. “Certainly some (farmers) are right in the middle of the current outbreak, so it’s likely that some will still be very high this year in populations. And some areas will be starting on a decline as the outbreak ends.” Hartley says they had many reports of diseased bertha armyworms, which is usually a sign of declining populations. Alfalfa weevil populations were also high throughout most of Saskatchewan last year, and alfalfa growers should watch for them and be prepared to control them. Much like Alberta, flea beetles were a problem in parts of the province last year. Whether or not they’ll be a problem in 2013 will depend on spring conditions. “Cool, wet conditions don’t favour the flea beetles,” Hartley says. Pulse growers in southwestern Saskatchewan should look out for pea leaf weevils and consider seed treatments for peas. Pea leaf weevils are also a concern in faba beans. Cabbage seedpod weevils

PHOTOS: JOHN GAVLOSKI, MAFRI

Scott Hartley, Saskatchewan pest specialist, says there were many reports of diseased bertha armyworms last year — usually a sign of declining populations. may also be a problem for canola growers in southwestern and south-central Saskatchewan. Wheat midge risk is moderate to high for central Saskatchewan. Moisture in southwestern Saskatchewan has upped the wheat midge risk in that area as well. Hartley says swede midge isn’t widespread, but the insects reached economic levels in the Tisdale area last year. “It’s one we just want to keep watching because the potential is there for it to be a big problem.” Saskatchewan farmers can visit www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca and search the site for “insects.” The first search result will bring

Bertha armyworms are a potential scourge for central Alberta this year.

farmers to the crop insect page, which includes insect forecast maps. Hartley says they will also distribute information through the Ag Knowledge Centre bulletins and Crop Production News. If insect problems arise, the ministry will also contact local radio stations.

MANITOBA PEST FORECAST Dr. John Gavloski is an entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture. Gavloski says Manitoba farmers had localized problems with bertha armyworm last year. A Carberry trap yielded 1,500 berthas in the last week of June. Areas around Inglis and Baldur

In This Issue

were at moderate risk. Farmers in western Manitoba sprayed for bertha in late July and early August. Disease may knock down the populations this year, as diseased worms were seen last growing season in the northwest, southwest, and Interlake regions. Alfalfa weevil numbers were also higher than normal last year so alfalfa growers should monitor the first cut, along with the early regrowth of the second cut, Gavloski says. Cutworms were also a problem in parts of Manitoba in 2012. The cutworm species that caused prob-

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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

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

Crop Advisor’s Casebook

Columns ........................... 13 Machinery & Shop ............ 18 Cattleman’s Corner .......... 22

Beneficial bugs

LYNDSEY FRIESEN PAGE 7

Improve cell phone reception

SCOTT GARVEY PAGE18

FarmLife ............................ 28

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MAY 6, 2013

Wheat & Chaff STAMPEDE

BY JERRY PALEN

LEEANN MINOGUE

o far this spring, with each issue of Grainews I’ve used this space to say something like, “I’m sure the weather will be back in shape before you read this.” But the weather continues to ignore the calendar. This morning I sent my little boy to kindergarten in a snowsuit — at the end of April! The geese in our dugout are practically frozen in place. They keep looking at each other and glaring. I’m sure the females are thinking, “I told him it was too early to fly north. But would he listen?”

The farmer-friendly counter at the From Nebraska Gift Shop.

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The only good thing about this unreasonable weather is that it’s given my husband some extra free time this spring. Under normal conditions, I would never have imagined him taking a spring vacation in April. At least not voluntarily. I didn’t choose the destination for our first (and probably only) April vacation. But Grand Island, Nebraska, turned out to be better than I would have guessed. My husband had heard that when you buy a new combine and show up at the plant on the right day they’ll let you drive it off the assembly line yourself. But since our combine was scheduled for completion in mid-April, we never dreamed we’d be able to get away. But sure enough — there we were, watching the plant workers put the pieces of the new combine together. I’ll include a full account of the tour in the next issue of Grainews, but just to start building your interest, here’s a list of four reasons to take your next spring vacation in Nebraska. 1. No warm-weather envy. The plus side of taking your spring vacation in Nebraska is that it doesn’t make you want to stay on holiday forever. If we’d flown to Hawaii and stood on the beach in the hot sun, then come back here to see snow in the yard in April, it would be kind of hard to take. But the weather in Nebraska wasn’t any more co-operative than the weather here. We stood in snow, drove on icy roads, looked at semis in the ditches and wore our winter coats the whole time we were away. It was just like home, but with less colourful money. 2. Factories can be interesting. If my husband had told me in advance that our tour was going to last six hours, I’m not entirely sure he could have dragged me onto the plane. But it was actually really interesting, even for someone that doesn’t know a lot about machinery. I never would have imagined that factory workers would be so friendly, or that the place would be so clean and organized. And I certainly never thought I’d get to take part in a tornado drill. (It’s just like a fire drill, only you get to stay in “safe areas” inside instead of freezing outside in the parking lot while you wait to be counted.) 3. Decorating tips. Regular readers will know that Grainews

The sights on our spring vacation. doesn’t typically focus on home decorating. But when we stopped in at the “From Nebraska Gift Shop” in Lincoln, we saw the counter in the photo at the edge of the store. I’m not sure I know any farmers who wouldn’t want to set up a bar like this in their basement. All you’ll need is a granary sheet, some wood for the top and half a day to put it together. 4. Getting away from it all. Sure, we were looking at machinery and driving by irrigation pipes the entire time we were away. But it was still good to get a break from our own weather worries for a few days before spring seeding finally gets underway.

DUST UPS OVER “DUST UP” In the April 1 issue of Grainews we ran a story about Brennan Jardine, a commercial aerial sprayer at Nipawin, Sask. The article said that “Dust Up,” a reality TV-show featuring Brennan Jardine and his father also included his “cousin” Travis Karle. In fact, Travis Karle is not Brennan’s cousin. Travis is a competitor, another aerial sprayer in the area. I should have known better — my husband and I really enjoyed watching this show on the History Channel, and have been hoping it would come back for a second season. The article also included a quote from the publicity material for the show: “These crop-gun pilots buzz inches above the fields — dodging trees and telephone wires — to deliver their payloads while entertaining roadside audiences with their death-defying feats.” After the article ran, I had an email from Al Alix, a retired SaskPower employee who now farms near Moose Jaw and is a regular Grainews reader. Al said, “In Saskatchewan, there hasn’t been any overhead telephone wires for 30 plus years. The wires they’re dodging are power wires, which are much larger and stronger then

any telephone wire ever were.” Good point Al! I’m always pleased when readers are paying attention.

ELAINE FROESE All of us at Grainews are very proud of our regular contributor Elaine Froese. The Women Business Owners of Manitoba have named Elaine as a finalist for their 2013 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year awards. This is Elaine’s 10th year as a certified farm family coach and conflict-resolution specialist, and her 18th year writing for Grainews (yes, that’s 18 years)! She’s a popular conference speaker, and has also written two books: “Planting the Seed of Hope,” and “Do the Tough Things Right: how to prevent communication disasters in business.” Elaine is not afraid to tackle the tricky side of agriculture. While the topics we write about in the front pages of Grainews — deciding which fungicide to use, buying a new tractor, or figuring out what seed to plant — are very important, the topics that Elaine tackles can have an even bigger impact on your farm in the long run. Thanks, Elaine, for all of the wisdom and advice you’ve provided for our readers over the years.

IN THIS ISSUE This is our bug-focused issue. Field editor Lisa Guenther has put together a great roundup of pests to watch for farmers in different regions across the Prairies. After last year’s surprise aster yellows outbreak, we’ve all learned that there’s really no way to know what fresh problems we’re going to be dealing with this summer, but Lisa’s article is a good place to start. Here’s hoping that it’s finally time for all of us to get out into the field. † Leeann

MAY 6, 2013

Wheat & Chaff Farm safety

Developing hazard-control strategies

armers have a reputation for being “strong, silent types.” Growing up on a farm and getting my hands dirty alongside my father, I don’t disagree with some of this “salt of the earth” mystique, but I also think it’s time to move beyond the stereotypes. Farms nowadays can be complex, highly industrialized businesses with product to develop and markets to access. But I know you know that already. What you might not know is how important communication is in this new world of complex, production agriculture. When working with farmers to develop written health and safety plans, I always tell them that safety policies, standard operating procedures, and other critical workplace safety documents are not worth the paper they are written on if they aren’t communicated effectively to employees and contractors. It seems sensible but it’s harder said than

done. The best bet for achieving outstanding communication is to start off on the right foot. Stress that employees are valued and their health and safety is a priority. Ensure they understand the importance of working safely. Ask them about their previous work experience. Did they receive any training? Remember to get copies of any certifications or accreditations they may have for your records. If they are a new hire, check their references to ensure they have a positive safety record. Set a positive example. Make sure your safety policy is communicated to new hires and is posted openly for everyone else to see too. As a farm owner, you set an example for health and safety on the farm. So be clear about your responsibilities and live up to them. Safety is a two-way street. Workers will invest in a safe workplace if they feel comfortable raising questions, contributing

Seed treatments

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C NOLA M.D.

to safety solutions, participating in safety inspections, and openly discussing safety concerns, incidents and near misses. If you make pre-operational checks on tools, machines, and equipment non-negotiable, and insist on providing your workers with adequate safety education and training, safety will become a part of your everyday workplace culture. In the event of a near miss, don’t forget, reflect. Conduct an investigation and ask your workers several questions: Who was involved? Where did the incident happen? When did it happen? What were the immediate causes? Why did the incident happen? How can a similar incident be prevented? Everyone has a role to play in ensuring the safety of your farm, so cultivate an open, posi-

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tive working relationship with your employees based on communication and trust. For more information on implementing control strategies or developing your own written health and safety plans, visit www. agsafetyweek.ca. † Carolyn Van Den Heuvel has spent the last year helping farmers implement the Canada FarmSafe Plan as a Canada FarmSafe Advisor for the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA).

Weather Lore

New DuPont insecticide treatment

Birds high and low

he Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency has approved registration of DuPont Lumiderm insecticide seed treatment. Lumiderm insecticide is a new seed treatment product for canola. It contains the active ingredient cyantraniliprole, a novel Group 28, anthranilic diamide insecticide that provides superior control of early season flea beetles (striped and crucifer) and cutworms. “Lumiderm is the first seed treatment that controls both flea beetles and cutworms in canola,” says Lisa Power, Lumiderm seed treatment manager. †

he height at which birds fly can tell us something about the sort of weather to expect, as in this short and succinct weather rhyme: Geese high; Fair sky Wild geese may not know that when barometric pressure is high, weather is usually clear and sunny or that when it is low, rain or snow is likely, but they do know to choose an altitude where the

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You might be from the prairies if...

air is fairly dense. Dense or “thick” air provides more lift under their wings, making flying easier. On fair high pressure days, this optimum level can be thousands of feet up. Conversely, when a low pressure mass moves in, the thickest air and the best fly-zone is closer to the ground. Birds flying low; Expect rain and a blow. Smaller birds will fly lower to the

ground before a rain too. They are also affected by air density but they have another reason for lowering their altitude — dinner. The higher humidity that precedes a rain makes flying difficult for small insects so they fly lower than they usually do. † Shirley Byers’ book “Never Sell Your Hen on a Rainy Day” explores over 100 weather rhymes and sayings. It is available from McNally Robinson at: www.mcnallyrobinson.com.

Agronomy tips from the field

Insect vigilance

You have a relative who once bought a second pickup truck, because the gun rack in his first one was full.

photo contest

GIVE US YOUR BEST SHOT Bill Yates sent us this picture. Bill says, “This is a photo of Stuart Lewis looking down on the rest of his family who were fencing leased pasture at the south end of the Porcupine Hills near Pincher Creek. A beautiful late-spring day.” Thanks for sharing this, Bill, this looks like a beautiful place to farm. 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

hat’s to like about insects? Very little: they eat yield, carry crop diseases, travel great distances quickly and often go unseen. And, they’re something every farmer faces. So what can you do about them? The key is to be strategic and vigilant. Here are some pointers to help you achieve both. • Check the insect forecasts available on your provincial agriculture website or from your local agronomist. Insects vary by weather and region. For instance, cutworms prefer warm, dry spring conditions while grasshoppers prefer hot, dry summers. Both pests flare up unpredict-

ably. Expert predictions can identify the level of risk in your area allowing you to prepare accordingly. • Budget to control the highestrisk insects. Knowing when and how the insects cause harm is important to your insecticide decisions. Some insects, such as pea leaf weevil, cause damage at both the adult and larval stages, so you might be wise to budget for both a seed treatment and a foliar insecticide to control them. • Scout intensively and appropriately. Don’t just look for insect damage on plants. Use nets, baits and traps when needed. Wireworms, for example, eat roots so getting an accurate in-field assessment requires a bait ball.

The fact is that to control insects the more proactive you are, the less reactive you should have to be. † This agronomy tip is brought to you by Ryan Lorenz, agronomic service representative for Syngenta Canada Inc.

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MAY 6, 2013

Cover Stories SEEDING

The best defence is the right depth

1 6 6 6 D U B L I N AV E N U E , WINNIPEG, MB R3H 0H1 w w w. g r a i n e w s . c a PUBLISHER

Lynda Tityk ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

John Morriss

Avoid disease and delayed emergence by choosing the right depth and following these five steps to uniformity BY SARAH WEIGUM

f agronomist Doug Moisey doesn’t see any canola seed on the ground when inspecting a freshly sown field he worries. This might seem like an unconventional cause for concern, but as Moisey explains, “In normal seeding you’ll get some seeds bounce out of the furrow and that’s fine.” If no seeds are visible on the surface Moisey suspects that the furrows may have been too deep.

IDEAL SEEDING DEPTH Ideal canola seeding depth is one-half to one inch below the press wheel furrow, says Moisey, who covers north-central Alberta for Pioneer Hi-Bred. Below this level, seedlings have a long way to grow before they see sunlight. “Once (the plant) starts producing chlorophyll it will help it beat the disease factor,” says Moisey. The canola plant also produces a wax to protect the hypocotyl — the part of the plant that is above the seed, but below the cotyledons — but this wax is only produced once the seedling emerges. Until then, the young canola plant relies on the fungicide and insecticide present in the seed treatment. The protective value of these products may be depleted before a deepseeded plant reaches the surface. Seeds can decay in the ground before emergence and seedling

diseases like wire-stem and insect pests like flea beetle can quickly destroy a young seedling, thinning the plant stand. Along with seedling death and non-emergence, delayed emergence can haunt canola growers throughout the growing season. Some deep-seeded plants may survive, but they will be behind shallower seeded plants. When it comes to making time-sensitive fungicide applications for later season disease like sclerotinia, it is important to have a stand of plants that are at similar growth stages. As well, farmers may have tough choices to make at harvest if they have an uneven plant stand.

ENSURING UNIFORMITY There are several things farmers can do before and during seeding to ensure uniformity of seeding depth. 1. Visual inspection. Whether a grower is using the same drill he had last year or a new one from the factory, it is important to do a visual inspection of the seeding tool. “If you’ve been noticing that you’re getting variable emergence make sure your drill is level front to back and side to side,” says Moisey. He suggests that farmers get out the laser level when the drill is in the yard and make sure each opener is at the right height.

2. Check tire pressure. “Make sure your tire pressure is right,” says Moisey. “A couple of pounds of air pressure on one side and you’ll have a drill that’s on the angle.” In the field, make the time out of the tractor count by ensuring that seed depth is checked at the appropriate place. “Checking right behind the drill isn’t the best place to look,” says Canola Council agromonist

5. Consider slowing down. Seeding speed also affects seed placement. While there is always pressure to get the crop planted in the spring, the time saved by seeding a mile faster may be lost if a farmer has to wait for an uneven plant stand to mature in the fall. Different soil and equipment types respond differently to excess seeding speed. Heavy soil may rip into large clods

Lisa Guenther CATTLEMAN’S CORNER EDITOR

Lee Hart FARMLIFE EDITOR

Sue Armstrong MACHINERY EDITOR

Scott Garvey PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Shawna Gibson DESIGNER

Steven Cote MARKETING/CIRCULATION DIRECTOR

Lynda Tityk

PRESIDENT

Delayed emergence can haunt canola growers throughout the growing season Keith Gabert. “Go check back a pass because you’ll see how you were operating at field speed.” 3. Check across width of the drill. Avoid checking on the headlands where the soil has a different consistency than the rest of the field and check across the width of the drill, not just one or two openers, says Moisey. 4. Check every field. Gabert reminds farmers to repeat the process on subsequent fields. “You set the depth in one field and when you move to a field where the ground is a little mellower or a little harder then you’re not getting the same depth.”

producing poor seed to soil contact. Seeding too fast in sandy soil will throw too much dirt. Producers with double-shoot system on their drill need to make sure seed does not roll into the fertilizer trench. Five miles per hour or slower is general guideline for canola seeding speed, but as Moisey points out, “There is no optimal speed. The ideal seeding speed is whatever places the most amount of seed at the right depth.” † Sarah Weigum grows pedigreed seed and writes in Three Hills, Alta. Follow her on Twitter: @sweigum.

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PESTS TO WATCH IN 2013

Both Hartley and Meers say that farmers have been voicing concerns about aster leafhoppers,

FIELD EDITOR

Heather Anderson

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ASTER LEAFHOPPERS

Leeann Minogue

CIRCULATION MANAGER

CROP DISEASE

lems last year overwinter, so farmers in affected areas should keep an eye out for cutworms in May and June. Grasshopper populations were sparse in most of Manitoba last year. But areas near Clearwater and Plum Coulee had moderate risk levels, and one area south of Crystal City had a higher count. If the weather becomes warm and dry, hopper populations could build in some areas. Flea beetle numbers were high in some canola crops even though most canola seed had been treated with an insecticide. Manitobans can access the insect forecasts under the e-newsletters and e-bulletins link on the home page of www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture. Farmers can also subscribe to insect updates from the website.

EDITOR

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Cutworms were a problem in parts of Manitoba last year. Damaging species may have overwintered. which spread aster yellows. Aster leafhoppers were common across Manitoba as well. Unfortunately aster leafhopper outbreaks aren’t easily controlled or forecasted right now. The leafhoppers don’t always spread aster yellows, either. Hartley says the Prairie

Pest Monitoring Network is considering monitoring wind currents to forecast leafhopper infestations. “So maybe we can get an indication of something moving in, or potentially moving in. But still, there’s no economic threshold for it. There’s too big a chance of rein-

vasion from neighbouring fields or more blow-ins from the south. Trying to control the aster leafhopper is not really economically viable,” says Hartley. † Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa. Guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

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The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Grainews and Farm Business Communications attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists and Grainews and Farm Business Communications, cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and the editors as well as Grainews and Farm Business Communications assume no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader for this publication based on any and all information provided.

MAY 6, 2013

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Features Insect management

Watch for flea beetles Seed treatments reduce the threat from flea beetles, but if you had a high flea beetle population at harvest, be on the lookout this spring By Shannon McArton

ith its ability to maintain large overwintering populations, the flea beetle is a perennial spring headache for Prairie farmers. Their huge appetite for anything cruciferous poses a huge threat for mustard, canola and rapeseed. Eight species of flea beetles are known to attack these crops, but the real damage comes from the crucifer flea beetle and the striped flea beetle. Areas of serious infestation can see yield losses add up quickly across traditionally affected regions. North American crop loss from flea beetles is estimated at about $300 million annually. Flea beetles feed on cotyledons, leaves, apical bud tissue, petioles, stems, roots and seeds pods. The resulting damage varies, dependent on the stage of the crop, which part of the plant has been affected and the severity of the attack. When adult beetles feed on the surface of leaves, seed pods and stems the tissue withers and dies. Affected leaves often appear peppered with holes, where damaged tissue has broken up and fallen out. A crop can generally compensate for the loss of individual plants, as long as large sections of the field haven’t been completely decimated. Damage is most severe when beetles attack the meristem, or growing point, limiting the plant’s ability to compensate and recover. Trying to gauge the potential threat can be challenging.

Although a good tool in the fight against the beetles, seed treatment can lose its effectiveness in a slow growing season, when plants remain vulnerable to attack for a longer period of time. “Once crops start to ‘cabbage out’ there are fewer problems,” says Hartley. “Seedlings are much more susceptible, so when a canola crop can advance quickly and evenly it’s much less vulnerable.” Flea beetles chew small holes in the cotyledons or leaves, giving a “shot-hole” appearance. Losses include stand thinning, smaller and weaker plants and delayed plant development. All of these losses contribute to reduced yield,

especially if the weather is hot probably required. If the new leaves and dry. are growing well and quickly with “Foliar spray decisions are made little sign of damage, your crop is in-season, based on feeding evi- likely to outgrow the threat. dence,” Hartley says. “Canola If the plant stand is thin you seedlings can withstand quite a can’t afford to lose any more plants bit of tissue loss under good grow- and may want to take action at a ing conditions, but heavy attack lower percentage of damage. At before the three- to four-leaf stage 15 plants per square foot, you can can result in big losses.” afford to lose a few plants without The economic threshold for flea giving up yield, but stay vigilant. beetles in canola crops in Canada Heavy feeding pressure can wipe is an average defoliation level of 25 out even the thickest stand in a per cent or more of the seedling leaf remarkably short time. area. Look for damage under leaves, Sample across the whole field, the feeding area of choice, paying inspecting 20 random seedlings at close attention to the newest leaves. each of at a minimum of 10 sites. If you’re seeing 25 per cent damageT:8.25” Pay close attention to field edges on that new growth, spraying is and any areas that include trees or S:7.425”

bluffs, but don’t neglect the middle of the field. Check regularly, especially if it’s warm and dry. The threat should be past after the four-leaf stage. If your crop is uneven, keep scouting until most of the crop has passed that important four-leaf stage. Direct, early planting with vigorous, treated seed at high seeding rates is a good start. Careful monitoring of populations and well-calculated damage estimates will help you make the best and most economically sound spraying decisions. † Shannon McArton is a grain farmer and freelance writer from southern Sask.

Flea beetle predictions

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“Accurate flea beetle predictions are very difficult, in fact, nearly impossible,” says Scott Hartley, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. “Fall populations give you the best indication of what to expect the following spring. Flea beetles over-winter as adults, so if you have high populations at harvest time you should be prepared for high populations in the spring.” Moderate infestation will delay plant development, resulting in uneven maturity that causes harvest problems. These late, unevenly maturing crops can be exposed to summer heat during the delicate flowering stage or hit by frost before plants have matured. Having to delay harvest to wait for immature pods to ripen can contribute to yield loss when the rest of the crop over-ripens and pods shatter at harvest. Harvesting too early to avoid shattering can result in a high number of immature seeds, affecting seed quality and yield. Either way, you lose. Much of this damage can be avoided if canola is protected from flea beetle injury during the two to three weeks following emergence, the period during which maximum damage is inflicted. “At least 80 per cent of canola crops are now hybrids, which means you’re buying new seed every year,” says Hartley. “That seed is likely to be treated with both a fungicide and an insecticide, and the insecticide will reduce the flea beetle threat.”

/ grainews.ca

MAY 6, 2013

Features INSECT MANAGEMENT

Beneficial bugs Not all bugs are bad. Some are on your team BY LISA GUENTHER

his growing season farmers should not only keep an eye out for pest insects, but also the beneficials that prey on them. “If we are familiar with the natural enemies, we can make a better decision on whether the risk of damage by the pest insects is relatively low,” says Dr. Héctor Cárcamo, Agriculture and AgriFood Canada research scientist. There isn’t a tried and true method of working beneficial numbers into economic thresholds yet. But Cárcamo says researchers are starting to get a better idea of how big a bite some beneficials take out of pest populations. “The number one thing that I think growers can do to protect those beneficial insects that are already there, including the generalists and the specialized parasitoids, is to only spray if you really have to spray. So you should be familiar with the economic thresholds and do enough monitoring and then wait to see if you have actually reached those damaging levels,” says Cárcamo.

GENERALISTS AND SPECIALISTS The beneficial insects that control pests can be divided into generalists and specialists. Generalists aren’t picky eaters — any insect is a potential meal. They include spiders, daddy long legs, and ground beetles. Cárcamo says generalists are the most underappreciated natural enemies. “But I think they are extremely important because having a large number of those is like having a buffer system or reserve. And by having healthy populations of those, we can avoid future pest problems in the long-term,” says Cárcamo. Generalists can’t control large outbreaks, but

they reduce the risk of smaller outbreaks. Cárcamo says field operations affect generalist populations. For example, some canola growers mix insecticides with herbicides as a preemptive strike against lygus bugs in the bolting stage. Cárcamo says it is a good idea to spray before flowering if there is a lygus bug problem because it won’t harm pollinators. But he says farmers who spray when there aren’t lygus bug problems are doing themselves a disservice by reducing natural enemies. “Just because it’s easy and simple and cheap, it’s not necessarily a good investment for your future as far as the environmental stability of your crop and your future management,” says Cárcamo. Specialist insects attack specific crop pests. For example, there is a small, black wasp that attacks lygus bug nymphs in alfalfa. Cárcamo says the wasp has a short life span, so they’re difficult to scout in the fields. But if farmers open up the lygus bug nymphs, they can see the worms growing inside. Western Canadian wasps don’t attack lygus bugs in canola, but Cárcamo and his colleagues are working on a project to see if a wasp found in Eastern Canada will venture into canola crops to parasitize lygus bugs. They also need to make sure the Eastern wasp doesn’t affect the Prairie wasp. Bertha armyworms may be a problem in parts of the Prairies this year. Bertha armyworms and cutworms are susceptible to disease and natural predators, including rodents, birds and insects such as ground beetles, harvestmen and spiders. If farmers see sea gulls or other birds following the tractor and feasting, that field likely has a cutworm outbreak, says Vincent Hervet, a graduate student at the University of Lethbridge doing research at AAFC’s Lethbridge Research Centre.

Flies and wasps both parasitize cutworms and bertha armyworms, but the flies are more prevalent. The flies resemble blowflies, and are either completely black or dark grey. They often have long, thick bristles that are more pronounced at the abdomen tip. Their abdomens are round or cone-shaped. They are larger than house flies and may have grey and black stripes on the abdomen. It’s difficult to figure out how many bertha armyworms and cutworms have been parasitized in the field. Hervet and his colleagues collect caterpillars, bring them back to the lab, and track how many die from the fly and wasp larvae. “Especially for bertha armyworm we know in some cases the percentage of deaths due to parasitism have been very, very high. And mostly fly parasitoids,” says Hervet. Biological control is the key control method for the cereal leaf beetle, says Cárcamo. The T. julis wasp, which is about two to three millimeters long, lays five to six eggs in each beetle larva. Two wasp generations per season make them even more effective. The wasps have taken out up to 40 per cent of the cereal leaf beetles in some sites around Lethbridge, and can control between to 70 to 90 per cent of the cereal leaf beetles in the B.C. interior. Cárcamo says the cereal leaf beetles are unlikely to reach economic levels on the Prairies because they prefer moist, humid habitats. “So by having some effect through the parasitoid, even if it’s only 30 or 40 per cent, that should be enough to keep the pest at low levels,” says Cárcamo. “We should let the parasitoid do the job and not worry too much about spraying for this pest.” † Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa. Guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

PHOTOS: H. GOULET, AAFC, OTTAWA

The calasoma is a ground beetle that hunts caterpillars.

This bcephi is a parasitoid of wheat stem sawfly.

The peristenus is a parasitoid This flower spider is eating a lygus bug. wasp of lygus bugs.

PHOTO: HÉCTOR CÁRCAMO

This trap crop of Polish canola was seeded next to the main crop — Argentine canola — near Lethbridge.

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MAY 6, 2013

grainews.ca /

Features Insect management

Supporting beneficial insects There are measures you can take to protect the beneficial bug population in your field, even if you have to spray

long with only spraying when necessary, there are several things farmers can do to protect and even encourage beneficial insects.

Making the decision to spray If you are deciding whether or not to spray, and there is a population of beneficial insects in your field, you may be wondering how they will affect the economic threshold. Will the amount of ladybugs in the field increase the number of insect pests it takes to reach an economic threshold? There is no fixed method for including beneficials in the count. According to Jeremy Hummel, the Plant and Soil Sciences Instructor at Lethbridge College, counting the amount of beneficial insects is not helpful for determining when to use insecticide. Though beneficial insects help to keep insect pest populations lower, once pest populations have reached the economic threshold, beneficial insects will not bring the pests under control before the farmer’s bottom line is affected. Hummel explains. “The natural enemies, for as valuable and important as they are, are not able to change the economic impact of the pest when that pest reaches economic injury level, and they therefore are also not considered to impact the economic threshold for the pest.”

Protecting bees

c o t t H a r t l e y, p e s t specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture, says farmers should keep in mind honeybees are out there, along with other beneficials. “Certainly even with bees, although people don’t consider them a big benefit with hybrid canola production, they do help in adding to your yield bump with pollination.” Farmers should check before spraying as some chemicals shouldn’t be used during flowering. Bees and wasps are most active during the day, and sometimes farmers can time their spraying to avoid harming beneficials. “Wheat midge is one where we recommend wherever possible to try to spray in the evening to avoid negative impact on the parasite. You don’t always have that option, though, so with bees it’s a case of good communication with the beekeepers,” says Hartley. †

Beneficial insects do not always control the pest population and when pests reach or exceed the economic threshold, it may be necessary to use insecticide to control the pests and prevent economic damage. Until damaging pests reach the threshold level, it is best to leave the field alone and let the beneficial insects to do their job.

If you have to spray Once pests have reached the economic threshold and you decide to spray, there are measures you can take to protect beneficials. 1. Consider the season. In

some cases, timing spraying correctly can protect beneficials. For example, by the time wheat is flowering, wheat midge have laid their eggs and spraying won’t help. Wasps that parasitize wheat midge peak just after flowering, so spraying at that time harms them and prevents them from parasitizing the wheat midge larvae. 2. Consider the time of day. It is best to spray early in the morning to avoid contact with beneficial insects. Holly Dorchak, previously a research assistant at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Lethbridge Research station. Dorchak says,

“The beneficials are less active (in the morning) and less likely to come into contact with insecticide.”

Encouraging beneficials John Gavloski, entomologist for Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, has suggested other methods for controlling pests without harming beneficials. Plant crops that are insect-resistant to control specific pests without hurting the beneficial insects When planning crop rotations try to provide a habitat where beneficial insects can survive.

For example, including perennial forages such as alfalfa in a rotation boosts the number of beneficial insects. Trap crops can help to control pests. For example, to control cabbage seedpod weevils, farmers can plant Polish canola along the field’s border. The Polish canola will flower about 10 days earlier than the Argentine canola, attracting pests and allowing farmers to spray a much smaller area. This solution works well in large square fields, of about a half section or larger. † Lyndsey Friesen is a student at Assiniboine Community College and a farmer in Wawanesa, Manitoba.

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/ grainews.ca

MAY 6, 2013

Features Crop production

Crop Advisor’s casebook

WHEAT NOT UP TO PAR

round the beginning of August at wheat harvest, a local farmer called the office about a problem he was having in some of his fields. Bruce, who grows canola, spring and winter wheat, peas, oats, and soybeans on his farm 20 kilometres south of Whitewood, Sask., informed me that he had some major concerns about a few of his wheat fields. “This week, I noticed an unusually high number of white, empty wheat heads when I scouted my field,” explained Bruce. “Could you come by and offer an opinion as to what may be causing this? I’m just not sure.” That day, I headed out to Bruce’s farm to help him determine what was causing the damage. Initially, take-all was at the top of my list because the affected plants appeared bleached in colour. Fungal spores causing take-all can overwinter on crop residue, growing in the soil when spring returns, also resulting in root infection. However, the white, empty heads were present throughout the entire wheat field and take-all normally presents in patches, forcing me to eliminate this plant disease as a suspect. Bruce told me his last scout two weeks ago revealed no damage whatsoever — the crop had been developing normally up to that point in time. Now, the entire field was affected, with roughly the same number of white heads per square metre and no difference in the incidence of damaged plants with respect to location. The same number of damaged plants were present regardless of whether they were growing on hilltops or lowlying areas.

s part of their coursework, Danielle Tichit’s integrated crop management students at Assiniboia Community College in Brandon entered the casebook contest. These students do some real hands-on work — designing field scouting kits, doing actual field scouting and learning from real life case studies. Danielle sent her students’ casebook entries to Grainews. We forwarded them on to Andre Laforge at Richardson Pioneer — the sales agronomist from Carrot River who originally found and solved the casebook problem. Andre was impressed with the quality of the students’ work. After careful consideration, he chose Janelle Reimer as the winner, saying she’d done a good job justifying her answer. Kim Warburton from Richardson Pioneer visited the ACC class to announce the winner and speak about agronomy skills. †

t the end of June last year, the Yorkton area received some pretty severe storms as Mother Nature unleashed multiple downpours, followed by high humidity and windy conditions. Many farmers were concerned about their crops. Frank, who farms 4,000 acres of wheat, canola, and barley west of Yorkton, emailed me a picture of his spring wheat field, which was approaching the critical flag leaf stage. In the picture, it was apparent that his field was exhibiting odd symptoms I had not seen before in spring wheat — patches of yellowing and stunted plants. Frank, who had recently returned from holiday, asked if I would stop by to help determine what was wrong. From the road, the damaged areas looked

There were a high number of white, empty wheat heads in Bruce’s field.

Jeremy Kenny I dug up some of the plants to inspect their roots. Root growth was normal and healthy. There was no discolouration, which is another symptom of take-all. I also thought wheat stem maggots could be causing the damage. However, there was no evidence to support this theory. For example, the stem did not pull out of the sheath as it would with wheat stem maggot damage. White heads in wheat can be caused by a number of different factors, including common root rot, aster yellows, fusarium head blight and heat stress, to name a few. I sent some samples of damaged wheat plants from various locations in the field to a laboratory for testing. The lab notified

Crop Advisor’s Solution By Alaina Stoesz

Casebook winner

Leeann Minogue

us of a positive result for one of the above diseases. What is causing the white, empty wheat heads in Bruce’s field? Send your diagnosis to Grainews, Box 9800, Winnipeg, Man., 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. † Jeremy Kenny is a sales agronomist for Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Whitewood, Sask.

Kim Warburton, Richardson Pioneer, and Janelle Reimer, Casebook winner.

SOMETIMES SOLUTIONS ARE OUT OF YOUR HANDS

yellow, but after walking through the field I discovered that many of the penultimate leaves had a greyish-dark green, watersoaked appearance. Some of the leaves were dying or already dead, the areas of necrosis extending toward the plants’ midveins. “It may be water stress or possibly herbicide injury,” offered Frank. However, he’d sprayed his herbicide two weeks earlier and had not noticed any plant injury up to that point, so we ruled out herbicide injury and sprayer malfunction as possible causes of the damage. I did notice that the patches of ailing plants were located mainly on side hills. In addition, upon examination of the root biomass and structure, I found these were also healthy. We were also able to rule out nutrient deficiency, but we took tissue tests from plants in the affected and unaffected areas to be sure.

This disease was unlike any other I had diagnosed in spring wheat because the symptoms did not resemble tan spot, rust or leaf blotch. The most outstanding abnormal circumstance that season was the severe weather of the previous week. On June 26, the Yorkton area experienced a thunderstorm with very severe wind and rain, followed by hot, humid weather. These conditions are perfect for the development of a rare disease in spring wheat — bacterial blight! Test results from the tissue samples sent to the Crop Protection Lab in Regina confirmed the diagnosis. Frank asked me if a fungicide with “plant health” effects would help, but since it is not a fungal disease, there are no registered products to eradicate bacterial blight. “Sometimes Mother Nature throws a

curve ball and things are simply out of your control,” I told Frank. In this case, the bacterial blight in Frank’s field was caused entirely by the environmental conditions created by the high winds and heavy rain — conditions conducive to bacterial development. The wind created a microclimate in certain areas of the field, making the plants within them more susceptible to blight than normal. Yield was lowered in the affected areas by approximately 10 bushels per acre as the bacterial blight had infected the field at a critical stage. I suggested to Frank that he may want to avoid using this seed for the coming year. However, generally, there is low seed-to-seedling transfer of bacterial blight, but as the old saying goes: better to be safe than sorry. † Alaina Stoesz is a sales agronomist for Richardson Pioneer Ltd. at Yorkton, Sask.

C NOLA M.D.

grainews.ca/DIAGNOSEIT

MAY 6, 2013

grainews.ca /

Features Insect management

Controlling wireworms Not all of the more than 30 wireworm species cause damage By Shannon McArton

s crop threats go, wireworm is one of the most difficult to predict. Its fickle behaviour, from feeding choices and patterns to life-span, makes it near-impossible to determine populations or geographic distribution. What we do know is that wireworm problems are increasing. Wireworms are among the most significant early-season stressors for many crops in Western Canada, posing a threat to early stand establishment. They seem to prefer cereal crops, but also have a taste for pulse crops and canola. What makes these tricky little worms so difficult to understand? To begin with, there are a lot of them. There are more than 30 species of wireworm, all similar in appearance and behaviour. Correct identification can be difficult, but is important to building a control strategy. Wireworms are the larval form of click beetles. They can live in the soil for several years, seemingly indifferent to adverse conditions. This makes them very hard to spot and harder to manage. Adult click beetles overwinter in the soil, emerging in the early spring to lay between two and 400 eggs by early June. Larvae hatch within a threeto seven-week period and can live for three to five years by feeding on roots or germinating seed. The larvae are usually reddishbrown, although sometimes white or yellow. They are slender with hard, smooth, jointed bodies and three pairs of legs behind the head. Larvae go through a pupation period of about one month, the white pupae contained in earthen cells in the soil. Full-grown larvae vary in size from 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches. They emerge as adult click beetles, ready to overwinter in the soil and perpetuate the cycle. Adults range from one-quarter to one-half inch in length, black-brown in colour and hard-shelled. The adult click beetle does not damage crops. “Not all wireworms cause serious problems,” says Shane Thomas, agronomist for GMac’s Ag Team at Kindersley, Sask. “Out of about 30 species, just a few of them can be economically significant. The problem is that if you have more than one species, it’s likely to include the one that can hurt you. It’s best to be prepared.” The wireworm’s ability to survive in the soil over several years means an infested field can host several generations at different life cycles at one time. As the soil warms, wireworms migrate to within a few inches of the surface to feed on fledgling plants. Hot, dry weather will drive them into the soil, as deep as three feet. Damp, cool weather pulls them to the surface; colder weather drives them back down. Soil conditions that favour wireworms are diverse and variable. Cereal crops are susceptible, as is recently broken sod. Well-drained, silty soil is very attractive, and wireworms love the safe haven of summer fallow, with higher levels. Soil with high levels of carbon dioxide as organic matter decomposes, as in heavily tilled soil, attracts wire-

worms to the surface. Anything that has been tilled for 10 years or more will see higher levels of damage. “Lindane was the only treatment that actually killed them. Following the Lindane ban, other products came along that will suppress them for a few weeks, allowing the crop to advance beyond the vulnerable stage. You’ll never totally get rid of them, but the goal is to keep them under control until your crop gets past them.” Feeding activity is influenced by availability. Their love for carbon dioxide released by germinating seeds pulls them to the surface to feed just as crops are emerging. They will move back down into the soil in times of poor food supply, surviving for up to two years.

Their underground nature can make it hard to identify wireworm damage. It is often mistaken for dry conditions, cutworm damage or a miss with the seeder. Wireworms feed on germinating seed, roots and seedlings, killing some plants and damaging others and making them vulnerable to disease. Some signs include wilted discoloured plants that still have a root, stems that are shredded, but not severed and dead seedlings or hollowed-out seeds. Beware of row sections missing in stands that appear healthy in all other respects, because wireworms have a tendency to feed along crop rows. Thin stands or plants with green outer leaves but dead central leaves might also signal wireworm damage.

Waiting to spot the damage in the emerging crop may indicate you’re too late to attack the problem. “Seeding good quality seed with high germination, maybe increasing the seeding rate, that’s a good line of defence,” says Thomas. “Treat the seed, and focus on quick, even emergence. The faster that crop can get a good start, the less damage will be done.” Some feeding is required for the worms to ingest a lethal dose of insecticide, so some feeding damage will be evident as the treatment does its work. If you suspect populations, dig into the soil to look for them. They’ll move quickly away from the light, but if soil temperatures

and germinating seed have attracted them to the surface, you’re likely to spot them by digging at the right time. Bait balls are useful for assessing populations. Mix one to one and a half cups of oatmeal or wheat flour with two tablespoons of honey and another half cup of water until the mixture forms a ball. Put the bait balls into the ground directly, or in an old sock or mesh bag. Bury the bait balls four to six inches deep, and be sure to mark the spot so you can retrieve them later. It will take about a week for the balls to decompose and create the carbon dioxide that will attract the wireworms. Check back in seven to 10 days to see what you’ve got. To get a good read, you’ll need about 20 bait balls, evenly spaced over an acre. Once in a field, wireworms are there to stay. But they can be controlled. † Shannon McArton is a grain farmer and freelance writer from southern Sask.

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/ grainews.ca

MAY 6, 2013

Features HARVEST FUNDRAISING

Olde Tyme Harvest demo A fundraiser, a harvest for people in need, and a chance to share their agricultural heritage with young people in the community BY LISA GUENTHER

rganizers of Olde Tyme Harvest for Hunger hope to raise money for a good cause, put the spotlight on agriculture, and set a world record for antique farm equipment, all at the same time. Last fall Terry Aberhart seeded 120 winter wheat acres, which will be donated to the Canadian Food Grains Bank. On August 24, at least 40 threshing machines will harvest that wheat, setting a Guinness world record. As far as Aberhart knows, 26 is the current world record for threshers harvesting simultaneously. “Probably about half of these machines are going to be run by old time steam engines and old, heavy tractors,” says Aberhart. Aberhart is expecting threshing machines from all three Prairie provinces and neighbouring states. “There’s going to be a lot of people coming from all over the place to help put the day on.” Organizers also want to share their agricultural heritage with

young people and the public, Aberhart says. Harvest day will be a family event with a festival atmosphere, he adds. Activities will include a farmer’s market, demonstrations, corn maze, music, plus the threshing bee. “I think it’s going to be a pretty exciting and unique event,” says Aberhart.

SPONSORS, VOLUNTEERS WELCOME A group that puts on harvest demonstrations approached the Aberhart family a few years ago about organizing the event. When the Aberharts acquired a quarter section along Highway 16, near Langenburg, they decided it would be an ideal spot to hold the harvest. Though the harvest is months away, the organizing committee has been busy lining up sponsors, setting up a website, and promoting the event through everything from Twitter to billboards along Highway 16. “There’s a lot of work to do yet, but there are lots of things coming together, which is good.

And more people are getting involved all the time,” says Aberhart. Volunteers, donations and sponsors are all welcome. Organizers want to line up as much sponsorship as they can to raise money and cover costs, such as moving harvest equipment to the site and back. People interested in volunteering for, donating to, or attending the event can visit oldetymeharvest.com. Potential sponsors should contact Joelene Kotzer-Mitschke at oldetymeharvestforhunger@gmail.com. Aberhart says they hope to highlight agriculture’s culture, “and where we’ve come from and where we’re going.” “I just think it’s going to be a great way to kind of get ag out into the public again. And those are some of the things that a lot of us as farmers are interested in doing. And maybe having some influence on the perception of agriculture and food production.” † Lisa Guenther is a field editor with Grainews based at Livelong, Sask. Contact her at Lisa. Guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

Agriculture in the Guinness Book

he Guinness Book of World Records notes everything from smallest roadworthy car (41 inches high and 26 inches wide) to loudest burp (Paul Dunn’s magnificent belch hit 109.9 decibels in 2009). The World Records also document many agricultural feats. Here is a list of the current world records related to farming, found at www. guinnessworldrecords.com Most combines to work simultaneously: Farmers near Winkler, Manitoba, set the current record on August 7, 2010, when 200 combines simultaneously harvested swaths from the same field. Most spring barley planted

in 24 hours: Agco Ltd. planted 74,347 kilograms of spring barley seed over 1,431 acres on April 23-24, 2003. The tractor was an unmodified AGCO Challenger MT865 tractor, pulling a 60-footwide Horsch seeder. Average speed was 57.8 acres per hour. The record was set in Ukraine. Most vegetables harvested from one plant: Between May 2005 and April 2006, a single tomato plant in Florida yielded 32,194 tomatoes, weighing in at 1,151.84 pounds. The plant was part of the Epcot Science Project, run by the Walt Disney World Company. In 2006, the Epcot Science Project also set the bar for high-yielding cucumber plants. A single plant produced 2,563

ABIC 2

Ken Mack and Tom Mitschke take part in an old tyme harvest demo. Ken Mack originally contacted Terry Aberhart about holding this fundraiser.

Through this summer’s Old Tyme Harvest for Hunger, Aberhart hopes to highlight agriculture’s culture, as well as “where we’ve come from and where we’re going.”

cucumbers, weighing a total of 2,078 pounds. Largest parade of classic tractors: On August 25, 2012, 964 classic tractors wound their way through Grand Island, Nebraska, as part of the Nebraska State Fair. Tractors needed to be more than 30 years old to be considered classic. The oldest tractor in the parade dated back to 1917. Most people transplanting seedlings: The Taoyuan County Farmers’ Association lined up 1,215 people to transplant seedlings in Taoyuan, Chinese Taipei, on August 18, 2012. In just over 16 minutes they transplanted more than 300,000 rise seedlings into a two hectare rice paddy. † Lisa Guenther

People interested in volunteering for, donating to, or attending the Old Tyme Harvest event can visit oldetymeharvest.com.

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MAY 6, 2013

grainews.ca /

Features Crop production

Ungerminated wheat crops There are still solutions for farmers whose winter wheat didn’t hit the crucial three-leaf stage before winter hit By Melanie Epp

any Western Cana dian winter wheat growers found themselves in a tough predicament last fall. Although a dry fall led to early harvest, creating perfect conditions for seeding winter wheat, many fields didn’t germinate. If your winter wheat didn’t hit the crucial three-leaf stage before winter hit, there are still solutions.

Viability? A lot of winter wheat acres went in the ground last fall. In Manitoba, farmers planted some 600,000 acres, which is very close to historic highs. “We’re happy to see that,” says Ken Gross, an agrologist with Ducks Unlimited. “Unfortunately, because of the dryness in the fields, there was a high variability in germination last fall. We saw everything from the four-leaf stage, which is what you want to see going into the winter, to just sprouted and just germinated. So, it was very patchy.” Understandably, some concerned farmers were calling to ask whether or not their winter wheat

crop was still viable. The easiest answer, says Gross, is yes. “We’ve never seen a winter wheat field that didn’t vernalize or set seed,” he says. “All the plant has to do is to imbibe a little bit of water in the fall and it will vernalize. That’s really not a big concern.” The next big concern is what they do this spring, he says. “The good news I tell producers is that even if the crop hasn’t germinated, and it’s just imbibed, it still can yield 100 per cent of normal. However, you have to manage that crop properly,” he says. “The biggest thing a producer can do is fertilize early,” says Gross. “With winter wheat, that means apply your nitrogen before the four- to five-leaf stage to maximize your yield. The biggest mistake that producers make when they have a patchy looking crop is they want to see what it does before they put their nitrogen on. You can’t wait to do that kind of assessment. You just have to go out and fertilize it. If you wanted to produce a healthy stand, you have to give it a shot of nitrogen. That really helps to establish it, and that really helps to get it tillering.”

Luckily, even if you decide to write the crop off later, most of the nitrogen you applied will still be available for the subsequent crop. Winter wheat growers in southern Saskatchewan where Ducks Unlimited agronomist Amanda Swanson works had their share of troubles this fall, too. “In some areas, guys have really struggled with moisture in the springtime and being able to get their crop seeded,” says Swanson. “This year, it looks like the springtime is going to be very wet again. On top of that, this was probably one of the driest falls we’ve had.” As a result, most of the winter wheat across southern Saskatchewan did not germinate. “Given the early snow cover that we had this year, crops should be fine, but guys need to have realistic expectations about delayed maturity and the crop being less competitive because it has a later start,” says Swanson. Early weed removal, and disease scouting and management are equally important if you want to give the crop the best possible B:10.25” chance of reaching its potential, T:10.25” she says.

Ken Gross agrees. “Normally, producers growing winter wheat do not have to spray for wild oats, but if it’s a weaker stand, it might make it a little less competitive. I suggest scouting for wild oats and be prepared to spray to make sure that you preserve the yield potential of your crop.”

Choosing the right variety Your crop’s true potential begins even before the seed meets the soil. Be sure to select the best variety for your area. “Most producers in Manitoba are looking for a short variety since our black soils yield well,” says Gross. “Producers don’t want to deal with excessive straw. As a result, Falcon is the most common variety seeded in Manitoba, even though it is only rated fair for winter hardiness. Buteo has good winter hardiness and is often seeded instead of Falcon in areas prone to winterkill issues. Newer varieties, like Flourish, are also short and have better winter hardiness, quality and disease resistance packages. As seed becomes available, Falcon will be replaced.”

Whereas Manitoba farmers prefer shorter varieties because they’re prone to lodging and falling over, Saskatchewan farmers don’t have those worries. “In Saskatchewan, probably the most popular variety of winter wheat in the past several years has been Buteo,” says Swanson. “But there is a new variety coming out called Moats. A lot of guys are very excited about it and are excited to try some this fall. It’s the new and better Buteo. Its qualities and characteristics are improving on Buteo, so that will probably be the new standard for winter wheat varieties once it’s in full production.” Got questions about winter wheat? Talk to your local agronomist. Winter wheat is profitable and, in fact, shows up as the strongest crop as far as net profit goes in Manitoba. “Because it out-yields spring wheat by 40 per cent, guys who have grown it over past years have continued to grow it. It continues to be profitable,” says Gross. † Melanie Epp is a freelance writer who specializes in writing web copy for small businesses. She is based in Guelph, Ont., and can be found online at melanierepp.com.

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/ grainews.ca

MAY 6, 2013

Features Crop varieties

The wheat midge refuge If you’re growing midge tolerant wheat, understand the refuge system By Danell van Staveren

he pest is small, but the losses it can cause are great. Lucikly the midge tolerant wheat introduced across the Prairies in 2010 has the potential to keep the midge population in check. Wheat midge can be found in most regions that produce wheat, and the Canadian Prairies are no exception. At half the size of a mosquito, the wheat midge is a small, orange, fragile pest with long legs and big black eyes. By early July, adult flies begin to emerge from the ground and mate. The females will lay an average of 80 eggs on the developing wheat heads.

Emergence peaks in mid-July. Upon hatching, the small orange larvae begin feeding on the developing wheat kernels. The larvae feed and develop for two to three weeks before finding their way into the soil to over-winter. Wheat midge larvae remain dormant until conditions are favourable for development, which may be the following year, or several years later. Wheat midge damage occurs to crops when larvae feed on the developing kernels. Midge damage can range from a slight change in shape, to a completely shrunken and deformed kernel, to complete abortion of the kernel. Damaged kernels may be downgraded, and up to half of damaged kernels may

be blown out of the combine during harvest. During an infestation, midge damage losses can range from $20 to $75 per acre.

ing. Unable to feed, the larvae starve. Phenolic acids in the wheat kernel only increase if the larvae nibble on the kernel, and return to normal before maturity, which leaves the quality, and food value, Midge tolerant wheat of the wheat kernel unaffected. The “tolerant” part of midge Sm1 is the only known gene toltolerant wheat originates from erant to wheat midge. Tolerance one single gene — Sm1. The Sm1 based on a single gene has a hisgene is naturally occurring and tory of becoming ineffective in a has been incorporated into CWRS relatively short period of time. The using traditional plant breeding Sm1 gene does not change over techniques. time, but the insect population The gene increases the level of it is meant to protect against can phenolic compounds (naturally change. A small number of midge occurring organic acids in wheat carry a mutation that allows them 912152A06_FCB Dec. 19, 2012 kernels) more rapidly than in ker- to feed on varieties with the Sm1 Esso_26535_2012 Hockey Goals & Assists nels without the Sm1 gene. The gene. An interspersed refuge is increased levelsM0219_Mag_D_2_ST of the phenolic used to keep this small midge acids cause the larvae to stop feed- population in check.

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Wheat midge tolerant wheat varieties are actually a blend of two wheat varieties. Ninety per cent of the blend is a midge tolerant variety; the other 10 per cent of the blend is a non-tolerant variety. This 10 per cent is referred to as the refuge, and is inter-seeded along with the tolerant wheat. If only tolerant wheat containing the Sm1 gene was planted in a field, the majority population of non-virulent (non-resistant) midge would starve as they are unable to feed, however the small population of virulent (resistant) midge would survive. The small population of virulent midge would mate and produce, over a relatively short period of time, a large virulent midge population, which would be able to feed on the Sm1 gene wheat — rendering the technology useless. The interspersed refuge allows some non-virulent midge to feed on the non-tolerant variety, and survive. The non-virulent and virulent midge mate. Their offspring will be non-virulent as non-virulence is the dominant gene. This ensures that the virulent midge population remains small. Because the wheat midge is a poor flier, the refuge must be inter-seeded through out the field, rather than seeded as block within the same field. As for quality and yield of midge tolerant varieties of wheat, they seem to be doing very well. “The products (tolerant varieties) are as good as, or better than, the other products (non-tolerant varieties) of the same class,” says Todd Hyra, SeCan’s business manager for Western Canada. Managing midge tolerant wheat is low maintenance, there’s no need to check fields for midge. Hyra says, “I recommend not spraying. It would defeat the purpose of the technology. Perhaps only under exceptional circumstances. Timing is difficult to spray midge, plus it would destroy the parasitic wasp that also helps keep wheat midge in check.” Proper stewardship of the wheat midge tolerant technology is critical to its longevity. Growers must sign a Midge Tolerant Wheat Stewardship Agreement. The agreement restricts the use of farm saved seed to one generation past certified seed. This restriction is necessary, as the amount of refuge may be substantially altered over several generations. For example, if the refuge variety suffers significant yield losses during a high midge infestation year, the amount of refuge in the wheat blend may fall below the required 10 per cent. If the refuge falls below 10 per cent the virulent midge population may increase, defeating the purpose of the technology. “Allowing to use one generation past certified gives producers an option to use farm saved seed, yet reduces the risk of resistance — a fair compromise. There is no back up if we lose the Sm1 gene. It is a valuable technology, and we can’t allow it to become ineffective.” Without proper stewardship, the technology may last less than 10 years. With proper stewardship, the technology could last for 90 years, or more. There are nine midge tolerant varietal blends available. For more information go to www.midgetolerantwheat.ca. † Danell van Staveren farms and writes near Griffin, Sask.

® / The TD logo and other trade-marks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank or a wholly-owned subsidiary, in Canada and/or other countries.

M0219_Mag_D_2_ST.indd 1

Interspersed refuge

12/19/12 5:14 PM

MAY 6, 2013

grainews.ca /

Columns OFF-FARM INVESTING

New canola streamer

A canola streamer business designed for farmers and investors ANDY SIRSKI

business strategy designed by Input Capital Corp. of Regina, Sask., can provide qualified farmers with fresh money for inputs and help from a science advisor. The managers believe the combined strategy could improve a farmer’s production skills for life. I recently spoke with Brad Farquhar and Gord Nystuen about Input Capital’s strategy.

CANOLA STREAMER BUSINESS If you’ve been following my column, you already know something about streamer companies like Silver Wheaton, Franco Nevada and Sandstorm. Now Input Capital has developed what we call a canola streamer business. The program has two parts. One part is for producing farmers. Input Capital advances cash to you, and you contract to sell some of your canola crop to Input Capital for the life of the contract. This allows farmers to stop relying on trade and bank credit and pay

THE

cash for fertilizer, chemicals and other inputs. Extra cash may allow farmers to buy and apply the crop inputs they need to improve the odds that their crops will yield to their genetic potential if growing conditions allow. It may be a chance to farm better and bigger, and fine-tune production skills. Instead of collecting cash as payments on this advance, Input Capital takes part of the canola crop. The company can be flexible — if the canola crop doesn’t work out, they’ll accept another crop of similar value as payment. The other part of Input Capital’s program is for investors like me, who buy shares in Input Capital — providing the cash they advance to producing farmers. I bought $10,000 worth of shares in 2012. Sometime this spring Input Capital expects to set up a reverse takeover with a listed publicly traded company. When the deal is complete, my $10,000 should be eligible for a contribution to an RRSP. Brad and Gord encourage each farmer client to work with a science adviser, or agrologist. The agrologists evaluate the farm’s productivity and look for ways to improve yields and quality. While the cost of $4 to $5 an acre might

ONLY

scare some farmers off, Gord Nystuen says that’s less than half a bushel of canola per acre and not quite the price of a bushel of wheat. As productivity improves, Input Capital gets a small percentage of the increase in productivity on the contracted acres, but the vast majority of the increased productivity will stay with you. If you’re considering getting involved, you should talk to Gord Nystuen to get the full details and the implications for your farm. You can find his contact information at www.inputcapital.com. I want to congratulate Brad and Gord and their staff for coming up with this idea. With gold and silver, streamer companies are forging solid business relationships with up-and-coming mining businesses. I can see how this canola streamer business could kick start a farmer to a new level of management and knowledge. Over the coming years this could be a game changer for many farmers.

STOCKCHARTS TECHNICAL RANKING (SCTR) Years ago when I was reading a financial paper called Investor’s Business Daily, IBD ranked stocks according to how quickly the stock price was moving up. The ranking

goes from zero to 100 and quickly shows how rapidly a stock has been going up compared to other stocks in the S&P or TSX indexes. Now Stockcharts publishes this ranking system on its site (even on the free site). To get to the ranking system, go to www.stockcharts. com and click. You will come to the home page with all kinds of funny looking letters all over it. Scroll down and you should see a box with a list of stocks in it with the letters SCTR either below or on the box with the list. You can click on any of the 10 stocks on that list. If you move your cursor to the right of the screen, along the bottom you should find the words “Complete SCTR ranking system.” Go there and choose either the S&P or TSX and open the file to look at the whole list of stocks and their ranking. If you want some free entertainment, go to that site and start either at the bottom or the top and work your way through the list. It could keep you busy for hours. I’m sure there are different ways to use the rankings — I’ll give you my opinion. The speaker at our technical analysts meeting said we should look only at stocks that are in the top 10 per cent of the ranking system. I couldn’t hear the speaker very well but apparently she also

said that if the price of a stock drops through the 10-day moving average going down, she sells. I have been gathering evidence on that combination and I totally agree. Most of my precious metal stocks are dragging their butts along the bottom end of the SCTR table and I think that could be another opportunity. These days the operative words for many stocks are rotation, rotation, rotation. At least some of the time, stocks get rotated down. Stocks near the bottom get rotated up. It happened in the past three years and could well happen again. I don’t think we can use the ranking system as a standalone indicator. I’m going to make a list of my favourite stocks, and once a week or so I will track the ranking system. The odds are very good that, as the ranking improves on a stock, the charts for the RSI (relative strength index), MACD (moving average convergence-divergence), price performance and full stochastic are going to start going up too. Most charts show us how a stock is doing compared to itself. The SCTR ranking system shows us how the stock is doing compared to other stocks. If a stock doesn’t drop while the whole market is sliding into a tank, it might look great even if it’s standing still. † Andy Sirski is mostly retired. He’s starting his tomato and pepper plants to be ready for spring, playing with his granddaughters, traveling a bit and talking to readers. Andy publishes an electronic newspaper called StocksTalk where he tells what he does with his stocks. To read it for free for a month, contact Andy at sirski@mts.net.

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Columns SOILS AND CROPS

Lake Diefenbaker and irrigation in Saskatchewan Now is the time for Saskatchewan to put its water resources to better use LES HENRY

SALES EVENT

hile we are swimm i n g i n w a t e r, many parts south of the 49th parallel are parched. Significant parts of Great Plains agriculture rely on irrigation, and much of that comes from underground.

GET READY. GET ROLLING.

DROUGHT IN THE U.S. The Ogallala Aquifer underlies parts of eight U.S. states. There are 13.6 million acres irrigated in that region. The big three states in terms of acreage irrigated by the Ogallala are Nebraska, Texas and Kansas. (Keen readers can access the reference under the map of the Aquifer to get all the facts you want.) To put it in a nutshell, the Ogallala Aquifer is being depleted faster than the recharge rate. It is a mining process. I see many scientific papers and extension pieces from Kansas and Colorado explaining how to grow slightly less with as little water as possible. Farmers in Northwest Kansas are voluntarily reducing pumping by 20 per cent over the next five years. A quick look at the current U.S. Drought Monitor map (find it online at droughtmonitor.unl. edu) shows Nebraska and western Kansas in a severe to extreme drought situation. In a severe drought, crop yield will be in direct proportion to the amount of water that can be cycled through crops. The choices are a switch to short season crops that use less water and innovative ways to irrigate more efficiently. But, in the long run the leading irrigation area in the Western Hemisphere will produce less.

WATER IN SASKATCHEWAN Let us come back home to Saskatchewan and Lake Diefenbaker. The Lake is there because of Gardiner Dam, built in the 1960s. In case young folks do not remember, Lake Diefenbaker is there because John Diefenbaker was Prime Minister of Canada. Many folks joke about a Liberal Dam (Gardiner) holding back a Conservative Lake (Diefenbaker)! But, the fact remains: Lake Diefenbaker is a hugely underutilized resource. The annual water loss to evaporation is more than we use to irrigate. The South Saskatchewan River Irrigation District near Outlook was built in the 1960s and ’70s. It had many leaking canals and flood systems that predictably salinized much land. Much of it has been converted to pipe and

Now’s the season to save on select tractors, combines and crop production equipment built New Holland SMART. Map of the Ogallala Aquifer. For more detail see http://pubs.usgs.gov/ sir/2012/5291. pivot. In the 1980s the Lucky Lake and Riverhurst projects were built as pipe and pivot systems from scratch with no salinity problems. Since the 1980s there have been no major developments. There has been no political appetite on behalf of either the federal or provincial Governments to invest in irrigation infrastructure. And, like highways, schools, universities and other infrastructure, irrigation does not happen without public input. In case anyone has forgotten, the Riverhurst and Lucky Lake irrigation projects are there because Grant Devine was Premier of Saskatchewan. Just like the fine College of Agriculture building at the University of Saskatchewan — where I still spend a lot of time — is there because Grant Devine was Premier. (Oops — almost forgot about the Rafferty and Alameda dams on the Souris River.)

DROUGHT MITIGATION The Global Warmers talk a lot about the upcoming droughts — although they say it is going to be warmer and wetter. I recently saw an “expert” show tree ring data and say that it was getting drier and Global Climate models to show we were getting wetter. I guess it will be a wet drought.

The only way I know of to “mitigate” drought is to irrigate. And, if the main irrigation project in the Western Hemisphere is slowly running low on water, maybe we should be looking at expanding our capability. The Prairie Provinces Water Board regulates interprovincial flows. Each province gets to take half of the flowing water and must let the remaining half carry on to the neighbouring province. Alberta is using most or all of its allotment. There are good reasons why Alberta has been a more aggressive irrigator than Saskatchewan. Alberta has more serious desert conditions. It also has many more cowboys who fully utilize the resource by including livestock in the mix. Most irrigation projects are conceived in times of great drought. But irrigation infrastructure should be built in wet and affluent times so it is available in dry, hard-up times. Now is the time to start. † 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.

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/ grainews.ca

MAY 6, 2013

Columns UNDERSTANDING MARKET BULLS AND BEARS

Pre-harvest contracting of cash grains Risk protection can be difficult unless your contract has an Act of God clause BY BRIAN WITTAL

hat do we consider cash grains? These are grains that do not have an active futures or options contract trading that you can use to offset pricing and delivery risk. These include durum, malt barley, feed barley, flax, peas, and all other special crops. What can you do to reduce your pricing and delivery risk if you decide to pre-price cash grains prior to harvest? Nothing! Unless your production contract with a grain buyer includes an Act of God (AoG) clause. A production contract is a commitment to deliver all or a portion of your production of a specific crop to a grain company. Your commitment helps the company know how much volume they’ll have on hand, so they can pre-sell it. But what does it do for you? The AoG clause is a rare and wonderful thing. It provides an incentive for you to sign a production contract with a grain company. The terms of an AoG clause will vary with every company and every type of grain. Generally, they offer farmers the ability to lock in a price on a specific tonnage or percentage of anticipated production before harvest. If you experience a production loss (like hail or drought, for example) the grain company, after verifying your production loss, will not hold you responsible to deliver the tonnes you pre-priced. In essence, the company has given you the ability to pre-price some of your grain with no delivery or pricing buyback risk if you’re

short production at delivery time. That is about as risk free a prepricing contract as you will find. Don’t assume that all production contracts will include an AoG clause, Ask before you sign. Try to negotiate one in to the contract if it is not there.

WHY ARE AOG CLAUSES RARE? Only a few grain companies offer AoG clauses. These clauses are rare because grain companies offering AoG clauses are taking on all of the risk if you can’t deliver the tonnes you contracted. They can’t offset this risk by hedging because there are no valid futures markets for them to hedge on. For example, if you locked in a price on some peas and the grain company pre-sold them to a buyer, then you got hailed out and couldn’t deliver the peas, the grain company has to find other peas to replace yours. But now, the price of peas has gone up above the price the grain company pre-sold them for — the grain company ends up losing money on this transaction. That is why most AoG clauses limit the maximum percentage or tonnage that they cover — to reduce the company’s total price exposure and risk. Only a few companies offer a 100 per cent AoG clause. You could ask your grain company rep to do a production contract with a specific number of acres or tonnes of production of a specific crop if they will provide you with some pricing protection with an AoG clause. This would guarantee them tonnage and give

you some price protection. This is what I would consider a good working relationship. If markets for cash grains and specialty crops are going to continue to grow, grain buyers need to start offering contracts that will give farmers incentive to grow these crops without shouldering all of the risk themselves.

Spread your risk around among different grains NO ACT OF GOD CLAUSE? If you don’t have a production contract with an AoG clause and you pre-price some of your cash grains, you’re facing greater pricing and delivery risk. You can’t offset any of your risk with a hedge or options contract like you could with canola, wheat or oats. If you’re short of produc-

tion and cannot deliver against your contract, you’ll have to find grain to fill your contract or buy out your contract, whichever is easier or cheaper. There are only a small number of acres of specialty crops like lentils, mustard and chickpeas, and these are usually grown in a fairly concentrated area. A major drought or hailstorm could easily wipe out a good portion of the total production real fast. If this happens, and you have to buy out your contract, the cost could be astronomical depending of course on how prices react to the situation. Due to this additional risk related to pre-pricing cash grains it is often advised that you focus your pre-pricing strategies on grains that offer hedging or options contracts (canola, wheat and oats). If you need cash in the fall you can pre-price those grains more aggressively (protecting yourself with a hedge or options contract). Then you can wait until you have your cash grains in the

bin before you sell them. This will eliminate your delivery risk. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with pre-pricing some tonnes of cash grains, if you do it strategically. The likelihood of getting 100 per cent hailed or droughted out is on average rather low. If you were to pre-price 10 or 15 per cent of your anticipated crop because the price is good, there shouldn’t be too much concern that you won’t be able to come up with enough tonnes at harvest to meet your contractual obligation. It’s all about taking advantage of good prices when they’re available, without putting yourself in an overly risky situation. Be safe this spring. Spread your risk around among different grains, and use different contract types to your advantage to reduce your risk. † 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).

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Columns FARM FINANCIAL PLANNER

Trust structure to preserve family farm With the income of an incorporated farm to protect, Burt and Martha are considering trusts BY ANDREW ALLENTUCK

askatchewan farmers we’ll call Burt, 59, and Martha, 57 — not their real names — are the third generation of a family who have tilled their land in southern Saskatchewan for three generations. The farm, 1,280 acres they own and 1,500 acres they rent, supports a 70 head cow calf operation and 300 acres of wheat and flax. The operation has supported the couple and their three children for 30 years, but none of the kids want to continue farming. Burt and Martha enjoy their lives and have no plans to quit farming for at least five years. Then, they figure, they can rent the land out and retire. The farm is incorporated. Within the corporate shell, a few oil wells with an estimated 20 years of productive life left provide royalty income of $40,000 per year. The corporation owns 800 acres of the farm and rents additional land from the provincial government. The couple has retained 480 acres to take advantage of the lifetime capital gains exemption, which was boosted to $800,000 in the March, 2013 federal budget. For now, Burt and Martha live modestly. Each takes a salary of $18,000 from the farming corporation. The salaries are taxable to the corporation. They build their Canada Pension Plan benefits, create room in their Registered Retirement Savings Plans, and create little taxable personal income after Saskatchewan’s basic personal exemption.

THE CURRENT SITUATION Farm Financial Planner asked Don Forbes, head of Don Forbes Associates/Armstrong & Quaile in Carberry, Manitoba, to work with Burt and Martha. His analysis shows the couple has done good planning — though much remains to be

done to secure the farm for the future. Looking ahead, Burt and Martha see that they will need to convert salary from the farming corporation into taxable dividend income at the same level of $1,500 per person per month. In retirement, beginning at 65, Burt can expect Canada Pension Plan benefits of $300 per month. Martha can take early CPP benefits at about $150 per month at the same time that Burt applies (2018). When each reaches 65, they can apply for Old Age Security benefits, currently $546 per month. On top of dividend income and government benefits, they can receive monthly income from their RRSPs of $900 for Burt and $750 for Martha. Martha can also receive an employment pension through a Life Income Fund of $375 per month. On top of all that, their farmland rental should produce rent of $625 per month. Adding up the components of their retirement income, the couple should have $7,192 per month in 2013 dollars before tax. Allowing income tax at just 12 per cent in recognition of the dividend tax credit for distributions from their privately controlled corporation, they will have $6,330 after tax per month to spend, Forbes estimates. That will leave a good deal after they cover their anticipated expenses, $3,650 per month. Their savings, about $2,680 per month, will allow them to travel, to indulge their children or to support good causes.

CREATING A TRUST Burt and Martha need to create a structure for the supervision of the leasing operation into which they should eventually convert the farm. They can create a family trust in their wills. A testamentary trust would take over ownership of the farm on the event of the last to die and ensure that it would operate

within the trust as a business leased to operators. The trust also creates income management opportunities — it could distribute farm earnings to the three children on a periodic basis. It creates a wall against many liabilities for accidents on the farm that might generate claims against the beneficiaries. The many forms of trust agreement should be discussed with the couple’s lawyer, Forbes suggests.

“This is the time to make plans for the inevitable.” — Don Forbes

The trust could be handled by a chartered bank — all the banks have trust operations. That is an expensive solution, however. Banks acting as trustees charge as much as five per cent of revenues per year, plus charges for actual work such as collecting rents, cashing cheques, paying taxes and other services. The better solution is to have the adult children act as trustees and to use a trust company as agent. That way, the trust company or bank will charge several per cent less. The children retain full control and have the right to discharge the agent without cause. Even if the trust is run by a trust company acting in full as a fiduciary, that is, with the highest level of responsibility, the will should give the beneficiaries power to change trustees without cause. That power at least gives the children the power to shop for the best price or best practice and should, in theory, keep the trustee alert to the need to provide good service, Forbes says. Burt and Martha already have the basis for a testamentary plan in their life insurance. Each has

a $250,000 policy. The policy should be kept in force. Cash values and potential payouts within the policies have a good deal of creditor protection. Life insurance is often seen as a poor investment, but for people who will continue to be exposed to risks of the economy through their mutual funds, it is a portfolio stabilizer, not unlike the bonds which, in fact, are the investment base of the insurance itself.

MANAGING INVESTMENTS Burt and Martha have invested their registered savings in several mutual funds. The names are respectable, the records are acceptable, but the management costs are high. Over time, as any remaining penalties for early sale of funds expire or at least decline to an ordinary transactional fee level of perhaps one to two per cent of net asset value, they should migrate to exchange traded funds with mandates similar to those of the fund they now hold. Fund picking is often seen as something like a visit to a candy store in which the investor can buy not just what one may call white bread broad index funds, such as the S&P/TSX Composite or the S&P500, but sector funds such as entertainment industry, health care and pharmaceuticals, American retailing, and so on. This form of portfolio construction may be entertaining, but it is both inefficient and financially dangerous. The smaller the sector, such as natural resources, the more volatile it is. When it slumps, there is more incentive to sell. The better way to construct a portfolio is by giving weight to bonds, which tend to rise when stocks fall and to broad market stock indices. Government bond interest rates are at historic lows. When rates rise, these bonds will lose value. But investment grade corporate bonds with maturities

from one to five years still yield three to 4-1/2 per cent. They can be bought in laddered maturities that minimize the losses that rising interest rates will generate. Bonds can be held in a ratio related to age, so Burt and Martha might consider populating their portfolio with half or more investment grade corporate bonds. They should discuss the ratio of bonds to stocks with their investment advisor, Forbes urges. Stock index investing eliminates single stock event risk — that chance that a bad year or an accident (think of the Japanese Tsunami and what it did to Canadian uranium stocks) can devastate a portfolio. However, most index funds are constructed top to bottom from recent winners to the also-rans. They effectively buy winners at their highs and sell losers at their lows. The broader the index, one should add, the better an index strategy works An index that is equally weighted eliminates this recent winner bias and further reduces event risk. Burt and Martha can accomplish all of this through exchange traded funds with average management expense ratios of no more than 1/2 per cent per year, a fifth of what they are now paying. On approximately $200,000 of assets in their registered accounts, a two per cent annual fee saving would amount to $4,000. There is no tax on such savings within the RRSP. It would be equivalent to perhaps $5,000 outside of the funds even in the couple’s relatively low brackets, Forbes estimates. “In spite of the good work this couple has done to continue the family farm, there is a new chapter in their lives — what happens to the farm when they retire and after they are gone,” Forbes says. “This is the time to make plans for the inevitable.” † Andrew Allentuck’s latest book, “When Can I Retire? Planning Your Financial Life After Work,” was published in 2011 by Penguin Canada.

CAN’T TAKE THE FARM FROM THE BOY

Finally spring Finishing up the spring seeding can be satisfying, once you get started TOBAN DYCK

pring! I bet I could repeat the word “spring” 800 times and you, the reader, who is starting to experience warmer weather, would read each word. I would. Sadly, though, any article starting with spring would have to end with the word “flooding,” as the two seem to have a close relationship, at least this is the case in southern Manitoba. When I wrote this at the end

of March, I could see the tarped corners of the farm’s John Deere drill sticking out from the melting drift it wintered under. This was misleading. The season when that drill would be needed was closer than all the snow left in the yard led one to believe. Before this year, it had been a while since I seeded, but I did do it since I moved away from the farm, so I wasn’t totally green. It was only a couple years after our wedding, 2003 or 2004, that I helped my dad put in the crop. I needed the extra money, and he also contracted help for the season, so it worked out, in theory. That spring, seeding began at the usual

time, early May, but ended very late. After heavy, sporadic rains, what should have been only a two-week desertion of my wife in Winnipeg, turned to a marathon for me, living away from my wife and friends, and her, being alone in the city with newly-acquired education degree.

Sandbagging and the threat of land damage is a very real fear for many The last field we planted that year was the home quarter — soybeans. I remember feeling the push to get them in on time, and before more rains. It was late at night, I was emptying bags of soybeans into the drill, and it was soon time for my dad to spell me off. When he called over the radio, about 12 or 1 a.m., asking if I

wanted him to take over. I said, “No, I’m good.” I wasn’t lying. I could see the end, and I was in a groove. The weather was perfect. I could finish this field and cap the seeding season. This felt amazing at the time, and that was long before I had an interest in farming. In retrospect, perhaps the interest was always just below the surface. There’s something very satisfying about working through the night, especially when the finish line is so close. The sun was starting to rise when I finished. I was tired and very excited to see my wife again. I have never been as close to falling asleep behind the wheel as I was that day. I made it. It wasn’t long after that spring that the farm began investing in good drainage. And with excavation companies now operating with GPS-guided accuracy, it’s an investment that has paid for itself a few times over. Almost every year, a field or two gets molded to better deal with heavy rainfall or wet conditions.

This year’s flood forecast, so far, doesn’t look devastating, but this March there is enough snow on the ground now to warrant some concern. The average snow depth on our yard is about three to four feet, and the drifts are near tree height, at places. A fast melt would fill the creek running through our property, but that’s hardly worth mentioning over the potential setback of a flood to seeding times, and the land damage it could cause. Good drainage is a nice security against what could come. But sandbagging and the threat of land damage is a very real fear for many come spring, properly graded fields or not. In the next few days, weeks, the drift burying the drill will be gone and we can see what’s needed to get it ready for some late nights and early mornings. I got a few allnighters in me, if the need arises. And, this time, the ride home is much shorter. † Toban Dyck is a freelance writer and a new farmer on an old farm. Follow him on Twitter @tobandyck or email tobandyck@gmail.com.

/ grainews.ca

MAY 6, 2013

Machinery & Shop PRODUCT EVALUATION

How to improve cell phone reception We install a Wilson Electronics signal booster in a pickup truck and test its performance BY SCOTT GARVEY

ets face it. Cell phone reception in most rural areas just isn’t very good. Standing in a farm field trying to complete a call with one bar or less of signal strength means you need to talk fast and hope the call doesn’t get dropped. But there is a way to improve that situation. Retailers marketing cell phone signal boosters claim those systems can help keep you in touch with the world by greatly improving the strength of signals received and transmitted back to a tower. For about $100 you can outfit a vehicle, machine or even an office with a cell phone signal booster. To find out whether or not that would be money well spent and if boosters live up to the hype, we decided to try one. We contacted Wilson Electronics Inc. of Utah (www.wilsonelectronics.com), a major manufacturer of cell phone signal boosters, and they sent us their “Sleek” model installation kit to try for ourselves. With the kit in hand, the first thing we had to do was get it installed in the truck. But that wasn’t very difficult. It’s a very simple DIY project that doesn’t even require as much as a screwdriver.

INSTALLING THE BOOSTER To start the process we selected a spot on the truck’s dash for the mounting base, which has an adhesive backing. After cleaning the dash surface, all you have to do is stick the mount in place and let the adhesive set up for 24 hours. Next, place the antenna on the cab roof. It has a magnetic base, so no holes to drill here either. Just set it where you want it. The antenna cable is designed to simply run under the door weatherstripping and down into the cab. Again, without drilling any holes. We ran

The “Sleek” cell phone booster kit from Wilson Electronics includes all the components necessary to install it in a vehicle in about 15 minutes without any tools. the line under the floor mat and used a couple of zip ties to keep it secured up under the dash. Plug the antenna lead into the booster and the power supply cable into the truck’s power port on the dash and that’s it; done. It was all finished in barely 15 minutes. The Sleek also has a USB outlet so you can charge your phone while its in the booster cradle. So, installation is a piece of cake, but how does it perform?

BOOSTER PERFORMANCE We found out right from the start if we were going to get a benefit from the booster. The location where we worked on the truck, in front of the farm workshop, has hit-and-miss reception when using a phone. Outside the truck, the phone registered one bar on the signal strength indicator, and sometimes even that disappeared. We then put the phone in the Sleek’s

When a cell phone is placed in the booster cradle, the company claims the Sleek can increase the strength of a cellular signal by up to 20 times compared to the power of an unaided phone.

booster cradle and within a couple of seconds the indicator rose to four full bars and remained there. Making a call with the phone in the booster was noticeably different. The reception was crystal clear, much better than when using the unaided phone in that spot. To see if we could get similar results elsewhere, we went around to a few dead spots we knew about. For more detailed comparison data, we switched to using the cell phone’s numeric signal strength readout feature, not just the visible bars. In one spot with no boost, the phone’s indicator read -111. After putting the phone in the booster cradle in the same location that dropped to -75 (much better). Anything over -105 is virtually no service. -50 is a maximum signal. So the Sleek bumped us up to pretty good service where we had none at all before. The results were similar in all the locations we tested.

PHOTOS: SCOTT GARVEY

Wilson’s “Home/office accessory kit” allows the sleek to work on 110 volt power and boost a cell signal inside a building.

However, the cell phone must be left in the booster cradle to get an improved signal. That means you’ll need to use the phone’s “speaker” feature or connect to it with a Bluetooth device. Wilson does make other booster systems that broadcast a signal within the vehicle, allowing you to use a phone in the normal way. But you’ll pay more than twice as much for one of those. If you want to boost a cell phone signal inside a building, the Sleek kit will work for that application, too. Wilson sells a “Home/office accessory kit” to adapt the Sleek for that use. It includes a suction-cup, windowmount bracket for the antenna, a desktop holder for the booster and a 110 volt power cable. This option would work well for improving reception in an office located inside a metal-clad farm workshop. Those buildings typically block cell signals completely,

making a phone useless inside them. Once again the cell phone needs to stay in the cradle to work. But if the phone is sitting on a desk it’s even easier to use the “speaker” feature. It’s also possible to purchase a high-output booster kit that will provide a strong signal anywhere inside a building, so you can walk around and use your cell phone normally. Wilson also sent us their DB Pro system, which can do that, and we’re soon going to install it in a farm workshop to see how it performs. Watch for that in an upcoming Grainews issue. The Sleek booster kit is available from a variety of Canadian retailers and it can be ordered online from retail sites like www.futureshop.ca. To get a video look at our installation of the Sleek, watch for a new episode of E-Quip TV coming soon to www.grainews.ca/videos. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

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Pick a word and run with it.

Introducing the All-New 9 Series Round Balers

You can use a lot of words to describe the new 9 Series Balers. Faster? A quicker gate cycle time of up to Ɵve seconds adds speed to your bale making. Enhanced? Check out the higher-quality Diamond® chains that strengthen durability and reduce maintenance. Improved? Standard adjustable hitch lets you match the baler to your speciƟc tire size and drawbar height for optimal crop Ơow. Greater? Get used to less downtime thanks to the extended-lube driveline, offering more than 20 hours of longer service interval. And just think, these are only a few of the upgrades. We’ve also added four high-performance models: new, bigger 5-foot wide Silage Specials, and a 9 Series Premium lineup featuring a revamped styling, ISOBuS monitor, and much more. So many words sum up the new 9 Series, but the word we went with is ‘stronger’ because with all the new internal advancements, we’ve literally made these balers stronger to the core. Learn more about our new strengths at your John Deere dealer or visit us online. John Deere 9 Series Round Balers – Stronger to the Core

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MAY 6, 2013

Machinery & Shop Seeding equipment innovation

Award winning drill incorporates new technology Some of the features on the Great Plains Centurion drill, which is designed for European fields, may find their way onto North American models By Scott Garvey

“

here are some really nice technological features on this machine,” said Daniel Rauchholz, president of Great Plains International, as he sat at a table inside the Great Plains display at Ag Connect Expo in Kansas City in January. He was discussing the features on the firm’s new Centurion small-grains drill. But the Downtown Convention Center in Kansas City is a long way from the European farm fields the Centurion was designed to work in, so why exhibit it at a show in the U.S. Midwest. “The main reason we showed it here is because of the international nature of the show and because we won a Silver Innovation award for it,” he added. Innovation awards are handed out at each biannual Ag Connect Expo, and winners are chosen as “the best of the best” of ASABE’s (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers) AE50 design awards over the previous two years. The Centurion garnered an Innovation award in the Silver category. The Centurion is also the first new product designed by the company since it purchased U.K.-based Simba, another implement and seeding equipment manufacturer, in 2010. Despite the fact the company doesn’t expect to sell the Centurion in North America, some of those award-winning features it offers may find their way onto other products designed for the U.S. and Canadian market. And there is a long list of them. “The hopper is sitting on weigh cells, so you always know how much grain you have in the hopper,” Rauchholz explained. The drill’s controller also uses data from those cells to maintain even weight distribution across the working width of the toolbar. “You can transfer some of that weight

to the wings and program it so there is always even down pressure across the width of the machine,” he added. That helps ensure a consistent seeding depth. When the hopper starts to run low on seed, the tractor operator doesn’t need to worry about contacting a helper to bring another load of seed and fertilizer, the Centurion does that automatically. “We have a text message feature, so the guy coming to fill the drill will get a message,” he continued. The unique design of the hopper is elongated so that it can be filled with a front-end loader if necessary. Underneath it, the metre is capable of using three different, quick-change rollers, so it can reliably handle very large or very small seeds. “You can be very precise with canola or smallseeded crops. We have a special roller for those. And you can plant very shallow.” Great Plains’ engineers have added a feature that simplifies calibration tests. With the pull of a lever, all seed passing through the meter can be redirected to a special outlet for collection in a bag, making it easy to get a measured sample. “With the weigh scales, you also know, is my seeding rate accurate to what my calibration is,” said Rauchholz. “You’re adding another check and balance.” None of the lines to seed blockage sensors are exposed on the Centurion. They’re all routed inside the machine for durability. “We want to try and protect them from the elements,” he added. The drill has section control capability. And it also allows the operator to shut off flow to individual openers for farmers who practice controlled traffic field operations. As for exactly when any of these features will make an appearance on North American Great Plains drills, you’ll have to stay tuned. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

photos: scott garvey

Some of the award-winning features on Great Plains’ new Centurion drill, which is intended for European markets, may find their way onto North American models.

To test the seed metre calibration, an operator can direct seed flow from the metre directly to a collection bag at the end of this tube.

Keep it going

Impressive 1066 part of Case IH display This tractor was the centrepiece of Case IH’s display at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock last fall By Scott Garvey

his 1066 International was restored to such a high standard that it might have been mistaken for one of the current production tractors on display at Case IH’s stand at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ont., last fall. Of course, it wasn’t, but it was a great example of what can be done to make an older machine look almost better than it did when it rolled off the assembly line. Owned by a Southern Ontario farm family, the pristine 1066 was on loan to

the display for the duration of the show. And it made a top-notch centrepiece to the Case IH exhibit. The 1066 was built by International from 1971 to 1976, and it used IH’s own 414 cubic inch, six-cylinder diesel that delivered 125.6 horsepower at the PTO. When it came to transmissions, you had one option: the 16F-8R. According to the Farm Equipment Guide, if you wanted to buy a 1066 new back in the day, you’d need to put down US$21,080. † Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

The 1066 was on loan to the display for Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show.

photo: scott garvey

MAY 6, 2013

grainews.ca /

Machinery & Shop TECHNOLOGY

Seed Hawk updates its website The company has significantly expanded its online presence, providing a range of information for buyers and owners BY SCOTT GARVEY

t’s nothing new for a company to provide information about its products online, but Seed Hawk has decided to expand on that concept. Potential buyers can still find relatively detailed specifications for the company’s drills, air carts, openers and vertical tillage tools. And, of course, along with that there are the usual testimonials from owners discussing their seeding equipment; however, you now get the choice of reading them, listing to them on audio files or watching videos.

book to help with servicing your machine. And if you want to look at improving an older drill, there is also a list of what upgrade kits are currently available. “We want to provide a better online experience for our dealers and customers,” says Pat Beaujot, President of Seed Hawk. “As growers now turn to the website for detailed product and agronomic information, Seed Hawk is committed to making access to information easier than ever before.” The website is at www.seedhawk.com. †

PHOTO: SEED HAWK

Scott Garvey is machinery editor for Grainews. Contact him at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com.

Seed Hawk has updated its website with new sections discussing zero-till agronomy as well as providing information on parts listings and upgrade kits.

You can now download an owner’s manual or parts book But what’s really new and a little different about this updated website is the firm has included an agronomy section to discuss various aspects of zero tillage. The site now takes a look at topics ranging from the importance of seedling vigour to weed control in zero-till fields. There is even a section devoted to discussing “myths” about zero tillage. If you already have a Seed Hawk product, you can now download an owner’s manual or parts BY DAN PIRARO

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MAY 6, 2013

Cattleman’s Corner ANNIVERSARY

SSGA has helped ranchers, and industry Historic association gearing up for 100th anniversary in June BY LISA GUENTHER

rian Weedon, who has been ranching near Swift Current, Sask. for nearly 40 years, credits the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) with helping him learn the ropes. “By rubbing shoulders with some of the best ranching families and individuals in the province, to me it was like going to university and not having to pay the tuition,” says Weedon. Weedon came from a grain-farming background, though he also worked in a feedlot as a teenager. Today Brian and his wife Glenys run about 375 Angus cows, plus backgrounder calves, on 13,000 acres in the Sand Hills. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association presented them with an environmental stewardship award in 2011. Weedon says the coarse-textured sandy soils make it very important to avoid overgrazing. “Once you get wind erosion and the like, it’s tough to turn back.” The Sand Hills have both warm- and cool-

season grasses, so the hills can green up again in August and September. And although there is no surface water, there is very good well water. Brian and Glenys have been replacing the aging windmills with pipelines. The Weedons usually sell their yearlings in August off the farm, but Weedon says if there’s a drought, “we could pick up the phone and get rid of maybe 30 to 35 per cent of our inventory right now.”

STOCKGROWERS REACH MLESTONE Weedon served on the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association board for several years. During his tenure as president, the Stock Growers tackled the anti-dumping and countervailing action by the U.S. in the late 1990s. The SSGA also endorsed the business plan for the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency when Weedon was president, and he says he had to help sell it to the beef industry. Not everyone in the beef industry saw themselves as part of the food industry at

that time, Weedon says. “Unfortunately, we have to ask for things but the consumer can demand. And if we don’t meet those demands, they vote with their wallet.” Over the years, the Stock Growers have also helped implement the Grazing and Pasture Technology Program and collaborated with Saskatchewan Agriculture to bring in field people to help ranchers use pasture resources to their full potential. Weedon says he is proud of the Stock Growers’ contributions to the beef industry. “In the long haul I think the Stock Growers have been there for all the challenges that have come along and made huge contributions to the industry on the provincial level, the federal level, and, of late, the international level, working with their sister organizations in other provinces and the CCA,” says Weedon. The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association is celebrating its 100th anniversary this summer. It will hold a ranch rodeo, beef barbeque, and barn dance at the Moose Jaw Exhibition Grounds on June 9, followed by their convention and

Brian Weedon annual general meeting on June 10 and 11. For more information, visit skstockgrowers. com/100th. † Lisa Guenther is a Grainews field editor based in Saskatchewan. She can be reached at lisa.guenther@ fbcpublishing.com.

Stock Growers play a leading role BY LISA GUENTHER

arold Martens has been living in the Swift Current area since his family moved there in 1944. Though he also had a long political career, he has remained a rancher. Martens, current president of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, served as an MLA from 1982 to 1995, and also worked as the associate provincial minister of agriculture. He and his extended family run about 850 Red Angus cows, plus around 110 replacement heifers on 22,000 acres. They also raise and train Quarter Horses for ranch work

and cutting. Martens says there are many places on the ranch they can’t reach with a vehicle. “It’s up and down cut banks. Sometimes goats don’t even go there.”

SSGA ANNIVERSARY AHEAD The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association has reached a major milestone. Members are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the organization this June. The Stock Growers will host a ranch rodeo, beef barbeque, and barn dance on June 9 at the Moose Jaw Exhibition Grounds. The convention and annual general meeting will follow the

celebrations, on June 10th and 11th. For more information, visit their website at: www. skstockgrowers.com/100th. Five years ago, Martens was elected to the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association board, and is now president. Martens says he decided to get involved because he shares many principles with the Saskatchewan Stock Growers, such as valuing private ownership within the industry. He also saw an opportunity to put his political experience to use. “I thought that I could contribute in a way that would reflect a positive relationship with the federal and provincial governments,” says Martens.

PROVINCIAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL REACH Trade barriers and market access are also important issues for the Stock Growers, making traceability a priority, too. “International markets are important for us, and that hinges as a part of traceability,” says Martens. Helping PFRA pasture patrons with the transfer and developing a Western Canadian cattle identification system are also priorities for the Stock Growers right now. Martens says he is pleased with the progress the Stock Growers have made on the PFRA file, as well as a beef and forage research

review committee and provincial brand inspection. The Stock Growers also focus on environmental sustainability, and chair Saskatchewan’s Prairie Conservation Action Plan Partnership. Martens says ranchers are too often written off as environmental users when they’re really responsible for preserving its condition. Ranchers are “managers of grass,” he says. “We’re interacting with nature all the time. And sometimes it’s good to us, and sometimes we have to take the brunt of it.” † Lisa Guenther is a Grainews field editor based in Saskatchewan. She can be reached at lisa.guenther@fbcpublishing.com.

THE MARKETS

Long winter weighs on consumers and markets JERRY KLASSEN MARKET UPDATE

ed and feeder cattle prices in Western Canada have traded in a sideways range over the past month. Negative feeding margins and the high cost of feed grains has limited the upside on feeder cattle while stagnant wholesale beef prices and lower-than-expected consumer demand has tempered any strength in the fed market. The prolonged winter has also contributed to the softer price structure. Feedlots have contended with adverse pen conditions and the potential for increased death loss when bringing in replacement cattle. At the same time, consumers have been in hibernation mode resulting in lower restaurant traffic. The whole economy has struggled to gain momentum through

the winter. Looking forward, there is a fair amount of uncertainty. Feeder cattle will be very sensitive to crop conditions and feed grain availability. Fed cattle markets will be held hostage by the price conscious consumer. U.S. cattle-on-feed numbers have been trending six to seven per cent below year-ago levels in the first quarter of 2013. Lower placements from last fall have resulted in the year-over-year decline in feedlot inventories and contributed to a similar drop in beef production. The U.S. yearto-date slaughter is down 2.7 per cent from 2012 while overall beef production is 1.9 per cent below year-ago levels. The year-over-year drop in beef supplies has been lower than anticipated.

2012. Feedlot inventories have also been down by a similar amount so the lower slaughter and production is not a surprise. Canadian packers are having a difficult time moving beef products and margins have not been overall encouraging. One note of interest is that the year-to-date steer slaughter in Western Canada is up about four per cent while the heifer slaughter is down 22 per cent from 2012. Canadian export of live slaughter steers and heifers for the first quarter of 2013 was 108,000 head, up one per cent from 2012. I’m looking for these trends in the Canadian system to continue for the remainder of the year with a sharper drop in beef production in the final quarter.

SLAUGHTER DOWN

CONSUMERS AREN’T BUYING

In Canada, the federal inspected slaughter is running nine per cent below last year while beef production is down eight per cent in comparison to

While analysts have a clear picture of the supply situation, the demand equation is not so certain. In 2011, at-home food spending by the average American

consumer jumped by six per cent over 2010. This is a fairly aggressive year-over-year positive increase. However, this rate of increase has not continued. In 2012, the year-over-year increase in at-home food spending was up only 3.0 per cent. January 2013 at-home food spending was up 3.3 per cent, but in February, expenditures were actually down 0.1 per cent and March data will likely show a similar figure. The beef market has now risen to levels where consumer demand is not increasing. There is a similar trend in awayfrom-home food expenditures. During 2012, away-from-home food spending was up 10.8 per cent over 2011. So far in 2013, away-from-home food spending is only up 5.5 per cent. This is extremely important for the higher-end cuts of beef. The beef and fed cattle markets are not going to maintain the long-term upward trend if at-home food spending does not continue to experience a year-over-year increase. Ground beef prices at the retail level are up 15 per cent over last year while Choice boneless sirloins are up 11 per cent. The price increase in retail beef products has outpaced the increase in consumer spending. At historical high prices,

markets ration demand to slow consumption and that is what we are seeing in the fed cattle and beef market. Alberta packers have been buying fed cattle in the range of $113/cwt to $115/cwt in April. There is potential for seasonal weakness into the summer and fed prices could dip down to the $108/cwt area. After July, the fed market is expected to slowly percolate higher into the final quarter reaching $115/cwt to $120/ cwt by year end. The feeder cattle market is expected to experience a similar pattern over the next eight months. Replacement values are expected to remain flat into the summer and then increase in the fall period as the grain harvest progresses. Feeder cattle prices will be sensitive to crop development as experienced last year during the Midwest drought. At this time, new-crop feed grains are expected to be rather burdensome so abundant feed availability will be the main factor driving the feeder market in the fall period. † Gerald Klassen analyzes cattle and hog markets in Winnipeg and also maintains an interest in the family feedlot in Southern Alberta. For comments or speaking engagements, he can be reached at gklassen7@hotmail.com or call 204 899 8268.

BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF

Cattleman’s Corner

Grass, genetics and beef quality Industry quality starts at the farm, say Jill and Kelly Burkhardt

o pressure. That’s jokingly what Jill and Kelly Burkhardt have to remind themselves as they start each day on their Crooked Lake Farm near Gwynne, in central Alberta. Kelly is the fifth generation of his family to farm this land. In fact the home quarter has never been sold, always handed down to the next generation. It’s a legacy with expectations. Two years into owning the family land and just over eight since they came back to do that, they have a young family underfoot. And they are building a beef operation with clear vision of family values, and an understanding that beef industry leadership depends on regular operations like theirs.

Jill, who grew up in Montana’s ranch country, has a degree in range management and worked as a range agrologist in Alberta. She is currently second vice-president of the International Mountain Section for Society for Range Management. “We’ve always tried to take advantage of learning opportunities,” says Kelly describing how he and his father took in a Verified Beef Production (VBP) workshop. “As

Think growth The first years back they sold their cattle through conventional channels. This past year they marketed their cattle to one of the larger branded beef operations in the Alberta marketplace. “We don’t want to fall into a rut producing the same thing over and over simply because that’s what we have always done,” says Jill. “And we don’t want all of our eggs in one basket. We’re always asking if there is a better way to sell our cattle. Should we market directly ourselves?”

Build an industry One of the learning lessons is that producers are not only building their business, they’re building their industry. Their VBP experience gave them confidence in what they were doing properly but also the things they could improve. They adjusted their record-keeping system. Easy-to-access records made it easy to participate in the marketing opportunity last year. “One of the biggest changes was that we sat down with our vet and built a herd health plan, says Kelly. “We worked out a schedule on what medications we should be using and when. Now we watch them carefully and weigh options before we medicate. And we keep better records on the whole herd, not just the ones we gave medications to.”

Audit ease

Keep learning Part of the formula is to keep current. Both have education in animal science and grass management. And both feel strongly about continual learning.

a producer you have to try and keep up with the times. “We’re always looking for an edge in an industry that is so competitive now. You have to be there or fall behind. People want a beef product that is reasonably produced but they want a good-quality product.”

Young Alberta couple says producers are not only building their business, they’re building their industry.

One question the Burkhardts admit they wondered about was the VBP audit. Both chuckle that their concerns were unwarranted. “We liked the audit experience and learned a number of things from it,” says Jill. “They’re not coming to take the farm, they’re coming to help the industry,” adds Kelly. “They want everything we want, a good strong industry down the road.”

DEVELOPED BY PRODUCERS. DEVELOPED FOR CONSUMERS

Every Ralgro implant has the potential to add up to 23 extra pounds* to a suckling calf.

The profitable weigh. *Data on file. **Rate of return may vary depending on market conditions. ® Registered trademark of Schering-Plough Animal Health Corporation. Used under license. Merck Animal Health, operating in Canada as Intervet Canada Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. MERCK is a trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. Copyright © 2011 Intervet International B.V., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. All rights reserved.

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MAY 6, 2013

Cattleman’s Corner ANYONE CAN START FARMING

Low-cost water system improves calf gain Farmers have been into recycling, long before it was cool DEBBIE CHIKOUSKY

upplying water to animals on pasture can be costly. We ended the 2012 grazing season with very little water in our dugouts and virtually no slough water, but with the snow and slow melt we are very hopeful they will be full. If not though we have a few ideas for low-cost watering systems that have worked for us over the years. Back in 2002 we had problems with the water supply to our west and north pastures. Our only well on our farm is under our house, so our first thought was to dig another well more centrally located to the grazing areas. After researching this option we decided the cost was too high. After considering a few other ideas and plotting where water lines would have to be placed, we decided to use an overland supply for our west bush pasture and a portable system for our north pasture. The other pastures on the home quarter all have access to the automatic waterer by the barn. The portable water tank isn’t always necessary. If we combine our close north pasture and far north pastures then the stock can utilize the automatic water trough all summer. But if we rotational graze we need the portable system for the farthest pasture.

WATERLINE SOLUTION To get the water from the well to the west bush pasture we decided

an overland route would be suitable. This pasture is behind our yard and across a hayfield so there wasn’t a danger of animals trampling the hose. Once we had this plan in place and sketched out on graph paper we consulted Interlake Water Supply and decided to purchase 1.25-inch black PVC piping. We ran 700 feet of this hose from our winter pen area to the pasture. Close to the pasture we used reducers and attached a piece of garden hose with a valve for water control and then attached this to a float valve on a plastic water barrel. We recycled the barrel, it had held a food-grade substance, and so it had no cost. The float valves we use are from Princess Auto and cost about $12 plus tax. Most of this system was put into place between 2002 and 2006. We had this barrel and float outside on the fence line since 2002 and the only problem we had ever had till the summer of 2012 was the water getting too warm in the black PVC piping, so we cover it with old hay in the spring. Covering the pipe also helps to prevent the sun from degrading the plastic. We have pastured 12 cows with calves on this 100-acre bush pasture and they utilize this trough extensively even with sloughs available to them. Then in 2012 we were constantly finding the barrel knocked over and water running everywhere. We assume that due to the dry conditions for the first time since we have lived in Narcisse, the slough in the back of our quarter had dried up. Therefore when the herd came

PHOTOS: DEBBIE CHIKOUSKY

This old bathtub with a float valve makes for a On other pastures, a portable watering system is used, making low-cost pasture water system. it possible for livestock to graze in areas without dugouts. for water there was a lot more pressure than in the past. To cure this problem my son and husband made a trough from an old cast-iron bathtub. The tub was found in a junk pile in an old farmyard so it has no cost. Once we cleaned the tub well we found a plug to fit for a couple of dollars at the hardware store in town. Then we sat it on top of pieces of scrap four-by-four square posts so that it could be drained if need be. We fit it through the fence so cattle could access it from two pastures. Then we attached the Princess Auto float valve. We pounded fence posts alongside to keep it from tipping over and except for one incident when a calf unplugged the tub it worked extremely well all summer for one bull and 16 cows and calves. Unfortunately there are no

longer any government assistance programs for these kinds of projects. There used to be programs for funding through Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Assistance (PFRA) but they no longer exist. There is still assistance with technical details, planning and navigating the new water laws though that can be sourced if desired.

IMPROVED GAINS We have noticed an increase in calf gain off pastures that have a steady supply of fresh water. In comparing calves at the same stocking rate in different pastures, the calves using fresh trough water averaged 10 pounds more per head than calves using pastures with dugouts only. That isn’t a lot but it is at least $10 more per calf so it has covered the costs of the system and the

hydro to run our pump quite easily. The added bonus is that when the sloughs start getting low if there wasn’t a fresh water supply, the cattle would then be putting a lot more pressure on the fences to look for cleaner water. Also we used to have to move cattle to other pastures when this happened and we don’t have the room to do that anymore. The longer we farm the more I believe that farmers new all about recycling long before it was cool. Rummaging through old garbage piles on old yard sites is always rewarding. That old bathtub was found in one and saved us $100 compared to a new factory-made trough and the cows really don’t mind at all. † Debbie Chikousky farms with her family at Narcisse, Manitoba. Visitors are always welcome. Contact Debbie at debbie@ chikouskyfarms.com.

ANIMAL HEALTH

Vaccine selection — it’s a jungle out there ROY LEWIS ANIMAL HEALTH

here are a multitude of diseases to consider vaccinating against, along with a multitude of vaccine combinations with different types of administration routes (subcutaneous or intramuscular) as well as different dosage amounts (usually two to five cc). These variables should all be considered when choosing vaccines. First and foremost, use the advice of your local veterinarian. He/she will have chosen the most appropriate vaccines for your area in the best combinations available to minimize the number of needles given. Veterinarians are an invaluable resource when it comes to vaccine selection and a very critical point of biosecurity for your farm. Vaccine companies, generally speaking, are producing more vaccines in multiple combinations, because now several diseases are routinely vaccinated for on most farms. By having less choice it is less confusing to producers, fewer needles are necessary and the cost per disease treated actually comes

down. When it comes to the difference between reputable pharmaceutical companies producing vaccines for the same diseases we are often splitting hairs as to their effectiveness (efficacy). Veterinarians make the choices as to which vaccine lines to carry based on several factors — effectiveness, route of administration, dosage amount, and dose sizing per container. As well, availability, price, timing of administration and service given by the company sales force are all considered when making the selection. All reputable companies have data to support the effectiveness of their products. We are essentially comparing apples to apples when comparing the numerous vaccines available from the reputable companies. Again your veterinarian will know which products compare favourably.

SOME MISCONCEPTIONS A few misconceptions are changing vaccine lines. Different vaccine lines will generally boost the immune response from a previous vaccination from a different line of vaccines. Of course the diseases carried in the vaccines must be the same. It is important to remember, whether it be from previous vaccination or exposure to the real

disease, revaccination stimulates the body’s immune system to develop further protection from sickness. Certain areas in Canada have a higher incidence of specific diseases and vaccination may be considered. For example, clostridium hemolyticum is prevalent in west-central Alberta. Horses are vaccinated for rabies in certain regions of Eastern Canada. Herds that have had prior history of leptospirosis may be vaccinated and in outbreaks of anthrax the contact herd as well as neighbouring herds may be vaccinated in subsequent years. Although vaccines are available for other reportable diseases in Canada such as foot and mouth disease or brucellosis, the vaccines are not allowed to be used here. That’s because Canada is free of these diseases and wants to keep the disease out. If we were to vaccinate, the protection the vaccine affords could mask symptoms and carrier animals might develop. Tests for disease exposure often cannot differentiate between exposure to the real disease or vaccination so eradication is therefore difficult.

COMMON TREATMENTS In most herds across Western Canada, now, vaccination for the diseases such as IBR, BVD,

PI3, clostridials (blackleg group 7- or 8-way or now 9-way), histophilus(the former hemophilus, and BRSV are pretty much common. For young calves up to and past weaning the two respiratory pathogens pasteurella and mannheimia are becoming common. If we are careful how we mix and match these antigens, calves can get immunized with all these antigens in two needles. Scours vaccination is becoming common for the breeding animals, especially in larger herds. A multitude of other vaccines such as foot rot especially in the breeding bulls, pinkeye vaccines and leptospirosis vaccines are being more commonly used if necessary. Other vaccines for mastitis (in dairies), and anthrax are used in special situations and should be done in direct consultation with your veterinarian.

TIMING, STORAGE AND HANDLING The appropriate timing is critical in order to get maximum benefit from your vaccination investment. A perfect example is the current scour vaccines. Each company has a different concept as to how challenge scours. In order to achieve maximal benefit, the timing of vac-

cination before calving is critical and varies considerably between different products. Some products can be given as short as two weeks before calving while others must be about two to three months before calving to achieve optimal results. It is extremely important to know which vaccine fits in best with your management and processing schedule. Also vaccine storage (almost all need to be refrigerated) and handling when administered are critical to getting the maximum effect. Freezing or overheating the vaccine before administration cannot be tolerated. Even proper vaccination is no magic bullet replacing good management. Proper nutrition, parasite control and sanitation go along way to preventing disease itself. All this, augmented with a properly thought out and implemented vaccination program, will severely reduce the incidence of diseases on your farm. Talk to your veterinarian as new products and ways of administration are coming out all the time. † Roy Lewis is a practising large animal veterinarian at the Westlock Veterinary Center, north of Edmonton.. His main interests are bovine reproduction and herd health.

MAY 6, 2013

grainews.ca /

Cattleman’s Corner BETTER BUNKS AND PASTURES

Get ready for a new pasture season PETER VITTI

eef cows graze pasture for nutrients needed to maintain good body condition, nurse a hungry calf and get ready for the upcoming breeding season. The importance of meeting this higher plane of nutrition after calving cannot be understated, because its failure may lead to poor calf weaning weights and a poor future calving season. Therefore, it is vital that producers prepare for each pasture season by assuring all cows eat enough nutritious grass as well as be provided with dietary supplements for any lacking nutrients that do not grow out of the ground. To initiate a good pasture foundation, first get a good idea as to the carrying capacity of all usable pastures; defined as the average number of cattle whose nutrient requirements can be taken from the fields without doing any serious damage. Most carrying capacities are based upon soil type and condition, annual rainfall, and plant species (both native and tamed pastures) within its fencelines. Ideally, the carrying capacity of most pasture can be determined by past experience of running specific cattle numbers or by estimating the forage yields for the season.

into a grazing plan. Although used interchangeably, stocking rate and stocking density are not necessarily the same thing, but should be used side-by-side in pasturing cattle.

STOCKING RATE & DENSITY The stocking rate is the number of cattle on the entire grazing unit for the entire grazing season. For example, 100 beef cows and 100 acres = a stocking rate of one cow per acre. If we divide the 100 acres into 10 X 10-acre paddocks and place all the cows in one paddock for 10 per cent of the time, before moving them onto another paddock, then our stocking rate does not change, but stocking density is increased by 10 times. Given the estimated carrying capacity of the pasture and

number and type of cows, most beef producers should be able to calculate with reasonable accuracy, the number of cattle that can be stocked on any grazed field, given present pasture conditions. Case in point: A beef cow after calving will largely meet the nutrient demands of maintaining a desirable body condition score (BCS), milk reasonably well, return to estrus cycling and get incalf during the breeding season, if she gets about 12 kg of moderately nutritious forage (DMI, basis) daily. If a pasture yields 100 tonnes of estimated usable forage in a four-month growing season, it should support about 70 cows. A final stocking rate (and density) of the cows can be determined by dividing the actual number of cows by the number of available pasture acres.

Often conditions change as the grazing season progresses. Prepared ranchers should be able to effectively alter the calculated stocking rate/density because of changing growing conditions. If it rains the pasture may support more cattle, and if it is dry, then fewer cattle.

HOUSEKEEPING EXERCISES Regardless of pasture quality, there are a few “housekeeping” exercises that beef producers should consider: • Provide an adequate and good water source — most beef cows drink between 40-50 litres of water per day. • Provide commercial cattle mineral — Pasture grass is notoriously deficient in essential minerals such as phosphorus, copper, zinc, manganese and selenium.

These elements are required by all beef cows and necessary for strong heat cycles and successful conception during the breeding season. Most of the time producers provide 50-70 grams per head per day of loose cattle mineral and salt blocks, near the water source. • Use cattle lick blocks as a pasture tool — These blocks are either corn distillers or molasses-based products. They can be a good source of good nutrition, but they can also be placed in areas of pasture that cattle normally do not travel in order to increase pasture utilization. One block (90-114 kg) should be rolled out to 25-30 grazing animals. † Peter Vitti is an independent livestock nutritionist and consultant based in Winnipeg. To reach him call 204-254-7497 or by email at vitti@mts.net.

BEEF INNOVATIONS JULY 15 & 16, 2013 CALGARY, AB

MEASURE PRODUCTION In the latter case, one practical method to measure forage production uses one-metre diameter hoop, clippers and collection bags. The hoop is thrown out into the field, and all the plants within its area are clipped, dried and weighed. The weights of these forage samples are then extrapolated onto a large field scale. From this estimated available forage yield, regrowth and cattle selection/wastage factors are implemented to determine the usable forage cattle may actually consume. Getting a good idea of the carrying capacity and amount of usable forage of all pastures is a good start in the preparation of meeting the nutrient expectations of a cow herd. Next it is also important to know, differentiate and encompass the concepts of stocking rate and stocking density

Agenda will include leading genomic researchers from Canada, Australia, Ireland & the United States along with cutting-edge sector representatives who are utilizing genomic technologies in their business. For a complete agenda and further details please visit www.simmentalinnovations.com or www.simmental.com or call 403-250-7979

BY DAN PIRARO

Bizarro

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MAY 6, 2013

Cattleman’s Corner RANCHER’S DIARY

Calves are coming, and horses need more training HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

MARCH 24

ast Friday Andrea drove to Pocatello to take Sam to the regional dance competition. Their group won first place and will go to the national competition in Utah in May. On Saturday Andrea and I finally had a chance to lead the two fillies again, and took them about a mile on the jeep road over the low range. I also trimmed Sprout’s feet; they had grown too long over winter.

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We had snow and windy, cold weather that lasted several days. We sorted out the cows that looked closest to calving and put them in the horse pasture and maternity pen near the house where we can watch them. Dani helped make our calving calendar (for April) with dates when each cow might calve. We have due dates on some from their breeding dates, and estimates on the others from the veterinarian’s preg-checking.

and jumpy at first, so we’re getting her used to having the saddle put on and off, the stirrups moving, and leading her with the saddle on. We’re putting Sprout back to work and hopefully into a better attitude. Andrea led her about a mile down the road and back, with me riding alongside on Ed. The next day I put hind shoes on Ed and we made a short ride. Andrea has been riding Sprout every day now, taking longer rides, hoping that eventually Sprout will quit trying to buck. She’s a totally different horse this spring than when we bought her a year ago as an underweight, lazy, mellow six-year-old that we thought might make a kids’ horse. She’s gained about 300 pounds, another inch or more

APRIL 2 We started working with the fillies again, leading them up and down the road, teaching them to be responsive to voice commands (walk, trot, whoa), and started saddling Spotty Dottie. She was scared

PHOTO: HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

Granddaughter Dani checking out Maggie and her new calf. in height, and has an aggressive, selfish attitude after her nine months off work. Friday young Heather rode with Andrea and me. She rode Breezy. We went several miles across the old McCormick Ranch and up through our low range. We’d only gone a mile when Sprout started bucking, but Andrea was able to control her. Sprout jumped

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around a few more times along the way, but Andrea kept her from bucking hard. As we started up the jeep road into our low range pasture Sprout started bucking again when she went up out of a gully. Then she got mad because Andrea wouldn’t let her buck, and started hopping backward down the hill. I was following on Ed, and just started down into the gully as Sprout began jumping around and hopping backward toward us. I swung Ed out of the way just as Sprout kicked out with her hind feet, but her legs are so long that she hit my leg, on the shinbone just below the knee. Thank goodness she doesn’t have shoes on yet! My leg started to swell, but didn’t seem broken. We continued our ride home, another two miles (during which Sprout tried a few more times to buck Andrea off). As we put our horses away, I knew I should elevate the leg and put ice on it, but we had unexpected company arrive. So I simply applied DMSO liberally over my lower leg, which by then was twice the size it should be, and turning purple. The DMSO helped reduce the swelling and ease the pain. After our company left, I put ice on the leg and elevated it, which helped. After ice packs all night the pain was bearable, and I managed to do chores, and we rode again to put more miles on Sprout. Young Heather rode Breezy again and we rode four hours. When we got home we worked briefly with the fillies again. Then Freddy started calving. By the time she started serious labour at 9 p.m., a cold wind was blowing, so we put her in the barn to calve. She had a nice black bull.

APRIL 10 Andrea and I rode daily, trying to get Sprout past her attempts at bucking. I rode Ed most days, but also rode Breezy to help her get back in shape, too.

APRIL 15 We had another nasty blizzard last night, but there are only three more cows left to calve. We’re hoping they get it over with soon, or the weather gets nicer so we don’t have to put them in the barn! † Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her husband Lynn near Salmon, Idaho. Contact her at 208-756-2841.

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