Goss’s wilt spreadS
MANAGING THE TRANSITION Group-housing lessons from Europe » PG 36
Most Manitoba corn is now susceptible » PG 12
February 21, 2013
SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | Vol. 71, No. 8
Soybean planting protocols still under investigation
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Crop insurance expands areas for heat-loving crops
Local growing knowledge still trying to catch up with rising popularity
This is something farmers have been asking for, especially with the release of earlier-maturing varieties
By Gord Gilmour staff
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oybean acreage is soaring in Manitoba, but some basic agronomy — such as how, when, and with what to plant the crop — is still being hammered out. Seeding dates and rates, row spacing, and post-seeding rolling practices are the focus of trials being conducted by Brent VanKoughnet of Agri Skills for the Manitoba Pulse Growers Association. “These are not small plots — they’re 30 to 60 feet wide and a half-mile long, and they’re replicated,” he said at the recent Manitoba Special Crops Symposium. “The goal is to replicate farm management strategies in the field.” For planting, VanKoughnet used an air seeder with eightinch spacing, another with 10-inch spacing, and a vacuum planter that can be adjusted to between 15 and 30 inches in spacing. In the timing trial, he planted the Richer variety, using an inoculant at 1.5 times the standard
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See SOYBEANS on page 6 »
Manitoba farmers are growing more acres of soybeans (l) and corn. This year farmers throughout the province will be able to insure those two crops, as well as edible beans, open-pollinated corn, lentils and sunflowers under a new test program. Photo: Allan Dawson By Allan Dawson co-operator staff
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rop insurance on soybeans, corn, open-pollinated corn, edible beans, sunflowers and lentils is being expanded — on a test basis — across Manitoba this year. Until now, those crops were only insurable in areas deemed to be warm enough, and with enough frost-free days. However, farmers from outside those areas have been asking for coverage, especially those growing new, earlier-maturing varieties of soybeans and corn. The test program is being introduced because many farmers have been successfully growing those crops in noninsurable areas, said Craig Thomson, vice-president of insurance operations for the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation, which administers the federal-provincial AgriInsurance program.
“If there’s a widespread abuse of good agronomics that costs the program a lot of money, then it’s going to have to be reined back in,” said Thomson. “But we don’t think that will happen.” Coverage in the new test areas will be 80 per cent of the lowest probable yield in any of the currently insured areas. Farmers can select coverage of 50, 70 or 80 per cent of that level. “The premium will be the same despite the fact there’s lower coverage,” Thomson said. “Farmers will have to do some thinking here before they jump in with a whole bunch of new crops. “We’re not guaranteeing a profit.” Theresa Bergsma, secretary-manager of the Manitoba Corn Growers Association said she wants to see more details before commenting, but added at first blush it appears to be an improvement. Corn is one of the few crops where crop insurance coverage is based on each individual farmer’s yield
as opposed to using an area average. That will benefit good corn growers who have not been eligible for insurance before, she said. Keystone Agricultural Producers vice-president Dan Mazier expects to benefit. The change is “fantastic,” said Mazier, whose farm north of Brandon is just outside the insured area. “There hasn’t been a system to introduce new crops to crop insurance, so it has been a disincentive,” said Mazier, who averaged about 100 bushels per acre on his 35 acres of corn last year. Although some farmers might feel the coverage is too low, the test program is better than nothing, he added. “We don’t want to be an impediment for new crops being expanded and producers having the ability to grow what they want with some coverage of the risk,” Thomson said. See INSURANCE on page 6 »
WHEAT AND BARLEY ASSOCIATIONS ANOTHER STEP CLOSER » PAGE 15