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SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | Vol. 71, No. 33
The Atlantic Dreamer Churchill’s first grain ship of 2013
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AAFC plant pathologist Bob Connor, who is screening soybean and edible beans for resistance to root disease, talked about his work during the Manitoba Pulse Growers Association’s tour Aug. 7. photo: allan dawson
The Hudson Bay Route Association predicts more than 500,000 tonnes of grain will be exported this season By Allan Dawson co-operator staff
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he Port of Churchill’s 2013 grain-exporting season began Aug. 4 when the Atlantic Dreamer arrived to load 30,000 tonnes of wheat destined for Mexico. There was enough grain on hand to load three more vessels, Hudson Bay Route Association (HBRA) president Sinclair Harrison said in an interview. Last year Manitoba’s only seawater port exported 432,434 tonnes of grain — mostly wheat and durum, but also barley and canola — down about four per cent from the 10-year average of more than 450,000 tonnes. It was also the first crop year after the Canadian Wheat Board, formerly almost the only grain exporter to use Churchill, lost its wheat and barley sales monopoly. Wheat board officials have said exporting grain through Churchill could save farmers
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Tour presents pulse research agronomy Day length may play a bigger role in soybean maturity than first thought By Allan Dawson co-operator staff / morden
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he long stretch of cooler-thannormal temperatures came up often as farmers visited during the Manitoba Pulse Growers Association (MPGA) tour Aug. 8. Most soybean and edible bean crops look good around the province, but growers want hotter temperatures to ensure the heat-loving crops mature before the first killing frost this fall. MAFRI’s weekly weather data shows most stations received close to the normal number of corn heat units as of July 29. Conditions can quickly turn. Dennis Lange, a farm production adviser with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives in Altona, said in 2011 July and most of August were cold, but hot weather in late August and September saved the day. “Those last three weeks made a lot of beans,” he said. Brandon-based Agriculture and AgriFood Canada (AAFC) researcher Aaron Glenn is investigating how accurately corn heat units indicate how much time a soybean variety will take to mature. Day length might play a bigger role in soybean maturity than first
“We were surprised and found a couple of cranberry varieties with very good resistance — the best resistance of anything we saw in our studies.”
“If it’s a drier year the beans will mature earlier and if you have more moisture they’ll take a bit longer to mature,” he said. “Keep in mind if you plant May 15 and it takes 117 days, that’s Sept. 10. If you plant on May 15 and you have 130 days, that’s a lot longer.”
Don’t forget P Bob Connor
thought, said MPGA agronomist Kristen Podolsky. “This could explain how we are able to expand the soybean acres into those (more northern) areas — Ste. Rose, Roblin — they’re actually being tested at The Pas this year,” she said. “We’re really trying to pinpoint the growth and maturity of soybeans and how much is related to heat units as opposed to day length, especially in this new environment. It’s different than places like North Dakota, Minnesota and Ontario that have different day lengths.” Lange said growing a soybean that matures before the first normal killing frost is important, as is taking moisture into account, because it affects soybean maturity.
Soybean fertility is being researched by the University of Manitoba and MAFRI, Podolsky said. Soybeans, which are annual legumes, produce 75 per cent of the nitrogen they need. At this stage they’re making about 4.5 pounds per acre per day. That’s why inoculation is so important — to ensure those nitrogenf i x i n g n o d u l e s a re p re s e n t a n d working. But with the crop taking care of its own nitrogen, farmers sometimes forget about the other nutrients. Soybeans require a lot of phosphorus. But the risk of damaging the seed limits how much can be applied at seeding time. “Farmers need to make sure they’re getting lots of P on the crops that they can — winter wheat, spring See TOUR on page 6 »
COAL: stays on the burner for three years» PAGE 3