Back Forty - Spring 2017

SARDA

Back FortY Mission: To Facilitate the transfer of unbiased ideas and information between research institutions, industry and agriuclutur al producers.

SPRING ISSUE

April, 2017

SARDA Ag Research Agricultural Trade Show 2017

by Roch Bremont Trade Show Coordinator

Another Successful Trade Show SARDA Ag Research hosted yet another successful Agricultural Trade Show on the 16th – 18th March 2017.

This completely sold out event was held at the Falher Regional Recreation Complex.

With over 150 exhibits inside and numerous exhibits outside, this year’s show captivated visitors and residents alike.

Our many exhibitors were very positive about the opportunity to showcase their products and talk with producers.

This year the warm weather further encouraged people to come out and attend our event. We estimate that 6,000 – 10,000 people came out to the show and we were thrilled with the turn out. The exhibitors were excited about the number of attendees, producers

IN THIS ISSUE SARDA Trade Show

1

Should some direct seeded elds e tilled....

3

Classroom Agriculture Program

5

Options for unharvested crops

6

County of Grande Prairie Corner

8

The Brave new world of Prairie Wheat

9

Events

12

Be Bear Smart

14

AFSC Newsletter

15

.....economic value of SARDA’s Research?

16

Blue Book now Available

17

Farm Family Safety Day

18

2017 Crop Insurance Changes

19

Dealing with Ruts

20

US-First Biofuel Policy Could Boost...

22

Have your say: Ag Policy Framework

23

P 2 age 2 Continued from page 1 and agricultural industry professionals that came to the show. Overall our exhibitors were happy, and they left us with positive feedback. Some even stated “best trade show ever; we were able to talk and do business with all the producers who wanted to talk to us!”

The event kicked-off Thursday March 16th with exhibits open from 12:00 noon -7:00pm, Friday, March 17th 10:00 am-6:00pm and Saturday, March 18th 10:00am-5:00pm.

In addition to the exhibit halls, attendees were able to participate in information sessions on numerous agricultural topics, enjoy sponsored pancake breakfasts on Friday and Saturday and take part in the Farmers Appreciation Event on Friday Night. Also on Saturday SARDA Ag Research cosponsored the Rural Family Farm Safety Day held at the Chevaliers Center. This fu lled d y s e red to entertain and educate children.

Children enjoyed the Comedy and Ventriloquist Shows, i t le u i ir c stles farm safety games, lunch, Face painting, glitter tattooing and much more! “Bee the Difference!” was the theme for the day?

SARDA wishes to thank our many sponsors. Their ci l co tri utio s de it possible for us to have free gate admission to all, provide pancake breakfasts, exhibitor appreciation and farmer appreciation events. In-kind and volunteer contributions assisted with making the

April, 2017 show the success it has grown to be. The Platinum Sponsors were Syngenta and Richardson Pioneer. The Gold Sponsors were B.A.S.F, Bayer Crop Sciences, and Pops Home Hardware. Silver sponsors were Viterra and Northern Sunrise County.

Many thanks to the Bronze Sponsors, SARDA staff, Board of Directors, and to our many volunteers. Their hard work and dedication to our show is greatly appreciated.

SARDA Ag Research, after 30 years, continues to provide services to industry and producers. The on going theme “Visions of Change” truly re ects S s issio to facilitate the transfer of unbiased ideas and information between research institutions, industry and agricultural producers. Our Agricultural Trade Show is our largest undertaking to further this mission and any funds raised are used to support SARDA research and extension programs.

April, 2017

Page 3

Should some direct seeded fields be tilled in spring of 2017 Kabal S. Gill, SARDA Ag Research

Direct seeding has improved crop yield and soil quality in the Canadian Prairies and there are not many reasons to till the soils. However, certain situations like heavily rutted elds e cessi e cro residue on soil surface and infestation by some weeds may need some special management practices, including tillage. Summarized below are results from some tillage trials done on direct seed soils in the Canadian Prairies.

Saskatchewan:

• Organic carbon, pH and electrical conductivity were not affected.

• Trend for lower organic carbon in the 0-4 inch soil.

• Trend for about 1 C increase in temperature at 2 depths.

• For chemfallow plots (very little stubble) nitrate N increased.

• For Black and Gray soils (heavy cereal residue) nitrate N decreased.

• Only spring discing had some effect on reducing P str ti c tio .

Brandon, Manitoba:

Reference: Baan, C.D., Grevers, M.C.J. and Schoenau, J.J. 2009.

Effects of single cycle of tillage on longterm no-till prairies soils. Can. J. Plant Sci. 89: 521-530.

Reference: Irvine, B., Derkson, D., Moulin, A., Mclaren, D., & Grant, C. 2003. Strategic tillage – evolution or devolution of zero tillage. www. umanitoba.

Compared one year cycle of spring cultivation, previous fall + spring cultivation and fall + spring discing to a no-till control for Brown (Central Butte), Black (Rosthern) and Gray (Tistale) soils. All sites were under notill for >10 years. Soil cores in spring and following fall showed following results.

Compared 3 years of heavy duty disc in spring, heavy harrow in previous fall; a Phoenix harrow in previous fall and direct seeding for 3 years. Canola-wheat-pea d c ol - e trot tio s followed in 3 years. Crop yield and weed numbers showed: • Wheat yield was 0-2% greater in tilled treatments.

• Flax, pea and canola yields tended to be reduced by tillage.

• Tillage increased the prespray weed numbers by about 30%.

Breton and Ellresle, Alberta: Combinations of tillage, straw management (retained and removed) and N rates (0, 50 and 100 kg N /ha in straw retained and 0 kg N/ha in straw removed) were compared for 4 years on Gray (Breton) and Black (Ellerslie) soils. These soils were previously under no-till for 29-30 years. Results from 3 research papers are summarized below.

Miles Dyck, Sukhdev. S. Malhi, Marvin Nyborg & Dick Puurveen. 2016. Effects of short-term tillage of a long-term no-till land on crop yield and nutrient uptake in two contrasting soil types. Sustainable Agriculture Research. 5 (3): 32-42.

• Plant yield, N uptake and P uptake tended to increase with till e si i c t t llerslie o ly.

• No consistent effect of straw management on plant yield, N

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uptake and P uptake.

• Plant yield, N uptake and P uptake increase with N rate, with maximum yield at 100 kg N /ha in 3 years at Breton and 2 years at Ellreslie.

Miles Dyck, Sukhdev. S. Malhi, Marvin Nyborg & Dick Puurveen. 2015. Effects of Short-term Tillage of a Long-term NoTill Land on Available N and P in Two Contrasting Soil Types. Sustainable Agriculture Research. 4 (4): 27-37.

o si i c t effect of till e and straw management on ammonium-N, nitrate-N and extractable P in soil.

• Ammonium-N in soil i cre sed si i c tly ut small) with N rate in many cases at both sites.

• Nitrate-N in soil increased with increasing N rate from 0 to 100 kg N ha-1 rate at Ellerslie, and up to 50 kg N ha-1 rate at Breton.

• Extractable P in soil decreased markedly with increasing N rate up to 100 kg N ha-1 at Breton and up to 50 kg N ha-1 at Ellerslie.

• In summary, increased N fertilizer rates were usually associated with decreased extractable P and increased nitrate-N in soil, but tillage and straw management had no effects.

•

Miles Dyck, Sukhdev. S. Malhi, Marvin Nyborg & Dick Puurveen. 2016. Effects of Short-term Tillage of a Long-term No-Till Land on Quantity and Quality of Organic C and N in Two Contrasting Soil Types. Sustainable Agriculture Research. 5 (3): 43-55

• Measured total organic

April, 2017 carbon (TOC), total organic nitrogen (TON), light fraction organic carbon (LFOC), light fraction organic nitrogen (LFON), and mineralizable N (Nmin) in soil at both sites in the 0-7.5 and 7-5 -15 cm soil layers.

• Short-term tillage following long-term not-till tended to decre se ot si i c tly t e TOC and TON in soil at both sites in the 0-7.5 cm soil layer.

• For the zero-N treatment, residue retention improved TOC and TON in both soil layers at both sites.

• Application of N fertilizer increased TOC and TON in both soil layers, up to the 50 kg N ha-1 rate at Breton and up to the 100 kg N ha-1 rate at Ellerslie.

• The effects of N rate on TOC and TON were similar for both treatments of tillage and residue management.

• Tillage increased LFOC and LFON in the 7.5-15 cm soil layer at both sites. Also, averaged over both sites, tillage increased both LFOC and LFON in the 0-15 cm soil layer.

• Straw retention increased both LFOC and LFON in the 0-7.5 and 7.5-15 cm soil layers • Mass of LFOC and LFON increased dramatically in both soil layers with application of N fertilizer up to the 100 kg N ha-1 rate at both sites.

• In the zero-N treatment, LFOC and LFON increased with straw retention under tillage at Breton and under no-

till at Ellerslie.

• On average, tillage had no effect on Nmin in soil, but straw retention increased Nmin in soil in under both tillage systems.

• Application of N fertilizer increased Nmin in the 0-20 cm soil up to 50 kg N ha-1 rate at Breton (and up to 100 kg N ha-1 rate at Ellerslie • In conclusion, tillage had no effect on TOC, TON and Nmin in soil, but LFOC and LFON increased with tillage in the 7.5-15 cm layer at one site. Straw retention and N fertilization usually had positive effects on TOC, TON, LFOC, LFON and Nmin in soil.

Occasional tillage of direct seeded eld y ot e i concern, but may only be used as minimum as possible. Some ideas to consider may be: • Cost (tillage plus extra N) and negative effects (e.g. more weeds) of tillage versus ote ti l e e ts e rlier seeding in spring, improved emergence, ?).

• Can residue removal or management during seeding may be an option?

• Will residual removal adversely affect soil erosion, nutrient levels in soil and or crusting?

• Nitrogen rate to adjust for the type of residue being incorporated in to soil.

Additional N may be required when cereals straw is incorporated.

• Will it be for one year or more.

April, 2017

Page 5

THE CLASSROOM AGRICULTURE PROGRAM

by Don George

When asked “where does food come from?”, too many kids say the grocery store. The classroom Agriculture Program (CAP) is trying to change that.

CAP has been around since 1985 during that 30 plus years, more than 600,000 grade four students have participated in the program. These students have learned where their food really comes from and why agriculture is important to Alberta.

The Vision of CAP is: “To provide students with quality, comprehensive agriculture learning experiences that lead to a greater understanding of and support for the agriculture industry in Alberta”. We do this through a volunteer base of about 300 people who work in the agriculture industry. Our volunteers are the real strength of CAP. A class may have presentations from a veterinarian, someone who works on a chicken farm, someone who owns a grain farm, works in a soil lab, or runs a country grain elevator. As you can see the variety of professions

in agriculture is large and varied.

In addition to the volunteer presentation each student also receives an “Activity Booklet”.

The booklet is full of puzzles and games. Each of our commodity members has a page in the booklet.

Our members are Alberta Barley, Alberta Beef, Alberta Canola, Alberta Chicken, Alberta Institute of Agrologists, Alberta Irrigation Projects, Alberta Milk, Alberta Pork, Alberta Pulse Growers, Alberta Veterinary Medical Association, Alberta Wheat, Eastern Irrigation District, and the Egg Farmers of Alberta, and our partner is Agriculture For Life.

CAP is endorsed by the Minister of Education and the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

Here are a few random comments from teachers and volunteers who have participated in CAP: It is a great (and free) resource for students :) Having people come in to speak about what they do is more impactful than a teacher droning on and on. It was effective. re t t it curriculum!

Importance of agriculture in Alberta - a

sustainable industry.

I appreciate the fact that fewer and fewer family’s farm and this is an excellent opportunity for non-farm family students to get information.

I just have to brag about the students and teachers I have worked with! …- they were wonderful! The students were very engaged the whole hour, polite and great ‘farmer helpers”.

The teachers were very helpful, kind and engaged as well.

This was an overwhelmingly great experience - made the nervousness beforehand worth it!!

The teachers always express how much they enjoy CAP! As a presenter this always makes me feel so great about being able to teach Gr.4 students in my municipality about where their food comes from.

If you would like more information about CAP, or would like to become involved. Please contact Don George, General Manager by phone at 587-8772544 or email don.george@ classroomagriculture.com

P 6 age 6

April, 2017

Spring Management Options for Un-harvested Crops Agri-News, March 20, 2017

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Deciding on how best to manage un-harvested crop can be dif cult. e uestio is o best to capture the highest value from the un-harvested crop, while managing cost and risk.

Retaining as much residue as ossi le is e e ci l for soil health, subsequent crops and conservation; however, the unharvested crop must be managed to enable the best seeding practices and crop establishment in the following season.

To make a decision on how to proceed with managing the unharvested crop there are several things that must be considered: 1. The potential value of the cro eld co ditio s et er the crop is still standing or in swaths, number of acres to be harvested and availability of time and equipment.

2. Depending on when and how un-harvested crop is managed, cropping plans for the upcoming season may

need to be adjusted; shorter season crops and/or early maturing varieties may need to be considered.

3. Before you take action, contact your crop insurance provider to ensure that your plans are not contrary to your insurance policies’ recommendations or restrictions, and determine what is required in order for them to assess loss and make a claim.

4. Decide if the crop is worth harvesting, what additional steps you will have to take, and how you can use or market the crop (i.e. overwintered crops maybe downgraded, moldy, rodent damaged or sprouted).

5. If any un-harvested areas are involved in land-use or conservation programs such as carbon off-sets, check with the program facilitators rst to deter i e if t ere re

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any residue management practices that may not be allowed while participating in their program.

Decide which management option is best, based on the condition of the crop, current soil conditions, what t e eld co ditio s ere last fall, impacts on spring eld ccess d e sure t e solutio ill le e t e eld surface in good condition for subsequent equipment operations and for crop establishment.

Decide on the best timing.

If snow cover is minimal, it might be better to get onto t e eld to e t t cro while the soil is still frozen and the crop is not wet. The plant material will be dead and possibly drier that last fall, so you may be able to harvest the crop and dry the grain if it is wet. The swaths could be baled and removed before the ground thaws, this will help with drying of the soil.

Assess costs. There is a cost associated with any harvesting or residue management practices and those costs will vary with the type of practice and amount of residue, and will be dependent on equipment ownership or if rental or custom contracting is required.

Consider plans for the next crop. It may be possible to seed into an un-swathed crop, but it can affect crop establishment and equipment performance, and encourage

April, 2017 growth of volunteer plants and weeds from the last year’s crop, so crop selection will be key.

One of the last options you can consider is burning the crop. Check with your county or municipal district, most will require permits before burning your crop. There may also be re s or restrictio s i l ce especially early in the spring and remember to contact your crop insurance agency.

Burning un-harvested crop will not provide any value to you from the crop, will have little or no impact on crop disease and may negatively impact the soil.

Smoke generated from burning can have air quality as well as visibility impacts that can result i e lt issues d e e tr f c disruptions.

If you decide to burn: • o you e your re permit? Follow the directions on the permit or as directed by the municipality.

• Monitor your burn; don’t le e your eld ile it s burning.

• Burn small areas at a time and avoid lighting the entire eld o re t o ce.

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Have a plan to deal with any emergencies.

Have a water truck and other equipment on hand.

Till the outside rounds of the eld to cre te re re .

You will also have to monitor after your burn.

Make sure there is proper insurance in place for burning.

Consider baling the unharvested crop, removing it fro t e eld d l ter burning the bales away fro your eld. Bur i the bales in a smaller

controlled area is easier to monitor and manage than ur i s t s i eld.

This option will also help preserve the ground cover, residue and organic matter i t e eld.

Call 310-FARM for more information or visit agriculture. alberta.ca/unharvestedcrops.

Contact: Alberta Ag-Info Centre 310-FARM (3276)

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April, 2017

County Of Grande Priairie Corner

by Sonja Raven

Greetings from the County of Grande Prairie! As the snow is lly dis e ri e re looking at some pretty wet conditions. On the upside, in most areas the ground froze ell for t e rst ti e i number of years, so we are cautiously optimistic that the frost has disrupted some of the pests over-wintering in the ground.

This year, the County Ag department continues to focus on weed control. We are welcoming many of last year’s weed inspectors back, and they will be able to hit the ground running. We also have many of our other staff returning, as well as some great new hires and we look forward to another busy and productive year. f s eci c co cer t is ye r is the incidence of white cockle.

We have a few scattered areas where this weed is invading, and we are planning to focus much of our efforts on control and eradication. Of course it is roli c seed roducer so e will have to continue to monitor these areas closely in years to come.

We are also in the planning stages to offer an information session on organic growing, with an emphasis on weed control and soil health.

Regardless of whether you e or ic certi c tio or are working towards it, you are required under the Weed Act to control/eradicate your noxious

and prohibited noxious weeds.

We hope with this information session to inform producers what their obligations are, and offer some solutions that will still llo or ic certi c tio .

This of course depends on the severity of any infestation, and how long it has been present in an area. Stay tuned!

Once again, we will be promoting our “Acreage Owner Herbicide Program”, which allows most residents with less than 40 acres to obtain effective herbicide to control their noxious or prohibited noxious weeds.

Currently, many of the legally available herbicide mixtures for control of regulated weeds are inadequate to effectively control the problem. Individuals wishing to participate take a pesticide safety and application course online through Lakeland College, and then work with the Agricultural Fieldman to co lete t eir certi c tio . order to be eligible, you must have spoken with someone in our department and been advised you have a noxious or prohibited noxious weed issue. If you wish to contact us to participate, we will take a look at your property and determine whether regulated weeds are present. We will also discuss other options for control that may be effective. Simply co t ct our of ce t 9727 if you are interested in this program.

Scheduled for May 16th is our annual Spring Riparian Tour, where students from Beaverlodge High School and other interested participants tour an area along the Beaverlodge River Watershed.

The County has been working with local land owners for a number of years to improve the health of the Beaverlodge watershed, through various co-operative projects. Here is o ortu ity to see rstd what has been going on, and maybe try your hand at planting a few trees! Please contact Jill at 780-532-9727 if you would like to attend this event.

We are currently looking for o - ro t rou s to rtici te in our Weed Warrior Program for 2017. Weed Warriors can receive $500 for their group by coming to pick noxious weeds in the County for an afternoon.

Additional prizes are available for highest pounds picked, as well as best team spirit! Contact Jill at 780-532-9727.

Let’s hope we have the spring we need to get our crops in the ground! See you next issue!

April, 2017

Page 9

The brave new world of Prairie wheat A look at the research funding and marketing development behind this rotation staple

By Angela Lovell Published: March 22, 2017

The three provincial wheat commissions have signed an MOU, agreeing to conintue support for Cigi. The three organizations will collaborate, and co-ordinate regional research efforts.Wheat is a staple crop in most Prairie farmers’ rotations, and it’s not likely to be displaced any time soon. It’s still one of Canada’s most important crops, and contributes more than $11 billion to the Canadian economy every year. Although wheat prices may not always get farmers excited, the potential for the crop does, especially now that more investment is going into developing new varieties — including hybrids — and exploring new, international market opportunities.

“We see a tremendous opportunity in wheat going forward, and that’s why we are in the business of collecting a check-off and investing producer funds into research and market development,” says Tom Steve, general manager of the Alberta Wheat Commission. “Over time, we’ve see di ersi c tio i to c ol and other crops which is a good for the long-term prosperity of farmers. But wheat acres are reliable year in and year out.

Most, if not all grain farms grow wheat as part of their rotation, and we see a lot of opportunity because of investments that not only the provincial crop commissions are making, but we see a lot of private sector

interest in investing in wheat. In fact, it might be wheat’s turn to take the centre stage.”

A single check-off from August In January, the three provincial wheat commissions in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to continue their support for wheat variety development and the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) when the Western Canadian Deduction (WCD) ends on July 31, 2017.

The WCD, a transitional levy established in August 2012, to replace the previous check-off administered by the Canadian Wheat Board, ensured continued support for wheat research and market development until the western provinces could establish their own wheat commissions. The WCD collects $0.48 per tonne on all sales of wheat in Western Canada.

The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC), Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission (Sask Wheat) and the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association (MWBGA) said in a press release that they will absorb the responsibilities d ci l o li tio s of t e WCD from August 1.

“Fifteen cents a tonne of the WCD funds are allocated to Cigi and $0.30 a tonne goes to fund long-term, wheat varietal development research,” says Harvey Brooks, general

manager of Sask Wheat.

After August 1, all the commissions will combine their provincial levies with the $0.48 that was the WCD into a single per tonne check-off.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba are moving to a $1 per tonne check-off and Alberta to $1.09 per tonne, because Alberta has a slightly higher provincial check-off amount to begin with.

“We will continue to collaborate and co-ordinate regional research efforts because we recognize that wheat is broader than the provincial boundaries, and we need a regional approach,” says Brooks. “We’re facing common problems with disease and other agronomic issues, and this MOU demonstrates that there will be continuity of the research, variety development and market development efforts that are funded by Canadian producers.”

The wheat commissions are also among the funding organizations that are participating in the development of a Canadian National Wheat Cluster for submission to the next federal Agricultural Policy Framework (APF) that will succeed the current Growing Forward 2 (GF2) program.

“All the wheat-related funding partners have come together to organize themselves around putting in a proposal for a wheat research cluster,” says Brooks. “It’s being facilitated by the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF), and

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includes not only the Prairie wheat commissions, but also wheat grower organizations in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. It’s a multi-provincial effort, nationwide and we’re putting those efforts together to make sure that we have continuity on the wheat cluster when the current GF2 funding runs out in 2018.”

The group is also working with cofunders to request letters of intent for an Integrated Crop Agronomy Cluster, which recognizes that there are a number of agronomic research projects that apply to multiple commodities.

2016 a challenging year 2016 was a bitter sweet year for wheat producers. Although seeded acres were slightly down, yields were up, but many Western Canadian farmers didn’t get to take full advantage of their high yields.

With endless summer rains and early snowfalls in the fall, a large number of farmers have quality issues in their wheat, largely as a result of disease.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) forecasts that wheat production in Canada will hit 29.1 million tonnes in 2017, which is down about 2.6 million tonnes from 2016, but will still rank as the fourth biggest wheat crop in 20 years. Spring wheat could be up by around six per cent, but durum acres will probably shrink as much as er ce t. is re ects t e serious issues growers have had with disease over the past season, which will make good u lity duru seed rd to d.

Despite the challenges of 2016, wheat is generating a lot of

April, 2017 excitement these days. The fact that a Canadian researcher, Dr. Curtis Pozniak of the Crop Development Centre (CDC) at the University of Saskatchewan, is leading the team which has sequenced the bread wheat and durum wheat genomes, s el ed s ur si i c t investment into wheat breeding and research across the country.

A truly Canadian crop Wheat is a truly Canadian crop, grown across every province. The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) are investing producers’ check-off dollars into projects addressing four core priority areas: agronomy and production, weed, disease and insect pests, breeding and genetics, and crop utilization and crop quality.

Current research priorities emphasize projects related to phosphorus management to support GFO’s overall 4R nutrient stewardship strategy to address water quality in the Great Lakes. As of May 2016, GFO had approved four major projects about phosphorus management looking at the impact of cover crops, strip tillage and management zones on phosphorus losses, creation of a baseline ‘landscape sensitivity’ analysis in order to recommend phosphorus best management practices, and how diverse cropping systems affect phosphorus run off losses. The economic d e iro e t l e e ts of cover crops, improving nitrogen recommendations and developing new or bio-products from wheat and other crops for existing and emerging markets are also high priority for GFO.

Common research priorities Wheat research priorities are similar across all the Prairie provinces, which is why there are so many collaborative partnerships and joint funding initiatives supported by the Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta wheat commissions and other industry and government partners. “We are agreed on research priorities and we’re moving ahead, so it looks exciting for the near term but we do have a number of common challenges,” says Brooks.

“Producers are looking for increased disease resistance from a number of perspectives.

We’re investing further into fusarium and wheat midge research and management efforts.”

All three wheat commissions are involved in research into fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance and management, but for the MWBGA it’s a top priority.

“Number one for us fusarium management, everything from varietal improvement to crop control measures, to agronomy, any ways that we can manage fusarium because it has such si i c t i ct o e t in Manitoba,” says Lori-Ann Kaminski, research manager at MWBGA, which is also co-funding a project with the Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers that is assessing how different rotations affect FHB in the soil.

Wheat is an important rotational crop, which Kaminski feels will become increasingly important, as including cereals in crop rotations helps to combat herbicide resistance and disease problems in some other crops.

April, 2017 Keeping grain moving Getting grain to the ports is as i ort t s lli t e i s and there is a lot of work being do e o t e tr s ort tio le following a one-year extension until this August of the provisions of the Fair Rail for Farmers Act, which was put in place during the transportation crisis of the 21032014 crop year. The provisions include the authority to regulate interswitching arrangements (between different carriers), set out level-of-service obligations for railway companies, and prescribe a minimum amount of grain to be moved by Canadian National Railway (CN) and C di P ci c il y CP during any period within a crop year.

Brooks says he also expects an announcement early this year about the maximum revenue entitlement (MRE), which sets limits on the average revenue per tonne, for a given length of haul, that CN and CP can earn for shipping western Canadian grain. “The report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities that was released in December appeared to signal that at this point, the Committee didn’t see any potential for removal of the MRE, which would be good news,” says Brooks. “The MRE is working, and it ensures that railways are well compensated and that farmers are not subject to undue rail freight prices. ”

Page 11 Cereals Canada a strong wheat advocate The wheat industry has a relatively new advocate in Cereals Canada, a national, o - ro t or i tio that brings together wheat industry stakeholders, such as farm organizations, grain handling, export and processing companies, and crop development and seed companies. Its mission is to enhance the competitiveness of the Canadian cereals industry by providing leadership on initiatives of common interest to the whole value chain, including innovation, market development and advocacy.

Cereals Canada focuses on market development and support, and participated — along with the Canadian Grain Commission and Cigi — in the 2016 Canadian Wheat New Crop Missions, which ran for seven weeks from the beginning of November to midDecember. The missions kicked off with sessions for Canadian millers, then went on the road to reach customers in 17 countries in Asia, Latin America, Europe, North Africa and West Africa.

They include representatives from the whole value chain, including farmers and exporters to provide information about Canada’s wheat crop and provide feedback about what customers want back to the industry. “The feedback is shared back through the value chain, to farmers, and also to the research community, so

our research efforts can be focussed on what both farmers and end-use customers are looking for,” says Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada.

While the Alberta Wheat Commission and MWBGA are Cereals Canada, the Sask Wheat board of directors has declined to join Cereals Canada.

Trade deals essential Canada is a major wheat exporter, which means international trade agreements are vital. With the new U.S. administration already scrapping t e r s-P ci c P rt ers i and making noises about revamping other agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, what will this mean for exports of wheat to the U.S. and other international markets?

“It’s important that our governments now move quickly forward with completing the trade agreement that we had started with Japan, and to look at other potential bilateral agreements because trade is critically important to us as an industry,” says Dahl. “As far as response to the election in the U.S., trade is important from both sides of the border. We are the U.S.’s best customer and I can’t envision the trade relationship between our two countries not existing, so I don’t think we should push the panic button yet.”

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April, 2017

Event Name

Location

Aquatic Invasive Species Workshop

Faust Community Center Faust, Alb erta

Ag Drone School

Guy Community Hall Guy, Alb erta

2016 Farmland Values Report

Agriweb inar

Cows, Crops, Culverts & Fish: Heart River Watershed Restoration Plan Update Mighty Peace Watershed Allinace AGM

Nampa and District Museum Nampa Alb erta Sawridge Inn Peace River, Alb erta

TBA

Farming Smarter Field School

Lethb ridge

TBA

Canola Palooza

Lacomb e Research & Develpment Centre, Lacomb e, Alb erta Donnelly Sportex, Donnelly, Alb erta

Summer Field School

Date

Cost

10:00 am - 4:00 pm

April 12

FREE

8:30 am

April 12 - 13

$490

Tel (780) 448-7445 markus@landview.com

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

April 18

FREE

To Register: https://fmc-gac.com/ calendar/agriweb inar-fcc-presents-2016-farmland-values-report/

12:30 pm

May 4

FREE

Contact Megan at mpwa.admin@ telus.net

Call 780-523-9800 or email: info@ lunch included lswc.ca

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April, 2017

Be BearSmart Spring has sprung and this means Alberta’s bears are out and hungry!

During hibernation, bears lose 10-30% or more of their body weight. When they emerge from their dens, bears will eat carrion, insects, deer fawns and moose calves, or search out plant material such as grasses and sedges. You can ty ic lly d e rs for i on sunny, south-facing slopes, at the edges of streams or in open wetland meadows this time of year. Sometimes bears will come around your property, worksite or camping area especially if food such as garbage, compost, grains, calves, pet food or deadstock, is available. Therefore, it’s VERY IMPORTANT to take extra precaution in bear country during the spring. Some helpful tips include: • Bears are more active at dusk and dawn. Make noise and carry bear spray when out at these times.

• Look for signs that a bear has been in the area, including tracks, scat, •

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scratched logs and trees or upturned earth. If you see these signs, be calm and cautious and leave the area IMMEDIATELY. Keep your children close at all times.

Keep your dog on leash.

Dogs can trigger unwanted and nega-tive encounters with bears.

Use electric fencing to help protect bee colonies, calving grounds or other farm site areas.

Clean up spilled grains or other crops where possible, and keep your BBQs clean – bears will smell food residues.

Pack out all garbage from camp or worksites in airtight contain-ers, and properly dispose of it.

Be mindful of curves and blind spots on trails that block visibil-ity.

Keep your work or campsite clean. Store food and cook meals at least 100 metres away from your main living area.

In some parts of Alberta,

black bear baiting is allowed as part of the spring black bear hunt. If camping outside of designated campsites, watch for signs indicating that bear bait is in the area. Call your local Fish d ildlife of ce t 0000 for more information.

Remember, most bear encounters can be prevented.

It’s up to us to decide how we will keep ourselves safe, and keep wild bears from becoming habituated, problem bears.

For more information on bears and Alberta BearSmart, visit: http://aep.alberta.ca/ recreation-public-use/albertabear-smart/default.aspx

April, 2017

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April, 2017

What is the Economic Value of SARDA Ag Research’s Work?

Kabal Gill, Darcy Boisvert and Shelleen Gerbig

As an applied research association, SARDA struggles to answer the question “What is the economic value of the work that we do to the agricultural community”. This is a question that many of our funders and partners ask. In order to answer this question, like all researchers we conducted a literature review, established our mandate area, d ide ti ed t e ssu tio s we used to make reasonable statements. The following statements have been used in several of our grant applications and reports over the last few years: • $3.32 million dollar estimated impact or 18.6: 1 return on $178500 annual investment from AOF.* • For Seed Crops (excluding forages), assuming a $15 per acre increase in contribution margin on 15% of the 860,907 seeded acres in SARDA’s mandated area we expect an impact of $1,937,040.

• Further, since there isn’t any variety testing site or applied research done in other southPeace region municipalities, we directly and indirectly affect a $15 per acre increase i ro t ility o of t e •

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958,000 acres not covered by an ARA. This computes to an additional $718,500.

For Forage Seed Production, $226,416 annual impact is estimated based on 27,832 acres of forage seed production in our mandate area plus 38,683 acres in the remaining Peace Region (www.statcan.gc.ca 2011).

Assuming a 10% yield

increase and a 5% dockage reduction on 400lbs/acre yield and $0.40 per pound price; for 20% of the acres in mandated area and 10% of the acres in rest of the Peace Region.

For Forage Production, $434,509 impact is estimated

based on 240,482 acres in our mandated area and 336,951 acres in the rest of the Peace (www. statcan.gc.ca, 2011). This is assuming a 5% increase on 2.5 tonnes/acre yield and an $85 per tonne sale price, for 10% of the acres in our mandated area and 5% of the acres in the rest of the Peace region.

• We assume an impact in the rest of the Peace because the information is transferred through Calvin • Yoder, AARD forage specialist, Peace region Forage Seed Association, other ARA’s, and SARDA • newsletters circulated in these municipalities *According to Gray and Malla (CAIRN Policy Brief, 2007) many agricultural assessments were conducted over the past 40 years in Canada with rates of returns ranging between 9:1 and 27:1. SARDA does not have the resources or expertise to determine the actual impact.

We believe that the estimated return rate falls within an established boundary. Thus, the impact is reasonable and achievable.

April, 2017

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Blue Book Now Available From the Mar 20, 2017 Issue of Agri-News

One of the most widely requested publications from Alberta Agriculture and Forestry (AF), the Crop Protection book, also known as the “Blue Book” in industry circles, is now available for 2017.

“Revsed annually, the Blue Book includes the most upto-date information around crop protection,” says Mark Cutts, crop specialist, AF. “An important part of the annual update includes newly registered pesticide products.

This year’s edition includes new herbicides, insecticides, seed treatments, and foliar fungicides. In addition to including new products, previously registered products re u d ted. Si i c t changes in some products, crops covered, and usage instructions give producers more options than ever.”

For 2017, new herbicide registrations include pre-seed products. “These herbicides are registered for use ahead of seeding wheat, and there is a new pre-seed product

registered for use ahead of canola,” says Cutts. “Other new herbicide products are registered for in-crop use for a variety of crop types.”

A number of new fungicides have been registered for use in 2017. New foliar fungicides are available for use on canola, cereal crops and potatoes. Newly registered seed treatments are available for use on pulse crops, oilseed crops and potatoes. One new insecticide will be available in 2017. It is registered on a variety of crops including pulse and oilseed crops.

“When using pesticides, it’s important to be aware of pesticide resistance,” says Cutts. “It’s recommended that pesticide products be selected based on chemical group and active ingredient. Purchasing pesticides products based on registered product names could lead to repeated use of a chemical group and increase the risk of developing pesticide resistance. All pesticide products presented in the Blue

Book have their chemical group and active ingredient listed.

By using this information, the risk of developing pesticide resistance can be reduced.”

Hard copies of Crop Protection 2017 are available for $12 from AF’s website. It is also available as a free downloadable pdf.

Contact: Mark Cutts 310-FARM (3276)

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April, 2017

Farm Family Safety Day Gary Braithwaite-PAg, CCA – Farm Safety Day Committee Member of the Smoky River Agricultural Society

The Smoky River Farm Safety Day, held in Falher Saturday March 18th, 2017, was a wonderful success based on the survey feedback of 300 people who attended, most of which were children. Attendees were treated to a combination of entertainment/amusement and 9 interactive safety display and demonstration stations.

The entertainment component consisted of a ventriloquist (Norma McKnight) who performed 2 shows, along with 3 i t le ou cy c stles Bou cy Boyz), a tattoo artist (Geeky Pink Body Art), and face painting (Happy Cloud Face-painting).

The safety component featured 9 safety stations covering all of the common on-farm activity hazards, which have been proven hazardous to children. Presentations and demonstrations were on: Grain & bin safety, buried utilities (ATCO gas), Bear re ess S re prevention/awareness (Fire Dept.), biohazards/dangerous chemicals (AHS), Head Injury Trama/head protection, drug awareness/impairment (RCMP), farm yard dangers, and FCSS on safety programs.

A complimentary lunch of hot dogs was available to the all the youth who attended, which was sponsored courtesy of the local Falher Coop. Other sponsors included the Gold Sponsor - Farm Credit Corporation (Falher), along with Martin Deerline (Falher) for the JD bike and coloring books, the Falher

UFA for Safety gear prizes/ funding support, Cargill for facility expense funding support, the Smoky River AgSociety for First Aid Kits, the Dan the Stickman for a wooden herb planter and Rocky Mountain Equipment (Falher) for a bicycle helmet.

Bussing services were provided

by FCSS transport van. The MD of Smoky River provided an ATV quad for demonstration purposes.

The event was a collaborative effort between Smoky River Agricultural Society (SRAS) and the SARDA Ag Research – Trade Show committee.

Special thanks goes to the volunteer Farm Safety Day event organizers/presenters for the time and effort in making the event a success – Gary Braithwaite (SRAS), Margaret Jacobs (SRAS), Romeo CinqMars (SRAS), Susan Ouellet (SRAS), Rose Blanchette (SRAS), along with 2 GP Vanier Legacy students (Ethan St. Laurent / Ian Richmond).

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April, 2017

2017 AFSC Crop Insurance Changes Provided by AFSC

Farming in Alberta is dynamic.

Changes in technology, industry structure, emerging new crops, amongst other trends and shifts in the relative environment spur a need for AFSC products to adapt in order to remain relevant to Alberta growers.

Communication about how current products are working and the need for changes comes primarily from AFSC clients and the industry groups that represent them on a provincial level.

The following program enhancements are in place for the 2017 crop year: 1. Red and Green lentil types will now be insured separately under the Annual Crop Production Insurance Program.

A surge in red lentil acres in Alberta has created the need for a new category to augment insurance for the crop. The i e e ts for roducers are more accurate insurance for red and green lentil types and separate prices used in the Spring Price Endorsement and ri le Price Be e t fe tures for the crop.

2. Indemnity increase for seed-cleaning costs due to wildlife excreta in the Wildlife Damage Compensation Program.

A survey of more than 30 seed cleaning plants in Alberta showed an increase in seed cleaning costs for Wildlife Excreta, a component of the Wildlife Damage Compensation

Program. Consequently, the cost paid out for these damages will increase from $0.56/bu to $0.62/bu.

3. Fall cereals seeding dates adjusted. o si i c t c es re coming for fall cereals. Firstly, Winter Triticale and Fall Rye seeding dates will be extended North of the Bow River from Sept. 15th to Sept. 20th to match Winter Wheat. The second is that fall cereals seeded past recommended seeding dates will now be insured pending an acceptance inspection in the spring to determine the crops viability.

The change was made to accommodate years with open falls or situations where late seeding of fall crops may be possible.

4. Industrial Soft White Spring Wheat (SWSW) is now insurable in areas of Alberta s eci c lly is re s and 16).

The change was made to accommodate increased acres of the crop in those areas. The Industrial SWSW i sur ce i t e ide ti ed re will use existing methodology for other Risk Areas and i clude ll e e ts fe tures and endorsements offered for Industrial SWSW. 5. Maximum insurable values in the Corn Heat Unit (CHU) insurance product will no lo er e ed fro ye r to year. ste d t e lues ill uctu te

based on current grain corn normal yields and the spring insurance prices for grain corn and barley for grain and silage CHU products respectively. The change is being made to allow maximum insurable values to move more closely with the revenue potential of the insured crops.

Looking for more information?

Contact AFSC to learn more about the 2017 program changes.

Visit one of AFSC’s 45 Br c f ces Call our Client Contact Center at 1.877.899.AFSC (2372) or View www.afsc.ca.

* * * * *

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April, 2017

Canola Watch DEALING WITH RUTS MARCH 2, 2017 - ISSUE 3

There are two problems with ruts i elds 1. Ruts increase wear and tear on machinery, reduce operator comfort and disrupt the seed bed. They eed to e lled i d levelled off before seeding in spring.

2. Ruts can mean potential hidden soil compaction which could extend to 24 inches below the depth of the rut.

Soils t eld c city for moisture are most susceptible to co ctio . t eld c city small pores within the soil are full of water and large pores still contain a lot of air. Compaction squeezes out the air and pockets collapse, sticking together with the moisture.

Interestingly, saturated soils – where all pores are full of water – are at low risk for compaction because there’s no air. Water prevents pores from collapsing. So ruts made in very wet soils may not leave much compaction. is s ri use till e to ll in the ruts. Set the depth a bit lower than the depth of the ruts and use either a heavy duty cultivator and harrows or double disc. It could take a couple of

passes. Stick to just the rutted areas to limit tillage. If ruts are deeper than the topsoil layer (A horizon), use only shallow till e to ll t e ruts. oid going into the B horizon as this will mix poor quality soil with the high quality top soil. Deep rip in dry conditions only. Fields with ruts will likely still have relatively high soil moisture levels. This means the rutted areas should NOT be deep ripped in the spring. Ripping can fracture compacted soils and reduce the soil compaction below the ruts, but this only works when soils are relatively dry – with water at less t of eld c city.

When ripping in wet soils, fracturing does not occur. When soils are wet and are higher in silt or clay, often the ripping will cause the soil to smear resulting in more problems and no fracturing will occur.

Over the summer: Watch rutted areas through the growing season. Dig some soil pits to 24 to 30 inches and/or probe to see if the soil is compacted. If soil compaction is evident and leads to depressed crop growth, then in the fall after harvest, if the soils are relatively dry, ripping could

be considered. If possible, try to only rip the previously rutted areas to avoid unnecessary deep tillage.

More on compaction: s tur ted soils ter lls all pores. This can actually make soil somewhat immune to compaction because water prevents soil pores from being compacted. Cryoturbation — freezing and thawing – of soil can reduce compaction but it may take several winters.

–Thanks to Ross McKenzie for this information.

TIPS TO PREVENT AND MANAGE SOIL COMPACTION SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 ISSUE 27 At the Soil Compaction Workshop at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s centre in Portage la Prairie, Man., attendees learned the

April, 2017

following…

1. e rst ss o er eld c uses of t e compaction. Controlled tr f c ro r s c el to minimize compaction over t e e tire eld y ee i ost of t e eld fro getting even one pass with a set of tires.

2. ire i tio le els ffect compaction. To test proper i tio for t e lo d you should not be able to stick your er u der e t t e tread.

3. Some soil compaction is needed to help pack seed close to moisture and nutrients to help get the

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seedling up and out of the ground, especially for canola.

4. Remember “porosity”.

This is the volume of soil oids t t c e lled y water or air. Porosity varies depending on particle size and aggregation.

Compaction is when you see a decrease in porosity 5. Contrary to many views, long-term forage stands tend to be the most compacted, says John Heard, who has observed this frequently.

This is due to the repeated e y tr f c o er t e hayland during harvests.

6. Winter freezing does help reduce compaction in heavy

clay soil, regardless of the type of tillage, as Ying Chen, researcher at the University of Manitoba, demonstrated.

The freezing and drying of the soil breaks it apart; drying is a important step usually missed. Several freeze-thaw events are needed to break apart the soil properly, so subsurface compaction is rarely affected by “cryoturbation” because in our winters, soil tends to freeze once and thaw once per year.

This means that drying and wetting play a stronger role, but for portions of the Prairies in a wet cycle, this drying/cracking is not happening. And wet soils are far more prone to compaction than dry soils.

7. Cover crops can come in all shapes and forms. When we think of a tillage radish crop, the main tap root helps to break up hardpan soil but it’s the tiny roots that do an excellent job of reaching deep down within the soil opening up channels and increasing the soil’s porosity.

8. Subsoiling/ripping can help increase porosity and decrease compaction in a conventionally tilled cropping system…making subsoiled land approximately as compacted as zero tilled.

Despite repeated research projects (6), there has yet to be shown a yield increase from deep ripping/subsoiling.

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April, 2017

U.S.-First Biofuel Policy Could Boost Canadian Canola Demand Preside t ru s U.S.- rst biofuel policy could be bullish for Canadian canola demand, according to the president of Chicago-based Ag Resource Company.

As Dan Basse explains in this market-themed Canola School episode, the United States imported about two million tonnes of B100 biodiesel from Argentina last year, offering a dollar/gallon tax credit for it.

“A lot of those imports probably won’t get the tax issue this year as reconciliation bills come forward. That would mean we’re going to a producer tax credit in the U.S. That would really bump U.S. soybean oil demand up by six to eight

hundred million pounds, and in tow, could bring Canadian canola oil into the United States for domestic use,” he says.

“That would be a big change.”

“We don’t expect it until maybe mid-summer, but it’s something every Canadian canola producer needs to be watching closely.”

Another six to eight hundred million pounds would make a si i c t de t i t e US s projected soybean oil ending stocks estimate of roughly 1.7 billion pounds.

“We have to supplant it with some veg oils from somewhere else. Canada’s right across the border, so I can’t think of a better vegetable oil to bring in,”

says Basse.

Relative to soybean and palm, the bullish story continues for canola.

“This year looks like everything is going right for canola,” he says. “But don’t get too excited because we have the abundance or oversupply of every other veg oil in the world.”

Basse joined Kelvin at the Canola Council Convention in Winnipeg last week to discuss the impact of changes to U.S. biofuel policy and why he thinks the spread between canola and other vegetable oils could reach record highs.

HAVE YOUR SAY: AG POLICY FRAMEWORK The Alberta Government is seeking public input on priorities for the next Agricultural Policy Framework (NPF) after Growing Forward 2 expires in March 2018.

Survey input will help ensure the next framework agreement meets the needs and priorities of Alberta’s industry and consumer public. This survey offers every Albertan the opportunity to make suggestions for priorities in the NPF. The survey includes discussion out ey riorities ide ti ed by agriculture ministers in the Calgary Statement, including:

markets and trade science, research and innovation risk management environmental sustainability and climate change value-added agriculture and agrifood processing public trust ENGAGEMENT TIMELINE e o li e sur ey is t e rst round of consultations for the NPF and focuses on the overarching agreement that outlines the programs and processes that will be the same across Canada. A second round of consultations that focuses o ro r s s eci c to l ert will be held in the fall/winter

of 2017. Following the survey period, a report will be compiled and shared with the public.

ONLINE SURVEY The survey is expected to take about 15 minutes. Results will be reported as aggregate information. Personal information is not being requested.

The survey will be open for responses until May 8, 2017. You must be over the age of 18 to be eligible to participate.

Survey Link https://www.alberta.ca/ agricultural-policy-frameworkengagement.aspx

April, 2017

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April, 2017

SARDA Box 90 Falher, Alberta T0H 1M0 Phone: 780-837-2900 Fax: 780-837-8223 Email: manager@ sarda.ca

www.sarda.ca