September Agrinews

September 19, 2014

A Supplement to the Southeast Trader Express

On Standby Harvest operations came to an abrupt and frustrating halt in early September when rains and colder weather brought harvest equipment such as this to a halt. When conditions improved around Sept. 14, the machinery and the operators were back out in the field, working fiendishly to bring in the 2014 crops in southeast Saskatchewan.

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THE TRADER EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

Page 13

Descendents of John and Anna Kuchinka gathered around the Century Farm sign on the half-section of land north of Macoun that has belonged to the family for 100 years.

Kuchinka farm passes century milestone

By Norm Park For Agri News In 1913 John and Anna Kuchinka who had emigrated to Montgomery, Minn. from Bohemia (Czech Republic) in the late 1800’s, determined that in spite of some agricultural and business success in the growing American community, they needed a safer, calmer environment in which to raise their family. With that idea entrenched in their mind, they packed up their belongings and left a fairly successful farming and milling operation and part ownership of a local saloon, and moved 645 miles northwest.

Kuchinka lore suggests that perhaps one motivating factor for John and Anna could have been the day when the notorious bandit Jesse James paid a visit to their business in Montgomery and did some serious bartering for supplies for his gang before riding off again.

They purchased a half-section of land north of the growing community of Macoun and settled into the village lifestyle in the spring of 1914. One hundred years

later, their descendants descended on that same half-section of land, still owned by the Kuchinka family, to celebrate the milestone anniversary and to place a plaque at the entrance to the field that still embraces a storage shed, an original building, once used as the family home, and the structural remnants of the farm’s windmill.

“John originally set up a granary just south of this spot,” said Ron Kuchinka, the family’s unofficial historian and now a Calgary resident, who found his way back to Macoun for the special occasion. The couple lived in that building for the first year before moving a couple of hundred yards north to the spot where John was able to find potable water and where he decided to build the home.

“You just have to wonder what his thought process must have been to make him decide to move from Minnesota where he thought things were too tough … to do some pioneer farming in Macoun, Saskatchewan in 1914,” he said.

John and Anna had four boys and a girl, George, Jack, Barney, Frank and Marcie and of that quintet, George, Barney and Frank all ended up farming in the Macoun district with Frank and Barney doing so in a partnership agreement.

“The family was pretty forward thinking for their time. They adopted the tractor way of farming pretty fast and let their horses go.

They crafted some of the first snowmobiles, snow blowers, wire winders and rock pickers around here I understand. They were considered a pretty inventive family,” said Ron, who is Frank’s son and the only Kuchinka who was born on the property, 76 years ago.

“I was delivered by Dr. Mainprize, who actually arrived at the farm the night before I was born and he stayed overnight. I arrived at 6 a.m. and after it was all over, Dad told me he fixed

The skeleton structure of the Kuchinka farm’s windmill shows visitors where the first water well and primary residence stood.

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Depression era necessities meant that young married couples lived with parents before being able to establish their own farming or business operations and the Kuchinka family was no different. “My mom and dad lived with grandma and grandpa who then moved and built another house later on when mom and dad started to raise their own family,” said Ron. The family noted that 100 years ago, when farmers dropped their one-row plowshares and gave themselves and their horses a rest, they would spend a little time talking with their neighbour across the road … usually about the weather.

Now, they noted, when today’s farmer takes a break from his air conditioned cab with GPS he might text his nearest neighbour, who is now probably 10 miles away, on his Smart phone. But, the conversation will still be the same as it was 100 years ago. They’ll talk about the weather. There is no escaping that fact when farming is your chosen profession.

It has been a proud traditional profession for the Kuchinka clan.

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up some bacon and eggs for the doctor and he was on his way.”

The original half-section is currently leased to Eric Klarholm. That arrangement was made with Clayton Kuchinka who still farms land right across the road with his sons, but now claims to be more of a “hobby farmer” with just eight quarter sections since they are kept busy with their Future Four Agro business that deals in fertilizers, seed and chemicals.

“When I saw producers moving to continuous cropping around 1994, I figured I had to make a business move so Joyce (wife) and I came up with this alternative and we leased the original half-section out,” Clayton said.

“What a pleasure it was growing up here,” said Ron, who recalled concerts in the Macoun Hall and school activities.

George Kuchinka, who also farmed the original homestead land, related some of Macoun’s historical moments, including the explosion in the Macoun Hotel that took 14 lives not long after John and Anna moved into the area, two and a half miles from the village centre.

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THE TRADER EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

Decent crops still salvageable in southeast

By Norm Park For Agri News

There is still a good opportunity to salvage crops in southeast Saskatchewan. In fact there could still be some decent crops out there that can be harvested and sent to market this winter said Sherri Roberts, crop specialist for the Ministry of Agriculture, who works within the southeast sector.

“We could have had the snow they had around Calgary, that wouldn’t have been very good,” she said.

Some frost was evident in southern Saskatchewan last week, especially in the Fort Qu’Appelle region, she said and there were signs of it in and around Weyburn too.

Some later maturing crops will hardly be affected by the delayed harvest this fall while others, where swathing or earlier combining efforts had to be made, will be negatively impacted.

“I checked five fields between Weyburn and Midale and they were far enough along to look decent still,” said Roberts, noting that soybean fields still held promise.

The agrologist admitted she hadn’t been able to scout many canola fields as of Sept. 12, but had heard some of them had been hit with diseases, but not in great numbers.

“I know some sprouting is happening and a lot of crop is still standing and waiting and some, at first glance, appear to be over ripened. But when I did a kernel check, the wheat and rye seeds were still pretty good, but of course we can’t check every field.”

Flax has experienced some amazing dry downs, she said.

Frost hasn’t hit those crops hard.

But those wanting to bring in the wheat, “are chomping at the bit, especially those looking to bring in the winter wheat.”

About 14 per cent of the southeast crops had been harvested as of Sept. 11, less than half of what would be expected in an average harvest season. That means there is a lot of catching up to do, but that can be accomplished this week, she suggested, since the weather is projected to turn warmer and remain dry … finally.

“Just watch the moisture levels and get the dryers going if you have to. Make sure the bins are clean so you can put clean grain in clean bins,” Roberts said, referring to this year’s crop that may have been diminished a bit in value, but maybe not as bad as some figured it would be last week.

On the canola front, Warren Wood, agronomy specialist for Canola Watch in eastern Saskatchewan, confirmed

that some fungal diseases such as blackleg were to be found in this corner of the province, but not in great volumes. He added though, that direct numbers regarding the disease survey won’t be available for a few months, but in time for producers to set their sights on plans for the next crop year, armed with detailed knowledge of what transpired this year in the fields.

“That severity index comes out later, about midDecember,” he said.

But on straight observational notes, Wood said the agriculture ministry co-ordinators indicate there are some disease varieties out there but it was too early to tell what kind of impact they will have on yields.

“There are some pretty nice looking fields and crops out there still. Early seeded crops look better than others but variability is the key word for producers this year. There is a wide range in quality and quantity,” Wood said.

The agronomist said that it would be impossible this year for canola producers to surpass the record-setting production they had last crop year under near ideal conditions, but that “it will be interesting to see what comes through when the combining is done. There could be some pleasant surprises and some slight silver linings in all this, even with the many delays.”

Canola producers and bees have sweet relationship Canola is the main crop for honey production in Western Canada. Wherever you find canola, you’ll find honeybees.

“Bees tend to do very well on canola. The crop has profuse blooms and nutritious pollen high in protein as well as fat, and with all the amino acids bees need to complete their lifecycle,” said Shelly Hoover, an apiculture research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “Bees can produce quite a good honey crop off canola.”

Hoover, along with beekeepers and canola growers is featured in a new series of videos produced by the Canola Council of Canada (CCC) with co-operation from the Canadian Honey Council. The videos are posted at www.youtube.com/canolacouncil.

One video, titled Canola and Bees — A Sweet Relationship, describes how beekeepers and canola producers benefit from each other.

“Honey producers are not the only ones who gain from this relationship. Canola growers also know it is in their own best interest to protect bees,” said Gregory Sekulic, agronomy specialist with CCC. “Bees and other pollinators are needed for production of quality hybrid seed — a vital component of the industry.

And research suggests that pollination by bees may also encourage higher canola yields by increasing the number of pods per plant and seeds per pod.”

Statistics Canada data show the number of honeybees in Canada has reached near-record levels in the past decade, with more than 700,000 colonies Canada-wide in 2012, up from 600,000 in 2000. More than 70 per cent of these colonies are in Western Canada.

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near Kleefeld, Manitoba. “Our bees have a few crop options in our area, but canola is the most common flowering crop and the bees seem to do well on canola,” Peters said.

“Our honey season is intense — it only last as long as the crops are flowering,” Peters added. “We have long-standing relationships with many of the canola growers around us, and we try to work with them as close as possible so we can keep our bees safe during this short flowering period and so they can protect their crops when necessary.”

The honey producers and CCC note the partnership includes such things as canola growers halting spraying of insecticides while canola crops are flowering since bees will be actively working at that time. Using insecticides that are targeted for specific pests, when in use, is helpful. Crop producers are also urged to minimize drift while spraying and to leave a buffer of about 50 metres between the field and beehives. Use drift reducing nozzles.

What is also important is the maintenance of dialogue with the beekeepers which will inform canola farmers where the hives are, what are the safe times to apply pesticides and keeping the beekeeper apprised of what chemicals are being used.

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THE TRADER EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

Page 15

Beef research council starts mentorship program The Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) announced last month they have launched a beef researcher mentorship program. This new initiative will facilitate greater engagement of upcoming and newly applied researchers with Canada’s beef industry.

Currently in the pilot phase, the mentorship program intends to provide researchers with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the needs of the beef industry in a practical and meaningful way.

“When scientists have a better understanding of our industry’s needs, and are motivated to produce applicable, solutionbased research results and see them through to adoption, that’s extremely valuable to our industry,” said Tim Oleksyn, chairmnan of

the BCRC and a Shellbrook, Sask., producer.

“This is an excellent experience for researchers with little background in Canadian beef production or opportunity to connect with industry stakeholders in order to increase their knowledge of the industry.”

The BCRC’s new mentorship program is designed to align research interests with those that are practical and beneficial to Canada’s beef industry. It will also be there to build the skills, network and confidence necessary to participate or lead applied research and technology transfer efforts that enhance and accelerate innovation in Canada’s beef industry. The program will also be geared toward facilitating collaborations that help new Canadian beef researchers establish effective applied research and

PAMI study points to manure management alternative Researchers at the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) have recently shown that an alternative method of managing manure may benefit producers.

There are many challenges that livestock producers face, not the least of which, is where to put the waste produced by their animals, and what to do with it.

The standard practice is to spread the manure on crop or pasture land. In some cases, the manure is composted prior to land application to reduce the volume of material to be hauled and spread. But with the traditional manure management, manure is treated as waste. Treating manure as a resource can help improve overall manure management, both economically and environmentally, PAMI researchers said.

According to PAMI’s Dr. Joy Agnew, producers must consider managing manure in a way that not only minimizes the effect on the environment, but is also cost-effective.

Agnew suggests a new way of handling manure — solid-state anaerobic digestion (SSAD) may help recycle manure nutrients more effectively and generate renewable energy, which can make manure management more cost-effective.

Agnew and PAMI partnered up with the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association to conduct an examination of SSAD as an alternative management method for solid manure that might alleviate certain negative side effects of traditional methods.

SSAD is a biological process that converts agricultural residue and waste into energy through the natural process of digestion. Inside a digester, organic material like cattle manure is broken down by naturally occurring microorganisms. The biogas produced by the process is captured, and the solid material left over can be composted and applied to the land as a nutrient and organic matter-rich fertilizer. Digestion can not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with manure management, but it also cuts down on the odour emissions compared with traditional manure management.

Therefore, the study suggests, SSAD helps address some of the environmental impacts and social concerns which surround the handling of manure, especially at largescale feedlots.

But is it cost effective?

Agnew and her team say yes.

The team considered many environmental factors to determine the value of cost associated with traditional manure handling practices and compared them with SSAD. They came up with an environmental

scoring system to rank manure management options and commercial fertilizer application based on their potential environmental impact. Then they assigned dollar values to three environmental factors: greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient content and biogas production for each of four manure management options: stockpiled manure, composed manure, SSAD manure, a combination of SSAD and composted manure and commercial fertilizer. Also considered were odour emissions and social or political perception, and an overall manure management cost for a 40,000 head feedlot.

What they found was that SSAD and composting seems to offer the maximum value and minimum net cost of all options considered as well as the highest environmental score, taking into account the social and political importance rating.

Based on the factors considered in the analysis, it is environmentally and possibly economically beneficial for beef producers to include digestion and composting as part of their manure management system in the long term.

There is a definite initial cost to digestion, Agnew cautioned. The high capital cost of an anaerobic digester makes adopting the technology risky in the short term, but manageable over the long term, and perhaps even profitable.

“Over the 20-year life of the system, digestion will generate a net positive return,” Agnew said. “The value of biogas and the net value of digestion are likely to increase over the lifetime of the equipment, as fossil fuel prices increase and incentives for green energy production are adopted.”

PAMI researchers were able to use information and results from the operation of their pilot-scale, solid-state anaerobic digester (SSAD) as part of the study. They also reviewed literature to assign values to the environmental factors associated with manure handling practices like stockpiling, composting, solid-state anaerobic digestion.

However, Agnew noted the numerical values placed on carbon offsets were based on the existence of a carbon-offset program in Saskatchewan. Currently there is no such system in place, so the team took the values based on the Alberta program. But even if carbon offsets are not considered in the calculation, SSAD was still associated with the highest net profit and environmental score as the biogas value was found to be the most significant factor in the overall value of manure.

extension programs.

Following an invitation process, three applicants were selected to participate in the pilot phase. As inaugural recipients, they will provide valuable feedback to help develop a successful experience that the BCRC intends to offer to applied researchers for years to come. In the future, the program will have a more public application process in which all eligible individuals may compete.

For starters though, the three recipients for 2014-15 are: Emma McGeough, Ph.D; Bill Biligetu, Ph.D; and Raquel Rodriquez Doce, Ph.D. McGeough is an assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Manitoba. She is currently co-investigator on a number of research projects ranging from forage evaluation to the environmental footprint of the Canadian beef industry.

Biligetu is an assistant professor in forage crop breeding with the Crop Development Centre at the University of Saskatchewan. His research is focused on developing improved forage species for livestock feed, as well as breeding forage crops that are adapted to the prairie region of western Canada.

Rodriquez Doce is a post-doctoral fellow at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research centre in Lacombe, Alta.

Her research is focused on development and management of cereal-forage crops for improved utilization in cow-calf, backgrounding and feedlot operations.

The mentorship program will match these participants with innovative cattle producers and other industry professionals for a one-year mentorship and provide opportunities to expand their networks and attend insightful meetings and events.

“We look forward to discovering how their experiences in the program impact their future in beef-related research and extension,” said Oleksyn.

The BCRC’s beef researcher mentorship program will complement similar programs in existence but for which some researchers may not be eligible. The BCRC also supports the participation of young researchers in the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association youth mentorship program, the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders. Funding for the beef researcher mentorship program is made available through the technology transfer initiative within the second Beef Cattle Industry Science Cluster.

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