THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011
VOL. 89 | NO. 26 | $3.75
INSPECTION AHEAD |
SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
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BEEF MARKETS | TRADE DEAL
South Korea opens door to Canadian beef
Many see blessing in rain
BSE trade ban lifted, could mean millions in sales BY BARRY WILSON OTTAWA BUREAU
Dry areas get timely moisture | Central, northern areas having a strange season
Canada and South Korea have reached a deal that could see Canadian beef enter the market within months. The announcement follows almost eight years of negotiations and a World Trade Organization standoff. South Korea was Canada’s fourth largest beef export market when the market slammed shut in 2003 after BSE was discovered in an Alberta cow. The industry estimates that sales worth at least $30 million are possible by 2015 if the June 27 deal in principle becomes reality. Sales would be restricted to beef from cattle younger than 30 months. But first, Korea must publish its proposed health import requirements for Canadian beef and open the regulations for public comment. “It would be months,” Canadian Cattlemen’s Association president Travis Toews said.
BY SEAN PRATT SASKATOON NEWSROOM
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SEE SOUTH KOREA LIFTS BAN, PAGE 2
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u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv-:' JUNE 30, 2011 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4
Water pours through the Rafferty Dam and into the Souris River near Estevan, Sask., June 24. For stories about flooding in the region, see page 3. | KAREN BRIERE PHOTO upper layers of the soil. Emergence wasn’t looking all that great,” he said. The rain made a big difference to canola crops on the western Prairies based on field scouting that Jurke conducted last week. “I’ve been out the past few days looking at canola fields that weren’t looking so good before. They’ve really perked up.” The crop is far from uniform; there are almost two flushes of canola. As well, sclerotinia has become a major
disease threat. It is also challenging to get into the fields to apply herbicides and fungicides. However, the outlook for canola and other crops is vastly improved in Jurke’s region. “I hate to say it, because I don’t want to jinx it, but it’s almost like we’ve got some ideal conditions here,” he said. Jurke said it’s the same story for farmers in eastern Alberta. Growers north of a horizontal line running from Red Deer to the Saskatchewan
border needed rain, and they got it. “They’re in very good shape as well. This has certainly helped things out.” Todd Hames is one of those farmers. The wheat and canola grower from Marwayne, Alta., said his fields dried out quickly shortly after seeding because of persistent winds. “Some of the crops that were seeded shallow did have patchy germination because of the dry-down,” he said. SEE RAINS WELCOMED, PAGE 2
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The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Inc. Publisher, Larry Hertz Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240; Registration No. 10676
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WEATHER | GOOD NEWS
Farmers in the central and northern Prairies are celebrating the same June rain that has delivered more misery to farmers in the south. Agriculture Canada precipitation maps show that a wide band of farmland in central and northern Saskatchewan and Alberta has received 85 to 115 percent of normal rainfall since April 1 compared to in excess of 200 percent in the southeastern Prairies. Ed Schafer, a grower from Makwa in northwest Saskatchewan, had good moisture on his farm as seeding began in early May but conditions changed by the end of 19 straight days of planting. “We didn’t get any rain in that period, so as seeding progressed it got drier and drier,” he said. “We were watching TV and seeing ever ybody flooding out (down south) and we were drying out up north.” His topsoil was parched and his pasture land was “starting to go backwards,” so he welcomed the rain when it started to fall. And did it fall. Schafer’s area of the province received between 130 and 150 mm of moisture during one week in the middle of June. “In general, guys were happy to see the rain, but they were happy to see it done after seven days of rain,” he said. It has been a strange planting season. Schafer’s canola crop endured 13 days of frost in May, dryness in the beginning of June and now excess moisture. “I’ve got drowned out spots in my frozen, droughted-out canola,” he said with a laugh. Clint Jurke, a western Saskatchewan agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, said some areas received too much of a good thing, but the rain was desperately needed in an area north of Highway 7. “There were concerns that some of the canola seed wasn’t germinating because it was stranded in the dry
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