THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2011
VOL. 89 | NO. 35 | $3.75
STRAWBERRY FIELDS | P82
SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
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THE VIEW FROM ABOVE
SPECIAL REPORT | BEES
What’s killing our bees? Growers, beekeepers work toward common goal BY ROBERT ARNASON BRANDON BUREAU
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ALDUR, Man. — Sitting on the deck of his trailer and looking out over his acreage, Bill Lockhart makes it clear that he doesn’t have a quarrel with sunflower growers. In fact, Lockhart, a full-time apiarist in south-central Manitoba, said beekeepers and sunflower growers need each other. If you prevented bees from getting to the sunflower heads you’d get almost no seeds, said Lockhart, who manages 2,500 hives with his two brothers and two nephews around Baldur. “(But) if you leave it exposed to bees… you’ll get a seed set of 46 to 86 percent…. We’re dependent on growers and growers are dependent on bee pollinators.” access=subscriber section=news,none,none
CROP PRODUCTION | CANOLA
Record canola predicted for Prairies Prices largely unaffected | Weak global economy, recession fears will set prices, says analyst BY ROBERT ARNASON BRANDON BUREAU
Statistics Canada is predicting that Prairie farmers will produce a record canola crop of 13.2 million tonnes in 2011. But this kind of supply data will have little impact on canola prices, said Errol Anderson, a commodity broker at Pro-Market Communica-
tions in Calgary. The sickly global economy and fears of another recession will determine canola prices in the short and medium term, he said. “I think a bigger factor … is the global financial situation. “I think there are more problems coming in the equity world and I think the credit markets are going to
tighten up…. That’s why I’m a little bit (concerned) about grain prices…. So we’re focusing more on that, than on actual supply and demand numbers right now.” As an example, Anderson said oil prices are usually a barometer of confidence in the American and global economy. Over the last two months, due primarily to concerns over the
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debt crisis in Europe and the sluggish economic recovery in the United States, West Texas crude prices have dropped from more than $100 a barrel to trade at about $85 per barrel. If that trend continues, it doesn’t bode well for commodities like canola. access=subscriber section=news,none,none section=news,crops,none
SEE RECORD CANOLA, PAGE 2 »
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WHAT’S KILLING OUR BEES?, PAGE 2 »
u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv.:; SEPTEMBER 1, 2011 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4 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
This aerial kite photo of Deer Range Farms shows a farmer harvesting a crop of lentils north of Swift Current, Sask., on Aug. 23. Harvesting conditions have been excellent in the area with an above average crop sample and yield. | TYLER OLSON PHOTO