January 19, 2012 - The Western Producer

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2012

VOL. 90 | NO. 3 | $3.75

WIND PROJECTS EXPAND | P60 SPRAYING | CHEMICAL RESISTANCE

SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923

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WWW.PRODUCER.COM

DINNER IS NEARLY READY

CWB | NEW PROGRAMS

Wheat board ready to chart new course

Resistant kochia discovered

BY BRIAN CROSS SASKATOON NEWSROOM

Crop Production Week | Scientists confirm glyphosate resistance

The Canadian Wheat Board will be a significant player in an open grain market, but farmers will have to wait a bit longer for specifics about its new contracts and programs, according to a top CWB executive. Gord Flaten, vice-president of marketing and sales, said the board has been working hard behind the scenes to ensure that competitive programs are in place before Aug. 1. “We are ready,” Flaten said Jan. 13 during a presentation at Crop Production Week in Saskatoon. “We believe we will be a good marketing option for farmers … and we think we will be a significant player in the western Canadian grain industry.” The board’s new programs are expected to include cash contracts, harvest pools with flexible delivery dates and early payment options, and futures contracts that allow producers to choose between base delivery grades and different delivery windows.

BY DAN YATES & MICHAEL RAINE SASKATOON NEWSROOM

Hugh Beckie’s prediction has come true: glyphosate resistance has continued to spread and the first resistant weed on the Prairies is kochia. Beckie, a scientist with Agriculture Canada, has confirmed that kochia pulled from three chem-fallowed fields in southern Alberta that had received multiple applications of glyphosate is resistant to the popular Group 9 herbicide. His message to producers: now that it’s here, it’s here to stay and it will spread. The tumbleweed moves quickly, producing more than 10,000 seeds and covering kilometres a day. Resistance evolves after the repeated use of a single herbicide without adequate culture weed management. The susceptible weeds are killed while resistant weeds are left behind to reproduce. Beckie said that based on previous studies, all kochia is already considered resistant to Group 2 herbicides. “Field-to-field spread of glyphosate-resistant kochia is likely going to be rapid, and so don’t feel sorry for those three farmers, because if Group 2-resistant kochia is any indicator, I think all of us will be dealing with glyphosate-resistant kochia within 20 years,” said Beckie, who made the announcement at last week’s Crop Production Week in Saskatoon with colleague Bob Blackshaw.

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SEE CWB PROGRAMS, PAGE 3

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Luckily, walking under a grain auger isn’t included as a superstition as Murray Jorgensen prepares some cattle feed on Friday the 13th at his farm east of Bassano, Alta. | KEVIN LINK PHOTO

CROP PRODUCTION WEEK COVERAGE APPEARS ON P. 4, 6-7, 26-29, 58, 62-63.

SHOW US YOUR TANDEM TRUCK. AND YOU CAN

WIN ONE. HURRY! Contest closes January 31, 2012. Enter at www.winatandemtruck.ca

Trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC. The Western Producer 11/12-17287-3 TM TM

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

JANUARY 19, 2012 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4

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SEE GLYPHOSATE RESISTANCE, P. 2

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