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THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2013

VOL. 91 | NO. 16 | $4.25

SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923

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DEALING WITH VOLUNTEERS | P5

WWW.PRODUCER.COM

AGRONOMY | HERBICIDE USE WEATHER | INPUT COSTS

Input worries spring up Short season, extra costs | Diesel supply may be a problem with a tight seeding window WINNIPEG BUREAU, SASKATOON NEWSROOM

Snowstorms and continuing cold temperatures are creating a potential disaster for prairie farmers if any of the systems they rely upon break down during seeding. “Can the infrastructure handle

this compressed seeding?” worried Dan Mazier, who farms near Justice, Man. “How do you get that much energy out to the field at once, let alone the fertilizer?” Farmers will need a steady flow of diesel fuel, fertilizer and other inputs when they are finally able to

get the big iron moving. The short growing season means there will be no room for error. That’s why some farmers are anxious about input supplies especially diesel fuel, which is becoming a chronic problem on the Prairies. Western Canada is normally considered to be energy

rich, but it actually has a deficit in diesel fuel production. “It is a big concern and it is probably going to be a concern for us at least for the short and medium terms,” energy market analyst Jason Parent of the Kent Group said during the Canada Grains Council’s annual meeting. SEE INPUT WORRIES, PAGE 2

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Yields suffer if herbicide application exceeds recommended rates BY SEAN PRATT SASKATOON NEWSROOM

Farmers are increasingly spraying their canola crops at above label rates, which is causing significant yield loss, says Monsanto Canada. Company research trials conducted over a two-year period on 53 sites shows farmers are losing an average of three bushels per acre by over-spraying, costing them $40 per acre at today’s prices. “I think that’s the piece that people have not understood, is that there is risk associated with this practice,” said Dave Kelner, canola technical lead with Monsanto Canada. A survey of 1,700 farmers conducted by Stratus Agri-Marketing Inc. on behalf of Monsanto found that 45 percent of farmers sprayed above label rates in 2012, up eight percentage points from the 2011 results. SEE OVERSPRAYING, PAGE 3

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u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv":' APRIL 18, 2013 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4

Fuel driver Rob Smith with Rack Petroleum of Biggar, Sask., prepares to deliver diesel to farms and service stations across the province April 12. | WILLIAM DEKAY PHOTO

The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Corp. Publisher: Shaun Jessome Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240

BY ED WHITE & MICHAEL RAINE

Overspraying adds costs, cuts yields


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