The AgriPost
July 27, 2018
Integrated Crop Agronomy Cluster Announced
Showing Off in the Milk Run
(above) Fourteen year old Kate-Leigh Heapy is in her second year of showing with the Madsens and placed 1st in junior showmanship (open to youth 14 to 19 years of age) with Madsen’s Heather.
By Joan Airey Reg and Carol Madsen raise horses just north of Hamiota and the couple enjoy teaching the art of showing Clydesdale horses to the younger generation and were among several well known breeders showing in the Clydesdale and Belgian classes for heavy horses at the Fair.
(left) Reg Madsen shows his 3 year old mare Madsen’s Heather at Strathclair Agricultural Fair on July 17 the second fair in what is known as the Milk Run which started on Monday in Oak River then on Wednesday in Shoal Lake, Thursday in Hamiota, Friday in Harding, culminating on Saturday in Oak Lake.
Photos by Joan Airey
The Western Grains Research Foundation (WDRF) is pleased with the newly established Integrated Crop Agronomy Cluster consisting of eight research activities ranging from soil health to herbicide resistance and climate change adaptation. It also includes the coordination of crop insects and disease monitoring, assessing and managing spray drift, developing a risk model for mitigating Fusarium Head Blight, development and management of productive, resilient and sustainable cropping. “WGRF is very proud to be leading the newly established Integrated Crop Agronomy Cluster,” said Terry Young, WGRF Board Chair. “The $6.3 million announced by Minister MacAulay, combined with the investment from WGRF ($1.6 million), and other industry partners ($1.1 million) accounts for a total investment in this agronomy research of up to $9 million over the next five years. We would like to thank Minister MacAulay and the Government of Canada for their continued partnership and investment in this important area of crop research.” This cluster has been established because Canadian farmers face agronomic challenges that cut across multiple crops and there are gaps in multicrop and systems approaches to agronomic research. Collaborating research organizations include Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Agri-Metrix, Brandon University, Farming Smarter, InnoTech Alberta, Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute, Smoky Applied Research and Demonstration Association, University of Alberta, University of Manitoba, University of Saskatchewan, and Western Applied Research Corporation. Built into all the activities in the cluster, is a strong knowledge transfer plan that will communicate results to producers, agronomists and scientists enabling them to respond in a timely way to these agronomic challenges. “Coordination and collaboration was really important in bringing this cluster together,” said Garth Patterson, Executive Director WGRF. “WGRF’s focus on funding research, our western Canadian membership, and our multi-crop funding scope made WGRF uniquely qualified to develop and lead this first of its kind cluster. Farmers don’t just grow one crop and that’s why we’re taking a whole-farm approach to agronomic research. We are very excited about the potential of this cluster.” The other funders of this cluster include Alberta Pulse Growers, Alberta Wheat Commission, Brewing and Malting Barley Research Institute, Manitoba Canola Growers Association, Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers, Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association, Prairie Oat Growers Association, Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers and Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission.
July 27, 2018
The AgriPost
Topigs Norsvin’s State-of-the-Art Research Facility Features a CT Scanner for Pigs By Harry Siemens World-renowned swine genetics company Topigs Norsvin held a grand opening June 27 for its new stateof-the-art research centre located in the RM of Woodlands, northwest of Winnipeg with close to 1,000 people attending the event. Topigs Norsvin International CEO Martin Bijl told those assembled why the Dutch company chose Manitoba for this $15 million investment citing the health status of the animals is of great importance, so to keep them healthy, Manitoba has the right infrastructure and low disease pressure for pigs. Bijl said it is not only a question of making genetic progress with pigs but also to disseminate the genetic progress through semen and animals worldwide. Delta Canada is an essential step in the further development of Topigs Norsvin as a global supplier of genetics. It makes it easier and faster to supply customers in the US and Canada, in particular, but also the rest of the world with the latest top genetics. The first boars will leave the centre at the end of this year. “Delta Canada will substantially increase the genetic progress in our Z line and TN Tempo,” said Hans Olijslagers CTO of Topigs Norsvin. “It is part of Topigs Norsvin’s long-term breeding strategy and will substantially contribute to our target of doubling genetic progress in the coming period.” Topigs Norsvin built the new research centre with the latest technology to provide maximum animal welfare, highest level biosecurity and minimal environmental impact. The location is isolated from other pig production, and yet it is still close to the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport, which makes it possible to export high-health boars and semen quickly to their customers. The total investment is € 10 million or $15 million CAD. Delta Canada houses 2,600 pigs and will test 7,500 young
On June 27 close to 1,000 people attended the grand opening for Delta Canada, Topigs Norsvin a world-renowned swine genetics company based in the Netherlands for its new state-of-the-art research centre located in the RM of Woodlands, northwest of Winnipeg.
nucleus boars of the TN Tempo sire line and the Z-line dam line every year. Delta Canada, just like the Delta centre in Norway, is equipped with IFIR feeding stations for individual feed intake registration and a CT scanner that The CT scanner at Delta Canada Topigs Norsvin will be used as part the research. makes it possible to improve carcass about 12 weeks of age.” and assessment to give them composition, robustness, Shaw explained how the their best candidate boars to and meat quality faster company will move about become the next generation.” Being a significant, expenand with higher accuracy. 15,000 pigs a year into the Mike Shaw is the Direc- nurseries, do a pre-selec- sive, all-encompassing protor of Genetic Services, in tion based on genomics, and cess, the consumer is the ulCanada and took several then seven and a half thou- timate tester. “We’re looking farm journalists on a tour of sand will come into the main at performance traits, feed the research station where Delta site, about 144 boars a conversion growth rates, normally the public cannot week. In 12 weeks they will but at the same time with a go. Shaw said pigs from six go through the quarantine CT scanner we’re looking at source farms near Stonewall, room and filtered to protect the carcass traits and meat enters into their Delta nurs- the main barn from anything quality,” said Shaw. “We’re eries, entirely isolated from they may come in contact looking at fat, whether it’s each other and thoroughly with, although they come back fat, but also intramusfiltered, so they act as quar- on a filtered trailer. “We’re cular fat, loin size at different antines as well as nurseries. thinking highly of the de- carcass cutout yields, giving “We can quarantine the pigs vice security and any risks us the meat quality informafrom the six source farms, during transportation, so the tion from the CT scanner. make sure that they’re clean filtered trailer protects them of any diseases so nothing’s on the way here, but also a coming with them,” he said. filtered quarantine once they “Once we’re comfortable arrive,” he said. “Once the with the health testing and boars are 130 kilos, they go the quarantine release, then through the CT scanner folwe can move them over to the lowed by their final selecmain Delta site when they’re tion, an exterior scoring,
Mike Shaw the Director of Genetic Services at Delta Canada explained how the company will move 15,000 pigs a year into the nurseries, do a pre-selection based on genomics and then 7,500 will move into the main Delta site which is about 144 boars a week.
Mike Shaw took several farm journalists on a tour of the new state of the art research station where the public normally does not go. Photo courtesy of Mike Shaw
The AgriPost
Tractor Trek Wrapping Up Another Successful Fundraising Campaign
Everyone wants a picture of their favorite tractor before they leave on the Trek.
By Les Kletke The $45,000 raised by this year’s Tractor Trek although not a record will go a long way in support of mental health. “That happened the year we had 73 tractors in the event,” said Earl Reimer of Eden Mental Health Centre on the past record Trek. “This year we had just over 40 tractors and we are approaching our average amount.” Final numbers were still not in on for the July 20 fundraiser and he expects the tally to rise a bit. Reimer noted that while the amount was not a record it was very close to average which is one of the strongest features of the Tractor Trek. “Year after year the Trek brings in that $40,000 plus amount of money,” said Reimer. “It is one of the major fundraisers for our organization and we are very thankful for the people involved. Over the years we have de-
veloped a system that works for the organization of the event but we are always thankful for the volunteer involvement.” Reimer is quick to point out that the drivers, sponsors and communities that host the event are critical to its success and they are what make this event happen. “We have a very dedicated group of drivers who are back year after year, and are ready to sign up as soon as registrations opens up,” he says. “That makes the event happen but they also find sponsors and that is what brings in the funds.” Reimer credits a special relationship with the community of Reinland which serves as the starting point for southern Trek every year, along with providing breakfast for the drivers and spectators on hand to send the group off. This year for the first time
the Trek had an American driver in the mix with Winnie Johnson of Hampden, North Dakota who was on hand with his Coop Model 3. Johnson has a collection of every model of the Coop line in his shed. “I have a few other tractors as well but I remember driving a new Coop home from the local dealership when I was in High School,” he recalled. “I have one of each restored and in the Shed, but this is a nice tractor for driving in a Trek, you sit nice and high and it has a top speed of about 30 miles per hour for when you want to go home.” Johnson vowed to be back next year with 3 or 4 of his friends to take part in the Trek. Reimer welcomes his entry and the support he will bring with him. “We look forward to new drivers and continued success of the fundraiser, the needs of our organization will continue.”
AAFC Projects Field Crop Exports to be Above Last Years By Elmer Heinrichs As July 31 marks the end of the 2017-18 crop year, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada projects that the total exports of field crops from Canada should register slightly higher than last year at about 50 million tonnes (Mt), about 55 per cent of production. Higher exports of grains and oilseeds (GH&O) are expected to more-than offset the lower exports of pulses and special crops (P&SC) such as peas and lentils. Looking at the current crop, AAFC sees higher area seeded to wheat and coarse grains which will more than offset the decrease in area seeded
to oilseeds, peas and lentils. Overall AAFC is forecasting a slight decrease in total production and supply in Canada. The combination of tight prairie feed barley supplies and the sharp increase in prices has encouraged additional area to crop. All of the western provinces are showing higher barley area, led by Manitoba with a 25 per cent increase over 2017. Total domestic usage of corn is expected to increase by six per cent due to increases in feeding, ethanol production and other industrial uses such as for starch manufacturing. Exports are also expected to rise. Manitoba continues to ex-
pand its corn and soybean areas and for 2018 it planted a record high corn area, four per cent higher than 2017, and 25 per cent higher than the previous five-year average. Canola production is forecast to be the second highest on record, at 20.3 metric tonnes (Mt), down by 1.0 Mt from last year’s record of 21.3 Mt. Manitoba production is estimated at 3.0 Mt. Soybean planted area for 2018-19 has fallen by 13 per cent to 2.6 Mha, a reversal of the long run trend of steadily increasing acreage to the crop in Canada. Production is forecast to fall by 8 per cent to 7.1 Mt and prices are expected to increase slightly.
July 27, 2018
The AgriPost
July 27, 2018
Experiential Learning is All About Doing
I will admit that the first time I heard that the Faculty of Agriculture was going to offer a course on introducing livestock to its students, I thought it strange. I may have even made fun of the idea taking students enrolled to in the Faculty of Agriculture to the Dairy barn at Glenlea and saying this is a cow. Then I thought about it and how the enrollment in the faculty has changed, more so in how farms have changed and that students can grow up on a farm, not coming face to face with an animal or because of biosecurity even enter the barns of the family enterprise.
Then I thought about how much I learned in the mandatory livestock course we took in the School of Agriculture and I could see the value of this course. THEN, I met Cora Dupuis who teaches the course and I realized how valuable this course could be. Cora is not from the Faculty of Agriculture which again I thought strange until I met her, Cora is doing her Master’s Degree in Experiential Learning, and it turns out is the right person to teach this course and the follow up one. She explained that the course is about coming in close contact with animals and their diets (yes they spend time in the feed mill) and then discussing what they learned and why things are done the way they are done. Cora’s approach to teaching is about having the experience and then discussing it so that the student leans why things are done the way they are done, and possibly find better ways of doing things or at the very least question the approach. After a discussion with Cora I felt I had learned a lot but I thought I might try her approach and took some time to think about what I had learned. The more I thought about it the smarter Cora got and the more her approach made sense. It also made sense she teaches the course or as she says, facilitates, “The technicians by teaching the hands on part of it.” It seems this new approach is a lot like how it was for farm kids who grew up around animals and learned by doing, even if it was not 4-H. Cora uses that line as well, that it is, “About learning by doing.” I for one am a convert to Experiential Learning, and think it could be applied to so many areas. Oh, and yes I do know that the pink ones are pigs.
Farmer “Dad” Jokes
Dad jokes are all the rage these days. We can find them all over the internet and social media. But what if Dad just happens to be a farmer? Well, there are plenty of farmer jokes told by Dad out there too. You just have to look a bit harder. Here’s a sampling… Where do farmers send their kids to grow? Kinder-garden. Farmer Giles is so interested in conserving energy; he built a pigpowered car. He has to get rid of it, though. Every time he turns a corner, the tires squeal. Why were the baby strawberries crying? Their ma and pa were in a jam. Why did the cops arrest the turkey? They suspected fowl play. Why do cows have hooves instead of feet? Because they lactose. What grows under your nose? Tulips! What did the girl mushroom say to the boy mushroom? You’re a fungi. What did the baby corn say to the mama corn? Where’s popcorn? What’s a potato’s least favourite day of the week? Fry-day! What do you call a cow with no calf? De-caffeinated. Why can’t the bankrupt cowboy complain? He’s got no beef.
What did the farmer say when he lost one of his cows? What a miss-steak.
Penner’s Points By Rolf Penner
Why did the pig dump her boyfriend? Because he was a real BOAR.
What do you call a sleeping bull? A Bulldozer.
What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef.
I have a rock garden. Last week three of them died.
Why are farmers cruel? Because they pull corn by the ears.
I thought my goat was about to give birth, but she was just kidding.
Why did the cabbage win the race? Because it was ahead!
When is a tractor not a tractor? When it turns into a barn.
What did the mama cow say to the baby cow? It’s pasture bedtime.
Why did the farmer call his pig “Ink”? Because it was always running out of the pen.
What did the cow say when it saw the farmer twice in one day? – “Deja moo!” What do you give a sick horse? Cough stirrup. What type of horses only go out at night? Nightmares. What do you get when a chicken lays an egg on top of a barn? An eggroll! What did the farmer say when he lost his tractor? Where’s my tractor? My wife’s a water sign. I’m an earth sign. Together we make mud. Why did the tomato blush? Because he saw the salad dressing. As a farmer, I hear lots of jokes about sheep. I’d tell them to my dog but he’d herd them all.
What do you call the best butter on the farm? A goat. Why did the scarecrow win the Nobel Prize? Because he was out standing in his field! Did you hear about the magic tractor? It turned into a field! What farm animal keeps the best time? A watch dog! Did you hear about the wooden tractor? It had wooden wheels, wooden engine, wooden transmission and wooden work. Deja Moo: The feeling that you’ve heard this bull before. Dad jokes, they’re not just for our city cousins any more. Farmers can keep up with anyone when it comes to the humour department and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!
Despite Trade Tensions - Demand for Food Will Continue
Trade issues and resulting tensions combined with people both in Canada and the United States who’d like to see trade issues dominate the media airwaves for whatever reasons, continue to demand outcomes on profitability for farmers. There are countries and segments of each industry that like to float non-monetary trade barriers and irritants, I think, to support faltering segments and sectors hoping the local demand picks
up to bolster local prices. In my opinion, one thing that won’t go away - the demand for food whether in Canada, China or Timbuktu will not lessen but increase. So we isolate certain pockets and those prices rise or drop, the amount of food the world continues to consume will increase. However, at the same time, specific sectors of the economy will hurt, and profitability may drop depending on which side you are on. In that light Farm Credit Canada (FCC) said trade tensions between the US and China are going to be a net negative for Canadian farmers in 2018. J.P. Gervais, FCC’s Chief
Agricultural Economist, said one of the most significant factors affecting profitability is some of the global trade tensions that people had not anticipated earlier in the year. “For example, on the crop side, a lot of the price declines taking soybeans for example and even some of the grains and corn, a lot of that is the result of how the US relationship with China has evolved,” said Gervais. “On that front, the pricing we get here on this side of the border is a function of the trend in the US price but, overall, I think we have a decent outlook for Canadian crops in 2018.” He said for livestock the second half of 2018 is going to
be a little more difficult than the first six months. “One of the positives is feed prices coming down for livestock producers overall. If you’re looking at margins for hogs, for instance, we’re looking at some negative margins or barely break even on average for the remainder of the year. That’s mostly the result of increasing supply,” said J.P. “If there is an overall theme in the entire Ag industry, I’d say this is a trend of growing supply. The most positive thing we have going for the Canadian agricultural sector in 2018 and into 2019 is that demand for the commodities that we sell remain extremely strong both domestically and
in foreign markets and I think that will allow us to have a decent year in 2018 overall.” Gervais said where these trade tensions are taking us is concerning profitability and need to be monitored because we’ve seen margins come down going into 2018. As is always the case, farmers do what they do best, and that is produce food for the other 98.5 per cent of the people in the world. One can develop all kinds of scenarios, but the bottom line is farmers will continue to produce and provide, especially here in Manitoba the healthiest, safest, and least expensive food compared to anywhere else in the world.
The AgriPost
Lessons to Be Learnt Dear Editor: I don’t get the AgriPost but a few pages of the May 25th edition came home from my inlaws’ (probably wrapped around something my kids made) and I want to comment on an article therein. The article is titled “Where is Mr. Rogers” and is written by Mr. Les Kletke. In this article Mr. Kletke wrongly identifies Millennials as Millenniums (the first being a generational moniker, the latter being a unit of time). He goes on to say that the reason “Millenniums” have trouble in the working world and live at home is because “They don’t have a Mr. Rogers. Someone who offers a bit of guidance and helps them develop a set of values.” He goes on to describe Will Rogers but does not actually reveal what “values” this man taught that generation. Then Roy Rogers. All the cool kids had a Roy Rogers lunch kit, according to Kletke. Rogers saving the day was “something you could count on” is as close as Kletke gets to stating what “values” this man taught anyone. Then Mr. Rogers. Now, I’m a Millennial, as is my younger sister, and I regularly watched Mr. Rogers on television. He taught kindness, acceptance, patience, tolerance. He taught that it was okay to go at your own pace, it was okay to be afraid, that talking was always the best first step to solving any problem, and that just taking the next step was a huge achievement and something to be proud of. That’s what I learned from Mr. Rogers. Kletke learned, “That it is okay to have a sweater hanging by the door at your place of work so that you could put on that comfortable sweater and throw yourself into the task at hand.” Yes, the sweater was certainly the most important part, sweaters and hard work. So, never mind that the housing market is horrendous. Never mind that the job market is horrendous. Never mind that Millennials were told to go out and get useless degrees instead of diplomas in useful fields. Never mind that the political landscape is a mess. Never mind that minimum wage is too low to live on. Never mind that previous generations are working later into life and not vacating the job market. No, Millennials live at home too long and have trouble in the job market because we didn’t have a Mr. Rogers. I am hugely disappointed in this opinion piece, which fails to make a valid point on the contribution of past Mr. Rogers, or misses the point completely, as well as mislabelling an entire generation and misstating or dismissing the actual troubles we face. I would like to end off by introducing Les Kletke to the most recent Mr. Rogers (Captain America); a man who has been a pop culture icon since 1940 and has recently experienced a resurgence of popularity. Maybe his status as a fictional character makes him ineligible in Mr. Kletke’s eyes to be a roll model for any generation, but given his current popularity, I would disagree. Sincerely, Casia Schreyer, a concerned “Millennium”.
July 27, 2018
Keep Those Combine Registrations Coming Because the Harvest is Ready to Go By Harry Siemens Children’s Camps International and Harvest for Kids wheat acres used in their fundraising will stream live the combine action on the internet this August 4, 2018 at 2 pm just south of Winkler. Recently George Klassen the Event Coordinator and Dave Thiessen, Harvest for Kids General Director who resides in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan but moved closer to Winkler to be near the action in the wheat field. “We have 310 acres here to harvest and taking out some of the perimeters so we can set up our safety lines, we’ll have about 250 acres by the time we are ready to harvest,” said Klassen expressing his excitement at knowing the harvest will be live on the Internet. Dave Thiessen said it is a privilege working alongside Klassen. “The field behind us will have 300 combines on it on August 4, but the purpose behind it is to raise funds to send kids to camp in developing countries around the world,” he said. Dave had a handful of yellow kernels in his hand from several plants ready for harvest well ahead of time. “In spring, of the winter wheat seeded last fall much had died. So we planted spring wheat, that is 90-day wheat, and we put that in, not even 70 days or 60 days ago, and it’s ready to harvest,” he said. “We need to draw this to the attention of farmers, and because we’re going on live internet to the world, we’re going to give people across the world an opportunity to send $5 to send a kid to camp,” said Klassen. “And that’s how we’re going to raise funds, and we’re hoping to be able to give a million kids the privilege of going to a camp where very often, life changes take place.” He said there will be all kinds of combines as well. “The oldest one we have coming so far, is a 1954 Massey Super Special 80 and it is coming from Steinbach via truck,” said Klassen. “One of the unique combines we have coming is a pull type. The only one ever made in the world of its kind, and it’s going to be coming right here to do the harvest.” The two-day event will have something for everyone with kids’ activities, a Free Benefit Concert at the Parkland Stage, featuring High Valley, the Hunter Brothers, and Rosemary Siemens and the Sweet Sound Revival. Then on Saturday, August 4, the field activities be- On July 19, the Harvest for Kids gin, including family activities, vendors, and farm wheat field was ready to go as seen in this picture of Dave show at 10 am, a $5 lunch from 11 to 1 pm and Thiessen, General Director with the harvest starts at 2 pm sharp. Road access to the Harvest for Kids, holding ripe event will close at 1:45 pm, be sure to arrive early. wheat.
Supply Management Delivers for Canadians – Both Conventional and Organic The front page story in a recent edition of the Toronto Star claimed to be an investigative report about milk in the grocery stores. While it is an interesting account of different practices of several dairy farmers, it comes to wrong and misleading conclusions that don’t do justice to the realities of conventional and organic milk, and certainly do not warrant top billing in the paper. The article’s conclusions – that consumers are being milked, and that there is no difference between “organic” and “conventional” milk -- are very misleading. All milk produced and sold in Canada is of very high quality. Quality standards are among the highest in the world. Conventional, as Jan Slomp well as organic farmers follow strict rules about cow comfort, which drugs and chemicals are allowed, what is the minimum withdrawal time and what procedures to follow when treatments are used. All milk is tested for quality and residues before processing and if there are violations the milk is dumped and the individual farmer is severely penalized. The organic farmer follows additional rules and more restrictions, in compliance with protocols and standards set by the Canadian Organic Regulation. Consumers of organic products want these standards and restrictions, and organic farmers are producing accordingly. When comparing milk prices, one needs to look at the farm gate price received on the conventional farm versus the organic farm. The premiums organic farmers receive are way more modest than what is reflected in the grocery store prices. Processors and retailers take a significantly higher margin on organic produce. By the way, what would be worthy of investigation is the spread between the farm gate prices and store prices in general, both today and compared to decades ago. The share of the consumer’s food dollar left for the farmer goes down steadily, reflecting how little market power the farmer is left with. Provincial dairy marketing boards in Canada have all facilitated the production of organic milk, simply because there has been a growing demand for it. If our system was not accommodating the production of organic milk in Canada, grocers would ask to import it. Despite severely wrong conclusions and ill-conceived facts portrayed in the article, it is clear that there is no earth-shaking new problem in the dairy business. Yet the ongoing problem of our Federal government using supply management as a bargaining chip in behind-closed-doors trade negotiations is a real threat to farmers, whether conventional or organic, as well as to Canadian consumers who want access top quality Canadian dairy. Let’s work together to strengthen supply management for all our benefit. Jan Slomp is the Vice President, Policy of the National Farmers Union.
The Harvest for Kids 310 acres wheat field has 250 acres ready for the harvest fundraiser.
July 27, 2018
The AgriPost
The AgriPost
HyLife Continues to Invest in Rural Manitoba
July 27, 2018
The Basics of Grazing Management By John McGregor, MFGA Extension Support
Rori Bouchard, the Managing Director of the FSW group of companies presents a decorative commemoration to HyLife President Claude Vielfaure as a small token of their appreciation for the new facility, which they built.
By Harry Siemens HyLife, a Manitoba an integrated pork processor, headquartered in La Broquerie, with business around the world, earlier this year held an open house to announce the completion of its pork processing facility expansion and upgrade project. The bulk of its investment focused on the modernization of the integrated pork processing plant in Neepawa. Most recently on July 5, HyLife opened a brand new feed mill, the second one in Manitoba replicating the one that had been built several years ago at Randolph. Company President Claude Vielfaure said the key to not only building a feed mill in the Killarney area and several new hog barns is the support they have received from the area. “We established ourselves here many, many years ago by purchasing some barns, and then leasing some finishing barns from producers,” said Vielfaure. “The reception is always good, and they’ve had faith in us, and supported us, and so for us, it was just a perfect area in western Manitoba, to build a feed mill, and build some barns, and raise some pigs. And it’s close enough to Neepawa, which makes sense for transportation of our hogs, so that whole combination was just a perfect fit.” He said there is nothing extraordinary about the HyLife farm; it is what they raise on the farm that matters. That’s why they need the specialized feed mills to provide their unique feeding programs used to increase the number of pigs and ensure quality. “We do things to get the highest quality pork that we can get. And part of that is a facility that can make that quality feed exactly the way we want it so that our customers and our producers get the best pork possible. And then we sell that
Company President Claude Vielfaure said the key to building a new feed mill in the Killarney area and several new hog barns is the support they have received from the area.
internationally, all over the world,” said Vielfaure. “It’s a combination of things, as far as feeding the right ingredients to get the right colour of fat, the right firmness of fat, the right taste, the right genetics of pigs to have the right marbling. All of that is so important in the program, to be able to produce pork that would be considered one of the best, if not the best in the world.” Different countries have different requests which, starts first by selling the number one quality in pork, and then fulfilling customer requests for different cuts or just cut a different way. “That’s why we invested in our plant in Neepawa and spent a lot of money on machinery and technology that can meet those specs of different customers. Japan has different cuts than Canada, then Korea, then China. So it’s all different, and they all have different specs, but now we can do exactly what they need and want.” Employees are vital to making this happen said Vielfaure. He explained that it starts with their employees and always has since they
started the company in the early 80s, with the Vielfaure brothers, and then merging with Don Janzen in 1994 to create HyLife. “The growth of our company is all because of our employees and it’s fantastic, and they’re an integral part,” he said. “It was a cultural thing and based in rural Manitoba, and so we hire rural people that are working in the area where our barns are. So they commit to their community, and they want to make it better.” When there aren’t enough local people, they bring in a few immigrants, focusing a lot on the Philippines, as the Filipino people integrate so well into the community, becoming part of it making for a perfect balance. Both the Federal and Provincial governments also play an essential role. Under the current PC government in Manitoba relaxing the building regulations, HyLife can start rebuilding some barns and adding to their infrastructure. Without the new regulations the new mill would not have happened otherwise, he said. Vielfaure went on to say that the Federal government has
also helped on the immigration side, which such a critical component for them because they create the jobs in rural areas but there are not enough people to match the growth of the company. The Canadian government has helped HyLife tremendously through that process.
Claude Vielfaure of HyLife said they do things to get the highest quality pork and part of that commitment is the new feed mill facility that can make quality feed exactly the way HyLife’s global customers expect.
In Manitoba, farmers and producers have adopted a number of different grazing systems with the key component usually being the multiple pastures (paddocks) that we move animals through. It’s remarkable how moving animals from pasture to pasture makes them perform better and keeps the pastures healthy. But the potential for disaster is still there. Forgetting the basics of grazing management or not responding correctly when things don’t go as anticipated will break any grazing system. Understanding the underlying principles of good grazing will help start you in the right direction. Sound decisions determine the success of an adaptive grazing management strategy. 1. A good guideline when grazing is to take 1/3, leave 2/3’s. Generally, severe defoliation greater than 50 percent of leaf material decreases a grasses leaf area (for re-growth), leading to decreased root mass. Doing this repeatedly worsens the effect. 2. Adjust the number of animals per unit area and the length of time they are present to reduce the overgrazing of preferred plants or allow them time to recover afterward. 3. Timing and frequency of grazing are important. Grazing after grasses elevate their growing points is generally most harmful. When the terminal growth point is removed, the plant cannot produce any additional leaves or a seed head. New leaves can only be produced if the plant activates either a crown or auxiliary bud to produce a new tiller. Complete tiller replacement is a slow process and may use substantial amounts of stored energy. 4. Plants need to re-grow leaves after grazing. The length of the recovery period is dependent on timing and severity of the defoliation and growing conditions. Cool-season grasses and mixed cool-season grasses and legumes should have 3 to 4 inches of residual leaf area for rapid recovery. How long the recovery period should last will vary within and among years. 5. Increasing the density of palatable plants can and does improve pastures. The length of time required for germination and establishment may be relatively short in moist environments, but limited rainfall and short, erratic growth periods in drier areas may require a much longer time between grazing periods. 6. Manage grazing animals to use the landscapes evenly. Paddock shape, water and mineral location can determine how evenly areas are grazed. Areas of heavy use often degrade and then enlarge as they lose productivity or less desirable plants invade and no longer meet animal requirements. 7. In most grazing systems there are differences within the paddock. These differences need to be managed to determine when, where, how many, how often or how long each paddock will be grazed to allow full recovery of grazing plants. If you don’t, you won’t make much progress. 8. Nutrient intake over time is determined by the quality and quantity of forage available for that period of time. Animals can mix plants of differing quality to try to meet their requirements and normally consume a higher quality diet than the average of the plant community available to them, if given the opportunity for selection. 9. The quantity, quality and diversity of plants in and among paddocks must allow enough selection and intake to meet performance goals. 10. If animals use more of the landscape or learn to select a greater variety of plants, and those plants are given enough recovery between grazing to maintain or improve vigor, stocking rate can be increased. When things don’t go as anticipated, and they won’t, some of these basic practices may help. Remember, more paddocks per herd increases operational flexibility, but sound decisions determine the outcome of an adaptive grazing management strategy.
July 27, 2018
The AgriPost
The AgriPost
Replenish Vital Fluid Loss in Dairy Calves It might be a scouring sick dairy calf or an otherwise healthy one suffering from stress, but if either calf loses more than 10% of its bodyweight in fluids (water and electrolytes), death can be minutes away. Fortunately, we can save many of these dairy calves by recognizing the symptoms of dehydration and then acting quickly by replenishing vital body fluids with a well-fortified electrolyte solution. In addition, we might even prevent more cases of dehydration in calves by feeding a specialized electrolyte supplement during periods of stress. Loss of such aqueous and salt vitality in baby dairy calves is commonly caused by two reasons, namely: (1) diarrhea/scours or (2) dehydration caused by environmental factors, which is often synonymous with heatstress. To complicate matters, a scouring calf might also be suffering from heatstress as well as heat-stress may lead to severe scours. Whether a dairy calf is a heat-stressed or not, common scours causes a breakdown of natural mechanisms that regulate water and essential electrolytes in its body tissues. It might be a pathogenic scour (caused by disease) or nutritional scours (caused by feeding too much milk or milk replacer); both of which cause “water imbalance” by moving liquids from the body tissues into the intestinal lumen in a failed attempt to restore water equilibrium in the body. Furthermore, pathogens such as cocci can poke holes and scar mucosal intestinal tissue, which can accelerate fluid loss as well as prevent absorption of fluids. Compared to scours, significant fluid loss in heat-
stressed calves doesn’t come from the gut/intestines but via the lungs and urine. It begins when a baby calf is not able to dissipate body heat as rising ambient air temperature exceeds 26 °C and is intensified by a rise in outdoor or indoor humidity. As a result, there is an increase in the calf’s respiration rate, which leads to panting in order to dissipate this body heat, which loses much water from its lungs as vapor into the air. In addition, heat-stressed calves double their water intake from 10 to 20 litres per day, which likely increases urination and subsequent loss of essential electrolytes. So, it’s important to spot dehydrated calves and treat them with a well-fortified electrolyte solution before calves are lost. Fortunately scouring calves are easy to spot - loose bowl-movement, dirty tails and diarrhea pools on the ground. In comparison, dehydrated heatstressed calves might be a little harder to spot - look for lethargic calves, eyes sunken back in their heads and dry rug-like haircoat. Lastly, heat-stress calves with scours might require more attention to save but are often treated in a similar fashion to the previous groups. The best electrolyte products sold on the market as effective calf scour or heatstressed treatments should contain three major electrolytes, namely: sodium, chloride and potassium. And they should be concentrated at high enough levels, so when they are mixed with water, the prepared liquid is ready to drench sick calves. Penn State University recommends that a proper scour treatment should contain about 70 to 145 mmol/l of sodium, 20
– 30 mmol/l of potassium, and 50 - 100 mmol/ l of chloride. Along with these essential minerals, many saleable formulas contain glycine, and glucose (this ingredient sometimes noted as dextrose on the label, up to 500 mmol/l) in order to promote electrolyte uptake in the scouring calf small intestine. A few electrolyte formulas might also contain an alkalinizing agent to prevent a potential acidotic condition that usually accompanies calf scours. Other products contain a gel agent to help slow down the rapid flow of diarrhea coming out of the calves. When the best electrolyte formula is chosen, and mixed with water, it now becomes a matter of calculating how much electrolyte solution is needed to be fed in addition to the calves’ normal water amounts provided by whole milk/milk replacer feedings. Case-in-point: a scouring or heat-stressed 60 kg calf loses 5% of its bodyweight in water (and electrolytes), then the producer needs to replace it with 3 litres (60 kg x 0.05 = 3 kg = 3 litres) of electrolyte solution. Since, a pre-weaned calf routinely drinks about 5 litres per day of whole milk or milk replacer; a total of 8 litres per day of liquids should be provided until the scour threat is over. Aside from these balanced electrolyte formulas, there are a series of similar products known as “electrolyte supplements”, which are typically less concentrated with electrolytes. Since, they do not have “treatment” amounts of electrolytes; they are not intended to be used to rehydrate scouring or severe-
ly heat-stressed calves. Rather, they can help calves get through stress periods such as heatstress by maintaining fluid balance, stimulate appetite, maintain immune function and even prevent vitamin/mineral deficiencies. That’s because they are equally well-designed with modest amounts of Vitamin A, D, E and Bvitamin complex and balanced levels of sodium, chloride, potassium and magnesium. When mixed at the rate of a few tablespoons per 20 litres of water, they might be distributed into the “extra water” pails or mixed up as a stock solution and then metered by medicator into the main water source for dairy calves. Such effective use of electrolyte concentrates and similar supplements is a matter of feeding them to dairy calves at the right time and situation. It could mean feeding an electrolyte supplement as a routine preventative measure of water and electrolyte loss and then switched to a more concentrated product in order to treat severely dehydrated calves. The duality of this program should not only curtail vital water loss in baby calves, but successfully correct any compromised electrolyte status.
Allan Farms Named Commercial Charolais Breeder of the Year By Joan Airey Ron and Shirley Allan operate a mixed farming operation northwest of Rathwell. Their herd consists of a hundred and forty head of percentage Charolais as well as a group of forty Black Angus cross cows. They breed everything Charolais except for their home raised heifers which are bred Red Angus. “We start calving in March and generally back ground all their calves till a year of age, bunk feeding them a corn silage base ration. Previous to BSE we fed all our calves, finishing them through to slaughter,” said Ron Allan.
“I feel the Canadian Charolais Association should promote the Charolais carcass as it is tasty and tender as the blacks. How they are fed, the age at slaughter, how they are handled is what makes the difference,” explained Shirley Allan. Ron’s father the late Joe Allan was a pioneer commercial breeder who started using Charolais bulls in the late sixties and continued throughout his farming career. “Although we feel the hybrid vigour adds to the performance of the Angus calves, our strong percentage tan and white Charolais
feeders always wean heavier and gained better post weaning on our back ground ration. More pounds, means more dollars in our pockets. Over the years we have purchased Charolais bulls at Manitoba Bull Test Stations and from many Manitoba Charolais Breeders,” added Ron.
Scot Johnson (right) presents Shirley and Ron Allan with the Commercial Charolais Breeder of the Year Award. Photo: By Tanya Airey
July 27, 2018
Connecting with Your Local Farmer’s Markets By Elmer Heinrichs Many Manitobans know that Farmers’ markets are great places to get started eating locally grown and homemade foods. These local markets are a great way to connect with several producers all at once who grow, pick, make and sell a variety of quality local fruit, vegetables, fresh baked goods, home preserves and unique crafts. If you’re craving some fresh jam, bread and other local goodies, you’re in luck. The farmer’s markets are open and will be running through the summer and into early fall. The Altona farmer’s market, for example, is open Saturday morning downtown under the tent from 10 am to noon with a variety of fresh produce, including baked goods, honey and noodles. The St. Norbert Farmers’ Market may be Manitoba’s largest and best loved outdoor farmers’ market, enjoyed by visitors from near and far. Throughout Manitoba from Altona to Gimli, from Steinbach to Oakville, and in many large or small communities in between, similar markets and roadside stands are open.
Minister Happy to Be Back on the Land By Les Kletke Former Minister of Agriculture Glen Findlay has gone back to the land and could not be happier, well perhaps he would be happier if got some rain. Findlay who served as Agricultural Minister in the provincial Filmon government said that it was always his intention to go back to the farm at Shoal Lake. He was first elected in the Virden constituency but it was dissolved by boundary changes after his first term and he was named the candidate in Springfield. “When I represented the Springfield constituency we had a condo in the riding and we lived there but we went home a lot of weekends,” he said. Today he farms with his son and grandson another generation of Findlay’s coming along. The original Findlay homestead was started in 1879. “I am the 4th generation on the farm, my son is 5th and grandson who we farm with is the 6th and he has a couple of kids who could well be the 7th to take over,” he said. “I am very proud of that.” Looking back he remembers the days involved with the CWB and MTS as some of the tougher times. “They were both major issues of the day, and while they were serious they were resolved and things move on,” he said. “Some people may have seen them as earth shattering but we got through them and our industry carries on.”
Glen Findlay is a 4th generation farmer and looks forward to the 7th becoming involved.
“You remember the most difficult and the best times, a lot of the other days tend to meld together but the really good and bad stay with you,” he said. Looking at this year’s crop on the Findlay farm he said moisture would be appreciated. “We are in need of a rain,” he noted. “We grew a great crop last year on minimal moisture but we might not be as fortunate this year.” Like most of the province the Shoal Lake area experienced a record crop last year. “The crop looks good and has held on but we don’t have the reserve that we did in the soil last year,” said Findlay. “A rain would be welcome to help finish he crop.” Manitoba Agriculture’s weekly crop report shows that the area is much like the rest of the province receiving well over the normal amount of heat but below average precipitation. Only a small area in southern Manitoba has received above average precipitation.
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July 27, 2018
The AgriPost
The AgriPost
Cline Cattle Company Receives Manitoba Purebred Charolais Breeder of the Year By Joan Airey Cline Cattle Company, owned and operated by Brad and Juanita Cline, was named Purebred Charolais Breeder of the Year at the Manitoba Charolais Annual General Meeting, Pen Show and Picnic on July 14. Cline Cattle Company is located near Belmont Manitoba which is about 10 minutes east of Pelican Lake. “We have had commercial cows for about twenty-six years, which have been bred to Charolais bulls. We felt they always gave us the heaviest weaning calves come fall,” said Brad Cline. “We started adding Purebreds to our heard about 8 years ago. It just seemed to be the right next step for our operation. Our operation includes 150 Charolais purebreds, including a red factor, 50 commercial cows along with 1,200 acres of grain land.” He has been on the board for the Manitoba Charolais Association for the last three years. They sell their bulls by private treaty from the yard with an open house held in November of each year. “Our son Logan is attending agri-business in Brandon and Kendra our daughter is going
into grade 10 in the fall. They are both very involved in all aspects of the farm operation. We don’t venture from home often but when we do it’s usually to go to a pen show, Agribition, Ag-Ex or a bull sale!” said Juanita Cline. Over the years, the Cline’s have continued to donate as much volunteer time as possible to their community. They have been on the board for their local rink, helped run the town’s fall super and
involved with fundraising and construction of a new playground. Brad has served on council for one term and both did a term on the Town’s board. Brad, Juanita and family hosted the Annual Pen Show for 2018, the Manitoba Charolais Association AGM and provided the picnic supper.
Scot Johnson presents Brad and Juanita Cline with the Manitoba Purebred Charolais Breeder of the Year Award. Photo by Tanya Airey
July 27, 2018
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Carbon Tax for Some But Not for Other Provinces By Harry Siemens The governments of Saskatchewan and Ontario have agreed to work together to stop the Federal government from imposing a carbon tax on the people of their provinces. Doug Ford, the Premier Ontario and Premier Scott Moe of Saskatchewan released a joint statement recently following discussions at the summer meeting of the Council of the Federation in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick. Here the two Premiers agreed to join forces and use every available tool to challenge the Federal government’s authority to arbitrarily impose a carbon tax on the people of Ontario and Saskatchewan. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he and his Saskatchewan counterpart, Premier Scott Moe, are on the same page when it comes to a carbon tax. One political commentator said on Twitter, Manitoba needs to join Saskatchewan, Ontario, and PEI and rid Manitobans of this horrendous tax. Premier Ford said at the Council of the Federation in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick they had a great meeting to discuss the issues shared between their provinces. “At the top of the agenda, the Carbon Tax, where we both are on the same page. The people of Ontario elected me on a promise to scrap the carbon tax. It’s a bad tax for families, and it’s a bad tax for businesses,” he said. “I’m here to gather support among my provincial counterparts, against the Carbon Tax. When I met Premier Moe, I
agreed to stand shoulder to shoulder with him on this issue. I’m pleased to announce that Ontario will join forces with Saskatchewan and use every tool at our disposal to challenge the Federal Carbon Tax.” Premier Ford said Ontario will support Saskatchewan in intervening in the reference case they have launched with the court of appeal. “This is an important step in the fight against the Federal Carbon Tax. Our provinces are strongest when we stand together. This move will show unity and will send a clear message to the Federal government,” he said. The two Premiers agreed, carbon taxes make life unaffordable for families and put thousands of jobs at risk and, at a time economic uncertainty, more money needs to go back into the pockets of families and businesses. According to John Feldsted, Political Consultant and Strategist in Winnipeg, Premier Brian Pallister is determined to impose his ‘made in Manitoba’ Carbon Tax December 1, 2018. “We can correctly assume that the dire financial position of the province plays a part,” said Feldsted. “Pallister has promised that carbon tax revenues will be returned to Manitobans as tax cuts and may include a 1 per cent decrease in the provincial sales tax,” said Feldsted. “Carbon taxes will bring in revenues of somewhere over
$139 million. Not mentioned is the Federal GST windfall of $6.95 million. The feds tack on the GST to the final retail cost including the provincial road tax.” “Including the carbon tax in road taxes is smart, don’t need a separate system for collection. The promise of returning all carbon tax income in the form of tax refunds looks possible but is not quite attainable,” continued Feldsted. “The Climate and Green Plan Implementation Act has provisions that make that difficult.” He said all of this would require substantial infrastructure and funding and bureaucracies are expensive and will diminish available carbon tax refunds to Manitobans. While a sales tax reduction will have an immediate offset to higher gas prices, cuts in income tax mean a delay between out of pocket carbon expenses and relief at tax filing time. “We are out the expenses of carbon taxes paid until the following spring, and by then we have accumulated more expenses for the current year. We are funding government operations in the meantime, which is not entirely bad as that avoids increasing debt,” said Feldsted. “However, the Carbon Tax puts pressure on the working poor who need to commute, and those who use a personal vehicle for work. Those who have the least will hurt the most,” Feldsted said.
Know How to Control Nematodes in Market Garden Crops Nematodes are pests that you need to keep an eye on in order to ensure the productivity of market garden crops. Several species are considered parasites of fruits and vegetables. Various types of nematicides have been used in the past to eliminate and/or control the spread of nematodes. Since the 1970s, these nematicides have been phased out of commercial use. The last fumigant nematicide was withdrawn over the last five years. Over time, it became apparent that they were not safe for users or for the environment. Consequently, it became important to develop alternative nematode control methods for producers of market garden crops. The researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guy Bélair (retired) and Benjamin Mimee (a nematologist currently working in this
field), are dedicated to the development of nematode control methods, for example through integrated pest management measures. This approach relies on a combination of cultural methods used in conjunction to reduce the density of nematodes in fields in order to minimize crop damage. The research experiments conducted by Bélair provided conclusive results concerning the most effective integrated pest management methods, in particular against endoparasitic nematodes. Because this type of nematode is an internal plant parasite, it prevents the plant from absorbing water and nutrients from the soil, which are necessary for optimal plant growth. This class of nematodes causes the greatest economic damage. There are three species of endoparasitic nematodes:
the root-knot nematode, the lesion nematode, and the stem and bulb nematode. Root-knot nematode Eggs are laid outside the root in a gelatinous mass. The second-stage larva (or infectious larva) is the only stage found in the soil. All the other stages are inside the root. Abundant rootlets (hairy roots) and whitish nodules on the rootlets. In carrot, significant deformation of the primary root. Complete development cycle: 4–6 weeks. Main market garden crops affected: carrot, celery, lettuce, tomato, potato, leek, Brassicaceae (broccoli, cabbage, turnip) and Cucurbitaceae (melon, cucumber). Best practice: To effectively and significantly reduce root-knot nematode populations, practise crop rotation with a grain at least every 3–4 years, since this type
of nematode does not attack any grains. If the infestation is too heavy, two years of grains may be necessary. One year of onion followed by one year of grain has proven to be very effective in controlling nematode populations and increasing carrot yields by more than 50% the following year. Lesion nematode All stages of development except the egg can infect a root and are found in the soil. The entire development cycle takes place inside the root. By moving within the root, the nematode causes injuries or lesions, allowing certain pathogenic fungi to enter the plants. Complete development cycle: 4–6 weeks. Main crops affected: potato, legumes, grains (rye, barley, oat, wheat), market garden crops. Best practice: A rotation with forage pearl millet re-
duces populations to below the damage threshold for several crops (potato, strawberry, raspberry, corn, apple tree, soybean). Sow millet in early June since it prefers a hot climate. If sown too early in the spring in wet, cool soil, it will not germinate well and will be quickly invaded and smothered by the growth of annual grasses. Based on our research between 2000 and 2006, we can conclude that, for potato, this type of rotation increased yields by 15% to 35%, depending on the density of the initial lesion nematode population. Stem and bulb nematode Unlike the other nematodes, this nematode does not affect the roots, but only the above-ground part of the plants (the stems). This endoparasitic nematode causes very significant damage in garlic crops.
Through cryptobiosis (dehydration and dormancy), this nematode can survive in a field for 4-5 years without the presence of host plants. It is spread through contaminated plants and seeds. Our greenhouse trials demonstrated that this nematode reproduces well on garlic and onion, poorly on potato, and not at all on corn, soybean, barley, alfalfa, mustard, carrot and lettuce. Main market garden crops affected: - Bulb race: garlic, onion, pea, strawberry, sugar beet. - Oat race: rye, corn and oat, and most grains. Best practice: For producers, it is essential to use clean, i.e. nematode-free, plants or seeds. Plant in nematode-free soil. A rotation of 4-5 years without host plants is a good method for getting rid of stem and bulb nematodes.
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July 27, 2018
The AgriPost
The AgriPost
Ministers of Agriculture Meeting Focuses on Growth and Innovation
Canada’s Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Agriculture held their annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia from July 18-20, where they discussed the growth and continued prosperity of the sector.
Topics critical to the growth and continued prosperity of agriculture were the focus of discussion at the annual meeting of Federal, Provincial and Territorial (FPT) ministers in early July. The Ministers discussed how they can collaborate to
create more jobs and support economic growth in the agriculture and agri-food sector. Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector was recently identified in the Barton Report as one of six sectors with high potential for economic growth. An Agri-Food Eco-
nomic Strategy Table was created as part of the Federal Innovation Skills Plan and serves as a forum for industry leaders to explore opportunities and challenges facing the sector. The Table engaged FPT ministers on their views to drive growth.
During the meeting FTP ministers acknowledged the importance of trade. They discussed on-going trade negotiations to maintain and grow market access for Canada, and the importance of working together to help the agricultural sector expand their businesses in key global markets.
July 27, 2018
Ministers also reiterated their strong support for supply management and the critical need for appropriately skilled and increased labour over the short and long term. They also agreed on the importance of ensuring the effectiveness of temporary foreign workers programs. FPT Ministers noted the successful launch in April 2018 of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year, $3-billion investment to help the sector grow and innovate. The Partnership provides ongoing investments to support leading edge discovery and applied science, spur innovation, and promote international trade, while ensuring that producers continue to have access to business risk management (BRM) programs. The Government of Canada provided an update on progress toward legalization of cannabis. The cannabis industry is eligible to apply for federal programs under the Partnership. Provinces and Territories have the discretion to determine eligibility for cannabis production for cost-shared programs. For BRM programs, income from cannabis including both medici-
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nal and recreational are not eligible for support under AgriStability and AgriInvest. Governments agreed to monitor this over the coming years as the cannabis industry matures and stabilizes. After significant effort over the past year, the external panel of experts presented its recommendations on BRM programming. Ministers thanked the panel on concluding their work and directed officials to move forward with additional work required on the recommendations and to report back on progress in 2019. Topics at the meeting also included identifying areas for increased collaboration to streamline regulations, reduce regulatory burden and continue to uphold the safety and high quality of agricultural products. In addition, Ministers had the opportunity to hear about Indigenous agriculture activities currently underway in British Columbia and received an update from the Federal government on the continued development of A Food Policy for Canada. Canada’s agriculture and agri-food system contributes over $110 billion of our gross domestic product, and last year our agriculture, food and seafood exports hit an alltime record of $64.6 billion. The next annual meeting of FPT Ministers will be held in Quebec City in July 2019.
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July 27, 2018
The AgriPost
The AgriPost
July 27, 2018
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The Milk Run’s Harding Fair a Roaring Success By Joan Airey The Harding agricultural community held it’s hundred and fourteenth Agricultural Fair in late July. The Harding event is the smallest town on the Milk Run with the largest number of entries. The Milk Run Special was started for Canada’s 150 celebrations where exhibitors with the most points in standing by combining their attendance at a minimum of 4 fairs within the Milk Run can win cash prizes. The Milk Run includes the Elkhorn Fair that offers eligible participants a first prize of $450 and 2nd $250. This year’s Harding Agricultural Fair had five show rings in operation, with the Junior Simmental Show, Manitoba Angus Gold Show, Open Breed Classes, Heavy horse show, miniature horse show and light horse show. A hundred and ninety two purebred cattle took part in the show and thirty-six pairs in the Commercial Pen Show. There were also thirty-five entries in the Jackpot Heifer Class with participants from Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The Ronald Sangster Me-
morial Supreme Bull and Female of all breeds is part in the Royal Bank Supreme Challenge at Agribition with approximately $30,000 in prize money up for offer. The class is an excellent tribute to Ronald Sangster’s commitment and dedication to the cattle business and the community’s Harding Fair. The Classes are sponsored by his wife Margaret Sangster, daughters Wendi Best and Carolyn Nykoliation and son Bruce. This year’s winners were Brad and Jane Rutten from Wawota, Saskatchewan, the owners of WKJ Eclipse 5E and Trent and Janelle Liebreich, Merritt Cattle Company of Radville, Saskatchewan. Horse classes had high entries with over forty miniature horses, thirty plus Heavy horses and Light entries were excellent too. The highlight of the day was watching the Heavy Horse six horse hitches. The fair also included domestic classes and horticultural. A group of seven dedicated ladies fed a large crowd a delicious turkey and ham cold plate.
The Ron Sangster Supreme Champion Bull Award was won by Brad and Jane Rutten from Wawota, Saskatchewan, the owners of WKJ Eclipse 5E.
The Ron Sangster Supreme Champion Female was awarded to Trent and Janelle Liebreich, Merritt Cattle Company of Radville, Saskatchewan.
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July 27, 2018
The AgriPost
Late July Combining Likely as Crops Ripen By Elmer Heinrichs A nice rain July 19 and hot weather continues to advance crops has Manitoba cereal crop specialist Anne Kirk predicting that farmers in the Red River valley will be combining in the last week of July. Manitoba agriculture in its July 16 report suggested that a majority of crops would benefit from more rain. The report also noted that a majority of acres and crop types were in the flowering and grain fill stages of development, with disease pressure and insect activity being monitored. Hot, sunny, dry and windy weather prevailed during the week across Central regions. Even the favourable rain showers brought variable amounts of moisture and growing conditions. Winter cereals are beginning to ripen, spring cereals are advancing rapidly, and fungicide applications for fusarium head blight and foliar diseases are complete. Corn is growing fast, taking advantage of the recent heat and moisture. Manitoba’s corn crop has reached the tasseling stage. Morgan Cott, agronomist with the Manitoba Corn Growers Association,
said corn is ahead of normal. “That’s fantastic and hopefully it will help us beat some frost in September.” Canola development varies. On the escarpment many fields were still flowering, while many fields in the Red River valley were mostly finished. Flax, sunflowers and field peas are growing well. Altona Farm Production Advisor Dennis Lange reported that soybeans and edible bean crops are both advancing well. But rains in the next week to 10 days may spell the difference between an average and better-than-average crop. “Edible beans won’t achieve last year’s 2,000 lb. yields, but rains will raise yields for both of these crops. Harvesting of field peas and winter wheat may start later in July,” added Lange. Potato fields are growing well and flowering. The high temperatures are stressful and irrigation is applied as needed. Fungicide applications to protect against blight are also being done. Rainfall across Eastern the region was limited as central and southern districts received more. Hot and humid weather continued over the week with soil moisture rated at about
90 per cent adequate. Warm temperatures accelerated crop growth. All crops advanced and many soybean fields that were yellow really greened up last week. Sunflowers and corn were two crops that grew well. While all crops, on average, are looking good at this point, more rainfall in the coming weeks will be important to maintain their condition and achieve their yield potential. While there has been little insect damage, a small amount of cereal acres were sprayed for armyworms recently and scouting continues. Hay and pasture land moisture conditions have been less than adequate, and beef producers are now busy putting up feed and dairy producers are starting a second cut of hay. Pastures are holding their own as producers rotate between paddocks. Dugouts are about half full. The quality of hay has been good. Yields have been 1.5 tons/acre for alfalfa, 1.25 tons/acre for grass/alfalfa hay, 0.75 tons/acre for tame hay and 0.5 tons/acre for wild hay. Some producers are looking for alternate feed sources to complement their needs.
Dairy Farmer Will Have to Dip into Bank By Les Kletke Ed Peters is afraid he may have to go to the bank, his feed bank. Peters who likes to have at least a year’s supply of feed carry over for years like this one but still does not like the idea. “I know that we carry over extra feed for years when we don’t have enough production but it is still tough to handle when the year comes along,” said Peters who operates a dairy near Steinbach. Most years a lack of quality feed comes from too much moisture or moisture at the wrong time. Peters said he has not been hampered by wet conditions. “It anything it has been too dry,” he said. “Usually we struggle to put up some quality feed between rains. That is not the case this year, we did not have enough rain to get the hay going in spring, and then it was hot and dry during haying season.” The hot dry days have meant that on occasion he was losing the leaves from the hay he had cut when he tried to move it.
“Things dried out so quickly and so severely that it was difficult to get the real good quality you want for a dairy herd,” he said. Peters said that while some farmers sell feed in years of excess production he does not. “We are in the dairy business and we concentrate on that,” he said. “We try to get enough quality feed for ourselves and I like to have an extra years supply on hand for years like this.” He is not optimistic about a second cut. “It looks like we are going to draw that bank down this year,” he said. “We would have needed a rain already to get the production for a second cut, and that did not happen. It
looks like the second cut will be short again if it at all.” He has been able to maintain his pastures but the dry year has meant tighter management. “We work with rotational grazing systems and that has meant only a day or two in each paddock so that we don’t over graze,” said Peters. “With proper attention we have been able to maintain the pasture but a rain would help there as well.” Not all hope is gone for the crop year though. “A good soaking rain would go a long way to bring thigs back and a couple of good rains would really improve the pastures, but we are going to be short for the hay crop this year.”
Ed Peters says his hay crop this year is light and will likely cause him to draw down reserves.
The AgriPost
Students Blaze the Trail in the U of M’s Newest Ag Course By Les Kletke Elkora Chan is a second year student at the University of Manitoba who is a transfer from the Faculty of Science into Agriculture and Food Sciences. She readily admits that she does not have a farming background. To that end she has enrolled in the Faculty’s brand new course that is intended to give students practical experience with livestock. The course number is 3030 and has three students enrolled for its first offering this July. “I think it will allow me some hands-on experiences, and be knowledgeable about the methods of livestock production,” said Chan. However, she is looking for more than the opportunity to get close to a cow or a pig. The course will rotate through 5 learning stations, dairy, beef, swine, poultry and the feed mill.
“I think it will give me a great opportunity to meet people in the industry and make some connections,” said Chan who is already thinking of the job market after her time in the Faculty of Agriculture. Even though the course has an enrollment of 3 for its first offering instructor Cora Dupuis said that is alright. “It is the first time the course is being offered so a lot of it is being developed as we go along,” said Dupuis. “Most of the instruction is being done by the technicians at each one of the stations and that has been very good. It allows them to explain what they do, and the course looks at why they do it.” Over half of the students enrolled in the Faculty of Agriculture come from an urban setting so students like Chan are not a rarity in the student body; if anything they are
more the norm. “Students that don’t have an agricultural background come in with more of a questioning mind,” said Dupuis. “They don’t know as much about the behaviour of animals so they question the practices and ask why things are done that way and if they could be done differently.” She noted that another one of her students knows that she would like to work in the feed industry and is particularly looking forward to the time in the feed mill. “She understands nutrition and wants to work in animal nutrition so this course is giving her the background for the rest of her studies,” she explained. The next level of the course is being offered in August and Dupuis is hopeful it will be added to the curriculum of the regular session in fall.
USDA Removes Federal Requirement for Bovine Tuberculosis Testing The removal of a Federal United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requirement that required breeding cattle and bison from Manitoba be tested for bovine tuberculosis pre-export is welcome news to Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP). This requirement was removed as of July 1, 2018. “This is a tremendous win for the beef producers of Manitoba. For many years producers in the Riding Mountain Eradication Area have borne a heavy cost in the yearly mustering and surveillance testing of their animals. This USDA decision recognizes the decades of hard work undertaken by MBP and producers on the bovine TB issue and is very good news for our sector,” said MBP President Ben E. Fox. “It is a testament to the diligence of the producers in the RMEA, as well as the efforts of many other stakeholders that we have achieved this long sought-after result.” The USDA decision is a result of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA)
detailed case outlining why pre-export testing for these Manitoba breeding cattle and bison is no longer required. Bovine tuberculosis had been detected in livestock and wildlife around the Riding Mountain National Park area, resulting in the establishment of the Riding Mountain Eradication Area (RMEA). Herds in Manitoba were subject to surveillance testing, which stressed the animals and placed them at risk for injury. The CFIA recognizes Manitoba’s domestic livestock herd has been free of this disease for several years. “It is gratifying to see the hard work of the many partners finally rewarded,” said Dr. Allan Preston, Bovine Tuberculosis Coordinator. “Manitoba had its last case of bovine tuberculosis in 2008, a long ten years later, the USDA has recognized our TB free status and all federal US restrictions on Manitoba breeding stock moving into the US have been lifted. My hat is off especially to the dedicated cattle producers in the Riding Mountain Eradi-
cation Area whose efforts have made this TB freedom a reality.” The presence of bovine TB has also required producers to take special biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of the disease from deer and elk. These measures include barrier fencing to protect feed supplies and the use of livestock guardian dogs. MBP has also worked with many other stakeholders to address this issue, including Parks Canada, Manitoba Sustainable Development, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Manitoba Agriculture, First Nations and the Manitoba Wildlife Federation. These measures will continue to reduce the risk of interaction with wildlife that could carry bovine TB. While the USDA pre-export testing requirement has been lifted, individual American states continue to have their own state-level bovine tuberculosis testing requirements. Producers are advised to check with appropriate authorities in the United States prior to shipping their cattle for export.
Investing in Innovation in Canada’s Egg Industry The Federal government has announced an investment for the egg industry to assist in the development of an electronic scan to determine the gender and fertility of eggs, helping to increase the capacity and efficiency of hatcheries.
“The Government of Canada is providing $844,000 to study ways to minimize waste and take a major step forward to address animal welfare matters,” said Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. The Canadian egg industry
is a vital part of the Canadian economy, contributing over $1 billion a year and employing 17,000 people. There are more than 1,000 egg farms in all 10 provinces and the Northwest Territories producing more than 650 million dozen eggs each year.
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AgriRisk Initiatives Program Available Risk management is important to the agriculture sector as it helps stabilize farmers’ incomes, strengthens farm businesses, and encourages growth in the agricultural sector. Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, governments continue to support the development of new risk management tools that reflect the chang-
ing nature of the business. Building on the successes of Growing Forward 2, the AgriRisk Initiatives Program has been renewed under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay today announced that the $55 million program will encourage partnerships between agriculture indus-
try stakeholders, researchers, and Federal, Provincial and Territorial governments to proactively explore and develop new risk management products and services for the agricultural sector. Until September 28 2018, funding is available under two components, for research and development and administrative capacity building.
MicroGrants is a new category under the research and development component that will provide up to $25,000 per year in funding for academic research proposals that explore the development of alternative risk management tools or, propose different ways to address issues with existing BRM programs. In response to recommen-
dations received from the BRM Review Expert Panel, priority will be given to proposals for industry-led projects to develop new and innovative business risk management tools.
Partnership Builds on Growing Forward 2 to Advance Beef Sector Innovation Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lawrence MacAulay, announced an investment of up to $14 million to the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC), a division of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, AgriScience Clusters. The BCRC will contribute up to an additional $7.6 mil-
lion, for a total investment of up to $21 million. “Canadian farmers and ranchers know the importance of innovation in maintaining their competitiveness, and that’s especially true in Canada’s beef sector. Investments in research deliver real results, and help to ensure our beef farmers continue to raise top quality beef that consumers have come to expect. To-
day’s investment will help our industry capture the exciting opportunities that lie ahead around the world,” said MacAulay. “The Sustainable Beef and Forage Science Cluster aims to grow beef exports and supply growing global beef demand by supporting research and technology transfer that advances Canadian beef and forage
production while enhancing industry competitiveness and the public’s trust in responsible production of this high quality, nutrient-dense food,” explained Ryan Beierbach, BCRC Chair. The Canadian beef sector is a strong economic driver, accounting for $9 billion in farm cash receipts in 2017. Exports of Canadian beef and cattle totalled nearly
$2.41 billion in 2017. Canadian beef producers are working hard to ensure they continue to create good, middle-class jobs while expanding markets for their safe, high-quality products.
A Year of Loss Under Italian COOL
July 20 marked the oneyear anniversary of Italy’s protectionist country of origin labelling (COOL) regulations on pasta. Following a year of loss, Canada’s grain industry continues to call on the Federal Government to launch a World Trade Organization (WTO) challenge to Italy’s COOL provisions. Since COOL has been announced, Canada’s durum exports to Italy have been severely limited. Italy is traditionally Canada’s largest durum market taking 20 to 25 per cent, or one million tonnes, of Canada’s durum exports over the past five years.
“Canada’s hard working farmers produce high quality grains that are in global demand and we rely on the government to provide stable, open markets for these products,” said Jeff Nielsen, President of Grain Growers of Canada (GGC). “If diplomatic efforts are not resolving our trade issues we need to know that our government will defend Canadian farmers against illegal protectionism.” “As an industry we have long supported the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Europe,” said Cam Dahl, President of Cereals Canada.
“But the fact is that one of our larger exports to Europe has almost disappeared since CETA came into effect. If this hard-won trade deal can’t be enforced, many will begin to question its value.” All this comes at a time when the St. Lawrence Seaway should be full of boats transporting durum to Europe. The entry into force of the CETA with the European Union should have led to increased exports, but instead Canada lost its largest market. “The loss of this important market cannot be understated,” said Margaret Hansen, Chair of GGC’s Trade Com-
mittee. “Today this is an issue for durum growers, but if left unchallenged the Italian measures will spread to other commodities and other countries. Every grain farmer should be, and is, concerned. We urge the government to do whatever necessary to fight these protectionist barriers.” The two year experiment implemented by Italy for food manufacturers regulates declared country of origin labelling on packaging of grains used in rice and pasta. In addition country of milling is a requirement for pasta. The 2017 labelling requirements are similar to the 2016
Italian Ministerial Decree on the source of raw material used in milk, cheese, butter and yogurt including the country of packaging and processing. European Union regulations allow member states to legislate mandatory country of origin labelling for specific food categories if they are justified to protect consumer health.
Class Gets Up Close and Personal
By Les Kletke Cora Dupuis remembers visiting her grandparent’s farm in southern Ontario, being able to touch the animals and learning respect for them. “By the time I was visiting the farm it was more of a hobby farm and the cows were still there more as a tradition than a working dairy,” said Dupuis who is an instructor with the Faculty of Agriculture’s new livestock course that is intended to give students in the faculty an opportunity to deal with livestock up close. Dupuis is not a member of the faculty but is doing her Masters in Experiential Learning and that is what the course is based
on. “I am much more of a facilitator than instructor,” she said. “The technicians are the real instructors and do a great job; this is a real opportunity for them to teach the students what they do and also why they do it.” The course is offered two days a week in July in the afternoons for 3 credit hours followed by a second course which will be offered in August. Dupuis said she hopes enrollment with grow from the first three students, within limits. “We would like to see the enrollment increase and it may be offered during the regular semester but registration would be limited
to 12 or less,” she explained. “The follow up discussion is a large part of the course and we don’t get that when the numbers get to large.” The follow up discussions will be focused on what the students say and experience at each operation which includes class time in poultry, dairy, hog and beef barns as well as the feed mill at the Gleanlea Station. “Not only do they get the exposure to the animals but also the nutrition aspect of livestock production and we are very fortunate to have a working feed mill as part of the faculty at Glenlea,” said Dupuis. She credits the course with borrowing a page from 4-H.
“The 4-H motto is learn to do by doing and that is what we are trying to establish in this course,” she said. “The students get to see the animals and what goes on in production facilities and then we
Cora Dupuis is the instructor for the new Livestock course at the Faculty of Agriculture and hopes it will become part of the regular curriculum.
talk about what they say, and why practices are in place, and how they could be changed or why they aren’t.”
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Sunflowers and Peas Holding Their Own in Southwestern Manitoba By Les Kletke Dry conditions in southwestern Manitoba have many producers thinking of a decade gone by. “It is not the 30s but it is much more like we were used to a decade or more ago,” said Ben Haskill, “We have not seen this for a few years but it is not new.” Haskill is referring to conditions that have the crop deteriorating after getting off to a good start in spring. “We have had a few years of flooding but that is not the norm here, we should be used to these conditions but we got used to having enough water to grow a crop,” he said. Haskill farms at Melita and sees that the crops which seem to be holding their own are sunflowers and peas. “I went back to peas this year after a long time without them,” he said and that looks like a good decision at this time but they are a long way from in the bin and a couple of rains can make harvesting them a nightmare.” He has gone back to peas because of market conditions not because he expected a drought. The sunflowers have been kept in his rotation because of their ability to handle dry conditions. “Over the long haul they have been a good crop for me,” he said. “This year I upped the acreage a bit and that is looking like a good choice but there is a limit to how much combining you want to do in November.” His soybeans this year are not too far off from an average crop. “They seem to be a crop that will give you something every year, it may not be a bumper but they will produce something and that is a good thing.” He has not made a big switch in his acers to soybeans as many farmers have done in the area. “They have been good and have provided a good return but in the long haul sunflowers have been good for me and I went back to peas because the market wanted them.” Haskell also has some winter wheat that is beginning to turn colour. “It had the advantage of early moisture and it got off to a good start last year, if this continues like this, there might be more winter wheat and rye going in this fall just to prevent drifting and guys will make a decision leave it or turn it under next spring.”
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Wheat Trade with Japan Resumes Cereals Canada welcomes the resumption of wheat and flour trade with Japan. Japan had temporarily suspended trade following the discovery of a handful of GM wheat
plants on an access road in southern Alberta. Cereals Canada extended appreciation to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Canadian
Grain Commission (CGC) for the technical and investigative work that has allowed for this issue to be resolved. “Japan is a long-standing, premium customer of Cana-
dian wheat and is the highest grade buyer of Canadian wheat in the world,” noted Cam Dahl, President of Cereals Canada. “We appreciate that loyalty and highly value
the collaborative nature of our trading partnership. Cereals Canada is grateful for the effort that the Government of Japan has put into resolving this issue as quickly as possible, work that included travel to Canada by officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.” “Cereals Canada wishes to recognize the united way in which the Canadian value chain has approached finding a resolution to the concerns that had caused Japan to temporarily close its borders to Canadian wheat. Almost all organizations and companies have come together
to present unified single Canadian industry message. As a united industry we are able to work with the government and our customers to help maintain our reputation as a reliable supplier,” concluded Dahl. Japan has not found any GM wheat in their system, but will continue to test shipments of wheat sourced from Canada. The decision by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture and the already-announced decision by South Korea on June 26 to resume shipments reaffirm the excellent quality and consistency of Canadian wheat.
Rental Protection for Your Harvest Machinery With the excitement of harvest building up around Manitoba, this is a good time to make sure you are properly prepared. Your first action might be to make sure you have long playlists of country music available along with a cab filled with energy drinks and western novels for the short periods of downtime throughout the day. These are important, but there are other things that are also an important part of a successful harvest season. An important insurance coverage for your farm to purchase is called loss of use for farm machinery. This coverage provides a limit of insurance which pays for the additional expense of renting a replacement unit for machinery damaged by an insured peril. Loss of use coverage can be purchased to a level that you select, often in increments of $10,000 in value. Some insurers will allocate a specific percentage of that limit for your daily maximum amount available. This is important to know when you are choosing your total limit of insurance. Let’s say you purchase a $30,000 loss of use limit, and your insurer has a daily limitation of 10% per day, you will have a maximum of $3,000 per day available. You may not need the entire $30,000 in a claim, but with costs of machinery increasing, daily rental costs are also increasing. While there is a need for this coverage throughout the spring and summer months, the time that it is most valuable is during harvest. Whether it is an auger, conveyor, tractor, grain cart, swather, combine or even a header, there are multiple pieces of machinery required to keep your operations moving during harvest. We have seen claims where the loss of use payment is larger than the repair or replacement of the piece of machinery. Downtime during harvest can cause a significant loss of revenue unless a replacement machine is found in a short period of time. It is also the time where service technicians are busy and aren’t always available for your call. In the event of a total loss to a piece of farm machinery, it can also be frustrating to try to acquire a new piece of machinery while you should be in the field, instead of scrolling through Kijiji and participating in online auctions to find a suitable replacement. Before harvest starts, it is a good idea to review your loss of use limit, and make sure that your total limit of insurance, along with the daily maximum amount is sufficient to keep you moving during the best season of the year. Be sure to seek advice and purchase insurance from those who understand your business! David Schmidt is an Account Executive and Rempel Insurance Brokers in Morris, MB, specializing in insuring farms and businesses across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. David is a member of the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors, Winnipeg Chapter; office 204-746-2320, Text 204-712-6618, davids@rempelinsurance.com, rempelinsurance.com.
The AgriPost
Southern Fields May Produce Average Yields By Les Kletke Gary Wiebe is afraid he is losing a major portion of his crop already and if dry conditions continue the yield potential will be further reduced. “We got off to a good start,” he said. “Emergence was good though somewhat uneven but it would have certainly been adequate for a good crop, but we are already in the territory of a less than average crop.” Wiebe who farms at Lowe Farm acknowledges that the memory of the 2017 crop has raised the bar somewhat. “We all have short memories
and after last year that is the one we remember and with all crops producing record yields we believed we could repeat it. That will not be that case,” said Wiebe. Two of the news crops in his rotation are holding on the best. “Corn is holding on, and has a deep root so it might be able to produce a crop, but it is stressed and we know that it will not be the kind of yield we saw last year,” he said. Wiebe like so many southern Manitoba farmers has been increasing his soybean acres over the past couple of years. “We have put this crop
to the test in the short time we have been growing it,” he said with a chuckle. “Soybeans seem to be a crop that will withstand the stress of drought and excess moisture but we also know that you don’t produce a bumper crop of anything when it is under stress.” For Wiebe last year’s soybean yields topped 50 bushel an acre. “We know we won’t do that this year and we are going to be much closer to the long term average,” he said. “I guess that is why it is the average, but it is difficult when you think you did the
same things as last year but are just going to get a little more than half the crop and you still have the same inputs.” As of July 20 Wiebe said all crops were in need of moisture although they appeared to be holding on. “There is no denying it, the potential for yield has already been cut and in many of the crops the yield has been determined. We need ideal conditions to reach that yield or else the numbers will drop even further, and with heat and no moisture that can have a dramatic impact.”
Harvest Celebration Set for a Variable Foodgrains Crop By Elmer Heinrichs “There seems to be quite a bit of variability in many crops, including the Foodgrains Bank growing crops,” said Gordon Janzen, Manitoba Regional Coordinator of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB). Just back from a meeting with Grow Hope supporters in the Westman area around Brandon, Janzen said that “It appears that the
rains have been variable and spotty and while crops are all right the crop may not match last year’s harvest.” The Manitoba region has nearly 40 growing projects with almost 5,000 acres growing canola, wheat, soybeans and a few other types of crop. The first ever Grow Hope project, Grow Hope Manitoba continues to bring communities together in
Niverville. This year four farming families and two Hutterite colonies in southern Manitoba have provided 430 acres for sponsorship. This project is now inviting supporters to a special harvest celebration on Sunday, August 26 at the Crystal Springs Hutterite Colony. It is a supper invitation, with a visit to a Grow Hope field soon to be harvested, and to celebrate
together thanking God for the crops and seeking blessing on the harvest said Janzen. Working together, these Grow Hope partners have sponsored enough acres to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars that MCC and CFGB will use to help end global hunger. Janzen expects the harvest of project crops will get underway in August.
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Canadian Forage and Grasslands Look to be Export Ready Livestock producers across the country and abroad depend on the high quality hay produced by Canada’s forage and grassland industry in order to deliver safe, nutritious, and sustainable food. Increased forage exports, valued at $360.8 million for 2017, are helping the agriculture sector reach its potential to be an even stronger economic engine for the economy, driving towards our target of growing annual agri-food exports to $75 billion by 2025. Recently Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced Federal funding of $98,950 for the Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association (CFGA) for a project to increase export capacity and strengthen awareness of Canadian forage products to new and emerging markets. In addition to participating in international trade expos in the United States, the CFGA developed export readiness training for their members and developed strategies for emerging markets. “Canada’s forage sector is the largest land-use type in Canadian agriculture and is exceptionally diverse, covering over 72-million acres coast to coast. The forage sector generates an annual value of $5.09 billion as the backbone of the ruminant livestock sector, and serves an increasingly important role in feeding livestock around the world,” said Cedric MacLeod, Executive Director, CFGA. “Forage exporters from across the country are ramping up production to service growing markets in China, the Middle East, United States and Central America.” A further investment of $16,000 was provided to CFGA to hire a student intern under the Agricultural Youth Green Jobs Initiative to help farmers integrate environmentally beneficial management practices into their crop planning.
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Feeding Salt to Beef Cattle is Easy By Peter Vitti What could be easier than throwing a salt block off the back of a truck for each group of grazing cattle in a cowherd? Or filling a part of a mineral compartment with loose salt? Then coming back in a week or so and putting out salt in one of these ways, again. It is also inexpensive to feed salt to cattle and they seem to eat what they need to satisfy their appetite. The only danger of feeding salt is cutting your hand like I once did when loading salt blocks onto the back of a truck. Once placed, cattle licking salt blocks or eating loose salt (both of which contain about 39% sodium and 61% chlorine) are not really seeking to meet their National Research Council (NRC) requirement for sodium and chlorine. Rather, they are satisfying an intuitive dietary craving, which if not satisfied will lead to an eating disorder called pica, where cattle will eat dirt or wood to satisfy to find salt (observed in some other mineral deficiencies). Consequently, the NRC dictates that the dietary sodium level contained in salt (chlorine requirements are not established) for beef cattle should be at least 0.06 – 0.08% of diet (dmi basis) for growing calves and older replacement animals and about 0.1% of diet (dmi basis) for mature beef cows. For example, when mature beef cows graze 15 kg of forage per day: calculates into providing about 40 grams of salt (15 x 0.1%, divided by 39% x 1000 = 38.5 grams) per cow per day to meet these basic sodium requirements. As a beef nutritionist, I believe that beef cattle usually need much more salt during periods of heightened activity (such as calving or lactation) or under stressful conditions such as heat-stress in the summer. So, I feel that the optimum requirement for salt for many cattle is closer to 50 grams per head per day. Grazing cattle, like people have been shown to consume
more salt than they actually need to cover-off their NRC or my recommendations and for the most part, without serious consequences. That’s because salt (nee sodium) is not stored to any appreciable amount in the body compared other essential minerals such as calcium/phosphorus (bones) or copper (liver). Sodium eaten by the cow is instead; absorbed into the blood, filtered out by the kidneys (hormone-controlled) and returned to the blood as required by the cows’ tissues. As long as there is a good water source available, this unseen biological process works for the most part when simple white 20-kg salt blocks are placed onto pasture. I also find it interesting that white salt blocks (contain only sodium chloride) are virtually non-existent on the prairies, yet blue salt blocks (99% sodium chloride, 120 mg/kg cobalt, and 180 mg/ kg iodine and ultramarineblue dye) are the most common block/loose salt for beef cattle on pasture. This dietary salt anomaly goes back nearly a century ago, when cattle nutritionists of the time discovered that cobalt and iodine were virtually non-existent in prairie grasses. They formulated salt with these essential elements and the practice stuck until today. In a similar fashion, brown salt blocks fortified with trace-minerals, such as copper, manganese, zinc and selenium are popular with many beef producers, but I am not a fan of this dietary practice. First, they do not contain essential macro-minerals such as phosphorus or magnesium, which are often deficient on most of our northern pastures during the late summer or droughtstricken pastures. Nor do they contain vitamins A and E, which are at best diluted in lush pastures or non-existent in most mature grass. Instead, I would prefer to provide a well-balanced summer mineral to beef cattle
Supporting a Strong Canadian Ginseng Industry Canada is a global leader in the production of North American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius). It is the largest field grown horticultural export with sales of over $228 million a year and 2.63 million kg produced annually. Strategic investments in Canadian-grown ginseng help the sector seize market opportunities, build its competitive advantage, and con-
tribute to the Government’s goal of growing Canada’s agriculture and food annual exports to $75 billion by 2025. A Federal government fund of $360,521 will help ginseng growers promote and pursue new markets, including India which provides potential to further increase demand for Canadian-grown ginseng beyond its traditional Asian markets.
that goes along with feeding block/loose salt on pasture. It would be one that contains essential macro-minerals to compliment the nutrient profile of most pastures. It would also contain adequate levels of essential trace minerals (in both inorganic or chelated forms) as well as high levels of vitamins A, D and E. Nevertheless, a friend of mine runs about 300-Anguscross beef cowherd on acres of mixed legume-grass pasture. He says that he believes in such good mineral-vitamin
nutrition, but his cows will not eat significant loose mineral on pasture. In his case, he feeds trace-mineralized salt blocks during the spring and summer on pasture to at least meet some essential trace-mineral requirements. Then he returns them to my 2:1 mineral-vitamin feeding program fed at 3 - 4 ounces per head per day, once the cows are brought home to dry lot in fall and winter. Regardless of whether beef producers are feeding on blue or brown salt blocks (loose
salt included), it seems that opinions vary as to the placement of salt blocks on pasture. Some producers provide salt within close proximity to water, where other mineralvitamins are placed. Other producers say that salt should not be placed close to water sources, because it is already an area of high animal traffic, which tends to concentrate animal pressure on certain areas of pasture and salt should be used as a management tool to evenly distribute animal stockings.
As a tie-breaker, I like to see salt fed along with loose mineral-vitamins provided near waterers. I believe that salt and water for cattle go hand-in-hand, especially during times of heat-stress and drought, which is quite common on the western prairies. Fortunately, everybody should agree that grazing beef cattle need salt. I have yet to meet a beef producer that will not spend the few dollars to feed salt whether in block or loose form to their cattle on pasture. I hope I never will.
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